V2 has cut the staff including President Andy Gershon. V2 will retain the White Stripes catalog, but will no longer issue new music from artist’s including Moby and the Raconteurs. The only genre the company plans to participate in the frontline going forward is gospel. The company is looking for ways to grow business digitally.
Again, we have a problem with new music. Labels cannot fund themselves and turn profit with new music. You will continue to see the labels downsize and disappear until people are excited to purchase music again. Rather than focusing on artist development and new platforms, music industry executives continue to preoccupy themselves over digital distribution. Distribution doesn’t work if you don’t have consumers buying anything.
The last day is Friday for EMI’s most senior executives , the most powerful executives in the global music industry Alain Levy and David Munns. Expect hundreds of lay offs.
Chairman Eric Nicoli was hoping Robbie Williams and a Beatles remix album which were launched during Christmas could help rescue the company, but both albums dissapointed.
If artist development is not the future of the music business then major label layoffs and consolidation is.
(The Financial Times)
The music industry heavily relies on aging rockstars to pay salaries, turn profits, and fund new artists. The LA Times analyzed the record and merchandise sales of 2006. The top 10 include:
Celine Dion
Madonna
The Rolling Stones
Rascal Flatts
Kenny Chesney
Barbra Streisand
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Nickelback
Tim McGraw/Faith Hill
Bon Jovi
Old artists still have a grip on the music scene. Why? Because their careers were developed over the course of 10 years+. This is why Celine can gross 43.9 million in 6 months. One avenue of the future of the music business is artist development. Developing………………….
The British pop chart will undergo one of the biggest shake-ups since its inception 54 years ago on Sunday when any song downloaded from the Internet will be able to compete for the number one single spot.
Up to now, only songs which were physically available for purchase in shops counted toward the weekly chart.
Downloads could be included, but only a week before an actual CD single went on sale and for two weeks after it stopped appearing in stores.
This Sunday’s number one could be any track whether it has been sold in stores or online.
It said the “dramatic development” would be more reflective of what music Britons were buying, and could mean that old tunes, tracks by unknown artists or unreleased songs on albums hitting the top of the charts.
“This new ruling changes the nature of a single and puts the consumer in the driving seat,” said OCC director Steve Redmond.
“Literally any track can be a hit — as long as it sells enough.”
“For a long time we’ve wanted the chart to reflect what the consumers are actually buying,” said a spokesman for the BPI, the British record industry’s trade body.
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Album sales
2006: 588.2 million
2005: 618.9 million
2004: 666.7 million
2003: 656.2 million
Track downloads
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2006: 581.9 million
2005: 352.7 million
2004: 140.9 million
2003: 19.2 million
Top 10 albums
1. High School Musical: 3.72 million
2. Rascal Flatts/Me and My Gang: 3.48 million
3. Carrie Underwood/Some Hearts: 3.02 million
4. Nickelback/All the Right Reasons: 2.69 million
5. Justin Timberlake/Futuresex/Lovesounds: 2.38 million
6. James Blunt/Back to Bedlam: 2.14 million
7. Beyonce/B’day: 2.01 million
8. Hannah Montana: 1.99 million
9. Dixie Chicks/Taking the Long Way: 1.86 million
10. Hinder/Extreme Behavior: 1.82 million
Top 10 digital songs:
1. Daniel Powter/Bad Day: 2.02 million
2. Nelly Furtado/Promiscuous: 1.71 milion
3. Justin Timberlake/SexyBack: 1.66 million
4. Gnarls Barkley/Crazy: 1.63 million
5. James Blunt/You’re Beautiful: 1.62 million
6. Fray/Over My Head: 1.57 million
7. Fray/How to Save a Life: 1.56 million
8. Sean Paul/Temperature: 1.53 million
9. Chamillionaire/Ridin’: 1.42 million
10. Shakira/Hips Don’t Lie: 1.41 million.
(USATODAY)
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