iTunes & Universal... or not?

The New York Times reported yesterday that the Universal Music Group - the world’s biggest music corporation - last week notified Apple that it will not renew its annual contract to sell music through iTunes, according to executives briefed on the issue who asked for anonymity because negotiations between the companies are confidential.

Instead, Universal said that it would market music to Apple at will, a move that could allow Universal to remove its songs from the iTunes service on short notice if the two sides do not agree on pricing or other terms in the future, these executives said.

Embarrassingly for Apple, the removal of its catalogue would mean the loss of Apple poster child U2.

Can and will Universal go through with this? Ultimately, I think that they won't. Universal, and others in the record industry with them, is not happy with Apple's fixed $0.99 price and the fact that the "iTunes-model" encourages or at least facilitates buying singles instead of albums. Sales of digital music through iTunes and other sources accounted for more than 15 percent of Universal’s worldwide revenue in the first quarter, or more than $200 million, so it would be a significant financial blow.

As a music-consumer, I love iTunes. Sometimes I purchase one song by an artist I think I may like but don't really know yet, and I end up buying the entire album if I like the one song. Sometimes I just buy an individual track because I have always wanted that particular song but would never and will never buy the entire album. In any case, the music industry is better off, because in neither case would I have bought the entire project outright. And the low price? It makes me buy more. It's actually kind of scary to see how much I have spent on iTunes in the past two years.

And finally, as an independent artist, I love that people can try out one track. I love that my consumers have choices.

So I hope that Universal takes a step back. I don't think this is a good move for artists or for the music industry as a whole. Just my $0.02.

Internet radio going silent

An interesting article on CNN.com a few days ago:
Today, Tuesday June 26 most Internet radio sites (like Pandora and Live365) , are going off the air in observance of a Day Of Silence - in protest of a new levy the government and the music labels are about to impose. An arbitration committee in Washington DC has drastically increased the licensing fees Internet radio sites must pay to stream songs, and the fees are retroactive for eighteen months. For small internet radio stations that will likely be the end.

In addition, it was decided that webcasters should cough up a minimum $500 "administrative fee" for every channel they broadcast online, resulting in Yahoo, Pandora, and RealNetworks (some of the biggest internet radio providers) having to spend $1.15 billion per year on the administrative fee alone.

Should licensing fees and royalties be paid? Absolutely. But not to the extent that the vehicles that serve the music to us, the consumers, are driven out of business. I hope that today's silence will speak, and if you want to know more or support the internet radio stations, you can do so by clicking here.

Esmee & Justin

A little bit of Dutch pride in today's post - Dutch YouTube star Esmee Denters (an 18 year old girl who started posting videos of herself singing current pop songs on YouTube last October and became an overnight sensation) has become the first artists signed to Tennman Records, Justin Timberlake's new record label. Her YouTube videos have received more than 20 million views in the past nine months, and she is now slated to open for some of Timberlake's European shows as well as an album release later this year.

And to think, this is a Dutch teenager that just for fun started singing into a karaoke machine in her bedroom and posted the results, again just for fun, on YouTube. Just one more sign of how much impact these new media can have in today's music world.

The big, wide, open market

According to digital media research firm Media-Screen, Internet users spend 54% of their time online searching for entertainment content. And considering how many internet users there are, and how much total time gets spent online......

Wow.

Two in the Garden

My band in its most complete set-up has 9 musicians. On average, it's at least 6. And I usually feel somewhat lost when I have less than 5. The White Stripes, a two-piece band, this summer is headlining at Madison Square Garden for the first time. Just Jack White & Meg White, guitar and drums. To me, that is amazing, and reason enough to want to go see the show.

My generation

The elderly rockers known as The Zimmers (the name comes from the Zimmer frame, the British term for a walker) entered the British Top 40 chart Monday at No. 26 with their guitar-smashing take on The Who's "My Generation." The group, whose average age is 78, was formed by Tim Samuels for a BBC documentary. Samuels said the band was intended to combat the victim status of the elderly.

"If you can judge a society by how well it treats its old people, we'd be in trouble," Samuels said. "I wanted to do something to help them fight back; something with a little bit of attitude and chutzpah." "My Generation" was recorded at the famous Abbey Road studios, and there's a great picture of group members crossing the street the way the Beatles did on their Abbey Road album cover. The single is now on iTunes and all proceeds to go charity.

Haven't seen this yet? You should: the song on YouTube and the band's MySpace.

Square pegs

This is so cool..... some of my absolute favorite writers.... all together - if this does not come close to the essence of music, I don't know what does. Check out the Square Peg Alliance.

From their own site: "The Square Peg Alliance is a group of singer/songwriters who really like each other. We have all been doing music on our own but have decided to join forces like the wonder twins - except there are 13 of us instead of 2. There is no guy in a suit putting all of us together. We really just believe in each other's art and want to support it.
We don't write music so we can be the next big thing (or if we do, it hasn't worked for us). We believe that there are folks out there who like music even if it isn't played every three minutes on the radio, even if it isn't on a big label, even if it isn't accompanied by a music video, even if the shows aren't flashy or even if the records don't go platinum (or gold, or silver, or aluminum foil, etc.).
That is why we are the Square Peg Alliance. Thirteen artists who might not fit perfectly into the traditional mold of the music business, but have found a home with each other."

Amen.

Sir Paul & the coffee shop

Paul McCartney's newest project, Memory almost full, is being released today - on the brandnew Starbucks "Hear Music" record label. In celebration Starbucks is playing the new CD all day long in its more than 10,000 stores in 29 countries. The album will be sold at most Starbucks stores worldwide, in all major music retailers, and on Apple Inc.'s iTunes online store, making it the first of McCartney's 21 solo albums to be released digitally.

I am writing this as I sit at a Richmond, VA, Starbucks, and so far I have heard about half the CD. Most people don't spend hours and hours in Starbucks - but for those of us who use it as our office away from home, it likely will become a bit monotonous today. It's enjoyable, but I doubt I would listen to it much if it wasn't Paul of the Beatles. It is, however, a great marketing stunt - great exposure both for McCartney and for Hear Music. For a good synopsis, read CNN's article about Memory almost full.

James

"I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday, and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it."

James Taylor

Back to school

I usually do not write a lot of personal info on this blog - but I wanted to make an exception today. For the past year I have been consulting at Thomas Dale High School in Chester, VA - working with the orchestra students on putting together a benefit concert for a local teenage cancer patient. The students worked on everything from song selection to arrangements, from poster and T-shirt design to the actual program, and from radio interviews to marketing and advertising. The result was a fantastic concert - performed by the Thomas Dale High School Orchestra and my band, Offering - with songs like My Immortal (Evanescence), Suddenly I see (KT Tunstall), and Sweet dreams are made of this (Eurythmics). It was unique in many ways - amazing original arrangements for rock band and orchestra and students taking the lead on a large chunk of the project being just two of them. If you are in the Central Virginia area, make sure you don't miss the concert next year, and for those of you who aren't - maybe we'll do some kind of an internet broadcast, or at least post something on YouTube.

This morning I was back at the school for a follow-up meeting with the students - and to start planning for next year. And since summer vacation is coming up - happy summer to all TDHS orchestra students, and thank you for the fantastic work you guys did! I look forward to making it even better next year. And congratulations to the graduating seniors..... I will miss working with you guys!

Gladys Knight - WOW

I actually enjoyed watching Gladys Knight during last week's American Idol finale perform with the top six female contestants of this season. Unlike some of the guest artists and mentors of this season, while she is not the youngest anymore, her voice still sounds amazing, and when I just looked her up on Billboard.com, I saw that she was born in 1944 - she's 63 years old, people! You GO, Gladys!

And did you know that she started performing with the Pips when she was only 8?

My favorite music blog....

.....is one I just found: The Secret Music Life of Kat. Kat, in her own words, is a thirty-something stay at home mom who has lots of ideas and needs an outlet. Her vision for the blog: "I love music. I love technology. I love business. This blog is a repository for ideas that pop into my head, interesting news that I read and hopefully for eventually creating a community of people who are interested in music and helping musicians use technology to promote their art."

I have only been reading her blog since last week, but I am hooked. I can find great music sites, the fantastic "forms to get a musician organized", links to other artists' blogs, concert ideas, info on record labels and on where to get free music - basically Kat rocks! How she does all does while being the mom to two toddlers and one newborn........ no idea! Check out Kat's music blog - you won't regret it.

Suzanne's second life

Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, who is releasing her first album in six years, Beauty & Crime" on July 17, has become more and more involved with online virtual reality platform Second Life. Last August, Vega performed "Tom's Diner" in avatar form within the world of Second Life.

I have to admit, I signed up for Second Life a few months ago, created my avatar, and checked around a bit - but I never took the time to really figure it out, and while my profile is still active, I have not been there in a while. Second Life is one of those internet places where you have to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the possibilities before you really start functioning well within its boundaries, and this little tidbit about Suzanne is motivating me to take a - no pun intended - second look.

Apple vs the record stores

Amaechi Uzoigwe, head of independent label Definitive Jux, said during this year's NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) convention that he might be more inclined to have an artist appear at an Apple store than at a music store(Source: Billboard, May 12, 2007). He has a point: young music fans are not as inclined to visit a traditional record store as you or I did during our high school and college years. Which leads me to ask the question: where do you buy music? Here's a poll -let me know!

Shock

Melinda is voted off. If you don't know what that means, you have not been watching American Idol this season. Every blog that has anything to do with music has already weighed in to this, but for the record I just want to add to the countless posts: Melinda Doolittle was hands down the best vocalist Idol has ever seen, her being voted off in my eyes is a disgrace, and I am convinced that she will have a fantastic career ahead of her (I am sure there is quite a bit of discussion at different record labels today about potential deals they can offer her). I will watch the finals next week, but I won't enjoy it as much with the best singer out of the competition.

75,774

The U.S. music industry issued 75,774 album titles in 2006, or 15,000 more than the 60,331 albums that came out in 2005. Despite that jump, new-release sales dropped 9.4% last year to 220 million. (Source: Billboard Magazine, May 12, 2007)

We all know by now that physical CD sales are dropping - but still, more than 75,000 new CD releases? In the U.S. alone? Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

However, 55,516, or 73.3% of all new releases last year failed to even sell 100 units. Yikes. And suddenly the fact that our band sold 2400 CDs last year does not sound bad. At all.

Just some statistics for your thoughts.

If a musician plays, and no one listens.....

A few weeks ago I came across an interesting article in the Washington Post about world-class violinist Joshua Bell who played for 45 minutes during the morning rush in the DC metro L'Enfant Plaza station. The question posed in the article is interesting: "Each passerby had a quick choice to make, one familiar to commuters in any urban area where the occasional street performer is part of the cityscape: Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, aware of your cupidity but annoyed by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet? Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite? Does your decision change if he's really bad? What if he's really good? Do you have time for beauty? Shouldn't you? What's the moral mathematics of the moment?" Read the article.... it's fascinating!

Save Darfur - the songs of John Lennon

I saw an interesting ad on the back of Billboard magazine this week: a recording project called Instant Karma - The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. It features new recordings of classic John Lennon songs by groups and artists like U2, Avril Lavigne, Corinne Bailey Rae, Snow Patrol, The Flaming Lips, Los Lonely Boys, Christina Aguilera, Green Day, R.E.M., and Lenny Kravitz. The project's goal is "to rally global support for the desperate people of Darfur", according to Yoko Ono.

The project is due in stores and online June 12.

Beatles on iTunes?

It looks like the Beatles' catalogue will finally makes its entrance on iTunes...... Paul McCartney's new album, "Memory Almost Full" will be released June 5 on iTunes and it's expected the Beatles' music will not be far behind. It's about time.....

American Idol - part 2

We're now one week into the finals of American Idol 2007, and I have noticed two things: the absolute supremacy of Melinda and Lakisha, and the amazingly bad efforts of Sanjaya, Brandon, and Haley. Yes, at this point the American public is, at least partly, to blame for three just BAD singers being in the top 12, but what were the judges thinking to advance them over, say, Tami Gosnell? Out of thousands and thousands of auditions, we could not find better options? If the judges keep saying this is a singing competition, as well they should, then that is what the main (not the only, but the main) point should be. And if AI needs back stories and drama, there is plenty to be found in Lakisha (the single mom who is blowing everyone away after what must not have been an easy road so far), Melinda (the back-up singer who is so obviously head and shoulders over almost anyone she has ever sung back-up for), Chris Sligh (who I love - but let's face it, he is not the stereotypical Idol-candidate), and I could go on. And by the way, I love Sanjaya - he is cute, he is sweet, and I think his voice has good potential. He is just not ready to be on that stage and there is no shame in that.

Going back to my first point, if anyone stops Melinda and Lakisha from making it into the finals (unless they really mess up vocally one week) - then it's all the more clear that AI is not a singing competition. So here's to Melinda and Kiki, reaching 1 and 2 and staying on top of the music world for a long time to come. And to a good record contract for Blake and Chris S., and someone to take Jordin under their wing so that she has the chance to become the amazing that she shows all the potential of having.