Altavoz Distribution
Archive for
Strap yourself in and take flight with Rodrigo y Gabriela
Rodrigo y Gabriela performing at Sasquatch 2011, image via Wikipedia
There’s something about the classical guitar when it’s fused with Cuban influences, flamenco and rock. Rodrigo y Gabriela give an acoustic rendering that is as exotic as it is familiar. It seeps deep into your bones and lingers, it moves you in ways you didn’t realize you could. NPR describes the Dublin-based, Mexico born duo as “nimble-fingered” and they do not disappoint. Since their 2006 debut, they have proved themselves to be practitioners of everything from rhythmic funk and adventurous jazz to complex Spanish, South American and Middle Eastern traditions, executed with original flair and virtuosic precision.
Rodrigo y Gabriela have donated their song, Satori, to the David Lynch Foundation. Satori can be heard on iTunes on the Download for Good album and in the Spring of 2012, the song will be made available as part of a compilation deluxe box set sold at retail venues throughout the US and abroad. Altavoz is packaging and distributing the box set; proceeds from the iTunes and box set sales go to support the David Lynch Foundation.
Weekend Round-Up: Independents Take a Stand
I hope everyone enjoyed Turkey Day this year, I know I did. In the spirit of the season, I wanted to give you guys a look at how businesses and artists are trying to give back and overcome the mechanics of an industry that can be overbearing at times. It’s getting harder for artists and businesses to fight the behemoth companies and have chance at being successful. Despite the odds, many of them are still trying and doing a great job of it. Here’s a look at what they’ve been doing:
Sellaband looking to grow, and continue supporting artists
Sellaband is a global crowd-funding site for artists that gives offers a platform where fans can directly support them financially. German-based Sellaband has been in the business of helping artists for a while, and has faced a few obstacles along the way. Despite the setbacks, they have remained focused on their goal of giving artists, such as Aryn Michelle and Public Enemy, the chance to make music with the help of their fans. Recently, Sellaband has launched a worldwide A&R program (WARP) in an effort to find artists around the world who can benefit from their service. WARP participants will each cover one of ten geographical regions: West Coast US, East Coast US, Japan, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux States, Eastern Europe, and Australia. Participants will receive an official business card, Sellaband email, and percentage of funding to help them locate talented artists who are established enough to benefit from a crowd-funding campaign. Anyone who is interested should contact the Sellaband team at warp@sellaband.com.
Local DC venues partner together to fight the power.
If your from DC, 9:30 Club is most likely your favorite venue. 930 has been recognized nationally as a top touring venue, but has experienced limited success thanks to Live Nation’s presence in the market, as well as regional promoters such as AEG, C3, and NY’s BB Kings/Blue Note consortium. Live Nation’s newly opened Fillmore venue in nearby Silver Spring, MD has prompted the 9:30 Club to enter into a strategic booking partnership with the venue neighbor, U Street Music Hall. The partnership allows for the two venues to stay competitive with Live Nation by allowing each venue’s promoters to book and present shows at either location. I love this! I wish all the little guys looked out for each other, the world would be a much better place.
In between financing and supporting Artists, Artspire has found time to right a book.
Artspire, a web-community that aids artists in many ways, has just released a “A Profitable Artists: A Handbook for All Artists in the Performing, Literary, and Visual Arts.” The book provides testimonials, anecdotes and in-depth case studies on “best practices” strategies on how to overcome the recurring issues artists face regardless of background, experience, or artistic medium. Artspire, which is managed by the New York Foundation for the Arts, has provided essential services for artists across all disciplines since 1971. The book compiles the NYFA’s efforts over the years into book form. It gives a simple, well-informed business perspective to DIY artists who don’t know the proper steps to take in marketing and distributing their artistic content. Great resource!
Click the Image to Buy
Take a ride with Carmen Rizzo, gravity optional
Carmen Rizzo
You like electronic music? Then you know Carmen Rizzo (or you should), the two-time GRAMMY Nominee Producer-Remixer & Recording Artist. His music takes you on a special journey. Carmen has donated a song to the David Lynch Foundation for Download for Good. The song — Bring the Mountain Down — with Grant-Lee Phillips, is beautiful.
But don’t take my word for it — here’s what the David Lynch Foundation Music has to say: If your life were in montage format, this song would play when you are drinking lemonade after mowing the lawn of your childhood. It is an igloo in the desert, a bonfire on the north pole, a temple made of driftwood in a lucid dream. With sweeping sonic baths of light, sparks, and digital snow, one has the sense that gravity just might be optional. If you’ve ever wanted to run in slow motion at the airport or jump naked off of a waterfall, “Bring the Mountain Down” should be a serious consideration.
I love this track, it gets into your head and stays there — in a good way. Listen to the song, get it off iTunes (Download for Good) and next Spring buy the deluxe box set from your local retailer; in it you’ll find this song plus more than 30 others from musician luminaries such as Ben Folds, Maroon 5 and Peter Gabriel, all remastered for vinyl.
Proceeds from the iTunes download and box set purchase go to support the David Lynch Foundation. Click below to check out the music video.
Weekend RoundUp
It's Monday again.
As everyone’s winding down for the holiday weekend, we here at Altavoz are still trucking, with a couple of things on the horizon which we’ll be posting about shortly, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here’s your Weekend Round-Up….
Black Friday? There’s an app for that
More important than Thanksgiving for some, is the shopping holiday that is Black Friday! In the spirit of the season, Mashable.com recently compiled a list of 5 apps that make navigating Black Friday a little bit easier. Keep in mind, these apps can’t guarantee your safety.
- ShopSavvy – Scan a bar code to see if the product you’re about to buy is actually discounted. ShopSavvy scans available prices for identical products online and in nearby stores so you can see if you’re getting the best deal.
- Aisle411 – Android and iPhone users can get custom views of participating stores with Aisle411 to help you find what you’re looking for fast. Or at least faster than the folks that don’t run to the electronics section. Also included is a list maker so you know what to grab.
- BFAds – Scan the available Black Friday ads, make your shopping lists, and reference items on the go. You can search by item or category and even compare prices between stores.
- Amazon Price Checker – Even though you won’t likely find any Black Friday prices on this app (available for Android and iOS), you will be able to see the regular price of an item, which will tell you if they’ve actually been discounted, or if you’re about to get scammed at the register.
- Snaptell – Comparison shop while you’re on the go with this app that lets you snap a pic of the item in question, then provides reviews and prices from various stores.
Universal taking Grooveshark to court…it was only a matter of time.
This past week, Universal initiated a lawsuit against Grooveshark for allegedly uploading 100,000 songs illegally on their website. Universal says they have records that Grooveshark employees uploaded illegally obtained music to their website. Grooveshark has always said they aren’t responsible for their users committing copyright infringement on their site, which they can do thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s provisions. However, if Universal can back up their claims, Grooveshark might be at risk of losing their DMCA protection and swirling down the drain of online music providers past.
Indie music publishers can now license directly with YouTube
YouTube and the Harry Fox Agency are teaming up to allow Indie music publishers to directly license their music with YouTube. This allows YouTube the right to synchronize a publisher’s music with videos posted by YouTube users and giving the publisher the right to royalties from user-generated videos for which YouTube receives advertising revenue. To learn more, click HERE.
STHoldings isn’t on the Spotify band wagon anymore
STHoldings LTD, an electronic music distributor, has pulled 234 labels from music streaming services such as Spotify, Simfy, Rdio, Napter after sales of their music on iTunes dropped 24%. There well-informed decision was backed up with some scary house stats:
- In the third quarter of 2011 – the first full quarter that the distributor supplied content to these services – ST’s digital revenue fell for the first time in its history, down 14%.
- iTunes revenue in the same quarter fell 24%.
- Spotify, Simfy, Rdio and Napster accounted for 82% of all ST tracks “consumed” in Q3 but only 2.6% of that quarters Q3 revenue.
- Spotify paid £2,500 or $3376 USD for 750,000 streams in the quarter.
This is great example of excellent promotional services not translating into sales in more traditional, and bankable, mediums.
Boogie with the Bad Rabbits
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a FREE Bad Rabbits concert at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel. This was my first time seeing them live (I missed them on the Warped Tour over the summer), and my expectations were exceeded. Let me rewind and paint a picture for you. As my friend and I walked up to the front of the hotel, we walked by a yellow Aston Martin sports car, and saw a glimpse of the stunning decor of the lobby from the outside. Needless to say we were even more taken back after walking in and felt a bit underdressed for the occasion. After watching the Bad Rabbits on YouTube, I had expected a different crowd to attend, and I was wondering what kind of reaction they were going to get in such an upscale hotel.
I *heart* Josh Hisle
Josh Hisle
Our neighbors invited us to a “listening” party last weekend for their friend Josh Hisle — an indie singer songwriter who is also a Marine Corps vet who served two tours in Iraq. So, how does a roofer turned soldier from Ohio become a singer songwriter on the radar of some very influential artists? The turning point of Josh’s story is when Neil Young invited him to a hotel so he could hear Josh play his song, “Traitor’s Death.” But how did Josh end up there in the first place?
It all started on 9/11 when, like so many young people, Josh signed up for the Marines. An embedded journalist heard Josh playing while he was serving in Iraq and years later the journalist shared with Young the video of Josh playing, which led to the hotel room summons. Josh’s interaction in that hotel room and later with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young on the bus and at a show, plus a concert by Josh the following night, resulted in an 18 minute short film CSNY: Déjà Vu which was directed by Young. Josh went to Sundance to help promote the film and eventually was invited to go on tour and open for Stephen Stills. Quite a story.
Like this:
Tools on the Quest for New Music
Periodically, I develop musical crushes on a band or artist, and will only listen to their music. Over time though, the love wanes, but I still find myself playing the same songs over and over. I could say I listen to the same songs because I love them, but realistically it’s because I haven’t found anything better. I’m always craving new music and have been exploring how to find the music I want to listen to, without having to wade through tons of music clutter on the Internet. Here are five great tools/sites for finding music that I’ve been using on the quest for my next musical crush.
1. SHAZAM This music I.D. app, available for the iPod and Android-powered phones, is probably the most active program on my phone besides email. When I’m on-the-go, new music usually catches me off guard and immediately I begin the doomed process of trying to memorize the lyrics so I can Google them later. Thank goodness for Shazam.
2. GENRE SPECIFIC BLOGS The best, and most entertaining blogs are the ones with a clear focus. They are expert in the topic and you can always count on them to bring to light the deep, buried talent of some random unknown artist that you would have never discovered if it wasn’t for them. Best way to find these blogs? Googling artists you love in a particular genre, and exploring the blogosphere.
3. YouTube YouTube is the poor man’s iTunes. As long as you have the Internet, you have access to a digital collection of songs that trumps any other services out there. There are a lot of independent artists who have amazing talent and are sharing their stuff with people everyday through YouTube. Instead of stumbling through YouTube videos about cats and flash mobs, try stumbling around for music….it’s a more productive form of procrastination than the latter, in any case.
4. Your Daily Crack As the blog says in their “about us”, this blog is about the love of music. It gives you so many sounds and styles, but the commonality is that it never fails to be addictive. It’s focus is the under-appreciated that the world-at-large is mostly oblivious. Definitely worth a look.
5. Musicovery is a webradio site that lets you “play your mood” by selecting from four different mood presets, which are also customizable. Often, I find I am looking for different types of music when I’m in different moods. Musicovery captures this idea and translates it into a great service for listeners who don’t know who they want to listen for exactly, but know how they want to feel.
Band Success Tip: The College Market
If you are a semi-established band or artist, have some money in your pocket, are looking to expand your fan base, and make music that appeals to college kids, then why don’t you go to them, rather than trying to get them to come to you? As part of the music business major at Ferris State University, I worked with everyone from celebrity bands to local acts to newcomers. In each of these bookings, the bands followed a tried and true process to get noticed and eventually booked. You want to know the secret? Read on….
Weekend Roundup
EMI will be split into two -- going to Sony and Universal in separate deals.
And then there were three…the balance of power shifts in the music business with the sale of EMI
Universal Music Group took EMI’s recorded music auction for $1.9 billion. Sony won EMI’s music publishing operations for $2.2 billion. The surprise outcome of the “come from behind” offers and a total sale price that exceeded industry watchers’ expectations completed months of frenzied anticipation. I was on the edge of my seat…. The only redeemable thing to come from this are the quotes from the executives of both companies who referred to an increasingly profitable music market as significant reasons they fought for their piece of EMI.
What’s in it for the winners? The New York Post reports that Universal’s EMI win will boost its global share of the recorded music business from 28.7 percent to 38.9 percent, and bring it top-selling artists Katy Perry, Coldplay and Lady Antebellum. Sony’s winning bid hands it 32.2 percent of the global market share in publishing. EMI is the second-largest publishing company in the world, with a 19.7 percent share, while Sony/ATV, its joint venture with Michael Jackson’s estate, controls 12.5 percent.
This consolidation — really monopoly of three major players — puts even more pressure on the indies to fight for the 90 percent of artists that are not on a major label.
31% of Consumers Plan to Buy Movies, Music This Holiday Season
Consumers plan to buy packaged-media movies and music in significant numbers this winter holiday season, according to Deloitte’s 26th annual holiday survey. The survey found that 31% of more than 5,000 respondents in an online survey conducted from Sept. 16 to 26 said they plan to buy DVD/Blu-ray Disc movies and/or music CDs this holiday season. About 20% of respondents plan to purchase video games. Separately, 27% of respondents said they plan to buy movie and/or music downloads, according to research from Elastic Path Software.
A new study finds surprising data on how consumers discover music
The music business association NARM and The NPG Group last week released findings of a joint study that examined the ways consumers discover new music. This is especially important to an indie distribution company like us that is strategizing the ways we can infiltrate consumers hearts and minds with the best new music.
According to the study’s findings, more than 80 percent of all respondents were interested in learning about new music from artists they were already fans of, and 60 percent were interested in learning about unfamiliar artists in genres that they usually buy. AM/FM radio and family/friends/coworkers are the most common avenues for discovery, and discovery via online radio and Web videos were also important for the most active music fans. Taken in aggregate, television (which includes competitions, awards programs, online video outlets, and scripted series) is also extremely influential.
Since 2007 retail stores have declined in importance as a place to discover new music; however, people who shop for music at retail stores are more likely to buy the music they discover there than from other sources. This was a key driver in the research, since other channels did not necessarily result in purchase. Combine this with other numbers released recently from various sources that support a strong retail climate for music and its good news for artists. However, for those of us in distribution, it makes it even more important to cross promote music across channels and push fans to those where they can make a purchase.
Related articles
- Universal Buying EMI Group for $4.1B (time.com)
The Big Apple goes country
Nielson
I found this report from Nielson which finds that New York City is the number one market for country album sales. Of the 31.8 million physical and digital country albums sold nationwide, the obvious markets are down the list a ways with Nashville coming in at 6th place. In terms of sales volume, little ‘ole Washington, DC, where I am from, comes in right below Nashville. Wow, we must really be buying the heck out of country.
When looking only at number of albums sold, New York comes in first due more to population than popularity, though. They are the only top media market not to have its own country music radio station. Seems like there is a gap in the NYC marketplace for an eager radio station exec! If you check out the graphic posted here you can see that fans in Charleston-Huntington, W.V., were the most likely to buy country albums, with four seemingly random cities tying for fourth place. According to Nielson, 5th place Nashville’s residents were nearly twice as likely to buy country albums as the general U.S. population.
Country music ranks fourth among the top music genres with 13 percent of all album sales in the U.S., with Rock, R&B and Alternative rounding out the top three genres. While country music boasts high percentages of fans who prefer physical music, digital country music album purchasing is up 31 percent year-to-date, greater than the overall digital music album growth of 20 percent.
