Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The Rolling Stones Live

It was the best of times, the worse of times Saturday night as the snow fell and made driving conditions frightening as we white knuckled our way into Vancouver to see what may be the last time the Rolling Stones play live on tour in our area or anywhere….
It was worth the cost of hiring someone else to drive as I turned back and admitted my lack of skill in the driving category

For those of us who grew up to great rock, it is one of the few things we can genuinely share and bond with our teenagers. The stadium was full of other parents also having that rare experience of true bonding with a teenage child.

As I have said many times- I hear my son speak the same thoughts ‘nothing is better than a great live performance… it makes you want to go buy the music”... Music to the industry’s ears. SO once again – it’s not about CD’s vs. MP3’s – it’s about the artist compelling you to listen and buy their music – in whatever format your generation chooses. I will find my way to a CD store and still talk about my record collection I gave away to an old boyfriend and my son will use his ipod and talk MP3 code.
But both generations love the music and will always remember that snowy evening we made it in to see the Stones!

Friday, October 27, 2006

The future of Myspace

With The News Corporation (NWS), purchase MYspace.com - maybe the $$ numbers of the transaction and the recent purchase of YouTube invites the interest of the wrong kind of fan.
Myspace has had recent hacker’s attacks with emails directing users to login pages not associated wit Myspace to gain access to user’s login and passwords. Feedback from users - site frozen, pages not working, "friends dropped to zero" and so on...
Then recent headlines like the WSJ- Myspace- Byespace talking about market saturation and users leaving the heavily populated community makes you wonder about - 1. The direction of online community- the security of online community and where will the online music industry shift and move to?

Service and security will be issues...

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

MP3Musicgrams.com Announces Contest Winner for Week Oct 16 - Oct 22 Hip Hop Artist Spotrusha, with MP3 “Mary Warner”

MP3Musicgrams.com Announces Contest Winner for Week Oct 16 - Oct 22 Hip Hop Artist Spotrusha, with MP3 “Mary Warner”

Featured MP3Musicgram this week: Alternative Rock Artist, Gentry Morris with “Rene”

For Immediate Release:

Delta, and B.C. – October 25, 2006, www.MP3Musicgrams.com, a free music promotion site featuring free MP3 music uploads and Musicgrams, announces the artist winner for the most sent MP3Musicgrams for the week of Oct 16 - Oct 22, hip hop singer Spotrusha, with song “Mary Warner “.

The MP3Musicgrams.com Music Fan and Artist contest officially started October 16, 2006 and runs through to December 11, 2006. Artists and bands in all musical genres from rock to country to hip hop can upload a promo MP3, image, artist description and add their website link to direct users back to their site. The contest will feature monthly prizes for the most sent MP3 Musicgrams by artists, with a grand prize of an electric or acoustic guitar to be awarded at the end. More importantly, artists and bands that upload their music get a chance to be heard by new fans and have their MP3 spread virally for global exposure.

Contest page: http://www.mp3musicgrams.com/contest.aspx

Friday, October 13, 2006

music can change the world...buy an iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED™

music is an international language and now Apple has joined Bono and his new venture to raise money for drugs in Africa as one of the products for sale -iPod nano as part of the (PRODUCT) RED™ branding . Apple contributes $10 from the purchase price to the Global Fund, to help fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

From the GAP to iPods t Motorola red cell phones - you can buy what you were going to buy anyway- but in "red"
http://www.joinred.com/products.asp

Monday, October 09, 2006

The Who Tour 2006- they still rock

Being a Who fan my entire adult life, if that starts at 16, I was amazed to see the two 60 year old standing members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey perform for hours with the endurance of young men when they first broke into the music scene, but the performance polish of true rock stars.
In my opinion, one of the best rock bands of all time, they did not disappoint me last night as I sat in the audience at GM Place and screamed until I lost my voice, while they still sang and played effortlessly.

With classics like My Generation and Teenage Wasteland bringing down the house , with a room full of all generations , it made the event one of my top musical experiences to finally see them and hear them live.

I have said a few times in this Blog, as the music industry undergoes massive change with MP3's and online availability, there is no replacement for seeing a good band or artist perform live.

The Who sang new material from their new album set to be released October 13

I am sold- I am a buyer - and I will buy the CD to play in my car and in my home. I think I owe it to them ...

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Apple sings ...to the tune of Starbucks

I'll have a coffee with my apple, no I will have an apple with my coffee, nope I will have...

The Starbucks Hear Music catalog will now be available in the iTunes music store under an agreement with iTunes owner Apple Computer Inc.
from the news:
Starbucks (SBUX ) and Apple (AAPL) announced the availability of the Starbucks Hear Music catalog on the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com), giving iTunes users the ability to preview, buy and download a wide variety of Starbucks popular Hear Music titles. Hear Music produces a wide range of albums showcasing new and classic artists including the well-known Artist's Choice(TM) series, Opus Collections, Debut Series releases by emerging artists, as well as new works from major artists. Starbucks Hear Music offerings will be available in a special new Starbucks Entertainment area within the iTunes Store and will include a wide variety of popular content as well as playlists created specifically

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

The rush of finding a new unsigned band -meet "Oswald"

Sometimes on this Blog I talk about stocks or new technology - today it’s just the excitement of finding a new unsigned band from Glasgow Scotland. That is the magic of the online music industry- you get to discover great unsigned talent all over the world.

"Oswald” has a sound similar to U2, but is no copy cat version. They are original and their lyrics and vocals are memorable. They have released free MP3's of their songs
Love, Nothing Left to Win, Home and Tumbling Down. I would recommend them to anyone that likes this genre of music .
check them out at : Artist : Oswald

http://www.mp3musicgrams.com/createGram.aspx

Monday, September 25, 2006

music resources online

I have spent the last few weeks building lists of resources for online music and have to say that I am amazed by the bottomless supply of sites to submit and post news to. At Investorideas.com we follow a lot of sectors - and I have built a lot of industry sector lists- but nothing has come close to what I have found in music. The online music industry is full of small independent sites trying to get a piece of the action - trying to be the online destination of choice- providing multiple services to artists-
From uploading their music, to directories of artists and bands, to profiling, to message boards to submitting and posting press releases.

I am impressed, but have to wonder where this is all going to land and how some of the smaller sites are going to make money

Comments and ideas appreciated-

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Canada's first online commercial music service

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, - After establishing MPE security technology as the industry standard for digitally delivering new music releases over the Internet to radio broadcasters ( http://www.promoonlympe.com/ ), Destiny Media Technologies (OTC Bulletin Board: DSNY.OB) and partner Promo Only, today launched Canada's first online commercial music service, Promo Only Digital Download Service ( http://www.podds.ca/ ).
This is the first and only commercial online music service to be approved by the Canadian Audio-Video Licensing Agency (AVLA), which represents virtually every Canadian record label including Universal Music Canada, Warner Music Canada and EMI Music Canada. PODDS will include rare remixes, extended mixes and other hard-to-find content from major and independent labels that is often required for commercial and industry professionals.

more info- Web site: http://www.dsny.com/

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

music stocks -follow the money in music

With small cap stocks going thru a complacent if not quiet period this past few months, as commodity stocks lost luster, it was interesting, but not surprising to me to see a few music industry stocks showing some momentum. With all the buzz in the industry with acquisitions and new market entry in the online music industry - the music stocks sector is an interesting watch.
To check out some of the small and large players in the sector –

http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/MIS/Stock_List.asp

a couple of small/micro caps I was looking at today- EDGETECH INTL INC (Other OTC:EGIL.PK) and FREEHAND SYS INTL (Other OTC:FSYI.PK)- both up today at time of posting

disclaimer- http://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp

Monday, September 04, 2006

MySpace to sell Indie band downloads

What's next for MySpace ?- selling digital downloads for an estimated three million unsigned indie bands. Competing with iPod in the digital music industry- MySpace will offer unsigned artists the chance to sell their music and they decide how much to charge for each song after factoring in MySpace's distribution fee

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

SpiralFrog and Universal Music Group Partner in Advertising-Supported Legal Music Download Service

SpiralFrog and Universal Music Group Partner in Advertising-Supported Legal Music Download Service

www.spiralfrog.com News:

New York, August 29, 2006SpiralFrog, the new music download destination, has signed an agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, to make UMG's extensive catalog available for legal downloading in the US and Canada via SpiralFrog's advertising-supported service.
SpiralFrog will offer users of its no-cost web-based service the ability to legally download music by many of the world's most popular and award-winning artists.
"Offering young consumers an easy-to-use alternative to pirated music sites will be compelling," said Robin Kent, SpiralFrog's CEO. "SpiralFrog will offer those consumers a better experience and environment than they can get from any pirate site." Kent highlighted some key factors - legal digital files with no viruses or spyware in a controlled client-server architecture, quick downloading, and quality songs and music videos by great artists as among the primary benefits users will gain.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

MP3 Music Grams

still working the bugs out - check it out
www.mp3musicgrams.com
MP3 MUSIC GRAMS are the ultimate way to send MP3 files to fans and friends. You can choose from submitting your own MP3 file and photo with a message. Our MP3MusicGrams.com give you and your fans the tools to help you spread your music around the world!OR simply choose from our current list of available MP3 and photos and add a personal message. It's simple and easy to use and is a great way for new artists to get their music out.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

YouTube plans to post music videos online

YouTube http://www.youtube.com/says they are in negotiations with major record labels over plans to post music videos online

The site has users that watch more than 100 million videos a day and now is in discussion with record labels to feature music videos

about Youtube:
YouTube is a place for people to engage in new ways with video by sharing, commenting on, and viewing videos. YouTube originally started as a personal video sharing service, and has grown into an entertainment destination with people watching more than 70 million videos on the site daily.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Yahoo! Music Jukebox

Yahoo! Music Engine Upgraded and Renamed Yahoo! Music Jukebox


New Offering Includes Audio and Performance Enhancements and Introduction of Premium Plus Software

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Aug. 2, 2006--Yahoo! Music, the leading music destination online, today announced the latest upgrades to the Yahoo! Music Engine and its renaming to Yahoo! Music Jukebox. The new Yahoo! Music Jukebox gives consumers an optimal music listening experience by utilizing popular features from both Yahoo! Music Engine and Musicmatch Jukebox. The seamless integration of these music applications represents the beginning of migrating Musicmatch Jukebox users to the media player of choice for all Yahoo! Music users.
"This new version of the Yahoo! Music Jukebox enables our users to take advantage of the combined strengths of the Yahoo! Music Engine and the Musicmatch Jukebox in one fully-integrated experience," said Dave Goldberg, vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Music. "The merged product reflects the hard work of our engineering and product teams in building a best-of-breed media player for digital music fans."
The new Yahoo! Music Jukebox offers a new audio equalizer, and improved playlist and usability enhancements. In addition, Yahoo! will be offering Yahoo! Music Jukebox Plus for $19.99 for premium features such as faster ripping and burning, custom CD printing and audio enhancements for imported MP3 files. The free Yahoo! Music Jukebox gives consumers the ability to rip, mix, and burn CDs, as well as to import and manage music, and transfer music to portable devices.
Highlights of the upgraded Yahoo! Music Jukebox include: -- New Audio Equalizer: A new 5-band equalizer allows users to
adjust the sound of their favorite music in a convenient
fashion.
-- Usability Enhancements: An overall new look of Yahoo! Music
Jukebox has made key functions more accessible through
consistent right click and tick menus. Users can quickly play
a selection of an artist's top tracks with just one click. The
improved application makes moving the Yahoo! Music catalog -
to a users' music collection - to Messenger Music and back
again for a seamless experience.
-- Shared Playlist Improvements: Playlists created using the
Yahoo! Music Jukebox will be automatically stored for users to
access from any PC. In addition, searching for playlists
becomes more efficient to help users find other music fans
with similar tastes and preferences.
-- Introduction of Yahoo Music Jukebox Plus - For a premium fee
of $19.99 consumers can enhance their music experience with:
-- Audio Boost - Optimize the sound quality of your imported
music files to enjoy them at the highest fidelity.
-- Enhanced CD Ripping & Burning Ability: Maximum ripping and
burning speeds for audiophiles.
-- SmartSplit: When users want to burn a large number of
tracks, SmartSplit automatically organizes multiple tracks
for users across as many CDs as necessary.
-- CD Label Creation: Users can create fun and exciting CD
labels for their newly burned discs using a very simple
program.
More information on the Yahoo! Music Jukebox is available at: http://music.yahoo.com/jukebox/
The Yahoo! Music Jukebox gives consumers access to the Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscription service which allows users the opportunity to play music from a catalog of more than 2 million songs, transfer tracks to portable devices, as well as enjoy the unique ability to share and discover music with other subscribers through Yahoo! Messenger. Yahoo! Music Unlimited is available for an annual fee of $59.88 (equates to $4.99 per month) or a monthly subscription price of $6.99. Yahoo! Music Unlimited To Go is available for an annual fee of $119.88 (equates to $9.99 per month) or a monthly subscription price of $11.99.
About Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music (http://music.yahoo.com) offers the most comprehensive music-related content, features and information available online. Yahoo! Music provides a wide selection of streaming audio, the Web's largest collection of music videos, Internet radio, exclusive artist features and music news covering all genres of music to Yahoo! visitors
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! seeks to provide online products and services essential to users' lives, and offers a full range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users around the world. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Contact:Yahoo! Media Group
Charlene Fitzgibbon, 310-907-3119
cenglish@yahoo-inc.com
or
Bender/Helper Impact
Melisa Rodriguez or Stephan Pechdimaldji, 310-473-4147
melisa_rodriguez@bhimpact.com
stephan_pechdimaldji@bhimpact.com
Source: Yahoo! Inc.

Friday, July 28, 2006

$100 million dollars

No its not Dr Evil ...
Kazaa has agreed to pay $100 mln in music industry settlement

Content Industries and Sharman Networks Settle All Global Litigation
SYDNEY – Sharman Networks Ltd. announced today that an historic turning point has been reached for both technology and content industries...
SYDNEY – Sharman Networks Ltd. announced today that an historic turning point has been reached for both technology and content industries with the global settlement of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, et al., v. Grokster, Ltd and the Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd & Ors v. Sharman License Holdings Ltd & Ors copyright cases.
The global settlement of all legal disputes between Sharman, which owns and distributes the Kazaa peer-to-peer (P2P) software application, and the major entertainment content providers and trade groups, clears the way to enable distribution of the broadest range of licensed content over Kazaa.
full release : http://www.sharmannetworks.com/content/view/full/321/

Monday, July 24, 2006

Microsoft's Zune

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)

Microsoft is entering the music and entertainment arena with competition to the Apple iPod with Zune. Zune will be available at the end of 2006 Microsoft tells the industry-
Zune , both a hardware and software product line , in combiantion with MSN Music give Microsoft a growing presense in the ever changing music industry.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Lyric jeans- Music and denim industries converge

While doing some research today, I ran across a small company with big ambitons in the music/clothing industry
Lyric Jeans, Inc. (Other OTCPK:LYJN)
according to their recent press release :
"Lyric Jeans is a music driven premium clothing line involving lyrical content on jeans, denim wear and accessories. Each pair of jeans reflects the personality, style and flare of the artist and song through its design. With the vision of fusing the world of music with fashion, Lyric Jeans employs a cutting-edge design strategy allowing consumers to express themselves stylishly through song lyrics. Lyric Jeans recently announced licensing deals with Warner/Chappell Music and Universal Music Publishing Group. The company's manufacturing partner is American Garment Sewing, one of the leading U.S. companies in premium denim production."

more info - http://www.lyricjeans.com/

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

The Recording Industry Association of America VS. XM Satellite

The Recording Industry Association of America
http://www.riaa.com/ is suing XM Satellite Radio for “massive wholesale infringement" because of Inno, a $400 iPod-like product that lets XM listeners to record up to 50 hours of music and automatically parses recordings by song and artist.The "Inno," which is manufactured by Japan's Pioneer Corporation, is sold by XM under the slogan, "Hear it, click it, save it."The lawsuit seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied by XM Satellite customers using "Inno"

XM Satellite intends to fight the lawsuit vigorously and said the labels are using the court systems as way to influence business negotiations.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Apple - profit increases 41% on iPod sales

Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) announced earnings of $410 million, 47 cents , up from $290 million,34 centsfrom the previous year, with sales of its iPod portable music players continuing to increase .
Profit increased 41% with sales of its iPod portable music players contributing . For the fiscal second quarter ending April 1 over 8.5 million iPod portable digital music players were shipped.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

The Doobie Brothers -Great 70's rock

Tonight I went and heard the Doobie Brothers http://www.doobiebros.com/ live in concert and it brought back memories from when I was 16- 17 (yes I am that old). Great music stays embedded in your memory, in your cells and comes to life when triggered. I guess it’s like an MP3 file download always ready to play.

A room full of old rockers like myself all became young again as the music rebooted cell after cell. We all forgot how old we were for two hours and that we have teenage kids at home . One fan yelled enthusiastically- "You are the greatest rock band of all time”. They were definitely one of the best of my time.

I never got to see them live when I was 17, but in some strange way I came full circle tonight. As much as technology improves and impresses us, nothing can take the place of a live musician on stage playing to your heart, your soul, embedding themselves into your personal history.

Oh , oh, oh -
Listen to the music....

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Free MP3's of New Young Musical Artists Creating New Original Sounds from Pop/Folk to Alternative Rock

Free MP3's of New Young Musical Artists Creating New Original Sounds from Pop/Folk to Alternative Rock
Munch Music Delta, B.C. http://www.rockandrolldream.com a digital recording studio and music centre has added new recording artists and MP3 downloads for avid music fans searching for new, raw musical talent. The young artists featured all write their own music and create original sounds and lyrics. Munch Music is excited about a new artist that walked in and recently completed a demo, Chelsea Patricia Ganeff, musically comparable to the next "Jann Arden" or "Jewel". The online site Chelsea Patricia Ganeff's single "Walk Away" click here: http://www.rockandrolldream.com/downloads_CPG.htm "Chemical Dream" consists of John Simpson on guitar, Alex Won on guitar, Doug Bourks on bass and Connor McIlvenna on percussion. The Dream's music is a very hooky mixture of riff based classic rock with melodic guitar melodies. Sample "Rock Song" single from Chemical Dream click here: http://www.mymunchmusic.com/downloads_ChemicalDream.htm Taylor Van Zant's alternative rock band is called "Van Paul and the Forever Red". The band consists of Max Konyi on piano and guitar, Patrick Snape on guitar and bass, Nate Konyi on drums, and Taylor Van Zant on bass, vocals, and rhythm guitar. "Van Paul and the Forever Red" has been together for one year and play in a variety of styles, including: classic and modern rock. Sample "And Air" single from Van Paul and the Forever Reds: http://www.mymunchmusic.com/downloads_VPFReds.htm Munch Music: Founded by 16 Year old artist Taylor Van Zant

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

The Temptations , Otis Williams

March 18th in Vegas I had the extreme pleasure of seeing the only living original member of The Temptations, Otis Williams , perform. The Temptations and the Four Tops put on a show to remember. To see Otis dance and sing to a level of excellence that would exhaust a 20 year old was amazing. I brought my 17 year old son, who is an avid music fan, with me and he had no idea all the songs they sang were the Temptations songs. I told him he was seeing a musical legend in front of him.
Mr. Williams- we salute you!
http://www.otiswilliams.net/

Friday, March 24, 2006

Post Music industry news and articles

Leading Investor and Industry Destination for Music Industry Now Offers Online Article Submission and Press Release Services

InvestorIdeas.com™ offers a new feature for freelance journalists and industry experts to contribute Music Industry content to be considered for posting on http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/MIS/ and for companies to upload their news releases to take advantage of a targeted industry audience.

Post Music Industry Articles: http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/NewsUploader/Submit_Article/

To Upload Music Industry Specific News Releases:http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/NewsUploader/

Thursday, March 23, 2006

the new "iPhone."

iPod fans may now have a new choice with the recent buzz that Apple is working on a a new cell phone that is capable of playing music and fielding calls .The new "iPhone" as it is called is being sourced with potential Taiwanese contract manufacturers

Friday, March 17, 2006

Xbox 360 and Epic Records will showcase 12 up-and-coming artists through the Artist of the Month

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT : Microsoft Corporation) & Epic Records announced an agreement to offer a full year of exclusive artist content and music video downloads free for all Xbox 360(TM) gamers. Over the next year, Xbox 360 and Epic Records will showcase 12 up-and-coming artists through the Artist of the Month program through the Xbox Live(R) service, a unified global online entertainment network. Millions of Xbox Live members can enter a monthly sweepstakes with a prize of gaming against some of the hottest musicians through the Xbox Live Game with Fame(TM) program.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Music Industry and the Justice Department

Just as the industry has been buzzing about online music sales growth- now comes the bad news- music companies are the subject of the scrutiny of the U.S. Justice Department for possible collusion in the setting of prices for online downloading.

Digitial music in Canada

Following stats that showed Canada was lagging in participation in the booming music download industry - news on a deal that may accelerate that growth came out. Bell Canada announced it has acquired a Majority Interest in Puretracks, Canada's Premiere Online Digital Music Service.
The company said in its press release - "By investing in Puretracks, Bell is better positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for online digital entertainment among Canadian consumers," said Charlotte Burke, Senior Vice president, Bell Canada Consumer Internet Services. "Working closely with Puretracks and their leading music industry partners will reinforce Bell's proven track record of offering original and exclusive online content."
www.puretracks.com

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Digital Music Conference - The Who's Who

Music Industry's 6th Annual Digital Music Forum and Mobile Music Leadership Summit (www.digitalmusicforum.com) being held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City on Tuesday, February 28 through Wednesday, March 1, 2006 participants include record labels, music publishers, producers and distributors, technology companies, wireless companies, rights organizations, industry bodies, radio, advertising, attorneys, artists, investors and venture capitalists.

The conference will discuss the role of digital and mobile technologies in the future of music with
topics to be discussed being :
-- Mobile Music –- Metrics, Predictions, Provocations and Analysis &
Mobile Music Leadership Roundtable
-- The State of the Online & Mobile Music Markets: How are record labels
(major and independent), music and mobile companies, telephone carriers and
technology providers positioning their businesses to take advantage of
opportunities in the digital music market?
-- The Growth of The Indie Sector: The role of the Internet, mobile and
digital technologies in the recent success of the independent sector
-- Reaction to RIAA Lawsuits
-- Selling Music to the College Market: The Challenge to Convert Students
Into Paying Customers
-- The MySpace Phenomenon
-- Digital Commerce Opportunities for the Music Industry
-- What are the likely catalysts to creating a vibrant digital music
market?
-- The Future of Radio: What are the "killer apps" that are changing
traditional radio?

Monday, February 13, 2006

Amazon and Google enter music sector

The buzz in the Music industry - apparently industry executives have confirmed they are in discussions with Amazon and Google to create new music services to compete against Apple's share of the digital music market

Friday, February 10, 2006

American Idol draws larger audience than Grammys

28.3 million people watched "American Idol" Wednesday, versus the Grammy Awards with 15.1 viewers. Apparently it was the least-watched Grammy Awards in Nielsen records dating back to the 1970s.

Does that say the music fans are more interested in new emerging talent versus the mainstream?

American Idol plays to the hopes and dreams of the average person, while the Grammy's are a venue for elite, established successful performers dressed in designer clothes .

Maybe it is a statement of the current state of the music industry

Thursday, February 09, 2006

future music industry trends

According to research issued by http://www.strategyanalytics.net/ North American conventional music will remain dominant between 2005 and 2010, but revenues from this channel will decline slightly from $11.4 billion to $11.0 billion. Online music will be the biggest gainer, with revenues more than doubling in the five-year window.

On another note...

Loved the Grammys seeing my two favorite men- Bruce and Bono . I personally would have liked to have seen Bruce win best song with "Devils and Dust" . I think its his best album to date and I have loved his work from the beginning

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Even Prince offers MP3's

The digital music age is changing everything and artists and industry change or goes the way of the dinosaur. Prince has seen the light and is offering Mp3’s to compete with the new age of emerging talent that understands the power of MP3's online and going mobile
Another big trend going back to the roots of music sales -" singles" - where music lover can buy one song for $0.99 instead of whole CD

Monday, January 30, 2006

mobile viewers can now watch the latest music videos

SmartVideo Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: SMVD) announced mobile viewers can now watch the latest music videos on all Internet enabled devices, such as cellphones, PDAs, and laptops connected via cellular, Wi-Fi, and DSL networks. SmartVideo in partnership with the Digital Music Video Network (DMVN), today launched its groundbreaking, advertising-supported channels featuring videos by the music industry's top artists. A unique feature of this service is SmartVideo's use of an advanced Digital Rights Management (DRM) system that protects the copyright and security of the music.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Wal-Mart Soundcheck

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. http://www.walmart.com (WMT) has launched an online music video and audio service featuring exclusive studio performances as part of their market strategy for the music industry

Called "Wal-Mart Soundcheck", the new service includes studio performances and interviews with new and established artisits and bands ranging from rock, pop, punk, country, hip-hop and R&B

The artist's music will play for free on http://www.walmart.com as well as television screens in the Wal-Mart electronics departments. . Acts will be updated monthly.
This should draw in the demographics of the MTV audience and the music fans that search online as part of the explosive trend for free or alternative music

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Starbucks from music coffee house to MP3's

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) , www.starbucks.com has entered new markets as the company's ventures extend into motion pictures with its new deal with Lionsgate and expands the Hear Music™ Coffeehouse they say in a press release " The new stores represent the full integration of a classic coffeehouse experience with an extensive digital and physical music inventory and underscore the Company’s steadfast commitment to extending its Entertainment initiative. The unrivalled combination results in a compelling third place destination for customers to connect over coffee as well as explore, discover, personalize and buy quality music in a warm and inviting environment."
Now the company is talking about entering the MP3 market as the industry changes to that direction

Friday, January 20, 2006

Digital Music Group IPO

Digital Music Group - http://www.digitalmusicgroupinc.com/Home.aspx
listing for NASDAQ - pending symbol - DMGI

The company provides digital music recordings to online music stores for purchase by consumers, with rights to sell over 200,000 music recordings in digital format

The estimated price range for the pending IPO has increased to $9 to $11 per share from $8 to $10.

Digital music expands globally-new report says

New Digital Music Report - Digital music expands worldwide
http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/library/digital-music-report-2006.pdf
If you want to know the details on the digital music industry and how it is transforming the music industry and the digital economy - this 24 page report will tell you all the details

A few hi-lites-

In 2005 the number of legitimate music download sites reached 335, up from 50 two years ago. In just two years the volume of music made available online by record
companies has increased to over two million songs.
Digital & mobile sales of $1.1 billion for record companies - up from $380 million the previous year, and making up 6 percent of all music sales.

read the report and find out how this influences you and the music industry moving forward

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Music Group International digitizing 100,000 recordings

The ongoing changes in music - its all about the downloads -

Universal Music Group International (UMG.XX), the world's largest music company by market share, Wednesday said it was digitizing 100,000 previously deleted European recordings in order to make them available over the Internet.
Universal will take recordings from what it claims is the music industry's largest archive, including music from Marianne Faithfull, Fairport Convention, Nirvana and Jacques Brel.
The global music industry has been hit over the past five years by illegal downloads over the Internet but sales of legal digital downloads in 2005 showed huge growth in the U.K. and U.S.
The global music trade body, IFPI, reported last October that the value of digital download sales have now overtaken the value of the global singles market.
Global sales of recorded music fell 1.9% in the first half of 2005, the latest period for which figures are available, while physical music sales fell 6.3% over the period, however digital music sales tripled over the period to 6% of total record industry sales.
full story: http://www.thebusinessonline.co.uk/DJStory.aspx?DJStoryID=20060118DN005920

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Digital Music in China

Digital Music in China - Recent Research report issued by instat.com
http://www.instat.com

Summary
This past year in 2005 saw strong take-off signals from China’s digital music value chain. The online original-creation music market is booming, while most of the 120 local Chinese publishers license their songs online without a flat royalty guarantee. Piracy is still the key blocking issue to developing China’s digital music industry, but online piracy is being attacked both by the government and industry music labels. The end of 2007 will be the turning point for China’s legitimate digital music market. Unauthorized music companies are now in the process of, or have already made their services legitimate. Also, with the emergence of mega online music stores, legitimate online music will become a dominant service for users. By 2008, China will be one of the most important digital music markets worldwide, with an estimated online service revenue of US$222 million, the equivalent of an annual download of 1.8 billion songs. Installed portable music devices will exceed 150 million units at the end of 2008. Growth of the legitimate digital music market will be strong over the forecasted period, with a CAGR of 317% from 2005–2008, which is unsurprising in an emerging market. This In-Stat report focuses on China’s new online value chain and emphasizes market drivers and barriers. Three year forecasting shows decision makers the best timing for investment.