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Apr 09, 2008
RACONTEURS SPIN LATEST INDUSTRY YARN
With talk of Radiohead’s much-publicised thought-experiment into the value of music finally dying down...step up Jack White’s The Raconteurs, who’ve chosen to put a much-needed cat amongst the pigeons with the surprise release of their follow up to their 2006 debut, “Broken Boy Soldiers”...
Feb 22, 2008
SPINNING THE MUSIC BUSINESS
Have you noticed how vulnerable the music business is to spin? A combination of glamour (= sells papers), fast moving technology (=plenty of room for confusion), a continuing stream of new start-ups (= need for investor confidence) and arguably the most complicated business in the world leaves a huge amount of space for misinformation and good old-fashioned cock-ups.
Jan 22, 2008
DIGITAL REBIRTH: THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Troubled major EMI and its near ubiquitous new chief Guy Hands have, to put it mildly, featured pretty high on the news agenda of late. Last week’s announcement finally gave specific details of the long-awaited shake-up, with 40% staffing cuts (1500-2000 jobs worldwide), reduced marketing budgets and some profound structural changes all due to implemented within coming months.
Dec 18, 2007
THE ALBUM: EVOLUTION OF AN ART FORM
People have been making Nostradamus-style predictions regarding the demise of the album since the beginning of the digital music revolution. While physical singles have fared even worse than albums in recent years, the market dominance of iTunes and the rise of p2p-based internet piracy have prompted a definite shift towards single-track consumption, whereby entire music collections are spliced, shuffled and re-arranged in accordance with the listener's own tastes.
Nov 15, 2007
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
It would be fair to say that the arrival of the internet, and in particular the proliferation of broadband, has presented something of a mixed blessing for the music industry. While online piracy continues to erode the revenue artists and labels receive through recorded music sales, many agree that this upward surge in connectivity has initiated a larger cultural explosion in terms of how we as fans discover, enjoy and relate to music...
Oct 11, 2007
P2P BUSTERS
This week saw the RIAA gain its first victory in what is proving to be an epic industry war against the global menace of illegal filesharing. In fining Jammie Thomas (will the irony of her name ever carry over the pond?) a whopping $220,000 for 24 of the tracks she made available on the Kazaa network, the industry has issued its most severe warning yet to the worldwide illegal filesharing community: “get your a** to iTunes… or you might be next”.
Sep 10, 2007
Allofmp3.gone?
The confusion surrounding the future over allofmp3.com, the Russian discounted mp3 download site (and current bugbear du jour for the global record industry) shows little sign of dissipating. The business had barely finished celebrating its recent closure by the Russian authorities (largely due to international pressure from trade bodies and indeed the U.S. State Department), when a recent ruling by a Moscow court seemed to suggest that the offending website had in fact been operating in accordance with Russian copyright law, much to the dismay of an industry convinced it had won a timely and decisive victory.
Aug 06, 2007
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
High street retailers large and small are under pressure. With supermarkets selling the 'big hitters' at loss-leading, sub-wholesale prices and online physical-format retailers like Amazon offering unrivalled choice, the specialist multiples are being attacked on two fronts. Add to this an industry-wide downturn that may still have some way to go, and the outlook looks increasingly bleak...
Jun 06, 2007
THE CAMPAIGNING ISSUE
While Warner weighs up whether to bid for EMI or wait on the possibility of poaching the recordings division next year, the folks at Last.fm must be pleased as punch with the company's $280 million sale to CBS...
Apr 17, 2007
REMONETISING THE RELATIONSHIP
The questions over the future of music consumption officially hit the mainstream yesterday, by way of Monday's Radio 4 flagship consumer affairs programme, 'You and Yours'. The programme was pegged on the recent EMI/iTunes "No-DRM" announcement together with details of an upcoming consultation being undertaken by the shiny new UK Intellectual Property Office (ex Patent Office)...
