YouLicense http://virb.com/youlicense YouLicense is an online music licensing marketplace. We have developed a platform which enables artists and those seeking musical content to conduct business directly with one another in a safe and secure environment. Our unique search engine and standardized contracts allow for a quick and easy process. Whether you're looking to license music for Film & Television, Advertising Campaigns, Music on Hold, Mobile Phone Content, Web Content, Audio Projects, or you are a small business in need of musical content, YouLicense is your marketplace.

License Music with YouLicense

 Join our Facebook group]]> Virb 2.0 (@youlicense) en yl-logo-black http://virb.com/youlicense/photos/1490117 ]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:53:34 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/photos/1490117 Official Release: YOULICENSE OFFERS BRANDED ONLINE MUSIC LICENSING MARKETPLACES FOR LABELS, PUBLISHERS & DIGITAL AGGREGATORS http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/1055778 - NO commissions with this non-exclusive subscription based turn-key service -

New York, NY, January 6th 2009, YouLicense.com, the global online music licensing platform, announced today a new automated private label solution that enables content owners to set up their own fully branded online licensing marketplace for synch and other licensing activities in a quick, efficient and inexpensive way. First adopters of the unique platform include INgrooves, Big Fish Media, AWAL, MBop digital, Dashgo and Cyberset Records.

YouLicense can build and launch branded "white label" licensing marketplaces that are integrated into a company's existing website and strategy. A private label licensing marketplace provides content owners and aggregators with a platform for promoting their music to new and existing buyers/licensees. YouLicense builds, maintains, develops new features and provides technical support for its private label clients, on a subscription fee basis, with no commissions or transaction fees.

"Our private label solution gives companies an easy way to expand their licensing activities online." said YouLicense.com CEO, Maor Ezer. "The platform offers the most effective way for commercial buyers to find and license music and our private label clients enjoy the benefits of a highly scalable online licensing solution."

Features included in the private label are:
o Licensing offer system
o "Quick License" for pre-cleared content
o Playlists
o Community Features
o Artist Stores
o Branded Licensing Widgets
o MP3 sales

The YouLicense private label solution is currently in a closed beta stage. To be among the select companies included in the beta, please follow this link and sign up.
http://www.youlicense.com/PrivateLabel/

Additionally, companies can opt in to the YouLicense.com open marketplace and join thousands of indie artists and hundreds of labels and publishers who are connecting directly with music licensees worldwide.

Existing private label sites include:
INgrooves
AWAL
Dashgo


About YouLicense
YouLicense.com is an online music licensing marketplace and private label technology provider, allowing independent music artists and companies to connect directly with music buyers seeking music for film, TV, ads, games and Web entertainment. Through the Web-based system, sellers and buyers interact, negotiate, contract and transact directly, in a highly automated and secure system. YouLicense.com is headquartered in Tel Aviv, with operations in London and New York.

Media Contact for YouLicense:
Naama Hillman, +44(0)7799146038, Naama@YouLicense.com]]> Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:57:38 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/1055778 Sell MP3s on YouLicense.com http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/954145 alt

Due to high demand from artists, labels and many visitors, we have a fantastic new addition to the site - MP3 sales!

As well as offering songs for licensing in film, tv, ads, web and more, artists and labels can now make their songs available for MP3 download at the price of their choice.

Here is how it works
  • Free Account - Pay 10 cents per track sold and you set the prices

  • Pro Musician and Business accounts - Pay NOTHING on MP3 sales
Oh, and here's a kicker - using the licensing widget, artists and labels can sell MP3s AND offer music for licensing on their Facebook, Bebo MySpace profiles and anywhere else on the web!

Click here to sign up for a free account
]]> Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:29:09 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/954145 Good News! Pay 0% Commision on Licensing Deals http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/859669
We are giving indie artists and labels the chance to pay 0% commission on licensing deals made on YouLicense.com.

YouLicense.com is and will always be free to join. Any user signing up will receive their own storefront with their music and profile. With the free account you are only charged commissions for completed deals. However, with the new premium services we are waiving commisions as well as giving indie artists and labels the tools to license their music online and the chance to make more money!


The premium services include a Pro Musician account for independent artists, that offers unlimited uploads, 0% commissions, unlimited storage and album profiles; and a Business Account designed for record labels which allows for an unlimited number of artist profiles, storefronts and songs from their catalogs.

Click here to learn more]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:10:13 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/859669 SellaBand Artists Now on YouLicense.com ! http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/791036 alt
We are proud to have SellaBand join YouLicense.com and offer their artists music for licensing.

SellaBand is a powerful platform that empowers artists and we, for one, are completely on board with that.

Check out the SellaBand profile on YouLicense
Check out the SellaBand website

The SellaBand model invites music fans from around the world to invest as little as US$10.00 into their favorite artist. Once the artist has achieved the full recording budget of US$50,000, SellaBand helps them produce a professional album. To date, 24 artists from around the world have sourced the full recording budget on SellaBand.

The decision by SellaBand to feature its catalog of music on YouLicense.com will make artists such as Second Person (UK) and Cubworld (USA) available for licensing to entertainment producers, advertisers, fans and anyone else interested in licensing music for creative projects.

In the short time since joining the YouLicense.com platform, SellaBand already has created new licensing opportunities for its artists.


SellaBand Artists available on YouLicense:

Nemesea
Lily Vasquez
Cubworld
Second Person
Maitreya
Julia Marcell
Confused 5
Mandyleigh Storm
Solid Tube
T-ka
Vegas Dragons


Read what Listening Post had to say
]]> Tue, 26 Aug 2008 05:56:19 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/791036 1000 tracks to be licensed this week ! http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/769641
In the coming week, TheCellFreak.com, a young and fun site for free mobile content wants to license 1000 songs from YouLicense members. Paying $25 per song and giving artists the chance to expose their music to a vastly expanding audience of music lovers.

So, artists !

If 12 of your songs get licensed then you've earned over $250 up front for the next year!

Go ahead and submit as many of your songs as you like.

Click here to submit to this opportunity
Click here to sign up for your free account on YouLicense

YouLicense is all about finding opportunities for the indie music community. We believe that mobile content is a great way of getting your music out there, gaining exposure to music loving crowds and making money.

With more and more deals and opportunities coming our way, we believe that indie artists and labels can make money, continuously and steadily, from licensing deals big and small.]]> Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:39:28 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/769641 Revolver Records Join YouLicense! http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/767683
Revolver Records was created by Paul Birch in 1979 . Its sister labels are FM Records and Heavy Metal Records. Revolver is best known for signing the Manchester band, The Stone Roses as well as artists such as UK Subs and The Vibrators. The label also released the first, self-titled album by Jane's Addiction.

You can now license songs from the Revolver Records catalog on YouLicense!

Check out The Stone Roses on YouLicense
Check out The UK Subs on YouLicense
Check out Revolver Records on YouLicense

Also available from Revolver Recoreds on YouLicense:
Scorpions
Bruce Springsteen (Tribute Album)
Apache Indian
Art of Dying
The Fall The Rise
Bohica
Jim Dandy (Black Oak Arkansas)
Witchfinder General
C-Blunt
54-40
Leo Sayer
Biomechanical
Amebix]]> Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:01:34 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/767683 TechCrunch Article - YouLicense Gets $1 Million For Online Music Licensing http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/759714
Here is the Article:

Over a year since launching its music licensing marketplace into beta, Israeli startup YouLicense has raised $1 million in funding from the Logia Group and Ofer Media.

YouLicense is positioning itself as a marketplace for low cost music licensing, similar to what iStockPhoto did for stock photography. YouLicense's system lets music sellers (licensors) and buyers (licensees) communicate, negotiate, contract, and transact directly. Licenses are typically in the $20-150 range with a 9% commission charged to the licensor upon the completion of a transaction.

Since launch, the company has amassed a repository of 50,000 songs licensed by independent labels and artists. YouLicense has chosen to be "licensee-friendly" and not require song exclusivity, meaning that licensors are free to monetize their music anywhere else in addition to YouLicense.

While YouLicense expected to license most of its music for use in advertising, film and television, the bulk of its licenses have been in the long tail - specifically, for slideshow and website background music, corporate presentations, online and mobile videos, and indie film making.

Prior to this round, YouLicense operated on a mere $100,000 in pre-seed funding. CEO Maor Ezer says the company plans to roll out a white labeled marketplace in addition to storefront applications for Facebook, MySpace and Bebo in the next few months.

Roi Carthy]]> Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:35:20 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/759714 YouLicense Mood Application on Facebook & Bebo http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/705215 alt

What mood are you in?
YouLicense has just launched a cool and clever little application for Facebook & Bebo.

This is a great way to explore the music that YouLicense has to offer.
Whether you're happy, sad, cool, angry or mysterious, this application is sure to find the right music for you.

Put it up on your page, share it with your friends and enjoy the music!


Facebook

Bebo]]> Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:39:50 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/705215 Bodog Music joins YouLicense! http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/695031
The label features a diverse and growing roster of talented artists like DMX and the Wu-Tang Clan to punk-pop rocker Bif Naked and alt-rock band Neurosonic. Some of their catalog can now be licensed via YouLicense.com.

In addition to this, Bodog Music seeks out new talent through the Bodog Battle of the Bands program. This global search for today's best unsigned talent offers winners a $1 million recording contract with Bodog Music.

Although band sign up for the 2007/2008 Battle is closed for this season, you can still get in on this year's Battle action!

Bodog YouLicense Profile

Bodog Battle of the Bands]]> Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:53:41 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/695031 Rock Brand 2.0: What Advertisers Really Want http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/518102
The major label recording contract was once the ultimate prize for many artists, simply because of the financial, distribution, and promotional muscle involved. But artists now have alternative paths towards broader-scale success, including direct relationships with brands.

Superstar artists certainly have their place in the advertising world, and multi-million dollar sponsorships prove it. But brands are usually interested in connecting with targeted demographics, and that opens the door for smaller labels, bands, and scenes. "I would actually rather work with a medium-to-small sized artist," commented Trey Shelton, chief executive of Music Interactive. "With an up-and-coming act, you are getting a little bit more of a tastemaker crowd."
Keep reading on Digital Music News]]> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:21:40 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/518102 YouLicense Seeks Music Submissions for Film Placements http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/507389
Recently added opportunities by UK based production company FFAB:UK and the Indie film, Phobidilic, are great examples of the growing community of filmmakers and production companies seeking to license music directly from content owners in a fast, simple and easy manner.

"Connecting artists with filmmakers and production houses globally is exactly what we aim to do on YouLicense.com. Finding and creating the right tools for all our clients is our top priority and we're extremely pleased to see licensees and content owners connecting through our marketplace and discovering the creative solutions needed for them to complete their projects in a fast and secure process." Maor Ezer, Founder & CEO of YouLicense.com

YouLicense.com is dedicated to connecting content owners (both independent artists and larger providers such as publishers and record labels) with music licensees worldwide. Content owners can now take advantage of the new "Opportunities" section on YouLicense.com and submit their music for consideration by the licensees. Joining YouLicense.com is free of charge as well as submitting songs to these opportunities.

From the "Opportunities" section - as posted on YouLicense:

FFAB:UK: "A short film to be submitted to international film festivals including Cannes. Three people are trapped in an elevator. We need five songs that sound like Muzak. Each must be different and contrast with the others."

Phobidilic - The Movie: "I'm looking for original music for my upcoming movie soundtrack. The movie is called "phobidilic" and it's a dark, kick ass, fight-club style feature film. Shooting on the film has begun recently, so bring it on..."

http://www.youlicense.com/Opportunities

Taken from Maor Ezer's blog at http://www.maorezer.com/?p=15]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:26:42 -0700 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/507389 The NPD Group: Consumers Acquired More Music In 2007, But Spent Less http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/487505
NPD estimates that one million consumers dropped out of the CD buyer market in 2007, a flight led by younger consumers. In fact, 48 percent of U.S. teens did not purchase a single CD in 2007, compared to 38 percent in 2006.

The percent of the Internet population in the U.S. who engaged in peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing reached a plateau of 19 percent last year; however the number of files each user downloaded increased, and P2P music sharing continued to grow aggressively among teens.

Legal music downloads now account for 10 percent of the music acquired in the US. Reflecting the growth in that sector of the market, Apple's iTunes Music Store became the second-largest music retailer in the U.S. after Wal-Mart, based on the amount of music sold during 2007 (based on a 12-track CD equivalency for music track downloads).

Twenty-nine million consumers acquired digital music legally, via pay-to-download sites last year, which is an increase of 5 million over the previous year. Sales growth was largely driven by consumers age 36 to 50 -- a segment that was aggressively acquiring digital music-players in 2007.

"The continued growth in legal download sites is encouraging, yet the industry struggles to improve the value of each digital customer," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. "With so many baby boomers and gen-Xers entering the market, there are certainly opportunities to sell more digital albums, promote older catalog titles, or create bundles that will raise revenues. In the near term that's going to be the best means available to narrow the gap on dwindling CD revenues."

Original link]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:51:44 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/487505 MIDEM Video: Fans Business Panel http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/469406
Here's an interesting panel on the relationship between fans and artists featuring Chuck D from Public Enemy and several industry professionals.

]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:55:53 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/469406 New Study: Blogs More Than MySpace Sell Music http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/464888 alt A new study by New York University's Stern Business School tracked blog chatter for 108 albums for four weeks before and after their release dates.

The study showed that the volume of blog posts led to future sales, but that large increases in an artist's Myspace friends had a weaker correlation to sales. According to the study, if 40 or more blog posts were made before an album's release sales ended up being three to four times times the average for both indie and major releases. If blog posts crossed 250, album sales rose to six times the average regardless of label.

But don't throw out the old school rules just yet. Albums released by major labels and albums with a number of reviews from mainstream sources like Rolling Stone also tended to have higher future sales.

Advertising has always been about impressions, but previous marketing efforts were often aimed at big scores - a magazine cover, a TV apprearance or even a major national tour slot - and the bump in sales they provided. But in a fractured media landscape it seems to be the cumalitve effect of a multitude of impressions that matters. This study provides some early clues for music marketers interested in assessing the relative importance of Web 2.0 sites and metrics and suggest that looking at cumalative online action appears to provide predictive value far beyond looking at each in isolation.

[PDF of the full study]

[Originally posted by Bruce Houghton / Hypebot.com]]]> Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:11:39 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/464888 The End of Music: When Did Music Become A Penalty? http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/458318

The Problem: Digital vs. CDs


'The problem is not that consumers aren't buying digital music. Indeed, digital track sales grew by 45% last year, according to the Nielsen SoundScan "2007 Year-End Music Industry Report."

alt

Yet digital music sales are not making up for a CD sales slump, and online music consumption will have to be far more widespread than it is today to do so.' Emarketer.com

And indeed so, with everyone trying to get a bigger bite out of the digital pie and Amazon's groundbreaking efforts to free us all of DRM and support independent artists in the process, I'm sure the future will hold amazing things for the digital revolution.
'US recording industry revenue fell by $11 billion at year-end 2006, down 25% from a 1999 peak of $14.6 billion, according to Yankee Group's "US Digital Music Forecast: What Fate Awaits the Record Labels?" report.
Yankee Group said the rise of digital music will compensate slightly for this loss, reaching $5.34 billion by 2012, up from $1.98 billion at the end of 2007.' Emarketer.com.

alt

Half Way There: The Fans Determine the Price


Yes, yes, I know, Radiohead gave their album away for free. Well I paid 5 pounds for it. It was definitely a nice marketing trick and I'm sure we'll see many more of these in the coming year. But let's all remember that it only works if you're Radiohead. All you indie artists out there dreaming that your fans will pay if offered a choice, they probably won't. Your closest friends would, but they would have bought it anyways.
Trent Reznor was shocked to learn that only 18.3% of users when offered a chance to download the new album from Saul Williams for free really paid the 5$ to support the artist. Bottom line, he lost money. Even the Radiohead album found its way to P2P networks, with record breaking download numbers...what does this mean, all the music fans are on BitTorrent?! Hmmm...

The Solution: Flat Rate Music / Music tax


Media futurist, Gerd Leonard, proves everyone wrong by explaining what the benefits of a flat rate business model are. He outlines that music consumption has actually risen lately but in the same time consumer spending dropped. It's just a matter of finding the economical equilibrium that makes it work and profitable for both sides.
Did someone say 'Music Tax'? Well, this is the topic everyone is discussing.
Michael Arrington from the famous Technology blog, TechCrunch, has decided that years of blogging about new startups and technologies have now earned him the seat in the music 2.0 panel. He advises us all not to invest our time innovating new music models and ideas because the industry has only a few years left. He talks of music innovation in this new music tax era and explains why it's not sustainable and why the labels will come knocking on everyone's door again and again requesting a higher tax. I know that in some European countries there's a TV broadcasting tax, and I also know it's something that belongs in the 70's and is not working. Billions were spent on claiming these taxes from people who don't even watch TV and don't really understand why they should be paying taxes when they pay a monthly fee to their cable providers for the channels they actually view.

Here's the basic idea: Internet service providers, the guys you pay for your internet connection, will tax all users worldwide a monthly and in return users can listen to as much music as they wish.

Gerd Leonard comments on Arrington's view of the flat fee model music tax:
"Michael, you just don't get it and I wish you would stop just ranting on this issue of the flat-rate while lacking the understanding of this space. A flat rate for for digital music (NOT a tax or some sort of ISP penalty - but a blanket license that is offered to anyone that wants it) is the best thing that can possibly happen to artists and consumers alike. It creates HUGE incentives to get and retain attention on digital networks (as well as in real life aka concerts), since every click on a web / mobile site could and would result in your music being used (streamed or downloaded) which would translate directly into garnering more ad more pieces to this new 'pool of money'. And yes, the artists want to get paid - imagine that!"

Well put.

I believe a monthly subscription fee for music is the right model, at least the current one for the undecided consumer that doesn't really see the need in paying 1$ for a song he can easily grab on eMule or Kazaa. I know a lot of people who'd be more than happy to fork over a few bucks a month to get unlimited music in their lives. That being said - no DRM, no strings, no "sorry this service is for US residents only" and no "we couldn't find this artist may we suggest artist X", no you may not, I want to listen to Neil Young not Wilco!

And then there was Qtrax


Biggest thing on the net lately is the almost launch of ad based free download service Qtrax. I recently attended MIDEM the world's largest music conference/trade show in Cannes, France and everyone was raving about this new service that was supposed to launch that very week.
From rumors and internet chatter I understand that Qtrax said they have all four major labels on board and are ready to launch the largest free ad supported software in the world. But soon the press releases started coming in with rumors that Qtrax were unable to launch because Warner Music pulled back from the agreement and said they won't support the service and very soon after the remaining three majors followed.
The majors said that they talked with Qtraax about a subscription model not an ad supported rev share model.

For now, Qtrax has launched and they are reporting high levels of traffic (number 2 on Alexa) and are confident in their product and their "existing music library", although it does not consist of the majors just yet.

If Qtrax manages to get all four majors on board and allow users worldwide (currently not supporting all countries), DRM free, to use their service it might just be the solution we've all been yearning for.

More charts from Emarketer.com


Spending:

alt

Worldwide Record Sales:

alt]]> Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:30:43 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/458318 Where Music Socialism Fails http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/413996 Just when you thought opportunities for user-generated online music content were fully exploited (for this week), here comes a "historic", once in a lifetime opportunity to "own" your own record label (or at least 1/50,000th of a record label)! Welcome to the world of LaunchALabel.com. This Orlando-based enterprise aims to create the world's first "Social Record Label", with all decisions regarding label content, signing and recording of artists, touring, marketing etc. being determined through online voting by its 50,000 co-owners.

alt
How does it work?
Interested users sign-up to the record label and essentially reserve themselves a 1/50,000th share. Once the 50,000th share is reserved, users are asked to buy their share for $25 each. Now they "own" a "share" in the label and can participate in all the aspects of running the label via online forums.

Sounds familiar?
Well, the acclaimed Sellaband.com allows its users to introduce a band to its online community and initiate fundraising through word of mouth that will eventually develop the fan-base that the band needs to get picked up by a major label. Sellaband is, essentially, Socialist-style Artist Development, and it seems reasonable to assume that the model can, indeed, work. Of course, like any new user-generated online music initiative, it relies on user participation and interest and its social networking system will be critical to its success.

Where Socialism Fails..
If Sellaband is the equivalent of a socialist music co-op than LaunchALabel is a Marxist Music Commune with aspirations for world musical domination that would make any anarchist proud. Just how involved will users (shareholders) be in the daily operations of the label? According to LaunchALabel, "You will have a vote in virtually every decision the label makes... from the bands it signs, to the tours the bands go on, to t-shirt designs and more... you will even be choosing the label's name!" Maybe it's just me but the further I get into the pitch, the more I feel like I'm buying something from a late-night infomercial. With a liberal use of terms like "historic event", "the world's first", and questionable sales tactics like "If you can't see the value in contributing $25 to a history making music venture then unfortunately it's probably just not for you", it's hard to take this initiative seriously. The founders of LaunchALabel seem to be under the impression that providing all the details of how the label will work, including creating a less-than professional financial proposal detailing everything from band expenses to office supplies will put me at ease but, unfortunately, it has the opposite effect.
Launch A Label - launchalabel.com

Initiatives like Sellaband [seem to] work because they appreciate the limits of the medium in an industry where, despite the attempts of a new generation of web-savvy, mp3-toting young music execs and entrepreneurs, launching new artists and running a successful label still depends on solid industry experience, industry contacts and solid business sense. The record industry may be suffering from the competition from online music sales, illegal downloading, piracy, etc., but replacing the traditional record industry paradigm in one fell swoop, as LaunchALabel is attempting, is simply not feasible. While you have to give LaunchALabel credit for giving it a go, I think we're going to see a lot of music fans out there who aren't too happy about losing $25 to this overreaching venture; 50,000 of them, to be exact.

Originally posted on VIRV TV Blog by Lior]]> Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:10:12 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/413996 Birdman Sued For Copyright Infringement http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/399565
Rapper Birdman faces a federal lawsuit that accuses him of sampling other artists' songs without paying licensing fees.

The lawsuit claims the Birdman, whose real name is Bryan Williams, owes several music publishing companies an unspecified amount of money for using copyrighted songs without permission.

Williams and his brother, Ronald, co-founded Cash Money Records, which has a distribution and marketing deal with Universal.

The lawsuit claims that albums by Birdman and other rappers, including Lil Wayne and Big Tymers, contain copyrighted material that Cash Money Records used without licensing agreements and without paying royalties. The lawsuit doesn't name any of the copyrighted songs.

Read the full article on Billboard]]> Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:31:04 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/399565 Hollywood 2.0: Why the TV Industry Might lose 28% of its Audience Forever http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/388231
All these questions were a huge factor taken in to consideration by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Writers Guild of America before entering this historic strike that will shape the new industry forever. Hollywood 2.0.

A top industry consultant divulged an interesting theory to me. The WGA's last big strike took place in 1988. It revolved around residuals for hour-long shows along with reduced pay for reruns. Due to the five month strike, the big studios had to push the fall season to the winter. Leading soap operas had to employ low budget writers who had reduced the shows' quality. It is said that 10% of the TV viewers stopped watching television forever! This fact cannot be supported with 100% empirical data, but I glanced at some Nielson graphs over the web and they go a long way in proving this theory. It is also rumored that this strike gave birth to reality television. Fox Networks started the successful 'Cops', thus making way for many unscripted television shows that would dominate the airways in the future. The estimated loss of revenues that the AMPTP suffered was over 500 million dollars.

TV viewing changed forever, and that was before a new factor came to being - The Internet.

The 2007 strike - what's it all about?
Every three years the WGA, representing over 12,000 writers for film, radio and television in the US, negotiate their contract with the AMPTP - the big studios paying the bills. Among many disagreements were the issues of DVD residuals, union jurisdiction over animation and reality program writers (they're saying it's a reality show, there are no writers...) . But the biggest is issue is compensation for "new media"-- content written for (and/or distributed through) emerging digital technologies (you, know, the internet). On November 5th, following a failed round of negotiations the WGA began to strike.
As in music, writers rely on royalties/residuals from DVD's sold, reruns played and airing of their work on other media formats like the internet or mobile while they are sitting at home waiting their next gig. The WGA wants to bump residuals from DVD sales from 4 cents per DVD sold to 8 cents. More importantly, as it stands, the writers don't get a nickel when TV shows and movies they've written are streamed via IPTV, internet downloads, smart phones, or any other online streaming solution.
Meanwhile, our favorite TV programs are dropping like flies. Check out this great list on Wikipedia to see what aired and what's still to come.

Internet Television
Whichever way this strike plays out in the near future the real winner is the internet. There are hundreds of well funded online TV platforms like Joost , Babelgum, RayV, Knocka TV and many more ready to make their big move. Millions of viewers are emigrating to these newly launched platforms. Millions of viewers prefer watching 3 minute videos on YouTube and Metacafe over the traditional TV shows. The longer the strike continues, the more accustomed these viewers are to getting their fix online.

And so, a projected 28% of the traditional TV audience will stay online and leave television behind. Did the writers see this coming? Why start a war on online residuals when most people are still glued to their TV sets? It's the future, and the writers know it. More so, the writers are actually negotiating with venture capitalists in an effort to bypass the Hollywood studio system and reach consumers with video entertainment on the Web.

The future of music 2.0
So what has this got to do with music licensing and YouLicense? Apparently a lot.
Music licensors have also been affected by this strike and are suffering considerable business loss. If there are no shows on TV, there are no 30K$ TV placements. But it's the current strengthening of online television that will bring many new opportunities for musicians and personnel working in the music licensing arena. As Gerd Leonard, Music guru, so eloquently put in a previous post:
"10s of 1000s of new TV, online video, and gaming channels will be born in the next 2-3 years - and all of them will need music to go with the visuals. Millions of songs will be synched to video - this market will positively explode."

I couldn't agree more.]]> Thu, 27 Dec 2007 06:10:49 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/388231 Introduction to Music Licensing http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/385986 What is music licensing?
Music licensing is the process by which songwriters, in theory, get paid for their work. In much the same way you don't own that copy of Doom or Windows (or Linux), a purchaser of recorded music does not own the music, they own the media that music is stored on, and they have a limited right to use the music for themselves, so long as 'using' doesn't mean 'making unlicensed copies of' or 'broadcasting' the recorded work.

There has long been a school of thought that those who buy music have the right to do as they please with it. By the same token there is school of thought that says that an artist or composer has the sole exclusive right to decide how and when their work will be used, and for what price.

While the arguments on both sides are loud and have both valid, positive points and invalid, negative points, it is not the intent of this article to engage that particular debate. However, it is worth noting that the debate exists; at its very basic level, it comes down to a question of the right of an artist to be paid versus the right of a consumer to own what they purchase.]]> Tue, 25 Dec 2007 14:07:11 -0800 http://virb.com/youlicense/posts/text/385986