MUSIC NEWS

New Royalty Pact Could Help Pandora And Other Webcasters   Last week the Radio Music Licensing Committee [RMLC] and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers [ASCAP] announced an agreement to shift royalty fees back to a payment system based on station revenue rather than a flat per-song fee, which was implemented in 2003. Interestingly, one of the beneficiaries of this change could be Pandora, which spends a large percentage of its revenue on royalties, also paid on a per-song/per-listen basis. This means that the more people listen, the more the company pays in royalties. While this RMLC agreement only covers ASCAP royalties, calculating revenue based on a percentage of revenue could eventually lead the Copyright Royalty Board, which sets artist and label performance fees for online radio stations, to follow suit. "The move here is substantial in that it shows the sector that right holders have an understanding that Internet radio can be a friendly medium to the music business," Seeking Alpha writes. "It is better to have viable Internet radio businesses than to strip every dime away from them for royalties." [Full story: Seeking Alpha] Sony Expands Music Unlimited To Compete With Spotify, Pandora   The Financial Times this week reported that Sony is pushing its Music Unlimited service into new countries and is launching it on Apple devices, all in an effort to compete with such online music services as Spotify and Pandora. Sony Entertainment Network President Tim Schaaff told FT that Music Unlimited was better-positioned than Spotify because of its well-financed parent company and experience in the music business. "Spotify is certainly a formidable competitor," he said. "But we can afford to invest in this area for a long time. It's not the center of the business." Schaaf said Music Unlimited soon will launch in Sweden, home country of Spotify founder Daniel Ek, who last week unveiled new features for the popular music service. Noting that Sony is in the online music space for the long haul, Schaaf said, "[We're] a global company. If we're going to do a music service we have to be committed to bringing that to a very wide audience." Noting that Music Unlimited would soon have apps that work on Apple's iPhone and iPad, Schaaf said Sony already has apps for devices running Google's Android operating system, including the Sony S tablet, and has secured international rights for its entire catalogue of music. [Full story:Financial Times] 7digital's Drury: iTunes Has Peaked, But Will Remain Dominant For Years   In a not-totally unbiased statement, 7digital CEO Ben Drury told attendees of his company's annual meeting that Apple's digital music dominance is slipping, and suggested that streaming services are eating into iTunes' chunk of the musical pie. "[Apple's] market share is around 85% per cent for individual tracks, but it's significantly lower for albums," he explained. "iTunes' success has always been tied to the iPod's market share, which was almost monopolistically high, but now people consume and acquire music on more devices and this alone is leading to the decrease in iTunes' market share." While conceding that iTunes will remain number one "for a long time," Drury noted that, for the first time, it looks as though iTunes may drop some share points, "In the UK, we reckon iTunes will see lower market share in 2012 than 2011 - and a lot of that is to do with Spotify," he said. Drury also announced a new partnership with Microsoft, wherein 7digital's music services will be included on Windows Phone handsets and as part of Windows 8 next year. [Full story: Tech Radar] Deezer Directly Challenges Spotify In Global Digital Expansion   Music streaming service Deezer has no plans to let Spotify take over the global online music space, a position the company solidified this week when it announced it is expanding to 200 countries by June 2012. Deezer - which launched four years ago in France, Belgium and the UK - said in a statement that it "strongly believes digital music is too focused purely on the U.S. and Japanese markets," despite the fact that the two countries only represent 25% of global music consumption. Deezer plans to go live in Ireland and the Netherlands this week, followed by the rest of Europe by December 15. Russian consumers will get access to Deezer on December 16, followed by Canada and Latin America next month, "Australasia" and Africa in February, and the rest of the world by June 30. "Since 2007, I have focused my research towards matching a global service with the local expectations of music fans and artists," Deezer founder Daniel Marhely commented. "Our unique product and the partnership with Facebook make my aim a reality. This is a great step forward for Deezer." [Full story:Digital Spy] Clear Channel's Pittman: Online Services Are Music Collections, Not Radio   Speaking at Arbitron's Client Conference this week in Baltimore, Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman observed that such Internet-based music services as Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify really are not radio - and the broadcast industry shouldn't let them define themselves that way. In fact, Pittman said online stations are little more than personal music collections and playlist generators, and consumers who listen to these collections do so only for awhile, become bored, and eventually return to broadcast radio. "Listeners are adding streaming to have more choices, not to get away from radio," explained Pittman, who claimed radio generates 21 listener tune-ins per week compared to 2.6 tune-ins per week for Pandora. Pittman also noted that digital listening accounts for only 5% of total radio listening, but that percentage will grow and radio needs to be online. [Full story: Radio World] Microsoft's Xbox 360 Gets Software Makeover, Will Include iHeartRadio   Microsoft this week revealed it is adding a full tier of new digital entertainment content to its Xbox console, including music from iHeartRadio, as well as video channels from YouTube, HBO, and Epix. The software update also will include a universal search feature that allows users to look for movies and other content across various digital content platforms. It also will give users full access to Microsoft's Kinect accessory to navigate the entire Xbox interface; in the past users could access only a few functions through Kinect. "Our vision for the living room is to bring you all the entertainment you want," Microsoft's Ross Honey said in a statement. "When you come to the couch, you only have to use one device. We're focused on making it super simple." [Full story: San Jose Mercury News] Memo To Labels: Let Go And Let Music Mans Share! "To Reach Fans Through Social Music Sites, Labels Need To Learn To Let Go." That's the title of a Fast Company blog post published this week, wherein former music industry exec Louis Marino points out a major truth that major record labels have long-ignored: music fans love to share their music. "The early adopters of digital-music sharing were on to something, and now Facebook's deal with companies like Turntable, Rhapsody, Soundcloud, Vevo, and Tunein will once again revolutionize music sharing in a way never before imagined," he writes. "[When] I buy the boxed set of the Beach Boy's 'Smile Sessions,' suddenly I'm reminded about one of the things I love most about music: sharing it!" Rather than focus on numbers and legalese and licensing deals, the recorded music industry needs to "figure out what the consumer's journey is and follow it, not try to control it or inundate it with unwanted marketing programs," Marino says. "Only then will you be in that room with them listening to the music together, and only then will you be able to have a real conversation with them; and allow them to spread your brand message in an authentic and meaningful way, both far and wide, on their own terms." [Full story: Fast Company] "Al Bell Presents American Soul Music" Launches On WDIA Memphis WDIA 1070 - the Heart and Soul of Memphis - this week announced it will launch "Al Bell Presents American Soul Music," a weekly three-hour entertainment program, tomorrow night [Dec. 9]. Hosted by Soul Music and Entertainment icon Al Bell, "Al Bell Presents American Soul Music" is designed to make listeners of all ages relax, de-stress, get down, and feel good every Friday night with the best classic soul music in the U.S. "Back before my days at Stax Records I was a DJ here in Memphis, and I'm thrilled to be able to broadcast this program on WDIA every Friday night," Mr. Bell said. WDIA Program Director Bobby O'Jay added, "I'm looking forward to 'Al Bell Presents' being included in the WDIA programming schedule. Al's incredible knowledge of the music and his strong presentation will be fun to listen to, and I know WDIA listeners will enjoy it." "Al Bell Presents American Soul Music" will be broadcast every Friday evening at 7:00 pm on WDIA 1070 AM, simulcast on WDIA-FM 101.1 HD-2, and streamed online atwww.mywdia.com Al Bell Presents American Soul Music ... And American Soul TV If you're into classic and contemporary Soul, R&B, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Hip-Hop Soul, Rap Soul, and Neo-Soul, we invite you to listen to Al Bell Presents American Soul Music. Former Stax Records owner and Motown Records Group President Al Bell personally has programmed this awesome radio station online, presenting your favorites from the 1960s and '70s [and some '80s], a lot of the best new music that's being released today, and some real gems you haven't heard in a long, long time. Come to www.AlBellPresents.Com  and hear it for yourself!