3.0.0 A música e a indústria discográfica

É a indústria musical que está a travar o crescimento do audio online

«(...) Smokler noted that when Pandora was launched, he wrote a long, cranky letter to Tim Westergren because the service didn’t do what he wanted it to do. For example, the licenses allow the listener (like me) to only skip a certain number of songs per hour. So I need to sit through a bunch of stuff I don’t want to hear because of legal limitations. If I just wanted to browse without listening, well, the limit in skips prohibits that. I’m not likely to go back in a hour to see what songs I might like if I like the song “Beyond Belief”.

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 TV substitui a rádio como divulgadora de novos artistas

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,

Argumentos contra e a favor das novas regras musicais na Internet (EUA)

«Country singer/songwriter Joey Allcorn is one of the rate increase's opponents, and he attributes his modest success to the growth of Internet radio. A practitioner of a throwback country style, Allcorn does not have the support of a major label or the means to try to get his music on "mainstream" country radio stations. "When we made the Ram Radio top ten list of 2006, people would come up to me at shows and say 'I bought your album on the Internet after hearing your music on Last.fm or Pandora' or many other of these services," Allcorn said, referring to several webcasters. "I like getting paid and I like royalty payments," Allcorn said. "But if the only radio that plays my music goes bankrupt, they won't be playing my music or paying me royalties."

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  

A rádio é má para a indústria discográfica, diz estudo dos EUA

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)

 

Músicos querem ir buscar receitas às rádios (EUA)

«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)

Cada vez menos a rádio convencional é útil para indicar nova música

«(...) asking online radio listeners where they uncover new music. The question used was a fill-in: "Lately, I've been finding new music on..." The survey respondents were given the choice of broadcast radio, internet radio, satellite radio, file swapping, legal music service, and other.

A funny thing happens when you crunch these numbers. It shows that a substantial number of the internet radio audience give internet radio the nod as their key "new music" source - 77.1% to be exact. Only 7.7% say that, of late, they've been finding new music on broadcast radio.

This same question was asked of RRadio Network's online radio station audiences in 2005. In April of that year, 24.8% said that broadcast radio was leading them to new music. And, of these online radio station listeners - two years ago - 54.1% reported internet radio was where they found "new music." All other choices (satellite radio, file swapping, legal music service, and other) also dropped in the percentage of people using them to find new music between 2005 and 2007.

Study the chart and consider that online radio has, in just two short years, run away with the perception that it's delivering new artists (to people who listen to internet radio).

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

Outras formas de ouvir nova música, para além da rádio (Starbucks)

Diz Fred Jacobs: «Our recent Tech Poll continues to show that while radio is still the primary source for new music for more than half of our respondents, however, there are many other outlets that are playing a role in exposure:

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.»

 

Indústria musical vai cobrar à rádio?

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»

Grande queda na venda de CD (EUA)

«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

mais: http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/032207/index.shtml

Encontrar música quando não havia internet...

Excerto do estudo «How Kids and tweens use and respond to radio»; Arbitron, Inverno 2000:

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

Radio 48%

Amigos 29%

Tv 21%

Outros 13%

Revistas 3%

Internet 2%

Acabar com as protecções DRM na música

«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

 

Como a internet vai mudar a música

«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)

A industria musical descobre o podcast?

«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)

 

 

A quebra na venda de CD (Portugal)

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

Uma análise pessimista da música na rádio

«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 (santa) aliança rádio-industria musical...

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... 

 

Editoras de música, o mercado digital e o iPod

«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

Depois do «payola», as músicas pagas como anúncios

«Hardly more than a year has passed since the nation’s biggest record labels started agreeing to a series of measures that were intended to end the industry’s long history of employing bribes and other shady practices to influence which songs are heard on the radio.  But it has become increasingly clear that the industry is still grappling with how to change its culture. In the last two weeks, songs from two record labels — both distributed through Vivendi’s Universal Music Group — got a lift on the charts after a radio chain was paid to play the tunes as part of commercials late at night in an advertising program that New York state officials say is used to trick radio programmers. The ad purchases come five months after Universal settled accusations that it bribed radio programmers with gifts in exchange for airplay and engaged in other deceptive practices. The accord, in which Universal agreed to pay $12 million to New York charities, was the biggest so far in a sweeping investigation of the music industry that has been led by Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general.  In the settlement — which extends to any label or other entity whose practices are “directed or controlled” by Universal — executives are prohibited from, among other things, buying advertisements for the purpose of misleading the independent services that compile airplay data for Billboard and other publications. If Universal purchases a commercial containing more than 60 seconds of song — potentially enough for a tracking service to count it as regular airplay — the company must provide written notice of the ad.

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.”»

fonte: NYT, «Ads Test Payola Case Settlement», By JEFF LEEDS, Published: October 25, 2006

 

Um single numa pen USB

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».

Rádios reconhecem o «payola»

«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