KOAR News
Posted December 10, 2007 — in Music News
All Eyes On imeem: imeem is a social media service where users interact with each other by watching, posting, and sharing content including blogs, photos, audio, and video. Although KOAR can’t verify these figures, according to analysts more than 19 million people now share their music on imeem. According to Business Week the imeem experiment is being closely watched as a potential new ad-supported model. Caldwell notes that music companies have never made money from advertising. Instead music companies make their songs available free on radio stations, MTV, and MySpace as a way to promote vinyl and CD sales. The thought here is that by making music available in compelling new ways, imeem could potentially intrigue members of the Napster generation away from unsanctioned piracy sites. “We think the opportunity for real revenue growth is for ad-supported music,” Caldwell says. “It can be as big as the download business, and Apple doesn’t have a stranglehold.” Imeem has cut licensing deals with three of the four major labels. The labels don’t make their money off the music, but by getting a cut of the advertising that imeem drums up for the site. Imeem CEO Dalton Caldwell says that roughly half of its revenue goes back to the content owners, on a pro rata basis. The more times a label’s songs are played, the more they get paid.
The Trent Rant: Josh Homme gave a piece of his mind last week, now its Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor who bashes the Grammys.
Trent wrote this on his blog:
While the music industry is doing everything they possibly can to go out of business, can we all make sure to rid ourselves of the Grammys, too? Out of touch old men jacking each other off.
ENOUGH!
Have a nice day
We get it Trent. People back in the day watched the Grammys to get an idea of what other people thought was popular. We hope Trent harnesses his anger and gives us another song like “Head Like A Hole” or “Piggy”.
Pot Dreams: Mr. Hufford said that he and Bryce Edge, Radiohead’s other manager, had come up with the pay-what-you-want plan during a stoned philosophical conversation about the value of music. They had initially proposed releasing only the download and the deluxe box, but the band overruled them, noting that many of its fans are neither downloaders nor elite collectors. Hufford also says regarding the ‘pay what you want plan’, “This was a solution to a series of issues,” Mr. Hufford added. “I doubt it would work the same way ever again.”
Mover Over iTunes: Amazon has long dominated online CD sales and analysts believe that Amazon MP3 is off to a fast start. “I won’t be surprised at all if Amazon has 20% market share (of the download business) by the end of 2008,” says Paul Verna, a music analyst with eMarketer. Some believe the advantages of Amazon including selling popular tracks for 89¢, rather than 99¢ in the basic MP3 format will cut into iTunes market share.
Pete Wentz of Fallout Boy is Seeking Talent: Wentz writes on his blog that he is looking to sign a new band:
hey you… yeah you. i realize that you know about great bands that i have never heard of waaaay before i hear them. we want to sign a new band and we need your help. if you know of someone great post about em (save the posts about oasis and motion city soundtrack- theyre great but already signed. know what i mean?).
Yeah, Pete, we know what you mean. NIN is out of a deal, go call Trent.
Blog Nominations: Nominees have been listed for Hypebot’s First Annual Music Blog Awards. Go support you’re favorite Blog.
Lasly, Fueled By Ramen has signed Los Angeles indie act Phantom Planet. Check out the track California - it has a Counting Crows vibe.
Phantom Planet is fucking great. The Guest is one of my favorite records of all-time. Anthem & Lonely Day are two of the greatest pop songs of this decade & that record is solid the whole way through.
But I don’t know what business they have being on FBR.
The beauty of FBR has always been how focused their talent pool was. If you like Fall Out Boy, you’re probably going to like the Academy Is. They nailed their niche so well that they could sell records just by signing a band. Gym Class Heros was a stretch, but somehow it worked (then again, FBR fans were basically force fed GCH for the longest time). Lifetime was a stretch, but that was more of a play for cred than anything, I think, which effectively counteracted the GCH push. Phantom Planet, however… they’re going to lose their brand loyalty if they branch out too far.
But I can’t wait for another PP album. And I love that Darren supports Ron Paul. Hell yeah.
Comment by Jon Cole — December 10, 2007 @ 11:26 am
Another rant from Trent… *yawn*
Maybe he should get the fuck over whatever his problems are and just focus on writing great music. But then again, he loves playing the “anti mainstream hero” role way too much to do that. Guess Trent isnt as much about the music as he claims to be.
Comment by Jason — December 10, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
“Guess Trent isnt as much about the music as he claims to be.”
Can you go a little more in depth about how you came to that conclusion?
Comment by Jon Cole — December 10, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Who hasn’t heard “California ” yet?
That track has been played to death for years now thanks to the O.C.
Comment by Dallas — December 10, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
Not Everyone watches the OC. To bad California never got serious radio play!
Comment by lisa — December 10, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
Not everyone listens to the radio. I know more people who watch the OC than listen to the radio.
Comment by Jon Cole — December 10, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
“Can you go a little more in depth about how you came to that conclusion?”
Trent = Attention Whore
He left the major label system, and obviously no longer wants to be part of the mainstream world. That’s fine. But why the fuck does he have to keep complaining about it? It’s not like he’s making valid suggestions on how to change the industry. Or like he even wants the industry to change. He’s just doing it for the sake of being anti mainstream. So all the kids who are stealing music (which is pretty much everyone), will think that he’s cool and what they’re doing is right.
On top of that, I dont like it when musicians try to draw more attention to themselves with the statements they make, than with their music. It’s not like Trent has released a great record since The Fragile.. and that one came out 8 years ago!!!
Comment by Jason — December 10, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
You’re totally right.
He should just start a line of cologne & keep is trap shut. Be seen, not heard. Be a billboard, not a voice. Whore yourself for money, not for attention. Well I mean it’s ok if you take your clothes off to sell Pepsi. That’s the good kind of attention. Bad attention is being like… negative & stuff. Icky! I mean, who cares what ARTISTS THINK anyhow?
Furthermore, I totally agree that you should only offer extended commentary on a subject if you can provide a viable solution. I mean, I have no idea how to solve the problems in Darfur so I have no business mentioning it. Or the AIDS problem in Africa. Or global warming. Also, if you DO comment on the AIDS crisis, you must not love Africa. And if you comment on global warming, you must not love the globe. Or warmth.
You know, this is MOST surprising coming from you, Jason. Maybe Trent’s “brand” is that of a digital outlaw? You, of all people, should understand that he’s strengthening his relationship with his fans through all of this. He’s even building his fan base. I’ve talked to people who have said “I’m only a casual fan of NIN, but I’ll support him because I perceive him to be an man of great integrity.” Genuine (which I believe it to be) or not, that is the ultimate effect.
This guy is your poster boy. But just because you disagree with his opinions (which he’s posting TO HIS OWN FANS on HIS OWN WEBSITE), you lambaste him. Christ, it’s not like the guy is on Entertainment Tonight talking about how our overuse of toilet paper is destroying the rain forests. He posted a 2 line comment on his own blog. Where his own fans come. To read his thoughts. This is great fan relations. He’s interacting, opening up. Including them. Isn’t this a huge part of the new landscape? Isn’t he doing everything 100% RIGHT?
You think he’s biting the hand that fed him all these years. We get it. But don’t the fans, in turn, feed the labels? How many times have their hands been bitten? (Ask Trent’s fans in Australia if you’re looking for a good place to start.) I think that is a cause well worth championing. The truth of the matter is that his message resonates with fans. And that’s why it’s a story. And that’s why journalists are visiting his blog and reposting his thoughts.
Comment by Jon Cole — December 10, 2007 @ 3:33 pm
Yea, who hasn’t heard California? In other news, Ron Paul in the house.
Comment by Keith Freund — December 11, 2007 @ 5:23 pm