Revolver Digital, from Revolver Records

Scaling up…

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:06:29 +0000

A few days overdue, but nonetheless finally ready for prime time! We’ve been putting together something quite special at Revolver Towers for a while now, and we can finally unveil what we’ve been so excited about: our artists’ music can now be sold in more than 300 of the most prominent download stores worldwide.
Reflecting the scope of our catalogue, our expanded store list has quite an unusual blend of stores, each carefully chosen as they represent significant stores for their respective territories.

Whilst too numerous to mention individually, rest assured each gets equal attention from us. Some of these stores go on to provide functionality for other stores or portals — the full list is longer than my arm! Here’s a summary of our newly updated list of digital stores:

iTunes
Amazon MP3
Spotify
We7
Arvato Mobile
7Digital
24/7 Musicshop (>100 stores and operator platforms)
Beatport (where appropriate)
Beyond Oblivion
Bleep (where appropriate)
Buongiorno
Boomkat
Dada
Deezer
DJDownload / Juno Digital (where appropriate)
Dream On Korea
Eircom
eMusic
FNAC Music
Gogoyoko
HMV Digital
HMV Canada
iMusica
iPlay
Jamba!
Jazz en Ligne (Digimus) (where appropriate)
Loudtrax (Rock & Metal specialist store)
MediaNet
mFlow
Mobilisten
Mobivillage
MOG
MusicLoad
SONY Qriosity / Music Unlimited
Music Me
Musiwave
Napster & Rhapsody
Net-Music (Media Markt Italy)
Nokia Ovi Music Store
One Italia
Omnifone (who power many UK and international mobile stores)
RDIO
SFR (French mobile)
Shazam
Simfy
Satellite
Starzik
Tesco Digital
Thumbplay / iHeartRadio
Trackitdown (where appropriate)
TuneTribe
VidZone (for 45+ international mobile and PC stores)
VirginMega
Vodafone Live (Germany)
Valleyarm
Walmart (Liquid)
Wasabeat
YouTube
Zune Store

Through these partners, we also distribute to all major UK, American, European and Australasian mobile stores… And the best news? Existing Revolver Digital artists get all these additional stores immediately!

So, if you think your music passes muster (and you’re not scared of having it run the gauntlet of our A&R team for approval), consider us if you’re looking for a way to get your music out there. We look forward to hearing from you.

Spotify announce worldwide press conference on November 30th

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:35:22 +0000

Ah, Spotify. The company that first irked, then courted the major labels. Since 2008, it’s gone through some fairly seismic changes — leading the way with premium tiers and gradually eliminating the free-for-all ‘freemium’ tier which resulted in almost every man and his dog having a Spotify account.

However, as royalty payments have increased, Daniel Ek’s company has been forced to reduce the amount of money it allows to leave its coffers, a sure sign that the intrusive interstitial advertising hasn’t proved as effective as they’d liked. More recently, tie-ins with Facebook (much to the chagrin of new users, who found they couldn’t untangle their Facebook and Spotify credentials) and the limitation of plays per song (three per song forever) on the free tier have seen the service haemorrhaging customers… Not necessarily a bad thing if they weren’t net revenue providers.

Now though, in a move sure to leave many puzzling as to what new features they are announcing, Spotify are going big with a livestreamed worldwide press conference and announcement at their ‘event’ on November the 30th at 9am EST (2pm UK time) — see Mashable for more details. They’re either going to either announce something gobsmackingly groundbreaking or something disappointingly iterative. [Wild prediction of the week: A Spotify-branded SIM for your mobile phone, or even a fully-branded Android handset, akin to the new Codename 'Buffy' Facebook Android phone! --Ed]

Spotify needs to work hard to maintain what sliver of market share it has in the States; marketing and launch promotions aside (where three- and six-month premium accounts were dispensed en masse to new customers through marketing partnerships and giveaways) the service already faced some stiff competition from incumbents such as Pandora, Rhapsody, Rdio, MOG, Napster, Slacker etc… We’ll be following the news as it develops on the 30th!

Also, in Revolver Digital news, we’re excited to let slip that we’ll have a big announcement which’ll be of great interest to our existing digital artists (and potential new artists); tune in to our site or Twitter around the end of the month when we’ll be able to announce more details.

The intricacies of licensing digital music

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:02:01 +0000

TuneCore runs a well-written blog on which they recently published an article about the myriad of complexities – licensing, copyrights, mechanicals, effective distribution of earnings – facing music stores (and artists) in the digital era. If you’re not familiar with just how complex the situation is today, it’s well worth a read.

iTunes, iCloud, iTunes Match… cloudy, with a chance of windfalls?

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:20:16 +0000

or, Problems for labels with iTunes Match?

On Monday the 6^th of June, Apple’s keynote at their World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC 2011) had many positive things to announce: OSX Lion, with its $29.99 price tag, its array of new and improved features and cloud download to every customer’s compatible Mac after purchase (ala Steam). At the same time iOS version 5 for mobile devices (the beta of which has already been jailbroken less than 24 hours after release), and their revamped mobileMe cloud service – dubbed iCloud – finally arrives on the scene to add another layer of integration to the mac user’s ecosystem.

Of all the hundreds of new ‘features’ introduced, most are unremarkable or arguably not very innovative (at least when using some of the things Apple have devised in the past decade as a benchmark!). If anything, they are just an amalgamation of features previously available elsewhere, except now in an Apple-mandated, fully synchronised, pain-free fashion. All you need to enjoy? An Apple device.

However, the real announcement (the one occupying most of the acres of print and online coverage, and the one also keeping the independent music sector on tenterhooks) has been Apple’s music service. Precious little was revealed prior to the WWDC keynote (in typical Apple fashion), but here is the précis for those who didn’t catch the keynote live:

One of the new cloud-based features has been dubbed “iTunes in the Cloud”
- Service offers customers ability to buy once, download many times (up to 10)
- Automatic synchronisation and permanent storage of their purchases online is included for no extra cost, all controlled from their account
- Customers can manually sync over prior purchases to their other devices
- If customer buys a track on their iPhone, it will also appear on their other devices.
The Complete My Album feature is implemented into the Cloud service, with the same features as before.
- Seamless cloud functionality (apparently), again tracks sync to all devices

But the “One More Thing” was the real kicker… iTunes Match.

The Statements’ new album – available via Revolver Digital

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:22:21 +0000

Manchester is home to so many iconic bands (and spiritual home to countless more). This is one area where we feel we know a thing or two – we gave the Stone Roses their first big break back when they were first starting out.

Now we’re not one to strum our own guitar [all the time, anyway -Ed], but the new album from Mancunian musos The Statements follows in the vein of great music from Manchester: solid songwriting, well-balanced, professional playing and all in all a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Our ears pricked up when we first heard it – and we highly recommend you now go and check it out too.

The Statements’ debut album, Stand Divided, is available now digitally exclusively through Revolver.

Brand new Revolver digital store live!

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:12:53 +0000

We’re always pushing ahead with new technology and new gadgetry. Our shiny new digital store is no different – and it’s now live on the Internet!

320kbps MP3s of Revolver Records, Heavy Metal Records and Revolver Digital artists, all in one convenient place, instantly downloadable… And for less than they cost on iTunes. Bargain or what?

Head over to Digital.RevolverRecords.com and start your virtual cratedigging sesh today!

Lamenting the ‘landfill’ landscape – where have all the good bands gone?

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:18:35 +0000

The headline of this article might concern some – and indeed, people have been saying for a while that the ‘signal to noise ratio’ of current music, both signed and unsigned, has been deteriorating. Just prior to writing this, I read on BBC News Online an interesting opinion piece discussing how the recent wave of indie rock artists has somewhat faded into premature obscurity. But why? There’s also a few interesting soundbites from respected muso and tastemaker Steve Lamacq, who currently curates shows on BBC Radio 6Music:

There are still thousands of aspiring guitar bands under the radar – but it does not feel like many are threatening to grab the public’s attention. The disillusionment can be traced back to record labels chasing quick hits rather than acts with longevity, according to BBC 6 Music DJ Steve Lamacq.

“In this current climate, people are signing bands who have got one or two good tracks, hoping they can make one good album,” he says. “And inevitably a lot of these bands are going to come and go. You end up ruining the sense of trust between tastemaker and audience, or record label and audience, or even musical genre and audience. If you stop believing in a certain sort of music, it’s going to take a lot for you to come back.”

Lamacq is 6 Music’s arbiter-in-chief of good new guitar music, and has been casting a critical ear over new bands since hosting Radio 1′s Evening Session in the heady days of Britpop. If Radiohead emerged with their debut album today, it would be “unthinkable” that their long-term prospects would be recognised, he believes.

“It’s the short term-ism coming home to roost, and that’s a problem for the music industry and the media. But it’s a problem that they’ve created for themselves in a lot of cases.”

There are still thousands of aspiring guitar bands under the radar – but it does not feel like many are threatening to grab the public’s attention. The disillusionment can be traced back to record labels chasing quick hits rather than acts with longevity, according to BBC 6 Music DJ Steve Lamacq.

“In this current climate, people are signing bands who have got one or two good tracks, hoping they can make one good album,” he says. “And inevitably a lot of these bands are going to come and go. You end up ruining the sense of trust between tastemaker and audience, or record label and audience, or even musical genre and audience.

“If you stop believing in a certain sort of music, it’s going to take a lot for you to come back.”

Lamacq is 6 Music’s arbiter-in-chief of good new guitar music, and has been casting a critical ear over new bands since hosting Radio 1′s Evening Session in the heady days of Britpop. If Radiohead emerged with their debut album today, it would be “unthinkable” that their long-term prospects would be recognised, he believes.

“It’s the short term-ism coming home to roost, and that’s a problem for the music industry and the media. But it’s a problem that they’ve created for themselves in a lot of cases.”

At the same time, Florence + The Machine received a welcome boost – and potentially finally “made it” in the States – thanks to an inclusion on the MTV VMAs back in September (hat-tip: DMN) which begins, “it’s harder than ever for bands to break through these days, and gradual fan-building is one way to slowly cut through the clutter. But despite endless post-Anderson musings and re-musings, big media remains a potent and powerful springboard.”

What’s eyebrow-raising about this article are the sales figures before and after the VMA ‘bump’:

(again, hat-tip: DMW)

Thisshows just how quickly you can garner interest – and sales! – after even the most unpredictable of media appearances. Having good music to back you up definitely helps but you will see more interest almost irrespectively. So why aren’t you on iTunes already? We can help you get a real presence on the important stores like iTunes, Amazon, 7Digital, Spotify, mFlow, Rhapsody, Thumbplay, VidZone, Limewire, TuneTribe etc., and we don’t charge a fortune (in fact, hardly anything at all). If you’re interested, why not send us an email and say hello?

Finally, Florence + The Machine are currently available through all reputable digital music stores. If you’ve not listened to them as of yet, go listen – you might just like them. (Not an official endorsement though, mind! – Ed)

What value music?

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:21:15 +0000

It’s been a busy few months in the music industry, and the middle of the month’s been punctuated by an against-the-grain suggestion from former Warner Music label head Rob Dickins at this year’s In The City festival:

“What we need is a revolution. What we’ve got is an erosion. When I was running Warners, a chart CD could be £12.99. A chart CD now can be £6.99, maybe even £5.99.”

Dickins then went on to proffer a price point of just £1 for an album on CD. His suggestion forms part of an enlarged theoretical “360″ model – where labels are involved with every aspect of an artist’s career and thus profit from a share of proceeds from not just CD sales but gig tickets, promotion, merchandise and licensing tie-ins. From BBC News:

Making the comments during a debate with REM manager Bertis Downs, Mr Dickins advocated a “micro-economy” in which fans would make many small payments.

He said: “If you’re a fan of REM and you’ve got 10 albums and there’s a new album coming out, you’ve got to make that decision about whether you want it or not. “If we lived in a micro-economy, that wouldn’t be a decision. You’d just say ‘I like REM’ and you’d buy it.” Major albums would sell 200 million copies, he predicted. Last year’s global best-seller, Susan Boyle’s I Dreamed A Dream, sold eight million. He added: “To a degree it solves piracy because if it’s such a small amount people are more likely to pay it than [download for] free.” In his scenario, record labels would be able to make “big money” from other sources such as gig tickets and merchandising.

There can be no argument that Dickins’ comments are controversial, however it could be argued they are deliberately so. What do you think? As an artist, how would you feel about your music being available for £1 – if not, what kind of price point might you be happy with? Or if you’re just a music-loving member of the public, what are your thoughts on this? We at Revolver of course have our own opinions, both based on an ”ideal” and the “real” world, but we’d love to know what others think. Leave a message in the comments.

Debating the effectiveness of the industry’s current antipiracy stance

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:48:13 +0000

After reading this article from Broadcast Magazine, it got us thinking:

Don’t demonise piracy, says IT Crowd creator

12 August, 2010 | By Ellie Broughton

Graham Linehan, the writer behind comedy The IT Crowd, has said the entertainment industry is gambling with its future by “ignoring or criminalising” the issue of piracy. Speaking at a debate on piracy last night, Linehan said the current response to online pirates was unrealistic and aggressive.

“It seems a bit like the big corporations are saying, ‘put down the gun or I’ll stab you’,” he said. “The discussion at the moment is not particularly reasoned.”

The television sector mirrors the music sector in many regards – sharing and unlicensed distribution of telly is almost as rampant as music, what limits its spread is more the unwieldy size of the resulting video files more than anything else (which is where we in the music industry have more of an uphill struggle with as music’s far more squeezable than video!)

We’ve traditionally taken a fairly lenient stance towards issuing takedowns, going instead after those originally uploading our music to sharing sites – largely because it’s a pointless exercise to spend all of your waking hours chasing pirates, unless you have VERY deep pockets and sufficient human resources to dedicate to solely pursuing the culprits. We do issue takedowns to the sharing sites when we find our artists’ music available without permission, but pursuing individual filesharers is like cutting the head off a Hydra.

By contrast, sites like Youtube – although they have music by our artists uploaded without our permission – serve to be very useful as promotional tools and aid exposure to new audiences, so it can be a balancing act deciding how heavy-handed one should be when enforcing copyright infringement. From our standpoint, it’s refreshing to see that other large programme producers can step back and highlight that neither side is totally blameless in this ongoing saga of legit vs pirated… Imagine what it would’ve been like if the music industry had cottoned on Napster upon its launch and then rolled out a pay service model on top of the existing system? They could have cleaned up!

We are fortunate that most of our customers are still music fans in the truest sense of the term – they buy CDs or the downloads, they respect the musicians for their hard work and investment and they also respect the role the label has in the process, a role which has dramatically changed over the past decade. We value those customers immensely and always seek to reward them for their honesty however we can If you have a suggestion for a competition we can run, or the kind of things you would like to see us offering (interviews with bands, backstage features, exclusive podcasts featuring an artist’s Top 10 tracks etc) then hit us up on Twitter at either @revolverdigital, @heavymetalrecs or @revolverrecords!

We’ve got a new Friend!

Christopher (Revolver Digital Team) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:44:34 +0000

Revolver proudly announces Revolver Digital Store with Friend For Music

As part of Revolver’s longstanding commitment to music, we have always been at the forefront of new developments in the industry.

Be it Direct Metal Mastering and releasing music on the (then-new) CD format in the 1980s or our support of the first mass market music services in the early 2000s. Today, we continue to release CDs and make increasing amounts of our catalogue available for instant purchase or via one of the many streaming services, satisfying the shifting customer demand we have witnessed over the past decade.

Like many other indie labels, we have no illusions as to the state of the music industry – whilst revenues began to decline in the 1990s, that decline has no doubt been accelerated by the widespread availability of copyrighted music via the Internet. For all the inches of copy, coverage and layoffs in the “Big Four” labels, it has directly hurt independent labels to a far greater extent. And not only that, but artists have felt the pinch too – for labels releasing new material, it’s more important than ever to preserve the integrity of a release prior to its full release whilst still offering promotional copies to radio stations, journalists and selected individuals.

The ease of ripping, encoding and sharing digital music is a double-edged sword for music lovers. Releases that leak weeks or months in advance become trivial to duplicate and distribute. There has been limited success with individually identifiable promo CDRs, but what about people who buy a track and then seek to distribute it for free via the Internet? Up until now, there has been no cost-effective, simple way to identify these customers.

Revolver’s partnership with Friend for Music demonstrates previously unimaginable opportunities that can directly benefit independent labels alongside their artists.

The brand new Revolver Digital Store, operating on the Friend for Music platform allows labels to upload, automatically watermark (at their discretion) and then sell tracks in the industry-standard MP3 format directly from a completely customisable portal. Tracks are invisibly watermarked with a robust unique ID, allowing a label to simply and efficiently trace back any file found on a web site or P2P platform to the exact person who made the original purchase. For indie labels and artists, who can’t afford a court case to identify a potential filesharer, this is a real boon. The evidence is clear as day, with no ambiguity whatsoever… Any unwanted leaks can be eliminated once and for all.

What does this really mean for fans, artists and labels?

For artists and labels, they can work together safe in the knowledge that where their work may once have leaked, wasting time, money and effort in prerelease promotion, they can be confident in the knowledge that unscrupulous people cannot take their hard work and share it for free any more. The end result? Artists and labels are fairly compensated, ensuring that there is money to reinvest into releasing more records! A true win-win situation.

For music lovers, it rewards them for their honesty and helps to weed out the unscrupulous people who place less value on a musician’s creative output than others. Quality new music simply does not get released for free, and the Friend for Music platform not only provides a safe, secure and trusted platform for labels, it offers the same for the many valued customers who still appreciate great music and want to pay a fair price to support their favourite artists.

FFM offers us guaranteed traceability of unlicensed sharing, absolutely identifying the culprit if our artists’ music is leaked or shared.
FFM offers our artists the opportunity reinforce their most loyal fanbase, guaranteeing that every copy of their music has been paid for. No need for stupid DRM restrictions on music, allowing enjoyment without limitations.
FFM offers fans the ability to still enjoy MP3s of their music, with an absolute guarantee and proof of purchase. It removes the possibility for allegations of filesharing or piracy and if questioned they can prove their innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt with the very files they have purchased.

The only people who lose out? Those who don’t value quality music.

We at Revolver are very excited to be rolling out our new Revolver Digital store with Friend for Music as one of the first independent labels on the service. We’re actively increasing the catalogue available via our store on a daily basis so come back soon to find even more great music… With over a thousand releases from hundreds of artists you’re bound to find some music you love.