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There's
new never-before-heard music coming from Johnny Cash.
Cash's estate is releasing "Out Among the
Stars," an album he recorded with Billy Sherrill
in the early 1980s that was never released by Columbia
Records, then disappeared when the company dropped
Cash in 1986.
How
To Write A Song If You're Aiming For The Charts!
If
you’ve been making music for a while by now, you probably
already know how to write a song. If not, you’ll want to
check this beginners
guide to songwriting before you go any further. Now
I’ve a question for you: Does the kind of songs you’ve
been writing match the aims you have for your music career?
The
Redwood City, Calif-based Evntlive was established in
2012 and launched in open beta back in mid-April after
raising $2.3 million in funding.
If
You’re Not Paying Anymore, Then Facebook Isn’t
Playing Anymore
Welcome
to the future of Facebook, where ‘organic’ and
‘viral’ will soon come with a price tag. According
to a recently-leaked document obtained
by AdAge, non-advertising contributors simply
aren’t paying the bills, which means that Facebook
will be heavily prioritizing paid placements
over organic ones. Which
also means that if you’re not boosting, sponsoring
it, or other paying for it, large portions of your
fanbase won’t be seeing it. ”If
they haven’t already, many marketers will soon see
the organic reach of their posts on the social network
drop off, and this time Facebook is acknowledging
it,” AdAge just reported, leaked document in hand.
”In a sales deck obtained by Ad Age that was
sent out to partners last month, Facebook states
plainly:
Top
10 things to do (and not do) when playing an Industry Showcase
Music
Gorilla regularly hosts showcases. At many of these
events, we have an A&R rep from a major label
that is there solely to watch the performances and
take notes on everything they’re seeing and
hearing. The performers are introduced to the rep
and the networking commences. A few weeks later they
receive written feedback on their performances for
better or worse. What they do with it is up to them
of course, but information is priceless.
Ten
music teachers from ten cities across eight states
have been announced as finalists for the Recording
Academy and Grammy Foundation’s first annual Music
Educator Award. The finalists were culled from more
than 30,000 initial nominations submitted from all 50
states.
Cumulus
Refinances $2.23 Billion Of Debt
REUTERS
reports CUMULUS MEDIA set terms YESTERDAY (12/4) on a new
$2.23 billion loan to refinance existing debt, writing,
"the ATLANTA-based company is marketing a $200 million,
Spotify
Readying Free Streaming Mobile Service
Spotify,
the Swedish music streaming service, is set to announce a new
feature that will allow users to pick specific tracks and
listen to them on mobile devices for free. That's
according to a person familiar with the matter who was not
authorized to speak about the feature. It will be announced at
an event in New York on Wednesday. The person spoke on
condition of anonymity. The
Wall Street Journal reported earlier on the free feature,
saying it will mostly serve up music based on the user's
input.
Sirius
XM Will Have to Defend Multiple Lawsuits Over Pre-1972 Music
A
lawsuit with the potential of shaking up commonly held
assumptions about the broadcasting of older music will
be staying in California. Sirius XM is facing a number
of lawsuits, including class action suits in
California, New York and Florida and two more by the
major labels and SoundExchange. On Tuesday, U.S.
District Judge Philip Gutierrez denied Sirius' motion
to move the Turtles California lawsuit to New York and
spoke about the huge stakes involved.
Independent
Recording Artist Development in 2014
What
is artist development?
Recording
artist development is how an publisher (record
label, etc.) partners with an emerging artist to create a
music product for the first time. Often the artist will
provide creative assets like vocals, sometimes the music and
lyrics, and the publisher invests in the business of music
production, assets like graphic design and music video, as
well as promotion and distribution of the record. In
exchange for assuming financial risk in the project, the
publisher often takes the lion’s share of the earnings
from the music.
You
know how annoying it can be to listen to more than one
song on YouTube on a smartphone, compared to on a
computer? Google fixes this and much more with a paid
subscription version in an upcoming version of its
YouTube Android app, as uncovered by APK Teardown.
Spotify
Serenades Artists With Data, Commerce
Amid
a growing chorus of debate about how much streaming services
pay artists, Spotify on Tuesday tried to present its own side
of the argument, outlining in a new website how it has paid
out $1 billion in music royalties since its launch five years
ago.
Why
Do We Always Compromise Quality In the Name of Convenience?
Consumers
want their music whenever, wherever and the digital age has
given us the power to make that happen. Consequently,
digital audio keeps the music industry in a constant state of
flux in which consumers have accepted trading sound to fulfill
the now factor.
Where
Indie Artists are Making Their Money
Independent
artists have never had access to so many customers. A single
distributor can get an artist’s music into digital services
around the world. U.S. artists were getting Spotify royalties
before the service was available stateside. Now they’re
getting royalties from Deezer, Bloom.fm and other services not
yet available in the States.
Amazon
is testing delivery by Drones
Amazon.com
is testing delivering packages using drones, CEO Jeff Bezos
said on the CBS TV news show 60 Minutes Sunday.
CMT
And Clear Channel Media And Entertainment Enter Multi-Platform
Partnership
CMT, the leading television and digital
authority on Country music and entertainment, and Clear
Channel Media and Entertainment (CCM+E), the leading media
company in America with a greater reach in the U.S. than any
radio or television outlet, announced a multi-platform
partnership that will create the largest Country music
platforms in radio and television, with access to CMT's reach
of 92 million households
Hello
all, and welcome to Part 1 of what I hope will be a ongoing
series on how to better make money in your music career.
Whether you want to earn a full time income from your music
or you simply want to make enough to cover recording or
equipment costs, this series should go a way in helping you
achieve that.
Spotify
Premium Royalties Are 10 Times Greater Than Free, Ad-Supported
Royalties
The
only problem is, of course, that most people are listening for
free, and Spotify doesn’t let artists choose who has access.
And
here’s the proof: the following is a translated Spotify
royalty statement from Anssi Kela, one of the
most successful artists in Finland. The first part goes
through top-level, per-play royalties from Spotify for the
track ‘Levoton Tyttö’, before splitting the different
payouts between Premium, Unlimited, and free-access,
ad-supported accounts (you can find Kela’s full blog post,
in Finnish..
Internet
Fairness Act Appears Dead As Pandora Pulls Support
Ongoing
attempts to pass royalty rate legislation suffered a major
blow, as PANDORA has reportedly given up its support to get
Congress to act on the so called Internet Fairness Act.
BILLBOARD reports, "instead of pursuing legislation,
PANDORA..
How
To Promote Your Music - The Ultimate Guide
Now
before you roll your eyes and think I’m going to tell you
to “create a Facebook account and promote through social
media” or to “get your music in as many places as
possible,” listen up. This guide is going to be full of
actionable content and advice that won’t be found in every
post on the subject that simply rehashes information the
writer has heard and not tried out themselves.
How
Radio Can Sell Music-Even if Fewer are Buying
Radio
is now very much in the business of selling music – but if
broadcasters actively want to sell music, how could they be
most effective, at least among those people still buying
music?
Willie
Nelson's Tour Bus in Accident, 3 Hurt, Suspends Tour
November
23, 2013 1:44 PM EST Singer
Willie Nelson has suspended his tour after three members of
his band were hurt when their bus plowed into a bridge pillar
in East Texas during rainy conditions
Track
Sales on Downward Trend in 2013. Did iTunes Radio Play a Part?
A
recent dip in track sales happens to coincide with the launch
of iTunes Radio. Weekly track sales averaged 20.28 million
from September 16th through November 3rd, according to Nielsen
SoundScan. That average is about 13% below the weekly average
of 22.95 million from June 24th to September 15th. Weekly
sales never fell below 22 million in June or August.
ASCAP
talks music licensing on Capitol Hill
ASCAP
sent their heavy-hitters to Washington, D.C., for a panel
discussion on music licensing in today's digital landscape.
Shifting
Sources of Artist Income: 1999-2012
If
artists make more than three times the percentage from
concerts as they do from recordings, does it matter if people
are stealing their recordings? Or, is that just a label
problem?
Indie
Artists: Expectations vs Reality
To
“use” the internet in marketing themselves, indie
artists are required to learn “how,” then spend time
implementing their online plan. There is no secret. There is
no sure thing. There are no companies which provide indie
artists success, only those that can help. Practice, loving
the lifestyle, enjoying fans, and using technology in
various mixes - with a dose of luck - are still your best
chance for success.
How
to get help on the iTunes homepage and why
he
store had a 41% share of the U.S. record business in 2012,
according to Billboard’s calculations, and it has a 63%
share of digital sales, according to NPD Group. The relatively
limited number of ways to reach fans through iTunes makes them
highly coveted in the industry.
The
Cost of Free
When
it comes to recorded music, today’s consumers enjoy a free
ride and seem to have all the answers. Song sharing is
there for the taking and, in any case, the old music sales
model is archaic. But if out with the old and in with the
new is stylish in music, the same is not true of music
recordings.
TuneCore
Inc., one of the world's largest digital music
distribution companies, on Wednesday announced it has
signed an agreement with INDmusic to better monetize
its artists' music on YouTube.
The
13 Biggest Mistakes Artists make on Soundcloud
Almost
every active, relevant musician is now using
Soundcloud. And for those that aren’t… why
aren’t you? The platform is a great way to
foster a community, to get feedback on your tracks and
to interact and showcase with people that are into the
style that you are. It’s straightforward,
essentially free and can’t be missed in the
repertoire of any musician that’s expecting to make
a name for himself.
Analyist
Sees 'Significant Lead' For Pandora Over iTunes Radio
PIPER
JAFFRAY has introduced a new, weekly, TWITTER analysis to
“measure the consumer sentiment trends between iTUNES RADIO
and PANDORA.” MARKETWATCH.COM reports, PIPER analyst GENE
MUNSTER, who covers APPLE, said that "the first..
Musicians,
Should You EVER Pay-To-Play?
Payola,
in one form or another, is as old as the music business:
Labels
pay radio stations to broadcast their music, producers pay DJs
to spin their records in the club, and promoters ask live
bands to pay-to-play at their event.And it’s always been a hot
topic amongst musicians.So if you’re an artist, should
you ever have to pay-to-play?
Live
Nation Forms Asian Marketing Enterprise with Parallel
Contemporary Music
The
two companies have created Live Nation Marketing
Partnerships Asia Limited, the goal of which is to
provide live music based marketing solutions for
international and local brands across Asia.
Google
Play Music Arrives On iOS
Google
has dropped their music service into the App Store of their
competitor.
This
move pits Google Play directly against iTunes Radio, which is
only available on one platform. However, iTunes Radio comes
pre-installed on iOS devices.
Deezer
Coming to the United States In 2014
On-demand
subscription service Deezer is finally be headed to
the world's biggest music market. The France-based
service is expected to launch in the United States in
2014, according to a major label source.
How
Important Is Your Live Show To Your Career?
Tom
Jackson believes that the most successful artists are those
who are amazing live performers. A few weeks ago, Stevie and I
attended a two day bootcamp with live music producer Jackson
and his team to see how we could improve our own performance.
I was not disappointed. photo (41)In his many years of
experience working with everyone from big name artists like
Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, or Jars of Clay to up-and-coming
indie artists like the Canadian country duo The..
Changing
Roles of Managers & Labels
While
different parts of the industry--labels, promoters and
agents--may claim they are essential to developing artists,
managers say they are the architects that tie everything
together. Besides, managers "are the only ones who wake
up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat worrying about
the career of their artists, Jacobson said. "And they are
the only ones willing to take phone calls [from artists] in
the middle of the night."
7
Essential Elements for your Band’s Digital Press Kit
When
creating your website, you have to think about the different
kinds of people that will be visiting it. These can be your
current fans, potential new fans, as well as media/bloggers,
bookers and other industry people. For that latter group,
they’re likely looking for different information than your
fans are, and you have to be sure to make it easy for them to
find it. This can best be done by adding a Digital Press Kit
section to your website. Here are the 7 essential elements to
include in your ..
NMPA
Targets Unlicensed Lyric Sites
The
NMPA said it has sent take-down notices to 50 sites identified
in an October report by University of Georgia researcher David
Lowery as likely not having licenses to publish lyrics. The
notices demand that the sites obtain licenses or remove
copyrighted lyrics from their sites.
Listen
to Your Music on Google Glass
Google
Glass has posted a video of Young Guru putting the new
features to work. He uses the device to help him speak
Spanish, identify a song, email the song to a friend, listen
to the song, and record and incorporate audio in a studio
session. Young Guru is a DJ, producer, USC artist in
residence, and is part of the Google Glass Explorer program.
iTunes
Offers Donations Page for Philippines Typhoon Relief
Apple
is giving iTunes users a chance to donate to relief
efforts for the typhoon tragedy in the Philippines.
New
Study Shows Effectiveness Of Radio Advertising
A
study done by the U.K.’s RADIO ADVERTISING BUREAU,
along with major international ad buying shops
including MINDSHARE, MEDIAVEST, MEDIACOM and HAVAS
MEDIA GROUP has good news for business spending money
on the radio.
BIA/Kelsey
Finds Local Radio Maintains Competitive Position In Local Ad
Market with 11.5% Share of Local Ad Revenues
The
local radio market is growing, albeit at a more moderate pace
than it once did, by expanding its offerings to off-air
platforms, providing a wider range of listener experiences and..
Nielsen
Survey Finds Radio Still Top Way To Discover New Music
NIELSEN
has some good news for radio, as new data from their
"Music 360" report shows terrestrial radio remains
the chief avenue of music discovery. USA
TODAY reports, "the data reveals that 63% of
listeners say they discover new music through terrestrial
radio, which leads all sources of music discovery in terms of
being 'trusted' (43%) and 'current' (49%)."
iLoud:
“The First Wireless Portable Speaker for Musicians”
IK
Multimedia has released their wireless portable speaker,
iLoud.
IK
Multimedia is the company behind iRig, AmpliTube, and other
mobile audio products. IK
says the battery-operated speaker provides sound quality
comparable to studio monitors. They’ve also paid attention
to the low end of the spectrum: iLoud plays frequencies as low
as 50hz.
6
Ways to Get More People to Your Shows
Do
you sometimes feel that your band’s draw is languishing?
Are you tired of seeing the same people at your shows and
want to play to a new crowd, even in your hometown?
If you’re like most musicians,
you know that you absolutely can do better, that you have
more fans out there than who actually show up at at the
venue, and despite always receiving positive feedback, you
don’t know why more people aren’t showing up. Here are
some tips on building some momentum back into your tour
dates so you can increase your band’s draw:
Live
Nation Revenue Hits Record $2.26 Bil in Q3
Increased
concert attendance drove record third quarter revenue at Live
Nation. The company turned in revenue of $2.26 billion in the
quarter, up 15% from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted
operating income (AOI), a metric that excludes certain
one-time items, rose 9% to $221.2 million.
The
strangest part about this is that vinyl continues to explode;
it’s one of the brightest and most exciting aspects of the
music industry today!
They're
not letting the cowboy ride quietly into the sunset in
Music City. Whether he likes it or not, the usually
reclusive George Strait is the center of attention
this week and is up for his third CMA entertainer of
the year award against Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean,
Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton. And the 61-year-old
singer has at least one vote.
8
Road Safety Tips for Musicians on Tour
Forget
stage diving. It’s safe to say that driving from gig to gig
is one of the most dangerous things most artists are required
to do throughout their career. Traveling at speeds in excess
of 100Km/h in a sheet metal/fiberglass box on wheels is
something we all have become fairly comfortable with. The
harsh reality is that one bad split second decision can
instantly result in a life changing or even life-ending
crisis. This was one of my greatest fears when I used to tour
constantly in bands.
Pandora
Growth Continues After iTunes Radio Launch
Pandora
fared well in the first full month iTunes Radio was available
in the United States. The Internet radio company's listener
hours grew 8% from September to 1.47 billion, according to figures
revealed by CFO Mike Herring at a Morgan Stanley investor
event Monday evening.
Willie
Nelson's Tell-All Autobiography Due in 2015
At
age 80, Willie Nelson is ready to say it all. Little,
Brown and Company announced Wednesday that the country
music superstar has a book deal with the publisher.
Signs
That Teen Interest in Facebook Is Fading
Facebook's
stickiness has come into doubt this week after signs that some
teens are ditching Facebook in favor of other social media
services. The latest evidence came directly from Facebook
Wednesday afternoon. The company revealed in its third quarter
earnings call it has lost some popularity with younger users.
"We did see a decrease in daily users specifically among
younger teens," said
CFO David Ebersman during the call.
5
Benefits of a Virtual Assistant - for Musicians!
You
know that image we all have in our heads about personal
assistants? Only celebrities are busy (and rich) enough to
have someone to keep them on track and book their
first-class flights. Maybe you don’t see the need for an
assistant - you are determined to be the DIY musician and
actually believe it’s possible . But your life is feeling
unbalanced, and you are finding yourself spending more time
updating Facebook than working on your next album.
2%
of iOS Device Owners Have Switched to iTunes Radio from
Pandora (Survey)
A
survey of more than 800 Apple iOS device owners by
investment bank Canaccord Genuity found that about 2%
of iOS device owners and 8% of iTunes Radio users use
the service exclusively. Although iTunes Radio has
managed to quickly attract listeners, few people have
given up other services.
ERA
Statement On The Removal Of The HMV App From The ITunes App
Store
Entertainment
Retailers Association's Statement Regarding The Removal
Yesterday Of HMV's New Music Discovery App From The ITunes App
Store
ReverbNation
Has 100,000 Musicians Donating to Charity
ReverbNation’s
Music For Good program has enrolled 100,000 artists.
Music
For Good is a program run by ReverbNation,
with a simple proposition: artists can opt in and donate some
of their earnings to charity. Artists simply pick a song, and
half of their sales for that track will go to the charity of
their choice.
Promotion
for the Independent Musician
In
a market saturated with the music of aspiring musicians and
already well established acts it can be difficult for new
acts to gain exposure. This begs the question, how does an
artist stand out and get heard over the masses of music
uploaded to the web each day? This guide was written as a
follow-up of sorts to our blog “treating
your band as a business” and also ties in with our online
marketing crash course. The article will be split into
two sections: the first pertaining to more traditional
“physical” promotion techniques and the second focused
on marketing your music online to listeners around the
globe.
YouTube
Close to Launching Subscription Music
YouTube
is preparing a premium on-demand music service -- akin to a
Spotify, but with video -- to launch later this year,
according to several sources familiar with the plans.
Many
of today's most popular music services are free.
On-demand digital music subscription services are not
in a position to raise prices. Yet SiriusXM shows
consumers are willing to pay for music, and other
entertainment, if presented with a good deal.
For
the first time in five years, the media and
entertainment industry is expected to outperform the
major stock market indices in 2013, according to a
report from EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young.
Unfortunately, the music industry was not responsible
for this achievement, having turned in the lowest
margin growth of all 10 media and entertainment
sectors examined, worst even than the sector that
includes newspapers.
The
Top 5 Website Mistakes Musicians Make
Don’t
give your web visitors an excuse to hit the “back” button
Someone
is checking out your website. You’ve done something right
— announcing your URL from stage, optimizing your site for
Google search, doing targeted advertising on Facebook, etc.
— and here they are, checking out your online headquarters,
waiting to be dazzled.
But
that’s only half the battle.
Pandora
Founder: “We Are Building a Company That Will Last 100 Years”
Pandora
founder Tim Westergren is cashing his shares as quickly as
possible, at a rate that now exceeds $2 million a
month, $12 million a year, and $23.4
million since the company went public. In fact,
he has now cashed almost all of his available shares.
On
Tuesday, Westergren had this to say about his long-term vision
for the company. “At
Pandora we talk about building a company that will last for
100 years.
Brian
Penick, founder of artist
development company the
Counter Rhythm Group and
author of the Musicians'
Desk Reference and a
touring musician, lists
the most important and
overlooked aspects of
being a touring musician.
After
30 Days, iTunes Radio Has 30
Percent of Pandora’s Audience
Because
if Pandora executives weren’t so
worried about Apple, they
wouldn’t keep telling us they
weren’t so worried about Apple.
Which brings us to iTunes
Radio, which now boasts 20 million
users after just one month
of existence. That builds
upon an initial, post-launch surge
of 11 million users, which turns
out to be more than just a
curiosity thing.
FTC
Clears Cumulus-Townsquare Deal
The
Federal Trade Commission has
granted approval and early
termination of the antitrust
review of CUMULUS MEDIA, INC.'s
sale of several stations to
TOWNSQUARE MEDIA, LLC.
Choosing
the Right Music Producer
For You
It
is one of the most important
decisions you will make when
it’s time to master and record
your music. Your producer is
responsible for how your final
record will sound so you need to
be on the same wavelength, and
be able to communicate
effectively.
It
is important to choose a
producer who will let you create
your own sound, not theirs so it
is important to be confident
about what you want and be clear
that it is very much your music.
Apple
Unveils New Macs, iPads, (Free)
Desktop Software
Apple
unveiled a new, thinner,
lighter tablet called the
"iPad Air" along
with a slew of new Macs
ahead of the holiday
shopping season as it
faces growing competition
from rival gadget makers.
SoundExchange
Turns Ten: From Humble Beginnings,
Half a Billion (From the Magazine)
Proof
of the record industry’s
life after near-death can
be seen in the trend of
payouts from SoundExchange,
the Washington D.C.-based
not-for-profit that
collects and distributes
digital performance
royalties from
noninteractive webcasters
and satellite and cable
radio broadcasters. From
almost nothing, new
digital platforms have
grown to become a vital
part of the new music
business.
Still
a Fad? Vinyl Sales Are Up 100% In
Britain
The vinyl
resurgence we’ve been
discussing isn’t just confined
to the US. In fact, the
explosion is even bigger in
Britain, at least on a percentage
basis.
The BPI,
which represent Britain’s
recorded music industry, has
announced that vinyl
sales in the UK are higher than
they’ve been in a decade.
YouTube
& Sweden's STIM Reach
'Milestone' Licensing Deal
Terms
weren’t disclosed on the
deal, which allows STIM
rightsholders and
affiliates to earn revenue
when their music is played
on YouTube.
Much
ado has been made in the
consumer press lately
about country music’s
female troubles. While
format insiders know this
is an issue that pops
up—to varying
degrees—about every five
years or so, critics have
been wound up over the
fact that country radio is
so light on women right
now, and particularly
female solo acts. But the
lack of females in country
music goes well beyond
artist rosters.
Brands
have long been
involved in the
music business.
Now there are new
digital products
that allow music
to enhance brand
advertising. The
kicker is they
could also help
time-starved
consumers discover
new music.
Twitter
to Trade on New York Stock
Exchange Not NASDAQ
The
New York Stock Exchange
has beaten its tech-heavy
rival in the quest for the
biggest stock debut of the
year. Twitter said Tuesday
it will list its shares on
the NYSE when the company
goes public later this
year, choosing it over the
traditionally
tech-friendly Nasdaq Stock
Exchange.
This
Google-Backed BitTorrent Service
is Sending Malware to Users
Using
a file-sharing service backed by
Google seems like a safe bet,
right? Maybe not.
Xunlei
is a BitTorrent service used
mainly in China. Google has
invested in it, and according to ESET it
is the most-used torrent client in
the world, with over 100
million different users.
The service has been spreading
malware to Windows and Android
users.
Country
Songwriters Find the Fast Track to
Radio in Technology
The
great songwriters in
country music history had
one very basic way to
create a song: Sit down
with a guitar, a pen and a
sheet of paper; find some
words or a melody; then
frame them with the right
chord structure. But just
as the rest of the culture
has gone tech crazy,
Nashville's songwriting
community has increasingly
turned to machinery to
create new songs, and it's
turned the process upside
down.
Online
Band Marketing &
Social Networking Crash Course
In
our current society we
are constantly glued to
our tech devices and
continuously downloading
massive amounts of data
through both our
personal computers and
mobile devices. In fact,
over 488 million people
use Facebook over a one
month span with numbers
growing everyday. With
evidence like this it is
no wonder that it is so
important for artists to
“put themselves out
there”. Gone are the
days of searching the
Yellow Pages for a phone
number, or buying a map
to plot a course for
vacation. These tasks
and more are easily and
efficiently carried out
over the internet.
TuneCore
Artists have earned a
third-of-a-billion dollars
in sales revenue since
launch in 2006, on more
than 4 billion cumulative
streams and download
units, Billboard can
reveal.
Viacom
International Media Networks
Partners With Twitter
Following
its debut in August, the
two companies will use the
Twitter Amplify platform
to set up international
social video advertising
campaigns around the
biggest programs and live
events across VIMN’s
platforms, kicking off
with the 2013 MTV EMA
show.
Digital
vs. Vinyl: Where It Makes A Difference
The
vinyl-or-digital debate rages on
and audiophiles of all stripes
have strong opinions on one side
or the other. Saying anything
almost feels like a reopening of
old wounds. Technically
speaking, sound engineers record
modern music in digital, so most
would say that digital playback
sounds exactly like they
engineered it. Since the early
1990s at the latest,
oversampling of the digital
stream has driven the difference
between an engineered, digital
recording and digital playback
far beyond the range of human
hearing.
Apps
Are The Future of Music
Applications
(more affectionately referred to
as apps) are the future of the
music industry. Notable failures
within the last few months, such
as Jay-z’s Samsung fiasco, are
just a few in a world of apps
that are helping to change the
music landscape. By taking into
account the changing
technological landscape, the
industry can take note and this
time around embrace technology
instead of trying to pummel it.
5
Ways to Make Money From YouTube
(From The Magazine)
The
following story is excerpted
from a special feature package
from the new
issue of Billboard
magazine entitled "YouTube
entitled "YouTube 3.0: Show
Me the Money." With the
ever expanding YouTube Economy
in 2013 expected to generate
$3.6 billion in revenue
(according to estimates from
Barclays) and major label ad
revenue this year more than
doubling, there is clearly a lot
of money to made from the
world's dominant music video
platform. Below are some tips on
how to increase your share of
the pie.
NARM
Renames Itself the Music Business
Association, Expands
The
National Association of Recording
Merchandisers (NARM), the trade
organization founded in 1958 which
represents music retailers,
distributors, and others involved
in the sale of music and related
merchandise, has announced it is
restructuring and renaming its
organization to more effectively
operate within the new realities
of the music business which have
emerged over the last decade.
SoundExchange
Distributes Record $153 Mil. in Q3
SoundExchange
set another record for
distributions in the third
quarter, sending $153.7 million to
record labels and artists in the
third quarter. The figure was
25.5% greater than the same period
last year and 74.7% above the $88
million distributed in the third
quarter of 2011.
Today's
Music Lyrics Influence
Skyrocketing Alcohol Abuse
Many
Of Today's Music Buyers Are
Influenced By The Lyrics
Mentioning Alcohol And Drinking.
As
reported by HealthDay (8/30), in
the news article, [Alcohol
Dominates in Pop Music Lyrics:
Study, many of today's music
buyers are influenced by the
lyrics mentioning alcohol and
drinking. In many instances, songs
are portraying excessive drinking
as as a fun while mentioning some
alcohol brands by name.
U.S.
Digital Track Sales Down 3.4% This
Year, Overall Album Sales Drop
6.1%
U.S.
digital sales continue to be under
pressure. In the third quarter,
the digital track sales decline
accelerated and now the slowdown
of digital album sales growth is
beginning to seep into red. For
the nine-month period digital
track sales are down 3.4% to 974.5
million from the slightly over 1
billion scans accumulated in the
corresponding period of 2012,
according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Rdio
Launches Free Internet Radio
Service for Mobile in North
America, Australia
Digital
music service Rdio is launching
its free Internet radio service in
the U.S., Canada and Australia on
Thursday. The move capitalizes on
Rdio's tie-up with traditional
radio station owner Cumulus Media
and helps it compete with digital
rivals Pandora and Spotify.
How
To Succeed In The Music Industry
On Your Terms
Disclaimer:
First of all, let me make this
clear. I’m not trying to say
that making it in the music
industry is easy, or that
everyone who reads this will
become a chart success. The aim
of this guide is to help you
define what success means for
you personally, and look at what
you’re willing to do to reach
your goals. I’ll also touch
briefly on creating a business
plan to achieving your goals and
more.
Why
Investors Aren't Piling Into Music
Complex
and costly music licensing,
coupled with the requirement for
most content business models to
scale up to massive communities,
keep investors away, Venture
capitalists said in a panel
entitled "Music Tech and
Money." Companies that sell
tools or services to artists are
also problematic because
"artists aren't the richest
people."
Evidence
of an Internet radio
battle will have to wait a
month. Pandora released
statistics for September
that show small, positive
gains in both listener
hours and monthly active
users. Apple's iTunes
Radio launched September
18th, giving the service
less than two weeks to
impact the Internet radio
leader.
How
Obamacare Could Impact The Touring
Biz
With
the so-called Obamacare law taking
effect Jan. 1, the live biz is
examining the impact on its many
part-time employees.
The
vast majority of employees on tour
aren't the responsibility of the
artist or the promoter/producer,
but rather the vendors contracted
to provide sound, lights, staging
and other services. Veteran music
business accountant Bill Zysblat,
who has run the books on some of
the biggest tours of all time,
says, "Very often the touring
company will not have enough
employees to comply."
New
Zealand Invents the 'Single Music
License' for ALL Performances
Enter
the country of New Zealand, which
is about to introduce a
reasonable, one-stop license for any
public performance of any
work, whether radio,
restaurant, publishing, or
recording. The 'Single Music
License,' created by local
licensing agencies APRA and PPNZ Music Licensing,
will be formally unveiled this
week.
Nielsen,
the global provider of
metrics and statistics on
consumers' cultural
consumption best known for
its television ratings,
has completed its
acquisition of Arbitron
Inc., the marketing and
media research firm best
known for its U.S. radio
ratings. The deal sees
Nielsen acquiring all
common stock of Arbitron,
priced at $48 per share,
in a deal totaling $1.3
billion.
Being
a Music Industry Professional
There
is no doubt about it, music is
fun- and it should be. For many,
however, music is work. For
these people music pays the
bills, supports their
livelihood, and puts food on
their table. For these
individuals who work in the
music industry whether it be as
performers, technicians, music
teachers, managers, journalists,
or marketers maintaining a level
of professionalism is essential.
Are
Radio Royalties Fair?
Digital
radio pays for the use of
both sound recordings and
musical works. The
fairness of the lack of a
broadcast radio
performance right for
sound recordings is a
subjective matter.
Opinions seem to be split
down party lines.
Internet
Radio Hits the Mainstream, Says
Survey
A
new study funded by three
leaders in music streaming
says Internet radio --
including on-demand
services -- is used by 53%
of online adults age 12
and over. "The New
Mainstream," the
study was presented
Tuesday at Advertising
Week by Larry Rosin, the
president of Edison
Research
The
13 Most Insidious, Pervasive Lies
of the Modern Music Industry
Lie
#1: Great music will naturally
find its audience. The
Lie: The greatest music
and artists will eventually
connect with their audiences,
naturally, thanks to a
perfectly-lubricated, social, and
borderless internet. Click
headline for all 13.
Study:
Online Music Sales in Russia to
Grow by 158 Percent in 2013
Legitimate
online music sales in
Russia are to more than
double this year, a local
research company says --
one of the main drivers
behind the growth is the
successful operation of
iTunes in the local
market.
Blue
Note and Panasonic Partner on
In-Car Audio (Exclusive)
September
26, 2013 9:00 AM EDT
Blue
Note Records has signed a
licensing partnership with
Panasonic to develop and
co-market a car audio
system that would be tuned
to the types of music
featured in Blue Note's
catalog, whose artists
range from Norah Jones and
Van Morrison to John
Coltrane and Thelonius
Monk.
This
year's NAB/RAB Radio Show
and RAIN Summit had their
share of "real radio
vs. Internet radio"
posturing, but following
the Cumulus purchase of
Rdio, those distinctions
seem to be further
breaking down. Now, just
unveiled research proves
that broadcast and
pure-plays don't exist in
a vacuum from each other.
And the debut of iTunes
Radio (which we share our
first impressions of) is
likely to further
complicate things.
Drug
references of all
kinds have been
creeping into
country songs in
recent months,
several of which
have become radio
hits in a genre
long held to more
stringent family
friendly
guidelines than
other formats.
Could the famed
“contemporary
community
standards” by
which radio
programmers base
content decisions
be shifting?
Tim
Westergren: "iTunes Radio
Will Only Have a Modest
Impact"
After
just three days, iTunes Radio has 11 million unique listeners.
After more than 8 years,
Pandora has 72 million active listeners.At the current
adoption rate, iTunes Radio will be just as big as Pandora
after one month.Pandora's shares just sank more than 10
percent.The iTunes Radio product, despite being just launched,
is already superior, with fewer and less intrusive ads, a
cleaner interface, broader recommendation options, and a far
better download integration.
Lawsuit,
Another Law Firm Probe Target Dial Global-Cumulus Deal
The
shareholder law firms are circling the $260 million
CUMULUS-DIAL GLOBAL/WESTWOODONE deal, with one lawsuit filed
and another firm announcing investigations of the deal for
breach of fiduciary duty. BRODSKY AND SMITH LLC, with named
plaintif
Zac
Brown, Kacey Musgraves on
Confronting Country Music’s
Image Problem
Like
every genre of music, country has
its fans and its detractors. But
when those detractors include some
of the format’s own hit-making
artists, country might well be
grappling with an image problem
even as it enjoys some of its
biggest successes in both radio
ratings, record sales, and touring
boxscores.
After
One Weekend, iTunes Radio Has 11
Million Users
If
Pandora isn't very, very afraid, they
should be. Because
after just three days on the
market, Apple is already catching
up. "Over 11
million unique listeners
have already tuned in to iTunes
Radio since launch with the most
listened to song being 'Hold On,
We’re Going Home' by Drake,"
Apple confirmed to Digital Music
News by email this morning.
BMI
Reports Record Annual Collections,
Distributions
BMI
reported its highest
collections in the year,
taking in $944 for the
year ended June 30, 2013.
That represented a 5%
increase over the nearly
$899 million collected in
the prior year.
Record
Companies Allowed to Pursue Vimeo
for Copyright Infringement
A
judge rules that there's a
"triable issue"
as to whether the popular
UGC site had knowledge or
awareness of copyrighted
music in some of the
videos being shared.
Recording
Industry Takes Anti-Piracy Cause
to Capitol Hill
As
private talks between
entertainment executives
and Google on anti-piracy
efforts have failed to
produce a solution, the
Recording Industry
Association of America and
the Motion Picture
Association of America
made their case yesterday
in hearing rooms on
Capitol Hill and in press
conferences while Google
declined to comment.
What
Google Trends Says About Spotify,
Deezer, iTunes and the State of
Digital Music
Google
Trends shows what we already know:
subscription services are
increasingly popular while
interest in paid downloads has
peaked. But Google Trends, a
Google service that graphs the
frequency of search terms, also
shows the popularity of music
services in relation to one
another.
Pandora/ASCAP
Ruling: Judge to Sony/ATV, UMPG,
Others – You’re Either 'All
In' or 'All Out' (Analysis)
The
ruling
by the ASCAP rate
court
handed down on late Sept.
17 says the performance rights
organization blanket license must
include all of its repertoire,
including the songs of the
publishers trying to withdraw the
digital rights. But the ruling has
broad implications beyond the
Pandora dispute.
Apple
iTunes Radio’s Promise Vs. Its
Delivery: A Report Card
iTunes
Radio, after much chatter and
speculation, has finally gone live
as a feature in Apple Inc.’s new
iOS 7 operating system, which also
featured a new configuration of
iTunes itself.
Pandora,
Slacker Up Their Game on Day of
iTunes Radio Launch
Pandora
and Slacker both announced
new features to their
services Wednesday, the
same day that Apple is
scheduled to press play on
its iTunes Radio service
as part of the release of
its iOS 7 operating
system. With Apple now
entering the fray, all
players in the field are
working hard to up their
game.
Pandora
Prevails In ASCAP Rate Court Case
The
New York ASCAP rate court has come
down in favor of Pandora in a
ruling that says that the
performance right organization
blanket license has to include all
of its repertoire.
That
means that the all the publishers
who have pulled their digital
rights from the performance rights
organizaton--i.e., Sony/ATV, EMI,
Universal Music Group, and
BMG--will in fact be licensed
through the ASCAP license and
their separate deals are not in
effect, until the Pandora license
ends on Dec, 31, 2015.
How
Private Copyright Deals Are
Cutting Artists Out
In
June 2012, DMN reported a new,
private licensing deal between
Clear Channel and Big Machine.
That deal shook up the industry by
doing two significant and
unprecedented things: first, it
circumvented the statutory
license, and SoundExchange, for
the first time ever. Second,
it established a terrestrial
performance right – a right that
not only doesn't exist under the
current copyright laws, but which
has been hotly contested in the
music industry for decades.
Why
Target, Whole Foods Are Making a
Play For Vinyl
Vinyl
is no longer a nostalgic
souvenir of times past.
With sales up more than
30% this year, major
retail chains like Whole
Foods and Target are
entering the market—and
one of the most
established independent
players in Newbury Comics
is upping its bet
Rdio
Partners With Cumulus Media
On-demand
music service Rdio and broadcast
radio network Cumulus Media have
entered into a partnership that
will provide Rdio reach and
resources and give Cumulus an
additional online platform for its
content.
Pandora
Media to Issue New Stock,
Crosslink Capital to Sell Some
Holdings
Pandora
said Monday it will issue
new shares in a move that
could raise three times as
much investor cash as its
initial public offering
two years ago. The
offering will be for 10
million shares, plus an
extra allotment of 2.1
million shares if there is
excess demand. Its largest
stockholder, Crosslink
Capital Inc., will also
sell another 4 million
shares, reducing its stake
from 16.5 percent to 13.4
percent.
What
Google Trends Says About Spotify,
Deezer, iTunes and the State of
Digital Music
In
addition to showing what
we already know --
subscription services are
increasingly popular while
interest in paid downloads
has peaked -- Google
Trends, a service that
graphs the frequency of
search terms, also shows
the popularity of music
services in relation to
one another
Audiosocket
Aims to Reduce YouTube Copyright
Conflicts
Audiosocket,
a music licensing company,
has signed a deal to
provide SourceAudio with a
new fingerprinting
technology aimed at
reducing the growing
number of conflicts over
copyright ownership on
YouTube. The conflicts
have been characterized as
inadvertant at best and,
at worst, a land grab as
copyright owners rush to
capture a piece of
YouTube's rapidly growing
revenue pool.
Twitter
Files For IPO
In
a Tweet (what else?), the Silicon
Valley micro-blogging service said
it had filed papers with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission
outlining a proposal to sell
shares in the company on the open
market. Those looking for details
of its planned offering will be
disapponted as the documents were
submitted
"confidentially," the
company said.
New
Pandora CEO Faces Royalty Fight
with Artists
One
of the biggest challenges
facing Brian McAndrews,
the new CEO of Pandora,
will be renegotiating the
royalty rates the Internet
radio giant pays to the
music industry. If Pandora
does not come out on top,
the outcome could hinder
the company's ability to
compete with services like
Apple's iTunes Radio,
which launches next week.
Judge
May Ask DOJ to Weigh In on
Pandora-ASCAP Case
The
ongoing Pandora vs. ASCAP
batttle may be growing
more complicated, with
Judge Denise Cote
potentially asking the US
Department of Justice for
input.
Vivendi
Split Could Have Little Impact On
Universal Music (Analysis)
While
shareholders and the
business media regard as
big news the Vivendi
announcement that it will
study a demerger plan and
that activist shareholder
Vincent Bollore has been
appointed vice chairman of
the company's supervisory
board, the moves are
expected to have little
impact on the Universal
Music Group.
Sony,
Universal, Warner, ABKCO File
Copyright Lawsuit Against SiriusXM
As
expected, Sony Music
Entertainment, UMG
Recordings, Warner Music
Group and ABKCO have filed
suit against SiriusXM for
allegedly continuing to
ignore state copyright
laws and refusing to pay
artist performance
royalties for pre-1972
music it broadcasts.
APPLE
DEBUTS UPGRADED IPHONE 5S, LOWER
COST 5C
For the first time since
introducing the device that
changed cellphones forever, Apple
will offer two distinct versions
of the latest iPhones - a cheaper
iPhone 5C made of plastic that
will start at $99; and the iPhone
5S that aims to be "the gold
standard of smartphones."
Universal
Music has launched
uDiscover Spotify app,
which tailors its
playlists to users' own
Spotify histories.
Additionally, uDiscover
offers editorial content,
some of which has never
been released from the
Universal archives.
Michael
O’Neill Named Chief Executive
Officer of BMI
Broadcast
Music, Inc. today announced that
the BMI Board of Directors has
unanimously elected Michael
O’Neill as Chief Executive
Officer effective September 16,
2013. O'Neill will also become a
member of the Board. O’Neill
succeeds BMI’s current President
and CEO, Del Bryant, who announced
his desire to step down earlier
this year after almost 42 years of
continuous service to the company.
O’Neill will assume the title of
President upon Bryant’s
retirement in June 2014.
7
Music Marketing Truths ALL
Musicians Should Know
Ever
wondered why some super talented
musicians don’t get the
fanbase and recognition they
‘deserve’, while other not
as talented musicians get a lot
more exposure and seen in all
the right places? Well while
there could be a number of
different reasons for this, one
of the most common is that
successful person’s ability to
handle the business side of the
music industry. More
specifically, they probably know
how to market themselves well.
Spotify
Is Now Asking Investors for More
Cash, Swedish Paper Reports
There's
a simple reason why this is
happening, of course: Spotify is
burning a ton of cash at an
extremely aggressive and probably
unsustainable rate.
According to recently-released
financial statements, the company
has burned through than $206
million since 2008 alone, which
doesn't even count 2013. Total
financing, since inception, is
'just' $288 million, according to
Crunchbase.
Biz
Stock Ticks: This Week's
Entertainment Indices 8/31 - 9/6
Biz
Stock Ticks looks at
publicly traded
entertainment stock prices
over the last week by
Apple, Best Buy, Facebook,
Google, Live Nation,
Pandora, Sony, Sirius and
Sony. Below each 5-day
stock graph are relevant
.Biz news stories from
this past week.
Nearly
all companies must
eventually embrace
innovation or risk injury.
As the music business
follows consumers' shift
to streaming media, Apple
will eventually abandon
part of what made it
successful. iTunes Radio,
expected to launch
Tuesday, is the first step
away from Apple's music
download business and
toward a future of
streaming -- but there are
risks involved known as
the innovator's dilemma.
Spotify,
the world's
largest music
subscription
company, is
seeking cash to
help fuel its
global growth and
seeking debt
financing at a
$5.27 billion
valuation,
acording to a
report at Swedish
news outlet Dagens
Industri.
Pandora
managed to boost its
listener numbers last
month despite rising
competition for online
music lovers. Total
listener hours rose 16
percent in August from the
same month a year ago and
were up five percent from
July.
BitTorrent
Is Not a Crime: Once a Pariah, Now
Providing Distribution & Data
for Music, Movies & TV
The
entertainment world's fear
and loathing of BitTorrent
has, lately, started to
give way to a more
pragmatic attitude --
something along the lines
of, "If you can't
beat them, at least learn
how to leverage
them." The shift from
pariah to potential
partner comes as the
result of BitTorrent's
efforts to reach out to
media companies and
deliver tangible data
results -- email
addresses, awareness,
traffic and, eventually,
sales.
Super
D has acquired
Alliance
Entertainment in a
move that will
create the second
largest U.S.
wholesaler with
revenues of about
$920 million,
sources say.
Billboard
estimates that the
combined company
will have music
sales of about
$450 million, and
a combined market
share of 6.64%,
making it the
fourth largest
music account in
the U.S. behind
Itunes, Anderson
Merchandisers and
Amazon.
Pandora
managed to boost its
listener numbers last
month despite rising
competition for online
music lovers. Total
listener hours rose 16
percent in August from the
same month a year ago and
were up five percent from
July.
SiriusXM
Hit With Fourth $100 Million
Lawsuit In Past Month
The
satellite radio giant is
dealing with an escalating
situation over sound
recordings made before
1972.
Warner
Music Aims to Keep 'Happy
Birthday' Away From Public Domain
The
music publisher points out
some key flaws in a
lawsuit that looks to
establish that "Happy
Birthday" belongs to
all.
Rdio
CEO Drew Larner
made an
interesting
statement that
gives a rare
glimpse into a
company's internal
dialogue after
recently telling
NPR that the
service would
"absolutely
be
profitable"
when it achieves
"real
scale" of 25
million to 30
million
subscribers. His
statement gets to
the heart of the
subscription
model: the
business model
won't have
middling
successes.
Subscription
services will win
big or go home (or
be acquired on the
cheap).
How
To Make A Music Website Like Ed
Sheeran
Hey
guys, today I’m going to show
you how to make a top music
website which will allow you to
better turn visitors into fans,
capture their details for future
contact, and effectively make
more money from your music
career. I’ve already show you how
to set your site up from scratch,
so I won’t be talking about
that again (use that guide if
you haven’t already got a
music website). What I didn’t
cover in that guide however, is
how to structure your site to
make the most of your visitors.
George
Strait To Announce Final Tour
Dates On Sept. 9
George
Strait will announce the
final leg of The Cowboy Rides
Away Tour on Monday, Sept. 9
during a live press conference
from the AT&T Stadium (home of
the Dallas Cowboys).
Microsoft
Buying Nokia Devices and Services
Unit For $7.2 Billion
Microsoft
Corp. is buying Nokia
Corp.'s devices and services
business, and getting access
to the company's patents,
for a total of $7.2 billion
in an effort to expand its
share of the smartphone
market, the companies
announced late Monday.
Foreign
Musicians Touring in Canadian Live
Venues Face New Application Fee
Club
and bar owners fear the $275
"processing"
charge to enter the country
will limit the number of
international artists
performing here.
Cumulus
Media, America's
second-largest operator of
radio stations, announced it
will acquire Dial Global,
one of the largest
syndicators of radio
programming.
Country
Music: America’s Labor Party
(feat. Spotify Playlist)
When
Labor Day arrives Sept. 2,
it represents a break in the
repetition of the everyday
lives of working-class
Americans. That repetition
is reflected in country
music, with its frequent
celebration of blue-collar
vocations, but even in the
occasional repetition of the
word “work” itself. Tom
Roland takes a look at the
many ways country artists
approach the topic of the
daily grind.
Apple
E-Book Ruling Won't Cover Music
Downloads
"I
want this injunction to rest
as lightly as possible on
how Apple runs its
business," Judge Cote
said, according to the Wall
Street Journal. "I want
Apple to have the
flexibility to
innovate."
SoundExchange
Sues SiriusXM Radio Over Royalty
Calculations
SoundExchange
has filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM
Radio that contends SiriusXM
"systematically underpaid"
royalties from 2007 to 2011. The
complaint was filed on Monday (Aug.
26) in the U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia.
SoundExchange seeks compensatory
damages of $50 million to $100
million or more, plus late fees and
interest.
Cumulus,
Dial Global And Townsquare Set To
Pull Off The Deal Of The Year?
In
multiple moves that would reshape
the industry, several sources are
telling ALL ACCESS that a major deal
is brewing between CUMULUS, DIAL
GLOBAL and TOWNSQUARE MEDIA. If all
the pieces fall together, CUMULUS
would acquire DIAL GLOBAL, merging
it
Fonts
and Branding: How Typography Affects
Your Identity in the Music Industry
Typography
plays a key psychological role in
how people view your music. If you
want to attract new fans and
retain loyal ones, it’s
important to consider your visual
representation in print, online
and everywhere in between. A
picture says a thousand words, but
people spend an extraordinary
amount of time reading text.
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