THE MUSIC BIZ April 26, 2005 Edition
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China's First Online Music Distribution Platform To Rein In Piracy
* SONY BMG Music Entertainment Creates SONY BMG Masterworks
* SONY BMG Music Entertainment And Warner/Chappell Music Reach New Licensing Agreement
* The Harry Fox Agency Adds 100 Licensees
* Music Products Sales In U.S. Hit Record $7.3 Billion In 2004
* Two Arrests Follow West Country Anti-Piracy Dawn Raids
* America Online Announces Agreements With Major Record Labels To Offer Music Videos On The Web
* Music On Command Merges Radio, Music Downloads
* Open Media Network Launched In Public Beta
* Artemis/Musicrama, Inc. Distribution Agreement
China's First Online Music Distribution Platform To Rein In Piracy
R2G, China's first centralized music distribution platform which aims to promote the consumption and distribution of legitimate digital content, has been selected by Universal Music Publishing as a partner to help protect their intellectual property rights and enhance legitimate distribution. R2G's services will help curb the rampant online piracy in the local market, thereby allowing for more content to be released, consumed and monetized through R2G's transparent licensing platform. Universal Music Publishing is the first of the major music labels to adopt the R2G platform.
With this deal, Universal Music Publishing will register its selected catalog with R2G to be monitored for piracy, allowing Universal to take precise legal action against incidences of intellectual property infringement with an unprecedented level of detail never experienced before in China. In addition, R2G will provide Universal reliable sales data through its proprietary license accounting modules to be able to identify market trends and consumers tastes.
R2G has also received the endorsement of various government bodies including the Copyright Society of China and the Copyright Protection Center of China (CPCC). Both these organizations have stated that providing concrete protection for copyright owners and addressing online piracy problem is not only relevant to regulate domestic marketplace, it also enhances China's global status on protection of intellectual property.
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SONY BMG Music Entertainment has created a new classical music division, SONY BMG Masterworks, it was announced today by Michael Smellie, Chief Operating Officer, SONY BMG Music Entertainment. Under the leadership of Gilbert Hetherwick, President, SONY BMG Masterworks, the new division will combine the assets of the former BMG Classics and Sony Classical, including venerable imprints RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Arte Nova. SONY BMG Masterworks will also oversee the extensive combined SONY BMG Broadway catalogue and will be responsible for future cast recordings as well as orchestral film score recordings.
The primary focus of SONY BMG Masterworks will be on classical music in the traditional sense. The new division's plans call for a focused and targeted program of new recordings by both major and developing artists as well the restoration and development of the division's vast and unparalleled catalogue.
Mr. Hetherwick announced the appointment of key members of the SONY BMG Masterworks global management team, all reporting directly to him. They are as follows:
* David Lai - Senior Vice President of A&R and Operations
* Michael Brüggemann - Vice President of Masterworks Europe
* Steve Schoen - Vice President of Sales, Masterworks
* Faye Perkins - Vice President of Marketing, Masterworks
* Michelle Errante - Vice President of Classical Marketing & Catalogue Development, Masterworks
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SONY BMG Music Entertainment and Warner/Chappell Music announced that they have reached a new agreement designed to accelerate the roll out of a wide range of digital music products and services.
Products covered under the agreement include DualDisc; mobile music offerings such as master ring tones, and ring back tones; as well as digital video distribution, including the exhibition of music videos in linear programming and video-on-demand (VOD) services, and video downloads.
Multi-session audio discs and "locked" content for hard drives and storage media, which consumers may "unlock" by purchasing the tracks or albums online, are also covered under the new arrangement.
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The Harry Fox Agency Adds 100 Licensees To Its Bulk Digital Download Licensing Program In 2005
The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), the premier U.S. mechanical licensing organization, announced that it has already signed up over 100 licensees to its bulk digital download licensing program this year. These include Hollywood Records, Oxygen Cable, LLC., Univision Music Group, and Walt Disney Records, a division of ABC Inc. This is four times more licensees taking advantage of this program than in 2004. HFA now licenses over 300 companies for permanent digital download distribution.
HFA's bulk licensing program for permanent, full-length digital downloads (also known as DPD's), allows companies to apply for licenses for thousands of songs at a time to get their businesses up and running quickly, with the proper mechanical licenses in place.
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Music Products Sales In U.S. Hit Record $7.3 Billion In 2004
NAMM (the International Music Products Association) released the results of a national survey that reveals a record-setting level of musical instrument and product sales in 2004. Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM noted that sales in the U.S. last year hit an all-time high of $7.353 billion.
The record-setting number represents a 5.2 percent increase over 2003, reflecting unprecedented consumer interest in making music. Dramatic sales increases were scored in fretted instruments, with acoustic guitars surging 38.6 percent over last year and electric guitars rising 43.5 percent. In addition, double-digit unit sales increases occurred with drum kits, portable keyboards and digital pianos.
The annual survey, commissioned by NAMM and conducted by the industry publication The Music Trades is an annual comprehensive study that includes instruments ranging from cutting-edge computer hardware to violins based on 300-year-old designs. The complete results of the survey will appear in the April issue of The Music Trades and will be re-published in NAMM's annual MUSIC USA statistical volume this summer. The increased sales appeared in virtually all industry segments, with 31 out of 54 product categories posting increases in dollar volume.
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An early morning raid at one of Bristol's biggest open-air markets on Saturday (April 23) has resulted in the arrest of two people and the seizure of some 15,000 counterfeit music CDs, software programs, PC games and film DVDs with a street value running into tens of thousands of pounds.
The raid took place just after 7am at Southmead Hospital open air market in Bristol on Saturday as a number of known sellers of counterfeit products were setting up their stalls in preparation for a full day's trading. Two men were immediately arrested and held in custody over the weekend.
The raid involved 43 people including officers from the Avon and Somerset Police, Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council Trading Standards Departments, and anti-piracy investigators from the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) and software industry (ELSPA).
Five stalls were cleared of their stocks - fakes of the latest music CDs, games and DVDs. Thousands of copied discs were also confiscated from nearby vehicles. Experts estimate that if sold, the seized goods would have meant a loss of revenue to the legitimate music, film and games industry of around a quarter of a million pounds.
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America Online Announces Agreements With Major Record Labels To Offer Music Videos On The Web
America Online, the world's leading interactive services company, today announced that it has reached agreements with two of the world's leading music companies, Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG), to bring thousands of music videos to AOL Music (www.aolmusic.com), which reaches more than 22 million music fans a month.*
This collection of UMG and WMG-produced music videos will complement AOL's collection of popular original music video programs including intimate, in-studio AOL Music Sessions and the AOL Music LIVE! concert series. Music videos featuring many of the world's most popular artists are now available to online fans to stream on demand on an unlimited basis on AOL Music. In addition, AOL Music will create artist and genre-based music video channels featuring the videos.
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Music On Command Merges Radio, Music Downloads
Gone are the days of recording favorite songs off the radio with a boom box. Thanks to Music On Command by technology development firm Baxter Technologies, Inc. and Nielsen Broadcasting BDS, radio listeners across the U.S. can now call a toll-free number while listening to a song, talk radio or news broadcast and have it sent directly to them via e-mail.
Users can beta test the system now by signing up at http://www.musiconcommand.com. They can then add FM and satellite radio stations to their lists of favorites; when they hear a radio broadcast they'd like to download, they call Music On Command, key in the station's frequency, and the system captures the song playing on that frequency at the moment the call was made. A link to download the song at Buy.com is then sent to the user via e-mail.
"Music On Command works by timelining radio broadcasts," explained Jack Baxter, founder of Baxter Technologies and developer of the patented Music On Command software. "We joined Nielsen Broadcasting BDS to capture their monitoring radio stations throughout the United States - and, in the future, throughout the world - and timeline their monitoring technology to deliver songs listeners hear at the time of broadcast."
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A free public service network was launched to give users worldwide access to public television and radio programming, movies, podcasts and video blogs, while fully protecting the producers' copyrights.
Open Media Network (OMN) was founded by Internet pioneer and Netscape veteran Mike Homer and includes Marc Andreessen as an advisor and board member. The service offers users a broad selection of free public programs with a simple TV-style program guide and automatic background deliveries of favorite scheduled programming. Content producers can easily add their programming to the network, with unlimited free delivery of their shows and with digital rights protection. Through the service, consumers can view the content on multiple devices, including PCs and iPods today and televisions and cell phones by this summer.
Open Media Network is powered by grid delivery technology from Kontiki, which already provides secure delivery of content libraries for a range of companies such as Ernst & Young, Verizon, AOL and the BBC. Kontiki's grid delivery technology speeds the distribution of video and music files by allowing participants to share unused bandwidth on their computers and servers. There are already over 20 million users of Kontiki's technology today.
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Artemis/Musicrama, Inc. Distribution Agreement
On May 1st, Artemis Records and its family of labels including Artemis, Triloka, Tone-Cool, and the newly launched Artemis Gospel will move its distribution to New York based Musicrama, Inc. Both Artemis Records and Musicrama, Inc. are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Sheridan Square Entertainment, Inc. Artemis CEO/President Daniel Glass commented, "This is great news for the integration of our two companies. The clout of our new release schedule combined with the strength of Musicrama, Inc. will prove to have a significant impact on the marketplace."
Musicrama, Inc., founded in 1977 by Mark and Charles Jarzabek in New York, was originally known as the only source for international music and soundtracks that were not released domestically. Throughout the years, the company has developed into a full scale sales & marketing operation of Billboard-charting domestic hits and Pop/Rock & Dance imports of major artists that were never before available in the United States. Musicrama, Inc. is the home to: America's #1 selling DJ, Louie Devito, #1 Independent Latin Label, Balboa Records, World renowned International label, ARC Music, and legendary punk and metal acts including Joan Jett (Blackheart Records) and Danzig (Evillive).
Artemis Records is a privately held, New York-based company. Artemis is currently home to a diverse group of artists including Grammy-Award winning singer/songwriter Steve Earle, Sugarcult, Zakk Wylde 's Black Label Society, Better Than Ezra, Little Barrie, Jaguar Wright, Ruff Ryders, Pretenders, and the late Warren Zevon. Artemis recently acquired the historic catalogue of Vanguard Classics and has launched Artemis Classics. It is also home to Tone-Cool Records, Triloka Records and Compendia. Artemis is helmed by CEO and President, Daniel Glass.
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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2005 - Republished with Permission
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