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This daily email, compiled by ASCAP Board member, music publisher and songwriter Dean Kay, cuts through the media clutter to bring you links to the most relevant news and commentary on the rapidly evolving music industry and how it affects your future livelihood. Now the ASCAP Daily Brief can be accessed on the Headlines page of ASCAP.com and in the ASCAP RSS Feed.
When CONSUMERS and CREATORS are happy
everyone in the middle will have gotten digital distribution right
What Wikipedia Won't Tell You
By Cary H. Sherman -- The digital tsunami that swept over the Capitol last month, forcing Congress to set aside legislation to combat the online piracy of American music, movies, books and other creative works, raised questions about how the democratic process functions in the digital age...But at the 11th hour, a flood of e-mails and phone calls to Congress stopped the legislation in its tracks. Was this the result of democracy, or demagoguery?...The hyperbolic mistruths, presented on the home pages of some of the world's most popular Web sites, amounted to an abuse of trust and a misuse of power.
PARIS: A New Question of Internet Freedom
By David Jolly -- European activists who participated in American Internet protests last month learned that there was political power to be harnessed on the Web. Now they are putting that knowledge to use in an effort to defeat new global rules for intellectual property.
UK's Digital Policy Seized by Fanatical Bureaucrats, Say MPs
By Andrew Orlowski -- The UK government's digital policy has been captured by ideological fanatics at the IPO, Parliament heard today. The debate was tabled by Pete Wishart MP (Scot Nat, Perth) who devoted much of his speech to the agenda of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) - Wishart said that despite its name - the IPO - which suggests it supports IP-based UK industry, the IPO now hatches policy hostile to IP and puts the rights of the user before that of the creator.
[Watch Wishart's presentation [see next preceding story]...Powerful. Thanks Chris for finding this.]
Fascinating (and Funny) Parliamentary Debate on the UK "Google" Report
By Chris Castle -- An excellent video of debate on UK laws of great importance to US copyright owners - the Hargreaves Report (aka the Google Report) and the implementation of certain provisions of the Digital Economy Act that has caused the UK to fall behind France, Germany, and New Zealand.
The Tale of the CD, the Digital Refusnik and the Charitable Collector
By Mark Mulligan -- Earlier this year I raised the question of whether the music industry was going the way of the newspaper industry, whether its core audience was aging, stuck on its physical format while the younger generation feasted on free content. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that this dynamic is arguably the most sizeable challenge facing the recorded music industry. Product innovation is of course crucial, but its remit will be drastically reduced unless the 'CD Problem' is fixed in tandem. Indeed, the two are intertwined.
Since 2009, Mobile Internet Usage Has Doubled Every Year
By Dan Rowinski
Cricket Wireless Has the Music Industry Feeling Chirpy
By Alex Pham -- The cellphone carrier's MuveMusic service has helped labels tap a vast underserved audience: people who can't afford computers. Muve users can download songs directly to their phones. In less than a year it has grown to more than 500,000 subscribers. [Thanks to Michelle Kay for the link.]
Time for Vevo to Pay Up?
By Matt Pincus -- Many people read with excitement the news that the online video service Vevo earned $150-million dollars in revenue in 2011. Any healthy new source of music earnings is welcome in an industry in need of positive news...What has gotten far less attention is the fact that independent publishers and the many songwriters we represent, have not received any money from Vevo. Ever. That's right. Vevo: $150 Million. Independent publishers and songwriters: Zero.
One of the Biggest BitTorrent Sites Just Shut Itself Down...
By Paul Resnikoff
iTunes Match Bug Censors the Bad Words From Songs
By John Paul Titlow -- iTunes Match, the cloud music-matching service that Apple launched last year, is a great way to sync one's music library across numerous devices. If your collection happens to contain songs with profane lyrics, however, you may be in for a surprise.
Music Industry Insiders On The Creation Of Lana Del Rey
By Clyde Smith -- The debut of Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die" at #1 on many nation's iTunes charts confirms her successful adoption by the mainstream. Yet many still focus on a variety of claims regarding how she came to be and who influenced her transformation from Lizzy Grant to Lana Del Rey. In recent weeks multiple insiders have come forward to share their accounts of the creation of Lana Del Rey.
Pixound Turns Photos into Musical Instruments...
By Eliot Van Buskirk -- Pixound brings an intriguing approach to the music app: letting you play any photo as if it were a musical instrument. That was enough to get our attention, and when we first started playing around with the Pixound app for iOS ($1), we thought it was a neat gimmick, but probably not worth a buck. Then we kept playing... (Video)
Where Are Your Musical Blind Spots?
By Tom Huizenga -- Sure, the internet has made musical generalists out of us all, with everything from Indonesian degung, Renaissance madrigals and Lil' Kim right at our fingertips, but let's face it, even serious music geeks have blind spots. What's yours?
Grammy Awards Makes Big Move Toward Digital
By Preetam Kaushik -- It has been around for 53 years, and yet, every single year, The Grammy Awards pushes the envelope. NOT just as a music awards show, but also in terms of celebrity, fashion, trends and causes. If the marketing campaign is any indication, this year promises to be no different. The Grammy Awards foundation is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that their marketing strategy transcends media, conceptual brilliance and user connect, in several ways...
2Cellos - the Artists Behind 'Glee's' 'Smooth Criminal' Cover
By Hypable
DEAN KAY
Dean Kay has been at the helm of some of the most highly respected and forward thinking music publishing companies in the world, first as COO of the Welk Music Group, then as President/ CEO of the US division of the PolyGram International Publishing Group, and now as President/CEO of his own precedent setting venture, Lichelle Music Company. Prior to his involvement in publishing, he was a successful songwriter, having had hundreds of his compositions recorded - including "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra. Mr. Kay has been a member of the Board of Directors of ASCAP since 1989 and is Chairman of its New Technologies Committee. He is also on the Board of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA).
The ASCAP Daily Brief-Powered by The Dean's List is intended as a guide to direct music professionals to key articles about issues facing the entertainment industry. Recipients are encouraged to read further about the issues by accessing the complete article through the links provided. Author attribution is provided with each article, and none of the links allow readers to by-pass subscription archive gateways. Please note that all editorial comments are indicated in brackets. Questions? Comments? Please Contact Us