Category: Music

Twitter Music

Kelli Richards April 29, 2013

As all of us know, there are countless online music apps and platforms circulating the web, from Spotify, to Pandora, to Soundcloud, to Last.fm – all offering “unique” variations on the music listening experience. Let’s have a quick overview and then I’ll make a few valuable points.

Spotify works with Facebook to allow friends to share music in real time, as they listen.
Pandora lets users pick a genre, or artist, or song and create a playlist accordingly.
Soundcloud targets the artists themselves, allowing recording and sharing, which in turn, appeals to listeners looking for the next great musician or fans seeking sneak peeks of new songs.
Last.fm basically provides an encyclopedia-like amount of information about artists with biographies to similar musicians and popular tracks.

So it comes as no surprise, and it was only a matter of time before Twitter released its own online music player, cleverly named, “Twitter #Music.”

So what does #Music have to offer, and is it even worth using when compared to all the other listener options?

Lets check out the app.

Twitter organizes its music selection into four categories: Popular, which they describe as “new music trending on Twitter;” Emerging, “hidden talent found in the Tweets;” Suggested, “artists you might like;” and #NowPlaying, “tweeted by people you follow.”

The Popular music section is basically Twitter’s version of the iTunes top 100, or the Billboard top 100, except it illustrates the top 40 songs played on Twitter. Is less actually more? The ‘Emerging’ category promises to expose new, up and coming, talented musical groups –probably Indie-Rock bands; ‘Suggested’ is exactly what it sounds like –Twitter analyzes your tweets and follows and provides you with music accordingly (not bad for music discovery purposes); and ‘#Nowplaying’ is pretty self-explanatory.

While the idea of Twitter joining the music sharing industry is a pretty obvious decision, and the categories they break the music down into seems legitimate, and are integrated into Twitter pretty logically, it still is difficult to imagine #music making any real impact in the music sharing space, despite its already massive audience. The sad news is that Twitter has failed to offer any “new” advantages to using its application.

Popular music can be found anywhere. There are far more credible sources for “emerging” talent on sites like Pitchfork.com, or even through Spotify – and “Suggested” tracks has already been mastered by Pandora. However, possibly the biggest flaw in #music is the fact that I could really care less about what people I’m following are listening to. Facebook and Spotify work so well together because they only share information among friends, or at least acquaintances. Twitter is different in that it is a totally different type of social networking. Yes I follow my friends, but I also follow people for news, for sports analysis, for tech advances, or because they may just tweet hilarious, absurd and interesting thoughts.

But that does not mean that I am interested in what Anderson Cooper, Snookie, LeBron James, or what @crapmydadsays is listening to? Not really.

Until next time,

Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC

Celebrating 50 Years of Being Julian. A Lennon Legacy and a White Feather of Hope

Kelli Richards April 8, 2013

Today is my wonderful friend Julian Lennon’s 50^th birthday. Happy Birthday Jules!

Today is a great day to talk about legacy and connection. I first spotted Julian Lennon when I was a young girl. The Beatles were on TV – they were everywhere by then – this time, however, way on the left, on the side of the stage, sat a young boy, obviously just about my age. To me, he looked lost, almost forlorn. I didn’t know he was John’s son, but my connection to him was immediate and strong. While other friends would go crazy watching for Paul or John, I would closely scan all Beatles concerts and appearances, looking for that young man – who of course, turned out to be Julian.

While John Lennon made a huge effort to be there for his second son, Sean, it was a lesson learned by painfully not being present for Julian’s life after John’s divorce from Cynthia, Julian’s mother.

Several years after John’s passing, Julian’s debut album came out – and like many people did at the time, I actually thought it WAS John. The resemblance between the two was astounding. Of course, it was not a lost John Lennon track – it was Julian singing Valotte – a massively talented artist in his own right. (Like so many children of rock stars, separating his own art from the shadow of his dad’s legacy would not be easy.)

Many years later again, I was lucky enough to meet Julian – to share some strategic ideas and talk about possibly collaborating down the road, should the opportunity arise. We shared a deeply moving conversation that day about his life and his work – and we discussed the amazing (and diverse) body of work that Julian had created to that point – as a musician and as a photographer. (You can see Julian talk about his photography in an interview with CBS Morning Show.)

At our meeting, after a warm greeting and a hug that spoke more of old friendship than new colleagues, I shared with Jules a two-page document filled with ideas and possible points of collaboration down the road, and I suggested that he start a foundation. Not long after, Julian launched his charity, The White Feather Foundation.

White Feather refers to Julian’s experience and belief that his dad reached out to him after he was killed – that if Julian ever saw a white feather, he should know John was present for him. Time passes so quickly. White Feather was started several years ago now. Its work is huge. It embraces environmental and humanitarian issues in conjunction with partners from all around the world, raising funds for a more sustainable world for every living being. White Feather has done everything from supporting artists to marching to end bullying to building an orphanage in Sri Lanka. One project at a time, White Feather builds better lives and stronger communities. In 2008, Julian was honored by the Better World Environmental Award by Prince Albert of Monaco.

And his legacy work doesn’t stop with White Feather – or his music – or his breathtaking photography. Julian has also invested his time, over the last several years, buying and gathering memorabilia of his father’s life and the Beatles’ long journey. In 2011 he published a beautiful coffee table book entitled “Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection” featuring many of these valuable artifacts.

Today Jules releases the single “Someday” from his newest CD “Everything Changes”; the CD is a breathtaking collection of some of the most beautiful tunes he has ever written – and he took his time with it. It took several years before Jules was ready to release this latest compilation & it was well worth the wait.

Looking at his 50^th year, you cannot miss that Julian has carved “legacy” everywhere in his life. He has built careers as both a musician and a photographer – and now as a curator of his father’s memory. One memory and memento at a time, Julian gathers the pieces, near and far, and builds on the memory and the journey, one feather – and one step at a time. I can’t wait to see what Jules does next, but whatever it is it will have meaning and impact, and I’ll be there to support his efforts.

To Support the White Feather Foundation, please visit: https://WhiteFeatherFoundation.com

Until next time,

Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC

The Virtual Power of Eric Whitacre’s Choir: Involving the Masses in Music

Kelli Richards March 11, 2013

Not since the supergroup “USA for Africa” sang, “We Are the World,” in 1985 has a song collaboration inspired such a global response. But this time, instead of celebrities contributing their part, from inside a studio in California, the contributors are average people, working in front of their computers, in the comfort of their own homes.

Just as Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson did before him, Eric Whitacre – minus the logistics – has created a musical sensation.

Jumping in the way back machine for a moment, Eric Whitacre’s interest in music began when a friend convinced him to join his college choir, primarily because of the pretty girls. It was the “Kyrie” from Mozart’s Requiem, however, that sparked his passion. In a recent TED Talk, Whitacre spoke of this experience saying it changed his life. He then felt as though he was part of something bigger than himself.

Whitacre went on to write pieces, which were published, got Masters degree at the Juilliard School, and became a renowned composer and conductor. But it would not be Mozart or even an inspiring professor that would be Whitacre’s muse for his most recent project, it was a fan video submitted on YouTube.

The fan sang the soprano line of “Sleep,” a song Whitacre had composed, and it gave him an idea. If he could get 50 people to sing a part of one of his songs and post the video to YouTube, he could string the videos together to create a virtual choir. He decided to upload a conductor track of his song, “Lux Aurumque,” and waited for would-be artists to take an interest.

The project, when completed, received 1 million hits in its first month. You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs

With such a big response, Whitacre decided to do a second collaboration, this time using his song, “Sleep,” which inspired the project from the beginning. At the end of the submission process, 2051 videos from 58 countries were uploaded to YouTube. By working virtually, with technology at the fingertips of millions of people from all corners of the Earth, what used to take years to achieve, is now possible in months, weeks, and sometimes hours.

(View the, “Sleep” collaboration video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhWDCw3Mng)

Similar to Eric Whitacre, I understand the power of global connectivity, networking …community. It is at the core of my All Access Radio show each week (which is approaching its one millionth download this month). In one form or another, it has always been in collaboration that human beings create our best works. Even those who work in isolation will depend upon networks and colleagues to launch their projects once they’re completed.

So this blog comes with a question: What is YOUR legacy project? Where are your communities? Are you building a choir of support around you?

Until next time,

Kelli Richards, CEO of the All Access Group, LLC

Sony’s decline: Have they eaten the poison Apple?

Kelli Richards February 6, 2013

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, 1905

For today’s history lesson, we’re going to look at two of the biggest names in the tech industry that have risen and fallen in complimentary distribution with one another since the 1980’s.

As one company climbed to the top, the other plummeted but now the tides have changed.

I’m talking of course about Sony and Apple, two companies with storied histories that bare some key similarities to each other. In the successes and failures of each company, the brilliance and blunders seem to be passed back and forth. In order to move forward towards the future, we must look back at the past; so let’s take it from the top.

The 1980’s were a strange time in America; MTV, big hair, and the Brat Pack are some of the first things that come to mind when I think of that decade. Of course, the 1980’s also ushered in a new era of technology, and Apple and Sony were at the forefront. In the beginning of the 1980’s, Apple came out strong with a record breaking IPO and the Macintosh computer. Things quickly went south for the computer giant, as infighting and a decline in sales ultimately saw Steve Jobs leave the company in 1985; beginning what many would refer to as “the dark years” at Apple. During that same time, Sony had started the 1980’s with dismal profits during a global recession that saw a drop in electronics sales.

One of the things that saved Sony was its creativity and drive to pioneer new technologies. While it lost the “format wars” between VHS and Betamax, it was able to move past and eventually develop technologies such as the Compact Disc and Walkman. Similarly, it branched out beyond consumer electronics and got into the music and movie publishing industries; creating a revenue stream that would allow it to profit several times over from single products. Its latest demise, however, came from the company aggressively expanding into new businesses and technologies with little communication or collaboration between the departments. The question now is “Will they bounce back?”

Apple was able to bounce back from those “dark years” when Steve Jobs came back. Under his leadership, the company was able to re-focus and re-establish its brand. They were able to focus on creating great products from top to bottom, coupled with a user experience that was second to none. If Sony wishes to recover in the same way Apple did, then perhaps they’ll do the same. Sony’s reach is a bit broader than Apple’s so in order to do that, they’ll need to increase the communication and support between departments. They have all the parts they need to return to the top, they just have to deliver what the customers want. Apple delivered things that consumers wanted before they even knew that they wanted them. Sony’s approach as of late has been more stagnant, where they wait for something to come out and find a way to replicate it.

The sting of a few hard blows to a company can send it reeling and certainly bruise some egos. Sony needs to take a whiff of the smelling salts and come out of the corner swinging. Once they return to their roots of innovation, creativity, and quality they’ll be sure to see success once again.

Kelli Richards

CEO of The All Access Group, LLC

2012 Music Revenue: Time to Update Our Model

Kelli Richards January 11, 2013

As 2013 starts to get under way, musicians and labels are starting to look back on 2012 to see how they faired. While the final numbers aren’t in yet, it appears that the music industry as a whole took a slight drop in album sales across digital and physical platforms. Preliminary Nielsen Soundscan data is showing a 4% drop in album sales, even with a 6% increase in digital downloads. This data can either be construed as good news or bad news depending on who you are and how you interpret it. Let’s start with the good news.

The good news is that the music industry is still here! It seems like every year the RIAA and the major labels are warning us that the music industry as we know it will be forced to shut down completely due to piracy and copyright infringement but so far that hasn’t been the case. As a matter of fact, total music purchases are at an all-time high, selling over 1.65 billion units in 2012 (a 3.1% increase from 2011.) This could be in part due to changing revenue streams and models, as evidenced by the increase in digital downloads. It’s important to note that Soundscan data doesn’t account for revenue from streaming, radio, or subscription based platforms such as Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, Rhapsody, etc. On that note, let’s look at the bad news.

While music sales are at an all-time high, streaming and subscription based services are on the rise as well. Spotify topped 5 million paid subscribers in 2012 while cancelling their paid download service that they unveiled in Europe in 2009, though it never quite made it over to the U.S. This is troubling for artists and labels because paid downloads returned more money to them. Similarly, Pandora posted a record number of listener hours and increases in revenue from the year before. The bad news is that both of these services pay fractions of a penny per stream. As a matter of fact, it would take 140 plays on Spotify and 700 plays on Pandora to be equivalent to the royalties paid from one download.

digitalmusicnews.com — Credit: https://www.DigitalMusicNews.com

So with no shortage of eager listeners and customers, the labels and distributors must find a way to start fairly compensating artists once and for all. Album sales may drop and revenue models may change but without the artist, the music industry will really self destruct. Let’s hope that 2013 will bring great new content to consumers by using new technology while the new technology and distribution platforms find a way to stay afloat while playing fair.

Looking Forward in 2013,
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group LLC