Deadlines/Brief

Music videos are so 80s/90s, right? They belong with the era when MTV screened wall-to-wall vids instead of 'reality' TV? Try telling that to the millions who bought Gangnam Style; were they really simply loving the music? 1.6bn (and still climbing) have viewed the video on YT, not to mention the many re-makes (school eg, eg2), viral ads + celeb link-ups (even political protest in Seoul) - and it doesn't matter how legit it is, this nightmare for daydream Beliebers is making a lot of money, even from the parodies + dislikes. All this for a simple dance track that wouldn't have sounded out of place in 1990 ... but had a fun vid. This meme itself was soon displaced by the Harlem Shake. Music vids even cause diseases it seems!
This blog explores every aspect of this most postmodern of media formats, including other print-based promo tools used by the industry, its fast-changing nature, + how fans/audiences create/interact. Posts are primarily written with Media students/educators in mind. Please acknowledge the blog author if using any resources from this blog - Mr Dave Burrowes

Thursday, 22 November 2018

POST-FEMINISM Ariana Grande on choosing to use sexuality

This is a nice example of the post-feminist stance

Ariana Grande criticises Piers Morgan over nudity comments https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/22/ariana-grande-criticises-piers-morgan-over-nudity-twitter-comments-little-mix?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Saturday, 17 November 2018

INDIE STREAMING labels launching mini-Spotify

https://theconversation.com/independent-music-labels-are-creating-their-own-streaming-services-to-give-artists-a-fair-deal-81578

SELF-PUBLISHING by Indie act gr8 industry insight

https://youtu.be/Ehg15tYK5LI

A solo artist speaking about his experience of dodgy Indie labels who sell themselves on doing the online work like getting tracks onto Spotify etc ... And how easy he realised this was when he tried for himself after discovering how the label were letting him down.

You'll note how he plugs his own website, and holds up physical copies of his CDs, in trying to monetise his music ... He even signs off with a plea for viewers to add his songs to their Spotify playlists to boost their plays!

More news on Indie distribution: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/glassnote-signs-global-distribution-deal-with-kobalts-awal-leaves-behind-major-label-system/

Friday, 16 November 2018

YOUTUBE faces EU music video rights hike

UPDATED UPDATE!!

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/whos-telling-the-truth-youtube-or-the-music-industry-756663/



Spoiler alert ... the tech giants won this battle:YouTube and Facebook escape billions in copyright payouts after EU vote

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/05/youtube-could-escape-billions-in-copyright-payouts-after-eu-vote?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

'YouTube faces paying billions to music stars after copyright vote'

Great article + big news, as this impacts YouTube's distribution of music videos - it could lead to a mass deletion of music videos from the site, pending clear + specific agreements being signed with labels/rights holders.

NB: there is no change in law YET; this initial requires a further vote in the European Parliament in July before it takes on legal status, and it seems likely several states will object to it.

The quotes below contain some killer stats, the type I've often cited before:
  • YouTube pays out about 67¢ per its 1.3bn music video-watching users ($856m/£650m annual)
  • that's less than half the total royalties payout for 25 BILLION streams than is generated by just 4.1m vinyl record sales!!!
  • Spotify pays out about $20 per user (272m users, annual total $5.6bn royalties)
For years the music industry has argued that YouTube exploits the lack of legal protection around music videos being viewed on its service to pay minimal amounts to artists and labels when they are viewed. The music industry has lobbied that this “value gap” between the true worth of the music videos and what YouTube decides to pay needs to be addressed with legislation.
On Wednesday, a crucial vote by the European parliament’s legal affairs committee went the way of the music industry with an agreement to adopt copyright laws that will force platforms such as YouTube to seek licences for music videos.

YouTube has an estimated 1.3 billion users who regularly watch music videos and it paid $856m (£650m) in royalties to music companies last year – an estimated 67 cents per user annually. In the UK, record labels and artists earn more than double the royalties from the sale of 4.1m vinyl records than they did from the 25bn music videos watched on YouTube last year.

By contrast, income from the 272 million music fans who paid for ad-supported services such as Spotify, generated $5.6bn in royalties, or about $20 per user annually.
...

Thursday, 15 November 2018

DISTRIBUTION Scuzz kicks the bucket but video channels live on

Interesting, contradictory week - Metal Hammer TV launched to rival fellow metal  magazine Kerrang! which has a thriving station. The convergence is furthered by some radio offerings by the likes of Q too.

However, MTV Rocks has gone (replaced by VH1 Christmas, just what the world needed), and so too has the Sony brand Scuzz TV, a 15-year show on Sky credited with many video premieres and breaking several bands.

Mixed picture then - there are still TV stations and shows out there based around the music video, 20 years on from MTV's shift towards moronic reality TV such as Pimp My Ride, an epically non-woke title if ever there was one.

But they are getting more niche, small channels rather than shows on major channels. The likes of Blabbermouth and other ezines with their social media presence are at least as important for music videos and promo campaigns generally.

YouTube looms above the rest, with Spotify and Apple also moving into music video - like radio, a resilient format that remains central to music marketing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/newsbeat-46196569

Saturday, 10 November 2018

DIGITISATION album sales halve 2015-18 singles rule again

Lot of great detail here, the bottom line being not just the accelerating decline of physical media sales, but the death of the album - with examples given such as Drake's 25-track album where 3 songs account for over 60% of all streams from the album, 19 others a combined 18%!

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-album-is-in-deep-trouble-and-the-music-business-probably-cant-save-it-753795/

MERCHANDISE Metallica tick off fans

These guys are becoming the Man Utd of music, squeezing every angle for money. It's not that long ago they launched their own whiskey line, now it's expensive ($125-500) watches, with 8 themes to pick from.

As they (almost) growled on Enter Sandman:

If I buy before I wake
I pray the lord my brain to take

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-watches-have-arrived-video/


Here's a Ppt I put together analysing some samples of their merchandising.



Saturday, 3 November 2018

MERCHANDISING Kylie duvets furnishing fortunes

Reclining album sales? Why pop stars are making sofas not songs https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/02/reclining-album-sales-why-pop-stars-are-making-sofas-not-songs?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger