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July 29 – Volume 13, issue 21
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Digital Music News
Daily Snapshot Excerpt Thursday, July 22
Warning: Some of These Stats Are Really, Really Scary...
As the music industry stumbles into a totally new place, the number of artists actually selling serious quantities is astonishingly low. At New Music Seminar, Tommy Silverman and Eric Garland (BigChampagne) rolled through a tirade of stats showing the extreme challenges that marketers and artists face. Sure, the album itself is waning, but these stats are still worth examining (Nielsen Soundscan is the data source).
*Albums that sold at least one copy in 2009: 98,000
*Albums selling more than 10,000 units in 2009: 1,319 <> *Albums selling more than 10,000 units in 2008: 1,515
*Albums selling more than 250,000 units in 2009: 85 <> *Albums selling more than 250,000 units in 2001: 214
*Albums selling more than 5,000 units in 2009: 2,058 <> *Albums selling under than 1,000 units in their first year of release: 92,601
*Number of albums selling less than 100 copies in 2009: 81,000
Join the discussion at Web-site: http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/072110nmsstats 07/29/10
Daily Snapshot Excerpt Tuesday, July 27
So, Does “Indie” Really Mean Anything Anymore?
“Indie cred” used to stand for something. It meant selling 7-inches at local record stores, not paying radio stations for spins, and not watering things down for mainstream acceptance. But these days, everyone has direct access to the fan, major labels are weaker than ever, and traditional endpoints like terrestrial radio are losing influence. Meanwhile, the worlds of indie and major seem increasingly blurred. So-called indie bands are often upstreamed into the major label world (for example, Interpol onto Capitol), and so-called “indie distributors” like RED are often owned by majors (in this case, Sony Music Entertainment).
So, what does “indie” really mean anymore? And, is it dead? That was the smart question asked by Paste writer Nick Purdy, who chatted with A2IM chief Rich Bengloff on the matter. Bengloff pointed to continued access issues involving traditional brick-n-mortar retailers and radio stations, offering a reminder that old-school formats still wield considerable influence. But Bengloff is stumping for many of the same issues as the RIAA, including anti-piracy objectives (A2IM supports ‘graduatedresponse’); demands for recording royalties from terrestrial radio plays, and even DMCA-related concerns (A2IM is working to appeal the outcome of Veoh v. UMG).
So what is the difference then? In the digital sphere, Bengloff also pointed to issues getting exposure on platforms like the iTunes Store. But anyone can upload and chart on iTunes these days, and an artist website is a dedicated showcase and retailer unto itself. In that light, is the term “indie” just another relic of a not-too-distant past? It’s a question worth asking...
Permalink Web-site: http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/072610indie 07/29/10
0%...???
Will music fans pay for anything? The answer is of course yes, especially for the bands they absolutely love. But in many situations, the answer is definitely no, especially on platforms built around free. And, ‘competing with free’ has never been more difficult. In one recent survey from the University of Ballarat in Australia, BitTorrent trackers were found to contain about 0.3 percent legitimate content. Theoretically, BitTorrent can carry any type of content, but in practice, the platform almost exclusively transports copyrighted material according to the finding.
Elsewhere, another donut popped up in relation to Twitter. This time, a study by USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism found that 0 percent of Twitter users would pay to use the service if a paywall were put in place. “Such an extreme finding that produced a zero response underscores the difficulty of getting internet users to pay for anything that they already receive for free,” directory Jeffrey Cole relayed. … Looks like MySpace Music is making the right call.
Permalink Web-site: http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/072610zero 07/29/10
Related article: “Exclusive: MySpace Music Not Paywalling Profile Streams,” Web-site: http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/072010myspace 07/29/10
Daily Snapshot Excerpts Monday, July 12
‘Debate - Outing the Hobbyist...’
Tommy Boy: “80 Percent of All Records Released are Just Noise — Hobbyists”
Are most musicians today merely hobbyists? Yes, according to Thomas “Tommy Boy” Silverman, who poked another hole in digital utopianism over the weekend. “80 percent of all records released are just noise — hobbyists,” Silverman told Wired. “Some companies like Tunecore are betting on the Long Tail because they get the same $10 whether you sell one copy or 10,000.” And the swiping continued. “Who uses Photobucket and Flickr? Not professional photographers — those are hobbyists, and those are the people who are using Tunecore and iTunes to clutter the music environment with crap, so that the artists who really are pretty good have more trouble breaking through than they ever did before.” Tough talk, though this is part of a longer-running debate - one that has infuriated Tunecore CEO Jeff Price in the past. Silverman has largely used Soundscan stats to prove his point, a measuring stick that Price feels is flawed and incomplete.
Part of the problem is that the album is rapidly becoming an outdated format, something that Silverman acknowledges. Still, Silverman maintains that 10,000 albums (physical+digital) represents a critical threshold out of obscurity, a level most artists rarely reach. “If you can’t sell 10,000 albums in digital and physical combined, you’re still relatively obscure,” Silverman stated. Of course, Silverman is quite the operator, and this interview was well-timed just before the New Music Seminar in New York - an event Silverman co-founded. As a self-appointed messiah of sorts, Silverman is also trying to lead struggling artists to the promise land with some different solutions. That includes a totally different type of artist deal, one predicated on broader revenue sources and equal revenue-sharing - unlike hopeless recouping arrangements created by labels. “Every artist is a business, and has its own corporation under this model, and all of that artist’s creative equity goes into that — not just music, but everything they do,” Silverman described. “And the investors who are investing and trying to promote on the other side — they own half. So it’s more like a business. An equity partnership.”
Discuss at Web-site: http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/071010tommyboy 07/15/10
Daily Snapshot Excerpts Wednesday, July 14
Resnikoff’s Parting Shot: Outing the Hobbyist...
Finally, this industry is starting to draw a bright line between the professional artist and the hobbyist. The band that has a shot at reaching a serious audience, versus the guy who’s tinkering on GarageBand after work. They are not the same, even though oftentimes they are using similar tools on the recording and distribution side. So which side of this line are you on? Perhaps Tommy Silverman needed to say it out loud, but services like Tunecore, ReverbNation, and CD Baby are frequently catering to hobbyists, not pros or artists with serious backing or talent.
And so what? Society is all the better with open channels of distribution, and even the greats have to start at zero. Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with free expression and almost-free distribution, but Silverman notes that the lanes are now too crowded. That the traffic jam of crap is making it difficult for real artists to reach real audiences. The space seems to be in reverse. Snazzy distribution and promotional ideas are more important than quality songwriting, and Twitter followers more important than real fans. In a recent Wired interview, Tommy singled out hobbyists for using Tunecore and iTunes to “clutter the music environment with crap,” so that “artists who really are pretty good have more trouble breaking through than they ever did before”. Others are saying similar things. “There’s a massive glut of amateur artists and songwriters swirling in a swill of mediocrity,” songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman recently commented on an earlier Digital Music News article.
Turns out that quality is a really important topic to this industry, and even more important among fans. And too much stuff is simply half-baked or unoriginal. Why? It’s just too easy to upload unfinished material, and a lot of emphasis remains on quantity, not quality. “A lot of artists don’t even master their music anymore,” hip-hop artist and producer Tye Banks added. “This is definitely the case in hip-hop.”
So what about all of this clutter? Turns out the bigger reality is that everything in media is a traffic jam! It’s not just 12-million-odd bands (or whatever the number is) on iTunes, it’s the entire media and communications landscape. But the coffee is suddenly kicking in. Access is no longer being equated with quality, entitlement, or niche success. The Long Tail has been thrashed into obsolescence, and the emphasis is shifting back towards quality, resources, and dedicated teams - whatever those teams may look like in the future. So who are the success stories of tomorrow, and can they make a decent living? Can an industry be built around these successful artists? Slowly, truisms are starting to emerge in the digital era. And this is not a future being built by hobbyists. Paul Resnikoff, Publisher.
Join the debate at Web-site: http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/071310partinghobbyist 07/22/10
Daily Snapshot Excerpts Monday, July 19
But Wait. Doesn’t This Industry Need More Crap, Not Less?
Most are mediocre at golf. They drive balls into the woods, make embarrassingly bad putts, and massacre an otherwise pristine course. In fact, the number of “scratch” golfers, or those hitting scores that are “par for the course,” is slim. Yet, these so-called “duffers” come back for more every weekend, and often plow thousands into equipment, greens fees, and tournament tickets every year, not to mention hours supporting advertisers through television and internet engagement. These amateurs play crappy golf, no doubt, but they are critical for the golfing industry on a number of levels.
The similarities to the music industry are worth noting. Previous articles marked the beginning of the “Great Hobbyist Debate,” as one onlooker coined it, and opinions on the matter are all over the map. Perhaps a distinction needs to be made between the pure hobbyist and the aspiring artist that may lack the talent, dedication, time commitment, resources, or originality to truly reach a serious, self-sustaining level. Certainly, these distinctions get blurry - pure hobbyists can become quite serious, and aspiring artists can improve and refine their material to attract serious fan bases. And some notable musical movements - including blues and punk - were hardly created by virtuosos. But the hobbyist group - however defined - is critical for the future of this industry. The proof can be found in an often ignored sector of the industry - musical instruments. Sure, instrument sales are taking a serious hit in the Great Recession, but the general trend has been sharply upward - as in, billions upward. CDs dropped more than 50 percent last decade, but more and more music fans are picking up instruments and playing.
In fact, sales of musical instruments were $14.8 billion in 2009. That was down 15.4 percent over 2008 based on slimmer wallets, but more than double the 2003 tally of $6.92 billion. The latest number was counted by Music Trades and reported by the IFPI, which counted recording sales of $17 billion last year. These are two sectors within the same music industry, but with completely opposite arcs.
Somehow, underneath the rubble of a crumbling recording industry, some serious fertility remains. The industry has collectively recognized that musical appetites are incredibly strong, thanks partly to unlimited access to music, lyrics, videos, tabs, and everything in-between. Of course, part of that is happening at the expense of the recording and publishing industries, but not everyone is losing. More fans are downloading for free, but more are picking up consumer electronics devices, phones, and musical instruments as well. More importantly, more are reigniting or starting lifelong relationships with music across lots of different genres. Sure, that includes plenty of amateur players that will never “go pro” or reach virtuosic levels. Most will be “crappy” in the end, and hey, many are simply enjoying themselves on the weekends. But playing music often goes hand-in-hand with listening and buying music, an appreciation that often lasts a lifetime. Obviously this is benefiting musical instrument manufacturers, but it’s also benefiting direct-to-fan channels like TuneCore. People are in the game, as listeners and participants.
Does that make it harder to market a talented artist? Absolutely. The “cluttering” of the channels is not as much of an issue on iTunes, simply because of its search-driven architecture. But for most aspiring bands, iTunes is just the beginning. The rest includes Facebook apps and pages, email accounts, and competition for blogger mentions. In other words, ‘push’ platforms. This, in turn, is part of a much more crowded media and communications environment.
But better to have more crap - lots of it - than the opposite. It makes marketing and scaling bands much, much harder, but it also creates lots of opportunities for filtering concepts, hardware and physical sales, and companies that eventually work. It also represents the output of a population that really, really loves music. Not every industry is so lucky. Paul Resnikoff, Publisher.
Discuss at Web-site: http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/071810morecrap 07/22/10
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Hit-Makers No Justice Release Label Debut!
From: Brandy Reed
No Justice Breaks Lone Star Border With ‘2nd Avenue’ Released July 6
After sharing the stage with Dierks Bentley and Pat Green, two #1 hits and seven Top 10 singles in Texas, acclaimed hit-makers debut new album!
Nashville – After dominating the Texas and Oklahoma music scenes ‘from live shows to radio hits’ No Justice released its Carved Records debut, ‘2nd Avenue’, on July 6th. The first single “Love Song” is already on the Texas Music Chart’s Top 30. Since 2005, No Justice has conquered Texas stages and radio waves with two #1 hits and seven Top 10 singles. A rigorous touring schedule, which takes the band across the United States for more than 200 dates a year, has created a national swell leading into the summer release. VP of Operations at Dallas-based Carved Records, Phil Thomas, says, “These guys have enjoyed great success regionally with multiple No. 1s, and we can’t think of a better act to introduce to rest of the nation than Carved Records’ newest addition, No Justice.”
No Justice wanted to travel outside of Texas and into Nashville to record ‘2nd Avenue’, produced by Dexter Green (Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Collective Soul). But even with big-city success, the band returned to their small-town roots during the writing process. “Almost all of our members have grown up in small towns throughout Oklahoma,” explained Rice. “I grew up farming and in small towns where country roots grew really strong. It’s definitely a part of my lifestyle and shines through my songwriting; I write about my relationships and what I know. I write about small-town Oklahoma.” Rice describes the album’s lead single, “Love Song,” not as a fairytale, but as a story of love lost. “It’s written from a small-town perspective—having missed out on a special opportunity with someone and wanting it back.” “Love Song” balances melancholy lyrics—“How about one more dance / A second chance / To ease my mind … Come on and take my hand”—with an upbeat musical backdrop: rhythmic drums and blazing Red Dirt riffs. The contrast both excites and tugs at the heartstrings, exemplifying the proven radio-ready quality of the band’s songwriting. Rip-roaring album opener, “Going Nowhere,” tells the tale of young summer nights, with Rice recounting the nostalgia of a simpler age brimming emotion and void of responsibility: “Lost in the moment, but we didn’t care / We were running wild and going nowhere.” “Heart on a Chain” slows down the tempo, and closes out the record on a romantic tone. Rebecca Lynn Howard and Johnny Cooper also make guest appearances on the album.
About No Justice and Carved Records
No Justice has managed to rise to the upper echelon of the Oklahoma and Texas music scenes all without a major label release. Hailing from Stillwater, Oklahoma, and led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Steve Rice, No Justice mixes a Red Dirt-rock sound into the traditional twang that Texas music is known for. No Justice has toured nationally with recognized artists including Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Robison, Billy Joe Shaver, Gary Allan, Cross Canadian Ragweed, David Allan Coe, Pat Green, Chris Ledoux and Jack Ingram. Growing up on the countryside and surrounded by Southern music, members Steve Rice, Jerry Payne, Joey Trevino, Armando Lopez and Cody Patton combine many musical influences in their music, which is also evident in the group’s previous releases, ‘Live At Billy Bob’s’, ‘Far From Everything’ and the self-titled ‘No Justice’. The live CD and DVD at Billy Bob’s were especially important, with the Ft. Worth venue a staple of Texas concert arenas and “the world’s largest Honky Tonk,” according to its website.
Carved Records is based in Dallas and Los Angeles. Its first signed artist, Texas Hippie Coalition (or THC), will release a debut album this summer. No Justice marks the first country music act signed to the label. Carved Records consists of Founder and CEO Tim Porter, VP of Operations Phil Thomas (formerly of UMG Distribution/Fontana, RED Distribution) and Label Director Jenn Littleton (CO5 Music, former Sr. Marketing Director/A&R Geffen Records).
More information in No Justice Web-site: http://www.nojustice.com
More information on Carved Records Web-site: http://www.carvedrecords.com
Contact: Brandy Reed - RPR Marketing & Public Relations
Ph: 615) 830-3508 07/08/10
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CD Tex Music Delivery – The Country Song Source
From: CD Tex
CD Tex is the fastest, easiest, and most efficient way for receiving the latest in Texas, Country, and Red-Dirt single releases. Since 2002, CD TEX has been a premier single delivery service for broadcast and review. Reasons why you should use the CD TEX Download Delivery Service: Saves time and money in programming songs for your play list. <> Saves space in the control room and library. <> Instant access at the “stroke of a key”. Notifications are easy to file in a single folder in your email client or computer desktop. <> Songs are instantly available for listening or downloading without logging onto another website. All songs are High Resolution Broadcast quality 320kbs MP3s. <> All Songs are completely tagged with Artist and Title info. <> Will not “clog” your mailbox/inbox with unwanted MP3s. Less trash from envelopes, CDs, jewel cases, one sheets, etc. <> You can have access to the downloads for an entire year from the CD Tex website.
Create a CD Tex folder in your Outlook or other location future reference.
It is just like cataloging a CD except it does not take up space in the control room or in your e-mail box.
Contact: CD Tex E-mail: info@cdtex.com Ph: 210-654-8773
CD Tex 12411 NE Loop 410 Suite 132 San Antonio, Texas 78217 06/17/09
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The 18th Annual Cutting Edge Music Business Conference and Roots Music Gathering
August 25 - 29 @ Westin New Orleans Canal Place-3rd Floor
100 Rue Iberville, New Orleans
“The Cutting Edge is a must attend event for those who want to gain control over their music careers…”
Panelist Profiles
Ralph Murphy – ASCAPis the author of Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting. He is a past president of the Nashville Songwriters Association, former Nashville chapter president and former national trustee of the Recording Academy (NARAS). He had his first hit in 1966 “Call My Name”James Royal) and has had chart success for five decades, the most recent being Cliff Richard’s No. 2 Christmas single in 2007 in England.
Jeffrey Brabec – is Vice President of Business Affairs for the Chrysalis Music Group (representing the catalogues of OutKast, Velvet Revolver, Blondie, Paul Anka, Billy Idol, Jethro Tull, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, A3 ‘The Sopranos’ theme) Cy Coleman, Dan Wilson, TV on the Radio and Ray LaMontagne). Brabec is the co-author with his twin brother Todd (Executive Vice President of ASCAP) of the book MUSIC, MONEY, AND SUCCESS: The Insider’s Guide To Making Money In The Music Industry (Schirmer Trade Books/Music Sales) and has been awarded the Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism. Previously, he has been Vice President of Business Affairs for The PolyGram Music Group and Director of Business Affairs for both The Welk Music Group and Arista-Interworld Music Group.
Todd Brabec – is co-author of Music, Money and Success: The Insider’s Guide to Making Money In the Music Business (6th Edition/Schirmer Books/505 pages) and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the USC Thornton School of Music where he teaches the course on music publishing, licensing of music and film, television and videogame song contracts. Formerly Executive Vice President for the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) where he was in charge of all of the Society’s membership operations throughout the world, Brabec is the current Budget Chair as well as former Division Chair for the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries.
Suzette Becker, Esq – (a/k/a Suzette Toledano Becker) maintains a boutique arts and entertainment transactional law practice located Above the House of Blues in New Orleans with emphasis on copyright and trademark matters, art and music licensing, recording contracts, music publishing contracts and film industry matters. Her associate, Verena Benker, is licensed to practice law in Germany as well as in the U.S. Their national client list includes artists, composers, photographers, visual artists, screenwriters, producers, record labels, music publishers, event producers, webcasters, and motion picture production companies, with Billboard award winners and Grammy nominees/winners among them.
News
Call for panel proposals for the Cutting Edge Media Business Conference
The 18th Annual Cutting Edge Music Business Conference; Cutting Edge Film and Interactive Media Workshop, and Roots Music Gathering will be held August 25~29, 2010 Westin New Orleans Canal Place, 100 Rue Iberville, New Orleans. The Cutting Edge is seeking innovative panel proposals in the areas of Media Business and law for its upcoming annual conference. Successful proposals should be of broad interest to members of the media business educators community, its students and media artists. Showcase submissions open. All speaking requests must go to the Cutting Edge office.
Keynote Interviewee – John Simson, Executive Director of SoundExchange.
SoundExchange is the first performance rights organization formed to collect digital performance royalties for sound recording copyright owners and recording artists.
Furgang & Adwar, L.L.P., New York has volunteered to become Cutting Edge’s Entertainment Law content coordinator. New Orleans Attorneys Vernon Thomas and Judith DeFraites will manage daily activities and CLE credits. The Continuing Legal Education topics has now been posted and will be updated. Bookmark it for your convenience!
Educators Request for Panel Proposals
The Cutting Edge is seeking innovative panel proposals in the areas of Media Business for its upcoming annual conference. Successful proposals should be of broad interest to members of the media business educators community, its students and media artists.
Cutting Edge Entertainment Law Seminar
The Cutting Edge Entertainment Law Seminar will examine the latest in Entertainment Law from litigation trends and contractual safeguards when “upstreaming” an artist from an Indie to a major record label, to recording and film contracts, copyrights and publishing..
Cutting Edge Business Sessions
The Cutting Edge Music Business Sessions will feature successful music professionals who will address everything from getting your music in films, to booking, touring, publicity and promotions.
Cutting Edge Film and Interactive Media Workshops
The Cutting Edge Film and Interactive Media Workshops will show independent filmmakers how to finance films and garner distribution deals.
Those interested can have their film critiqued in the Film Showcase.
2008 Roots Music Gathering
The roots of New Orleans music are the Cutting Edge, even when the backbeat is a half beat behind. Everything about music is not always selling CDs to a large segment of the population.
The 2008 Roots Music Gathering showcases traditional music and cultures.
Cutting Edge’s New Works Showcase
Cutting Edge’s New Works Showcase. Bring on the Bands! Play for the professionals. A band’s best publicity is performance.
In addition these artists will get an opportunity to attend panels and network at the conference.
Marketing Opportunities
Let the Cutting Edge open the door to good business by marketing your products or artists at the Cutting Edge Trade Show or in the Indie Magazine’s Conference issue.
Contact:
MBI/Cutting Edge Ph: 504-945-1800 or visit
Web-site: http://www.cuttingedgemusicbusiness.com or Web-site: http://www.indiemusicmagazine.net 06/03/10
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The Best of Sam Kindrick
‘The secret life and hard times of a cedar chopper’
Don’t forget to pick up ‘ACTION Magazine’ at your favorite club.
“The Texas entertainment magazine since 1975”
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Casbah News Wire
The Casbah – hosted by Brian Parrish on KSYM 90.1 FM, San Antonio, Tx
A tasty Pu Pu platter of Rock, Surf, obscure Jazz and Blues
"Helping chronic audiophiles since 1997"
THE CASBAH – 7:00pm to 9:00pm Saturdays!
Listen to Brian’s ravings on KSYM 90.1 FM every Saturday 7:00pm-9:00pm. E-mail: casbahtx @ aol.com
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As a policy S.A.M.B.E. provides an open forum for ALL musicians, fans, promoters etc. Have a safe week.
John Q. Pardini
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KRTU 91.7 FM Jazz for San Antonio
KSYM 90.1 – You’ll hear music other DJ’s are afraid to play!
Ph: 210-486-5796 for more info or click on KSYM 90.1
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