Some new cool stuff from CD Baby
November 25, 2005 by Mark Boudreau · Leave a Comment
Yes it’s true, The Rock and Roll Report has been down for some time but we’re back, a little older, a little wiser and maybe not as regular as we once were but hell that doesn’t mean that the music has stopped! There is still tons of great rock and roll bubbling and gurgling along just waiting to explode out of your speakers so try some of this stuff on for size and see if it fits:
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iTunes: The 99c Question
November 25, 2005 by Mark Boudreau · Leave a Comment
iTunes: The 99c Question
An Independent Record Label’s View
by David Faiman, 
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With a showdown approaching between the major labels and Apple over 99c price for the downloads, and now UK’s Music Managers Forum also unhappy with iTunes pricing, I want to give an independent label’s view on this subject, given that there are over 1000 independent labels on iTunes. With almost 15 years of experience of running an independent label, I think that the majority of my peers will agree with my views. Of course, I doubt very much that the majors will actually remove their catalogues from iTunes store; nevertheless, I¹m very concerned about the developing situation.
Let’s come straight to the point. Forget about "variable pricing" issues, you can already set variable album pricing on iTunes: you can sell albums from $5.99 and up. The majors want to raise the prices for their new releases. They simply want to make more money now, which they are not denying and it¹s fine with me. After all, the music business is business and they have to answer to their shareholders.
What worries me is that music industry is not out of doldrums yet. Yes, there are reasons to be optimistic: legal digital and mobile downloads are taking off, the phenomenal success of ringtones, the expansion of digital radio, etc. But in the last five years many independents have closed their doors. I’m not talking about small, one or two person operations, but companies who in mid-to-late Œ90s sold millions of albums per year.
What forced these labels to close wasn’t so much the Internet downloads, but CD piracy. I remember talking to one of our partners in southeast Asia, who said that within two weeks of one of their releases, they would see bootleg CDs of their compilations selling on the street. Physical sales are still going down every quarter and the vast majority of downloads are still not legitimate. P2P traffic is still growing. Pirates can set up a "CD/DVD plant" in a spare bedroom.
How many majors did we have just a few years ago, and how many do we have today? How many records get released, say, today vs. the end of the Œ90s? It¹s not that there is a shortage of good artists or material to release. Record sales are not what they used to be, so it makes many releases not commercially viable. Today, even Œbig hits¹ sell fewer numbers.
To force Apple to raise prices now will only benefit Apple’s competitors, but only in the short term. Apple is not the only online distributor currently selling tracks at 99c; in fact, many are selling for less, so I presume that if Apple succumbs and raises prices, other online stores will be also asked by the record companies to raise their prices. How is this going to help online stores to stay in business, if many of them just started to turn profit or are still in the red?
I think that the issue is that majors are mostly concerned with Apple’s dominance in the market (after all, revenue from digital downloads is still insignificant) and that they have lost "control." I¹m almost certain that "variable pricing" for individual downloads will only lead to actual price reductions down the road. Some labels will reduce prices for the new releases, in effect , to "buy" their way onto the charts, and others will have to follow. So, instead of selling tracks for 99c, we¹ll be selling them for 79c or whatever the bottom-range price will be.
Majors are complaining that Apple makes money from iPods and not from downloads. Sure, they are making little money from the music, but that¹s because of how much they pay us, the record companies. Frankly, I don’t care if Apple makes money on iPods or music. All I care is that we get 70c from every download. We have no manufacturing cost, distribution costs or returned stock. Because of this, we can pay artist (who supply finished masters) 50 percent of the revenue. If UK managers are complaining that their artist are getting only 4.5p on every 79p track, why blame Apple?! They should be blaming themselves for negotiating these type of contracts for their artists! If download prices were increased, would they be happy with, say, 6p from a download? I don¹t think so; it¹s still a very low royalty rate.
Most importantly, I like the fact that Apple maintains "editorial independence" on what records get featured on iTunes (and I hope it stays this way), so independent labels, too, have a chance for success. If you look at the main Top 100 chart on iTunes, you will see mostly big name acts, as major labels will always dominate with their marketing muscle – fans buy what they hear on the radio and see on TV. However, if you look at the genre-specific charts, you’ll see a large number of independent releases. Earlier this year, we’ve had three albums on Top 100 Dance Albums on iTunes US at the same time, and we¹ve had a few more Top 100 positions since. I could never imagine, even a year ago, that this could ever happen. It just goes to show that with online distribution, given a much wider choice, music funs buy what they like rather than what has been forced upon them previously.
Increasing prices now obviously isn’t going to increase number of downloads and, in fact, might stall the whole market, and this is my main concern. At US 99c (actually more in UK, Europe and Japan), it seems that many fans are reasonably happy with the price, so why "rock the boat" now and just alienate them? We need to remove the incentive to steal/copy/buy bootlegs and instead create a "culture" of paying for music, which has unfortunately eroded in the last few years. There is actually a significant proportion of fans who are paying, not because they can¹t get it for free, but because they want to do the "right thing." And some fans simply can¹t be bothered to search for free music, when they can easily find it and buy online. Of course, if you raise the price, this purchasing "proportion" will decrease – everyone has a price. (Perhaps the major’s executives should read a few posts on forums and see what fans are saying.)
Yes, sales are rapidly increasing as more people buying iPods, MP3 players, Sony PSPs, and music phones, but relatively speaking, few people are actually buying downloads. It¹s common sense that increasing prices will only drive some people who are already "payers" away from legitimate online stores.
Finally, with or without Apple, digital distribution would have happened sooner or later. There are many other great companies who are involved in the digital music distribution, but as a matter of fact, without Apple, it would taken a few years longer to hit the mainstream. But by then, it would have been too late for many of us in the music business.
David Faiman
Managing Director
Odessa Mama Records
Melbourne, Australia
Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2005 – Republished with Permission
The Indie News Beat for the week of November 15th, 2005
November 24, 2005 by Mark Boudreau · Leave a Comment
INDIE NEWS BEAT
November 15, 2005 Edition
* Mariana Bell Signs With MusicDish Network Artist Development Program
* Jann Klose Plays The Bitter End On November 30
* Live Music Takes Centre Stage At MIDEM 2006
* Chicago Electronica Cabaret Schizowave Appears On Katrina Benefit CD
* ASCAP Announces Conference Dedicated To Songwriting And Composing
* The Dammitheads Release Second LP, The Heart Of The Matador
* Bargrooves: Influences (limited Edition) Jay Hannan / Ben Sowton
* See And Hear The Real Rock School
* 2nd Annual Entrepreneurs Panel
* Noize Market – The New Music Revolution
Mariana Bell Signs With MusicDish Network Artist Development Program
New York-based singer/songwriter Mariana Bell recently signed up for a six month artist development program with MusicDish Network. Music Magazine publisher and artist manager Eric de Fontenay will supervise Mariana’s career development, developing and overseeing her business/marketing plan, leveraging the company’s marketing services and extensive database as well as representing her at major conferences such as MIDEM.
Eric de Fontenay first noticed the folk pop singer at this year’s Dewey Beach Music Conference where she hosted the GoGirlsMusic showcase. "Mariana’s music is like her personality: engaging, dynamic and delightful. I knew this was one musician I would want to keep an eye on."
After catching a show three week’s later at Brooklyn’s Laila Lounge, and later at the Swedish Music Seminar, the two began to seriously discuss her career’s potential and how to reach it. "Mariana has all the ingredients to bring her musical career so much farther. It’s just a point of knowing how to use those ingredients in order to create opportunities that will help her advance up the ladder."
Online marketing and fan building will be an important component of the program. Utilizing the MusicDish Network’s various campaigns, including syndicated marketing, online street teaming and community portals, webradio promotion and p2p distribution. The program though will also focus on developing opportunities in Mariana’s regional market, particularly in securing performances, networking with industry professionals and connecting with her fans.
The Australian-born, Charlottesville-raised Mariana Bell has been a fixture at such popular New York venues as Caffe Vivaldi, Laila Lounge, The Bitter End, CBGB’s and The Living Room. While her debut record, Dream of Italy, has been a consistently strong online seller through CD Baby, her more recent work branches out from her folksier roots, weaving elements of rock, jazz and country together with her trademark hook-filled melodies and evocative, passionate vocals. While critics have likened her music to that of a young Joni Mitchell, Mariana counts among her own influences Shawn Colvin, Bruce Cockburn, Dave Matthews, and Ani DiFranco.
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Jann Klose Plays The Bitter End On November 30
Blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter Jann Klose is playing the Bitter End, 147 Bleecker Street in New York City on November 30 at 9:30 PM. The venue phone is 212-673-7030. Jann is bringing the full band, bassist Chris Marolf, drummer Patrick Carmichael, and keyboardist/ accordianist Lars Potteiger.
Jann’s other upcoming shows are:
**Nov. 19-7:30 PM: The Waterfront Cafe (attached to Empire Coffee), Port Chester, NY
**Dec 5-9:00 PM Iron Horse (The Basement) Northampton, MA
The EP, BLACK BOX has been receiving steady airplay on XM Satellite Radio’s Unsigned Channel. Jann’s songs are on a variety of websites, including the Musicoven Network where he’s received over 1500 plays. Listen also to his music on Last.fm, iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody,eMusic and www.myspace.com/jannklose.
Jann is a motivated musician and artist, successfully booking shows and performing throughout the Midwest, the east coast, and in his native Germany. Most recently the newsletter MUSIC MORSELS wrote, "Jann proves to be an excellent songwriter with pure talents on the six string. Add to this his robust but sweetly emotive voice with lyrics that emanate from his soul and the result is some very good music."
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Live Music Takes Centre Stage At MIDEM 2006
MIDEM 2006 – the world’s music market – will once again highlight the importance of the live music sector. Special events include a dedicated conference forum and a complete live concert programme, which will span five days. MIDEM, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2006 and will take place in Cannes, France, 22 – 26 January.
For the second consecutive year, the Live Music Network brings together key professionals from the live music sector for a series of related discussions. Two panels will focus on world-wide touring and the exposure of artists and repertoire within the major world markets. The day will kick-off with two exceptional keynotes : Harvey Goldsmith, Managing Director of Harvey Goldsmith Productions Ltd (UK), and Kevin Wall, CEO of Network Live and Executive TV Producer for Live 8 (USA). The Live Music Network will be held on January 23, in the Palais des Festivals.
Pioneers in the distribution of live music via Internet, radio and satellite, Goldsmith and Wall’s impressive careers include the production of the spectacular Live 8 concerts on 2 July 2005. The global event succeeded in bringing massive public attention to the G8 summit and triggered a strong response from the international community to help alleviate poverty and famine in Africa. Participants at MIDEM’s Live Music Network will have the unique opportunity to not only share the challenges of organising such a huge event as Live 8, but also to appreciate how new technologies were used to amplify its political impact. Kevin Wall also founded the multi-platform, digital entertainment network, Network Live. The organisation is at the forefront of new distribution channels for live music and a joint venture with the world’s largest Internet service provider AOL, major American satellite radio company XM Satellite Radio and leading events organisation AEG.
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Chicago electronica cabaret Schizowave appears on the new Compassionista Productions CD compilation. All proceeding from CD sales will go to The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
Compassionista Productions is a non-profit group whose mission is to promote various grassroots movements and charitable organizations at their events, and bringing together some of the best musicianship in Chicago Metro.
The CD proves to be a top-notch mix of sounds from Ruby Harris’down-home elecric violin blues to the classic pop hooks, soaring vocals, and pointed lyrics of Babyteeth’s, Pearly Sweets Other acts include: Detholz!, Pit er Pat, Icy Demons, oRSo, Palliard, Old Dog Music, All City Affairs, Indian, Schizowave, Sean Michael Dargan, Russian, The Amoreys, Coat, Matt Marque, The Shoals, IZReelSoul, Environmental Encroachment, and Ripley Caine.
All proceeds will benefit The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). ACORN is the nation’s largest community organization of low and moderate income families working together for social justice and stronger communitites. The group was a leader in helping Katrina evacuees to find shelter after the storm. Now their focus has shifted to fighting for their rights to have living wage jobs and homes to return to. ACORN’S national headquarters is in New Orleans. It too, was destroyed by Katrina.
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ASCAP Announces First And Only National Conference Dedicated To Songwriting And Composing
ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman announced the ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO — the first and only national conference dedicated to songwriting and composing that is designed to bring together music creators with music industry professionals who want to work together to achieve greater success. The EXPO will take place April 20-22, 2006 at The Hollywood Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Marilyn Bergman ("The Way We Were," "The Windmills of Your Mind") will be among some of the most accomplished songwriters, composers and producers in the world participating in the conference, along with Glen Ballard ("Man in the Mirror", "The Space Between"), Stephen Bray ("Express Yourself," "Into the Groove"), Bruce Broughton (Silverado, Warm Springs), Desmond Child ("Dude (Looks Like A Lady)," "Livin’ La Vida Loca"), Hal David ("Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," "Close to You"), Mike Elizondo ("In Da Club," "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"), Michael Giacchino (Lost, The Incredibles), James Newton Howard (Batman Begins, The Sixth Sense), Jimmy Jam ("No More Drama," "That’s the Way Love Goes"), The Dust Brothers’ John King (Fight Club, "Where It’s At"), Johnny Mandel ("The Shadow of Your Smile," "A Time For Love"), Rick Nowels ("The Game of Love," "White Flag"), Rudy Perez ("Pero Me Acuerdo De Ti," "Vivir Lo Nuestro"), Linda Perry ("Beautiful," "Get the Party Started"), Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell), John Shanks ("Pieces of Me," "Somebody Like You"), Jimmy Webb ("Galveston," "Wichita Lineman"), Matthew Wilder ("Beautiful Disaster," "Break My Stride"), and Paul Williams ("Rainy Days And Mondays," "We’ve Only Just Begun"), with many more participants to be announced.
All songwriters, composers, producers, publishers and music industry professionals, regardless of affiliation, will benefit from this unique creative event, which will be presented in a stimulating format designed to facilitate personal interaction, education and networking. Programs will include, panels, workshops, master classes, keynotes, mentoring, song critiquing, product displays, state-of-the-art technology demonstrations, performances, and more. Detailed information, including early bird pricing and registration, can be found at www.ascap.com/expo.
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The Dammitheads Release Second LP, The Heart Of The Matador
The Heart of the Matador shows the band confidently stretching out in terms of both musical fortitude and studio savvy. Analogously speaking, if Freeze (the bands debut release) were Alexander’s outnumbered Macedonian army assembling on the plains of Gaugamela to assess a strategic plan of attack, then The Heart of the Matador is most assuredly the undaunted charge into battle that brought historic victory over the ample armies of King Darius III.
Sweeping historic metaphors aside, the pertinent words here are "rock" and "roll". The sound is unapologetically thick and bleeding. The keen sense of almost poetic lyrical imagery, delivered with a healthy dose of old school swagger is enough to inspire even the most jaded of fists back into the air.
All of the elements here integrate seamlessly, almost to the point of begging the question, "Is The Heart of the Matador a songwriter’s record cleverly masquerading as a brazen collection of swaggering rockers or is it a rocker’s record masquerading artfully as a shrewdly constructed songwriter’s opus, coyly impinging on concept album territory?" The knowing is in the listeningŠand the believing is in the knowing.
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Bargrooves: Influences (limited Edition) Jay Hannan / Ben Sowton
Seamless get to enhance their solid reputation of purveyors of fine music with this latest in the Bargrooves ‘Influences’ series. Featuring the turntable dexterity and pristine selections of Jay Hannan this compilation is another one to add to your no doubt already bulging collection from the label. But first kicking of with CD one is label head-honcho Ben Sowton who delivers a polished mix of gorgeously funky tunes which range from breezy dubs via Pepe Link’s ‘Jammin’ to the uplifting Soul Avengerz version of Soularis ‘Freeway’. Then moving on to CD two and if you’re fimliar with any of Jay Hannan’s previous classy mixes then this choice blend of nuggets will continue keep you satisfied. But with beautiful music from the likes of Ananda Project, Dawn Tallman and Kaskade you cant really go wrong. A hit – Update Magazine
The limited edition 3xCD includes a bonus disc which features 4 exclusive Seamless tracks, an interview with Jay Hannan, bargrooves animation, and downloadable wallpapers.
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See And Hear The Real Rock School
They may not have had the benefit of mascara-loving Mr Gene Simmons as head of music, but up-and-coming indie rockers, Nately, certainly know a bandwagon when they see one.
The edgy accoustic/rock band originally formed in the nineties at Christ’s Hospital school – home to Channel 4’s "Rock School" series – and reunited in late 2004. 2005 has seen the band build on a series of intimate gigs at London’s 12 Bar with wilder, high-energy sets throughout the capital’s larger venues. Highlight of the year was the performance at Rob Da Bank’s Bestival. Along the way they’ve caught the ear of producer MJ Cole who is currently remixing the band’s haunting track "Mr Pope".
The band are extremely grateful to Christ’s Hospital for the support and resources made available to them and other budding musicians and artists regardless of genre (it was never ‘just classical’). Nately will gladly make themselves available to talk about their time at the school (and their music of course …), but sorry, no elvish speakers available.
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2nd Annual Entrepreneurs Panel
Berklee’s Music Business/Management Department, currently the largest major at the world’s leading music college, presented the Second Annual Entrepreneurs Panel at Berklee College of Music last week. The panelists included Wayne Inouye, CEO & President, Gateway Computers, the third largest PC company in the U.S. and in the top ten worldwide; Fred Bramante, Founder & President, Daddy’s Junky Music, one of the largest musical products company in the country; John C. Koss, Sr., Founder and Chairman of the Board, Koss Corporation, a major consumer electronics company ranking as a world leader in the manufacture of high fidelity stereophones; and Jim D’Addario, President, J. D’Addario & Co., a family owned instrument string manufacturing business that employs people on five continents. Martin Dennehy, associate professor of music business, moderated a lively discussion by the top entrepreneurs. Topics included the ins and outs of starting and growing a business, the importance of human resources, the challenges inherent to being a publicly traded versus privately held company, and qualities necessary to be a good leader. The panelists also offered advice to the audience of Berklee students on what attributes executives look for in potential employees.
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Noize Market – The New Music Revolution
Noize Market’ is a new music magazine due to launch December ‘05 – the only national UK based publication to focus entierly on the independent scene!
featuring interviews and features on the UK’s hottest up-and-coming acts, Noize Market promises to be the most amazing springboard for bands and artists to launch thier careers into orbit!
written by the fans – for the fans and distributed directly into venues right across the country, Noize Market aims to be the UK’s first national free music fanzine focusing only on the unsigned/independent underground live scene, covering all genres and styles of music.
…this is all about live music made by real bands.
…Noize Market have built up a network of great incisive writers – that aren’t afraid to tell it like they see it, and fantastic photographers that can capture all the excitement of a great gig, as well as cartoonists, designers, street-teams… anyone and everyone that has a burning desire to see, read, write and talk about the most scorching new bands in the country.
Noize Market is being produced by Big Productions in partnership with UKBands.net It shall enjoy an unprecedented first issue print run of 100,000 copies, being distributed directly to venues, pubs, clubs and Universities.
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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2005 – Republished with Permission
Zinner photography exhibition in London
November 21, 2005 by Matt Dotzenroth · Leave a Comment
Boy, it’s been a while since I posted on here! Anyway here’s news of a rather interesting event happening in London in a few days!
On the 21st of November, Vice Magazine opens The Vice Gallery at 77 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4QS, with a photo installation and book launch by Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner. The exhibition is open to the public from 23rd November to 7th December and The Vice Gallery will be the exclusive sellers of Zinner’s book in London.
“I Hope You Are All Happy Now” (Evil Twin Publications/ St Martins Press) is the third photography book by Nick Zinner. While the first two were collaborations with two of his friends, this book focuses on the life of rock and roll through his eyes. The book spans through unseen images of his band-mates and friends, including the likes of Karen O and Conor Oberst, and everything from slept-in hotel beds, photos of fans, bloody cuts and bruises, and subtle, quiet moments in far away places. These photos of everyday things are arguably the most interesting parts of this book.
Lee Renaldo from Sonic Youth summed the book up by saying: “Nick Zinner has a rock ‘n’ roll eye for the details of life on the road, exposing YYYs rise from the gutters of NYC’s East Village, to the pages of Rolling Stone. But these are more than just casual snapshot, these pix are a personal view as to where he’s at – the faces, the places, the gore and the glory – all the highway songs along the way”.
As well as playing in New York art-punk band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Zinner has worked on a number of other collaborative projects, including Bright Eyes’ 2005 album, “Digital Ashes in a Digital Urn”. He studied photography at Bard College with Larry Fink and Stephen Shore and also attended art school in France. He has published work in magazines such as Vice, Black Book, and Rolling Stone.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs debut album of 2003, ‘Fever To Tell’, has been certified Gold in the UK and has sold more than 520,000 copies in America where the success of single ‘Maps’ has rocketed the band from cult heroes into the alternative mainstream.
Most of the exhibited prints will be for sale.
I’m definitely having some of this!I’ll be in London doing work experience at the Observer Music Monthly during then so I’ll be sure to report on how it actually looks.
Until next time rock fans!
Ashley King
