Starbucks Giving Away Music For Free…
On Oct. 2, Starbucks customers at more than 10,000 Starbucks coffee shops will be able to pick up free cards that can be redeemed for a specific song at Apple’s iTunes music service. Two of the four major record companies — Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group — chose not to participate. Some executives are leery of large-scale giveaways, arguing that they diminish customers’ perception of the value of their music. I don’t want a FREE Beck song – I want a FREE Latte. (NYT)

A drummer who spent four years in the Ramones, filed a federal lawsuit claiming he is owed nearly $1 million in royalties on songs sold over the Internet.

Madonna who is expected to walk away from Warner Music is close to signing
a £50million contract with her tour promoters Live Nation – to cover
her concert AND her record releases.

People Choose Rock: Modern Rock stations had the highest percentage of listeners heading to stations’ Web sites, with males making up 61.6 percent of that format’s listeners. (FMQB)

I think emo’s a pile of shit…. Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance

Check out Mute Math performing the track Typical completely backwards, a concept the Louisiana quartet conceived, rehearsed and executed in three weeks. Mute Math are exciting to watch as they encompass and interpret the music as it sounds and how it should feel. Mute Math is a multi dimensional artist that KOAR described in a previous post.

According to a survey conducted by American Media Services 63% of American adults listen to the radio every day. The number among 25-34 adults is even stronger: 79 percent tune in to radio at least once a day.

Seventy-two percent of Americans say they’re listening to the radio as much or more now than they did five years ago, and they’re still tuning in in the car: 74 percent of Americans turn on the radio when they get in the car, including 72 percent of 18-24 adults and 80 percent of 25-34s.

Satellite radio subscriptions steady at about 11 percent — but 89 percent of respondents said they are unlikely to subscribe to satellite radio in the next 12 months.

“Many analysts seem to be enthralled with the technology of satellite radio, but the buying public isn’t,” said AMS President/CEO Edward F. Seeger. “Satellite radio continues to fill only a small niche in the marketplace.”

AMS also asked what would prompt respondents to listen to radio more. The top answer: More music and fewer commercials. (via Idolator)

The Bottom Line – We can’t verify the accuracy of the study. Some kids claim they only use the iPod and rarely listen to the radio except for XM satellite radio. Maybe more adults are tuning in on talk radio. Unfortunately, it’s overly fragmented to get a proper understanding, but radio has no doubt lost influence. Who really holds influence today?

Warner Music Group chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman remains optimistic by eyeing industry growth potential. He sees a future for digital rights management and physical product in the music industry, although maybe not in their present forms.

Bronfman also said they will now invest in new and mid-tier artists with the expectation that it will share in all the artists’ revenue streams that could include touring and merchandising through helping to build other revenue streams, whether that be hosting and selling off of an artist’s Web site. He also said major music labels did not not create a website to offer music because the profit margins are not attractive.

TV turns to internet and will offer Free Downloads…
NBC Universal, acknowledging that viewers are increasingly moving away from traditional television viewing, announced plans for a service that will make popular NBC programs available to download free to computers and other devices.

It appears that California based band Thriving Ivory has signed to Wind Up Records. This band has put in their duties. Check them out in KOAR’s New Music and Recommended Listening Column.

When Kanye West opened up with 957k while 50 Cent topped 691k, Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid said the sales are proof that music fans will still buy albums as long as the quality is good.

“Market conditions certainly have changed in the last few years, but the
decay we are seeing has more to do with the lack of quality in music,” he said.

The Bottom Line:

L.A. Reid is one of the few executives in the music business other
than Rick Rubin who acknowledges or at least speaks out that the decay in the music business is due to quality, in what KOAR calls the CREATIVE DROUGHT. Unfortunately, many other executives have fell to the idea that the lack of sales is mainly due to technology.

Many execs and music labels spend their long days in meetings thinking about selling music. This is a BAD OMEN. We can be rest assured with this mentality that the quality of music will continue to suffer. Instead execs in music labels need to focus on CREATING quality music with potential artists. Many execs will argue, it’s not that easy – ok fine, lets continue..

The Music business consists of ART and COMMERCE.

There is a lot of mediocrity out there that consumers will bypass. We have so many more releases, more genres, more artists, more competition. To many releases clogging up the arteries. Music labels do not set up a record for a year, its all about the first week. Music Labels cannot focus on 10 releases for the full year. When companies work more than three records they are overwhelmed.

You would think that with more competition we would have better music. The long tail is wrong, its just the opposite. With more competition we have less heroes because it gets watered down.

We know there is no such thing as artist development, instead we have priorities now.

Music Labels want FACTS. If there is not a story, a label won’t work a record. If you are that type of artist that is radio driven and you have lukewarm radio, you will get lukewarm attention – unless you are a multi-dimensional band. A multi dimensional band does not rely on radio for success – radio is icing on the cake. A multi-dimensional act has great songs, great players, great live performance, and has a true unique vision. Multi-dimensional artists are AFI, Slipknot, and Foo Fighters in the rock world, 50 Cent and Kanye in the Hip Hop World.

Our best guess that the creative drought may in fact have resulted from technology. We can make people sing in tune that cannot sing. What does this mean? It tells me that we have lead singers that should not be singers.  Developing………………