More Bits & Pieces: Midem Down in Numbers, BMG CEO Predicts end of A&R & the Race to Own Facebook’s Music Space
Midem down again in '11
Midem attendance numbers continued to slide this year, with a total gate of 6,850 – a 4.9% drop from last year, though there was a 30% uptick in the participation from the digital and tech fields, according to figures shared in MusicWeek. As usual there was plenty of gossiping and spats at the Cannes conference, with the latest to get headlines coming from BMG Rights Management CEO Hartwig Masuch, who during a panel on the future of publishing asserted that moving forward in the new industry paradigm, A&R will be abolished. Saying that as a result of the rise in new DIY systems, “I think the importance of A&R in finding new talent will be less important going forward,” adding “currently there is an A&R bottleneck which is stopping a lot of talent being recognized”… Meanwhile, Digital Music News reports this morning that SonicBids will be entering the growing music space on Facebook, expanding their services to include an artist profile builder. Those who have already launched music page functions within the FB network include ReverbNation and RootMusic – though the latter is also involved in what appears to be a somewhat dubious Lady Gaga + Facebook promotion… And elsewhere, Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research, whose comments in the recent New York Times piece about the failure of digital music, explains his remarks and gives further perspective in a guest column on Billboard.biz.
10.27.10Wednesday Bits & Pieces: LimeWire No More, Apple + Spotify + Google = ??? & the New MySpace
Gets a Relaunch
Yesterday LimeWire software was dealt a blow in the form of a permanent injunction from a U.S. District Judge issued to parent company Lime Group, essentially killing the software that once was found on 1/3 of all PCs. Reports of a new legal digital music service began when the initial injunction was handed down against the company in May, though it appears licensing talks with major labels have broken down. The company still insists that they hope to launch the new service before the end of the year… Meanwhile, TechCrunch published a piece yesterday claiming that Apple has been in sporadic discussions with Spotify about acquisition, though it’s very early in the process, and no price has been offered. The claims are being questioned by many, believing that a deal of that kind for Apple would not make sense, if for no other reason than the presumed high price alone. However in the same post, it was revealed that Google had offered $1 billion for the service last year around the same time that the company acquired Lala… The new redesigned MySpace was launched in beta last night, and the new focus of the beleaguered social network will apparently be on entertainment content. Recognizing that they’ve been passed by in the social networking arena by Facebook, they no longer aim to compete, and are now looking to become the web’s biggest hub for music, movies and games – seeing MTV now as a more apt comparison. The backend of the site has also gotten a major overhaul, something that has been much needed since its acquisition by News Corp back in 2005…
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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…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Does Voyeurism have a taste?
Not So Fast > An article on Thedeal.com revealed that U.S. regulators were prepared to approve the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, but other sources quickly dispelled the report saying both sides are prepared for litigation… (Reuters)
Sleeping Giant > New court documents reveal that after nearly 3 years Viacom’s $1 Billion copyright lawsuit against Google may soon see a conclusion… (CNET)
New Diggs > Style Section L.A. takes a tour of Dangerbird Records new Barbara Bestor-designed compound… (StyleSection)
Status Update> VitaminWater will soon be releasing a Facebook inspired new flavor called “Connect”… (TechCrunch)
On the Block > Philadelphia’s longtime bar and music venue the Khyber is up for sale… (PW)
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
RM 64 Required Reading
It’s been a lethargic week here on RM 64 blog, but we thought we’d share some ‘elsewhere’ reading that caught our interest this week… TechCrunch was first to reveal info about Google’s Music Service, leading to much conjecture and hearsay, but no official statement… MySpace heads took the stage at the Web 2.0 Summit to announce new MySpace Music artist features and discuss the service’s bumpy road… Meanwhile Facebook believes “in the wisdom of friends” as COO predicts the future is social and not search oriented… And Disney looks to the sky for the future of digital content, as they are reportedly developing a new cloud-computing technology codenamed “Keychest” that would give consumers access to purchased content for life on multiple devices via the cloud…
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