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The Riaa Plays And Technology 'Chips' Away
April 18, 2008
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"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."
-- Hubert Humphrey, commenting on the efforts of lobbyists.There's at least one thing the RIAA is doing pro-actively. Lobbying the best politicians that money can buy in our nation's capitol.
The (alleged) music industry association spent nearly $2.8 million on lobbying last year. (Source: Information posted online by the Senate's public records office) I assume that bought a whole lot of fancy dinners at The Palm and other noted eateries in D.C., and who knows what else.
In a time when the industry is facing the most difficult challenges in its history, $2.8 million is a whole lot of money that could best be spent elsewhere to do something, ANYTHING, significant.
Every single label head and executive should be wondering what the almost $3 million spent by the RIAA accomplished on their behalf. Add to that the cost of overhead for the association (those big fat exec salaries), the cost of those legal bills for filing all those lawsuits against downloaders (which haven't accomplished a thing) and the cost of running the association goes up several million more.
Independent promotion was pounced on by label heads, Eliot Spitzer (living proof that karma does exist), and the media. It was made out to be the "dark side" of the record biz by all those who completely misunderstood just how much real professional independents contributed to the industry. With all the whining in the past from every label about independent promo costs, I don't recall hearing any label utilizing independent promotion at the time complaining about the profits they used to make from all the records independents helped break.
Those same executives should now start pouncing on the RIAA and asking where all the money is going and what it's doing. It's irresponsible for any industry association to spend and cost so much to operate, and do so little. What's even more irresponsible is the fact that no label executives are complaining about the costs or the association's ineffectiveness.
While the RIAA plays in its sandbox the nation's capitol (in another part of "The Matrix"), out here in the real world, technology marches forward.
In one of the news stories below, "The New Chip That Will Let An iPod Store 500,000 Songs," IBM reports that they have developed a new type of digital storage which would enable a device such as an mp3 player to store about half-million songs -- or 3,500 films -- and cost far less to produce. Talk about paradigm shifts!
Needless to say, this chip will change the way all entertainment media content is delivered in the future, and ultimately it will affect the cost the consumers pay for that content as well.
From the article: "In a paper published in the current issue of Science magazine, a team at the company's research center in San Jose, CA, said that devices which use the new technology would require much less power, would run on a single battery charge for "weeks at a time," and would last for decades ... Like flash memory -- the most advanced type of memory for small devices such as mobile phones -- it has no moving parts, meaning that the problems associated with mechanical reliability are dramatically reduced."
Gee. Just when some folks were trying to figure out a way to deal with the matters at hand, along comes these scientists and they screw it all up.
And guess what?
Those scientists will continue to screw things up for a long, long, time.
Those who embrace these daily technological changes will steer new courses into a successful future.
For those that don't, I close with this quote: "Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road."
And Now This...
I've talked about how invalid CD prices are in today's marketplace about as much as I've talked about the RIAA being a lame-duck organization.
In several recent newsletters, one of the reasons why I pointed out CD prices are not valid is because of the explosive growth of video games that compete for the same disposable dollars at retail as music.
This week video game company Take Two Interactive is predicting that sales for "Grand Theft Auto IV," which is scheduled for release April 29th, could add up to $400 million in one week at retail. In another analysis (source: http://play.tm/wire/click/1849097 ), sales could even hit $480 million. That would mean the game would sell between 7-8 million copies.
Such sales would make "Grand Theft Auto IV" the biggest first week ever for any entertainment release ever.
Video games are also delivering more music to the ears of gamers than radio. That's why so many artists are now eager to get their music in these best-selling titles. (See the story below "Motley Crue To Release Single Via Rock Band")
Anybody Seen My $4.2 Billion?
From esquire.com By Chuck KlostermanThere's a lot of money out there in the economy that people used to spend on CDs. The question is, where, exactly, did it go?
Even if you know nothing about the music industry, you probably know this: People don't buy albums anymore. Everyone is aware of this, mostly because this phenomenon is reported on constantly. The soundtrack to "High School Musical" was considered a commercial success by selling 2.9 million units in all of 2007; seven years before, Britney Spears was able to sell 1.3 million copies of "Oops! ... I Did It Again" in a single week. That disparity should be shocking, but it isn't -- by now, anyone who (even casually) follows the music industry is inundated with similarly grim statistics all the time. Interestingly, these stories tend to make music fans happy. People hate corporate record labels and love reading about how the industry is failing. As such, the media coverage of plummeting music sales almost always focuses on how labels are losing money. But this coverage usually ignores an economic element that is less tangible, but more interesting: What is happening to all the money not being spent on music?
In 1999, the total revenue from all music sales (albums and singles) was $14.2 billion. By 2006, it was barely more than $10 billion, including downloads.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Politicians Push For New "iTunes Sales Tax"
From cnet.comA growing number of state politicians are proposing new laws to levy taxes on digital downloads, including music, video and books, as a way to remedy budget pains. Call it the iTunes tax.
Two years ago, a CNET News.com special report found that 15 states and the District of Columbia said that their laws and regulations meant that digital downloads should be taxed. A few months later, New Jersey joined that list. Since then, more states have become tax-inclined. In 2008 alone, Indiana, Utah, and South Dakota have enacted laws reiterating their commitments to collect taxes on digital downloads. At the moment, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia impose such taxes, according to research by CNET News.com and the California State Board of Equalization, which sets the state's tax rules.
Read more about it by clicking here.
EU Parliament Warns Against ISP Monitoring In Music Piracy Fight
From Paidcontent:UKThis could put the cat amongst the pigeons. European Parliament members have voted in favor of outlawing the kind of ISP disconnection policy the French government introduced to fight illegal music downloads. French socialist Guy Bono's proposed bill on safeguarding cultural products, drafted in September, had made clear: "Criminalizing consumers so as to combat digital piracy is not the right solution" -- but the music industry had lobbied to introduce an amendment calling for ISP-level filtering.
The report was voted for by a large majority yesterday -- but with a counter-amendment, adopted 314 to 297, calling on the European Commission and individual countries to "avoid adopting measures conflicting with civil liberties and human rights ... such as the interruption of internet access."
Read more about it by clicking here.
The New Chip That Will Let An iPod Store 500,000 Songs
From Timesonline.comA new storage technology will pave the way for mp3 players and other gadgets to store a hundred times more information.
Mobile phones, iPods and other consumer devices may soon be able to hold a hundred times more information than they do at present thanks to a breakthrough in storage technology. Scientists at IBM say they have developed a new type of digital storage, which would enable a device such as an MP3 player to store about half a million songs -- or 3,500 films -- and cost far less to produce.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Inside Bob Dylan's Brain
From Vanity Fair By Duff McDonaldPeople have long wondered what goes on in Bob Dylan's mind. But if you pay attention to what the recent Pulitzer Prize-winner says and plays on his XM satellite-radio program, Theme Time Radio Hour, you can actually get a pretty good idea. Here, by cataloguing the themes has chosen for the episodes, the artists he has favored, and Dylan's other preferences and quirks, Vanity Fair has constructed a revealing portrait of America's most enigmatic musician.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Motley Crue To Release Single Via "Rock Band"
From ReutersIn a nod to the ascendancy of video games, rock 'n' roll bad boys Motley Crue will become the first group to release a new single through Rock Band, the developer of the wildly popular game said Monday.
"Saints of Los Angeles," the first single from the group's upcoming album, will be available for download for 99 cents on Tuesday via Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace and on Thursday via Sony's PlayStation store, said Viacom's MTV Games.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Peter Gabriel Offers Filter To Cut Through Online Clutter
From cnet.comInternet users are awash in information every time they search for new videos, music, or books online, says rocker Peter Gabriel.
One of the founders of the rock group Genesis and the creator of the iconic solo album So, is an investor in The Filter, a recommendation engine that now offers to help users cut through clutter on the Web and find the kind of content that will appeal to them. Until now, The Filter has operated mostly in Europe as a music discovery service. A redesigned site is now offering to find a much wider array of content, Gabriel told CNET News.com on Monday. On Tuesday, the service is scheduled to begin allowing invitees to help test the site, which will be opened to the public sometime next month.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Akon's Con Job
From thesmokinggun.comThe platinum-selling R&B artist has fabricated a past as ringleader of a "notorious" car theft ring who spent 4 1/2 years in jail. Akon, 35, seems to have logged more time behind bars and, consequently, gained a better understanding of the average convict's plight (both in and out of custody) than any of his musical peers. The New York Times has referred to him as the "prison-obsessed R&B singer" who "wants it known that crooners can evoke prison life just as effectively as rappers." In fact, the singer not only named his company Konvict Music, but he settled on "Konvicted" for the title of his second album, which sold nearly three million copies last year.
As it turns out, however, "Kontrived" might have been a more accurate choice.
Akon's ad nauseum claims about his criminal career and resulting prison time have been, to an overwhelming extent, exaggerated, embellished or wholly fabricated, an investigation by The Smoking Gun has revealed. Police, court, and corrections records reveal that the entertainer has created a fictionalized backstory that serves as the narrative anchor for his recorded tales of isolation, violence, woe and regret. Akon has overdubbed his biography with the kind of grit and menace that he apparently believes music consumers desire from their hip-hop stars.
Akon's invented tales appear to be part of a cynical marketing plan, but one that has met with remarkable success ... With the single exception of a Washington Post reporter who wrote last March that some of the "bullet points in Akon's biography" sounded "like the stuff of creation myth," entertainment journalists have played right into the manipulation.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Gibson's Robot Guitar--Exposed!
From cnet.comFor the gathering of curious onlookers eager to see what a Sony OLED TV looks like on the inside, officials at the Embedded Systems Conference had some bad news: The airline (no, they didn't say which one) lost their stuff. Unfortunately, their stuff included that TV.
Instead, as a last-minute replacement, they got Gibson's Robot guitar, which was scheduled for the teardown treatment later this week. David Carey, president of Protelligent, a company that specializes in taking apart electronics piece by piece, took the stage with the electric-blue electric guitar and a variety of tools. Starting at the bottom of the instrument and working his way up the strings to the head, Carey explained how there's actually nothing robotic about the guitar at all.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Review Roundup: How to Buy a Flash-Based MP3 Player
From PCMagazine.comWay back, when we first met mp3 players, hard-drive-based devices ruled the roost. Times have changed, however, and flash-based media players are now the new go-to. With increased memory and improved features, a flash-y player is often just the ticket. Here's what you need to know to pick the perfect player, along with hands-on testing for dozen of the top devices.
Read more about it by clicking here.
R.I.P. Danny Federici
From brucespringsteen.net"Danny and I worked together for 40 years -- he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much ... we grew up together." -- Bruce Springsteen
Danny Federici, for 40 years the E Street Band's organist and keyboard player, died this afternoon, April 17, 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after a three year battle with melanoma.
The Federici family and the E Street family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. A web site for the Fund is being established and we'll post its link when it is on line:
Read more about it by clicking here.
RINGO GOES 'OFF THE RECORD'
HBO will debut "Ringo Starr: Off The Record" on May 2nd at 11p, a retrospective of the drummer's life with the Beatles and his solo career. The show will take the format of a conversation between Starr and The Eurythmics's Dave Stewart. Topics the duo discuss include Starr's childhood, Beatlemania, and his life after the band broke up. Additional airings of the program will be on May 11th at 5p and May 15th at 10p.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Neil Diamond is releasing a new album next month and embarking on a new tour this summer. His upcoming tour kicks off July 19th in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is scheduled to end October 30th in Jacksonville, Flora. The 37-city North American tour this summer, the first since his 2005 tour, will include performances in Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles and Houston.
SWIFT CMT AWARDS AND MORE
Taylor Swift, the winner of last year's trophy for Breakthrough Video, took home the awards for Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for the sweet-natured "Our Song," off of her self-titled debut album this past Monday at the CMT Music Awards. Former American Idol finalist, 21-year old Kellie Pickler was handed the Breakthrough Video of the Year torch for "I Wonder," which also was named Tearjerker of the Year and earned Pickler a third statue for best performance from her rendition of the song at the 41st Annual CMA Awards. Jon Bon Jovi and Lee Ann Rimes were honored for best collaboration for the steamy "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore."
ICE TOLD TO COOL IT
Vanilla Ice was released from Florida jail early last Friday after appearing in court in the wake of his Thursday night arrest on a charge of simple battery for allegedly pushing his wife.
COLD COMES IN JUNE
Coldplay have set a June 17th release date for their forthcoming fourth album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends." The record features 10 new tracks and is their first release of original material since 2005's "X&Y."
RICHIE RECOMMENDATIONS
Laguna Beach Police have recommended to Orange County prosecutors that Bon Jovi rocker Richie Sambora be charged with misdemeanor child endangerment and misdemeanor driving under the influence stemming from his DUI bust last month. Sambora's 10-year-old daughter was in the car with him at the time of his arrest.
BRAXTON STILL OUT FOR A BIT
Toni Braxton won't return to headline her Las Vegas show at the Flamingo Hotel-Casino until May 6th at the earliest. In addition to a preplanned two-week absence later this month, the singer is taking time off to undergo more medical tests in the wake of her hospitalization for chest pains earlier this month.
BRITNEY BUMPER CARS
Britney Spears was involved in a minor three-car collision on Los Angeles' 101 Freeway Saturday night. At 8:18 p.m., the popster bumped into the car in front of her while cruising at speeds less than 20 mph, causing the vehicle to bump, in turn, into the car in front of it.
MADONNA DOES ROSELAND
Madonna has announced plans to play a rare club show in support of her upcoming album, "Hard Candy," at New York's Roseland Ballroom. The intimate, 3,500-capacity gig will take place April 30th, the day after the release of her record. Paul McCartney played the club also last year to celebrate the release of his last album, "Memory Almost Full."
Quotes of the week
"They're a perfect couple. He's got a last name that's just a letter. And she's got no last name. So that's fabulous, that's a perfect melding."
-- The Today Show's Al Roker, on Jay-Z and Beyoncé's marriage to PEOPLE magazine."I think the thing I miss most about 'The Price Is Right' is the applause. I retract that, the thing I miss most about 'The Price Is Right' is the money."
-- Retired host Bob Barker. Gotta' love Bob for his honesty."You don't hate the mosquito. You just want it out of your face."
-- Simon Cowell, explaining his relationship with Ryan Seacrest, on "Larry King Live." If Ryan's a mosquito, what's Paula Abdul? A "Dumb-ble Bee" ?"You know what? To just get the chance to come over and share my music together is just amazing to me. I don't know how it's going to do, I don't know how people are going to receive it, I can just hope that it will be received well. But to just get this chance? It's incredible."
-- This week's #1 album and single artist, Leona Lewis. She doesn't have to worry anymore about how people here will receive it."I open my big fat mouth sometimes, and it gets me in trouble."
-- Carrie Underwood, to concertgoers, after revealing that she and Chace Crawford had broken up via text message.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Oprah Launches Own Reality
(CHICAGO)-Calling it the next logical step in her celebrated career, and a groundbreaking achievement in applied quantum field theory, media giant Oprah Winfrey unveiled her latest project Monday: a completely separate realm of existence, known as >OpraH, which she will control on the subatomic level.
"Now, Oprah's always on!" Winfrey said through an interspatial image of herself broadcast between her world and ours. "I've created a place where anyone can come to share and laugh and feel totally free from the conventional laws of the physical universe. I invite you all to be guests in my new reality," she added.
This latest addition to Winfrey's empire -- which already includes her flagship talk show, a reality TV program, an influential book club, O magazine, the thoughts and emotions of millions of viewers, and two television networks -- is Oprah's first foray into large-scale nucleosynthesis. Developed over the past three years by the theoretical physics wing of her company, Harpo Productions, >OpraH was reportedly created by tearing a small hole in the fabric of known reality.
Read the rest here and laugh: http://tinyurl.com/5mvmnp.
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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