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Twitter This
April 3, 2009
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"It's one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet."
-- New York Times"Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app."
-- TIME Magazine"Suddenly, it seems as though all the world's a-twitter."
-- Newsweek"Why do I miss you? Because you make me smile. You are so kind. So sweet. You are very funny. And most of all, because you are not texting me any more."
-- AnonymousYes, the raves are in. The buzz is out there everywhere. You do know what Twitter is don't you?
In case you might not have already heard about this new online sensation, here's how Wikipedia describes it: "Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can send and receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS (receive only), or through applications such as Tweetie, Twitterrific, Twitterfon, TweetDeck and feedalizr. The service is free to use over the web, but using SMS may incur phone services provider fees."
Got it?
If you're thinking that this sure sounds like the next generation of IM (Instant Messaging), you're not too far off the mark. And wasn't IM all the rage when it happened? Didn't we hear it was the next big thing back when it became the rage? Weren't we all supposed to be IM-ing back then?
I mean, wasn't it the fastest growing phenomenon on the Internet for a minute? Yes it was. It was indeed media hot versus media cool. And now, so is Twitter.
I love technology, and I've been writing about its many advantages and all the wonderful things it brings us in the newsletter weekly. Many people in the industry think illegal file-sharing and downloading weren't such wonderful things, but like it or not (and all labels didn't like it and a lot of artists as well), but the Internet created a whole new media playground for artists who were savvy enough to use it to their advantage.
As much as I do love technology and all it has brought us, I think those in the online and print media should stop rallying around every new development as soon as it generates some heat. You might have heard or read elsewhere that John Mayer's "tweeting" obsession might have caused his break-up with Jennifer Aniston. That brings about two immediate questions: a) Who cares? B) If John Mayer really found "tweeting" more desirable than having sex with Jennifer Aniston, doesn't this guy have some big issues to resolve?
Remember when Pong was the rage? Asteroids? Super Mario Brothers? Atari? The Internet? Instant messaging? E-mail? Blogging?
It seems like just a few (online) minutes ago, YouTube, Facebook and MySpace were all the rage. Now they are all mainstream. Social networking is just another online community now, no matter how you want to slice and dice it. Years before them, AOL and other ISPs had online communities that thrived as well. Sure, they weren't in such big numbers, and yes, MySpace and Facebook took it to the "next level." Okay. So then MySpace and Facebook are the extensions of what was already happening in smaller numbers. That's good, because they became online vehicles for connecting great numbers of people, and in the course of doing so -- and let's be honest here -- they became the distribution channels for a whole bunch of people looking for exposure and/or to sell something.
Like I said, I love technology. The fact that I can sit here at my computer writing this newsletter while the search agents I've created hunt down the news stories I want to read for possible inclusion in this newsletter appear in my Inbox with those little Windows "beeps" ... well what could be more fun? Ooops, I'm heading into John Mayer territory here.
But seriously, folks. Before we all jump up and down about the "new rage" online, I think we should all give it some time. Nobody I know does IM anymore. It's "so over" according to those who have moved on to "tweeting' or just texting away like mad. You've seen those text maniacs, haven't you? They move their fingers faster on the keyboard than you can change channels with your remote every time you see one of those awful Head-On commercials. I mean do we really need the announcer screaming at us "Head-On ... apply directly to the head!" when the only video is a person doing that? Well, maybe further evidence yet about we are really dumbing down as a nation.
Let's give Twitter some time to settle in, and then we can re-evaluate its real value. It's only been on the scene a few minutes.
What I really want to know (and wanted to know when IM was the rage), is how do so many people have so much time on their hands that they find the time to "tweet" all day? And about what? Do we really care if Ashton Kutchner "tweets" about Demi Moore's underwear? (Based on the amount of tabloid journalism about sexual predators, I guess many do)
As for me, I'm in complete agreement with Dennis Miller who said, "You know, it's just everywhere I look, there's a dependence on synthetic forms of communication. Whatever happened to good old fashioned face-to-face insincerity?"
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
If you want further proof of just how bad things are in the biz, you need only look at the new #1 album on this week's Billboard Top 200 Album Charts, "Now That's What I Call Music -- Volume 30" (Yup, there's actually 30 of these things out there already)
The album sold just about 150,000 in its first week, a pretty sad total for any #1 album.
As I've said many times before in the newsletter, the industry used to make jokes about these packages years ago when they were put together by K-Tel and sold in drug stores, supermarkets, and everywhere possible AFTER the artists who would end up on these compilations stopped selling.
Now, these collections often sell better than the album sales of many of the artists included on each set.
When you have lemons, make lemonade.
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
A few weeks ago I wrote this about first week sales of U2's new album "No Line On The Horizon": "Whatever the reason(s) for the first week sales totals, U2 has little to worry about. Their upcoming tour will gross gazillions in ticket sales and merchandising. And these days, let's face it. That's where the real money is."
This week, though their new album was outsold by "Now 30," "Hannah Montana The Movie Soundtrack," "Twilight - Soundtrack," U2 proved exactly that when they set single-day concert attendance records in three cities with their "360° Tour" selling 82,000 tickets at Jersey's Giants Stadium, 72,000 for Boston's Gillette Stadium and 65,000 for Chicago's Soldier Field. Second shows were added to each market.
And the U2 cash register goes (loudly) KA-CHING.
And Now This...
I've frequently talked about WMG stock and Edgar Bronfman Jr. and wondered how in hell somebody somewhere doesn't come along and grab the company (it's stock prices is still in the $2-$3 range) and do more with it than Bronfman has.
This week, Will Ashworth, a journalist for a Forbes Digital Company, Investopedia, sums up so well a lot of what I've been saying for awhile in an article titled, "Some Investors Never Learn About IPOs" and gives the reader even more background into Mr. Bronfman's history in the music biz. He gives several reasons why "investors should have steered clear of this IPO"... the main reason being "the track record of Bronfman himself. The man is a one-man wrecking machine."
It's a short read, but a great one, and it will give you more insight as to what happened to not only WMG, but the music biz as well.
Read it here: http://tinyurl.com/cpofd8.
AND THIS...
I wrote last week "The only companies we hear about turning in great monthly results are Wal-Mart and McDonald's. That sums up the state of things better than anything else. With this knowledge in hand, isn't it time the industry did something to lower CD prices or create value-added packages at retail?"
This week, a new NPD study says that teens bought "19% less music last year and instead turned to free alternatives like Pandora.com and MySpace.com"
"The music industry still hasn't recovered from declining CD sales, and now they are being challenged anew by slowing digital sales among teens," NPD analyst Russ Crupnick said in a statement.
And once again, the question remains: With all this evidence in hand, why haven't CD prices fallen?
Read the article here: http://tinyurl.com.
Inside 45 of the Year's Biggest Albums
Eminem, Bob Dylan, 50 Cent, Dave Matthews Band and more.The coming months will play host to the annual barrage of new music from the industry's biggest and most promising acts. Find it all a little overwhelming? We've got the inside line on the coolest projects in the pipes: Lil Wayne goes rock & roll, Jack White takes on yet another side project and Green Day attempts to top its nearly un-toppable "American Idiot." Keep reading for our breakdown of the spring's most anticipated releases. From the return of Eminem to ascent of the rootsy Avett Brothers to Neil Young's automotive inspiration, get primed for a Spring awakening.(From Rolling Stone)
Read more about it by clicking here.
MySpace Music's Missed Opportunity
WiredAd-supported MySpace Music "was supposed to herald a new era" for digital music, but it hasn't worked out that way, says Wired's Eliot Van Buskirk. "Though far from a misbegotten roll-out," he says, "the brief history of MySpace Music is a tale of missed opportunities, silo mentalities and unwarranted reluctance to trust the audience."
MySpace Music CEO Courtney Holt, who took charge of the site in January, admits to many of the service's shortcomings. "It was plumbing and a playlist," Holt says. "But it wasn't overly social, it wasn't deep enough, and we didn't really empower the users to do what they wanted to do." Indeed, one of the first problems with the service was actually finding it.
Meanwhile, once you found the service, Van Buskirk gripes, it wasn't easy to make or share playlists. "The problem was classic disconnect: A lot of thought had been given to the business model (high-end brands were delighted to be able sponsor on-demand music and playlists) but very little to how people would want to use the service." Van Buskirk follows up with a series of suggestions about how MySpace can make MySpace Music better.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Radiohead's Manager Supports File-Sharer In His Battle
Alleged file-sharer Joel Tenenbaum has a new ally in his battle against the record labels: Radiohead manager Brian Message. Tenenbaum, a grad student currently being sued for allegedly sharing seven tracks on Kazaa, intends to have Message testify that file-sharing can help the music industry, according to his lawyer, Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School.
Read more about it by clicking here.
TV Execs Worry As DVD Sales Dwindle
Broadcasting & CableAncillary revenue from DVDs plays a significant part in modeling many television program budgets. DVDs had become a nice back-end profit driver for television in recent years. But that is quickly changing, as consumer spending cutbacks are hurting DVD sales. The softness in the DVD space is now affecting profit projections.
Adams Media Research projects that consumer spending on DVDs and Blu-ray discs, will fall from $14.5 billion to $13.4 billion in 2009. Merrill Lynch projects that sales will be down 5% overall in 2009. Viacom's chief executive Philippe Dauman says his concern is to what extent the recession changes consumers' DVD habits long-term.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes says that he hopes that as traditional DVD revenue declines, other new sources of revenue will continue to pick up. "The new businesses, whether it's Blu-ray or electronic VOD for rental or sell-through, are picking up quite nicely," he says.
Read more about it by clicking here.
FREEDEALIN' BOB DYLAN
You can download an mp3 of 'Beyond Here Lies Nothin' for free from Bob Dylan's upcoming album "Together Through Life" at www.bobdylan.com
SANTANA DOES SIN CITY
Elton John did it. Celine Dion did it. Bette Midler is doing it still, so is Cher. Add Carlos Santana to the group. Santana will be the first rock act to try a Las Vegas residency on for size. Beginning May 27th, he'll perform 36 shows at The Joint, the expanded 4,200-seat venue that's part of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's $750 million renovation. Tickets for "Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits" will range in price from $79 to $299 and will be on sale at Ticketmaster and Hard Rock. Additional dates will be set for 2010.
JUNOS FOR NICKELBACK
As anticipated, Nickelback were the big winners at Canada's Juno Awards, taking home three trophies including Group of the Year and Album of the Year for "Dark Horse." Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" was awarded International Album of the Year.
BAD COMPANY BACK FOR SUMMER
The surviving members of Bad Company will reunite for a 10-city summer tour.
EARLY CS&N
Demos of Crosby, Stills & Nash's greatest hits will be released June 2nd via "Crosby, Stills & Nash Demos" (Clever title, huh?) Among the tracks coming out the vaults are early versions of "Almost Cut My Hair," "Déjà Vu" and "Love the One You're With."
iPHONES W/O CONTRACTS
Apple retail stores have begun selling unrestricted quantities of the iPhone 3G at full price without a contract. The move comes a week after AT&T confirmed plans to sell "no-commitment" iPhones at the rate of one per existing customer.
CHRISTINA DOES PEREZ
Christina Aguilera saluted the town's reigning king of gossip, Perez Hilton, Saturday night. Rocking a leopard print body-suit, fish nets and black knee-high boots, the rarely seen pop star (with her husband Jordan Bratman in tow) made a surprise appearance at L.A.'s famed Viper Room.
PASSING
MAURICE JARRE, 84, French composer who won Academy Awards for his scores for films such as Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and A Passage to India, died in L.A. today. Jarre had more than 150 credits to his name.
Quotes of the week
"That's my advice to high school kids: This does not define who you are. High school is an important time in your life, but believe me, it's going to be there and gone in a second."
-- "High School Musica" star Zac Efron, offering sage/reality advice in the Los Angeles Times blog"I'll be making records if I have to sell them out of the trunk of my car. I've done that in my past, and I'd do it again."
-- Dolly Parton, on doing whatever it takes to keep making music, to AARP"I think what [President Obama] was trying to say was Washington's become more intelligent."
-- Simon Cowell, making the best of a presidential insult, on The Tonight Show"The sex is still awesome ... [But] he might not know it because my face is frozen."
-- Jenny McCarthy, referring to her boyfriend of three years, Jim Carrey, and her use of Botox, on The Oprah Winfrey Show. I'm guessing that doesn't really bother Jim all that much, Jen."I had Botox and I hated it. For four long months, I looked like a different person. It almost brought down the whole production of the last tour. It was so bad, I would look into the mirror and burst into tears. Botox is becoming the new face of beauty and it's unfortunate because it makes everybody look like Satan's children. Everybody has pointed eyebrows. Everybody looks related. All the 'Desperate Housewives' look like sisters. If you're an unattractive girl who's trying to be beautiful with Botox, forget it. If you are a beautiful girl who's trying to be beautiful with Botox, you will look like you're angry all the time. You'd have to tie me down to get me to do it again."
-- Stevie Nicks in WWD
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Obama Depressed, Distant Since 'Battlestar Galactica' Series Finale
WASHINGTON-According to sources in the White House, President Barack Obama has been uncharacteristically distant and withdrawn ever since last month's two-hour series finale of Battlestar Galactica.
"The president seems to be someplace else lately," said one high-level official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Yesterday we were all being briefed on the encroachment of Iranian drone planes into Iraq, when he just looked up from the table and blurted out, 'What am I supposed to watch on Fridays at 10 p.m. now? Numb3rs?'"
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.
Website
Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities
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!)