2007_04_01_archive

Walmart goes Indie?!?

Walmart is probably the last place you'd think to look for an indie

music release. The store's music section is a bastion of the most

mainstream, top 40-friendly music you can find. It's Xtina, Fergie and

Akon as far as the eye can see.

But according to a posting over at EW.com that could soon change

(thanks to Hypebot for tipping us off to the story). It seems you may

soon be able to buy The Shins, Ted Leo, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah,

Bloc Party and a bunch of other indies along with your water wings and

jumbo Cheetos.

Some of the major indies are planning a series of compilations based

on the idea of the popular "Now That's What I Call Music" pop

compilations. Vice Records is looking to release the first -- as yet

untitled -- compilation this summer. No word on a track list yet. Now

that's what we call music.

Here's an interesting excerpt from the EW piece that explains the

audience the labels are trying to reach:

'These bands' records sell really well to a particular audience,''

says Adam Shore, general manager for Vice Records, which aims to

release the first volume this July (they're already the American

home to high-profile acts Bloc Party, the Streets, and Charlotte

Gainsbourg). ''But even though these artists are getting all this

media exposure, they're not necessarily crossing over to a very

casual record buyer.'' The plan of action? ''We're partnering with

MTV2, and the focus is going to be Walmarts, big box stores, red

states, and TV advertising -- to really go beyond. . . We don't

really expect indie-rock stores to support this record. It's for

the casual fan.''

More than anything else, this news seems to be another indicator of

the long erosion between the underground/independent music scenes and

the mainstream. It's hard to imagine indies placing their products in

Walmart a decade ago, but in an age when Arcade Fire opens at #2 on

the Billboard charts it may just make sense. It also indicates the

huge boost indie music has gotten from the Internet. With a platform

that allows indies to compete on the same footing as majors, it shows

many people are exercising their right to choose.

Of course, the news also brings up whether indie fans want their money

to go to a chain that has questionable labor practices, but that's a

discussion for another post.

Posted by FMC at 9:53 AM 1 comments

Labels: indie labels, Walmart

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Want a radio station?

The FCC has just announced a new window to apply for non-commercial

educational radio (NCE) permits. To cut through the bureaucratic

jargon, an NCE station is one that has a mission to educate on a

particular topic. That includes non-profits, arts organizations and

the like.

The announcement is a little unusual in that the FCC has given groups

six months to prepare for the window (it runs from Oct. 12 to Oct.

19). If you're looking for a station in a major metropolitan area, you

will most likely be out of luck. With that said, there are a lot of

opportunities available in more rural areas of the country. Preference

is given to local groups that meet certain criteria. An application

takes about two months to put together and can cost $1,000 to $5,000,

but it's a great opportunity for the right group -- especially when

radio consolidation has rendered much radio programming bland and

homogenized.

The good folks over at Prometheus Radio Project can help with advice

on your application.

Posted by FMC at 2:19 PM 0 comments

Labels: FCC, full power FM, radio

Monday, April 2, 2007

Tanglin' with Clear Channel

FMC released a study last year called "False Premises, False Promises"

that quantified the destructive impact consolidation had on the radio

industry. The report has been quoted at length in the media, but here

are a few salient points:

The "localness" of radio ownership - ownership by individuals

living in the community -- has declined between 1975 and 2005 by

almost one-third

Just fifteen formats make up three-quarters of all commercial

programming. Moreover, radio formats with different names can

overlap up to 80% in terms of the songs played on them.

Niche musical formats like Classical, Jazz, Americana, Bluegrass,

New Rock, and Folk, where they exist, are provided almost

exclusively by smaller station groups.

Why are we rehashing old reports?

For people interested in radio consolidation, there's a poignant

companion piece to the study that puts a human face on radio

consolidation. USC Professor Jerry Del Colliano documents his personal

run in with Clear Channel via a lawsuit. Del Colliano said he was sued

as publisher of Inside Radio magazine after he came out strongly

against radio consolidation. In the end, he was forced to sell Inside

Radio. To whom? Take a guess. . . Clear Channel. Del Colliano asks the

reader to make his or her own conclusions about the reasons Clear

Channel sued him, but it's an interesting cautionary tale.

Posted by FMC at 5:09 PM 0 comments

Labels: Clear Channel, radio consolidation

DRM dealt major blow

Another day, another major blow to DRM. EMI and Apple just announced a

deal to distribute the label's music via the iTunes web site without

DRM. This is a significant move because the major labels had expressed

a strong commitment to DRM (although there had been some signs of

fraying recently -- see the SNOCAP posting below). There are several

basic technological questions that have not been answered, but it

appears a sea change is in the works on the DRM front.

iTunes will begin selling the DRM free tracks in May and other music