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Apple's Radio Service Is Here ... Be Afraid, Pandora
June 14, 2013
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"Picasso had a saying. 'Good artists copy, great artists steal.' We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas ... I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, poets, artists, zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world."
-- Steve Jobs"Stealing" another great idea, Apple has finished signing agreements with all the major labels for the launch of their iTunes radio service. Read more
It was news everywhere this week, and it will continue to be news for awhile since the media will be watching to see how fast users will adopt the service, and how fast Pandora and others will react to whatever Apple does from this point on.
For starters, how's this for a statistic: "94% of the people on social networks are happy about Apple's new music service, according to analytics company NetBase. You can read more about that on CNET, and Read more .And this week Apple made a big splash at its Worldwide Developer Conference with announcement of iTunesRadio. Read about it on Rolling Stone
See how Apple's recently announced iTunesRadio stacks up against streaming radio staple, Pandora. Read more
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
DIGITAL WILL DOMINATE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY REVENUES BY 2014By 2015, media and entertainment companies expect a majority of their income (57%) to come from digital sales, according to a new report from Ernst & Young.
"The digital transition isn't this thing of tomorrow to keep in the back of the mind, it's here," John Nendick, Ernst & Young's global head of media and entertainment, tell The Wrap.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
NOW EVEN THE NEW YORK TIMES IS TALKING ABOUT VINYLThis week new album by The Queens Of The Stone Age sold 91,000 copies. 12,000 of that total were vinyl LP -- about 13% of its overall sales.
I've talked about vinyl's comeback in dozens of issues of the newsletter, and had links to dozens of news stories about it as well.
Now, even The New York Times is reporting about it, and it's a good article.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
SONY & APPLE BEING SUED FOR NOT ALLOWING LOST BEATLES CONCERT DOCUMENTARYAce Arts filed the suit Thursday in an effort to release its documentary, 'The Beatles: The Lost Concert.'
Ace Arts filed suit against Sony and Apple in an effort to get the two media giants' lawyers off its case and let it release a Beatles documentary.
The Beatles' first live U.S. concert -- February 11th, 1964 in Washington, D.C. -- was set to be included in its entirety in the upcoming Screenvision documentary, 'The Beatles: The Lost Concert.'
Full story at TheWrap
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
PANDORA BUYS A RADIO STATION TO LOWER ROYALTIESInternet radio station Pandora bought KXMZ/Rapid City, S.D., a small-market terrestrial radio station, for a special reason: to lower ASCAP fees.
Pandora is attempting "to take advantage of the performance royalty fees available to broadcast radio stations and Internet radio services operated by owners of broadcast radio stations," writes Glenn Peoples in Billboard. Read the whole story
In the meantime, BMI, Broadcast Music Inc. is seeking a determination of rates for a blanket license for all music played on the streaming service. READ MORE
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
THE iPAD INCREASES ONLINE MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS"The iPad now accounts for 56% of all magazine ad units sold across print and iPad (at least for those surveyed)," in the first quarter, with ad sales on that device up by almost 25% during that time period, writes Mashable's Lauren Indvik.
Tablet devices have also benefited subscription numbers; since the launch of the iPad Mini, "paid electronic subscriptions for Hearst magazines [have] skyrocketed," writes Gabriel Kahn."Maybe all the publishing business really needed was the right device to reconnect the reader with the content in the right way. Of course, that's wishful thinking."
Kahn analyzes the industry's "device problem" in this thoughtful post, looking at the trend of content following technology/format, including the lessons of how the paperback book changed the publishing industry.----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
SPIELBERG & LUCAS SAY THE FILM INDUSTRY WILL IMPLODEGeorge Lucas echoed Spielberg's sentiments at an event touting the opening of a new USC School of Cinematic Arts building, saying big changes are in store.
Read about the changes they see ahead for Hollywood Film Makers on The Hollywood ReporterAnd more about why Lucas and Steven Spielberg see a collision course as studios pile on mega-budget films, one that will make a movie outing like going to Broadway and put thoughtful pictures on Internet TV on CNET. Read more
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THE 'A-SIDE' - BONUS TRACKS* Rolling Stones Play 'The Last Time' With Arcade Fire's Win Butler
* The Beatles "Rain" 2009 Stereo Remaster (Anthology Edit)
* The 40 Greatest Stoner Albums
* Paul McCartney Featured on Bloody Beetroots' 'Out of Sight' – Premiere
* Watch: Paul McCartney Takes Over 'Colbert Report'
* Summer Songs 1985-2012: The Top 10 Tunes of Each Summer
* Music Photos of the Week
* Dear Daddy Playlist: 25 Songs for Father's Day
* Clear Channel, Fleetwood Mac Sign Groundbreaking Performance Royalties Deal
* Tunecore Reports $300 Million in Artist Payments Since Inception
* iPhone user interface gets major face-lift with iOS 7
* The Mac that Thunderbolt built: The newly compact Mac Pro
* The Ten Things People In The Music Industry Want From Your Facebook Page
Short News Items ...
GAMES SELL BIG TIME:
According to new research from The NPD Group, U.S. consumers spent $1.37 billion on new physical video and PC game software during Q1 2013 and $1.59 billion on digital games content (full game and add-on content downloads, subscriptions, mobile games and social network games) during Q1 2013
DYLAN MEMOIR IN WORKS:
Victor Maymudes, who worked for years as Bob Dylan's tour manager and bodyguard, was writing a memoir when he died in 2001. Now his son is finishing the book from tapes his father left behind. "He could tell stories until your ear fell off," says Jake Maymudes. Read More
GET WELL WISHES:
Def Leppard 's Vivian Campbell says he's being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma. The guitarist has been receiving chemotherapy for two months, with four months of treatment remaining, The Associated Press reports.
WEIR BACK:
Deadheads got a scare when Bob Weir fell onstage a month ago. Wednesday he made his first public appearance since, taping an episode of his web series Weir Here in northern California. He'd been working "like a mule" to prepare for the show, he told the audience.
TENACIOUS D SETS DATES FOR FESTIVAL:
Tenacious D. announced the lineup for their inaugural musical comedy festival, Festival Supreme, set to take place on Saturday, October 19th in Santa Monica. Tenacious D will top the bill, naturally, and they will be joined by such comedic heavy hitters as Zach Galifianakis, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, Fred Armisen, Eric Idle, Hannibal Buress, Will Forte, Demetri Martin, Tim and Eric and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.
TONY WINNER:
'Kinky Boots,' the musical from pop star Cyndi Lauper, won six Tony Awards last night, including Best Musical, Best Leading Man and Best Original Score. Lauper, a newcomer to Broadway, wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway production, and Harvey Firestein wrote the book for the musical, which led the Tonys field with 13 nominations.
SIMON GETS EGGED:
Simon Cowell got an unwelcome surprise during last weekend's season finale of 'Britain's Got Talent' when he was pelted with eggs on live TV. As brotherly opera duo Richard and Adam Johnson belted out "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha, a young woman emerged from backstage with a carton of eggs and began throwing them at Cowell before security removed her.
SERIOUSLY?
'American Idol' has a new executive producer, after letting go of Nigel Lythgoe: Per Blankens, most recently the executive producer on the Swedish version of 'Idol,' has been tapped to head the American version.
BELEW SEZ BUH-BYE TO NIN:
Guitarist Adrian Belew has apparently left Nine Inch Nails, writing on Facebook last week, "It didn't work."
'GAME OF THRONES' GETS EVEN BIGGER:
HBO's 'Game of Thrones' ended its third season Sunday night with a bang, drawing 5.4 million total viewers -- a 28% increase over the Season 2 finale.
RINGO EXHIBIT:
"Ringo: Peace & Love" is the name of the Grammy Museum's new exhibit of Ringo Starr's memorabilia, from childhood snapshots to his pink satin Sgt. Pepper jacket.
BEATLES MERCHANDISE DEAL:
Universal Music Group announced this week that they acquired the rights to the Fab Four's merchandise in North America. The Beatles' business firm, Apple Corps., partnered with Universal's Bravado division to license a new line of the band's products.
KINKY BOOTS COMING TO VEGAS:
The 2013 Tony winner for best musical will launch its road company in Las Vegas in September 2014
MEL HONORED:
The American Film Institute's three-hour honoring of Mel Brooks with a Life Achievement Award in Hollywood will be broadcast this Saturday, June 15th on TNT.
Leaving Us
Darondo, a Bay Area soul singer best known for the song "Didn't I," has died, Spin reports. He was 67. When he died, and the cause of death, weren't available. The California record label Ubiquity, which released one of Darondo's albums, first announced the news on Facebook.
Elaine Laron, a witty writer and lyricist who participated in the classic children's TV projects 'The Electric Company' and 'Free to Be ... You and Me', died of pneumonia June 6 in Los Angeles, her nephew William Funt said. She was 83.
Quotes of the week
"It was very low-budget, but we made it for them and brought it out. We prepped it for about a year-and-a-half, maybe more, because we were working on it in between other things we were still doing. The main thing we wanted to do was build a history of the band that everyone could know, so that when we talked about the old times, we would all be on the same page. We made a very, very deep background thing for the band, with all these names and all these different drummers and all these different people who'd left the band: keyboard players, female backup singers, everything, really. Big gigs, famous two-hour guitar solos, all this stuff that we just kind of put in the hopper. Then we planned the tour, took a big map of the U.S., and mapped a tour out. Literally mapped it out."
-- Michael McKean, talking about the making of 'Spinal Tap' on The Onion's AV Club."Look, I have maybe 10 more years, if I'm lucky. I have hepatitis C, diabetes and heart disease. I'm managing them. I'm going to the gym three days a week, I'm feeling strong and I can still make audiences feel great. My dream? One more tour with Crosby, Stills and Nash and my friend Neil [Young]. From there, I'd be fine. I'd be able to sail. I'd live. And I'd be happy."
-- David Crosby, 71, in The Wall Street Journal"It's like Churchill said about alcohol, 'Believe me – I've taken a lot more out of alcohol than it's ever taken out of me!' And I kind of feel the same way about the dope and stuff. I got something out of it ... all experiments come to an end."
-- Keith Richards, opening up about his years of drug use, relaying that he doesn't believe any damage has been done, in an interview in Men's Journal (Gee, I dunno Keith ... look in the mirror and tell us that again)
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Report: 250 Million Americans Still Need Guests On Their Podcasts This Week
WASHINGTON—According to a report out today, 250 million Americans are still scrambling to find someone to appear on their podcasts this week, as the guests they would normally book either just appeared on last week's episode or are too busy hosting their own shows.
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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