Push aside your complicated, interlocking 360-degree marketing strategy for one moment. Because the simple photo is one of the most critically important assets for an artist today. “On artist websites, our number one section is usually photos,” said Warner Bros. Records SVP of New Media Jeremy Welt, speaking to a small breakout session at the Bandwidth Conference in San Francisco on Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t Worry. EMI Only Lost $801 Million Last Year…
August 23rd, 2010If everything is relative, then EMI Group did great during the last fiscal year. After all, total losses only topped 512 million pounds ($801 million) during the recent 12-month cycle (running through March), an improvement over year-ago losses of 1.57 billion pounds ($2.46 billion). Read the rest of this entry »
Thaw Emerges In UMG vs. MTV Licensing Standoff…
August 20th, 2010Universal Music Group spent last week yanking videos from various MTV sites. But it now appears that the mega-label has forged an agreement to allow clips from the upcoming VMAs to be broadcast online. Read the rest of this entry »
Is Topspin Too Difficult? Ian Rogers Weighs In…
August 19th, 2010Is Topspin too difficult to use? Or, is Topspin simply a more advanced platform that opens a broader range of sophisticated possibilities – as executed by marketing experts instead of amateurs?
Soundtrack biz altered by alternative acts
August 18th, 2010Sales may have sunk like the Titanic since the success of that 1997 movie’s phenomenal, 11-time platinum soundtrack, but film music supervisors and executives have come up with a number of ways to try to keep the genre afloat. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave Them Kids Alone: WBR Faces Dicey Privacy Lawsuit…
August 17th, 2010If privacy is now dead, then Warner Bros. Records might be digging up the corpse for another kill. The WMG label, alongside a handful of other media companies that include Ustream, now-bankrupt Project Playlist, and Disney, have been accused of sinking nefarious cookies onto user systems. That includes systems operated by kids, and a federal court action was recently filed by a group representing minors and their parents.
Elektra Turns 60. And Launches a Website to Celebrate…
August 16th, 2010Major labels may be history – at least as recording houses – but big-label subdivisions often have very rich histories indeed. That includes Elektra, the house that Jac Holzman built a short 60 years ago. Actually, Holzman is still in the kitchen – you can catch him at Bandwidth next week in San Francisco. He also serves as senior advisor to WMG Chairman Edgar Bronfman, Jr., and most recently hatched Elektra60.com, a trip down memory lane. Read the rest of this entry »
The New Upload System From A-Z
August 14th, 2010Below are features and why we added or changed them:
Ask questions or make comments and we’ll answer here on the site.
At the bottom you will find a list of tips, warnings and required updates
Music: replaces our Overview page. All of the reporting is still there with the activity in the Orange Box
Cool things to note:
1. The White Box at the top will be used to give you updates and below it you can see what songs need to be completed
2. Click on any category and it will order the list by Artist Name, Song Title, etc…
3. See what the Music Supervisors see. You asked for it so here it is. Just mouse over any of your song titles and click on the orange play button and you’ll see exactly what they see. Also, you can add your Photos, Logos or Album Art so you can brand yourself. Uploads will take place in the artist section.
4. We added “More Music From” and it is getting more songs placed. In the Artist section, we added the ability to group songs into albums so that in the future songs from the same album will come up first. For Composers, group your cues that are alike into albums so when they are listening to a sad cue there are 20 more sad cues from you just one click away.
5. At Long Last The New Upload and No More FTP site. Upload Directly from your computer
6. Here comes the most requested new feature – Autofill. That’s right upload the info for one song and copy the info to the next one. No more typing the same info in 10 times. You can also create albums and upload album art. Composers you can create graphics for each style and create collections of cues.
7. New Search Features
a) Language: (add as many as required) With this we can search for a love song in Spanish & English
b) Featured Instruments for Vocal Songs: Now Supervisors can search for Female Vocal with Electric Guitar
c) Music Description has been changed to Pitch: Use this box to tell the Supervisor what famous musician played on the track, what you wrote it about, what famous Studio you recorded at. Anything you would say if you were there in the room while they were listening.
d) New Search About: What are the lyrics about? Is it a “Love Song” “Boy Meets Girl” about a “Horse” “Wanting to Kill Someone” or maybe “Being A Redneck.” We need you to add very short & simple lyric tags that tell what the song is about. Once we have enough tags we will add the search so that supervisor and more importantly Ad Agencies can find songs that match the meaning they are looking for. By the way, commercials pay very well so fill this in on every vocal song.
8. New Artist Section Added. Here is where you’ll manage all of the global artist/label/company data.
9. Add all websites and links so supervisors get more information and even can see where you’re playing. Make sure you add where you are based.
NOTE: Our Site Does Not Work Well With Internet Explorer: Here is what you’ll see.
Quick Overview:
1. Items that require updates to your library:
a) Language Search: (If your songs are in English we updated them for you if not please update all songs in any other Language) VOCAL SONGS ONLY
b) Lyric Storyline: (What is the meaning of your song in short phrases “Finding Yourself” “A Cheating Man” etc…) VOCAL SONGS ONLY
c) Photo’s, Logo’s or Album Art: (These can be added in the Artist Section)
d) Links: (Links to your Twitter,Website, Facebook, MySpace etc..) PLEASE ADD THESE! TWITTER WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT IN THE FUTURE
e) Pitch: The Old Music Description Box (Update this as if you we’re talking to the Director, Producer and Music Supervisor)
f) Hometown/Location (Update this for every Artist)
g) Featured Instruments: (featured Instruments should be added to all vocal tunes) VOCAL TUNES ONLY THEY SHOULD ALREADY BE LISTED ON INSTRUMENTALS
YES! YOU WILL BE GRADED & HERE IS WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE
Check it out and let us know what you think
This Is an Album. This Is an Album With Synchronized Lyrics & Artwork…
August 13th, 2010The beauty of audio is that it can drift into the background – during sleep, a workout, or a drive. But lean-forward experiences are also important, and Arcade Fire recently cooked an impressive iTunes synchronization involving artwork, lyrics, and other related media. Read the rest of this entry »
Close Your Eyes, and Imagine a Comprehensive Global Rights Database…
August 12th, 2010So, who benefits from a complicated, fractured rights database that takes years to effectively license? The answer is any company that helps its clients navigate the mess! For everyone else, the byzantine map of overlapping rights is just bad news. Read the rest of this entry »











