I'm sure that most people already knew about this, but I was very happy to just hear the news earlier today. Ecstatic even. Somehow this will be my first year going to Pitchfork. Every year there is one band that I'm pleasantly surprised to see on the line-up, and I've already made plans to be out of town by the time it's announced. I'm still kicking myself for missing Os Mutantes a few years ago, but I won't let it happen this time. While this probably should not merit a blog posting, I felt it had to be pointed out.
By the way, if you haven't checked out the video of The Flamings Lip with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs doing Madonna's "Borderline," you're missing out... try listening with headphones on.
There's good news for a media industry forced to trade analog dollars for digital pennies. According to Jeff Zucker, the NBC Universal chief who coined the famous conversion rate, digital pennies are now migrating towards dimes. "We're at digital dimes now, we're making progress," Zucker said last week during the McGraw-Hill Media Summit in New York.
Overly optimistic? The updated assessment appears rosy, at least according to back-of-the-envelope calculations. Zucker refused to discuss Hulu-related financial figures, though estimates peg annual revenues at $70 million. In 2008, NBC Universal revenues landed at roughly $17 billion, yielding a ratio (4/100) that beats a penny, but falls short of a dime. Whether that gap narrows over time remains unclear, though Zucker admitted that digital assets may never reach dollar-to-dollar replacement parity with analog.
Of course, Zucker is most concerned with the evolution of television, though his dollar-to-pennies comment resonates with related industries like music. But in music, specifically the recording industry, the ratios are quickly moving in the wrong direction. Paid downloads were once considered a high-growth category, though annual volumes seem to be plateauing. Other digital formats and concepts are struggling, and CDs are enduring a double-digit freefall.
The broader music industry - including touring, publishing, and licensing - is in better shape, and majors are wisely pursuing more diversified artist agreements. Still, labels are heavily rooted in recordings, and some are broadening better than others. Universal Music Group, for example, has been benefiting from aggressive acquisitions into publishing (BMG Music Publishing) and artist services (Sanctuary).
Perhaps Universal Music Group crosses the chasm, and successfully transforms itself into a different type of music company. But does a successful transition involve ditching attempts to monetize the recording? Instead of fighting a complete lack of scarcity, simply allowing the recording to move towards zero? Not a digital dime, not a penny, but simply nothing?
In reality, the transition happens with or without UMG - or EMI, Sony Music, or Warner Music. Sure, a download costs 99-cents on iTunes, but averaged against the immense volumes of file-traded music, the effective valuation is just above zero. Indeed, the disruption is already well underway, and labels are left weighing short-term, protectionist strategies against less-certain, longer-term bets. Either way, selling overpriced downloads against a backdrop of zero-scarcity is a difficult play.
So why the slow-footedness? A recent interview between an unnamed major label executive and TechCrunch suggests that the short-term could be a better strategic bet. Instead of rushing into a sea of digital pennies or worse, why not protect and prolong a dwindling pile of billions? That means litigating, restricting, and maximizing licensing fees on ill-fated companies like Spiralfrog, while worrying about the future later.
Perhaps that makes sense for an exiting executive, one whose strategic roadmap includes a golf course in 2012. But it makes little sense for the twenty- or thirty-something executive, and even less sense for artists attempting to build sustainable careers. That would explain why many artists are increasingly moving with market forces, and building their careers around moneymakers like touring, publishing, licensing, sponsorships, and other, cash-generating assets.
Or, simply rolling with what the market offers for the recording. Radiohead and Trent Reznor spring to mind, though artists across all tiers - developing, mid-range, and superstar - are crafting homegrown business models that make sense for them - and more importantly, the broader changes happening in music and media consumption.
Just a few years ago, when the crew was “Ballin’ ” thanks to Max B’s ghost writing skills on Jim Jones’ biggest single to date “We Fly High”, I never thought that I would see the day when Dipset would break up and every member become a relevant force in hip hop on their own.
Yet this has become the case:
Jim Jones is about to release his 4th studio album entitled Pray IV Reign on March 24th featuring the smash hit “Pop Champagne” as well as “Frienemies” in which Jim Jones takes shots at Max. B and Cam’ Ron. Frienemies can be heard here:
In addition to the album, Jim Jones is releasing an off Broadway play, a film about his life, and a book that he recently wrote!
Cam’ Ron is putting together what is shaping up to be an amazing album in “Crime Pays.” Both “I used to get it in Ohio” and “I hate my job” are awesome songs that are getting a bunch of internet buzz around Cam’Ron ‘s name!
Max B is very comfortable within the Boston based hip hop label Amalgam Digital where he has been releasing mixtapes and video blogs left and right. Max B is as much a comedian as he is a rapper!
Check out Max. B “riding the wave” in this episode of Max. B TV:
I recently got an e-mail from my favorite band Incubus telling me about the new greatest hits album coming in June. I have been a pretty hard core Incubus fan for the past 8 years now. With that being said, I own all of their albums and have all of their music that would be on a greatest hits album. I heard about a greatest hits album coming out a couple of months back and didn't really get too excited because of the fact that I already have heard all of these songs, but would some added value items get me to purchase?
When reading through this e-mail I came across the fact that if I pre-ordered this album I would get a pass code that would give me access to their new single, "Black Heart Inertia" before anyone else. I was very excited because I really didn't want to wait until June to own this song. In addition to the pass code for the song I would also get a pass code to pre-order tickets to see Incubus at any concert on their upcoming tour. It's very ironic because the show I picked is in Chicago on July 25th, at the same place where I saw them July 25th in 2007. If the excitement for the new song was not enough, then this was the factor that made me immediately grab my credit card.
As many people know vinyl is quickly gaining popularity. While checking out, I noticed I could get this greatest hits album on Vinyl. This would be my first Incubus Vinyl!
So here I am $30 poorer and my album will not arrive until mid June. The feeling is not that bad because I know that I will be seeing Incubus this summer! Epic records has been doing this strategy with Incubus for quite some time now and it really seems to help with album and concert sales.
This is just one example of how a little added value can go quite a long way.
I'll admit, when I was younger I was one of those people who, when asked what type of music they prefer, would respond with "anything other than country." And at the time, it was true, I was listening to jazz, punk rock, blues, soul, indie, etc. I was a purist, sure, and only listened to a small portion of those genres. Nonetheless, I never even let country on my radar. I'm sure that I'm not the only one; it's a pretty common response from what I've witnessed, and it continues to be so. Today I asked a new acquaintance what they listened to, and their "anything but country" response is what inspired this blog. But why is this the case?
In my opinion, which I won't get too far into as to avoid offending anyone, today's mainstream country is the problem. Perhaps not a problem, because there are obviously a whole lot of people buying those records, but it maybe a barrier. For instance, if you turn on a country station today, you might hear passionate songs written about the artist's Ford-F150, drinking Bud Light, or perhaps about sticking a boot in someone's ass. But what happened to soul in country? What happened to the great songwriting? (just my opinion*)
Over the past few years, maybe 7 or 8, I have been having what you might call a love affair with Jamaican music. I can't get enough of the early 60's traditional ska, the rocksteady grooves, the dark psychedelic dub, and of course the dirty gritty reggae. I am also a huge fan of old soul and R&B, specifically a lot of stuff that came out of the sixties. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickette, Ray Charles, anything off of Stax or Motown. In fact, I am one that would argue that Sam Cooke is one of the greatest singers/songwriters of all time.
It wasn't until I truly began to appreciate these forms of music that I realized, I really really like country. I heard Ray Charles singing Hank Williams Sr.'s "Your Cheating Heart," I heard the reggae greats, Toots and the Maytals, cover John Denver's "Country Roads." And then it hit me. All of these styles; country, soul, reggae, old rock&roll... it's all the same. Hell, Willie Nelson even put out a reggae album, "Country Man," a few years back (not bad by the way). Bob Dylan has a ton of stuff that borders on the country sound. The same songwriting styles, even the same topics within the lyrics, and the soul.... It's got to be the soul. I don't just hear it as country anymore, with that same stigma attached. Now it's just good songwriting to me. Since then, it's been hard for me to keep the likes of Hank Sr., Johnny Cash, Les Paul, and Willie out of my regular rotation.
Lately I've also been hearing a lot of (good) country show up in the music of my generation. Jenny Lewis has a lot of country influence on her latest album, particularly the track "Carpetbaggers" with Elvis Costello. Even Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys has shown some liking for the country style on his record "Keep It Hid," which I can't get enough of. While it might not be obvious, a lot of bands are starting to embrace the country style in their writing, and I for one think it's great. Now you won't find me listening to Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, or any of that.. but I'll put on Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" and listen the whole way through any day. So while I still may be picky about the music that I enjoy, I've long since left the "anything but country" mindset.
I went to an artist signing/ meet n greet recently. Entrance to this meet n greet was contingent upon people buying the new CD online WITH their ticket to the event purchased through Ticketmaster. I thought this was a great way to make sure that everyone attending bought a CD... which makes sure to drive up album sales. Has anyone else been to a similar type meet-n-greet?
It seems like every time I read hip hop news, I hear about a new beef.... And although following these beefs can be quite entertaining at times, I know deep down in my heart that all beefs get squashed and that rap artists truly love each other!!! hehe
Here are some brief descriptions of recent, current, and brand new beefs that are relevant to the hip hop world:
T.I. vs. Shawty Lo
THIS JUST IN....
The beef that went on forever between two of my favorite WMG artists has officially been squashed!
T.I. and Shawty Lo have publicly squashed their beef (right before T.I. goes to jail) Here is a link to T.I. bringing Shawty Lo on stage at a recent performance symbolizing the squashing of the beef:
T-Pain vs. everyone who says he abuses the Autotune
I personally side with T-Pain in this whole discussion concerning his use of Autotune. When speaking on the Autotune situation, T-Pain basically states that he has had the same sound since he entered the game, and now that other hip hop artists are starting to jock his style everyone is starting to rip on T-Pain. Also, if the song sounds good/ is entertaining, who cares about how the artist came about producing the sound?
In this video, T-Pain does a great job of addressing how he feels: ( I LOVE THIS VIDEO AND THIS SONG’s LYRICS)
Fifty Cent is going out of his way to try and end Rick Ross’ career. (Fifty Cent took Rick Ross’s baby mother shopping and bought her fur coats etc. ) Fifty Cent is also publishing a book about how Rick Ross used to be a correctional officer. (Fifty Cent is releasing this book on the same day that Rick Ross’ album drops…The book and Rick Ross’ album will have the same title.)
One positive side effect of this beef is Fifty Cent’s hilarious Pimpin’ Curly webisodes! Rick Ross calls Fifty Cent Curly, so Fifty Cent has decided to make webisodes where he plays a character called Pimpin’ Curly.
I now have a great appreciation for Fifty Cent’s creative side!
These two artists went at each other with diss tracks for about 2 weeks straight, they have since ended their beef, and now find themselves on the same label!
Joe Budden vs. Boston Hip Hop Scene
I was personally at the hip hop show in Boston where this beef was created. It was a heated show from the beginning with a member of the crowd being slapped across the face with a mic by the show’s MC before Joe Budden even came out!!! (I have never seen a member of the crowd get hit with the mic before!)
When Joe Budden finally did come out on stage, he asked that everyone on the stage who had nothing to do with him go away. After saying that he kindly stated that all the women could stay. These words were taken as an insult and Boston’s hip hop scene was offended.
This is where my latest beef begins:
Boston DJ’s say that Joe Budden “ is no longer welcome in Boston and needs to apologize…Budden is a wrap in the Bean!” In a conversation with the CEO of Joe Budden’s record label, Boston DJ’s say, “Please never bring another artist here who disrespects Boston.”
I have recently stumbled across a service on the Internet that may quite possibly bring cable and satellite companies to a very uncomfortable position. All of our life we've always seen big cable companies duke it out with the major satellite providers. Battling over the cheapest rates, or having 15 ESPN's, or why the other isn't worth that much money! Shit, why pay for either when you can view your favorite programs for free on the Internet? Unlike illegally downloading your music online, this stuff is free.
FREE!?
No Way! ? For Realz?
Yes! Fo Realz!
Meet Hulu, and I am not talking about the hoop!
Hulu allows you to access your favorite videos, movies, and television shows right from your web browser! As this gigantic spider web we call the internet grows, more and more of us humans are getting stuck and we like it! We love it! We check our bank accounts, order pizza, read the NY Times, purchase our music, and even find our fucking spouses!! Why not catch the last episode of The Real World in between those activities and not owe Mediacom/Charter/ DISH a dime! For Real.
The entertainment world is changing ever so quickly. With computers quickly becoming as common around the house as a toothbrush (wait...... I have 1 toothbrush and 3 computers) and wireless internet shooting at us from all directions how will the cable and satellite companies respond to all of their programs being so easily accessible on the net?
It is very important for us as students and young business professionals to follow things like this because the world is constantly changing and evolving and we need to learn how to respond. Something like this could quite possibly make or break an industry. This is not going to immediately destroy every cable or satellite company there is, but if they ignore this and hope it fades away they may be in for a rather unpleasant surprise. So here's a bit of advice to our beloved cable and satellite companies.... Go adjust your SWOT table, there is a new player on the court...
For the vinyl enthusiasts out there, you might enjoy checking out some pictures from my recent tour of United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN. Really cool experience to watch how a great audiophile piece can go from a bucket of vinyl pellets to a 12", 180 gram piece of pure audio bliss. Ahh..
I've already posted about this in a certain context of discovery but it's so fascinating and transformational that I have to again comment on this trend. Around USC dance parties are where it's at. Our local college station have done 3 of these for fundraisers each bigger than the last, the previous one having a little over 250 people in attendance.
I got to asking myself why the Columbia scene has had this explosion in the popularity of dance music. Well, simultaneously I am working on my History research seminar project that is on the "Big Apple" which was a dance started in Columbia in the early 30's and became a national phenomenon in about 1935, during the Great Depression. Analyzing my evidence and contemplating this contemporary trend I am theorizing that during economically depressed times people turn to more simple pleasure such as dancing for relief. This is the thesis I am developing. Also I believe I could probably make one of those quintessential, awkward marketing reports and sales pitch with this information. . .awesome.
I love Absolutepunk.net. They provide me with everything I need to know about the bands I actually listen to and what's going on with everything in the music world. Totally awesome site. It's also really great for getting feedback on stuff. Their posters are notoriously brutal when they don't like something so you know when you ask questions you're going to be getting honest answers.
I'm not big on message boards at all, they're definitely not my thing but I wanted to do some research and get some feedback about viral marketing. I posted the question on their "General" thread and asked how people felt about viral marketing. I've gotten two pages of feedback so far and I keep posing open ended questions to get more and more feedback.
Follow all of the action here. Feel free to add anything, all you have to do is make a username, it's free.
Jake
p.s. what have you all been listening to lately, and what do you recommend? For me it's been-
About a week or two ago, a relatively popular LA radio station flipped from a primarily talk radio station to one playing Top 40 and other hits; it's now known as "AMP RADIO." The station, KLSX 97.1FM, had boasted such talk show hosts as Adam Carolla and Tom Leykis, and caused quite an uproar when it decided to become "yet ANOTHER Top 40 station," not least because it was a dramatic switch from talk radio as opposed to a change in the genre of music played.
There are a couple reasons why this story interested me, impressive perhaps because I don't actually receive this station anywhere near my apartment. After reading some irate comments from listeners, I thought they had some good points. How many Top 40 stations does an FM frequency really need? I can understand having a couple, as people will flip between them during a commercial break. But is the rapidly growing number of these stations completely killing talk radio? There is always AM, but sometimes you need the FM humor of people like Adam Carolla (though the Car Talk guys will always have a special place in my heart). Carolla actually started a podcast after the station switch, and after only six episodes became the most popular podcast in America. Yeah, I don't quite understand the station's decision either.
In a crazy twist, this new AMP RADIO station is starting off with a bang, marketing themselves to Top 40 followers by opening with 10,000 songs, commercial-free. This is approximately 28 days of music (I didn't calculate that myself, sorry if it's not right), and has definitely appealed to listeners. Amidst the negative press about the transition, 97.1FM is gaining some listeners... for the first 28 days of its new life at least.
Winter Music Conference, in its 24th year, is regarded as the singular networking event in the dance music industry, attracting professionals from over 70 different countries. With its high concentration of top international artists, DJs and industry professionals, WMC permeates the international press and is thereby one of the most publicized events in the business. Every aspect of the industry is represented including the top technological innovators, artists, DJs, producers, radio and video programmers, retailers, distributors, audio manufacturers and many more. There are countless reasons why people from all over the world return year after year for this event, the most outstanding one being that there is nothing else in the world like it.
Industry Development
Currently, the music industry is engaged in a profound structural metamorphosis. CDR's, MP3's, download streams and other new technologies are forever changing the ways in which people create, buy, sell and listen to music. Such matters are among the many debated at Winter Music Conference. The WMC program brings together informed professionals to present new ideas, discuss industry issues, and build new inroads for business development. Meetings and seminars focus on topics such as market strategies, artist development, copyrighting, publishing, writing contracts, artist management, distribution, radio, promotion, internet retailing, and the media, just to name a few. With more than 30 important meetings and seminars on the agenda, WMC will continue its mission to provide a decisive global platform for resolving the current challenges and stimulating new industry growth and revenue.
Artists, DJs and Events
One of the most exciting aspects of Winter Music Conference is the convergence of industry executives, press and A&R reps, as well as artists and DJs of all levels bumping heads on the dance floors and rubbing elbows at the bar, while enjoying their favorite DJs spinning on the decks. The level of exposure WMC provides for artists and DJs is invaluable. WMC offers endless opportunities for DJs and artists to network and have their music heard by an international audience of music industry professionals. The Demo Listening Workshops, CD compilation, DJ & performance stages, DJ Spin Off and a host of other performance events, showcases and release parties throughout the week, provide limitless opportunities for innovative DJs and artists to break out of the box. Venues throughout Miami feature a non-stop schedule of nighttime events showcasing legendary artists and DJs from all over the world. WMC also presents the International Dance Music Awards, revered as the premier annual awards event for the dance and electronic music industry. Ultra Music Festival, the largest music festival of its kind in the U.S., is the official closing event for WMC. Nowhere other than WMC will you experience such diverse and unique talents gathered together to share one week of exclusive music industry events.
It looks like the IFPI has been foiled again as Norwegian ISP Telenor has refused to block the BitTorrent tracker site, The Pirate Bay. The article reports, "Asking an ISP to control and assess what internet users can and cannot download is just as wrong as asking the post office to open and read letters and decide what should and should not be delivered." This is a major change in the attitude of ISPs and will certainly shake up the Recording Industry’s push to internationally instate the “3 strike” policy. So what now? Seems to me that the industry needs to stop looking like the bad guys. I’d even venture to say that 40% or more of digital music piracy could be fixed by running PR damage control. Education is the key, but education can only go so far. Education must become norm before this problem is curbed.
This isn't a legal problem; it's a social norms issue. The industry wasn't ready for the Internet and the new social norms created by it. Why can't the industry just admit it? I say start over. Start over with a new business model that will be conducive to the social norms of the Internet, not anachronistic 1990s business tactics.
Although I don’t usually trust any sources from the Register, this report actually is verified by Reuters:
