Busy... Busy... Busy!!!

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 18:33:55 -0500

It’s amazing how quickly time flies and I realize that I have yet to update my blog.
Well, here’s a recap:
Rockero Media is currently working with Gotham Radio dot org and we’re proud to announce that as of April 1, 2008, Rockero Media will be heading up production for Gotham Radio. This was a direct result of the Fret Buzz show that we produced for Lightning Licks.
In addition, RM will be producing a line of music instruction folios for Quamut.
We just recently finalized a project for Esteban and are in negotiations for more to come in 2008.
It’s good to be busy.
Ed
ed@rockeromedia.com

Week in Review: Ending 11/16/07

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:51:51 -0500

A number of strategic acquisitions surfaced this week. Dolby purchased Coding Technologies for $250 million, Microsoft grabbed Musiwave for $46 million, and Live Nation acquired merchandiser Signatures Network for $79 million. Elsewhere, The Orchard and Digital Music Group, Inc. (DMGI) officially sealed their merger agreement.
Meanwhile, investors continued to pull their cash from Warner Music Group, now a beleaguered stock. This week, noted analyst Richard Greenfield urged investors to sell, and issued at $5 target on WMG.
Elsewhere, Microsoft released its second-generation Zune, a competitive stab at iPod dominance.
Alicia Keys faced a malicious attack on her MySpace page this week. The hack forced root-level changes to computer systems, a serious threat. MySpace attended to the issue quickly, though other band pages also showed contamination.
Ahead of last weekend, Apple faced a mixed reception on its iPhone in Europe. The device was released last Friday in both the UK and Germany.
Elsewhere, iLike grabbed an exclusive U2 track, a savvy promotional play by the superstar group.
Blog entrepreneur Peter Rojas and Downtown Records teamed on a blog-focused, music-oriented launch, the latest ad-supported release.
BitTorrent and traffic throttling allegations prompted a lawsuit against Comcast this week, the latest in a growing controversy.
And Prince started legal proceedings against the Pirate Bay, part of a larger charge against infringing - and not-so-infringing - destinations.
Links to detailed stories can be found at http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/111507week
Ed
ed@rockeromedia.com

Week in Review: Ending 11/09/07

Fri, 9 Nov 2007 10:20:01 -0500

Speculation surrounded development efforts at massive BitTorrent tracker Pirate Bay this week. The group publicly shared its dissatisfaction with the BitTorrent protocol, and pointed to work on alternative sharing technologies.
Elsewhere, information surfaced on a serious music initiative at Red Bull. Sources pointed Digital Music News to a number of executive hirings, and the construction of a studio in Santa Monica.
The RIAA faced serious pushback from both the University of Oregon and the Oregon attorney general this week. The resistance is not isolated, and follows numerous challenges from other universities targeted by an ongoing anti-piracy campaign.
An OiNK replacement emerged this week, and signs pointed to Pirate Bay handiwork. OiNK was a BitTorrent tracker that specialized in out-of-print and pre-release albums, though label groups recently closed the destination.
NPR officially unveiled a stepped-up music destination, one that features station streams, artist features, interviews, performance footage, and other goodies.
A minority of fans actually paid for the Radiohead album, according to data offered this week by comScore. The band questioned the results.
Sony Ericsson pointed to an upcoming music store launch, an announcement that coincided with the release of several new devices.
Prince issued legal threats to a number of fansites this week, a controversial move.
Elsewhere, Macrovision purchased AMG, an $82 million deal.
And Facebook started its push into music through a broader branding and advertisement concept.
Ed
ed@rockeromedia.com

The Apple vs. Amazon Picture

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:31:30 -0400

Being number one is no picnic... Everyone is gunning for you and it may seem as though they’re conspiring together. A few months ago Universal Music Group put Apple on a month-to-month licensing deal. An attempt to keep Apple from controlling video entertainment the way it controls audio and music specifically.
Jobs talked up a DRM-free strategy. The point he was making was simple: that if the industry would do away with file protection, consumers would find the music-buying experience and listening experience more enjoyable. What he didn’t say is that: Apple would probably sell more iPods and iPhones.
Amazon MP3 enters the picture with DRM-free downloads at, as-low-as 0.89 cents with a 20% kickback, I mean “commission” to third-party affiliates.
Apple drops it iTunesPlus (the DRM-free, higher-quality song downloads) from $1.29 to 0.99. Although, this move has created more problems for fans of iTunes Plus than it has remedied. Check out Paul Resnikoff’s Parting Shot at Digital Music News for a breakdown on the iTunes Plus mess.
Continuing with DRM-free, Apple doesn’t offer MP3s but rather AAC music files which use a proprietary contention protection framework called FairPlay. That means, that DRM-free downloads from iTunes aren’t playable on all third-party gagdets while Amazon universal MP3 delivery are. And, Apple isn’t licensing FairPlay. Are you feeling the spin???
Universal is in bed with Rhapsody which offers subscription-based models and we heard some of that in this episode with AT&T and Napster Mobile. So, what’s the difference? A la carte downloads are consumer friendly: you buy it, you download it, you own it. Subscriptions: you buy the ability to listen to it and you don’t own it. However, subscription-based models offer artists better royalty opportunities.
With mobile companies jumping into the mix, consumer demands for the ultimate smartphone, and the overall demand for user-friendly content; DRM is an issue that will have to be resolved. In an arena where showing up late to the party could make or break the revenue for a quarter, many of the players are chomping at the bit to jump into the game once most of the rules are agreed upon
Ed
ed@rockeromedia.com

My Last Licks for the Week Ending 18 October 2007

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:21:34 -0400

When I started doing the Fret Buzz podcast, I wondered when all the stories would get so convoluted that they could be tied together into one big story. This week’s show has some elements of that. So, I’ve included this segment to recap and connect the news while forecasting the direction that the industry seems to be spinning—at least, for the moment, I’m amazed as to how quickly things change. So, let’s recap:
TotalMusic is a UMG-led subscription-based concept that also involves Sony BMG and possibly Warner Music Group. It aims to compete head-on with Apple Inc.'s iPod+iTunes ecosystem by nurturing the likes of Microsoft's Zune media player and Sony's PlayStation and by working with the wireless carriers.
Led Zeppelin’s catalog is now available on all online music retailers, but for the sake of this segment, the more important point is that they entered into an exclusive deal with Verizon wireless which already has exclusive deals with ACDC and Bob Marley.
Nokia’s N95 handheld, Beyonce’s B’Phone, Sony’s new Walkman-branded phone, Sony and KDDI digital download service, etc.
How long do you think before Artist Nation strikes a Madonna Phone deal? And, what about Celine? Will she be the next big artist to want her lion’s share of the pie and seek a better agreement than the one she currently has? More will be revealed on these fronts.
But here’s the bigger picture: The major labels main purpose is to produce, promote and sell product (CDs, records, etc) and in the past they’ve been able to control their revenue streams. Technology has changed all that. But, here’s the million dollar question: Who has the technology and business model in place to do that? The wireless carriers do.
And, the billion dollar question? Where does that leave the majors? We’ll see. We’ll be right back.
Ed
ed@rockeromedia.com