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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S '20/20 EXPERIENCE' SUCCESS
April 5, 2013
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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S '20/20 EXPERIENCE' SUCCESS
From Bloomberg BusinessWeek, "The suit-and-tie look works for Justin Timberlake.His album 'The 20/20 Experience' sold 980,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen (NLSN) SoundScan.
That's 63% more copies than RCA (SNE), Timberlake's record label, expected -- and a figure most artists haven't touched in years ... And what's remarkable is how much of The 20/20 Experience's sales can be credited to one of the recording industry's biggest bêtes noires: the free online streaming service."
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
THE NAPSTER DOCUMENTARY 'DOWNLOADED' -- THE MUSIC INDUSTRY SHOULD HAVE EMBRACED TECHNOLOGY'Downloaded' chronicles the rapid rise and equally rapid fall of the file-sharing service that fundamentally changed the music industry, ushering in a generation of music fans who got their music for free online rather than paying for it in record stores.
"In a post-screening Q&A with Winter, musician Henry Rollins (left) and manager Jordan Berliant from the Collective Music Group, the consensus was that file-sharing and the online distribution of music was at least as much of an opportunity as an attack -- albeit an opportunity that was ignored by corporations clinging to an outmoded, dying business model."
Full story at TheWrap
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REDIGI LOSES COURT BATTLE FOR RIGHT TO RE-SELL DIGITAL MUSIC FILESBloomberg reports that a federal judge has ruled that ReDigi Inc., an online marketplace for pre-owned digital music and the only cloud storage service that verifies whether each music file uploaded for storage was legally acquired from an eligible source, violates the copyrights of Vivendi SA's Capitol Records.
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FROM BILLBOARD 'April 4th, 1964: The Beatles Control Entire Top Five On Billboard Hot 100'On the Billboard Hot 100 dated April 4th, 1964, 49 years ago, the Beatles made history as the only act ever to occupy the chart's top five positions in a week.
With a 27-1 second-week blast to the top for "Can't Buy Me Love," the Fab Four locked up the chart's entire top five. Read about it on Billboard
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CAST YOUR VOTE FOR BILLBOARD'S MILESTONE AWARD WINNERThe 2013 Billboard Music Awards will debut a new honor: the Milestone Award, presented by Chevrolet, which celebrates the ingenuity of this year's hitmakers. Billboard has already narrowed the field to six innovative artists who've had amazing achievements on the Billboard charts in the past year, but it's up to you to decide who wins.
Billboard Milestone Award 2013
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THOSE NETWORK TV PROBLEMS JUST KEEP GETTING WORSESunday's primetime performance may cause many sleepless nights for broadcast chiefs, because several disturbing trends came together at once.
Their networks, which are all down this season, had low viewership thanks to reruns and new shows that underperformed. Basic cable conquered with AMC's zombie drama "The Walking Dead" and History's miniseries "The Bible." Full story at TheWrap
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READ ALL ABOUT NATIONAL RECORD STORE DAY, APRIL 20THNational Record Store Day is coming up in just two weeks.
Read all about it, and find out everything going on, and the record store nearest you taking part in the annual celebration.
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TIM SPENT ON MOBILE DEVICES GROWSOn average, U.S. smartphone- and tablet-owners spend two hours and 38 minutes "glued" to their devices everyday, according to the latest research from Flurry Analytics.
That's based on the activity of more than 1 billion active mobile iOS and Android devices."Only 20% (31 minutes) of that time is spent on a mobile browser -- which as far as Flurry is concerned is now just another app," Fortune notes. Meanwhile, "more than 50 of those minutes are spent playing games -- the single largest category of apps."
Read the whole story
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THE 'A-SIDE' - BONUS TRACKS
*
Let It Be... Naked makes its debut global digital release, exclusively on the iTunes Store -- 'Let It Be... Naked' is the stripped-down, return-to-live-takes album that The Beatles originally aimed to create, free of vocal and instrumental overdubs or added effects.* Leno, Fallon Play Up Rivalry in Mysterious NBC Promo
* The hotly anticipated sixth season of Mad Men is set to premiere on Sunday, and Rolling Stone has all the reminders you need to get up to speed. Catch up on Don Draper, Peggy Olson, Pete Campbell and the rest of the agency crew as the psychedelic Sixties unfold around them.
* Best Buy chops older iPad prices as much as 30%
* CNET goes hands-on with the $99 gaming device that started as a Kickstarter project and is now shipping to early investors. Ouya lets you build games, play 'em on your TV
* "American Idol"Hits Series Low. More details at TheWrap.
* 15 beautiful Bluetooth speakers in every size
* The upcoming gadgets you should wait for
* How To Get 1,260% More Exposure On Facebook
* Flashback: Guns N' Roses Play 'November Rain' With Elton John
Short News Items ...
'TRUE BLOOD' COMING:
'True Blood' will return to HBO on June 16th at 9p ET with the first of 10 new episodes comprising the show's sixth season.
SAMBORA OUT FOR AWHILE:
Richie Sambora won't be joining Bon Jovi on any of the rest of the dates the band has scheduled through April 25th on its "Because We Can Tour." Bon Jovi cited "personal issues" on their website as the reason for the guitarist's absence, and all scheduled shows will go on as planned. No other information was given.
LENNON LETTER TO FETCH BIG $$$:
A letter John Lennon wrote to Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda will be up for auction and is expected to sell for about $60,700 (£40,000), NME reports. Written in 1971, in the wake of the Beatles' break-up, the letter will be up for sale on May 30th as part of an online auction organized by Profiles in History. There's no word on the actual contents of the letter.
MACCA BACK TO BEANTOWN:
Paul McCartney will visit Boston's Fenway Park this summer as part of his upcoming tour. McCartney will play at the ballpark on July 9th while the Red Sox play an away game against the Seattle Mariners. McCartney last played at Fenway with two shows in August 2009.
AND AS EXPECTED, SIGNED 'SGT. PEPPER' BROUGHT IN BIG BUX:
A signed copy of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for $290,500 last Saturday. The final sale price far exceeded the $30,000 originally estimated for the item and broke the previous record for similar sales.
ELTON & BERNIE HONORED:
Elton John and Bernie Taupin will be the 2013 recipients of the esteemed Johnny Mercer Award at the 44th Annual Induction and Songwriters Hall Of Fame Awards Dinner slated for Thursday, June 13th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
THE "PIANO MAN" HITS THE ROAD:
After a three-year absence from the road, Billy Joel has a few festival gigs lined up this month. If they go well, he'll consider a return to touring. He may do complete-album concerts.
SLOWHAND ACOUSTIC:
Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival will take over New York's Madison Square Garden on April 12th and 13th, and he'll be starting it off in a special way. A festival source tells Rolling Stone that Clapton will lead the festivities with an acoustic set at 7:30p on the 12th.
DO WE CARE, DEPT?
John Mayer confirmed his split with Katy Perry during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, though kept the specifics of their breakup under wraps
MORE LOLLAPALOOZA UPDATES:
The Cure and Nine Inch Nails will join previously confirmed acts Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, The National and The Postal Service at Lollapalooza set for Aug. 2nd-4th.
SMOKEY TO VERVE:
Smokey Robinson has signed with Verve Music Group and will release a duets album later in the year featuring new renditions of material from his beloved catalog.
LEVON DOCUMENTARY
The documentary 'Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm,' will make its U.S. theatrical debut on April 19th, the first anniversary of Helm's death. The film will premiere at Cinema Village in New York before showing in select cities.
GATSBY SOUNDTRACK:
Beyoncé and Andre 3000 will partner up on a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" for the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's remake of The Great Gatsby, which will also features music from Jay-Z, Jack White, Lana Del Rey, the xx and Florence and the Machine.
STONES ANNOUNCE DATES:
The Rolling Stones have announced nine North American dates for their "50 and Counting" tour, beginning in L.A. in early May and concluding in Philadelphia on June 18th. They'll play Glastonbury on June 29th. Tickets to select shows go on sale Monday.
NOT TOO GLEEFUL:
'Glee' actor Cory Monteith, who's portrayed Finn Hudson on the Fox comedy since it began in 2009, has checked into rehab. A rep tells CNN that the 30-year-old has voluntarily entered a treatment facility for substance addiction.
'GAME OF THRONES' RULES:
HBO's 'Game of Thrones' hit a new high with its Season 3 premiere Sunday night, drawing 4.4 million total viewers with its 9p airing.
DISNEY CUTS LUCAS ARTS STAFF:
Disney, which recently bought Lucas Films, is closing LucasArts, the company's video-game division." Disney plans to take the many franchises under LucasArts' control and license them to third-party game developers," writes Adrian Covert on CNN, "LucasFilm said it would lay off workers 'across the organization' as a result."
Leaving Us
Phil Ramone, an industry legend and a virtuoso producing talent, who made music with the likes of Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Ray Charles and Tony Bennett, died at 72. Back on March 1st, Billboard reported "Award-winning music producer Phil Ramone has been hospitalized in New York City, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The 72-year-old suffered an aortic aneurysm and is in critical care." Read the full story at TheWrap - You can read his Last Interview as well
Billy Joel Pays Tribute to Phil Ramone: 'He Was the King': Billy Joel first met his longtime producer, Phil Ramone, who died last week, when the singer played Carnegie Hall in 1976. They went to dinner across the street, at a place that was, as Joel recounts for Rolling Stone, the inspiration for "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant." Read More
Roger Ebert, the film critic who defined movie reviews in the age of television and then embraced Twitter with gusto, died after a long battle with cancer. He was 70. His career spanned more than four decades in both print -- for 46 years at the Chicago Sun-Times -- and on television, making him one of the few movie critics to become a household name. He also had the distinction of being the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize, an honor he received in 1975. Full story at TheWrap.
Renowned session musician, guitarist Hugh McCracken lost his battle with Leukemia and died on March 28th, 2013. Some of the albums he played on include: Paul McCartney 'Ram' and Wings 'Red Rose Speedway', John Lennon 'Double Fantasy', Aretha Franklin 'Young, Gifted and Black', Bette Midler's debut, Paul Simon 'Still Crazy After All These Years', Steely Dan 'Katy Lied', and Billy Joel 'The Stranger'
Quotes of the week
"It's ridiculous to me that this is something we're having a conversation about in this day and age. I thought it was something that was settled a long time ago. I've known straight and gay people all my life. I can't tell the difference. People are people where I came from."
-- Willie Nelson, leaving no room for doubt about his stance on same-sex marriage, in Texas MonthlyHer "monotonous line readings demonstrate that she saved her real acting talents for her sex tape."
-- The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck, reviewing Kim Kardashian's performance in 'Tyler Perry's Temptation'
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Man Wishes Computer Could Do Things It Already Can Do
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.
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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