DISC & DigitalAudioTechnology (Music & Digital Audio/Video News) TM

A New Media Newsletter For The Music Industry

Vol 7-#24 – 7/3/2009 - Commentary - News - And More


-------------------------------


Always online at: www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer

The Industry's Inside Music, Digital Audio & Video News And Commentary Of Choice To Keep You Informed Since 2003


"Print It Out And Read It All!"

-------------------------------

THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 1
Commentary and One Man's Opinion

NOTE TO CRITICS & ENTERTAINMENT EXECS: TRANSFORM THIS

“I believe entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot.” – Steve Martin

As of today, just eight days after its release, 'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' has grossed $239,380,350 at the box office.

One news story titled 'Transformers: Worst Reviewed $400 Million hit' said, "“Critics and mainstream crowds often disagree, but "Revenge of the Fallen" sets a new standard for the gulf between what reviewers and mass audiences like." (Source: http://tinyurl.com/m9h6gg )

From the same article, "Critics "forget what the goal of the movie was. The goal of the movie is to entertain and have fun," said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount, which is distributing "Transformers" for DreamWorks. "What the audience tells us is, `We couldn't be more entertained and having more fun.' They kind of roll their eyes at the critics and say, `You have no idea what you're talking about.'"

In the midst of the worst recession in history, an awful lot of people are finding the discretionary income necessary to buy one million iPhones in a week, drive four of the country's top ten box office titles to grosses of $165 million plus, and this buy hundreds of thousands of Michael Jackson albums. Either a whole lot of people found a whole lot of change buried under their sofa cushions, or people simply want they always have wanted, to be entertained at any cost.

It's not the critics that forget that pure ENTERTAINMENT drives box office when they review films. Many executives in the entertainment industry forget that pure ENTERTAINMENT is what drives everything.

This week, the major networks assumed that nobody would be watching late night television because of the coming July 4th weekend. So all three networks ran repeats of Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel. Wouldn't it have made sense for at least ONE of those networks to run NEW shows and capture the audience that didn't want to watch reruns, and in the process maybe even capture some NEW audience?

Even 'America's Got Talent' (which could be renamed 'If America's Got Talent It's Sure Hard To Find') grabbed almost 12 million viewers last week. I don't think they grabbed that audience by creating anything wonderful (far from it), it's just that THE SHOW WAS NEW.

While the major TV nets were getting ready to go to sleep over the summer, HBO debuted it's second season of 'True Blood' to record ratings for the cable channel, making it the most-watched program on the network since "The Sopranos' " finale two years ago. Why? NEW shows. It doesn't matter anymore whether they debut in Summer of Fall, the audiences are out there.

And the audiences are out there at retail, at the theaters, at the concerts, and elsewhere when they want to be entertained.

They don't care about network schedules, release dates, critics, and all the rest. All they care about is being entertained.

Walt Disney said, "We allow no geniuses around our Studio."

Good move on Walt's part. It's the geniuses who seem to over analyze the marketplace and listen too much to the finance guys who study their Excel spreadsheets so much their optometrists love them every time they come in for that annual eye exam.

Remember 'Shakespeare In Love' or 'Chariots of Fire'? I sure don't. But the critics loved them.

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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
A FOLLOW-UP TO 'GOING MOBILE'

Last week in my commentary 'Going Mobile' I wrote, "The fact that more and more people are using their smartphones as their mobile media centers (and computers in some cases) provides great opportunities for the music and film industries."

This week a new report claims that advertising on mobile phones could reach $28.8 billion within five years, as consumers embrace new Internet-enabled devices like Apple's iPhone. According to Ineum Consulting, mobile advertising will grow at an annual rate of 45%, reaching $28.8 billion in five years, up from $3.1 billion today.

Read more about it here: http://tinyurl.com/n2knc6

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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
CHARTS SHOULD REFLECT ALL CURRENT SALES

Though retail music sales this week belonged to Michael Jackson albums, Billboard magazine chose NOT to put any of the albums on their Top 200 Album Chart. Nope.

Instead, Billboard put Michael's sales on their Top Pop Catalog Albums Chart, where the top nine slots are all his.

Why these albums would NOT be considered for inclusion on the Top 200 Album Chart is beyond me. Yes, Billboard does have some rule about once an album reaches so many weeks old, it is moved onto the Catalog Charts, but in this case the overwhelming dominance of Michael Jackson at retail this past week, should somehow have been reflected in the Top 200 Album Chart in my opinion, if indeed Billboard wants the Top 200 Album Chart to be an accurate reflection of what is happening NOW a retail.

Other music charts all over the world did reflect the sales of Michael Jackson on current music charts, and in such an extraordinary case as this, I think Billboard might have bent their rules somewhat. Sales of Michaels' top three sellers alone were well over 300,000+. (Each one selling over 100,000..something none of the Top 10 albums on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart did this week. Not even The Black Eyed Peas, who still hold the #1 position on the Top 200 chart, sold that many.

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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
THE TWITTER REVOLUTION MAY NOT BE TELEVISED

The anecdotal and empirical evidence about Twitter's shortcomings is snowballing as fast as its growth is slowing. The media hype turning point may be upon us.

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/musp49

------------------------------

THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
GOSSIP: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY

According to a new report, "Despite Perez Hilton's fading star, the entertainment news and gossip trade is booming online. According to comScore, nearly 55 million U.S. consumers visited an entertainment news site in May 2009, representing a 7% increase year-over-year."

Perez Hilton losing online audience: Good. The entertainment gossip trade booming: Bad. The fact that more people are seeking this type of "news": Ugly.

You can read more about the report here: http://tinyurl.com/mpedw4

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TMZ Scoops News Media On Jackson

TMZ's scoops on the death of "King of Pop" Michael Jackson this week may mark a turning point in the brand's place in the news media landscape, and a turning point for the Internet as an immediate news source. Usually obsessed with tabloid trash, TMZ trounced all news rivals on the Michael Jackson story. Their being first makes TMZ more than just a tabloid source for real celebrity news.

While TMZ's Jackson reports are only the latest in a long line of celebrity-related scoops, the outfit's reports on the pop star's death showed its news team's prowess. TMZ was not only first to report on Jackson's hospitalization, death and cause of death--parts of a story that every major news outlet wound up chasing--it also got the details of his death precise out of the box.

Many news outlets opted to source reports from more traditional sources, particularly the Los Angeles Times, rather than rely on TMZ.

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/m2o3q9

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CNN Exclusive Video of Michael Jackson Rehearsal

AEG, promoter of Jackson's planned London shows, released a short video of Michael Jackson rehearsing on a stage in the Staples Center arena on June 23, and it Jackson appeared healthy as he sang "They Don't Care About Us," a song from his "History" album, and he danced along with eight male dancers. The video comes just days after AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips refuted claims that Jackson was frail and listless during his last rehearsals at the Staples Center.

Watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/ltpdz4

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A Short Conversation With Wilco's Jeff Tweedy

“Even the most dismal and hopeless-sounding Wilco music, to my ears, has always maintained a level of hope and consolation. I think art is a consolation regardless of its content. It has the power to move and make you feel like you're not alone. And ultimately that's what everybody wants to know.”

TIME magazine talks to Wilco's frontman and leader, Jeff Tweedy, about the band's new album 'Wilco.(The Album', which is being released this week.

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/m4ajk3

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Pirate Bay Faces User Backlash Following Sale Forbes

"What's the value of a site with millions of unique visitors, massive press attention and traffic that has doubled over the last year?" asks Forbes writer Andy Greenberg. "If those millions of users are copyright-flouting filesharers who rebel at the site of big media collaboration, surprisingly little." Indeed, on Tuesday, The Pirate Bay, the Web's top directory for indexing and tracking bittorent files, announced that it was selling itself to Swedish gaming firm Global Gaming Factory for $7.7 million. The company's new owners plan to make the site into a legitimate media business that licenses content.

If $7.7 million sounds puny for one of the Web's top sites, Greenberg says one need only look at the hundreds of comments that followed the deal's announcement for the reason why. "This is the ultimate knife in the back," wrote one user. "Rest in Peace TPB, the biggest sellout have seen in my lifetime." Others were far harsher in their criticism of the move (some even called for cyber attacks to take the site offline), and many requested a button be added to allow users to delete their accounts quickly. Meanwhile, the company pleaded lamely for understanding: "Some things needs to be reborn and rebooted," read The Pirate Bay's blog. "Let's make this into something good!"

Of course, the likelihood of The Pirate Bay rising again as a legitimate operation is slim. As Big Champagne CEO Eric Garland says, "When you think of all of the copyright-infringing companies that tried to relaunch or rebrand, the arc is pretty well established," he says. "It's easy to give away music without authorization, and far less popular when you try to offer it legitimately."

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/kjuabk

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Music Copyright Lawsuit Targets Microsoft, Yahoo, Real

"When it comes to online music, big legal music services like Zune, Yahoo Music, and Rhapsody are the copyright owners' friends--unlike file-trading networks or free on-demand streaming services, these companies actually collect money from users and disburse it to copyright owners. Perhaps the plaintiffs have a legitimate complaint. But by filing such an aggressive lawsuit to recover billions in supposed damages--I mean honestly, how many Grand Funk Railroad streams have been delivered via the Zune Marketplace?--these folks risk killing their allies and driving music back to the darknet where nobody in the value chain sees a dime."

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/nhw37s

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Pandora Thru Amazon

Pandora is a great music-discovery service, so it's only natural that independent bands would hope to get their music placed on it. Unfortunately for them, Pandora just made that a little harder--and a little more expensive.

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/nph5og

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Microsoft Inks Deal With Live Nation For IE8

Through the agreement, Internet Explorer 8 has signed on as the presenting sponsor of Nickelback's current Dark Horse 2009. Users who download the browser from a dedicated site, www.ie8-nickelback.com, will also have the chance to download an exclusive live version of the band's single, "Something in your mouth," and will be able to view behind-the-scenes videos of the band on the road as well as specialized content from the band itself.

"The band likes it because they've got a new, cool way to get connected to their fans," says Russell Wallach, president of north American Alliances at Live Nation. "It's also good for IE8 because Nickelback has a predominantly young male audience to put IE8 in front of."

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/mf8k67

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Firefox 3.5 Released

Firefox 3.5, the embodiment of Mozilla's attempt to "upgrade the Web," is now available for Windows and Mac. Firefox 3.5 has a range of new features, including a new JavaScript engine for faster Web applications such as Google Docs; the ability to show video built into Web pages without plug-ins; a private browsing mode; fancy downloadable fonts; and geolocation technology that can let Web sites know where you are.

"So much is happening on the Web right now, it's a great time for browsers," said John Lilly, CEO of Firefox backer Mozilla, in a statement. And, he boasted, "Firefox 3.5 brings together the most innovative Web technologies and delivers them in the most complete and powerful modern browser."

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/m5tvxn

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On The Road Again

BILLY SQUIER 'ALL NIGHT LONG TOUR '09 -- "The Stroke," "Lonely Is The Night," In The Dark," "My Kinda' Lover," "Everybody Wants You," and more. Anybody who loves kick ass rock'n'roll and great guitar should check out Billy Squier when he hits your hometown or near it. Right now the tour is booked through the end of September.

To check out tour dates and info click here: http://www.billysquier.com/index2.html

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THE SHOW MUST GO ON: MSNBC is reporting that Michael Jackson’s This Is It! Show, that was due to launch July 13th at London’s O2 Arena. may still come to the stage as a tribute concert to the King of Pop. The concert will reportedly replicate Jackson’s planned stage show for his 50-concert sold-out run, but with an all-star cast of performers filling in for the fallen singer. According to MSNBC, the This Is It! tribute concert will take place in the next few weeks. “Every major celebrity has been reaching out, saying they want to participate in the show,” a source working on the show tells MSNBC. “Kenny Ortega and Travis Payne have been given authorization to proceed in deciding who will take the stage,” the source adds, referring to Jackson’s director and choreographer.

MIMI AS EMINEM: Fist Eminem took a jab at Mariah Carey in his "Bagpipes From Bagdad." Mimi now fires back in her new video for "Obsessed" in which she'll transform into an Eminem lookalike via lots of makeup and video magic.

MACCA AND NEIL: Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance at Neil Young’s concert at London’s Hyde Park on June 27th, running out onstage to sing his “A Day in the Life” verse after Young launched into the epic. Video of their performance is all over YouTube so check it out.

HACKERS BLAMED FOR FALSE CELEBRITY DEATH TWEETS: According to the AP, celebrity deaths that were tweeted announcing the passing of Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Goldblum, and P. Diddy among others, were all the result of hackers last week.

MACs GAIN ON PCs: A new report by Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty says Apple is outperforming the PC market in sales growth, and this was before Apple released its new MacBook Pros in June, according to a report on Fortune's Apple 2.0 Wednesday.

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THE TOP 20 ALBUMS FROM THE BILLBOARD CHART
FOR WEEK ENDING 7/11/09

1. The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
2. The Jonas Brothers, Lines, Vines & Trying Times
NEW -3. Regina Spektor, Far
4. Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King
5. Eminem, Relapse
NEW - 6. Dream Theater, Black Clouds & Silver Linings
NEW - 7. Transformers, Soundtrack
8. Lady GaGa, The Fame - Certified Platinum
NEW - 9. Ginuwine, A Man's Thoughts
10. Hannah Montana, The Movie - Certified Platinum
11. Taylor Swift, Fearless
NEW - 12. The Mars Volta, Octahedron
13. Kings Of Leon. Only By Night - Certified Gold
14. Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown - Certified Gold
15. Chickenfoot, Chickenfoot
16. Zac Brown Band, The Foundation - Certified Gold
17. Kenny Chesney, Greatest Hits 2
18. Nickelback, Dark Horse - Certified 2x Platinum
19. Jason Aldean, Wide Open - Certified Gold
20. Rascal Flatts, Unstoppable

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TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEO
FROM BILLBOARD'S TOP MUSIC VIDEO CHART
FOR WEEK ENDING 7/4/09

1. Michael Jackson: Number Ones - Certified 4x RIAA Platinum Video Sales
2. CMT Crossroads
3. Iron Maiden: Flight 666 - The Film
4. Michael Jackson: Live In Bucharest - The Dangerous Tour - Certified RIAA Gold Video Sales
5. Clapton & Winwood: Live From Madison Square Garden
6. Michael Jackson: Greatest Hits - History - Certified 5x RIAA Platinum Video Sales
7. Chess: In Concert
8. Michael Jackson: History On Film - Vol 2
9. Stevie Wonder: Live At Last
10. The Temptations: Get Ready - Definitive Performances 1965-1972 - Certified 2x RIAA Platinum Video Sales

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TV WASTELAND, IT'S ONLY TV WASTELAND...
WHAT AMERICA'S WATCHING
The Top 20 Network Primetime Report - Based On Nielsen Ratings
Network Primetime Averages by Viewers

Week of 6/22/09-6/28/09
[Show, Network, Total Viewers in millions]

1. America's Got Talent (Tuesday), NBC, 11.5
2. NCIS, CBS, 11.1
3. America's Got Talent (Wednesday), NBC ,10.4
4. The Mentalist, CBS, 9.1
5. 60 Minutes, CBS, 8.8
6. CSI, CBS, 8.7
6. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 8.7
8. 20/20, ABC, 8.2
9. CSI: Miami, CBS, 8.0
10. Wipeout, ABC, 7.8
11. Criminal Minds, CBS, 7.6
12. So You Think You Can Dance (Wednesday), Fox, 7.6
13. Michael Jackson, CBS, 7.5
14. CSI: NY, CBS, 7.4
15. Big Bang Theory, CBS, 7.2
16. Philanthropist, NBC, 7.1
17. 48 Hours Mystery, CBS, 7.0
18. So You Think You Can Dance (Thursday,) Fox, 6.9
19. The Bachelorette, ABC, 6.8
20. Dateline, NBC, 6.7

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Quotes Of The Week:

"When you travel the world five times, it changes you. For me in particular, I write all my own music. So as I'm travelling and I'm on this whirlwind of an experience, I'm becoming a better songwriter because I'm experiencing and seeing new things and information that I didn't have when I wrote The Fame. So now I have this new information and new spirituality and a newfound love and art in my spirit — and that's the new music. -- Lady GaGa, who is going to embark on a co-headlining trek across the U.S. with Kanye West this fall, on touring and releasing new tunes

"What happens when you have to go to the bathroom?" -- Whitney Port, questioning Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's leotard trend, on It's On with Alexa Chung

"Great, now we're outsourcing mistresses." -- Craig Ferguson, on South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's Argentine affair, on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

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THE ‘B SIDE’


FROM ‘THE ONION’ – AMERICA’S FINEST (SATIRICAL) NEWS SOURCE (www.onion.com )

US To Trade Gold Reserves For Cash Through Cash4Gold.com

Treasury officials say the gold has just been in the bottom of some vaults at the US Bullion Depository anyway, and the government needs the money NOW.

Watch the video here and laugh: http://tinyurl.com/nn4xza

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THE RADIO INTERVIEW on 'THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE'

"Steve Meyer is on the front line of global music sales and distribution which he expects will soar to pocket-bursting levels. What's more, he shares his insight and ingenuity with us. Steve gives us both historical perspective and futuristic vision as he chats with Judy about the love of his work, trends of the business and his personal points of view about success, happiness and blending life with the lust for life. Steve joins Judy and helps us discover the thrill of having it all with a sense of balance and purpose. "

You can listen to an interview I did with Judy Piazza of 'The American Perspective' by clicking here: (It runs about 15 minutes)

http://thesop.org/index.php?article=10306

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Check out Jerry Del Colliano's (the founder of INSIDE RADIO) daily blog, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com

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Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/ where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities

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Check out www.tinyurl.com where you can make a smaller URL that will work for any webpage you wish to link to or reference. (As you can see, I'm using it in my news stories above!)

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DISC&DAT is formatted and best read in Microsoft Outlook if you are receiving it via e-mail and not reading it online at: www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer where you can read the current issue, some past articles and interviews, my bio, and see some photos, or at the leading music industry website www.allaccess.com in the 'Digital Technology' section.

DISC & DAT is meant to be your "Forum" as much as mine, so your comments are always welcome and I encourage all to be pro-active in contributing ongoing dialogue and/or commentary. I answer ALL questions asked via direct e-mail.

If you wish to be removed from the DISC & DAT newsletter and updates at any time, just reply to this e-mail with 'Unsubscribe' in the subject line.

If you know of others who might appreciate receiving DISC & DAT, please forward it on or send me their e-mail addresses and I'll add them to the list.

Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ...drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain.

"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon

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DISC & DAT - Weekly Edition – 2009, online at www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer
Published By Steve Meyer
President/CEO - Smart Marketing Consulting Services
Editor, Digital Technology: www.allaccess.com
Las Vegas, NV
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I welcome and appreciate forwarding of the newsletters in their entirety or in part with proper attribution.


Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material of whatever nature created by Steve Meyer and included in this newsletter and any related pages, including various news and other information, is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ABOUT STEVE MEYER

Steve Meyer is a 38 year music industry veteran, having served in executive capacities at both Capitol and MCA Records before starting his own company, Smart Marketing, to consult clients in the entertainment, media, and broadcast industries.

While at Capitol and MCA he was the recipient of several industry awards of recognition, including Billboard magazine's award for Excellence.

In 2003, he started publishing the new media newsletter 'DISC&Digital Audio Technology', to address challenges the music industry was facing in the emerging online digital world. The newsletter is published every Friday, sent to almost 2,000 subscribers direct, and posted on the leading music industry resource www.allaccess.com and his own site www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer

In October 2004, Steve was a featured speaker at the Community Broadcasters Association convention in Las Vegas. His speech, ‘Digital Wars In The Brave New World’ was reprinted on several industry websites.

Since 2004, Steve has consulted labels, artists, managers, producers, and media companies.

Steve is also a freelance journalist, has also had articles published in various industry publications, and guest lectures at industry events, colleges, and elsewhere when requested.











































DISC & DigitalAudioTechnology (Music & Digital Audio/Video News) TM

A New Media Newsletter For The Music Industry

Vol 7-#24 – 7/3/2009 - Commentary - News - And More


-------------------------------


Always online at: www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer
The Industry's Inside Music, Digital Audio & Video News And Commentary Of Choice To Keep You Informed Since 2003


"Print It Out And Read It All!"
(DISC&DAT is formatted and best read in Microsoft Outlook. If you want to see what it looks like in that format go to my website www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer )



-------------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 1
Commentary and One Man's Opinion

NOTE TO CRITICS & ENTERTAINMENT EXECS: TRANSFORM THIS

“I believe entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot.” – Steve Martin

As of today, just eight days after its release, 'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' has grossed $239,380,350 at the box office.

One news story titled 'Transformers: Worst Reviewed $400 Million hit' said, "“Critics and mainstream crowds often disagree, but "Revenge of the Fallen" sets a new standard for the gulf between what reviewers and mass audiences like." (Source: http://tinyurl.com/m9h6gg )

From the same article, "Critics "forget what the goal of the movie was. The goal of the movie is to entertain and have fun," said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount, which is distributing "Transformers" for DreamWorks. "What the audience tells us is, `We couldn't be more entertained and having more fun.' They kind of roll their eyes at the critics and say, `You have no idea what you're talking about.'"



In the midst of the worst recession in history, an awful lot of people are finding the discretionary income necessary to buy one million iPhones in a week, drive four of the country's top ten box office titles to grosses of $165 million plus, and this buy hundreds of thousands of Michael Jackson albums. Either a whole lot of people found a whole lot of change buried under their sofa cushions, or people simply want they always have wanted, to be entertained at any cost.

It's not the critics that forget that pure ENTERTAINMENT drives box office when they review films. Many executives in the entertainment industry forget that pure ENTERTAINMENT is what drives everything.

This week, the major networks assumed that nobody would be watching late night television because of the coming July 4th weekend. So all three networks ran repeats of Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel. Wouldn't it have made sense for at least ONE of those networks to run NEW shows and capture the audience that didn't want to watch reruns, and in the process maybe even capture some NEW audience?

Even 'America's Got Talent' (which could be renamed 'If America's Got Talent It's Sure Hard To Find') grabbed almost 12 million viewers last week. I don't think they grabbed that audience by creating anything wonderful (far from it), it's just that THE SHOW WAS NEW.

While the major TV nets were getting ready to go to sleep over the summer, HBO debuted it's second season of 'True Blood' to record ratings for the cable channel, making it the most-watched program on the network since "The Sopranos' " finale two years ago. Why? NEW shows. It doesn't matter anymore whether they debut in Summer of Fall, the audiences are out there.

And the audiences are out there at retail, at the theaters, at the concerts, and elsewhere when they want to be entertained.

They don't care about network schedules, release dates, critics, and all the rest. All they care about is being entertained.

Walt Disney said, "We allow no geniuses around our Studio."

Good move on Walt's part. It's the geniuses who seem to over analyze the marketplace and listen too much to the finance guys who study their Excel spreadsheets so much their optometrists love them every time they come in for that annual eye exam.

Remember 'Shakespeare In Love' or 'Chariots of Fire'? I sure don't. But the critics loved them.

------------------------------

THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
A FOLLOW-UP TO 'GOING MOBILE'

Last week in my commentary 'Going Mobile' I wrote, "The fact that more and more people are using their smartphones as their mobile media centers (and computers in some cases) provides great opportunities for the music and film industries."

This week a new report claims that advertising on mobile phones could reach $28.8 billion within five years, as consumers embrace new Internet-enabled devices like Apple's iPhone. According to Ineum Consulting, mobile advertising will grow at an annual rate of 45%, reaching $28.8 billion in five years, up from $3.1 billion today.

Read more about it here: http://tinyurl.com/n2knc6

------------------------------

THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
CHARTS SHOULD REFLECT ALL CURRENT SALES

Though retail music sales this week belonged to Michael Jackson albums, Billboard magazine chose NOT to put any of the albums on their Top 200 Album Chart. Nope.

Instead, Billboard put Michael's sales on their Top Pop Catalog Albums Chart, where the top nine slots are all his.

Why these albums would NOT be considered for inclusion on the Top 200 Album Chart is beyond me. Yes, Billboard does have some rule about once an album reaches so many weeks old, it is moved onto the Catalog Charts, but in this case the overwhelming dominance of Michael Jackson at retail this past week, should somehow have been reflected in the Top 200 Album Chart in my opinion, if indeed Billboard wants the Top 200 Album Chart to be an accurate reflection of what is happening NOW a retail.

Other music charts all over the world did reflect the sales of Michael Jackson on current music charts, and in such an extraordinary case as this, I think Billboard might have bent their rules somewhat. Sales of Michaels' top three sellers alone were well over 300,000+. (Each one selling over 100,000..something none of the Top 10 albums on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart did this week. Not even The Black Eyed Peas, who still hold the #1 position on the Top 200 chart, sold that many.

------------------------------

THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
THE TWITTER REVOLUTION MAY NOT BE TELEVISED

The anecdotal and empirical evidence about Twitter's shortcomings is snowballing as fast as its growth is slowing. The media hype turning point may be upon us.



Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/musp49

------------------------------

THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
GOSSIP: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY

According to a new report, "Despite Perez Hilton's fading star, the entertainment news and gossip trade is booming online. According to comScore, nearly 55 million U.S. consumers visited an entertainment news site in May 2009, representing a 7% increase year-over-year."



Perez Hilton losing online audience: Good. The entertainment gossip trade booming: Bad. The fact that more people are seeking this type of "news": Ugly.



You can read more about the report here: http://tinyurl.com/mpedw4



------------------------------

TMZ Scoops News Media On Jackson



TMZ's scoops on the death of "King of Pop" Michael Jackson this week may mark a turning point in the brand's place in the news media landscape, and a turning point for the Internet as an immediate news source. Usually obsessed with tabloid trash, TMZ trounced all news rivals on the Michael Jackson story. Their being first makes TMZ more than just a tabloid source for real celebrity news.



While TMZ's Jackson reports are only the latest in a long line of celebrity-related scoops, the outfit's reports on the pop star's death showed its news team's prowess. TMZ was not only first to report on Jackson's hospitalization, death and cause of death--parts of a story that every major news outlet wound up chasing--it also got the details of his death precise out of the box.



Many news outlets opted to source reports from more traditional sources, particularly the Los Angeles Times, rather than rely on TMZ.



Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/m2o3q9

-----------------------------

CNN Exclusive Video of Michael Jackson Rehearsal

AEG, promoter of Jackson's planned London shows, released a short video of Michael Jackson rehearsing on a stage in the Staples Center arena on June 23, and it Jackson appeared healthy as he sang "They Don't Care About Us," a song from his "History" album, and he danced along with eight male dancers. The video comes just days after AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips refuted claims that Jackson was frail and listless during his last rehearsals at the Staples Center.

Watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/ltpdz4



-----------------------------

A Short Conversation With Wilco's Jeff Tweedy

“Even the most dismal and hopeless-sounding Wilco music, to my ears, has always maintained a level of hope and consolation. I think art is a consolation regardless of its content. It has the power to move and make you feel like you're not alone. And ultimately that's what everybody wants to know.”



TIME magazine talks to Wilco's frontman and leader, Jeff Tweedy, about the band's new album 'Wilco.(The Album', which is being released this week.

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/m4ajk3

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Pirate Bay Faces User Backlash Following Sale
Forbes



"What's the value of a site with millions of unique visitors, massive press attention and traffic that has doubled over the last year?" asks Forbes writer Andy Greenberg. "If those millions of users are copyright-flouting filesharers who rebel at the site of big media collaboration, surprisingly little." Indeed, on Tuesday, The Pirate Bay, the Web's top directory for indexing and tracking bittorent files, announced that it was selling itself to Swedish gaming firm Global Gaming Factory for $7.7 million. The company's new owners plan to make the site into a legitimate media business that licenses content.



If $7.7 million sounds puny for one of the Web's top sites, Greenberg says one need only look at the hundreds of comments that followed the deal's announcement for the reason why. "This is the ultimate knife in the back," wrote one user. "Rest in Peace TPB, the biggest sellout have seen in my lifetime." Others were far harsher in their criticism of the move (some even called for cyber attacks to take the site offline), and many requested a button be added to allow users to delete their accounts quickly. Meanwhile, the company pleaded lamely for understanding: "Some things needs to be reborn and rebooted," read The Pirate Bay's blog. "Let's make this into something good!"



Of course, the likelihood of The Pirate Bay rising again as a legitimate operation is slim. As Big Champagne CEO Eric Garland says, "When you think of all of the copyright-infringing companies that tried to relaunch or rebrand, the arc is pretty well established," he says. "It's easy to give away music without authorization, and far less popular when you try to offer it legitimately."



Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/kjuabk

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Music Copyright Lawsuit Targets Microsoft, Yahoo, Real



"When it comes to online music, big legal music services like Zune, Yahoo Music, and Rhapsody are the copyright owners' friends--unlike file-trading networks or free on-demand streaming services, these companies actually collect money from users and disburse it to copyright owners. Perhaps the plaintiffs have a legitimate complaint. But by filing such an aggressive lawsuit to recover billions in supposed damages--I mean honestly, how many Grand Funk Railroad streams have been delivered via the Zune Marketplace?--these folks risk killing their allies and driving music back to the darknet where nobody in the value chain sees a dime."



Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/nhw37s

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Pandora Thru Amazon

Pandora is a great music-discovery service, so it's only natural that independent bands would hope to get their music placed on it. Unfortunately for them, Pandora just made that a little harder--and a little more expensive.

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/nph5og

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Microsoft Inks Deal With Live Nation For IE8



Through the agreement, Internet Explorer 8 has signed on as the presenting sponsor of Nickelback's current Dark Horse 2009. Users who download the browser from a dedicated site, www.ie8-nickelback.com, will also have the chance to download an exclusive live version of the band's single, "Something in your mouth," and will be able to view behind-the-scenes videos of the band on the road as well as specialized content from the band itself.



"The band likes it because they've got a new, cool way to get connected to their fans," says Russell Wallach, president of north American Alliances at Live Nation. "It's also good for IE8 because Nickelback has a predominantly young male audience to put IE8 in front of."



Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/mf8k67

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Firefox 3.5 Released

Firefox 3.5, the embodiment of Mozilla's attempt to "upgrade the Web," is now available for Windows and Mac. Firefox 3.5 has a range of new features, including a new JavaScript engine for faster Web applications such as Google Docs; the ability to show video built into Web pages without plug-ins; a private browsing mode; fancy downloadable fonts; and geolocation technology that can let Web sites know where you are.

"So much is happening on the Web right now, it's a great time for browsers," said John Lilly, CEO of Firefox backer Mozilla, in a statement. And, he boasted, "Firefox 3.5 brings together the most innovative Web technologies and delivers them in the most complete and powerful modern browser."



Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/m5tvxn

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On The Road Again

BILLY SQUIER 'ALL NIGHT LONG TOUR '09 -- "The Stroke," "Lonely Is The Night," In The Dark," "My Kinda' Lover," "Everybody Wants You," and more. Anybody who loves kick ass rock'n'roll and great guitar should check out Billy Squier when he hits your hometown or near it. Right now the tour is booked through the end of September.

To check out tour dates and info click here: http://www.billysquier.com/index2.html

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THE SHOW MUST GO ON: MSNBC is reporting that Michael Jackson’s This Is It! Show, that was due to launch July 13th at London’s O2 Arena. may still come to the stage as a tribute concert to the King of Pop. The concert will reportedly replicate Jackson’s planned stage show for his 50-concert sold-out run, but with an all-star cast of performers filling in for the fallen singer. According to MSNBC, the This Is It! tribute concert will take place in the next few weeks. “Every major celebrity has been reaching out, saying they want to participate in the show,” a source working on the show tells MSNBC. “Kenny Ortega and Travis Payne have been given authorization to proceed in deciding who will take the stage,” the source adds, referring to Jackson’s director and choreographer.



MIMI AS EMINEM: Fist Eminem took a jab at Mariah Carey in his "Bagpipes From Bagdad." Mimi now fires back in her new video for "Obsessed" in which she'll transform into an Eminem lookalike via lots of makeup and video magic.



MACCA AND NEIL: Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance at Neil Young’s concert at London’s Hyde Park on June 27th, running out onstage to sing his “A Day in the Life” verse after Young launched into the epic. Video of their performance is all over YouTube so check it out.



HACKERS BLAMED FOR FALSE CELEBRITY DEATH TWEETS: According to the AP, celebrity deaths that were tweeted announcing the passing of Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Goldblum, and P. Diddy among others, were all the result of hackers last week.



MACs GAIN ON PCs: A new report by Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty says Apple is outperforming the PC market in sales growth, and this was before Apple released its new MacBook Pros in June, according to a report on Fortune's Apple 2.0 Wednesday.



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THE TOP 20 ALBUMS FROM THE BILLBOARD CHART
FOR WEEK ENDING 7/11/09

1. The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
2. The Jonas Brothers, Lines, Vines & Trying Times
NEW -3. Regina Spektor, Far
4. Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King
5. Eminem, Relapse
NEW - 6. Dream Theater, Black Clouds & Silver Linings
NEW - 7. Transformers, Soundtrack
8. Lady GaGa, The Fame - Certified Platinum
NEW - 9. Ginuwine, A Man's Thoughts
10. Hannah Montana, The Movie - Certified Platinum
11. Taylor Swift, Fearless
NEW - 12. The Mars Volta, Octahedron
13. Kings Of Leon. Only By Night - Certified Gold
14. Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown - Certified Gold
15. Chickenfoot, Chickenfoot
16. Zac Brown Band, The Foundation - Certified Gold
17. Kenny Chesney, Greatest Hits 2
18. Nickelback, Dark Horse - Certified 2x Platinum
19. Jason Aldean, Wide Open - Certified Gold
20. Rascal Flatts, Unstoppable

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TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEO
FROM BILLBOARD'S TOP MUSIC VIDEO CHART
FOR WEEK ENDING 7/4/09


1. Michael Jackson: Number Ones - Certified 4x RIAA Platinum Video Sales
2. CMT Crossroads
3. Iron Maiden: Flight 666 - The Film
4. Michael Jackson: Live In Bucharest - The Dangerous Tour - Certified RIAA Gold Video Sales
5. Clapton & Winwood: Live From Madison Square Garden
6. Michael Jackson: Greatest Hits - History - Certified 5x RIAA Platinum Video Sales
7. Chess: In Concert
8. Michael Jackson: History On Film - Vol 2
9. Stevie Wonder: Live At Last
10. The Temptations: Get Ready - Definitive Performances 1965-1972 - Certified 2x RIAA Platinum Video Sales

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TV WASTELAND, IT'S ONLY TV WASTELAND...
WHAT AMERICA'S WATCHING
The Top 20 Network Primetime Report - Based On Nielsen Ratings
Network Primetime Averages by Viewers

Week of 6/22/09-6/28/09
[Show, Network, Total Viewers in millions]


1. America's Got Talent (Tuesday), NBC, 11.5
2. NCIS, CBS, 11.1
3. America's Got Talent (Wednesday), NBC ,10.4
4. The Mentalist, CBS, 9.1
5. 60 Minutes, CBS, 8.8
6. CSI, CBS, 8.7
6. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 8.7
8. 20/20, ABC, 8.2
9. CSI: Miami, CBS, 8.0
10. Wipeout, ABC, 7.8
11. Criminal Minds, CBS, 7.6
12. So You Think You Can Dance (Wednesday), Fox, 7.6
13. Michael Jackson, CBS, 7.5
14. CSI: NY, CBS, 7.4
15. Big Bang Theory, CBS, 7.2
16. Philanthropist, NBC, 7.1
17. 48 Hours Mystery, CBS, 7.0
18. So You Think You Can Dance (Thursday,) Fox, 6.9
19. The Bachelorette, ABC, 6.8
20. Dateline, NBC, 6.7

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Quotes Of The Week:

"When you travel the world five times, it changes you. For me in particular, I write all my own music. So as I'm travelling and I'm on this whirlwind of an experience, I'm becoming a better songwriter because I'm experiencing and seeing new things and information that I didn't have when I wrote The Fame. So now I have this new information and new spirituality and a newfound love and art in my spirit — and that's the new music. -- Lady GaGa, who is going to embark on a co-headlining trek across the U.S. with Kanye West this fall, on touring and releasing new tunes

"What happens when you have to go to the bathroom?" -- Whitney Port, questioning Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's leotard trend, on It's On with Alexa Chung

"Great, now we're outsourcing mistresses." -- Craig Ferguson, on South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's Argentine affair, on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

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THE ‘B SIDE’


FROM ‘THE ONION’ – AMERICA’S FINEST (SATIRICAL) NEWS SOURCE (www.onion.com )

US To Trade Gold Reserves For Cash Through Cash4Gold.com



Treasury officials say the gold has just been in the bottom of some vaults at the US Bullion Depository anyway, and the government needs the money NOW.



Watch the video here and laugh: http://tinyurl.com/nn4xza

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THE RADIO INTERVIEW on 'THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE'

"Steve Meyer is on the front line of global music sales and distribution which he expects will soar to pocket-bursting levels. What's more, he shares his insight and ingenuity with us. Steve gives us both historical perspective and futuristic vision as he chats with Judy about the love of his work, trends of the business and his personal points of view about success, happiness and blending life with the lust for life. Steve joins Judy and helps us discover the thrill of having it all with a sense of balance and purpose. "



You can listen to an interview I did with Judy Piazza of 'The American Perspective' by clicking here: (It runs about 15 minutes)



http://thesop.org/index.php?article=10306

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Check out Jerry Del Colliano's (the founder of INSIDE RADIO) daily blog, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com

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Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/ where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities

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Check out www.tinyurl.com where you can make a smaller URL that will work for any webpage you wish to link to or reference. (As you can see, I'm using it in my news stories above!)

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DISC&DAT is formatted and best read in Microsoft Outlook if you are receiving it via e-mail and not reading it online at: www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer where you can read the current issue, some past articles and interviews, my bio, and see some photos, or at the leading music industry website www.allaccess.com in the 'Digital Technology' section.

DISC & DAT is meant to be your "Forum" as much as mine, so your comments are always welcome and I encourage all to be pro-active in contributing ongoing dialogue and/or commentary. I answer ALL questions asked via direct e-mail.

If you wish to be removed from the DISC & DAT newsletter and updates at any time, just reply to this e-mail with 'Unsubscribe' in the subject line.

If you know of others who might appreciate receiving DISC & DAT, please forward it on or send me their e-mail addresses and I'll add them to the list.

Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ...drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain.



"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon


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DISC & DAT - Weekly Edition – 2009, online at www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer
Published By Steve Meyer
President/CEO - Smart Marketing Consulting Services
Editor, Digital Technology: www.allaccess.com
Las Vegas, NV
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I welcome and appreciate forwarding of the newsletters in their entirety or in part with proper attribution.


Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material of whatever nature created by Steve Meyer and included in this newsletter and any related pages, including various news and other information, is licensed under a Creative Commons License.



ABOUT STEVE MEYER



Steve Meyer is a 38 year music industry veteran, having served in executive capacities at both Capitol and MCA Records before starting his own company, Smart Marketing, to consult clients in the entertainment, media, and broadcast industries.

While at Capitol and MCA he was the recipient of several industry awards of recognition, including Billboard magazine's award for Excellence.

In 2003, he started publishing the new media newsletter 'DISC&Digital Audio Technology', to address challenges the music industry was facing in the emerging online digital world. The newsletter is published every Friday, sent to almost 2,000 subscribers direct, and posted on the leading music industry resource www.allaccess.com and his own site www.freewebs.com/stevemeyer

In October 2004, Steve was a featured speaker at the Community Broadcasters Association convention in Las Vegas. His speech, ‘Digital Wars In The Brave New World’ was reprinted on several industry websites.

Since 2004, Steve has consulted labels, artists, managers, producers, and media companies.

Steve is also a freelance journalist, has also had articles published in various industry publications, and guest lectures at industry events, colleges, and elsewhere when requested.