DISC & DigitalAudioTechnology (Music & Digital Audio/Video News) TM
A New Media Newsletter For The Music Industry
Vol 7-#44- 11/20/2009 - Commentary - News - And More
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The Industry's Inside Music, Digital Audio & Video News And Commentary Of Choice To Keep You Informed Since 2003
"Print It Out And Read It All!"
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NOTE TO ALL: Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, there will be no issue of the newsletter next week. Look for it iagain on December 4th!
HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!
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THE 'A-SIDE'
Commentary and One Man's Opinion
THE EMI THING AGAIN…AND I THINK I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN
"We have spent a long time looking intensely at EMI and the problems faced by its recorded music division which, like the rest of the music industry, has been struggling to respond to the challenges posed by a digital environment. The changes we are announcing today will ensure that this iconic company will be creating wonderful music in a way that is profitable and sustainable." --- Guy Hands, January 2008
Back when Guy Hands made that statement, one of the changes that occurred was cutting 2,000 jobs at EMI.
Back when he made that statement. I said in the newsletter "So I guess we'll have to take a "wait and see" on this one. But, I don't hold high hopes at this point for EMI's future."
I wasn't wishing that anything bad would happen at EMI at the time, I was basing my belief at that time on the fact that a:) It was obvious (in my opinion): a) Terra Firma had overpaid for EMI; and b) Music companies are best when they are run by those who understand fully the core competencies of a music company, and what it takes to make real profits.
In August of this year I included a story from the Wall Street Journal, 'EMI Deal Hits Sour Note' ( http://tinyurl.com/m9k826 ) that said (among other things) "the storied record company is now facing a problem it hasn't yet been able to shake: the heavy debt from a leveraged buyout gone bad."
This week comes news that "Terra Firma has sharply reduced its managerial involvement at its EMI Group following failure to reach agreement with its lending bank Citigroup on restructuring the music publisher's debt. The UK-based private equity firm is withdrawing about 10 Terra Firma executives that run EMI on a day-to-day basis after concluding that it has little chance of making back most of its money on the investment without the restructuring, and that they may be able to generate more value at other portfolio companies, a source close to the buyout firm said. " (Source: http://tinyurl.com/ychqqag )
It was also reported as this: "Terra Firma’s really been brought down to earth, in more ways than one: after failing to restructure EMI’s debt, it has written down about 90 percent of its investment in the struggling music label, reports FT. This comes after its lending bank Citigroup rejected the PE group’s efforts to get EMI’s debt reduced by 40 percent. Terra Firma had offered to inject about GBP1 billion of equity into the company in exchange for Citigroup forgiving a similar proportion of the GBP2.6 billion of debt it held, reports WSJ, but the bank said the offer was weighted too much towards the PE group keeping control. The size of this writedown does point out the great big obvious: that’s EMI has little more than option value, as FT puts it. EMI, with Citgroup’s help, bought EMI at the height of the credit bubble for about 4 billion pounds." (Source: http://tinyurl.com/ykq2s2t )
No matter what spin is put on this by Guy Hands (if indeed, any spin could be out on this), the news isn't good for Terra Firma.
The fact that Terra Firma is reducing its managerial involvement could mean either they will let EMI be managed more by MUSIC people who know more about their business than any investment executives, or that they are reducing management involvement so when the company craters, they can reduce the blame they will surely share. Or it could be for other financial reasons. I'm not an insider, so I can only look at the picture from the outside and draw my own conclusions. You draw yours.
Perhaps this news will stop any other investment companies looking to turn around a music company and make a quick profit.
Perhaps this will shake the windows and rattle the walls in all music companies that are looking for possible financial white knights.
Terra Firma certainly was no white knight. They made a bad investment in a company they thought they could make profitable by cutting jobs, merging labels, and overhead everywhere possible. All that and a banner year for the Beatles catalog didn’t make it all work.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
YOU TUBE DOES CAPTIONS
Making life easier for both the hearing impaired and video search engines alike, YouTube can now automatically generate captions and subtitles for videos in English. At present, the feature is only enabled on a handful of partner channels, but Google plans to make it available to everyone eventually. YouTube now is also offering an "automatic caption timing" feature for all new uploads, which is designed to makes it easier to add captions manually.
Users can upload a text file with a transcript of the video and Google's speech recognition technology will figure out when those words are spoken and create captions based on this information. YouTube's users currently upload over 20 hours of video every minute, and most of this video isn't accessible for users with hearing impairments. While uploaders could always add captions to their videos manually, only a small percentage ever did.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
ANDROID VS. IPHONE UPDATE
A year after Android launched, Google's mobile operating system still has a long way to catch up to the iPhone in the app game.
So does the BlackBerry, for that matter. A comparison of application usage across the three types of devices in October, not surprisingly, showed the iPhone (and iPod Touch) firmly in command of the field, according to new data from mobile ad network Millennial Media.
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And Now For Some News….
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The Copyright Time Bomb Is Set To Off…The Music And Publishing Industries Seek Cover
From WIRED.com
The late ’70s, when punk exploded and disco imploded, were tumultuous years for the music industry. A time bomb embedded in legislation from that era, the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, could bring another round of tumult to the business, due to provisions that allow authors or their heirs to terminate copyright grants — or at the very least renegotiate much sweeter deals by threatening to do so.
At a time when record labels and, to a lesser extent, music publishers, find themselves in the midst of an unprecedented contraction, the last thing they need is to start losing valuable copyrights to ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s music, much of which still sells as well or better than more recently released fare. Nonetheless, the wheels are already in motion.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/yjagm53
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MySpace Wants iMeem For More Music Clout
Tech Crunch et al.
On the heels of its acquisition of music service iLike -- reportedly for about $20 million -- the News Corp. unit is rumored to be in late stage negotiations to buy music streaming service imeem.
"The imeem acquisition isn't yet finalized, we've heard from sources, and awaits approval from various stakeholders," report TechCrunch, which doesn't know the likely price of the acquisition.
Why imeem? "MySpace, which spent a year or so developing MySpace Music on its own, wants more music heft," writes paidContent. "Acquiring iLike made it part of the new Google Music Search and brought in new talent ... Adding iMeem would bring more of that social element and an established user base; it had 15 million uniques in September, according to comScore."
The news comes amid speculation that MySpace Music is considering moving to a paid model, since the cost of free streaming is making its current model unsustainable, reports GigaOm. "News Corp. digital chief Jon Miller expressed some interest in such a move in an onstage interview conducted by paidContent's Rafat Ali in Monaco on Thursday, noting that he believes in the 'freemium' music model conceptually, even if a practical and sustainable version hasn't appeared yet."
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/y8kwsyz
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Facebook Unfriends MySpace's Music Site iLike
TechCrunch
Facebook is restricting MySpace's social music discover site iLike from showing people's music data in their profiles -- the songs and artists they like -- or alerting them to upcoming concerts through Facebook notifications. According to TechCrunch, the ban on notifications is likely part of Facebook's recent moves to fight "app spam." It's not clear what music data will be pulled from profiles, but it could cover all the data iLike collects about users -- their music preferences and recommendations.
Even though iLike is the top music app on Facebook, with 12 million active monthly users, the two companies have been at odds since iLike was acquired by MySpace. The recent deal with Google Music to show iLike/MySpace Music results only made matters worse, according to TechCrunch.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/yfmzrpw
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Could The Warner Music Group Find The Money In Video?
MediaPost
It appears that music labels have begun to move closer to making money from digital videos online.
Warner Music Group has inked a partnership with online advertising technology company FreeWheel to bring in the bucks, but some analysts aren't quite sure whether it will work.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/ykdm7xd
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Who Knew Hulu Would Be This Big? But What About Revenues?
Cnet.com
Woo wee, did Hulu's fortunes flip-flop fast. The Web's deepest stockpile of full-length TV shows and feature films is seeing some very public infighting over its future. The disagreements are over how Hulu should generate revenue and even how to sell ads, according to a report in Mediaweek.
Hulu has mounted the only serious challenge to YouTube. The site also enables its TV network backers to offer viewers an alternative to pirate sites. But the indications are Hollywood is dismayed over Hulu's earnings. On the issue of Web revenue, the studios seem to be saying: "Is that all there is?"
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/ydoxody
AND THIS…
Hulu Makes Deal With EMI AND Norah Jones
From NY TIMES
Hulu, the joint online venture between NBC, Fox and ABC that mostly offers free TV shows and movies, is adding music to their mix: specifically music videos.
The company announced a somewhat limited deal with EMI, the smallest of the four major music labels, to give a “channel” on Hulu to the crooner Norah Jones. All of Ms. Jones’s videos will be posted to the site, as well as footage of four concerts and several interviews. Ms. Jones has a new album, “The Fall,” coming out this week. The plan is to add other EMI artists over time, as well as new Norah Jones material.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/ygabuw8
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People Stick With Entertainment Subscriptions
From MediaPost
"There's been a whole lot of discussion that people would cut cable and satellite services, and substitute with free content," Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD, tells Marketing Daily. "But [subscription television] is one of those worthwhile addictions that you have. I think most people would rather do without ice cream than the latest episode of 'Mad Men'."
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/yb4grkt
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Is Foursquare The Next Twitter?
From CNN.com
As 2009 draws to a close, with Twitter undoubtedly this year's media darling and Facebook continuing on its path to global domination, you may wonder which social-media service will become tech's poster boy in 2010.
Among the Web's early adopter set, the answer is nearly unanimous: Foursquare.
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/ygz4lfy
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SGT. PEPPER ON THE WAY: The entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will be available as downloadable content for The Beatles: Rock Band starting November 17th.
CAPTAIN EO COMING BACK: Disneyland is planning to revive the 1986 3D Michael Jackson film, Captain EO, which was produced by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Captain EO debuted at Disneyland on Sept. 18, 1986 (six days after its world premiere at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida), and ran continuously through April of 1997.
MACCA HONORED: Paul McCartney will receive the Library of Congress' third annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The AP reports an all-star tribute will honor the Beatle in 2010.
RINGO & FRIENDS: Ringo Starr gets a little help from his friends for his new album Y Not, due January 12th, 2010. The Beatles drummer will be joined by his Fab Four bandmate Paul McCartney on a couple of tracks, including first single “Walk With Me,” which finds Macca and Starr sharing vocals. Other guests and songwriters on Y Not, Ringo’s first album since 2008’s Liverpool 8, include Joe Walsh, Joss Stone, Van Dyke Parks, Ben Harper and Richard Marx.
THANKSGIVING MUSIC SPECIALS: Paul McCartney and Beyonce will star in back-to-back one-hour specials on ABC-YV Thanksgiving night. The evening starts at 9 p.m. ET with a Beyonce concert that was taped over the summer in Las Vegas. That will be followed by a McCartney special that includes highlights from his July concert at Citi Field in New York City.
BILLBOARD LIVE FOR FREE: BillboardLive.com says its new concert-viewing website offers visitors free concerts online with different perspectives on performances by Alicia Keys, Usher, David Archuleta, Daughtry and other artists yet to be announced.
KATY UNPLUGGED: Katy Perry's 'Unplugged' album was released this week, and it's already streaming on MTV's website.
USHER USHERS IN XMAS: Usher's new album, tentatively titled 'Raymond vs. Raymond' is due to hit retail December 21.
BRUCE JUICE NEXT YEAR: Bruce Springsteen will release a Darkness on the Edge of Town box set and a DVD of the Working on a Dream tour in 2010.
VERIZON WARNINGSl: If you have Verizon as your mobile carrier, be aware that Verizon Wireless will begin sending "copyright notices" on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), to subscribers suspected of illegally downloading songs,. The letter reportedly urges the recipient to delete the content they distribute, but does not include threats of potential service interruptions as a penalty.
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THE TOP 20 ALBUMS FROM THE BILLBOARD CHART
FOR WEEK ENDING 11/28/09
NEW - 1. Bon Jovi, The Circle
2. Andrea Bocelli, My Christmas
3. Carrie Underwood, Play On
4. Michael Jackson, This Is It
5. Taylor Swift, Fearless
6. Now 32, Various Artists
7. Michael Buble, Crazy Love
NEW - 8. Flyleaf, Memento Mori
9. Soundtrack, Glee: Season One
10. Soundtrack , New Moon
11. Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum
12. Sting, If On A Winter's Night
NEW - 13. Switchfoot, Hello Hurricane
14. Tim McGraw, Southern Voice
15. The Zac Brown Band, Foundation
16. Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3
17. Miley Cyrus, Time Of Our Lives
18. Owl City, Ocean Eyes
NEW - 19. Dashboard Confessional, After The Ending
20. The E.N.D., Black Eyed Peas
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TV WASTELAND, IT'S ONLY TV WASTELAND
WHAT AMERICA'S WATCHING
The Top 20 Network Primetime Report - Based On Nielsen Ratings
Network Primetime Averages by Viewers
Week of 11/9/09 - 11/15/09
[Show, Network, Total Viewers in millions]
1.SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, NBC, 22,392,000
2. NCIS, CBS, 20,962,000
3. DANCING WITH THE STARS, ABC, 17,622,000
4. CSI, CBS, 17,380,000
5. CMA AWARDS, ABC, 17,177,000
6. SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK, NBC, 17,015,000
7. NCIS: LOS ANGELES, CBS, 16,233,000
8. DANCING W/STARS RESULTS, ABC, 16,231,000
9. THE MENTALIST, CBS,16,169,000
10. GREY'S ANATOMY, ABC, 14,869,000
11. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, ABC, 14,718,000
12. CSI: NY, CBS, 14,507,000
13. TWO AND A HALF MEN, CBS, 14,439,000
14. CSI: MIAMI, CBS, 14,382,000
15. THE GOOD WIFE, CBS, 13,352,000
16. HOUSE, FOX, 13,311,000
17. 60 MINUTES, CBS, 13,077,000
18. SURVIVOR: SAMOA CBS, 12,941,000
19. THE BIG BANG THEORY, CBS, 12,795,000
20. CRIMINAL MINDS, CBS, 12,769,000
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Quotes Of The Week:
"There's only one person I want to thank, and that is Jay for putting a ring on it." -- Beyoncé, giving hubby Jay-Z a shout-out while accepting the MTV Europe Music Award for video of the year for "Single Ladies"
"I like writing songs about douche bags who cheat on me, but I'm not going to say that in my monologue." -- Taylor Swift, singing "My SNL Monologue" as host of the comedy show
"Yes, we're trying – we actually tried last night." -- Rod Stewart, revealing too much information about his attempts to have another child with wife Penny Lancaster, on British talk show GMTV
“He doesn’t act like a sober person. I’m not hanging with the guy, but his history of drug abuse is well documented. And like many other people in this same position, the prospects aren’t good. For most people, full blown recovery is a tough thing to pull off.” -- -- Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford TALKING ABOUT Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler
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THE RADIO INTERVIEW on 'THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE'
"Steve Meyer is on the front line of global music sales and distribution which he expects will soar to pocket-bursting levels. What's more, he shares his insight and ingenuity with us. Steve gives us both historical perspective and futuristic vision as he chats with Judy about the love of his work, trends of the business and his personal points of view about success, happiness and blending life with the lust for life. Steve joins Judy and helps us discover the thrill of having it all with a sense of balance and purpose. "
You can listen to an interview I did with Judy Piazza of 'The American Perspective' awhile back by clicking here: (It runs about 15 minutes)
http://thesop.org/index.php?article=10306
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Check out Jerry Del Colliano's (the founder of INSIDE RADIO) daily blog, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com
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Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/ where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities
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Check out www.tinyurl.com where you can make a smaller URL that will work for any webpage you wish to link to or reference. (As you can see, I'm using it in my news stories above!)
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DISC&DAT is formatted and best read in Microsoft Outlook if you are receiving it via e-mail and not reading it online at: www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer where you can read the current issue, some past articles and interviews, my bio, and see some photos, or at the leading music industry website AllAccess.com here: http://www.allaccess.com/disc-and-dat
DISC & DAT is meant to be your "Forum" as much as mine, so your comments are always welcome and I encourage all to be pro-active in contributing ongoing dialogue and/or commentary. I answer ALL questions asked via direct e-mail.
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Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ...drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain.
"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon
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DISC & DAT - Weekly Edition – 2009, online at www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer
Published By Steve Meyer
President/CEO - Smart Marketing Consulting Services
Editor, Digital Technology: www.allaccess.com
Las Vegas, NV
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I welcome and appreciate forwarding of the newsletters in their entirety or in part with proper attribution.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material of whatever nature created by Steve Meyer and included in this newsletter and any related pages, including various news and other information, is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
ABOUT STEVE MEYER
Steve Meyer is a 38 year music industry veteran, having served in executive capacities at both Capitol and MCA Records before starting his own company, Smart Marketing, to consult clients in the entertainment, media, and broadcast industries. Steve was a recipient of many awards during his industry tenure, including Sr. VP/Promotion, and Record Executive Of The Year awards, as well as Billboard Magazine's Award for Excellence in National Promotion.
A respected authority on pop-culture and the entertainment industry, Steve was interviewed by Martin A. Grove, for three separate books on pop music.
In 2003, he started publishing the new media newsletter 'DISC&Digital Audio Technology', to address challenges the music industry was facing in the emerging online digital world. The newsletter is published every Friday, sent to almost 2,000 subscribers direct, and posted on the leading music industry resource www.allaccess.com and his own site www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer
In October 2004, Steve was a featured speaker at the Community Broadcasters Association convention in Las Vegas. His speech, ‘Digital Wars In The Brave New World’ was reprinted on several industry websites.
Since 2004, Steve has consulted labels, artists, managers, producers, and media companies.
Steve is also a freelance journalist, has also had articles published in various industry publications, and guest lectures at industry events, colleges, and elsewhere when requested.
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