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Partnership(s) To Ensure A Secure Future
August 18, 2006
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"In this new wave of technology, you can't do it all yourself, you have to form alliances."
-- Carlos Slim HeluThe ongoing story of digital online music sales increases continues to unfold daily. From 2005 to 2006, the number of Internet users who paid for digital music almost tripled.
According to a recent report from the Solutions Research Group: " Nearly half of all American Internet users (45%) downloaded music at some point in the past from pay sites or P2P sources, up from 31% only a year ago. The number of Americans who paid for a song download also increased significantly due to the digital music player boom. In 2005, only 8% of Internet users paid for digital music online at some point. In 2006, this was up significantly to 23% (translating to an estimated 39 million people 12+). Consistent with above-average growth in their use of digital music players, three times as many female Internet users are now regular paid downloaders of music (14% of women Internet users paid for a song online in the past month in 2006 versus only 4% in 2005). (Source)
Another report from Nielsen SoundScan, shows that "sales of digital albums soared 126% during the first half of 2006, while digital tracks rose 77%. Physical album sales continued to decline in the US during the first six months of 2006, down 4.2%. " (Source)
Of course with cottage iPod accessory companies sprouting up like weeds everyday this information should surprise none of us. No matter what you read about potential iPod problems in the consumer market place, there's no denying it is now the music player of choice for the majority of the country. Sure sales have slowed, but there are already over fifty million sold (!) and it's going to be extremely hard for any company to ever successfully compete with another type of player.
Which is why more and more artists and companies are forming strategic alliances with iTunes. They see clearly what Apple has done to dramatically alter the music consumer landscape forever and want to ensure that whatever shifts take place in technologies and in the market place, they still have a major avenue to reach their target audience. That same audience is most likely walking around listening to their iPods.
As the audience shifts away from physical CD sales, it's imperative for labels and entertainment industry conglomerates that have music companies in their Wall Street portfolios for potential stockholders to create similar alliances that will facilitate the shift from the old industry model to the new.
The potential for what can be done is simply unlimited if the right creative strategies are utilized.
THE TUBE...GREAT PROGRAMMING, GROWING AND GROWING - An Update
Back in September of 2004, I had the privilege of interviewing Les Garland, quite a legend in our industry. At that time Les talked at length about his newest project and labor of love, launching THE TUBE, a new video music channel.
This is how Les described THE TUBE back then: " The TUBE's programming focus is MUSIC. Period. We are all about the music consumers who love music and the artists that make the music. The Tube is the only all-music network on television...no reality shows, no awards shows, no game shows...just compelling music television with a unique presentation of the best music of all time by the best artists of all time and the best images of all time. "
It's almost two years later and by the end of summer, THE TUBE, already available in eleven million digital cable homes, should be available in 72 of the Top 100 markets. ( Everywhere from NY to L.A., Miami, Baltimore, Philly, Boston, Tucson, Chicago, Nashville, Minneapolis, St.Louis, Pittsburgh, Hartford just to name a few, and a wide range of large, medium and small markets ) In the next few weeks, THE TUBE will announce newer markets and that should take penetration to thirteen million homes. ( If you want to find out if THE TUBE is available where you live, just go to www.thetubetv.com and click on 'Where To Watch' )
If you haven't seen THE TUBE yet, you're missing the best music television out there and the way music television should be. In that same interview from two years ago I said, " From the two-hour preview I've seen, I can honestly say that THE TUBE is simply the most exciting thing to happen to music and video since MTV first hit the air."
You'll agree once you see it. Once you get THE TUBE in your home, it's hard to stop watching and a hard habit to break. It's that good. And the viewer response e-mails echo that in big numbers.
Congrats to Les for seeing his vision come to life and congrats to his entire crew at THE TUBE for all their hard work this far!
The RIAA And How They Waste The Industry's Time And Money
After my comments last week in which I reiterated "the RIAA (other than attacking piracy, still a pretty lame excuse for an industry association in my opinion)"...now comes this news:
Just when we think we've heard it all....In Michigan, in Warner Bros. v. Scantlebury, after learning that the defendant had passed away, the RIAA made a motion to stay the case for 60 days in order to allow the family time to "grieve", after which time they want to start taking depositions of the late Mr. Scantlebury's children.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Using iTunes, MySpace To Launch A Music Career
Inside a disheveled Long Island beach cottage on a muggy summer day, Jamie Kristine Seerman sings into a microphone, strumming a battered guitar, recording on a computer a song that she hopes will be a hit.
She has no financial backing or marketing plan, but with the help of new technology, the 25-year-old who performs as Jaymay has quickly graduated from Manhattan open-mic nights to become a folk music darling.
And while she says major record companies from New York to London want to sign her in hopes of making her a star, Seerman is recording and plans to release her debut album alone.
"I've been offered conventional contracts from major record labels and very indie-friendly, unconventional contracts," Seerman said during a break from recording. "They have offered me everything I could want. For a long time, the way you were discovered was through record labels. Now it's through the Internet, through blogs, through MySpace," she said. "For all I know, maybe music will all be sold as ring tones in seven years."
Read more about it by clicking here.
Musician Is Front Man at Geffen
Ron Fair, the new chairman of Geffen Records, is the rarest type of music chief: a musician.
The son of an opera singer, Fair has taught himself to play multiple instruments. He tried his hand as a wedding singer, jingle writer and pianist before eventually rising to prominence as the executive behind such acts as Christina Aguilera, the Black Eyed Peas and the Pussycat Dolls. Now, as head of one of Universal Music Group's most prominent labels, Fair has rekindled the debate over who should run the music industry: business executives or people with experience creating music.
On one side are people such as Fair's boss, Jimmy Iovine, the chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records. "I'd always rather teach a music guy how to sell a record than try to teach a business guy how to make one," Iovine said. "Ron knows what a star looks like, and he knows how to produce a hit. The rest of the business is easy compared to that."
Read more about it by clicking here.
YouTube Talking To Record Labels On Music Videos
The popular place for sharing home flicks aims top become the go-to spot for viewing mainstream music videos. YouTube said Tuesday that it is talking with record labels to post thousands of music videos online, aiming to move beyond being a site for sharing home videos to being a provider of mainstream entertainment like Yahoo and others.
YouTube, which sprung out of nowhere a year ago and now claims over 100 millions views a day, is negotiating for rights to both post and archive music videos on its site. It said any commercial model it chooses will offer the videos free.
"What we really want to do is in six to 12 months, maybe 18 months, to have every music video ever created up on YouTube," cofounder Steve Chen told Reuters. "We're trying to bring in as much of this content as we can onto the site."
Read more about it by clicking here.
HDTV Is The Life Of The DisplaySearch Party
The era of high-definition has arrived and it's going to be the life of the party, according to representatives of Warner Bros., ESPN and CBS.
Addressing a gathering of DisplaySearch's 4th Annual HDTV Conference: The Future of Television here, major media content providers and distributors challenged any remaining notions that high-definition televisions have been deployed without complementary high-definition programming.
"HD is one of the catalyst technologies that will define the next generation in consumer entertainment," said Darcy Antonellis, executive vice president of distribution and technology operations for Warner Bros. Antonellis told the audience of TV, DVD and cable set-top box manufacturers, retailers and distributors that it's "not just about broadcast" anymore. With more than a dozen ways to deliver the 6,500 movie titles and 65,000 TV episodes in the Warner Bros. vault, she said it makes "business sense" to remaster them in high-definition 1080p format. Warner, incidentally, is releasing titles concurrently in both HD DVD and Blu-ray format.
Read more about it by clicking here.
iPod Hard Drive Storage May Double
If you're the type who just has to have the biggest iPod on the block, get ready to open up your wallet: Seagate is promising a 1.8-inch, 120-gigabyte hard drive by the end of this year. While Seagate didn't name names of potential customers, that size of drive is small enough to fit in an iPod, notes Engadget -- which could be good news for storage-hungry iPod users.
Read more about it by clicking here.
The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s
Pitchfork.com has created the largest feature in their history, a five-day trip through the first full decade of the pop/rock era. This week they rolled out the 200 songs that most resonate with a generation too young to have experienced the decade firsthand, but old enough to know it had more to offer than "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".
Of course, they recognize that even at 200 tracks, their list leaves off hundreds of other fantastic and amazing songs-- not to mention a handful of cuts from the Baby Boomer canon that their staff doesn't much care for (hello, "Light My Fire"!). But if nothing else, they at least limited the maximum number of tracks per artist to five so that, say, the 14th most popular Beach Boys song wouldn't bump off more deserving tracks from less iconic artists.
In any case, a great ride back through the songs of the 60's...check it out!
Read more about it by clicking here.
EMI Music Videos To Land On Zune
EMI Group, the world's third-largest music company, said on Thursday it had signed a deal to provide preloaded music videos on Microsoft's soon-to-launch Zune digital media player. The London-based company said the deal would see artists, including American actor Jared Leto's alternative rock band 30 Seconds To Mars and English electro-pop band Hot Chip, featured on the player when it goes to market later this year.
The news dispels speculation in media reports this month that Microsoft would have to delay the introduction of Zune's video capability until after its launch, which is expected to be in time for the year-end holiday season.
Read more about it by clicking here.
In The Online Realm, It's Good To Share
If you've got video or other files to share, there's a company out there that wants your business. From BitTorrent to iMesh to YouTube, there's no shortage of companies that see dollar signs in trafficking your content. See what cnet.com has put together for you.
Read more about it by clicking here.
THIS WEEK'S 'WHO CARES' NEWS ITEMS
ITEM#1: Kevin Federline launching his own record label, Federation Records. The label's first official release will of course be K-Fed's own CD 'Playing with Fire.' Gee, I wonder if he started his own record company because no label wanted the album?
ITEM#2: Paris Hilton seeking treatment in the emergency room and getting a tetanus shot after her pet kinkajou, Baby Luv, took a bite out of her arm. Okay, but now the question, and I'm not embarrassed to ask it: What the hell is a kinkajou?
ITEM#3: Courteney Cox Arquette telling Life magazine that she and husband David Arquette sought therapy after a recent rough patch. Were any of you wondering how they were doing?
ITEM#4: Lawyers for Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen stating that an amicable resolution has been reached in the once bitter divorce battle. Ditto my comment in Item#3.
ITEM#5: Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock swapping yet more vows in Nashville, Tennessee Thursday at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. Yawn.
CBS BETTER HOPE SHE WAS WELL WORTH THE BIG BUCKS
Katie Couric might've gotten the last big deal for any news anchor. CBS is of course gearing up big for her September 5th debut as the CBS Evening News Anchor. But in the meantime, in the nine weeks since she left the "TODAY" show ratings are now 20% ahead of ABC's "Good Morning America " and NBC is now reportedly considering expanding the "TODAY" show to four hours each morning. Hmmmn, more viewers now that she left...that can't be good news for the CBS brass who expect big things from Ms. Couric.
THE CAPTAIN'S ON DECK AGAIN
Elton John planning to release his next studio album, The Captain and the Kid, on Sept. 19. The album is set as a sequel to 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.
AND ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST (SURPRISE, SURPRISE)
Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson announcing they have separated after more than five years of marriage. So, when will Hollywood starlets realize marriages to rock stars don't last?
I'M BETTING NO ONE'S GONNA' GET THE MONEY
A filmmaker who is working on a documentary titled 'The Truth About Elvis' offering a $3 million reward for proof that Elvis Presley is still alive.
MAYBE IT WAS A GOOD PROMOTIONAL VEHICLE, BUT THEN THERE WAS THE DIVORCE
Nick Lachey telling Australia's Sydney Morning Herald that he and Jessica Simpson initially planned to use their MTV show 'Newlyweds' "as a promotional vehicle for our albums."
UND VEE VILL NOT TOLERATE ZIS!
German prosecutors keeping an eye on Madonna to see if she repeats her controversial mock-crucifixion scene during her weekend concert in Duesseldorf, claiming that the stunt could be construed as insulting religious beliefs. Yup, you heard it right. This from the nation that gave us the Third Reich and believed in Aryan supremacy.
AND I'M SURE HE'LL RAP ABOUT IT ON HIS NEXT CD
Lil' Wayne in big trouble after being arrested in Atlanta on drug charges Monday. He was released on bond, police said. Okay, I give up...who the hell is Lil' Wayne?
STONES NOT ROLLING
The Rolling Stones canceling their second and final concert in Spain Tuesday due to Mick Jagger's laryngitis.
THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING, MORE TV AVAILABLE ONLINE
CBS announcing plans to stream all of its fully owned prime-time shows online on its broadband channel, Innertube, for free the day after they air, beginning with its fall premieres. Episodes of 'CSI' will remain up for a month, while 'Survivor' will stay up all season.
PASSING
Bruno Kirby, known for playing the best friend to Billy Crystal's characters in both 'When Harry Met Sally' and 'City Slickers', died Monday in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia. Kirby also had memorable roles in 'Good Morning Vietnam' and he played young Clemenza in 'The Godfather II.'
SATELLITE PRICES DROP IN GM CARS
General Motors has reduced the option price of factory-installed XM Satellite radios from $325 to $199. XM has an exclusive deal with GM, with the option offered on more than 50 GM models, according to the company. GM announced the price change on Wednesday and said the new option price will appear on most 2007 models. Some GM vehicles will also come standard with XM Radio.
TIMBER!
As expected, Justin Timberlake's intimate club tour in support of his upcoming album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, selling out all 13 dates in no time.
EVEN THOUGH HE'S BEEN MISSING IN ACTION
Ricky Martin to be honored as the 2006 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.
YOU REALLY DIDN'T THINK HE'D GET ANY KIND OF SERIOUS SENTENCE DID YOU?
Mel Gibson entered a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor drunk-driving charge through his lawyer in Malibu. He received three years of probation, and "a fine roughly half the star's typical Moonshadows bar tab." (Thanks to www.defamer.com for that description )
COMING SOON!
- OutKast, Idlewild (8/22)
- Bob Dylan, Modern Times (8/29)
- Old Crow Medicine Show, Big Iron World (8/29)
- Jessica Simpson, A Public Affair (8/29)
- Audioslave, Revelations (9/5)
2006 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location CMJ October 31 - November 4 New York
Quotes of the week
"He has very strong opinions--which I try not to listen to."
-- Ivanka Trump to Stuff magazine, on having 'the Donald' as a dad. Oh yeah? You don't listen to his financial tips?"This is supposed to be making me humble. Let me do this. I just want to do my job. You think you're better than me?"
-- Boy George reporting for his first day of community service, sweeping leaves and trash off New York sidewalks. I guess when he sang "I'll Tumble For Ya" he was somewhat prophetic."I don't think we should watch a movie that has an actor in it who currently is in rehab."
-- Robin Williams, currently in rehab, in the Enquirer, joking to his treatment cohorts that maybe watching 'Patch Adams' wasn't such a swell idea. The mag says the group took Robin's point and decided on 'Rain Man' instead. His cohorts should thank him immensely. Watching Williams in 'Patch Adams' would've been enough to drive them all back to the bottle."I'm sure you guys are hip to this already, but I'm gonna play some new songs for y'all. Hope you like 'em. If you don't, f- you!"
-- Justin Timberlake, before performing music from his upcoming album 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' at Hollywood's House of Blues, and believing that using the F-word gives him more credibility. Sorry Justin...the only thing that gives you credibility is what's in the grooves."I believe this is an elaborate ruse perpetrated by the big cosmetic companies... Maybe it's not terrorism, maybe it's Maybelline."
-- Jimmy Kimmel talking about tightened airline restrictions
The B-Side - 'Blips'
ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT WE'LL HAVE TO FORGET WHAT WE ORIGINALLY LEARNED, THINK ABOUT ALL THE HIGH-SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS THAT MIGHT HAVE TO BE REPRINTED: PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- An international group of astronomers may add three planets to the solar system. No, it's not science fiction. It's a draft resolution set to be presented Wednesday to the International Astronomers meeting in Prague.
On the agenda is a universal definition of a planet. If the resolution is passed next week, Pluto's largest moon and two other heavenly bodies would join the nine existing planets. One, the asteroid Ceres, had been considered a planet in the 1800s, but was demoted. Some astronomers have suggested Pluto should be demoted as well.
But the current proposal would end that debate by defining a planet as any round object that orbits the sun and meets a certain size. The astronomers will hold two brainstorming sessions before voting on a resolution.
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