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They Got Some Money, They Spend It Up
September 3, 2010
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"We're talking about a group of people (politicians) who wouldn't know greatness unless it donated a large sum of money to their reelection campaign and asked for only a small favor in return."
-- Dennis MillerI've reported many times on the amount of money the (alleged) industry association, the RIAA, spends on lobbying the best politicians money can buy inside our nation's capitol.
When I saw the news this week about how much they spent in just the last quarter, I realized I would have to write something yet again and ask the $64,000 question: How do these guys get away with it and how come nobody at the labels is stopping this madness?
The RIAA spent a whole bunch of money on lobbying in the last quarter. How's the figure of $1.398 million sound to you? That's a whole lot of money, my friends. And according to an article in Digital Music News, what was most of the spent on? Well, they spent it on pressing for passage of the Performance Royalty Act, more legal remedies for file-sharing and Net neutrality. Yeah, those things will certainly solve the music industries problems, right? As if.
If the RIAA was to spend another million or two more the rest of this year, the total would be even more staggering. At what point does someone in the industry look at the bills and text to someone at the RIAA, "Hey! WTF?!"
One doesn't have to be well-educated in technology to know the simple truth that's been out there since Al Gore claims he invented the Internet. The truth? It's a little too late to try and turn back the digital hands of time because those digital clocks don't have hands; they just display numbers.
And when it comes to numbers in digital technology, it lots of ones and zeroes. While some lobbyists and politicians might understand checks with lots of zeros on them, they have little understanding of digital technology. If they did, they would know they can't undo anything with legislation. Maybe the lobbyists and politicians do know that and they're just taking the RIAA's money. In either case, whatever is being done (or not being done), isn't going to do a thing to help the major labels and the industry at large reverse the downward trend. (See the link to the news story below 'Album Sales Down Again To Record Lows')
The only thing that will reverse the downward trend is more albums by more artists that can sell multi-Platinum quantities. More Eminems, more Taylor Swifts, more Lady GaGas, more Lady Antebellums, more Susan Boyles, more Justin Biebers, etc. Imagine how much worse album sales would be down if it weren't for those artists and others who sell in big quantities. It's obvious that people still buy a lot of music in big quantities when they find value in buying an album that has more than one or two good songs. It's also obvious they have no problem BUYING hit songs in huge quantities online either. Ask the Black-Eyed Peas who have sold more than six million downloads of "I Got A Feeling (Tonight's Gonna' Be A Good Night)".
But back to the RIAA. They got some money, they're spending it up. And they are not alone.
There was also news this week that Universal Music Group spent $840,000 in the second quarter to lobby the federal government as well. UMG spent most of their dollars lobbying for the performance rights act. UMG had already spent $810,000 in the first quarter of the year, trying to get the federal government to up the budget allocated to fight music piracy.
Millions of dollars being spent in Washington, D.C. and what are the results thus far?
Those millions would have been better spent making more hits anyway possible. Whether via radio, via the Internet, via viral marketing and promotion, via tour support for new artists, or exploring the possibilities of how technology can help the industry better transition to digital and generate new revenue streams.
Trying to get Washington D.C. to solve the problems that exist just isn't going to do much folks.
Groucho Marx said, "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."
Groucho, of course, was trying to be funny when he said that. Or was he?
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
ARCADE FIRE TEAMS WITH GOOGLE FOR AN HTLM5 "CHROME" EXPERIENCE"
Creativity and innovation are the keys to maximizing new media, and ArcadeFfire takes a bold leap forward by engaging their audience with "an interactive platform for next-generation media experiences."
How to describe it? Well, as the article about it starts on Wired, "We don't know exactly what to call the online collaboration between Arcade Fire and Google that launched Monday morning, but it sure is neat."
Neat it surely is, and it shows just how much can be done by utilizing and embracing digital technology instead of fearing it. I'm sure there will be a while lot of online chatter about this in the next few weeks.
This article is the MUST-read of the week. Check it out here: http://tiny.cc/sek92
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
A FOLLOW-UP TO LAST WEEK'S COMMENTARY 'THE INTERNET: THE YIN & THE YANG'
In my commentary last week I quoted Jac Holzman, who founded Elektra Records 60 years ago and is now a senior advisor to Edgar Bronfman Jr., the chief executive of Warner Music Group, about his thoughts on the Internet, new media, and technology. This week, the Los Angeles Times did a brief Q &A with Jac and he shared some more thoughts on how the music industry it can survive the current challenges it faces.
Asked about the digital world labels now exist in, Holzman says "Chaos is something to embrace. There are many paths, and we should try all of them. If they don't work, just move on. From the publishing standpoint, our responsibility is to aggregate rights and make use of those rights. We need to loosen up our permissions and make it easier for creative people to remix songs, for example. As a label, we should never lose that umbilical thread from our gut to the music."
Read the rest of his comments here: http://tiny.cc/hqls9
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
GOOGLE PAY-FOR-VIEW?
In a move that could threaten a cross-section of industries, Google is reportedly in advanced talks with top movie studios to launch a YouTube-based pay-per-view movie rental service.
"Google's YouTube video site is in negotiations with Hollywood's leading movie studios to launch a global pay-per-view video service by the end of 2010, putting it head-to-head with Apple in the race to dominate the digital distribution of film and television content," reports the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources.
"YouTube is the dominant online destination for user-generated content," writes MediaBeat. "But the Google division wants to turn it into an international on-demand movie service in an effort to head off Apple in the digital distribution of film and TV shows."
Stay tuned.
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The Futurehit.DNA Challenge
Good friend Jay Frank, the SVP/Music Strategy for CMT (who oversees music strategy as it relates to all of the network's on-air and digital music initiatives across all properties, including CMT, CMT.com, CMT Mobile, games, touring and other businesses), is a reader of this newsletter, and the author of the book which provides a songwriting compass, Futurehit.DNA. Jay stands at the forefront of the new music industry with his theories on the elements of a hit song and Futurehit.DNA is a must-read for all songwriters everywhere.
Now artists have the opportunity to put the ideas Jay describes in Futurehit.DNA to music as part of the Futurehit.DNA Songwriting Challenge. Jay will give three top-notch submissions featured placement on his blog, futurehitdna.com and his social networks. One Grand Prize winner will receive a career-changing opportunity to receive an hour-long consultation with Jay on what makes their tune hit-worthy and what next steps are appropriate. Entries for this unique contest are available until October 1st.
"People don't listen to music the same way anymore," says Frank, "and they certainly don't discover music the same way anymore ... If artists aren't going to pay attention to that, then they are going to lose out on the key methodology that people utilize to find your music. You have to play into the way technology works by saying to yourself, 'How do I listen to this when it comes through on that technology? How does it sound when it first comes in that way?' Those are the artists that are going to succeed moving forward."
To get your copy of Futurehit.DNA or submit songs to Jay for consideration, please go to www.futurehitdna.com.
And Now For Some News ...
What Else Is New Dept: Album Sales Down Again To Record Lows
NPRThe month of August - like, basically, every month for the past 10 years - has not been kind to the music industry.
Between August 8th and 14th, only 4.95 million albums were sold, the lowest weekly level since Neilsen Soundscan starting tracking sales in 1991.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple's Announcements This Week
APPLE.COMApple had their big press conference this week to announce a whole bunch of stuff.
Among the news: Apple premiered their new Apple TV for a breakthrough price of $99; they introduced iTunes 10 with Ping, a new social network for music that lets you follow your favorite artists and friends to discover what music they're talking about; they unveiled the new iPod shuffle; they reinvented the iPod nano with Multi-Touch Interface; and introduced the new iPod Touch.
Steve Jobs also gave out a whole bunch of statistics about Apple and its products. These two are staggering: there are now 275 million iPods sold (talk about market penetration!); more than 11.7 billion songs have been downloaded from the iTunes Store. (Again, that means 11.7 billion less were stolen for free)
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple's Ping May Be The Future Of Social Commerce
GIGOMGigaOm's Om Malik says that Apple's Ping may be "the future of e-commerce," explaining that it "may function like a cross between Facebook and Twitter for iTunes by allowing you to follow celebrities, create social cliques and get artist updates via an activity stream ... I think it could have tremendous impact on social sharing and commerce."
Read more about it by clicking here.
Never Mind The Apps, It's Still All About The Music On iTunes
NPD GROUPThe NPD Group, a leading market research company, recently surveyed Apple iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPod Touch users to determine how they use iTunes to acquire music, video, games and other entertainment content. According to NPD's "iTunes User Report," apps are garnering a lot of attention among iTunes users, but music is still central to the iTunes experience.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Sony Wants To Take On iTunes
BBCiTunes is the #1 branded online music store globally. So it makes sense that others challenge it on a regular basis. This week Sony announced they will take on that challenge.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Vevo iPhone App Hits 1 Million Downloads
THE SPACELABVevo continues to show growth with users. The YouTube Vevo app for iPhones is just a little over a week old and it already has over one milling downloads.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple's 90 Second Song Sample Idea Gets Resistance From Publishers
CNETApple had plans to boost the amount of time iTunes users would be given to sample a song from 30 seconds to 90 seconds.
Now those plans have hit a snag. A trade group representing music publishers and songwriters informed Apple on Tuesday that the company could not go ahead with a plan to extend the length of iTunes song samples without the publisher's permission.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Things Change Dept: Blockbuster Will File Bankruptcy
THE LOS ANGELES TIMESBlame Netflix for coming up with a model that nobody could beat.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Blockbuster, once the name synonymous with video rentals everywhere in the U.S., is telling the Hollywood studios it will file bankruptcy sometime in the next few weeks.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Bob Dylan & John Lennon Releases Coming
ROLLING STONERolling Stone reports on Bob Dylan's forthcoming "Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Whitmark Demos" (that will come with a notable bonus, if you buy the set from Amazon: A previously unknown live recording of Dylan, taped May 10th, 1963 at Brandeis University), and John Lennon reissues planned for his 70th birthday celebration.
Read the news about the Dylan release here.
Read the news about the Lennon releases here.
SONY WINS ON HOME TURF:
Sony might be struggling stateside, but it just scored a major victory in its home town. In Japan, Agence France Presse is reporting that the Sony Walkman portable music player outsold the iPod in monthly sales for the first time since the iPod debuted in 2001. Sony's share of the Japanese market for portable music players stood at 47.8% last month, ahead of Apple, which had 44%, according to Tokyo-based marketing research company BCN.
WAXED GAGA:
Lady Gaga is set to become an attraction when she makes her waxed debut alongside Marilyn Monroe, Angelina Jolie and Miley Cyrus at Madame Tussaud's later this year
HARRISON & HARPER:
Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison, and Joseph Arthur have formed a band called Fistful of Mercy, after a track of the same name they have recorded for their debut album.
LARRY MIGHT WORK FOR SEACREST:
Larry King wanted Ryan Seacrest to be his replacement on CNN. But now King may be going to work for Seacrest and going right back to where he started from -- hosting a radio show. King, who will step down late this year from his long-running CNN talk show, and Seacrest are reportedly in discussions to give King a new radio show.
AND THIS WILL ONLY HELP HIM SELL MORE RECORDS:
T.I. was arrested on drug charges Wednesday in Los Angeles, after police smelled marijuana drifting from the rapper's Maybach during a traffic stop. After searching the vehicle, police charged T.I. and his wife Tamika "Tiny" Cottle with possession of a controlled substance.
AXL SHOULD NOT HAVE MADE THEM WAIT IN DUBLIN:
Axl Rose stormed off stage at Dublin's O2 Arena after he was pelted with bottles from the crowd. Fans had been forced, as at many recent GNR shows, to wait over 90 minutes for the band to appear.
ELTON AND LEON SET DATE FOR RELEASE:
Elton John and his "idol," '70s singer-songwriter Leon Russell, will release their album "The Union" on October 19th, marking the occasion with a show at New York's Beacon Theatre.
NO GLEE ABOUT ROYALTIES:
Glee's stars are reportedly unhappy with the royalties that Sony Music, the label that releases the show's chart-topping soundtracks, is paying the cast. Three discs featuring highlights from the Fox series have hit Number One on the Billboard 200 in the past year alone.
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.
Quotes of the week
"I'll be nice - until she does the first insane thing, which will probably be 20 minutes after she's out."
-- Joan Rivers, talking about Lindsay Lohan"If he was of legal age ...Justin Beiber has this swag to him."
-- Kim Kardashian, toying with the possibility of dating the 16-year-old pop star. No, make that Kim Kardashian toying with her audience.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Martin Scorsese Attends Free iMovie Demonstration At Apple Store
NEW YORK-Filmmaker Martin Scorsese went to a free iMovie demonstration at the Apple Store Wednesday, attentively watching the tutorial for the video-editing software from a front-row seat, sources reported.
Scorsese, who won the 2006 Academy Award for best director, reportedly interrupted the presentation more than a dozen times to ask questions about importing footage, creating on-screen titles, and adding sound effects. According to Apple Store employees, the 67-year-old film legend regularly jotted down notes on a yellow legal pad while the moderator demonstrated the step-by-step process for creating movies on a Macintosh.
Read the rest here and laugh: Click Here.
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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