| | RIAA: "Shutting Down "Pirate" Sites Helped Stimulate Music Sales  The music industry has "transformed how it does business," with new digital formats now accounting for more than half of industry revenues across a number of newly licensed platforms. That's how Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Chairman/CEO Cary Sherman framed his testimony before lawmakers at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the "Future of Audio," noting that CDs no longer are the primary format for the music business and that digital music is the leading way to distribute music. He also said that actions to shut down large peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing sites have had a positive effect on music sales, citing the closure of Limewire as a primary example. "Most people are familiar with Limewire, which was the world's most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing service," Sherman explained. "Between 2007 and 2010, about two-thirds of file-sharers on the internet used the service. At the end of October 2010, a federal court finally shut them down for inducing massive copyright infringement. The very next month, digital sales of music improved and they've remained higher ever since. While this may not be the sole cause, it is not a coincidence." [Full story: Myce.com] |
Westergren To Congress: Level The Performance Rate Playing Field  "It is time for Congress to level the playing field and approach radio royalties in a technology-neutral manner." That's the message Pandora founder Tim Westergren (left) conveyed to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology yesterday (June 6), urging that the same guidelines should be used to determine the royalty rates for all forms of radio. Noting that the criteria for setting royalty rates in broadcast, satellite, and Internet radio were all determined at different times, Westergren insists that the existing rates have a huge detreimental effect on Pandora's bottom line. (In 2007 he stated that usurious rates could "kill Internet radio altogether.") As an example of the rate disparity between different forms of audio distribution, Westergren told lawmakers that in 2011 Pandora paid $137 million in performance fees on $274 million in revenue (50%), compared to Sirius, which paid $205 million in performance fees on $2.74 billion in revenue (7%). [Full story: Tech Crunch] |
U.K. Digital Music Revenue Surpasses Physical Sales For First Time  For the first time ever, digital music downloads and streaming revenues have surpassed those of physical CDs in the United Kingdom. The British Phonographic Industry this week reported that digital music accounted for 55.5% of U.K. music revenue in the first four months of this year compared to 31% of global industry revenue in 2011, with industry revenues growing by 2.7% to £155.8 million. Digital music revenue, including subscription and ad-supported services, grew by 23.6% year-over-year to £86.5 million, while revenue from physical formats fell by 15.1% to £69.3 million. Sales of digital albums increased by 22.7% to £35.9 million, while fee-based subscription revenue almost doubled (93%) over the same period in 2011, to nearly £9 million. Revenue from ad-supported services such as Spotify increased by 20% to £3.4 million. [Full story: BGR] |
Clear Channel Signs Royalty Deal With Big Machine  On the same day that different factions of the "audio entertainment business" were testifying before a House subcommittee about performance royalty rates, Clear Channel Media & Entertainment announced a deal that, for the first time, compensates record labels and artists for AM/FM airplay. Essentially, the deal changes the way CCME calculates the royalties it pays to play music distributed by Big Machine Label Group, the company behind such Nashville superstars as Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Tim McGraw. According to Big Machine Chief Executive Scott Borchetta, the deal offers lower rates for playing music online, giving Clear Channel an incentive to build up its internet music initiatives and offset the lower fees with the new broadcast royalty. "The opportunity for growth is digital," Borchetta observed in a statement. ""Big Machine and its artists will get a percentage of revenue from Clear Channel's various outlets both online and over the air." "Someone has to go first, someone has to take a risk," Clear Channel CEO Robert Pittman (left) stated. "If digital grows a lot, this will be a good deal. It's a gamble. But you win nothing if you don't take a chance." Terms of the deal were not disclosed. [Full story: Wall Street Journal] |
Elvis To Return As Tupac-Like Holographic Image  Remember the "conspiracy theory moment" earlier this year when a holographic image of Tupac Shakur convinced a lot of the late rapper's fans that he was still alive? Well, that same technology is about to be deployed again by Digital Domain Media Group when it creates a "virtual Elvis likeness" that will be used in television, film, and other media venues. "His lifelong fans will be thrilled all over again, and new audiences will discover the electric experience of Elvis the performer," Jack Soden, president and CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, said in a statement. "The high level of quality entertainment that...Digital Domain delivers gives us great confidence that these projects will help continue the growth of Elvis' rich legacy all over the world." The company, which also created special visual effects for such films as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Tron: Legacy," and "X-Men: First Class," also plans to create a virtual image of Marilyn Monroe for a series of "live" performances. [Full story: Idolator] |
Bridge Ratings: Online Radio Listeners Change Perceptions Over Time  The expectations of internet music listeners changes over time, with perceptions of online services dropping significantly as they continue to listen. That's the key finding of a new study released this week by Bridge Ratings, which examined the key reasons listeners of pure play Internet radio initially are attracted to such services as Pandora, Spotify, and Slacker. The survey found that when consumers used one or more of these internet audio services for less than 30 days, their perception(s) prior to initial use regarding music familiarity were fairly equal, but those scores declined significantly after the listeners had used the service six months or longer. "The study confirms that perceptions of these services prior to experience change over time," Bridge Ratings President Dave Van Dyke commented. "It's valuable information because Internet radio and broadcast radio continue to make an effort to best understand why consumers of music are using these services and what initially is attracting listeners and how that compares with actual usage." Note: There's no word on who sponsored the survey, or when a similar study will be conducted for listener perception of AM/FM radio. [Full story: All Access Music Group] |
The Zune Is Dead...Long Live The Zune  Zune is dead, long live the Zune! Microsoft confirmed this week at the E3 game industry conference in Los Angeles that all Zune-related products and services will be rebranded under a new Xbox Music service. That system is now designed to extend a user's library of songs across multiple platforms, including PCs, smartphones, and tablets running the company's new Windows 8 operating system. Xbox also is rumored to be working on streaming playback capabilities similar to that of Spotify, as well as deep social integration with Facebook. Microsoft launched the Zune as an Mp3 player in 2006 to compete with Apple's iPod, and came with its own desktop software. But disappointing sales caused Microsoft to discontinue the Zune just a few years later, shifting emphasis to the Windows Phone OS, while the Zune Marketplace was rerouted to Xbox 360 game console. [Full story: Venture Beat] |
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 |
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