Just when you thought entertainment couldn't get
any better, Tupac Shakur was resurrected at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. According to MTV, the idea was incepted by Dre and
created by Hollywood special effects
house Digital Domain and projected by AV Concepts. This new innovative technology opens the
door to a plethora of opportunities for great entertainers of the past to be
resurrected for "live" performances on stage. Nick Smith,
President of AV Concepts, has not been able to say much about the creative
production of the project, but he has said " it's affordable in the
sense that if we had to bring entertainers around world and create concerts across
the country, we could put [artists] in every venue in the country"and that
the approximate cost is from $100,000-$400,000 to pull off the show.
In the world of music, other moneymaking counterparts now
accompany the digital download. The music business can now look forward to
online subscriptions, and digital performance royalties based on the “Likes” of Pandora and Sirius XM as additional revenue streams. As technology continues become more accessible
and portable, the music industry will continue to have more opportunities to
gain revenue digitally by way of these counterparts. According to the RIAA, digital and synchronization revenue in the U.S. recorded music business has increased 0.2% in 2011. This provides a balance from the void left by the decline of physical music revenue.
These figures show a huge decline in Music Video revenue by 11.6%. This figure is important because it raises questions to the source of sales and revenue from this area. I would assume it is from digital downloads via Amazon, iTunes, or other purchasing sources. I would like to know if music video revenues generated from Vevo and YouTube are calculated in this equation, but it is not indicated.
My interest is peaked by the 38% decline in the area of Mobile sales and distribution. The figures in that area are calculated in the categories of master ringtones, ring-backs, music videos, and full length downloads. This significant decline can only be explained by the massive increase of ringtone making apps that elude ringtone purchase by allow users to edit songs they already to create their own ringtones free of charge. As mentioned above, Vevo & YouTube allow users to view music videos at their own will that only requires internet service and availability. Full length downloads have most likely went down due to the plethora of streaming options such as Spotify, Rhapsody and Pandora.
As technology progresses, the distribution of revenue will continue to fluctuate in the music business. Digital Performance Royalties and Synchronization Royalties have streamed a new source of revenue in the music world by adapting to the digital changes in society.
I would like to take time and shine some light on some
efforts of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) for the world of music. For those who are not aware, BMI
& ASCAP are organizations that help protect the copyrights of their
members. They basically issue licensing fees from those who use the protected
content of their members, which funnel back to the members as royalties.
BMI currently has an upcoming workshop for music in
commercial media. This workshop is a three-day seminar geared towards teaching
composition and producing techniques for advertising along with corporate
branding and music production libraries. This approach is important to BMI
because they believe that “These areas constitute the world’s most heard music
and provide major revenue streams for composers”. This line of thinking
is very logical and makes sense, especially on a marketing aspect.
Clay Shirky’smanifesto on SOPA/PIPA is a crystal clear and
perfect narration that depicts what has happened overtime in regards to
copyright infringement laws and technology. He describes all the significant
laws that have tried to mold our evolving society. The knowledge shared is
objective and very precise. This speech carries its listeners on a clear path
through the history of past legislations that lead up to the major issue that
was face in January 2012 known as SOPA/PIPA.
When I first heard about the legislation that was trying to
be passed, I wasn’t very knowledgeable about the history that led to it as
accurately as described during Shirky’s speech. Many of the other articles and
videos I read gave me a general idea, but many of them contained subjective
content.
Clay Shirky’s makes his message clear by doing a
few things that stand out quite vividly. He began by telling a story about how
copyright infringement laws hindered an aspect of a niche used by a small local
business in his neighborhood using a paper plate sign. The story creatively sets
a solid tone and foundation for everything to be said afterwards. The sign
also added a hint of American involvement, which is obviously related to the
subject. It seemed to speak a greater purpose that silently stated, “This is
what is happening here in America”. It also seamlessly showed the true intent
of SOPA/PIPA, which is clearly described in the most objective way. At this
point, the audience was completely vested in everything he had to say without
any room for deviation. This technique of business storytelling is phenomenal
because it compels the audience to focus on the content matter. The second
greatest factor about the speech involved the strong and powerful closing remark
that initiated thoughts and perspective to everything that was mentioned, “Time
Warner has called and they want us all back on the couch, just consuming — not
producing, not sharing — and we should say, ‘No.” Clay Shirky. I thoroughly enjoyed the content and delivery of everything said. I also find this information to be invaluable.
With
Apple's recent success in home entertainment, Google has chosen to follow suit
with its new release and it’s called Google TV. Aside from smart televisions, the Apple TV has had no real competition in this market so now consumers have more
options, especially Android users. This
Google TV release will be the second attempt for Google after a terrible
failure during the first run in their release with Logitec and Sony, which led
to a fire sale of the unsuccessful product in 2011. Google has since grown with the birth of
Google Music and Google Plus as well as the continued success with the Android
Market so this release should be more successful and Android fans will have one
more thing to brag about.
One of the biggest factors that might affect growth in the
music industry is the flow of payments to musicians and publishers. An
innovation and government regulation that will have a positive impact on the
future of the music industry is Google’s acquisition of RightsFlow. RightsFlow
is an American company that provides organizations, bands, songwriters and
individuals with music licensing services and royalty payment solutions.
YouTube is one of Google’s greatest assets, which features millions of music videos
on its site. The previous process for royalty payments that was used by YouTube
was always deemed as problematic so this change should license music on YouTube
more efficiently.
After reading a blog entry by the popular Music Industry
blogger Mark Mulligan, I realized that I completely disagree with his view on D.I.S.C.: The Music Format Bill Of Rights
The days of gaining
significant revenue and popularity based primarily on CD sales are long gone
and will NEVER return. That is why basing any ideology off of “what was” is
just preposterous. It is naturally difficult for seasoned veterans of the music industry to
grasp this because they have tasted the
success with old methods of massive
distribution and popularity that was not primarily based via the Internet.
