Clay Aiken – The Shrinking Music Industry

By musicfan123 · Comments (5)
Friday, December 30th, 2011

The Music Business Registry is a business that publishes contact directories for the music industry.  In business since 1992, their registry is an important part of the music business.  It is considered the most complete directory available for the people you need to reach in the music industry.

The Music Business Registry published four different journals:

  • A & R Registry
  • Film  & Television Music Guide
  • Music Publishers
  • Music Attorneys, Legal and Business

Each publication is revised constantly and is published every 8 weeks.

This past week, the company published some interesting results about the music industry.  It seem that in the past five years, 319 A & R executives have been let go by the major record houses.  A & R executives are the people who do the talent scouting and work to develop the talent. They also act as a liaison between artists and the record label. A = artists:  R = Repertoire.

According to Paul Resnikoff at Digital Music News:

Out of those 36 A&R executives who left their A&R positions in 2011, only 1 of them so far, has gotten another job in A&R,” Music Registry founder Ritch Esra relayed.  ”In 2010, 40 A&R executives exited their A&R positions at various labels and not one of them had gotten another A&R job in 2010.”

That being said, there are some important hires over the past couple of months.  Paul lists Jaymes and David Foster signing as A & R executives with UMG/Verve as an important step for UMG.

Top A & R Executives have influenced the course of music history.  These are the people who sign the artists and choose the type of music that we listen to.  Because of the new forms of digital distribution, it is questionable if A & R executives will still have as much influence on the public’s musical tastes as they have in the past.

Whatever the future, it is good to see Jaymes and David Foster a part of the Universal Music Group.  They seem to find some amazing talent.

What do you think?  Do you think that record labels are a thing of the past or are they still the way to go for recording artists?  Will Jaymes and David help Clay at Universal?

Graph from Digital Music News

 

 

 

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Clay Aiken – It’s Always Fun To Be A Fan!

By musicfan123 · Comments (10)
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

It is always fun to be a Clay Aiken fan, but some times are more fun than others. There has been a lot of positive information about Clay on the Internet lately and that makes it exciting for Clay’s supporters and fans.

On December 27th, Clay was one of the featured singers on the front page of the Universal Music Group website.  His picture and a short “blurb” was rotated at the top of the page.  The following is a copy of the picture.  While I am writing this, the picture is still in the rotation, however, I do not know how long it will be there.  To see the site, click on UMG

The following was tweeted by UMG on Tuesday.  Did any of you get the code and download the song?

QUOTE
Sign up for @UMG newsletter get code for 1 free dl including @clayaiken #bringbackmylove http://t.co/KhtTH2Zi
When was the last time you visited Clay’s MySpace homepage?    I visited the site the other day when I read that Clay’s new song, Bring Back My Love, was on the MySpace audio player.  At this moment, the song has 2,538 plays.  I wonder how long it would take for us to get the number up to 10,000?  If we all listened to the song from Myspace we could do this quickly.  Will you give it a try?  MYSPACE
The entertainment website called Popdirt published a short paragraph about Bring Back My Love.  We can support this positive mention by leaving a short comment at the article.  It is the best way to let the site know we love to read positive reports about Clay Aiken and his career.  It’s easy and will only take a moment to add a sentence or two.  You can get there by clicking at POPDIRT.
Some of the Internet Radio Stations are beginning to play Bring Back My Love.  If you hear it, please let me know.  I would love to keep track of the internet plays.
Oh…one more thing…
in 46 Days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes
Clay will be on the first episode of Celebrity Apprentice.
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Clay Aiken And His Adventures in New York

By musicfan123 · Comments (12)
Saturday, November 12th, 2011

Fans were tied to their computers on Friday, hoping to read some messages about Clay Aiken and his adventures in New York City.  The day was almost over before a great picture and mention appeared at realityaired.com. 

It was fun reading all the speculation about the picture.  Most of the fans seemed to think it was a good sign… “Clay will be continuing his projects in New York.”  Others seemed unsure.  Was he a “Red Herring”, planted so that no one can guess what is happening.    Whatever, everyone seemed pleased.

Realityaired

By: Staff

‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ star Teresa Giudice still hasn’t been fired from ‘Celebrity Apprentice’. Teresa, Clay Aiken, Aubrey O’Day and Dayana Mendoza were spotted outside the Trump Tower today. By the way, checkout that fur.

Teresa Giudice on location for ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ – Nov 11, 2011

Teresa Giudice and Clay Aiken on location for ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ – Nov 11, 2011

What do you think?  Is Clay safe?

On Friday, there was a huge announcement in the music recording business.  The century-old EMI Group music company has been split in two and sold for $4.1 billion to Universal Music Group and Sony Corp.  The absorption of the music giant leaves only three major record companies in control of the faltering music industry.

EMI began life as The Gramophone Company in London and was the oldest major recording company. Founded in 1931, its recording catalog includes music by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra, Coldplay, and Katy Perry and its publishing portfolio was one of the most valuable in the world. Capitol, Virgin, Blue Note and Parlophone are a few of the labels under the EMI umbrella. EMI Classics has long been one of the cornerstones of the classical industry.

Lucian Grainge is the chairman and chief executive of Universal.  He said:

…this is an historic acquisition and an important step in preserving the legacy of EMI Music.

According to Reuters, the music industry in much weaker and more fragmented than it was a decade ago and that stronger companies are needed to help protect and promote artistic talent. They also cited the rise of powerful distributors like iTunes, Google, and Amazon, which together account for about 80% of music sales, as the principal price setters in today’s market.

Is this important news for Clay Aiken?  Well, yes…Decca is part of Universal Music Group and the financial health of the company is important to all of the talent. Dave Holmes, manager of Coldplay says that this move can only be a positive for the artists and executives involved.  We can only hope that Decca and Universal will continue their support of Clay and his music.

 

 

 

 

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Clay Aiken – David Foster – A Friend, Colleague and Family

By musicfan123 · Comments (6)
Monday, October 3rd, 2011

If you are a fan of music, you have probably heard the name David Foster. If you are a fan of Clay Aiken, you probably know that Clay and David and friends, colleagues and family.  David Foster has built an incredible musical career over the last 40 years.  However, even with all his success, David is still busy, helping young musicians, writing music and touring all over the world.

This month, David will be touring throughout Asia.  Titled David Foster and Friends Asian Tour 2011, the concerts will feature Michael Bolton, Phillip Bailey, Charice, and Russell Watson.  The 9 – concert tour will visit five countries in Asia.

When David returns to North America, he is scheduled to perform at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on November 25, 2011 and December 29, 2011.

Foster prides himself in his ability to put together musicians who he feels can help and support each other.  A few years ago, Foster hosted a PBS party at his home.  He introduced world-renowned pianist Jeffrey Biegel to Neil Sedaka.  Sedaka was working on a piano concerto and after meeting at Foster’s home, the two worked together to enhance the composition.

After many long hours of work, Biegel performed the original composition last September 12th.  The piece, titled Manhattan Intermezzo, was a hit and Biegel said that each time he plays the composition it “touches my heart.”  Another great musical collaboration made possible by David Foster.

On June 17, 2011, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Walk of Fame committee announced the new Walk of Fame Honorees for 2012.  David Foster was selected to receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Selected for his contributions to the recording industry, David will join others, including Vince Gill, Hal David and Barry White as they see their star unveiled next year!  Congratulations, David.  You certainly deserve this honor.

What else is in the future for David Foster?  Well, last July, The Hollywood Reporter announced that David was named the new chief at Verve Music Group.  According to THR:

Foster’s arrival at Verve Music Group, which includes imprints GRP and Impulse (home to John Coltrane’s catalog), is part of Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge’s plan to reinvest in UMG’s creative resources. Under Foster, Verve is expected to shift its focus to adult contemporary pop, or “what David does best, from Groban on down,” says a source. The label’s roster includes Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall and Ledisi. It also has released albums by Queen Latifah, American Idol alum Katharine McPhee and Treme regular Trombone Shorty……..Foster’s sister Jaymes is also expected to join the creative team.

I really hope that this information is correct.  It sounds wonderful…however; I am having trouble finding sources to collaborate the article from The Hollywood Reporter. I spent almost an hour on Google last night and I found nothing…nil…nada… There is no mention on Fosters official website, on the Verve Music Group website or Universal Music Group.  It has been over 2 months.   I hope we get official confirmation soon.  If any of you have more information, I would love to see it.

David Foster is one of the most commercially successful producers and composers in all of popular music. He has a lot to be proud of in his life.  One can only hope that he will continue to find new talent, produce and write many more hits.

Someone just sent me another source for the Verve mention:

Robin Leach :  The Las Vegas Sun

“In between his three new Las Vegas shows, David will play various Asian cities for three weeks with his traveling company. But for the first time in his career, he’s got two months where he has no plans whatsoever to produce or record. After a near-lifelong producer commitment at Capitol, he’s now free until his first day at Universal on Dec. 1.”

 

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Clay Aiken – The Field is Wide Open – Run With The Ball

By musicfan123 · Comments (4)
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

Two of the largest music companies in the world are now joining forces. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. the world’s leading live entertainment company, and Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s leading music company, announced on Monday that they were forming a strategic partnership.

Universal Music Group will enter its many management units with Live Nation-owned Front Line Management.

Irving Azoff is the executive chairman of Live Nation.  He said the following about the partnership:

We see tremendous opportunities to work together to create a broad range of products built on the power of music and the direct connection between artists and fans.  This is an unprecedented partnership that unites the world’s top music artists with the world’s leading artist management, live entertainment, event ticketing and sponsorship resources to drive innovation across our industry.  We see tremendous opportunities to work together to create a broad range of products built on the power of music and the direct connection between artists and fans.  We look forward to working closely with Lucian Grainge and the talented UMG team in this new and exciting chapter of the music industry.

This partnership will focus on developing direct-to-consumer bundling projects for select UMG artists in key markets around the world that bring together concert tickets and a variety of music products with artist websites.  In addition, Live Nation Entertainment’s Ticketmaster division, the global event-ticketing leader in the world, will handle ticketing and bundling products.

So…does this partnership have any consequences for recording stars like Clay Aiken?  Is this a good thing for the musicians or is it just another way for management to make more money?

My first reaction was that the competition has an up-hill road to get an even playing field.  But…then I read a blog by Bob Lefsetz who wasn’t too concerned or impressed.  He said:

  • Don’t get your knickers in a twist. This is not the two behemoths joining forces to conquer the world…
  • Irving (Azoff) is famous for not having paper deals, doing it on a handshake. So, theoretically the talent is not tied. Then again, no one leaves Irving… Because he services you better than anybody else. He won’t tell you what to record, but he will get you the most opportunities and the most dough. If you’re with Frontline, you’ve got leverage.
  • Irving’s goal is to make the trains run on time, to make sure Live Nation is profitable. Doing this via dominance, other than in the management field, is not feasible. There’s always someone willing to pay for a hit act to perform live, from AEG to casinos, and Live Nation’s monopoly on ticketing is fading. Then again, he does have leverage with the management company, and he intends to use it.
  • If you’re developing talent this deal barely affects you. The field is wide open. Run with the ball.
  • But be sure you pay attention to your act, be sure you give them opportunities and money, because even when you think you’re looking, they might jump to Frontline.

What do you think?  Do you think this is a good thing or are you worried about the artists that are not a part of this group?  Or, does it just make them work harder to be successful?

LefsetzLetter

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Clay Aiken – Music – 10 Years Ago

By musicfan123 · Comments (7)
Saturday, September 10th, 2011

Do any of you remember what the Music Industry Looked Like on September 11, 2001?  It’s only been 10 years, but the music world has made so many changes… can you remember?

The following is a list of some of the changes in the last decade.

  • There were 5 major labels: Warner Music Group, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), and Universal Music Group.
  • CDs accounted for 94.5 percent of overall recorded music sales, according to the RIAA.  Cassettes still accounted for roughly 2.5 percent of the total, LPs were roughly 0.2 percent, and album downloads were essentially nonexistent.
  • The labels were on their way to concluding their third-best year ever (the best being 1999).
  • The  iPod was still two months from being announced.
  • The iTunes Music Store was still about 20 months away.
  • Mariah Carey’s Glitter Soundtrack was released on September 11th.  The movie arrived at theaters a few weeks later.
  • The song  with the most spins on radio on September 11th was “I’m Real,” by Jennifer Lopez.
  • The top-charting country single was “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight” by Toby Keith.
  • Justin Bieber was 7 years old.  Justin Timberlake was 20.  
  • The  best-selling album on September 11th was the self-titled release from Aaliyah.  The singer had recently passed on August 25th, 2001.
  • Janet Jackson, Sade, Aerosmith, and Dave Matthews Band were dominating the live circuit.  U2 was preparing the North American leg of its Elevation tour, and actually planned the official announcement on September 11th.

When I see this list it makes me think that the technology of music has changed so much more than the artists.  All the mentioned artists except for Aaliyah, are still performing today.  However, the changes in the way we listen to music and the changes in the business of music are enormous.  It certainly makes you wonder what changes we will write about in another 10 years.  Thank you to Digital Music News for the list!

Please don’t forget to add your holiday song suggestions on September 9ths article.  The more responses, the more fun!!  Holiday music and Clay Aiken is the best partnership around.

Will you be attending the Gala in December?

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Clay Aiken – Album Released In Indonesia

By musicfan123 · Comments (12)
Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Through Universal Music’s Indonesian Facebook, it was announced that Tried & True was officially released this past week in Indonesia.  It was just a few weeks ago that Clay Aiken’s song, It’s Impossible, was found on the radio charts in Indonesia.

Indonesia is home to over 234 million people, making it the fourth most populous nation in the world.  This large population is spread out over 17,508 islands that stretch over five thousand miles along the equator.   It is a diverse and unique country with many cultures.  Yet, just as their national motto says, Indonesia and its people have found “unity in diversity.”

Clay Aiken visited Indonesia in 2004 as an Ambassador for UNICEF.  He visited Banda Aceh after the devastating tsunami hit the northern tip of the country.

It would be wonderful if Clay could make a return visit to the country and perhaps even give a concert in Jakarta, the capitol of Indonesia.

Picture of Tried and True in a Store in Indonesia


You can see Universal Music Indonesian Facebook Page HERE

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Clay Aiken – The Ever-Evolving Music Industry

By musicfan123 · Comments (16)
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

The Bandwidth Music and Technology Conference is an annual gathering of music, digital music and media leaders who gather to explore the ever-evolving music industry and how people discover, purchase, and interact with music.  The sixth annual Bandwidth conference took place in San Francisco on August 19th and 20th.

The aim of the conference is to bring together the brightest minds in music and technology.  This year, it was especially interesting because most of the major music labels attended the conference. Interscope, Geffen A&M Records, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Hollywood Records, Sony Music and Warner Bros Records all participated in the conference. In addition, super tech savvy music distribution companies were there. The biggest names in the music tech field like Cisco, Wal-Mart, HP and Twitter also mixed it up with both old and new players in music.

Since the conference took place in my area, I thought I might like to attend the two-day event.  Then, I found out that the fee for the two-day event was almost $700.  Instead, I have been reading reports of the conference on the Internet…………FREE!!

During day one of the discussions, the following data points were shared. These really opened my eyes.

The latest on Twitter…

• # of tweets, daily: 70 million
• # of tweets, monthly: 2 billion
• # of registered users: 145 million
• # of account sign-ups, daily: 300,000
• @amazonmp3 followers: 1,489,543
• Michael Tilson Thomas followers (@mtilsonthomas): 1,754 (famous orchestral conductor.)

(Source: Matt Graves, Communications Director @ Twitter. AmazonMP3 and Thomas followers sourced directly. )

The latest on photos…

• # of photos uploaded onto Facebook, monthly: 2.5 billion
• # of photos uploaded to Facebook, annually: 30 billion
• # of approved photos typically needed by a band, 2000: 6-9
• # of approved photos typically needed by a band, 2010: 300-400

The latest on YouTube:

• #2 search engine in the world (of all engines, separated from Google)
• # of videos rotated by MTV, during its 80s prime: 30-40 per week
• # of views for Tyler Hilton’s cover of  ”Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon: 748,099

The latest on apps:

• # of downloaded apps, App Store: > 5 billion (as of June) 
• # of artist apps typically downloaded: < 100,000

(Source on YouTube, photo and apps data: Jeremy Welt, SVP of New Media, Warner Bros. Records.  Total downloaded app statistic from Apple.)

In the new media space, an artist’s presence in Twitter is deemed more important than having a Myspace page.  About three years ago, a Myspace page was required for any self-respecting band or superstar. Today it’s about how many Twitter followers and Facebook friends a band can get. This change from Myspace speaks to the speed of change in both the music and technology world.

The discussion that followed the presentation of all this data was, according to those in attendance, lively and full of heated discussions.  The different ideas and concepts of what the data means were pretty much dictated by old and new “players” in the music business field.

Another topic discussed during the conference was the decision by Universal Music to pull its music videos from MTV.   Instead of putting it’s videos on MTV.com, Universal will show its music videos exclusively online at vevo.com. The change will happen after the Video Music Awards on Sept 21. Vevo.com is the No. 3 video site on the web with 43.7 million viewers in June.

It was only a few years ago that in order to launch and promote their artists labels, managers and agents had to negotiate and sometimes beg MTV for slots. It certainly isn’t that way anymore. It seems the labels don’t even care about it anymore. For Universal and its artists, being exclusively on-line is just fine.

According to reports from the conference, the music industry seems to be excited and looking forward to the positive changes in the field.  Despite the uncontrolled decline of CD sales and the rise of online and offline counterfeiting, legitimate sales of digital music is continuing to grow.  According to Yobie Benjamin at the San Francisco Chronicle:

Artists, managers and agents are no longer under the thumb of radio or music TV program directors. They don’t have to pay payola for airtime. Today it’s about your Twitter feed, your social networking creds and your relationship to the music bloggers. SPIN Magazine and Rolling Stone used to be the holy grail of music stardom… Not anymore…

Agents do not waste their time trying to get the programming director of some rock and roll radio station to return their calls any more.

Mass media is being replaced by pin-point precise media. Music today is more focused on the audience of one rather than getting on some shock music jock’s playlist. And why not? A single person on Twitter can have 10,000 followers so the multiplier effect is astronomical. Hitting the right fan returns far more results than being on a Sirius satellite channel or a mention on Billboard magazine.

Besides being interesting, there is a reason for putting this information in a blog about Clay Aiken. It seems to me that we need to see these numbers and their meaning and realize that we can support Clay more by being a viable force on the Internet sites.  FaceBook and Twitter are now more important than ever.  If we truly want to support Clay, we all need to become familiar with these great sites instead of relying on our younger fans to do it all.  There isn’t one of us who cannot get a FaceBook account or be active on Twitter.  Yes, it will take a bit of time, but the rewards are worth every minute.

I did a quick look at the twitter numbers of some music stars…

*  Eminem has  1,416,455 followers

*  Lady Gaga has   5,754,535 followers

*  Adam Lambert has  613728 followers

*  Kelly Clarkson has  346,611 followers

*  Glee has   250,242 followers

*  CANN (that’s us) has   2,302 followers

Do you know how many followers Clay has?  Well, why not look it up?  I think you will be surprised!

What do you think?  Can we help each other and get more facebook and twitter support for Clay?

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It is not always about performance art, but about receiving positive energy from people with positive spirits. Sometimes we can see someone's spirit, and those are the people with great energy. Those are the people that get me through the day, especially on Broadway. -Clay Aiken

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