MUSIC NOT POLITICS TOWN HALL

Headlines for Tuesday October 27, 2009

Year-to-date album sales are tracking 13 percent below the same point in 2008, according to US-based data from Nielsen Soundscan. In total, 2009 has produced sales of 275.6 million units, a figure that pales in comparison to totals from earlier this decade.

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According to data from comScore, Twitter reached 58.4 million visitors in September, a 6.7 percent month-over-month gain. The US-based audience remains at roughly 21 million.

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A federal judge has dismissed the music industry contention that when a cellphone’s ringtone begins playing, copyright

infringement starts happening since others can hear the song, essentially arguing that a mobile phone is a portable concert

hall.

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Facebook launched a new content gifting service that will allow members to, among other things, buy and give digital music tracks to their friends.

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Headlines for Thursday October 22, 2009

On Easter weekend of 2008 MUSIC NOT POLITICS with the assistance of Money Island and JSP Island set out to raise awareness of live music in SL.  

A 48 hour live event was held on the Money Island Sims. All general music groups, musicians and venues were invited to participate in the event. The event ran for 52 hours and brought over 1,100 new fans to the music scene. On Easter Weekend 2009 the now annual Music Awareness event carried on for over 100 hours.

 

Easter Weekend (April 2-4 (and beyond), 2010, MUSIC NOT POLITICS with the assistance of Money Island and Z's Music Club are pleased to present MUSIC AWARENESS 2010. This event is expected to run at least 100 hours as the response already has been tremendous. The event will be promoted in and out of SL. The event will also be simulcast over the web on the MUSIC NOT POLITICS web site. Money Island will have a special area set up where musicians and venues will be welcome to have a box of free promotional materials.

 

Musicians wishing to participate in this event are required to contact Throughthesewalls Moody directly and ONLY through EMAIL at musicawareness2010@gmail.com. Please include dates and times you are available and a skype ID if you have one. Limited slots are available once they are filled we will expand hours as long as needed to accomodate all who wish to participate.

 

 In the spirit of Music Awareness this year, we are looking to put together a compilation SLCD and/or SLCD's of music which will be distributed free to fans attending the concerts held during the event. Each artist selected will have one original song on the album. A copy of the CD with full perm rights will be given to each artist following the event with the understanding that the CD will not be sold. The benefit to your participation is of course exposure of your music to a wide variety of fans from all genre.

 

This event will be staffed by MUSIC NOT POLITICS staff and volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering your time to help with the event please contact Moody at musicwareness2010@gmail.com

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Headlines for Tuesday October 13, 2009

It's hard work to get the attention, respect and dollars of today's music fan. The online music industry has exploded into a billion bits of content. Last year, over 13 million MP3's lined the shelves of online retail outlets. The problem is that 10 million tracks languished unsold.

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US antitrust enforcers are concerned that a merger of Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. may reduce

competition for tickets to live events at large venues, said a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department is likely to decide within two months whether to oppose the merger, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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The Rock Band Network is a revolutionary system that will allow bands, studios and record labels to create and sell playable game content from their master recordings using the same professional tools used by developers.

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Want to license your music into a film, television program, commercial, or other production? The Rolling Stones can command millions, as can a range of other well-established groups. But the off-the-street indie is usually looking at a very modest payout - that is, if anyone is calling back.

That was the sobering takeaway from a panel of music supervisors and program producers assembled Friday at New Noise Santa Barbara. "If you have a licensing offer on the table, regardless of what the price is, do it," advised Gerry Cueller, owner of GoBig! "If the price is $200, don't go for $1,000, because they'll just get another band for $200."

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Boyzone singer Stephen Gately recently died at 33, for reasons that remain unclear

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Clubs Australia is planning to shift to unsigned, local music rather than play increased performance royalties on more established content.  

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The UK-based Times recently packaged an iTunes card into its Saturday edition. The card is redeemable for five unreleased R.E.M. tracks, as well as classics.

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Headlines for Wednesday October 7, 2009

These days, Flava Flav is mostly known for his reality show antics, though Public Enemy cofounder Chuck D is still driving new content. But this time around, the post-major label D is banding with SellaBand to raise $250,000 in recording costs. Sounds like a hefty amount, though Chuck D is planning to distribute a portion of the album profits back to the investors. Shares are being sold for $25 each, and investors will also receive a limited edition CD press.

 

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Live Nation and Coca-Cola have announced a multi-year strategic sponsorship and marketing alliance. The deal includes pouring rights at venues for a variety of beverages owned by Coca-Cola. Expect more 'Open Happiness' branding at your favorite show.

 

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Just 26 percent of music-focused iPhone apps are used after 90 days, according to a recent study from Flurry

 

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Headlines for Thursday October 1, 2009

Pearl Jam's Backspacer topped the most recent album rankings in the US with sales of 175,000.

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The Orchard experienced a major shake-up that included a 20 percent staffing reduction. CEO Greg Scholl is also departing. Shares of The Orchard (ORCD) slipped 13.29 percent to $1.50 during Wednesday trading on Wall Street, a downturn that followed news of a significant realignment.

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German pop-rock act Tokio Hotel is launching a 3D holographic tour - a "virtual" performance to be shown in 12 cities across seven countries.

The promotion, which uses ground-breaking new technology, launches tomorrow (Oct. 2) in Berlin.

The performance will be broadcast via 3D holographic images in 12 stores of Europe's leading consumer electronics retailer, the Media-Saturn Group. Hologram technology uses lasers and allows 3D images of the four musicians to be projected on stage.

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MySpace Music is now available in Australia and New Zealand, part of a slow international expansion beyond the United States. The move Down Under has the support of all four major labels, which means that music fans can enjoy playlisting and on-demand streams on most popular catalog. The Orchard and IODA are also part of the launch, and downloads are being serviced through the iTunes Store.

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Warner Music Group is shaving its staff a bit more, at least according to details emerging Wednesday morning. Variety is pointing to the elimination of 10-13 staffers at Warner Bros. Records, including the exit of Senior Vice President of Sales Dave Stein. Additionally, Senior Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs Susan Genco has apparently left voluntarily.

Outside of that, more chops are reportedly happening throughout the Warner ranks, including distribution group WEA and indie distribution division Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA).

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Headlines for Monday September 28, 2009

This promises to be a busy job, and probably a very frustrating one. On Friday, the White House nominated Victoria Espinel as its Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, a move quickly applauded by the RIAA, National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), MPAA, and others. The newly-created 'czar' position was mandated within the recently-passed Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act. "The music publishing and songwriting industry looks forward to working with Victoria in this capacity and values the Administration's commitment to bringing to fruition the goals of the PRO-IP Act," said NMPA head David Israelite.

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Rhino Entertainment has now reduced its headcount by nearly 40, according to internal documents and sources. In a memo to employees surfacing Friday, Rhino pointed to a continued shift in focus, perhaps blurring the exact reasons for the layoff. "As a result of the fundamental transformation of the physical new release and catalog business, Rhino Entertainment is evolving," the memo begins. "Part of that evolution involves a shift from serving primarily as a catalog and reissue company to one that handles WMG's global digital catalog initiatives, film, television, video game and commercial licensing, and name and likeness representation for legendary artists."

(Sept 25, 2009)

A number of highly-paid major label department heads are likely to be eliminated over the next few weeks, according to recent sources to Digital Music News. One well-placed executive noted that the target is a department head whose salary is overblown, sometimes past $1 million annually. "These types of compensation packages were signed in an earlier time, a different frame of mind; they can no longer be sustained," the source relayed, while pointing to target packages within the "$200,000 to $300,000 range" going forward.

So when will this happen, and where? Another source could only etch a "fourth quarter move," though a dialed-in dealmaker shared news of an October 7-12 timeframe. On the exact label, sources suggested Warner Music Group, and possibly Sony Music Entertainment. EMI Music may eventually cut deeper within a bigger restructuring, potentially through bankruptcy proceedings down the line.

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The mega-platinum, arena-playing artist may be a thing of the past, and concert industry executives are now watching the shift in real time. At Transmission in Victoria, Canada, a number of promoters pointed to aggressive price (and fee) chopping by Live Nation as evidence that bigger venues are simply getting harder to fill. "This is not a healthy business," one top promoter told Digital Music News, while blaming more than just the Great Recession for bigger-venue problems. "There are just too many media channels, and 50,000 bands with the same tools competing for attention. It's just harder to build a group to that level."

 

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*Orange is now launching its Sound of Orange RockCorps app, which lets fans collaboratively create their own versions of rock songs.'

 

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*Ringtones are slipping at a rapid rate, according to data released this week. Research group IBISWorld predicts that the format will disappear within 15 years.

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