Apple has launched a social network as part of the latest version of its iTunes software.
Ping, as it is known, allows users to build networks of friends and professional musicians, in a similar way to services such as Twitter.
The service also builds playlists based on what friends are listening to.
Analysts said it represents a challenge to existing music-based social networks such as MySpace.
"It`s a social network all about music," said Mr Jobs, launching the application at an event in San Francisco.
"We think this will be really popular very fast because 160 million people can switch it on today," he said.
The service will be accessible through iTunes 10 software on Macs and PCs as well as through the iTunes application on iPhones and the iPod Touch.
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It`s no surprise these days to find people, both young and old, taking a morning walk with their ears plugged — probably listening to some music.The mobile phone or iPod has come in handy, users just keep the device in their pocket and plug their ears while they listen to music even as they wait for the train in a railway station, bus stand or at the airport.
The mobile phone, for instance, has gone beyond just a communication tool to being an entertainment device as well. Digital as a phone factor has created huge value. There is large consumption of music/entertainment in some form or the other.
Why? You see, there was this negotiation involving UMG-backed Vevo, which unfortunately hit a snag. Instead of direct-licensing videos from UMG, MTV is now being asked to structure its video licensing through the Vevo joint venture. MTV Networks appears unwilling to accommodate certain demands related to that syndication arrangement, and one executive pointed to an "out of industry norm" showstopper.
In July, CNET reported that the company had run into money trouble and was looking for funding.
Playlist.com enables users to create and share digital music playlists with friends. A couple of years ago, the service had built a reputation as a potential challenger to some of the other ad-supported music services, such as MySpace Music and Imeem. An embarrassing management shake-up followed, when then-CEO Owen Van Natta, the well-known former Facebook executive, resigned after only five months on the job to become MySpace CEO. (Van Natta then left MySpace after less than a year.)
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EXCERPT FROM THE GUARDIAN ONLINE:
Record labels have been on the receiving end of much criticism lately. They`ve been criticised for heavily lobbying those involved in passing the digital economy bill, accused of greediness, of being dinosaurs, of being unwilling to embrace the internet, of treating artists unfairly – even of being obsolete. Now they`re fighting back in an attempt to justify their existence.
A report published this week by IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), claims that record companies invest $5bn (£3.3bn) a year worldwide in artists, and that the "ripple effect" of this investment helps generate a broader music sector, including live music, radio and publishing, worth around $160bn annually. The report also estimates that more than two million people are employed globally in the broader music economy.
In an apparent response to those who claim that, with the internet`s ability to connect artists directly with their fans, record labels will become obsolete, John Kennedy (chairman of IFPI) says: "Even artists who are typically described as having broken through the internet, the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, or Sandi Thom, all ended up combining with conventional record labels."
According to the report, called Investing In Music, breaking a UK or US pop artist typically costs more than $1m (£660,000): $200,000 for artist advance, $200,000 for recording costs, $200,000 for three videos, $100,000 for tour support and $300,000 for promotion and marketing. It`s not only pop artists that need tour support. Dickon Stainer of Decca Records says that his label spent £1m on tour support for jazz artist Melody Gardot to break her globally. Yes, investing in new talent is a hugely risky business, a fact Guy Hands can surely now testify to. "It takes a lot of money and a lot of balls," says Kennedy. This is why record labels need to have multi-album deals to allow a return on their investment, states the report.
As much as the anti-label crusaders paint a very black-and-white picture, unfortunately, so does this IFPI report. Both parties seem to ignore facts in an effort to fight their corner. One side says that record labels became obsolete when recording gear became affordable for the bedroom musician and with the invention of social networking sites. They also claim that touring and merchandising will be how future artist will make a living and pay for recordings. This ignores the fact that there are literally millions of acts on MySpace and that, for the majority of artists, it actually costs money to tour. The IFPI report quotes Nina Persson, lead singer of the Cardigans and A Camp, saying: "It would be very difficult for me to have made a living just from live music. I would have to travel alone with a guitar and no band or crew to make that work."
The record label side uses international pop stars as examples to illustrate the cost and commitment it takes to develop a successful career. The truth lies somewhere in between. This, as artist manager Jon Webster (CEO of the Music Managers Forum) points out, is an issue that can`t be subject to generalisation. A niche singer/songwriter would most likely cost a lot less in terms of touring. Today, a business-savvy artist can make a decent living, though spending a vast amount of time on the internet to develop and sustain a hands-on career takes a lot of time; time that should, one can argue, be used to practice and write songs.
Yes, good record labels still supply a service that venture capitalists don`t. Good A&R people will push artists to write better songs. They provide promotion and marketing teams with contacts and experience, which, along with advances, allows the artist to focus on the music. But the IFPI report omits to mention that their investment comes at a pretty high price (though, notably, it only does so if the artist becomes successful). One could say that it`s a loan with a very high interest rate. The report states that the advance is recoupable from an artist`s sales, but fails to acknowledge that much of the other costs often are, too. Tour support is sometimes recouped from merchandising. A manager I spoke to said his band`s major label refused to provide £20k in tour support (a lot less than the £100k mentioned in the IFPI report) unless they received 50% of all merchandise for the length of the rest of the contract. The band chose to borrow money from their parents to cover the bill instead. If a label decides to spend money on TV advertising campaign for a record, they`ll often recoup that cost from the artist – either by adding 50% of the cost to the artist`s "recoupment bill" or by reducing the royalty rate due to the artist for the record by 50% for a whole year.
The manager of a big international pop star (who wants to remain anonymous for this piece), who has signed to a major, says that his biggest wish is that the artist/record label relationship becomes a partnership in the future. Today, he says, there`s a tangible lack of trust. The fact that artists now have a choice of not signing a record deal will, hopefully, make record labels operate in a much more transparent manner.
EMI declined to comment on the prospective sale of the studios, immortalized by the 1969 Beatles album of the same name. But the Financial Times today (Feb. 16) reported that five people familiar with the situation said the major had been courting bidders for the studios at 3 Abbey Road in north London.
The FT said the sale could raise tens of millions. That might very slightly ease EMI`s debt burden but it seems unlikely that funds would be available by June 2010, to assist in Terra Firma`s covenant tests with Citigroup this year when the private equity owner expects to inject up to £120 million ($188 million).
The Abbey Road brand name would be a key part of any sale, if EMI wants to raise serious money. EMI and Abbey Road is about to launch a branded product range, beginning with clothing, bags and stationery. Abbey Road Live was launched last year that provides live recordings at concerts.
EMI bought the property in 1929 and converted it into recording studios. Sir Edward Elgar recorded "Land of Hope and Glory" with the London Symphony Orchestra in studio one in 1931, and the Beatles later recorded the majority of their songs there.
Pink Floyd recorded "Dark Side Of The Moon" at Abbey Road and, although it is too expensive for many artists today, the studio is able to accommodate orchestras. It has been used for scores to Hollywood films such as the "Lord Of The Rings" and the "Harry Potter" franchises.
After receiving positive reviews and ratings on Slicethepie (http://www.slicethepie.com/), Scars On 45 reached the financing stage and raised £15,000 from fans.
Their album, and the fact that they had proved popular enough for fans to invest in, attracted the attention of Heavenly Management. They work with Nice Management in the US and the two companies secured a couple of the band`s songs on to soundtracks for US TV shows The Cleaner and CSI: New York. This drew them to the attention of Alex Patsavas, one of the most successful and powerful music supervisors around, responsible for the soundtracks to Twilight: New Moon, The OC, Gossip Girl and Grey`s Anatomy. Patsavas, who also works with Chop Shop Records, which has a deal with Atlantic, promptly brokered the deal.
Courtier-Dutton explains how the fans who invested in the band made a profit: "Fans can invest as little as £1, which entitles them to a single from the band – £5 or more gets them an album. An investment of £10 gives them 10 shares. When the deal with the label was brokered, the shares of the band were trading for £5 a piece."
The story raises many questions. Could this be the future of the music industry? Will we see a world where the fans not only support the artist, but also share in the financial success they may enjoy? What do you reckon?
"I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time. I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn`t last, and now it`s running out. I don`t particularly care that it is and like the way things are going.
The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you`d be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history`s moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it."
Sure, you could still purchase an entire album. But consumers found more value in cherry-picking favorite tunes for much less money. Fans of Strawberry Alarm Clock, for instance, could buy the 1960s hit Incense and Peppermint while easily avoiding ghastly tracks such as Sit With the Guru and Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow. Read full article here..
As Punknews points out, the digital LPs employ basic web tools like HTML, CSS and Java to bring digital videos and other extras into the iTunes album experience. With these specifications now available, web-savvy users can design their own iTunes LP and avoid paying any ridiculous production fees.
All of the information needed to create an iTunes LP is available here. However, we`re still not sure how good it will sound on a turntable.
With sales of music-based games now reaching a plateau, MTV is hoping to position the Rock Band franchise more as a platform for selling downloadable add-ons to existing versions of the game rather than stressing the need to buy new versions. Gamers have downloaded more than 60 million songs to the Rock Band franchise since its inception two years ago.
MTV expects the number of songs to skyrocket past 1,000 once its Rock Band Network goes live. The Network is a program that allows artists to create and submit their own music into downloadable content for the game.
Not participating in the downloadable content for Rock Band, however, is Warner Music Group. While the Rock Band store has music from the label available due to earlier licensing deals, the label stopped licensing any new music for the downloadable platform over what it calls unfavorable licensing terms.
"Where we`re not being recompensed anything close to what would be fair for artists and services, we see no reasons to license," WMG CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. said during the company`s earnings call this week. "We don`t see that as a large foregone opportunity because the licensing opportunity in itself is so small."
