The
Reason Radio Should Be The Best Algorithm
As
AI and algorithms become an increasing
presence in our day to day lives, working
tirelessly in the background to inform our
consumption habits, many of these algorithms
continue to fall short, dishing up
“similar” music and film suggestions
that entirely miss the mark. Here we explore
why radio could be the best algorithm to
solve this problem. We’ve all gotten
used to having products, services, and media
choices introduced to us – based on our
past behavior. Whether it’s watching
video streaming content on Netflix, ordering
another Margaret Atwood book on Amazon, or
dining at another restaurant on Open
Table, there’s no shortage of
machined learned recommendations trying to
induce us to buy more stuff.
MIC
Coalition Filing Reveal: Transparency in
Music Licensing And Ownership Act Is Back
From The Dead
While
the recently floated Transparency in Music
Licensing and Ownership Act was thought to
be dead and buried, it seems to be making
something of a comeback courtesy of the MIC
Coalition. Remember
the horrific Transparency in Music Licensing
and Ownership Act from the last Congress?
(See “The
Transparency in Music Licensing and
Ownership Act: The Domesday Book Meets A
Unicorn“.) Well, guess
what–it’s not really dead! A
little tea-leaf reading suggests that the
MIC Coalition (one of the largest and most
anticompetitive lobbying groups in history)
have plans to amend the Music Modernization
Act’s blanket license to all licensing
verticals if they had their way. That
would include “general licensing” in
bars and restaurants to satisfy their hotel,
restaurant and “beverage” folks.
So there’s definitely some there there.
How
Live Streaming Is Altering The Music
Business For Artists And Fans Alike
As
technological innovation continues to sweep
the music industry, live streaming has
become an increasingly important component
of bands and artists’ promotional arsenal.
Here we look at why you need to livestream
and what you need to do so effectively.
Technology is innovating and improving
constantly. The digital transformation of
the media industry has given a rise to the
trend of live streaming. It’s no secret
that live videos drive more views, traffic,
and engagement. In fact, live video are
already more desirable than any other form
of content. Currently, over 80% of online
users prefer watching live videos from a
brand.
Department
of Justice Scraps Decades-Old
‘Paramount’ Consent Decrees — Is Music
Next?
The
U.S. Department of Justice has indicated it
will ask a court to scrap the decades-old
‘Paramount’ consent decrees. The
antitrust decrees are designed to protect
movie theaters from studio control. The
consent decrees have been in place for
decades and currently have no expiration
date. DoJ Antitrust Division head Makan
Delrahim confirmed that his department would
seek their termination. These agreements
have been in place since the late 1940s.
They are commonly known as the
‘Paramount’ consent decrees —
finalized in the 1950s in a radically
different media landscape than today.
MLC,
Digital Services Strike Deal to Fund Music
Modernization Act-Mandated Database
The
Music Modernization Act that passed in
October 2018 was hailed as a landmark
achievement for the music industry in
creating a solution to several issues that
have long plagued the business, particularly
in the digital age. And today (Nov. 14)
marks another critical step forward for the
functions the MMA mandates, including the
funding for a central database that will
allow for the matching of song recordings to
rights holders so that songwriters and
publishers can get paid for the use of their
copyrighted works.
Music
Artists Coalition & Songwriters of North
America Urge Appeals Court to Uphold
Copyright Royalty Rate Hike
The
Music Artists Coalition (MAC) and the
Songwriters of North America (SONA) have
filed a joint amicus brief urging the D.C.
Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the
Copyright Royalty Board's (CRB) royalty rate
increase for copyright owners, the
organizations announced Tuesday (Nov. 19).
The brief urges the court to uphold the 2018
decision by the copyright royalty judges (CRJs)
to award publishers and songwriters a 44%
rate increase by 2022.
People
Spending More Time With Spoken Word, At
Expense Of Music Listening.
Thanks
to the deep connections and emotional
involvement it engenders, people are
spending more time listening to spoken word
audio – at the expense of music listening.
In the past month, 73% of the U.S.
population listened to spoken word audio.
And the share of time spent listening to
spoken word has increased 20% since 2014,
while time spent with music across the same
period decreased 5%, according to new
research commissioned by NPR and conducted
by Edison Research.
Under
the sweeping copyright reform legislation
that was signed into law last year, the U.S.
Copyright Office is creating a database that
would make it easier for radio and other
music users to determine who holds the
rights to songs. As it goes forward, the MIC
Coalition says the database should include
information regarding the public performance
rights, which would cover radio airplay
among other uses.
Anti-Radio
Royalty Milestone: 200 Opponents Now On
Record In House.
The
effort to secure enough supporters for a
House resolution opposing the adoption of a
performance royalty on broadcast radio
airplay has hit a milestone. There are now
200 cosponsors to the resolution introduced
last February by Rep. Cathy Castor
(D-FL). The signature that brought the total
to 200 was from Rep. Chrissy Houlahan
(D-PA). Based on the current count of House
members it would now take the support of an
additional 16 members to effectively block
any radio royalty bill.
Top
Strategies For Landing A Sponsorship As A
Musician
For
many aspiring artists, sponsorships may seem
like something only megastars are able to
access. Fortunately, this is far from true.
Here we look at some of the best strategies
for mid-tier artists with modest followings
to use in their efforts to secure the
financial backing of a company or brand.
Top
Streaming Exec: The MLC Is Choking On a
‘Once-In-a-Lifetime Opportunity’
Major
streaming services appear to be growing
increasingly frustrated with the
as-yet-unformed Mechanical Licensing
Collective, or MLC. A
top executive at one of the largest
streaming platforms in the world — who
wished to remain anonymous — shared this
statement. It describes a
disheartening situation around the
Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), a
group that was envisioned by the Music
Modernization Act to fix the current
mechanical royalty mess but seems determined
to avoid fixing serious copyright problems.
The streaming services — or ‘DSPs’ in
industry-speak — are being asked to pay
$66.25 million just to get the MLC off the
ground. They’ve already balked at
that price tag, with a separate DSP source
noting that the figure was ‘easily three
times’ the company’s cost estimate.
Radio
Broadcasters, Streaming Services Demand a
Truly Comprehensive Music Rights Database
The
National Association of Broadcasters, DiMA,
and dozens of other organizations are
demanding the creation of a far more
comprehensive music rights database. Since
the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA)
into law in 2018, publishers and streaming
services have focused on the creation of a
functional mechanical rights licensing
body. That entity, the Mechanical
Licensing Collective (MLC), would use a
functional, comprehensive database of
mechanical rights associated with songs
found on major streaming services like
Spotify and Apple Music.
What’s
the most important part of a demo – the
vocal or the production?
Just
as genres are different, so are the musical
elements that best support them on a demo.
BMI’s Creative team listens to music all
day every day. Here’s what they had to say
about what makes them turn up the volume on
a demo. Let’s start by thinking of the purpose of a demo. Hopefully, you have written a song so relatable that a recording artist is going to want to express it to the world as if it’s his or her own words. The purpose of the demo is to showcase the song without getting in the way of the artist’s or producer’s creative process.
In
An Instant Gratification World, Listeners
Still Wait To Hear Song Requests.
In
a world of playlists and instant, on-demand
music, people still take the time to call into
their local radio station and request a song,
sometimes even sending it out as a dedication.
The reasons for this delve deeper in the human
psyche than may appear on the surface.
Soon
It Will Cost More For Copyright Registration
The fee for official copyright registration is about to go up. Every three to five years, the U.S. Copyright Office does an in-depth study of its fees to determine whether to adjust them, then sends its results to Congress, which then has 120 days to do nothing (meaning approval) or pass a law disapproving the price recommendations.
The Office is now proposing raising the fee for the Standard Application from $55 to $65, which is $10 less than the 2018 proposal. Similarly, the Single Application (the lower-priced option for single works by individual authors) will go from $35 to $45, which is also $10 less than the 2018 proposal.
Apple
Officially Unveils TV+ — Get Ready for Some
Serious Bundling
Apple
TV launches with several Apple Original shows,
including “The Morning Show,” “See,”
and “For All Mankind.” Three episodes of
each of the new shows are available now —
Apple TV will release new episodes weekly on
Friday.
Several
other original shows will debut in the coming
months to bolster Apple’s new
subscription-driven strategy.
Apple
is offering a seven-day free trial of Apple
TV+ to new customers. With
Apple looking to drive new revenue
through subscriptions, bundling makes
sense. Subscription fatigue has
become a real thing many people feel, and
bundles are a great way for Apple to offer
content that may otherwise be looked over. If
the student bundle plan is successful, we
could see something similar for regular
subscribers.
Will
The Copyright Office’s Best Practices Shine
Sunlight Unmatched Royalties?
By
this point, we’re all aware of the the pile
of cash from unmatched royalties which digital
services are hoarding, commonly known as the
‘black box.’ Now, with the copyright
office having been tasked with establishing
‘best practices’ for distributing these
monies, songwriters are hoping to shed some
light on this shadowy system, and hopefully
receive a little compensation as a result.
SiriusXM
Adds 210,000 Subscribers This Quarter —
Pandora Subscribers Plunge
SiriusXM’s
financials reveal the company added roughly
210,000 net subscribers, while earnings
slipped substantially. The story at
Pandora wasn’t rosy. The company’s
third-quarter 2019 total revenue was $2.0
billion, which increased by 37% compared to
last year. That boost comes from the
completion of the acquisition of Pandora
Media in February this year. SiriusXM reported
net income of $246 million in Q3 2019,
compared to $343 million during Q3 2018.
Sirius says the dramatic decline can be
attributed to refinancing expenses and
non-recurring tax benefits. Sirius’
effective tax rate for Q3 2019 was 22.2%
compared to 3.3% in Q3 2018.
The
Two Country Music Icons who Popularized
“Whiskey River”
“Whiskey
River” was a 1972 hit made famous by
the legendary singer-songwriter Johnny
Bush. The song became Bush’s first
record after signing with RCA Victor. It was
also the title track of his album of the same
name. Certainly, his move to RCA label where
he met its executive Jerry
Bradley was a great decision. Although
the singer has had achieved success with
previous hits
like “You Gave Me a
Mountain” and “My Cup Runneth
Over,” his biggest single has yet to
come. That’s probably what motivated the RCA
executive to ask Bush to write something
exceptional for the label.
How
Mastering Trends Affect Your Sound
In
the first days of recorded music, mastering
was a purely technical process. Early masters
were often done without a second thought by
the vinyl lathe operators themselves! Back
then the only goal was to move a piece of
music from the recording medium (analog tape)
to the production medium (vinyl records).
But mastering today has come a long
way.
It’s
still a highly technical procedure, but it’s
also become an important part of the creative
process. As trends and styles have come and
gone in music, mastering has kept pace and
made its own contributions.
The
Best Career Advice That No One In Music Takes
Seriously
The
best advice for avoiding burnout and developing
your career requires the least amount of work.
We
live in the ‘motivation age.’ Whether it be
in books, on podcasts, or plastered throughout
social media, there is no shortage of people
shouting into the void about maintaining forward
momentum. They tell us to sleep eight hours a
night, exercise daily, eat clean, and hustle —
always hustle. If you’re working in
entertainment today, you have probably spent a
Saturday morning or Sunday evening checking
emails when you should have been doing something
with family and friends. You have likely worked
ten or twelve-hour days when you’re only
required to do eight. You have chased the
approval of superiors to a fault because you
fear something bad will happen if you take even
one day for yourself.
Labels
Now Able To Pay Spotify To Promote Their Music
Spotify
is testing a new ad platform that allows artist
teams to promote music directly to fans without
turning to third-party applications. Spotify
users are already familiar with ‘Music For
You’ notifications. These alerts appear on
screen to inform fans and followers of an artist
when their favorite musicians have a new
release. It is a helpful tool that encourages
fans to support the music they love in a crowded
marketplace where nobody can remember every
release date. And now, for the first time, those
notifications are for sale.
Government
Regulations, Frozen Mechanicals ant the
Importance of Advocacy
There
is a certain Truman Show aspect to songwriter
royalties–the government sets the royalty
rates, not arms length negotiation. But it
doesn’t have to be that way, we just accept
the government’s role in songwriting because
it is the way it has always been for living
songwriters and many generations before. If
you’re a songwriter born after 1975 and are
not a student of history, you may not fully
realize the long-term harm of statutory
mechanical rates. If the statutory rate
seems improbably low to you, you’re right.
It is.
When
To Book Gigs: The Ultimate Artist's Guide
As
with so many things, timing is everything in the
music business, and while many artists may spend
countless hours perfecting their pitch to
venues, no amount of preparations is enough if
you make your booking inquiries at the wrong
time. Here, we look at the 'when' side of
booking gigs, whether you're playing small shows
or giant festivals.
How
The CASE Act Will Become Small Claims For
Copyrights
Recently
passed in the House of Representatives and
expected to pass in the Senate, the Copyright
Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (or
CASE) Act, will arm creators with another tool
to combat those infringing on their copyright.
Here we break down how the law will work.
Why
You Need To Sit On Your Tracks Before Sending
Them Out
Once
you've invested your time and energy into
cooking up the perfect track, your natural
inclination may likely be to get it into the
ears of your listeners as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, this is precisely the wrong thing
to do. Your chances of success are far greater
if you first vet the track properly, and then
come up with a strategy for how roll it out.
George
Strait Becomes First Artist to Reach 100 Entries
on Country Airplay Chart
George
Strait makes history as the first artist to
tally 100 entries on Billboard's
Country Airplay chart, as "The Weight of
the Badge" arrives on the Oct. 19-dated
tally at No. 56, drawing 1.3 million audience
impressions in the week ending Oct. 13,
according to Nielsen Music. Strait's history on
Country Airplay dates to the survey's Jan. 20,
1990, inception, when it became the first Billboard
chart powered by electronically-monitored
Nielsen data. By then, Strait had become an
established superstar, having first appeared on Billboard's
surveys in 1981.
CASE
Act Passes US House of Representatives
The
bill intending to streamline copyright disputes
now heads to the Senate.
The
Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims
Enforcement (CASE) Act passed 410-6 in the U.S.
House of Representatives Tuesday evening (Oct.
22). It now goes to the Senate for a vote before
it can become law. The
bill, which has bipartisan support, would create
a copyright claims board within the U.S.
Copyright Office that could rule on cases of
copyright infringement that are too impractical
to bring to federal court.
Twitter
Refuses To License Music, Pay Royalties [Op-Ed]
Attorney
and artist advocate Chris Castle responds to a
recent Pitchfork article by Eric Harvey which
describes how intertwined Twitter is with music
business, and how valuable a star-making tool it
can be for artists. Castle counters that, while
that may be the case, the company has done
little to show that it values the musicians or
music on its platform.
Music
industry exec says Spotify 'one fail away' as
losses grow
As
Apple Music, Amazon Music and others provide
greater competition in the streaming music
business, Spotify
is ‘one fail away from becoming less
relevant.’ The statement was made by a music
industry exec close to the company. As
industry observer Ben Thompson pointed out last
year in his Stratechery newsletter,
Spotify’s upside is limited by its marginal
costs—that is, the royalties it pays the
record labels from which it licenses the vast
majority of its music catalog. Despite its
impressive continued growth in terms of users
and revenue, Spotify’s margins are “at the
mercy of the record labels,” Thompson wrote,
and its losses are growing in absolute terms.
What
Truly Makes A Fan
In
this piece, Fred Jacobs compares radio and
sports fans, highlighting the value of
cultivating long-term enthusiasts, and the
limits of numbers and data in defining passion.
5
Tips For Improving The Look Of Your Artist Shop
Selling
your merch direct to fans has become an
established best practice among independent
artists. It affords a number of advantages,
allowing you to keep more revenue and fan data.
Here we look at some ways in which you can
spruce up your virtual shop and boost your sales
as a result
Dear
Musicians, It's Time To Learn To Say No
Now
is the time to learn how to say no. Why aren’t
you getting all the great opportunities? Maybe
it is because you don’t have enough heat.
Maybe it is because you are too focused on
chasing trends and other artists.
3
Music Industry Myths Musicians Should Work To Bust
The
music industry has often thrived as a result of
its mythology. Audiences sometimes treat their
favorite artists with reverence when presented
with intriguing narratives. This has helped
musicians and ancillary businesses that surround
them to build lucrative brands. The rumor mill
also creates publicity for artists which —
while being a double edged sword — is helpful
in the advertising of tours and new releases.
Publishers
Are Driving A Full Stack Music Revolution
As
the value of music publishing catalogs have
multiplied, so have the ways in which
forward-thinking companies like Downtown, Round
Hill, Kobalt, ole/Anthem, Primary Wave and
Create Group monetized those catalogs, says
MiDiA entertainment industry analyst Mark
Mulligan.
AGAPE
SONGS launches "Country" Christian
& Gospel music delivery service next Monday,
Oct. 21.
CD
Tex will have a new member in the family
beginning next Monday, Oct. 21 with Agape
Songs. The new delivery service will focus
on the growing "Country" Christian and
Gospel music scene and will deliver singles, eps,
albums, and videos to Radio and Media who
program, review, and feature "Country"
Christian music. For more information go
to www.agapesongs.com
.
One
Music Marketing Trick Every Artist Should Avoid
Marketing
your music is a complex challenge. What works
for one listener or fan could fall flat with
another, and artists will often jump through
hoops and try all kinds of schemes as they fight
against anonymity. While it's good to try a
variety of marketing tricks, there's one every
artist should steer clear of.
How
Does The Money Flow From Music Streaming To
Artists, Music Industry?
Now
accounting for 75% of total music industry
revenue, there's no denying that streaming is
now the dominant form of music consumption. That
said, one question continues to plague the
industry: where is all that revenue going, and
how can artists get their hands on it? Here, we
breakdown step by step where the money is going.
Musicians
Can Launch Their Own Paid Streaming Service with
Waterfall
Legendary
progressive musician Neal Morse joins Michael
Brandvold and Jay Gilbert on the Music Biz
Weekly podcast to talk about Waterfall
Streaming. Waterfall is a new platform that
allows musicians to create their own
subscription streaming service.
YouTube
launches Merchbar partnership for artist
merchandise
YouTube
is rolling out another feature for musicians
with ‘Official Artist Channels’ on its
platform. The company has signed a deal
with Merchbar which will see artists able
to “surface their official merchandise and
vinyl alongside their videos… Fans watching
videos from their favorite artists on their
YouTube Official Artist Channels can now see a
shelf with the artist’s own branded
merchandise and, with a simple click, access the
artist’s merchandise on Merchbar’s
website”.
The
Music Industry is Evolving Faster Than Ever, and
So Are The Scammers
Scamming and shady business practices in the music industry are nothing new. In past decades, labels would buy out record store inventory, payola was rampant, and promoters have long been running pay-to-play shows. At least in those days, the results were tangible: records would be sold, shows would be booked, and radio spins could be heard.
These days, it’s all happening on the internet, and results can’t always be measured so easily.
It's a given that in such a quickly changing industry, the landscape will look completely different in a few years. By then, a lot of the current scams are going to be obsolete, but as the way we consume and market music evolves, so will the scams. Just be careful what you pay for.
4
Steps Songwriters Should Take Now To Prepare For
The Music Modernization Act
In
2018, the Music Modernization Act was passed
into law. Hailed as a harbinger of justice,
songwriters hoped the law would help restructure
the digital music economy in such a way as to
make things more equitable for artists. The
reality is a bit more complicated, but change is
coming, and songwriters will want to be
prepared. Here are four steps they can take to
brace for the coming shift.
Peering
inside Music Twitter
Even
though there is a love/hate relationship here,
music remains key to Twitter. “Judging by the
numbers alone, Twitter is more deeply
intertwined with music than any other
industry,” says Pitchfork. “Four of the top
five – and half of the top 20 –
most-followed Twitter accounts are solo
musicians.”
Apple
Is Officially Shutting Down iTunes — But Song
Downloads Aren’t Completely Dead
iTunes
is officially going away after close to two
decades in operation. The company has moved its
functionality into 3 different apps: Apple
Music, Podcasts and Apple TV. The shutdown
shouldn’t shock anyone. In June, Apple
announced that it was shutting the app down for
good. The company said at the time that
the app was simply too cluttered. Those
with large MP3 libraries collected from the
glory days of iTunes can still listen to their
songs through Music, despite the app’s focus
on music streaming. What’s more, the iTunes
Store still exists for those not subscribed to
Music, so people can still purchase individual
songs if for some reason they do not want to use
a streaming service.
Gordon
Smith: Consent Decrees Bigger Threat To Radio
Than Performance Royalty.
