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Waiting For The Next Apple To Fall From The Tree
January 22, 2010
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A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets.
-- Apple's Steve JobsThere's so much anticipation for the January 27th media unveiling of Apple's latest creation, the new tablet (the iTablet?) device its been working on for some time, that everybody in the tech world is basically in a frenzy to get one first. (See the three news articles I've included in the newsletter this week for more details about the tablet)
I've watched several YouTube videos with tech reporters and media people talking about the tablet (you can do the same if you do the search on YouTube for 'Apple tablet news'), and once again it's very easy to see that Apple will have a huge hit on their hands with consumers. Experts predict the tablet device could sell as many as three million within a year of release and that people will line up for it in droves as they did for the iPhone in all its model releases.
Whatever happens at retail, there's little doubt that the iTablet (or whatever it will be called) will be successful. And like the iPhone, it will revolutionize the way we use handheld digital devices, and the way media is delivered to those devices as well.
The new device is once again evidence that Steve Jobs practices what he preaches when he says "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
The iTablet will hit the marketplace in a very BIG way, and if you watch one of the YouTube videos about it as I have, you'll see why in very short time. It's a sure bet iPhone users will be some of the first to buy the new device, but others will do so as well when they realize what an incredible piece of technology it is. Imagine an iPhone ...only bigger, the same apps, and more.
Apple's MAC computers rule in the graphic design world, the publishing world, the digital film arena, the digital music arena, and more.
Apple's iTablet is going to rule the hand held computer/mobile device world in short time.
Buy Apple stock today.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
IF YOU WANT TO SELL MORE MUSIC, THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT
You don't need me to tell you that Lady GaGa is selling a whole lot of CDs. If you listen to the radio, watch music videos, or look at the album charts every week, you'll see that Ms. GaGa has the same two albums in the top 10 every week ( 'The Fame' and 'The Fame Monster') and she has another #1 single with "Bad Romance."
Universal Music Group has created two deluxe CD packages on Lady GaGa: one a deluxe 'Fame' CD set that includes a total of 21 tracks (all the tracks from both the 'Fame' and 'Fame Monster CDs' together); and a super-deluxe limited edition and numbered package (and more expensive, but an incredible package nonetheless) in a box that includes the same CDs, pull-out posters, puzzles, 3-D glasses, copies of the sketches Lady GaGa made for outfits she's created, a beautiful book, and more.
The result is not only that Lady GaGa is selling more CDs, she's also selling more a whole lot more tracks. Since its release in November, the 'Fame Monster' CD and the 'Fame' deluxe CD package have generated over 1 million in combined sales. The new songs produced for the 'Fame Monster' EP have generated over 3 million sales according to Nielsen SoundScan. (with 'Bad Romance' accounting for 2.4 million of that total number) Just this week it was ever announced that Lady GaGa's hit single, "Just Dance," has just gone platinum five times over. It's the first song ever by a female artist to surpass 5 million downloads as well.
It's no secret that CD sales have declined year over year now for a long time. I've often suggested in the newsletter that lower prices and creative packages could do more to engage the consumer and sustain CD sales in the marketplace. What Universal has accomplished with Lady GaGa is exactly that. They have engaged music consumers with great packages from one of today's most exciting creative artists.
I imagine there will be a DVD of Lady GaGa's 'Fame Monster' tour when it ends. And I imagine the package for the DVD will be as engaging as the CD packages.
Universal is to be congratulated for the success on these packages. They have proven that people will buy CDs in BIG numbers by artists they like, when they perceive great value in return for their dollar at the cash register, even when that dollar is getting harder and harder to get in the current economic environment.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
TWITTER UPDATE
I wrote several articles in the newsletter last year in which I expressed my opinions about Twitter, and why I thought it would not prove to be the leviathan new media tool that a whole lot of people were hyping. It has become a great tool for marketing people, but other than that, it's (in my opinion) for those who feel the necessity to know what the people they are "following" are doing every minute. If that is something people continue to find interesting in the celebrity-driven media world we live in, then Twitter will grow.
I still think it's too early to tell where Twitter will end up in our digital history, but this week an article on Read Write Web titled 'Is Twitter Tanking' (http://tinyurl.com/y9jjhch) asks if the world's most popular micro-blogging service has jumped the shark. After peaking at a growth rate of 13% last March, Twitter has seen its growth slow dramatically, according to new data from HubSpot. Last October, Twitter's growth rate had fallen to just 3.5%. On the bright side, the research indicates that the average active user on Twitter today is more engaged than six months ago.
Overall, however, most Twitterers have fewer than 100 followers, while, only 18% of all users have more than 100 followers. To boot, a whopping 81% of all users are currently also following fewer than 100 people.
And Now For Some News ...
Ad-Supported Music Service Guvera Raises $20M
Media PostOn the heels of a licensing deal with Universal, ad-supported music service Guvera has closed a second round of funding worth $20 million from AMMA Private Investment, an Australian consortium of private angel investors.
The news -- first reported by industry blog TechCrunch -- comes on the heels of a major licensing deal with Universal Music Group. The Australia-based service is seeking to establish its U.S. presence, and as such, opened its first New York office late last year.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Report: Mobile Apps To Make Over $7 Billion This Year ... Yes, Billion
GartnerThink mobile apps are a nickel-and-dime market? Well, according to new Gartner research, consumers will spend $6.2 billion in mobile application stores this year while advertising revenue is expected to generate $0.6 billion worldwide. Overall, analysts say mobile application stores will exceed 4.5 billion downloads this year -- eight out of 10 of which will be free to end users. Gartner forecasts worldwide downloads in mobile application stores to surpass 21.6 billion by 2013, while the share of free downloads will increase from 82% of all downloads in 2010 to 87% of all downloads in 2013.
Worldwide, mobile application stores' download revenue exceeded $4.2 billion in 2009 and will grow to $29.5 billion by the end of 2013. This revenue forecast includes end-user spending on paid-for applications and advertising-sponsored free applications. Advertising-sponsored mobile applications will generate almost 25% of mobile application stores revenue by 2013.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Mobile Phones To Get A Little More Rock 'n' Roll
Media PostFamed electric guitar maker Fender is partnering with T-Mobile and HTC to market a new Fender co-branded myTouch 3G wireless handset. The new phone, which will be available on Jan. 20th, is designed to look like a Fender guitar with a sunburst-finish-inspired design. The phone will come pre-loaded with several music-oriented applications including Guitar: Solo and Musical Light, and it can accommodate more powerful headphones and includes space to hold 16 GB of memory for songs.
"The focus and purpose of this [partnership] is to look at music enthusiasts and musicians who need a mobile device," Mark Van Vleet, senior vice president of business affairs for Fender, tells Marketing Daily. "We wanted to make sure they had a great device to experience music on their terms."
Read more about it by clicking here.
For The Other Definition Of Success As A Rock Band, Check Out Glossary
Nashville SceneMy thanks again to Portland, Oregon's well-known DJ, Clarence Duffy, for sending me this article.
Glossary is a band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee (King of Leon hail from there) and they are doing it all on their own, with success.
Success in music can be broadly defined. On one hand, there's the quantifiable success of hit records, sold-out stadiums, cocaine and hookers -- the gold standard, rock-star version of success. On the other hand, there's the more working-class definition that involves owning your own work, paying your own way and never being beholden to interests other than your own -- creating art for yourself and your fans, rather than some anonymous shareholders and their corporate lackeys. If you define success by the former, Murfreesboro rockers Glossary are what the Internet would call an epic fail. If you define it by the latter, well, Glossary might just be the most successful band in town.
"Yeah, don't be sad for us, we do cool shit all the time," says singer/guitarist Joey Kneiser, eliciting a hearty round of guffaws from his bandmates as we sit in his Murfreesboro apartment.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Vinyl Records Have A Place Among Today's Hi-Tech Toys
L.A. TimesThe Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas acts as a sort of barometer of what's to come in gadgets and technology. This year, exhibitors were obsessed with 3-D television and open software platforms. But in some areas of the Las Vegas Convention Center last week, vinyl records, a century-old technology, were a hip centerpiece. The vinyl resurgence has been written about before, but it was largely exclusive to hipsters and fogies, not tech geeks or clarity-focused audiophiles.
Yet, after being supplanted by three formats, vinyl lingers. Crosley, which licenses the name from the legacy manufacturer, drew crowds as onlookers continually recited lines about vinyl being cool again and the peculiarity of Best Buy carrying records. About half of Crosley's sizable booth was devoted to record players of varying types. Some are delightfully retro, with a brown, wooden finish, while others are cutting-edge (as progressive as you can be while still housing those giant Frisbees).
Read more about it by clicking here.
The Apple Tablet And iPhone 4 -- A Week Away
Apple just sent out invitations to select media for an event on the morning of January 27th, where the company plans to unveil what it's calling it "latest creation" -- likely code for its highly-anticipated Apple tablet device. Reports suggest that the device has been years in the making. A source at Apple tells Fox News -- of all places -- that the event will most likely focus on three projects: "The tablet device, iPhone 4, and a new round of iLife 2010 software."
The invite features "spray-painted blobs amid vibrant color swatches," which Fox is interpreting to mean that the new device will likely have the power to capture "creative" activities. Funny, because that is also how they describe their interpretation of fair and balanced.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Will Apple Choose Verizon Over AT&T For Its Tablet?
The StreetAre AT&T's coverage issues about to bite it in the butt? Rumor has it that Apple has chosen Verizon as the official carrier for its soon-to-launch "tablet" device. Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar, for one, is convinced based on the fact that the new device will feature a wireless chip made by Verizon partner Qualcomm. "This makes sense for Apple," Nielsen Wireless analyst Roger Entner tells The Street. "It behooves them to build a relationship with a company they haven't worked with yet."
Verizon's involvement could bode well for urban consumers who've complained endlessly about AT&T's spotty coverage, while having a telco partner means the price of the Verizon Tablet will be less than a Tablet purchased directly from Apple. Indeed, analysts estimate that Verizon will subsidize about $200 of the Tablet's price, so long as consumers agree to a two-year contract.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Survey: 1-In-5 "Likely" To Buy iTablet
Brainstorm Tech BlogWith its official unveiling less than a week away, some are wondering how well Apple's tablet device will actually sell. Well, according to a survey of over 3,000 consumers by ChangeWave Research, 4% say they're "very likely" to buy, while 14% are "somewhat likely." For what it's worth, ChangeWave's analysts say the results are very similar to a 2005 survey about Apple's switch to an Intel chip.
"Apple's switch to the Intel chip widely broadened the Mac's appeal to consumers and proved to be one of the great moves in Apple history," they insist. Not all of the findings boded well for Apple, however. While PC buying among survey respondents was up sharply -- likely due to the release of Microsoft's Windows 7 -- MacBook purchases were down sharply.
Read more about it by clicking here.
New Study Shows Young People Are Really Connected
New York TimesIf the music industry wants to know just how much time today's youth spends online with digital devices, there's a new study that shows outside of school and sleep, young people now spend "practically every waking minute" connected to one digital device or another, according to new research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Today, those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven-and-a-half hours a day with some sort of device. By contrast, they were connected less than six-and-a-half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted.
What's more, those numbers do not even include the hour-and-a-half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cell phones. Overall, multitasking teens and pre-teens are packing an average of nearly 11 hours of "media content" into that seven-and-a-half hours. Of note, and contrary to popular wisdom, the heaviest media users reported spending a similar amount of time exercising as the light media users.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Sirius XM Radio Posts Growth For 4Q, Expects Full-year Cash Flow Of $100 Million
ABC NewsSirius XM Radio shares jumped Wednesday after the company said it added 257,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter and expects to report $100 million in free cash flow.
The stock jumped 5.8 cents, or 8.6%, to 72.6 cents.
Read more about it by clicking here.
YouTube Gets Refreshed
TechCrunchRather than rest on its laurels as the video world's top dog, YouTube has been kept busy lately adding new features and design elements. The Google-owned site just rolled out HTML5 support, its first video rentals, and a new music feature dubbed Disco. Today, it debuted a new "Watch" page that does its best to better focus one's attention on the real star of the show: video.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple And Labels Talk About Music In The Cloud
Cnet.comApple executives have spoken to the top four recording companies about plans to offer a streaming music service free of charge to consumers, multiple music industry sources told CNET.
Apple's managers haven't revealed many details about their plans but did discuss offering iTunes users a means to store copies of their music libraries on Apple's servers. The benefits to an iTunes user would include the ability to back up music and access songs off the Web from any Internet-connected device and conceivably from anywhere in the world.
Read more about it by clicking here.
ALL FOR HAITI
Dave Matthews Band, Slash, Lupe Fiasco, Peter Gabriel and more artists will contribute unreleased music to the Download to Donate to Haiti compilation, sponsored by Music For Relief, a charitable group founded Linkin Park, who are offering up their own unreleased track "Not Alone." Borrowing from Radiohead's "In Rainbows" model, fans can download the music for free, but 100% of all donations will benefit Haiti.
In the meantime, George Clooney, Anderson Cooper and Wyclef Jean will co-host MTV's "Hope For Haiti" special on Friday, January 22nd. The special will feature performances by Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Bono, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Sting and many more. The special will broadcast simultaneously and commercial-free on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, HBO, MTV, VH1 and more channels. Proceeds from the special will benefit Red Cross, UNICEF, Partners in Health, Wyclef's Yele Haiti and Oxfam America.
In New York City, Patti Smith, the Swell Season, Rosanna Cash, Yo La Tengo and Vernon Reid & Corey Glover of Living Colour will perform during a four-night run of charity concerts at City Winery, with all proceeds from the show going to Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health. Felix Augustin, Haiti's Consul General, will also be on hand for the concerts, which run from January 20th to 25th.
As she announced on "Oprah" last week, On January 24th, Lady Gaga will donate 100% of all money from merchandise purchased on her official website to Haiti relief. "Little monsters attending the Monsterball on the 24th: all ticket + and merch/CD profit will be donated. Save your money. Help save a life," Gaga writes.
WE ARE THE WORLD REDUX
Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are planning a star-studded 25th anniversary re-recording of "We Are the World." They hope to recruit talent from Grammy weekend and gather it at the Nokia Theatre to join their voices. Grammy co-Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich will produce the event, which will then be turned into a video and single, just like it was in 1985.
EMI LICENSES TO FREEALLMUSIC
EMI Music has licensed music to ad-supported music service FreeAllMusic.com, becoming the second major label to partner with the start-up. FreeAllMusic.com, which made the announcement Tuesday, is the latest company to support the offering of free songs to the public with ad sales. Most of the companies that have attempted this have failed, including SpiralFrog, Imeem, and Ruckus.
ROCK'N'ROLL REALITY
VH1 has reality-TV guru Mark Burnett on board for a July 2010 show called "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp" that follows 15 musicians' transformation from mere citizens into rock stars with the help of big-name counselors.
'GLEE' GUY GETS DEAL
"Glee" star Matthew Morrison has inked a deal with Mercury Records. Morrison, who plays Will Schuester on the show, will release his debut in fall 2010.
JEFF BECK NEWS
Two months after Jeff Beck performs at Madison Square Garden along with Eric Clapton, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist will release his solo album "Emotion & Commotion," his first studio LP in seven years. April 13th's "Emotion" will boast both originals and covers, including renditions of Jeff Buckley's "Corpus Christi Carol," The Wizard of Oz's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell On You," featuring Joss Stone on vocals.
SLASH DATE
Slash's long-awaited solo album finally has a release date: April 6th. According to Blabbermouth the disc's U.K. version will be bundled with a 132-page special issue of Classic Rock magazine focusing on the guitarist's career. As RS has reported. Slash's solo LP will feature Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Grohl, Flea, Fergie and Nichole Scherzinger.
EVIDENTLY ADOPTING WASN'T ENOUGH
In her latest feat of age-defiance, 51-year-old superstar Madonna is talking to doctors about conceiving a child with her 22-year-old model lover, Jesus Luz, according to the UK's SUN newspaper.
GOLDEN GLOBE SONG
T-Bone Burnett won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song with "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)."
ELVIS & EARLE
Elvis Costello and Steve Earle will guest on the HBO show, "Treme," which debuts in April and was created by "The Wire" mastermind David Simon. The show focuses on musicians and others rebuilding their lives in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
CONAN ONLINE?
Fox isn't the only network interested in the services of soon-to-be ex-Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien. Revision 3 has posted an open letter on its blog, offering O'Brien his own show on the Internet television network.
WINEHOUSE ONCE AGAIN LIVING UP TO HER NAME
Amy Winehouse pleaded guilty to assaulting a theater manager during a December performance of "Cinderella" and was sentenced to two years' probation and a fine. Winehouse admitted to drinking five vodka and Cokes during the show and pulling the manager's hair when he suggested she have a glass of water, the BBC reports.
CHARLIE DANIELS OK
Charlie Daniels suffered a mild stroke while snowmobiling in Colorado on Friday. Reuters reports the 73-year-old "Devil Went Down to Georgia" musician has no plans to cancel any upcoming appearances.
SIMON TALKING
She may be off "Idol," but Simon Cowell is talking to former "American Idol" co-star Paula Abdul and his current "X Factor" U.K. co-star Cheryl Cole for judging positions on the show, which launches on Fox in fall 2011. One reason may be his comfort zone with them. Also, judges on "X Factor" are crucial to the success of the show. They mentor singers and effectively become part of the competition, rather than grader from the sidelines
PASSING
Carl Smith, one of the most popular country hitmakers of the 1950s, died on Saturday at his home in Franklin, Tenn. He was 82.
PASSING
Canadian folk and roots music singer Kate McGarrigle, the mother of Rufus Wainwright and sister Martha, passed away Monday night after battling a rare form of cancer. She was 63.
PASSING
Louisiana songwriter Bobby Charles has died at age 71 after collapsing at home, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Charles, who recorded with Neil Young, saw his work covered by Ray Charles and Muddy Waters; he penned Fats Domino's "Walking to New Orleans" and Billy Haley and the Comets' "See You Later Alligator."
Quotes of the week
"I know that I'm supposed to say that my newest is the best one. Bullshit."
-- John Mayer in Rolling Stone, being brutally honest and admitting he likes his "Continuum" album better than his current "Battle Studies.""No, I think looking back, I'm actually more pleased that I did it, because I got it out of my system. And I think it was very brave, in the face of a lot of closed minds. I try to motivate women and make them feel empowered by ... more their sexuality -- anything that a man likes to make a woman feel weak about."
-- Christina Aguilera on her dirty moves and ass-less chaps in Marie Claire"I went to a club opening with Katy Perry about a year-and-a-half ago. I saw David Spade, and I always thought that he was, like, so sexy in 'Joe Dirt.' I just think rednecks are so hot. So I was like, 'Oh, my God, this is my big chance! He's, like, my No. 1 if-I-could-I-would. David Spade, let's do this!' But then he kind of brushed me off, and I was like, "Oh, hell no." So I stole his bottle of whiskey and ran to the bathroom, and then they came and found me and threw me out."
-- Ke$ha tells Details magazine. Uh...David Spade???
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Jay-Z: 'On Second Thought, I Like Orlando More'
ORLANDO, FL-Though known for his personal homages to New York City in songs such as "Brooklyn's Finest" and "Empire State of Mind," hip-hop icon Jay-Z announced Monday that, upon closer reflection, he actually prefers the Greater Orlando area to the Big Apple.
"New York is gritty and real and helped shape both my music and my life, but Orlando-Orlando has it all," said the 40-year-old recording artist. "Plenty of shops, amazing restaurants, and you're only minutes away from Universal Studios. Plus, Orlando is just a really great place to raise a family." Jay-Z went on to declare that if you could make it in Kissimmee-St. Cloud, you could probably make it anywhere.
Read the rest here and laugh: http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/jay_z_on_second_thought_i.
THE RADIO INTERVIEW on 'THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE' - From newsblaze.com
"Steve Meyer is on the front line of global music sales and distribution which he expects will soar to pocket-bursting levels. What's more, he shares his insight and ingenuity with us. Steve gives us both historical perspective and futuristic vision as he chats with Judy about the love of his work, trends of the business and his personal points of view about success, happiness and blending life with the lust for life. Steve joins Judy and helps us discover the thrill of having it all with a sense of balance and purpose. "
You can listen to an interview I did with Judy Piazza of 'The American Perspective' by clicking here: (It runs about 15 minutes)
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=10306.
The Blogs
Check out Jerry Del Colliano's (the founder of INSIDE RADIO) daily blog, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.comWebsite
Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities
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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