CNet UK assembled a gaggle of social media experts to tell MySpace how to save itself from the Facebook juggernaut. Some of their ideas:
More at CNet UK.
Ron Spaulding has been promoted to President of Fontana, Universal Music's independent distribution arm. Spaulding formerly served as EVP and GM of Fontana. Fontana distributes more than 100 labels including Downtown, Savoy, Vagrant, Eagle Rock, VP, American Gramaphone, Six Degrees, Ministry of Sound,MySpace Records and others.Prior to joining Fontana, Spaulding served as...
Executive Vice President/General Manager of Asylum and EastWest Records and as the Senior Vice President of Sales at WEA, Warner Music Group's distribution arm.
Continue reading "Spaulding Promoted To President Of UMG's Fontana" »
Young Latinos and blacks are driving the increase in the use of mobile devices for texting, sending e-mails, playing music and instant messaging according to a new Pew study.
(UPDATED)Yesterday, I published a chart from the the Times UK showing that while record labels are suffering, artists were making more money than ever from live performance. (see chart) Some Hypebot readers, as well as, Glenn Peoples from Billboard countered that the chart's "interpretation ignores the realities of superstar-driven ticket prices...Live music is a winner-take-all market. The value is concentrated at the top. Once an artist becomes a huge success on the road, he/she can command ticket prices well above the rates charged by sub-superstar artists. In the middle of the pack, ticket prices do not have the same flexibility."
Same as it ever was?
They are right of course, but only to a point. Are live earnings really any different than the rest of the industry? Isn't the same earnings concentration at the top also true in the recording industry - a few artists get rich while most don't see a dime.
The new music industry is not reflected in either the Times chart or any chart published in Glenn's Billboard. Most of it happens beyond the reach of Nielson and Ticketmaster.
Continue reading "As Labels Struggle, Is Artist Income On The Rise?" »
Think of it as an AARP for artists. Newly launched Wanduta, is a free online resource for musicians, offering a suite of benefits including access to health care, a credit card and musician-centric discounts like travel, gear and both live and online showcase opportunities.
The AARP analogy fits because, like the association for senior set, it appears that Wanduta makes some of its money from affiliate fees on sales of the services offered. There's nothing wrong with a for-profit model. Doing well by doing good is an increasingly accepted and powerful business model. Presumably Wanduta vets each opportunity and negotiates the best group discounts. As more musicians join; so should its negotiating power.
It's too early to judge the quality of Wanaduta's offering or ability to deliver real value. But unlike most membership organizations, Wanaduta is free to join; and the concept - power in numbers - has merit.
Trent Reznor wasn't kidding when he said that he was dismantling the entire Nine Inch Nails touring machinery. He's selling it off piece by piece on eBay. Get in on the action here.
Royalty collection agency SoundExchange has partnered with ReverbNation to register and deliver digital performance royalties to RN's 500,000 member artists. SoundExchange collects payments for the use of recordings on satellite, internet and cable TV music stations.
Artists and labels who may be due compensation should sign up at SoundExchange.com.
"If you're in the music business but you never buy tickets or downloads, can you really empathize with the people you're selling to?
...Money is more than a transfer of value. It's a statement of belief. An ad agency that won't buy ads, a consultant who won't buy consulting, and a waiter who doesn't tip big—it's a sign, and not a good one."
Nevada Music Hands Over The Keys After Hours
(UPDATED) Indie rockers Georgia Wonder are a lot like other struggling musicians. They wanted to record, but had no cash. Not even enough for a decent home studio; much less professional mics or all the extra gear and instruments. But this band turned that obstacle into an opportunity and added a new page to the indie d.i.y. playbook.
Georgia Wonder asked for and got the keys to Nevada Music, the largest music shop on the south coast of the UK (think Guitar Center USA). Both during store hours and after the store closes each night, they'll be recording their next album dubbed "Made In Nevada" using all the gear the store has on sale.If they can raise the cash for an HD camera (donate here), they'll also shoot the whole thing and post it on Muzu.tv and a week later on a special YouTube channel. "It will be part fly on the wall documentary, part product demo, and part watch us make stuff up as we go." says the band's Julian. Moore. "We really haven't a clue what's going to happen".
Any resulting media attention and buzz benefits both the band and the store, and costs each virtually nothing. "One thing I have learned about guerrilla marketing is if you can think of something virtually free to do and everyone wins then you have thought of something that will actually get done," says Moore. The band has just released their second EP "Destroy" with CD pressing funded by fan pre-sales. Check it out via Bandcamp.
More:
It tracks the three pillars of music industry revenue - recorded music, live music, and UK performance royalties collected by PRS over the last 5 year for both artists and the industry. Conclusion: while record labels are suffering, artist income is on the rise. Join the debate.
Follow up Essay: As Record Labels Fall, Is Artist Income On The Rise?
MIDEM has launched a Twitter contest on for students and younger music industry professional. Now through December 9th you can win entry to the world largest gathering of the music industry. If you are between 18 and 26 years and not registered at MIDEM, add this message at the end of each of your tweet:
One winner will be picked in a random drawing on December 16th. The prize is 2 MIDEM VIP passes plus 2 car transfers, 2 nights hotel and 2 invitations to the NRJ Music Awards.
For the third year, MidemTalent is promoting developing artists with strong export potential. From January 24-26, thirteen diverse artists and will perform at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes for those attending MIDEM.
A full list of artists and what's new at MIDEM 2010:
Continue reading "MIDEM Announces Showcases & Twitter Contest" »
iTunes has opened its iTunes LP and Extras platforms to indie artists, labels and developers with a new set of instructions posted on their web site.
Automated electronic submission to iTunes LP and Extra will be added in the first quarter of 2010. Until then, the process is manual and limited. An existing iTunes contract is required, and all iTunes LP and Extras will be reviewed by the iTunes team "for appropriateness of content and for technical quality". Apple is also offering templates for both formats, as well as, a developers guide.
After the early September launch, Apple was criticized for not taking the new LP format far enough to add real value and consumer engagement. Now with a more open platform, the full potential of iTunes LP and of all bonus content should get long overdue attention.
Continue reading "Apple Opens iTunes LP And Extras To Developers" »
"You see a poster of The Dark Side of the Moon and 'Money' starts to
play in your head…the iconic Rolling Stone’s Tongue and Lips on a
t-shirt makes you think about Mick and Keith jamming on
stage…Woodstock’s famous bird preached on the guitar neck brings back
thoughts of 1969 and all the bands that made 3 Days of Peace and Music
historic."
I love music and I love wine, but I can't decide if Wines That Rock is a good marketing and fun or a really dumb idea.
What do you think?
WMG Stock Falls Another 11.29%.
U[PDATE: WMG was down another 6.2% on Friday closing at $5.16.
Wall Street has another flat day rising just .29% on Wednesday, but that did stop investors from battering Warner Music Group stock once again. WMG fell another 11.29% in pre-turkey day trading to close at $5.50.
On Tuesday, just hours after Warner Music Group reported an $18 million quarterly loss, the company's stock had fallen 18% recovering slightly by the close of trading, ending at $6.20 down 12.8%.
It's no secret that despite improving sales, EMI is struggling under huge debt that Citi recently refused to restructure and that Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. has long coveted the major label group. But WMG is paying off a $1.1 billion debt of its own at 9.5%; and a 25% two day fall in share value reduces both the chances of a successful stock swap and investor willingness to take on more obligations.
According to Billboard, no new regulations have been enacted, but the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Service has begun using a much more restrictive reading of current regulations in approving visas. Formerly, artists wishing to work and tour in the U.S. needed to apply for a work visa (type "O" for solo artists or "P" for groups). The visa would then cover the artist for a period of time; up to three years for a solo artist and up to one year for a group. Additionally, a U.S.-based sponsor such as a label, manager or tour promoter was needed to apply for the visa.
Under the new, stricter interpretation, artists now are required to provide a detailed itinerary, including ...
Continue reading "U.S. Visa Restrictions Could Hurt Touring Acts" »
Happy Thanksgiving to those Hypebot readers that celebrate it! Don't miss my just-for-fun list of 10 Songs For A Modern Thanksgiving and to introduce yourself and get to know others in the Hypebot community via our online networking party.
It's become a tradition for Hypebot to host online networking party. For those readers outside the U.S., this time it's pre-Thanksgiving and the music business here shuts down here for four days. (F.Y.I. Hypebot will be publishing, though on a bit lighter schedule.)
This is one of those days when many of us are tied to our desks, but have no desire to do any real work. So as a constructive solution to the pre-holiday work day blahs...
In the comments section below, tell us a little about yourself, what you're working on and what excites you (PG-13 only). Include links that you think might be of interest to others and I suggest adding your name and email or some way that other Hypebot readers interested in collaborating can find you. Shameless plugs are allowed.
Don't be shy. Tell us about yourself...
Just a week ago the Xbox Live announced they were integrating Zune, Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm into its gaming platform. One million fans responded by creating custom radio stations on Last.fm. That's a million new users for Last.fm, and as Mashable points out it's almost 300 new users a minute during last week; which is according to Last.fm, is the biggest growth spurt they’ve had since launching 2002.
This success certainly offers a boost to Last.fm, as well as, to XBox Live's efforts to extend itself beyond gaming. But just as importantly, its a strong statement that fans want to hear the music they want, when they want delivered on the device of their choice. Mr. Record Exec, are you listening.?
How to get part of that crowd to join your team.
This guest post comes from Scott Perry. With his great free email newsletter and web site, the New Music Tipsheet keeps the industry informed of new releases as well as commenting on trends and sharing industry news.
While all you managers (and artists) out there are fielding offers for next year's festivals, start thinking NOW about what you can do to maximize your outreach to these massive audiences.
Pull a few pages out of the Phish playbook
Continue reading "Music Festivals Offer Unique Marketing Opportunity " »
My annual bit of holiday musical fun to celebrate our annual U.S. day of thanks.
"Alice's Restaurant" - Arlo Guthrie
Just hours after Warner Music Group reported an $18 million quarterly loss, the company's stock had fallen 18% or $1.25 to $5.81. WMG recovered slightly by the close of trading, ending the day at $6.20 down 12.8%. It was major label group's biggest single day drop in more than two years. Overall, the DOW was flat down just 0.16% for the day.
Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Chris White downgraded Warner Music to “neutral” from “outperform” today after the company missed his estimate of a 6 cents per share profit. “The stock’s appreciation of recent months has raised the operational bar for the company, and we’re not sure recent results meet this elevated standard,” said White.
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