CRB Announces Addition of New Board Members

Effective immediately, the Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has announced the addition of three new executives to its Board of Directors:

Clay Hunnicutt, Senior Vice-President of Programming, Clear Channel, Atlanta.  Clear Channel is the largest operator of radio stations in the country.   As the person in charge of programming for Clear Channel's 200 plus country radio stations, Hunnicutt must have an inside track on what's going on in country music.  In an article for the American Chronicle, Hunnicutt says of his job "I love what I do because it affords me the flexibility to not only focus on the Country format but also to be able to look at and understand all formats."  See, Clay Hunnicutt:  Clear Channel's Country Connoisseur. 

Renee' Leymon, Senior Director of National Promotions at Lyric Street Records in Nashville.  Leymon has been part of promotions at Lyric Street Records since 1998, when she landed there after a stint with Arista Nashville; and

Keith Kaufman, has been Program Director at WSIX-FM Nashville since 2004, when he was responsible for making dramatic changes to WSIX's slogan, positioning and airstaff in order to rebuild its "big" position in the country music market.  WSIX is, of course, the mother ship of country radio as the first successful country music formatted station on the FM dial in the US.

The current list of directors to which the trio will be added are identified on CRB's web site (Click here to view).  Hunnicutt fills the void left as a result of Gregg Swedburg's recent resignation.  Kaufman and Leymon fill two newly created at-large positions, which expire in March 2009 and March 2010, respectively. 

The CRB is a non-profit organization founded in 1969 to support the country radio format.  The organization has done a great job at this task over the years by organizing various industry events and seminars across the country, one of which is the well known Country Radio Seminar which is held annually in Nashville.  CRB is also the trustee for the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame, founded in 1974.  Ed Salamon is CRB's current director.

Kaufman and Leymon are also serving on this year's Agenda Committee for the 40th annual Country Radio Seminar.

When asked to comment about the new Board appointments, CRB president and board member Becky Brenner stated "it is always a tough vote because we have so many deserving individuals who apply to serve on the board. These three individuals have been long time supporters of the Country Radio Broadcasters and the Country Radio Seminar. Their individual talents and passion will help to lead us into our next 40 years."

General information about Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. may be obtained at their website www.crb.org or by calling the CRB office at 615-327-4487.

Technorati Tags: Country Music,Country Radio Format,Country Radio Broadcasters,Nashville,Music Industry

All that glitters is not gold - tips on analyzing a songwriting/band contest

When is the last time you heard of someone getting a really "big break" in the music industry through any contest, other than perhaps American Idol?  That's because most artists and songwriters are not discovered through contests, they are discovered through relationships in the industry. 

Yet, there are literally hundreds of such contests out there promising thousands of dollars in prizes or a opening slot for a well-known band, or a recording label or songwriting deal -- everything but the kitchen sink! 

I don not, by any means, mean to say that all contests are rip-offs.  There are, in fact, many legitimate contests in which songwriters and entertainers may participate.  I do mean to recommend, however, that you do a bit of research and exercise some good judgment prior to sending your submission off into the digital divide.

First, there are some very simple questions to ask yourself initially as you examine these "one in a lifetime opportunities.  Look at the source or sponsor of the contest.  Often times, their reputation proceeds them.  Have you ever personally heard of the contest sponsor?  What are the credentials of the sponsoring entity?  Have you read about them in any public forum such as a magazine, news article, or online resource?  What successes have they achieved in songwriting and/or the music industry, if any?  Who are the judges?  What are their credentials.  Are there any major advertising sponsorships associated with the contests?   What are the prizes?  Are they substantial?  Answers to most, if not all, of these questions can be derived through a simple online search.

Let's say you've done all of the above research and determined that the contest is sponsored by none other than MTV?  To most songwriters and artists, there could be no greater sponsor than MTV, correct?  But before acting too hastily, let's move into the second phase of analysis, i.e., taking a look at the RULES.

Now, assume that you determined that since MTV was the sponsor, it must be a great opportunity, so you jump right in with both feet, or in this case, your best demo tape!  A chance to open for a great headline act is waiting for the lucky winner!  Unfortunately, if you did not read the fine print, you just agreed to the following:

release and hold harmless Sponsor Entities against any and all claims, injury or damage arising out of or relating to participation in this Contest and/or the use or misuse or redemption of a Grand Prize and for any claims based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement or any other intellectual property related cause of action. . . . (emphasis added)

This language comes straight from the rules and regulations in a ongoing "Rock the Revolution" contest sponsored by mtv2.com.  See the Rules and Regulation page.  This is typical hold harmless clause, which effectively negates any rights or claims you may have otherwise had to bring a civil action against MTV in the event that you are injured as a result of the contest.

In addition, MTV also states in their terms of agreement that:

The approximate retail value (the “ARV”) of the Grand Prize is $150.00. Any difference between the ARV and the actual value, if any, will not be rewarded. If, for any reason, the Grand Prize related event is delayed, cancelled or postponed, MTV reserves the right, but is not obligated, to cancel or modify the Contest in its discretion and may award a substitute prize of equal or greater value.

This effectively means that you could end up getting only $150 as the "grand prize winner" if the concert is canceled for any reason by the headlining act.  A corollary effect  net effect is that, at most, your damages in a civil lawsuit probably would be limited to $150, the agreed retail value (i.e., by agreeing to their terms, you and MTV agreed to this amount).

Finally, by simply clicking the "I Agree" button on your web browser without first reading the fine print, you also agreed to grant MTV a non-exclusive right, among other things, to record your submission by virtue of the fact that you are a finalist?  See this clause from a real contest:

Finalists and Winner agree that by entering into this Contest they are granting  MTVN. . . the non-exclusive, irrevocable right and license to exhibit, broadcast, copy, reproduce, encode, compress, encrypt, incorporate data into, edit, rebroadcast, transmit, record, publicly perform, create derivative works of, and distribute and synchronize in timed relation to visual elements, the Submission Materials and/or any portions or excerpts thereof, in any manner, an unlimited number of times, in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world, in perpetuity. . . .

While this is non-exclusive license, meaning that you can issue other non-exclusive licenses to third parties, it does give MTV pretty broad rights to use your submission in almost any form they want.  This doesn't necessarily mean that you shouldn't participate in this contest, it is just something you should certainly understand and use in weighing your decision.

Believe it or not, this grant is pretty tame compared to the language of other contests I have reviewed for clients.  I've seen situations where a contestant ostensibly assigns the copyright in a song submitted for a contest to the sponsor.  So beware.  Make sure there is something in the rules that indicates that you are not transferring any rights or licenses in the submission.

These are just few examples of some of the lawyerly devices that can be utilized in the rules and regulations of a contest, particularly an online contest which a "click agreement" in place.  Before you submit your intellectual property, it is probably worth the money to pay a few hundred dollars to an entertainment attorney to advise you as to what the legal ramification are for you and/or your band.

 

Technorati Tags: Songwriting,Music Lawyer,Entertainment Lawyer,Entertainment Law,Bands,Songwriting Contests,Band Contests,Music Law,Copyright,Entertainment Contracts,Click Agreements

Does Harvard have Chris Anderson by his long-tail?

A major debate is being spawned by a recent article entitled "Should You Invest in the Long Tail,"  written by Anita Elberse, an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.  The debate concerns the accuracy of Chris Anderson's long tail theory, set out in great detail in his 2006 book, The Long Tail:  Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More.  

A summary of the debate is given in this analysis by Glenn Peoples of Coolfer.com.  Mr. Anderson's initial response to Elberse's criticism's can be found here and then her subsequent response here.

The long tail theory is an idea that contrasts with the "blockbuster strategy" of marketing, which Elberse accurately describes as "age-old," i.e. that the limited retail shelf space for media and entertainment product dictates that retailers should maximize their profits by focusing their marketing efforts on the relatively small number of "best sellers."  This is, of course, best exemplified in today's economy by the Wal-Mart approach.   It is, of course, the marketing philosophy that has been used by the major entertainment conglomerates for their entire history of existence.  The "blockbuster" product is at the peak of a bell curve, where the demand exists, the trailing end of which has long been described by the economic phrase "long-tail."  See Elberse's illustration below:

 

The basic idea behind Anderson's long tail theory is that the Internet has changed the way consumers look for media and entertainment product.  Now that a music consumer can find and afford products more closely tailored to their individual "niche" tastes, i.e., further down the long tail, they will migrate away from the homogenized "blockbuster" hits. Anderson argues that the future of online retail demands a focus that shifts away from blockbusters centers on the long tail—niche offerings that cannot profitably be provided through brick-and-mortar channels. (See Elberse's sidebar “The Long-Tail Theory in Short.”).  Elberse seeks to refute the idea that the long tail is being "fattened" by the online availability of more obscure and less marketed products.

If you are in the music industry, it is well worth following this debate.  While I will not attempt an in-depth analysis of Elberse's criticisms here - I'll leave that to the capable Mr. Anderson -- I do desire to point out what I believe is a very obvious weakness in Elberse's comments:

To support her conclusion that the long tail is "long but extremely flat—and, as online retailers expand their assortments, increasingly so," Elberse states that she relies on Nielson SoundScan data.  She concludes: 

The Nielsen data cover multiple retailers, multiple channels, and multiple years, offering a wealth of material to test aspects of Anderson’s long-tail theory. What emerges is not a rosy picture of the fate of long-tail products: the tail increasingly consists of titles that rarely sell and that are produced by smaller-scale players.

See The Long Tail Debate: A Response to Chris Anderson.

These assumptions about the SoundScan are flawed, I believe.  While Elberse is correct in her assessment that the "data cover multiple retailers, multiple channels and multiple years," I believe it overlooks the fact that SoundScan data is ONLY collected via POS, i.e. "point of sale" collection points.  This means cash registers and/or UPC bar code scanners.  The UPC code is the series of black and white lines appearing over a numeric code, which appears on virtually everything on the market today. 

That is how the "Scan" portion of the name "SoundScan" is derived.  When a UPC code on a product is scanned for sale, that UPC data is collected and a stored in a text file, which is delivered to Nielson on a weekly basis.  Nielson then collates and formats the data into what we know as the Billboard charts.  While the data may include some online retailers, its predominant focus is still on the physical product that sits on the shelves in retail outlets and warehouse all across America.  In other words, SoundScan's predominant purpose - the reason it was created - is to track physical sales which, it turns out, is only the product that falls into the "head" of the long tail.  SoundScan's focus is indubitably not on digital downloads, even though it has obviously made attempts to incorporate the trend in its charting scheme.

Naturally, if a person focuses primarily on the product that exists in the head of the tail, the conclusions reached by that person about what exists in the long tail are going to be slightly skewed. 

Elberse might counter this assertion by claiming that she also relied on the Rhapsody data to determine what obscure music was selling in the long tail.  Her use of this data is understandable, since Mr. Anderson also relied heavily on the Rhapsody data in drawing many of his conclusions in The Long Tail.  I think this reliance on Rhapsody data falsely assumes that what Rhapsody is selling is indicative of what is selling across the entire spectrum of the Internet.  Last time I checked, however, Rhapsody had about a 3-4% share of the entire music download market! 

This, I believe, is a fatal foundation for many analyses of the digital music revolution and, consequently, of the validity of the long tail.  I'm not aware of any comprehensive analysis that includes data from not only the mega online powerhouse, such as iTunes of course, which has about a 70% share of the digital download market, but also retailers of independent, less market-driven music, such as eMusic -- which, by the way, has a respectable 10% of the market share of digital downloads.  It is the success of the later that, in my humble opinion, deserves more consideration in any analysis of the viability of the long tail approach to today's digital market.  I can only speak for myself - I buy more music from eMusic than I do from iTunes, Zune, Amazon and Rhapsody combined.  So, to all of you researchers out there, please incorporate some serious data from the long tail!  Until that type of analysis is done, the conclusions drawn by Elberse must be viewed as somewhat suspect or, at the very least, only applicable to the specific subset of data she analyzed, i.e., not extrapolated to the entire music download market as a whole, but limited to SoundScan and Rhapsody.

 

Technorati Tags: Digital Downloads,Chris Anderson,The Long Tail,Music Industry,MP3,Music Law,Music Lawyer

Barry Shrum's interview with DigiMusicTV.com

I was surfing around yesterday and discovered that my interview with DigiMusicTV.com, recorded in 2007, was recently posted on brightcove.  Here it is in all it's glory:

Kristi Lee Cook signs with Nashville Label

According to news reports that broke first on Fox yesterday, then appeared on CMT and Billboard, Kristi Lee Cook, who took seventh place in this year's seventh season of American Idol, signed a recording agreement with 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville, a Sony BMG label.  This is Kristi's second attempt at success on the Arista Nashville brand, as she had a prior deal with the label signed in 1999 at the age of seventeen.  She was dropped from the label before producing any product, despite a commitment from Brittany Spears to appear with her in her first video.

The lawyer in me wonders whether this is actually a new deal, or whether Arista Nashville simply called in its rights under the prior agreement, as most recording contracts are not based on a strict term of years, but rather a length of term that involves delivery requirement.

Arista Nashville is, of course, home to two other American Idol favorites, Kellie Pickler and superstar Carrie Underwood.  In fact, Cook's new master will be produced by the co-writer of Carrie's smash, Jesus Take the Wheel, none other than longtime Nashville songwriter Brett James.

The first song out of the gate, 15 Minutes of Shame, will hit the airwaves on August 11.  The entire album is expected to be on store shelves in the fall.

Past American Idol contestants seem to fair well in the country music  arena, as witnessed by not only the successful careers of the aforementioned Underwood and Pickler, but in top selling product from rocker turned country rock, Bo Bice, Bucky Covington and Josh Gracin, whose albums have topped Billboard's country charts.

Technorati Tags: Country Music,Kristi Lee Cook,American Idol,Arista Nashville,Music Row