Archive for November, 2008

26
Nov

Brands On The Hunt At MIDEM

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

More leading global brands will attend MIDEM in January 2009, a growing trend over recent years, which underlines their increased interaction and importance for the music industry. Advertising agencies, advertisers, video game publishers, and companies specialising in synchro licences will all have an increased visibility at MIDEM next January and account for around 7% of attendees.

The annual MIDEM listening sessions were created to facilitate interaction between industry professionals and brands and have proved a big success for both. Via the sessions, industry professionals will once again have the possibility of submitting their productions directly to key brand representatives allowing the latter unrivalled access to the pool of artists represented at MIDEM to find music for their current projects. Three listening sessions will be organised as part of the 43rd MIDEM: one by the world’s leading video game publisher Activision Blizzard for its property Guitar Hero; one by the Grey agency for the marketing campaign of American cosmetics brand Cover Girl; and one by the agency Leap Music, specialists in synchronisation licensing.

During MIDEM 2008, the listening sessions spawned some real success stories. Irish band The Answer, chosen for the game Guitar Hero, are currently opening act on AC/DC’s world tour. The Canadian group Dragonette, who performed in the first edition of the MidemTalent showcase, submitted a track for the Zync session. Dragonette has since been picked for 15 synchros around the world. The first album of the American artist Rosi Golan is just being released after the American public discovered her music thanks to its use in the U.S. campaign of Pantene shampoo.

“Images & Brands” will explore this trend during a series of conferences and case studies on collaborations such as that between Bacardi and Groove Armada in the presence of group members Tom Findlay and Andy Cato. A study will also be presented entitled “Sounds like Branding”, conducted by Heartbeats International, consulting agency in brands’ musical strategy. Carried out with the marketing departments of more than 50 major international brands such as Disney, Nokia and Gucci, this study will outline the brands’ point of view on future relations between music and marketing.

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26
Nov

Courtney Holt Named President Of MySpace Music

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

MySpace announced that Courtney Holt (http://www.myspace.com/courtneyholt) has been appointed President of MySpace Music, the world’s most popular music community. Beginning on January 5, 2009, Holt will be responsible for overseeing the growth and development of the MySpace Music brand and its global operations.

“Courtney understands how to successfully blend technology with music and the resulting new business opportunities born from such a combination,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO and Co-Founder of MySpace. “Courtney’s unique vision and willingness to innovate makes him an incredible addition to our executive team—we’re thrilled to have him on board.”

Holt brings extensive music industry knowledge and relationships to MySpace Music, as well a deep understanding of music product, promotion, and marketing that will serve to solidify the company’s position as a global leader in the digital music space as well as the platform of choice for artists at every level.

Holt previously served as Executive Vice President of Digital Music for the MTV Networks Music and Logo Group where he oversaw several initiatives for the company’s digital music group, including working with the MTV, VH1 and CMT brands. In this role, Holt was responsible for identifying ways to further engage audiences across a spectrum of touch points, expanding the reach of the music brands online and content syndication. He also worked closely with Integrated Marketing and Ad Sales teams to drive new business partnerships and advertising models.

Prior to joining MTV, Holt was Senior Vice President of New Media, Creative and Strategic Marketing at Interscope Geffen A&M. Just after the launch of MySpace, Holt recognized the influence and reputation that MySpace Music was developing in digital music and utilized the site to premiere the new albums from several high profile artists including Weezer, Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Black Eyed Peas, and Audioslave — all of which were the highest album releases in each artist’s careers at the time.

“MySpace Music cultivates relationships between artists and fans by enabling and reinforcing music discovery both online and offline and providing the tools to customize and personalize their music experience,” said Courtney William Holt. “The new company will explore different and evolutionary revenue streams that provide real opportunities for artists and the industry as a whole. I can’t wait to help build out those opportunities even further.”

Since officially launching in September 2008, MySpace Music has exclusively premiered new albums and singles from such high profile artists as Guns N’ Roses, The Cure, Oasis, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park and John Legend amongst others. As one of the most popular and highly trafficked music platforms in the world, MySpace Music has evolved into an offline experience by connecting bands and fans around the world through various concert series and live events.

Throughout his career and as a veteran of the recording music industry, Holt has earned recognition for embracing technology and changing the way labels traditionally promoted artists. His strategic initiatives helped usher in a new era of music marketing. Holt earned a Bachelor degree in Film from Boston University in 1990 and will be relocating to Los Angeles from New York for the new role.

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25
Nov

Call For Entries: Holiday RiffRumble Holiday Song Contest Judged By Rooney

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
— Record a song with RiffWorks and enter to win a Dean Markley Guitar, an iPod touch with FourTrack and more.–

Los Altos, CA – November 24, 2008 - Sonoma Wire Works announces the Holiday RiffRumble, the 14th song contest for RiffWorks recording software users. Contestants worldwide will compete for $4120 in prizes, including a Dean Markley Acoustic Guitar, an iPod touch with FourTrack by Sonoma Wire Works, an Ultrasound AG30 Acoustic Guitar Amplifier, 12 sets of Dean Markley VintageBronze Guitar Strings, RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums, and Recording Magazines. Any RiffCast enabled edition of RiffWorks, including RiffWorks T4 free recording software may be used to record solo entries and online collaborations with a holiday or winter theme. The power pop band, Rooney, will choose the Grand Prize winner. Entries will be accepted for two weeks: November 24 – December 7, 2008. Votes accepted November 24 – December 14. No purchase necessary and no entry fee. Contest & Prize Details: http://www.riffworld.com/riffrumble/rr14

Three Categories to Win

• Grand Prize (Rooney’s Choice): The musician who enters the song chosen by Rooney band members wins a Dean Markley DM-J360 E Acoustic Guitar. This flat-top jumbo acoustic recalls the Gibson J-160 that John Lennon used with the Beatles. It features book-matched mahogany back and sides, a solid mahogany neck, a solid book-matched spruce top, a slim 15 fret ebony fret-board, gold-plated tuners with simulated tortoise knobs, ivroid binding, and a gold-plated stereo input jack for a neck position installed custom pick-up with both volume and tone controls as part of the body (valued at $3250). Includes hard shell case. 5 RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums ($49.95) and Recording Magazines ($19.95). Total Value: $3320

• 2nd Prize (Contestants’ Choice): The musician who enters the song that receives the most votes from the contestants wins an Apple iPod touch 8GB (value $229) plus the FourTrack iPhone/iPod touch app by Sonoma Wire Works ($9.99). An Ultrasound AG30 Acoustic Guitar Amplifier - the best selling compact acoustic amp on the market for the last 5 years is built to Dean Markley’s specs for Ultrasound Amps. At 30 watts and just 20 pounds, the AG-30 is perfect for recording and coffee shop gigs. Feedback control, EQ shape control, effects loop, direct out, line out, headphone out, and a 5-year warranty fill out the features (MSRP $300). 5 RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums ($49.95). Recording Magazines ($19.95). Total Value: $600

• 3rd Prize (Most Public Votes): The musician who enters the song that receives the most shouts from the public wins 12 sets of Dean Markley VintageBronze Guitar Strings in a wooden gift box (MSRP $135). Five RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums ($49.95). Recording Magazines ($19.95). Total Value: $200

About RiffWorks
RiffWorks easy-to-use guitar recording software includes automatic track creation, loop recording, guitar-oriented effects, InstantDrummer, professionally recorded drum tracks, online music collaboration, and song posting. RiffWorld.com rolls it all into a vibrant online community. RiffWorks Standard Pricing: $129. RiffWorks T4 free download available: http://www.sonomawireworks.com/T4

About RiffRumble
RiffRumble song contests are hosted by Sonoma Wire Works on RiffWorld.com and sponsored by the hottest music industry companies. Sponsors for past RiffRumbles have included Line 6, IK Multimedia, Taylor Guitars, Seymour Duncan, Schecter Guitars, Recording Magazine, and more. Holiday RiffRumble: http://www.riffworld.com/riffrumble/rr14

About Sonoma Wire Works
Headquartered in Los Altos and incorporated in 2003, Sonoma Wire Works develops high-quality, innovative products and services that help musicians enjoy playing, recording and sharing music. Sonoma Wire Works products have received multiple editorial awards for performance and innovation, including a NAMM 2008 Best in Show Trendsetter Award.

About Dean Markley Strings
Dean Markley Strings have been featured on thousands of recordings and at thousands more concerts for nearly 40 years. Dean’s lasting goal to provide “not just another string, but a better string,” is a commitment to helping electric, acoustic, and bass guitarists play and sound better by using the finest materials and innovative technologies. http://www.deanmarkley.com

©2008 Sonoma Wire Works. All rights reserved. RiffWorks, RiffWorld, InstantDrummer, the RW logo and the FourTrack logo are trademarks property of Sonoma Wire Works. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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24
Nov

Copyright Clearance Center Launches Ozmo

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

Copyright Clearance Center, the world’s largest provider of copyright licensing solutions, announced the beta launch of Ozmo (www.ozmo.com), a web-based service that makes it easy for independent content creators to license the use of their work for commercial purposes and for content users to tap into the wealth of user-generated content found online.

Ozmo puts artists and writers in control. They select their license terms and set the price for the use of their content. Then, CCC puts its three decades of licensing expertise to work. CCC handles the entire licensing process and all payments go through Amazon’s Flexible Payment Service when a license is purchased. With Ozmo, buyers know instantly that they have the right to use the content and sellers know how their content is being used.

There are no set-up fees with Ozmo and content creators can license as much content as they want. Payment is collected from the buyer when the rights are purchased. Ozmo even helps sellers track and manage sales and buying trends. Ozmo supports the Creative Commons CC+ protocol for bridging the gap between commercial and non-commercial licensing. Content creators can apply the Creative Commons link for non-commercial use, and the Ozmo link for commercial use.

“We applaud the release of Ozmo, not only because it represents Copyright Clearance Center’s commitment to the CC+ protocol, but also because Ozmo provides an excellent commercial peer to Creative Commons’ public license”, said Mike Linksvayer, Vice President of Creative Commons.

Ozmo was created by the rights licensing experts at Copyright Clearance Center. A not-for-profit company founded in 1978, CCC is the world’s largest provider of rights licensing services. In just the last year, CCC distributed more than $135 million in royalties to rightsholders. CCC created Ozmo in response to a market need for a comprehensive solution to license user-generated content for commercial use.

“Since the advent of online photo-sharing sites, photographers have needed a simple and effective way to license their content,” said Gene Mopsik, Executive Director of the American Society of Media Photographers. “Ozmo is designed to meet the unique requirements of licensing independent, or user-generated, content. It is easy to use, yet fully functional and comprehensive. CCC is opening the door to the marketplace for the aspiring photographer online.”

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24
Nov

Karaoke Booms As Recession Bites

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

With the festive season upon us, Karaoke bars across the UK are set to be the new office party destination according to the Performing Right Society (PRS). The organisation, which collects royalties on behalf of the songwriters and composers, has reported a 10% increase in revenue collected from bars in the past five years, and Christmas 2008 is set to be big as workers search for cheaper parties.

As recession-weary workers turn to the many new bars that have opened across the country, it is Robbie William’s heavenly Angels, which is the popular song of choice. Valerie by the Zutons & Amy Winehouse, ABBA’s Dancing Queen and Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline take the other top spots.

PRS member, Guy Chambers, who co-wrote five albums with Robbie Williams and 19 hit singles, including the number one karaoke hit Angels, said: “I think Angels has endured because it is a pop anthem and functions as a prayer at the same time. In an increasingly secular world we still need songs that bring people together.”

Released in 1997 Angels has sold two million copies worldwide and is well recognized by its lyrics, which are similar to a traditional religious hymn.

Commenting on the results, Ellis Rich, chairman of PRS, said: “Karaoke (which means ‘empty orchestra’ in Japanese) is the modern take on communal singing, which has been part of British culture for over a century.

Singing is traditionally an uplifting pastime, which genuinely brings people together - whether they can actually sing or not doesn’t matter! In fact, the true enjoyment of Karaoke is enhanced in inverse proportion to the quality of the singing. However, what’s most important is that music is bringing people together.”

The results are based on the most performed Karaoke songs in licensed venues by the Performing Right Society. The PRS collates this data in order to make accurate royalty payments to its 60,000 composer, songwriter and music publisher members whenever music is publically performed or broadcasted. The survey covered bars, clubs, hotels, restaurants and live music venues.

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20
Nov

ole Wins Two SESAC Awards For Liz Rose/Taylor Swift Hits

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

Nashville, TN: ole is proud to be the recipient of two SESAC Nashville Music Awards for the chart-topping Taylor Swift hits “Picture To Burn” and “Teardrops On My Guitar.”

Co-written with Swift by 2007 SESAC Songwriter of the Year Liz Rose, ole was awarded a Country Performance Activity Award for “Picture To Burn” and a Recurrent Country Performance Activity Award for “Teardrops On My Guitar.”

“Teardrops” was also named BMI Country Song of the Year at the 2008 BMI Country Awards.

The Liz Rose publishing share of both Swift hits was recently purchased by ole as part of the Jody Williams Music catalogue.

Rose co-wrote four songs on Fearless, which topped both The Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts this past week with U.S. sales of 597,000 copies.

Three of Rose’s four contributions are published by ole through their recent purchase of the Jody Williams Music catalogue: “Fearless” (co-written with Taylor Swift and Hillary Lindsey); “Tell Me Why” and “White Horse,” (both co-written with Swift).

Over 18 million fans of the hit ABC series Grey’s Anatomy recently enjoyed an advance preview of “White Horse” when the song debuted on the show’s fifth season premiere on September 25, 2008.

Taylor Swift’s Fearless success comes hot on the heels of her 2006 self-titled debut Big Machine album - which featured seven ole-published Rose co-writes, including the chart-topping hits “Tim McGraw,” “Picture To Burn” and “Teardrops On My Guitar” - has sold more almost 4 million copies in the U.S. alone and topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for 25 weeks earlier this year.

Rose also contributed material to Swift’s million-selling, chart-topping Beautiful Eyes EP released earlier this year.

Originally from Irving, Texas, Rose has called Franklin, Tennessee home for the past 15 years, shifting from song plugger to songwriter when she joined Jody Williams Music Publishing several years ago.

Swift was an aspiring 14-year-old recording artist when Rose began their collaboration.

Since then, Rose’s songs have been covered by Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, Terri Clark, Lee Ann Womack and Billy Gilman.

Rose also co-wrote the Top 20 Gary Allan hit “Songs About Rain” and is currently climbing the charts with the ole-published Jewel single “Till It Feels Like Cheating.”

ole is proud to be associated with a songwriter like Liz Rose and great songs like BMI Country Song of the Year “Teardrops On My Guitar, “White Horse,” and “Picture To Burn.”

www.majorlyindie.com

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20
Nov

Internet Records Launches “Who Wants To Be The Next Rap Star?” On SonicBids

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

New York – 19 November 2008 – Internet Records has launched a search for the next big rap star on Sonic Bids today. “Who Wants to be the next Rap Star?” will be a first ever INTERNET REALITY SHOW. Contestants will be chosen from SonicBids entries and Internet Records will search for the top 12 rap artists in the country to compete in this exclusive 12 week online event.

Being a first of it’s kind, the new online reality show will focus on specific tasks, and artist development. It will chronicle the life of the artists from the time chosen to grand finale, when Internet Records and America will choose two artists that represent the best of the best. Submissions are open to the public today, and Internet Records is proud to be a part of this history making event.

“This is truly a first of it’s kind,” said Williamson, CEO of Internet Records. “We have to set the bar high, and make this series both entertaining for the public, as well as truly inspirational for upcoming artists.”

Williamson commented, saying; “I’m extremely excited about how this will turn out. Our goal is to have some celebrity judges.” Check out (http://www.sonicbids.com/Opportunity/OpportunityView.aspx?opportunity_id=13751) to enter, as well as (http://www.internetrecords.tv)

Official rules for the contest can be here:
http://www.internetrecords.tv/documents/47.html
/END

About Internet Records
Internet Records is an Independent Record Label, that specializes in R&B/Hiphop. We also work with other genres such as Rock, Dance, and Pop Music. We are an Independent Record Label that has been established since 2002.

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19
Nov

New Social Media Report Challenges Traditional Billboard Music Charts

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

Networked Insights, a provider of customer intelligence across social media, today released the second Measuring the Social report detailing the top 10 songs among the online audience as compared to Billboard’s weekly Hot 100 chart. While traditional music charts like Billboard determine song rankings based on sales and airplay, Networked Insights’ report offers a new take on music audience measurement by analyzing the millions of interactions occurring online everyday around the most popular songs.

Similar to Networked Insights’ first Measuring the Social report that focused on television ratings, the music report shows significant differences between the Networked Insights and Billboard rankings. Once again, the research indicates that the online population represents a unique audience and should be measured and marketed to differently than traditional methods.

Key findings of the second Measuring the Social report include:

– Seven of the songs on Networked Insights’ top 10 list do not appear in Billboard’s top 10 songs, indicating a large discrepancy between song purchase/airplay and audience interactions online

– While both lists consist mostly of pop and hip-hop/R&B songs, Networked Insights’ chart shows a different genre with two songs in the “alternative” category: Secondhand Serenade — “Fall For You” (5) and Coldplay — “Viva La Vida” (7)

– Secondhand Serenade’s lyrics are popular among social network users as they lend themselves well to posting as comments and on friends’ pages as evidenced by “Fall For You” taking the fifth spot on the Networked Insights chart

– During this timeframe, R&B group Brutha released an a capella version of Kanye West’s song “Love Lockdown” online, generating interest from the online audience, and boosting the rank of the original song on the Networked Insights chart to number 9. “Love Lockdown” does not appear on the Billboard top 10

– American Idol winner David Archuleta’s “Crush” is third on Networked Insights’ list due to the strong interactive component of the show transferring to online interactions

“The second Measuring the Social report proves that across many industries, marketers need to fully understand their online audiences and not just rely on traditional forms of measurement that leave out this massive, influential group of people,” said Dan Neely, founder and CEO of Networked Insights. “The way people interact with music now goes far beyond just buying it or listening to it on the radio, and the music industry needs to update the traditional ways they analyze and understand their target audience.”

Today, online measurement generally involves listening to the 15% of people that post content online. While this section of the audience is important, the other 85%, which Networked Insights uncovers, is interacting in other ways equally as valuable when analyzing audience behavior online — reading, rating, sharing, linking and inviting.

In the early days of the Web, when sites were one-way and static, audience measurement was based on eyeballs, then shifted to transactions as the Web became more complex, which painted a more accurate picture of online behavior. Now, understanding true online behavior is about understanding the social, measuring all the different ways people are interacting online. This also includes the important metric of influence for each interaction — for example, Tiger Woods sharing a golf video carries far more weight than an everyday golf enthusiast taking the same action.

To gather data for this Measuring the Social report, Networked Insights tapped more than 17,000 social media and social networking sites, which included 3.5 million conversations per day and over 120 million unique users. The Networked Insights top 10 chart is compared to Billboard’s Hot 100 list for the week of October 28 to November 4, 2008.

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18
Nov

ArtistData Debuts Multi-Artist Accounts; Top Labels/Artists Already Using Service

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

ArtistData, the free information publishing tool created for the music industry, has released a critical feature for music organizations: the ability to manage an entire roster of artists within one account.

For the past several months, almost 200 organizations have been part of the private beta test, including Universal Motown Republic Group, C3 Management, Aware Records, Brick Wall Management, and Watchdog Management. Today, ArtistData officially launched the multi-artist account capability to the public. Labels and management companies can now manage their entire roster, streamlining the time-consuming process of updating social network profiles and coordinating information distribution for multiple artists.

Rian Rochford, Director of New Media for Universal Motown Republic Group, comments: “ArtistData has provided a priceless tool enabling us to provide accurate and up to date artist info in the most efficient way possible.”

“It’s been a pleasure working with so many organizations during the development and testing of this feature,” says ArtistData President Brenden Mulligan. “It’s allowed us to build something they can really use, not something we think they need.”

In addition to managing multiple artists, music organizations can use ArtistData’s publishing tools for their own profiles and sites. ArtistData will post artist information to the organization’s social network profiles, official website, desktop calendar, and more.

Gabe Johnson of In The Pocket Artists says, “ArtistData has made it much easier to provide concert listing services for our clients. It’s been a pleasure to work with ArtistData and we look forward to utilizing all the new features and services AD will be adding going forward.”

Also, ArtistData announced today that it had added a publishing solution for popular promotion platform ReverbNation to its already strong network that includes MySpace, PureVolume, Jambase, and Eventful, to name a few.

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17
Nov

ASCAP Distributes Approximately $2.7 Million In ASCAPlus Cash Awards

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

Approximately $2.7 million in cash awards for 2008 - 2009 has been made to writer members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) by the Society’s ASCAPlus Awards Panels, it was announced today by ASCAP President & Chairman Marilyn Bergman. The purpose of these special awards, which have been given each year since 1960, is to reward writers whose works have a unique prestige value for which adequate compensation would not otherwise be received, and to compensate those writers whose works are performed substantially in media not surveyed by ASCAP.

Commenting on the awards, Ms. Bergman said, “Since 1960, the unique ASCAPlus Awards program has provided deserving music creators with something meaningful and tangible in the form of recognition and money. I can attest to this personally because at an early stage of my career, I was a Special Awards recipient. As always, we are greatly indebted to each of our hard-working panelists for giving their time and effort to this important endeavor.”

The members of the ASCAPlus Awards Panel are: JoAnn Falletta, conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony Orchestras; Peter Filichia, drama critic for the (Newark) Star-Ledger; Brian Mansfield, country music authority and Nashville correspondent for USA Today; Melinda Newman, well-known music journalist; Pat Prescott, veteran radio personality who currently co-hosts the morning show on KTWV (”The Wave”) in Los Angeles; H. Robert Reynolds, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan; and Steve Smith, Classical Music Editor for Time Out New York.

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