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Be Careful What You Wish For
April 14, 2006
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"In San Francisco, disc jockeys wouldn't even take payola to play my records there."
-- Bobby VintonLast August, when SONY/BMG settled with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (and remember folks, he wants to be governor) after his investigation into alleged payola in the industry, I wrote the following in the newsletter:
" Independent labels are already making statements that the playing field "has been leveled" now and they see the SONY/BMG settlement as the dawn of a new era for them to expose their artists at radio. Sadly, they are delusional if they believe this. With independent promotion now under the spotlight more than ever before, independent promotion people will be shut out at more radio and used less by labels. Who then will be the voice of independent artists/labels at radio? Independent labels who think they now have "a level playing field" might become the biggest losers of all because the good hard-working independent promotion people who have been their voice at radio will likely be diminished in their roles as stations write new rules about who they conduct business with." ( 'Darkness At The Break Of Noon...It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Sighing', DISC&DAT, 7/20/05)
Over a month ago, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin urging the commission to still investigate radio to determine whether there actually is "a level playing field " for majors and indies alike. Then just last week, A2IM President Don Rose once again petitioned Martin, because it's obvious that Mr. Spizer's investigation did absolutely nothing to give independent labels any equal footing with majors. In fact, as I predicted last August, it's gotten even harder to get new music from independent labels played.
In fact, in a story in the L.A.Times this past week ('Radio Stations Play It Safe Amid Legal Probe', click here to read it: KKBT's program director, Tom Calococci is quoted as saying, "No programmer wants to draw attention by choosing songs too far outside the mainstream," Calococci, who says fear of regulatory scrutiny has made radio executives less willing to play emerging bands. Calococci still plays new music, he said, but "Spitzer has put a chill on everything."
I have no idea why independent labels thought things would change. They obviously hoped and wished for the best. If they actually believed that radio stations across the country coast to coast were going to sort through the hundreds of new CDs each week to discover the best songs for their stations, they were hallucinating on what they perceived as good news at the time. Time is money, and radio (like any other business ) will prioritize based on its immediate needs to generate revenues. And the truth is, established artists have always taken priority because the public wants to hear them as soon as they have new music out.
After that, the next level of priorities is based on a host of other research and resources that stations employ locally, regionally, and nationally, to make sure their audience stays with them. This of course doesn't mean that music from independent labels/artists doesn't have a chance. It just means, it's a whole lot tougher at radio now if your competing against a programmer's weekly "short stack" of records to be added to the playlist.
New music and new artists are indeed the lifeblood of the industry and in an ideal world, one would hope that radio and MTV would spend time to seek out much of the new music every week. But believe me, radio and MTV spend enough time just trying to find out the few songs they add weekly they hope are right and their audience will enjoy. It's not an easy job.
Unfortunately for the independent labels, the job of exposing their artists is now more difficult than ever. They will now have to market new artists in alternative methods utilizing the best creativity each and every time to compete in an incredibly competitive marketplace.
Of course there's one place where independent artists and labels can create major buzz and sell lots of music. Online. The Internet has become a wonderful breeding ground for new artists and new music and those that have already gained some foothold out in cyberspace are already seeing the results of their hard work pay off in basic artist development.
Trying to Corral Stern's Lost Herd - Only a fraction of the audience followed the shock jock to satellite.
Can millions of listeners just disappear? That's a question plaguing Howard Stern and one with vital implications for radio itself in the wake of the shock jock's heralded and hyped switch from free to satellite broadcasting. The self-proclaimed King of All Media once commanded a national audience of 12 million daily listeners before jumping to satellite in January. But since then, his kingdom has shrunk to a small fraction of that size. Meanwhile, the shock jock's main replacements thus far have failed to hold very much of the former flock.
According to industry analysts, the new Stern math scans something like this: At best, he took between 1 million and 2 million listeners with him, and his replacements, spread across many of the country's major radio markets, are drawing numbers in a similar range. That leaves 8 million to 10 million nomadic listeners nationwide wandering the terrestrial radio dial in search of a new voice or sound to lead them
out of the morning drive-time wilderness. Call them the Howard Stern diaspora, those legions unwilling to fork over satellite subscription fees and unimpressed by pretenders to the throne.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Cingular To Sell Ring Tones From MySpace Bands
LAS VEGAS--Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. cell phone service, said on Thursday it plans to sell ring tones from bands that put their music on MySpace.com, the social Web site that is popular among teenagers.
Cingular, a venture of AT&T and BellSouth, said it hopes the service will boost revenue, customer loyalty and help its image among young people.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Band Will Make Mobile-Only Single
An Anglo-Italian five-piece band is set to make an entirely different kind of record next month when it launches Britain's first single that can be bought only by cell phone, mobile network operator 3 said on Monday.
"Stop Me," by Planet Funk, due to be released on May 8, comes after "Crazy," by Gnarls Barclay, reached the No. 1 spot in the U.K. singles chart by download sales alone, before it was even available in record stores.
It is the latest attempt by bands and record companies to breathe life back into the flagging singles market as they look to capture the imagination of a new generation of music lovers who are shunning established formats such as compact discs.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Fox Will Put TV Reruns On The Internet
News Corp.'s Fox network has signed a six-year agreement with its 187 affiliated stations that will let it show reruns of its television programs on the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Thursday.
The revenue-sharing agreement allows Fox to make 60 percent of its prime-time schedule available online the morning after the shows air, the Journal reported. The formula is complex, but stations essentially will get a 12.5 percent cut after costs, the paper also reported.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Beatles Tunes Being Prepped For Download
The Beatles are preparing to sell their songs online after years of refusing to take part in the Internet music boom, according to testimony given by the head of their record company. Neil Aspinall, a former Beatles road manager and managing director of Apple Corps, was a witness in the company's trademark lawsuit against Apple Computer.
He said that the company was digitally remastering the entire Beatles catalog, which would pave the way for selling the songs online.
"I think it would be wrong to offer downloads of the old masters when I am making new masters," he said in a written statement submitted to the High Court in London earlier this month.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Commentary: The ABCs Of Video Upheaval
ABC shows including "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" available for free on a Web site it controls. Shows will include ads that can't be skipped.
This is the start of a big trend; now networks, Web portals, cable operators and advertisers need to shift their strategies. Free TV on the Web will further weaken TV schedules and hasten networks' transition to multiple revenue streams.
Read more about it by clicking here.
OBVIOUSLY DOLBY HATES HIM AS WELL
Thomas Dolby accusing Kevin Federline of illegally sampling his hit "She Blinded Me with Science" for K-Fed's "America's Most Hated."
REG DOES GOOD
Elton John selling thousands of pieces from his personal wardrobe in order to raise money for his AIDS charity.
NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS, IT CAN'T BE WORSE THAN WATCHING HER IN 'GIGLI'
Jennifer Lopez suing ex-husband Ojani Noa to stop publication of a tell-all book he's been shopping around. Her lawsuit claims that Noa offered to stop pursuing publication if she paid him $5 million.
PASSING
Proof, a member of rap group D12 and a close friend of Eminem, shot to death early Tuesday at a Detroit nightclub, a publicist said. The rapper, whose real name was DeShaun Holton, was 32. Also: June Pointer, the youngest of famed '80s R&B group, The Pointer Sisters, who had struggled with drug problems in recent years, died Tuesday of cancer in a Southern California hospital. She was 52.
TIM & FAITH SELL TIX BIG TIME
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul 2 Soul II tour is the most-requested event in the first quarter of 2006, per Ticketmaster.
ARCHIVED
Recordings by Buddy Holly, B.B. King, Sonic Youth, Fats Domino, Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix among the 50 records being preserved by the Library of Congress this year.
CMT NODS
Carrie Underwood winning Breakthrough Video and Female Video at the 4th Annual Country Music Television Awards Monday for her song "Jesus, Take the Wheel." Keith Urban winning Video of the Year for "Better Life."
J-LO NOT KEEN ON A POSSIBLE DOWN-LO BY EX-HUBBY
Jennifer Lopez suing ex-husband Ojani Noa to stop publication of a tell-all book he's been shopping around. Her lawsuit claims Noa offered to stop pursuing publication if she paid him $5 million.
JACK-O BAIL OUT PLAN
Michael Jackson is allegedly close to cutting a deal that would help him to avoid bankruptcy by refinancing millions of dollars in loans, per the New York Times. As part of the deal, Jackson would reportedly provide Sony with the option to purchase half of his stake in the Beatles catalogue.
KEYS TO THE SILVER SCREEN
Alicia Keys landing a role in the upcoming big-screen adaptation of The Nanny Diaries.
IT'S OBVIOULSY MORE THAN OIL THAT'S KEEPING CHAVEZ SO HAPPY...MAYBE 'SCARFACE' IS ONE OF HIS FAVORITE FILMS
This week, Mexican soldiers seized 5 1/2 tons (!) of cocaine from a commercial plane arriving from Venezuela. U.S. and Mexican officials say that cocaine and heroin is increasingly passing from Colombia through Venezuela to Mexico where it is smuggled into the United States. According to the U.S. State Department, Venezuela has become a key transit point for drugs because of "rampant corruption at the highest levels of law enforcement and a weak judicial system." Last August Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, accusing its agents of spying. (Uh-huh...right)
COMING SOON!
- Godsmack, IV (4/25)
- Tool, 10,000 Days (5/2)
- Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam (5/2)
- Jewel, Goodbye Alice in Wonderland (5/2)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium (5/9)
2006 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location MusExpo 2006 April 30-May 3, 2006 Los Angeles, CA Streaming Media East 2006 May 23-24, 2006 New York, NY Home Entertainment 2006 June 1-4, 2006 Los Angeles, CA
Quotes of the week
"I'll take these eight...one for every day of the week!"
-- Jessica Simpson in the National Enquirer, having a blond moment while buying bejeweled designer pendants at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills."How many times have I got to tell you, don't touch my stuff."
-- Ray Romano in Globe, giving his first reaction to his wife's planned breast reduction."The world stood still last month when New Age musician Yanni was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. On Monday, Florida prosecutors decided not to charge him, explaining that being Yanni is punishment enough."
-- Jimmy Kimmel
NARIP Information
NARIP (The National Association of Record Industry Professionals) promotes career advancement, education and good will among record executives. To find out more about this great organization, how you can join or attend their events, just go to: www.narip.com.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
MAYBE THIS WASN'T THE BEST VENUE FOR THIS MOVIE: NORFOLK, Mass. -- A prison officer faces punishment for showing the gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" to inmates at the state's largest prison, a corrections department spokeswoman said. Massachusetts Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said the officer, whose name was not released, had not followed standard procedure for screening the movie for excessive violence, assaults on correctional staff, nudity or explicit sexual content. She would not reveal what discipline the officer could face. "I want to make it clear, it wasn't the subject matter -- it was the graphic nature of the sexually explicit scenes," Wiffin said Monday.
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