Spotify and Sprint To Offer Bundle Option

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spotifySpotify and Sprint are working on a deal to bundle the music service with the mobile carrier, so that customers can pay for streaming music via their monthly phone bill. The news was first reported by recode.
According to the article, some Sprint customers may qualify for discounts on Spotify’s premium on-demand service, which usually costs $9.99 per month.
Labels will have to license their music for the deal to work. An official announcement is expected at an event in New York City on April 29.
There are also rumors of the streaming service nearing an IPO.
Earlier this year, AT&T and Beats Music debuted a similar partnership. AT&T family plan customers receive a discount on Beats’ $9.99 monthly rate, because up to five people can share the service for $15 a month.

Streaming Services Put iTunes In A Slump

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itunesAs streaming services grow in popularity, paid downloads continue to fall. Apple executives hoped the launch of iTunes Radio last September would spur download sales in its iTunes store, but Billboard reports only about 1 to 2 percent of listeners click the buy button.
With a downturn in download sales, Apple is also losing its sway over labels. Instead, streaming providers such as Pandora and Spotify have growing influence with the record companies.
As reported in yesterday’s (April 9) “Weekly Register” column, available only to MusicRow member subscribers, track downloads are down 13.4 percent year over year.
To keep up with the changing times, Apple is reevaluating its music services, including the possibility of launching an iTunes store for the growing number of Google Android devices, or offering on-demand streaming.
iTunes is still the go-to spot for paid downloads, with a 90 percent hold on the market.
 

Weekly Register: Dan + Shay's Big Debut

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dan_+shay111111The No. 1 debut by Dan + Shay is today’s (April 9) big sales news. The Warner Bros. release Where It All Began sold 29k, with a strong lead in thanks to single “19 You + Me” which has been downloaded almost 500k times. According to the label, they are the first Country duo to debut at No. 1.
josh thompson turn it up111
Show Dog-Universal artist Josh Thompson also had a solid debut, moving 9.4k.
Broken Bow’s Merle Haggard tribute album Working Man’s Poet (various artists) entered the chart with 4.5k. The Hag was honored at Sunday night’s (April 6) ACM Awards. The show gave a boost to this week’s sales numbers, although next week’s chart will show the full picture.
Co-host Luke Bryan saw a 40 percent bump week-over-week for “Play It Again” (88k). Eric Church’s performance of “Give Me Back My Hometown” gave it a 30 percent increase (41k), and Hunter Hayes’ “Invisible” shot up 46 percent (28k).
Co-host Blake Shelton debuted “My Eyes” ft. Gwen Sebastian, which was downloaded 9.5k.
Among the songs performed that stayed flat week-to-week were FGL ft. Luke Bryan “This Is How We Roll” with 78k, and Keith Urban’s “Cop Car” with 44k.
Another TV-related boost went to Nashville’s Clare Bowen, debuting with 21k of “Black Roses.”
(In related news, Dan + Shay’s chart-topping album marks the third-in-a-row for management home Sandbox Entertainment. Albums released by Sandbox artists Little Big Town and Kacey Musgraves also reached No. 1—this is every album released by its artists since the company’s launch.)
WeeklyRegister-040914Year To Date
Country album sales are down 16.2 percent. The genre has sold 8 million units this year, including 635k this week. This is on par with all-genre album sales, which are down 16.4 percent.
Country track sales are down 18.7 percent, higher than the 13.4 percent down overall.
Overall 
The Frozen soundtrack sold 149k this week and is warming up to the 2 million mark.
Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” remains the No. 1 overall track, selling 284k this week and nearing 4 million.
Staying Power 
Albums on the chart for more than 30 weeks which are still selling over 5k per week include the current releases by Luke Bryan 16k TW after 35 weeks on the chart, FGL 15k after 70 weeks, Shelton 9.7k after 54 weeks, Jason Aldean 6.8k after 77 weeks, and Kacey Musgraves with 5.7k after 55 weeks.

Big Brands Want To Woo Country Fans

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Underwood welcomed Almay, along with numerous beauty editors, to Nashville today as part of the launch of her campaign as their Global Brand Ambassador.

In January Carrie Underwood welcomed Almay and numerous beauty editors to Nashville to launch her campaign as their Global Brand Ambassador.


Major brands are working hard to connect with Country music fans, due to the genre’s growing popularity. An article in Marketing News explores the trend, which has brands Coors Light, Cover Girl, Diet Coke, Lipton Tea and Ram Trucks partnering with country star endorsers.
Damon Whiteside, CMA Sr. VP of Marketing and Partnerships told the magazine, “Brands are now more proactive about reaching out to country artists, whereas before, we had to do more of an educational process with them…Now artists can be a little bit more choosy about what brands fit their image.”
Country fans are more affluent than 10 years ago, with annual household incomes averaging $75,000 in 2013, versus $54,000 in 2003 (Nielsen). This has attracted more partnerships with luxury and tech brands than in the past.
According to the article, the CMA’s year-round brand partners are American Airlines, Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Patrón and Chevrolet, with about 50 more brands sponsoring CMA’s events.
Blake Shelton is the most effective celebrity endorser, reports The Marketing Arm, which ranks celebrities based on consumer awareness, likability and trustworthiness. Carrie Underwood ranks No. 2 on the list, followed by Reba McEntire at No. 5 and Faith Hill at No. 6.
 

Tech Bytes: Twitter Back In Music Game With 'Billboard' Chart

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Twitter copy
Billboard and Twitter have teamed for a chart that will track US music conversations among the millions of Tweets sent each day. The Billboard Twitter Real-Time Charts will be the first real-time charts on the Billboard platforms and a continuation of the publication’s integration of new media music consumption in its chart rankings. A Twitter Amplify partnership will help distribute the chart beyond Billboard.com and include custom in-Tweet charts and in-Tweet video round ups of the week in music on Twitter.
Twitter closed its failing Music app last week, and apparently this is part of its new music strategy. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the new plan centers around music conversations and content on Twitter itself, instead of a separate app. The social media company has been in talks with Beats Music, SoundCloud and Vevo.
• Spotify is offering its Premium subscription service to college students in the United States for $4.99; a 50 percent discount from the regular price.
• Facebook is gobbling up companies, including virtual reality headset maker Oculus for $2 billion and WhatsApp for $19 billion. Its $3 billion bid for SnapChat was rejected. Billboard wonders is Mark Zuckerberg is a visionary or living in his own virtual reality.
• Last.fm is scrapping its subscription radio service, which pulls music from its own servers, and replacing it with music piped in from YouTube and Spotify.

Weekly Register: ACM Awards Around The Corner

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0003711704772_500X500Country album sales are down 13 percent week over week, as last week saw strong debuts from Luke Bryan and Sara Evans, while overall album sales are up 3 percent from last week, with several Top 10 debuts from YG, Foster The People, Skrillex, The Pretty Reckless, Enrique Iglesias and Taking Back Sunday.
Walmart’s exclusive 2014 ACM Awards Zinepak by Various Artists is this week’s top debut at No. 5 (No. 28 overall), selling 12k units. The album features several artists set to perform at the upcoming ACM Awards on Sunday, April 6, including Entertainer of the Year nominees Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, George Strait and Taylor Swift. Fan voting for the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award will close on April 6. Another noteworthy debut this week is MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row performer Jo Dee Messina’s Me (Dreambound Records), selling 2.5 k units.
Eric Church’s The Outsiders (EMI Nashville) returns as the top Country album (No. 14 overall), selling 18k units this week (476k RTD). Church’s “Give Me Back My Hometown” has reigned at No. 1 on MusicRow’s Chart for two consecutive weeks. The top overall album remains Frozen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Various Artists, selling 202k this week, and 1.6 million RTD. Meanwhile, the top overall debut is YG’s My Krazy Life, appearing at No. 2, with 61k units sold.
YTD, overall album sales are down 15.5 percent, while Country album sales are down 12.5 percent. The same week last year, Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience debuted at No. 1 overall, selling 968k units, while Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer, Different Park held the top Country debut, with 43k units sold.

Tracks

WeeklyRegister032614Florida Georgia Line feat. Luke Bryan’s “This Is How We Roll” endures as the top Country track (No. 10 overall), selling 78k units this week (614k units RTD). Dan + Shay’s “Show You Off” is the top Country debut at No. 30, selling 13k units. Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” continues to enjoy the No. 1 spot overall, selling 370k units this week (3.3 million RTD). The top overall debut is Calvin Harris’ “Summer” at No. 26, with 45k units sold.
YTD, overall track sales are down 11.5 percent, while Country track sales are down 16.2 percent. The same week last year, Pink’s “Just Give Me A Reason” was the top overall track, selling 241k units, while Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel” held the top Country position, selling 75k units.
Next week’s numbers will include Michael W. Smith’s Hymns, Johnny Cash’s Out Among the Stars, Jerrod Niemann’s High Noon and Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [Deluxe].

Weekly Register: Bryan, Evans

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Albums

WklyRegMarch19Overall album sales are down eight percent week over week, while Country album sales are up four percent from last week, thanks to Top 10 debuts from Luke Bryan and Sara Evans. Bryan’s Spring Break 6…Like We Ain’t Ever (Capitol Nashville) is both the top Country album and the top overall debut, appearing at No. 1 (No. 2 overall), with 74k units sold. Bryan will co-host the upcoming ACM Awards alongside Blake Shelton on Sunday, April 6. Meanwhile, Evans’ Slow Me Down (RCA Nashville) debuts at No. 2 (No. 9 overall), selling 27k units (comparatively, Evan’s 2011 album Stronger sold 55k units in its debut week, thanks in part to her powerhouse single “A Little Bit Stronger”). The singer has visited several media outlets in promotion of her latest project.
Frozen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Various Artists returns as the top overall album, selling another 99k units (1.4 million RTD). YTD, overall album sales are down 14.8 percent, while Country album sales are down 12.5 percent.

Tracks

albumstracks1Florida Georgia Line and Bryan’s “This Is How We Roll” is the top Country track (No. 11 overall), selling 80k units this week (536k RTD). Bryan continues to make his mark on this week’s chart, with his single “Good Lookin’ Girl” earning the highest Country debut at No. 73, with 20k units sold.
Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” continues as the top overall track, selling 364k units this week (2.9 million RTD). The top overall debut is Foster The People’s “Best Friend” at No. 57, selling 24k units. YTD, overall album sales are down 11. 4 percent, while Country album sales are down 11.7 percent.
Next week’s numbers will include MusicRow Rising Women On the Row performer Jo Dee Messina’s Me, and John Oates’ Good Road To Follow.

Pandora Raises Rates

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pandora-logoLast week Pandora won a court battle that will keep its royalty payments lower than what most in the music industry consider a fair market rate. On the heels of this victory, Pandora announced yesterday (March 18) it is raising prices for its paid subscribers, citing increased royalty rates. On its official blog, Pandora posted, “the royalty rates Pandora pays to performers via SoundExchange for subscription listening have increased 53% in the last five years and will increase another 9% in 2015.”
This refers to a federal judge’s ruling on March 14 that Pandora will continue to pay the current 1.85 percent rate for licensing of songs in the ASCAP repertoire, for each of the years 2011 to 2015.
New subscribers to ad-free Pandora One will pay $4.99 per month starting in May. This is up from the $3.99 rate paid by existing monthly subscribers, who will not experience a price hike at this time. The annual subscription option will no longer be available, and existing annual subscribers will be moved to the $3.99 per month plan.
Pandora has 3.3 million paid subscribers and more than 250 million registered users total. The company has also experienced recent changes among its top executives.

IFPI Releases 2013 Digital Music Report

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ifpi graph 2013Released today (March 18), the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Digital Music Report shows overall digital revenues grew 4.3 percent in 2013.

Despite positive trends in most markets, particularly Europe, overall global music trade revenues fell 3.9 percent to $15.0 billion last year. The result was heavily influenced by a 16.7 percent fall in Japan, which accounts for more than a fifth of global revenues.
Subscription services
The digital market has continued to diversify with revenues from subscription services, such as Deezer and Spotify, growing by 51.3 percent, passing the $1 billion mark for the first time. Global revenues from subscription and ad-supported streams now account for 27 percent of digital revenues, up from 14 percent in 2011. It is estimated that more than 28 million people worldwide pay for a music subscription, up from 20 million in 2012 and eight million in 2010.
Digital downloads remain a key revenue stream, accounting for a substantial two-thirds of digital revenues (67 percent).
Physical sales account for more than half (51.4 percent) of all global revenues.
Performance rights income to record companies crossed the $1 billion threshold for the first time in 2013 to hit $1.1 billion, accounting for 7.4 percent of total record industry revenue.
Hunter Hayes—On page 27, the report also examines Warner Music Nashville’s YouTube marketing campaign for the Hunter Hayes/Jason Mraz song “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me.” Jeremy Holley, Sr. VP, consumer and interactive marketing, Warner Music Nashville, explains, “There is a misconception that Country music fans are not digitally savvy, but that’s just not true.”
See the full report.

Industry Pics (3/18/14)

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BMI took part in SXSW recently, holding its Howdy Texas fete at Stubb’s BBQ. The event featured Country songstress Suzy Bogguss, Tony Joe White, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Bogguss performed songs from her recent release Lucky, including covers of Merle Haggard‘s “Silver Wings” and “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down.”

BMI’s Mark Mason (l) and Bradley Collins (r) flank singer-songwriter Suzy Bogguss at BMI’s Howdy Texas party at Stubb's BBQ during SXSW on March 11, 2014, in Austin, TX. Photo: Erika Goldring.

BMI’s Mark Mason (l) and Bradley Collins (r) flank singer-songwriter Suzy Bogguss at BMI’s Howdy Texas party at Stubb’s BBQ during SXSW on March 11, 2014, in Austin, TX. Photo: Erika Goldring.


Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Bradley Collins, Penny Everhard and Mark Mason pause for a photo with artist Tony Joe White (seated) at BMI’s Howdy Texas party at Stubb's BBQ during SXSW on March 11, 2014, in Austin, TX. Photo: Erika Goldring.

Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Bradley Collins, Penny Everhard and Mark Mason pause for a photo with artist Tony Joe White (seated) at BMI’s Howdy Texas party at Stubb’s BBQ during SXSW on March 11, 2014, in Austin, TX. Photo: Erika Goldring.

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Reunion Records band Tenth Avenue North recently commemorated 1 million records sold during its career. During Sunday’s (March 16) Winter Jam concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, unsuspecting fan Cody Miller purchased the group’s 1 millionth record. The band surprised Miller with signs, backstage dancing and even a drum line.

“One million records is an unbelievable milestone for us,” says Tenth Avenue North. “We never would have thought it possible when we started playing together in college 14 years ago. What’s even more incredible is to think of all the people and stories that number represents. We are blown away and grateful for all the people who have connected with this music we have been given the privilege to create.”

Pictured (L-R): Jason Jamison, Mike Donehey, Tenth Avenue North; Cody Miller (fan); Brendon Shirley, Ruben Juarez, Jeff Owen, Tenth Avenue North

Pictured (L-R): Jason Jamison and Mike Donehey (Tenth Avenue North); Cody Miller (fan); Brendon Shirley, Ruben Juarez and Jeff Owen (Tenth Avenue North).