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17 December 2008

17 December 2008

22 December 2008

17 December 2008

18/12/08 Let the Experimentation Begin: EMI Music Splashes EMI.com

EMI Music is now unwrapping a revamped EMI.com, an experimental destination designed to deliver content, foster discovery, and tighten fan relationships.  The beta-stage site features content from a range of EMI artists, both past and present.  Typical artist collateral includes track clips, videos, biographies, discographies, and images.  "EMI.com is designed to be a learning lab," explained Alex Haar, vice president of Digital Special Projects at EMI Music.  "It will help us gain even more knowledge about consumer preferences and choices."

The site architecture is pretty straightforward, at least in its initial iteration.  The broader roadmap is a bit difficult to decipher at this stage, EMI.com Screenshotthough the label pointed to continued upgrades ahead.  That includes widgeting functionality, ecommerce components, and exclusive content.  "This is the beginning of a longer-term experiment," Haar continued.  "In the coming months, we will continue to add content and features to the site."

The testbed fits into a newer attitude at EMI Music, one that includes digitally-focused approaches from executives like Douglas Merrill (Google) and Cory Odrejka (Second Life).  Both are strong proponents of data-driven decision-making, an approach that takes advantage of unprecedented levels of fan information and tracking.  But whether a label-branded destination is the best place to understand the fan EMI.com Screenshotremains questionable, especially given the branding backseat that major labels assume.

On a deeper level, the new executive set faces an incredibly difficult challenge.  After all, understanding fans is one thing; getting them to buy stuff is quite another.  Meanwhile, the clock is ticking loudly, thanks to an accelerating nosedive in the core CD.  That is putting the pressure on executives like Merrill to create Google-like moments, quickly.

EMI Music has been reshaping its executive cast, though outsiders appear to be playing a heavy hand in EMI.com.  According to the label, EMI.com was designed and implemented by Shamsa Rana, managing director of Imdad Capital Ltd.  On its website, Imdad describes itself as a "strategic advisory and turnaround" firm, one focused on privately-owned media companies.  "Imdad prefers to work with the portfolio companies of private equity houses and/or those companies that are privately owned," the company describes.  "Private companies on the whole have a stronger appetite to drive through change."

Imdad appears to be a one-woman show, based on website information, though digital media firm Perform is credited with building the site.

18/12/08 Breaking: Verizon Wireless Pushing Major HD2 Advertising Campaign

Verizon Wireless is now joining forces with Clear Channel Radio on a nationwide, multicast digital radio advertising campaign, according to information shared with Digital Music News on Tuesday.  The US-based wireless giant will push advertisements across HD2 stations, essentially sub-channels delivered across the same frequency as the main broadcast.

In total, the campaign traverses 21 multicast stations, as well as online equivalents.  Most American cities are covered by the arrangement, including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, San Diego, and Washington, DC.

The music-focused campaign will feature songs and interviews from upcoming artists, and drive fans towards premium, V Cast packages.  Clear Channel is a founding member of the HD Digital Radio Alliance, a group dedicated to advancing deployment of digital stations within the United States.

18/12/08 Wall Street Bounce Buoys AAPL, WMG, LYV, TKTM...

A major market bounce buoyed a number of music-related stocks on Tuesday, including Apple, Warner Music Group, Live Nation, and Ticketmaster.  At the bell, the broader Dow jumped 359.61 points, or 4.2 percent, to land at 8,924.14.   A number of factors generated optimism, including a surprise rate cut by the Federal Reserve, as well as continued indications that the government will pursue an aggressive stimulus strategy.

Apple (AAPL), struggling with its own retail demons, lifted a mild 68 cents, or 0.72 percent to $95.43.  The mild uptick follows a downgrade by Goldman Sachs on fears of softening demand for items like MacBooks and iPods.

Elsewhere, a distressed lot move upward. Warner Music Group (WMG) jumped 24 cents, or 8.86 percent, to $2.95; Ticketmaster (TKTM) gained 53 cents, or 9.48 percent, to $6.12; Live Nation (LYV) improved 15 cents, or 4.11 percent, to $3.80; SanDisk (SNDK) added 16 cents, or 1.77 percent, to $9.18; and Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) improved nearly a penny to 15 cents, a 6.23 percent increase.

The Orchard (ORCD) lost 23 cents, or 10.27 percent, to $2.01; and Source Interlink Companies (SORC) dropped a penny, or 5.88 percent, to 16 cents.

17/12/08 Harvard v. The RIAA: Faceoff Moves to January...

A mounting battle between Harvard University and the RIAA will have to wait until January, thanks to a procedural decision issued this week.  Just recently, Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson offered to defend accused file-swapper Joel Tenenbaum, a graduate of Boston University.  The first hearing was initially scheduled for Monday, though Nesson is apparently not legally permitted to argue in a Rhode Island court.  

That pushes the hearing to January 6th, according to information shared by Harvard Law School.  "This just further underscores how deeply unfair it is to pit the powerful Goliath RIAA legal infrastructure against the small David, or Joel, defendants," Nesson said.

The Rhode Island venue creates some complications, and the Nesson team is now trying to find a local lawyer.  "The goal, before Jan 6th, is to get an attorney licensed to practice in Rhode Island to argue on our behalf," student Debbie Rosenbaum told Digital Music News.  In the meantime, the RIAA will have access to a Tenenbaum household computer, an early victory for the trade group.

17/12/08 Chinese Democracy: This Story Keeps Getting Worse...

Without an unauthorized leak, Guns N' Roses may have never released Chinese Democracy.  But despite a major, Best Buy exclusive, sales were far lower than expectations.  In fact, a closer look reveals that Best Buy is now saddled with roughly one million purchased and nonreturnable discs.

According to a report surfacing Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal, Best Buy paid millions in advance for a stock of 1.3 million discs.  So far, Chinese Democracy has sold just over 300,000 after a sharp, second-week dip.  That compares unfavorably to AC/DC's Black Ice, a Wal-Mart exclusive that has quickly crossed platinum.

The disparity obviously represents a serious disappointment for Best Buy, a company now dialing down forecasts amidst slower consumer spending.  The company recently reported double-digit declines across CDs and DVDs over the past few months.