Winding Forward: The Past Present & Future of Music & Technology
Pandora Stats From 2010: 75 Million Listeners, 3 Billion Thumbs – Mostly Up!
Jan 13th
They’ve doubled their audience to over 75 million listeners, who’ve thumbed a total of 3 billion songs – mostly up! Each month, Pandora receives 25,000 emails worth of feedback, praise, and general inquiry. And who knows how many miles Tim Westergren, the founder, traveled last year, meeting listeners, buying them cups of coffee, and handing out free t-shirts.
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/dk9T_V4av0I/pandora-stats-75-million-listeners-3-billion-thumbs-mostly-up.html
How Artists Can Profit From File Sharing & Give Back To Their Fans Along The Way
Jan 12th
Next, Jim Grobecker, a new author, presents a post on how artists can profit from file sharing. He provides insight into how artists can optimize their free download page and gain numerous inbound links as a result. To which he concludes, “File sharing has already changed the music landscape – now it’s the artists chance to change the landscape of file sharing.”
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/LeTlzhk2tE8/how-artists-can-profit-from-file-sharing-give-back-to-their-fans-along-the-way.html
How Oversaturation Hurts The Touring Industry
Jan 12th
Rob Sayce asks Root, “What’s your take on the way that music has changed in the beginning of the digital age, the way that it’s become devalued in many people’s eyes, almost throwaway?”
“It absolutely has become that, it’s almost reminiscent of when rock ‘n’ roll first started getting spun in the fifties.
Everything was single-based, nobody cared about records until bands like The Beatles, The Who and Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd too of course, started experimenting with making full-length records. It’s kind of a weird evolution, because in some ways we’ve been seeing things going down the toilet.
It’s already started effecting touring, the only place a band can make any money at all anymore is by touring.
That’s part of the reason that I haven’t come off the road in the last 11 years. And now you’re going to have every band in the world, even if they’re successful on radio or successful in the pop world, having to hit the road in order to make money. They’re not making any money from publishing, and they’re not making any money from selling records, so they have no choice.
And what you’ll see from that is such an over-saturation of every band, y’know, touring bands might be playing in your city on any given night, all fighting to pay their mortgages, I guess! (laughs).
You can certainly see it that way. It goes pretty deep, and it’s not just that…
The culture of buying an album on CD or vinyl has gone out of the window.” ( Read on.)
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/qCmMTGQmTIs/how-oversaturation-affects-the-touring-industry.html
50 Cent Made $10M Yesterday. Follow Him On Twitter Before The Feds Come & You Can Too
Jan 12th
Official: MySpace Cuts 500, 47% Of Staff
Jan 11th
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/b-QQf_Y9aSc/official-myspace-cuts-500-47-of-staff.html
In Defense of Ultimate Chart – It’s More than Hype
Jan 11th
That’s what MacManus wants to know. Well, because they’re not supposed to look THAT different. Overtime, some of the artists that Ultimate Chart displays will be dissimilar from Billboard because Ultimate Chart tracks a much greater breath of influence in comparison to Billboard. The difference between the two charts will be revealed as more artists that aren’t huge album movers climb Ultimate Chart to higher rankings than they would’ve received on Billboard.
Justified Hype
Now, for the question of whether or not the hype surrounding Ultimate Chart is justified. The information that MacManus misses is the fact that Eric Garland, CEO and co-founder of Big Champagne, the company behind Ultimate Chart, has bigger plans in mind. As I write this, Garland is working on all types of charts, varying from independent, DIY, and genre charts – as well as charts that I don’t think I’m even allowed to write about yet. The vision that Garland has for Ultimate Chart isn’t to start a debate between Billboard and his company on whether or not Katy Perry or Eminem should have the top chart spot or not. That’s not his battle.
No, Garland wants to chart the things and artists that haven’t been charted yet.
That’s why those of us a little closer to the music industry noise made such a commotion when Ultimate Chart was released back in July. I, along with Garland, were all well aware of the criticisms that would roll in once everyone saw that Ultimate Chart was full of superstars like every other chart. It’s why Hypebot doesn’t run weekly Ultimate Charts because a) we know that there would be blowback and b) because we’re getting our own personal Ultimate Charts.
Garland’s Vision
What Garland strives to do, and what I tried to capture in my Ultimate Chart exclusive piece, is recognize the efforts of artists that don’t make the charts.
Artists that, by all other metrics are killing it right now, but aren’t selling hundreds of thousands or millions of records. It’s an effort to give hard-working artists the credit they’ve deserved for years – a chart to point to and say that they’re on it.
This is why, when briefed about Ultimate Chart, I gave a rather breathless review of how spectator it would be. Not because I thought it would more accurate then Billboard, but because the Ultimate Charts that Garland imagines creating won’t have Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber on them. Honestly, as I’m sure Garland would secretly agree, those popularity charts are just smoke screens designed to give the mass media something to care about. It makes the idea tangible to them.
Uncharted Territory
If instead, Garland had just been talking about creating neat DIY and indie charts, there’s a good chance that the New York Times wouldn’t have profiled him. Had Garland not challenged Billboard, as well as, how success is measured in the music industry, he had no breaking story. But, because he did, that breaking story allowed Garland to create the charts that he really wanted to create and wet the appetite of the mass media machine for when he’s ready to unveil the others.
Have I consumed a kids swimming pool worth of Garland’s Kool-Aid? Maybe.
But, I stand by my initial reaction. There’s good reason for the hype surrounding Ultimate Chart, but if you’re skeptical like MacManus and only compare Ultimate Chart to Billboard, it’s easy to come to the conclusion, like he did, that it’s hype.
However, we expect new charts from Garland in the near future. They will be the game changers. These will be the Ultimate Charts that do live up to all the hype.
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/dJFWMUqxyGc/in-defense-of-ultimate-chart-its-more-than-hype.html
SoundCloud Raises $10 Million In Venture Funding To Scale Faster & Expand In U.S.
Jan 11th
The company intends to use this money to scale faster and be more present in the U.S. With this announcement, SoundCloud also posted short interviews with their new investors – Index’s Mike Volpi and Union Square’s Fred Wilson.
As it turns out, VCs don’t hate music after all. Listen below or read them here.
Fred Wilson:
Thoughts on SoundCloud by fredwilson. Uploaded with SoundCloud Android
Mike Volpi:
Mike Volpi Audio Blog on Friday morning by mvolpi. Uploaded with SoundCloud
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*Reports indicate that SoundCloud actually raised this money last year, but only made the announcement now, because they were busy building music apps.
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/rjE3md9Fn28/soundcloud-raises-10-million-in-venture-funding-for-us-expansion.html
Filling Catalog Holes – Rdio Makes Nice With Merlin
Jan 10th
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/jsfYMQ6n9vU/filling-holes-rdio-makes-nice-with-merlin.html
What It’s Like To See Girl Talk Perform Live
Jan 10th
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/oWZZOloMPpM/what-its-like-to-see-girl-talk-perform-live.html
Apple’s iTunes Turns 10 Years Old, Dominates Music
Jan 10th
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/DqMf/~3/gHsEUfmPLHg/apples-itunes-turns-10-years-old-dominates-music.html
