Spotify Streams Soar After The Grammys

It used to be that an appearance on the Grammy's was a sure way to sell big loads of vinyl or CDs the following week. That's no longer the case, since large amounts of streams have taken the place of sales. Spotify provided some early numbers for those who appeared on the show on Sunday night.

• Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" up 205% (estimated at over 300,000 streams)
• Chicago's "Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is" up 150%
• Metallica's "One" up more than 125%
• Beyonce's "Drunk Love" up 52%

But in many cases, an artist's entire catalog actually got a boost from the Grammy exposure.

• Paul McCartney's catalog up 126%
• Kendrick Lamar catalog up 100%
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis up 65%
• Taylor Swift catalog up 65%
• Lorde's up 46%

But perhaps the biggest winner of the evening is one of our greatest musical icons. Stevie Wonder's "Another Star" was up a whopping 635% as of Tuesday.

I'd say these numbers prove that streaming is here to stay (like we needed any proof already).

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Grammy Performances: Hits And Misses

I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I come to praise the Grammy Awards Show, not bury it. It’s easy to criticize the Grammys, and I’ve done my share in the past, but if you take into consideration what this show is trying to accomplish, it’s amazing that it comes off pleasing anyone, let alone the vast majority of viewers. Can you imagine trying to present a show with such a wide constituency of musical genres, many of which are diametrically opposed? Long-time producer Ken Ehrlich does a great job of walking that tightrope every year. 

Still, there are always hits and misses and this year’s production is no exception. Let’s look at them.

The Hits

Image Dragons and Kendrick Lamar rocked the house and were a perfect combination together. Perhaps they put on the best performance of the night.

Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams (a big winner on the night), Nile Rogers and Stevie Wonder were also a good match, but what were the Daft Punk robots doing while the band was playing? It sure would have made me feel better about them getting so many awards if I saw either one of them playing an actual instrument.

Sara Barielles and Carole King were magic together, as both were in top form. Of course, Carole is a pro and she elevates everyone around her, as she did in this case as well.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Trombone Shorty and Madonna worked as well. One of the things I like most about Macklemore is that I can understand what he’s rapping, which goes a long way towards enjoying the genre.

Paul McCartney was his usual great self with Ringo looking a little lost on the drums. As a friend once commented, “It’s like watching Beethoven.” That said, perhaps the best part of the performance was the bow that he and Ringo took at the end. Read more on Forbes.

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You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

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McCartney Takes His Talents To Kobalt

Talk about timing; EMI Music Publishing is just being taken over by Sony/ATV and one of their biggest clients bolts. It seems that Sir Paul McCartney didn't like the looks of what was going down with EMI/Sony and decided to take his talents elsewhere.

But he didn't go to another so-called "major" publisher. No, Paul took his MPL Communications to the upstart Kobalt Music Group, who is quickly becoming one of the major players in the publishing world. Why? Because Kobalt has built it's business on technology, which they claim gets the songwriter paid as much as 25% more and up to two years faster than the more traditional publishing companies. In fact, Kobalt has enticed the likes of Pear Jam, Trent Reznor and Dr. Luke into it's fold, and its share of Top 100 hits has already grown to 15%, which is just under what long time market leader EMI has.

While MPL's move might be symbolically ominous, it doesn't hit the bottom line of EMI as much as you might think, with estimates at less than 10%. The deal with Kobalt does not include North America, Britain and Ireland, which MPL administers itself. But MPL is a heavier hitter than just the McCartney catalog as it includes songs by Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Broadway shows like The Music Man.

This just goes to show that even old traditional businesses can be improved with technology, and when that happens, it doesn't take long for artists to take notice and jump on board.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Don't Forget To Celebrate Record Store Day!

 Today is the fifth annual Record Store Day when music lover everywhere head for their local record store to buy some vinyl and help surport a dwindling, but absolutely necessary part of the industry.

A number of artists are celebrating the day by releasing special vinyl records, including Katy Perry (with 12" pink vinyl), David Bowie (with a picture disc of "Starman"), Arcade Fire, Flaming Lips, Paul McCartney, and even some never before heard songs by James Brown.

Most record stores are small independent "mom and pop" stores these days and they really do need our help to survive. Head out to a store today. Look through the albums and CDs, and maybe even buy something.

Support your local record store. You'll be glad you did.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.