Piracy, the Old Fashioned Kind: BPI Collects $260,000 In Fines…
Turns out that people still buy CDs – lots of them – including millions of illegal knockoffs. That is the takeaway folllowing a major BPI conviction against a European counterfeit CD ring, an old-school dragnet that has plenty of modern-day markings.
Curating the Chaos: YouTube’s New Music Page…
YouTube can be a blessing and a curse for music fans, simply because endless music video selection also invites poor quality, redundancy, and chaos. Vevo has trimmed the weeds considerably, but YouTube took another healthy step forward this week. At youtube.com/music, fans can now find some lightly-curated content, as well as simple organization by views and genres.
Songtweak: What Really Turns a Listener On…
Lots of financial resources have been poured into recommendation startups, though this is still a riddle for entrepreneurs. Pandora has successfully approached the space with human reviewers and smaller artist lists, though a more brainier mindset continues. The latest comes from Songtweak, which is bubbling out of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing.
Exclusive: MySpace Music Not Paywalling Profile Streams…
MySpace Music is considering some serious changes to its business model, but don’t expect to pay for profile page streams anytime soon. “Our goal is not to alter our current experience,” MySpace Music chief Courtney Holt told the audience at New Music Seminar in New York on Tuesday.
iTunes Distribution In a Day: Yes, Someone Is Taking It There…
Bands live in a world of instant digital gratification, and that puts the pressure on direct-to-fan companies. A tweet gets an instant response, so why wait weeks to upload music onto iTunes?
Can Venues Reach Around Ticketmaster? The Vision of DIY Ticketing…
Ticketmaster takes a boatload of ticketing, ecommerce, and promotional issues off of the hands of venues. But outsourcing also carries a boatload of costs, including limited access to attendee data and higher pricing. That could spell market opportunity, and Irish startup Ticket Text is betting that venues will embrace cheaper software solutions, more direct management and greater control.
It Used to Be So Simple: BigChampagne Unveils the “Ultimate Chart”
Charts like the Billboard 200 made perfect sense in the 90s, but ten years later, measuring success is a very tricky affair. That was the motivation for the Ultimate Chart, an attempt by BigChampagne to rank artists and songs according to a broader number of metrics. It also represents an attempt to seriously challenge Soundscan, a yardstick that has plenty [...]
Live Nation: Top Tours Dropped 9% This Year; Broader Industry 17%…
Ticket sales for Live Nation’s top 100 tours dropped nearly 10 percent during the first half, according to a financial meeting on Thursday. That is part of a 17 percent industry decline across the top tours, based on company breakdowns.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: Bandcamp Starts Charging…
Hey, the free ride is over at Bandcamp, but most seem fine with the change. According to details disclosed Wednesday, the well-regarded direct-to-fan platform is moving towards a revenue-sharing model, good news for those worried about the longer-term sustainability of the company. And, good news for anyone fearing a straight-ahead subscription or advertising approach.