Ask Earache: Why Did You Remove Cult Of Luna From Spotify?

From 2005 through March of 2013, Digby Pearson of Earache Records ran an “Ask Earache” blog in which fans could ask Dig anything Earache related.  Since Dig no longer keeps the blog active, I’ve decided to highlight some of the more interesting questions here.

This week’s Question:  Why Did You Remove Cult Of Luna From Spotify?

Does Apple Plan To Shut Down Beats Music? All Indications Are Yes!

So it appears that Apple is well on its way to shuttering the Beats Music app.  This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed my posts regarding streaming music services.  Apple historically has shut down apps they purchase while eventually including the positive aspects of those apps in future updates of its own proprietary applications an programs.  I was in the beta trial for Beats Music and knew immediately and it was no threat to Spotify.  The lack of a desktop client made creating playlists extremely cumbersome to the point that I gave up on the service while still in my free trial.  Shortly after the brand’s arrival on the market, industry pundit Bob Lefsetz (if you don’t read his blog, you really should.  It can be found here) declared Spotify the winner.

NY Times Article Discusses Japan’s Love Of The CD

The New York Times ran an interesting piece in Sunday’s paper that highlights Japan’s love of the CD.  Yes, the country that is tops in the world when it comes to early adoption of most things electronic, refuses to give up the CD.  The CD is so beloved, in fact, that it still represents 85% of their music sales.  You read that correctly, the world’s second largest music consumer market still has to embrace the streaming revolution.   Japan is so far behind when it comes to streaming services that Spotify still doesn’t have contracts with the major labels.

Bob Lefsetz Discusses Whether To Be On Spotify

With more and more artists posting photos online of their supposed streaming royalties, industry pundit Bob Lefsetz sets the record straight.  While I don’t always agree with Lefsetz, many times he calls it like it is.  Read on to hear his thoughts on Spotify.

Ask Earache: How Did the Earache Metalizer Spotify App Come About?

Question:  Can you explain how the Earache Metalizer app come about?

Industry Pundit Bob Lefsetz Declares Spotify the Winner

Music industry expert , Bob Lefsetz, has declared Spotify the victor in the battle for the music industry.  Lefsetz gives some interesting statistics (formats only last 18 years, the era of Soundscan is dead, Payouts will increase) and declares that Spotify is the current standard as well as predicting that people will delete their mp3s.  Read below for more of his insight.

Cell Phone Companies to License Streaming Services?

It’s pretty much common knowledge at this point that streaming is the future of the entertainment industry.  Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime cover almost all of your movie and TV needs.  Those that aren’t covered are usually available through various television channel’s apps.  The video streaming services have seen huge successes, to the point that all three of the main providers have become involved in original content.  Even WWE has gotten on the streaming bandwagon with it’s new online WWE Network (which is well worth the money, by the way.)

What’s missing in those success stories, however, is music streaming services.  According to Gizmodo none the streaming services are turning a profit.  Pandora, the oldest of the major streaming services with the largest user base, has been unable to turn a profit.  In fact, with its massive subscriber list of 75 million monthly users, the company was still able to lose $29 million.  It should be noted, however, the piece doesn’t designate whether that loss is since the company’s inception or just last year.  Still, the variable in this equation, however, is Spotify.  Since Spotify is a privately held company, they aren’t required to disclose their financial information.

That’s where cellular providers come in.  Recently, we’ve seen Beats Music partner with AT&T, and just last week it was announced that Spotify had struck a deal with Sprint.  Could this be the wave of the future?  Oddly, with these companies pairing off, add-on services are being paired with companies regardless of the carriers coverage.  If that were the case, where is Verizon’s streaming carrier?  Possibly the new iTunes streaming service, or would that be at odds with AT&T since their deal with Beats Music was in place prior to iTunes acquisition of BM.

My worry with all of this is the long term effect on both the streaming services as well as how one is tied to its cell carrier.  Sprint may now have a deal with Spotify, but they have terrible service in my area.  AT&T doesn’t have reception at any event where people gather.  Try getting a signal at a Blazers or Timbers game.  Not going to happen.  So now I don’t have an option for Beats – which really isn’t an issue as I’ve mentioned before.  I just switched to Verizon, which has great service, but no streaming partner yet.  What if I’m stuck with Zune Pass?  Oops, my bad, they’re XBox only now. 

If streaming services have to pair with cellular carriers to survive I fear for the future of recorded music.  The more corporate partners get involved, the more people that can censor what is said or advertise their own goods and services.  The streaming revolution has brought the music industry into the future, I don’t want to be forced back to the illegal downloading era.  I love Spotify.  It satisfies most all of my musical needs.  Sure, there are some artists or titles that aren’t on the service for various reasons, but it does right by me.  If services pair off like kids at the prom, though, I feel like I’m going to once again end up the wallflower.

–Brain Trust–

 

 

 

The Ups and Downs Spotify

I was an early adopter when it came to Spotify. I was in on the beta testing and had been looking forward to it since the announcement it was coming to the USA. I have a friend from Norway who was signed up in her home country, but could still use it in the US. It looked awesome! So much so that when I got my invite I didn’t even think about a screen name. I went with a default name that went back to the beginning of my life as a corporate rock whore. No thought into any future plans, online personas, or strategic marketing ideas, shame on me.

The desktop client just went through a major overhaul that is a drastic stylistic step forward. The black background combined with the improved search results makes the program a thing of beauty. iTunes could learn a few things from this move. The selection, for the most part, has nearly anything you desire, but there are times when a title or artist is missing. The ability to cache songs on your device is brilliant and saves on data usage, which for some is a life – and bank account – saver.