Major music labels are cutting their staff, yet publishers are doubling the size of their film/TV licensing departments. In fact, total revenues earned by sync income is increasing at a rapid rate as publishing companies are pushing their copyrights through new media.
Television programs including The Hills, Weeds, and Grey’s Anatomy are music driven and of course a publishers dream. Also, the increase of reality TV shows are a benefit to newer acts while shows like American Idol and Dancing With the Stars benefit older artists and create enormous exposure for their catalogs.
‘In addition to the sync fee, publishers can see a boost in sales for the original title after the usage. After David Archuleta performed “Imagine” on “American Idol” earlier this season, downloads on the John Lennon classic increased more than 600% the next week. Similarly, after since-deposed “Idol” finalist Amanda Overmyer sang “Carry On My Wayward Son,” iTunes sales for the Kansas song increased 60%, according to Tami Lester, EMI Music Publishing’s director of film and TV music’.
Television licensing fees for copyrights range from as little as $150 for a basic cable usage to as much as $25,000 for a network or premium cable usage. Of course a well-known song that a show desperately wants, the fee can soar into the six figures.
Of course, many shows have a limited budget and it’s always the job of the publisher to get the highest price. In this respect, there is a growing a divide between publishers and labels – labels want the fee to be lower since they are counting on the TV usage to boost CD sales.
So after posting that we were searching for a vocalist that has a wider range than almost any other rock vocalist-Â we received hundreds of emails and tips. Of course most fell short but we did get one tip from a San Diego band called Dirty Sweet. Listen to the track Long Line Down and let us know what you think.
We did a brief search on the band and found that the group went on to win San Diego Music Awards ‘Best Rock’ act TWICE and “Best Rock Album”. But what prevented the band from breaking out? Probably the lack of commercial songs, although the band has received good press in the UK. Their debut record ‘”…Of Monarchs and Beggars” was produced and engineered by the band themselves, which was probably not a good idea. When an artist produces and directs his own art, objectivity is usually lost, which is why we always suggest finding a really great producer.
We still want better because we are hard to please. This is the entertainment business, we need the best. Remember, there is room at the top!
The 500,000 Song iPod: iPods and other devices may soon be able to hold a hundred times more information than they do at present due to a breakthrough in storage technology.’Scientists at IBM say they have developed a new type of digital storage which would enable a device such as an MP3 player to store about half a million songs – or ,500 films – and cost far less to produce’.
‘In a paper published in the current issue of Science, a team at the company’s research centre in San Jose, California, said that devices which use the new technology would require much less power, would run on a single battery charge for “weeks at a time”, and would last for decades’.
Outlook: 40% of Music Sales Will be Digital by 2012 according to a report by market research firm In-Stat. The firm also projects that revenue from worldwide full-track mobile downloads will reach approximately $4.2 billion by 2012.
Reality or Fictionality: A major music-oriented television channel has proposed an idea for a reality series revolving around Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose according to sources. The project indicated that the show would focus on the reclusive singer’s efforts to complete and release the long-delayed Guns N’ Roses album, Chinese Democracy. Sources at Rose’s label, Geffen Records, said that a finished version of Chinese Democracy has been delivered to the company.
iTunes Top Songs:
4 Minutes – Madonna
Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis
Praying For Time – Carrie Underwood
Lollipop – Lil Wayne
No Air – Jordin Sparks
What About Now – Daughtry
Touch My Body – Mariah Carey
Love In This Club – Usher
Sexy Can – Ray J
According to Hits, Leona Lewis is running above expectations, projecting 195-205k sales. Daughtry had another consistent week with sales of 17k and his debut record has reached a total of 4 million. I’m sorry but Madonna’s single 4 Minutes is forgettable within 4 minutes. It’s a 4 minute infomercial sound clip void of any emotion or passion. Madonna use to be a pioneer setting trends in fashion and in music….what happened?
Island Def Jam Music Group Launch New Hip-Hop Label in Partnership with TAG Body Sprays: Island Def Jam and Procter & Gamble’s TAG brand formed a new hip-hop record label, TAG Records which will be led by hip-hop mogul Jermaine Dupri who will act as president. The TAG Brand will showcase TAG Record’s artist and Jermaine Dupri across various TAG brand advertising and marketing initiatives throughout 2008.
Does Free Streaming Sell Music? Last.fm’s free, ad-supported music streams have resulted in a 119 percent increase in music purchases through Amazon, the company said today. Last.fm says they have the proof and streaming free music allowing users to have full-track previews drives music sales, both digital and physical.
So far the Last.fm model seems to be working. The labels get paid every time a track is played and longtime members were buying more music too—there was a 66 percent increase in album and track purchases among existing users.
Radio Links to iTunes: US radio broadcaster, Clear Channel, has linked all of its digital FM music stations to Apple Inc.’s iTunes store, giving listeners a way to buy songs they’ve heard. Clear Channel will now share in revenue from iTunes.
New Music: Denver band Flobots is climbing up the alternative charts. They were discovered after Denver radio station, KTCL, began playing their track Handlebars. The beginning of the track instantly sucks you in and they remind us of novelty act Cake meets Eminem.
Payola: Wired published a column titled ‘Is Sonicbids’ Pay-for-Play Music Promotion the New Payola?‘ that discusses whether they share artists’ fees with the websites that use bands’ content.
Recommended Listening: So Long and Little Pill By Stereoside.
 
A new study shows continued growth for iTunes. When it comes to familiarity, Apple’s iTunes leads among the herd as the dominant digital music destination, even over MySpace.
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