Editorial February 2011
Despite the favorable ground hog’s day report, it seems that we’re still in for another six weeks of frosty weather. Nonetheless, the Music Business Journal team is proud to introduce its first release of the year 2011. Hopefully this latest batch of industry news will help get you through the lingering winter cold.
In this issue, Sahil Mehrotra leads with an informative piece on digital music distribution in Chi- na. Given the country’s commanding world lead in Internet usage, music downloading is relatively inconsequential. With Google’s free Music Search service and others like it, China stands to make considerable progress and could be a leader in the digital domain.
Continuing with digital, Jamie Anderson shares a thorough review on the recent Consumer Elec- tronics Show and the heavy emphasis that was placed on cloud-based subscription services for 2011. Dean Miller also reflects on the effect that YouTube has had on the music industry.
AEG Live has just recently made the transition into the ticketing business in a joint venture with Outbox Enterprises. Athena Frost fills us in on the details and what it could mean for its largest competitor, LiveNation/ Ticketmaster. Billboard is also cutting new turf with a progressive charting service called Uncharted. Nick Susi reports on how the business of artist ranking is changing.
Animated UK band, the Gorillaz, have made technological history with the release of their latest Plastic Beach- fully created and produced on the Apple iPad. Micah Deterville shares the details and reports on the conflict that arose from the band’s contracts with Microsoft products. Luiz Augusto Buff gives us a full analysis of the current state of the industry and makes thoughtful predictions for 2011.
For the last two years, terrestrial radio has been in a Supreme Court battle over the RIAA’s proposed Performance Rights Act. I’ve provided a report on this long-standing issue, which could result in a 7%-8% royalty payment from radio stations on all sound recordings. As traditional industry ap- pears to be crumbling, new tech startups are on the rise. Kiefer Wells provides an informative piece on how venture capital companies are fueling this transition. In closing, Minden Jones has written on the musical instrument production business. Due to the depletion of essential raw materials, manufactures are forced to find suitable alternatives and move their processes towards a “greener” standard.
It my pleasure to introduce the Music Business Journal’s first release of 2011. Be sure to stay connected with us online and keep an eye out for our new website scheduled to launch next month!
Evan Kramer, Editor-in-Chief
