Merlin Pagou US$353 Milhões Para Os Membros Do Selo, Um Salto De 52%

Merlin Reveals $353 Million in Payments to Label Members, a 52 Percent Jump

Merlin said on Thursday that payouts to its 700 indie label members rose 52 percent to $353 million during the year ended March 2017, up from $232 million in the prior year.

Its overall revenue has grown considerably, compared to back when streaming was still in its infancy, and Merlin's payout to member labels totaled $42 million for the year ending March 2013.

As part of its operation, Merlin polls its label members every year about business conditions; and Merlin CEO Charles Caldas presented the results of that survey today at the A2IM annual conference, held in New York City. Merlin's 700 label members operate in 39 countries and combined have an estimated 12 percent of the global digital recorded music market, according to Merlin.

Merlin is a global rights licensing and collection agency that collectively represents indie labels in negotiating deals with digital services that allows the service to offer the recorded masters of the Merlin labels to their subscribers. In turn, the services pay Merlin royalties, which funnels the money back to the labels, based on pro-rata plays.

For the year ended May 2017, most labels reported that their business had grown from 2016's levels, with only 14 percent of labels saying their overall business revenue decreased from year-end 2016. Merlin tracks June to May for its survey.

Looking at the business another way, 42 percent of labels said that over half their digital revenues originated from outside their home territory. That's up from 39 percent in 2016.

Overall, 67 percent of labels say that all digital revenue -- whether from downloads or streaming -- now accounts for over half of their overall business, which includes physical sales too.

Looking at the digital channel only, in 2015, only one-third reported that their audio streaming subscription business was over 50 percent of their digital revenue. In 2017, that doubled to 64 percent of labels claiming streaming as accounting for over 50 percent of their business. In 2016, half the labels had reached the point where streaming accounted for over 50 percent of digital revenue.

Moreover, 29 percent of labels reported that audio streaming accounted for over 75 percent of their digital revenue.

Meanwhile, video-based streaming services are not producing the same kind of growth and appear to have stalled, even though use of video appears to be growing. About 84 percent of Merlin members say that video streaming accounts for less than a quarter of their overall digital business, the same level as last year. Within that, 42 percent, or half of the labels that comprise the 84 percent just mentioned, say that video-based services account for less than 5 percent of their digital revenues.

Meanwhile, 19 percent of members responded that downloads still account for over 50 percent of their digital revenue, while 39 percent of member labels say that downloads now account for less than 25 percent of digital revenue.

Looking at the future, 83 percent of members say they were optimistic about the future of their business, while only 6 percent were not optimistic.

Como 'Stranger Things' Ajudou Uma Nova Categoria No EMMY Para 'Music Supervisors'

How 'Stranger Things' Helped Prompt a New Emmy Category For Music Supervisors

As TV soundtracks top the charts, the Primetime Emmys are finally embracing music supervisors 

For the first time in the Emmy Awards' nearly 70-year history, music supervisors will be recognized for the artistic role they play in crafting the tone of TV programs.

Outstanding music supervision is one of 10 new or amended categories added to the 69th Primetime Emmys, which will air Sept. 17 on CBS. The award will go to a single episode of a series, TV movie or special, and it honors creative contributions through music, including original or pre-existing songs, scores and performances. Voting for all 119 categories begins June 12.

Two years ago, the Emmys admitted music supervisors into the Television Academy as full members for the first time. The Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) lobbied for both that and the new award, to challenge the notion that they serve primarily as rights-clearing administrators, says music peer group executive committee member Tracy McKnight.

The award comes at a time when TV music is resonating strongly with viewers. Since 2015, 12 TV-show soundtracks have landed in the top 30 of the Billboard 200, including two No. 1s: Empire: Original Soundtrack From Season 1in March 2015 and Disney's Descendants in August 2015. And the theme from the hit 2016 Netflix series Stranger Things, written by Kyle Dixon and Michael Steinof the band SURVIVE, has tallied more than 3.4 million on-demand audio streams, according to Nielsen Music.

Late last year, several top music supervisors, including McKnight and GMS president John Houlihan, made their case for the award before the Emmys' board of governors, arguing that a supervisor's role was as valuable as Emmy-eligible craftspeople in wardrobe, casting, hair and makeup. "It was nerve-racking, because we knew that there was a culture in the academy to limit the number of Emmy categories, and most requests are shot down," says Houlihan.

For now, supervisors are not eligible to vote for the five other music categories, says musical director/producer Rickey Minor, who is one of the music peer group's two governors. "Until we are all educated on how it works, it makes sense to go slow," he says. "Just because you're a composer or director, that doesn't mean you understand the job of a supervisor."

For the GMS, which honors its own in a February awards show, this is a first step in broader recognition for the role supervisors play. Next up is persuading the Motion Picture Academy, which puts on the Oscars, to invite music supervisors to join the music branch as full members. “Our conversations are in early stages,” Houlihan says. “We are looking for a new era of consideration, but we're not antagonistically gunning for film academy membership. We come in peace.”

7 Supervisors To Watch

1. Season Kent, 13 Reasons Why
The use of emotional, melancholic music in the Netflix drama about a high school student’s suicide has drawn comparisons to John Hughes' coming-of-age films.

2/3. Jen Ross and David Jordan, Empire
Though ratings for the show have fallen, Fox’s drama about a rap label remains a creative leader for the music-immersive show’s use of both licensed source cues and strong original music performed by the main characters.

4/5. Zach Cowie and Kerri Drootin, Master of None
Aziz Ansari’s Netflix comedy about his search for love isn’t afraid to go for obscure tunes, even including music from Burundi.

6. Liza Richardson, The Leftovers
Bold, bizarre, beautiful and bitter, the choices on HBO's critically-acclaimed existential drama accent the show's far-reaching plots and accent its twists.

7. Nora Felder, Stranger Things
The Netflix sci-fi horror thriller, set in the early ‘80s, is noteworthy for its eerie score and smart covers, such as Peter Gabriel’s haunting rendition of David Bowie’s “Heroes.”

Angel Olsen, Radiohead, Jagjaguwar Estão Entre Os Vencedores Do Sixth Annual Libera Awards

Angel Olsen, Radiohead, Jagjaguwar Among Winners at Sixth Annual Libera Awards

The independent music business last night celebrated, fed and feted its own at the sixth annual Libera Awards, an event organized by the American Association of the Independent Music recognizing achievement in the independent music community. The event capped off the trade organization’s 12th annual Indie Week (June  5-8) which saw a broad swath of the independent music industry descend upon the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center on NYC’s Lower East Side for four days of meetings, panels, discussions, keynotes, performances, shmoozing and more.

This year’s big winners included Angel Olsen whose album My Woman(Jagjaguar) took Album of the Year honors; Radiohead (XL Recordings) who won two Libera statuettes for Best Live Act and Video of the Year (Fan Vote) for “Daydreaming;” and the Jagjaguar which won Label of the Year (More Than Five Employees).

Other winners included Bandcamp, a digital platform spotlighting primarily indie music and which won the Independent Champion Award,;Triple Crown Records which received best label with less than five employee, and the beloved and late-Sharon Jones (Daptone Records) who won Best Syc Usage for a Lincoln MKZ spot (full winners list below).

"Holy Shit," were the first words out of Triple Crown Records' president/founder Fred Feldman's mouth upon winning. "I was shocked" he told Billboard. "I really didn't think we'd win." The label's recent releases include Sorority Noise (a number one the Billboard Heat Seekers Chart), Caspian, Boxing and Tiny Moving Parts. Feldman attributed the win to his label's success to "consistently over the course of 20 years in the music business, luck and serving our audience really well and being really true to what we do." 

Ani DiFranco, who started her own independent label, Righteous Babe Records, at the tender age of 18 and has recorded some 21 studio albums over the course of her career, won A2IM’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “If you started an indie label, we have something in common,” DiFranco said in her acceptance speech. “You’re the kind of person who gets an idea in your head and you don’t let it go. If your label still exists, your tenacity is bona fide,” she said alluding the may difficulties indie labels face today with the rise of free music and a vastly changing landscape.   

DiFranco sang two songs including her classic “32 Flavors” from her album Not a Pretty Girl with musician Dar Williams, who introduced the icon and sang exquisite back-up harmony. “A Network,” DiFranco said, "is so much stronger than an individual."

Veteran British musician, “pub rocker” and producer Nick Lowe won the Independent Icon Award presented by Michael Huppe of SoundExchnage, the digital performance rights organization and one of A2IM Indie Week's title sponsors. Huppe noted that Lowe had released 14 albums, 23 singles, six compilations, three EPs and one live recording in addition to running seminal punk indie Stiff Records as well as producing the Damned's first album and eight Elvis Costello albums among others.

Lowe  was exceedingly modest describing himself as just “another aging gent from across the sea” who  “along the way managed to make one or two good records and hundreds of terrible records that no one remembers—which is why I’m  here today.”  His short set of course included his smash “Cruel To Be Kind” which seemed to enliven the relatively well-heeled audience.

While the night also included performances by Twin Peaks, Nick Hakim and Talib Kweli, the ceremony ran like clockwork with master of ceremonies and indie artist Ted Leo keeping the night train moving on time. Leo himself said he is in the process of releasing his own album and is just starting to realize that I“it’s a ton of f**king work. Something not lost on this crowd.

Partially under new A2IM CEO Richard Burgess’ direction, who began last year, A2IM’s membership has doubled in size over the last two years and the Libera Awards itself have had a similar trajectory. This year’s ceremony at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square nearly doubled the number of attendees at last year's ceremony  “It gets bigger and better every year,” noted board member and the evening's award presenter Portia Sabin of the Kill Rock Stars label.

The not-for-profit trade organization;s membership includes more than 450 Independently-owned American music labels whose interests A2IM advocates for in the market, the media and on Capitol Hill and beyond.

In 2016, Billboard put the Independent music label sector as 35.1 percent of the music industry's U.S. recorded music sales market in 2016 based on copyright ownership, according to Nielsen Soundscan data.

A2IM’s  board of directors consists of the following: ATO Vice President Stephanie Alexa, Razor & Tie COO Craig Balsam, Redeye Co-Owner Glenn Dicker, INgrooves EVP & General Manager Amy Dietz, Epitaph/Anti General Manager Dave Hansen, Big Machine COO Andrew Kautz, Beggars Group Founder/CEO Martin Mills, Hopeless Records Owner Louis Posen, Dualtone CEO/Co-Founder Scott Robinson, Tommy Boy Owner & CEO Thomas Silverman, and Secretly Label Group Co-Owner Darius Van Arman. A2IM’s Advisory Committee includes: Randy Chin, Alisa Coleman Amit Nerurkar

Vencedor Do Midemlab - Soundcharts - Todos Os Dados Das Plataformas Em Um Só Lugar

Midemlab Winner Soundcharts: Data From All Digital Platforms In a Single Dashboard

Having artist data from every social media site, streaming platform and digital store in a single dashboard, in real time is a practical, useful solution to a real need.

 Soundcharts does that, for an affordable monthly fee. The at-your-finger-tips convenience, plus need and functionality, made it one of the four winning star-ups at this year’s Midemlab pitching competition, in addition to being voted the people’s choice winner in a twitter poll by conference attendees on Wednesday (June 7).

Billboard spoke with co founder/CEO David Weiszfeld, who runs the company with his Chief Technological Officer and co-founder, heading a team of 12 engineers and three business developers. 

What it does: 

“We track all of the data we can get on all of the artist we an get – anyone who has ever released commercially -- and we make it available. We’re like a financial dashboard for music.  We track worldwide data and are purely digital.”

Why we like it:

Instead of going individually to Spotify, or Mediabase or Itunes, you go to one place for all your information. “If you’re an A&R you can use us to look for new talent or you can use us to track your campaign.” 

Past life:

“I started at 19 years old in Universal France doing A&R for their jazz department, but spent most of my ten years there doing international marketing. For the past two years I’ve had two lives: One was building Soundcharts, one was an independent manager. And I built Soundcharts because I realized that as a manager you even have less access [to data] than as a Universal employee. We were dedicated to building a tool that really helps people in the music business. 

Business Model:

Subscription. “We have three pricing tiers: One for a manager or artist of one Euro per day; a mid size for up to 10 artists, of 149 Euros per month; and a business subscription, which costs 299 Euros a month and up. 

Clients:

More than 200 companies with over 300 people. These include major and indie labels (including Universal Music France). 

Results:

Since launching last September, “We’re not profitable yet because we’re hiring a lot of people. But we’ve generate over $300,000 in revenue since our launch. And because we’re solving a real problem, we have a 98% retention rate. We change the way people work and we save people time and money.” 

Goals:

“We want to be the workflow platform for the industry. We’re fully independent and we want be a worldwide actor: Whether you’re French, Belgian or Brazilian, you should be able to use the same platform.” 

Midem’s pitching competition for music-related startups -- whose alumni famously includes Soundcloud -- celebrated its 10th edition this year, selected winners from among 20 finalists in four categories. The competition received a total of 136 submissions representing 32 countries.

Warner Music Cria Nova Divisão - Arts Music

Warner Music Creates Arts Music Division, Launches Joint Venture With Sh-K-Boom Records

Kevin Gore, formerly of Rhino Records, joins as president of new division focusing on classical, musical theatre, jazz and more non-pop genres. 

Warner Music has doubled down on music outside the pop mainstream with the creation of a new repertoire division called Arts Music. Announced on Tuesday, the new umbrella will focus on signing, developing and marketing releases across the genres of classical, musical theatre, jazz, children's music and film scores, with the Warner Classics family of labels serving as the new division's foundation.

Heading up the new division is industry veteran Kevin Gore, the former president and CEO of Rhino Entertainment, WMG's reissue-happy catalog division. Gore joins as president of Arts Music and will be based in NYC and report to Eliah Seton, president of WMG indie label services arm, ADA.

As part of the new structure, Arts Music will be the home of Warner Classics, as well as the revived Erato label. Both were greatly enriched when EMI Classics and its catalog, including the Virgin Classics label, were sold in 2013 to WMG's WEA, the company's artist and label services arm. Warner Classics & Erato president Alain Lanceron will now report to Gore and continue to be based in Paris.

WMG is also welcoming a new member of the family through a joint venture with Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records, the New York City-based label specializing in musical theatre releases, such as the cast recordings for Tony Award-winning hits including The Book of Mormon and In the Heights (Lin-Manuel Miranda's pre-Hamilton hit). As part of the venture, Sh-K-Boom co-founder Kurt Deutsch will continue to serve as president of the imprint but report to Gore. This new role for Deutsch is on top of his recent appointment as senior vp of theatrical and catalog development for Warner/Chappell Music, WMG's publishing arm. 

Beginning Aug. 1, Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight release will be distributed by ADA.

Gore rejoins WMG after a three-year stint as president/COO of DMI Music & Media, a boutique agency with a Greek diner-sized menu of services, including digital music activations, live event production, retail music curation, custom music production and other marketing services. Before his lengthy stretch with Rhino (2002-2014), Gore was president of Universal Classics US.

“The diverse genres encompassed under Arts Music all share passionate and devoted fan bases that have been largely underserved in the current marketplace," Gore said in a statement. "What’s particularly exciting is that since these fans have favored physical and download formats, there is an enormous promise for growth as they migrate to streaming services and curated experiences. The timeless appeal of so much of this music, combined with rapidly evolving opportunities in the live music and partnership marketing arenas, opens up a wealth of possibilities for both established and emerging artists across a vast creative spectrum."

O Local Do Woodstock Agora É Patrimônio Histórico

Woodstock Site Gets National Historic Recognition

The site of the 1969 Woodstock music festival is now officially recognized for its place in history.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in the Hudson Valley town of Bethel has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Cuomo says the festival that drew nearly half a million people to Max Yasgur's dairy farm was a "pivotal moment in both New York and American history," and the recognition will preserve the landmark for future generations.

Bethel Woods Center CEO Darlene Fedun says the recognition furthers educational and cultural initiatives at the museum and surrounding grounds that embody the "spirit of the '60s."

The 800-acre (323-hectare) Bethel Woods campus is 90 miles (144 kilometers) north of New York City.

7 Mitos Sobre Ter Suas Músicas Em Filmes E Na TV

7 myths about getting your songs in film and TV

[This article was written by songwriter Cathy Heller.]

Did you know you can make six figures a year licensing your songs to TV, film, and ads as an indie artist? This is a real thing. Artists all over the world are creating an amazing living doing what they love through sync. And yet, so many artists still don’t get what it means.


Here are the 7 Myths about Music Licensing and how you can get in gear and start making a living doing what you love:


1. In order to license my songs I need to be famous and have a huge following already. I would need to have plenty of fans, albums sold and hundreds of thousands of Facebook followers. False!

Not only do you not need all those things to license your songs but in some instances the fact that you’re an indie artist could help you. For starters, music supervisors love being a part of finding something new and hip that hasn’t really been heard before and being among the first to break a new indie song gives them an edge. It helps them relate more to the hipster, millennial market which is often their target. Also, since it is extremely expensive to license a well known song, it’s often very appealing to utilize an indie song, which can fit the project just as well, but for much less money.

So even if you have sold only a small amount of records or haven’t even put the record out yet, or if you barely have a social media following and only 15 or 20 likes on Facebook, don’t sweat it. If you have a great song and it works perfectly for an ad or TV show or film, it’s just as possible your song will get used regardless of all those other factors. Having a following is a great thing to continue to nurture, but there is strength in being completely unknown as well. It all comes down to the right song and if you have it, you can license it!

The kinds of songs that ads license sound like jingles and if I write something like that I will be selling out on my integrity and creating music I’m not proud of. False!

Songs featured in ads today have become not only some of the coolest songs around, but have become a barometer for where labels should focus their attention in terms of signing new talent. Some of the coolest bands and most innovative indie bands are enjoying the success of licensing their songs to ads.

Jingles are long gone and in today’s world record labels are often listening to hear what brands like Apple, Target, Nike and Carl’s Jr. are using in their campaigns to get a sense of which bands they should be signing. The music heard in ads today is some of the most interesting, groundbreaking and well produced music out there. Having a song in an ad is the biggest slam dunk for any artist and will be something that not only makes you proud to share, but could break your career in the best ways.

Licensing my music means I give away the rights to my song. False!

Most licenses are nonexclusive and the ones that are exclusive are only for a short term while the campaign, show, or trailer is running. For instance, if an ad will run for McDonald’s for 3 months, you may be able to license that song anywhere, except to another fast food eatery during the course of the term. Licensing your songs does not mean you will lose the rights to being able to license that song again.

There are work-for-hire opportunities for artists to write music that a brand or TV show WILL own, but that is different than a license and in my own personal career something I have seen far less of. Most of the time I license my music and I can license the same songs again and again and again. It is awesome!

I sent my first record or EP around to licensing agents and no one was interested in pitching it, so I guess I won’t have a licensing career. False!

First of all, there are certain kinds of songs that work better for licensing than others. Often artists write about relationships i.e break ups, the ups and downs of being in love. These kinds of songs are everywhere so it’s in less demand, but more to the point, there are other themes that music supervisors are looking for when needing a song for an ad or a scene in a TV show or film. When you write with these kinds of lyrics in mind you may find many more opportunities for your music to get licensed. The kinds of lyrics that are sought after a lot deal with: “Togetherness,” “Home,” “On our Way,” “Breaking the Rules,” “Making a change,” and “Having the Time of Your Life.”

Writing with these themes in mind may help a ton when trying to get your music licensed. It’s always great to look for ways to fit your work into the storyline of whatever project you’re pitching to, rather than hoping someone will fit their project to your song.

Music licensing can only be done if I sign a publishing deal. I won’t be able to license my music unless I give away my publishing share and have a publisher pitching my songs. False!

There are plenty of incredible licensing agents who can pitch your music and you don’t have to have a publishing deal to do it. It is also possible that you can learn to pitch your own music. It can often be a plus for you if you don’t have a publisher because it makes the song even easier to clear. If the song is One Stop (which means you control all the rights) you will find it easier to license your songs because there will be less headache involved for music supervisors to clear your song. With or without a publisher there are ample opportunities for you to license your music.

If I have good music it should get licensed. False!

There are plenty of beautiful, artistic, interesting songs out there. The question to ask is are these songs right for the project you’re pitching for? When you’re licensing your music to an ad, tv show or film ,your song needs to support the vision of the project, so it’s important that the production, lyrics and overall vibe be a fit and add to telling the story of the picture your song is featured in. Having a good song is a great place to start but making sure the song fits the picture is just as important and with some basic research you can figure out how to apply certain dynamics to a song to make it fit the project you’re pitching for.

I won’t be able to license my music because I don’t have the money to spend on a great producer. False!

The key to being successful isn’t about having the most resources; it’s about being the most resourceful. There are plenty of great producers today, more than ever before and there are strategies you can take to get the most music made without spending money you don’t have and going into debt. If you’re focused and clear about your goals, you can approach a producer and offer to make a deal with them that entails you giving them some money upfront and the rest on the back end (when the song makes money through licensing etc). In this scenario you could cut your production expenses in half or even 75% and offer to split the master fee with the producer when you get the songs licensed.

I have been so fortunate to have dozens and dozens of my songs featured in ads, TV shows, films and trailers. I don’t think for one moment that I achieved this because I have some level of talent no one else has. I believe that by being resourceful, focused, persistent and approaching my music business like a business, I was able to create music that was both something I really enjoy creating and performing, as well as songs that were perfect for licensing. I know that every artist reading this is capable of implementing these ideas and I hope that you will.