Quick: Name the biggest star in prime-time television.
Now: Name a star created by the Internet
I suggest you read “The Extinction of Mass Culture” by Senior Fortune writer Marc Gunther.
The advent of 300 channels and the Internet has fragmented audiences – and the explosion of choice has left us poorer.
According to Gunther TV’s biggest stars are Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric, but they don’t appear in prime time and they’ve been around for years – before the 300-channel universe fragmented audiences and damaged broadcast TV’s hit-making machinery. The Internet is by nature a niche medium so it has not created any stars, and probably won’t.
All we have here is an infinite number of choices and a long trail of confusion. Can we expect less and less blockbusters? Absolutely
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According to Reuters, Online teen social hangout MySpace.com ranked as the No. 1 U.S. Web site last week, displacing Yahoo Inc.’s top-rated e-mail gateway and Google Inc.’s search site. News Corp.’s MySpace accounted for 4.46 percent of all U.S. Internet visits for the week ending July 8, pushing it past Yahoo Mail for the first time and outpacing the home pages for Yahoo, Google and Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail.
News Corp purchased MySpace for $580 million last year as part of a strategy to rapidly build up the media conglomerate’s Internet presence.
The EMI/Warner Merger has been this month’s heated industry news. We posted Trim Costs + Increase Efficiency = Lay Offs Many and already a top EMI executive was forced out of the company. Insiders expect an acquisition to happen by the end of the month.
I had a band walk in this week with what may end up being either insight of cataclysmic proportions or the rantings of a loser. �We don’t want to be on freaking myspace, they said. Don’t say that name around me. Every band we know is on myspace, and they like add 10,000 friends a day with some friend-bot and by the way they suck, and the Arctic Munkees suck like they should be in a bad remake of the Pink Panther they so suck, and it’s all like 2005. Over.
Did you know there are moms who have myspace pages, dude? Moms more…
Modern rockers Return To Self from Nashville, TN recently signed a management deal with John Warren of 12 Rounds Management, and legal rep. Kent Marcus of Zumwalt, Almon, and Hayes. The band has signed with Overtone Music Group headed by A&R Scott Frazier and Joshua Aaron
Be sure to check out B Sharp Indie Showcase that will be held at the Living Room (NYC) Tuesday July 18th.
Check out the LA Times article We aren’t all Pirates. The internet and digital technology have been both a blessing and a curse for the entertainment industry, opening new opportunities for selling music and video but also fueling rampant global piracy. According the Times the music industry is seeking in this year’s proposals isn’t merely protection from piracy; it’s after increased leverage to protect its business models.
The unsigned Dallas based singer songwriter Patrick Ryan Clark believes it’s his responsibility to talk about important issues through music. According to Clark “Everyone struggles, but not everyone struggles well. It is through that delicate tension of struggle and conquest that we grow, so let’s embrace those seasons in life.” Producer Cary Pierce brought in the right players including members from Jackopierce, Vertical Horizon, and Jewel to create a soulful, melodic, and emotional masterpiece. You can hear the Cold Play and U2 melodic influence, but Patrick Ryan Clark absolutely doesn’t compromise originality. The 11 song album is expected to be released sometime in late July or early August with tour dates to follow. Patrick Ryan Clark has shared the stage with Switchfoot, Sanctus Real, Graham Colton, etc. For more information contact Cary Pierce. Â
Recommended Listening:
You may have read in the news about a lawsuit against XM Radio regarding its “Inno� player. The issues in the lawsuit are of a pretty technical nature, but worth knowing about. Hopefully the case will settle, as XM is one of the few bright spots on the musical horizon these days, and it pains me to see them get on the wrong side of the creative community. (I’m one who would love to see Lee Abrams as chair of the FCC, so go figure.)
Sirius Satellite Radio (NasdaqGS: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (NasdaqGS: XMSR) (the satellite radio services) each recently released controversial new music players tied to their respective satellite radio services and manufactured by Pioneer. Each service was put on notice by the U.S. creative community that the players exceeded the scope of the statutory license for sound recordings available to satellite radio services under Section 114 of the Copyright Act (comparable to the webcasting license). Sirius settled with a number of record companies in a confidential agreement, and was not sued. (Section 114 royalties are largely administered by SoundExchange (http://www.soundexchange.com/) and if you’re an artist or record company you should sign up with SoundExchange if you haven’t.)Â
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