ASCAP Daily Brief

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

We are pleased to offer you the ASCAP Daily Brief powered by The Dean's List This daily email, compiled by ASCAP Board member, music publisher and songwriter Dean Kay, cuts through the media clutter to bring you links to the most relevant news and commentary on the rapidly evolving music industry and how it affects your future livelihood. Now the ASCAP Daily Brief can be accessed on the Headlines page ofASCAP.com and in the ASCAP RSS Feed. Tech companies have made billions supporting the illegal exploitation of our cultural past while ruthlessly pursuing the dismantling of incentives creators need to fashion our cultural future. Are We Becoming Cyborgs? By Susan Greenfield, Evgeny Morozov and Maria Popova -- Since broadband began its inexplorable spread at the start of the millennium, Internet use has expanded at a cosmic rate...We have changed how we interact. Are we also changing what we are? Congress Is Losing a Star: Howard Berman By Matt Gerson -- ...when you hear people talk about Howard Berman's decency, his mastery of substance and nuance, his ability to distill complex issues, his willingness to listen to all sides, the creativity that enables him to craft workable compromises, all punctuated by courtesy, respect and good humor, it's easy to conclude that he would have been a welcome addition to that gathering in Philadelphia, too - just as he has been to the institution he has served so well for the past 30 years. [Howard is being replaced by a Congressman who, after 16 years in the House, has successfully gotten two bills passed...both naming high schools! Sadly, Howard's loss is a blistering indictment of - and a strategy confirming reason for - negative advertising and grotesque sums of money in politics. DK] Riffing on the Highs and Lows of the Sonic Landscape By Mark Swed and Randall Roberts -- Times pop critic Randall Roberts and classical critic Mark Swed discuss listening to music in the digital age, tackling issues such as quality of sound, streaming and Apple's long reach. What It Really Feels Like When Someone Steals Your Unfinished Work... By Paul Resnikoff -- If you're among the 99.9 percent of artists who are building or otherwise up-and-coming, this isn't a problem. But for those with strong followings, theft of unfinished content and pre-release leaks are a serious and often tragic issue. Because once something is stolen, or worse, released half-baked, it can dramatically set an artist back creatively - sometimes, forever. Alex Day And The Dilemma Of The DIY Pop Star By Clyde Smith -- Last year Alex Day's Christmas campaign took his single "Forever Yours" to #4 on the UK singles chart earning him a Guinness World Record for highest charting single by an unsigned artist and a lot of press. This year he's building on his success as a DIY pop musician and going for #1 on the UK singles charts. There's Life in iTunes Yet - Global Expansion Is Good News for Labels By Robert Andrews -- Music labels can expect prolonged life for the track download format to come from new overseas markets... SoundCloud's Massive Refresh Is A Big Deal For Web Audio By John Paul Titlow -- After months of testing in private beta, the next iteration of theSoundCloud Web app has been relaunched. The result is a stickier, more social experience that bolsters SoundCloud's position as the YouTube of audio. Prayer, or Pivot? Turntable.fm Is Now Trying a Radically Different Programming Approach... By Paul Resnikoff -- If only "embracing failure" was as easy as Silicon Valley makes it out to be. Because it seems that all the quick-footed success of Turntable.fm could be hamstringing this company's ability to quit the race, and stop burning cash. But wait: are we quitting on Rocky too soon? Flophouse: The Epic Entertainment Fails of 2012 By Wired Staff Text Messaging Celebrates 20th Anniversary By Salvador Rodriguez -- You might not believe it, but text messaging is already past its teen years. How To Get People To Use Your iPhone App Over And Over Again By Jay Yarow How To Play Funk By Bobby Owsinski -- Here's a great clip from Herbie Hancock's Rock School series about how to play funk. It features some greats like Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins and Nile Rogers as they show in slow motion how to bring the funk. The Evolution Of Headphones [INFOGRAPHIC] By Hisham Dahud 'Dental Surgery' Is The Most Bizarre iPad App I've Ever Seen By John Paul Titlow Finger-Drumming Video EP: Three Tracks, Played Live on MPD24, Zynewave Podium By Peter Kirn DEAN KAY Dean Kay has been at the helm of some of the most highly respected and forward thinking music publishing companies in the world, first as COO of the Welk Music Group, then as President/CEO of the US division of the PolyGram International Publishing Group, and now as President/CEO of his own precedent setting venture, Lichelle Music Company. Prior to his involvement in publishing, he was a successful songwriter, having had hundreds of his compositions recorded - including "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra. Mr. Kay has been a member of the Board of Directors of ASCAP since 1989 and is Chairman of its New Technologies Committee. He is also on the Board of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA). The ASCAP Daily Brief-Powered by The Dean's List is intended as a guide to direct music professionals to key articles about issues facing the entertainment industry. Recipients are encouraged to read further about the issues by accessing the complete article through the links provided. Author attribution is provided with each article, and none of the links allow readers to by-pass subscription archive gateways. Please note that all editorial comments are indicated in brackets. Questions? Comments? Please Contact Us

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