-
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (Again)
June 15, 2012
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
"Hey Bungalow Bill, What did you kill, Bungalow Bill?"
-- Lennon/McCartney "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill"Four years ago, back in 2008, I wrote the first article with the same title above.
Back then I wrote the following, "'Bungalow Bill,' in this case, is the RIAA and the labels. Although I realize I do take a whole lot of poetic license using it that way. After all, the "Bungalow Bill" The Beatles sang about was fighting tigers in the jungle, while this Bungalow Bill fights tigers in cyberspace and elsewhere. Still, both "Bills" were laughable in their attempts at hunting down their prey."
It's now four years later, and despite all the RIAA spin and stats that declare victory over online piracy, illegal file-sharing, etc., as any of you with children know, it's still going in in every bedroom, every college dorm room, and elsewhere.
Bungalow Bill's lawyers did get rid of LimeWire and some other P2P websites, and they declared these as major victories. They had to, after all the millions they spent in legal fees, right?
But, as I have said repeatedly, all the RIAA's lawyers and all their men won't stop people who want to download songs illegally, from continuing to do so via Intranets, "darknets," and all the P2P websites that still exist all over the globe that people find virally.
This week I read another comical "memo" from the RIAA in response to a common-sense article posted in The Wrap by Michael Stroud, titled "Memo to the RIAA: You're Suing The Wrong Party For Piracy,' that says what I've been saying for years, "Congratulations, Recording Industry Association of America, for prevailing in a court case that will do nothing to stop piracy and continue to turn the public against you." (Read the article here: http://tinyurl.com/7utx237 )
Ms. Cara Duckworth, VP/Communications for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade organization that allegedly represents the major music labels, says in her response, "We're an industry that's half the size it was a decade ago, both in dollars and in jobs. We don't claim piracy to be the only catalyst for that decline, but it was the primary driver behind it." (You can read her "memo" here: http://tinyurl.com/6uydjfq )
If indeed piracy was "the primary driver behind it," Ms. Duckworth, then what has the RIAA done during the past decade to assist the industry will survive in a healthier state in the future, besides suing people and getting rid of Limewire, et al? Oh yeah, I forgot about the millions spent on lobbyists to wine and dine our politicians in hopes of getting them to pass legislation that you believe will stop piracy even more. Of course we all know what that will accomplish, right?
Zip. Zilch. Zero.
Ms. Duckworth also writes, "We undertook the end user lawsuit campaign knowing it would not be popular, but with the full realization and understanding that in order for this aforementioned thriving legal marketplace to happen, a good dose of enforcement needed to take place so fans knew the wrong and right ways to get music online. The vast majority of end users took responsibility for their illegal actions."
Really? And what did their taking that responsibility accomplish?
Zip. Zilch. Zero.
I closed my original article back in 2008 with this:
"It's been said that "More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause."
How very true ... and isn't it sad?"
How VERY true and sad it is four years later.
-------------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
ELVIS, HENDRIX, AND JIM MORRISON ARE BEING BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE ... SORT OF
From Billboard comes the news that "The King may have left the building, but a virtually resurrected Elvis Presley will soon return to a concert venue near you.
With estates of deceased musical acts exploring the revenue possibilities of virtual live performances, the visual effects company that created the Tupac Shakur "hologram" seen at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is leading the charge. The company, Digital Domain Media Group, recently signed an exclusive deal with Core Media Group (formerly CKx) to jointly produce a series of "virtual" Elvis likenesses for various entertainment projects."
And Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison aren't far behind.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/7bosww8
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
CHECK OUT THE '10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE BEATLES' MUSIC'
Scott Friedman, a Beatle-phile, composer and engineer, who has lectured on the Fab Four and put together a list of 10 things most people don't know about their music.
Why he didn't list the fact that only John and Paul play on "The Ballad Of John and Yoko," and Paul plays drums as well as bass on that track, I have no idea.
Check out the list here: http://tinyurl.com/7q4lvsp
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
TV ERODES AS PRIMARY VIEWING SOURCE
With tablets exploding, laptops out in big numbers, our desktop PCs, and smartphones growing in numbers every month, it's no surprise that we are spending less time in front of our televisions.
From MediaPost: "TV is still the media elephant in U.S. living rooms, but the way Americans watch television and other forms of video programming is changing so rapidly that a top Nielsen executive says the media ratings giant has begun working with its clients to "redefine" the very nature of the households it measures. The reason, Pat McDonough, senior vice president-insight and analytics at Nielsen, said Monday during the opening session of the Advertising Research Foundation's annual Audience Measurement conference in New York, is that Americans increasingly are accessing video programming from non-traditional devices and in non-traditional ways.
"Screen-shifting happens," quipped McDonough, adding that in the current environment, new issues are arising for U.S. households, such as "How good is your router?" By that, McDonough was referring to household wi-fi routers, which are the means many homes utilize to get broadband access for a variety of "connected devices," including portable gadgets like computers, tablets and smartphones, or even connected TV devices such as video game consoles or dedicated TV Internet access hardware."
Read the full article on MediaPost here: http://tinyurl.com/76jc5p4
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
RHINO'S SINGLE NOTES
Warner Music Group subsidiary Rhino, partially addressing digital music's lack of liner notes, just launched a series of short ebooks under the imprint Single Notes.
Check them out here: http://tinyurl.com/76fpl22
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
TABLETS IN THE U.S. REACH CRITICAL MASS
Nearly one in four smartphone owners also make use of tablet computers, according to data from the market researcher ComSscore.
"Tablet use among smartphone owners has more than doubled in the past year, going from 9.7% last year to 23.6% this year, ComScore found. By comparison, only 10.4% of feature phone owners also use a tablet, "suggesting that smartphone ownership is highly predictive of tablet adoption in the current market," comScore said."
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/729be6t
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 7
CONGRESS DRAFTS "DIGITAL BILL OF RIGHTS"
To prevent laws like SOPA and CISPA from over-regulating the Web, some industrious U.S. Congressmen have started work on a crowd-sourced digital bill of rights. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) have created a Web site called keeptheweb#open, where everyone is encouraged to contribute.
"In its current from, the digital bill of rights would mandate first and foremost that 'digital citizens have a right to a free, uncensored Internet," The Verge reports. The second item on the list says that "digital citizens have a right to an open, unobstructed Internet," which, as The Verge notes, reads very similarly to the first rule. "In fact, limited government regulation of the Internet is a common theme across most items in the legislation."
Unfortunately, the bill of rights doesn't include specific legal language that would protect copyright owners, i.e., the central issue that SOPA intended to address. Instead, the bill puts forth that: "Digital citizens have a right to benefit from what they create, and be secure in their intellectual property on the internet." As The Verge points out, "This statement doesn't address how copyright infringement will be enforced or prevented -- both of which are crucial elements needed to satisfy the enormous influence of commercial entities."
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/7dppuvb
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 8
ROLLING STONE ASKS, 'IS ADELE'S' '21' THIS GENERATION'S 'JAGGED LITTLE PILL'?
On the anniversary of Alanis Morissette's breakthrough, a look at the evolution of breakup blockbusters.
"Armed with her single 'You Oughta Know,' Alanis Morissette had a goal in mind: to remind an ex-lover of the mess he left when he went away. With 14.7 million copies sold of 'Jagged Little Pill', her U.S. debut released 17 years ago today, 21-year-old Morissette made her point loud and clear. Sixteen years later, another 21-year-old foreign singer with a funky A-name made the same point -- just in a different tone of voice."
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/cwf5b2y
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 9
PAPER RE-INVENTED AND RE-IMAGINED
What's next in the future of media?
How about "the re-invention of paper. That's right, paper," writes Tom Glocer.
He sees "lightweight digital plastic sheets becoming the new print medium," with "your daily newspaper downloaded overnight to your 'digital paper.'" After all, "what we call paper today has evolved over centuries from stretched animal skins to papyrus to wood paper pulp." Interesting post.
Read the rest here on The Economist: http://tinyurl.com/7e9go7y
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 10
AMAZON LOADS ITS GUNS WITH MGM CLASSIC FILMS
Gunning for content-rich rivals like Netflix, Amazon just reached a major licensing deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
Among hundreds of other classic films and TV shows dating back to the '80s, Amazon can now lure potential video-on-demand subscribers with "The Terminator," "Rain Man" and "The Silence of the Lambs." ...Read the whole story
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/6r6ub7n
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - BONUS TRACKS
* After the LinkedIn fiasco, here's how to protect your password from hacks: http://tinyurl.com/7zr7rg8
* For under $10, you'll be hard-pressed to find in-ear headphones that sound better and are more comfortable than the Panasonic ErgoFit RP-HJE120s. Check them out here: http://tinyurl.com/7kvqe66
* In its most exciting news, Apple unveils a new laptop to sit at the high end of the line. CNET gets up close and personal with the 15-incher, boasting a new power cord and an HDMI out, here: http://tinyurl.com/877nx7q
* The Berklee School Of Music wanted to share some brand-new Ableton Live video tutorials featuring instructor Loudon Stearns. These in-depth videos illustrate some of the key features of Ableton's powerful software, such as key mapping, signal flow, warping, and more. Check them out here: http://tinyurl.com/6ml64qp
Short News Items ...
ADELE FACTOID:
Adele's "21"album, on its way to 10 million sold here in the U.S., now ties with the soundtracks to "Purple Rain" and "Saturday Night Fever." As of this week, "21" equals the two soundtracks' 24-week runs at No. 1, as Adele's smash album returns to the top of the Billboard 200 chart. "21" has never left the top 10 in its entire 68-week chart run, dropping only as low as No. 7 on the Dec. 10th, 2011, chart. It debuted at # 1 on the March 12th, 2011, chart.
BEACH BOYS FACTOID:
Believe it or not, the Beach Boys' "That's Why God Made the Radio" is their first album to debut in the Top 10 ever. The Beach Boys' stretch between their first week in the Billboard 200 top 10 to their most recent is now the longest among groups, passing the Beatles, whose top-10 span covers 47 years, seven months and three weeks. The Beatles first entered the top bracket when 'Meet the Beatles' rocketed 92-3 on the Feb. 8th, 1964, chart at the blast-off of Beatlemania. The group most recently appeared in the top 10 with '1' the week of Oct. 1st, 2011.
OH, C'MON LADY, IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO?:
Madonna, as we all know, has extended her career many times via controversy. (Remember the book of nudes she did?) A video has sprung up all over the Internet from her concert in Instanbul where she decided to show a nipple to her audience. It looks pretty pathetic, but that wasn't enough. After flashing her nipple in Turkey, Madonna continued to strip down on the latest stop of her body part peep show tour by showing off her mother-of-four butt in Italy on Tuesday.
RINGO'S BIRTHPLACE SAVED:
Ringo Starr's birthplace in Liverpool has been saved from the threat of demolition, the Telegraph reports. The house, a run-down three-bedroom Victorian terrace, was one of 400 buildings marked for demolition in the Dingle area of Liverpool, but Beatles fans and city residents have successfully lobbied to save the house, along with 15 others in the area.
MEANTIME, ACROSS THE POND, TRAGEDY:
A 19-year-old man collapsed at Scotland's RockNess Festival last Saturday night and died in the hospital early Sunday morning, the BBC reports. Two others were hospitalized on Sunday morning, and police say that drugs were likely involved in the three incidents.
REHEARSE. REHEARSE!:
Lady Gaga received a concussion in the middle of her Born This Way Ball show in Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday. During the song "Judas," one of the dancers accidentally hit the singer on the head with a pole.
NEW GAGA COMING:
Lady Gaga revealed that her third full-length album is complete on her Twitter this past week. It's scheduled for September release.
FORGET THE RECORDS, HERE'S WHERE THE REAL MONEY IS:
Rock stars and merchandising extraordinaires KISS have joined forces with Fox's animated hit Family Guy for a co-branded product line that will hit stores in fall, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Fox will develop the products with KISS' licensing agent, Live Nation Merchandise, and will look for partners to make everything from bobblehead dolls to apparel to fine art.
ZAPPA UNIVERSAL:
The Zappa Family Trust, which controls the Frank Zappa catalog, has signed a global licensing and distribution deal with Universal Music Enterprises to release 60 of the iconic composer's recordings, 12 of them starting July 31st, with another dozen to be released monthly through the end of the year.
GRAMMY UPDATE:
The Grammys have added three awards, bringing the total number of categories to 81. Following a now-dismissed lawsuit involving the removal of the Best Latin Jazz Album category last year, the Recording Academy has reinstated the award for next year's ceremony. The Academy also added awards for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Classical Compendium. Last year, the Academy axed 31 categories, dropping from 109 to 78 awards.
PROUD MARY REDUX:
John Fogerty is re-recording Creedence Clearwater Revival's classic "Proud Mary" with Jennifer Hudson, reports Ultimate Classic Rock.
BIEBER MANIA WITH NO END IN SIGHT:
This week Vevo certified eight of Justin Bieber's videos with 100 million views each. Lady GaGa was certified with six videos, but "Bad Romance" alone has over 470 million views.
TONY RATINGS LOW:
The 66th Annual Tony Awards slipped to an all-time low Sunday night. 'Once,' the stage musical based upon the 2006 film starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, won eight Tony Awards, including best musical. Since the show's songs were written for the screen, the production did not win awards for the music, but it did receive honors for sound design, orchestration, book and direction.
RIHANNA NOT AS HOT AS SOME MIGHT THINK:
Though Rihanna's physique has earned her a long-term role as a model for Armani Jeans, an Irish model claims that she has served as the singer's body double in a series of steamy ads for the brand. The Sun reveals that Jahnassa Aicken's "torso, body and bum" appear in parts of Rihanna's latest Armani Jeans commercial, a shadow role apparently kept under wraps until now. Aicken also appeared as a stand-in for the singer in her "We Found Love" video.
NO DOUBT ALBUM:
No Doubt have revealed on their website that their first album in a decade will be titled "Push and Shove," to be released on September 25th.
TAXES DUE:
R. Kelly owes $4.8 million in back taxes, TMZ reports. The R&B star owes substantial amounts of money to the government for every year between 2005 and 2010, topping out at $1,472,366.77 for 2005 alone.
MAD MEN RATINGS:
"Mad Men's" Season 5 finale on Sunday night was the highest-rated season finale for the series, drawing a 2.0 household rating and 2.7 million total viewers -- the best performance ever for a season finale of the series.
PASSING:
Frances Williams Preston, the Nashville native who began her professional career as a mail messenger and became one of the most successful and consequential executives in the history of the music industry, died Wednesday morning at age 83 from congestive heart failure. Mrs. Preston was a transformational figure who led performance rights organization BMI and established BMI's Nashville office in 1958. She was the first female executive on Nashville's Music Row and the first female corporate executive in Tennessee.
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
"It sometimes makes people feel better about themselves to put other people down or make fun of them or maybe make mockery of their work. And that doesn't make me feel good at all. That just makes me feel like I'm not being a good human being. I feel like if you're a really good human being, you can try to find something beautiful in every single person, no matter what. I don't even want to fight back because it's more important to me to keep writing music. Because that's really all I care about, is the music ... things are really different than they were 25 years ago, and that's what makes 'Born this Way' so relevant for me. We're socially in a different place and it's okay, we don't have to all slice and hate each other anymore."
-- Lady GaGa, talking to her audience in New Zealand, obviously in response to Madonna's mocking "Born This Way""It's a really nice honor. They've been doing it since '69, so they haven't taken it lightly. Songwriting ... I really work hard on that. I like to think that, like (Don) Henley says, I leave a little blood on the page and work really hard on my lyrics chord changes, structure and everything. So it's pretty heartening to get that nod."
-- Bob Seger, on being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 14th, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City"It was great. I had never met Lennon. I had seen him around Apple, but I had been too shy to say, 'Hello' He was a lovely guy - forthright and just the way you see him. There was no artifice in John Lennon, no front; he was totally natural. I can still see him singing 'Jealous Guy,' with the headphones on. All the Beatles struck me as wonderfully normal guys. And they cultivated that same attitude in the people around them. Eric Clapton is like that. Klaus Voorman and Billy Preston were like that. I got the impression that all the big rock stars who I met through the Beatles shared that characteristic. The guys in the Beatles didn't like guitar players who were flashy. It was a great experience working with them."
-- Badfinger's Joey Molland, on Gibson.com
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Peter Jackson Opens Up About His Personal Hobbit Friends In Beginnings Of Genius Marketing Campaign Or Full-On Mental Breakdown
LOS ANGELES-Either deploying a brilliant strategy to spur excitement for his forthcoming adaptation of The Hobbit or completely losing his grip on reality, filmmaker Peter Jackson told reporters Sunday about the many hobbits with whom he enjoys personal friendships.
"It was such a delight to return to the Shire and work with all my marvelous hobbit friends again," said Jackson, who may have been introducing a daring new kind of marketing campaign or may have experienced a major psychotic break. "These are the guys I spent years with when we were making The Lord Of The Rings, so we're almost like family at this point."
"Bilbo, of course, is as hale as ever, and seeing Frodo for a couple days was a rare treat," an enthused Jackson either playfully or chillingly told members of the Hollywood press. "They're my little best friends."
Read the rest here and laugh: Click Here.
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
-
-