Posts Tagged ‘Music Industry’

As the year heads into its home stretch, things are looking up for the U.S. music industry – sales are on track to increase over the previous year, something that hasn’t happened since 2004.

With nine months of 2011 down, album sales stand at 228.5 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan — up 3.3% from the 221.1 million albums sold in the corresponding period of 2010. Overall U.S. unit sales, meanwhile, are up 7.2% to 1.18 billion, from 1.1 billion last year. And when albums including track equivalents are taken into account — whereby 10 song downloads count as one album unit – albums have jumped 5.4%, to 323.7 million from 307.1 million.

The positive showing for album sales can primarily be attributed to the digital format, where the configuration’s scans are up 19.7% to 74.1 million units, compared to 61.9 million units in 2010′s first nine months.

Read the rest of this entry »

via Showbiz 411

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise since record or CD or download sales are literally at a fraction of what they used to be: on Grammy night, the two biggest record companies are not having after parties. As of now, Universal Music–the leader–has nothing scheduled. It’s unclear where their artists-like Lady GaGa, Justin Bieber, and Eminem will go to celebrate. Of course, as one UMG insider pointed out, Bieber is nowhere drinking age and Monday is a school day. Right.

Meanwhile Sony Music–second in the business–is having a small gathering for what they say will be 150 people including execs, nominees, and people like Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett. Sounds like fun. Exec wise, Sony is in a muddle over trying to get 72 year old Doug Morris extricated from his UMG contract to come run their company.

R&B artist NeYo has cancelled his annual late night brunch that usually starts at 2am on Sunday after Clive Davis’s Saturday night NARAS backed gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Also not happening: LA Reid’s annual party, even though the Def Jam chief is celebrating his producer’s credit on the Justin Bieber 3D movie (which is not called Leave it to Biever).

The Davis event is still on, honoring David Geffen, with rumors of a Dionne Warwick tribute featuring her cousin, Whitney Houston. The Davis night is one of two big soirees on a weekend that’s incredibly diminished from what it used to be. The other is Friday night’s MusiCares Person of the Year dinner honoring Barbra Streisand, a hot hot ticket at the Convention Center.

At the same time that Sony and UMG have skipped spending big bucks, there’s word that EMI–a company in financial jeopardy and recently seized by Citigroup–his having a “big” party in town. Well, they do have artists to entertain like Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum, so it’s not totally nuts. Past EMI parties have always been fun. And there’s a rumor of a Lyor Cohen after party hosted by the Warner Music exec.

There’s also the NARAS Governor’s Ball right after the show, although it’s not usually a place to see stars. But what a difference in a business that used to live on lavish parties. The heyday is really over.

Truthfully, I enjoy the behind the scenes business aspect of the music industry more than most of the filler music that gets released nowadays, so I wanted to post this up. I love these from nothing to something stories. Troy Carter went from “carrying Jazzy Jeff’s record crates” to becoming CEO of Coalition Media Group, which manages Lady Gaga and others. Watch as he talks about the industry when he was working with The Notorious BIG as compared to nowadays.  Check out the Wall Street Journal‘s profile piece on him.

This past Saturday (January 15th), I had the privilege attending a music producers roundtable presented by the L.A.Times – The Envelope at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live downtown. Ari Levine of the Smeezingtons, RedOne and Alex Da Kid were on hand with L.A. Times’ Ann Powers as moderator, brought together in honor of the upcoming Grammy Awards in February.

Read the full recap below.

- C.A.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just in time, Mr. Rifkind will have his plate full in 2011 with new releases from Akon, Asher Roth, Melanie Fiona and more.

- C.A.

via Billboard.biz

On the heels of yesterday’s announcement that Universal Republic’s Monte and Avery Lipman had both re-signed new long-term contracts with UMG comes word that SRC Records CEO Steve Rifkind will also remain at Universal for the near future.

“Yes, it’s true I just signed with universal for another 3 years,” Rifkind tweeted on January 5. “It’s time that we get to work.”

A pioneer and seasoned tastemaker in the world of hip-hop, Rifkind started SRC (Street Records Corporation), which is distributed by Universal Motown, in 2002, the same year Sony shuttered Loud Records, the label he founded in 1992 that was home to Wu Tang Clan, Three 6 Mafia and Xzibit.

SRC saw a string of successes, including Akon‘s 2006 album Konvicted, which has sold over three million copies, and Asher Roth‘s 2009 single, “I Love College,” which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over a million downloads. Among the label’s more recent signings is R&B singer, reality star and brother to Brandy, Ray J, whose new album “Radiation 2,” produced by Rodney Jerkins, is scheduled for release in February.

Digital sales were up slightly Christmas week 2010 but showed the same signs of a slowdown that has been evident throughout much of the year. Digital track sales were down 2% from the same week in 2009 — 44 million to 44.8 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Digital album sales were up 9%. That means total digital track sales from both albums and single tracks were up 2.4%, assuming 11 tracks per album.

But the year-over-year comparison might actually be better. Christmas 2009 was on a Friday while the holiday fell on a Saturday this year. That means there was one more day after Christmas than this year (a SoundScan week runs Monday to Sunday). An additional day of gift-card sales could make a difference. We’ll find out next week.

Don’t expect much, though. Given the slowdown in digital sales growth, there is no reason to believe that either tracks or digital albums would wildly exceed the paces they have set in the previous eleven and a half months. Year-to-date, track sales are up just 1% over last year and digital album sales are up 13%.

Billboard

2010 was tough for the concert business as high prices kept many fans at home. Promoters now say they plan to make shows more affordable in 2011. But they’ll also try to sell more T-shirts and other merchandise to make up for lost revenue.

Heading into last summer, usually the busiest time of the year, prices were set too high despite the sluggish economy. Managers and promoters believed fans would keep paying for the one or two concerts they see on average each year. Instead, many stayed home and dozens of shows were canceled. Lots of venues filled seats with fire-sale prices.

Now, rather than charge lots early and offer discounts later, some promoters say they’ll offer cheaper tickets from the start, partly because they know fans will spend as much as usual on beer and tchotchkes when they arrive.

Concert attendance fell 12 percent in the first half of 2010, compared with the same period a year ago, according to trade magazine Pollstar. The world’s largest concert promoter, Live Nation Entertainment Inc., said attendance from July to September dropped 16 percent from a year ago, even after it slashed fees and prices for dozens of acts, including Rod Stewart.

Although the average isn’t expected to fall drastically in 2011, there’ll be bargains at the back of the house. Prices for front row seats may actually go up as part of Live Nation’s bid to grab revenue that might otherwise go to ticket resellers. But the company has said it wants to cut prices even further for the cheap seats to let in more fans.

When Live Nation cut prices in 2010, fans spent about the same amount as always – nearly $18 in North American amphitheaters – on beer, merchandise and other stuff, all of which helps the company’s bottom line because it owns major venues including the House of Blues in 13 cities.

Live Nation also is developing a long-overdue shopping basket for its websites to lure fans to spend their ticket savings on CDs, clothes and other items and it recently rolled out an iPhone app that could be used in the future to sell merchandise.

Billboard

Time to recognize the guys behind the boards, flipping faders, crafting the hits and deep cuts that we love to hear. Hip Hop Update’s year end list for 2010, the music producers.

See if your favorite producer is listed below.

- C.A.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is vinyl the next format to crash? Digital Music News takes a look at growth rates over the last few years and finds that vinyl’s growth rate has slowed from 90% in 2008 to 33% in 2009 to 9% in the first half of 2010. The second half of the year will be a bit better, however. Through November 28, vinyl sales are up 13.5%, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In terms of units, vinyl sales are up 310,000 units through November 28. That’s half the 620,000-unit gain of the full 2009 year.

There are a few things to consider here. First, a lot of vinyl is sold at concerts and not reported to SoundScan. This is not a new phenomenon, so the amount of under-reported sales could very well be constant over the years. But it’s happening nonetheless. Second, new independent record stores are still opening up all the time – and they sell vinyl. With more retailers in the supply channel, vinyl has a bit more upside. Third, vinyl could have some staying power because it is a tangible product that can be paired with digital downloads. Free or cheap downloads make more business sense when paired with a regular-priced vinyl album. Also, vinyl is still very, very cool. One indie label executive recently told me no bands would consider signing with his label if it wasn’t going to put out the band’s music on vinyl.

Some people – especially journalists – got excited by vinyl’s large growth rates in past years. But unlike the CD, which was carried by far more retailers, and digital formats, which are far more mainstream, there’s only so much upside in vinyl. That’s not to say the vinyl format is doomed for extinction any time soon. But vinyl does have limited upside. It was always a niche product. A great product for more serious music consumers, but still a niche product.

Billboard

I am. TSG

Congratulations to Wiz Khalifa! Pulling in internet numbers, successful mixtapes, and striking with a super hot hit helped paved the way for Wiz to make moves in the industry.
- C.A.

via the press release

Warner/Chappell recently signed a worldwide co-publishing deal with up-and-coming Pittsburgh rapper, Wiz Khalifa. Khalifa blew up in early 2010 when, after releasing a steady stream of mixtapes, he unleashed the critically-acclaimed, Kush and Orange Juice. The mixtape proved to be an online phenomenon, quickly becoming the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hashtag #kushandorangejuice. Since then, Khalifa’s online presence has skyrocketed, with more than 470,000 fans following him on Twitter, more than one million “Likes” on his Facebook page, and nearly 9 million profile views and 33 million plays at his official MySpace page.

Khalifa has had a breakthrough 2010: he signed with Atlantic Records in June, he was named MTV’s “Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010,” and he recently wrapped up a massive North American tour dubbed the “Waken Baken Tour.” Khalifa’s current single, “Black & Yellow,” produced by super-production duo Stargate, is quickly racing up the charts, as its currently No. 29 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Khalifa’s 2009 full-length mixtape, Deal or No Deal, peaked at No. 1 on iTunes’ Top Hip-Hop/Rap Albums chart, No. 2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 10 on Billboard’s Rap Albums chart.

Wiz Khalifa is one of those true, internet-success stories you always hear about. He released his music through the Web, it spread like wildfire, and his fans rallied around him until he broke through to the next level. He has worked extremely hard to get where he is and Warner/Chappell is a great place to ensure that that momentum keeps going.
- Scott Francis, President, Warner/Chappell Music, and Chairman and CEO, Warner/Chappell Music U.S.

After a split with long-time manager Jeff Robinson earlier this year, Coran Capshaw and Ron Laffitte of Red Light Management will now co-manage Alicia Keys career. It was rumored that Alicia was almost headed to Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation artist management, who had up until recently signed Rihanna for artist representation. (source)

- C.A.

The economic impact from the annual South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Conferences and Festivals on the Austin area is on the upward trend again compared to last year, as officials released 2010 income figures.

The overall total for 2010 — the 24th year of SXSW — is $113 million. This compares to a dip to $99 million for 2009, $103 million in 2008 and $95 million for 2007′s events.

The breakdown of the 2010 numbers was given as $84 million from attendance, including people from outside Austin who came to the city for SXSW. Of the $113 million, $29 million was an operational impact.

The annual conference, trade show and festival welcomed more SXSW visitors than ever before, officials said.

SXSW was nine days of industry conference activities, four days of trade shows, a five-night music festival featuring more than 1,900 artists on more than 80 stages, a nine-day-and-night film festival with more than 300 screenings in eight venues, three nights of free concerts at Auditorium Shores, a four-day poster art show with 120 stands and 70 top artists and a two-day video gaming arcade.

Via

Sean Parker, Napster co-creator and real-life inspiration for Justin Timberlake’s character in The Social Network, revealed the business strategy of his returning act Spotify at The Daily Beast’s Innovators Summit. “The ultimate answer is you have to accept that the war on piracy is a failure,” he said. Trillion’s of illegal downloads vs. 4 billion legal downloads? Wow.

Eminem is the type of multi-platinum, long-term superstar that labels dream of. But a successful lawsuit by Eminem’s original publisher against Universal Music Group could end up triggering a massive financial sinkhole on the digital side – and make Universal seriously regret the signing.

How bad could the damage be – for all the labels? According to new information shared by attorney Steve Gordon at CMJ, upwards of 90 percent of label agreements are “essentially identical” to the Eminem contract. Those contracts are subject to a reclassification of existing “sales” into “licenses,” and therefore, huge royalty increases for the artists involved. “90% of those agreements haven’t been changed, and no manager is stupid enough to renegotiate,” Gordon told Digital Music News.

Gordon used to be a lawyer at Sony Music Entertainment, and has first-hand knowledge of the agreements involved. Still, contracts are confidential and there is certainly room for error. But according to Gordon, absolutely huge artists could soon make their case for bigger payouts, and make UMG wish they’d never signed that white guy from Detroit.

So when will the floodgates pour open? Well, artists aren’t lining up yet, according to Gordon, though “they should” start investigating. Perhaps some are waiting for the outcome of the UMG appeal.

Digital Music News