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Streaming represented nearly 80 percent of US music revenue in 2019
Streaming is even more vital to the music industry than it was a year ago. The RIAA has reported that streaming represented 79 percent ($8.8 billion) of American music revenue in 2019, compared to 75 percent the year before. And crucially, more of those were paid subscribers. There were 60.4 million paying customers for services like Apple Music and Spotify, representing 61 percent ($6.8 billion) of the entire industry's revenue -- a big step up from 46.9 million subscribers and 55 percent in 2018.
Mueller report forced Congress to find PCs with disc drives
On top of redactions and other issues with the the Mueller report, Congress is facing a potential technological block. The document will be released to lawmakers, sometime between 11AM and noon ET today, on a ... CD, according to the Associated Press. Disc drives are becoming difficult to find, especially on Mac computers, but luckily the House judiciary staff was prepared. According to a tweet from CBS's Rebecca Kaplan, "they still have a computer with a working CD-ROM drive."
Streaming accounts for 75 percent of music industry revenue in the US
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has released music industry revenue statistics for the first half of 2018 in the US, and on average, revenue growth has slowed. While overall revenue was up 10 percent compared to the same time last year, clocking in at $4.6 billion, that rate is only around half of the increase observed between the first halves of 2016 and 2017. Streaming revenue growth slowed as well, though it was still up 28 percent compared to last year. Notably, streaming accounted for the vast majority of revenue so far this year, with 75 percent of overall revenue coming from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal.
Chinese 'hackers' try to attack state governments by mailing CDs
How do you infiltrate US government computers when security experts are increasingly aware of your hacking campaigns? Send old-fashioned mail, apparently. The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center has warned officials of a China-based campaign that mails CDs loaded with malware. State institutions have received China-postmarked envelopes containing both discs with virus-laden Word documents as well as nonsensical letters. While it's not clear what the exact intent was, it looks as if the 'hackers' hoped to make their campaign seem more plausible by sending something physical.
Best Buy will stop CD sales as digital music continues to take over
There's not much reason to shop for CDs when you download or stream all your music, and big-box stores are reacting to that decline. Billboard sources have learned that Best Buy has told suppliers that it will remove music CDs from its stores as of July 1st. The chain was only making $40 million per year from the plastic discs -- a drop in the bucket for a retailer this size. Vinyl aficionados will still find records on sale for the next 2 years, according to the insiders, although they may have to be sold next to the turntables themselves.
NASA to release Voyager Golden Record as a vinyl box set
Speaking as a space-loving child of the '70s and a music fan, it was hard to contain my excitement when NASA took to Kickstarter to fund a pressing of the space agency's Voyager Golden Records. Sent into space in 1977, the Golden Record contained sounds of nature, greetings in many different languages and classical and rock music in the hopes that any aliens that found the space probe would better know humanity. The crowdfunding was successful, thankfully, and you can now get a box set of the watershed discs, this time on vinyl (or CD, if you must).
Revisit the '90s with a collection of AOL CDs
The Internet Archive is a treasure trove for software geeks. In recent months, the site has hosted everything from GIFs from Geocities to Macintosh games from the 80s. Its latest blast from the past is an entire section dedicated to AOL CD-ROMs.
Spigen has a trademark beef with Andy Rubin's Essential Products
We're still about a month away from the first Essential Phone hitting the market, but there may be a problem. According to documents provided to Android Police, well-known mobile accessory maker Spigen has trademarked the Essential name for certain accessories it builds (battery packs, chargers and Bluetooth headphones), and is worried that Andy Rubin's new outfit could cause confusion. Spigen claims the new company has had its trademark attempt rejected twice, and because Essential Products is moving forward anyway, Spigen sent a cease-and-desist letter. The response from a spokesperson? "Essential believes they are without merit and will respond appropriately." Essential is hardly a unique designation, but the close quarters of the products are interesting, even if the newcomer seems unbothered.
Classic 'Ninja Gaiden' scores earn a deluxe remaster next year
Say what you will about the trend of gaming soundtracks being released on vinyl (I've already chimed in), but the upside is that the business move can expose classic tracks to a new audience. Take the brutally difficult Ninja Gaiden, for example. The game originally came out in 1988, so there's an entire generation of folks who have likely never heard the lauded chiptunes before. The same team responsible for last year's Street Fighter II vinyl edition, Brave Wave, is at the helm for a remastered version of composer Keiji Yamagishi's first-ever score, according to The Verge.
Pirates swamp online stores with counterfeit music CDs
It can be easy to forget that CDs still represent a significant chunk of the music industry's revenue in the streaming era, but pirates certainly haven't forgotten. The Wall Street Journal has learned that counterfeit CDs are a serious problem at Amazon and other online stores. Bootleggers (frequently from China) produce discs that are increasingly similar to the real deal and sell them for slightly less than legitimate copies, making them look like bargains instead of obvious frauds. And they aren't always coming from obscure suppliers, either. In an RIAA investigation, Amazon fulfilled 18 out of 44 CD orders identified as counterfeit.
Kanye West vows 'no more CDs'
Kanye West's recent trend toward tech-related diatribes isn't over yet. In one of his signature tweetstorms, the star has declared that there will be "no more CDs" coming from him -- if you want his music going forward, you'll likely have to download or stream it. The Yeezus album cover was an "open casket" at the CD's funeral, he says. The concept of a musician going online-only isn't that groundbreaking (just ask indies that can't justify producing CDs), but it's still rare to see a major artist swear off disc-based album sales.
Sony's CD rootkit fiasco marks its inglorious 10th anniversary
Here's one product anniversary that Sony probably wants you to forget. It's the 10th anniversary of security researcher (now CTO for Microsoft Azure) Mark Russinovich publishing details of the Sony BMG rootkit, a CD copy protection system that compromised the security of Windows PCs and was near-impossible to safely uninstall. The music label was initially dismissive, but it soon had to change its tune -- it paid millions to settle charges and recalled legions of discs. To top things off, the discovery made Sony a punching bag for anyone unhappy with digital rights management (DRM) and other heavy-handed uses of copyright.
Streaming makes up a third of the US music industry's revenue
Streaming music barely edged out CD sales last year, but it's not even going to be a close fight in 2015. The RIAA has published its mid-year sales stats, and streaming already accounts for 32 percent of the US music industry's revenue at just over $1 billion. It's still not as much of a money-maker as downloads, which pulled in 40 percent ($1.3 billion), but it's miles ahead of the 24 percent ($905 million) from rapidly declining physical sales. In short: if you demand a hard copy, you're now clearly in the minority.
Tidal kicks it old school by selling Prince CDs
Jay-Z's Tidal service may believe that streaming music is the future, but it's apparently willing to embrace the past... in certain circumstances, at least. Hot on the heels of launching his latest album on Tidal as a streaming exclusive, Prince is selling a CD version of that same album (along with downloads) through the company's store. Yes, you too can get a plastic copy of HITNRUN to play in those few moments when you're nowhere near your computer or phone. Tidal already lets musicians sell posters, shirts and other merch through its site, but this appears to be the first time that CDs have found their way to the online shop.
Panasonic is reviving Technics' legendary DJ turntables
Ask DJs about their favorite turntables and they'll frequently swear by Technics' SL-1200 -- even though it hasn't been made since 2007, the super-reliable deck is still the gold standard for vinyl spinners. If you're one of those enthusiasts, you'll be glad to hear that Panasonic is bringing Technics turntables back as part of a larger revival for the audio brand. Many of the details are still under wraps, but the turntable set will have a new direct-drive motor that should improve the audio quality. The gear won't show up until some point during Panasonic's next fiscal year (sometime between April 2016 and March 2017), but more development time is likely a good thing. After all, the SL-1200 thrives precisely because its makers were careful to preserve elements that worked well -- a rushed product could easily hurt more than it helps. Check out all the news from Berlin at our IFA 2015 hub.
UK says it's once again illegal to rip CDs for personal use
Brits: we hope you enjoyed that brief, glorious year of legal media ripping, because you're once again flouting the law. In the wake of a challenge from the music industry, the UK's High Court has overturned regulation that allowed format shifting (such as ripping CDs and DVDs) for the sake of personal use. Supposedly, the government was in the wrong when it didn't implement compensation for copyright holders when you dumped those albums and movies on to your hard drive. Officials could reintroduce exceptions, but they'd have to take a different tack if they want these measures to survive.
Marilyn Manson released his latest album on early PlayStation CDs
The '90s are back in style, in more ways than one. Kill Screen has revealed that Marilyn Manson released his latest album (The Pale Emperor) on the black CDs used for original PlayStation games, made in the same Sony plant. No, they're not meant to rekindle two of your fondest teenage memories. Manson's art directors chose these discs because they help underscore the album's themes of darkness and light. They start out pitch black, but a newly-added thermal layer turns them white when you play them -- clever, isn't it? With that said, you'll probably have a hard time appreciating this thematic trick. While you might still be a Marilyn Manson fan, the odds are that you ditched CD-based music a while ago. [Image credit: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images]
Friday is the New Music Tuesday, thanks to piracy
You'll have to change your music-buying habits starting this summer, because new albums are going to be released every Friday at exactly 00:01, instead of Tuesdays like you're used to. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents music labels worldwide, has just announced that Friday is now global album release day. Why? Well, the IFPI is hoping that it can help curb piracy: "An aligned global release day puts an end to the frustration of not being able to access releases in their country when the music is available in another country."
This album comes on 12 'dead' formats including MiniDisc
We've reached the point where even the less than perfect ideas of years past are being mined for nostalgia. No, I'm not talking about acid washed denim's resurgence (ugh, why?), but that of derided music mediums like the MiniDisc and 8-track. Next month, British musician and producer Trevor Jackson's experimenting with Format, an album spanning 12 different err... formats, each with one song per physical object. Meaning, the release is going to be spread across three sizes of vinyl (12, 10 and 7-inch), CD and mini CD, reel-to-reel, USB, cassette, VHS, MiniDisc, DAT and 8-track. It isn't exactly practical, but it represents another way that artists are expanding beyond a box-standard MP3 download to get their music out to fans. Format's not quite the most outlandish example we've seen, OK Go's DNA album still holds that title, but it's still pretty cool when you stop to think about it. How's that? Well, it chronicles the varying forms of physical media that music's graced over the years.
Video: The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh Experience CD
On January 7, 1997, Apple announced a completely revolutionary -- for the time -- Mac called the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (TAM). The US$7,499 TAM celebrated the 20th anniversary of Apple's founding and was the first desktop Mac to use features that we now consider commonplace like an all-in-one design, a flat screen display, a trackpad, and a number of multimedia features. Australian artist and filmmaker Max Piantoni (@maxpiantoni) found one of the rare Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh Experience CDs that accompanied the computer and created the video you see below to show how the CD was used to educate buyers about the remarkable device they had purchased. While the Experience CD was primarily used to show how the many features (built-in TV and radio, external brightness controls), it's also notable for a long interview with none other than current Apple design senior vice president Jony Ive. It's fun to see a younger Ive -- with hair! -- outside of his usual featureless white box, talking about the design features of the TAM. Enjoy the video!
