<![CDATA[Music News]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showforum.php?fid/9/What is new and interesting in the world of music? This is the place to share current news stories.enFri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:02 GMTFri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:02 GMThttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssFusionBB 2.2 (www.fusionbb.com)<![CDATA[Miley Cyrus tour bus overturns in Va., killing 1]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147397/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147397/
Sgt. Thomas Molnar said the bus ran off the left side of Interstate 85, struck an embankment and overturned. The accident occurred around 8:15 a.m. in Dinwiddie County, about 40 miles south of Richmond. Speed and weather weren't considered factors.

Molnar said the person who died at the scene was male, but didn't identify him pending notification of family members. One of the other nine people on the bus suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital. Police wouldn't identify those aboard.

Molnar said the passengers exited the bus through the front windshield.

A wrecker arrived late Friday morning to haul away the black-and-maroon luxury tour bus, which was on its side in a ditch off the highway where it had apparently skidded for several hundred feet.

Molnar said the bus was one of four traveling together after the singer's two-show stint Wednesday and Thursday in Long Island, N.Y. The group was heading to Greensboro, N.C., where she is scheduled to perform Sunday.

Miley Cyrus is the daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus, who also appears on the family-friendly Disney sitcom "Hannah Montana."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press ]]>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:25:19 GMT<![CDATA[Kenny Bloom: China's Music Mogul]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147392/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147392/ 2009-11-12

The music industry in China has significantly changed over the past couple of decades, from a tightly government-controlled propaganda pipeline into an increasingly powerful and sophisticated economic sector. Spearheading the way in China's entertainment industry is Kenny Bloom, music veteran of over 30 years, and Founder and CEO of VisiTek Holdings, Ltd. Born in New York City, Mr. Bloom, at age 56, has accomplished more than most people do in a lifetime, and he has no plans of slowing his pace. To say that his list of accomplishments is impressive would be a gross understatement.

A winner of the Lincoln Center Award for Music Achievement at age 15, Bloom attended both Julliard and Manhattan Schools of Music Prep Departments. He joined Atlantic Records in 1977 (a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group) and launched KB communications in 1984, one of the first entertainment marketing companies. He formed a joint venture with China Film (China's film monopoly) in 1988 and secured the China license for the Warner Music library, which led to the first foreign owned PRC record company since 1949. Over the years, Bloom went on to produce numerous radio shows, television programs, concerts by internationally renowned artists, soundtracks, and Broadway plays. He is widely recognized as a major player in the entertainment industry.

One might wonder if Bloom would be ready to ride on his reputation for a while, coasting through the years to come after having such an illustrious career. But nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, Bloom is moving faster, striking harder with a bold strategy to become a leading content producer. Leading the charge is MOGO (http://www.mogo.com.cn/), a video site covering the emerging independent music scene in China to the young, hip (undeserved) urban music consumer.

I had an opportunity to interview Mr. Bloom regarding his past, and his vision for the future. It was one of the most enlightening, thought provoking, and inspirational interviews I've ever had the pleasure of doing.

Q: You've had over 20 years experience in the Chinese music business, beginning with the launch of Warner Music China. What are some of the unique characteristics that have shaped its development?

For one thing, massive piracy. The only business left now is ringtones and live shows. That said, there are more artists now then every before. 20 years ago there were half a dozen big pop stars and 4 rock bands. Now there are scores of pop stars and well over 300 working rock bands.

Q: So what's sustaining that growth in the face of piracy?

Basically, live shows. The entire industry is going through a global transition. China is no different in that regard.

Q: There's been a lot of talk about the recent WTO decision opening the Chinese market to more Western entertainment, including music. The RIAA reaction to the decision was to state: "Enhancing the ability of the U.S. creative community to do business in China will generate needed revenue and jobs to the U.S. economy." This seems to fly in the face of the piracy problem. But having said that, do you believe that the decision will at least result in an increase in the international repertoire's share of the overall market?

China's music market has a 98% mandarin language repertoire. It's what they like. The WTO decision is certainly not going to change the musical tastes of the Chinese consumers. And why should China embrace western music in a language they don't understand. Does the West embrace Chinese music? That's a totally open market. This has been an inane concept for quite some time, that every market has a pent up demand for Western culture. In a way, it sends a very disturbing message that "your culture is not as relevant".

Q: Let's discuss the latest western invasion in China - Google's oPhone vs. Apple's iPhone, China Mobile vs. China Unicom... While the iPhone launch in China thus far has been disappointing, it is turning into a new platform being seized by indie bands and labels to release content and manage their fan base. How will the smart phone impact the Chinese music business?

It will be a long time before smart phones are in the hands of the "average" Chinese consumer. They are just too expensive to have a huge impact outside of business applications.

Q: But, the Chinese are super-status oriented and there is an upper-middle urban class. Why, when these products are launched in China, would they not be successful - especially with 400 million mobile users?

Even with 400 million users, you are talking about a relatively small percentage of the population who are upper-middle urban class. Out of the total population, maybe 3% can be classified as such. And they're not necessarily listening to music, certainly not Western music.

Q: Pepsi has been making big moves in China with their nationally televised Battle of the Bands "Vox Rock" and launch of their music label QMusic. Is Pepsi really serious about supporting the independent Chinese music scene? And if so, is this a model that will have legs in China (i.e., might we someday listen to Tsingtao's latest buzz band)?

It is essential that corporate sponsors support the music industry. We are now seeing more of it focused on rock and hip-hop. But we also need local media to embrace those musical styles in order to build the consumer base. Otherwise, sponsors won't be able to quantify their investment in music that is outside of the mainstream.

Q: Isn't QMusic much more than sponsorship? They're talking about developing and launching new bands, like Starbucks Hear Music.

Let's see what they do. It's still too early to make judgments as they have not yet started their operations.

Q: I have one final question for you. Mogo is something of a 21st century MTV-like pioneer in China. You are creating original and professionally produced WebTV content (not user-generated), in support of the emerging independent scene (art, music...). That's difficult enough in the West. What are some of the unique challenges you face – the consumer, the government, advertisers?

It's China's own home-grown music TV station and all parties have been very supportive. The biggest challenge we are facing is finding qualified staff. Every company has problems finding experienced workers. Don't forget, the modern era of China is only 30 years old with most of the development coming in the past 10. The word of the day is "patience". It will all happen, but it will happen on China's terms.
]]>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:22:05 GMT<![CDATA[Ken Ober, MTV Game Show Host, Dead at 52]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147381/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147381/ By Anthony Venutolo/The Star-Ledger

Ken Ober, best known as the host of MTV's "Remote Control, " died on Sunday, November 15, 2009 in Santa Monica, California. Ober was 52.
He was the the MTV generation's Alex Trebek.

While the cause of his death was not available at press time, Lee Kernis of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, who represented Ober, said the cause was unknown.

According to the rep, friends said Ober was not feeling well over the weekend and had a headache and flu-like symptoms and didn't meet them as planned. An autopsy is planned.

"Remote Control" debuted in 1987 and Ober hosted for five seasons which, along with "Club MTV" and "The Week In Rock," was MTV's first foray into series television.

The show tested kids' knowledge of pop-culture on a set that bore a strong resemblance to any suburban basement. Ober would stand behind a lectern and next to a giant TV screen, would ask questions about celebrities, movies, TV shows and music videos.

"Remote Control" helped launch the careers of Adam Sandler, Denis Leary and Colin Quinn, who act out sketches doubling as quiz questions.

Ober is survived by his mother, Claire Freeman of West Hartford, Conn.; his father, Burton, and stepmother, Iris, of Palm Beach, Fla., and a brother, Andrew, of Old Greenwich, Conn

]]>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:41:30 GMT<![CDATA[US Library of Congress to honor Paul McCartney]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147379/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147379/
Librarian of Congress James Billington announced the prize Monday. An all-star tribute concert is planned for early 2010, though the library has not announced who will perform.

The 67-year-old former Beatle recently completed a five-week summer tour of the United States, including a stop in the Washington area.

Billington says it is hard to think of another performer and composer who has had a more transformative effect than McCartney.

Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon previously won the Gershwin prize. The library houses the manuscripts of the songwriting duo George and Ira Gershwin.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:05:14 GMT<![CDATA[Miley Cyrus Doesn't Like Pop Music]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147378/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147378/
In a video interview that was posted on her official MileyWorld website, Cyrus was asked about her song " Party In The U.S.A.," which is a huge hit. Talking about exactly what Jay-Z song she was listening to (from the lyrics "That's when the taxi man turned on the radio and a Jay Z song was on"), Cyrus explained:

  • Quote:
I don't know, I didn't write the song, so I have no idea. Honestly, I picked that song because I needed something to go with my clothing line. I didn't write it [and] I didn't expect it to be popular, originally. It was just something that I wanted to do and I needed some songs and it turned out for the best. I've never heard a Jay-Z song. I don't listen to pop music. ['Party '] is not even my style of music. I'm really blessed for it to have done as well as it has. Totally blessed. God has definitely put me in an amazing position with amazing people."



The songwriters did their job maybe a little too well, as they wrote lyrics that relate to Miley's life, or at least the perception of it, hitting the storyline of the country girl who goes to the city. What I find so refreshing is her brutal honesty in admitting the song is a confection chosen to promote her clothing line. Most pop stars would have a canned story or evade the question, but Miley spoke truth. When she gets a little older and wants to be taken seriously as an artist, it will be as a country singer, and it will be a lot more legit now that she's admitted to not liking pop music when her pop song is a huge hit. She did go into spin mode after her statement ("God has definitely put me in an amazing position with amazing people."), as if to tell the world she's not looking for trouble and is happy to be who we want her to be, at least for now. ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:12:29 GMT<![CDATA[Ronnie Wood Pays For Quickie]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147374/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147374/
LONDON (Reuters) - Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood was divorced by his wife Jo on Wednesday on the grounds of his admitted adultery.

Former model Jo, 54, was granted a decree nisi by a judge at the High Court's Family Division in London, the Press Association reported, signaling the end of their 24-year marriage.

Neither Jo nor Wood, 62, attended the proceedings. The couple have two children.

Divorce documents made public did not name the person with whom the star committed adultery. Wood and his wife separated in 2008 after his widely reported relationship with a young Russian cocktail waitress
]]>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:48:59 GMT<![CDATA[Who? is going to perform at Super Bowl XLIV]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147370/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147370/ Who wants to know who is performing at halftime of Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami?
Who wants me to shut up and just get to it already?

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, according to a source,

The Who will take the stage during the NFL's championship game. Reached for comment, an NFL spokesperson said, "When we have something to announce, we'll announce it." I can assure you I'm not just writing this because Tori Praver rocked this body paint in Sports Illustrated's 2007 Swimsuit Issue, which was billed as "The Music Issue." The Who will be performing at the Super Bowl.

Read more

]]>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:26:39 GMT<![CDATA[Tyler quits Aerosmith]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147360/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147360/

http://new.music.yahoo.com/aerosmith/news/aerosm it... ]]>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:23:59 GMT<![CDATA[Free U2 Show Leads To Berlin 'Wall' Controversy]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147343/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147343/
Fans who gathered Thursday (11/5) in Berlin to see the free, four-song performance by U2 at the base of the famed Brandenburg Gate were upset to find that a more than six-foot high metal barrier, covered with a white tarp, had been installed to block the view of those without tickets. Ten thousand free tickets were distributed online for the event, which was being staged as part of the MTV Europe Music Awards.


"It's completely ridiculous that they are blocking the view," U2 fan Louis-Pierre Boily, 23, told the AP. "I thought it's a free show, but MTV probably wants people to watch it on TV to get their ratings up."

A statement released by MTV said the music network "wants to ensure that the 10,000 music fans expected to attend tonight's production enjoy a safe and happy experience," adding that the temporary security fence was placed around the site perimeter after consulting with the city and local police, as well as the event's promoters.

"Under no circumstances did MTV build a 'wall' of any kind in or around the U2 production site," the statement added.

U2 representatives have not commented on the matter.

Local politicians also were not impressed with the viewing obstacle. "It's a shame that a barrier has been set up. It's stopping many Berliners from hearing the concert," local parliament member Frank Henkel told the BBC.

"It would have been so much better if as many Berliners as possible could have taken part," he added.

The show was announced just a few days ago, with the allotted free tickets being snapped up within hours online. "It'll be an exciting spot to be in, 20 years almost to the day since the wall came down," U2 manager Paul McGuinness said in a statement last week. "Should be fun."

The band recently announced a new leg of North American dates next summer for its 360 tour. The trek, currently set to visit 12 cities, kicks off June 6 in Anaheim, CA.

-livedaily.com
]]>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:45:09 GMT<![CDATA[Hit streaming service Spotify eyes U.S. music fans]]>http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147332/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/147332/
Add in all the startups that have crashed and burned in the same time period and it starts to look as if no service could ever rival iTunes' traction with customers and critics.

Until now.

The Sweden-based startup Spotify, launched for public access in October 2008, has momentum like no other digital music service of the last six years. It offers on-demand music streaming, in both free and premium services, and now claims to have more than 6 million users in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. At one point it reported signing up new members at a rate of 50,000 per day, although that figure has fallen since September, when the service restricted its free version to invited guests in the United Kingdom.

Spotify has won high marks from reviewers for the ease with which it provides access to a catalog of more than 6 million tracks from majors and indies alike and the unobtrusive way it delivers advertising.

Spotify's recently launched mobile version -- available for the iPhone and Android-powered devices in Europe to premium subscribers who pay the equivalent of around $15 per month -- has won similar praise. Although Spotify doesn't comment on its fund-raising activity, it has reportedly won $50 million worth of backing from investors -- at a valuation of $250 million, an almost unheard-of sum for a music venture in today's stingy venture capital environment. The European service also has the full support of the major labels, which reportedly negotiated a collective 18 percent stake in the company.

Yet this momentum will be tested severely as the company prepares to enter the United States -- the No. 1 music market in the world -- with a launch expected either late this year or early next, depending on how fast it completes its negotiations with the majors.

"It's been talked about so much I don't think it can meet everyone's expectations," says Forrester Research analyst Sonal Gandhi. "If the Spotify experience can be as good as hyped, it has a lot of potential."

With negotiations ongoing, U.S. labels are reluctant to comment on the service. According to music industry sources, the labels are impressed with Spotify's achievements but want the service to start generating real revenue. To do so, it must take care not to let the usage model outpace the business model.

There are certainly early signs of success. In August, Per Sundin, managing director of Universal Music Sweden, told the Swedish press that his company now earns more revenue from Spotify than iTunes. But that's in Sweden, where the service was born and where iTunes doesn't have the dominant hold on the digital music market it does elsewhere.

"We've seen income from Spotify follow a steep growth curve since launch," says Paul Smernicki, director of digital and direct-to-consumer at Universal U.K.'s Polydor Records. "Excluding mobile, they are pretty high up the list as a revenue stream for us. But we're certainly not in the same position as Sweden."

Scott Cohen, the London-based founder/VP of international at the digital distribution and marketing company the Orchard, says Spotify is already boosting income for labels in two ways.

"First, the more tracks are streamed on Spotify the more downloads occur on other services," he says. "We are not seeing any cannibalization. Second, revenue streams from advertising have been steadily increasing and have overtaken many niche stores in Europe."

But the ad-supported free service alone can't generate the revenue Spotify needs to pay for the music it plays. The company reported a net loss of $4 million last year, and its decision to limit its free service in the United Kingdom to invited guests implies a high burn rate.

That means Spotify has to increase the number of users for its premium service. So far, however, music subscription services like Rhapsody and Napster haven't been able to reach a mass audience. In its most recent quarterly earnings report, RealNetworks said Rhapsody has about 750,000 subscribers. Napster had 700,000 subscribers when Best Buy acquired the company last year, but hasn't released updated figures since.

While Spotify plans to make mobile access a key element of its conversion strategy, the mobile music market has also yet to take off. Spotify has confirmed it will launch in the United States with a "slightly different model" than in Europe, although it has yet to disclose details.

THE AD-FUNDED MODEL

Calling Spotify a free ad-funded music streaming service would be accurate but unfair. The company has paying customers, but they number less than 10 percent of its user base, according to comments from CEO Daniel Ek at a recent London conference. And company executives say that's unlikely to change.

"We expect the large majority of our users to stay with free," says Gustav Soderstrom, who left his job as director of business development at Yahoo to join Spotify as its head of mobile. "We're monetizing it through ads and through selling downloads (through its partnership with 7digital), so it's a significant revenue source."

So far, no ad-funded service has been able to turn a profit from advertising and download revenue alone. Which is why Spotify doesn't intend to. Using the "freemium" model, the company hopes to convert a portion of its free user base to the premium tier.

The free Spotify service could be seen as a customer acquisition play -- and perhaps not the most expensive one out there. Napster once estimated its customer acquisition cost at $100 per user, due to all the advertising needed to explain its subscription model.

"It makes the (customer acquisition) process easier than (it would be) if you start with no users," Soderstrom says. "You have to put a lot of marketing dollars into getting users' attention to even consider signing up. We don't have to do that."

Free access to any song on demand is powerful bait and Spotify offers what amounts to an indefinite trial period. Rhapsody and Napster usually limit their trial periods to about a week, after which users either need to pay or use only 30-second samples. (Rhapsody allows non-paying users to stream 25 free songs per month.) That may not be enough time to get users hooked on the access model.

Despite the popularity of Spotify's free tier in Europe, Rhapsody America VP of business management Neil Smith doubts it will roll out the same way stateside.

"The reason Spotify blew up so big and so fast was it was free," he says. "That model isn't going to happen in the U.S. anytime soon, maybe ever. The U.S. is the market where the labels make all their money. They can't afford to have a service that doesn't generate substantial revenue suck up all the usage. If it was $15 (per month) out of the gate, it wouldn't have a million users. Once you take the free piece away, we compete pretty well."

So Spotify will have to ensure its ad-supported service remains worthwhile and not degrade it in order to push users to the paid version. Devaluing the free service would risk losing users, which in turn would threaten its function as a customer acquisition tool as well as limit any hopes of generating revenue from it.

THE SUBSCRIPTION MODEL

For all the hype Spotify gets for the popularity of its free tier, there's no guarantee it can match that success as a paid service.

Until its mobile option launched, Spotify's premium tier only offered the elimination of ads -- which weren't very intrusive to begin with -- and slightly better audio quality. The iPhone and Android apps add portability to that mix, but it's still not much different in price or function to portable subscription offers from Rhapsody and Napster.

"The value proposition of subscription has to change," Forrester's Gandhi says. "There has to be ownership. There has to be something besides just renting music."

Gandhi specifically points to subscription plans that allow users to keep a certain number of songs per month, such as the five tracks Napster gives away as part of its $5-per-month streaming plan and Zune's 10 free downloads.

Another option comes from Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield, who recently suggested that mobile operators and Internet service providers should bundle the Spotify premium service into their data plans. The idea of bundling is nothing new, but Spotify's ability to synch content across the different platforms makes it a more viable option.

Soderstrom says Spotify would consider such options, but only if they weren't exclusive.

THE MOBILE MODEL

Spotify is hanging its hopes of converting free users to paid users on the mobile application. But it doesn't want to position itself as a mobile service.

"I wouldn't say Spotify is a mobile service first," Soderstrom says. "You're going to do the majority of your browsing and discovery on your desktop, at least for some time. But if you want to use Spotify as your primary music service, then you're going to need the mobile option."

Previous portable subscription options required transferring tracks from desktop to portable device, which users needed to synch with an online service at least once per month to refresh the licenses. Services were based on digital rights management technology from Microsoft that had a reputation for being unreliable--and the dominance of the iPod had made them irrelevant.

Spotify gets around this by using mobile phones to stream the music rather than download it. Since mobile networks are notoriously unreliable, it created a way to temporarily cache more than 3,000 songs on supporting mobile phones, without using the 10 GB of storage normally required to do so--although users must still connect to Spotify every 30 days to verify their premium subscriber status.

Mobile options have already paid huge dividends for music services like Slacker, Pandora and Clear Channel's iheartradio. Pandora, for example, says more than 45,000 of the 65,000 new registrations it gets every day come from its various mobile apps.

"Our future is going to be more mobile-centric than I had even thought, and sooner," Pandora founder Tim Westergren says.

But those are free applications. Rhapsody beat Spotify to the U.S. market with an iPhone app that lets users paying $15 per month stream any song from the service's catalog as well as their playlists and Internet radio stations, but to date it doesn't have a local caching option.

The U.S. mobile music market is also much tougher than that of Europe, where Spotify launched its mobile service in early September. According to a Forrester Research study, 27 percent of U.K. mobile subscribers with Internet access use their phone to play music at least monthly. In the United States, that figure is only 10 percent. U.S. mobile operators and labels alike hope Spotify will help goose these figures.

"There's definitely potential there," says one mobile operator. "I think we'll get the typical technology hype curve -- lots of hype going into market, pause and then either decline or hype again based on reality. Spotify has a chance to be a big deal."

THE EUROPEAN MODEL

Spotify's European success is impressive, but the U.S. market can be more competitive -- and more fickle.

"Spotify has a good chance of success in the States if they can make the right distribution partnerships," the Orchard's Cohen says. "But it will require a different strategy than in Europe."

And a win stateside would do much more than just cement Spotify as a legitimate player in the global digital music game. It will finally broaden the digital music market beyond iTunes and add a new usage model beyond track sales.

"Spotify is not the first streaming service in the world, just like iTunes wasn't the first digital download store," Cohen says. "What it does that is so special is make a fairly complex model seem easy to execute. They have a great team running the company and I wouldn't bet against them."

And while other U.S. music industry sources remain only cautiously optimistic, Spotify has confidence.

"There are certainly more music services in the U.S. than there are in Europe," Soderstrom says. "So, yes, it's more competitive. But I still think we have a better experience and a better offer. We wouldn't do it if we thought we were going to lose."


Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited ]]>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:13:15 GMT