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Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
July 25, 2008
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"I never called my work an 'art.' It's part of show business, the business of building entertainment. We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public."
-- Walt Disney"I never called my work an 'art.' It's part of show business, the business of building entertainment. We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public." -- Walt Disney
As anticipated, "The Dark Knight" blew out all previous box office records.
As per Boxofficemojo.com, "The sequel blazed its name atop numerous all-time charts in its monumental $203.8 million five-day start, which nearly matched the entire run of its predecessor, 'Batman Begins'."
When such impact at the box office (i.e., the cash register) occurs, especially in a recessive economy with a gallon of gas selling above $4 nationwide and when disposable dollars are tight, it speaks volumes about how much people will spend when they seek, then find, great entertainment for their hard earned money.
Despite all the talk on every cable and network news show about how bad things are, people lined up in the thousands to see the film. Many, who went to eBay or craigslist.com, paid as much as $100 for a ticket.
When a movie can generate this much money in such a short time, when video games like "Grand Theft Auto IV," "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" can generate hundreds of millions of dollars at retail upon release, is there any doubt that the public reacts in an overwhelmingly positive manner with their money when they find great entertainment?
I still hold onto the belief that the music industry can still see the same type of extraordinary occurrence. It certainly hasn't happened in a long time, but why not believe something extraordinary can happen again?
Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" spent a half-year atop the Billboard Album charts and sold in excess of 10 million copies in 1977 and it was extraordinary indeed. So extraordinary, many in the industry at the time thought that maybe nothing could or would ever top it.
And then, later in 1977, along came "Saturday Night Fever." And after almost 20 million copies of the double-pocket soundtrack were sold over a year-and-a-half, many in the industry believed at the time thought that maybe nothing could or would ever top it.
And then in 1983, along came Michael Jackson's "Thriller." It's six top-10 singles, coupled with groundbreaking videos that MTV blasted, took the album into the stratosphere and it blew past every album in history. As of today, it ranks #2 on the RIAA's Top 100 Albums sales chart with 27 million sold here in the U.S. (The Eagles hold the #1 position with their 'Greatest Hits 1971-1975' album with over 29 million sold. Source: http://www.riaa.org/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTop100 )
The ONLY reason another artist and album might NOT set any new sales records, would be because the music just isn't that extraordinary to strike that chord with the public at large.
And yes, there's the fact that millions can download music illegally for free and it can impact sales. But so what? Illegal copies of 'The Dark Knight' were online at several sites on the film's opening weekend. (Source: www.news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9995806-93.html )
People also copy and burn copies of all the best selling video games for their friends. But the sales at retail are still strong.
And people copy and burn best selling CDs as well. But despite that fact, there are artists that still sell in the millions at retail. (Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Nickelback, Garth Brooks, The Eagles, Justin Timberlake, Usher, etc.) Why? Because those albums contain more than one or two good songs. They contain three, four or five great songs and the people seem to have no problem buying CDs that provide great entertainment value.
Yes, CD sales are declining year over year, and I'm not naive about the fact that online digital sales will eventually replace the CD. (Anybody doubting that need only look at Apple's latest quarterly report, which shows the company sold another 11 million iPods!)
But, the fact is, there is no reason not to believe something extraordinary can happen again in the industry. It can happen, and I believe it will happen when the magic comes together from the artist(s) creating it.
One of the industry's brightest artists, Kurt Cobain, said, "That's what music is ... entertainment. The more you put yourself into it, the more of you comes out in it."
Kurt certainly proved that with Nirvana's "Nevermind" album (yes, it's on that same RIAA Top 100 list), and his music, and the impact it had on so many others, lives on.
Nirvana, and the majority of the artists that have created something extraordinary, have one thing in common. Regardless of what decade their album(s) were released in, they have all withstood the greatest test of all ... the test I've talked about over and over -- the test of time.
The fact that artists like Springsteen. The Eagles, Van Halen, The Who, Paul McCartney, Elton John, etc., generate hundreds of millions of dollars when they tour, is also proof that people have no problem spending money at the box office.
As a music lover, I hope that something is coming down the road to shake our windows and rattle our walls. I believe it's very possible.
And Now This...
Social networking just might be reaching its max. According to a new report from Hitwise, the market share of U.S. visits to the social networking custom category has decreased 19% year-over-year. ( Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.san&s=87256&Nid=45366&p=294993 )
I Told Ya' So...
All that talk, and all the articles about the XM/Sirius merger being on, then off again and being under the FCC microscope, and whether it would go through or not ... all of it, wasted words.
As I predicted when the two services announced they wanted to merge way back when, "money talks and you know what walks" and there was simply too much money on the table for this NOT to happen.
This week the Wall Street Journal (and then others) reported that the FCC will finally approve the merger. Proving once again that President Calvin Coolidge was right (and he wasn't right about that many things) when he said, "the business of America is Business."
And Don't Miss...
The season two debut of what I believe is now the best show on television, MAD MEN, on AMC this Sunday night. If you are already a fan of this show (created by "Sopranos" executive producer Matthew Weiner), then you know how good it is. If you haven't tuned in to watch it yet, try and do so. It's a show that evidences how truly great television can be when great writers are given the opportunity to let the creative juices flow to the max to create a great smart drama.
All that, coupled with a great cast, and primarily set in a New York City advertising agency in 1959-1960 (the last episode of the first season ended on the night of Kennedy's election).
MAD MEN is nominated for 16 Emmy Awards. All of the nominations are well-deserved. If the professional television community wants to restore our faith in believing just how good TV can be, they'll give this series some of the recognition it so deserves.
CBS' Last.fm Unveils Redesign, Upgrades
Last.fm has launched a revamped website with a cleaner look and feel, and new features aimed at making it easier to find music. Upgrades to the CBS-owned music platform allow users to add songs or artists to their online libraries with one click and post instant music recommendations.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Katy Perry Is No Tech Ingenue
At 23, the pop singer cut her teeth on MySpace, and her song "I Kissed a Girl" is a hit on iTunes. Just don't look for her to leave her label, ala Radiohead or Trent Reznor.
Read more about it by clicking here.
When Piracy Helps Your Business
"Piracy is generally bad for business," The Economist proclaims. "It can undermine sales of legitimate products, deprive a company of its valuable intellectual property and tarnish its brand ... stealing other people's R&D, artistic endeavor or even journalism is still theft." This is a principle that's well worth defending, the paper says, but when it comes to illegal file-sharing, "companies have to deal with the real world" -- a certain amount of piracy is going to continue, so why not use that knowledge to your advantage?
According to BigChampagne, a research firm that measures file-sharing, around 20 times as many music tracks are exchanged over the Web on "peer-to-peer" file sharing networks as are sold legitimately online or in music stores. That may sound scary to music companies, but statistics like this can also be a useful bit of market research, revealing, for example, the countries where a new singer is more popular. "Having initially been reluctant to be seen exploiting this information, record companies are now making use of it."
Later this month, BigChampagne is extending its monitoring service to pirated video, too. This information will surely help broadcasters when negotiating with advertisers on planning schedules.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Rock & Roll Refugees: 10 People Who Escaped the Music Industry
The major record labels have laid off more than 5,000 employees since CD sales began plunging in 2000 -- and that's not counting all the people who ran screaming from the music business on their own. All asked themselves the same question: Now what? "When you've spent 20 years in the music business, you don't have that many real-life skills," says Debbie Southwood-Smith, a laid-off Interscope Records A&R executive. The answer: teacher, nurse, financial consultant, realtor, manager of a skateboard star, car dealer. Yes, there is life after the music industry, and these people all prove it.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Rock Games Battle For The Bands
Last year, "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" combined to do more than a billion dollars in sales. With each game getting big sequels in the fall, the arms race is on to acquire the exclusive use of some of the biggest bands in history. Deals have already been struck to secure tracks from Jimi Hendrix , Guns n' Roses and the Who, as well as the all-Aerosmith version of "Guitar Hero." Click below for a peak inside the business of getting songs into the video game market.
Read more about it by clicking here.
AOL Music Launches Tour Tracker
AOL Music has launched a new website, www.tourtracker.com, which is exclusively sponsored by American Express. The site is accessible from the AOL Music main page and its goal is twofold: First, to be a one-stop destination for music fans looking to follow their favorite bands/artists on tour. And second, to provide a resource for music labels to track the popularity of a particular artist or tour beyond ticket sales.
Read more about it by clicking here.
The Definitive Guide to Wi-Fi
In this wired world, staying connected at all times should be easy. That's because Wi-Fi is not limited just to your home network and your local coffee shop any more. PC Magazine's ultimate wireless guide gives you tips on finding, using, and creating mobile hot spots anywhere you go.
Read more about it by clicking here.
21 Great Technologies That Failed
Just because a piece of technology is innovative, that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to succeed. In fact, between giants like Microsoft and Apple, there are quite a few pieces of tech that fell flat -- despite how great they could have been. Some tech, it seems, is just ahead of its time. Here are 21 examples that PC magazine put together.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Could Peace Be Near For YouTube And Hollywood?
Google's YouTube is quickly shedding its reputation in Hollywood as a clearinghouse for pirated content and could soon be home to clips from popular movies and TV shows -- all legally obtained.
Insiders say the search company has adopted a more accommodating approach toward Hollywood, and that it's finally starting to pay off. Last week, Lionsgate struck a content agreement with YouTube in a deal that calls for unprecedented cooperation between a major film studio and the Web's largest video-sharing site.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Bargain Hunt: Flash MP3 Players
It's always a sad day when your faithful music player kicks the bucket--not only because you could potentially lose your playlists and library, but because it means you'll have to shell out for a new one. The good news is that you may not have to worry so much about dropping a bunch of cash on a new player. PC Magazine says these four flash-based players are all top-rated and super-affordable options.
Read more about it by clicking here.
THE "WARDROBE MALFUNCTION" FINE IS TOSSED
A federal appeals court threw out a $550,000 fine against CBS for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that climaxed in a moment as Janet Jackson's bare breast got maximum exposure. The panel ruled that the FCC "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in issuing the fine for the fleeting image of nudity, the Wall Street Journal reported. (Editor's comment: So CBS doesn't have to pay the $550,000 fine. But I bet the legal bills for fighting it were a whole lot more.)
MACCA SHOWS UP AT SHEA
Paul McCartney was yet another surprise guest at Billy Joel's Farewell To Shea Stadium concerts, and he closed out the concert by taking Billy Joel's piano for "Let It Be." Paul also played to roughly 200,000 people attending the show at Quebec's Plains of Abraham for Quebec's 400th Anniversary this past week.
SLASH DOES FERGIE
According to The Orange County Register, Slash joined Fergie on stage last Saturday's at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California for renditions of G'N'R's "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Heart's "Barracuda."
KID ROCK PROBATION
Following last year's Waffle House brawl, Kid Rock was sentenced to a year of probation, six hours of anger management, 80 hours of community service and $1,000.
TACO BELL NADA FOR FIDDY
Rapper 50 ("Fiddy") Cent is suing Taco Bell, after the fast food chain used his moniker in a hip-hop themed ad campaign without asking his permission or paying him a fee.
PRETENDERS JOIN THE GIVE-IT-ALL-AWAY CROWD
The Pretenders are getting creative with the release of their new album "Break Up the Concrete." Chrissie Hynde and band will give away every track, one song each week, leading up to the record's physical release on September 23rd.
MYSPACE MUSIC
MySpace Music will launch in September, according to Chris DeWolfe, the social network's CEO. MySpace announced in April that it planned to launch a music service that would offer songs from three out of the top four recording companies (EMI has yet to join).
Quotes of the week
"Every artist, if they have any sense, looks for a career song, the one song, like "At Seventeen," that will give them longevity. Record companies used to be more interested in longevity. People now might have one or two records and then they're done. There's a much harsher winnowing process."
-- Janis Ian, interviewed in The Wall Street Journal this past week."People's understanding has been skewed by mp3s and convenience. It's important to get music out there ... but not at the expense of quality."
-- Neil Young this week at the Fortune Brainstorm conference, talking about the poor quality of music played on most computers. Young said he was distressed at the short shrift the tech business has devoted to making music more "high res," his shorthand for richer and higher quality."Yeah ... I went through my experimental stage in my 20's where I was loving women up. I actually think it's a rite of passage. But there's some great growth and healing for me in dating a man"
-- Alanis Morissette, on her previous lesbian dalliances. Somewhere in Hollywood somebody's trying to get Alanis on the phone to talk about making this a movie."Sweet as it all is, Adam Sandler and Jack Black parodying the Who is as interesting to me as a plastic guitar you can't really smash. Even so, their affection for me and the Who is tangible, and that's a relief."
-- Pete Townsend, in an e-mail to Rolling Stone after the VH-1 Rock Honors show for The Who."Smells like $250 million to me!"
-- Host Justin Timberlake, bending down to sniff David Beckham's famous feet at the 2008 ESPY Awards."The only thing I'm allergic to is criticism."
-- David Lee Roth, denying rumors that he went into anaphylactic shock behind the wheel of a car after eating nuts, in a statement.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Teen Who Just Discovered Led Zeppelin Starting To Piss Off Friends
GURNEE, IL-Mark Campa, 16, who has listened to and talked about Led Zeppelin almost exclusively since discovering the '70s rock group over the summer, is "really starting to piss off" his friends, sources reported Monday. "I've got nothing against Zep; they're awesome," said James Savich, 16, a longtime friend of Campa's. "But Mark acts like he's the first person ever to really get into them when he's, like, the 59 billionth."
Campa was first exposed to the band in June when older brother Bryan returned from college and started playing Led Zeppelin II while lifting weights in the garage. After one listen, Campa was reportedly hooked, buying his own copy and playing it incessantly for weeks.
Campa's Led Zeppelin fixation soon manifested itself in myriad ways, with the teen playing only Led Zeppelin in his car, drawing the Led Zeppelin IV runes on his arm, and spending $73 at the Kane County Fair ring toss in an effort to win a Swan Song mirror. According to friends, Campa's newfound love of the band has caused him to behave in a "dicklick" fashion.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/zqa8s.
THE RADIO INTERVIEW on 'THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE' - From newsblaze.com
"Steve Meyer is on the front line of global music sales and distribution which he expects will soar to pocket-bursting levels. What's more, he shares his insight and ingenuity with us. Steve gives us both historical perspective and futuristic vision as he chats with Judy about the love of his work, trends of the business and his personal points of view about success, happiness and blending life with the lust for life. Steve joins Judy and helps us discover the thrill of having it all with a sense of balance and purpose. "
You can listen to an interview I did with Judy Piazza of 'The American Perspective' by clicking here: (It runs about 15 minutes)
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=10306.
The Blogs
Check out a great blog by Jerry Del Colliano, the Director Executive Programs, Clinical Professor Music Industry & Recording Arts, at the Thornton School of Music,University of Southern California, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com.
Box Office
Check The Daily & Weekly Box Office (and more film info) at: www.boxofficemojo.com.
TinyURL
Check out www.tinyurl.com where you can make a smaller URL that will work for any webpage you wish to link to or reference. (As you can see, I'm using it in my news stories above!)
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