YouTube adquire BandPage Para Atrair Músicos Que Querem Promover Seu Merchandise e Atrair Dinheiro

YouTube Acquires BandPage To Attract Musicians With Money-Making Tools

YouTube wants to win the love of musicians by solving their biggest problem: how to turn popularity into cash. So today it announced it’s acquired BandPage, a startup that helps artists show off and sell concert tickets, merchandise, and exclusive fan experiences.

Founded in 2009 and having raised $27.6 million, BandPage began as an app that let musicians create a special Music tab on their Facebook Page. But after Facebook shut down these Page apps in 2012, it lost 90% of its traffic in three months. It went from 32 million monthly users and being the second most popular Facebook developer behind Zynga, to just a few million.

It was a grim moment, as BandPage had just raised a big $16 million Series B from GGV Capital a few months prior. It eventually had a to raise a smaller $9.3 million Series C in 2014 to stay afloat.

Luckily, BandPage quickly realized it couldn’t stay on Facebook and unshackled itself. Now its swift pivot seems to have paid off. BandPage created a platform that artists could update with their tour dates and t-shirts, and have them appear in tons of places through integrations with Spotify, SoundCloud, Facebook, Twitter, Shazam, Rhapsody, StubHub, and more, as well as Google and YouTube.

This BandPage Everywhere platform was initially free with a $2 a month subscription fee for extra features. But least year BandPage ditched its Plus tier, made everything free, and instead began relaying on a 15% transaction fee for anything sold through its commerce integrations.

BandPage writes that “BandPage is dedicated to helping musicians build their careers by growing their fan bases and increasing their revenue on the largest digital music services in the world. By joining forces with the team at YouTube, we can help artists reach their fans in more powerful ways than ever before.”

BandPage CEO J Sider declined to comment, referring me to this blog post.

YouTube recently launched its ad-free Red subscription service and dedicated Music app. If it can use BandPage’s money making tools to curry favor with artists, they might be more likely to promote their YouTube presence and give it early or exclusive content. That could push consumers to subscribe to YouTube Red for $9.99 and get all of YouTube ad-free.

Other steaming services, especially Apple Music, have leaned on promotional opportunities for artists to recruit them, and exclusive content to lure subscribers. But at the end of the day, artists want revenue, and streaming listeners don’t earn them much. The trick is pairing attention pulled in through cheap or free streaming music with things fans can buy like clothing, posters, box sets, concert tickets, or even signed memorabilia and chances to meet their heroes.

Fazendo Música Com Uma Caixa de Charutos!

Making music from a cigar box

First of all thanks to Natalie Angley from CNN

(CNN)Mike Snowden plays bluesy rock as a one-man band. But he's not playing a Gibson Les Paul or a Fender Stratocaster -- his music comes from a guitar he built from an empty cigar box. 

"If I met you on the street, I wouldn't say, 'Hey, I'm Mike Snowden. I play a cigar box guitar,' because you would look at me like, 'What?'" Snowden said. 

He certainly didn't invent the cigar box guitar: The first etching of a cigar box instrument dates back to the 1870s, and even musicians like Bo Diddley have played them. 

It wasn't until Snowden had stepped away from the music scene for a few years that he happened upon the unusual chordophone.

"I was in a band. We were touring, and we were playing 250 shows a year," he said.

He played bass guitar with Band de Soleil and opened for acts like the Indigo Girls, Joe Cocker and Dave Matthews Band. 

"Looking back, it really just wore me out. I was exhausted. I didn't even want to touch a guitar," he said. 

Burnt out, Snowden got a full-time job working as a store manager, and he and his wife started raising a family. By the time his daughter was 4 or 5, he realized she'd never seen him play music. 

"I didn't want to be in a band like I was before. I wanted to do something different," he said. "I saw a guy on YouTube playing a cigar box guitar, and I was like, 'What is that?' I'd never seen that before. So I made one."

Then his buddy saw it, and Snowden made one for him too. Before he knew it, he was building and selling cigar box guitars for people out of his garage in Marietta, Georgia. 

He started working part-time at the store and eventually quit his day job to focus on his cigar box guitar business.

"It was very organic," Snowden said. "I never sat down and said, 'I'm gonna do this.' It just kind of happened." 

Since 2007, Snowden has sold close to 1,000 cigar box guitars online to people around the world. "The Internet has made the world so small that some guy can buy a guitar that I make out of my garage in Marietta, Georgia, and he can get it in Thailand. It's pretty crazy when you think about it," he said.

Snowden builds mostly three- and four-string guitars, and he spends three weeks handcrafting each one. 

"There are no two alike. They're all individual because every cigar box is a little different," he said. 

He makes some with bird's-eye maple, walnut inlay and tuners like the ones on a Gibson Les Paul. 

"There's some kind of magic going on in the box. I don't know what it is. It doesn't sound like a banjo. It doesn't sound like a guitar. It's hard to describe," he said. "A bigger box has more of a deep tone. A smaller box has a tighter tone."

Just like with his business, Snowden didn't start out with the intention of playing music as a one-man band.

"When I started making the guitars, I made a record just to show what they sounded like. And then people started asking me to play shows, and it evolved," he said. "I perform, I play shows, build the guitars, it's all-inclusive."

Snowden has put out five records since he started playing cigar box guitars. He's keeping a piece of music history alive on stage and in his workshop in the garage.

"Sometimes when I'm down here working on guitars, I'm like, 'What am I doing?'" he said. "But then people see them, and they're like 'Whoa, man, how cool is that?' I've been doing it for a while so you kind of forget. It is kind of a cool thing."

CNN's Mike Rowe shares his sentiment. Rowe traveled to Jackson, Mississippi, to learn how to make his own homemade guitar in his series "Somebody's Gotta Do It".

Cérebros Por Trás Da Música Do Cirque Du Soleil

Masterminds Behind the Music of Cirque du Soleil

Key contributors to the indispensable soundscape of the Cirque experience offer a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the global theatrical phenomenon. From their origins in Montreal to their domination of the Las Vegas entertainment scene, Cirque has created a acclaimed brand reaching wide audiences. Hear the stories behind their sounds.

Presenters

MODERATORGavin WhiteleyTechnical ManagerCirque du Soleil

Over a decade-long career with Cirque du Soleil, Gavin has been part of the music and sound for 10 Cirque productions worldwide.

He worked closely alongside Sir George Martin and Giles Martin during the creation of The Beatles LOVE, and collaborated with the music directors and producers for Cirque’s partnerships with Elvis Presley (Viva Elvis) and Michael Jackson (IMMORTAL World Tour, MJ2013 Project).

An expert in music and audio technology, Gavin has held a variety of roles in Cirque including sound engineer, programmer, consultant, trainer and bandleader. In his current role as Technical Manager of Audio, Gavin continues to contribute to the music and sound for new show creations and special events.

Gavin holds a Master of Music degree from McGill University, and is an MBA candidate at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Marc LessardComposerCirque du Soleil

BOB & BILL

Composers and arrangers Bob & Bill are well known for their ability to blur the lines between genres and styles. In 2003, they composed the music for Splinter Cell (Pandora Tomorrow), a best-selling Ubisoft video game. They have also produced several albums, including Monica Freire’s Bahiatronica and Pink Floyd Redux, a collection of remixed songs from the British cult band.

In 2004, Bob & Bill supplied the musical direction and arrangements for the Cirque du Soleil show Midnight Sun, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the 20th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil. Three-time nominees for a Quebec music industry (ADISQ) award, the two sidekicks also created the music for several films and television series, and composed the music for Director Robert Lepage’s production Pageant de Canotgraphie. In 2008, the duo launched their first album, Crime Report, a work combining electronic and organic sounds.

Bob & Bill worked many times with Cirque du Soleil to create the musical arrangements for several special events. In 2009, they composed the music for Totem, directed by Robert Lepage. Two years later, they composed the music for the third chapter of Les Chemins invisibles (Le Royaume de Tôle) an urban cabaret performed in Quebec City in the summer of 2011. Amaluna, directed by Diane Paulus, is their third show as composers for Cirque du Soleil.

Guy DubucComposerCirque du Soleil

BOB & BILL

Composers and arrangers Bob & Bill are well known for their ability to blur the lines between genres and styles. In 2003, they composed the music for Splinter Cell (Pandora Tomorrow), a best-selling Ubisoft video game. They have also produced several albums, including Monica Freire’s Bahiatronica and Pink Floyd Redux, a collection of remixed songs from the British cult band.

In 2004, Bob & Bill supplied the musical direction and arrangements for the Cirque du Soleil show Midnight Sun, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the 20th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil. Three-time nominees for a Quebec music industry (ADISQ) award, the two sidekicks also created the music for several films and television series, and composed the music for Director Robert Lepage’s production Pageant de Canotgraphie. In 2008, the duo launched their first album, Crime Report, a work combining electronic and organic sounds.

Bob & Bill worked many times with Cirque du Soleil to create the musical arrangements for several special events. In 2009, they composed the music for Totem, directed by Robert Lepage. Two years later, they composed the music for the third chapter of Les Chemins invisibles (Le Royaume de Tôle) an urban cabaret performed in Quebec City in the summer of 2011. Amaluna, directed by Diane Paulus, is their third show as composers for Cirque du Soleil.

Nick LittlemoreComposerCirque du Soleil

Benoit JutrasComposerCirque du Soleil

Quem São Os Maiores Selos?

Who's The Biggest Label?

With the latest Nielsen music figures in for 2015, we begin to see the full picture of the music industry. One piece is how the major labels fit into the grand scheme of things, and Nielsen kindly hands us that info in a very digestible way.

So what's the market share of the majors and indies?

1. Universal Music Group has the largest market share by far at 38.5%

2. Sony Music is second at 29.5%

3. Warner Music Group comes in last at 18.7%.

4. Indie labels come in last at 12.6% of the market.

Indie labels can be looked at another way though. That 12.6% is for labels that are wholly operated and distributed. If you look add indie labels who have distribution through one of the majors, you find that their market share soars to 34.4% of the business.

Although most of the money is made by the 3 remaining majors, indie labels are still the lifeblood of the industry, and play an important part in the development of new artists.

A Música Que Você Escuta, Diz muito de Como o Seu Cérebro Processa a Informação

The music you like says a lot about how your brain processes information

First of all, thanks to Lydia Ramsey for this article.

In the study, researchers found that the types of music you like are linked to the way you process information.

The study was based off the idea that there are two ways people respond to their surroundings:

The first way is called empathizing, where someone is socially apt and can easily interact with those around them. The second way, called systemizing, describes a less sociable way of interaction where the individual interacts with others based on a pre-set notion of how they think they should act.

For example, when asked by a friend if their new hair cut looks good, a systemizer would tell the truth without considering their friend's feelings while an empathyzer would fudge the truth and saw what they thought would make their friend feel good. This type of systemizing is more common in men than women, according to a 2005 study.

In fact, this hypothetical haircut situation is one of the pyschological questions that psychologists from the University of Cambridge asked about 4,000 study subjets, who were recruited through a Facebook app.

First, the participants took a survey that asked psychological questions to determine whether they empathize, systemize, or had a balance of the two. To figure that out, participants answered questions like "I always get emotional while watching movies" with strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree.

To rule out predispositions to certain types of music, they asked the participants to evaluate 50 songs from 26 genres and subgenres.

They found that empathic people tended to like mellow, unpretentious or contemporary tunes such as Norah Jones' "Come away with me" or Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah." This kind of music included country and folk songs, which is most likely where my recent obsession with country music factors in.  

The songs could express negative emotions or be a trendy techno song — the empathizers were into it. But, ask the empathizers to listen to punk or heavy metal, and their reactions weren't as favorable.

Systemizing people, on the other hand, tended to like high-energy music that conveyed positive emotions. Songs with a fair amount of complexity, like a complicated piece of classical music. People whose answers didn't have a clear distinction between systemizer or empathizer tended to have a mix of both music tastes.

Here's a graph of what kind of music empathizers (Type E), systemizers (Type S) or balanced (Type B) liked. The more positive the score, the more that group of people liked that particular musical characteristic. The more negative the score, the more people of certain groups disliked that musical characteristic.

The mean age of the people involved in the study were around their mid-twenties, but some participants were as old as 61. The researchers controlled for gender and age. Even with gender and age playing a role, the connection between empathizer/sympathizer type and taste in music was still strong.

Knowing what types of music people like based on how they process information could be important information for companies like Spotify and Apple Music. "By knowing an individual's thinking style, such services might in future be able to fine tune their music recommendations to an individual," lead researcher David Greenberg said in a news release.

Interested in seeing if your thinking style matches your taste in music? Here's a quiz that can help you determine whether you empathize, systemize, or do a little of both.

Warner Music Poderá Repassar Parte dos Ganhos no Spotify Para os Artistas

 Warner Music May Give Spotify Windfall Back To Artists

First of all, thanks to my friend Bobby Owsinski for this article.

Major record labels aren’t known for being particularly generous to their artists, but in at least one case, that might change a little. Warner Music Group (WMG) has made it known that should it ever sell its stake in Spotify, at least some of the proceeds will go to its artists, according to a post on Music Business Worldwide. WMG CEO Stephen Cooper made the announcement when speaking to investors yesterday.

This is an unprecedented step as any income from these types of equity sales have traditionally made their way directly to the label’s bottom line in the past, bypassing the artists.

The major labels own around 15% of Spotify, which came as part of the company’s negotiations for licensing rights to the major label’s catalog. It’s estimated that WMG owns between 2 to 3% of Spotify, which at its current $8 billion valuation, is worth around $200 million.

Spotify has signaled its intention for an IPO this year, which would mean a windfall for its shareholders, including the major labels.

Knowing the potential blowback from artists should they not see any money from the sale of the company they helped build, WMG decided to get on the right side of the situation instead of having to react to it after the fact.

Any resulting bad publicity from a Spotify IPO could harm the streaming side of the music business, which has grown into a major source of revenue for the industry as is quickly replacing physical sales.

As a result of this story, Sony Music announced that it would also give back a piece of the proceeds from any sale (no word on exactly how big a piece). The question now remains, will Universal Music feel compelled to follow?

Kurt Russell Destruiu uma Guitarra de 145 anos de Valor Inestimável na Filmagem de 'The Hateful Eight "- E o fabricante está furioso

Kurt Russell destroyed a priceless 145-year-old guitar on the set of 'The Hateful Eight' — and the manufacturer is furious

It turns out Kurt Russell went a little too far in portraying a cagey bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie "The Hateful Eight."

The actor is responsible for destroying a 145-year-old guitar during shooting.

The guitar, which Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character plays in one scene until it’s snatched by Russell, who then smashes it against a pillar, was a one-of-a-kind Martin from the 1870s that was on loan from the Martin Guitar Museum.

In all fairness, Russell didn't know he was handling an antique in the scene. And according to Dick Boak, the director of the museum, archives, and special projects for C.F. Martin & Co., the production didn't fess up to exactly how the guitar was destroyed.

“We assumed that a scaffolding or something fell on it,” Boak told Reverb. “We understand that things happen, but at the same time we can’t take this lightly. All this about the guitar being smashed being written into the script and that somebody just didn’t tell the actor, this is all new information to us. We didn’t know anything about the script or Kurt Russell not being told that it was a priceless, irreplaceable artifact from the Martin Museum.”

So what went wrong?

The film’s sound mixer, Mark Ulano, filled in SSN Insider: 

"What was supposed to happen was we were supposed to go up to that point, cut, and trade guitars and smash the double,” according to Ulano, who said six doubles were made of the Martin guitar. “Well, somehow that didn’t get communicated to Kurt, so when you see that happen on the frame, Jennifer’s reaction is genuine.”

Here’s the destruction of the Martin in the movie (check out Leigh’s reaction at the end):

Boak told Reverb that the museum has been remunerated for the insurance value of the guitar.

But that wasn't enough to heal the matter.

"As a result of the incident, the company will no longer loan guitars to movies under any circumstances,” Boak told SSN.

Business Insider contacted Boak to try to get an idea of the value of the destroyed guitar. He said he wouldn't provide more comments about the matter, only stating, “It’s not replaceable.”