A High School janitor stunned audiences with his rendition of Sam Cooke’s, “A Change is Gonna Come” during his school’s Spring orchestra concert. After a student, Alex, posted a video of Roy Smith singing on Twitter, his talents began getting praise by thousands. Roy tells Inside Edition that he’s been singing since he was 13-years-old, he used to imitate James Brown and now he sings gospel. Smith, who is also a pastor sings at his church and helps people in the community.
David Bowie’s producer on the music industry’s ‘downward spiral’
Legendary music producer Tony Visconti described a vision of the music industry’s dystopian future at his SXSW keynote speech this morning, calling himself “the ghost of Christmas future” and reading an earnest, self-penned short story to make his point. After walking a roomful of attendees through his musical education and early work as a producer, Visconti made it clear that he believes the industry’s in jeopardy.
“I think we’re living in a time when formulas are being repeated more than they ever were in the past… I didn’t want to come out here saying this stuff, swinging two fists in the air,” said Visconti. “If this was really working, record sales would be going through the roof.” It was an impassioned, frustrated plea for change from someone who’s spent half a century navigating the business of music.
Digital advertising revenue is expected to increase by 18% annually over the next five years
Jack Myers is a media expert and he has a new report highlighting advertising revenue projections for radio and other media from 2015 to 2020 (you can download your own copy here).
To summarize:
Terrestrial radio (non-digital advertising only) is expected to be essentially flat with 0.6% growth annually.
Digital advertising revenue is expected to increase by 18% annually over the next five years.
That means digital will rise from 9% of overall ad revenue in 2015 to 19% in 2020. In other words,all the growth in radio ad revenue is likely to come from digital based on these metrics.
Another point: The non-digital estimates have terrestrial radio beating newspaper revenue by this year. Not because radio is rising, of course, but because, well, you know.
What’s also interesting is Jack’s statistic for what he calls “Internet originated audio,” which I assume means streaming and perhaps podcasting revenue. That rises at 22.9% annually, even more bullish than terrestrial radio digital advertising. In fact, Jack estimates that “Internet originated audio” advertising will top terrestrial radio digital advertising by THIS year and keep on rising.
The Rolling Stones Are Bringing Literally Everything To Stage Their Show In Cuba
Cuba is a long way from becoming the next red-hot touring market, but when The Rolling Stones bring their massive production into Havana on March 25, it will mark a major milestone in the cultural emergence of this Caribbean — and Communist — frontier. Billed as the “first open air concert in the country by a British rock band,” the show has a chance to be something much more: A symbolic opening of a new era, ushered in by a group that for decades was considered the epitome of Western decadence.
The political and physical logistics of staging a show on such a scale in such relatively virgin territory cannot be underestimated. On March 6, Diplo’s group Major Lazer played a free outdoor show in Havana that drew an estimated 450,000 people. “You can’t just fill up a shipping crate and ship from Miami because of the embargo,” says the group’s agent, Sam Hunt of The Windish Agency. “Relations have warmed, but there are still a tremendous number of restrictions in place.”
While the Stones show’s free status simplified some matters — neither the band, which has grossed around $400 million in touring since 2012, nor AEG is taking a profit — the issue remained of how to pay for it. The group will be bringing 61 sea containers and a 747 freighter full of gear, as well as a 350-strong crew. “We have to bring in literally everything,” says Concerts West co-president John Meglen.
Drummer does a backflip between 2 drum sets, while soloing
Night Verses drummer Aric Improta shows off an impressive bit of showmanship in which he performs a backflip between two drum kits, and manages to keep the drum solo alive. Very handy to be able to do this, I know.
Nielsen launches over-the-air and Internet television and radio ratings service
Nielsen today announced the launch of Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings, the new solution to measure over-the-air radio listening, across mobile apps and web players, regardless of ad model and device—smartphones, tablets and computers. The service will provide the industry with the ability to assess the value of digital inventory and clarify return on digital investments, while aligning with established broadcast and digital currencies. Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings is a component of Nielsen’s Total Audience, an initiative that provides comparable metrics across all linear and digital platforms.
The Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings service, which is currently collecting data on more than 2,500 station streams across all 48 personal people meter (PPM) markets, measures the extension of broadcast radio to streaming environments. Initially, Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings will report the listening of digital streams of AM/FM radio stations and e-radio stations in the 48 PPM markets. Measurement for custom-curated and on-demand audio, including podcasts, is currently in development.
“With the way people consume content in a continual state of change, it’s critical to capture all of the platforms where people are listening to audio, whether on the radio, computers or smartphones,” said Brad Kelly, Managing Director, Nielsen Audio. “To achieve Total Audience for audio, we must provide a comprehensive view of listening behavior across all platforms and what better way to start than with radio. Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings allows broadcasters, advertisers and marketers to better understand the dynamics of a station’s over-the-air and online audiences.”
Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings employs Nielsen’s proprietary software development kit (SDK), which is integrated into mobile apps and web players. This method uses big data, a census-style measurement approach and demographic information from third-party data providers, which is calibrated with Nielsen’s PPM panel.
The product combines digital audio measurement with clear, industry-standard methodology, allowing clients to measure the total reach of radio listening. Additionally, Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings gives radio stations the insight buyers and marketers need to quantify the size and nature of a station’s online audience on smartphones, tablets and computers. The result is a seamless audio measurement that allows broadcasters and marketers to easily plan, buy and sell all audio content.
The service will formalize a two-month pre-currency preview period covering data from the February and March 2016 surveys, available in mid-March and mid-April, respectively. Beginning with the April 2016 survey data, released in mid-May, clients must license Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings to access data related to their own media properties and the data of other subscribers.
Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings audience estimates will include both an average quarter hour (AQH) and average minute audience (AMA) metric for digital streams. In the near future, Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings will expand reporting to include diary markets, as well as regional and national views.
“Radio is a crucial format to reach audiences and must be an integral part of Nielsen’s Total Audience initiative,” said Kelly. “With Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings we will be able to capture broadcast radio’s total reach and begin laying the groundwork to measure other audio platforms where people listen to music, syndicated programs or news/talk and sports content.”
Spotify’s New Jukebox Takes Song Requests From Your T-Shirt
Spotify has unveiled its latest new piece, an invention they’re calling the Spotify True Fan Jukebox. It’s no normal jukebox though, with the only way to request songs being to physically stand in front of the jukebox itself in the t-shirt of your favourite band.
The machine then reads the shirt and plays songs by that artist. As the official promotional video below suggests, ‘This machine doesn’t take money, it just needs your love of music”.
The jukebox has been on show at the Spotify House at SxSW, which has and will also feature performances from the likes of AlunaGeorge, Miguel, BADBADNOTGOOD and CHVRCHES.
The promotional video doesn’t provide any other information on how the machine actually works, and there’s been no indication from Spotify whether it’s just a one-off gimmick. However it’s probably a safe bet to assume this baby won’t be making its way into your local anytime soon.
Ira Glass: “It’s ‘Boom Time’ for Podcast Advertising”
Ira Glass, the radio host who became a podcast pioneer who became a movie producer, says the past few years have been a boon for podcast advertising. In fact, he said, the podcast for his hit show, This American Life, now makes more money through advertising than the actual radio show does.
Speaking on the final day of South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas, Glass said CPMs sometimes reach $50 to $60 for ads during the podcast of the popular radio show he started two decades ago.
“It’s crazy; it’s amazing,” Glass said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s boom time. It’s a bubble!”
According to estimates from ZenithOptimedia, ad spending on podcasts in the U.S. could hit $35.1 million in 2016. That’s only 0.06 percent of all digital ad spending, but some say that estimate is low and that it could go as high as $50 million this year.
Via AdWeek
Songs Turned Into Comic Book Covers
Have you ever been listening to a song and suddenly thought “Hey! That title would make a great comic!”? Chris Sims of the website, Comics Alliance has, and he decided to something about it. He’s got a baker’s dozen of his favorite tunes, remixed into the four-color world of comic book covers! This is so great…
David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust
Beastie Boys – Brass Monkey
Public Enemy – Security of the First World
Parliament – Dr. Funkenstein
Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
Guided By Voices – Teenage FBI
The Ramones – Judy Is A Punk
Judas Priest – Turbo Lover
Foreigner – Jukebox Hero
Elton John – Tiny Dancer
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1
10 Times Siri Was The Funniest Person On The Planet
Yeah, I know, Siri isn’t exactly a person, but someone created these brilliant answers to iPhone users’ questions. Right? She didn’t think of them herself, did she? I hope not…
