The Fern Talks – Page 17949

If SoundCloud Launched a Subscription Service, Would Anybody Pay?

SoundCloud’s Plush Manhattan Office Space

SoundCloud has been too free for too long, according to some observers.

Now that a deal with Sony Music Entertainment is in hand, SoundCloud appears to be rapidly accelerating its move towards a subscription (ie, paid) tier. In fact, SoundCloud’s much-anticipated subscription service may launch within a matter of weeks, not months.

It’s unclear exactly when the launch timetable was altered. In the wake of an earlier deal with Universal Music Group in January, sources pointed Digital Music News to a roadmap to launch a full-blown subscription service by this summer, with insiders expected the actual launch to happen by fall. That was a reaction to pressures from UMG, though Sony has proven a more demanding holdout and may have pushed for the accelerated subscription launch.

Either way, SoundCloud is now making this a top priority, and hoping that users pay the piper. Just last week, one source to Digital Music News pointed to an initial subscription launch in ‘April or May,’ though details on what will be included in the launch remain scant. Today, Billboard also pointed to a subscription launch ‘in the coming weeks,’ though details on what will be included in the service were also light.

The Billboard report also noted that major labels Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group will pick-and-choose which songs will be free and which will be paid. But exactly how that alters the overall SoundCloud experience remains unanswered, though critical.

The huge schedule-shift is uncertain news for artists, especially DJs with million of followers. This is probably going to be a difficult transition, with DJ support already complicated by a warzone of takedowns and destroyed accounts. Just this week, Morgan Page found his entire account deleted for posting a promo clip with unlicensed work, the latest in a string of abrupt teardowns. That has cooled relationships between artists, labels, and SoundCloud, and the specter of a subscription service dictated by major label demands is unlikely to improve morale.

But the biggest question is this: will users pay? And if so, how many?

At last count, SoundCloud reported 175 million active users, though most of those users are accustomed to a completely free experience. On top of that, more serious fans are probably already subscribed to a paid platform like Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music, not to mention already buying higher-end items like vinyl records.

SoundCloud could be playing a game for scraps.

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Musexpo Los Angeles Returns to Hollywood In April

The annual Musexpo Los Angeles is only weeks away.

The event will take place April 17th- 20th at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with features from key influencers and music enthusiasts from around the world.

The event will showcase representation from an array of music industry figures, including labels, publishers, radio, live entertainment platforms, booking agencies, law firms, digital companies, music supervision platforms and brands, from both independent and major sectors. There will also be a program of global showcasing talent who will perform at SIR Studios Hollywood during the course of the event.

Of the acts performing, many are traveling overseas for the show, from Canada, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and several other parts of the world. These unsigned artists get the chance to have their music played in front of leading A&R executives. This has previously proved to be successful with past artists being directly signed to label and publishing deals.

Musexpo will present speakers throughout the event, those in the line up include some of the most influential in the music industry: legendary newsman and interviewer Larry King; Jimmy Kimmel – Host & Executive Producer, Jimmy Kimmel Live; Chris Price – Head of Music, BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra; Christopher Swope – Sr. VP Strategic Alliances & Innovation, Live Nation; Mike Caren – Creative Officer, Warner Music Group; Mike Fink – Sr. Director, Industry Relations, Pandora; Rochelle Holguin – VP/Head Of Creative Music Services, MTV/VH1/LOGO; and loads more.

You can register for tickets here.

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The 20 Most Influential Music Podcasts

Podcasting is growing at an exponential rate, and that includes music podcasts. But what are the biggest, most influential music podcasts in 2016?

According to Apple, these are the music podcasts with the greatest number of followers.

1. KEXP, Song of the Day.

What It Is: In-studio performances, unreleased recordings, and top picks from independent artists by KEXP deejays.

2. NPR, All Songs Considered.

What It Is: NPR curators Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton spin tracks from emerging artists and legendary icons alike.

3. CBS Local, Rap Radar Podcast.

What It Is: Interviews of top rappers by one of hip hop’s biggest publications, Rap Radar.

4. NPR, Tiny Desk Concerts – Audio.

What It Is: Great artists performing live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

5. Song Exploder, Song Exploder.

What It Is: Every week, a well-known artist picks apart the elements of a hit song, including the story of how it was made.

6. WBEZ Chicago, Sound Opinions.

What It Is: The ‘world’s only rock and roll talkshow’ with WBEZ’s Jim DeRogatis and the Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot.

7. Ken Laster, In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond.

What It Is: A weekly jazz show spanning pretty every sub-genre except for smooth jazz. This is also broadcast weekly on WWUH-FM in Connecticut.

8. Toolroom Records, Toolroom Radio.

What It Is: House-focused podcast from DJ Mark Knight, plus guest mixes.

9. Soundwall.it, Electronic Music & Beyond.

What It Is: Non-stop guest DJs and artists, updated every week.

10. Georges Dagher, Music on Fire Podcast.

What It Is: Free popular song every week (note: currently offline, not sure if it’s coming back!)

11. Spinnin’ Records, Spinnin’ Sessions.

What It Is: Weekly podcast of the most ‘upfront dance tracks’ and guest DJ mixes.

12. Above and Beyond, Above & Beyond: Group Therapy.

What It Is: Weekly music and interviews from trance group Above & Beyond.

13. Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone Music Now

What It Is: Music conversation with the writers at Rolling Stone.

14. LoudSpeakersNet.com, The Combat Jack Show.

What It Is: Heavy hip-hop discussions and interviews.

15. Tiësto, Clublife by Tiësto.

What It Is: Club, Trance mixes.

16. Laidback Luke, Mixmatch Radio.

What It Is: Blend of different EDM styles, great for driving, some talk in-between.

17. Felix Cartal, Weekend Workout.

What It Is: Jam-packed mixes from Canadian DJ Felix Cartal.

18. Joe Budden, I’ll Name This Podcast Later.

What It Is: Talk from the hip hop generation, led by rapper Joe Budden.

19. Cipha Sounds & Peter Rosenberg, Rosenberg Radio: Juan Epstein.

What It Is: ‘Hip Hop Nerdcast’ featuring interviews, discussions, and rap.

20. Oliver Heldens, Heldeep Radio.

What It Is: Lots of EDM/’Future House’

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Google Faces Government Scrutiny Over ‘Take Down, Stay Down’ Refusals

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is insisting that Google reforms its ‘notice and take down’ procedure.

The BPI claims that it has reported 200 million links to infringing content on Google since July 2011. The links were reported via Google’s ‘Notice And Take Down’ policy but were quickly replaced by other pirate links, often the same links.

The BPI is claiming that Google is not doing enough to combat this ongoing issue, and proposes a ‘Notice And Stay Down’ policy, which prevents the same link for the same site being indexed again.

If Google doesn’t conform to their proposal they will go through the British Government to force this upon them.

Google is heavily resistant to this move. In December of last year, DMN first reported Google’s response to the ‘Take Down Stay Down’ petition. Google’s copyright counsel Cédric Manara completely disregarded the idea that the campaign was a reasonable solution, and curtly concluded that the ‘Take down Stay down’ system is “not a solution and just does not work.”

In a formal statement, the BPI is now blasting back. ”Illegal results that are taken down by Google are frequently replaced by other illegal links, which means that legal services continue to be overshadowed by infringing sites in the very top search results,” the group stated.

”This damaging situation can only be remedied by Google themselves changing strategy and pro-actively pursuing a ‘notice and stay down’ approach.”

The issue of pirated content on the internet has been a long-standing issue. Though steps have been taken to remove the content, there hasn’t been any policy to actively prevent future content from appearing. Content can typically be taken down from Google, but almost never removed.

An alternative, ‘stay down’ approach would rapidly change behavior. If people knew that uploading pirate links would not only result in a takedown, but also prevent that content from being re-loaded, the piracy landscape would start to change. It would take a lot more effort and a lot more time for them to keep creating links to stolen material.

Hearing the argument and the imbalance in term, the British Government has stepped in to try to reach a ”voluntary agreement”. The timescale for a mutual agreement between Google and the BPI is unknown.

(Image by Pixaby, Creative Commons CC0, Public domain)

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TMZ Said I Cut My Penis Off, But They Were Wrong…

tmz

Marques Johnson, a hip hop artist who goes by the name of Andre Roxx, has now filed a defamation lawsuit against TMZ for improper identification.

The defamation charge surrounds a TMZ article published in 2014, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The piece in question stated that a rapper affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan had been rushed to hospital after cutting off his own penis. Johnson claims that he was initially tagged in the article by TMZ, before they amended the story and mentioned a different guy by the name of Christ Bearer.

Marques Johnson filed the lawsuit yesterday in a Delaware federal court.

TMZ made the correction, but the original write-up caused massive damage, according to the filing. After TMZ published the story, other media outlets such as BET.com, USA Today, Radio One, the New York Daily News and others mentioned Johnson’s music name, Andre Roxx in their stories.

Once UK-based publication Daily Mail published the inaccurate news, the false information was spread internationally. ”TMZ’s original, inaccurate story immediately spread across the Internet and to television and radio news,” the complaint read.

Even after TMZ had amended their article, those downstream sources didn’t make adjustments. ”No Defendant other than TMZ has even corrected the story.” The USA Today article, for example, was checked by DMN today and it’s still incorrect (though the article does say according to TMZ). Given that scenario, Johnson would find it difficult to sue a publication on the basis that they said something that someone else stated, regardless of whether this is or isn’t true.

Radio station 100.3 The Beat also published a story with the false information, which prompted Johnson to file a lawsuit against iHeart Media as well.

Back in 2014 when stories were released, Johnson was in prison. He claims that as a result of the false articles, he was harassed by inmates causing him to go into protective custody. Since his release in 2015, he has struggled to rebuild his career.

At this stage, there’s no information on how much Johnson is seeking to claim in damages from TMZ or other media outlets.

(Image by stu_spivack, Creative Commons, Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic, cc by-sa 2.0)

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What Recorded Music Sales Really Looked Like In 2015

A proportional map of recorded music format revenues, using US-based tallies from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

CDs maintained a sizable chunk of recorded music sales in 2015, part of a sales map that now features a large number of competing formats. According to US-based, 2015 stats from the RIAA, CDs, subscription (paid) on-demand streaming, internet radio, and downloads all grabbed substantial portions of a recorded music industry that totaled $7.09 billion in annual revenue.

In terms of the format breakdowns, the old strongholds are shrinking, including:

CDs: $1.52 billion (down 17.0%); 21.7% of the total.

Song Downloads: $1.23 billion (down 12.8%); 17.5% of the total.

Album Downloads: $1.09 billion (down 5.2%); 15.5% of the total.

Ringtones, Ringbacks: $54.6 million (down 17.7%); 0.8% of the total.

Music Videos: $6.4 million (down 52.8%); 0.09% of the total.

And, here’s where al the growth is coming from:

Subscription (Paid) Streaming: $1.22 billion (up 52.3%); 17.4% of the total.

Internet Radio (‘Non-Interactive Streaming’): $802.6 million (up 3.8%); 11.3% of the total.

Vinyl (LPs, EPs): $422.3 million (up 32.2%); 6.0% of the total.

Ad-Supported (Free) Streaming: $385.1 million (up 30.6%); 5.4% of the total.

Synchronization (‘Sync’) Royalties: $202.9 million (up 7.0%); 2.9% of the total.

Then, there’s the issue of the broader industry total, and whether it’s likely to grow. Despite immense growth around streaming music (particularly paid, on-demand platforms), the broader recorded music industry in the US gained a scant 0.9%. That reflects a recovery and potential bottoming, though it’s unlikely the music industry can recover a decades-plus plunge of more than 65%.

Meanwhile, the traditional breadwinners are continuing to tank. That includes the CD and paid downloads, both of which are experiencing double-digit year-over-year declines, and could be essentially become negligible within five years.

All of that is putting greater emphasis on a totally different mix of revenue-generators, particularly live shows, branding relationships, and emerging publishing channels. Additionally, a number of artists (from Kygo to Wale) are moving beyond the album format, and successfully satisfying a totally different consumer preference.

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British Law Firm Sends $204,204.36 Invoice to Michael Jackson’s Estate

UK-based law firm Atkins Thomson Solicitors has now filed a claim against Michael Jackson’s estate for more than $200,000 in unpaid fees.

The state claim, filed Monday in California, states that Atkins Thomson never received any money for the legal work that they carried out for Jackson in the two years leading up to his death. In the complaint, Atkins attorney Stanton L. Stein states,

“Defendants have failed to honor Jackson’s obligations under, and has materially breached, the agreement with Atkins, and any implied covenants therein, by failing to make the payments as required.”

Atkins previously attempted to recover the money in 2009 by filing a creditors claim for $204,204.36. But that invoice was rejected in 2015, with the money never owed. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the attorney for the Jackson estate, Howard Weitzman, spoke out against the lawsuit.

“The Estate doesn’t believe the attorney’s claim for work allegedly done for Michael Jackson is valid and we intend to contest this lawsuit.”

Earlier this month, DMN first reported that Sony/ATV Publishing had purchased Michael Jackson’s ownership of the catalog for $750 million. Both John Branca and John McClain, executors for the Jackson Estate, spoke out publicly on the move, saying that it would allow his children ‘greater financial flexibility’.

Within a week of this news, Atkins has filed their $200,000 claim. Surely not a coincidence.

(Image by celebrityabc, Creative Commons, Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic, cc by-sa 2.0)

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Bandsintown Joins Forces With Ticketmaster for In-App Purchases

bandsintown

Concert discovery app Bandsintown has joined forces with Ticketmaster to allow people to directly purchase tickets through the app.

The partnership makes sense for both sides.

For Bandsintown, the collaboration with Ticketmaster allows direct access to the largest concerts. Essentially, the partnership allows users of the app to access tickets for all Ticketmaster’s shows, which is a massive number of sought-after gigs.

The tie-up ultimately turns Bandsintown’s concert discovery platform into a more premium service, as it has the extra benefit of actually allowing users to directly purchase the tickets to concerts they wish to attend. Without that level of access, users were simply browsing for concerts in their local area, then employing some other method to actually book the tickets.

Bandsintown has over 23 million concertgoers registered on their app, a hefty figure that makes it one of the biggest concert-focused apps on the deck. Other contenders in this race include Songkick and Magnifi, a San Francisco-based entrant aiming to better match fans and touring artists.

On that note, 340,000 artists are also using the Bandsintown Manager feature, which connects them to their fans.

For Ticketmaster, the partnership increases the chances that artists and promoters will fill their events. That’s a pretty simple benefit, though the deal reflects the power that upstarts are gaining in this market. The additional feature will be available on both iOS and Android Bandsintown app later this month.

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How 8Tracks Is Raising $30 Million from Its Own Fans

If you want big money, you go to big investors, right? Not if you’re 8tracks, which is raising big money from smaller investors.

Last time we checked in with 8tracks in mid-2015, they were claiming profitability and proudly announcing a string of indie licensing deals. They also found a way to loosen their attachment to SoundCloud, quite the risky partner these days.

But maybe things weren’t so rosy: the playlisting company also secured a $2.5 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, after burning through $1.5 million in funding from heavyweights like Andreessen Horowitz and Index Ventures (who apparently aren’t coming back).

But regardless of what that information says about the 8tracks financial situation, the company is now courting a giant pile of investment cash. And the best part is that that the nibbles aren’t coming from a giant investor.

Instead, 8tracks is tapping smaller lenders through SeedInvest, a Kickstarter-meets-financing hub for accredited investors that want to diversify smaller bets. Also known as ‘equity crowdfunding,’ SeedInvest is trying to open investment from ‘regular people’ while pre-clearing and vetting startups (and managing tricky SEC regulations designed to protect average Joes). This space is all about enabling ‘ordinary, individual investors’ to connect with ‘high quality startups,’ and getting a piece of the huge upside typically reserved for massive investment houses.

The whole idea seems to be going well, potentially as much as $30 million well. According to details reported this morning by TechCrunch, 8tracks has now attracted 30,000 initial commitments for $1,000 each. Those haven’t yet cleared or received approval from the SEC, though even a fraction offers serious cash for this company.

Part of the reason for the early commitments is that 8tracks has always attracted a super-involved, core audience that creates and curates playlists, then shares them with others. According to 8tracks founder David Porter, that made giving a piece to die-hard users a natural next step, so let’s see how this proceeds.

But $30 million? It’s not that outrageous an amount, as competing with the likes of Pandora, SoundCloud, and YouTube is extremely expensive. So far, 8tracks has licensed a litany of indie catalogs, but lacks the rights to major labels. That is holding back 8tracks from meeting the masses, not to mention expanding beyond US borders.

In terms of happy endings, investors may be drawing a parallel to Songza, now part of Google. But the biggest potential path may have been paved by Playlist, a concept that reached roughly 60 million users before getting crushed by licensing problems several years ago. Perhaps Songza is the pioneer that doesn’t catch an arrow in its back.

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Justin Bieber Finds ‘Meet and Greets’ Mentally Exhausting

Yesterday, Justin Bieber announced that he will not be doing any more ‘meet and greets’ during his Purpose World Tour.

The news was announced via an Instagram post, which read:

‘I enjoy meeting such incredible people…but I leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression.”

In the post, Bieber also says, ”I want to stay in a healthy mindset…to give to you the best show you have ever seen.”

Bieber fans who were eagerly waiting to meet him during the tour were left disappointed by the news. The news also sparked an outcry on Twitter, with many fans upset, annoyed, or downright pissed off. That includes fans that had already paid to meet Bieber.

The abrupt cancellation of the ‘meet and greets’ and the talk of being ‘depressed’ could be shedding light on Bieber’s mental well-being. But this isn’t the first time that Bieber has displayed erratic behavior: last year at the VMAs, Bieber broke down into tears after his performance, noting that he felt pressure from the audience and a sense of being ‘judged’.

He certainly doesn’t look happy in the Instagram post picture.

Is this the start of a bigger breakdown?

(Image by Joe Bielawa, Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic, cc by 2.0)

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