High5: In other music news #7

Apple may lose its stickiness

 

The music industry is all abuzz with talk of Apple acquiring Beats. With current trends aligned in favour of the streaming model, it seems like a move on Apple's part to remain relevant. But, in "Apple Inc's interest in Beats is further evidence of a disturbing trend", the author spots a dilemma; Apple's iTunes store has stickiness - it's very difficult to leave once you've committed. Streaming is about anytime, anywhere, any device, which would leave Apple less likely to retain its customers as it used to...  

 

Don't let pop culture shame you

 

Popular culture is a funny thing. It takes something underground and on the fringe, raises its profile and makes it 'cool', and exhausts as many pennies out of it and squeezes it dry. Whatever it was, then becomes overbearing - as in music, when all day, every day you hear the same damn song on every show. And then it eventually becomes 'uncool'. So 'uncool' that even those who were die-hard fans either deny any association, or distance themselves from the genre.

 

And everything is fair game! Think about it... Hipsterism made popular culture the anti-Christ. Popular culture went and made hipsterism cool. Today, hipster is a very dirty word used as an insult. Popular culture always wins. And it's because it always wins that, quite frankly, you shouldn't be ashamed for liking anything at all - that goes especially for music - in this case, emo music: "The rise and fall of emo: why you shouldn’t be ashamed for liking emo music".

 

 

Mali music's global presence

 

West African music and culture have found a global stage thanks to the Diabatés. The Malian father-son duo, Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté, have released a new album as they share the traditional sounds of the kora with the world. The duet holds great significance, as Toumani also once shared the stage with his father, Sidiki Diabaté snr (now deceased). The album marks the arrival of the 78th generation of Diabaté griots - for more on Mali's kora and griot culture, read "Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté: 'It's like an entire music industry in one family'"

 

 

Indies upset with YouTube

 

No-one like's it when big companies screw over the little guys, and it looks like Google's flexing its might in an attempt to bulldoze the indie labels. Claims have been made that YouTube has been approaching indie labels with licensing terms for its upcoming streaming music subscription service that leave a lot to be desired. One of the alleged terms is that if they do not sign the contract, all their music videos will be blocked on YouTube. Harsh much?! Read "YouTube subscription music licensing strikes wrong notes with indie labels" to find out what has the indie industry up in arms.

 

 

Legal uphill for Pandora

 

Music streaming services, now that they're slowly but surely becoming the dominant retail mode in the industry, are going to experience their fair share of legal battles. Where there's the smell of money to be made, you're going to find your long lost friends and family knocking on your door. Streaming may just become more trouble than it's worth - Pandora is certainly feeling the pressure. 

 

Just recently it was made to pay higher royalties to publishers and songwriters. Now it faces a lawsuit, charged with “massive and continuing unauthorised commercial exploitation” of songs recorded pre-1972. Read "The future of digital music may hinge on Elvis" for more details on the case. Will Pandora come out worse for wear? It's too soon to tell. But it won't be the last courtroom battle the streaming industry faces, that's for sure!