Category: Industry

It is no secret that classical is hot on the Internet. This seems to be one of those, “if you build it, they will come” situations.

Visit the Web and you’ll find thousands of classical musicians, critics and fans chattering away in a rapidly expanding classical blogosphere. Internet radio also is streaming performances from major opera companies, orchestras and concert halls. And perhaps most surprising, the Web is fueling a mini-boom in the classical recording industry.

Sales at ArkivMusic, an online classical CD emporium, rose 30 percent in 2007, an astounding figure considering that CD sales in general were down more than 15 percent in the United States last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Classical downloads likewise have been brisk. At eMusic, the world’s second-largest digital music service after iTunes, classical music now represents 12 percent of its overall European sales, and its business in the U.S. is not far behind. That’s a big increase for a genre that rarely made up more than 2 or 3 percent of total sales in record stores.

The Internet, of course, is no miracle cure. Past technological innovations – from the Edison cylinder and the LP to the compact disc – also were hailed as classical music saviors. Once the novelty wore off, the genre usually found itself back in the margins.

But on the Internet, being a marginal or niche interest isn’t necessarily bad.

“What the Internet has done is fragment the entire music and entertainment industry, so in the future, I don’t think we’re going to see as many Michael Jackson-like mega acts,” said Douglas McLennan, founder of the online periodical ArtsJournal and an expert on Web-based arts culture. “On the Internet, everything is a niche, and in that kind of environment, classical music is one of the bigger niches.”

The Internet has fragmented the music world, but it also has opened opportunities for ordinary musicians.

A quarter-century ago, only superstar artists could get recording contracts. Now a musician like Wolcott can record and market his own CDs, since the Internet gives him direct access to the public. Wolcott is selling a locally produced album of children’s lullabies, “Stardust,” on his MySpace page.

The BBC reports that common sense may reign in the land of fish and chips.

Millions of people already “rip” discs to their computers and move the files to MP3 players, although the process is technically against copyright law.

Intellectual property minister Lord Triesman said the law should be changed so it “keeps up with the times”.

Music industry bodies gave a cautious welcome to the proposals, which are up for public consultation until 8 April.

The changes would apply only to people copying music for personal use – meaning multiple copying and internet file-sharing would still be banned.

Owners would not be allowed to sell or give away their original discs once they had made a copy.

Chris Anderson talks about the economics of music in China, and how it may be a hint of how musicians will distribute music and make money in the future.

The Chinese music industry is at the cutting edge of finding ways to make money in every way other than the sale of songs, since the traditional process of selling music as a product (certainly CDs) is considered pretty much of a lost cause.

Big labels are finally getting it. DRM is bad. Online music is good. Reasonable pricing is good. Changing business models to adapt to the times is good. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Talk about a 180. After months of complaining about Apple’s “indecent” iTunes pricing model, Warner Music Group appears to have had a complete change of heart. On Wednesday, the label actually praised the iTunes store, calling it a prime example of digital music done right, according to MacNN.

“You need to look no further than Apple’s iPhone to see how fast brilliantly written software presented on a beautifully designed device with a spectacular user interface will throw all the accepted notions about pricing, billing platforms and brand loyalty right out the window, said Warner Music Group chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman.

Considering that quote sounds like it could have come from Cupertino itself, that’s some spectacular brown-nosing for a music exec.

By now everyone has probably heard of the Minnesota case where a woman who shared music files was found guilty and fined over $200,000. Perhaps more telling is the reaction posted in blog comments at the New York Times.