Music Biz Academy Digest - Issue #11 - May 17th 2001
An update from http://www.musicbizacademy.com.

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THE MUSIC BIZ ACADEMY
http://www.musicbizacademy.com

FEATURING:
Musician's Online Directory:
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/directory

The Academy (Articles and Tips)
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles

The Bookstore
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore

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WELCOME!
Welcome to the May 17th edition of the Music Biz Academy digest!
The biggest buzz this week has been the ongoing craziness at
MP3.com. This one-time bastion of independent music has become an
online slot machine. Put in your money, roll the dice, and hope
you hit the jackpot. If you as a participating artist thought the
idea of paying $19.95 a month for 'premium artist' previledges
was bad, here's a newsflash: That was only the beginning. Now you
can pay for 'premium service', audio hosting, station 'shout
outs,' 'Back the Band,' payola promotion, MP3 promotion auctions,
and more. The big question is, do these promotional tools
actually help promote your music? For us, at least, the jury is
still out. We'd love to hear about your experience promoting
music at MP3.com. Email us at musicbiz@... .


MORE MP3.COM!
In an effort to stop 'song trading' schemes, MP3.com has
redefined what constitutes 'legal' promotion at MP3.com. Here's
their definition (from their FAQ):

Approved Promotion = "Using MP3.com Promo Auctions or any other
approved promotional techniques or services."

Illegal Promotion = "The mutual exchange of downloads or streams
by participating in link-exchange or download/stream-exchange web
sites, "trading web rings," "trading clubs," "trading stations,"
"review clubs," "trading boards" or any other such groups whose
activities impede the equitable calculation and distribution of
Artists P4P earnings."

Vague enough? If you have extra cash to pay out for payola or
targeted song placement on the MP3.com charts, you're safe. If
however, you invite other musicians to work with you to help
jointly promote all of your music, your MP3.com account may be
terminated. It's a sticky, sticky situation for artists hoping to
create a sense of community on the site with other artists of
like mind or musical style.

To be fair, MP3.com is doing what it feel it must to kill off
'gamers' who are diverting funds from the million dollar P4P pot
in some unscrupulous ways. But the solution they have come up
with limits not only those who abuse the program, but those
who are trying to legitimately network with other artists.
Craziness indeed.

We want MP3.com to survive. Not only that, we want it to prosper.
But as MP3.com redefines it's business model we only hope it can
continue to nurture what made it special in the first place:
Independent music.


SUPPORT YOUR HOST!
MusicBizAcademy.com is free, the articles and directory are free,
but please show your support by trying out our music and support
the work of you host, David Nevue: http://www.mp3.com/davidnevue


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Latest Additions To The Academy
http://musicbizacademy.com/articles/
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MASS MEDIA: CREATING A STORY
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/radio/index.htm
When working with the mass media (radio, TV, papers, magazines),
one thing to keep in mind is that they are just
that...*mass*...and anything you can do to let radio know that
you are building a mass story for your artist will help
tremendously in your ability to get airplay. Article by Bryan
Farrish.


THE MUSIC BUSINESS: QUOTES TO LIVE BY
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/musicbusiness/musicquotes.htm
Over the years wr have collected various quotes I found in
magazines, books, email messages, and the internet. For anyone
wanting to learn about the business of music, reading these
quotes will be a college education. Assembled by Christopher
Knab.


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Recent Additions/Updates to the Musician's Directory....
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/directory
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BOOKLIVEMUSIC.COM
http://www.booklivemusic.com/
Formerly OnlineWeddingMusic.com, BookLiveMusic is an interactive,
searchable database of musicians available to play a wide variety
of events. In a partnership with the American Federation of
Musicians, BLM provides to it's visitors the ability to search
for talent by location, price, and instrumentation. Musicians can
submit their work for inclusion and BLM will host your photos,
web link and audio samples. AFM members can register for $99 per
year, all others, $150 per year.


J-BIRD RECORDS
http://www.jbirdrecords.com/
J-Bird Records is a combination talent agency, record company,
web site provider and store all in one. They are a high profile
record label featuring such artists as Billy Squire, Rockapella,
The Guess Who and 350 others (including indie artists). The
online label works in an unusual, but interesting way. You
provide a signed contract, your CD master, and $500 to J-Bird.
They then design and manufacture your CDs for you (their
designers work with you). You send a final $500 once you approve
the final CD proofs ($1000 total) and you get 250 CDs in return
and J-Bird releases your CD into the marketplace. It sounds like
a lot of money, but essentially you are paying J-Bird to do all
your manufacturing, design, and promotion for you. Every six
months you get a royalties check on sales, and you can purchase
more of your own CDs for resale (for as low as $2.25 ea) whenever
you like. The whole set up is quite a bit different than anyone
else we've encountered online, but J-Bird does have big names
behind it and for those who have not yet manufactured their CD,
it's actually an appealing option.


POPWIRE
http://www.popwire.com/
Popwire is a rather atypical music hosting community - and we
mean that in a good way. Popwire is more than just a site run by
a musician trying to make a few extra bucks hosting others music.
Popwire has it's own A&R team, offices in Sweden and the UK, and
has a proven track record of connecting it's clients with music
publishers and record execs. Just check out their list of success
stories, which includes a history of Popwire client songs
licensed and record deals signed. Getting on Popwire is free,
though there is a month 'trial period' within which artists are
evaluated. After that point, artists may get the opportunity to
become an official 'Popwire Artist.' This service has very high
promise and for anyone looking to make that 'connection' it may
be just the ticket.


SHAKER INTERNATIONAL GROUP
http://www.sigworld.com/
Shaker International is an entertainment industry insider that
offers many, many services to it's clients. As a company, they
have one vision: to work as a strategic partner to bridge the gap
between where you are now, and where you want to be. They are
geared toward the entertainment industry in general, taking on
clients who acquire, create, manage, and distribute content that
informs, educates and entertains. Prior to accepting new clients,
they'll put a proposal together for you, including their
understanding of the project, their approach, staff need, timing
and fees. Check out their online royalty calculator and while
you're at the site apply for the BEAM grant, $100,000 awarded to
emerging artists.



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Articles From Around The Net....
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GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MUSIC WEBSITE
http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=3637
If you are a regular cruiser and user of the world wide web, then
it won't be any surprise for you to know that the design of the
sites you visit affects how, or even if, you will use that site.
Article by Christopher Knab.


THE MP3 WAY: DAM CDS & SOPHIE
http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=3733
mp3.com and eBay have a lot in common. Both identified online
punters as a way to get rich, and both grossly overcharge for
minimal services sold to what are effectively, captive audiences.
A great comparison of MP3.com and eBay by Jon Newton.


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Featured Music Industry News
http://www.musicbizacademy.com
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NO SHRINK-WRAP: MP3.COM SELLS DIGITAL ALBUMS
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5884182.html?tag=ch_mh
Online music company MP3.com on Thursday introduced a new service
that will allow consumers to purchase digitally encoded albums
through its site. Dubbed NetCD, the service gives MP3.com a new
way to capitalize on distributing music directly to a customer's
PC hard drive.


SEE WHO IS PIRATING YOUR MUSIC WITH SONGBIRD
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/news/860/?nl19
Music copyright holders across the world were today offered the
first ever publicly-available internet search tool that can track
uses of their work on internet peer-to-peer operations such as
Napster. The software, named Songbird, helps artists, musicians,
publishers and record companies pinpoint thousands of their songs
on Napster in a matter of minutes, and - if they want to - to
take steps to get them removed.


RIAA TO MUSIC PIRATES: PREPARE TO BE BOARDED
http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=22425
The yearend 2000 Anti-Piracy figures released today by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) revealed a
significant increase in the number of online pirate sites the
organization addressed as well as a marked increase in illicit
CD-R seizures. The report further indicated that the trade
group's targeting of anti-piracy resources have resulted in a
notable rise in piracy arrests and indictments.


MUSICIANS FIND NET SUCCESS WITHOUT RECORD LABELS
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/05/10/music.net.success.idg/index.html
and labels alike trying to hammer out issues over copyright and
compensation for digital use -- former major-label artists like
Brooke, Aimee Mann and others are finding that going independent
and using technology to their advantage can pay off both
financially and creatively.


MP3.COM SUED YET AGAIN
http://www.dmusic.com/news/news.php?id=4821
This time, popular songwriters and recording artists Randy
Newman, Tom Waits and members of the rock band Heart have filed a
$40 million federal copyright infringement suit in Los Angeles
against MP3.com Inc. The suit alleges that MP3.com willfully
infringed upon the copyrights in hundreds of songs written by
these artists when MP3.com copied tens of thousands of compact
discs onto its computer servers as part of the My.MP3 service.


MUSICMATCH LAYS PLANS FOR WEB MUSIC SERVICE
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/Musicmatch010507.html
MusicMatch, a maker of popular jukebox software for storing and
playing music on a computer, said today it is starting a
subscription radio service that will eventually let it sell
digital songs over the Internet. The new service, called Radio
MX, will build on MusicMatch’s existing radio feature that lets
users create custom stations featuring music similar to their
favorite artists. Boasting crisper sound and no advertising,
Radio MX will launch in a beta, or test form, on Monday and will
cost $5 a month, or $50 a year, Mudd said.


NAPSTER LISTENS TO SONGS IN NEW RELEASE
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5847970.html?tag=ch_mh
A new version of Napster's file-swapping software was released
late Sunday that adds another potentially powerful tool as the
company attempts to keep copyrighted works from being traded. The
software can read the sonic characteristics of a given song file.
Napster can block a file from being traded through its service
based on that identifying information.


RECORDING INDUSTRY TARGETS GNUTELLA FILE SHARING
http://www.msnbc.com/news/568653.asp
The entertainment industry, which finally appears to be getting
its way in the Napster case, is now going after a new and more
elusive online target: the Gnutella file-sharing system.


MP3.COM REVENUES INCREASE 24% FIRST QUARTER 2001
http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=21894
MP3.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPPP - news), the Internet's premier Music
Service Provider (MSP), reported net revenues totaling $21.8
million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2001, an increase
of more than 24 percent compared with $17.5 million for the first
quarter of 2000. The company posted revenues of $22.0 million for
the fourth quarter of 2000.


RIAA HEAD: NAPSTER IS DONE
http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,43487,00.html
The great Napster migration has begun, as users slowly leave the
file-trading service because of the drop in songs available on
the network. Meanwhile, the company continues to fight for its
life in federal court. To the recording industry that has fought
with loaded guns to shut the system down, however, Napster -- and
free, indiscriminate digital music sharing -- is already history.


AIMSTER SUES MUSIC INDUSTRY
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/123/business/Aimster_sues_music_industry+.shtm\
l
Aimster, a Napster-like file-sharing program that piggybacks on
America Online's messaging service, has sued a recording industry
trade group it says is trying to shut it down.
The suit, filed in US District Court in Albany, N.Y., seeks a
declaratory judgment that the company is not infringing on
copyrights.


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Recommended Resources
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HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC SUCCESSFULLY ON THE INTERNET
Spring 2001 Edition!
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/htpromotemusic.htm
If you want to sell your music on the net in any form, this book
will teach you how to design and market a web site that will SELL
YOUR MUSIC and bring in that extra income you need to boost and
financially support your music career! The author is currently
making over $4000 a month selling music related products and
advertising on the internet. 'How to Promote Your Music
Successfully on the Internet' shows you exactly how he did it,
step by step! Download Version Available!


THE MUSICIAN'S ATLAS - 2001 Edition
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/musiciansatlas.htm
Created by The Music Resource Group, this 368-page volume
provides access to over 15,000 music businesses and key industry
contacts in more than 25 categories. Current names, phone and fax
numbers, e-mail and website addresses, detailed submission
policies and the styles of music preferred is just some of the
information you'll find on every page of The Atlas.


THE INDIE CONTACT BIBLE
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/indiecontactbible.htm
Need to create some BUZZ about your music? Looking for reviewers?
Radio station contacts? Promotion services? Then grab The Indie
Contact Bible. This fantastic new musicians 'black book' contains
350 pages filled with contacts with publications and radio
programmers all over the world. These are people who actively
look for music to review! Download Version Available!


THE GUERRILLA MUSIC MARKETING HANDBOOK
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/guerrillamusic.htm
This guide to independent music success features over 175 ways to
thrive and prosper with your own band or record label. Download
Version Available!


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ALSO FROM MIDNIGHT RAIN PRODUCTIONS and RainMusic.com

If you like this newsletter, please do drop by our web sites to
see what we're doing.

THE FREE SHEET MUSIC GUIDE
http://www.freesheetmusicguide.com

THE SHEET MUSIC ADDICT
http://www.sheetmusicaddict.com

SOLO PIANO CD SAMPLER SHOWROOM
http://www.rainmusic.com/pianomusic/dnevue/sampler.htm

SOLO PIANO - 'WHISPERINGS' RADIO
http://www.mp3.com/stations/whisperings

Thanks for your continued support of RainMusic.com and The Music
Biz Academy!


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ABOUT THE MUSIC BIZ ACADEMY
The Music Biz Academy is brought to you by Midnight Rain
Productions (http://www.rainmusic.com) . It is a resource
designed for musicians promoting or selling music on the
internet. Each week we feature news, articles, and reviews
related to the art of online music promotion and music related
product sales.

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