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REMEMBER THE RIAA FAIRY TALE ABOUT PIRACY DECREASING? LOL
October 25, 2013
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"So in November of 2011, we saw 297 million infringing users. By January 2013, that figure has grown to 327 million unique Internet users, who are accessing infringing content at least once a month."
-- Envisional Director of Piracy Analysis David PriceSo, after all the tens of millions spent on lawsuits pursuing the evil-doers, those downloading music illegally, and after all the millions spent on the campaigns telling us how effective the RIAA and NARAS's campaigns have helped reduce piracy, the truth wins out yet again.
From a new report titled 'Sizing The Piracy Universe' comes this news," The practice of infringement is tenacious and persistent. Despite some discrete instances of success in limiting infringement, the piracy universe not only persists in attracting more users year-on-year but hungrily consumes increasing amounts of bandwidth."
The piracy discussed in the report is not solely focused on music, it also talks about film and television content as well.
I have stated repeatedly, I do not condone piracy or the practice of illegal downloading music - which is of course, stealing content from artists, labels, publishers, etc.
The main reason I started this newsletter a decade ago was to implore the music industry to: a) embrace new technology instead of trying to stifle it via lawsuits and legislation; b) explore new possibilities for new revenue streams using technology by working with the best tech people possible in Silicon Valley; c) stop wasting the millions they give the RIAA each year, and use that money as well to explore new avenues for future revenues.
Some strides have been made in the industry (small ones), but based on the sales numbers I see every week on the Top 200 albums chart, it's more than apparent that piracy has never decreased in any significant manner.You can get the Executive summary report - download here.
Full report - download here.
Sizing the piracy universe - Summary video (Watch the video below or visit the NetNames YouTube channel)-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
FOLLOW-UP TO 'TWERK VS. CONTENT' AND THE TOP 20 ALBUMSIn her second week at retail, Miley Cyrus's 'Bangerz' album dropped a whopping 73% in sales, selling 72,000 units in change.
That many units was enough to place the album at #2 this week. (#1 was Pearl Jam's new album 'Lightning Bolt') And that shows you how weak sales are overall.
Adding last week's sales to this week's puts the total sales for Miley at around 350,000 units. That's 150,000 before the album goes Gold, another 650,000 before it might go Platinum.
I can't imagine what Miley has in store for us all to keep the album in the Top 20, but I suspect we'll start hearing/seeing something real soon. In fact, by the time you read this article, there will probably be new photos/stories of Miley popping up somewhere.
Last week I pointed out that there were 13 new albums in the Top 200 Album Chart. This week, only four of those 13 remain in the top 20, as nine fall out of the Top 20.
Again, style and marketing can impacts the charts, however briefly. But albums with great music will be around a lot longer.-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
YOUTUBE ANNOUNCES NOMINEES, LADY GAGA VS. MILEYLady Gaga and Miley Cyrus will compete against Barack Obama. Eminem will do battle with a trio white rappers and a boy band. Gangnam Style gets the Harlem Shake.
Those are just a few of the nominees for YouTube's first ever Music Awards show, which is set for Nov. 3rd. YouTube will hand out awards in six categories during a show hosted by Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts. Read the story at TheWrap----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
TWITTER DROPS ITS MUSIC APPIt never really amounted to much of anything.
Probably because most of the people who tweet have a short attention span, or are busy finding out who their favorite celebrity is sleeping with, breaking up with, or is naked this week online in a myriad of places. (My apologies to any serious Twitter users)
In any case, you can read all about in in Ben Sisario's article in the New York Times Twitter to End Its Music App, Which Never Made Much Noise
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
iTUNES RADIO ALREADY HAS 20 MILLION USERSHybebot reports that Apple's iTunes Radio service, which was launched on September 18, now reports to have 20 million users and to have streamed 2 billion songs.
Currently, the service is only available in the U.S. Read More----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
NETFLIX PASSES 40 MILLION SUBSCRIBERSNetflix now has more than 40 million subscribers worldwide, it announced in its third-quarter earnings report on Monday, sending its stock price up more than 9% in after-hours trading and establishing a new high for the company. Read the story at TheWrap
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 7
WITH iPAD AIR, APPLE RULES THE TABLET MARKET AGAINApple wowed the crowd with a new design on the iPad that is lighter, thinner, and more powerful. It comes at a time when the market has only gotten more competitive.
With iPad Air, Apple's 800-pound tablet gorilla returns
Apple shows off iPad Air, iPad Mini with Retina display----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - THE BONUS TRACKS
* How to get a discount on nearly everything you buy online
* McCartney Plays for Stars in 'Queenie Eye'
* McCartney Leads an All-Star 'Let It Be' Jam in 1999
* Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Strips Down 'Dancing in the Dark'
* Lady Gaga Releases R. Kelly Duet
* 4 Famous Musicians That Specialize in Onstage Meltdowns Viral
* Brian May: Why Sacha Baron Cohen Left Freddie Mercury Biopic
* What's up with Neil Young's Pono high-resolution music system?
* 30 Rockers Going Strong After 70
* 4 Concept Albums That Completely Botch Their Own Concept
* Stream the 2013 Bridge School Benefit
* Pop Shop Podcast: Katy Perry, Eminem, Lady Gaga & More
* New Taylor Swift Song 'Sweeter Than Fiction' Surfaces
* Courtney Love to Spill Secrets in Memoir This Winter
* Billboard Touring Awards: Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, P!nk and Bon Jovi Among Finalists
* Turn! Turn! Turn! A History of Turntables
* Lamborghini unveils $4.5m Veneno Roadster
* Monoprice's remodeled speakers: Are they different?
* Nokia's iPod Shuffle rival hits Twitter before official launch
* iPad Mini will adopt Retina Display, says WSJ
* Surface 2 suffers from lack of attention
Short News Items ...
SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE:
The Season 4 finale of 'Duck Dynasty' shed some viewers compared to the show's Season 3 finale and Season 4 première. The finale Wednesday posted 8.4 million total viewers, compared to the 9.6 million who tuned in for the Season 3 finale in April.
XBOX #1:
GamesIndustryBiz reports that Microsofts Xbox 360 console is still the number one gaming console being sold in the United States. Microsoft sold 1.6 million units in the U.S. in 2013. It has sold more than 80 million consoles worldwide since its launch in 2005. Read More
BEETLEJUICE AGAIN:
According to TheWrap, whose sources include "multiple individuals familiar with the project," Tim Burton is officially in talks to direct 'Beetlejuice 2' for Warner Brothers. Michael Keaton, who starred in the original film as the titular wiseguy ghost, is also expected to return, reprising one of his iconic roles.
UNRELEASED ZEPP?
Robert Plant says he has discovered some unreleased Led Zeppelin tracks, and they could turn up as bonus tracks on the band's upcoming reissues. "I found some quarter-inch spools recently," he told the BBC. "There's some very, very interesting bits and pieces." Read More
BAD GIRL EXPOSED:
There's a scandal brewing around ABC's "Scandal." One of the drama's top fan bloggers has been revealed to be an employee of ABC and the fandom isn't happy about it. Courtney Pajor, a director of special sales for the network out of its New York City offices, has made herself one of the most influential fan voices on "Scandal," two individuals with knowledge of the blogger's identity told TheWrap. Pajor has amassed more than 26,000 followers under the Twitter account. (Editor's note: And yet another reason I do not use Twitter)
COURTNEY BIO:
As Consequence of Sound notes, Courtney Love will release her own book in early 2014 through William Morrow at Harper Collins. The product description on Amazon says the book explores many juicy subjects: the former Hole singer's battles with drug addiction; her "tragic romance" with Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain; her relationships with Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor and Ed Norton; her "rocky relationship with her hippy parents" and her early days making ends meet as a stripper. (Editor's note: Gee, I hope they didn't give her a big advance for this)
PIANO MAN TOUR?
Billy Joel, who played a surprise show on Long Island last week, might be gearing up for an arena tour. Unofficially, concert sites have begun to post dates for a few shows in Florida. Joel, who hasn't toured since 2010, is set for a brief run of dates in the U.K. Read More
ELTON CAST:
Tom Hardy has agreed to play Elton John in Rocket Pictures' 'Rocketman,' which will be distributed in the U.S. by Focus Features, the film's producers announced today. Michael Gracey is directing from an original screenplay by Oscar nominee Lee Hall ("War Horse"). Production will begin in fall 2014.
YEAH, AND HOW MUCH YOU WANNA BET THIS NEVER GOES TO TRIAL:
The Los Angeles district attorney's office announced this week that it will prosecute 'Voice' judge CeeLo Green for allegedly giving a woman ecstasy, according to CNN. It also announced that, after investigating the incident, there was insufficient evidence to warrant a rape charge. Green was charged this afternoon with furnishing a controlled substance, a felony offense.
MORE NEIL COMING:
Neil Young's ongoing Archive Performance Series will continue with the upcoming release of Live at the Cellar Door, a two-disc set of songs recorded in Washington D.C. in 1970. The solo acoustic shows featured the debut performance of "Old Man." Read More
JANIS GETS A STAR:
Janis Joplin will be honored with the 2,510th star on Hollywood Blvd on November 4th. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Leron Gubler will serve as emcee, and Joplin's siblings, Michael and Laura Joplin, will accept the star on the icon's behalf. Guest speakers include Kris Kristofferson, who'll perform his song "Me and Bobby McGee," which Janis made a hit, and industry legend Clive Davis.
TLC SCORES BIG:
VH1's "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story" could be giving VH1 is best week ever with its ratings. The biopic banked a 2.9 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. Additionally, 4.5 million viewers tuned into the movie's Monday premiere. That not only makes it VH1′s highest rated original movie ever, but also puts it at the top of the list for most-watched original movies on cable this year among the advertiser demo.
HITCHED:
Kelly Clarkson is officially Kelly Blackstock: The singer married her fiancé Brandon Blackstock yesterday at the idyllic Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Blackstock, the stepson of country legend Reba McEntire, has two children (a 12-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son) from a previous marriage.
AND NEVER WERE THERE 2 PEOPLE MORE DESERVING OF EACH OTHER:
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are engaged to be married. The rapper proposed on Kardashian's 33rd birthday, in front of friends and family at AT&T Park in San Francisco. (And you can bet it was all filmed for an episode of 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' and that somehow the cost of it all was paid for by the show in great part)
MICHAEL JACKSON STILL EARNING BIG DOLLARS:
From Forbes magazine comes news that "Madonna was the top earner on our recent Celebrity 100 list, raking in $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013. Not bad for a living person. Madonna was the top earner on our recent Celebrity 100 list, raking in $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013. Not bad for a living person. Her late buddy Michael Jackson easily topped her though, earning $160 million over the past year." Read more about the top earning dead celebrities
'STAR WARS' NEWS:
Director J.J. Abrams and 'Empire Strikes Back' co-writer Lawrence Kasdan have taken on screenwriting duties for 'Star Wars: Episode VII.' Kasdan, who has been serving as a consultant on 'Episode VII,' bridges the new 'Star Wars' films with the old: He co-wrote 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi,' working from George Lucas' story.
Leaving Us
Noel Harrison, the son of Rex Harrison, who became an Olympic skier and scored a hit with "Windmills of Your Mind," has died at age 79. Harrison starred in the 1960s spy spoof 'The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.' His Top 10 hit "The Windmills of Your Mind, was from Norman Jewison's 1968 heist movie 'The Thomas Crown Affair,' starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.
Quotes of the week
"I thought, 'If John loved her, there's got to be something. He's not stupid. It's like, what are you going to do? Are you going to hold a grudge you never really had? George would say to me, 'You don't want stuff like that hanging around in your life.'"
-- Paul McCartney, In Rolling Stone, saying his long-bitter relationship with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono has turned a corner"Jared pulled out the stops for 'Chapter 27,' a film that 27 people saw."
-- Robert Downey Jr., introducing Jared Leto at The Hollywood Film Awards"It was a miserable experience and a horrible movie. It was a complete disaster. A week in you go, 'Oh God, what have I done?'"
-- Alec Baldwin, talking about his participation in the movie 'Rock Of Ages' at the American Magazine Media Conference in New York
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Eric Clapton Wows Audience With Even Slower Version Of 'Layla'
DULUTH, GA—Debuting yet another arrangement of the classic song Wednesday night, singer-guitarist Eric Clapton reportedly treated a sold-out crowd at the Gwinnett Center to an even slower, somehow mellower acoustic version of his original 1971 hit "Layla."
Read the rest and laugh: Eric Clapton Wows Audience With Even Slower Version Of 'Layla'
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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