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| Sign of the Times |
September 2010
As a Grammy winner recently wrote AIM, "Believe me -- everybody out there in this music biz world is running around in MAJOR crisis circles!!" The crisis is bringing forth new ways of financing albums - soliciting fans to front the money, locking artists into global merchandise and touring deals in which a new album is just a loss leader and, now, garnering support from advertisers who have no previous special connection to music. Pepsi has had a long involvement with pop music since the 1960s' Pepsi Generation. Starbucks sells CDs in its coffee shops and has its own record label. But Fiat's recent deal with Faithless from the U.K. appears to break new ground. Fiat created a 3-minute video advertisement featuring the dance band's new single 'Feelin' Good'. A 30-second version of the video will appear in an advertising campaign to promote Fiat's special edition car called the 'Feelin' Good'. Faithless, which is currently not tied to a record label, was not paid to make the video but is in the deal to boost music sales. Surely, deals in which corporate sponsors commission new works and pay for them out of pocket can't be far behind.
August 2009
Aging conductor and his wife end life in suicide clinic - Edward Downes, 85, who conducted 49 productions at Britain's Royal Opera over 50 years, and his wife, 74, ended their lives on their own terms in a Swiss suicide clinic, it was reported. He had become almost blind and hard of hearing; she was diagnosed with cancer. Downes was an enthusiast of the music of Prokofiev, Verdi, and British composers. His other credits include the conducting post at the Australian Opera in Sydney.
May 2009
There's nothing like some Barry Manilow music to clear out those pesky 'mall rats' - unruly teenagers who hang around shopping areas strewing garbage, painting graffiti, and swearing at passers-by. The city of Christchurch in New Zealand is putting Manilow's easy listening hits like Can't Smile Without You and Mandy into its central district music mix to discourage loitering and get the unwelcome teens to move on.
February 2009
The times they are a'changin' in the music industry.
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is giving up mass lawsuits targeting illegal music downloading on the Internet. Not only were the 35,000 cases the RIAA brought since 2003 a public relations disaster, they failed to stem the tide of music piracy, their intended purpose. Instead of copious litigation, the trade group will now work with ISPs (Internet service providers) who have preliminarily agreed to slow down or even cut off service to customers who unlawfully make music files available for others to steal online. The RIAA will notify the ISPs when this is occurring but no longer demand the identity of the offenders. The RIAA will henceforth limit court actions to the most egregious cases.
That's a big change for the industry, perhaps topped only by Apple's decision in January to drop copy protection on iTunes. Such digital rights management (DRM) limited customers' ability to duplicate song files or move them to different devices.
Meanwhile, major label EMI (home of Coldplay) has launched a new music site where visitors can stream songs (full-length in Britain, samples only in the U.S. for now), create multiple playlists, discover similar artists, and link to Amazon sales pages. The site will continue to evolve, with EMI hoping to leverage the insight gained from data mining consumer preferences into greater sales. Finally, one of the majors is working with the technology instead of trying to fight it. Memo to the other majors: 'resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.'
These are momentous changes. It's remarkable that they all occurred within such a short period of time. The changes reverse significant mistakes the industry made trying to come to grips with the digital age. There were other mistakes - forcing people to buy albums when all they wanted was one song (thankfully, music has returned to a singles business), and failing to make peace with Napster, the original illegal file-sharing site, and monetize its immense popularity with millions of people.
Now that all these missteps have been corrected, the music industry can look forward to a brighter future, although what that will be is still anybody's guess. But the major labels have found out, as arrogant Hollywood moguls with their 'studio system' did before them, that you can't sew up a market all for yourself or force people to like your restrictive business practices. They'll find a way around you and create alternatives.
January 2009
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra
YouTube has announced the planet's first collaborative online orchestra and invited professional and amateur musicians from around the world to audition. Chinese composer Tan Dun ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon') wrote the Internet Symphony No. 1 ('Eroica') which the contest winners will perform on April 15, 2009 at Carnegie Hall in New York City with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting. Hopefuls can begin by downloading sheet music from www.youtube.com/symphony and practicing along with the conductor video provided. Then contestants need to upload their performance video (along with a second video demonstrating musical and technical abilities) by January 28, 2009. Panelists from the London Symphony Orchestra and other professionals will select semi-finalists and the winners will be elected by popular vote on YouTube in March. In addition to the live concert, YouTube will mash-up the winners' videos to create an online version to further promote classical music and positive global interaction. Details and contest rules at www.youtube.com/symphony. Update - Another contest took place for a YouTube Orchestra performance in Sydney, Australia in March 2011.
© 2009 Christopher M. Wright
All Rights Reserved