by George Edinger, Alissa Meagher, Carly Reeve, Jason Rostkowski
Recent News by Alissa Meagher
Significant Events:
2011 has been a huge year for music in America. One of the biggest news stories of this year was the announcement of Google Music, a digital music store to compete with iTunes. Google Music will sell both individual tracks and full albums, allowing customers to store their songs on cloud accounts. Through Google+, customers can share music easily by letting their friends listen to any track they purchase at no cost. This is a huge move for Google, considering it puts the company in direct competition with media experts such as Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. Google, however, makes its product unique in the fact that their music will be sold through the Android market.
The new service is an expansion of Music Beta, which premiered in May, and stores songs on remote servers and lets users listen to them on any device or computer. Although they will have 13 million songs for sale, one downside to Google Music is that they have so far been unable to reach a licensing agreement with the Warner Music Group, the third-largest major record label. However, to promote the new service, the company is offering a number of free songs by artists such as the Rolling Stones and Coldplay. It will be interesting to see how this company does in the future and how it can alter our music lifestyles.
Major News and Releases:
Speaking of music lifestyles, very many artists had successful tours throughout 2011, proving that even in an undesirable economy, the desire to go to concerts hasn’t stopped. The biggest concert of the year was, without a doubt, the I-Heart-Radio Music Festival, which took place in Las Vegas in late September. This two-day concert sold out in ten minutes, and featured artists such as Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Carrie Underwood, Steven Tyler, David Guetta, Sublime with Rome, and many more. It was broadcasted live over I-Heart-Radio, which is Clear Channel’s newly re-launched online service that allows listeners to tune in from all over the country, and will eventually allow listeners to personalize their stations, much like Pandora. The concert was a huge success, probably making it the biggest live music event in radio history – it’s no question that this concert will continue on for many years to come, considering its wide success.
Besides the I-Heart-Radio Music Festival, the 2011 Grammy nominations were another big announcement of the year. Stars like Adele and Bruno Mars snagged nominations for Record of the Year and Album of the Year, leaving other artists like Kanye West and Taylor Swift somewhat snagged. Power women such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Rihanna were all nominated in several categories, as well as bands such as Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, and Foster The People. The Band Perry, Bon Iver, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, and Skrillex were all nominated for Best New Artist, proving that the music taste of America in 2011 covers a very wide variety of genres. It will be interesting to see who actually wins the prized awards, and that will really tell us the true artists who have emerged in 2011.
Piracy News by Carly Reeve
Piracy:
With the massive availability of the Internet in present day, music piracy has become a serious threat to the music industry. In 2008, almost 95% of all music was downloaded illegally, and with the constant advancements of technology, it is becoming easier to access even more media online, such as video games and full-length feature films. Unfortunately, the federal government has yet to establish legislation that would “protect intellectual property without hindering online speech and innovation.”
This year alone, a majority of the most anticipated albums were leaked before their set release dates, jeopardizing the success of albums produced by major record companies. “Leaks take money out of the pockets of the people who make the music happen,” and this type of piracy is disturbing a once solid revenue stream for the music industry. Mainstream artists of 2011, however, seem to be reacting to album leaks with composure and are attempting to achieve the best possible outcome in light of the situation.
Although Lil Wayne’s “The Carter IV” was set to release on August 29th, the album leaked 5 days prior. The leak spread globally in hours with the help of Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets. Despite this threat to album sales, Lil Wayne managed to ship over two million units, certifying “The Carter IV” as double platinum. This is a prime example of how a devoted fan base will keep its favorite artists relevant by financially supporting the music it wants to listen to.
The November 15th release of Drake’s sophomore album, “Take Care,” was so highly anticipated by fans after being delayed from the original release date of October 24th. As a result, tracks from the album began slowly appearing on YouTube on November 6th. That night, Drake reached out to his nearly 4 million Twitter followers to provide some damage control, telling fans to “listen, enjoy it, buy it if you like it … and take care until next time.” When asked about leaks in a Billboard interview, Drake said that he looks forward to leaks and the massive amount of press and excitement that will surround the album being leaked. Regardless of the leak, “Take Care” managed to make it to the number 1 spot on the iTunes album downloads list and sell 631,000 copies its first week.
Now that leaks are so frequent, up-and-coming artists in the music business tend to expect leaks and plan accordingly in order to generate the most revenue and reach the most listeners. J. Cole’s debut album, “Cole World: A Sideline Story,” was expected to hit stores on September 27th, but ended up going viral online only a few days prior. The rapper explained that leaks are “all part of the game,” and if anything, the leak will reach more people, who may in turn become supportive fans of his music. J. Cole also mentioned that releasing free music in between album production “builds a fan base that paves the way for revenue streams: touring, merchandise, etc.”
To further combat online piracy, many artists have begun to follow a new trend: self-releasing their own albums. Radiohead is a prime example. On October 10th 2007, Radiohead independently released their seventh album, In Rainbows. The band, however, decided to follow their own business model by allowing fans to purchase the album through its merchandising company, W.A.S.T.E., while naming their own price. “Radiohead’s do-it-yourself, price-it-yourself model recognizes the new digital facts of life.” The band was aware of the fact that recorded music will always be readily available online, so they put their faith in the loyalty of their fan base. This strategy proved to be a great success, as the album sold three million copies within its first year through downloads from W.A.S.T.E., physical CDs, a deluxe 2-CD/vinyl box set, and sales via iTunes. In addition, Radiohead’s In Rainbows tour sold about 1.3 million tickets, making it their most successful tour to date. Radiohead broke new boundaries in the music industry with its release of In Rainbows, and this strategy will undoubtedly gain much more momentum among artists in the future
Sales and Piracy:
Even though many believe that the music industry has been desperately struggling with declining album sales, the effect of piracy on sales hasn’t hindered the success of the business. According to third-quarter statistics presented by Billboard, current music sales in the digital format are on a steady incline in the United States, compared to the numbers from 2010. Although physical sales slightly decreased from last year, the dip isn’t nearly as drastic as in previous years and music executives tend to expect this outcome. As of September 2011, total album sales stand at 228.5 million, up 3.3% from the previous year, which is primarily attributed to the popularity of various online music stores such as iTunes and Amazon. Some countries internationally, however, show that digital music cannot compensate for losses over piracy. According to music industry statistics in Istanbul, digital sales have not yet reached a substantial enough level to counteract losses due to piracy. This loss is due to “unlicensed peer-to-peer file sharing”.
Surprisingly, the recent popularity of vinyl records has helped to increase revenue of artists. As of December 6th 2011, vinyl sales in the United Kingdom are up 55% and in the United States by 41%. In addition, vinyl has given artists more creative freedom, as they are able to “record and release whatever music they wish to without the consequences of failing to meet sale expectations”. This re-vinylisation helps to bring something unique back to the industry that was so popular during the beginnings of record production.
Album sales of Grammy nominated artists are some of the highest this year, and despite some upsets, the 2012 Grammys are highly anticipated. Nominees for the most prestigious award of the night, album of the year, cover a number of different musical genres, showing much variety in music this year. These nominees include Adele’s 21, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, Foo Fighters’ Wasting Light, Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Rihanna’s Loud. First week album sales also had a wide range for this group, Lady Gaga coming in on top with 1,108,000 sales and Bruno Mars at the bottom with only 55,000 sales. During the Grammy nominations concert on November 30th, it came as a shock to many that Taylor Swift and Kanye West were not in the running for album of the year. Swift’s album, Speak Now, topped the charts for months and sold a record 1,047,000 albums its’ first week, while Kanye’s album, My Twisted Dark Fantasy, sold 518,775 copies. Regardless of these upsets, many believe that Adele will walk home with the coveted award, but we will have to wait and see, when the 2012 Grammys air on CBS on February 12th.
Billboard News by George Edinger
Top 100:
Looking over the Billboard charts for this past semester there is not a whole lot of change, as the music world appears to have been dominated by a few artists and their hit singles. It was a particularly good few months for LMFAO, Adele, Adam Levine and, offering a rather refreshing change of pace, Foster the People. For eight straight weeks the top two spots were traded between Maroon 5 with “Moves Like Jagger” and Adele with “Someone Like You,” while breakout, alternative group, Foster the People secured the number three spot with “Pumped Up Kicks.” LMFAO remained in the top ten for the entire semester with “Party Rock” and then, “Sexy and I know it.” In addition to “Moves Like Jagger,” with Maroon 5, Adam Levine was in the top ten with “Stereo Hearts” which he produced with Gym Class Heroes. Other than Foster The People mixing things up, the top ten did not have many surprises as artists like Rihanna made it to the top of the charts with “We Found Love,” and Nikki Minaj continued her takeover of the mainstream rap world with “Superbass.” All in all, not the most exciting time for the charts; the top songs were pretty much the same repetitive pop we have grown used to. Still, some artists like Adele and Foster the People, have offered us some variation in the typical radio plays and for that I respect them.
Future News and Editorial by Jason Rostkowski
Predictions:
The future of the music industry is anything but certain. The increasing popularity of downloading music illegally poses a serious threat to all of those involved in the industry. For many artists, these illegal downloads and leaks of yet-to-be-released music greatly affect their sales and ultimately the way their record label promotes them. Record companies are also another large threat to the music industry. With deals that favor the label over the artist, many artists are getting tired of getting paid less than what they should actually receive based on album and single sales. Fans are also annoyed by how labels treat artists. Often times a label will shape the sound of an artist and prevent him or her from reach their full artistic capability because it will not sell as well.
What are some solutions to this? There is no definitive answer to this question. There are, however, recent answers and trends that are important to take note of that might help solve this riddle. For example, many artists have chosen to stay independent and not sign major label contracts. This allows them to have full creative control over their projects as well as receive a larger percent of the revenue their works created. There are, however, possible drawbacks to this method. By staying independent, artists have to fund their own concerts, recording sessions, and promotions. This can be extremely costly and ultimately may prevent an up-and-coming artist from reaching a mass audience.
Examples:
To combat some of the piracy issues, many artists have chosen to give away music for free or for a donation. These are often labeled as freEPs, mixtapes, or simply, free albums. Radiohead is probably the biggest name in music that has tried this. Back in 2007, the band released In Rainbows to the public on the Internet at a name-your-price fee. Not all groups are able to do this, however, because not everybody has the fan base that Radiohead has. Other artists, such as rap collective OddFutureWolfGangKillThemAll and solo rap artist A$AP Rocky, have released free music to generate hype behind their music and their name. Both have been very successful in doing so. The question behind this method, however, is how can the artist get paid. The answer is that they can get paid through touring, a possible record deal, and through hopes that their free project generated enough fan base to be able to sell the next record for a price, independently.
It is also important to notice the recent and popular trends that some artists have taken as a result of piracy and less-than-sexy relationships between artists and record labels. It is also important to study the effects and popularity of music – services such as Spotify and the newly developed iTunes Match. These services are subscription-based and allow users to stream and download music using the cloud system. The subscribers are allowed to listen and download to music in bulk, as opposed to by song or album. Spotify also allows users to have a service for free, where the user is only allowed to stream music, not download it. Both of these services are ways for artists and labels to combat the issue of piracy.
Although the future of the music industry in terms of its structure and its economics is uncertain, one thing is not. Music will always be made and people will always listen to music.