Are Online Dating Sites Killing Live Music?

Bar managers are complaining that online dating sites like Tinder are taking a bite out of their business, and not just in the US either.

Australia is one of the last bastions for a healthy live music scene but it's been suffering a lot lately, and many feel that's because it's easier (not to mention cheaper) to hook up with someone from the opposite sex through a phone app than in a bar.

Live music in the US has gone through ups and down over the years, but for other reasons. There was a peak of activity during the 70s when almost every town had multiple bars that showcased live music, many on almost every night of the week.

The reason why live music proliferated then was because the drinking age in most states had been lowered to 18, mostly because of the Viet Nam war.

At the time the youth of America declared "old enough to fight, old enough to drink" and many in their state congress agreed, so bars sprang up everywhere to cater to the thirsty youth. The best way to get them into a bar was with live music, so real live paying gigs where everywhere as a result.

That all began to change in 1982 with the MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) campaign that got every state to raise the drinking age back to 21. The new and much tougher DUI laws then caused many to question whether it was worth even going out for a drink. Bars closed everywhere and the music business hasn't been the same since.

One of the things that has never changed is that young people go to bars with live music to connect romantically. Take that element away, and you can see why live music venues might suffer.

Still, blaming online dating sites might be a little extreme. Could it be the music, perhaps?

What do you think?

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Google Launches A Dedicated Hangouts Site

As predicted, Google has begun the process of spinning off its popular Hangouts from Google+ by launching a new dedicated Hangouts site.

The new site allows you to do everything from instant messaging to one-on-one video calls to the killer app of G+ - group Hangouts, or Hangouts On Air.

The new site looks good and is easy to use compared to Google+. There's a navigation panel on the left side that allows you to switch between your phone contacts, chat contacts and conversations, but the main part consists of the big three buttons in the middle of the screen (see the graphic on the left). These allow you to immediately initiate a video call, phone call or message.

Everything is pretty much the same as it is in G+ after you initiate a call.

This is only the latest step in dismantling Google+ as Photos was spun off from the service in February.

While not a success as a social network, Google+ did have a few killer features in Photos and Hangouts, and thankfully they'll continue to live on.

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Can 1 Trillion Streams Save The Music Business?

It’s funny how all the players in the music business are faced with the same questions when it comes to streaming distribution. Are all streams being counted? How many actually generate revenue and how much is it? Is the revenue actually making it to the right places?

Artists, bands, musicians, songwriters, managers, labels and publishers ask these questions every day and the answers they receive are often vague, or worse, contradictory. 

Take for instance the latest data from a survey conducted by Next Big Sound that counts the number of streams for the first 6 months of 2015. The company found that there were 1,032,225,905,640 (or 1.03 trillion) song plays on Pandora, Rdio, Spotify, SoundCloud, Vevo, Vimeo and YouTube during that period.

Now what’s interesting is that this is only a partial list of streaming services with significant subscriber bases. iTunes Radio, Deezer, Slacker, Rhapsody and Google Play, among others, weren’t included, so this total could actually be low.

Now here’s where the confusion comes in. Nielsen Music’s mid-year report states that there were only 135 billion on-demand streams during the first half of the year. This was based on data from AOL, Beats, Cricket, Google Play, Medianet, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify, Xbox Music and YouTube/Vevo. 

As you can see, only Rdio, Spotify and YouTube/Vevo were included in both surveys, but doesn’t that 135 billion figure still feel a little low? Some discrepancy is understandable due to the fact that Nielsen only included interactive services and not radio-like services like Pandora, but a difference of a factor of almost 10 screams out that something’s not quite right here.

Then there’s the question about getting paid, because after all, 1 trillion is a lot of streams. 

It would be nice if there was a single rate that each and every stream was worth regardless of the streaming service that it came from, but unfortunately it’s not that simple. 

For instance, interactive streams where the user can actively choose which song is streamed (like Spotify) pay a higher rate than non-interactive streams that are more radio-like (like Pandora). Plus the free tier of both pays less than the premium subscription tier. To make it a little crazier still, different countries may pay different rates, Spotify pays what amounts to a bonus for greater market share, YouTube pays less than them all, and some views might not pay anything. Read more on Forbes.

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Twitter Ups Its DM Limit

This may or may not have a bearing on your Twitter use, but the company has just dropped the 140 character limit on Direct Messages. The new limit is 10,000 characters, which should be more than enough for a long winded conversation.

Keep in mind that this new limit is only for private DMs and doesn't affect the 140 character limit on public tweets. As a result, the new DM limit might be moot for those that use Twitter mainly as a promotional tool to broadcast news to a fanbase, although it will be a benefit if you're using the new Group DM feature.

The change is set to roll out within the next couple of weeks across both Android and IOS platforms, as well as Twitter.com, Tweetdeck, and Twitter for Mac.

In other Twitter news, the company has made available every public tweet ever posted in Twitter's 9 year history to the social tracking service Gnip. It's just one more reason to always stay civil on Twitter, because those nasty tweets can someday be resurrected.

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Producer/Music Director Rob Shrock On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

On the latest episode of my Inner Circle Podcast I'm pleased to have musician/producer/music director Rob Shrock as my guest.

Rob has played with a host of A-listers including Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Adele, and has served as musical director for music legends Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick, and for the 72nd Academy Awards Show.

You might also be familiar with Rob through his articles in Keyboard, Electronic Musician, Mix and Remix magazines.

In the intro I discuss the new QuickHitz radio format that many artists so despise, as well as the 6 things I always bring to a session.

Remember that you can find the podcast at BobbyOInnerCircle.com, or either on iTunes or Stitcher.

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Users Up In Arms As Soundcloud Begins To Remove Content

If you're been using Soundcloud to distribute your songs you know that it's a wonderful service that's almost too inexpensive to be true. The problem is that the company hasn't been able to be profitable and now they're under some pressure from investors to turn that around.

In an effort to stem the tide and perhaps even turn a profit, Soundcloud recently entered into licensing deals with Warner Music Group and Merlin (the organization that represents a large number of indie labels), but part of that deal meant that the platform had to begin to enforce copyright rules.

As a result, last week Soundcloud began an offensive on variety of copyright violations including unlicensed tracks, tracks that include unlicensed samples, remixes with unlicensed tracks and even bootleg remixes that that bear a recognizable resemblance to an original. Not only that, the platform has even deleted accounts of users that it deems to be major offenders.

This has caused a group of Soundcloud users, mostly DJs, to go ballistic since they're the ones that are mostly being targeted. That said, any musician with an unauthorized cover song or sample could also feek the company's wrath.

To be clear, Soundcloud has long been a welcome home for copyright violations, but it's only now that it's had the will to actually clamp down. That said, money (or lack of it) has a way of making you do things that you don't necessarily want to, something that musicians, artists and bands are faced with every day.

A sample takedown notice

UPDATE: Sources are saying that Soundcloud has also reached a licensing agreement with Universal Music Group, which might further explain the takedown spree last week.

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5 Legal Requirements Every Email Newsletter Must Have

You may not know it, but there are a number of things that are legally required in every email newsletter that you send out. While most email services automatically address these, it's still important to know what they are and why they're enforced in the first place.

Here are the 5 legal requirements that every email newsletter must have, which have been excerpted from my Social Media Promotion For Musicians book

"While it may seem that it’s entirely up to you about what’s contained in your email, be aware that every mass email blast that you send now requires several things by law. These are:

1. Easy opt-out: You have to provide an easy way for subscribers to unsubscribe if they want. Once a subscriber opts out, you then have 10 days to stop sending them messages (although most expect it to happen immediately), and the unsubscribe option needs to be available for at least 30 days after the e-mail is sent. Most ESPs will automatically remove the address to a “do not send” list if the subscriber chooses to unsubscribe.

2. Identify your topic: The subject line of your e-mails has to clearly and accurately identify the content of the e-mail. Any misleading or bogus subject lines are construed as spam.

3. Return address: You have to include a legitimate return email address, as well as a valid postal address. Some ESPs even make you include a phone number. If you don’t want people to know your home info (I don’t want to broadcast it myself), open up a PO box, and get a Google Voice number if a phone number is required.

4. No email address harvesting: You can’t collect addresses from chat rooms, discussion forums, or blog comments. Once again, people must opt-in and give you permission to send something to them.

5. You can’t offer a reward for forwarding: You can invite subscribers to “forward this newsletter to a friend,” but you can’t entice them to do so with offers of money, coupons, discounts, awards, or additional entries in a giveaway. 

Remember that spam is a serious business. It’s not only bad form, but you could be held legally liable as well."

You can read more from Social Media Promotion For Musicians and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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A Radio Format That Cuts Songs In Half

Here's a trend that's either great or horrible, depending upon how you look at it. A few years ago a new radio format appeared with the main purpose of fitting more songs per hour onto the playlist.

How's that done? By editing the songs so they're about 1/2 to 2/3rds their normal release length.

The format is called Quickhitz and its slogan is "twice the music in half the time." It promises to play 24 song per hour as a result.

Some examples include:

Lorde, “Team,” 1:52 (vs. 3:32) 

Clean Bandit, “Never Be,” 2:23 (vs. 3:45) 

Magic!, “Don’t Kill The Magic,” 2:13 (vs. 3:39) 

Iggy Azalea, “Fancy,” 2:07 (vs. 3:16)

JRDN, “Can’t Choose,” 2:20 (vs. 3:57) 

Sam Smith, “Stay With Me,” 2:02 (vs. 2:53)

Marianas Trench, “Pop Music 101,” 2:11 (vs. 4:07)

Zedd. “Clarity,” 2:00 (vs. 3:56)

The format hasn't exactly caught on, and where it's been implemented there's been substantial backlash, although mostly from artists on the playlist and not the public.

If you're an artist you can look at this format two ways - If there are more slots on the playlist, there's more chance for new music to find a place, or, "You're messing with my art by editing it."

As for the latter, that might not be a great argument since radio has had specially edited songs for 50 years to fit in the format.

So while you may not hear Quickhitz on one of your local radio tomorrow, the next time you do hear a station that seems to be playing more songs than normal, you know what you're listening to.

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China Now Fighting Online Music Piracy

China has always been a tantalizing music market for Western artists, songwriters, labels and publishers alike. On one hand you look at the huge population, some of which craves Western music. On the other you look at the fact that there's probably nowhere else where piracy is so rampant and overlooked.

That may all change soon as the Chinese government has finally taken steps to crack down on piracy and encourage licensed content.

China's National Copyright Administration ordered 2.2 million songs removed from online platforms last week in an effort to bolster China's legitimate music business.

That's because some of China's largest companies like Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are all now in the music streaming business, and of course, want to make money at it.

There are more than 100 pirate music sites currently in China, but if the larger companies increase the number of legitimately licensed tracks that are offered via a free tier, many of pirates would most likely not be able to compete.

The long term game here is that only the largest companies with licensed content will be able to offer free music along with other services (Tencent offers mobile phone service, for instance).

We're not sure exactly what the appetite for Western music beyond the major hits is in China yet, but it looks like soon we're going to be able to measure it via real licensed content.

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SoundExchange Becomes A Major Source Of Online Revenue

When non-profit SoundExchange first started in 2000 its royalty payouts were so small that they were only rounding errors on most copyright owner and artists income statements. Today that's all changed as the service recently announced that it sent out $1 billion in royalty payments last year alone.

This is quite an achievement since it took SoundExchange 10 years to reach the first billion in payouts but two years for the second. In fact, last year the royalties paid by the organization accounted for about 16% of the American music industry's total income.

So where does the money come from? SoundExchange collects money only from digital radio, with the bulk of it coming from SiriusXM and Pandora. As a result, the organization has now become one of the major PROs along with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

After deducting about 4.6% to cover its operating expenses, the organization sends 50% to the copyright holder (usually the record label), 45% to the featured artist and performers, and 5% to a special fund for session musicians and backup singers.

What's significant here is that artists actually get paid for radio airplay, unlike terrestrial radio where only the publisher and songwriter get paid.

If you're an indie musician and you're getting airplay on digital radio, there may be some money waiting for you in escrow. Sign up at SoundExchange today.

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Label Exec Shan Dan Horan On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

I met Shan Dan Horan a few years ago on a conference panel that we were both on and I was immediately impressed how much he felt the pulse of the current music scene.

At that point he was head of new media (meaning all the online activities) for the Century Media label, and today Shan Dan's the VP of operations for the big indie label Artery Recordings.

On the podcast we talk all about artist promotion online, the trends he sees as well as the mistakes that artists make and some of the things they can do to really raise their profiles.

On the intro I discuss how Amazon Prime Music is becoming a big streaming source while staying under the radar, and the demise of New York City's famous Music Row.

Remember that you can find the podcast at BobbyOInnerCircle.com, or either on iTunes or Stitcher.

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Apple Music Up To 11 Million Users

The initial figures are in and after about a month, the number of Apple Music subscribers is up to 11 million, according to Apple.

While this may seem like a prodigious start to the service, that figure may be moot since all users are still within the 90 day trial period. The number that actually sign up for service after the trial ends will determine its success.

That said, industry insiders predict that the service will end up with around 20 million paying customers by the end of the year by virtue of the fact that iTunes already has 850 million accounts, complete with credit cards, and many of these are fans that automatically sign on to the latest offerings from the company.

Another reason is that Apple makes the service difficult to miss, as it's registration is front and center upon an operating system update if you've not already subscribed.

Apple Music's $15 a month Family Plan may be its greatest feature however, and while no official figures have been given, it's been reported that around 2 million have already signed up. The Family Plan provides separate accounts for up to 6 family members under the same $15 per month fee.

All that being said, Spotify continues to roll along with 75 million users, 20 million of which subscribe to the $9.95 per month premium tier.

Can Apple Music get people to change from Spotify or any of the other services? Industry pundits say that's difficult, as once a user has made a choice of services they're not likely to try another. Apple Music offers features the like Beats 1 global radio station that other services don't have though, so the logic of the past doesn't necessarily apply going forward.

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