Sirius and XM Merger for Independents

So, the two digital giants have kissed, had a little wine and will now share the same bed. Of course this is great for stockholders (Bump is not one), but what about everyone else? Story Here

Subscribers will not see much of a change, your provider will have the same content.

Music Content providers will no see much of a change, you still must contact every show separately

So, what’s wrong with it? Oh, just that pesky monopoly rule which has steadily deteriorated in the US. Honestly, does anyone believe the FCC thought this was best for the consumer? Does this make our choice stronger? No, not in the least bit. What it does do is make it virtually impossible for a tiny satellite provider to join in the fray. Unfortunately, the whole thing is designed to make terrestrial radio work harder at competing. So, do you think that will bring more local music as per the FCC license for Terrestrial radio. Probably not.

What you can do is sign up for SoundExchange and flood SirusXM with your music. Make a little on the backend!

From time to time, the Bump likes to give you some sales figures on the overall business:

Interesting News in the Album Sales Sector

All Numbers provided by Neilsen Soundscan:

Overall Aggregated physical and digital Album Sales sank 15% last year. For the first half of 2008 they sank 11% through July.

Overall Album Sales: down from 229.8 million to 204.6 million units

Digital Sales jumped 34% to 31.6 million or 15% overall

Interestingly vinyl is causing a stir during the first half.  According to the data, vinyl sales moved nearly 77 percent to 803,000, from 454,000 previously. SACD Sales are not tracked by Nielsen.

EMI, UMG and Sony all posted market share losses by about 1% each.

Independents gained from 12.9 to 13.9% of the market share and that is good news.

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What does this all mean? For one thing, these numbers do not include how many albums, digital and pyhsical were given away last year. The number I heard was close to 2 million-inlcuding Radiohead.. In short, the market is changing and you need to be aware of what you are up against. Take those numbers and apply them to your market, your fanbase and look for the opportunity there. Digital is growing, but obviously, physical sales are still happening far more often. Have you looked into Vinyl, SACD? These are specialty products that may help you sell more and most importantly, create a lasting connection with your fans. Go to them, where they are and give them what they want… Even if it is free sometimes.

Ok, this has been a weird week. Music, it has been said, is influenced by nature. Rhythms and tempos are really a reflection of synchronicty within the world. Water drips at a certain tempo, birds sing melodies that are definable and the ocean waves are timed as crashes of percussion and then, different sounds as it washes away. So, music and nature, as we know it, is connected: with that in mind I give you a few thoughts to ponder on the “Nature” of the world today:

Three things are happening right now that could change the world forever:

Doomsday Collider Story-In August, the Large Hadron Collider ‘LHC’ on the border of France and Switzerland will smash atoms in an attempt to detect Dark matter or even extra dimensions in space (as suggested in superstring theory- although the number of dimensions predicted is 10). Only problem is, it might cause a Black Hole, it might tear our dimension apart, it might cause a wormhole or worse- it could blow up everything in sight. There is only a 1 in 50 million chance (they say unverifiably) but that’s not bad considering most lottos?

Exo-Earth Triplets: In August, Scientists from around the world believe they will be able to discern other Earths. Exo-Earths. They have seen evidence of many potential Galaxies, Solar based and containing rocky planets with the right distance from the star for water and life. In Germany last week, scientists discovered a solar system with three Earth-like planets in it, which is our best hope yet. They were found around star HD 40307 in our own Milky Way galaxy, 42 light years away from Earth. Even if we are able to see life on that planet, it is 42 light years away. (We still cannot go the speed of light by the way). But if communication were even possible, do we want it? What would we say that could be answered in 42 years? How would this entire Planet change if we knew that we had neighbors so relatively close? What would happen to religion? What would happen to the very super powerful or the super poor? Hmmm.

The Truth is Out There: Lastly, there has been a rush in the last few months to release Governmental UFO files. France, Romania, Russia and even the U.K. have released their files for review. Hmmm, No U.S.? That’s right and the pressure is on to get them released as part of National Security. It will probably take a new administration, but NASA has acted on their own and opened up some of the cases that have been disputed. This hasn’t really provided concrete proof, but it is has given us insight. Japan is said to be releasing evidence that UFOs do exist and are extra-terrestial in nature when you ask? ….in August.

And then there is the Olympics 08-08-08 which are being held in a contentious, hungry for world status communist country-China. The Democratic National Convention with the arguably most energized Amercian electorate in a half century, in Denver August 25-28th.

Oh yeah, we are also holding The Music Publishing Summit on August 3rd. Don’t worry, all of this stuff is gonna happen in mid to late august anyway, so hurry and register before “you know what” might happen! Smile

Derek Sivers is kind of prolific and yet, somehow can write an entire book of one or two sentence gems. I highly suggest this free book to anyone in the music industry and to all who wish to be better at life in general

It’s Right here

George Carlin: Some People are Stupid.

George Carlin deserves respect from all who ever heard him and laughed to near pee-pee land. His wit and relentless pursuit of wisdom through simple observation is seldom matched today. I saw his last HBO special “It’s Bad for Ya” and I was, well… disappointed. He had lost some venom and what little left there was, seemed a bit forced. I think he had mellowed a bit, maybe found some happiness in the Vegas desert. Another of his last works was “When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops” a book that has sold well over two million copies and will surely rise further now.

However, did you know in 2006 he won a Grammy for that very same titled Audio Book. And it wasn’t the first time: From His Biography: In 1972, Carlin released the comedy album “FM & AM,” on Little David Records, which won a Grammy Award and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was the first of four successive Gold records that he would release during the first half of the 1970s.

Carlin has recorded eighteen albums of stand-up comedy and four audiobooks. Ten of his albums have been nominated for Grammy Awards. His most notable collection is the 1999 release George Carlin: The Little David Years, 1971-1977, a seven-CD package that includes several home recordings that he made when he was twelve years old

It may strike you funny that the Bump would write about a comedian. What does it have to do with publishing? Well, obviously, there are many ways to be in the Music Business and we tend to forget the Foley Artists, the Sound Mixers, The Sound Designers, the Amp Makers, the Guitar Luthiers, and often: the Comedians who outsell us all.

Here’s to your George- You shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits Helluva Guy!