2012 Grammy Social Media Summit Focuses on Streaming Music

The fact that digital outlets have become the standard for music fans to obtain their tunes from is not news to anyone.  Where the digital world may be headed, however, is anyone's guess.  This year's summit at the Grammy's focused on this aspect of the industry and where it may be headed.  The panel featured prominent members of the digital music community from Spotify, Turntable.fm, Shazam, and GetGlue.  It was also moderated by the CEO of Topspin Media, Ian Rogers.  The fact that fans are more connected than ever, and expect a new level of openness and availability from artists was agreed upon as the biggest change to the industry in the last ten years.  This is a change that I have definitely noticed.  A Decade ago,  fans were only given access to artists through chance meetings before or after concerts, or a peek inside their minds through interviews that they did for magazines or television shows.  With the birth of Social Networking, it has become almost shocking to learn that your favorite musician doesn't have a Twitter, or that they aren't a fan of Facebook.   With this increasing level of access to artists, fans have come to expect more and more from them, in terms of what they give to the fans.  This has also led the way to artists distributing more of their music themselves, which was another topic that was discussed at the summit.  The level of connection with the fans has made it much more simple for musicians to simply email or post a link on Social Networking sites to give their fans direct access to their latest music.

The Future of this industry looks to be wide open, as all the companies represented had different ideas for what they hope to venture into next.  Spotify is looking to reduce the number of consumers that get their music for free, and seriously expand the size of the industry.Turntable will be seeking to help new talent catch their big break, while Shazam will be working in the music discovery area, a venture which began with the Super Bowl, and will continue with the Grammy's.  In any case, it looks as though 2012 will be a very interesting year for Digital Music.

Spotify, Shazam, Turntable.fm Are Hot Topics At Grammy Social Media Summit

Fake Concert Promoter Sentenced to 9 Year in Prison

This was a case that I found very interesting when I heard about this man being arrested.  Every now and then you will read about some fake concert promoter setting up a show and selling tickets, and then people get upset with the artist when they don't show up, only to find out that they never even knew about it.  Mike Wady of Pheonix, AZ took this to a whole new level.  He was convicted of 5 counts of wire fraud and 5 counts of transactional money laundering.  In addition to his 9 years in Federal Prison, he now has to pay $30 million in restitution, and perform 250 hours of community service.  Wady posed as a promoter for the Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, and over 40 other major touring artists.  He convinced investors to give him money for these shows with a promise of repayment once the net profits were finalized.  Since Wady had no connection to any of these artists, he would use the money to finance his lifestyle, then return parts of it to the investors as their repayment.  Approximately 240 investors lost over $30 million throughout the course of this scam.

Now Why does this case concern me? As someone who is entering the world of being an independent concert promoter, Someone pulling off a scam on this scale stands to threaten that entire industry.  When stories like this make headlines, potential investors become more and more suspicious of newer independent promoters, and are much less likely to give their funds to a promoter that is not already well established in the industry. This will force new promoters to start on a much smaller scale and work their way very slowly by building a solid reputation.  Hopefully investors will realize that not all independent promoters are scam artists and will be willing to give them a chance.

http://www.fbi.gov/phoenix/press-releases/2011/man-sentenced-to-prison-and-ordered-to-pay-over-30-million-in-restitution-for-multiple-concert-promotion-ponzi-schemes