In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Fortune’s Fool: Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music and an Industry in Crisis hit the book shelves this week. Check out the 2-part interview on Wired.com with author Fred Goodman… The new “Facebook movie,” officially titled The Social Network, released a new trailer for the upcoming film that features an eerie background supplied by a choral rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” – you won’t find the film being promoted on Facebook, but it is part of Twitter’s newly launched Promoted Tweets… Fear not, if the lack of news regarding Spotify in the last few weeks has got you worried, CEO says the service is “growing healthily,” and the U.S. launch of the service is still on track for this year… Elsewhere, the NY Times has a profile of Pitchfork and its growth from a small bedroom website to indie music dominance, getting 30-million page views a month… Live Nation Entertainment held a presentation this week for investors and analysts detailing the company’s plans for the future and addressing the highly scrutinized struggle of the concert business this year… And Peter Jenner, former manager of acts such as Pink Floyd and The Clash, shares his thoughts on the economics of digital music and the inevitability of file-sharing…
07.9.10In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
The Best Things in Life Aren't Free?
Not to be left out of the growing media preoccupation with new music services from industry giants like Google and Apple, not to mention the handful of new players who have emerged ahead of the curve like mspot, MOG, Spotify and Rdio, MySpace Music is back in the mix with renewed reports this week of a looming subscription service. The company is said to be in talks with labels about moving away from their current free streaming model to a paid service… Simultaneously MySpace parent News Corp. was quick to deny rumors that the company is in talks to sell the once supreme social network that has been facing a tough transition and revolving door of executives over the last year… An article in the WSJ today examines the increasingly tough road for the live music business – and for those keeping score, Rihanna’s “Last Girl on Earth” tour appears to be the latest summer outing to announce cancellations… Elsewhere, Wilco is planning to start their own label and will be leaving Warner Music after a 15-year relationship, having released albums on both Reprise and then Nonesuch… And CAA + “The Decision” x Kanye West = LeBron to The Heat…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Disney Buys iPhone Music Game Maker Tapulous
Yesterday saw another report declaring that a cloud-based version of iTunes is “definitely happening soon,” though further reporting by CNET’s Media Maverick today has those claims in question as there is nothing indicating Apple has secured the necessary licenses from the four major labels to launch such a service… Disney has bought Tapulous, the maker of popular iPhone music games including their early hit Tap Tap Revenge, such a move seems to indicate the mouses’ plan to move more into the social and mobile game arena… Nettwerk CEO and Lilith Fair co-founder Terry McBride penned an open-letter on Tuesday to all the critics of his struggling tour; this coming ahead of the announcement yesterday of the cancellation of 10 Lilith concert dates… Elsewhere, the expected closure of BBC Radio 6 may not happen, thanks to the large increase in listenership and support for the station since it was first announced that the digital station was marked for termination… And checkout the LA Weekly profile of L.A.’s Saint Motel in the studio…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Thom Yorke Shares his Cheery Outlook on the Biz
Apple’s WWDC announcements on Monday did not include a new cloud-based version of iTunes, as many had expected (or hoped for), but Jobs did reveal the company already has a boatload of iAd commitments… Buzzmedia is not the only one bolstering its ad network, as startup MOG announces a new deal that will add Sony Music Entertainment online properties into their network, including 117 major artist websites… In a recent BBC Radio 4 documentary, new EMI Music chief Charles Allen discusses the state of his company and the difficulty of spreading the message that they are in “really good shape”… Following Allen’s positive outlook came comments from Radiohead frontman and former EMI artist, Thom Yorke, predicting the collapse of the music industry within “only a matter of months” and going on to advise aspirant musicians to avoid the “sinking ship”… And a report in Reuters today examines Terra Firma boss Guy Hands‘ gift-giving techniques and the “high concentration, high risk strategy” in his current efforts to save EMI… Elsewhere, a look at the business of selling online fans, followers and viewers to artists… New England area coffee shops and other small venues are facing increased pressure from PRO’s… And Complex Magazine discusses free music, almost signing Drake and f*ckin kids in a brief Q&A with Warner Music boss Lyor Cohen…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Buzzmedia Adds New Music Sites to Network
If issuing a press-release on a holiday can be considered an attempt to downplay a story, that wasn’t the case with the announcement on Monday of Buzzmedia’s addition of a handful of music sites to their growing stable. The new site additions including PureVolume, Popmatters, RCRDLBL, Gorilla vs. Bear and other highly-trafficked music properties got extra coverage because of the fairly confusing details. Are they acquisitions, ad-partnerships, lease with an option-to-buy, or a mixture of all three? It appears to be the latter… The New York Post was the first to report that publisher Bug Music is being shopped by JPMorgan for $300-million, and that those in the hunt include Sony/ATV, Universal Music, Warner Music and new (old) player KKR/BMG. Billboard chimed-in to include Evergreen Copyrights, Chrysalis Music and an unnamed financial firm as other possible suitors… As AT&T revealed that they would be popping a cap on customers unlimited internet, some were raising concerns about services like Pandora being seriously affected by the change, though further reporting showed the percentage of current users who would take a streaming hit was negligible… The founders of Kazaa and Skype unleashed their latest service Rdio Wednesday night at midnight. The cloud music service operates like a music-only Twitter and currently is only available via invite… Elsewhere, Vevo and boss Rio Caraeff are celebrating being the top spot online for music-videos… Alan McGee gives his 2-cents on the state of EMI Music… And is Google naming its still-to-be-unveiled iTunes competitor Google Music? Probably…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Apple Takes Top Tech Spot
Never far away from headlines, it’s being reported that Apple is now the world’s most valuable tech company. Valuations from Wall Street on Wednesday showed that the company has surpassed Microsoft and is only second to Exxon Mobil in America… Then there’s that pesky DOJ investigation into Apple’s possible anticompetitive practices, with particular focus on the recent allegations that the company pressured record labels to not participate in Amazon’s MP3 Daily Deal promotion, threatening loss of iTunes visibility for artists who did… The recent federal court ruling against file-sharing service Limewire has led the company down a well-trodden path, with plans to “legitimize” the music service, executives explain they are now seeking licenses from all the major record labels… New MySpace co-presidents faced a number of tough questions at TechCrunch Disrupt regarding huge drops in site traffic and the $10-million-a-month losses for MySpace Music… At the same conference Lady Gaga’s manager Troy Carter and Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun discussed how the web is impacting the music industry and the importance of managing an artist’s online identity… Elsewhere, ‘psycho-acoustic simulation’ music service BlueBeat, who made headlines trying to sell digital Beatles songs last year, is back with a streaming iPhone app. More unlicensed music? Yup… And what exactly is a Shaved Bieber?
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
The Video Site Hits the 5 Year Mark; 2 Billion Views a Day
YouTube celebrated its 5-year anniversary this week, and announced some impressive statistics, including the site’s 2-billion views per day and a #3 ranking for most visited sites on the web… Computer processor maker Intel and lifestyle media group Vice make for strange bedfellows, as the two have announced a new partnership to bring together The Creators Project where “curated artworks and installations, screenings, a panel discussion and dozens of performances by creators from all over the world,” which will take place in cities like New York and London over the summer… Mobile start up mspot beat Apple to the punch and unveiled its new free music-in-the-cloud service that allows users to sync music collections across Android phones and PC/Mac computers… Not far behind was Google’s announcement of its acquisition of Simplify Media at the Google I/O conference on Thursday. Simplify’s software allows users to stream home music libraries on mobile devices… Elsewhere, data shows that the iTunes Store now accounts for more than half of all digital music sales, increasing by more than 5% from 2008-2009… Axl is suing Irving… And Harmonix announced strong early numbers for its Rock Band Network…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Court Rules Against Limewire in Copyright Infringement Case
A big week for Terra Firma boss Guy Hands, as numerous reports revealed that the firm was able to raise the needed 105 million pounds to keep control of EMI. The new injection of funds will keep the music company under the control of the investment firm for another year… A federal court ruled against file-sharing service Limewire in a copyright infringement case; its founder Mark Gorton may be held personally liable as well… Elsewhere, the latest Pirate Bay bidder has tapped TAG Strategic’s Ted Cohen to help facilitate the deal… Universal Music Group dropped it’s lawsuit against Project Playlist (now Playlist.com)… American Idol creator Simon Fuller announced he has been responsible for 160 million downloads via iTunes… And the Apple rumor mill is churning with speculation that a streaming music service will be announced at the Worldwide Developers conference on June 7th…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
One Million + Sold
The clock is ticking for Terra Firma to come up with enough funds to keep control of EMI – recent reports indicate Guy Hands has rallied some of the investment firms’ largest backers in an effort to raise the minimum needed by the fast approaching deadline… Apple announced at the start of the week that they have already sold one-million iPads, that’s less than half the time it took to sell the same amount of iPhones… Elsewhere, Warner Music Group reported a 15% rise in digital revenue in its most recent quarter… Tunecore delivered stats from 2009 that included a total of $35-million in download and streaming income for artists… And The Register takes an interesting look at Beggars Group in an interview with indie label-group head Martin Mills…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Always Front & Center... This Week: Adobe, iAds & Lala
Last weekend saw the news that EMI Music chairman Charles Allen is reportedly pulling back from his strategy to sell-off parts of the music group in an effort to righten the company’s state of financial disorder… The New York Times published a lengthy piece focusing on the new Live Nation Entertainment and its leading duo Irving Azoff and Michael Rapino… Rhapsody beat out other mobile music services this week by being getting its new iPhone app approved by Apple, making it the first service in the U.S. market to allow users to store subscription music in the phone’s memory… A lot more Apple in the headlines this week as Steve Jobs publicly sounded-off on his company’s continued stance against supporting Adobe Flash on its mobile devices. Billboard takes a look at what that means for music, while questions remain on how it all could relate to Apple’s imminent iAds platform that will likely cost advertisers at least $1 million dollars to buy into the new ad network… UK-based streaming service We7 announced that during the month of March, and for the first time ever, it had covered all operating and royalty costs with advertising revenue, making it the first company in the the ad-funded space to do so… Elsewhere, David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants Inc. has started a record label, and its first release will be Orange County’s Runner Runner… And many are wondering if the freshly posted notice from Lala that it will be shutting down on May 31st and is no longer accepting new users means an iTunes in the cloud is finally on the way…
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