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End of year record sale stats: Streams boom and downloads peak in Sheeran's year The big news story of the year, of course, is that download sales have peaked as an increasing number of digital music consumers shift over to streaming services. We knew iTunes music income was now in decline in the US and on a worldwide basis, and last week's figures from the UK's Entertainment Retailer's Association confirmed, as we suspected, that that was the case here too. The UK download sector brought in 14.9% less in 2014 than 2013 at £338.1 million, while streaming revenues shot up 65.1% bringing in £106 million for the record industry (though, it is worth noting, for the time being the download space is still bringing in nearly double the revenues generated by the streamers). With physical sales slipping 4.9% that means that overall the UK record industry saw its sales dip 1.6%. That's an overall figure that can be taken as a positive or a negative. It means that, despite all the hype around the streaming sector, the booming subscription services aren't quite making up for the decline in CD and download sales. But on the upside, after a decade plus of significant shrinkage, the UK recorded music market - like the worldwide sector - has been bumping along at a pretty flat level for a couple of years now. Optimists in the record industry reckon there is still a long way for the rapidly evolving streaming sector to go (though a pessimist might add that there's a long way for the download services to concurrently fall as well). The optimists are right of course, though the biggest growth potential is in the mid-market subscription space that no one has really yet cracked, and which Spotify and YouTube's freemium services are arguably hindering (more on which here). But while there may be a rocky ride ahead, it seems reasonable to assume we are only just seeing the start of the streaming music boom. That said, the record industry's streaming success story is in part aided by the fact that about 90% of the money being paid by the streaming firms into the music community is going to the labels. That is going to be a big talking point in 2015 as the music publishers push for a bigger cut of the pie, while recording artists might make a claim that they should be seeing an automatic cut of Spotify income like they do with royalties that come in via collecting society PPL. So, additional growth in streaming monies may be countered for the labels by them being forced, ultimately, to share more of the loot with other stakeholders. Which might give the pessimist more ground, though it's worth noting that these annual record industry figures never include the monies the labels now routinely earn from the other commercial activities of artists in which they have invested, such as merchandise, brand partnerships and cuts of live income. Factor those into the mix and the record label sector would be posting overall growth. But back to recorded content, and figures from label trade group the BPI break things down by units, using a methodology that equates streams and single track downloads with album sales. Interestingly, while ERA's retail value figures show that physical still brought in slightly more cash in 2014 as the digital sector wobbled with the download-to-streaming shift, when it comes to the unit-based consumption figures digital is outperforming physical. Streams almost doubled in quantity in 2014 and accounted for 12.6% of consumption overall, with digital albums down 9% and accounting for 25.3% of total units, single track downloads down 14.2% and accounting for 13.3%, and physical albums sales down 6.9% and accounting for 48.8% of consumption overall. Of course, even taking consumption rather than retail value figures, that physical still nearly accounts for half the sector will surprise some. And while vinyl sales were at their highest since 1995, it should be noted that the vast majority of those physical purchases were CD. For its part the BPI notes that while the domestic recorded music market at large may have been pretty static in 2014 revenues-wise, British talent shone through, with the ten best selling artist albums of the year all coming from UK artists for the first time ever. And while there was much talk in the summer months about the UK industry lacking any million selling albums this year, in the end there were two (two more than 2013) in the form of Ed Sheeran's 'X' which, thanks to pre-Christmas purchasing, has now topped 1.7 million sales, and Sam Smith's 'In The Lonely Hour'. If you take all home entertainment products into account, Sheeran had the fourth best selling release of the year (in terms of units shifted), behind games 'Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare' and 'FIFA 15' and the 'Frozen' DVD. The 'Frozen' soundtrack was also one of the best various artist music releases of the year too. Commenting on all of this, BPI boss Geoff Taylor told reporters last week: "The remarkable success of British artists in 2014 is exciting news for the future. Our record labels are backing homegrown talent like Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and George Ezra, who in turn are catching fire around the world. With major new premium services from Apple and YouTube set to boost subscription streaming even further in 2015, we believe the UK's world-leading music industry is strongly positioned for future expansion". Meanwhile ERA chief Kim Bayley said: "2014 was a remarkably successful year for retailers and digital services as they continued to invest in the future of the entertainment business. More than half of entertainment revenues now come from retail channels which did not even exist a decade ago. Too often the debate about the future of entertainment is portrayed as a battle between physical and digital. This second successive year of growth demonstrates entertainment is becoming a mixed, multi-channel economy in which streaming, digital and physical formats can both prosper, each satisfying different consumer needs". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Irving Azoff is ready to step up his battle with YouTube Osborn is far too nice and the MPA far too respectable to say it, but basically 2015 is lining up to be the year when the songwriters and music publishers throw a massive "fuck you all" in the general direction of the streaming sector, which they believe has been structured for the sole benefit of the digital service providers and the record labels. And leading the charge, or at least testing the water, is veteran artist manager Irving Azoff. As previously reported, Azoff has set up a new company called Global Music Rights which is seeking to directly represent the so called 'public performance rights' - in the US, at least - of the songwriters he manages and some other big names too. The aim is to pull those songwriters' works out of the American collecting societies BMI and ASCAP and force the big licensees of songs to do deals directly, away from the rules and regulations that come with collective licensing. As also previously reported, this has led to Azoff initiating a battle with YouTube, which, he says, must remove all the songs GMR now represents from its various platforms with immediate effect until it successfully negotiates a licence with his new company. Azoff's attack on YouTube conveniently coincided with the Google subsidiary unveiling its new Music Key service, ensuring the video site's big new play in music was accompanied by plenty of controversy before and after launch. The feud is ongoing, with Azoff's lawyer Howard King providing something of an update just before Christmas, and reaffirming the threat that GMR is willing to go legal on all this in what he is calling a billion dollar infringement lawsuit. There are currently two elements to the dispute. First, although GMR has seemingly withdrawn the public performance rights of the songwriters it reps - which include Eagles, Pharrell Williams and John Lennon - from their respective collecting societies in the US, it's not entirely clear when that actually means YouTube no longer has access to those songs through its blanket licences from ASCAP and BMI. Such licences customarily keep running until a pre-agreed date, even if there are changes in the repertoire each society represents. But, again showing the ambiguities that exist in music licensing, no one seems to be able to tell GMR whether that means YouTube is still allowed to use its songs or not. Though King says the obligation is on YouTube to prove it is licensed, and so far it has not. But this dispute seems set to really focus on YouTube's obligations to remove songs uploaded by users to its platform under American copyright law, a familiar debate that has been had several times before, usually with YouTube's interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act prevailing. That interpretation says that providing YouTube offers a system via which rights owners can order content be removed, it isn't liable for all the copyright infringing materials that are routinely available via its user-upload sites. In a recent exchange of letters between King and Google, the latter said that GMR needed to identify where its songs were currently residing on the YouTube system and then issue a takedown notice for each URL as described in the DMCA. Basically GMR, like the labels, needs to use YouTube's ContentID system to manage its songs on the firm's platforms. King disagrees, citing some of the debate that has surrounded other legal cases where tech firms hosting infringing content have used the safe harbours of the DMCA to avoid liability. YouTube is aware of the infringing content so has an obligation to remove it even without a specific takedown notice, King reckons. It's a very grey area of American copyright law that is yet to be properly clarified in court. But King is seemingly ready for a fight. He told The Hollywood Report: "It is disingenuous that they can keep their hands over eyes until we tell them the URL. They know where it is. We don't want this to become whack-a-mole". Talking tough, he goes on: "This will result in someone blinking, and if it is not them, there will be a billion dollar copyright infringement lawsuit filed". So that's something to look forward to, right? Obviously GMR wants to force YouTube to the negotiating table where Azoff will ask for more favourable terms for his songwriters. In its more recent negotiations with the record companies YouTube has generally taken the attitude that the labels need its platform as a marketing channel, tipping the balance of power in the royalties debate in its direction. Azoff, though, is more likely to say screw the marketing benefits, which will weaken Google's negotiating hand. Though the web giant will be aware that if it gives more favourable terms to Azoff's band of song creators, plenty more will come knocking for a similar deal. -------------------------------------------------- South Korean music firm accuses The Interview of uncleared sync The Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy vehicle was, of course, temporarily shelved last month after unknown hackers, seemingly offended by the fictional portrayal of the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the film, hacked Sony Pictures' servers and leaked a stack of sensitive files and data. Subsequent threats by the hackers led to many US cinema chains axing plans to screen the picture, though plenty of independent movie theatres offered to show the film instead, enabling a series of screenings on Christmas Day accompanied by a pay-per-view online release, both in America. Having seen a copy of the film, South Korean firm FeelGhoodMusic, a company founded by hip hop artists Tiger JK and Yoon Mi Rae, issued a statement saying that about fifteen seconds of a duet recorded by the two performers, called 'Pay Day', appears in the film without permission. The company added that discussions did take place regarding the sync, but that the two artists did not approve use of the song in the controversial film. The statement, issued on Boxing Day, explains: "There were initial discussions about including the song in the film score, but negotiations stopped so we were under the impression that it wasn't happening. It was only after the film was released that we became aware of the song's unauthorised use. The artists were hesitant about authorising the use of the music as the film is a very sensitive topic in Korea". According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two singers will now likely take legal action against the agency who approached them about the original sync deal proposal, DFSB. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Warner announces alliance with interactive video firm Confirming the deal, Warner's COO Rob Wiesenthal told reporters: "Great videos not only complement songs, but deepen the emotional connection between artists and their fans. Interlude's technology enables a level of seamless fan engagement that has never before been possible. This venture is both an interactive canvas for our artists and a new way for fans to share customised videos". Meanwhile, Interlude CEO and co-founder Yoni Bloch, himself a music maker, added: "Our team is extremely passionate about offering the most creative storytelling opportunities for today's artists because we started out as musicians ourselves. We are thrilled to partner with the innovators at Warner Music Group, which shares our vision of all-encompassing interactivity. Music is just the beginning. As artists and creators increasingly recognise the power of interactive video, the public and advertisers will surely follow". Warner, once seen as the hold-out when it came to new digital platforms, has been pretty busy in the deal-making game this year. Also last month it was announced as the first music partner of Vessel, a new online video-on-demand service with free and subscription options that will specialise in short-form content, so is seen by many as more of a competitor to YouTube than Netflix et al. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Leaked emails show recent discussions about possible Sony/ATV sale Concerns about the future growth potential of the music publishing sector as it tackles the challenges of digital are expressed from some at Sony Corp HQ in Japan, while complexities in the ownership and governance of the Sony/ATV business are also cited as reasons to cut it loose. Unlike the Sony Music record company, which is owned by Sony Corp outright, Sony/ATV is a joint venture with the Michael Jackson Estate. Meanwhile, half of the business is actually EMI Music Publishing, which Sony/ATV and the MJ Estate co-owns with a number of other shareholders. From the leaked emails, discussions about the future of Sony/ATV do seem to be in a very early stage, with one exec expressing concern when the topic is included on the agenda for a wider top team meeting, saying all talk about a sale of the group's music publishing assets are "top secret". Though not now, of course. It being the world's biggest music publisher, there'd almost certainly be quite a bit of interest in Sony/ATV if it was put on the block. And if it became a totally independent entity, that could have some interesting affects on the wider music rights sector. Sony/ATV chief Marty Bandier is already hitting out at how much money the publishers make from streaming services, and while that is partly about getting the digital service providers to pay more to the music rights community overall, it's also about altering the way existing streaming revenues are split between the publishers and the labels (the vast majority currently goes to the latter). While Sony/ATV is in common ownership with the world's second biggest record company, pressure might be put on Bandier to hold back from all out war with the DSPs and labels, certainly this side of Spotify's flotation, from which Sony Music will earn big time as a result of its minority stake in the streaming firm. But an independent Sony/ATV might be more willing to green light a nuclear attack on a streaming sector many songwriters and publishers reckon has been structured to benefit DSPs and labels at their expense. -------------------------------------------------- Good year for dance and debuts in the UK singles chart According to stats from the chart compilers, last year saw fourteen singles enter the charts at number one from artists who had never previously appeared in the Top 40. The same number of chart toppers were classified as dance music by the Charts Company, the highest quantity of number ones from the genre in any one chart year ever. I'm not sure what this tells us. Mainly, I suppose, that the labels still know a few marketing tricks when it comes to scoring number ones for big releases, and those tricks are still working in this here digital, social, streaming age. Hence continued resistance to the 'on air on sale' approach, which aims to reduce pre-release piracy by having tracks available from all channels as soon as they are serviced to radio, but which would hinder label efforts to build hype ahead of official release in order to boost chart position. And as for the continued popularity of all things Eeeee Deeeee Em, well, people just can't kick that need for bleep. Which is good news for the bleep makers. Or something like that. I don't really know what I'm saying here, so I'm just going to hand over to charts chief Martin Talbot. Here he is: "The Official Singles Chart got people off their feet more than ever before in 2014, thanks to a record number of dance number ones. And, with so many new acts debuting at number ones, it sounded fresher than ever". Hmm, I'm not sure he really knows what he's saying either. I know, let's have two lists, one of the biggest selling dance number ones of the year, and the other a top ten of artist debut chart toppers, all lovingly compiled by Talbot's team of pop number fiends. Top Selling Dance Number Ones Of The Year Top Selling Debut Number Ones Of The Year -------------------------------------------------- It's 2014's UK best sellers Top Ten Albums of 2014 (compiled by Official Charts Company) Top Ten Vinyl Albums of 2014 (compiled by Official Charts Company) Top Ten Singles of 2014 (compiled by Official Charts Company) Top Ten Most Streamed Tracks in 2014 (compiled by Official Charts Company based on chart-returning audio streaming services) Top Twenty Home Entertainment Releases of 2014 (compiled by the Entertainment Retailer's Association based on OCC and GfK Chart-track data) -------------------------------------------------- INgrooves founder to step down Confirming his departure just before the Christmas break, McDaniels told reporters: "Over the past thirteen years, I have led the expansion of Isolation Network into one of the most forward thinking media distribution, marketing and technology companies in the world, with more than 175 employees in five global offices. But I am an entrepreneur at heart and with the company in the capable hands of an exceptionally strong executive team, the time has come for me to move on to the next chapter in my life". The company's Executive Chairman Jay Boberg added: "Robb is a rare visionary in the digital media industry, and we want to thank him for his tireless years of leadership building Isolation Network into one of the largest independently owned media distribution companies. We are confident that the executive team Robb has assembled will continue to deliver for our partners around the world". McDaniels' co-founder Matt Burns will take over the CEO role on an interim basis until a new permanent chief can be found. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Live Nation buys controlling stake in C3 Presents Referring to the three 'Cs' - C3 Presents founders Charles Attal, Charlie Jones and Charlie Walker - Live Nation boss Michael Rapino told reporters last month: "The Charlies have proven they are amongst the most successful entrepreneurs in the concert industry. I have long admired what they built and now I look forward to working alongside them as they continue to build a world class festival company". For their part, the Charlies responded: "We are excited to join Live Nation and become a part of their global family, while continuing to grow our festivals within a culture of entrepreneurship that will empower our team to keep improving these festivals and the fan experience". -------------------------------------------------- Shoreditch's Plastic People closes Though, while Shoreditch's Plastic People had its own run in with licensing authorities in 2010, its shutdown right at the start of 2015 doesn't seem to be the result of anything so dramatic. Speaking ahead of one last party this Saturday just gone, Manager Charlotte Kepel told Resident Advisor: "We will not open again in 2015. Plastic People had great runs both on Oxford Street and Curtain Road. A fabulous time was had and it felt right to move on". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thom Yorke album now available via Bandcamp Hypebot noted late last month that Yorke was now selling 'Tomorrow's Modern Boxes' in full and a whole brand new track too via the popular direct-to-fan set up. He's opted to offer the album on a pay-what-you-want basis - an approach which, to be fair, did seem pretty revolutionary when his band Radiohead did it in 2007, but which is pretty common on Bandcamp now - though this time he's added a minimum price-point, also common on the D2F site, of $6.99. A vinyl version of the record is available from the same web page for £30. While setting up shop on Bandcamp likely won't grab the headlines Yorke was assured by opting to use that new delivery system developed by BitTorrent, a company whose technology is more associated with music piracy, arguably this D2F store is much more fan-friendly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bono writes about accident and recovery As previously reported, while you might have amused yourself back in November imaging Bono tumbling off his bike in New York's Central Park, especially after The Edge indicated he was dressed as a Hasidic Jew at the time, the poor U2-meister actually hurt himself rather bad. In his review of the U2 year he refers to the "massive injury I can't blame on anyone but myself, mainly because I blanked out on impact and have no memory of how I ended up in New York Presbyterian with my humerus bone sticking through my leather jacket. Very punk rock as injuries go". He goes on: "I broke my hand, my shoulder, my elbow and my face but the real injury this year was to my Irish pride as it was discovered that under my tracksuit I was wearing yellow and black Lycra cycling shorts. Yes, LYCRA. This is not very rock n roll". Revealing that there are likely to be more cancellations of public appearances as a result of accident, he adds: "The consequences of this freak accident are significant enough that I will have to concentrate hard to be ready for the U2 tour in fitness terms... as a result I have cancelled every public appearance and decided this missive is all the communication I can manage for the first half of 2015, beyond muttering and singing to myself, of course". And there could be long-term impact, he says, noting: "Recovery has been more difficult than I thought... As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again. The band have reminded me that neither they nor Western civilization are depending on this. I personally would very much miss fingering the frets of my green Irish falcon or my (RED) Gretsch. Just for the pleasure, aside from writing tunes. But then does The Edge, or Jimmy Page, or any guitarist you know have a titanium elbow, as I do now? I'm all elbows, I am". So there you go. New year, new sensation. Feeling sorry for Bono. If only a tiny little bit. Though all that talk of leather jackets and lycra shorts makes it hard to believe he really was dressed up as a Hasidic Jew at the time of the crash. Which makes The Edge a liar. The bastard. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Madonna comments on Photoshopped Rebel Hearts Amongst those re-presented with messy black lines all over their faces were Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana and some chancer called Jesus Christ. All these people had 'rebel hearts', see. After some criticised her Madge-ness for utilising these other figure's images to sell her new record, she posted on the Facebooks: "I'm sorry, I'm not comparing myself to anyone, I'm admiring and acknowledging there Rebel Hearts. This is neither a crime or an insult or racist!" And for those of you more concerned by the slightly shoddy Photoshop job done on some of the reworked pictures, well, see, it wasn't Madonna's designers who did them. She goes on: "I didn't do it. My fans did. And I just re posted those photos. And my fans aren't racist either". I don't know about that last claim. I bet some of them are. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Send ALL press releases to musicnews@unlimitedmedia.co.uk - this is checked daily by the whole editorial team meaning your release will definitely get to the right person. For details of the training and consultancy services offered by CMU Insights click here - Andy and Chris are also available to provide music business comment, just email them direct. To promote your company or advertise jobs or services to the entire UK music industry via the CMU bulletin or website contact Sam on 020 7099 9060 or email ads@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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