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R.I.P Tower Records, 1960-2006
October 13, 2006
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"Tower Records is like a temple to me. I'll stay there for hours. Nobody can shop for records with me. It drives them out of their minds."
-- Billy Bob ThorntonBy now, most of you have probably heard that nobody will be spending hours looking through Tower Records bins anymore to find some great music.
After forty-six years in business, Tower Records is going out of business. On October 6th, the Great American Group won an auction of the company's assets and commenced going-out-of-business sales at all U.S. Tower Records locations the following day. The liquidation, which is expected to be completed by year's end, will end the retail presence of Tower Records in the U.S.
I first walked into Tower Records famous Sunset Boulevard store when Capitol Records moved me to Los Angeles in 1976. For a music lover, it was like walking into a retail Garden of Eden. But no matter how much we wanted to stay in that garden (it was easy to lose track of time once you entered those doors and started browsing), eventually we all bit into the musical fruit that surrounded us on all sides, up and down every aisle, on boxes, in the racks, stacked on the floors, and everywhere else.
Record company posters, great album artwork, great in-store merchandising, the giant album covers that covered much of the store on the outside, made the experience that much more sensory. People shopped at Tower because it was THE place to buy music and on going there on a Friday or Saturday night was part of many peoples regular routine. If you went there often enough, you'd frequently run into good friends, recognize familiar faces that you'd seen shopping there before, or spot celebrities who browsed the store and talked to shoppers (who didn't ask for autographs) about MUSIC.
Tower not only participated with labels in breaking new acts by doing great in-store sales and promotions, but it was also the place to go when you wanted to pick up an album you couldn't find elsewhere. Tower believed in carrying catalog, and no one at the time could beat the depth of their titles.
Tower's demise and liquidation has been widely reported everywhere this week, so I'm not going to rehash all that's been written about why Tower went out of business and how it all came to be. Some articles I've read have stated that it was Tower's own fault for their failure to adapt to a changing marketplace. But to me, whatever the reason(s), it's not important now.
What's important is that a big piece of what was once a great part of the music industry is gone. In its best days, Tower Records was the retail heart and soul of the retail record business. Yes, as the chain grew, it lost some of that, but it was still head and shoulders above the competition.
In Billboard magazine this week, Universal Music Group Distribution President Jim Uri said, "It's a sad day for the music business...Tower was probably the greatest brand that will ever exist in music retail."
That about sums it up.
Google Snaps Up YouTube For $1.65 Billion
Google has agreed to purchase online video phenomenon YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, the companies announced Monday in the US.
The deal, which had been rumored for days, will dramatically improve Google's video-sharing service with one of the Internet's hottest properties in YouTube, which allows Net users to upload video clips and share them with the world, for better or worse.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Perspective: OK, So Eric Schmidt Is A Moron
Only a couple of weeks ago tech bad boy Mark Cuban publicly questioned the intelligence of anyone who would buy YouTube.
When Cuban delivered his speech to a group of advertisers, he said the risk of getting sued was simply too high. All you need is one mean lawyer with a solid case to make life oh-so-difficult. And let's not forget--YouTube is a company that depends upon contributed video uploads for its survival.
To the delight on the Wall Street crowd, Google announced Monday it would pay $1.65 billion to buy YouTube. If there's litigation in the future, Google's not sweating. With its fabulously deep pockets, the company knows it has the wherewithal to defend itself against annoyance lawsuits for the next millennium. In the meantime, management believes there's a way to mesh search monetization with the leveraging of social networks.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Classic Rock Driving Ring Tone Growth
While hip-hop acts may rule today's ring tone charts, yesterday's stars are introducing the format to a broader audience and drive tomorrow's growth.
Only about 10 percent of wireless subscribers buy ring tones today, primarily young adults purchasing hip-hop and R&B-themed content. Record labels and wireless operators are keen to expand their market, particularly as the dominant format shifts from polyphonic ring tones to master recording clips. Exploiting the vast library of catalog music, they say, is emerging as a key strategy in that effort.
Acts like Devo, the B-52's, the Ramones, the Allman Brothers Band and Jimmy Buffett are generating healthy ring tone sales, and even Pink Floyd has found its way onto the mobile deck. Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" is one of the best-selling catalog ring tones of all time, with more than 1.2 million units sold, and became the first licensed track to appear in a mobile videogame.
Read more about it by clicking here.
You Have A 50% Chance Of Getting Divorced Anyway
Howard Stern's Plans For Ads For TV-freebie.
Howard Stern's about to unleash a raunchy ad campaign to tout his Howard TV video on demand channel. The shock jock will hit men's magazines, New York City taxi tops and testosterone-pumped web sites to tout a free promotional weekend on the Howard cable net, execs from media company In Demand Networks told the Daily News.
The Stern free for all - actually it will cost one penny - extends from November 3 through November 5.
Read more about it by clicking here.
YouTube's New Deep Pockets
The online video star has found a rich parent, but can it ensure that it won't leave Google vulnerable to copyright lawsuits?
YouTube is swiftly adopting Google's informal corporate motto on not doing evil. Google has a lot riding on it-$1.65 billion in stock, to be exact. That's how much the Web search giant is forking over to buy You Tube, the popular online video and social networking service that in just a year and a half has become one of the most visited sites on the Web.
Google executives said the deal would help transform their company into a global media powerhouse and provide new audiences for the targeted advertising that's the lifeblood of Google earnings. Executives plan to keep the company as a standalone service, while continuing to nurture Google's existing video service. "Video is a great medium for advertising and from that point of view we are really excited about YouTube," Google co-founder and chief technology officer Sergey Brin said on a conference call announcing the Oct. 9 deal. "It is hard for me to imagine a better fit for a company."
Read more about it by clicking here.
MusicNet, Napster Agree To Royalties Deal
Digital music service providers MusicNet and Napster have agreed to a three-year deal on royalty rates to pay songwriters and music publishers for digital downloads in Britain.
Under the deal, the composers, writers and music publishers will receive 8 percent of gross revenue, excluding VAT, when their music is offered by MusicNet and Napster.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Disney-ABC: "We understand piracy now as a business model"
After years of clinging to traditional business models, media companies have finally started embracing ad-supported Internet distribution in a big way. Yesterday's announcement that several major music labels made nice with YouTube may turn out to be a watershed moment for the industry. Instead of attempting to sue the company out of existence, everyone got together and forged a mutually beneficial deal that's pretty good for consumers, too.
Now comes news from Disney-ABC that content producers have had a revelation: instead of simply trying to squash piracy, it might be more productive to understand and compete with it. That's the message brought by Anne Sweeney, the president of Disney-ABC Television Group and one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business," according to Fortune magazine.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Google-YouTube And The Value Of Social Computing
Google's purchase of user-generated video site YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock is a massive demonstration of the power of social computing. The search giant already has the No. 3 video site, but now it will own a networking platform that makes video stickier--and better for advertisers.
To make this huge purchase worthwhile, Google must move rapidly to do three things: first, address the problem of users uploading copyrighted content; second, encourage marketers to think beyond traditional video advertisements; and third, maintain YouTube's excellent video selection and viewing experience.
With its $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube, Google takes the lead in Internet video--and could be taking on a host of copyright troubles. Google's video site hosts more than 1.5 million videos, but the people who submit them are nearly invisible. By contrast, YouTube's site lets visitors rate videos, save them as favorites, comment on them, share them, see related videos and view other users' playlists, creating the largest and most active video community on the Web.
So that's what Google has bought. Here's what comes next.
Read more about it by clicking here.
THIS WEEK'S 'WHO CARES?' NEWS ITEMS
ITEM#1: Paris Hilton topped a poll of the most overexposed celebrities as compiled by Forbes.com. Did we really need any poll to come to this conclusion?
ITEM#2: Donald Trump's line of premium vodka, dubbed Trump's Super Premium Vodka, hit New York shelves last week. Now you can drink the same vodka the billionaire does and in the process, make him even richer.
ITEM#3: Newly reconciled Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie will pull duty as camp counselors for the fifth season of 'The Simple Life.' A better title for the series might be 'The Simple Minds.'
ITEM#4: Mel Gibson telling Diane Sawyer that he hasn't had a drink in 65 days and calling his infamous anti-Semitic rant "the stupid ramblings of a drunkard" in an interview that aired Thursday and Friday on Good Morning America. Well, gee Mel...DUH!
CONGRATS
CONGRATS TO: The Killers, whose new album debuts at number 2 on the Billboard Top Album Chart with over 300,00 sold the first week. Great reviews, great retail, and a great band. Las Vegas is proud.
SOLO AGAIN, NO DOUBT
According to her website, Gwen Stefani is "hard at work" on a follow-up to 'Love.Angel.Music.Baby,' with a new album expected out by the end of the year.
THOSE CRAZY FRENCH, THEY THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS MORE THAN JUST MARGARITAS THAT MAKES MARGARITAVILLE SUCH A BLAST
Last week French authorities seized more than 100 tabs of what they thought was ecstasy from Jimmy Buffett's luggage after customs officials at St. Tropez's airport spotted the pills, per French media reports. Buffett was detained, though not arrested, and fined roughly $380. After the event, Jimmy Buffet posted the following on his blog: "I don't know about you, but at a few months away from turning 60, I carry a few prescriptions, including a B vitamin supplement called Foltx . . . 'Ecstasy,' they said. I have never taken it and couldn't tell you the difference between a hit of ecstasy and Excedrin PM. My vices these days consist of boat drinks, beer, wine and the occasional hot fudge sundae . . . I paid the fine, gathered my bags and my friends and as soon as they opened that door, I walked, rather rapidly towards my plane and flew out. The stern-faced authorities couldn't take the truth as the simple answer . . . [and tried] to turn vitamins into ecstasy."
COURIC STILL RUNNING IN THIRD PLACE
According to Nielsen Media Research, the fifth week was the toughest for Katie Couric, whose viewership on the "CBS Evening News" has dropped each week since her debut the day after Labor Day. Her broadcast averaged 7.04 million viewers last week, third to NBC's "Nightly News" (8.56 million) and ABC's "World News" (7.97 million). Further evidence that (as predicted in the newsletter weeks ago) in a world of 24/7 news channels and the Internet, the public doesn't care who reads them the news off the teleprompter anymore.
AMA PLAYERS
Dixie Chicks, Pussycat Dolls and Nelly Furtado tapped to perform at the 2006 American Music Awards Nov. 21. Jimmy Kimmel hosts the show, airing on ABC.
GET WELL WISHES TO
American Idol runner-up Bo Bice who had emergency intestinal surgery last Thursday in Nashville.
STILL IN THE FAMILY
Bono & U2 making a jump from Island Records to Mercury Records Monday, though the label swap still keeps them under the Universal umbrella.
STAYING PUT
John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman, denied parole for the fourth time Tuesday, with authorities noting the "bizarre nature" of his crime. Chapman, 51, has served 25 years of a life sentence for gunning down the Beatles legend outside his NYC apartment building in 1980. He'll be eligible for parole again in 2008.
CAN YOU NAME THAT TUNE IN ONE NOTE?
CBS reinventing '50s classic 'Name That Tune,' to be hosted by Donny Osmond, Variety reports.
BUT NOT AS VULGAR AS GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP
China's Culture Ministry nixing a concert by Jay-Z later this month, claiming the rap artist's lyrics contain too much "vulgar language."
DIDDY DOES BURGERS
Diddy teaming with Burger King to promote the number-two fast-food chain's efforts to reach out into the entertainment, music and fashion world.
PRE-NUP OR NOT, SHE'S IN GOOD SHAPE
Ellen Barkin selling off her jewelry from her six-year marriage to Ron Perelman through Christie's Tuesday for more than $20 million.
FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Oprah Winfrey and Bono teaming up in Chicago to promote "Red" items from Gap, Converse, Emporio Armani, Motorola and Apple Computer--including a special-edition iPod--from which a portion of the proceeds will go toward the Global Fund, an organization that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa.
SLICK FOR VIRGIN
Jefferson Airplane frontwoman Grace Slick attending a dedication ceremony for Virgin America's new corporate headquarters in San Francisco Wednesday. The new airline has dubbed one of its new planes the "Jefferson Airplane."
COMING SOON!
- My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade (10/24)
- John Legend, Once Again (10/24)
- Nellie McKay, Pretty Little Head (10/31)
- Frank Sinatra, Sinatra: Vegas (11/06)
- Damien Rice, 9 (11/14)
2006 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location CMJ October 31 - November 4 New York
Quotes of the week
"I've got so much saggy skin on my stomach. I might fit into jeans, but trust me, I look really awful naked."
-- Victoria Beckham (formerly a Spice Girl) to the Australian edition of Harper's Bazaar on what pregnancy has done to her body."It's an overrated virtue, because, let's face it, we're f-ing animals."
-- Sienna Miller, on monogamy, to Rolling Stone. Whoa Sienna, easy girl. Are you making excuses for your boyfriend Jude Law?"I used to smoke a lot of weed. I don't anymore, but I forgot about like nine years of my life."
-- Kelis, to AOL Music."I don't do nudity. I just don't."
-- Jessica Alba to Elle magazine, dealing a cruel and heartbreaking blow to male fans everywhere."Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie have settled their dispute. They say that their two hearts combined make one. Their two brains combined also make one."
-- Jay Leno"I was nowhere near her. I was with Paris Hilton at the time."
-- Ray Romano in People, when asked about Britney Spears' second pregnancy.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
IN THE BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, DEPT., AND OF ALL THE BOOKS SHE COULD HAVE CHOSEN, WUTHERING HEIGHTS WAS HER CHOICE?: ROCKLEDGE, Fla. -- Now that she has her high school diploma, an 82-year-old Brevard County woman plans to keep going. Kathy Berger never finished her senior year of Tyner High School in her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. But she never gave up hope of receiving her diploma.
So, Berger, who has been a Brevard County resident for the past 46 years, decided to ask her former school what she could do to complete her degree. Principal Carol Goss looked over transcripts and told Berger to write a two-page book report on a classic novel.
Berger read "Wuthering Heights," and said she struggled with the report for nearly three months. But she finally finished it and got her diploma.
With high school out of the way, Berger says now she'll "get some college behind me."
NO WONDER HE STOPPED ASKING FOR HIS ALLOWANCE: PALATKA, Fla. -- A Putnam County teen is accused of printing fake cash. According to police reports, the 16-year-old was turned in by his own mother for making home-made 20-dollar bills.
Police said the counterfeit money was not high quality, and there have not been any reports of the counterfeits being used in local stores. The teen told authorities he found the template for his fake bills on a pop-up ad when he was using the computer and that he made them as a joke.
The teen is now behind bars at a juvenile facility.
Box Office
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