Digital Media
10 Most Disastrous Music Industry Deals via Digital Music News
Aug 18th
File this one under too good not to mention.
If you don’t already read Digital Music News, you should. This is the brainchild of Industry pundit Paul Resnikoff. Established in 2004 (I think) this is one of the places I go for my up-to-date music industry info… Today’s post (excerpted below) is just a taste of the daily fodder. Also featured daily is a Job Board for all of those looking for a gig. Overall a pretty great resource and a good excuse to re-post the following:
The 10 Most Disastrous Music Industry Deals
(1) Terra Firma’s acquisition of EMI, $4.7 billion (2007)
Even Guy Hands admits he made a colossal mistake on this one. One of the last super-leveraged buyouts before the bust, EMI has now become a $4.7 billion-plus toxic mess for Terra Firma.
(2) CBS’ acquisition of Last.fm, $280 million (2007)
Scrobbling is cool and all – and this is still a very cool site – but few would “recommend” this deal today. Amidst predictable ad monetization challenges, the company has since switched to pay-only in certain European countries, outsourced full-length videos, and bid adieu to the original founders.
(3) Bertelsmann’s investments in Napster, $100 million (2000-onward)
In retrospect, Bertelsmann was the forward-thinking maverick. But in the moment, that stance created a legal sinkhole for the company, accused of facilitating widespread infringement by keeping the P2P alive. The in-fighting lasted years before expensive settlements torpedoed Bertelsmann with hundreds of millions in losses.
(4) MP3.com acquisition by Vivendi, $372 million (2001)
Before MySpace was even conceptualized, MP3.com was setting huge records for IPO valuations, label lawsuits, and band profiles. Problems quickly followed the inflated purchase, and the site was quickly dumped by Vivendi Universal in 2003.
(5) The Robbie Williams 360-Degree Deal, $160 million (2002)
Williams loves being able to walk the streets of Los Angeles without being recognized. EMI, which structured the pricey deal, is somehow less thrilled by that freedom.
(6) The Sony BMG Joint Venture (2004)
The 50-50 JV was like “tying two sinking rocks together,” according to one executive, and this seemed like a dead weight from the beginning. Bertelsmann walked away, and the combination was ultimately purchased by partner Sony Music Entertainment by 2008.
(7) WMG’s Investment in Imeem (2009)
“We do not intend to make more digital venture capital investments,” WMG chairman Edgar Bronfman told investors after suffering a $16 million write-off on Imeem in 2009. MySpace subsequently scooped the property for well under $1 million.
(8) WMG’s Purchase of Bulldog Entertainment, $16 million (2007)
Bulldog Entertainment Group was best known for coordinating tony concerts in the Hamptons. The company eventually cratered with estimated losses of $30 million.
(9) Any Deal Involving PlaysforSure…
This was a mistake that caused endless suffering, for music service (Yahoo Music, MTV Urge, Wal-Mart), player (Sony, SanDisk, Samsung), and consumer alike. In fact, even Microsoft bailed on its DRM-heavy solution with the launch of Zune.
(10) Best Buy’s Exclusive on Chinese Democracy…
Some comebacks are better than others, and Best Buy was left carrying a truckload of Guns N’ Roses CDs. That did little to kill the big box exclusive, however, as plenty of big-name artists have used the concept to shift serious tonnage.
For the complete article and to see others go here. Also be sure to follow them on Twitter for up to date coverage…
Autotune Is Not So Evil Now
Aug 9th
Full disclosure: I have been a longtime hater of Autotune.
For years, I have found Autotune to be repulsive… in pop music it makes up for singers’ inadequacies and in rap music it creates “music” for those who have no such talent. This disdain has been only further flamed by artists like T-Pain and Lil Wayne who have built entire careers around this technology (much like Zapp and Roger did on the back of the Talk Box (which at least required the singer to be able to hold a tune)).
Well now it is apparent. There is a fine use for this technology. Enter Autotune The News (@autotunethenews on twitter). I have know about these guys for a while as their antics using news footage of congress, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and the other list of Washington talking heads have brought about the random office chuckle, but not until now did they get that deep belly laugh… and a bit of entrepreneurial respect.
They recently took a seemingly innocent newscast featuring the near-victims of a home intruder in Alabama and remixed it… furthermore they posted it on iTunes and now it is No. 34 on the download charts!!!!!! That’s right folks… this tune beat Ke$ha’s “Your Love is my Drug” (like that is hard since she sucks).
Well anyways, here is a tale of witty folks with a cool idea making something of it. Enjoy the videos below… watch them in order to get the full affect. Also- be sure to follow these guys on Twitter… for more great parodies through the use of technology…
iPhone 4
Jul 14th
I Just saw this video and decided that even though I have been living under a rock and missed this when it first came out, I needed to do my job and share it with the other 6,693,254,041 people of the world who hadn’t yet seen it. (Mildly NSFW due to Language) Bloody brilliant.
What is Sound Exchange?
Dec 1st
Very good question. Most of us know Sound Exchange is the digital PRO created to deal with royalties generated over the internet and through digital music devices, however it is still quite vague to a vast majority of the musicians and writers what EXACTLY Sound Exchange does.
Thanks to Youtube, these questions can now be answered in 2:26 .
Enjoy
Digital Music News’ Paul Resnikoff on new advances in music composition and the challanges they pose to traditional copyright interpretation
Oct 1st
As I was reading my daily dose of Digital Music News I stumbled upon this provocative adage to copyright and one challenge that we face moving ahead thanks to the advances of a California professor’s new composition software. This is but one point of the idiosyncrasy of composing a law in real time to keep up with our technological advances AND protect intellectual property owners… This is an uphill climb and is all but impossible to keep up with despite the CRB and copyright office’s best attempts. Now without further ado … Paul Resnikoff…
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What ‘Sounds Like’ Even More Disruption Ahead…
Despite the complicated debates, copyright infringement is essentially simple concept. A piece of intellectual property is owned by one party, and its unauthorized use by a third party is subject to penalty. That is, in theory – ‘casual’ piracy happens billions of times monthly, and plenty of debates arise over ownership (orphan works, splits, other disputes), or intent (Satriani v. Coldplay, for example).
That just scratches the surface, and volumes of literature are dedicated to the subject. Moreover, the body of law is being interpreted and created in real time. But outside of those mainline discussions, plenty of smart workarounds exist for those unable or disinterested in direct, expensive licensing processes. And it’s not infringement, as long as proper statutory publishing rates are paid.
Jump into a karaoke bar, and sing-a-longs frequently feature generic video scenes, lyrics and underlying (ie, publishing) tracks – not the recordings themselves. Or, hop onto the iTunes Store, and ‘sounds like’ versions of songs employ similar statutory workarounds. In fact, when Kid Rock withheld his content from iTunes, entrepreneurial studios quickly created sounds-like versions to capture sales from confused fans.
But what happens when a derivative work is created, one that resembles the original but is different? In pop music, copycat artists and songs happen all of the time, and they are perfectly legal. But as technology becomes more powerful, unique identifiers employed by successful composers can more easily be isolated and replicated.
Just recently, ArsTechnica author Jacqui Cheng profiled a computer-based composition technology called ‘EMI,’ or ‘Emmy,’ a software package created by University of California Santa Cruz professor David Cope. Emily essentially identifies and replicates a number of signatures unique to a particular composer, then creates a derivative work – sounds like Mozart, Beethoven, Cream, whatever. The package has since been succeeded by a more original computer composer called ‘Emily Howell,’ which attempts to move beyond derivative to truly self-generated works.
That seriously challenges the concept that ‘real’ music can only be created by real brains, not computers. But machine-based dissection and creation technology may also become part of the disruptive digital music fabric, and further upend traditional copyright concepts in the process.
10 Most Creative People in Music?
Jun 17th
Fast Company just announced their 100 Most Creative People in Business, and subsequently their 10 Most Creative People in Music lists for this year. Many of the names on the music list are recognizable and some might even be deserving this recognition, but come on… Soulja Boy as the #1 most creative person in the industry simply because he is a shameless self-promoter and used Myspace and YouTube to promote his “Superman Dance” and ultimately launch a career. Ridiculous! There are no doubt some folks on the list (read: Tim Westergren, Alex Patsavas, and Gregg Gillis (Girltalk) who no-doubt deserve to be there, but I think they are stretching it a bit with Soulja Boy and Pharrell.
Creativity in the music business means coming up with new ideas. Changing the way people think and changing consumer and fan habits. Shameless self-promotion is a great thing and these folks are rewarded for all of their hard work in album sales, sold out concerts and endorsement deals. It does not, however qualify as creativity and I don’t think it should be rewarded as such.
Therefore- I am generating my own addendum to this list. People/groups/companies who really and truly ARE creative. Who have ACTUALLY pushed the envelope. Added to this list should be (in no particular order):
Gerd Leonhard
Radiohead
Spotify
Slacker
Jim Griffin
I am sure I missed a few, but these at least round out that list and make up for the idiocy of adding Hip Hop stars to a list of industry creative powerhouses.
Remix: the Movie…
Apr 29th
Nashville Film Festival brought some very interesting films to the Music City… Opening night brought about appearances from the likes of William Shatner, Vincent D’On0frio, Sheryl Crow,William Lee Golden from the Oakridge boys, Mayor Karl Dean, and many others. Although many great films were involved, I must say that one film had a real impact on me.
RiP: a Remix Manifesto is the story of Girl Talk, Lawrence Lessig and the changing culture of shared music, copyright law, fair use and usage of music that benefits artists… In short the gray copyright law is taken to task with this great cinematic piece… best of all IT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR FREE VIEWING, REMIXING, ETC!
I urge anyone interested in this subjectmatter to take a look at this film… it is both entertaining and informative… I am so glad it is available for online viewing…
Viva la Girl Talk
How big is your social media footprint… how much is too much?
Apr 27th
Greetings friends. As I sit here writing this, I am juggling. Not juggling chainsaws, knives, or anything else tangible— but juggling my many faces in the “blogosphere” , “social networks”, “inter-webs”… whathaveyou. I am doing this because I feel that it is important for not only my social life, but for MY brand. My brand is an identity based on my outide-looking-in image which is an amalgamation of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, my blog, Delicious, Linked In and I am sure a few I have forgotten. Of course we all know this is important… CNN and Fox both tell us so… but how do these resources become such a part of who we are? and How do they help us in the “real world?”
In my case, I mention my own brand. The truth is, everything today is about brand whether it’s your own, your company’s, or an alter-ego brand such as my friend’s “fat kid at camp” moniker. It is all about that image and everything that surrounds it. This means in order to be truly engaged, you have to Twitter, be on Facebook, Myspace, blogs, etc. Here is where it gets really fun/tricky though. In order to truly be a part of the global conversation you have to be on these various networks, but your message must be original (not contrived). Classic Marketing 1.0 techniques will not gain you traction in this world. Marketing in social media is all about creating a conversation with your consumer. It is about the human side of marketing.
While this works for our personal, corporate and alter-ego brands— one of the venues this type of social marketing really applies itself is in the marketing of bands. The catalyst for this post happens to be the great post I read this morning on “Hit Singularity” . This is a great overview of free, easy social networking that can really make a difference.
10 Fast and Free Strategies To Market Your Band (Without Resorting To Spamming People On Myspace)
This is probably one of the most complete descriptions I have seen thus-far in the social-media-as-promotion movement. Short of writing a book on it like Barack 2.0, this is short, sweet and to the point. The fact remains that in order to succeed in the virtual world, you must have a strong footprint. Following the points mentioned in the blog above will help you to create that footprint.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho a Pirate’s Life for me (not really)
Apr 20th
AAARGH!
So just in case you have been under a rock for the last 5 days, the ruling is in… the founders of Pirate Bay have been found guilty in a Swedish court of law. They have all been sentenced to one year in prison and will have to pay approximately $3 Million in damages (after the appeals process- if the ruling stands).
So what now?
The facilitators have been stopped, but what does that mean for all of the users (Pirates) populating Pirate Bay? What does this mean for the bay? Will it suddenly dry up? No. In a word… No. This really means nothing. The Swedish courts have placed their finger in the dyke… they have stopped the spillage for a moment, but the flood waters will remain. The Pirate Bay remains active… servers housed safely outside of Sweden… and the pirates sail on.
There is a lot of debate going on over whether the founders of TPB were injustly convicted… whether the ISPs should be held responsible as well. I think there are a lot of people at fault here including all named previously and in some way, I would love to see them held responsible. However, I am a realist. I understand that the times are changing and our industry needs to find better ways of making a living (outside of suing). Ultimately, the results of the pending appeals will leave a legacy of rulings that will affect the way our courts view file sharing for years to come. The next few years will no doubt be an interesting lot… time will tell.
As a sideline to this story, there has been a recent study stating that “pirates” are 10 times more likely to buy online music than law-abiding non-pirates. The number of participants in the study was rather small (less than2000), but I find it quite interesting and wonder if this is in fact the way it is… according to the comments below the story- the pirates doubt it as well.
stealing intellectual property has never been so easy
Apr 7th
Music Pirate
Last week i was introduced to a couple of websites that are disturbingly good at what they do. Someone innocently emailed them to an industry email list i am on asking for people’s thoughts on their legality. I commented first and was the recipient of a hellstorm of comments from people defending these website’s existence.
The websites: TuneNabber.com and ClipNabber.com are just what they sound like. Tune Nabber allows a user to enter the URL of any streaming audio/video content and “nabbs” it by making a MP3 copy of the audio and making it available for download on your computer. Clip Nabber does the same thing except it actually copies the entire video clip and makes it availablefor download to your computer.
All of my conventional wisdom tells me that both of these are taking content placed in a fixed broadcast format and changing the formatof that content, thus violating the rights of the content owner. Well, my esteemed brethren simply blew up on me when I made the statement “To me, they are clearly facilitating copyright infringement.” Stating that these sites were no different from Tivo, tabbed browsing or even a browser’s “save image as” function in that they simply “time-shifted” the video and/or audio making it possible for a user to watch it at a later date.
I would be fascinated to hear what anyone else has to say on this subject. To me, although it seems like a black and white matter- I do realize that all of copyright land tends to stay in the gray.