MusicTank Newsletter - Jun 09

So the Digital Britain report arrived in inboxes this week laying out the Government’s strategy for broadband and digital content in the UK.  Following the collective shrug that greeted the interim report published earlier this year it was to be hoped that the Government would finally deliver a clear lead in the final version.

Weighing in at over 250 pages the report is certainly no light bedtime read, and the most obvious thing on first glance is just how peripheral the music business is to the wider debate. Still we do now have a considered set of concrete plans and contingencies that the Government hopes will once and for all cut through the Gordian knot that has become the file sharing 'debate'.

Buried within the report you will find a target of reducing unlicensed file sharing by 70-80%, the welcome pronouncement that commercial alternatives must be encouraged and for the first time a clear set of steps outlining how persistent file sharers will be dealt with.

Nothing to get too excited about though as roughly speaking the Government’s plan on enforcement has the ISPs firing off those much loved warning letters to repeat offenders, with those who persist finding themselves on a database which labels could then access via a court order.

It’s unlikely that this news would have seen corks popped on vintage Krug in the boardrooms of the major labels though, as it still leaves the unpalatable and hitherto unsuccessful task of suing the public up to the labels.

BPI boss Geoff Taylor has already hit out at this as "digital dithering" and it would seem that even the report’s authors are aware this is almost certainly a non-starter, adding that should this fail to see the desired 70% plus reduction after 12 months, and if other factors such as education and commercial developments have been taken forward, Ofcom will be expected to step in and enforce what are described as "technical measures".

Less contentious is the report’s call for commercial agreements to be the preferred solution, echoing much of what we wrote in our own file sharing report "Let’s Sell Recorded Music!".  Still, whilst the report places business models "central to a…proposition...to create…effective online download markets.", it goes on to state that the "operators in the market today are in support of these objectives" and pretty much leaves its commercial imperative there.  MusicTank would prefer to have seen a more distinct timeline in place for innovative commercial solutions.

That said, the Government appears to be correct in its analysis of the market, indeed the report itself was comprehensively trumped the day before by the announcement of Virgin Media and Universal’s new unlimited music service – a service which ultimately could prove more important in the long run to the future of the recordings business than any Government proposals.

For a yet-to-be announced fee, Virgin Media broadband customers will be able to download to their hearts’ content, DRM-free MP3s from all participating labels - surely a significant step towards creating the kind of compelling alternative to file sharing that we have been hoping for, for so long.

Still, before we begin to look forward to the music industry’s next decade-long collective breakdown, it’s fair to say the digital debate is not over yet and as interesting as Virgin’s service sounds in theory, don’t expect a sudden long line of unemployed music business academics queuing at the dole office.

For a start whilst major label silverback Universal are already involved, the service’s success will depend on the music available being more, well, universal.  Virgin should be wary of repeating MySpace Music’s mistake of making their service a closed shop for the majors, a move that some say that particular service has yet to recover from. 

Involving the independents from the start will be vital to ensuring that the service is not only fair and truly representative but that it actually provides what the customer wants.

The success of the service will also be dependent on how it compares to those which it is hoping to replace.  Whilst details remain sketchy, it would appear that Virgin have opted for a closed rather than open system.

Whilst this will go some way to placating labels, it will invariably mean that vast amounts of unlicensable material, studio outtakes or mash ups for example, will still only be available through p2p networks.  While some labels may have little interest in offering a route to market for this content, there remains an appetite for this kind of material and by excluding it we force a vocal minority of the public back into the arms of the torrent sites.

Similarly, breaking file sharers habits by forcing them to abandon their preferred p2p clients and adopting a closed system is sure to chafe against some in the notoriously free-spirited online community.  Hopefully though this represents just the first of a wide range of different services and there will still be a place for open systems such as Noank which seek to legitimise user behaviour rather than forcing them to conform.

MusicTank has always been convinced that a genuinely compelling alternative will emerge from the commercial sector and if Virgin’s service doesn’t tick every box yet, we still applaud them for making this first bold step.

The report’s assertion that commercial operators are ready to do business is also very telling – the major labels only began to abandon DRM 2 years ago, and just 2.5yrs ago Universal’s SVP digital Rob Wells, partner to the Virgin deal went on record to say that "DRM is an absolute essential if we’re looking to build a sustainable digital music business".  Thankfully it looks like the Government may be right, and the business has wised-up.

The onus is now on the likes of Sky to go one better and with luck, as more services are launched, market forces will take us to a place where as an industry we can once again focus on finding new talent, breaking new bands and distributing music to the public.

Editorial by John Power and Sam Shemtob

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OUT & ABOUT: MusicTank events

JOE POX: Festivals

MUSICTANK LOUNGE: SoundCloud - MusicTank special offer

INDUSTRY DIARY: Other industry events

WISE MONKEY: Digital music education

Please remember all MusicTank events MUST be booked and paid for in advance!  Become a member of MusicTank for just £30 per year and enjoy privileged discounts on all MusicTank events...

http://www.musictank.co.uk/about/membership-benefits

JUL 07: Millennials & The Social Media Explosion

http://www.musictank.co.uk/events/millennials-the-social-media-explosion

Our final event before the summer recess will explain the uses of social media to music rights holders, focussing how they can use the ever developing technology to best promote their artists and develop careers.  It will then update progress of Millennials artist James Yuill and end with a 90-minute debate looking at social media's future, with entrepreneurs, far-sighted digital culture specialists and commentators.

SPEAKERS:

Part 1: 17.00-18.00 - Understanding Social Media| Steve Lawson

Part 2: 18.00-18.50 - Millennials Update | Steve Lawson, James Yuill & Amul Batra

Part 3: 19.15-21.00 - Panel Discussion | Umair Haque (Havas Media); Mark Selby (Nokia); others tbc.

Chairman - Keith Harris - MusicTank/Keith Harris Music Ltd /PPL

DIARY - Date & Time: 07 Jul '09 | 17.00 - 21.00hrs; Venue: Basement Bar, PRS for Music, Copyright House, Berners Street, London;

Cost: £30 MusicTank Members | £40 Trade Body | £45 Full Price - price includes drinks

The event will begin with solo bass player Steve Lawson - who jumped onto the internet before social media was defined by pre-pubescent children in chat rooms - discussing his viewpoint on direct interaction with his audience via tools such as blogging, twitter, video conversation, podcasting, web forums, live streaming and real-time chat sessions.

When not headlining shows across Europe as a one man bass band, Steve lectures students and acts as a consultant to PR firms, record labels, artists and digital distribution companies on how to link up the worlds of music download sales/distribution and the conversations and communities that form around music culture.

Following this opening ‘how-to’ session, Steve will be joined on stage by rising star James Yuill and his manager Amul Batra.  They will update the attendees on their progress since Terry McBride drew up a personalised career roadmap at the Meet the Millennials MusicTank event twelve months ago.  Nettwerk boss McBride analysed James’ career in front of a 180-strong audience since which uses of social media have grown James’ profile across Europe.

The final part of the event will be a 90-minute debate looking at social media’s future.

Tackling the complex and fast changing world of social media is something that baffles a large proportion of artists and record labels who still fondly remember the not-so-bygone age of promoting a release through physical media.  Even six years ago, MySpace - that one source of music promotion that these days causes groans of apathy from music strategists - was just a fledging company.  There’s no question that the online community is moving at a breakneck speed. 

A panel of entrepreneurs and digital culture specialists will provide expert insights into the future of this exciting new medium, including Mark Selby, VP Multimedia (Nokia) - a recognised authority on mobile data services having worked in the mobile, broadcast and IT industries for over 20 years.  We're also delighted to announce Umair Haque -a new kind of strategic advisor who helps investors, entrepreneurs, and firms experiment with, craft, and drive radical management, business model, and strategic innovation.  A sought-after speaker, Umair's work with Bubblegeneration has been recognized by publications like Wired, The Red Herring, Business 2.0, and BusinessWeek, and in Chris Anderson’s Long Tail, to which Umair was a contributor.

Full Details & Booking: http://www.musictank.co.uk/events/millennials-the-social-media-explosion

Once again, it’s FestivalSeason (TM) in the UK where bands jump from site to site across the country, playing all the hits "and more" to people who know two songs from the radio.

Amazingly some people see this as the 'highlight' of the year – willingly being charged £150 to sit in a field for three days and plan their entire weekend around when The Ting Tings are playing.  Caught up in the "spirit" of it all, people never mention the elephant in the field – namely that festivals are rubbish.  All of them. Even Glastonbury.  Music was not designed to be heard in a field and, if it was, it was the 14th Century, people were listening to someone jamming on a lute and were all dying at the age of 17 from gout.

But in the last 10 years, something even worse than going to a festival has happened – namely watching coverage of a festival on TV.  There are three choices here and ALL of them are horrific.  If it’s the BBC, you have the choice of Edith Bowman, Vernon Kaye or Jo Whiley saying that (e.g.) White Lies were "amazing" and "stole the festival". (From who, though, is never clear.)  If it’s ITV, then you’re stuck with Fearne Cotton screeching about how (e.g.) Snow Patrol were "amazing" and "stole the festival".  Finally (and worse of all), if it’s Channel 4 you’re left with Steve Jones showing nothing but contempt for the people he is a) broadcasting about and b) broadcasting to, making ‘hilarious’ in-jokes with the cameraman to somehow make him seem as if he (the man even idiots call "stupid") is above it all (he isn’t and never will be).

Music should be thrilling, but all the people mentioned here make is about as much fun as getting a fart for Christmas.

SoundCloud is an online audio platform for the music industry: artists, labels, A&R’s, managers and music bloggers etc.  It’s a super slick and more professional replacement for services like yousendit and FTP's, making sending large audio files a quicker, nicer and more effective experience.  For those receiving a lot of demos and promos, the SoundCloud DropBox is a 'must-have' and can be placed in your email signature or your website.

And SoundCloud also makes sharing and embedding your music on websites, blogs, Facebook, Myspace and even Twitter extremely simple.

It's completely free to use and there are no file size or bandwidth limits.  For features such as more detailed stats, customised dropboxes and more track uploads per month users can easily upgrade to a PRO account.  

#1 SPECIAL OFFER TO MUSICTANK NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS:
SoundCloud have kindly offered MusicTank newsletter subscribers a whopping 30% discount for anyone wishing to upgrade from its free package.  Simply enter 'musictankFTW' in the promo code box when upgrading your account.

More... http://www.soundcloud.com

#2 SPECIAL OFFER TO MUSICTANK MEMBERS ONLY
SoundCloud are kindly giving away FOR FREE, 6 months subscription to SoundCloud PRO to the first 10 MusicTank members on a first come, first served basis, representing a maximum potential saving of €354 (on its PRO Max tariff).

To take advantage of this offer, send an email to jonathan(A)musictank.co.uk with "SoundCloud" in the subject heading.  If successful, your response will be acknowledged and you will be put in touch with SoundCloud directly.  

Terms: Offer #1 is open to all MusicTank newsletter subscribers.  To be eligible for Offer #2, you MUST be a member of MusicTank - become a member here:   http://www.musictank.co.uk/about/membership-benefits  Only one offer per person/email account.  There is no cash alternative, and no purchase is required.  MusicTank makes no gain from this promotion.

Many thanks to Dave Haynes @ SoundCloud!

25-26 Jun:  International Music Industry Week.

This industry conference, showcase and networking event takes place at the ICA, over two days and through a series of panels and keynotes, will discuss the models shaping the future of the music industry.

Panels cover an array of topics including Mobile Music, The Digital Revolution, Fans and Brands, Synchronisation and Merchandising, with speakers incl. Scott Cohen (The Orchard), Andy Allen (Backstreet International), Chris Thompson (Emusu), Paul Resnikoff (Digital Music News), Paul Scaife (Record Of The Day) and the team from FRUKT.

Acts confirmed to play at a variety of venues (incl. the ICA, Hoxton Bar and Grill and The Gallery at the Ministry of Sound) incl. Honey Ryder, The Chapman Family, Defend Moscow, New Rhodes, Arrows of Love, Greg McDonald, Narration, Goldielocks, Conil and Eliza.

Celebrating 25 years since the release of This is Spinal Tap, the band are taking time out of their packed schedule to do an exclusive interview and Q&A with INgrooves' Robb McDaniels on 25 June (20.30hrs) at the ICA Theatre.

DIARY - Date & Time: Thur 25th & Fri 26th June | 10.00 - 17.00hrs | Venue: The ICA, The Mall,London SW1Y 5AH

COST - Tickets: 2-day pass, bought before 24 June £248 + VAT (on the door £298 + VAT) | Day passes available - see website for full details.

More... http://www.imiw.biz

JUN 29-JUL 01: Musexpo Europe

This event will once again gather together senior music, media and technology executives from the around the world, and follows the successful launch of MUSEXPO Europe in London autumn 2008. 

Taking as its theme "A Time For Change & Innovation," the daytime conference will this year place a particular emphasis on the people and companies who are successfully finding new ways of doing business at a time of unprecedented change for the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, by night delegates will once again be able to see some of the hottest emerging artists from the UK and abroad perform live at the historic 100 Club and Borderline venues.

Registration also includes complimentary breakfast, lunch and evening drinks receptions.

Speakers incl: Guy Moot (EMI Music Publishing), Jason Flom (Lava/UMG), Steve Schnur (EA Games), Korda Marshall (Infectious) and many more.

DIARY - Date & Time: 29th June - 1st July | Venue: Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch, London W1

COST - Special offer to MusicTank newsletter subscribers: £296 (a 15% saving on the full price of £349).  Interested? To take advantage of this special rate, email mailto:ajax@anrworldwide.com and quote 'musictank'.

More... http://musexpo.net/MusexpoEU09/index.html

Jul 06-10: AIM - Independents Day 09

Taking place at the ICA, AIM in conjunction with Live Nation and member labels are hosting a series of gigs at London's prestigious ICA venue with evenings to be curated by some of the UK's most successful independent labels, and Rough Trade East.  The opening nights - Mon 6th & Tues 7th July - will be introduced by Radio 1's Huw Stephens.

Line up for the week’s events as follows:

Bella Union (Mon 6th Jul) | Sleeping States; Here We Go Magic; Chimes and Bells

Rough Trade Record Store (Tues 7th Jul) | Terry Lynn; Cymbals Eat Guitars; Joe Gideon & The Shark

Matador Records / XL (Wed 8th Jul) | St Vincent; Blue Roses;

Fat Cat / One Little Indian (Thur 9th Jul) | The Twilight Sad; We Were Promised Jetpacks; Kill It Kid;

Ninja Tune (Fri 10th Jul) | Daedelus; DJ Food; Grasscut; King Cannibal; Cursor Minor

Doors for each night is at 7:30.  Tickets for each night are priced at £11.50 and can be booked from:

More... http://www.livenation.co.uk/search?q=independents+day&refine=

JUL 07-08: MPA Induction Course

The MPA Induction Course acts as an essential overview of the music publishing business, its organisations and their roles. The Course has been slightly expanded for 2009 to incorporate a new session on printed music.  Otherwise, it’s the same menu of expert advice and information that has proved so invaluable for newcomers to the business in previous years.

DIARY - Date & Time: Tues 7 July, 09.30 – 17.00pm & Wed 8 July, 09.30 - 13.00 | Venue: MPA Boardroom, British Music House, Berners St, London W1

COST - £130.00 + VAT (£149.50) per deleate for MPA members and MCPS / PRS staff | £210.00 + VAT (£241.50) all others. Tickets incl. lunch on day one and refreshments throughout.

More... http://mpa.weblobe.net/Events/MPA_Induction_Course_for_Newcomers_to_Music_Publishing1.html

A recent survey* of over 2'000 people points to a possible need for better consumer education concerning legal channels of digital music consumption...

• 64% of those surveyed (two in three) listening to and sharing music via the internet admitted to doing so illegally because they did not know how to stream and share music legally;
• 46% of UK music fans do not understand how to legally consume music online;
• 94% said they would choose a legal music site over a pirate one if it had the same range of music and was easy to use;
• Women and those over 55 are least likely to stream - 85% say they don't know how and are unlikely to try;
• 64% of 16-24 year olds share music with friends online and 71% know what streaming is but only 48% have ever tried it;
• The majority of music buyers - 78% - would buy the same or more music if they could listen to streamed music too, indicating that ad-funded, free to use streaming models (e.g. We7/Spotify) might compliment the industry rather than cannibalise it.
  

* Research commissioned by We7 and conducted by Opinion Matters 8th – 15th June 2009, with 2012 respondents aged 16 – 60

If you have any queries regarding any of our events or activities, please call Jonathan on 020 7915 5412, or e-mail: info@musictank.co.uk

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily condoned or shared by MusicTank. MusicTank is a non-profit organisation owned and operated by University of Westminster. University of Westminster is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. Reg Number: 977818, England. Registered Office: 309 Regent Street, London, W1. MusicTank is based at University of Westminster, Fifth Floor, Copland Building, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UW.