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Moderati has created an iPhone app that allows users to create their own remixes of available songs, the service is called Romplr. Once your personalized remix is created, you can share it via Facebook connect, email or on Romplr.com, a site the company is aiming to turn into an interactive music community. The first artist to provide music for remixing on Romplr is Soulja Boy, who's made "Turn My Swag On," "Crank That," and "Hey You There" available. In addition, Soulja Boy has provided seven other music samples that can be used as raw material. "The new, $5 Romplr application allows you to remix three songs by the artist Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. Basically, you pick one of Soulja Boy’s tracks then use the controls to tweak the bass, drums, vocals and other sonic elements for a remixed version." - BeatCrave.comI always knew there was a huge opportunity in the music business for selling all the ProTools tracks for fans to manipulate and customize they way they want. Unfortunately, once again the record labels missed this opportunity and has allowed a technology company to cash in on it. Though it may not be too late for them if they move quickly.
Mos Def in connection with Invisible DJ and LnA clothing have launched the first ever "Music Tee" for Mos Def's latest album, The Ecstatic. The t-shirt has the album artwork printed on the front and the tracklist on the back. The tag has a code which you can enter online for the digital version of the album. Other artists due to release "Music Tees" are Santigold and Miike Snow also from the Downtown Records camp. What better way to integrate apparel and music which are the cornerstones of the hip hop lifestyle? For more details on this story, check out Pitchfork.com.
Music executives have always been dependent on and obsessed over charts, whether it be the Billboard Top 100, No. 1 singles or radio format charts. Appropriately, a new website has emerged, We Are Hunted that publishes the most popular 99 artists and 99 songs by day, week and month based on online activity - music blogs, Twitter, forums, Torrents, P2P networks and social networks. It has a cool interface and when you click on an artist or song there is a page that displays a feed of articles and a NOISE marker that keeps track of the number of posts. You can also play the top 99 songs directly from the site.
I haven't taken the time to listen to the mixtape yet but Kanye usually doesn't disappoint. The mixtape features Freeway, John Legend, Consequence, Malik Yusef with Carl Thomas, Talib Kweli, N.O.R.E., Rhymefest, Slim Thug and many others. Download the The Lost Songs Welcome 2 Chicago now.
France has voted to for Internet user's broadband access to be disabled after illegally downloading or sharing music files. 'Creation and Internet Law' permits "a state body to cut off copyright infringers' broadband access after two warnings were issued." The iniative is meant to prevent Internet users from sharing music and not punishing them with ineffective lawsuits. There are a few consumer rights groups and politicians who oppose the plan but the initiative will pass into law after being proofread and confirmed starting Aprill 9th. IFPI, world representative body of music recordings was pleased with the iniative as was European independent label rep, IMPALA. See Billboard.biz for more details.
AdAge published an interesting article yesterday on the use of 2-D barcodes and the story of a Qdoba Mexican restaurant chain in Ann Arbor, Michigan who used the technology on promotional posters to attract college students to its new location. The promotional posters allowed students to use their cell phones to scan the barcode on the poster and generate a mobile phone coupon for a buy-one-get-one-free burritto. After reading this, I thought what if all those promotional posters I see around the city featuring a new album and/or artist had a barcode that people could scan allowing them to purchase the digital album electronically at a discounted rate for a limited time? Or what if as an added incentive those who purchased the digital album electronically via the scan got the chance to have first dibs at front row seats or floor seats to that artist's concert at a reduced price? Technology truly needs to be fully integrated into music and purchasing music should be made so easy along with having great incentives that people just want to buy the music. There is no more control, there is no way to make people buy the music, they just simply really have to just want to buy it.
According to Billboard, YouTube (Google) has failed to reach an agreement with PRS, the U.K.'s performing rights agency over acceptable rates per music video stream. Google opted and proceeded to remove music video content from the U.K. site. Google put out a statement saying that the new rates that PRS was proposing would put them at a significant loss per stream and the rate is much higher than what was negotiated before. The Music Publisher Assocation (MPA) of the U.K. is reportedly 'dismayed' at the decision that YouTube has reached and feels that it is a disservice to the YouTube community by "denying the content they most enjoy." While PRS is allegedly charging rates that are "in line with the 2007 U.K. Copyright Tribunal ruling on digital streaming rates," Google calls the rates "simply prohibitive." The managing director, Mark French of rival-video stream site (that focuses on music), Muzu.tv feels that YouTube is using its muscle to get its way. What do you think? Is this the proper way to negotiate?
According to Billboard.biz, Warner Music Group and EMI Music Group are filing suit against SeeqPod, which is an Internet music search engine service. EMI went even further "by naming several SeeqPod employees and investors as defendants." EMI is also suing Favtape, a music-on-demand site that uses the technology from SeeqPod to run it. I tried to access Favtape but found that it had a slow response. I don't know much about these sites or their popularity but I could see a possible infringement of copyrights if they are not making any royalty payments to the copyright owners. Gerd Leonhard is working on a book detailing the "End of Control" and that companies can no longer try to control their stakeholders but involve them and ensure that they have their trust. This is definitely right on when it comes to consumers, however it may be a slightly different case when other businesses are profiting from your intellectual property. I think in this case the majors may have a right in litigating for the protection of their most valuable asset. Although, when consumers are loyal to services such as SeeqPod and Favtape and see them shut down due to the majors suing them, the perception of control comes forth. Therefore it is important that the majors engage these companies and evolve to a new era of music consumption while protecting their content. I will be looking further into this subject and will have more posts to come.
Since May 2007 EMI has been distributing digital tracks DRM-free to iTunes but the other three majors have been consistently resistant until now. Starting today consumers can get digital music via iTunes DRM-free from any of their favorite artists because Universal Music Group, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group have finally agreed to it. A new pricing model that Apple was previously against is also now taking effect and music will be sold at $0.69 for older tracks, $0.99 for current tracks and $1.29 for hits. iPhone users can also download music wirelessly directly to their devices over the 3G network. The audio quality of the new iTunes is also boasting to be much higher so download iTunes 8 and you can easily re-purchase all your previous iTunes music DRM free for only 30 cents a pop. I'm happy to see that the other three majors have realized the benefit of DRM-free music and are slowly embracing the digital age.
nuTsie (iTunes scrambled), an affiliate of iTunes is a service that allows you to share your iTunes playlist with anyone on the web and listen to other people's iTunes, not just the people on your local network. The service also permits for you to take your iTunes playlist and have access to other playlists anywhere you go via your mobile phone. Signing up with nutsie is free but to get the app on your mobile phone takes a small investment of $19.95. Go nuTsie.
It's not surprising that digital track downloads take from traditional album sales. iTunes (est. 2003) allows consumers to sample each song and pick which ones to purchase versus buying an entire album. Instead of bringing in a few dollars in revenue per album, record companies are seeing a few cents per track. But how much is this taking away from the artist and has the digital evolution truly been beneficial? Kid Rock and AC/DC both refused to allow iTunes to distribute their music because they wanted it sold as a whole album. Each act had the third and fourth-best-selling-albums of the year respectively. Everyone listens to albums before they are released via digital downloads and delay consuming the album or never purchase it at all. So is the digital evolution a threat or a mixed-blessing to music and its stakeholders? I would call it a mixed-blessing because while it creates an avenue for music to be heard, it reduces the incentive to purchase music in the traditional way or even buy it at all. In closing, the digital evolution presents a challenge along with stiffer competition because less money is allocated to buying music but it is met with an opportunity to better cater to the desires of music fans (i.e. Kanye putting "Love Lockdown" to stream on his blog for comments and suggestions). Oh and it's worth it, just not in the short-term.
Like hearing news of the 'R' word yesterday that we are now in an official recession wasn't bad news enough. Now analysts from Jupiter Research are predicting that while digital music sales will grow by 23 percent from 18 to 41 percent, overall music sales will drop from today's $10.2 billion to $9.8 billion in 2013. Therefore, while there is significant growth in digital sales, it will not be making up for the decline in CD sales. Another interesting fact is that by 2013, 75 percent of the U.S. population will own mp3 capable mobile phones, however very few will be purchasing songs via their cell phones. Mobile sales will only contribute about $300 million five years from now. For more information visit Billboard.biz.
So is this cause to cut your losses and get out of the industry now? I wouldn't say so because no one can predict the emerging technologies or talent that will have a major effect on sound recording revenues and the industry as a whole. While we are in a recession and music industry revenues are expected to contract, I know that there is a truly grand opportunity in music and there always will be. Music is the best way to connect and communicate with others and it will always be needed but we will have to do more to convince people to buy. Getting out of a recession will also help tremendously, let's see what this new administration can do.
Moderati has created an iPhone app that allows users to create their own remixes of available songs, the service is called Romplr. Once your personalized remix is created, you can share it via Facebook connect, email or on Romplr.com, a site the company is aiming to turn into an interactive music community. The first artist to provide music for remixing on Romplr is Soulja Boy, who's made "Turn My Swag On," "Crank That," and "Hey You There" available. In addition, Soulja Boy has provided seven other music samples that can be used as raw material. 
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