Taking on the Macbook Air?

This was no small scale project, with Tiësto performing a 90-minute set. The gig, made possible by HP and Intel, was watched live by over 28,000 viewers.

It’s certainly an interesting concept, particularly when accounting for the fast-paced world of Twitter. It’s easy to jump from tweet to tweet, news article to news article while tweeting, but HP and Intel ensured maximum attention by collaborating with the biggest name in the business.

It’s remains to be seen how much revenue this might generate for HP and Intel, but one thing is for sure: the monetary value of a powerful musical figure like Tiësto.

Both HP and Intel obviously realise the lucrative potential of an endorsement by Tiësto, and boy did they get it, when, after performing his version of Adele’s Set Fire To The Rain, Tiësto thanked “HP and Intel for making this possible; they are the best”.

It might be tempting to revert to a cliché at this point, perhaps something along the lines of not being being able to buy that kind of advertising: but clearly it’s possible. This is a spectacular coup for both HP and Intel. Making the first ever live Twitter gig possible is a tag any major media company dreams about, but introducing Tiësto’s name to the mix is the most compelling notion of all.

The gig, which was part of the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), can be viewed here.

Tweeting via his Official Twitter Page before the gig, DJ Tiësto said, “I am pretty honored and excited to be the first artist ever to perform live on @twitter !! Watch @hp & @intel”.

“The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the owner and producer of the International CES. CEA is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services.”

HP and Intel were promoting their take on The Ultrabook.

Samuel Agini is the Editor of Andrew Apanov’s Dotted Music.

The Guardian recently reported that filings with Companies House show that bonus schemes were in place to pay senior managers as much as £41 million were business to go according to plan.

Citigroup, the former owner of EMI, apparently cancelled any prospect of such payments upon its acquisition of EMI.

But it wasn’t all clever business dealings on behalf of Citigroup.

Citigroup was to incur huge losses on its loans to EMI. It’s hardly surprising that the bank’s loans to the record label would sustain a dramatic decrease as a result.

Meanwhile, it’s not all doom and gloom for the music industries top dogs.

The Nielsen Company and Billboard have published their 2011 Music Industry Report.

Published annually, this year’s report was striking for the revelation that “[f]or the first time, digital music sales are larger than physical sales; accounting for 50.3% of all music purchases in 2011″.

And although Dotted Music will always support digital music sales, it’s important to note that there is a lot of work to do before the music industry can be said to have adapted to technological pressures.

It’s worrying, for instance, that CD album sales still more than doubly exceed digital album sales. Does this represent the consumer’s insurmountable desire to acquire a physical copy of the album, or could more be done to encourage the consumption of digital music? It is indeed likely that pricing strategies inhibit the consumer, discouraging the consumption of digital albums.

However, the increasing popularity of digital album sales (a 19.5% increase on last year’s figures) has almost certainly encouraged the 36.3% increase in Vinyl LP album sales, with 3.9 million units shifted in 2011, a Nielsen sales record.

With digital gains and vinyl surprises tensely juxtaposed , 2012 promises to be at least as dramatic as the last.

Samuel Agini is the Editor of ANdrew Apanov’s Dotted Music.

If that’s as vague a name as can be, another clue as to the contents of the report is that its being published was reported with glee by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Indeed, it’s a list of “locations, physical or online, in which copyright theft is open, pervasive and undermines the respect for the rule of law”.

The report itself warns that counterfeit products bought at these locations “may pose possible health and safety risks to consumers”.

Could it be? Is that Fame Monster counterfeit the cause of your enduring migraine? Did downloading Metallica and Lou Reed’s Lulu album truly bestow grandma with osteoporosis and a nasty bout of shingles?

Ignoring the possibility that acquiring counterfeit music determines, by karma, health around the world, what on earth is the source of the U.S. Trade Representative’s concern.

Okay, I’m being disingenuous. I know very well that the U.S. Trade Representative is more than likely attributing health and safety problems to the sale of counterfeit cigarettes and pharmaceutical products, but it makes for an appealing headline, if only too fanciful to believe.

I suppose you’d very much like to know about some of those who have made the naughty – I mean Notorious – list.

The usual suspects, such as Megaupload, The Pirate Bay, and Demonoid, are included, but there are also some less obvious inclusions, such as China’s Gougou, Sogou, and Taobao.

Below is a pie chart showing the countries where the notorious digital websites are based:

Samuel Agini is the Editor of Andrew Apanov’s Dotted Music.

Special Editions Win Prizes

It’s significant that the prediction relates to physical sales (unless stockings have gone digital), especially when bearing in mind last month’s big news about record-breaking digital album sales in 2011.

So what is keeping the cumbersome physical CD from being consigned to last year’s Christmas stocking? What keeps it relevant?

The answer, according to the BPI, is to be found in Deluxe and Special Edition CDs, which now account for one in ten physical album sales.

Is the answer to the CD’s continued relevance truly found in its packaging?

Special editions, for the most part, are pricier and heavier than their standard release equivalents; surely the contemporary consumer, so prone to illegal downloading and carrying hundreds of kilograms worth of CDs on an iPod, is more tech savvy than to actually buy a special edition album.

But it can’t even be the bonus tracks that tempt the consumer into splashing out on a special edition CD. Okay, okay, maybe just a bit; but we all know that it’s easier just to pay a nominal fee for them on iTunes or Amazon. It would seem that we’re developing peculiar habits – hoarding silver, shiny toys, and special edition CDs.

That’s not to mock special editions – one of my prized possessions is a special edition of AFI’s Sing the Sorrow, almost ubiquitously known as Clandestine – which are the best way for fans to get value for money in buying an album. After all, does anybody really want to spend hard-earned money on a CD with packaging limited to a cardboard sleeve?

If you read too much into the BPI’s recent press releases you’ll be excused for thinking that the phenomenon of special edition CDs is a recent one.

Fortunately for music, the idea was pushed at the Grammy’s as early as 1995, with a Grammy being given for the best special edition album every year.

BPI Chief Executive, Geoff Taylor, commenting on music as a gift, said, “Music is a thoughtful and personal gift to give or receive.

“CDs gift-wrapped and delivered to your door by the retailer make an ideal gift for Christmas whilst Deluxe and Special Editions of albums make a perfect present for die-hard music fans who want to get their hands on superbly packaged albums with bonus audio and video content and a wealth of memorabilia.”

According to the BPI, in the 12 months ending September 2011, one in ten CD sales of the Top 200 best-selling artist album titles have been deluxe and special Editions.

Long may an upward trend continue.

Samuel Agini is the Editor of Andrew Apanov’s Dotted Music.

Universal Music Group (UMG) bought EMI’s recorded music business for $1.9 billion, while a Sony-led consortium looks set to purchase the publishing unit for $2.2 billion. Citigroup will retain responsibility for pensions liabilities, a key component of the negotiations process. Evidently Citigroup couldn’t attract bids at the desired levels with pensions liabilities included as part of any sale.

But it was Dotted Music all the way back in July who framed the story relative the market as a whole. In an article dating to 15 July I made the inference that any sale would have to clear regulatory laws regarding market concentration. At the time, Sony looked the most likely candidate to purchase EMI, but in the advent of Citigroup’s decision to split the famous label’s recorded music business from the publishing unit EMI will not be dominated by just one major player.

However, there are fears hanging over the deals with EMI and Sony because they are yet to clear regulatory laws regarding market concentration. According to the Financial Times, Universal will pay Citigroup £1.1 million irrespective of whether the deal convinces regulatory authorities in the USA, Japan, the EU, and Australia.

The politics of all this could yet prove controversial. Could the Japanese authorities sanction Sony’s move while blocking UMG’s?

The sale of EMI comes after reports that artists like David Bowie are set to leave EMI, taking issue with the way the label is run. NME reported earlier this week that both UMG and Sony are in talks to sign the icon.

Samuel Agini is the Editor of Andrew Apanov’s Dotted Music.

UMG might yet increase its market share

Although EMI’s assets have been previously valued to be worth up to $3bn, potential bids are estimated by industry experts to be approximately two-thirds of this figure. Leo Blavatnik, the owner of Warner Music, has seen his bid of $1.6bn fail to shift Citigroup from its demands of at least $1.9bn. EMI’s value has seemingly been compromised by the cost of its pension scheme to any buyer, as was reported last week in the London Guardian.

Dan Sabbagh, writing in the London Guardian spoke out against the idea that Citigroup could seek to break up EMI in an attempt to salvage the record label’s flailing value. But the rumours have not subsided, with Business Week reiterating that view.

EMI’s Chief Executive Officer Roger Faxon will have to consider his options as he has been described as being ‘initially opposed’ to the dissolution of the 114-year old record label, but questions remain over the outcome of any dissolution of the record label.

But it seems that if Citigroup’s sale strategy is to sell off the label in pieces, the inevitable outcome will be an increased market saturation. The question, now, is not whether Citigroup will sell EMI in pieces, but just how many pieces this will constitute. One definite split will be EMI’s publishing arm, which could raise $2bn for Citigroup on its own.

With rights to the Beatles’ catalogue, EMI’s legacy in the music industry is secured, but until a sale finalises this debacle, the music industry’s crisis continues.

Samuel Agini is the Editor of Andrew Apanov’s Dotted Music.