Singer/songwriter, guitarist/bassist, and as
a member of both King Crimson and Emerson Lake and Palmer, respectively, a
bonafide prog rock titan: Mr. Greg Lake (67).
11/10/2014
11/09/2014
168 Million Streams Nets Songwriter $4k
Avicii’s release "Wake Me Up!" that I co-wrote and sing, for example, was the most streamed song in Spotify history and the 13th most played song on Pandora since its release in 2013, with more than 168 million streams in the US. And yet, that yielded only $12,359 in Pandora domestic royalties—which were then split among three songwriters and our publishers. In return for co-writing a major hit song, I’ve earned less than $4,000 domestically from the largest digital music service.
- Aloe Blacc, from an open letter published in Wired magazine last week.
Just to put it in context, if those 168 million spins had been purchased copies/downloads, Blacc would've netted about $5M. No one is expecting sales numbers of that size—just trying to point out the staggering, Grand Canyon-size gap btwn $4K and $5M.
You can read his complete letter here.
11/08/2014
Are Taylor Swift and Spotify Ever Ever Getting Back Together?
Taylor Swift has become the first artist in music history to
release three albums with first week sales of a million or more copies. (The
Backstreet Boys, Eminem, and N’Sync, each did it twice.) Her new album, 1989 [Big Machine Records], sold 1,287,000 units in that time span. (And that’s only counting full price
sales and not discounted copies, such as those purchased via a promotion
sponsored by Microsoft.) At a time when album sales continue to decline quite
rapidly, this is no small feat. Actually, it was a big deal back when album
sales were significant: only 18 other releases have managed to sell a million
plus copies in its first seven days.
But this historic feat has been practically overshadowed by
Swift’s decision to remove her music from Spotify. A betrayal of her fans; a
savvy marketing ploy; cluelessness; greed; a show of solidarity for fellow
artists; the move from the popular music streaming subscription service has been called all those and more. What it isn’t—to anyone
who’s been paying attention, anyway—is a surprise: Swift has made her thoughts
on the subject of streaming quite well known, to the point of penning a Wall Street Journal op-ed in that regard earlier this year. Right before the release of 1989, Swift further explained
her views, stating she was “not willing to contribute my life’s work to an
experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers,
artists, and creators of this music. And I just don’t agree with perpetuating
the perception that music has no value and should be free.”
One of the most noticeable aspects of the debate over the
removal of the Swift catalog from Spotify is how the vast majority of those
opining know very little about how the business works. Swift has been accused
of being greedy because she wants cold hard sales revenue in lieu of lesser, but still profitable, amounts she would earn from streaming services. Well, we’d
like to know what definition of profit describes a songwriter earning about
$100 for a million streams. (Yes, you read right— a c-note for 1,000,000 streams.) And of
course there’s that old chestnut “You’re rich, you should let us have it for
free or close enough”, an argument that would never work for those seeking
products from Chevrolet or Whole Foods, but seems to be good enough to demand of
artists. And then things took a turn for the humorous and perhaps a tad surreal when, in a page seemingly taken out of Swift's songbook, Spotify publicly begged her to come back, which she declined. Ha!
Never thought we’d find ourselves siding with Taylor Swift
on any matter. But stranger things have happened and so…
Quote of the Day
“A true doctor cares only about healing, let's not pay them
either. Oh, wait...”
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench.
11/07/2014
11/06/2014
Underrated: Colin Moulding
While his former bandmate, vocalist/guitarist Andy Partridge, may be the most prolific and best-known member of the British pop institution that was once XTC, Mr. Moulding has been no slouch: the writer of such classic tunes as "Making Plans For Nigel", "Life Begins At The Hop" and "Generals and Majors", is a wonderful vocalist with mean bass guitar chops to spare.
Just check out "Earn Enough For Us" from Skylarking [Geffen-1987]; "The Mayor Of Simpleton" and his own "Cynical Days" from Oranges and Lemons [Geffen-1989]; and any of the previously mentioned tunes above for a crash course in killer bass playing.
[Left: Moulding in 1979.]
11/05/2014
11/03/2014
Milestones: 'Amorica'
THE BLACK CROWES
Amorica
[American-1994]
When The Black Crowes debuted in 1990 their sound was as out of step with the mainstream as the alt-rockers that took over little more than a year later. Hair bands ruled the day, but changes were afoot: on the strength of “She Talks To Angels” and the Otis Redding classic “Hard To Handle”, The Crowes sold 5 million copies of their first disc and established themselves as one of the ‘90s biggest acts.
With no big singles to its credit, Amorica, their third album, is best remembered these days for the close-up of the Stars ’n’ Stripes bikini with overflowing female pubic hair that graces its cover. However, it would be foolish to dismiss a high caliber album such as this solely on the basis of controversy and a lack of chart-busting action. Make no mistake, this is The Black Crowes at their best, for Amorica is pregnant with bluesy riffs, tasty grooves, and great songs that distill their Stones/Faces/Allman Bros. influences into one very fine brew; at once both heady and intoxicating. Drink up, baby.
Highlights:
"Gone", "A Conspiracy", "Nonfiction", "Ballad in Urgency", "Wiser Time".
11/02/2014
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