Editorial December 2009
Season’s Greetings!
I’d like to personally thank you for picking up this December 2009 issue of The Music Business Journal. We feel it contains a number of topics imminent to the current state of the music industry. Our goal is to keep you informed on issues that, directly or indirectly, are sure to affect the lives of music professionals and musicians alike.
Music industry analysts have recently noticed that anti-piracy efforts seem to be prospering while legal alternatives to file sharing are more prevalent. Minden Jones and Silvina Moreno, in two separate articles, cover the topic for us. Both suggest a newfound cooperation between ISP’s, Government, and music industry leaders.
In the online world, Hulu has become a big media player. In the light of the recent Comcast purchase of NBC, there is a good chance online television watching could transition soon into a subscription model. Jamie Anderson informs on Hulu, and provides insight into the dangers of switching to a pay-only platform. Elsewhere, I will tackle the latest facelift at Myspace Music, where change is happening despite a significant loss of traffic.
As marketing tools for artists continue to become more refined, Amy Mantis opens Topspin’s door for us. Amy shows how CEO Ian Rogers is empowering individuals who wish to live off their talent and better exploit their relationship with fans. Endorsements are certainly a prospect, and Ricardo Gomez update us on the latest Federal Trade Commission requirements on full disclosure.
Also included in this issue are two model works written for Jeff Dorenfeld’s Music Intermediaries class at Berklee- one written by Thomas Bolen and the other by Ivonne Hernandez. We also append an essay on the state of the music industry written by Itay Shahar Rahat for Peter Alhadeff’s Economics class .
Thanks for Reading, and Have a Wonderful New Year!
Michael L. Benson
ERRATA: In our last issue, we failed to recognize Neda Shahram for her generous contributions to Silvina Moreno’s piece about the La Nueva Canción in Latin America. We would like to thank her for her valuable input. Neda runs the Nueva Canción student club at Berklee; interested readers should write to nshahram@berklee.net
