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The Man Who Broke The Music Business
May 1, 2015
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My thanks to reader Tom Cartwright who sent me the above article from The New Yorker magazine by Stephen Witt.
It's certainly an eye-opening article, and with all my years in the industry, I had never heard or read anything about this.
The article is sub-titled 'The Dawn Of Online Piracy' and while I don't necessarily agree with everything Mr. Witt has to say about how exactly it all started (it's my opinion that what he talks about in the article was going on in many companies with many different people), this is indeed a great read.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
Inside Tidal's Crashing Wave: The Future of Jay Z's Music ServiceAn expert's view: Marketing, messaging and exclusive content benefits need an overhaul for Tidal to survive
Full story at TheWrap
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
ALICE COOPER TALKS ABOUT THE VINYL RESURGENCE"It's a different world [right now]. We were in a golden age of … where records … You'd go to a record store and buy records. And when you bought the records, you owned a piece of MÖTLEY CRÜE, you'd own a piece of ALICE COOPER. And you'd stand in line to buy that record. I think now, it's so disposable. Bands stay around for a year-and-a-half, and you can't really dedicate your life to them, because you know they're not gonna be around next year. Whereas with MÖTLEY and ALICE, there's a security in that; there's a security that those bands are gonna be there for a long time."
Read the article
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
THE BIG SHAKE UP IN MUSIC LICENSINGI ran the link to this article in The Hollywood Reporter a few weeks back, but I think it's worth putting in the newsletter again. Read the article
----------------------------BETWEEN THE GROOVES
AdWeek reports "Vevo is launching its own creative agency to help brands develop marketing for the music industry. In addition to the new programming promised at today's NewFronts presentation, the digital music video company will announce a branded content business called Vevo Branded Entertainment, according to CRO Jonathan Carson." Read more
New video technology is yielding more overall TV-video viewing and more group TV viewing. Smart TVs remain the preferred viewing screen in homes with a streaming device, and streaming has now expanded to multiple rooms in homes, a study by the Council for Research Excellence reveals. The CRE also found that the majority of homes with new streaming devices witnessed an increase in streaming as additional total viewing time or as a replacement for live TV viewing. Read the whole story
When is the Right Time to Pull the Plug on a Long-Running Show? Variety reports, "Given the massive increase in the volume of primetime television shows, it's tougher to decide whether to stick with reliable long-running programs or take a gamble on something new that could become a binge-worthy hit. Since viewers have more choices, networks may be less inclined to stick with older shows just for the sake of stability." Read more
TechCrunch reports, "Twitter today gave the first official news about the growth of its livestreaming video acquisition Periscope, with CEO Dick Costolo saying more than one million people signed in to Periscope in the first 10 days after its official launch on March 26th." Read more
Demand for iPhones, particularly in the Chinese market that includes the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, pushed Apple to new heights for its fiscal second quarter. The news overshadowed weakening demand for iPads, which generated less revenue than Mac computers for the quarter as unit sales dropped 23%. ...Read the whole story
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THE 'A-SIDE' - THE BONUS TRACKSWhen Do We Stop Keeping Up With Popular Music?
Winehouse Family 'Disassociates' From 'Amy' Documentary
5 Famous Hidden Song Meanings (That Are Total B.S.)
Sam Smith Suffers Vocal Cord Hemorrhage, Cancels Tour Dates
Jeff Lynne on Being Honored by Tom Petty and Joe Walsh: 'I Never Knew If I Was Any Good at All'
Josh Garrels Hits Billboard Chart Despite Giving Album Away Free via NoiseTrade
The Breakdown Of Monetization On YouTube
Music-streaming service Grooveshark shuts down
$1 For 3 Months Of Spotify Premium Is Back, But With No Ads How Are Artists, Label Getting Paid?
YouTube pays (more) stars to make new shows
Google, Amazon, Pandora, NPR Unite To Fight Better Pay For Musicians
Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham Speaks at USC, Confesses 'I Like Taylor Swift'
Dave Grohl Hails KISS at ASCAP Pop Awards: Read His Speech in Full
Jeff Lynne on Being Honored by Tom Petty and Joe Walsh: 'I Never Knew If I Was Any Good at All'
Spotify Connect: What it is and how it works
Instagram Launches Dedicates Music Account @music
Microsoft's top task for Windows 10: Proving it's worth starting up
Apple Watch teardown suggests bigger profits for Apple
Almost too good to be true: The Peachtree Nova65SE integrated amplifier
Affordable on-ear headphones worth listening to
A brilliant new turntable from a 100-plus-year-old company
Short News Items ...
EARLY DYLAN PICS:
When Ted Russell met Bob Dylan, the folk singer was gigging around Greenwich Village. Columbia Records had just signed him, but those outside the city had yet to hear his distinct voice. Russell's rare, intimate photos of the singer are now being published. Read More
GREEN DAY:
Green Day were midway through a year of downtime when they learned they'd be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "It was like being at your own wedding and your own funeral," says Billie Joe Armstrong, who's working on the band's next record. Read More
50 GREATEST LIVE ALBUMS:
You wanted the best and you got it! Read More
Leaving Us
The great Ben E. King, who died Thursday at age 76, is best known for a short list of big hits, including 'Stand By Me' and 'Save the Last Dance for Me.' But with the Drifters and solo, he made hits for two decades. Here are some forgotten gems. Read More
Jack Ely, the former singer of the Kingsmen and the most famous voice behind the garage-rock hit "Louie Louie," has died in his home in Richmond, OR. The singer's son, Sean, confirmed his father's death to The Associated Press, saying the musician had long been suffering from an unspecified illness; because of Jack's religious beliefs, the family does not know what it was. He was 71.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Hollywood Quietly Shuts Down After Realizing That Entertainment A Delicate Matter Of Subjective Opinion
HOLLYWOOD, CA—Saying they could no longer continue operations amid such ambiguity, every film studio in Hollywood quietly halted all production Wednesday after realizing the concept of "entertainment" is, in fact, a delicate and complex matter of subjective opinion, sources reported.
"Although it took a century of producing films and television shows to arrive at such a conclusion, we've recently come to understand that individual viewers possess vastly wide-ranging inclinations and preferences, and that creating a universally appealing narrative archetype is simply an impossible endeavor, and thus we must shut our doors at once," said MGM executive Lindsey Reichers, who along with her fellow industry leaders made the decision to shutter all their facilities after learning that, despite their best efforts, the most recent season of The Big Bang Theory, the 1985 film Teen Wolf, both the original and the remake of RoboCop, and thousands of other titles were not beloved by 100% of the American populace.
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
"When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people becomes an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk: culture-death is a clear possibility." -- Neil Postman
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