World Music

YouTube Plays Now Factored Into Billboard Ranking, Helps Make "Harlem Shake" #1 By D.L. Chandler - Feb. 21, 2013 - Hip Hop Wired Billboard has teamed with consumer information company Nielsen and will now factor YouTube video plays when ranking songs on the "Hot 100" singles chart. Baauer's smash hit, “Harlem Shake,” has already benefited, landing at No. 1 on the aforementioned chart. A new venture was announced yesterday, revolutionizing how Billboard tracks the rise of hit songs in a variety of genres. Before the deal, Nielsen tracked digital sales, physical copies, radio airplay and other traditional means of media delivery. Now, Billboard will collect streaming data on all of YouTube's official music videos using Nielsen's information measurements. Essentially, a streaming video click on YouTube will be counted as a radio spin Additionally, user-generated videos that have official use of original music will also have their streams counted and factore...

Google Just Eliminated The Difference Between Desktop And Mobile Ads By Owen Thomas - Feb. 6, 2013 - From Business Insider If you buy ads on Google , you may soon be a mobile advertiser — whether you like it or not. And you could be paying for the privilege. Google just announced that it is "enhancing" and "upgrading" AdWords for a world where people increasingly use mobile devices. The changes will take place by the middle of this year. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-blends-desktop-and-mobile-ads-2013-2#ixzz2KA52owdo

Telecom Corporations Are Trying To Stop The Government From Offering Free 'Super Wi-Fi' By Walter Hickey - Feb. 4, 2013 - From Business Insider The $178 billion telecom industry is scrambling to kill a government plan to provide free "super Wi-Fi" across the country, The Washington Post's Cecilia Kang reports . Although the Federal Communications Commission's plan has been talked about for years , it got a boost last week with a lobbying campaign from the tech industry. Google and Microsoft told the FCC that additional public Wi-Fi would spur "millions of de­vices that will compose the coming Internet of things," a resounding early endorsement of the nascent policy proposal. The wireless industry responded with a fierce and well-funded campaign to kill the proposal. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fcc-government-public-wifi-networks-2013-2#ixzz2KA2Tqfv6

Deezer TV By Paul Resnikoff - Feb. 5, 2013 - From Digital Music News On the heels of an incredibly aggressive global expansion, Deezer is now pushing into another territory: Smart TVs . According to details shared with Digital Music News this morning, that includes deals withSamsung, LG, and Toshiba. "We believe that putting Deezer at the heart of the TV experience marks the next innovation for music," CEO Axel Dauchez declared. Read More: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2013/20130205latest

South Korea leads world digital music consumption Feb. 5, 2013 - Telecompaper South Korea is leading the world in the transition from physical to digital music, with digital services accounting for 56 percent of all consumer spending on full-track music in the country in 2012, according to data from IHS iSuppli. The pace of South Korea's transition to digital music leads all other countries, including major economies such as the US, currently in second place, and the UK, ranked third. However, based on current trends, the US is expected by 2016 to ascend to the market's top spot, followed by the UK. Read More: http://www.telecompaper.com/news/south-korea-leads-world-digital-music-consumption--923085

For Many Digital Music Services, Free Is Not a Choice By BEN SISARIO - January 28, 2013 - NY Times Media Decoder Blog The competition among streaming music services is going global. It is also increasingly going free. As CD and download sales cool, the music industry is looking to subscription services like Spotify, Rhapsody and Deezer to provide an attractive alternative to pirated content. But the growth of these companies has been relatively slow, and to compete against one another, more of them are opening free tiers — a move that gets attention, but has always caused worries that it could undermine the value of music. Read More: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/for-many-digital-music-services-free-is-not-a-choice/

In the Last Year, Google Takedown Demands Have Increased 1,300% By Paul Resnikoff - Jan. 24, 2013 - Digital Music News In the last year alone, DMCA takedown requests have surged 1,300% (and for the mathematically challenged, 100% = double). In hard numbers, that's the difference between 202,297 demands in mid-January of 2012 and 2,857,808 demands in the latest week. So what happens next? If anyone has the resources to handle huge DMCA takedown volumes, it would be Google. But even this elephant is getting overloaded... Read More: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2 013/20130124takedown

Digital Notes: Measuring Growth in Dollars and Page Views By BEN SISARIO January 16, 2013 From The New York Times Media Decoder Blog Tracking the Industry, in Part: Next Big Sound, a company that measures the social activity surrounding online music, this week offered another encouraging glimpse of the market. In its year-end report , it said it measured 93.8 billion streams of songs last year, up 45 percent from 2011. Combing through artist Facebook accounts, Twitter feeds and other sources, it found find 17.1 billion profile views and 5.7 billion “new fans” of music. ... It also found that while independent acts tend to do very well on Facebook, Twitter and other sites (especially SoundCloud), that shrinks on Vevo and YouTube; Vevo is owned by Universal and Sony Music, and many independent labels do not have licensing deals with it. Read More: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/digital-notes-measuring-growth-in-dollars-and-page-views/

Broken Negotiations: YouTube and German Music Royalty Authority, GEMA, Still Can’t Come to Terms 3 Years Later January 11, 2013 From Digital Media Wire After 3 years, German YouTube viewers are still unable to watch certain music videos due to a copyright dispute. GEMA, Germany’s music royalties authority, declared today that they broke off their negotiations with YouTube, claiming that YouTube has violated their copyright laws by allegedly allowing the unauthorized use of 1,000 music tracks on its website. GEMA is now seeking a €1.6 million compensation. Read More: http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2013/01/11/broken-negotiations-youtube-and-german-music-royalty-authority-gema-still-cant-come-to-terms-3-years-later

The New Generation of Channel Surfing By MICHAEL SHEDLETSKY January 4, 2013 From Entertainment & Media Law Blog With big media moguls rushing to have their share of the YouTube pie, it is worth examining the fundamental shift in the YouTube platform, prompting Peter Chernin , Time Warner Cable, and RTL Bertlesmann (the largest private radio and television broadcaster in Europe) to contribute millions of dollars betting on the future of television programming. Read More: http://www.entertainmentmedialawsignal.com/2013/01/articles/television/the-new-generation-of-channel-surfing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EntertainmentMediaLawSignal+%28Entertainment+%26+Media+Law+Signal%29

What form will digital music take in 2013? BY: JEFF MIERS December 27, 2012 From The Buffalo News “Looking through the pages of this latest IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Digital Music Report, you see a striking paradox: on one hand, there is the innovation and drive of a business that has led the way for creative industries in adapting to the digital age; on the other hand, the extraordinarily difficult environment in which these changes are taking place.” This is IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore, writing in the organization's “2012 Digital Music Report,” and not-so-subtly hinting at the nigh-on-treacherous “environment” facing the music industry and that oft-overlooked subclass within the industry – the artists. Moore is writing in the language of the boardroom, not the street. So perhaps it would be worthwhile for us to translate her words into a vernacular folks who don't work for record companies might be able to understand. The IFPI chief e...

Meet the 50,000 Musicians Who Have Money Awaiting Them By Eriq Gardner Aug. 16, 2012 From The Hollywood Reporter Not all musicians will go to war over money owed to them. In fact, there's at least 50,000 of them who are leaving some $31 million in a pot just waiting to be claimed. Like federal and state tax bureaus that sometimes come out with lists of all those who have yet to claim refunds, SoundExchange is practically begging musicians to come forward and collect revenues on digital performance royalties Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/musicians-share-digital-royalties-sound-exchange-list-363316

YouTube wants to double down on mobile music videos By Janko Roettgers Sept. 26, 2012 From Gigaom YouTube wants to give mobile phone users a chance to find music video content by artist, discography and genre, with the goal of bringing music content to hundreds of millions of its users. These plans could be an answer to Vevo’s mobile music initiatives. Read More: http://gigaom.com/video/youtube-mobile-music-videos/

Universal Music hails role of tablets, apps and ads for digital music's future By Stuart Dredge December 12, 2012 The Guardian Apps Blog Tablets, third-party apps built on APIs from services like Spotify and Deezer, and ad-supported business models all have the potential to boost digital music consumption in the coming years, according to Francis Keeling, global head of digital business at Universal Music. Read More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/dec/12/universal-music-tablets-apps-advertising

Entercom Signs Another Music Royalty, OTA Revenue Deal December 11, 2012 Radio World During the recent House Judiciary Subcommittee hearings on streaming music performance royalties, several lawmakers suggested that rather than waiting for Congress to reorganize the streaming fee contracts, that radio groups and labels work out their own deals. Some groups, like Clear Channel and Entercom, have begun doing that. Earlier this year, both radio groups signed deals with Big Machine Label Group in which they agreed to pay an on-air performance royalty in exchange for more favorable streaming royalties. Read More: http://www.radioworld.com/article/entercom-signs-another-music-royalty -ota-revenu e-deal/216767

CDs and music downloads are still popular holiday gifts By Erik Gruenwedel December 10, 2012 Home Media Magazine Music CDs and digital downloads gift cards are still sought-after holidays shopping items, despite the rising use of Pandora, Spotify, Rhapsody and other options for streaming music, according to new data from The NPD Group. Read More: http://www.homemediamagazine.com/industry-news/npd-music-cds-digital-downloads-remain-popular-gifts-29066

Social Media Drives Digital Music Sales, Study Finds By Mike Stenger December 10, 2012 From Social News Daily Social media sites, particularly Twitter, may not have helped contribute to e-commerce sales this past Black Friday , but according to a new study, social media does help drive music sales. The study was put together by Next Big Sound  and examined the effects of social networks on digital music sales. Read More: http://socialnewsdaily.com/5737/social-media-drives-digital-music-sales-study-finds/

Business Matters: A $3 Billion Valuation Brings Spotify Expectations Back to Earth By Glenn Peoples November 12, 2012 From Billboard.biz News that Spotify raised money at a $3 billion valuation and generated $200 million in revenue in the first half of 2012 is more like the sound of air being let out of a tire rather than a bursting bubble. The company has been hyped more than any other in the subscription-music space -- deservedly so -- and expectations needed to brought back to reality. Spotify recently raised $100 million at a $3 billion valuation, or $1 billion less than the valuation it was aiming for when raising funds in recent months, according to reports. As Billboard.biz reported Sunday, the company raised the funding from several investors, including Goldman Sachs. Read More: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/business-matters-a-3-billion-valuation-brings-1008011232.story

SoundExchange Pays Out $122.5 Million In Q3 -- Its Largest Sum Yet By Eric Christman November 14, 2012 From Billboard.biz SoundExchange continues to grow its payout, hitting $122.5 million in royalty payouts to artists and labels in the third quarter. That figure makes it the largest quarterly payout by the organization since its inception. In the first quarter of 2012, SoundExchange paid out $108.6 million, which it credited the record quarter to data cleanup and technology overhaul efforts. For the year, the agency has paid out $326.9 million, surpassing the $292 million in royalty payments it made in 2011. It also brings total payouts since SoundExchange's inception to about $1.2 billion in master rights performance royalties for artists and labels. The organization said that it now distributes royalties on behalf of more than 2,000 digital music services. Read More: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/soundexchange-pays-out-122-5-million-in-1008015922.sto...

Social music service Whyd taps into publicly available music from around the Web by Francis Bea November 15, 2012 From Digital Trends Whyd, a social music startup that launches today, enables users to pull music from around the Web. Music from the likes of YouTube, SoundCloud, and Vimeo, can be aggregated into publicly available playlists for unlimited -- and free -- listening. ... There are also some inherent problems with Whyd’s business model. While the purpose of the site is to surface lesser-known, even archaic music, it can cut artists out of the picture if users are listening to tracks hosted on SoundCloud or Vimeo, for example. These sites, unlike YouTube, don’t offer advertising revenue or a cut from online stream, and the music industry might not take kindly to this new strategy even if it is aggregated from publicly available sources. Whyd, on the other hand, sees it differently. “We also must remember that artists have provided some of their music for free online, that when...