broken cool.

broken links - May 21st, 2013

broken cool — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:44:40 -0400

Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’: A Timeline of the Global Teaser Campaign (Billboard.biz)

Midia digs deeper into freemium digital-music business models (Music Alley)

The Entire Music Publishing Industry Is Peeved At Sony For Delaying iRadio (Cult of Mac)

Taylor Swift Dominates Billboard Music Awards (FMQB)

Songkick Detour And The Middle Class Musician (Music Industry Blog)

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The Billboard Music Awards Ratings Were Up 28%...But Did It Have Anything To Do With Music?

broken cool — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:38:10 -0400

Billboard Music Awards was the big winner on the weekend, pulling in an audience of 9.47 million, coming in at #1 in the coveted 18-49 demographic. And while the show was packed with superstar performances, one would think that the 28% viewership increase was spurred on my social media and the show's many "shareable" moments.

MIGUEL'S LEG DROP

This is still something else to watch:

Thankfully, the girl was ok but Miguel "adorning" the woman with his leg became an instant social media smash, hitting the Twitter trending topics and no doubt pushing some people to tune in to see what happened (or what would happen next). Miguel's leg drop has spawned countless memes, videos and even the Hulkster gave props:

MIGUELAMANIA at least he did it right brother. HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) May 20, 2013

Oh, and Lawler and JR call the drop:

BOOING THE BIEBS

Shout out to Jesus Christ. As Bieber accepted an award at Sunday's event, the crowd let him have it as boos rained down. Bieber then went on to talk about only being 19 and doing a really good job and sumthin, sumthin, sumthin. Justin Bieber being booed? On the Billboard Awards? What else could possibly happen at this show? This mentality is what USED to make the MTV Music Awards must-see television, where you didn't know what was going to happen next...but then, Yeezy interrupted T.Swizzle and the show became safe.

KID ROCK

Gotta love Kid Rock man. Following Selena Gomez and Chris Brown, Kid Rock asked the crowd to give props to people lip syncing over pre-recorded music. It was everything right and everything wrong about music at the same damn time. Sure, one of Kid Rock's biggest songs hijacks and duck tapes "Sweet Home Alabama" but the Kid has been pretty consistent in his stance against the music establishment. Yet another shareable moment.

NICKI MINAJ ALMOST SENDING LIL' WAYNE BACK TO THE HOSPITAL

The fun begins at 2:04:

If all else fails, sex sells and Nicki knows. During their performance at the Billboard Awards, the Barbz gave Weezy F. a lap dance live on-stage. A risky decision given Lil' Wayne has been recovering from a string of seizures. Wayne looked happy if not tentative in receiving the thunder...oh yeah, they performed a song too.

Dear MTV,

Here is your formula for the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards:

- Kanye West

- Cognac

- A microphone

- More cognac

All of this = ratings.

Lord Yeezus: How Kanye Buzzed the World with the Release of "New Slaves"

broken cool — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:40:45 -0400

Genius. That pretty much sums up the premiere of Kanye West's new video and single "New Slaves." Not only is the song one of Kanye's best ever, but the decision to premiere the video via projection at 66 locations around the world last night is sheer marketing perfection. Not only is it unique, but it's massively viral and instantly makes Kanye's new song an event rather than just a single.

This evening, Kanye serves as the musical guest on the season finale of 'SNL.' This, just a night after he literally sent the world into a frenzy by debuting his new video on the sides of landmarks and buildings:

Kanye's new album "Yeezus" drops June 18th...1 month from today. And amidst paparazzi run ins, rumours and Kardashians, Kanye has effectively made music the most important thing once again when it comes to Kanye West. The marketing behind "New Slaves" is proof Kanye West isn't average. In fact, it's further proof he's one of history's creative geniuses.

broken links - May 17th, 2013

broken cool — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:50:33 -0400

Billboard Music Awards Playlist and Collaborations Revealed (Billboard.biz)

Divergent Streams: Reflections and Explorations of the Modern Music Industry (Hypebot)

The Music Industry Gets Its Groove Back (TheStreet)

The Great Gatsby Gamble (Evening Standard)

Singer Kat Edmonson gets creative with financing her music (Reuters India)

4 Ways the Music Industry Will Use Google Glass...And 1 Way It Won't

broken cool — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:28:57 -0400

The chatter around Google Glass seems to only be increasing. It's a revolutionary technology that hasn't even scratched the surface of its capabilities. And while only thousands are currently experiencing Glass, it's time to look a little deeper and see how Google's latest invention will impact the music industry. Here are 4 Ways the Music Industry Will Use Google Glass...And 1 Way It Won't.

ARTISTS WEARING GOOGLE GLASS DURING CONCERTS

With a Twitter app coming soon to Google Glass and the ability to record 720p HD video, it won't be long before record labels start outfitting artists with Google Glass on tour. Why? Well, not only will the artist be able to record the audience and provide an incredible point of view for concert footage, but being able to Tweet effortlessly during the show will take fan engagement a step further. Also, the ability to take photos will allow the artist to update their instagram, Tweet photos and provide a true artist's perspective. Oh, and were you in the first few rows of tonight's show? You will actively seek out online how the artist saw you and will no doubt eagerly anticipate the tour Blu-Ray.

FANS WEARING GOOGLE GLASS DURING CONCERTS

It will be awhile (or never?) before millions and millions of people have Google Glass. But, even if Google Glass never goes "mainstream", the industry will still be able to make use of it. Imagine a scenario where fans buying tickets to a concert have an opportunity for their tickets to become "Glass Tickets." Out of all the tickets sold at each tour stop, a random 5 are selected to become "Glass Tickets." The fans who are chosen at random are equipped with Google Glass and are encouraged to Tweet and share photos and videos throughout the concert. Not only will this raise the profile of said fan on their respective social networks but since so few people will have Google Glass for the foreseeable future, what a cool opportunity for music fans to "see" the future. Taking it a step further, if an artist or label decides to live stream tours or specific shows, maybe this isn't done from a still, professional video camera but rather providing viewers with the option of 5 video views coming from the 5 fans with "Glass Tickets."

lifebits

lifebits is a Google Glass feature that hasn't received much coverage, but it's truly revolutionary. lifebits functionality allows Google Glass users to record video of the people, places, and events around them, at all times. How will the music industry use this? Well, this is the idea that COULD be the most financially rewarding for the music biz. Imagine watching an artist's entire creative process...how did the album come together? Was the artist having a bad day? How did that translate into that day's recording session? Equip an artist with Google Glass at the beginning of their recording process and watch the music and ideas come together. A powerful, interactive and engaging idea.

TRANSLATE FOREIGN CONCERTS

Watching your favourite American artist but don't have a full grasp of the English language? Interested in going to see Marc Anthony in concert but would like to fully appreciate the lyrics of his Spanish language songs? Google Glass provides a unique, albeit, far off opportunity to charge concert goers a premium to rent Google Glass during concerts to have lyrics displayed as to fully appreciate the music being sung to them. Yes, this sounds like a far fetched idea but liken it to going to see a 3D movie and the theatre providing glasses. Yes, there is a premium involved here if the concert goer doesn't already own its own pair of Glass, but making the concert experience more enjoyable and increasing engagement with the artist (not to mention the social sharing capabilities) will be appealing to music fans.

and the bad...

GOODBYE HEADPHONES

Now, for all the incredible ways the music industry can utilize Google Glass, one way that may impact the lucrative headphones market of the industry is the fact that Google Glass users never have to use headphones again. Why? Google Glass uses bone conduction, sending sound waves from Glass directly to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. Again, it's unlikely a huge number people will have Google Glass anytime soon, but it's another one of those 3 steps forward, 10 steps back for the music biz where they have again invested in and built (and reinvigorated) the headphones market only to see a future where headphones aren't required for portable listening of music.

broken links - May 16th, 2013

broken cool — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:07:16 -0400

Google unveils 'All Access' music (Buffalo News)

Pandora to Share More Data With Artists (Billboard)

Rushmore.fm Wants To Fix The Music Industry (Techcrunch)

France Weighs New Tax to Fund Film, Music Industries (Wall Street Journal)

Hip-hop doesn’t sound so sweet to advertisers any more (Toronto Star)

The Music Industry: An Analysis of its Decline - A High School Student's Thesis

broken cool — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:43:22 -0400

Josh Carter's thesis on the decline of the music business is an interesting look at "what happened."

broken links - May 15th, 2013

broken cool — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:35:32 -0400

Dr. Dre, music industry entrepreneur Iovine donate $70 million for new USC center (Fox)

Monifah Talks 'R&B Divas,' Sexuality And The Music Industry (Huffington Post)

Warner Music wins EU approval to purchase Parlophone (DAWN)

Artists, musicians get lessons in business (Waterloo Record)

Google Signs Universal, Sony for On-Demand Music Service (Billboard.biz)

UMG’s Q1 Revenues up 13.5%, WMG’s Q2 up 8%, with Digital Increasing 20% (HDD)

Why Doesn't Elliott Wilson Like Me? How Your Focus Is Wrong In Promoting Your Music To Blogs

broken cool — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:27:16 -0400

You're doing it wrong. When it comes to most Rap artists promoting their music to blogs, the focus is wildly narrow. An expansion of this focus can benefit the artist greatly in gaining traction with the blogsphere and promoting their music.

Now, the #1 mistake artists make in promoting their music online is not having a publicist or consultant on the team. I won't spend too much time on this but "going it alone" can be a risky and all consuming process. Do yourself a favour and engage someone that knows what they are doing.

The second (and maybe the most crucial) mistake rappers make when promoting their music to the blogs and online media is narrowing in on places they have to get their music posted, or so they think. You know the attitude "if I'm not posted on RapRadar I'm going nowhere" or "I HAVE TO get on NahRight.com." And while these statements aren't untrue (there is no disputing the influence and reach of RapRadar and NahRight as tastemakers and voices in Hip-Hop), an approach like this will be massively stressful and will ultimately kill whatever you're trying to do.

Example: the artist I'm working with, Connor Evans, has never appeared on NahRight or RapRadar. Have I approached them? Yeah. In the case of RapRadar, I've gone back and forth with B.Dot a bit on Connor but the double R has yet to come around...and that's ok. As a team, we understand the value of being on RapRadar however we are going to keep going forward. Connor HAS been on BET.com, Yahoo! Music, Roc4Life, HipHop-N-More, DJBooth and countless others...and has built an incredible buzz leading into the release of his new album "The Road to Coachella" in June.

Instead of focusing in on who ISN'T supporting your music, focus in on who IS and leverage those relationships. This doesn't mean our team will stop engaging with the RapRadars and the NahRights but we aren't going to "blow our brains out" trying to get our stuff posted there. Organic progress is so important and you can't force a blog or website to post or engage with your music (trust me, trying to force someone to like your music is the WORST thing you can do).

Another important thing to keep in mind is maybe your music isn't for everyone. When brokencool.com was a "music blog", I never posted stuff from Ace Hood because I don't like his music and I wasn't engaged with his movement. Other blogs were all over it. It's a preference thing and it wasn't brokencool.com's mandate to post everything that comes out. For all that's said about RapRadar and Elliott Wilson and how they are biased and don't break artists and blah blah blah, you have to give them credit because they don't post EVERY damn thing that an artist drops. They have their own standards for posting, right or wrong, and they stick with it. So yeah, not EVERYONE is going to love your music...get used to it. There are many different lanes...find yours.

#brokencooltweets in your opinion, what's the best record label in music right now?

broken cool — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:36:06 -0400

#brokencooltweets took to Twitter to ask the question:

in your opinion, what's the best record label right now in music?

The answer were both intelligent and humorous. Hit the jump for the Tweets feedback and feel free to leave your answer in the comments section.

MMG @mellomusicgroup RT @brokencool: #brokencooltweets in your opinion, what's the best record label right now in music?”
— El Cosby Esq... (@TheCosby) May 14, 2013

Murder Inc #JaRuleBack RT @brokencool: #brokencooltweets in your opinion, what's the best record label right now in music?
— Awesomenezz (@Awesomenezz) May 14, 2013

@brokencool SODMG
— J. Williams (@DontHateBeHated) May 14, 2013

@brokencool Does Top Dawg Entertainment count?
— Keith N. (@JusAire) May 14, 2013

@brokencool I'd say them. TDE is definitely Top 3 in every major category on how you judge a label. Promotion, Fan interaction, product, etc
— Keith N. (@JusAire) May 14, 2013

@brokencool XL Recordings
— A-Cross (@A_CROSSTOWN) May 14, 2013