Industry news
HighNotes: Majors reap streaming benefits
The battle against piracy may soon be won, but its not all happy days for the indies, and while vinyl may be making a comeback it's still no saviour. In other news, SoundCloud will soon sign a deal with the majors, Dave Grohl says his piece about TV talent shows, and producers step up for quality.
How low can the music industry go?
It feels like the music industry is currently in limbo and its either going to make it under the bar by a strand, or its crash-boom-bang. Streaming's right in the middle of it all - album sales and downloads are on a rapid downward trend - streaming has to be the saviour. But, at current royalty payout rates, the indies will not make it under the bar. It's only the majors who win - we've been down this road before, do we really want to walk it again? Read "Spotify's broken math: Why the streaming model may never work for artists" to gage where we're currently at in the greater scheme of things.
Vinyl is no saviour
Indie rock fans and nostalgists are paving the way for a vinyl revival - topping vinyl sales this year so far, according to a Nielsen SoundScan report, is Jack White's Lazaretto; The Beatles' Abbey Road also made the top sales list. Yet while 4-million units have been sold during the first half of 2014, vinyl certainly isn't going to be the music industry’s saviour, according to Quartz's piece, "The music industry’s newfangled growth business: vinyl records" - find out why not.
SoundCloud nears deal with majors
It looks like SoundCloud and the majors - Universal, Warner, Sony - will soon be signing on the dotted line so that each label receives a 3-5% stake, as well as a portion of the streamer's future revenue. Sounds like a sweet deal for the majors who in return will, in return, not sue SoundCloud over copyright infringement. Read "SoundCloud nearing licensing deal with record labels" for more detail on the deal.
Dave Grohl not impressed with TV talent shows
Frontman for the Foo Fighters (Just four more months SA!), Dave Grohl, has a lot to say about TV talent shows, and let's just say they really aren't his cup of tea. He thinks people are not only judged too harshly, but judged by those who should have no place on the panel. He's not alone in this thinking either - read "Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl blasts TV talent shows" to see what Elton John and Robbie Williams have to say.
Quality vs quantity in the age of plastic
Has the internet made music more disposable? Has the ease and speed of producing, recording and distributing music in the digital age made music less valuable to its consumers? Has the internet put the final nail in the coffin of the "radio star"? A panel at the recently held Beats Present: Sound Symposium shared its thoughts on the state of music production today. Read "How to make music quality matter to people in a digital age" for insights from Luke Wood, Zane Lowe, Ed Sheeran, Paul Rosenberg and Spike Stent.
