Posts by Simon Grigg
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While this might be a good moment to say a quick 'hooray' for the demise of DRM in the face of common sense, it's probably also worth highlighting the fact that EMI just repaired a faulty product, put the price up and called it 'premium' -- and wound up with a good batch of PR to boot.
a business philosophy as old as the hills surely...bump a premium on something and use that premium paid for by the customer, to tell them how mighty fine that product or service now is, although in this case they get to keep the premium as well, courtesy of a well timed PR blitz
I'm unsure, however, how many, if any of the kids who download singles, ultimately a disposable product, will see any advantage in having a more expensive but higher bitrated non DRM song on their phone. What the takeup will be in the biggest market sector. How many of the kids that wanted Gnarls Barkley actually know or even care...it never leaves the device anyway and it's playing life is about three months.
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Even if it didn't work, it'd be a great gamble - and ain't they always rumbled about being in a risky business?
which exactly was the point behind the April 1 thing I posted yesterday.
Who seriously uses their phones to play music, anyway? I strongly beg to differ.
phones are easily the dominant player of choice here in Asia, if visual evidence is anything to go by.
The new 256kbit/s DRM-free AAC files will cost slightly more for single purchases, but album prices will remain the same, increasing the incentive for consumers to purchase whole albums. You'll be able to pony up the cash difference to upgrade your whole EMI catalogue, meaning a nice little welcome-in windfall for EMI.
but I think if the last few years have proved anything, it's that fewer and fewer people want albums as such. I wonder what percentage of people don't predominately use shuffle on their iPods, Zens or phones. Even when I rip a CD I'm selective as to which tracks I take and I've only ever been inclined to buy one whole album from any online server (and that was based on nostalgia) .
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Bob Lefsetz take on Jobs / EMI (and I think its April 2 in the US now)
One small step for mankind, and one half-step back. It would be like Neil Armstrong getting to the moon and not getting out. I mean if you’re going to go all that way…
This is the kind of bullshit pussyfooting that got the labels into hot water to begin with. If anything, tracks should cost LESS!....
And, yes, I imagine Campbell will be thinking, why don't our masters tell us these things are about to happen, although to be fair EMI have indicated fairly strongly in recent months it was about to go this way
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Hah. Just did a 30-seconds notice chat with Graeme Hill on Radio Live about the Beatles' online deal. Had to tell him in real time that the latest crop of news stories were saying no Beatles deal, but instead the MP3 thing ...
oh boy, do I really want those Fabs remasters though....but..only..on...CD..and..vinyl
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No, its an April 1 thingy (Bob Lefsatz has a Led Zep reunion thing up on his site as a April Fools joke too..he thinks he is a funny man) but it was clearly meant to have a slightly political bite.
But the mindset is very slowly changing (as Apple / EMI indicates) ..I had this forwarded to me by 5 people today, or maybe everybody in the music industry is utterly gullible. Sadly RIANZ seem to be not only behind the eightball but searching for the cue & the table.
But April Fools joke or not, the subscription model, as pushed repeatedly by UK & US pundits (Peter Jenner was one last December), and varied a little by eMusic seems to me to be the only sensible way forward. It just needs somebody, like a Jimmy Iovine with enough power & foresight to take a leap.
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Thats what I wondered of course, thus I posted without comment. The parts about various unsigned acts are very odd......
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From the WSJ..also not online yet:
**EMI to Sell Much of its Music Without Antipiracy Software**
In a major reversal of the music industry's longstanding antipiracy strategy, EMI Group PLC is set to announce Monday that it plans to sell significant amounts of its catalog without anticopying software, according to people familiar with the matter.
The London-based music company is to make its announcement in a press conference that will feature Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs. EMI is to sell songs without the software -- known as digital rights management, or DRM -- through Apple's iTunes Store and possibly through other online outlets, too.
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They surely can’t imagine guys like me will continue to repurchase in a third format can they ?
if the Jobs / EMI press conference in London tomorrow is about what everyone thinks it is is about..then yes
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This is not online yet but is rather relevant (and I apologise for breaking any fair use provisos, but its a freely provided email):
Famous for being in the right place at the right time, as of June 1st, Jimmy Iovine will no longer be employed by Universal Music. He is ankling the firm to return to New York City to run LimeWire, the P2P service based on the Gnutella protocol.
Two factors seem to have triggered Jimmy's departure, the radical drop in CD sales and his kids' reaction to the RIAA lawsuits. Always in touch with the younger generation, the true Dick Clark, Jimmy thought it was time to get out while the getting was good. His move reminds one of nothing so much as that old Graham Parker chestnut, crawling from the wreckage into a brand new car.
So how did Jimmy get out of his Universal deal?
Turns out his contract has got a bonus structure based on sales volume. And, if a certain volume is not reached, either party can terminate the deal. There was some debate as to whether digital sales counted in the formula, but unfortunately for Universal, even when they were added in, the sales target was not reached. Doug Morris was flabbergasted that Jimmy would want to move on, then again, unlike Mr. Iovine, Mr. Morris is notorious for still living in the twentieth century, still believing in the formula of getting records on terrestrial radio and seeing if they react at sales outlets. Hanging out with Steve Jobs, Jimmy has now seen that podcasts are a better way to reach the public, that new media is the way to go, so he got up and left.
But why not start his own label?
Because distribution is king. Universal might own all this fabulous content, but if they can't get paid for it, what difference does it make? It's best to be where the rubber meets the road, where people acquire and pay.
Yes, but who's paying for LimeWire now?
That's just the point. Mr. Iovine believes Ted Cohen's editorial in "Billboard" this week represents the tipping point. It's time to license P2P and see how it all turns out. Negotiating a fifty percent interest in the company, for his imprimatur, Jimmy is now the licensing point person. And smart money has him closing deals.
The new pay LimeWire will at first feature unique content that eclipses anything ever offered at the iTunes Store. To save the business, now that he's got the ball rolling saving Africa, Bono will cut a solo track, only available via LimeWire. Turns out that there's no solo deal in U2's contract, and that Bono is free. Everyone felt U2 was like Metallica, and no solo discs would be allowed, but Bono doesn't need to leave the band like Jason Newsted to make his own music, his effort is condoned by Edge and the other two.
But that's just a start. There's a whole Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty duets album in the can. Each cut as good or better than "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around".
And Jon Landau inserted a key man clause in Bruce Springsteen's contract with Sony. Turns out if Andy Lack isn't in charge of a combined SonyBMG, if he's not top dog, Bruce can walk. Being a man of the people, Bruce is leaving the big bucks behind, to do something for the good of the business, for his fans. Then again, will he end up making more money when everybody owns his albums, when they can be purchased for such a low price? As to Jimmy producing said record, nothing has been confirmed. However there are still some unreleased tracks from the "Darkness At The Edge Of Town" sessions, and Max Weinberg has said they're every bit as good as "Candy's Room". However, believing in the new paradigm, Bruce is not going to appear on Conan. You see to be exclusive to LimeWire, you can't do television. Word of mouth will drive sales/trading. Jimmy feels this is the only way for acts to maintain their cred, and their longevity.
Of course there have been negotiations with Irving Azoff for the Eagles. Jimmy thought he had the inside line, since he produced Don Henley's duet with the aforementioned Stevie Nicks on her debut solo album. But Irving wanted fifty percent of Jimmy's action, twenty five percent of the company, to close the deal. And still believing in the major label mantra, that the executive is bigger than the act, Jimmy said no.
Of course the Pussycat Dolls can't come along. But Jimmy believes it's only a matter of time before the majors cave and make a deal with him, and he has all the content. And despite the flash and hype of the new acts, all the money is in the heritage acts anyway, so Jimmy's starting there. It is believed the acts that get broken on LimeWire in the future will be more akin to the classic acts anyway. That they'll be able to sing and play, and will write hummable tunes. Timbaland is in negotiations with Kazaa, as is Snoop, for that company is offering elephant bucks to performers to make a big splash upon relaunch, but Jimmy turned those dollars down, famously saying it would be like making a deal with Sony Connect. Who wants to be king of nothing? Dre? Dre's still up in the air, blown away his godfather walked out without telling him. He's worried his new album on Universal will stiff without Jimmy there to steer it, so he's sitting on the sidelines for now. He tried to get Jimmy to stay through its release, but expediency has always trumped loyalty in Jimmy's book.
So how's it going to work?
At first, before the major labels sign on, LimeWire will cost two dollars a month. Then, every time a major label group signs on, another two dollars will be added to your bill. So when all the majors are on board, it will cost ten dollars a month for all you can eat, unprotected MP3s. There will be no indie bonus. The indies, although a growing percentage of overall sales, are getting screwed again. Yes, you see every time a major signs on $100 million is transferred to their account, which, of course, goes straight to their bottom line, staving off Wall Street until LimeWire truly takes hold. For it's envisioned that once LimeWire takes off, within the next twelve months or so, there will be so much money distributed, the majors will be rolling in profits.
The deal is LimeWire skims fifteen percent right off the top. The rest is distributed to the labels owning the traded tracks, a la ASCAP or BMI payments. How that money is then distributed is up in the air. One hopes fifty percent will go to acts, and that publishers will go to a percentage rate, but expect big battles. The only way to avoid all this is to make a deal with LimeWire directly. Then Jimmy coughs of up fifty percent of the revenue. Of course, then he keeps fifty percent. On top of his fifteen percent distribution fee. It's not clear if Jimmy wants to expand this sphere of the business or not. After all, the money's truly in distribution, a fiber cable never called in the middle of the night looking for dope or crying about its girlfriend leaving. Advisors are telling Jimmy to just make enough deals to launch the ultimately truly legal service. But can Jimmy avoid double-dipping? Only time will tell.
And what's in it for the consumer, you ask? Well, in addition to the exclusive content, Jimmy has made a deal with Mitch Bainwol and the RIAA. Anybody owning a LimeWire license will be exempted, immune from lawsuits. Yes, a credit card bill will with a LimeWire charge will be an absolute defense against a lawsuit. Jimmy's kids told him that college students still would not pay, but blanket trading licenses for universities are being negotiated as I write this.
The future has finally arrived. And contrary to all the spin, it was not brought to you by Steve Jobs, but someone from the music business, who understands relationships, who understands musicians, who understands the audience. Mark April 1st down on your calendar as the day the music business was saved
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James,
I think it is plainly obvious that many on the left/ progressive sphere around the world are in a de-facto alliance with the extreme elements in the Middle East, not by deliberate design, but in practical effect.
We fellow travelers are still waiting for your, from inside the USA, perspective, answers as to our questions about your Abu Ghraib statement. You need to back your assertions please.
Your Post writer is a goodie too.....how was that?