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Hello all -
I've remarked before that we live in strange and curious times, and once again today delivers further proof as to why. After much negotiating I'm sure, Taylor Swift has signed with Universal Music... and in announcing this move, revealed that a caveat of her signing was having Universal agree that any revenue from selling its Spotify shares will be paid out to artists and will not be offset against unrecouped debt. Now, that is a big win, and if true then Ms Swift will now be two-for-two in her fights with the music industry, having previously been almost entirely responsible for Apple's u-turn on its original plan to not pay artists revenues for three month trials on its Apple Music platform.
Elsewhere, it seems my comments around Facebook Messenger bots ruffled some feathers, as Sendmate's boss Andreas Mahringer has seen fit to craft a response. Now any article you could summarise as "boss of messaging platform says messaging platforms are great" is always going to get a rolling of eyes and a sigh from me, but in fairness there are some interesting points made. Really though the article still sidesteps the core point I made originally, specifically that I am disinclined to build a simple one-to-one messaging channel via a platform where someone else owns the audience, rather than the artist - especially when that owner is Facebook.
Oh - and regarding this snipe: "Darren and Jon are smart marketeers, which makes seeing them fail in the direct-to-fan messaging space, all the more concerning". We're doing just fine in the direct-to-fan messaging space, thank you. Just ask our clients! Email? Amazing (and no, its not dead - come on people). SMS? Most definitely. Web notification systems like OneSignal? Incredible ROI. We're just not seeing the value in Facebook. And, as articles below back up, neither are Joe Public, politicians or indeed whole tracts of society right now.
Have a great evening,
D.
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Writing on Instagram to announce her new deal with UMG, Swift wrote: “There was one condition which meant more to me than any other deal point. As part of my new contract with Universal Music Group, I asked that any sale of their Spotify shares result in a distribution of money to their artists, non-recoupable.” She added: “They have generously agreed to this, at what they believe will be much better terms than paid out previously by other major labels. I see this as a sign that we are headed towards positive change for creators – a goal I’m never going to stop trying to help to achieve, in whatever ways I can. I’m so happy to have Sir Lucian Grainge as a partner in these efforts.”
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/universal-will-ignore-artists-unrecouped-balances-when-it-pays-out-spotify-share-money-thanks-to-taylor-swift/
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Pew’s research reflects this: About 5 percent of the recommendations went to videos with fewer than 50,000 views. The system learns from a video’s early performance, and if it does well, views can grow rapidly. In one case, a highly recommended kids’ video went from 34,000 views when Pew first encountered it in July to 30 million in August. The behavior of the system was explicable in a few other ways, too, especially as it adapted to making more clicks inside YouTube’s system. First, as Pew’s software made choices, the system selected longer videos. It’s as if the software recognizes that the user is going to be around for a while, and starts to serve up longer fare. Second, it also began to recommend more popular videos regardless of how popular the starting video was.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/11/how-youtubes-algorithm-really-works/575212/
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Back in August, shortly after we learned that Vivendi was planning to sell up to 50% of Universal Music Group, MBW suggested that US-based Liberty Media may emerge as a candidate in the scrabble to buy a chunk of the world’s biggest music rights company. Then, a month later, SiriusXM, majority-owned by Liberty, announced that it had fully acquired Pandora for $3.5bn. This led us to suggest whether Liberty Media could build a true ‘full-stack’ music company – more officially tying together its ownership, or part ownership, of Live Nation, SiriusXM and Pandora. And, therefore, whether a strategic acquisition of a stake in UMG might be under serious consideration. Yesterday (November 14), we got our answer. And it’s a big fat yes.
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/liberty-media-were-absolutely-interested-at-looking-into-buying-a-stake-in-universal/
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It seems like the end of 2018 is the time for the ‘trough of disillusion’ around messaging bots, with recent criticism of their effectiveness by marketing pros Jon Loomer (here) and Darren Hemmings (here). Now Andreas Mahringer, CEO of startup Sendmate (which focuses on messaging) has published a response to defend bots as a marketing channel.
https://musically.com/2018/11/16/sendmate-boss-defends-messaging-bots-after-marketer-criticism/
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Netflix and chill from afar? Facebook Messenger is now internally testing simultaneous co-viewing of videos. That means you and your favorite people could watch a synchronized video over group chat on your respective devices while discussing or joking about it. This “Watch Videos Together” feature could make you spend more time on Facebook Messenger while creating shared experiences that are more meaningful and positive for well-being than passively zombie-viewing videos solo. This new approach to Facebook’s Watch Party feature might feel more natural as part of messaging than through a feed, Groups or Events post.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/16/facebook-messenger-watch-videos-tegoether/
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“Far from threatening our ecosystem, however, the directive will make things clearer, fairer and sustainable for all,” wrote executive chair Helen Smith, in a letter published in the Financial Times – the same publication where Wojcicki set out her fears about the new legislation. “It confirms what the courts in Europe have already said. It clarifies that responsibility cannot lie only with the user and the owner of the content, but also with the platforms which give access to the works. That’s the clearer part,” wrote Smith.
https://musically.com/2018/11/16/impala-hits-back-at-youtube-over-article-13-reforms/
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"We welcome Google's recognition that it and Google's YouTube need to operate responsibly and properly value creators and their work," said IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore in a statement. "However, the figures in Google's anti-piracy paper don't match our own." Moore continued, "It is difficult to get any clarity on Google's claims as it doesn't explain its methodology, but IFPI data shows that revenue returning to the record industry through video streaming services (including but not limited to YouTube) with 1.3 billion users amounted to US $856 million in 2017 -- less than half of Google's claim and less than US $1 per user per year.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/streaming/8485351/ifpi-youtube-refute-claim-music-industry-payout
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YouTube quietly added around 100 ad-supported Hollywood movies to its site, beginning last month, according to a new report from AdAge. The titles include a mix of classics like “Rocky” and “The Terminator,” as well as other family fare like “Zookeeper,” “Agent Cody Banks,” and “Legally Blonde,” among others. Before, YouTube had only offered consumers the ability to purchase movies and TV shows, similar to how you can rent or buy content from Apple’s iTunes or Amazon Video.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/16/youtube-quietly-added-free-ad-supported-movies-to-its-site/
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Pandora Premium is finally available on Echo devices. The streaming music company this morning announced its top-level paid subscription tier will launch across Alexa-powered devices, including the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show, as well as on all third-party Alexa devices that support Pandora.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/19/pandora-premium-arrives-on-echo-and-other-alexa-devices/
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Mr. Warner has continued to press Silicon Valley about privacy. In August, he issued a white paper outlining ways to rein in Big Tech, including passing privacy laws like those enacted in Europe this year, and making social media platforms liable for defamatory content. “It’s important for Facebook to recognize that this isn’t a public relations problem — it’s a fundamental challenge for the platform and their business model,” Mr. Warner said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/17/technology/facebook-democrats-congress.html
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