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Thoughts On Fixing The Music Industry
August 24, 2015
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A couple of interesting articles appeared in the last week or so about fixing and/or saving the music industry.
The first is by Peter Kafka on recode.com and he references the late Dave Goldberg, who had a better idea: He wanted to radically reinvent the modern music label, by cutting its staff and expenses dramatically, focusing almost entirely on digital and moving away from making new music.
A document leaked in Sony's inadvertent data dump last year also shared former label and tech executive Dave Goldberg's vision for a radical re-envisioning of the music industry. Dave Goldberg's Memo: A Radical Re-envisioning Of The Music Industry
Then there's a post by Scott Parsons of Landr: 9 Labels Working To Fix A Broken Music Industry
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
FROM TIME MAGAZINE: 'Why Music Fans of the 1980s Ditched Vinyl for CD'On Aug. 17th, 1982, the first compact disc was produced. Here's an article that tells what happened after the first CDs hit the market
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
NASHVILLE'S MUSICAL MIDDLE CLASS IS COLLAPSINGAs world-renowned artists like Taylor Swift, the Black Keys and Keith Urban have been hoisted up as evidence of Nashville's it-city status, the music industry has actually been in a state of unrelenting decline.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
THE TECHIES HAVE COME TO DISRUPT YOUR NEXT MUSIC FESTIVALWired reports "For a band on the brink of larger success like The Family Crest, a music festival is an opportunity to mainline exposure: Over the three days of Outside Lands, they will play on the main stage, at the Toyota tent, the StubHub tent (along with students from West Oakland Middle School), and an off-site recording studio gig.
They even recorded a video while riding in one of the Lyft Magic Mode vans, upright bass and all." Read more.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE HEYDAY OF ROCK RADIO"From the 1960s to the 1980s, the rock radio DJ played an unprecedented creative role in the rock music world.
'I Am What I Play' profiles four DJs in major markets during this period: their programming, their politics, and their deep connections with musicians and fans in the heyday of Rock radio. Where are they now — and how did they reinvent themselves as the medium changed? Check out the trailer and website
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
ALL THE MOVIES YOU CAN WATCH ONLINE … FOR FREE!"Return of the Living Dead III" and "Jerry Maguire" are just two of the titles you can watch in August absolutely free -- and it's legal!
Six "Leprechaun" movies arrived on Crackle just for the month of August. But in case you are not a leprechaun-o-phile, some great titles are arriving including "21," "District 9," "Legend of Zorro," and perhaps the best horror-comedy of all time, "Shaun of the Dead." READ MORE
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NOT AN ONION ARTICLE, BUT ONE IN BILLBOARD:
'Mariah Carey Explains Why She Doesn't Respect Reality TV Stars.'
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BETWEEN THE GROOVES
Spotify Preparing to Offer Premium-Only Content, Sources Say:
Digital Music News reports "Spotify will soon be shifting towards a premium-only, gated access model, according to several sources speaking in confidence with Digital Music News over the weekend. The decision will mean that certain releases will only be available to paying Spotify subscribers, or offered for an extremely limited time to non-paying users, according to preliminary details shared." Read more. And, despite the endless protestations of privacy advocates, consumers seem increasingly willing to trade their anonymity for better mobile services. Regarding the degree to which apps eavesdrop on our personal lives ... Read the whole storyRevenue from "freemium" music-streaming services is expected to surpass $1 billion by 2017, according to Juniper Research. Ultimately, they may also persuade more users to pay for subscriptions. Ad-based music streaming far from dead, research shows
Apple Music: Should Apple have bought Pandora instead of Beats? Can Apple Music catch up and surpass the streaming music leaders anytime soon? Read more. And what to Look for From Apple's September Product Launch Talk is already strong about what new products Apple will sell following its fall product launch event. Introductions could range from new iPads and iPhones (maybe even an iPhone 7?) to more Beats radio stations.
Force Touch: What it is and how it could change your next iPhone:
Commentary: Apple's next wave of iPhones and iPads are likely to feature tech that's already in the Apple Watch and newest MacBooks. Here's why it could make a difference. READ MOREThe inconvenient truth about wearing earbuds:
Do you sit at your desk wearing ear buds all day? You're doing it all wrong. Read more
----------------------------THE 'A-SIDE' - THE BONUS TRACKS & NEWS
Prince Warns Young Artists: Record Contracts Are 'Slavery'
See The Beatles' First Recording Contract Before It's Auctioned Off
Janis Joplin, Arcade Fire Docs Lead Toronto Film Fest
Columbia House Files for Bankruptcy, Blames Streaming
Paul Simon Joins Country Hall of Fame Benefit Show
Kurt Cobain's 'Montage of Heck' Soundtrack Gets a Release Date
Universal Music Cuts Deal With Soundcloud, Reported Equity Stake Could Hurt Artists
What Apple Music’s 11 Million Trialists Really Mean
David Gilmour: Why Pink Floyd Are Truly Finished
5 Facts About Woodstock The Hippies Don't Want You to Know
Why Beatles' Shea Show Was Even Greater Than You Knew
Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry & Duff McKagan Supergroup Announces First U.S. Dates
100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time
Frank Sinatra to be Honored at 2015 Architects of Sound Awards in L.A.
Denon HEOS 1 review: Speaker offers ruggedness without wires
Sitting pretty: These curvy desktop speakers dazzled the Audiophiliac
8 Obvious Lies That People Believed For Waaay Too Long
Steve Martin to Receive Prestigious Bluegrass AwardIn July, Wilco shocked their fans in the best possible way: by releasing 'Star Wars,' the band's first album in four years, for free. "I didn't know there was a new 'Star Wars' movie coming out until my lawyer told me," Jeff Tweedy tells Rolling Stone. Read More
About 35 years ago, Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt were in L.A. when they heard Darlene Love was playing the Roxy. Phil Spector's go-to singer had been reduced to working as a maid. "I need to record you," said Van Zandt. Now he's keeping his word. Read More
The first time Cameron Crowe interviewed the Eagles, he was still in high school and they were still an opening act. He recalls his 1975 Rolling Stone cover story on the band: "Up close, the Eagles were many things, but 'laid-back' was not one of them.'" Read More
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
"When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people becomes an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk: culture-death is a clear possibility." -- Neil Postman
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