Warner Music Group, one of the big four major record labels, announced this past week that it will no longer be licensing its music to free streaming sites. According to the brilliant minds at WMG these streaming sites are “clearly not positive for the music industry” to quote a BBC interview with CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. This is quite simply an absurd reactionary position for a major music label to hold in the new era of music.
Ever since the advent of Napster and even more so since the growth of legal digital music sites the face of the music industry has been changing. Gone are the days that bands needed record labels to get anywhere, the only way to purchase music was in album form, and the only way to find new music was the radio. Its been proven that bands can use the internet to gain enough fans to become chart-toppers. Digital stores allow consumers to pick and choose the songs they buy (encouraging artists to make each song that much better!) And its been shown that the internet is a great place for fans to find new music!
In order to find new music fans need to listen to it. In order to listen to it they have to play it. Why would they pay for music they’ve never heard?
It would appear that WMG does not understand this concept. Instead they blame these free streaming services for declining revenue. They apparently have yet to realize that the age of printing money in the form of CDs is over. The digital era will simply not be as absurdly profitable as the last. Get over it. The goal has changed. The way to earn as much money as possible these days is to make contact with fans and to encourage them to explore as much new music as possible. Something these sites that WMG is kneecapping do very very well! I’ve found more bands through Pandora than any other method and thats including a lot of very music oriented friends! It would seem as though I shall no longer be discovering WMG bands if they continue with this.
One of WMG’s problems with these streaming sites is that they don’t pay enough to make them worth the label’s while. Ars Technica has a write up on the situation wherin they make the great point that the radio is a free streaming source, that doesn’t pay royalties… So apparently the money being paid to WMG from streaming sites like Pandora is somehow worth less than the nothing they’re paying paid by the radio stations. Interesting.
My last point, but my favorite one, shows that not all is lost. Only weeks ago the CEO of Universal Music Group said that Spotify ( a free streaming service) was a “very sustainable financial model.” I would be very interested to see a break down in numbers showing how what is not good financially for one label can be great for another. Although I am very happy with UMG, this just goes to show how messed up the current industry is.
Currently, WMG has given little information as to how they will begin the process of “not licensing.” Still, it seems that unless this policy is changed WMG bands will begin disappearing from sites across the web and will instead be behind subscription walls, safe from fans and new consumers alike.
Now, I should say that I’m not necessarily against subscription models. There are some that have promise. All I am saying is that they are not currently working well nor do they seem to be the future. This seems more like WMG needing something of a scapegoat to explain why they’re not earning as much as they want.
I’ve heard its dangerous to startle an ostrich with its head in the sand so I guess I will now leave this one alone. Warner: thanks for the memories and you just go ahead thinking that this is a smart move.
In the mean time I’ll be sampling and buying music from Universal.
Filed under: Intellectual Property, Music | Tags: licensing, music video, the white stripes
So I like to think of myself as up on all things musical. Following artists, labels, reviewers, and a slew of music publications seems to give me a good idea of what’s going on in the world of music. However, I must admit I haven’t always been this way, which is probably why and how I missed the White Stripes’ music video for “I Fell in Love with a Girl.”
This is possibly the coolest music video I have ever seen. Someday I need to compile a list, but whenever I do this will be on it.
In other, related news, the White Stripes are complaining that the Air Force re-recorded this same song for a recruitment ad. The band’s complaint is not so much that it is for the military (which they support) but that it was an ad designed to recruit during the current wars (which they do not support). The musician responsible claims that he doesn’t listen to the White Stripes but I have to go out on a limb here and say it sounds pretty suspiciously close to the original.
The Huffington Post has the story and here’s the White Stripes’ original complaint. I’m gonna have to side with the Stripes on this one.
Boldly stating their place of origin right on the cover of their debut album, it wouldn’t be hard to pin Rooney as being from California very far into the album. Playing a catchy syncopated, yet whimsical rock the band evokes qualities of the quintessential sunniness of the Beach Boys while mixing in a certain modern grittiness, which could be likened to the Kooks or the Fratellis. Although their music has a certain brightness to it, their lyrics tend to evoke a more somber, introspective tone along the lines of the Strokes or, even, the Shins (although not quite as sophisticated). At first such a pairing might seem uneven and out of place, however, one of the talents of Rooney seems to be their ability to combine the seemingly innocuous together into a thoughtfully catchy rock that is surprisingly listenable.
Most of the songs on Rooney deal with the typical pop fair of girls and relationships. However, much of the sunniness of the album seems to exist to contrast the darker edge to what is at first listen cast off as overdone pop. Songs like “Sorry Sorry” and “I’m a Terrible Person” reveal a complicated person who knows that his behavior in current and past relationships has doomed them and yet feels little real regret, just enough to not let the songs be actual boasts. This introspection paired with a swinging rock beat and clever vocal harmonizations that tries to create a musical depiction of a disintegrating relationship that is rotting from the inside out. Although Rooney is hardly on the level of a band like Radiohead for introspection and regret it is an aspect of their music that they succeed at well enough to garner some focus and some more careful listening.
All this is not to say that the band is only doom and gloom, “if it were up to me” is a lighter-hearted song about a man eagerly waiting his girlfriend’s response to a proposal for marriage, even going so far as to list that both of her parents approve! Again, not your typical rock fare. However, themes of regret and remorse are never far from the surface. “That girl has love” is a song about a girl who committed suicide whom the singer really did love and wished he had known better.
This album is a great debut for a band that adds its own Californian twist to the growing Brit influenced Indie trends of the past decade. Their musical influences clearly range from the classics like the Beatles and the Cars to more modern fair along the lines of the Kooks and Weezer and yet do a certain justice to every band who has affected their music. The songs are catchy and listenable while still intimating a deeper connection to the songs subject and even at times evoking considerations about the behaviors we often accept as normal in relationships. One of my favorite tracks “Stay Away” is song about struggling with crush who doesn’t realize that she is an object of affection and the singer’s dealing with how the crush affects his behavior around her. Another stand out track is “Popstars” which is a snarky critique of common pop, pointing the finger while fully knowing that they count themselves among the aforementioned… Not the stuff of prized poetry but done well enough to be fun and very listenable.
All in all this is an album that manages to combine thought with fun, bitterness with brightness, creating a mix that is somehow both fun and intriguing enough to be worth the listening.
Rating: 6/10
My love of Pandora is no secret, nor is its overall popularity. But in addition to my simple addiction to the constant stream of new (and quality!) music that it delivers to my waiting and eager ears, I’m continually struck by how intelligent of a company it really seems to be. To reiterate, I am simply a user, I do not have a history in business, marketing, the music biz, etc… However, as a user and consumer of many, many music sites, (which I will be adding reviews and opinions on) Pandora continues to stick out as a powerful player in the field both because of its ability to deliver music as well as its ability to appease those to whom the bills are owed!
With this in mind I noted that I have recently been getting short ads mixed between songs, occuring every 5-6 songs. Maybe this isn’t a new trend however I have only begun to hear them on my stations. Along with the ad comes a note drawing attention to an option to become a subscriber at an annual rate of $36 for an ad-free experience across all platforms (i.e. computer, blackberry, iphone, etc).
Subscriptions for music services have not worked out very well across the board. Although they are on the surface very appealing, they are simply not that popular. This seems to be usually due to restrictions on how many songs can be downloaded or listened to, this, as well as other factors such as selection seem to have serioulsy hindered this method of revenue raising for online music sites. However, I think that it could really work for Pandora.
As a user I have to say that I really do not mind Pandora’s current ad situation at all. By only serving up one ad at a time (granted it is very large!) their ads do not create the usual cacophony of visual elements often created by sites supported by advertising. However, I will say that there are times when the ads are very distracting and even annoying, but I suppose that that can be somewhat forgiven as it is the point of an ad to draw attention to it… Not having any experience in marketing it seems to me that such an ad sitution would also be advantageous to an advertiser as their ad is the only one on the page and is connected to the user’s actions on the site, making it more likely that a consumer will notice the ad and at least glance it over. So, if Pandora’s current situation isn’t so bad why add subscriptions to it?
Clearly, the answer here lies in the enormous cost of running a music site/radio. Royalty fees for web radio are astronomically higher than other royalty fees for traditional radio and even satellite. (which does not make any logical sense to me apart from the fact that its “new”…) This would explain this introduction of a subscription service to get an ad-free Pandora account. Although the ads on the site are not too intrusive a completely seamless musical experience would certainly be welcome!
The reasons that I think that this situation might work itself out quite well for Pandora lies in the nearly cultish devotion of Pandora’s many, many followers and the amount of music that comes with said subscription. The first of these points needs little exposition, Pandora is without a doubt one of the most popular ways to get music! This popularity and the allegiance that seems to come with it (here I admit I have little evidence apart from word of mouth, but I have heard a lot of it!) seems to indicate that should Pandora need to move towards more subscriptions, if ads no longer pay the bills, I do not think that many Pandora users will balk at subscribing for their music fix. My second point is simply that as compared to other subscription services Pandora would provide its endless stream of music for the subscription as opposed to the often restricted situations that occur at most other subscription sites. No, you cannot pick specific songs on Pandora, but after one’s initial experience with the service such is not often a problem. And yes, one can receive all that music while paying some annual amount, and yet, the listening to it without ads already provides a strong incentive to at least consider the service, at least in the eyes of this rather frugal consumer of online music!
Subscription services may not be the foundational breaking of ground that Pandora has done in the past but it is a place where I see Pandora succeeding where so many others have failed. These points alongside their outright honesty and already superb services indicates a possibility of me for Pandora to succeed where many others have failed. Having already rewritten the book for online radio stations I see Pandora continuing to lead the pack.
Responses and input welcome!
Over the course of the current generation of the Web a plethora of music sites have sprung up, some legal, some questionable. Through the chaos that seems to result from so much competition, several sites have begun to lead the pack, at least in user experience. Among these sites that lead the best of the best is Lala.com. This site, coupled with Pandora.com, reviewed previously on this site here, is where I have begun to get my music almost exclusively. I do not have specific numbers to gauge where Lala stands against its competition however the user experiences speaks for itself in my opinion.
First off, Lala must have spent some serious time pounding the pavement before officially releasing its unique music project. I say this because one of the first and finest aspects of Lala is its invitation for the user to upload their entire music library to the site from where it can be streamed and listened to anywhere one has an internet connection. There have been other such sites that offer similar services, the difference lies in the fact that once you have uploaded your music it is assumed legal. Lala has an enormous catalogue of licensed music, but this manuever must have still cost quite a bit of political capital with the music industry! However, it is a fantastic move. Once a user has their collection online Lala suggests new music based on whats in the library, providing a rich starting point for a user to beginning purchasing music.
In addition to its suggestion engine, Lala is also in the process of developing a strong community built around the ability to see others playlists and follow updates to their music libraries. One can follow other users to see what they are listening to or have in their libraries. If one wants to sample a song you are allowed a single full listen of any song and it is only a click away to purchase a song for oneself, but more on that later. Another aspect of the social community is the ability to gain Influence points based on how many people have found music either through looking at your playlist or from your recommendations. This then builds into a reputation for knowing and being able to find good music leading to more followers. Thus, one can possibly guage how good certain music is simply by looking to see who is recommending it. This is not a perfect system at all, however, it is an interesting approach that is only a part of Lala’s multiple tiered system of finding new music.
The true power of Lala as a company is its approach to letting users purchase music. For any song that a user finds, or any album, they can simply buy the song outright for a variable price, usually between $.79 and $.99. However, they also have the option of buying the web version of the song for $.10. For a dime a user can buy the rights to add a song to their web collection, allowing them to stream it for anywhere any number of times. Additionally, if a user wants to purchase the same song for download in the future that $.10 is added towards the cost of the song as already being paid. For example, a song that normally costs $.89 instead costs $.79 because the $.10 has already been paid. That kind of practical music purchasing has been seriously lacking from almost anything that currently has the RIAA’s stamp of approval! This option to buy songs for $.10 cannot be over stated. I have found this to be a particularly addicting way to buy music as its not hard to listen to a song through once for free and then wish to have it for later!
All in all, Lala provides a new and refreshing way to listen to and purchase new music online in a way that seems to make the industry happy as well as providing a neat user and communal experience. I have now begun to use Lala and Pandora almost exclusively in my constant hunt for new bands and new music as well as the finding of old favorites and enjoying the classics.
Lala.com is a serious win in my book! Look for me on their as EnigmaticAmish and feel free to follow or friend!
Although not strictly music related Ars Technica has an interesting article today about EA’s move to add more of its previously DRM’d titles to Steam, an online game distribution platform. This move would be in response to the huge outcry that occurred in reaction to the tight DRM restrictions on games such as Spore and to a lesser extent, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Steam is a proprietary system so it is not true that the games are completely free to be copied and distributed. Instead, gamers must have a Steam key to play. However, such a restriction is minimal and understandable as opposed to the absurd DRMs which basically punished users who attempted to play by the rules by limiting them to only a few computers upon which they could install their duly and legally purchased game.
As said, this does not relate immediately to music, however, the move is another step in the ongoing evolution of corporately exercised controls on software which relates to a similar trend in music. Game companies are in an ongoing arms race against the ubiquitous pirates of the internet to prevent the illegal distribution of their material. As is so often the case, initial attempts usually hurt legal users more than the pirates . This move by EA shows a change in attitude towards users which should be celebrated as a victory for users because it is able to benefit legal users who can now freely use their purchase and for the company which knows that its game is still under some protection. It is not a perfect system yet but this is a step in the right direction.
A step that the music industry could learn from, namely, that the system is not static and that change is possible and should be considered, rather than heavy handed attempts to retain the past.
Jars of Clay, the band whose members formed the non-profit group blood:water mission, are currently on the “Love Came Down” tour along with Sara Groves, Sixpence None the Richer, and Leeland. Not only are these all fantastic bands who I recommend simply for their musicality, but a part of the tour is to raise money for blood:water mission. Going to this concert gives you great music and a way to support a great project to bring clean water and supplies to fight aids to Africa! I can’t really think of a better reason to attend a concert! But what about those people who can’t make it to the concert?
Thats where this news gets even better. The bands of the tour, in conjunction with blood:water mission, have posted some of their music online. In the same vein as such bands as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails the bands are allowing you to name your own price for the music, with all of the proceeds from this music going towards blood:water! I, personally, think that this is a fantastic idea which is a benefit to all involved. The bands get their music out to their fans, who will then be more likely to support their music and come to future shows. The fans get music that they enjoy for a cost of their choosing (empowering a customer or fan is always a good idea). And most importantly, its a great way to raise awareness and money for a fantastic organization.
I may be gushing but as the ways bands and fans interact are changing drastically around us, I think that this is a great step in the right direction.
Check out Noise Trade for more details and to download.
Check out blood:water mission for more information about their ongoing project to bring clean water and supplies to battle aids to communities in Africa.
Filed under: Uncategorized
From an interview with Paul McCartney on Monday, the Associated Press has reported that the Beatles’ music catalog will continue to be kept from online music services because of ongoing issues between EMI and Apple Corps Ltd., which holds the rights to the Beatles music. It is hard to say at this point what exactly the points of contention remain to be, especially because of the recent announcement of a Beatles based rock band like game, which will, by its nature, feature Beatles music! Also given that McCartney himself said that he thought it would be a good idea for the Beatles music to go online its hard to see what is holding up the works.
However, such is the nature of the old music system, if I am allowed a small rant: This is clearly an instance where the old system of holding companies and record company is impeding the desires of the band and, of course, the general public. More news on this as it develops as I for one, an avid Beatles fan, will be following this closely!
In other Beatles, but less tech/music news, a hospital pay roll sheet signed by an E. Rigby will be going to auction to support the charity which Paul McCartney donated it to in 1991. Although Paul has repeatedly said that the song is about a fictional person, it is quite possible that the tombstone which is said to be of the same person in the churchyard where McCartney and Lennon met may have served as a memory jog. Who knows? However, no matter what the actual relation is the signature will probably raise quite a bit of money for the charity, which of course, is a good thing.
Maybe if the Apple holding company which is restricting the Beatles music realized there is money to be made by selling music they might be more willing to sell it online…
Filed under: Uncategorized
Tom Morello has already established himself as one of the greatest guitar players to ever live. But if you have not listened to his solo material yet, you are missing out. In his work as the Nightwatchmen, Morello proves himself to also be one of the most versatile musicians to have ever played.
As the Nightwatchman Morello retains his familiar rhythmic style that served him so well while with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave but explores a new, almost folksy, style which certainly proves his continual ability to create new sounds with instruments that we all felt we knew! The closest description that I feel could do him justice would be to say that his music would be a mash up of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Musically, Morello transitions beautifully from rhythmic beats that will make your feet move to softer melodies that will have you straining to catch all that he continues to do even in the softness. Lyrically, he pulls no punches and stays true to his ongoing quest for justice while crafting poetry that will have you either singing along or simply absorbing his inspirational words for social change. It provides a more subdued musical environment to absorb the words, becoming a perfect foil to Rage Against the Machine’s driving inspiration.
Fans of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave will be surprised if they turn to the Nightwatchman seeking a continuation of musicality. Instead, expect a new sound that carries with it a distinctively flavor of the previous bands but with a folksy, blues twist that showcases both Morello’s amazing gift with the guitar and his never ending quest to enact social change through his music.
As I have stated previously, I believe that musicians should never settle. Musicians, especially after establishing their talent in an over crowded market, should never allow themselves be content with what they have done so far but should continually push themselves to new limits and to new aspirations. Tom Morello by continuing his habit of coming out with new sounds and developing new limits is a perfect example of a musician who won’t stop and who won’t be silent.
This is Tom Morello, solo, uncut, and an inspiration to musicians, activists, and the common man, alike.
