«A área da música sofrera uma perda de receitas devido as inumeras trocas ilegais de música efectuadas através da Internet. O Napster fora refreado e quase totalmente desmembrado por processos judiciais, mas fora substituído por algo muito pior e, no que se refere a 2003, praticamente incontrolável. o Napster é uma espécie de imenso armazém de músicas, mas o serviço chamado Kazaa e outros que tais funcionam mais como uma empresa de encontros na Internet, ajudando uma parte interessada a entrar em contacto com  a outra, naquilo a que se pode chamar um encontro electrónico esporádico. Além disso, os servidores estavam na Dinamarca, o software na Estónia, a página de lnternet tinha sido registado na Austrália - e isso era só o começo. (301)

Para a iTunes Music Store, a Apple desenvolveu um novo conjunto de procções contra pirataria, incluindo um formato próprio de ficheiro de música, o AAC - criado porque nenhum dos formatos disponíveis tinha capacidade para suportar defesas suficientes. Também tinha como intenção manter os utilizadores do iPod ligados à Apple, que se recusava a licenciar o formato a outros. Comprem uma canção na iTunes Music Store e depois tentem transferi-la para o Kazaa, ou para outro sítio ilegal de trocas, e serão bloqueados. O ficheiro de música AAC está codificado com uma chave digital que impede que seja transferido on-line. Provavelmente, muitos piratas de músicas devem ter tentado copiar as melodias para um CD e, depois, transferi-las novamente para os seus computadores em formato MP3. O método funciona. Só há um problema: propositadamente, a qualidade de som dos ficheiros é péssima, de modo a que ninguém os queira ouvir. (303)

Os acordos que Steve lhes apresentou não impediam as cinco empresas de seguirem projectos concorrentes. Não só concorrentes com a Apple, mas também uns com os outros. A Universal e a Sony juntaram-se num projecto on-line chamado Pressplay, enquanto as empresas-mãe da Warner e da BMG se associaram à EMI e à RealNetworks para formarem a Music-Net. Esqueceram a procura conjunta de soluções para o verdadeiro problema que ameaçava a indústria. A única coisa em que os dois grupos rivais concordaram foi que a Pressplay não cederia os respectivos direitos à MusicNet e que a MusicNet não cederia os respectivos direitos à Pressplay. Estas restrições não eram aplicadas na iT unes Music Store. (...) (305-306) Young e Simon, 2008

“‘Comes with Music' is a recognition that music has to be given away for free, or close to free, on the internet,” says Mr Mulligan. Paid-for download services will continue and ad-supported music will become more widespread, but subsidised services where people do not pay directly for music will become by far the most popular, he says. For the recorded-music industry this is a leap into the unknown.»

fonte: From major to minor Jan 10th 2008 From The Economist print edition

«(...) The music industry has been transformed since Berry's teenage years. While total album sales continue to plummet - down 15 percent last year from 2006, according to Nielsen SoundScan - music is more ubiquitous than ever, thanks to digital technology.Sales of digital-music tracks from services like iTunes and Amazon.com continue to be a bright spot for the record industry. Last year, 844.2 million tracks were purchased, up 45 percent from 2006, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (...) to reach casual fans, several Internet sites have developed easy, typically free ways for music lovers to cut through the clutter: music search engines, music-streaming sites and music-based social networks. Some musical artists are using these sites to connect with their fans on a more personal level, too.» fonte: Internet making it easy for music fans to stay tuned in By Joseph De Avila , The Wall Street Journal Monday, March 10, 2008

«the results from 2007 confirm what EMI's focus group showed: that the record industry's main product, the CD, which in 2006 accounted for over 80% of total global sales, is rapidly fading away. In America, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the volume of physical albums sold dropped by 19% in 2007 from the year before—faster than anyone had expected. For the first half of 2007, sales of music on CD and other physical formats fell by 6% in Britain, by 9% in Japan, France and Spain, by 12% in Italy, 14% in Australia and 21% in Canada. (Sales were flat in Germany.) Paid digital downloads grew rapidly, but did not begin to make up for the loss of revenue from CDs. More worryingly for the industry, the growth of digital downloads appears to be slowing.»

fonte: From major to minor Jan 10th 2008 From The Economist print edition

«CAMBRIDGE, MA -- February 19, 2008: In the flashily titled report "The End of the Music Industry As We Know It," Forrester Research projects that digital music sales will grow at a compound annual rate of 23 percent over the next five years, reaching $4.8 billion by 2012 -- not enough to make up for lost CD sales, which Forrester projects will fall to $3.8 billion over the same period. Half of all music sales in the U.S. will be digital by 2011, the research firm projects.» (Radio Ink, Report: Digital Music Will Pass CD Sales By 2012, 20/02/08)

Forrester Researches "End of Music Industry As We Know It"

“The consequence of failing to support companies such as Pandora will be the continued explosion of piracy, the constriction of opportunities for working musicians, and a worsening drought of new music for fans.”»

«Depois da onda de optimismo gerada ontem com o anúncio do novo serviço da Nokia denominado “Nokia Comes With Music” que irá oferecer durante um ano downloads grátis da Universal Music a quem adquirir um novo telemóvel da fabricante finlandesa é altura de colocar mais água na fervura. É claro que já se sabia que a oferta iria incluir obrigatoriamente algum tipo de DRM, mesmo se os utilizadores tivessem a possibilidade de guardar a música depois da subscrição anual terminar. Mas segundo informa a Ars Technica, o sistema de DRM escolhido pela Nokia foi o PlaysForSure utilizado pela Microsoft no seu formato Windows Media. Ora, este sistema, para além de ser incompatível com o iPod da Apple, também não funciona com o Zune, o próprio leitor de música digital da Microsoft. E apesar das faixas poderem continuar a ser reproduzidas após o fim do prazo da assinatura anual, para ter acesso a mais música nova e renovar a subscrição, os consumidores terão que ser obrigados a comprar um novo aparelho… da Nokia, evidentemente. Quem também quiser gravar para um CD as músicas descarregadas terá que adquirir uma actualização para cada faixa. (...) Segundo a Nokia, o preço da subscrição será incluído no custo de venda do telemóvel. Isto é basicamente a primeira implementação na prática do modelo Total Music da Universal divulgado pela comunicação social no mês passado que iria supostamente permitir que os fabricantes de telemóveis e operadores de telecomunicações oferecessem serviços de downloads ilimitados juntamente com um novo dispositivo. Segundo o plano da editora, estas empresas teriam que pagar uma subscrição mensal de cerca de cinco dólares por mês por cada unidade comercializada. Esse valor poderia ser depois acrescentado ao custo final do aparelho ou cobrado à parte como uma espécie de tarifa plana. A nova oferta da Nokia confirma assim os piores receios na altura em que o plano da Universal foi anunciado: A música grátis, afinal, sai cara, muito cara. No caso do “Comes With Music” é o preço de um novo telemóvel. Por essas e por outras é que eu não uso telemóveis. Todo o hardware e software dos dispositivos está feito para controlar os usos do consumidor. Trata-se de uma autêntica “caixa negra” que limita a liberdade do utilizador e em que quase tudo é a pagar ou implica uma contrapartida oculta.

fonte: «O Nokia vem com DRM», 5/12/07 Rexmitures

«Members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees have introduced a proposed bill that would force terrestrial broadcasters to pay a performance royalty, the first royalty obligation of its kind for AM/FM radio.
As attorney David Oxenford points out on the Broadcast Law Blog, the rates announced for "small" and non-commercial broadcasters again raise the question of "fairness" between platforms, particularly with regard to rates paid by similarly-sized webcasters.
Even before plans for the legislation were announced by Rep. Howard Berman in October, broadcasters and record labels have been engaged in heavy campaigns surrounding the issue. Now, with the introduction of a bill, observers should expect the issue of performance royalties to draw heavy media attention, perhaps even more than the issue of webcasting royalty rates has garnered since early 2007. (RAIN)

«Currently, broadcasters pay only for the right to use the composition and do not pay for the use of sound recordings in their over-the-air operations of the actual recording. “This long-expected bill will no doubt fuel new debate over the need and justification for this new fee… The proponents of the bill have contended that it is necessary to achieve fairness, as digital music services pay such a fee. To ease the shock of the transition, the bill proposes flat fees for small and noncommercial broadcasters – fees which themselves undercut the notion of fairness, as they are far lower than fees for comparable digital services»

« (...)It's what happened back in the 1920s when the record industry first faced off against a new cutting-edge medium: Radio. "The music industry was very afraid of radio in the '20s," says Rob Bowman, Grammy-winning music historian and professor of ethnomusicology at Toronto's York University. "If you look at 78s from that period, they often have printed on the label, 'Not licensed for radio play.' Radio was an eminently superior medium, and the music industry thought radio was simply giving away their product -- 'Why would people ever buy 78s if they could hear them all day for free?' was the line of reasoning." It took nearly 20 years for the record industry to come around, he says. (...) Like a stuck 78, history has kept repeating for the record industry, which rarely responds well to technological change. "If you look back at the history of selling records, tapes and CDs from the 1890s to the present, you'll see waves of incredible expansion and then troughs of crisis." And of course, it's happening now as the music industry struggles to deal with the paradigm shift posed by the Internet.  "I look at the Internet now in the same way as radio in the '20s," Bowman says. "But (the record labels) are too afraid to turn, in some ways. You get people who are entrenched in a particular business model. So when there's a paradigm shift like we're seeing, and it means that dozens of your employees -- and maybe even you -- are going to become redundant, you're probably going to try and fight that. That's a natural instinct. "It's easy to say, 'What a bunch of idiots, they should have seen this coming and they should have done that.' And yes, all of that's probably true. "But it's not surprising. It's unfortunate, but not surprising." The record companies might do well to absorb at least one lesson from the days of 78s and radio. "A lot of those companies that were around back then don't exist anymore," Bowman says»

fonte: «Internet is the new radio»,London Free Press, Sun, November 25, 2007, By DARRYL STERDAN, SUN MEDIA

(não acredito, mas...)

«A new study from Jupiter Research has found that, though digital music sales will continue to grow over the next five years, those sales won't be enough to offset the loss from declining CD sales. In five years digital will account for more than one-third of music sales, says Jupiter, with spending on digital music rising to $3.4 billion by 2012. But with CD sales continuing to fall, "That means digital music sales will not compensate for lost CD sales in five years," said Jupiter VP/Research Director David Card. "Nor will they return the overall industry to growth. But that's where the growth is."
Downloads will be replacing CD purchase for "many -- but not most -- music buyers," according to the report, while Napster- or Rhapsody-style subscription services "will appeal primarily to niche audiences."»

fonte: «Study: Digital Won't Replace Lost CD Sales Any Time Soon», Radio INk, 21/11/07

When a SelectRadio user hears a new song or artist they like, they can retrieve detailed information about the artist and albums containing the exact song with a single button. Users can see available song purchase options, listen to samples from the artist, and purchase directly from their smartphone. Users can also tag a newly discovered song and have the song information emailed to them.

According to the 2007 Arbitron “The Infinite Dial:Radio’s Digital Platforms” consumer survey, Internet radio listeners are 230 percent more likely to purchase digital music than the average consumer. (...)

SelectRadio software uses the Windows Mobile device network connection to provide audio access on the go, in the office, or at home. For easy access to popular broadcasters, SelectRadio software includes pre-set channels from top broadcasters, such as Internet radio pioneer radioio (symbol:iwdm.pk), AccuRadio; Sirius Internet Radio (Nasdaq:SIRI); XM Radio Online (Nasdaq:XMSR); and Shoutcast. Users can combine favorite channels and podcasts into custom groups for easy access and create a “virtual dashboard” showing what’s playing across multiple channels, with one-click access. With its patent-pending HyperScan™ technology, SelectRadio software automatically seeks favorite artists and can be set to skip specified artists.

SelectRadio software is now compatible with all popular Windows Mobile 5 and Windows Mobile 6 devices including smartphone models such as the Samsung Blackjack, HTC Excalibur, Motorola Q and touchscreen models such as the UTStarcom 6800 and Treo 700/750 series. SelectRadio software requires a network connection via either the handheld wireless carrier or WiFi connection. SelectRadio software is priced at $25 for a device-specific license. Customers using licensed copies of SelectRadio v3.x can upgrade the same device to the new v4.0 for free. A free 10-day fully functional trial is available for evaluation prior to purchase at www.selectradio.com.»

fonte: «New SelectRadio^® Software Extends Music Discovery to Music Purchase and Personal Music Library Access for Windows Mobile Phone Users»

«Veículo das indústrias culturais, a rádio é hoje meio e instrumento, sem que, na generalidade dos casos, se consigam definir as tradicionais funções de formação, informação e entretenimento que caracterizam a comunicação radiofónica. Como nos restantes sectores da comunicação social, estabeleceu-se uma relação mútua de dependência entre as indústrias culturais, destacando-se a ligação entre a música e a rádio» (Paula Cordeiro, tese de doutoramento, pág. 51)

«No último mês, a cada vez mais fragilizada indústria discográfica sofreu três abalos devastadores (para não dizer mortais). Primeiro foi Prince quem decidiu distribuir gratuitamente o seu novo disco, PLanet Earth, com o suplemento dominical de um jornal britânico. Alguns dias depois, Madonna deixou a Warner e assinou contra com uma produtora de espectáculos ao vivo. Mias o golpe de misericórdia foi desferido pelos Radiohead que colocaram o seu novo disco na Internet, prescindindo de editora. Num golpe de génio, a banda propôs o «download» pelo preço que cada um quisesse dar. (...) O que parecia uma estratégia suicida revelou-se, portanto, um excelente negócio. Nos Estados Unidos, como no resto do Mundo, o negócio do disco vai de mal a pior. Desde 2002 que as vendas não param de cair e os números mais recentes são catastróficos. Vendem-se hoje, grosso modo, metade dos discos que se vendiam há cinco anos. E a tendência é para as coisas piorarem (...) Se é verdade que se vendem cada vez menos discos, não é menos certo que se ouve cada vez mais música. O negócio dos concertos está em plena expansão (nos EUA as receitas de venda de bilhetes duplicaram nos últimos cinco anos) e as multinacionais do disco compreenderam-no finalmente. Em França, editoras como a Universal e a BMG até já compram salas de espectáculo para aí apresentar os seus artistas. Os mais pessimistas alertam, contudo, para novos riscos, também neste domínio. No mundo actual, as galinhas que põem ovos de ouro têm a vida cada vez mais curta. Um dos perigos que se correm é precisamente o da gratuitidade. Há cada vez mais Câmaras Municipais e grandes instituições privadas a promover eventos com entrada livre. Começa também a haver algum excesso de oferta. (...) No ano em que comemora 25 anos, o CD (o Compact Disc foi lançado em 1982, fruto de uma colaboração entre a Philips e a Sony) está, pois, elas ruas da amargura.»

fonte: «O fim da era do CD», Jorge LIma ALves, EXpresso/Actual, 3/11/07, págs 11-13  

«Just 38 percent of Radiohead fans paid for the latest album, according to data recently supplied by comScore.  The band began allowed fans to name their price for the downloadable release, In Rainbows, a closely-watched experiment.  But most fans grabbed the album for nothing, and a significant percentage paid next to nothing.  According to the data, 17 percent paid an average of $4 for the album, while 12 percent paid between $8 and $12.»

Radiohead Numbers Emerge, 62 Percent Paid Nothing, DigitalMusicNews, 5/11/07

 O assunto tem sido acompanhado aqui.

Em continuação a este texto:

«(...)se tornaram responsáveis por aquilo que o «Times» de 7 de Outubro designava como «The day the music industry died»: (...)Tradução rápida e evidente: uma das mais notórias bandas mundiais assume publicamente que, para o bem e para o mal, a música gravada é já, tendencialmente, gratuita e que a única forma de minimiar os prejuízos é usar as armas do «inimigo», passando a encarar o CD (físico ou virtual) como mero material de promoção para o que realmente conta - os concertos. (...) Enquanto estratégia de «marketing», deverá ser considerada, desde agora mesmo, exemplo brigatório de «textbook». Até porque o «espírito los tempos» não sopra noutra direcção senão nesta: a vertiginosa queda nos números de vendas de CD, nesta década, não pára de acelerar (no último ano, menos 10% em Inglaterra, 25% em França, 35% no Canadá); a cadeia de lojas HMV anunciou que, nos seis primeiros meses de 2007, as vendas se reduziram em 50%, e Richard Branson, após prejuízos de 50 milhões de libras, declara o óbito das Virgin Megastores; a EMI (cujo número de funcionários, em dez anos, a nível mundial, encolheu de 10 mil para 4 mil), adquirida pelo grupo financeiro Terra Firma, vale actualmente um terço do que representava em 1997; paralelamente, a partilha de ficheiros ilegal pulveriza diariamente recordes (e toma risíveis todas as invesidas «repressivas» sobre milhares de milhões de corsários) enquanto os números de público presente em conccrtos (com bilhetes a preços que, no caso dos Police e Rolling Stones, variavam entre as 70 e I50£), no Reino Unido - até ao final leste ano, 450 festivais de música -, cresciam 11%». (LISBOA, João, «Hail to the thief», Actual/Expresso, 20/10/07, pág 50/51)

«MediaPost has detailed analysis of several analysts' projection for Internet radio revenue, which could someday rival terrestrial radio. Online advertising is the fastest growing segment for newspapers and radio alike, growing by 16 percent during the first quarter of the year. Advertising via online radio has several advantages over terrestrial: it's interactive to spur purchases or other actions, it adds a visual element (banners etc.) to compliment the audio messaging, and it can be used to sell music.
Internet radio should be the music industry's best friend, but instead the two groups are constantly sparring. Radio stations are offering "click to buy" options for recently heard tracks to encourage sales, but the copyright holders group is doing everything it can to prevent the growth of online radio. Sooner or later the music industry will realize that Internet radio can generate much more revenue through advertising and direct sales than iTunes ever could and will play nice» (fonte: «», John Gartner, Marketingshift, 7/09/07)

«Houve um tempo em que só existia uma forma de fazer com que um álbum se tornasse num hit: a rádio. Nenhum outro meio chegava a tantas pessoas com tanta frequência. Não era fácil fazer parte da lista de músicas passadas por uma rádio (especialmente depois de os subornos aos DJ terem passado a ser puníveis por lei), mas assim que uma canção começava a ser emitida, ganhava logo uma elevada probabilidade de ser mais vendida. Depois, na década de 80, apareceu a MTV, que se tornou na segunda forma de criar um hit. Dispunha de uma capacidade ainda mais limitada para divulgar novas músicas, mas a sua influência sobre toda uma geração foi inigualável. No que diz respeito às editoras discográficas, esses foram tempos áureos. Tratava-se de um mercado fortemente competitivo, mas era um ramo que conheciam muito bem. Compreendiam as regras e era possível ganharem a vida se soubessem mover-se nesse meio.

Mas, agora, a rádio aparenta ter entrado num movimento de declínio termínal e a MTV já não passa tantos telediscos como antigamente. Então, de que forma se pode comercializar a música? As editoras sabem que a resposta reside na Internet e aproveitam as forças do "passa palavra" que estão a substituir o marketing tradicional na criação de tendências da procura, mas continuam a tentar descortinar a melhor forma de o fazerem» (ANderson, 2007: 103)

«(...) a música não deixou de estar na moda, muito pelo contrário. Nunca os tempos foram tão favoráveis para um artista ou um fã. Mas foi a Internet que se tornou o irrevogável veículo de descoberta de nova música. O tradicional modelo de promover, vender e distribuir música deixou de ser popular. As grandes marcas e os grandes retalhistas, que atingiram dimensões gigantescas devido à máquina radiofónica de criação de hits, depararam-se com um modelo de negócio dependente dos grandes hits, ao nível da platina - que hoje em dia não existem em quantidades suficientes. Estamos a assistir ao fim de uma era. Todos aqueles que usam os tais auscultadores brancos estão a ouvir a sua própria emissora de rádio, livre de anúncios. A cultura sofreu uma transição» (ANderson, 2007: 38)

Westergren responded by saying that licensing structures create inherent limitations in the service he can provide to his customers. Nordling commented that these restrictions affect her ability to respond to listener requests – she can’t even play a requested song until 20 minutes after the request is made (stations are also limited the number of songs they can play in a row by an artist and pre-announcing songs). These restrictions turn away listeners; if the music industry were serious about their business, the last thing in the world they’d want to do is send consumers running.

Both agreed that one key problem facing their industries is the DMCA. Designed to protect copyright holders, the act also limits new media’s ability to interact with customers. The DMCA states that delivery services can’t replace commerce, despite the fact, as Westergren noted, Soma and Pandora lead to commerce. Because labels continue to wallow in the notion of “hits” and slotting, they are in actuality limiting artist exposure.

(...)

A key aspect limiting online music services is cost. Sound Exchange, which collects fees for the RIAA takes approximately 12% of every dollar earned by stations like Soma; the fees are 14% for music delivered via satellite. Sound Exchange is lobbying Congress to increase this amount to 37% of receipts. Just for the privilege of playing a song on the newfangled version of the radio. While presumably this benefits artists in some way, it also kills innovation

It should be noted that these fees are not imposed on traditional radio, to quote Station Manager Ken Friedman of WFMU,

Broadcast stations have never been asked to pay this performance royalty. (On the contrary, record labels have traditionally lobbied, bribed and paid radio stations to play their records. Believe it or not, many stations will now be charged for webcasting the same songs they are paid to play over the airwaves.)

fonte: «Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part One» March 20, 2006, Medialoper; e «Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part Two», 22/03/06, Medialoper 

A propósito dos sucessos de algumas serie de TV na divulgação de novos artistas, pode ler-se na Forbes:

«Radio can blame itself. While radio exposure remains essential for recording artists to notch platinum-plus sales, much of the FM dial remains mired in the nostalgia of classic rock and "Jack" programming formats or conservative playlists of new releases by mostly proven hitmakers. Those seeking musical discovery look elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the sharp decline in the sale of compact discs has pushed record labels and music publishers to seek new revenue sources and has left them more than happy to cooperate with TV shows looking to license their music. It's also helped that many recording artists have dropped their previous aversion to licensing their songs to movies, ad agencies and TV shows. They're no longer "selling out"--they're "gaming the system."»

fonte: «Video Kills The Radio Star (Again)», Forbes.com, Louis Hau, 07.13.07,

Yet Grammy winner Cathy Fink, who counts herself in an even more radio-unfriendly genre — children's music — offered a feisty counterpoint to Allcorn, insisting and re-insisting that she deserved to be fairly paid for her work. She pays for her own instruments, her own recording sessions, and her own health insurance, so why shouldn't she be fully compensated? She expressed little sympathy for webcasters and their plight. "There's all this talk that not all Internet radio companies are going to survive, but that's true with all businesses," Fink said. "Not every bicycle company survives. Not every inventor comes up with something that survives the marketplace."»

fonte: «The Last Stand of Internet Radio?», Jun. 30, 2007 By GILBERT CRUZ/WASHINGTON  

Já que «While it seems likely that radio broadcasters can have a profound impact on the success of individual sound recordings, it does not appear, as Sidak and Kronemyer have commented, that anyone has empirically examined this proposition» (pág. 4), Stan J. Liebowitz, da School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas,  estudou e chegou à conclusão de que «The analysis above provides evidence that radio play is negatively related to the overall level of record sales and that the size of the negative impact is large. This implies that radio play is largely a displacement for the sales of sound recordings, a result that seems at odds with most conventional thinking» (33) e que «The negative impact of radio on record sales only exists for music broadcasts and not for talk radio, which is consistent with a view that listening to music on the radio is a close substitute for listening to music on sound recordings» (34), propondo «With a full property rights system in place, record companies could control how frequently their records were played and extract payments from radio broadcasters, or they might make payments to broadcasters as the case might be. A complete market solution would have a set of rights like the one between the television and movie industries. Record companies would be able to enter into whatever contracts they wished, including restricting the playing of songs to particular stations in particular localities» (35).

«Don’t Play it Again Sam: Radio Play, Record Sales, and Property Rights», Janeiro, 2007 (via NetFM)

«Another group has formed to represent the rights of artists in the digital music rights fight to get music royalties compensation from radio. A partnership of artists and music industry organizations launched musicFIRST, for “Fairness in Radio Starting Today.” This coalition is asking that performers - aspiring and local artists, background singers and stars - be compensated when their music is broadcast over the air. Some 100 recording artists, including Martha Reeves, Jimmy Buffett, Celine Dion, The Doors, Earth, Wind & Fire, Patti LaBelle and Mary Wilson, have signed on as founding members. Radio does pay royalties to ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, groups that distribute compensation to artists, but music labels have been fighting for higher rates from radio. The RIAA and SoundExchange are among 11 music industry organizations that belong to the new coalition. “Of all the ways we listen to music, ‘Corporate Radio’ is the only medium that refuses to pay performers even a fraction of a penny for their voice and creativity,” stated Mark Kadesh, executive director of musicFIRST. “This campaign is about making sure everyone, from up-and-coming artists to our favorites from years-ago, is guaranteed fair treatment when their music is played.” The new group is lobbying Congress, along with the RIAA, to support legislation to levy digital performance rights royalties on radio. NAB calls it a performance tax. NAB, CEA, other interested parties and the RIAA have been in talks to try to develop a non-legislated solution. In hearings on the digital performance rights issue, lawmakers have said they prefer that industry solve the issue without government intervention»

fonte. «New Group Formed by Artists, Labels; Bashes ‘Corporate Radio’ », 15/06/07, RWOnline

A industria já respondeu:

«In response to the formation of the advocacy group musicFIRST Coalition, NAB said it will continue to aggressively fight the RIAA’s proposed performance “tax” on local radio stations. “Congress has long recognized that radio airplay of music generates millions of dollars in revenue for record labels and artists,” said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton in a statement. “Were it not for radio’s free promotional airplay of music on stations all over America, most successful recording artists would still be playing in a garage.” Additionally, NAB referenced a radio commercial that aired in 2005 as part of an NAB campaign promoting radio. In it, John Legend, then an up-and-coming new artist, praised and thanked a radio station in Chicago for giving him his big break.»

fonte: «NAB to musicFirst: ‘If It Weren’t for Radio, You’d Still Be in the Garage.’ RWOnline, 15/06/07 

a opinião de Mark Ramsey: «As I have long argued, it is inevitable that the music biz would come knocking on radio's door for a bigger piece of their pie - because in an age when its consumers would rather steal than buy, the only thing a suffering industry can do is hold out their palm to the legitimate industries which license their content and can't hide in the P2P jungles of the Internet. And, for one, that means radio. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't necessarily pay more for the privilege of creating immensely profitable hits for an industry which couldn't possibly create them without us. Maybe we should pay more for that service. Then again, this is an age when a hit is more important than ever but even scarcer than it used to be. And when something is both more important and more scarce its value goes up. That makes radio's promotion MORE valuable to the labels now, not less. And that, my friends, means our industry may be paying too much.» (It's Time to Reduce Radio's Music Rights Fees, 14/06/07)

This is a strong argument for internet radio stations to take to their next meeting with the people who decide royalty rates for music. If "new music" is being discovered by online radio listeners by such a vast margin, it means that the internet radio industry is effectively promoting that music.»

fonte: «Trends for Internet Radio Industry», Audiographics, 11/05/07

Vem isto a propósito do esforço da cadeia de cafés Starbucks de se ligar à música: «After signing Paul McCartney to launch its new record label, coffee retailer Starbucks is planning to make sure that as many people as possible hear the former Beatle's latest album. The coffee giant will host a worldwide listening party on June 5 for McCartney's new Hear Music-released album, "Memory Almost Full," with more than 10,000 Starbucks stores in 29 countries set to participate in the event by playing the disc for customers all day long.»

de acordo com esta previsão da eMarketeer, as receitas físicas da indústria musical vão continuar em queda («Sales of CDs, which currently account for 55% of the industry's total revenues, will continue to decline sharply, falling to 29% of the overall business by 2011»). Para compensar, haverá novas receitas. À custa da rádio?

«(...)The question on the minds of everyone in the recording industry, however, is: Will the digital segment compensate for the losses in physical sales? The answer is a qualified "no."  "Nevertheless, growth in other sectors will make up for the shortfall in CD sales," says Mr. Verna, "resulting in net growth for the industry as a whole." That growth will come predominantly from online and mobile music, the live concert industry and the licensing of music for public performances, commercials, TV shows, films and video games.» (The Music Industry Enters Uncharted Territory, MAY 9, 2007)

Mark Ramsey não tem dúvidas: «Note that reference to the licensing of music. That's at the heart of the streaming rate hike controversy currently on every Internet radio station's front burner. And that also explains why, I believe, the music industry will soon be knocking on traditional radio's door looking for a much bigger slice of the pie. When it's content you own, distribution is key. And distribution is acquired via licensing (unless, of course, you own the distribution, too). The future of the music industry is, in part, to sell its wares to licensees who value that content more than the folks who steal it via P2P»

«In a dramatic acceleration of the seven-year sales decline that has battered the music industry, compact-disc sales for the first three months of this year plunged 20% from a year earlier, the latest sign of the seismic shift in the way consumers acquire music. The sharp slide in sales of CDs, which still account for more than 85% of music sold, has far eclipsed the growth in sales of digital downloads, which were supposed to have been the industry's salvation.»

fonte: Wall Street Journal, «Sales of Music, Long in Decline, Plunge Sharply», By Ethan Smith, Março 07

«How do kids and tweens find out about new songs or groups?

Radio 48%

Amigos 29%

Tv 21%

Outros 13%

Revistas 3%

Internet 2%

«Music label EMI Group is in talks to release a large portion of its music catalog for Web sales without technological protections against piracy that are included in most music bought over the Internet now, sources said on Thursday. Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs called this week for record companies to drop anti-piracy measures. That would dramatically change the way digital music is sold over the Web, making it much easier for consumers to move songs between devices -- and between people. The question is whether sales would rise because of easier use or fall as piracy increased.(...)
The second industry source also said EMI was in talks with Snocap, a company founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, to release music in MP3 format on News Corp’s popular MySpace social networking site.(...)»

fonte: Yahoonews/Reuters, «EMI mulls unprotected Web song sales: sources», By Sue Zeidler Fri Feb 9, 5:11 AM ET
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070209/media_nm/emi_web_dc_2) via NETFM

MAIS: «Referindo-se a esta situação, Steve Jobs afirma que, a abolição do DRM permitiria a todos utilizadores de mp3 o acesso às músicas de qualquer loja virtual, incluindo a iTunes. «É claramente a melhor alternativa para os consumidores, e a Apple iria envolver-se a 100% nesta iniciativa», declarou. Os analistas referem que esta medida iria reforçar a posição da Apple como líder do mercado da música digital. A loja virtual de música da Apple, iTunes, vendeu cerca de 2 mil milhões de músicas, desde que foi lançada em 2003, e conta com mais de 70% do mercado de música digital dos Estados Unidos. Segundo Steve Jobs, caso a protecção DRM seja retirada, a Apple estará em condições de criar um sistema de download, que permita a compatibilidade das suas músicas com outros leitores, para além do iPod, inclusive o Zune, recentemente lançado pela Microsoft. Neste sentido, apelou às quatro maiores editoras discográficas - Universal Music, EMI, Sony BMG Music e Warner Music - que iniciem a comercialização dos seus catálogos de música sem restrições DRM. A EMI está já a avaliar a proposta, mas a Universal Music não quis adiantar qualquer comentário. O Emusic, site de download de músicas livres de DRM, no formato mp3 compatível universalmente, reagiu positivamente à ideia de Steve Jobs, das editoras abolirem o software anti-pirataria. «O DRM serve apenas para restringir as escolhas dos consumidores, impede a evolução do mercado da música digital e torna os consumidores cúmplices involuntários das ambições das empresas tecnológicas», afirmou David Packman, responsável da Emusic. «Os consumidores preferem um mundo no qual o material que compram possa ser lido por qualquer aparelho, independentemente da empresa que o fabrica, e livre de restrições de utilização arbitrárias». fonte: http://diariodigital.sapo.pt/news.asp?section_id=9&id_news=261785

Etiquetas: DRM, iPod, Zune, downloads

«O conceito de copyright será extinguido num prazo de 10 anos e as noções de autoria e de propriedade intelectual vão ser postas em causa. A música será um bem utilitário, tal como electricidade ou a água. É assustador e,  ao mesmo tempo, excitante. Mas no fim de contas não interessa se estamos ou não excitados. É o que vai acontecer e ponto final» (David Bowie, em 2002, num artigo publicado no New York Times, antecipando as profundas transformações na industria da musica) (via Publico, 31/12/06, «é POSSIVEL REGULAR O Caos da Internet?»)

No original:

«His deal with Sony is a short-term one while he gets his label started and watches the Internet's effect on careers. "I don't even know why I would ant to be on a label in a few years, because I don't think it's going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way," he said.  "The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about music will take place within 10 years, and nothing is going to be able to stop it. I see absolutely no point in pretending that it's not going to happen. I'm fully confident that copyright, for instance, will no longer exist in 10 years, and authorship and intellectual property is in for such a bashing." "Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity," he added. "So it's like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again. You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left. It's terribly exciting. But on the other hand it doesn't matter if you think it's exciting or not; it's what's going to happen." (http://babellist.xnet2.com/0206/msg00035.html)

Etiquetas: Internet

«After two years of hesitancy, the music industry is finally taking its first steps toward embracing podcasting. When podcasts attained prominence in 2004, amateurs and advertisers alike heralded the downloadable audio programs as the next step in the evolution of broadcasting. But they have failed to make headway in one key area: music programming. For a variety of reasons -- including fear of piracy and the need to be paid -- the major record labels and music publishers that control the rights to about 75% of the commercially released music in the U.S. have refused to make deals that would allow songs to be used in podcasts. Consequently, podcasts have been blocked from using this music, at least legitimately. That has stopped music-oriented radio programming from being available as podcasts. That is starting to change. San Francisco-based Rock River Communications Inc. has struck some of the first deals to license major-label content for podcasts. Rock River, which specializes in making the mix CDs sold at the check-out counters of retailers like Gap Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s Pottery Barn, is creating a series of promotional podcasts on behalf of corporate clients including DaimlerChrysler AG and Ford Motor Co. (...)»

fonte: «Music Industry Changes Its Tune on Podcasting», Wall Street Journal, By ETHAN SMITH, January 2, 2007; Page B4

«Commercial radio stations in Britain are close to signing a deal with a major music rights organization to allow portions of music played on the airwaves to be included in podcasts. Under the deal, The Guardian reports, radio stations would be able to podcast up to 30 seconds of music tracks in the proposed deal with PPL, the UK royalty collection company that represents 3,500 record labels and over 40,000 artists. The one-year deal would cost commercial radio companies a total of around £100,000 ($193,000). Radio stations would also have to work with a variety of other licensing fees, which would bring the estimated costs of podcasting to about £210,000 ($423,000). Radio stations in the UK already pay between 8- and 12 percent of their revenues to cover licensing fees. A consortium of commercial radio stations has agreed to share the costs.»

fonte: «Music Podcast License Deal May Be Near For British Commercial Radio», Posted by David Kaplan, 05 Jan 2007 (Paidcontent.org)

Etiquetas: podcast

De acordo com a Marktest, nos ultimos tres meses de 2006 a venda de CD audio passou de 37,3 % (em 2004) para 29,8% (2006). Ou seja, uma queda de quase 10 por cento.

fonte: «O que mudou no consumo dos portugueses?», Marktest.com, 28/12/06

Etiquetas: música, digital

«It’s just not happening on terrestrial.  They’re programming for an audience that doesn’t exist.  In an era of personalization, of media speaking TO YOU, terrestrial is broadcasting to a theoretical person research says exists, but doesn’t.  People WILL listen to music handpicked by human beings, but will it be on FM?  Highly doubtful.»

fonte: «2006», Lefsetz Letters,  11/12/06

A internet, nas suas diversas expressões, veio pôr em causa a santa aliança entre rádio e indústria discográfica (entendida no seu sentido mais vasto e amplo).
Até à Internet, essa santa aliança reflectia-se de diversas formas (os exclusivos, os apoios à divulgação, a promoção dos concertos, entrevistas e luta pelo air play, o payola): as rádios divulgavam os grupos e as músicas e recebiam em troca conteúdos quase à borla em doses massivas (apenas tinham de pagar os direitos de autor). Os músicos apoiavam as rádios, através da sua disponibilidade para participar em concertos, que dariam receitas e dimensão à rádio, cobrando apenas as «despesas». Com esses «radio-promoted concerts», os grupos estavam também a investir numa ligação duradoura e mais eficaz com a rádio. Ou seja, era um investimento que se traduziria em retorno. Neste sentido o «payola» é apenas o maximizar da aliança. A partir do momento em que nos EUA se banalizarm os promotores independentes (contratados pelas editoras para conseguirem divulgação nas rádios), o dinheiro começou a circular...

Muito disto aconteceu porque a industria musical não tinha uma alternativa válida ao gigantesco outdoor publicitário em que se transformou a rádio musical um pouco por todo o mundo (grande exposição por pouco dinheiro, apenas com a desvantagem de ter de disputar um espaço limitado e muito...disputado, sobretudo nas rádios mais ouvidas). A internet é essa alternativa. A rádio pode continuar a divulgar, mas a internet não é limitada (pelo contrário, é infinita), também tem custos baixos e não há um director de programas a decidir. Além do mais, os potenciais clientes estão lá... 

«Universal issued its per-device demand just days ahead of the Zune launch date, putting Microsoft in an incredibly difficult position. That was an aggressive move by Morris, and Steve Jobs may be far less conciliatory. During an earlier renegotiation round with Apple, major labels were unable to secure a key demand related to variable pricing on the iTunes Store, despite a great deal of posturing. Once again, Universal holds the trump card of its catalog, though that was not enough to bend Jobs during the last round. iPods are projected to cross the 14-15 million threshold this holiday quarter»

fonte: «Universal Music Group, Morris Could Target iPod Next», Digital Music News, 29/11/06

Etiquetas: iPod, Zune

Last week, Blackground Records, a Universal-distributed label, purchased ads that enabled the song, “Too Little, Too Late” by the teenage singer JoJo to climb to the No. 2 position on the nation’s mainstream pop radio chart. Before that, a representative for Nickelback, a rock band on Roadrunner Records, a Universal-distributed label, paid for ads that inflated the performance of the song “Far Away.” The tune ranked as the week’s No. 1 song. A spokeswoman for Mr. Spitzer, Juanita Scarlett, said yesterday that the attorney general’s office was “aware of the possible violation of the terms of our agreement with Universal and we are looking into the matter.”  Universal said in a statement that it had no ownership interest in Blackground and no management control in Roadrunner. “We’re investigating these allegations but the decisions for these two acts were made by these two companies, outside of our control,” the statement said. “We made them aware of our new promotion policies and have encouraged them to follow the new procedures.” It was not clear what remedies Mr. Spitzer might seek if a record company was found to violate the terms of the settlement. In March, Mr. Spitzer filed a lawsuit against Entercom Communications, which ran the JoJo and Nickelback ads as part of a program called “CD Preview.” The lawsuit says that Entercom marketed the program explicitly as a means to manipulate a song’s performance on industry charts. Batches of “spins,’’ or plays of a song, could be purchased for $1,000 to $3,500, and the program generated more than $2 million a year for the company, the lawsuit said. Entercom declined to comment yesterday. Rob Sisco, president of Nielsen Music, which includes an airplay-tracking service, said “unless we’re notified ahead of time, as these agreements spell out clearly, there’s little we can do to discern what was and wasn’t an advertisement.” But the disclosure also raises questions about how the settlements will be enforced and whether music executives will try to capitalize on perceived loopholes. In the mid-1980’s, for example, a payola, or pay-for-play, practices scandal prompted many of the major labels to swear off the use of independent record promoters, or middlemen who had been used to funnel money to radio stations. But according to the book “Hit Men,” an array of artist managers picked up the tab for the promoters’ services instead. How Mr. Spitzer’s office responds now will determine how much weight the industry’s settlements carry. All four major record corporations have agreed to clamp down on illicit payola. But label executives evidently remain tempted by the lure of a top radio chart position — which translates to bragging rights and, potentially, album sales.  “Radio promotion executives are still under enormous pressure to use tools that maximize radio airplay because airplay still sells recordings,” said Rachel Stilwell, a Los Angeles lawyer who has written about payola and who worked several years ago as the national director of promotion for the Verve Music Group, a Universal subsidiary label. “Old habits die hard.”»

O grupo Keane tem um novo disco (uma nova música, será mais correcto) e vai pô-lo à venda atraves de um novo dispositivo, uma pen/USB, à venda a partir do dia 30 na cadeia HMV.

A editora dos Keane acredita que a pen será a alternativa aos CD. LIga-se ao computador (e depois a um aparelho de mp3) e já está, disse um responsável pela editora ao Guardian. Em 2007 poderá haver novos lançamentos neste suporte.

(ou seja, uma alternativa aos downloads)

Os Keane já tinham inovado com a decisão de vender CDs com os concertos «dez minutos após o final de cada espectáculo.
As "bootlegs" terão um número limitado de 1000 cópias por cada concerto mas poderão ser encomendados através do site Concertlive.co.uk ou compradas na própria noite da actuação».

«As Radio Inktold you in a Thursday bulletin, CBS Radio has reached a settlement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in which the company admits that some of its radio stations accepted payola from record labels.

"Certain stations owned by CBS Radio have practiced deception against their listeners," the company said in a statement signed by both Spitzer and CBS Corporation Executive Vice President and General Counsel Louis Briskman.

The statement cited the company’s Rochester, NY stations in particular, saying staff there "openly traded airplay for revenue," and solicited benefits, such as contest prizes and payment of invoices, from labels in return for airplay.

"The sale of a station’s valuable air time to the highest bidder violates state and federal laws and robs consumers of their right to know why the songs they hear on the radio are being broadcast," Spitzer said. "Our settlement with CBS Radio represents a significant milestone in our effort to reform the music industry for the benefit of the listening public."

CBS Radio will also make a $2 million payment, which will be distributed through the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, to New York State not-for-profit entities to fund music education and appreciation programs.

fonte: Radio Ink, «CBS Radio Settles Payola Lawsuit», 21/10/06

«There's a new survey available on Radio listening which was commissioned by American Media Services, a radio brokerage, engineering and developmental engineering firm in Charleston, South Carolina. (...) The survey found that Americans rate radio as their primary source to learn about new music. When asked which ways they learn about new music, 63 percent said by listening to the radio. In comparison, 43 percent said it can be through talking with friends, 41 percent cited watching television, 24 percent cited reviews in newspapers or magazines, and 16 percent cited the internet. (...) The telephone survey of 1,008 Americans adults was conducted Aug. 11-13, 2006, by the national polling firm of GfK NOP of Princeton, N.J. The survey is considered accurate within plus or minus 3 percentage points.»

[Médiamétrie results for November-December 2005] “The fall of the music radio, therefore listening of young people also worries us,” grumbled Radio France president Jean-Paul Cluzel, stating a fear common to all public broadcasters. “Today, radio is no longer the only hot media.” (fonte: Follow the Media,Nasty Trends for French National Radio, Michael Hedges January 22, 2006

(music channels down, youth channels down. Blame TV. Blame the internet.)

Um ponto da situação:

«The announcement of two new online music services points to what the radio industry is facing. Given a choice, which way will the public go? Listening to a "local" radio station that's offering plenty of music with little relativity (as the majority of stations do today), or listening to an online music source with plenty of music and little relativity.

We've reached a state where radio has diminished it's local content to a point that's matched by the jukebox delivery of online music sites. Both, radio and these web sites that feature music, play popular songs. Both stay away from additional elements which cost money to produce, and both create a bond with the audience»
fonte: «Online Music Services vs Radio», Audiographics, 30-08-2006

«The survey found that Americans rate radio as their primary source to learn about new music. When asked which ways they learn about new music, 63 percent said by listening to the radio. In comparison, 43 percent said it can be through talking with friends, 41 percent cited watching television, 24 percent cited reviews in newspapers or magazines, and 16 percent cited the Internet»

fonte: «Radio Listening Remains Strong», 14/9/06, Radio Ink

"listening to music is no longer a pastime but has become more of a habit. People are taking music for granted."

Esta é uma das conclusões de um estudo feito por um grupo de investigadores da Universidade de Leicester, que inquiriram 350 pessoas de várias ocupações e idades. O texto original saiu no jornal Scotsman: "New research on the listening habits of music fans has revealed that many now plug in their ear-phones out of habit rather than for enjoyment".