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And It Goes On And On... But Why?
March 16, 2007
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"We've always viewed the whole thing as similar to radio. We were prepared for it to leak as soon as the first advance CD went out. That's just part and parcel of the deal. As with previous records, our plan was and is to give people another way to hear the record besides the download, since these often sound like crap and are a pain in the ass for people who don't have a lot of time or are not super tech-savvy."
-- Wilco manager Tony Margherita in Billboard, on the band's new album leaking online two months prior to release..Well, surprise, surprise. Wilco's new album leaked onto the Internet this week. At least Wilco's manager and lead singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy aren't all that upset and damning people for downloading.
Tweedy said, "We feel very proud of our record, and we want people to hear it. Ultimately, that's the goal. I think most people will do the right thing and support us and buy the record, even if they have downloaded it." And so far, that's exactly what's happened with Wilco, who have found gold and platinum success on their last two albums.
Wilco, truly the first widely recognized band to utilize P2P to its advantage, have seen the futility of fighting online file-sharing, while the RIAA and IFPI still believe they can have some meaningful effect by filing lawsuits. Well, this week the news comes that for every track downloaded from a legit online music store last year, 10 were downloaded from P2P sites. (Source: NPD Group as reported in/by Bloomberg.)
While the report states that there were 500 million purchased tracks in 2006 (a 56% jump from 2005), it means 5 billion files were illegally swapped. I assume the RIAA and IFPI get these statistics. If they do, they will hopefully turn their attention to other matters at hand and form crisis management meetings before there isn't anybody left to sue, because all the labels might be gone.
According to a recent comScore Networks announcement, 747 million people 15+ used the Internet worldwide in January 2007, a 10% increase versus January 2006. (Source: http://www.centerformediaresearch.com/cfmr_brief.cfm?fnl=070313.)
One reader wrote me this week and said, "Even after all this time, the industry still cannot get its arms around technology." How can they, when they still don't embrace it (whether they want to or not), still do not understand how technology can be utilized to their advantage, and still have no strategic plans for replacing lost physical CD sales with digital sales? And digital sales, despite incredible growth percentages, will not replace the billions that physical CD sales generated.
So it goes on and on. CD sales are declining rapidly, and more and more people are online and spending more time online. And the question still is: What is the industry doing collectively to create new revenue streams and new customers?
Why aren't there CRM (Customer Retention Management) programs in place at every major label? Why hasn't the industry been proactive in pursuing great opportunities like the DualDisc/DVD Plus, which would not only generate millions from catalog, but keep discs in the retail marketplace a whole lot longer? And forget the "It won't work ... blah blah" emails. Because the truth is, unless the industry wants to succeed with new options, it will create self-fulfilling prophecies of doom. But this thought is only ONE avenue that can be explored and possibly exploited. Surely there must be others.
One TV show, "American Idol," has sold (thankfully) over 30 million albums for the industry at retail. (And this despite the fact that having Paula Abdul judge someone's vocal talents is a bit like asking Stevie Wonder to judge one's driving skills.) The show has become another avenue to launch and sell music in enormous quantities, and that's a good thing. It also shows that people will still BUY music in volume when they like more than one track on an album. (Carrie Underwood is approaching 6 million; Chris Daughtry is over 2 million heading towards 3 million.)
Imagine if there were other avenues for the industry to expose new talent? And yes, I'm well aware that "American Idol" is an extraordinary bulletproof vehicle at this point that captures 30+ million viewers weekly. But, every option at this point needs to be studied and then possibly put on the table for serious consideration, then implementation.
I've been to Silicon Valley several times in the past five years, and I communicate with tech people weekly. (Many read this newsletter.) They too are asking why the industry is waiting to ask for help in creating possible alternatives. I tell them the same thing week after week: "Your guess is as good as mine."
AND NOW THIS
I'm sure many of you read or heard the news this week about Viacom suing Google (which owns YouTube.com) for $1 billion.
While the lawsuit will take years to settle (if it ever goes the distance), Viacom's legal reps would be wise to read thoroughly the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1996. It states that website operators aren't responsible for content uploaded by their users, they have only to take it down when a copyright owner requests it. Just because YouTube keeps promising and not delivering on a copyright filtering service doesn't mean the site is beholden to providing one under the law. It isn't. Maybe Viacom's legal folks already know all this, and the lawsuit is about some other issues behind the scenes.
And while the lawsuit is going on, whatever content Viacom wants removed from YouTube.com will become meaningless to the millions who go to YouTube every day to view clips from a myriad of sources.
So, despite what you've heard or read about this, don't believe all the hype about this supposedly hurting YouTube and other similar sites elsewhere. The online video world is here to stay, and the big media companies will also realize in short time that their new models will need to compete online as well.
Starbucks Launches Their Own Label
And Speculation Is They Will Sign Paul McCartney.
Starbucks and Concord Music Group, which partnered on Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company" and Sergio Mendes' "Timeless," have created a joint record label, Hear Music, that will issue its first release toward the end of the year.
The label, which has been the imprint for Starbucks-only compilation discs, will be releasing a minimum of eight albums per year, and discs will be widely distributed to various retail outlets. In its deals with other labels, Starbucks has used various marketing plans as a retailer, including exclusive releases or windows of exclusivity.
Neither Glen Barros, president of Concord Music Group, nor Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, would comment on any artists in negotiations with the label. The two would not confirm nor deny reports that Paul McCartney's next disc will be released on the Starbucks label; McCartney's spokesman also refused to discuss the issue.
There's rampant speculation that an album of music McCartney has finished will be the label's first release. McCartney is no longer under contract to Capitol Records.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Karmazin Says Radio Merger Won't Gauge Consumers
Mel Karmazin, the head of Sirius Satellite Radio, claims that a merger between his company and XM Satellite Radio would not mean higher prices for consumers. Speaking to a congressional committee investigating the possible combination, he says the most anyone would have to pay is $25.95, if they choose to receive all of the programming available on both services. "Prices will not go up," says Karmazin. "The only increase in pricing would be if you take content from both companies and their price comparison is $25.95, and the price will drop significantly from that."
But Karmazin had left the House Judiciary Committee with the impression that the combined service would cost consumers no more than the current $12.95 customers pay for one service. If $25.95 would be the maximum for the immediate future, some customers could pay less than subscription for a single service package that didn't include all the programming. For instance, a music lover who didn't want any sports could opt for a package that would cost less than $12.95.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple Aiming For TV Breakthrough
Apple may say it wants a revolution, but it might have to settle for something more modest in the digital living room.
Lost in all the hoopla over the iPhone at Macworld was Apple TV, sort of a cross between a Mac Mini, a wireless router, and a set-top box, which couch potatoes can use to connect a big-screen television with a Mac or PC. First introduced last September, Apple TV will hit stores later than CEO Steve Jobs said it would at the recent Macworld. But its imminent arrival, possibly as early as this week, has the usual cadre of analysts and Macheads debating its impact on the "vast wasteland" known as television.
Read more about it by clicking here.
SXSW Sets Stage For Open-source DIY Hacking
AUSTIN, Texas--If you went to the keynote speech at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival here Sunday and found your cell phone not working, it wasn't your carrier's fault. You can blame the SXSWi keynote speakers, Make magazine Senior Editor Phil Torrone and do-it-yourself electronics pioneer Limor Fried. During their on-stage conversation, the pranksters took the opportunity to show how to jam cell phone signals.
To demonstrate, they showed a spectrum analyzer measuring cellular activity in the immediate area. Torrone asked someone in the audience to call him and then turned on a homemade jammer. The analyzer's graph went haywire, and the call made to Torrone was dropped.
Cell phone jamming was but a small sample of the types of hacking the pair described at SXSWi this weekend. Torrone and Fried hope to usher in a new Golden Age of hardware hacking by inventing new techniques, documenting them and publishing the full details.
Read more about it by clicking here.
A New Wavelength For Satellite Radio
For a company calling itself Slacker, its business plan is awfully ambitious. Debuting this week at the South by Southwest multimedia festival is a distinctive new Web music service and portable music player from the San Diego-based company of the same name. Slacker calls its concept "personal radio," based on the idea that a majority of music player owners don't organize or update their music collections as often as they might like because the process is too technical, too time-consuming or both (hence, the "slacker" moniker).
The device-plus-service combines satellite radio, standard portable music player and Wi-Fi-enabled gadget with 10,000 custom music channels that users can tailor according to their taste, covering virtually every possible genre. The end result is essentially portable radio with video instead of audio ads--or, for a price, no ads at all--with content that refreshes automatically based on personal preference.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Review: Rip Your Vinyl Records, At Last
Now you have one more excuse for not getting rid of those aging vinyl records in storage. Audio-Technica's new AT-LP2Da turntable and recording package lets you transfer your vinyl collection straight to your iPod or any other device. However, this modern retro marvel is not without its difficulties, and a certain amount of dedication may be required to get the hang of it. Read PC Magazine's review and see if this turntable is the answer to your record playing itch.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Perspective: The Hypocrisy About Web Video
The only surprise about Viacom's copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube is that it took this long to get here.
Ever since Google closed its $1.6 billion acquisition of YouTube last fall, the countdown began. In the absence of a licensing deal, the likelihood grew that one or more of the entertainment conglomerates whose videos regularly got reposted on the service without their permission would turn to the courts for redress.
Even though YouTube has grown exponentially, the bulk of its traffic still depends upon videos made by professional content creators. Its apologists can claim that certain provisions of the hopelessly antiquated Digital Millennium Copyright Act offer protection. But the folks running Google aren't dummies.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Americans Receive More Channels, Watch Less Of Them
by Joe MandeseAmericans are receiving more TV channels than ever before, but the number they actually watch does not appear to be growing, according the 2007 findings of an annual report on U.S. TV audiences from Nielsen Media Research. The study, "Television Audience 2006," is chockfull of stats revealing how Americans use their favorite medium, but one trend in particular raises interesting implications as TV viewing shifts from a multichannel universe of hundreds of channels to a micro channel world that is virtually limitless.
Read more about it by clicking here.
THIS WEEK'S 'WHO CARES?' NEWS ITEMS
ITEM #1: Angelina Jolie arrived in Vietnam Wednesday to pick up her new 3-year-old son, adoption officials said. It's obvious at this point that Ms. Jolie not only enjoys working for the United Nations, but she wants to start her own U.N. as well. By the way, Angelina, there are plenty of American children looking for good homes.
ITEM #2: Prince Frederic Von Anhalt, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband and one of the many men claiming to have fathered Anna Nicole's baby, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, is suing Bill O'Reilly and Fox News for $10 million after O'Reilly referred to him as "a fraud" on the air. The prince alleged that the insinuation "directly injured" his reputation. Uh, OK -- what reputation, Prince?
CONGRATS
CONGRATS #1 TO: To Kris Kristofferson, who will receive CMT's Johnny Cash Visionary Award during the 2007 CMT Music Awards on April 16, the network announced Monday.
CONGRATS #2 TO: To Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Van Halen, R.E.M., Patti Smith, '60s girl group the Ronettes and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five.
CONGRATS #3 TO: To Don Cheadle, who was honored as ShoWest's Male Star of the Year on Thursday and is set to star as Miles Davis in an upcoming biopic of the jazz legend, which he will also direct.
IDOL RADIO PLAY IN MILLIONS
Fox's juggernaut "American Idol" has had a huge impact on radio airplay, according to Mediabase, which monitors more than 1,800 radio stations 24/7 in more than 180 U.S. and Canadian markets. The hit TV show generates more than 6 million radio spins. This week alone, 12 former "American Idol" contestants are on the charts or close to making it on. "Idol" alumni who have dominated the radio charts: Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. (Source: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=57027&Nid=28294&p=294993.)
PASSING
Boston lead singer Brad Delp was found dead in his New Hampshire home last Friday. Police discovered the 55-year-old musician's body while responding to a 911 call received that afternoon. Toxicology tests revealed he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The musician reportedly left two notes taped to a door, as well as letters to his family and fiancée
HEADIN' TO N'AWLINS
John Mayer joining the lineup for the 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival; the singer will perform May 5. Other confirmed headliners include Rod Stewart, John Legend, Ludacris, Steely Dan, Norah Jones, Brad Paisley and Van Morrison. The festival, running April 27-29 and May 4-6, will also feature native sons Harry Connick Jr., Branford Marsalis, Allen Toussaint and Better Than Ezra.
EDDIE GETS WELL
Eddie Van Halen checked into rehab, according to a statement posted on his band's official website last week, meaning he would not be in attendance for Van Halen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The move came after plans for a 40-date summer tour featuring David Lee Roth were shuttered last month.
NO LOVE FOR COURTNEY
Website thesmokinggun.com reports that Beau Monde, a luxury rehab center in Newport Beach, CA, is suing Courtney Love over unpaid bills, claiming the rocker spent three months there in 2005 and never paid her $181,000 tab.
COLORADO PICKS DENVER
Colorado legislators made John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" the state's second official song Monday.
DIVORCE COURT UPDATE
According to British press reports, Paul McCartney and Heather Mills reached a settlement in their bitter divorce battle, with Mills reportedly accepting $56 million in cash and property from the ex-Beatle, as well as joint custody of their daughter.
SHE'S GOT LEGS, BUT THEY DIDN'T SELL FOR MUCH
Mariah Carey partnered with Gillette's female shaving brand, Venus, in auctioning off a signed 16-foot replica of her legs on eBay to benefit the Fresh Air Fund. The gams sold for only $585 last weekend.
WHO, WHAT? WHERE?
Roger Daltrey walked off the stage after the first song during a Who concert in Tampa Tuesday, much to the confusion of 9,000 fans. Several minutes later, Pete Townshend announced the show was canceled because Daltrey had developed bronchitis. The band is planning to make up the show on March 25.
SIMON ON '60 MINUTES'
Simon Cowell will be profiled on Sunday's "60 Minutes," including a segment in which the "American Idol" judge will himself face a panel of judges critiquing him on something he is passionate about.
PUT THE LOAD RIGHT ON THEM
Levon Helm, former drummer for The Band, has sued ad agency BBDO Worldwide over the use of the band's song "The Weight," in a television commercial. In the lawsuit, filed in New York, Helm wants information about the agency's profits from the Cingular spot. He also wants financial compensation for the use of his performance. "It was just a complete, damn sellout of The Band -- its reputation, its music; just as much disrespect as you could pour on Richard and Rick's tombstones," said Helm.
WOODY AND SCARLETT TOGETHER AGAIN
Variety reports that Scarlett Johansson is teaming up with Woody Allen for a third film, following up 2005's Match Point and 2006's Scoop.
BACK TO THE STUDIO
R.E.M. are following up their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by heading into the studio to record the band's first album since 2004's "Around the Sun."
2006 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location 2007 ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo April 18-21 Los Angeles MUSEXPO 2007 April 27 - May 2 Los Angeles, CA
Quotes of the week
First some great one-liners from Richard Jeni, who passed away last week. (Thanks Justin.)
"You're in the desert. You got nothing else to do. Name the freakin' horse."
-- talking about the America song "A Horse With No Name""Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you're in."
"You're basically killing each other to see who's got the better imaginary friend."
-- talking about religion and religious wars"It is a sad fact that 50% of marriages in this country end in divorce. But hey, the other half end in death. You could be one of the lucky ones!"
"You know what the average person is? Average."
"I sell more records than Bruce Springsteen. In the last five years, I've probably sold over 100 million records. If he got $100 million, I should have got $500 million."
-- Simon Cowell to "60 Minutes"'s Anderson Cooper, on being bigger than "The Boss.""I'm not giving up on Texas -- yet."
-- Sheryl Crow, still optimistic about her Lone Star romantic prospects even though things didn't work out with Lance Armstrong, at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show."Last week NASA fired that crazy astronaut Lisa Nowak. Apparently there was no place at NASA for an unstable woman. The good news? Today she was hired as co-host of 'The View.'"
-- Jay Leno"Clive called Jennifer and read her the riot act. He said, 'Get you're ass out to L.A.' and then hung up on her."
-- Soul Train" producer Don Cornelius quoted in the New York Post's "Page Six" after he immediately called Clive Davis and complained that Jennifer Hudson wasn't going to appear on the Soul Train Awards Show, where she was presented the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year."I can fully understand. When she looks in the mirror, she suffers from depression, and if I looked like Rosie, I'd suffer from depression too, believe me."
-- Donald Trump to "The Insider," reacting with his typical brand of compassion to Rosie O'Donnell's admission that she suffers from depression."hurtful 2 know he doesnt find me attractive as it has been my goal for so long to give a balding billionaire a boner."
-- Rosie O'Donnell responding on her blog to the latest diss from Donald Trump.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock And Roll
GWYNEDD, WALES-Calling it the planet's last, best hope for saving rock music, the Guardians of the Protectorate of Rock announced Monday that they would take the extraordinary step of unleashing a never-before-heard Jimmy Page riff, hidden for decades in a mythic, impenetrable vault.
"We who believe in the immortality of rock took a vow 30 years ago that we would never release this incredibly powerful force unless we faced a Day of Reckoning-and that day has come," said Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, one of the chosen few who helped forge the Secret Vault to Save Rock and Roll, at a press conference in the Welsh highlands. "Just look at the pop charts, and you shall know I speak the truth."
Read the rest for a good laugh here: http://tinyurl.com/2fyccu.
The Blogs
Check out a great (that I contribute commentary to) 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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