an independent artist's take on Spotify

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ron-pope/spotify-independent-artists_b_4803404.html

here's every American state's favourite band

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-every-states-favorite-band-2014-2

Impatience Has Its Reward - Books Are Rolled Out Faster

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/books/impatience-has-its-reward-books-are-rolled-out-faster.html

The Beatles and the history of merchandising in music

http://www.themusicnetwork.com/50-years-beatles-history-merchandising-music/

what is really cannibalising download sales?

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/what-is-really-cannibalising-download-sales/

The music industry's YouTube problem

http://musically.com/2014/02/07/music-allys-midem-recap-the-music-industrys-youtube-problem/

Roseanne Cash on Spotify, YouTube and social media

http://mashable.com/2014/02/07/rosanne-cash/

Daft Punk interview from 2007

http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6701-daft-punk/

A Chuck Philips article about how the record industry was in 2001: high risk, low margin

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/may/31/news/mn-4713

7 things a record deal teaches you about the music industry by Spose

http://www.cracked.com/article_20939_7-things-record-deal-teaches-you-about-music-industry_p2.html

Google and piracy

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/02/04/pirategoogle

how big is music on YouTube?

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2014/01/how-big-is-music-on-you-tube-hint-really-big-infographic.html

London Grammar Jazz Summers

http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/london-grammar-teaching-the-music-business-important-lessons/057487

Max Martin

http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/max-martin-powerful-person-music-business-people-never-even-head-name/

Will Beats Music trump Spotify with its artist charm offensive?

http://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/jan/15/beats-music-spotify-artist-royalties-dr-dre-trent-reznor

Troy Carter interview

http://www.fastcompany.com/3024171/step-up-troy-carter

What Beats Music needs to do to be a success

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/what-beats-music-needs-to-do-to-be-a-success/

Beats Music enters online streaming market

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/arts/music/beats-music-enters-online-streaming-market.html?_r=0

are clueless labels ruining mix platforms like Soundcloud?

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2014/01/are-clueless-labels-ruining-mix-platforms-like-soundcloud.html

how successful songs have changed over the decades

http://blog.echonest.com/post/70299217721/7-decades-7-musical-evolutions

Spotify’s revised plan to dominate the crap out of rival music services

http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/12/spotifys-revised-plan-to-dominate-the-crap-out-of-rival-music-services/

Amazon's best sellers of all-time

http://evolver.fm/2013/12/13/amazons-music-numbers-reveal-differences-in-fans-based-on-format/

Beyoncé

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/16/business/media/beyonce-rejects-tradition-for-social-medias-power.html?ref=media&_r=0

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/5839718/how-beyonces-beyonce-stayed-secret-until-the-day-of-release-its

13 ways to make money with your songs

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/5839701/13-ways-to-make-money-with-your-songs-guest-post

why full albums need to go from YouTube right away

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/why-full-albums-need-to-go-from-youtube-right-away/

Soundcloud names best marketing campaigns of 2013

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/12/soundcloud-names-best-marketing-campaigns-of-2013-exclusive.html

Noel Gallagher's Epic Year-End Gripe Session

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/noel-gallaghers-epic-year-end-gripe-session-20131205

interview with Martin Goldschmidt of Cooking Vinyl

http://www.themusicnetwork.com/hot-seat-martin-goldschmidt-founder-cooking-vinyl/

what Spotify's royalty numbers don't tell us

http://pando.com/2013/12/04/what-spotifys-royalty-numbers-dont-tell-us/

This includes the claim that artists (not labels) are "paid by their 'market share.' This means the higher the percentage of Spotify’s total streams an artist comprises, the higher payout he receives per stream. Macklemore and Rihanna, the most streamed artists of 2013, receive more than Galaxie 500. Interestingly, Spotify calculates this by artist, not by song, so a modest hit by Galaxie 500 would earn a lower per-stream rate than an unpopular Macklemore song."

Biggest Soundcloud mistakes

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2013/11/19/biggestsoundcloudmistakes

Spotify explain what they pay out

http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/it-s-official-spotify-pays-out-between-0-007-per-stream/056928

have we reached social media's tipping point?

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4147232-music-vs-the-web--have-we-reached-social-medias-tipping-point

http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/music/4440235

streaming revenues in Denmark

http://cphpost.dk/news/streaming-musics-popular-but-is-it-a-boon-or-boondogglee.2937.html

a review of the Blockbusters book

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2013/12/02/131202crbo_books_sanneh?currentPage=all

Landmark Beyonce File-Sharing Prosecution Fails to Intimidate

http://torrentfreak.com/landmark-beyonce-bittorrent-prosecution-fails-to-intimidate-131127/

inside a Twitter robot factory - about fake Twitter profiles

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579212122084821400

revisiting the Long Tail

http://musicmachinery.com/2013/11/23/revisiting-the-long-tail/

interview with Michelle Jubelirer

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/newsPage.cgi?news09612

James Arthur interview

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24772058

Spotify - friend or foe of musicians? Newsnight report

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24767631

Rob Stringer interview

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/5763153/q4-label-special-columbias-rob-stringer-on-big-releases-dark

Making Money from Movie Streaming Sites - An Insider's Story

http://torrentfreak.com/making-money-from-movie-streaming-sites-an-insiders-story-131019/

Thom Yorke expands upon anti Spotify statements

http://www.stereogum.com/1506862/thom-yorke-expands-upon-anti-spotify-statements/franchises/wheres-the-beef/

the 10 best lectures on electronic music ever

http://news.beatport.com/blog/2013/09/26/the-10-best-lectures-on-electronic-music-ever-watch-them-now/

Lohan Presencer vs Spotify

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lohan-presencer/spotify-streaming-sustainability_b_4015442.html

Kanye West. Zane Lowe.

http://www.rap-up.com/2013/09/24/10-quotables-from-kanye-wests-zane-lowe-interview/

The 13 Most Insidious, Pervasive Lies of the Modern Music Industry

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2013/20130925lies

Pigeons & Planes on music streaming future

http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2013/09/music-streaming-future/

The Fifth Harmony fan army and streaming - it increasingly seems like hype will be spotted in the modern era, if it's effective

http://musicmachinery.com/2013/09/13/the-fighting-fifth-the-fifth-harmony-fan-army/

Vevo and Miley Cyrus etc

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/miley-cyrus-wrecking-ball-helps-vevo-conquer-mtv-in-video-views-battle-8814877.html

which music services are growing, which are shrinking

http://musicmachinery.com/2013/09/08/which-music-services-are-growing-which-are-shrinking/

How Ylvis The Fox went viral with help from Stargate

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/5687217/how-ylvis-the-fox-went-viral-with-help-from-stargate-qa

Kanye West aiming high

Ministry of Sound vs Spotify

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/sep/04/ministry-of-sound-spotify-lawsuit

is the EDM bubble about to burst?

http://thequietus.com/articles/13249-edm-video-games-industry-collapse-deadmau5

Barrett Strong and Motown's first hit, Money

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/arts/music/for-a-classic-motown-song-about-money-credit-is-what-he-wants.html?ref=music&_r=0

an oral history of Soul Asylum's Runaway Train

http://www.spin.com/articles/soul-asylum-runaway-train-oral-history-dave-pirner/

assessing the impact of streaming on total music revenue growth

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/assessing-the-impact-of-streaming-on-total-music-revenue-growth/

"Grooveshark is the best streaming site"

http://www.businessinsider.com/grooveshark-is-the-best-streaming-site-2013-8

Rick Nowels interview

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/5672722/rick-nowels-lana-del-rey-co-writer-talks-summertime-sadness

New York Times article - I want my YouTube

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/arts/music/pop-music-videos-i-want-my-youtube.html?hp

Vice's article about Silibil N' Brains

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/meet-the-two-scottish-rappers-who-conned-the-world

Malcolm Gladwell on the complexity of the 10,000 hour rule

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2013/08/psychology-ten-thousand-hour-rule-complexity.html

Zoe Keating's streaming revenue

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/08/zo%C3%AB-keating-returns-to-show-us-the-streaming-music-money.html

is this the worst Diplo interview of all time?

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/news/international-news/332536/is-this-the-worst-diplo-interview-of-all-time.htm

the ten things people in the music industry want from your Facebook page

http://sentric.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/the-ten-things-people-in-the-music-industry-want-from-your-facebook-page/

how the Hot 100 became America's hit barometer

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/08/01/207879695/how-the-hot-100-became-americas-hit-barometer

new YouTube features

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/08/youtube-adds-marketing-features-offers-live-streaming-other-options-to-more-channels.html

marketing The Book of Mormon

http://www.officialtheatre.com/blog/book-of-mormon-marketing/

Mike Einziger from Incubus on co-writing Avicii's Wake Me Up

http://news.radio.com/2013/07/18/incubus-mike-einziger-on-the-making-of-aviciis-chart-topping-wake-me-up/

how Believe by Cher came about

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb99/articles/tracks661.htm

The early days of Queen by Norman J Sheffield

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-2368614/Queen-Freddie-Mercury-felt-like-god-Then-started-behaving-like-man-signed-band.html

Mark Mulligan writes something fairly definitive (thank God) on Spotify vs Nigel Godrich

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/streamings-dirty-dozen/

Nigel Godrich vs Spotify

Nigel's initial points on Twitter

Nigel says majors did secret deals with Spotify (true)

Brian Message backs Spotify

Brian Molko backs Nigel

Lefsetz backs... well neither party really, but definitely not Nigel

Music Ally on how streaming could work better for artists

Techradar's pro-Nigel piece

Techradar's pro_Spotify piece

clearing up Spotify payment confusion

Billboard's timeline of the Justin Timberlake campaign

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1552367/justin-timberlakes-promotional-run-up-to-the-2020-experience-a?page=0%2C0

Icona Pop: from the dumper to no. 1 in 28 easy steps

http://www.popjustice.com/briefing/icona-pop-from-the-dumper-to-number-one-in-28-easy-steps/116574/

who needs the critics?

New York Times article

Hits rebuttal

Soundcloud fake plays

http://www.5chicago.com/features/april2013/how-to-become-a-fake-soundcloud-superstar/

three more articles about Daft Punk's marketing campaign

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/may/14/daft-punk-random-access-memories

http://bynd.com/blog/daft-punk-random-access-marketing/

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1561386/daft-punks-thomas-bangalter-columbias-rob-stringer-on-the-making

Daft Punk's Random Access Memories: a timeline of the global teaser campaign

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1562715/daft-punks-random-access-memories-a-timeline-of-the-global-teaser

the best selling albums of all-time in the UK

http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/abba-s-gold-overtakes-the-beatles-to-become-2nd-biggest-selling-album-in-uk-history/054751

Netflix

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-09/netflix-reed-hastings-survive-missteps-to-join-silicon-valleys-elite#p1

ignore the labels if you want to get signed

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/05/ignore-the-labels-if-you-want-to-get-signed.html

some interesting observations on pop music from Ezra Koenig

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2013/05/07/vampire-bank-holiday-weekend/

Bittorrent bundles

http://paidcontent.org/2013/05/07/bittorrent-bundles/

the appeal of Tumblr

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/06/tumblrs-teenaged-double-edged-sword/

does Spotify work for independent artists?

http://www.sonicscoop.com/2013/03/20/inputoutput-podcast-does-spotify-work-for-independent-artists-an-interview-with-jeremy-devine-of-temporary-residence-records/

ASCAP or BMI - what's the difference?

http://www.grassrootsy.com/2013/05/01/ascap-or-bmi-whats-the-difference/

the business of Phish

http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/48216173465/the-business-of-phish

how many copies do you have to sell to have a no. 1 single in the UK?

http://www.masterton.co.uk/2013/04/hey-what-does-it-take/

Clive Davis's book - a cheat sheet

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/60-things-we-learned-clive-423616?page=show

behind the business model of MailOnline

http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/2013-03-26/mail-online-biggest-news-site

iTunes makes a lot of money

http://www.asymco.com/2013/03/22/so-long-break-even/

Artists buying fake online Likes, views and followers

http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/artists-buying-fake-online-likes-views-and-followers-report/054009

demographics of different social networks

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/03/where-are-my-fans-study-shows-social-sites-deliver-differing-demos.html

Kelly Clarkson vs Clive Davis

http://www.whosay.com/kellyclarkson/content/515466

Ed Sheeran knows what he wants: America

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-ed-sheeran-20130216,0,2531845.story

5 iconic songs despised by the people who created them

http://www.cracked.com/article_20231_5-iconic-songs-despised-by-people-who-created-them.html

a bit of detail about how Radiohead broke in Israel first

http://israelity.com/2009/01/20/the-radiohead-israel-connection/

'Harlem Shake': The Making And Monetizing Of The Latest YouTube Dance Craze

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1539260/harlem-shake-the-making-and-monetizing-of-the-latest-youtube

10 Questions Artists Should Ask Themselves at the Beginning of Their Careers (To Increase their Chances of Success)

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/10-questions-artists-should-ask-themselves-at-the-beginning.html

I Fight Dragons Music Business Case Study - 1 song, 7.5 writers, 18+ versions

a guide to music journalism bullshit and cliches

http://www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk/features/news/an-a-z-guide-to-music-journalist-bullshit.html

Just 5% of today's best-selling songs are written solely by their performer

http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/just-5-of-today-s-best-selling-music-songs-are-written-solely-by-their-performer/053416

The Global Repertoire Database

http://legrandnetwork.blogspot.fr/2013/01/the-palace-of-data-is-taking-shape.html

interview with George Ergatoudis

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/interviews/a454722/radio-1-head-of-music-george-ergatoudis-interview-we-dont-control-the-charts.html

Fish on the costs of touring

http://fishheadsclub.com/2013/01/29/touring/

New York Times article on streaming

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/business/media/streaming-shakes-up-music-industrys-model-for-royalties.html?_r=1&

I Fight Dragons Music Business Case Study - 1 song, 7.5 writers, 18+ versions

http://youtu.be/daBA3btdVKQ

GEMA versus YouTube

http://paidcontent.org/2013/01/28/gema-vs-youtube-lawsuit/

YouTube's Dirty Little Secret

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/youtubes-dirty-little-secret.html

4 facts about indie labels making money from YouTube

http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2013/01/4-facts-about-indie-labels-making-money-from-youtube

YouTube remove plays from major label videos

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2254181/YouTube-wipes-billions-video-views-finding-faked-music-industry.html

http://www.dailydot.com/news/youtube-universal-sony-fake-views-black-hat/

http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/youtube/513696-youtube-changed-game.html

Glassnote Records

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/glassnote-pitting-majors-against-each-other-1008059032.story

Steve Greenberg on Thriller at 30

http://www.billboard.com/features/michael-jackson-s-thriller-at-30-how-one-1008031662.story#/features/michael-jackson-s-thriller-at-30-how-one-1008031662.story

Clearing up Spotify payment confusion

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/11/clearing-up-spotify-payment-confusion.html

The Pirate Bay promoting artists

http://torrentfreak.com/10000-artists-signed-up-for-pirate-bay-promotion-12110/

Lucian Grainge interviewed by Hits

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/newsPage.cgi

"I think that the consumer has so much more now in terms of choices. I think that Nirvana, and possibly the Beatles and certainly punk were the equivalent of social networking without the technology. And I'm not sure that that can be repeated because there's so much technology for filling the emotional algorithm of need itself."

why the music industry needs another iPod moment

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/why-the-music-industry-needs-another-ipod-moment/

13 extremely scary things about the music industry today

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/121031scary

a rant about Grizzly Bear and writing with an audience in mind

http://tumblr.austinkleon.com/post/32742897880

how Alex Wilhelm turned his Crazed Hits into an (unspecified) major label A&R gig

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/how-alex-wilhelm-turned-his-crazed-hits-1007955312.story

why buying Facebook likes costs more than money

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/like-shortcuts-these-will-cost-you-money-and-more.php

52 ways to screw an artist by Warner Bros Records

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120919jamestaylor

the countries that torrent the most files, and what most torrented artists are in each country

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19601653

two articles about Apple and streaming

http://paidcontent.org/2012/09/13/apple-can-pick-its-moment-to-re-invent-music-again/

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/15/apples-stream-dreams-the-history-of-a-potential-pandora-killer/

Spotify's DA Wallach explains how Spotify pay artists

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/09/spotifys-da-wallach-explains-how-spotify-pays-artists.html

will streaming services ever be profitable? An infographic

http://mashable.com/2012/09/04/streaming-music-revenue-charts/

long article about Shazam

http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/31/shazam-evolution/

Facebook likes do not equal Facebook traffic

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbuchanan/facebook-fans-do-not-equal-facebook-traffic

New York Times article about buying Twitter followers

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/fashion/twitter-followers-for-sale.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1346155484-MDUm7Tznc/BFgglvLMWRQg

Hits on the phenomenon of up to eight hit singles being released from hit albums

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/newsPage.cgi?news09094m01

how Justin Bieber broke Carly Rae Jepsen and other tales of social media breaking hits

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/business/media/how-call-me-maybe-and-social-media-are-upending-music.html

buying fake Twitter followers

http://www.therabbitagency.com/post/29051089367

the kids think YouTube is a music service - and they're right

http://evolver.fm/2012/08/15/the-kids-think-youtube-is-a-music-service-and-theyre-right/

how Billy Van went from 2000 to 100,000 fans using BitTorrent - case study

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/08/how-billy-van-went-from-2000-to-100000-fans-case-study.html

another music tech start up killed by licensing

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/08/another-music-tech-startup-killed-by-licensing.htm

ignore the Telegraph, here's the real state of streaming revenue

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/business-matters-ignore-the-telegraph-here-1007738552.story

is the UK the canary in the mine for digital music?

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/is-the-uk-the-canary-in-the-mine-for-digital-music/

moaning, over lengthy blog by guy from Soul Coughing who seems to think bands never get tour support anymore

http://mkdo.co/post/26352263455/radiohead-wouldnt-exist-without-early-major-label

Billboard article about Spotify revenues

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/business-matters-is-spotify-labels-2-source-1007443752.story#most

YouTube stars

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/the-ordinary-everyday-superstars-of-youtube-7902953.html?origin=internalSearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/magazine/on-youtube-amateur-is-the-new-pro.html?ref=media

soundalike cover versions

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/9367019/Maroon-5-and-the-new-phenomenon-baffling-the-music-industry.html

two recent articles about Spotify's revenues

http://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-revenue-labels-2012-6

http://blog.mediaevolution.se/2012/06/26/mythbusting-spotify-doesn%E2%80%99t-give-any-money-to-artists/

A guide to Reddit's AMAs

http://leemart.in/artists-ama-guide

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/06/case-study-tenacious-d-on-reddits-ama-ask-me-anything.html

David Lowery on why it's better to be unrecouped amongst other new model issues

http://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/meet-the-new-boss-worse-than-the-old-boss-full-post/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/04/lowery_on_the_music_business/

analyzing Amanda Palmer's Kickstarter success

http://www.futurehitdna.com/amanda-palmer-has-a-huge-hack/

introduction to electronic dance music by genre

http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2012/04/introduction-to-electronic-dance-music-breaking-down-the-genres.html/

New York Times article about outside investors trying to get into US dance music promotion

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/business/media/electronic-dance-genre-tempts-investors.html

New Yorker article about songwriters

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/03/26/120326fa_fact_seabrook?currentPage=all

Spotify chasing major financing round, but will investors bite?

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/03/spotify-chasing-major-financing-round-but-will-investors-bite.html

5 ways your manager screws up your career

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/03/5-ways-your-manager-screws-up-your-career.html

download a copy of the Pirate Bay, it's only 90MB

https://torrentfreak.com/download-a-copy-of-the-pirate-bay-its-only-90-mb-120209/

Vevo traffic takes a bath

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120320vevo#BBgpH8WnT8GP--HTidm24g

Twitter's top tips for musicians

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/03/twitters-top-tips-for-musicians.html

Bruce Springsteen's SXSW keynote speech

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/16/148778665/bruce-springsteens-sxsw-2012-keynote-speech 

The Global Songwriter Shell Game

http://blog.tunecore.com/2012/03/the-global-songwriter-shell-game.html

the new Facebook Pages based around timelines

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/musicians-arsenal-killer-apps-tools-sites-facebooks-timeline.html

Spotify say Adele's album would have sold more if she were on Spotify, and windowing is evil

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1048678

big parallel between music industry/iTunes and book industry/Amazon re. DRM

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/11/cutting-their-own-throats.html

nice summary of Ed Sheeran's career so far

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2098216/Ed-Sheeran-Heres-ginger-kid-raps-guitar-Thats-good-start.html

why music is still good business, featuring Brian Message, Cooking Vinyl and others

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/festival-of-business/9075644/Why-music-is-still-good-business.html

interview with Spotify's Daniel Ek

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/02/spotifys-daniel-ek-on-streaming-royalties-social-media-the-future.html

Spotify...

...hits three million subscribers: http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2012/01/spotify-hits-3m-subscribers/

also I left a comment on this article: http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/02/spotifys-royalty-rate-grew-only-0001-for-indie-artists-in-2011.html

Tom Silverman on the music business resurrection

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/01/tom-silverman-on-the-music-business-resurrection.html

Sony Music exec says Spotify doesn't cannibalise

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/01/sony-music-exec-says-streaming-does-not-cannibilize-sales-midem.html

and more from Spotify in here: http://musically.com/2012/01/26/live-from-universal-musics-investors-open-day/

EMI VP says piracy is a service issue

http://torrentfreak.com/emi-boss-opposes-sopa-says-piracy-is-a-service-issue-120125/

Rob Wells: the idea that Spotify cannibalizes sales is bogus

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rob-wells-universal-music-s-global-digital-1005968752.story

One Big Database Could Save the Music Business with Billions of Tiny Rivulets

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/01/database-save-music-business/

8 things Spotify could do to show they care about musicians

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/01/8-things-spotify-could-do-right-now-to-show-they-care-about-musicians.html

Here's a List of Every Single Digital Music Service In the World...

"That is, legal or 'legitimate' services as recognized by label trade group IFPI (which means a few, really big services are missing). Still, this is a list of more than 500 services across 78 countries, which begs the question: why aren't they selling more?"

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120123service

support for the MegaUpload takedown

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120120megasupport

99.9% of Tunecore artists make less than minimum wage

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2011/111123tunecore

Scott Perry changes his mind about release windows and Spotify

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/01/scott-perry-talks-to-spotify-the-case-for-day-date-music-streaming.html

The Tim Ferriss Effect - promoting via single-person blogs

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelellsberg/2012/01/11/the-tim-ferriss-effect/

how ten major songwriters make money

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/how-10-major-songwriters-make-big-money-20120119

featuring The Dream, Dan Wilson, Lady Gaga, Mark Foster, Dr Luke, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Cee-Lo Green, Taylor Swift, Will.i.am, Benny Blanco and Eminem.

abuse of YouTube's ContentID scheme

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/matt-keil/youtube-content-id-system_b_1213256.html

Does piracy cause economic harm?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/15/does-piracy-cause-economic-harm-how-to-think-about-economic-frontiers/

The Pirate Bay will stop serving torrents

http://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-will-stop-serving-torrents-120112/

Business Week article about Spotify

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/spotify-doesnt-sound-so-great-to-some-artists-01052012.html

The 19 Most Notorious Piracy Hubs in the World

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2011/111221piracy#8y6apqfIAZhF9mRdw8iAiA

This Must Be Pop on Alex Day's hit

http://www.thismustbepop.com/2011/12/impossible-has-been-achieved.html

The Black Keys explains why they don't allow album streaming

http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2011/12/video-the-black-keys-explain-why-they-dont-allow-album-streaming.html

Mark Mulligan on Access vs Ownership

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/why-the-access-versus-ownership-debate-isnt-going-to-resolve-itself-anytime-soon/

Why Spotify can never be profitable by Michael Robertson

http://gigaom.com/2011/12/11/why-spotify-can-never-be-profitable-the-secret-demands-of-record-labels/

Helienne Lindvall on Spotify

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/pda/2011/dec/08/artists-indies-spotify

file sharing for personal use remains legal in Switzerland

http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/entertainment/51555-swiss-govt-decides-to-keep-file-sharing-legal

Derek Sivers on the importance of sharing whatever you've got

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/derek-sivers-on-the-co-op-business-model-share-whatever-youv.html

detail on YouTube's deal with American publishers

http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-news/industry/2011/11/29/youtube-strikes-new-publisher-deal-but-more-storm-clouds-gather/

why Facebook is the real winner with Google's mediocre music strategy

http://moconews.net/article/419-why-facebook-is-the-real-winner-with-googles-mediocre-music-strategy/

distributor pulls 234 labels from Spotify etc

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/11/distributor-pulls-234-labels-from-spotify-napster-rdio-after-itunes-payments-drop-24.html

Indie distributor pulls music from Spotify and other streaming services

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1047500

Ian Rogers interview with David Hyman, founder and CEO of MOG.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq9mJGdehis&feature=player_embedded - skip forward to 22 mins for a utopian vision of music licensing that nearly came true.

Then skip forward to 35 minutes for his defence of streaming services in the face of minute royalty payments: "The average iTunes consumers is spending $40 a year on music, so just over $3 a month and out of that, the labels are probably getting 60-70%. Every time somebody subscribes to MOG, if they take our mobile option it's $10 a month, and the same percentage is going back to the labels - 60-70% - and that's much better than $3. The key question is how to we get scale." (And the answer is they'd like MOG to be bundled into your cable bill or ISP or mobile bill. If it could be bundled then the labels would probably allow all you can eat for $2 or $3 per month and the scale would be huge.)

Nile Rodgers interviewed by Peter Paphides at Waterstone's, Piccadilly, London

Nile Rodgers launched his autobiography with a gripping talk at Waterstone's. Choice quotes and anecdotes...

In the early '70s, Nile saw Roxy Music play at the Roxy in London. "It was a totally immersive artistic experience - the crowd were fly, the band were fly, the music was textual, they were saying 'come into my world'." So Nile was inspired to try and create the black version of Roxy Music - and that was Chic.

But Nile said he always has to "swim upstream" and so it was at times with Chic. The UK label didn't want to release the first Chic album because it only had seven songs on it (albeit very long songs).

Likewise as a producer of other artists - Upside Down by Diana Ross was not well received at first, which was upsetting for Nile and Bernard Edwards because "Diana Ross was the first big star we ever worked with and we took it very seriously." They interviewed her for several days. "This was the first time in her life somebody cared about who she was; what she was - everyone previously had treated her the way we had treated Sister Sledge - they got her in and said 'Sing this'. We (took a more personal approach) because we felt we'd misrepresented Sister Sledge because we hadn't met them before they came in to sing We Are Family."

Nile wondered if He's The Greatest Dancer might have been the first song to mention brands in a big way.

Madonna played him all the songs that would go on Like A Virgin and said "Nile, if you don't love all these songs, I can't work with you". Nile replied "I don't love them all now but I will by the time we're finished".

David Bowie's phenomenally successful Let's Dance album was recorded, start to finish, including mixing, in 17 days.

Nile also said he's never had a manager. "Many artists I work with, I don't seem to do their follow-up records and that's because I don't put anyone above anyone else - if they want me, they have to wait".

Pete Paphides: "What did (an American radio station) take exception to on Carly Simon Why?"
Nile: "As Bernard would say 'Shit, you're white, you tell me'."

Nile's favourite tracks that have sampled Chic:
Alcazar - Crying at the Discoteque
Will Smith - Gettin' Jiggy With It
Notorious BIG - Mo Money Mo Problems
But his favourite of all is Rapper's Delight.

"When I wrote I Want Your Love it's because I was so mesmerised by Giorgio Moroder, and I had no idea there was such thing as a sequencer, so I thought he was playing like that." Nile has always believed in trying to play things rather than sequencing them.

"You should get a (record) deal in accordance with what you've accomplished, not because of what your attorney's other clients have accomplished."

On American Idol et al: "I think it's a little bit unfair to make an artist prove themselves, sink or swim, every day because everyone knows you can have a bad show one day."

Nonetheless, he enjoyed working with Adam Lambert recently.

Nile said of Madonna's iconic performance of on the first MTV Music Video Awards that she was supposed to do Holiday but she flipped it and did Like A Virgin, which no-one in the audience had heard at the time. "She went out on a limb and forced the record company to release that song."

Universal's Rob Wells on This Week In Music with Ian Rogers

why the entertainment industry is wrong about everything pt 1

http://morethanasandwich.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/why-the-entertainment-industry-is-wrong-about-everything-pt-1/

four ways to make Facebook Music better

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/four-ways-to-make-facebook-music-a-lot-better-1005460902.story

how important is iTunes?

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/just-how-important-do-you-think-itunes-actually-is/

The Vindication of Andy Lack

http://www.waynerosso.com/2011/10/31/the-vindication-of-andy-lack/

Consumers won’t pay for recorded music in the future — but fans will pay for music experiences

http://allthingsd.com/20111028/music-for-nothing-and-the-fans-for-free/?refcat=media

Helienne Lindvall breaks down the economics of a record deal

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/28/how-x-factor-winners-lose

Mark Mulligan on the awkward unanswered questions that led to Coldplay's Spotify embargo

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/the-awkward-unanswered-questions-that-led-to-coldplay%E2%80%99s-spotify-embargo/

leaving albums off Spotify, including Tom Waits and Coldplay

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/what-s-the-strategy-behind-coldplay-tom-1005445882.story

the new copyfight

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/10/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-copyfight.html

the new economics of the music industry (not accurate but still)

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-new-economics-of-the-music-industry-20111025

album debuting on Spotify three weeks before release

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/talib-kweli-s-idle-warship-project-debuts-1005399562.story

Peter Mensch and Cliff Burnstein interview

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8b742a90-fe1e-11e0-a1eb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1bsLK5vll

Lessons from the Industry Formerly Known as the Record Business

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/10/lessons_from_the_industry_form.html

some research suggesting customers still like to own music

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008645

Newsbeat piece on the death of On Air, On Sale

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/15276645

how Warner turns social media fans into customers

http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/marketing/231901093/how-warner-music-turns-social-media-fans-into-customers

YouTube now allows music partners to sell merchandise, digital downloads and event tickets

http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/16/youtube-now-allows-music-partners-to-sell-merchandise-digital-downloads-and-event-tickets/

interview with the manager of Fitz & The Tantrums

inspiring interview with Marc Geiger

edited version:

are subscription music services a sustainable business model?

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/spotiwhy-are-subscription-music-services-a-sustainable-busin.html

Sean Parker's email to Spotify

http://www.scribd.com/doc/67465758/Sean-Parker-s-Email-to-Spotify-s-Daniel-Ek

who's funding Turntable.fm

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/money-hunt/2011/09/13/union-square-ventures-madonna-manager-fund-turntable-fm

a look at what the record industry has done wrong and right from Warner's outgoing digital chief

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20112365-261/warner-music-exec-we-finally-figured-out-free/

how digital music sales are doing in the tablet era

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/tablets-can-do-more-to-encourage-digital-1005376482.story

New Zealand's illegal download law

http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/news/illegal-download-law-fails

5 Key Features Missing from Facebook Music

http://evolver.fm/2011/09/23/5-key-features-missing-from-facebook-music/

David Foster's 10 Tips for Songwriters

Ian Hargreaves Q&A

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/ian-hargreaves-q-a-the-man-behind-the-u-1005365502.story

90% of time spent on social networks is on Facebook

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/09/90-of-time-spent-on-social-networks-is-on-facebook.html

Billboard article on Facebook's music service

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/facebook-music-what-it-is-what-it-isn-t-1005366862.story

Spotify Responds To Artist Payments Controversy

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/09/spotify-responds-to-artist-payments-controversy.html

how to structure a company to succeed in the current music industry

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-to-structure-a-company-to-succeed-in-the-current-music-i.html

the original Melody Maker and NME reviews of Nirvana - Nevermind by Everett True and Steve Lamacq respectively

http://www.collapseboard.com/everett-true/nirvanas-nevermind-20-years-ago/

http://www.nme.com/reviews/nirvana/7371

analysis of the mixing and mastering of Kids by MGMT

http://blog.fixyourmix.com/2009/mixing-and-mastering-analysis-of-kids-by-mgmt/

a load statistics about the music industry (not all of them true)

what a self-releasing band are expecting to make from different outlets make available their album

http://uniformmotion.tumblr.com/post/9659997039/release-day-economics

Love creates brand and campaign for boyband One Direction

http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2011/09/06/25707-love-creates-brand-and-campaign-for-boyband-one-direction/

YouTube's Content ID Piracy Filter Wreaks Havoc

http://torrentfreak.com/youtubes-content-id-piracy-filter-wreaks-havoc-110908/

nice piece from manager of Portugal. The Man about their philosophy and use of social media

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/09/rich-holtzman-manager-of-portugal-the-man-on-how-social-media-built-saved-the-band.html

interview with Simon Cowell

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201109/simon-cowell-interview-september-2011?currentPage=1

marketing Kreayshawn - Audible Treats on the rise of Gucci Gucci

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/09/-marketing-kreayshawn-audible-treats-on-the-rise-of-gucci-gucci.html

How Someone Pulled Down the Entire Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga YouTube Channels

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/090111pulldown

a handy guide to YouTube Downloaders (one of which is being sued)

http://torrentfreak.com/youtube-downloader-site-sued-by-worlds-biggest-music-labels-110826

the Avicii vs. Leona Lewis saga

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/aug/26/topline-melody-disputes-artists-songwriters?CMP=twt_gu

a new file hosting site from two people behind the Pirate Bay

http://torrentfreak.com/bayfiles-the-pirate-bay-founders-launch-file-hosting-site-110829/

Which? on potential problems with the proposed PRS traffic light system for music websites

http://conversation.which.co.uk/technology/music-downloads-website-illegal-copyright-traffic-light/

interview with Tim Clark

http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-features/industry/2011/08/26/the-hot-seat-tim-clark/

EMI and Bill Nelson's royalties

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110808/04134515432/emi-doesnt-pay-royalties-it-does-to-wrong-people-it-doesnt-maybe-it-does.shtml

BBM Music

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/blackberry-music-service-becomes-official-1005327972.story

Price is the problem, not pirates

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/23/riaa_is_suing_the_wrong_targets/

Techdirt on The Beatles' Music Matters video

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110818/12234515587/is-talking-about-beatles-as-wonderful-shared-experience-really-wise-anti-piracy-psa.shtml

interesting YouTube channel where songs are dissected with improvements suggested

http://www.youtube.com/Tweakatune

some interesting points from Ian Rogers about how to become a middle class artist in the US

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-middle-class-musicians-navigate-the-nodes-on-the-network.html

IFPI estimates average investment in new and superstar artists

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/081211albumcost#cHRHU2lHoLsk0ldZ3aapRw

why Century Media are pulling out of Spotify

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/080911centuryspotify#jKRC6uAlm_gIpvIbNSZQlA

RIAA chief Mitch Bainwol sends a goodbye letter to the music industry

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/08/riaa-chief-mitch-bainwol-sends-a-goodbye-letter-to-the-music-industry-full-text.html

video of Malcolm Gladwell on 10,000 hours

article about how Caro Emerald has broken the UK

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/article-23976066-caro-emerald-sings-the-blues.do

The mystery man behind Megaupload

http://www.zdnet.com.au/the-mystery-man-behind-megaupload-339319892.htm

Bullying Anti-Piracy Lawyers Fined and Suspended

http://torrentfreak.com/bullying-anti-piracy-lawyers-fined-and-suspended-110802/

quite an entertaining video with the manager Andy Gould, by Ian Rogers

Andrew Orlowski on the BT/Newzbin decision

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/28/site_blocking_bt_and_newzbin2/

Google+

http://www.copyblogger.com/google-plus-content-marketing/

http://www.marketingprofessor.com/social-marketing/40-google-plus-tips-for-newbies/

what the future holds for Warner/Access

http://www.metronomereview.com/features/1300/label-executive-on-warner-music-acquisition-this-thing-ends-painfully/

interesting article about narcissism and what kind of tracks get to no. 1 in the US

http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/narcissism-2011-7/

understanding and monetizing the modern fan

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/07/benefactors-listeners-the-curious-understanding-and-monetizing-the-modern-fan.html

Guy Chambers on five examples of the perfect pop song

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/music/3708312/How-to-write-the-perfect-pop-song.html

Universal Music accused of using fraudulent DMCA notices as a negotiating tactic in licensing music from other labels

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/07/20/universal-music-accu.html

how much do artists earn online

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/how-much-do-music-artists-earn-online/

David Gray on Groupon

http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2011/07/david-gray-and-groupon/#axzz1SGMoEhWf

Elton John on the music industry and his management company

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1045974&c=1

for indie bands, no publicity is the new publicity

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/for-indie-bands-the-new-publicity-is-no-publicity/241477/

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/is-anti-marketing-right-for-your-band.html

Bloomberg article on Spotify

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-14/spotify-wins-over-music-pirates-with-labels-approval-correct-.html

some incredible claims about Spotify in Scandinavia

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/07/remember-what-a-top-swedish-music-exec-told-us-to-expect-when-spotify-launched-in-us.html

Paul McGuinness article goes down badly with commenters

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/the-end-of-free-is-sweet-music-for-artists/article2093969/comments/

Spotify

maybe the future is streaming for future generations: http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=143399

Simon Wheeler (on page 2) says Spotify will be Beggars' second or third biggest paying digital partner this year despite the fact that they only operate in a handful of countries at present: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/technology/spotify-music-streaming-service-comes-to-us.html?_r=1

a social media experiment from Penguin books

http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-publisher-penguin-waddles-into-social-media-experiment-with-peer-index/

John Mayer on Twitter versus creativity

http://www.berklee-blogs.com/2011/07/john-mayer-2011-clinic-manage-the-temptation-to-publish-yourself/

Google's anti-piracy filter is effective

http://torrentfreak.com/googles-anti-piracy-filter-110712/

Hollywood is about to repeat the catastrophic mistakes of the music industry

http://www.slate.com/id/2298871/

RIAA and US ISPs agree to throttle consumers

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/technology/to-slow-piracy-internet-providers-ready-penalties.html?_r=4&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25

Andrew Orlowski analysis of Virgin Media/Spotify deal

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/07/virgin_spotify_analysis/

Radio 1 Newsbeat's history of filesharing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/14027777

how much does it cost to make a hit song?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/06/30/137530847/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-a-hit-song?sc=fb&cc=fp

and a follow-up from Bob Lefsetz:

'I forwarded this to a well-placed person at another label and this is what this person had to say:

"I think their one source Ray Daniels is wrong on the majority of the numbers.. He manages Rock City, the song writing duo. He's guessing on a lot of these points. Wouldn't be surprised if they wrote that song quickly.

Mixes cost $500 to $7k including studio time.

Most songwriters work just for publishing which can be worth millions if the songs are global hits. Very few command upfront fees. Most labels never offer those and almost all writers still want to be on the good projects. Rihanna prob does pay some because she probably has a huge budget and can afford to.

Those vocal production fees are high but getable on superstars.

Rihanna's writing camp was one of the biggest I've ever seen. The $25k for 10 studios per day sounds very possible as they use nice studios. Maybe even more including engineers and equipment rentals. I think they did it as an SOS as they were running out of time to make a set release date. It did produce most of the singles thus probably worth it for her. I think they got half the album or more from it. I know they didn't get the whole album from that writing camp.

We've done writing camps before. Usually at very little cost. Writing camps are usually around 3 or 4 studios/rooms and a fun, collaborative environment.

Many producers on her album get more than $20k/track. A-list producers are usually in the $15-$60k per song range, sometime more. Still you can find great tracks from $2k up. Those fees are advances on the producers royalties. One of the big changes of the last 10 years is producer fees. 10 years ago there were many hip hop producers getting north of $100k/track, now just a few in limited scenarios.

Note all three of her big hits from this album came from the production duo Stargate and two from the writer Ester Dean."

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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

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If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,

http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1'

how has Turntable.fm grown so rapidly with no marketing?

http://www.quora.com/How-has-Turntable-fm-grown-so-rapidly-with-no-marketing?srid=OQY

Robert Ashcroft on Apple's Match service

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1045712&c=1

why iCloud won't stream music

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/icloud-streaming/

Soundcloud ripper

http://offliberty.com/

is it time to scrap On Air, On Sale? (no)

http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5505&Itemid=206

Martin Kierszenbaum interview

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=2&storycode=1045602

Hundreds of millions of people across the world may be ripping mp3s from YouTube - and this is a golden opportunity

YouTube is the no. 1 music website in the world. When you enter an artist and song title into Google, a YouTube video is often the top result now.

Did you know it's possible to rip an mp3 from a YouTube video? Do you know how many people are doing it? No-one does, but here's an indication: "Free YouTube to MP3 Converter" has been downloaded 24 million times from Download.com at the time of writing. Another piece of software that rips videos from YouTube and converts them to formats including mp3 has been downloaded 73 million times. These are just two of maybe a dozen hugely popular ways of ripping mp3s from YouTube. For more, type "mp3 YouTube" into Google.

So why aren't YouTube selling mp3s? They have enabled links to iTunes where metadata is correct, but those links are discreet, and they open a new webpage which says "If iTunes doesn't open, click the iTunes application icon in your Dock or Windows Task Bar. To download iTunes, please click here." Too cumbersome!

What we need is a one click "buy mp3" button on every YouTube page, enabling the user to buy the soundtrack to a YouTube video as an mp3. In other words, we need YouTube to incorporate an iTunes-style download store.

I believe if such a service existed then it could rival iTunes in size - especially if it included the many tracks on YouTube that aren't on iTunes, including rarities, live recordings, bootlegs and mash-ups (which are a large part of the reason why YouTube is the no. 1 music site in the world). And it should - if you can stream tracks and you can download them via an unlicensed service, why not let people pay for them?

If I'm wrong and such a service were to launch and flop while hundreds of millions of people continued to rip mp3s from YouTube, that would at least be strong evidence that we need to take action against unlicensed YouTube rippers - and of course Google could be the key ally in taking such action.

Why would anyone pay for mp3s direct from YouTube if they can get them for free? Well, none of the methods for ripping mp3s from YouTube are particularly user-friendly. Nor are they well publicised as they are unlicensed. In order to know about them, not to mention use them, you have to be comfortable with technology and relaxed about copyright law. And the mp3s obtained vary in bitrate considerably - some are close to CD quality, while others are barely listenable.

Despite all this, it appears that tens or hundreds of millions of people ARE ripping mp3s from YouTube. They are a potential market, as are the hundreds of millions of people who use YouTube, use mp3s, and would rip mp3s from YouTube if it were well-publicised, easy and legal to do so.

Do YouTube want to become a retailer? Some say there's a long-term business strategy at Google to drive down the cost of content to zero. But we know they want to sell downloads - a download store is an integral part of the cloud service they have been attempting to license.

Right now the unlicensed cloud service they've launched in the US requires the user to upload all their mp3s to the cloud, which could take several days. With licenses like the ones Apple have just obtained for their iCloud service, Google could simply scan the users' computer for files, then give them access to high quality versions of those files on Google's servers. This is a better solution for customers as it doesn't hog their broadband connection for days. It's a better solution for Google as it requires as a fraction of the server space. And it's a better solution for copyright owners as Google would pay them.

Why do people want to rip mp3s from YouTube rather than just listening on the web? Portability - with an mp3, you can listen on your iPod or phone when you're out of reception, although you have to transfer the mp3 there which is fiddly. So with Google's cloud service, the download store on YouTube becomes even more attractive. Love the Lady Gaga video? One click to buy and you'll not only get the file but you'll be able to access it from any computer with an internet connection or any Android phone (and there are 400,000 of those being activated every day). So, like Apple's iCloud service, Google's mooted cloud service will undoubtedly drive download sales, as the easiest way to access your new favourite song on all your devices will be to buy it.

But Google haven't been able to obtain licenses from all the majors for their music service, so they don't yet have a download store. For me this should be music industry priority number one - particularly now Apple have licenses for iCloud in the US. YouTube is not only the biggest music website in the world, it's also probably the biggest source of single-track piracy via YouTube ripping, and quite likely the biggest source of cannibalisation (i.e. it's a substitute for people who would otherwise use iTunes or Spotify). In other words, it's a huge shop window for music and potentially a huge driver for download sales.

Moving beyond YouTube, let's seek out all the music consumption that's happening online, then work out a way to make (more) money out of it. For every popular form of unlicensed downloading or streaming, let's either license it or make sure a rival, superior, licensed version is launched. Everywhere music is streamed or written about, there should be a buy button. Soundcloud is a great service, but it's also susceptible to mp3 ripping, so why doesn't every Soundcloud stream feature a buy button? Why doesn't every Guardian or Sun or Drowned In Sound review carry a "buy" button? Surely this is the way to grow the digital music market.

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by Joe Taylor. Originally published on the MMF website.

why Google's music service hasn't been licensed yet

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/apple-google-licenses-in-holding-pattern-1005208522.story

YouTube turns six, now three billion views a day

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/youtube-turns-six-now-gets-3-billion-views-1005208302.story

a new approach to putting on a gig

http://thepopcop.co.uk/2011/06/live-review-detours-wee-jaunt-3/

4 Reasons Today's Apple iCloud Launch Is Much More Important Than You Think

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/06/4-reasons-todays-apple-icloud-launch-is-much-more-important-than-you-think.html

Taio Cruz's incredible sales

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1045433

continuing importance of the album in the light of the "Born This Way" release

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/lady-gaga-s-born-this-way-proves-that-the-1005213082.story

Lady Gaga's album campaign

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/arts/music/lady-gagas-born-this-way-shows-albums-new-role.html

Jeff Pollack on why majors might be right not to license cloud and subscription services

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-pollack/sympathy-for-the-devil-wh_b_865887.html

Scooter Braun and Troy Carter on the internet

Gabrielle Alpin's social media strategy

http://blog.tunecore.com/2011/05/whats-working-for-you-social-media-strategy.html

Sean Parker says record labels are undervalued

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/facebook-s-music-plans-reach-far-beyond-1005203602.story

Facebook's music plans including Spotify

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/facebook-s-music-plans-reach-far-beyond-1005203602.story

the secret of Adele's success

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-secret-of-adeles-success-no-festivals-tweeting-ndash-or-selling-out-2288168.html

insightful article about "social commerce" and HMV

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/disciplines/digital/theres-so-much-more-to-social-commerce-than-a-facebook-store/3026558.article