Trends are everywhere, and the music industry is no exception. However, the Hip-Hop community tends to create and embrace their own trends in comparison to the rest of the industry. This year alone they have managed to create quite a few of them.
Self-Production: Fifteen years after the trend originally appeared it has come back again. The days are over where you are left to wonder who produced an album. The trend today is for emcees to produce their own album. It seems fitting that the artist who perhaps inspired this trend the most was Kanye West. In a time where labels envisioned Trackmasters, Timbaland, or Scott Storch to be the ‘it’ producers required to make a single take off, Kanye West was making award winning albums on his own. The labels took note – especially when they released they could potentially save thousands, if not millions, on paying third party producers. Today the one-man is in full effect with producers / artists such as K.R.I.T., Blu and J.Cole all set to release albums this year.
Female Vocal Appearances: Hip-Hop has always favored female hooks, particularly those by white females, but lately there has been more of them then ever before. One of the recent breakthroughs – Skylar Grey. Not only did she right the hook for Eminem’s award winning track “Love the Way You Lie” but in the past 8 month’s she’s also appeared on Diddy-Dirty Money’s “Coming Home”, Lupe Fiasco’s “Words I Never Said” and Dr. Dre’s “I Need a Doctor”, just to name a few. Katy Perry is on the opposite side of the spectrum. She began guest appearing on Timbaland’s “If We Ever Meet Again” and then recruited rappers Kanye West and Snoop Dogg for two different singles on her last album “Teenage Dream”. One of most addictive hooks of the past year – Hayley Williams on B.o.B’s “Airplanes”. Seriously – if you weren’t singing it along in your head, reading it on Facebook statuses or on twitter feeds – something is wrong.
Album Delays: The classic album delays. No genre of music knows this better than that of Hip-Hop. Die-hard enthusiasts are still waiting for the day when Dr. Dre’s long anticipated album “Detox” is finally released. For years Dr. Dre has promised that ‘Detox was coming’. Release date after release date have come and gone, presumed singles have been released, and yet “Detox” appears to be a far away fantasy. For others, such as Kanye West and Jay-Z, after some release dates have past, the album suddenly drops with a week’s notice. Since January listeners had been waiting for the artists’ collaboration “Watch the Throne”. After the March release date passed with no release the album suddenly had a release date announcement, one week prior to the release. Since there wasn’t release date anticipation, leakers were unable to get their hands on the music and thus the album was actually released without being leaked, perhaps part of their strategy the entire time.
All of these trends have lead to hip-hop flooding the charts again like it once did – a quick look at Billboard’s Hot 100 for the week of August 27,2011 and one can see that 10 of the top 25 chart positions are held either by hip-hop artist or feature a hip-hop artist. Quite a feat for a genre that at one point in time was considered to be a passing fade.
References:
One-Man Armies – The Return of The Emcee/Producer Extraordinaire
Viva La White Girl – 5 Voiced Every Rapper Wants on Their Hit
The Big Pushback – Rappers & Labels Strategically Delaying Albums
Billboard Hot 100
8.19.2011
8.18.2011
A Music Supervisor's Favorite Resource
Everyone knows that licensing music for movies and television shows can provide excellent returns – not only monetary but also in exposure. Music Supervisors are the most powerful individuals when it comes to this and use their own method of acquiring music that doesn’t involve calling individuals.
Music Supervisors frequent production music libraries because they can deliver any kind of music. No matter how obscure or otherwise difficult to obtain, one of more production libraries will have it. While they originally only contained background sound, production libraries today are much more than that. They discover groups, form record labels and forge alliances with clients in film and television. One of the greatest features of a production library, and a music supervisor’s favorite attribute, is that all the music they possess has been cleared. All the paperwork has already been done and it’s clear who the licensor is – so there is an unlikely chance that a problem with the license would appear. A music supervisor’s worst nightmare is finding out days before a project is to be released that there is a problem with a song that they were using for a scene and they can no longer use it. Using a production company minimizes greatly the chance that this would occur. Artists need to remember that to a music supervisor the quality of your music may matter less than the ability to achieve clearance. Paperwork and logistics can be a major roadblock. Production companies list meta-data standards to make sure that all the music in their catalogs meets certain requirements. Incorrect meta-data results in the legal department getting involved and using production libraries avoids such a mess.
Timing also comes into play when music supervisors decide to use production libraries. Many times a music supervisor will have a complex need to fill – a Latin-reggae tune in the style of a known artist but inexpensive – and will need it fast. For the most part production libraries have extensive catalogs – and if music supervisors use them often enough they can have some negotiation power over the price of a license.
So what does this mean for musicians? One thing is certain - instead of trying to get your music to a music supervisor, it might be wiser to get your music into a production library.
Reference:
What Music Supervisors Wish You Knew
Music Supervisors frequent production music libraries because they can deliver any kind of music. No matter how obscure or otherwise difficult to obtain, one of more production libraries will have it. While they originally only contained background sound, production libraries today are much more than that. They discover groups, form record labels and forge alliances with clients in film and television. One of the greatest features of a production library, and a music supervisor’s favorite attribute, is that all the music they possess has been cleared. All the paperwork has already been done and it’s clear who the licensor is – so there is an unlikely chance that a problem with the license would appear. A music supervisor’s worst nightmare is finding out days before a project is to be released that there is a problem with a song that they were using for a scene and they can no longer use it. Using a production company minimizes greatly the chance that this would occur. Artists need to remember that to a music supervisor the quality of your music may matter less than the ability to achieve clearance. Paperwork and logistics can be a major roadblock. Production companies list meta-data standards to make sure that all the music in their catalogs meets certain requirements. Incorrect meta-data results in the legal department getting involved and using production libraries avoids such a mess.
Timing also comes into play when music supervisors decide to use production libraries. Many times a music supervisor will have a complex need to fill – a Latin-reggae tune in the style of a known artist but inexpensive – and will need it fast. For the most part production libraries have extensive catalogs – and if music supervisors use them often enough they can have some negotiation power over the price of a license.
So what does this mean for musicians? One thing is certain - instead of trying to get your music to a music supervisor, it might be wiser to get your music into a production library.
Reference:
What Music Supervisors Wish You Knew
7.31.2011
Expert Advice Courtesy of a Podcast
Today the Internet makes it remarkably easy to seek the information that you need. With a simple click of a mouse you can find a plethora of resources at your fingertips. Podcasts for example, are a great way to gather information from the experts.
Mark Quail is an attorney who specializes in Entertainment and Media Law. Mark Quail produced a podcast entitled ‘Music Law Publishing’ that deals with the music publishing industry. The podcast is broken down into two parts and can be found here. The first half of the podcast deals with the different licenses that are assigned in relation to musical compositions in the music publishing industry in order to monetize the songs value and garner monetary compensation for the songwriter.
Mechanical Licenses grant permission to record labels so they can manufacture sound recordings. In the US the royalty rate for mechanical licenses is set at 9.1 cents for musical compositions 5 minutes in length or less and an additional 1.75 cents per minute for each minute over 5 minutes. Outside of the US & Canada, the royalty rate is calculated as a percentage rate of the wholesale price. In either case the record label manufacturing the record pays royalties.
Public Performance licenses control the performance of a song in public. This includes radio stations, television, restaurants, clubs and other venues that use music. Synchronization licenses dictate the terms in which a television or movie production can use a song in their work. These fees are dictated by the market and are reached by negotiation. Print licenses allow for the musical work to be sold or distributed in print form – this includes sheet music and folios, as well as the lyrics printed inside CD booklets. The final license is a new media license. This allows songwriters to license their compositions for greeting cards, midi files, streaming and/or downloads as well as software programs.
Each of these licenses comprises a different amount of a music publisher’s total annual earnings. Currently public performance royalties and mechanical royalties account for the bulk of total annual earnings. However, Quail points out that the other licensing opportunities should not be ignored. This is great advice for music publishers who more often like to go after the deals that look more financially enticing.
The second half of the podcast deals with the different types of publishing contracts. A full publishing contract is a 50/50 split of ownership in the musical work’s copyright as well as in the profits derived. This is what makes you think of a ‘songwriter’s share and a publisher’s share’ when you think of dividing the royalties. A co-publishing contract can be thought to be a 75/25 split of ownership. The songwriter retains the ‘songwriter’s share’ as well as ‘50% of the publisher’s share’. These are the most prevalent forms of publishing agreements. Administration Contracts are the most attractive to songwriters but are usually harder to obtain. Under this type of contract the publisher handles all of the copyright administration but does not retain ownership. They receive anywhere from 5% to 25% of net receipts of typical revenue and up to 40% of net receipt for sync licenses. The final contract is a sub-publishing contract. These types of contracts are usually entered into by the original publishing company and are considered to be administration contracts that are focused on one or more countries outside of the songwriter’s home territory.
The Chicago Music Commission is nonprofit organization formed from members in the Chicago music community. They hosted a panel on intellectual property and legal issues that can be heard here. The panel begins my hammering in what most artists should already know – having legal representation in this industry is a must. Legal representation is important because everyone else you deal with in the industry understands that this is a business. If they understand legal and business aspects and you don’t, then your not on an even playing field, therefore you’re not fighting a fair fight with who ever you are trying to negotiate, be it a booking agent or a record label. They also point out that you want to build a team of people who are on your side and looking at things from your perspective, because the people who want to use you will tell you things from their perspective, and not yours.
The panel also proceeds to dispute what has at one point been called ‘the poor man’s copyright’. It has long been assumed in the music industry, by musicians starting out, that you can simply send yourself a copy of your work by registered mail and that the postmark date will serve as the date of copyright. The panel points out that there is no value in mailing something to oneself. In a courtroom it doesn’t prove anything and won’t hold up as evidence.
Daniel Friedman is an Entertainment Attorney who took time from his busy schedule to speak at a music industry forum at Loyola University to speak on artist contracts. The video podcast can be found here. Friedman’s main discussion topic is on Copyrights. One of his main points is emphasizing the difference between a musical work and a sound recording. Both of which will have separate copyrights. The musical work is the underlying musical composition. The songwriter owns the musical work until the songwriter chooses to sign a publishing deal. The sound recording is the version of the song. It is owned either by the artist who covers it or belongs to the record company if the artist is signed to a record label contract. Friedman cleverly points out that – “the real estate of the music business is the copyright to the musical work”.
Friedman continues to talk about joint works. Unless you agree otherwise, the song is owned equally. There must be an agreement to identify the splits otherwise. Lyrics are generally 50% of a song and the music is generally the other 50% of a song. In hip-hop when a producer makes the beat and an artist rhymes over it, it is said the producer has created the music, and thus owns 50% of the copyright. With a band the theory is that the songwriter wrote the song and thus should own 100% of the copyright. However it can also be said that without the band there would be no way to exploit the song. Friedman suggests forming a hybrid between the two scenarios where the songwriter receives more of the copyright share than the rest of the band.
One of his final points is the provision that is often found in recording contracts for artists / songwriters. The controlled composition clause generally provides the recording artist / songwriter to sign for a lower mechanical rate than what they would usually receive. The industry standard tends to be 75% of the standard rate and is usually capped at 10, meaning if the artist releases more than 10 songs on an album; those additional songs are essentially ‘free to the label’.
That’s quite a lot of information to take in from three podcasts, but what better way to obtain your information that from industry experts and attorneys who specialize in the entertainment industry. By listening to three podcasts I have garnered more information about the different types of publishing agreements, the different publishing revenue streams and the fees associated with each type of licenses.
References:
Music Law Publishing
Chicago Music Commission – Musicians at Work Forum
Music Industry Forum – Daniel Friedman
Mark Quail is an attorney who specializes in Entertainment and Media Law. Mark Quail produced a podcast entitled ‘Music Law Publishing’ that deals with the music publishing industry. The podcast is broken down into two parts and can be found here. The first half of the podcast deals with the different licenses that are assigned in relation to musical compositions in the music publishing industry in order to monetize the songs value and garner monetary compensation for the songwriter.
Mechanical Licenses grant permission to record labels so they can manufacture sound recordings. In the US the royalty rate for mechanical licenses is set at 9.1 cents for musical compositions 5 minutes in length or less and an additional 1.75 cents per minute for each minute over 5 minutes. Outside of the US & Canada, the royalty rate is calculated as a percentage rate of the wholesale price. In either case the record label manufacturing the record pays royalties.
Public Performance licenses control the performance of a song in public. This includes radio stations, television, restaurants, clubs and other venues that use music. Synchronization licenses dictate the terms in which a television or movie production can use a song in their work. These fees are dictated by the market and are reached by negotiation. Print licenses allow for the musical work to be sold or distributed in print form – this includes sheet music and folios, as well as the lyrics printed inside CD booklets. The final license is a new media license. This allows songwriters to license their compositions for greeting cards, midi files, streaming and/or downloads as well as software programs.
Each of these licenses comprises a different amount of a music publisher’s total annual earnings. Currently public performance royalties and mechanical royalties account for the bulk of total annual earnings. However, Quail points out that the other licensing opportunities should not be ignored. This is great advice for music publishers who more often like to go after the deals that look more financially enticing.
The second half of the podcast deals with the different types of publishing contracts. A full publishing contract is a 50/50 split of ownership in the musical work’s copyright as well as in the profits derived. This is what makes you think of a ‘songwriter’s share and a publisher’s share’ when you think of dividing the royalties. A co-publishing contract can be thought to be a 75/25 split of ownership. The songwriter retains the ‘songwriter’s share’ as well as ‘50% of the publisher’s share’. These are the most prevalent forms of publishing agreements. Administration Contracts are the most attractive to songwriters but are usually harder to obtain. Under this type of contract the publisher handles all of the copyright administration but does not retain ownership. They receive anywhere from 5% to 25% of net receipts of typical revenue and up to 40% of net receipt for sync licenses. The final contract is a sub-publishing contract. These types of contracts are usually entered into by the original publishing company and are considered to be administration contracts that are focused on one or more countries outside of the songwriter’s home territory.
The Chicago Music Commission is nonprofit organization formed from members in the Chicago music community. They hosted a panel on intellectual property and legal issues that can be heard here. The panel begins my hammering in what most artists should already know – having legal representation in this industry is a must. Legal representation is important because everyone else you deal with in the industry understands that this is a business. If they understand legal and business aspects and you don’t, then your not on an even playing field, therefore you’re not fighting a fair fight with who ever you are trying to negotiate, be it a booking agent or a record label. They also point out that you want to build a team of people who are on your side and looking at things from your perspective, because the people who want to use you will tell you things from their perspective, and not yours.
The panel also proceeds to dispute what has at one point been called ‘the poor man’s copyright’. It has long been assumed in the music industry, by musicians starting out, that you can simply send yourself a copy of your work by registered mail and that the postmark date will serve as the date of copyright. The panel points out that there is no value in mailing something to oneself. In a courtroom it doesn’t prove anything and won’t hold up as evidence.
Daniel Friedman is an Entertainment Attorney who took time from his busy schedule to speak at a music industry forum at Loyola University to speak on artist contracts. The video podcast can be found here. Friedman’s main discussion topic is on Copyrights. One of his main points is emphasizing the difference between a musical work and a sound recording. Both of which will have separate copyrights. The musical work is the underlying musical composition. The songwriter owns the musical work until the songwriter chooses to sign a publishing deal. The sound recording is the version of the song. It is owned either by the artist who covers it or belongs to the record company if the artist is signed to a record label contract. Friedman cleverly points out that – “the real estate of the music business is the copyright to the musical work”.
Friedman continues to talk about joint works. Unless you agree otherwise, the song is owned equally. There must be an agreement to identify the splits otherwise. Lyrics are generally 50% of a song and the music is generally the other 50% of a song. In hip-hop when a producer makes the beat and an artist rhymes over it, it is said the producer has created the music, and thus owns 50% of the copyright. With a band the theory is that the songwriter wrote the song and thus should own 100% of the copyright. However it can also be said that without the band there would be no way to exploit the song. Friedman suggests forming a hybrid between the two scenarios where the songwriter receives more of the copyright share than the rest of the band.
One of his final points is the provision that is often found in recording contracts for artists / songwriters. The controlled composition clause generally provides the recording artist / songwriter to sign for a lower mechanical rate than what they would usually receive. The industry standard tends to be 75% of the standard rate and is usually capped at 10, meaning if the artist releases more than 10 songs on an album; those additional songs are essentially ‘free to the label’.
That’s quite a lot of information to take in from three podcasts, but what better way to obtain your information that from industry experts and attorneys who specialize in the entertainment industry. By listening to three podcasts I have garnered more information about the different types of publishing agreements, the different publishing revenue streams and the fees associated with each type of licenses.
References:
Music Law Publishing
Chicago Music Commission – Musicians at Work Forum
Music Industry Forum – Daniel Friedman
7.10.2011
Copyright Infringement
Another day, another case of copyright infringement is filed. In the music industry, especially the hip-hop community, there is no shortage of copyright lawsuits. There have been a few cases this year however that have caught my eye.
Lil Wayne is no stranger to copyright infringement accusations. He even received a copyright infringement summons while in jail last year. This past week another producer has gone on record saying that Lil Wayne stole his song. Lil Wayne’s latest release – “How To Love” is said to be produced by hip-hop producer ‘Detail’. However indie producer Chief Stockton claims he made a strikingly similar beat in 2008, which was available on the website 'SoundCloud'. The video claiming the infringement was released by musicindustryreport.org in the end of June. If you listen to both tracks there is no denying that Chief Stockton’s beat is almost identical to the beginning of ‘How to Love’. As of late, Chief Stockton has not filed a lawsuit and it is unclear if we will pursue legal action. If he does – it will be the fourth lawsuit that Lil Wayne is hit with in the past two months alone.
(Source: Music Industry Report)
Synchronization licenses are required in order to sync copyrighted audio with moving images – commercials included – regardless of weather the master sound recording is used or not. During this year’s Super Bowl, Chrysler released a commercial for their new Chrysler 200 model. Less than a year later Audi has released a similar commercial using music that is clearly meant to sound like Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” but without a license from Eight Mile Style LLC, the publisher of Eminem’s copyrights. The song has an instrumental beat that is hard to mistake. Listening to Audi’s commercial you can tell that they were trying to avoid a licensing issue, however the commercial music bares ‘substantial similarity’ to the original. Eight Mile Style filed a lawsuit in Germany in June ordering a cease-and-desist letter as well as seeking damages. The commercial has not been released in the U.S. and after the filing of the lawsuit it is unlikely that it will.
(Source: Billboard)
There is no shortage of sampling in the music industry. The majority of samples can be cleared with an upfront fee, while others require a stake in copyright ownership. Musicians are advised time and time again to clear samples before they are used or face a possible lawsuit. This week Ghostface Killah, of rap group Wu-Tang Clan, became the latest lawsuit target. Since his 1996 debut, entitled ‘Iron Man’, Ghostface has been known to use the moniker of the same name, and now is being sued for illegally using the ‘Iron Man Theme’ on his album ‘Supreme Clientele’. According to the lawsuit, portions of which can be viewed here, “Ghostface copied verbatim the sound recording and musical composition of the “Iron Man Theme” on two places on his album Supreme Clientale: as the first track and part of the last track”. I went ahead and performed a search of the Ghostface tracks in the iTunes Store and guess what? It is the same exact thing. This isn’t just a sample – it’s a blatant copy. Ghostface’s lawyers will most likely sit there astonished and wonder how it is that this wasn’t cleared ahead of time. My opinion would be that this gets settled out of court – sooner rather than later.
(Source: All Hip-Hop News)
References:
'Iron Man' Composer Sues 'Ghostface' For Millions Over Sample, Name Use
Eminem's Publisher Files Lawsuit Against Audi's Chrysler-Like Ad
Indie Producer claims Lil Wayne stole the “How To Love” Beat From Him!
Lil Wayne is no stranger to copyright infringement accusations. He even received a copyright infringement summons while in jail last year. This past week another producer has gone on record saying that Lil Wayne stole his song. Lil Wayne’s latest release – “How To Love” is said to be produced by hip-hop producer ‘Detail’. However indie producer Chief Stockton claims he made a strikingly similar beat in 2008, which was available on the website 'SoundCloud'. The video claiming the infringement was released by musicindustryreport.org in the end of June. If you listen to both tracks there is no denying that Chief Stockton’s beat is almost identical to the beginning of ‘How to Love’. As of late, Chief Stockton has not filed a lawsuit and it is unclear if we will pursue legal action. If he does – it will be the fourth lawsuit that Lil Wayne is hit with in the past two months alone.
(Source: Music Industry Report)
Synchronization licenses are required in order to sync copyrighted audio with moving images – commercials included – regardless of weather the master sound recording is used or not. During this year’s Super Bowl, Chrysler released a commercial for their new Chrysler 200 model. Less than a year later Audi has released a similar commercial using music that is clearly meant to sound like Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” but without a license from Eight Mile Style LLC, the publisher of Eminem’s copyrights. The song has an instrumental beat that is hard to mistake. Listening to Audi’s commercial you can tell that they were trying to avoid a licensing issue, however the commercial music bares ‘substantial similarity’ to the original. Eight Mile Style filed a lawsuit in Germany in June ordering a cease-and-desist letter as well as seeking damages. The commercial has not been released in the U.S. and after the filing of the lawsuit it is unlikely that it will.
(Source: Billboard)
There is no shortage of sampling in the music industry. The majority of samples can be cleared with an upfront fee, while others require a stake in copyright ownership. Musicians are advised time and time again to clear samples before they are used or face a possible lawsuit. This week Ghostface Killah, of rap group Wu-Tang Clan, became the latest lawsuit target. Since his 1996 debut, entitled ‘Iron Man’, Ghostface has been known to use the moniker of the same name, and now is being sued for illegally using the ‘Iron Man Theme’ on his album ‘Supreme Clientele’. According to the lawsuit, portions of which can be viewed here, “Ghostface copied verbatim the sound recording and musical composition of the “Iron Man Theme” on two places on his album Supreme Clientale: as the first track and part of the last track”. I went ahead and performed a search of the Ghostface tracks in the iTunes Store and guess what? It is the same exact thing. This isn’t just a sample – it’s a blatant copy. Ghostface’s lawyers will most likely sit there astonished and wonder how it is that this wasn’t cleared ahead of time. My opinion would be that this gets settled out of court – sooner rather than later.
(Source: All Hip-Hop News)
References:
'Iron Man' Composer Sues 'Ghostface' For Millions Over Sample, Name Use
Eminem's Publisher Files Lawsuit Against Audi's Chrysler-Like Ad
Indie Producer claims Lil Wayne stole the “How To Love” Beat From Him!
6.18.2011
Spotify - Where Are You?
For months we’ve been subjected to speculation that Spotify, the music streaming service that has gained a massive following in Europe, would finally launch in the United States. The service, which is currently available in France, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK has steadily been making moves in the US, and might see a launch date before the end of the year. Unlike online radio and music streaming service Pandora, Spotify allows you to listen to any track you like, any time you like. Their premium service works on your mobile phone, and has an offline mode for playlists. The offline mode syncs your playlists to your computer or mobile phone, so you can listen to them without an Internet connection.
Last week Spotify signed an American distribution deal with Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music label. The service already has agreements with Sony and EMI Music Group and is now just waiting to sign a similar agreement with Warner Music Group. Many believe the service won’t go live without it, since it would offer a hole in the music catalog. Earlier this week they secured funding totaling $100 million based on a $1 billion valuation. The addition funding could further prove that Spotify’s launch in the U.S. is approaching. Spotify’s biggest obstacle might be the industry itself. They need to entice users to stream music rather than pirate it while at the same time not discourage them from buying it or becoming paying subscribers.
The question that remains is weather Spotify will be successful once it reaches the U.S. Personally I can almost guarantee that it will get users to try their free trial, after all – it lasts 6 months. How many other companies do you know that are willing to let you try their service for half of the year at no cost? It definitely has to the right idea at getting your foot in the door. Once you’ve used something for so long, it’s kind of hard to go without it, and the $10 monthly fee by not seem as bad. Personally I can’t wait – so Spotify – hurry up and get here.
References
Spotify sings Universal Music, may get to U.S. after all.
Spotify Closes New $100 Million Funding Round, U.S. Launch Nears
Can Spotify and Hulu Move Forward Without Killing The Businesses They Rely On?
Spotify.com
Last week Spotify signed an American distribution deal with Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music label. The service already has agreements with Sony and EMI Music Group and is now just waiting to sign a similar agreement with Warner Music Group. Many believe the service won’t go live without it, since it would offer a hole in the music catalog. Earlier this week they secured funding totaling $100 million based on a $1 billion valuation. The addition funding could further prove that Spotify’s launch in the U.S. is approaching. Spotify’s biggest obstacle might be the industry itself. They need to entice users to stream music rather than pirate it while at the same time not discourage them from buying it or becoming paying subscribers.
The question that remains is weather Spotify will be successful once it reaches the U.S. Personally I can almost guarantee that it will get users to try their free trial, after all – it lasts 6 months. How many other companies do you know that are willing to let you try their service for half of the year at no cost? It definitely has to the right idea at getting your foot in the door. Once you’ve used something for so long, it’s kind of hard to go without it, and the $10 monthly fee by not seem as bad. Personally I can’t wait – so Spotify – hurry up and get here.
References
Spotify sings Universal Music, may get to U.S. after all.
Spotify Closes New $100 Million Funding Round, U.S. Launch Nears
Can Spotify and Hulu Move Forward Without Killing The Businesses They Rely On?
Spotify.com
6.04.2011
Parental Advisory Warnings - Could They Be Back?
Parental Advisory Stickers. We’ve all seen them. Those iconic little black and white stickers stamped on the cover of ‘explicit’ music, film and television. They were originally meant to inform parents of minors that the music they were purchasing for their children had ‘explicit content’ and was not suitable for children of all ages. Yet despite a warning label on a CD cover, teenaged consumers have made up the core audience for one of the most controversial and arguably most successful rap stars to emerge within the 21st century, Eminem, making one wonder what good the labels do in the first place.
On the other side of the world however, many believe they are still relevant and important. Now, the UK is taking steps to bring the parental advisory warnings to new medium – online music videos. In an age where YouTube is one of the most visited sites on the Internet, the UK government and the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) are set to introduce a new set of guidelines that will affect music in the UK.
Today YouTube, Napster, Spotify, and Vevo do not have a uniform parental guidance system although Apple’s iTunes does. The iTunes online store runs a warning system on its audio and video content. Yet following recent concern about the amount of risqué music content that is too easily available to children online the BPI is going to begin introducing parental warning logos before songs and music videos on those services that currently do not employ a parental guidance system.
Although not yet a standard in the US, it’s only a matter of time before a similar stance gets adopted in the states. However one has to wonder how playing a warning at the beginning of a video or a song is going to have any affect if there is not a responsible adult around to see it appear. After all, at some point those stickers on CDs became an indication of which records we wanted to buy – the one that had them.
References
Parental Warnings to be Introduced for Online Music
On the other side of the world however, many believe they are still relevant and important. Now, the UK is taking steps to bring the parental advisory warnings to new medium – online music videos. In an age where YouTube is one of the most visited sites on the Internet, the UK government and the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) are set to introduce a new set of guidelines that will affect music in the UK.
Today YouTube, Napster, Spotify, and Vevo do not have a uniform parental guidance system although Apple’s iTunes does. The iTunes online store runs a warning system on its audio and video content. Yet following recent concern about the amount of risqué music content that is too easily available to children online the BPI is going to begin introducing parental warning logos before songs and music videos on those services that currently do not employ a parental guidance system.
Although not yet a standard in the US, it’s only a matter of time before a similar stance gets adopted in the states. However one has to wonder how playing a warning at the beginning of a video or a song is going to have any affect if there is not a responsible adult around to see it appear. After all, at some point those stickers on CDs became an indication of which records we wanted to buy – the one that had them.
References
Parental Warnings to be Introduced for Online Music
5.22.2011
What About Negotiations?
Behind every successful business there are plenty of negotiations that had to be sorted out in the process. In fact, we participate in negotiations more than we realize, and the more we focus on our negotiation skills, the better we become at them. During the past week I had the opportunity to speak with Jonathan Martin, Co-Founder and Owner of a music-based website that helps independent artists monetize their music, as well as allow fans to discover and share music. Jonathan has previously started three separate music business companies and has worked with artists in management positions. During the past 5 years he has been a party to several negotiations and he was glad to share some suggestions with me.
I began by asking Jonathan about objective criteria, and how he had incorporated it in past negotiations. “I’m a Finance guy, numbers are my thing, so when I’m going into a negotiation I always come prepared with financial statements, analytic projections, etc. But it’s not enough to have the factual information. It’s important that when you go into negotiations with your material that you also know how to use it and it present it. In my case numbers don’t explain themselves all the time. I need to be able to build a case around these numbers that supports what I am essentially arguing in benefit of.” Jonathan also pointed out that if you wanted the ‘objective criteria’ to be taken serious it was also important to willingly listen to the other party when they presented their material, as well as initiating an interest in their views of the material.
During negotiations, emotions many times run rampant, so I decided to ask Jonathan which of Shapiro’s five core concerns that stimulate emotion (appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status, or role) did he find more important. I can’t say I was surprised by his answer because I agree – affiliation. “Ideally, in a smooth negotiation you want to work together, not against each other. It makes the process of working together easier. Personally, I’ve found that during a negotiation if we’ve been able to build a personal connection either before hand, or during the process, I’m more open-minded about new ideas and about changing my mind. Versus if I feel that you are being insincere I’m more resistant about changing my mind.” While I had never thought about it, in that context I found myself in agreement. When there’s a connection between you and the other party, I feel that the parties are more likely to cooperate with each other rather than ‘stand their ground’.
To end our discussion I asked Jonathan if there was ever a time during a negotiation in which he felt the opposing party was ‘dirty’, and he shared this story with me. “During a negotiation with an investor for my last start-up initiative I found myself being seated in a chair that was as low to the ground as possible, with a stiff back. Being 6ft3 this was obviously an awkward situation. I knew if I said nothing and continued on with the negotiation that it would affect my position because I was going to be unable to concentrate throughout the meeting. Instead of ignoring the situation, I decided to excuse myself and adjust the chair.” So did the investor respond in any way to that action? “He simply sat back and smiled.”
I began by asking Jonathan about objective criteria, and how he had incorporated it in past negotiations. “I’m a Finance guy, numbers are my thing, so when I’m going into a negotiation I always come prepared with financial statements, analytic projections, etc. But it’s not enough to have the factual information. It’s important that when you go into negotiations with your material that you also know how to use it and it present it. In my case numbers don’t explain themselves all the time. I need to be able to build a case around these numbers that supports what I am essentially arguing in benefit of.” Jonathan also pointed out that if you wanted the ‘objective criteria’ to be taken serious it was also important to willingly listen to the other party when they presented their material, as well as initiating an interest in their views of the material.
During negotiations, emotions many times run rampant, so I decided to ask Jonathan which of Shapiro’s five core concerns that stimulate emotion (appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status, or role) did he find more important. I can’t say I was surprised by his answer because I agree – affiliation. “Ideally, in a smooth negotiation you want to work together, not against each other. It makes the process of working together easier. Personally, I’ve found that during a negotiation if we’ve been able to build a personal connection either before hand, or during the process, I’m more open-minded about new ideas and about changing my mind. Versus if I feel that you are being insincere I’m more resistant about changing my mind.” While I had never thought about it, in that context I found myself in agreement. When there’s a connection between you and the other party, I feel that the parties are more likely to cooperate with each other rather than ‘stand their ground’.
To end our discussion I asked Jonathan if there was ever a time during a negotiation in which he felt the opposing party was ‘dirty’, and he shared this story with me. “During a negotiation with an investor for my last start-up initiative I found myself being seated in a chair that was as low to the ground as possible, with a stiff back. Being 6ft3 this was obviously an awkward situation. I knew if I said nothing and continued on with the negotiation that it would affect my position because I was going to be unable to concentrate throughout the meeting. Instead of ignoring the situation, I decided to excuse myself and adjust the chair.” So did the investor respond in any way to that action? “He simply sat back and smiled.”
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