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YouTube Is Actually Bigger Than Any Network
January 27, 2012
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"The jump in video views comes as Google pushes YouTube beyond the personal computer, with versions of the site that work on smartphones and televisions, and as the company steps up efforts to offer more professional-grade content on the site,"
-- Reuters reportsThough TV will be everywhere on iPads, mobile phones, PCs, and more, the latest stats on YouTube should get the attention of all the major TV networks.
It's amazing how many hours we can spend watching what we want, when we want, and how we want (on our mobile phones, PCs, laptops, iPads, etc.) on YouTube.
How about this statistic: YouTube is now streaming 4 billion online videos daily -- a 25% increase in the past eight months, Google tells Reuters. (That's BILLION, folks.)
Writes The Verge: "The growth of YouTube can be attributed to a number of factors, including the popularity of Android in the mobile space and a recent redesign of the web client."
According to Google, roughly 60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute, compared with the 48 hours of video uploaded per minute in May.
"The last time YouTube released this data was in May 2011, when the company was celebrating its sixth birthday," TechCrunch points out. "At the time, YouTube was seeing 3 billion views per day, an increase of 50% over the past 12 months."
"Still," as Verge adds: "It's not a foregone conclusion that the insatiable appetite for Web video would all go Google's way -- there are plenty of competing streaming services now -- so the company must be doing something right to not only retain but expand its massive following."
Read more here: http://tiny.cc/hpb0u
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
TIMELINE IS COMING TO YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE, LIKE IT OR NOT
Like it or not, Facebook is rolling out its Open Graph-focused site design to all users in the next few weeks.
Read about it here: http://tiny.cc/t8qwk
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
DIDDY DOES MUSIC TV
Sean "Diddy" Combs is planning to launch a "well-funded" music and music news cable network in December, according to "three sources" cited by reporter Michael Malone.
Titled "Revolt," the channel will have an "urban" skew, like the early MTV, "but for more of the African-American audience," as described by one of those sources.
Read the rest here: http://tiny.cc/wbih2
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
GUVERA WANTS TO REVOLUTIONIZE ONLINE MUSIC WITH BRANDS
From MediaPost: Free, ad-supported, licensed music streaming and download service Guvera Entertainment has unveiled My Soundtrack, a new Facebook app enabling brands to "boost their social marketing efforts" by promoting a personalized playlist directly on their Facebook page.
Sound like Spotify? It's not. Guvera is focused on using the impressive music catalogue it has licensed from labels such as EMI, Universal Music Group and Sony, to be a conduit directly for brands. In effect, he says, brands can use Guvera's platform to provide private-label free music streaming and download services directly to consumers who interface directly with the brand.
Read the rest here: http://tiny.cc/ci84h
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
IFPI'S NEW DIGITAL MUSIC REPORT AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AND FULL OF GREAT INFO
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide, has released its 2012 Digital Music Report.
Digital music revenues to record companies grew by 8% globally in 2011 to an estimated $5.2 billion. This compares to growth of 5% in 2010 and represents the first time the year-on-year growth rate has increased since IFPI started measuring digital revenues in 2004.
IFPI'S CEO Frances Moore notes, "Meanwhile momentum is building in the fight against piracy as governments and a growing circle of intermediaries engage with our industry. Any complacency now, however, would be a great mistake. Our digital business is progressing in spite of the environment in which it operates, not because of it. In 2012 the momentum needs to build further. We need legislation from governments with coordinated measures that deal with piracy effectively and in all its forms. We also need more cooperation from online intermediaries such as search engines and advertisers to support the legal digital music business."
Read more and download the report here: http://tiny.cc/yi83l
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES: HOW THE U.S. LOST OUT ON GETTING iPHONE WORK
Steve Jobs allegedly told President Obama(in reference to Apple's outsourcing work to China) "Those jobs aren't coming back,"
Read the story here: http://tiny.cc/sum0i
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 7
FROM BILLBOARD: JIM MORRISON WOULD LOVE SKILLREX+THE DOORS, SEZ RAY MANZAREK
As the Doors begin The Year of the Doors with a 40th anniversary release of "L.A. Woman" and an accompanying documentary, keyboardist Ray Manzarek says "Breakin' a Sweat" is the surviving group members' collaboration with Skrillex for the upcoming Re:Generation Music Project film, which debuts in theaters Feb. 16th.
Manzarek says the session "kicked me in the ass" and tells Billboard.com that it also inspired a few ideas for more Doors involvement in the electronic music realm.
Read about it on Billboard here: http://tiny.cc/8l8lv
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 8
APPLE TEXTBOOK SALES ARE STRONG ... TABLETS SURGE DURING HOLIDAYS
Off to a promising start, consumers have downloaded more than 350,000 textbooks in the three days since Apple debuted its education initiative. That's according to Global Equities Research, which also found that some 90,000 users downloaded the Apple's ebook authoring software, iBooks Author. Apple unveiled the "Textbook" category in its iBooks app last week, originally offering two textbooks from partners McGraw- Hill, Pearson and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, priced at $14.99 or less.
"Apple's ambitions, however, go far beyond these two books," writes Mashable. "With iBooks Author it aims to make it easy for everyone to create an ebook or a textbook containing not only text but also rich multimedia and 3D content." Without vouching for the initial sales figures, Mashable adds that they're "a good sign for Apple's textbook business." While it still has a long way to go, Apple is in a position to permanently change the face of education. "With its textbook initiative and partnerships with key publishers, Apple plans to make the iPad a primary education tool and corner the textbook market."
Read more on Mashable here: http://tiny.cc/i8nd1
AND...
From MediaPost: The share of U.S. adults who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% during the holiday season, fueled in part by the launch of less expensive devices, like the Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet. The proportion of Americans with either type of device climbed 29%.
Read more here: http://tiny.cc/u1p0e
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 9
APPLE'S SUCCESS CONTINUES TO REACH NEW HEIGHTS
Even without the iPhone 5 -- or thriving TV and mobile ad strategies -- Apple's sustained success continues to amaze.
"There are plenty of impressive stats in Apple's December quarter earnings report, such as 37 million iPhones shipped, $46 billion of overall sales, and $13 billion of profit," reports ReadWriteWeb. "But Apple's most impressive stat continues to be its growth rate."
"It turns out Apple didn't need an iPhone 5 to bolster sales," remarks The New York Times. Indeed, "any notions that Apple's iPhone 4S was a lame duck were erased with Apple's quarterly earning," writes CNet.
"It almost defies words in terms of the strength across all products," Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, tells NYT. "Everything about it eclipsed even the wildest expectations of analysts."
Read more here: http://tiny.cc/kva1f
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THE 'A-SIDE' - BONUS TRACKS
* The Walkman Z portable media player emphasizes music as the killer mobile app, integrating Sony's Music Unlimited service, high-quality headphones and unmatched audio enhancement software, but it's pricey. You can check it out here: http://tiny.cc/spufd
* Are you in the market for a new laptop? Here's CNET's choice for the Top-5: http://tiny.cc/oi7xe
* If you're a car fanatic, check out the latest from the 2012 Detroit AutoShow here: http://tiny.cc/9bt0f
Short News Items ...
ARETHA CALLS IT OFF:
Aretha Franklin has called off her engagement to William "Willie" Wickerson only three weeks after announcing their plans to wed.
BLACKBERRY WOES MEAN CHANGES AT TOP:
The co-CEOs of RIM (Blackberry;s maker) Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis resigned their positions this week. Over the past year, the beleaguered company has seen its market share erode and stock price plunge after several critical miscues -- in that time, the stock has lost more than three-quarters of its market value, prompting growing shareholder criticism and calls for a change in management.
HERE COMES "THE BOSS:"
Bruce Springsteen has announced his 2012 dates for U.S. shows. Check them out here: http://tiny.cc/2dh8j
FROM POTTER TO GINSBURG:
Daniel Radcliffe will portray Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in an indie film about a real-life murder mystery involving several of the founding Beat writers. Kill Your Darlings tells the story of a murder committed by Lucien Carr - a friend of Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs - in New York in 1944.
RICHIE ROOTS:
Lionel Richie will go back to his roots in Alabama with Tuskegee, a new album due March 27th that will reprise 13 of the singer's biggest hits in duets with Country stars including Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and more.
NEIL YOUNG NEWS:
Neil Young is recording a new album with Crazy Horse, the band that backed back him on many of his greatest albums, including Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, Rust Never Sleeps and Ragged Glory.
DAVIS STAMPED:
Miles Davis is being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with his very own stamp. This year, the Kind of Blue trumpeter will be immortalized in a collection of musically-themed stamps that will also honor the singer Edith Piaf
HAGGARD RECUPERATING:
Country legend Merle Haggard is recovering from pneumonia at a hospital in Georgia, according to the singer's spokeswoman.
ACM NOMINEES:
Kenny Chesney is the top nominee at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, with nine nods including Entertain of the Year. Jason Aldean is the second most-nominated artist and Lady Antebellum is just behind Aldean with five nominations, including Vocal Group of the Year. Taylor Swift leads in the female categories with three nominations overall.
NE-YO JOINS MOTOWN:
Ne-Yo has signed a deal to bring is Compound Entertainment imprint to Motown Records, where he will release music and serve as the company's SVP of A&R.
SIMON AND WILL PARTNER:
Simon Cowell is apparently ready to find the next Skrillex. The music mogul's Syco Entertainment has announced a partnership with Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith's Overbrook Entertainment to develop a live, international TV show dedicated to finding the world's next great DJ. Syco, Overbrook and Sony Pictures Television will soon unveil their U.S. and U.K. broadcast partners for the project.
ADELE SETS ANOTHER RECORD:
This week Adele's "21" album hits its 17th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. "21" has been No. 1 longer than any other album since "The Bodyguard" soundtrack wrapped a 20-week run at No. 1 on the chart dated May 29, 1993.
DIVORCE COURT:
1) Heidi Klum and Seal; 2) Jazz musician Kenny G. and wife Balynda "Lyndie" Benson-Gorelick are splitting up after 20 years of marriage.
The Music Industry Past, Present & Future, And The Internet I answer questions on EconTalk
I did an interview about the industry and the Internet at EconTalk with host Russ Roberts. Russ is also a professor of economics at George Mason University, blogs at Cafe Hayek, and has written three novels that teach economics. He's also the co-creator of the Keynes-Hayek rap video. (And if your understanding of the economic meltdown that occurred needs to be enlightened, this video will do it)
In the interview we talk about the evolution of the music industry, the impact of the digital revolution, and I give my reasons for believing in the virtues and potential of the Internet in enhancing the music industry. I point out, as I have many times here in the newsletter, that the internet allows numerous artists to make money from their music and it can enhance revenues from live performances by expanding an artist's base. We also discuss the challenges facing record companies and I suggest that the full potential of the Internet as a distribution channel has yet to be fully exploited. There's a lot of ground covered, but based on the comments already posted of those who have tuned in, they've enjoyed it.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Quotes of the week
"Will and I have decided we were moving a little too fast, and there were a number of things that had not been thought through thoroughly. There will be no wedding at this time."
-- Aretha Framklin in US Weekly in a statement. (Translation: Will didn't know there was a pre-nup and bowed out)"We went into 2011 thinking: 'It's all going to be easy' - and of course it wasn't, it was a massive wake-up call."
-- Simon Cowell, commenting on his bigger expectations for the 'X-Factor' when it launched here"So, my advice is you can't make a ho a housewife. Don't try to reinvent the wheel."
-- Snoop Dogg in a new video 'She's Coldbooded' about Kim Kardashian
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Tyler Perry Expands His Fan Base With New Films About Sassy, Chinese Grandmother
Tyler Perry has signed a $50 million deal to expand his franchise to include films targeted at the world's 1.4 billion Chinese moviegoers.
Read the rest here and laugh: Click Here.
The Blogs
Check out Jerry Del Colliano's (the founder of INSIDE RADIO) daily blog, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.comWebsite
Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities
Smart Marketing Consulting Services
Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.
"And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ... drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain."
"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon
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