nadaladaDOTnet » Music Business

Spotify under fire?

Greg — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:43:05 +0000

Spotify opened it’s business in America this year, primarily to major applause and kudos. I’ve been particularly interested in the service and have been using it actively for 3-4 months now. Quite frankly, I love it.

But, many labels (mostly indie) have walked away from the service crying foul of the difficult to understand revenue breakdown and royalty mechanisms that pay artists. Even with that large number of labels walking and most recently one major global act (they who refer to themselves as Coldplay) refusing to allow its new album to be surfaced through Spotify, the service is claiming to have millions of songs available for streaming. More importantly, they have (allegedly) millions of users who are PAYING to stream their music as well.

Today comes Spotify’s most vocal response to this chatter (full article available here). Most interesting is the numbers they allude to in the piece. Specifically:

“It would take more than 100 years to listen to Spotify’s catalogue of around 15 million songs – one of the world’s biggest music libraries – and to which we add more than 20,000 new tracks every day. We have agreements with the four major labels and many thousands of smaller indie labels, and the overwhelming majority of our label partners are thrilled with the revenues we’re returning to them. We believe we offer the simplest, easiest and fairest music service in the world, and millions of our users across 12 countries would agree with us.”

I’m not sure how this particular issue will resolve itself but it speaks to a larger issue, “royalty democratization”. With the glut of service offerings (Rdio, Grooveshark, Rhapsody, Pandora, etc) and the one behemoth glaring at them (iTunes), the industry needs to step in and be the “bigger man” in the discussion and force a singular royalty mechanism. And if that can’t happen, then the industry has to at least take on a larger role in assisting at crafting one.

The space of digital music is getting more and more crowded with quality service offerings (btw, I LOVE Spotify so far) and each one of them has defined it’s own method of royalty distribution. Not one of these services is doing the same thing which understandably causes a great deal of confusion with labels and bands alike.

Hopefully in 2012, someone will step forward to provide a solution that is equitable and acceptable to all concerned. Of course, I am willing to concede that what I am asking for might not be possible either.

Stanton Moore = Unbelievable

Greg — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:04:09 +0000

I’ve been a fan of Stanton’s for a while now, his resume to those that know him is well known. Founding member of Galactic, leader of the Stanton Moore Trio, session great and master clinician. Also, he is a favorite son of the great city of New Orleans and is considered one of its finest ambassadors.

His skills are incredible, his funk is dirty and swings hard, and his technique is absolutely flawless. For me (and the true sign of the great ones), he makes what he does look so EASY. Almost, dare I say attainable. Even though I know it isn’t. Not without hours, and hours of dedication and years of study.

This clip illustrates his overall funkiness, taken from a class he led in London, 2007:

And then, there’s his distinctive take on the shuffle as interpreted through his impression of Clyde Stubblefield:

The man is just gifted and astounding. His playing NEVER bores me and does nothing but inspire me. Enjoy.

Spotify spreading its wings

Greg — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:46:03 +0000

I’m seemingly obsessed with Spotify, I know. Today comes news that the service is adding a new service to it’s API library. This update will surface the 15 million (+) songs on the service through the API library to iOS developers.

One can now assume that there will be a litany of new apps for iPhone and iPad that incorporate some aspect of the Spotify library. Possibly music trivia games? Or perhaps some kind of mashup between Shamzam and Spotify? Oooh that would be cool. Imagine it. You’re at a party, hearing a song you can’t remember…Shazam recognizes it for you and Spotify then adds it to a playlist for you automagically! Neat.

Interestingly enough though, is an aspect to this that is not being discussed. Disapproval from the music industry. Spotify is already receiving a ton of heat for it’s alleged inconsistent royalty payments to artists and labels. Small labels in particular have not been very happy (including Century Media to name one) with the service and have been pulling content from it’s databases. Spotify have also been very quick to defend themselves at each turn where disapproval meets them.

I’m hoping the business comes to terms with offended labels as I feel the service has a solid offering with a truly compelling iPhone (and Android) app to port the service from computer to mobile device. The music space needs services like Spotify (and Pandora, Grooveshark, Rhapsody, et all) to provide options to consumers with a compelling offering. Opening up it’s music content to iOS developers is an interesting development in the evolution of truly digital music service offerings. Let’s just hope they can continue to innovate without ruffling feathers.

Jazzed about Spotify

Greg — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:25:20 +0000

I’ve been following the chatter around Spotify for a while now. Rumblings have been on the web for a few months now. Lots of interesting chatter too regarding this so called “perfect business model for music”.

And so, as someone that worked in the music business for 15 years and has been a lifelong musician, I have been fascinated to get a chance to play with the service. So, now it is launching in the US and I will be messing with it this weekend. What I can tell thus far, is the creators of Spotify have married all of the feature requests that iTunes has missed, challenges with building a model that pays artists what they are worth, and provides a royalty reporting layer that can satisfy the business of music.

Hell, even Sean Parker, Mr. Napster himself seems relatively geeked about the service.

Artists from around the globe have been chiming in from Trent Reznor to Brittany Spears (no comment) championing the service as the second coming of greatness for music fans everywhere. So, with that, I’ll dive in and see what it’s about. With excitement.

What would you pay to go your own way?

Greg — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:59:57 +0000

Was having an interesting conversation with a colleague at work regarding entertainment distribution platforms (music, film, tv) and the growing trend of services providing premium offerings based on choice.

Today came word of HBOgo reaching 1 million downloads in less than a week of availability (article found here). The app (available for both iOS and Android) allows users to suscribe to HBO premium content of their choosing. It’s a growing trend with services like Hulu and NetFlix but HBO is upping the ante by defining an experience around THEIR custom created content.

Personally, I hate Comcast.
Recently, I test drove NBA Network streamed through my AppleTV.

The service really sucked, primarily not due to technology but due to blackout laws redefined based on local bandwidth in markets. It’s a new kind of “local blackout” based on pipe availability. Because of this, I couldn’t enjoy the games I wanted to watch most which defeated the purpose of getting the Network in the first place.

And so, to avoid that, I had to pay the piper (in this case Comcast) to not stream through AppleTV.
But, and of course, to get NBA Network through Comcast, I had to “upgrade”. This Comcast “upgrade” required I take on another 40 channels of drek I wouldn’t let my dog watch just to get one channel I did.

So, the question I ask is, what you pay to choose to consume what you want?

I would have gladly paid for the NBA channel by itself or, bought a package that at the least I could pick MYSELF and not have done for me.

Think it’s clear that the entertainment space is moving radically forward into a “choose your own way” model as the technology affords apps and distribution platforms relying on cloud based technologies and API’s to leverage other services. I’m personally looking forward to when Comcast becomes irrelevant due to the overwhelming want of the consumer to not buy what they are selling.

So, again, what would you pay to get the content you wanted?

I can’t feel sorry. Sorry.

Greg — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:42:28 +0000

This week, Warner Music Group announced that it lost $18 MILLION (that’s meeeeeelion) dollars over the last 3 months of 2010. Additionally, information was disclosed that the loss comes from the company’s declining stock value, which allegedly fell by 12 cents in the period. To further bottom out the news, WMG’s revenue decreased by 14 percent from the same period the previous year.

Some pundits say that while most of the blame is shifted to the slumping music business as a whole, the other % of blame is focused on the fact that WMG is publicly traded and held accountable to a board of stock holders. I would contend that the reason that WMG is held accountable to a board of directors is directly a result of the fact that they, like all of the other major labels were not quick enough to read the writing on the wall in the early 90′s and that this news is merely just desserts.

Now, before you jump to the position that I am happy to see this (I am) and that I am merely rubbing the nose in the proverbial doggie poo (why yes, yes I am)….let me remind you that the major’s had EVERY opportunity in the world to embrace change and adopt a visionary position waaaaaaay back when (the early 90′s) before the sands shifted and buried their petty belief that music fans will ALWAYS crave the physical objects (CD’s, etc) that the business produces, and furthermore, they will be HAPPY to pay what we charge them to get their Guns-n-Roses and other hoo ha.

Clearly, fans of music (and bands/artists/writers) wanted, and in the end demanded, ownership of how their content was distributed and sold. We had some bumps along the way (Napster, Limewire), some lawsuits (Metallica vs. Napster was classic) and some odd business models creep into the picture (Sony’s Press Play, Radiohead allowing people to charge what they wanted for ‘In Rainbows’) but the verdict was clear; the major label model was over and people wanted what they wanted, when they wanted it, how they wanted it. Then of course came the iPod and iTunes, MySpace, PureVolume, Reverb Nation, Pandora, Rdio and you get the picture.

Mind you, I’m not all “power to the people-ing” you here. I believe that everyone deserves a fair shake and there are SOME labels who are doing very well in the digital age. My point is that I can’t feel sorry for all of the major label failures. I’m not bummed that Sony Music (a former employer of mine mind you) has shrunk 50-70% of what it was even AFTER consolidation and acquiring BMG. I’m not bummed to hear that EMI is now being run by a financial conglomerate. And I certainly don’t care that WMG is bleeding money like a bullet ridden carcass. This news is the unfortunate truth of companies that refuse to admit they are wrong when they are, to not adopt a future facing stance and to ignore change. A phrase comes to mind that I use often in my professional life when poor planning/thinking results in a poor result. Garbage in, garbage out.

Too many good ones gone

Greg — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:36:18 +0000

Each of us has the privilege of experiencing many things. Great feats of wonderment, sad episodes of….well, just things we don’t enjoy too much. And then for us musically inclined folks and or just plain old fans of good music, we get to witness things that just take our breath away. Even more tragic is when those that amaze us have THEIR breath taken from them and subsequently leave this particular plane of existence. Such is the case for me with Gary Moore, who sadly passed away February 6th apparently of a fatal heart attack while he was sleeping. For the full story go to his website.

I caught on to Gary later on in life, in fact long after his stint with Thin Lizzy. I saw him at the Wiltern in the early 90′s (in LA) playing a full blues set. Man, that guy….I mean….I’m still speechless describing his feats of guitar amazement. His tone was enough to peel paint. It was just so intense and blisteringly powerful. Not to mention the complete and total control he had over the instrument.

His contributions to Thin Lizzy are well known as was his great friendship with the late Phil Lynott (I truly hope those guys track down Keith Moon or John Bonham up there and start the ULTIMATE power trio btw). You could go on forever waxing philosophical on his phrasing, his amazing technique, pure vibrato, etcetera….but honestly, if you need to see any clip of the guy to TRULY get a sense of how unbelievable he was, then feast your eyes on his version of “Red House” from the Strat Pack show at Wembley in 2004 (with Pino Palladino on bass no less). Enjoy.

The vid:

RIP Gary. You WILL be missed. Along with the others that left here too soon….Stevie Ray, Jimi, Roy Buchanon, Danny Gatton, et all. Also respect to my Uncle Andy who had the class to send this my way. It made the final cut from a bunch of clips I was hoarding. Nice form Unc.

The major label way….no thanks

Greg — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:12:59 +0000

This past week, a judge in New York City ruled on BEHALF of UMG/Vivendi in regards to a suit brought on by the estate of Bob Marley who sought to claim ownership of the reggae legend’s most famous recordings. Original article is here and here is part of the official blurb from the release:

“U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan said the UMG Recordings unit of Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group is the rightful owner of copyrights to five albums that Marley had recorded between 1973 and 1977 for Island Records.”

Now, I know a LOT of people will automatically jump to the conclusion that the family is seeking money and more fame (as if it were possible for Marley’s legacy to grow larger?) from this lawsuit and is only interested in the gains that come from that. I contend, they are seeking to own the rightful legacy that he created…..his music. They have enough money and have done a fine job managing his estate over the years. No, I think this lawsuit was about bringing the body home (if you pardon the phrase). The time period this lawsuit addresses points back to the halcyon days of bad record deals, sheisters, payola, cocaine fueled meetings, satin jackets and “c’mon baby, sign, you’ll be a stahhhh!!” managers.

Bob Marley no doubt was quite the legendary stoner, but even high on spliff, had he the business sense (and his lawyers, or, did he even have one then?) to think that he was signing bad deals I am sure he wouldn’t have signed. The business of music took advantage of him and THOUSANDS of other singers, songwriters, and bands. This goes back many years to the first days of the record business so yes, it’s no shock. But it’s still disgusting and sad. I am sure that the Marley family is trying to protect his legacy from winding up in another wine cooler commercial more than they care about repackaging another greater hits disc.

In my time living in Los Angeles, playing in bands and working for Sony Music, I met more artists than I want to count that were part of nefarious dealings with major labels. In defense of the labels, they would contend that “Hey, you got an advance, we paid to record you, make a video etc…and we deserve to get payment on that investment”. And to that I respond with, fine, that is logical. But my issue is with the time limits imposed on copyright ownership and publishing. All a band/singer/singer-songwriter has in the end is the music they create. To lock a band into a binding agreement that keeps that product of their creativity out of their hands for eons is ludicrous. Why shouldn’t the artist be allowed to make a living too (repackaging that music, a new deal, etc) after a respectful amount of time has elapsed with the original deal? It only seems fair.

I’ve lost count at how many great bands don’t own their music years after making it because the songs are still bound to a sickening piece of paper that is labeled a “contract”. In the case of Bob Marley, this is yet another injustice of the major label system. UMG/Vivendi are holding the Marley family hostage and denying them the ability to own his legacy and bring it back within the family all because of some f***ing loophole in some dusty contract from 1972. It’s just not fair.

A “Virgin” death

Greg — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:24:56 +0000

Last week, there was a lot of coverage regarding two major Virgin Megastore closures in NYC and San Francisco.

Today in an article posted at Rolling Stone’s site comes word that ALL of their stores are closing including the LA store.

I used to live up the street from the LA store and recall fondly going there to buy CD’s. While I don’t buy physical CD’s much anymore and realize there is a much larger discussion here (with regard to the growth of digital stores) this is still sad news and blows my mind.

Sirius in serious trouble

Greg — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:22:12 +0000

The global economic issues are claiming businesses left and right.

Not immune are companies that once appeared to be untouchable.
But lo and behold, even after Sirius and XM merged, Sirius is apparently on the verge of going belly up.

According to this article in Rolling Stone today the debt is overwhelming and could force the immediate termination of Howard Stern’s contract among others.

Amazing.
It seems like literally yesterday that XM and Sirius were all the rage and in a blink, the ginormous programming beast could be slayed.