Tidal Wave

Jay-Z’s Tidal has made many ripples, however the splash seems to have been short lived. The March 2015 buy of Tidal has become a troubling investment for investors at the forefront. One has to ask themselves if Tidal’s business plan makes any sense in a time when consumers see very little value in purchasing music. To expect consumers to pay $9.99 for a standard streaming service and $19.99 for a high-resolution service seems pretty crazy. What’s even more crazy is that Tidal as a company has not properly marketed it’s service to the consumer. Everyone is left in the dark, maybe they are left worrying or maybe they press on to the next service. I believe if Tidal is the biggest thing since MTV, then they should have marketed it like it was.

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From Payola to Blogola to Pandola?

Montgomery and Moe showed that it would be efficient for labels to pay for airplay (Montgomery & Moe, 2002). This is not surprising given the impact airplay can have on sales, at least in the old music industry (Dertouzos, 2008). However, direct undisclosed payments to influence radio programming (called Payola, a combination of pay and Victrola) are prohibited by law. Hence, labels developed strategies to circumvent the law by using independent promoters or naming payments “consultant fees”.

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The Artist Compensation Storm

As sure as dark clouds gather in hurricane season, a storm is brewing around artist compensation. Art and technology are at odds. However, it wasn’t always that way.

From the advent of cassette multitracks in the ’80s, to the arrival of digital multitracks in the ’90s, to the maturation of digital audio workstations in the ’00s, affordable, cutting-edge technology enabled recording artists to seize the means of production. The rise of the internet enabled them to marshal the means of distribution. Without those home studios, without a free internet, artists would still be trying to catch the ear of some well-connected impresario who could foot the bill for commercial studio time and old-media publicity. It’s a plain fact: thanks to technology, producing and distributing music is a lot easier than it used to be. And artists have reaped the benefits.

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Audio Network Licenses Music Track to Verizon Wireless for New Campaign

Audio Network licensed “El Presidente” to Verizon Wireless Hispanic Heritage campaign.

September 21, 2012 New York, NY – Production music library Audio Network has licensed its track “El Presidente” by Tim Devine for a new Verizon Wireless campaign, featuring Jennifer Lopez.

“El Presidente” will appear on Verizon’s new advertisement, celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.  The track has been made available for streaming on internet radio app Pandora and available for sale on Amazon MP3 and other digital retailers.  A 30-second ringtone of the track is also being offered as an exclusive through Verizon during Hispanic Heritage Month.  

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Hey Developer Guy Read This Before You Build That App

So, I was reading an interview in Wired Magazine on Marc Andreessen, the creator of the first browser, this past weekend and he was asked about the future of the web. In the article titled ‘The Man Who Know’s What Next,’ Marc states “The application model of the future is the web application model. The apps will live on the web. Mobile apps on platforms like iOS and Android are a temporary step along the way toward the full mobile web.”

I interviewed Ari Stein of WahWah.FM a month or so ago and he told me “Who knows 5 to 10 years from now apps may not even exist.” This was a very interesting statement to me, because WahWah.FM is a mobile app which is currently available for iOS users only with plans to create an Android app once additional funding is secured. I pondered about making that statement the title of the post but I wanted to focus on their product because I think it’s great.

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Can You Predict A Hit? The 21st Century A&R Answer

On Saturday, Bob Lefsetz asked this question in his post located here.

I have dedicated the past 10 years (of my 20 in this business) to precisely this question - or as I ask it now, “How can we make the A&R process more efficient and more accurate?”

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Thomas McAlevey CEO of Radical.FM Speaks with The Music Biz Weekly Podcast

Welcome to episode 15 of The Music Biz Weekly, a weekly podcast co-hosted by Michael Brandvold and Brian Thompson. Each week Michael and Brian will discuss the latest events in the music business and music marketing events and techniques. This week’s episode, July 8, 2011 – Thomas McAlevey CEO of Radical.FM

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Internet Radio Is The Future......Duh

On my site called IntoTheMusic.Biz I wrote a little rant about articles I had been reading:

I run across articles with titles like “Internet Radio is the Future”. This cracks me up. Its like writing a book on the fact that the sky is blue.

But, last night, a friend of mine and I were talking about how I’ve never owned a tv. My friend said “how do you get the news then?”. I didn’t know how to respond. I’m not in Orange County anymore and this person is a little older than me, but really?

Here’s some links to articles like this (I hope they’re written by people who live in the jungle):
Internet Radio A Favourable Choice For All Your Favorite Music

Is Internet Radio The Future?