This week I came across a presentation from New York marketing communications brand, JWT. Their October 2011 Things to Watch list is a special Music Edition, and covers a variety of trends in “accessing, discovering and sharing music”.

After a variety of research and specialist analysis, there seems to be a bit more clarity in this presentation than there has been in recent years. The digital age certainly flipped everything on it’s head, but the fact that the big digital guns have stepped into the arena means that they see a viable future. Independent artists are more common and more powerful, and the platforms available for them to communicate and reach out to consumers are much more of a regular way of life than previous years. The frustration of not knowing where to find the music you like, and then not knowing what the ‘legal’ options were seems to be vanishing, and whilst there is no one ‘savior’ of the industry, the combination of many new techniques and technologies has created the beginnings of a new enjoyable sharing experience for all music lovers and appreciators.

Says JWT director of trendspotting Ann Mack, “It’s all about the ability to listen to your own archives, and just about anything else, wherever you are. It’s a major change, and one that comes just as listening gets a lot more social, from Turntable’s DJ rooms to Facebook’s peeks into what friends are listening to.”

Some of the my favorite points include;

Access Over Ownership – in today’s music world, consumers are shifting to the convenience of simply having access to music (i.e. music for hire), as opposed to wanting to own a copy themselves.
The Celestial Jukebox – a dream come true! The advent of Spotify, Rdio and the like means that we seem to have near infinite music available at our fingertips.
Taking it to the Cloud – 2011 saw some major players offer cloud storage (Apple’s iCloud / Amazon’s Cloud Player and Google Music Beta), and with that remove the limitations of hardware storage and which devices have music on them.
The Death of the MP3 Player – we are moving away from both devices that store music, and also devices that have only one function. Being able to stream more music from a mobile device that has multiple uses is a big shift in trend.
The Facebook Effect – the world’s runaway leader in sharing and networking has recently unveiled real-time sharing of music listening habits, via third party apps such as Spotify, Vevo, Mixcloud, Rhapsody, Soundcloud and more.
Youtube IS MTV – albeit an on-demand version, with new licensed content, music documentaries, vintage live shows and much more, this offers something for every music fan to tune into.
Artists are Doing it for Themselves – services and platforms helping musicians manage, market and sell have come on leaps and bounds. It really is possible to be a self made superstar in the internet age.

by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

To start this off right, have you seen the little Indie film “Once?”

No?!? Ok, fine.  Go watch it and then come back and read this.

If you fell in love with the characters and songs of “Once,” like I did, you’ll be ecstatic to learn that a documentary on their life, love, and music – after the movie is now out and playing in theaters… in Los Angeles at least.

The documentary depicts how:

“Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova ascended from little-known musicians to beloved pop culture couple in the briefest of moments at the 2007 Academy Awards. Hansard, guitarist and vocalist of the Irish rock band the Frames, and Irglova, a Czech singer-songwriter, won the Oscar for best song for “Falling Slowly,” a ballad from their indie musical “Once.” Their heartfelt acceptance speeches — and blossoming offscreen romance — immediately won over audiences.

A new documentary, “The Swell Season,” which opens in Los Angeles today, picks up where the Oscar ceremony left off, as filmmakers Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis follow Hansard and Irglova on tour with their band, the Swell Season. Shot in black and white over a period of three years, the documentary includes performance footage and intimate moments of the duo grappling with their newfound fame and evolving relationship.”

-24 Frames writer Rebecca Keegan

I for one, cannot wait to see this beautiful and poignant tale along with all of the music and concert footage.  This insider view of Glen and Marketa, their love, and their music is too good to miss.  Even in “Once” you could already see the connection that they had, and that a romance entwined with their music was inevitable.  After the original film, the duo has gone on a whirlwind tour sharing their music and being forced to live their relationship very publicly.  I’m sure that this shot to fame was a huge contributor to the eventual demise of their relationship.  However, they both seem to love each other still, love the music they make with each other, and truly wish the best for them.

To see the trailer of the film, click on the link below and enjoy!

The Swell Season

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

In the latest sad attempt by record companies to try and sue everyone, primarily all music fans and music technology forward companies, of copyright infringement – they appear to have won A battle in a long drawn out war.

According to Timothy B. Lee, in his article: Record labels get hollow victory in MP3tunes infringement case -

“A federal judge today found the online music locker service MP3tunes and its founder Michael Robertson liable for copyright infringement. On paper, that’s a victory for lead plaintiff EMI and its fellow record labels. But the judge’s decision leaves them with little else to cheer about.”

What this all apparently means is that Michael Robertson (owner of MP3tunes) got busted for not removing the songs that record labels notified him of as being infringing material from his users personal music lockers.  He removed them from the search results, but not from the lockers of individual users who had already gotten the material – or from his own music locker, which he was also busted for.

However, MP3tunes was able to get protection from the DMCA:

“Under the DMCA, websites are immune from copyright liability if they promptly take down infringing material when notified by copyright holders and meet certain other criteria. MP3tunes argued it qualified for this safe harbor. EMI tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Judge Pauley otherwise.”

All in all it was pretty monumental for MP3tunes and other similar companies, as EMI desperately tried to argue against allowing MP3tunes to be protected by the DMCA – and lost, which I think this is the most important piece of this battle.  If the ruling continues to hold throughout the appeal process, this will definitely be a precedent setting case for other music locker companies.

I also think this article touches upon a really interesting turn of events for the big record labels.  Hopefully the music industry will someday start working with the fans and technology instead of going against it, and suing all of their customers.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

Who?

Spotify is a team of developers led by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon (pictured above). They now have a headquarters in London, as well as an R&D team in Sweden.

What?

As a music playing desktop application, Spotify offers a ‘Free‘ account, with a limited amount of streaming of music, an ‘Unlimited‘ account, in other words, all-you-can-eat streaming, and also a ‘Premium‘ account where you can listen to music on any of your mobile devices, completely unrestricted. Music is easily searchable, and users can also browse by artist name, genre and other factors. Playlists can also be created and shared easily with other users and across the web.

When?

Whilst development started in 2006, Spotify first launched in 2008. After years of deliberating, negotiating, and rump-shaking (probably?), several territories can now dive into one of the most infamous and hyped instruments of the new music industry. As of July 2011, Spotify has officially hit the US shores.

Where?

Having originated in Sweden, Spotify went on to take Europe by storm, making deals and giving access to music lovers in the UK, France, Finland, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands, before landing in the USA.

Why?

Well, for a start, they host literally millions of tracks. Over 15 million, in fact. The interface is simple and user-friendly, making it a joy to locate the sounds you currently crave, as well as explore new and interesting music.

How?

Firstly, head here to select which account you would enjoy (Free, Unlimited, or Premium, as explained above).

Once setup, you have various features to experiment with. Looking for a place to start? Perhaps check out my Spotify profile…

…then perhaps subscribe to some of the Music Jobs playlists that I have compiled…

…from there it is easy to click on artist names, and discover new albums and related artists…

…making playlists yourself is simply a matter of dragging and dropping tracks…

…and sharing with friends is also as easy as a drag and drop…

Hopefully this post will enlighten you and give you a brief insight to their service. I’m not paid by or affiliated with them, it’s just, you know, kinda groovy

Enjoy!


by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

Things move fast in the digital age: only last week we told you about the launch of Amazon and Google’s music ventures, and now we have news on how two other powerhouses – Facebook and Apple – plan to shake up the way that consumers listen to, pay for, and share music on the internet.

Firstly, Facebook has announced that it is partnering with Spotify to launch a new way to listen to music with friends. Users will see a Spotify tab on the left hand side of their Facebook home page, and clicking in this will launch the Spotify player much in the same way that the desktop app currently launches. This integration is still being tested and will not likely launch for another two to four weeks. While this is not the creation of a new service from Facebook, their social reach is undeniably a hugely powerful thing, and so it will still have major impact in music industry circles.

However, this new service is unlikely to be available in the US right away. Spotify has been dealing with licensing issues with the major labels for some time now; we reported that there was almost a breakthrough back in summer 2009, but nearly two years later they are still unable to come to an agreement. Having Facebook involved may assist this issue, but it is still a huge hurdle to overcome.

Next up, it seems like Apple may have even been putting some of the talent they acquired from purchasing Lala to good use; it has been revealed that they have reached “tentative agreements with all four major record labels” that would enable music fans to listen from it’s own cloud-based service, and this could launch as soon as June 6th, according to one report from the LA Times. As I mentioned in last week’s blog post, this was one factor that both Google and Amazon’s service were lacking, and may lead to issues somewhere down the line. Apple, having developed relationships with the labels over the last eight years with iTunes, could have the edge when it comes to mainstream content in this respect; the fact that iTunes shifts somewhere between 75% and 85% of the entire download market has surely put them in good stead.

But…

Clearly, there are still issues that could come up with any new ventures in the music industry; that these ‘big four’ e-giants still struggle to get content online in 2011 or have to bow to some of the key copyright holders. Myspace Music made a huge mistake when it chose to drop the indie musician and cater to the majors, and now they are suffering. Hopefully one (or more) of these guys will come through with some news of how their service aids the discovery of new and exciting music from around the globe, rather than simply pushing the same pop stars with the biggest budgets.


by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music both launched within a couple of weeks of each other. They join a number of well established and loved music streaming services such as Pandora, Rdio, Rhapsody, Last.FM and many more, with the supposed king of them all, Spotify (which is VERY good, by the way), still due “any day now”. So… what do the new kids on the cloud have to offer?

Amazon offers both a Cloud Drive and a Cloud Player. Cloud Drive is your hard drive, uploaded into the cloud (therefore backing up not just your mp3s, but other documents, also). The Cloud Player offers a place to store all new Amazon mp3 purchases, as well as access to your Cloud Drive. You can stream music on the go with the app for Android mobile phones or tablets. Cloud Drive offers all users 5Gb free storage, and, for a limited time, a free upgrade to 20 GB of Cloud Drive storage with an Amazon mp3 album purchase. Also, all new Amazon mp3 purchases saved to Cloud Drive do not count against your storage quota, essentially giving regular Amazon mp3 shoppers an ever-growing storage limit.

Google Music is still invite-only at the moment, but is essentially a similar idea – uploading of your current music files, and a place to easily add new purchases, that are then accessible from any Flash-equipped web browser, along with Android phones and tablets. Very similar indeed. The one big difference? You still need to purchase new music, and this will mainly point music consumers back to digital retail stores run by Amazon and/or Apple. The supposed reason for this hitch? Everyone’s favorite villains; the major labels. Wanting to much money up front apparently hindered Google’s ability to create a one-stop-shop, and has meant that the streaming launch is more of a stutter.

Worth noting is that both of these new players are iTunes friendly. They are not aggressively attacking the third big cheese, Apple, but instead recognize that millions of music fans already have playlists and organized folder based on 10 years of iTunes usage. To ignore this fact would be a foolish move, and making it easy and convenient for them to sync, swap, and move their music around is definitely the first step in taking a slice of the Apple pie (pun intended? Possibly.)

by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

So, the Grammys, whom I’ve often been critical of, make a credible, relevant decision and award album of the year to Arcade Fire for The Suburbs (which, unlike previous years’ winners, probably was one of the best albums of the year.), and then… they get slammed for it! People are going crazy that an indie band could beat the factory-produced ultimately-forgettable commercial pop music of Gaga et al. Assumptions of bribery, corruption, ineligibility and incompetence are afoot on the social networks (Hypebot posted a few Twitter examples here).

The fact is, this indie band have won a bunch of awards over the last seven years, and The Suburbs is their third Long Player. I was a late-comer myself, picking up Neon Bible in late 2009. That album, released in March 2007, reached # 2 in the US and UK charts, saw them grace Saturday Night Live, earn a nomination for the Polaris Music award, and spawned a tour of 122 shows (including 33 festivals) in 75 cities and 19 countries. The band have also performed at events for Barack Obama, alongside Jay-Z, have been booked to play Lollapalooza 2010, as well as headline Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2010 and Coachella 2011. In a year of yet-further-declining-sales, The Suburbs debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 charts with 156,000 sales in it’s first week.

Essentially, an indie band doesn’t come out of nowhere and pick up a Grammy – they have put in a lot of work over the years, and have both critical acclaim and public appeal. Perhaps, what some of the Twitter pop rebels don’t realize, is that while Beiber does have a lot of Twilight-loving tween fans who buy his mp3s, the rest of the music loving population is also out there, going to festivals, buying vinyl albums (yes, really!) and supporting fresh, emotive musicians and songwriters. Indie bands that are able to play multiple instruments, write lasting music and have their shit together when it comes to marketing, videos, licensing and touring are a powerful force. Another couple who spring to mind are Vampire Weekend and The Black Keys. Independently distributed albums may not be in your Wal-mart shopping basket, but that doesn’t mean you should write the process off altogether.

The Suburbs won the Grammy for Best Album deservedly. I’d even recommend listening it before you start knocking Arcade Fire. In a case where genuine musicianship outclassed manufactured chaff, perhaps we should celebrate that the music industry is still alive and well?

by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

Music institution, Berklee, has created a comprehensive resource for the music industry regarding wages for music industry jobs: the Salary Ranges for U.S. Music Positions in Performance, Writing, Business, Audio Technology, Education, and Music Therapy pdf documents a variety of music-linked careers and their respective salary ranges, including orchestra positions, choir director, film score composer, A&R, managers, music attorney, sound engineer, music teacher and many more.

From the original article: “Although Berklee’s collection of music career resources is exhaustive, this type of information wasn’t aggregated anywhere. Peter Spellman, director of the Career Development Center, had the idea to create a chart for advising purposes and to share with Berklee and the larger music community around the world. Providing analysis on the data and trends in the industry, Spellman sees music technology and social media-related fields experiencing growth in terms of job creation. He says, “Students who can both arrange a jingle and advise a small company on how to incorporate Twitter or Vimeo will find more chances to add value in the new music economy.” There is also great potential for those with expertise in digital marketing, new media PR, and micro-sponsorship development. ”

Spellman goes on to say, “There are plenty of bands and artists building loyal followings and making middle class livings who have redefined ‘success’ for themselves.” This is absolutely true of the new music industry. By realigning your ideas of success, i.e. not expecting to magically get signed and sell millions of albums, you can create achievable goals, and with focus and determination make a living from your musical endeavors.

The PDF resource can be downloaded from here

by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

You seem to be web-savvy enough to be reading this blog, so I’m going to assume you’ve heard all the furor about The Beatles over the last 10 days. Yes, The Beatles have finally released their catalogue of music on iTunes, seemingly ending decades of feuds between Apple Corps (the company owning of much of the rights to The Beatles music) and Apple Inc. (Steve Jobs’ computer monster that originally signed a deal to never be involved in music.)

With all the delays in the ‘launch’ (the iTunes Store went live in 2003, and digital music has been around longer than many music consumers), I wondered if it was a case of too little, too late. Nielsen Soundscan released the figures yesterday, and in the first seven days, The Beatles sold over 2 million singles and more than 450,000 albums. Quite a lot. Well, kinda…..

I’m not a die-hard Beatles fan, but I own 4 of their albums on CD or 12″ vinyl. I’m not in a rush to go out and sweep up another 4 or 5 digitally, especially when Amazon played along and dropped the prices of all the remastered Beatles albums on CD to a competitive $7.99 each. I’m sure I’ll pick up another one or two at that price soon, but right now I have been sidetracked by their Thanksgiving week sale, where they have slashed prices on various digital albums to just $1.99 each. So far I have picked up LPs from John Legend & The Roots, Gorillaz, Belle & Sebastian, KT Tunstall, Vampire Weekend and more.

Before this starts sounding too much like a promotion for Amazon, my point is this… Album pricing needs to be drastically adjusted. At $1.99 I am (and many others are, i’m sure) sweeping them up: exploring new sounds, current trends and past hits of unknown artists. Discovering new music and taking a ‘risk’ is fun and easy. Yet, I don’t know if the industry can sustain at that price point (at least, not with major labels and their costs involved.) Eight bucks for a CD? I’m still going to have to choose wisely, and just pick up one or two a month that are dead certain. I’m not risking too much – too many memories of being burnt by terrible LPs from the 90s

$12.99 for a digital album that isn’t full WAV or FLAC quality, and I may have bought in previous formats over the last 20 years, and could potentially rip a better quality recording from… I’ll pass every time. If convenience is king (and, it is), it is not convenient for me to spend 52 bucks to ‘replace’ my Beatles collection with inferior quality audio, years after I bought the CD/vinyl.

Correcting this price point could inspire a whole new generation to buy a collection of Beatles albums. I’m not saying that younger music listeners aren’t into them now, but chances are they ripped a copy of Sgt Pepper about 10 years ago. This year, there have been two much more headline worthy releases – Taylor Swift sold a whopping 1 million albums in the first week with her latest release, and Eminem topped off a $60m tour with another million sales of his ‘Recovery’ LP – going platinum in just two weeks.

With all the hype for the Beatles, and all the things this could have been, I feel it is much ado about nothing. And so… Apple (Inc. and Corps), if you halved the price per unit and sold twice as many units, would that have been a bad move?

by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

There is something of a trend occurring in music right now. Producers, sound architects, composers and bedroom musicians are all experimenting with interesting new sounds created from extreme time stretching of existing pieces of work.

Something of a nonsensical niche? Not quite; recent blockbuster movie ‘Inception’ had it’s soundtrack created from various speeds of one song. Hans Zimmer, who composed the music, extrapolated his entire score from Edith Piaf’s ‘Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien’, slowing down the original chirping brass section to something of a daunting, menacing foghorn. Zimmer told the New York Times recently that the idea for this musical game had begun with Mr. Nolan, the film’s director and writer. “He had the Édith Piaf always written in the script [...] I had to go and extract these two notes out of a recording.” He adds that all of the music in the score is “subdivisions and multiplications of the tempo of the Édith Piaf track.”

A switched on Youtube member had already figured it out and posted online.

Another example of how time stretching can be used to make something quite beautiful of an unexpected source, 20-year old Nick Pittsinger of Tampa, FL. slowed down a recent hit from popular face of music industry commercialism Justin Bieber. Hosted at Soundcloud, the audio has received a rather astounding 1.3 million streams in the last four days.

J. BIEBZ – U SMILE 800% SLOWER by Shamantis

I wonder how else we may see this trend spill into popular culture. Compilation albums of re-released old classics? Specialist download stores? Who knows. I for one think it can be an exciting, inventive and entertaining angle on music conception, recording and production.

by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed