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Vevo A-Go-Go
November 12, 2010
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"It's like MTV, you know, when they used to just play music videos."
-- GQ, February 2010"A year after its launch, VEVO is everywhere. It's now the #1 music-entertainment service online, and recently cracked the top-10 for all streaming video sites... [VEVO's] broadcast strategy lures in higher-paying advertisers, who want to distinguish their brands from the plethora of user-uploaded Web content."
-- Fast Company, April 26, 2010When Vevo launched late last year I congratulated Doug Morris and all at UMG who were responsible for launching the site, which I called a "very bold and brave move at a time when the music industry is facing more challenges on a daily business."
Back in August UMG pulled its videos from MTV.com in a dispute over licensing agreements. (That's most likely spelled m-o-n-e-y)
Whatever the breakdown was about, the facts are these: MTV's existing licensing deal with UMG had expired and Vevo was actively pursuing a renegotiation process. Something happened and then UMG pulled its content. That affected not only MTV.com, but also the websites for VH1 and CMT. The content was only pulled from MTV websites, not the cable channel or VH-1. With the amount of actual music videos both play, I don't think that really mattered. You can read what both UMG and MTV had to say about this at the time here: http://bit.ly/bfMfUO
This week comScore.com's latest music rankings said that Vevo is #1 again with 55.1 million unique visitors. That means that Vevo has been #1 in visitors for nine of the past 11 months, and #1 in viewers for the last 10 consecutive months since its launch. So, I don't think UMG and Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff are too upset about this current situation one bit. In fact, with numbers like these, it might make more sense for UMG not to ever come to an agreement with the MTV online properties. Just a thought.
I not only congratulate UMG (and all involved) on Vevo yet again, but I applaud whoever has made the decision NOT to compromise anything with MTV. The channel lost any and all relevance to the music audience at large some time ago, and they've admitted that the M in MTV no longer represents Music to their audience at large. Of course, anybody tuning in to the channel could have figured that out right quick some time ago as well.
With Vevo, UMG can be assured maximum exposure for their artists to the active music audience and consumers interested in MUSIC, and not the reality shows on MTV that will someday be questions on future editions on the 'Trivial Pursuit' TV edition.
MTV's job is to generate big ratings, and shows like "Jersey Shore" do exactly that and deliver big ad dollars to the network.
A record label's job is to promote, market, and gain maximum exposure for their artists.
Congrats to MTV on their ratings. But those ratings have little to do with what record labels need to do.
Congrats to all at UMG on the creation of a great online venture. I hope Vevo grows and prospers beyond what anyone imagined. Because when Snookie and her "Jersey Shore" friends fade from the memories of MTV viewers, MUSIC will still be a big part in their lives.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
LIMEWIRE IS BACK AGAIN? NOT REALLY, BUT SORT OF ... AND SO MUCH FOR THE RIAA'S CLAIM OF VICTORY
It was only last month that LimeWire was effectively outlawed after a U.S. federal judge granted a request from the RIAA to shut the software down.
Now, not even a month later, LimeWire is back as good as new. Not only has a secret development team reanimated the hugely popular client, but they have also made a few significant changes which make it better and more streamlined than before.
From the TorrentFreak article, "the sustained attack by the RIAA turned out to be a mere flesh wound." The article also states "alternatives are available and growing in popularity."
LimeWire (the real one, not the relaunched pirated one) actually wants the new site down now as well and says on their official website "We have very recently become aware of applications on the Internet purporting to use the LimeWire name, such as the LimeWire Pirate Edition. We demand that all persons using the LimeWire software, name, or trademark in order to upload or download copyrighted works in any manner cease and desist from doing so. We further remind you that the unauthorized uploading and downloading of copyrighted works is illegal." (And though they posted that on their website, I have to believe that deep down inside some LimeWire people were laughing hard.)
When the news broke about LimeWire being shutdown, I wrote "Long after the RIAA is gone, or reduced to insignificance due to a loss in funding from labels who will eventually realize all the money they sent their alleged industry association in Washington D.C. never did anything to create new revenue solutions because all they did was spend millions in legal fees, illegal file-sharing will still exist. LimeWire is gone. Does anyone actually believe the people who were using it to download music will just stop doing so? If they do, I suggest they: a) look at the statistic from the research in "Online Video Is Now Bigger Than P2P File-Sharing,' which says that actual P2P usage is "still growing in absolute terms," and: b) follow Neo and get out of The Matrix so they can return to the real world."
Another battle fought by the RIAA, which wasted untold dollars in legal fees, in a war they can never win, will never win, and lost long ago.
Read the rest of the story on Torrent Freak here: http://tiny.cc/jlvhs
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
CORE COMPETENCIES: ANOTHER LESSON IN THE BASICS?
"Everyone knows programming isn't a core competency at Microsoft. Marketing is the only core competency here. By next year, the marketers just might have this whole place to themselves." -- Anonymous Microsoft programmer.
First it was Zune. Then Kin (Microsoft's social-networking cellphone that died a quick death), and next it maybe the new Windows 7 phone.
Despite positive reviews and serious marketing muscle, Microsoft sold just 40,000 Windows 7 phones on Monday, according to TheStreet.com, citing an unnamed "market research source." By comparison, Google said last month that it was selling 200,000 Android phones a day, while Apple has said that its iPhone sales rate was 270,000 a day. One explanation for Windows Phone 7's inauspicious launch? "Mondays aren't great launch days," industry strategist Michael Cote tells The Street.
Read more here: http://tiny.cc/wncyj
And Now For Some News ...
Digital Music Downloading is Not a Public Performance Under The Copyright Act
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that music downloading does not constitute a "public performance" that would be subject to license fees under the Copyright Act.
Since 2007, RealNetworks, Inc., Yahoo!, Inc., and ASCAP have disputed the amount of fees owed for the public performance of copyrighted music, i.e. online streaming. ASCAP, for its part, sought to include the process of downloading music as a public performance, thereby entitling it to an additional license fee under the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101. Real and Yahoo sought blanket licenses for their music streaming and downloading services, but the parties were unable to mutually agree to a license and ASCAP applied to the district court for resolution.
The District Court held that downloading music was merely a reproduction of a file that is inconsistent with the "recite, render and play" definition of public performance. However, it maintained the reasonableness of ASCAP's proposed royalty rate formula based on music stream time as reflecting benchmark agreements set by similar ASCAP fee applicants.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Nielsen Sez Computer Glitch Caused Then To Undercount Web Traffic
ADVERTISING AGEhe Nielsen Co. disclosed this week that it has been undercounting traffic to websites -- for at least the last three months -- due to a flaw in its system that failed to recognize long internet addresses, underestimating "time spent" on the internet and especially social-media sites.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple Pings Twitter
REUTERSTwitter plans to link its micro-blogging service with Apple's new music-centric social network Ping. Per the deal, Twitter users can now connect their accounts to Ping, allowing them to put song previews and links to buy music from the iTunes store directly in their messages.
Ping works within Apple's iTunes music program, and lets users follow artists and recommend songs to their chosen circle of friends. According to Reuters, "Twitter's deal comes after Apple failed to strike a Ping partnership with social networking leader Facebook."
Read more about it by clicking here.
The Muffin Music Maker: A Digital Jukebox That's Different
CNETWhen it comes to music software, there is one fact that's impossible to deny: There's no shortage of digital jukeboxes available for download.
This handy music manager integrates a digital sound analyzer that aims to provide you with a list of songs similar to whichever track you select at any given moment. In other words, rather than using humans to create playlists, the jukebox uses a program that actually maps out the sound waves of the audio and charts the sound similarities between your songs.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Mobile Web Study
MEDIA POSTAccording to the results of the first quantitative mobile consumer study by Adobe Systems, when it comes to the mobile user experience, respondents generally favor mobile browser experiences over downloadable mobile app experiences across all four key consumer categories: consumer products & shopping, financial services, media & entertainment, and travel.
Within the consumer products & shopping as well as the media & entertainment categories, 66% of respondents cited that they prefer the mobile Web for accessing content compared to 34% who cited a preference for downloadable apps; 38% of respondents said they had not purchased anything in the consumer products & shopping category from their devices in the last six months.
Read more about it by clicking here.
French Consumers Buy 10,000 State-Subsidized Music Download Cards
BILLBOARDTo combat online piracy, the French government offers young consumers the chance to get double the amount of digital music for which they have paid: so a $35 card allows the user to download $70 worth of music from participating services. It is valid at various download stores and streaming services and targets consumers aged 12-25.
Obviously the thinking is two-fold: a) getting any revenue versus none when people steal music is a good move; and b) that if people buy more music they will eventually cease seeking to download it from illegal P2P sites.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Android Keeps Going And Going
MEDIA POSTCan anything stop the rise of smartphones, and Android-powered devices in particular?
Not according to new data released by Gartner, which finds that smartphone sales nearly doubled year-over-year, while Android's market presence has soared more than sevenfold.
Tech Crunch writes" Gartner estimated that Android phones accounted for 75% to 80% of Verizon Wireless's smartphone trade in the third quarter of 2010." Meanwhile, Mashable says, "Gartner sees two ways to succeed in the smartphone market, one fitting the description of Apple's iOS and the other of Android."
Read more about it by clicking here.
New Documentary About ILM And Its Accomplishments In Cinema
CNETA new documentary about Industrial Light & Magic highlights the biggest accomplishments of its 35-year history. Among them are the digital effects seen in 'Terminator 2.'
When George Lucas talks about the raison d'etre of his award-winning visual effects studio, Industrial Light & Magic, his logic might strike some in the bottom line-obsessed world of Hollywood as heretical.
"I started ILM to help make great movies," Lucas told CNET recently. "That's what we're here for. We're not here as a big moneymaking organization. We're not here as a business. We're here to make great movies."
Read more about it by clicking here.
MTV EUROPE GOES GAGA:
GaGa-mania is all over Europe as well. This past weekend Lady Gaga won awards for Best Pop, Best Female and Best Song for "Bad Romance."
BREAKING NEWS:
A Michael Jackson track, "Breaking News," from the new Michael Jackson album 'Michael' is now online and you can listen to it here: http://tiny.cc/qoae7
GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, SOLD:
A jacket worn by John Lennon, a costume made for Michael Jackson's pet chimp Bubbles and one of Jackson's white gloves will be put up for sale at a massive pop-culture auction next month in Beverly Hills next month. The 650-plus lots include the most extensive collection of Lennon and Beatles memorabilia ever made available, including Lennon self-portraits, a collage created for Elton John and a guitar played by both Lennon and Elvis Presley during a jam session.
GERRY RAFFERTY ILL:
Gerry Rafferty, former lead singer of Steelers Wheel ("Stuck In The Middle With You"), who went solo and had a huge hit with "Baker Street," and who has struggled with alcoholism, is reported to be ill and hospitalized in England.
RADIOHEADS UP:
Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood said the band is "almost finished" with its next LP and is planning to follow it with a big tour. He said 10 songs, "maybe some more," will be on the LP, which guitarist Ed O'Brien recently called "the best album we've ever made."
CALLING SHIRLEY MCLAINE:
In the new issue of Rolling Stone, on stands in the digital archives this Friday, Phil Collins says he believes that he may have lived past lives and that he's contemplated suicide.
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
"She's a very smart girl - boy! This is where I get into trouble ... I still don't remember to call her 'him.'"
-- Cher, mixing up her pronouns for her gender-changing child Chaz Bono, to Vanity Fair"The scenes that she and I had together, I really enjoyed, and I really believe that she's got definite chops. We worked well together. I enjoyed all of it, and she was toe-to-toe with me the whole time."
-- Cher, who stars with Christina Aguilera in the upcoming movie 'Burlesque', praising the singer's acting skills this week"I used to hitchhike and carry a sign that said, 'I don't have a gun.'"
-- 'Due Date' star Zach Galifianakis
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Oprah Invites Hundreds Of Lucky Fans To Be Buried With Her In Massive Tomb
Oprah's biggest fans will be entombed alongside her in The Oprahmidion, where they will bask in her wisdom for eternity.
Read the rest here and laugh: Click Here.
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
Smart Marketing Consulting Services
Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.
"And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ... drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain."
"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon
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