And now onto the fun stuff – the enormous amount of news about new business models rocking the music world right now.
NEW BUSINESS MODELS
Click your mouse, say yeah!
Three weeks ago, Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys entered the charts at
number one with their second single, “I Bet You Look Good On The
Dancefloor”. They had just played their second London gig, before
an audience of 3,000. Even by the hyper-speed standards of modern rock
and pop, this was a remarkable rise, apparently made possible only because
the band had posted their songs on their website and thus built up a
vast virtual fanbase before even securing a record deal.
By
Alexis Petridis, The Guardian (UK), November 11, 2005
Opening the Door on a CD-less Music Label
Jac Holzman’s Cordless Label is the first all-digital music label
operated by a major record company. Music from the label’s first six
bands is being sold only online for now, in three-song "clusters" instead
of full albums. Instead of big tours, the bands will be promoted on blogs
and sites like MySpace. Even more interesting, artists get to retain
ownership of the master recordings they release under Cordless. And,
if they want to release their music elsewhere after a short contract
is up, more power to them.
By John Borland, CNET News, November 10, 2005
The Hit Factory
Who needs major labels, marketing, or airplay? A social networking
site is getting more hits than Google — and turning invisible bands into
mini entertainment networks. How MySpace became the MTV for the Net generation.
By
Jeff Howe, Wired Magazine, November 2005
Innovative Band Combines Vinyl Release, Digital Download
A new
release from London-based group The Clientele can be purchased in the
classic LP format, but the album also comes with a coupon to download
the album digitally from their record label Merge’s website. Cool!
Digital Music News, October 27, 2005
Korn, My Chemical Romance Cut New Deals
As digital music soars and CD sales sag — down seven percent in the
first six months of 2005 — record labels are desperate to earn profits
elsewhere. In a historic two-album deal, EMI Music reportedly paid Korn
$15 million for a percentage of the band’s touring, merchandise, publishing
and licensing revenue.
By Evan Serpick, Rolling Stone, October 27, 2005
American Orchestra Unveils Digital Label
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra recently announced plans to digitize
its catalog of performances, and distribute those tracks across various
digital music stores. Helping the effort will be the Independent Online
Distribution Alliance, or IODA, which will flex its existing relationships
with partners like MSN Music, iTunes, Sony Connect, MusicNet, eMusic,
Loudeye, and Rhapsody. The new eLabel will carry the name MSO Classics.
Digital Music News, October 5, 2005
All of Naxos’s catalog is now on eMusic
Naxos Records has joined with the digital music service eMusic to make
its entire catalog available for downloading by eMusic subscribers —
about 4,500 CDs and 75,000 tracks of classical music. The new agreement
with eMusic also supplements Naxos’s two prior electronic distribution
systems, which the label runs itself: the Naxos Music Library and Naxos
Web Radio.
By Richard Dyer, Boston Globe, October 28, 2005
COPYRIGHT and LICENSING
Hidden Cost of Documentaries
Another article on the costs of licensing music and other materials
for documentary films
By Nancy Ramsey, New York Times, October 16, 2005
Ex-Door Lighting Their Ire
Doors drummer John Densmore refuses to let the group’s songs be used
in TV ads, much to the chagrin of his former band mates.
Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2005
Music managers tackle Apple over royalty payments
Music managers wade into the fight over online royalties with the claim
that bands and solo artists are being unfairly squeezed in the digital
era.
By Dan Sabbagh, The Times (UK), October 3, 2005
Internet Eavesdropping: It’s Music to Mercora Users’ Ears
Mercora is busy rubbing out the lines separating radio from music downloading.
As with radio, Mercora plays music chosen by someone else, according
to the DJ’s tastes and rules. But as with downloading onto your iPod
or adding a CD to your collection, Mercora lets the user decide what
music to listen to. But what are the copyright issues surrounding this
service?
By Marc Fisher, Washington Post, October 2, 2005
DRM and FAIR USE
Guest Blogging: The DRM Hullabaloo
Damian Kulash from OK Go, during
a guest blogging stint for Coolfer, explains his disdain for digital
rights management on CDs, and OK Go’s
close call with their latest release.
Coolfer blog, November 15, 2005
Sony Numbers Add Up to Trouble
More than half a million networks, including
military and government sites, were likely infected by copy-restriction
software distributed by Sony on a handful of its CDs, according to a
statistical analysis of domain servers conducted by a well-respected
security researcher and confirmed by independent experts Tuesday.
By Quinn Norton, Wired, November 15, 2005
Politicos Wary of Changes to Copyright Law
At a House Commerce committee hearing, members voiced reluctance to
rewrite laws and allow people to bypass, in the name of fair use, copy-protection
mechanisms on goods such as CDs and software.
By Ann Broache, CNET News, November 16, 2005
NEW ORLEANS
Wynton Marsalis, on "Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief & Rebuildingin New Orleans"
Wynton Marsalis, Grammy winning jazz artist and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, talks about "Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief & Rebuilding in New Orleans" at a National Press Club luncheon in Washington, DC. October 20, 2005