Using The New YouTube Branding Features

As I stated in a post last week regarding what's new with YouTube, the service continues to roll out new features, sometimes without promoting them. One of the those unpromoted new features is a new way to brand your channel and videos. To access this feature:

1. Go to your YouTube channel and access Settings.

2. Under Channel Settings on the left menu, click on "InVideo Programming."

3. This will now provide two options; "Feature your channel" and "Feature a video." "Feature a channel" allows you to upload an icon that will then be attached to all your videos. "Feature a video" allows you to feature a video across all your other videos, which allows you to push a new movie across your entire catalog of videos.

Pretty cool, right? Slowly but surely YouTube is listening to all the complaints and suggestions and implementing them as new features. They're not always publicized, so it pays to poke around in the various menus once in a while to see what's been updated.

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Use A Quote, Pay A Fee

A discussion on copyrights or patents is a good way to raise the excitement level in a room full of entertainment or tech executives these days. There are those that feel strongly that copyrights and patents are the stick that stirs the innovation coffee, the key to a start-up getting funded and later making money. On the other hand, you have those that just as strongly feel that copyrights and patents are an old fashioned, out-of-touch method of idea protection that actually stifle innovation instead of encouraging it (the recent rash of patent troll lawsuits plays into this somewhat). The market takes care of their own and the first mover always has the advantage, they claim.

Each has a good argument, and each can point to excesses that drag down the other's position. Well here's a situation that acutely shows how copyright can be taken to the extreme.

A news article in Private Eye states that the UK's Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) will now charge artists, musicians, labels and PR specialists who use review quotes a fee of $2,000! Now for that amount you get to quote 50 reviews, but the precedent it sets is not a good one.

In fact, what ended up happening is when the NLA sent their declaration around to labels and managers, they were promptly ignored. The NLA then stepped up the campaign and began legal action which not only charged for current quotes but past ones as well, which brought the typical charge up to around $10k instead. It's yet to be seen how this will end up shaking out, so for now it stops anyone in the UK from using review quotes.

This action doesn't seem to be helping anyone. The newspaper and reviewer don't get any additional exposure, so that's bad. The artist, label, PR company can't use the quotes, so that's bad too. The newspaper may make a sliver of money that doesn't really help it's bottom line, so that doesn't seem to be worth the bad blood induced. So it seems that there's no winner here.

I understand that newspapers all over the world are suffering a downturn and are looking for new revenue streams, but this isn't the way to do it. It's debatable whether even a modest charge is fair, but this seems like a shake-down.

In the US, quoting a review can be classified as "fair use" and therefore not subject to such a charge, but you can bet that there are a number of company and association attorneys watching this closely.

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The Cost To Break An Artist: $1.4 Million

A new study by the IFPI shows that 70% of artists still want to be signed to a label because of the marketing support that a label brings, and that there are more than 5,000 artists currently signed to major labels world-wide. What's more, 1 in 4 of those signings are new artists, meaning that fresh talent is still a priority, according to the report.

The Investing In Music report goes on to say that record labels spend about $4.5 billion annually in A&R, and this a greater percentage of revenue than other industries like computing, pharmaceutical or biotech.

But perhaps the most interesting bit was the fact that the average cost to break an artist was $1.4 million in the US. This was broken down in $200k for an advance, $200 to 300k for recording costs, $50-300k for video production costs, $100k for tour support and $200-500k for marketing and promotional costs.

Those numbers are obviously not for the average record label signing, and it's hard to believe that they're even an average. I guess I don't get to work in the rarified air of a major artist enough any more, but there aren't many artists that I know of that are getting a $200k advance or a recording budget of $200k. And didn't the days of paying $50k+ for a video went away when MTV decided they were better off programming reality shows instead of music videos? And tour support.........that vanished so long ago that most artists consider it a myth.

Once again, if you're talking about a star artist trying to break into superstar level, these numbers might be realistic, but to make it seem like they're average costs makes everyone believe that we're still living in the 1980s.

There are some other interesting figures in the report, some of which you might want to take with a grain of salt. Remember, the IFPI represents the world's record labels, and what they publish is biased accordingly.

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Bloomy's Introduces The Jimi Hendrix Clothing Line

I'm all for artist branding but there are some things that just feel wrong. Take, for instance, the announcement that a Jimi Hendrix clothing line is set to hit the shelves any day at Bloomingdales. This just seems like outright exploitation in so many ways.

The word is that the clothing line is designed by Lyric Culture, and will include graphic screen print t-shirts, scarves, dress shirts, hoodies and cuff links featuring Jimi's words, music and handwriting.

This feels like it's about 20 years too late to begin with, but it so reeks of cashing-in that Jimi must be rolling in his grave. Admittedly the guy had great style and a flare for the unusually hip when it came to clothes (his music goes without saying), but it feels as much of a money grab by his estate as does Bob Marley energy drinks.

It's a shame that family members can't just celebrate the music of their celebrity artists after they've passed, and instead begin to concentrate on the green. Let's hope that the clothes at least outline Jimi's fashion sense, because at least that would be a small win for ethics.

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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.

Major Warner Reshuffling Actually Makes Sense

It was reported last week that Warner Music Group was restructuring following the departure of their former music chief Lyor Cohen. Usually these types of reorganizations are more about consolidating power into new fiefdoms for the remaining or incoming executives, but this one actually seems to make sense.

According to an article in CMU:

Under the new structure, Warner in the US will have three divisions, frontline recorded music, publishing and catalogue, and label and artist services. The first division will consist of Warner’s record labels, principally Atlantic, Warner Bros and Warner Nashville, and will handle current talent and new releases. The second division will replace the Warner/Chappell publishing company, and also include catalogue marketing and the major’s catalogue label Rhino. The third division will bring together distribution operations and those Warner units working outside records and publishing. 

The second of the new divisions is the most interesting, with the major allying the marketing of its sound recording catalogue with its music publishing operations. 

A couple of things here are interesting. First is that Warner/Chappell is being replaced, which is hard to believe, since it's such a powerhouse brand. OK, brand aside, the fact that they're now combining publishing with catalog is huge, since they're now thinking more in terms of licensing, rather than sales. Licensing can be a much more profitable way to do business, since the overhead is far lower and manufacturing costs are essentially nil because the licensor does it all.

Many have predicted that this would be the business model for the next generation major label. Now it seems that we'll get to see the prototype in action and can evaluate whether those predictions are really valid.

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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.

Apple's Music Streaming Pulled At The Last Minute, Twice

There has been a lot of speculation about Apple's new streaming service over the last year, but it appears to be much closer than you think. Apparently Apple was all set to make the announcement in September during the iPhone 5 introduction, but it was pulled due to a last-minute snag.

The word is that publisher Sony/ATV caused Apple to pull the plug at the last minute because it could not agree on the per-song rights fee. Considering that Sony/ATV administers 2 million copyrights, including those by everyone from Taylor Swift and One Direction to the Beach Boys and Beatles, the company supposedly push for a higher rate, and Apple had to wait until things could get ironed out as a result.

That was bad enough, but it happened again in October when Apple introduced its iPad Mini, when once again, Sony/ATV refused to sign off on a deal.

It's been said that the iPad Mini is an especially good fit into Apple's long-term strategy of being a media controller, so the streaming music announcement would've fit nicely with that, but once again it was not to be. Look for this to be resolved soon, but Sony/ATV looks like it's driving a hard bargain, which hopefully will be good for its songwriters.

In the meantime, Pandora's stock is taking a beating and it's execs are selling off their shares. Everyone sees the writing on the wall as the 800 pound gorilla prepares to enter the market.

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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.

Customize Your YouTube Channel Background

YouTube is changing a lot lately in that it's allowing the user to customize features that were previously frozen. We'll look at some of these new possibilities in upcoming posts, but today we'll feature on how to customize your YouTube channel's background image.

It's pretty easy actually.

1. Go to your YouTube channel page and click "My Channel."

2. Click the "Settings" button on the main channel page.

3. Upload a background image.

Couldn't be easier, right? Well, you have to remember that the image is going to be used in a unique way, so it's best to remember the following before you hit the upload button:

• You're a lot better off with a wide panoramic shot instead of a close-up because of how the image is going to be distributed across the page. You probably won't see much of the following because.........

• The center of your picture will be obscured by the meat of the channel, so a picture with content on the sides will usually work out better.

• In order to have the image tile properly, use one that's at least 970 pixels wide.

• Use a larger image that fills the page rather than a smaller one that tiles the background. Tiling usually looks pretty cheesy and unprofessional.

That's all there is to it. Go customize away!

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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.

Cutting-Edge Social Media Measurement Tools

Social media measurement tools have reached a new level of sophistication beyond what many ever conceived would happen. While not a total panacea, these new tools are just another part of what's required to understand where you stand in todays social media strata. Here's an excerpt from Music 3.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age that covers some of these next-level services.
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"As social media becomes more sophisticated, so does the measurement tool requirements to determine both your impact and branding possibilities. Three new methods of analyzing social media data have shown a lot of promise, but it might be a bit too early in the learning curve to completely trust the data. Still, it's good to know about what's on the horizon.

• Sentiment analysis is a process that tries to determine the attitude of a speaker or a writer with respect to the topic they're writing about. If you actually read a blog or posting, you can tell the writer's sentiment immediately, but this analysis method tries to define and measure it as points of data.

• Cluster analysis tries to analyze how certain words are gathering (or “clustering”) relative to a search topic. It finds the words that are mostly likely to be associated with your search word, which may provide unexpected insight into what’s being said about you and even predict sales before they happen.

• Semantic analysis is another measurement tool that strives to understand what words mean in context to one another. Once again, it's something that we do for ourselves as we read, but this tool puts a number to it.

All of these tools are trying to measure what we can immediately see for ourselves empirically by just wading into the social media pool. They put a number to something that we can feel.

New measurement platforms like Sysomos and Radian6 are said to be using these tools to provide a more precise look at how you or your brand integrates with the social world.

If you need data for a meeting, to sway an investor, or appease a boss, these tools are important. If you're a marketer on a very high level, you might find the data immediately useful. If you're a band or artist just trying to make the next sale, the next gig, or make it through the next day of social media management, you'll find them interesting as best and parlor tricks at worst. But while these tools may be cutting edge today, you never know if they'll be an essential part of your marketing toolbox tomorrow. Stay tuned."

To read additional excerpts from Music 3.0 and my other books, go to bobbyowsinski.com.

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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.

The 6 Top Earning Dead Musicians For 2012

Forbes recently posted an article about the top 6 earning dead musicians that I found interesting in a number of ways, particularly who was on the list and who was not. Let's look at them:

1. Michael Jackson - $145 million. A full year after he died, Michael has sold more than 8 million albums in the US, more than twice what runner-up Taylor Swift has done. His 50% stake in the Sony/ATV publishing catalog will continue to throw off cash pretty much forever, and his Cirque Due Soleil show already grossed $160 million on only the first leg of its tour. This number won't go down much in the near future.

2. Elvis Presley - $55 million. Believe it or not, the King's revenues were flat this year, yet he still continues to be a goldmine in the afterlife.

3. Bob Marley - $17. In death he's bigger than in life, at least revenue-wise, having sold more than 75 million records since 1992 alone. Now that the reggae king has added an energy drink and lifestyle company to his brands portfolio, expect this revenue to climb in the future.

4.  John Lennon - $12 million. The Beatles have sold more that 62 million albums in the US alone since 1992, and the Love Cirque Du Soleil show continues to be a big hit.

5. Richard Rogers - $6 million. Rogers and Hammerstein vast catalog of show tunes continue to be standards, and their publishing throws off cash accordingly.

6. George Harrison - $5.5 million. As with Lennon, GH still gets a cut of The Beatle empire as well as publishing from perennial favorites "Here Comes The Sun" and "Something."

What's interesting is who didn't make the list. Whitney Houston never wrote her songs so there's no publishing income, plus she never made back her last $40 million label advance, so no income there. Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul and Tupac Shakur all pulled in a bit more than $3 million, which somehow seems low. That said, it just goes to show that some celebrities can truly live forever, at least financially.

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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.

Peter Gabriel Crowdsources A New "Sledgehammer"

I'm not sure why crowdsourcing isn't used more. There are so many talented people in the world, and if they're a fan, they're willing to do almost anything to help an artist. Peter Gabriel, who has always tried to stay on the cutting edge, is now giving crowdsourcing a shot by asking his fans for help in remaking his big hit "Sledgehammer" for it's 25th anniversary and the reissue of the So album.

Like with most video and film crowdsourcing projects, he's asking the fan to just pick a single scene to animate, and the best will be picked from the entries by both Peter and the fans via posts on YouTube. The song will eventually be released in 3 different versions, and the winner of the best clip submission will receive a TDK wireless boombox autographed by Peter, while the runner-ups will receive posters (I think they're being a little light on the prizes myself).

"Sledgehammer" was one of the most played clips ever on MTV since 1986 when it came out, mostly because it was pretty cutting-edge for it's time. It should be interesting to see how creative the fans are this time around. Here's the original video below.

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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.

Could This Be The Beginning Of The End Of Google?

Google's most recent earnings report caused a 9% decrease in its stock price, which amounted to about $20 billion of the net worth of the company. Now in the crazy world of the stock market, just barely missing the earnings that the analysts expect can lead to negative fallout (in this case $3.95 billion in profit instead of $4.1 billion), so that's not the warning sign that Google might have peaked. In fact, instead of looking at earnings at all, we have to look into Google's core business: search.

Google makes a lot of money on search via advertising, as it's the go-to search engine for the majority of the planet. The problem is that, just like Facebook, it's having trouble making money with mobile. Google's advertisers just aren't willing to pay the same rates as they are on the desktop because the ads aren't as prominently displayed. Plus ads don't command as high a price as they do on a desktop. As mobile goes up, Google's influence wanes. Didn't we see this happen before with Yahoo?

So what might replace Google? How about Apple's Siri or some version of voice-activated search like it? Why type something into a search engine on your phone if you can just speak it? Siri already does a decent job, and hopefully it will only get better. The problem is that you won't be able to advertise on a voice-activated search engine either, so it doesn't help if Google gets into voice-activated search anyway. Of course, that's the major dilema. The industry is beginning to shift ever so subtly, but you have to begin to steer the ship now, and there's no sigh that's happening.

With technology moving so quickly, it's possible for a giant industry leader to become irrelevant very quickly. We've seen it with MySpace (once the #1 most visited site on the Internet) and Yahoo, and even with old-school industrial leaders like Kodak. We could see it again with Google, and it could happen before you know it.

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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.

Why The EMI Acquisition Will Be Bad For Universal

The Universal Music acquisition of EMI is finally complete and the weeping and gnashing of teeth has begun. For the last 6 months the employees of both companies have been walking on egg shells, not knowing if the ax would fall on them if and when the merger occurred. The ax finally dropped last week when 50 people were let go from Universal distribution and another 10 from Nashville, although most of those were EMI employees. Others were told up front that their positions would be eliminated within 120 days.

Universal purchased EMI more to gain market share than anything, but this already looks like it's backfiring. Here's why:

1. In order for the purchase to go through, Universal had to shed labels and publishing units in Europe. That meant that the market share boost wouldn't be as much as they originally thought, nor would the value of EMI be as high as a result.

2. Universal already had the largest market share already with over 30%. What reason was there to increase it other than ego or some obscure executive bonus? Sure Sony Music is strong, but more of that may be due to #3 below.

3. The EMI acquisition has taken up so much time and attention that the execs at Universal have taken their eye off the ball of selling music. This will continue to be a problem for another year at least.

If I was an artist on Universal or EMI right now I'd be worried. You don't know if any of your champions in A&R, sales, marketing will be let go, you don't have their full attention as they angle for new jobs as a fall-back, and the suits in the boardroom continue to play corporate structure games instead of their core business.

This is a perfect example of what happens when big business gets involved in what should be art.

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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.