There are millions – possibly billions, possibly even kazillions – of songs on Spotify. And some have never been played.
Forgotify is an amazing website that plays songs at random from Spotify: the only requirement is that they’ve never been played before. Not even once. And sure, so far we’ve had a lot of jazz and a lot of foreign language covers, but we’ve also had some really neat stuff. Check it out here.
014 NAMM Show: Sony Creative Software has released Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 and updated SpectraLayers Pro [WIN/MAC] applications. These products can be purchased separately or together in the new Audio Master Suite Mac bundle.
Sound Forge Pro Mac, now in Version 2, now features: batch processing, refined metering for discriminating mastering and broadcast professionals, more processing tools, and event editing improvements.
The free SpectraLayers Pro 2.1 update features seamless interoperability with Sound Forge Pro Mac, an efficient reverb removal process, an improved noise reduction algorithm, expanded noise removal process options, and user interface improvements.
While Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 and SpectraLayers Pro 2.1 are standalone applications, both are now configured to work seamlessly with each other, providing a comprehensive editing environment that combines deep waveform and spectrum editing capabilities.
Here are the details:
Sound Forge Pro Mac Software New Features
Convrt Batch Processing Automation Tool. A freestanding utility for mass file format conversions, plug-in signal and effects processing treatments, and file metadata attachments including art. Convrt can handle repetitive chores in the background while recording and editing audio in the Sound Forge Pro Mac workspace.
Interoperability with SpectraLayers Pro 2.1. Transfer audio data between Sound Forge Pro Mac and SpectraLayers Pro and experience the thrill of working freely across the world’s premiere waveform and spectral editing applications.
iZotope® Nectar Elements. The included Nectar Elements plug-in makes vocal treatment a snap. Get great results quickly by loading one of Nectar’s professionally designed Style presets and then customizing your sound by adjusting dedicated controls.
Loudness Meters. Win the volume war with new metering options. EBU R128/CALM (Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act) compliant metering helps you follow the new rules while maximizing the dynamic range potential of your audio.
Event Mode Improvements. Convert regions to events, lock event markers, region markers, and envelope points to events, and automatically ripple successive events forward in time while editing.
FLAC file format support. Generate files in this popular lossless format that features space-saving compression and comprehensive metadata-handling capabilities.
Auto Trim/Crop tool. Automatically remove unnecessary silence in a sound file while fading the edges of program segments in and out with user-controlled fade lengths.
SpectraLayers Pro 2.1 Software Update New Features
Free update for registered SpectraLayers Pro 2.0 users; purchase price unchanged.
Interoperability with Sound Forge Pro Mac. Effortlessly move audio data between SpectraLayers Pro and Sound Forge Pro Mac and enjoy the strengths of both programs in a seamless process.
Reverb removal process. Reduce or eliminate reverb in the spectral domain with just a few clicks.
Improved noise reduction algorithm. Subtract more noise with less impact on the program material.
Noise reduction process option. Send program material directly to a new layer.
Price and Availability
Sound Forge Pro Mac software (MSRP $299.95), SpectraLayers Pro software (MSRP $399.95 MAC/WIN), and both applications bundled in the Audio Master Suite package (MSRP $499.95) are now available for digital download, with physical products available February 1, 2014. See the Sony site for details.
J. Cole also explains what his role with Dreamville will allow him to do.
J. Cole’s Dreamville imprint made headlines yesterday (January 27), when it was announced that it would join Interscope Records in a partnership. Cole spoke with Forbes about how the partnership works.
“We provide the artist, the direction, the guidance, the music, the new ideas, and they provide muscle and years of experience of really giving artists the proper push,” J. Cole said. “We hope to add to the list of legendary albums that were made over in that building.”
Cole’s work with his Dreamville imprint allows him to do more than rap, according to the emcee.
“As an executive it gives me the opportunity to sign acts and break them, but as a producer it allows me to produce someone’s entire album and put it out,” Cole said. “That’s what I really look forward to.”
During his Forbes interview, Cole acknowledged that this would not have been possible without witnessing the work of others in Rap and in business.
“It’s definitely a path that’s been made possible by the Dr. Dres and the Jay Zs,” Cole said, referring to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Record and Jay Z’s Roc-a-Fella and Roc Nation imprints. “These guys who had amazing artistic ability in terms of rapping and production and song writing, but also had a double-sided executive mind.”
On top of announcing the Dreamville-Interscope partnership, J. Cole also released Revenge of the Dreamers, a project that can be streamed here.
Four years ago I wrote an opinion piece in Billboard warning of the cash-flow crisis that would hit when consumers realized the massive value proposition that streaming subscription services offer. It may have taken longer than I expected, but it is firmly upon us. Despite all the negative press about the low per-stream rate, Spotify is now the No. 2 digital retailer for most labels in terms of income. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Beats Music and many others have launched streaming subscription options for their customers. All told, streaming revenue makes up approximately one-quarter of all income for most content owners, having quadrupled in the last two years. So what is the short-term impact, and how long will it last? Longer term, what does this mean for the average label and artist?
As one of the world’s largest distributors of independent music, INgrooves is uniquely positioned to monitor and evaluate the early impact of the consumer shift from downloads to the access anything, anywhere, anytime format inherent in streaming subscription services. But will such services equal increased revenue? It will, especially for the indies and for the prolific, active artists out there. Here’s why:
The average consumer spends about $40 per year on recorded music. If the average consumer signs up for a streaming service, he or she will spend as much as $120 per year ($10 per month times 12 months), making the “pot” to share three times larger.
The early adopters of streaming services are, generally, high-volume purchasers of music who are indie-leaning and tech-savvy. They know there’s no reason to spend $9.99 on an album when they can pay that amount per month and get access to 2 million albums. As a result, there is a disproportionate impact of the shift to streaming on the indie side compared with major labels that focus on genres that target an older, more mainstream demographic.
It’s not all bad news for the indies: INgrooves’ market share on Spotify is nearly double what it is on Nielsen SoundScan. This is likely due to the type of consumer (e.g., indie, hipster) signing up for streaming services, and the fact that there’s great experimentation and passive listening available through these services.
Remember, $40 is the average, which means half the country is spending a lot less than $40 per month on music because they’re infrequent consumers. If we can reach the tipping point where the low-volume music consumer is spending $120 per year on streaming, then we’ll also start to see the pot of revenue enlarge and the average per-stream royalty rise.
For the next 12-18 months, we’re likely to see physical and download sales decay faster than usual after the holiday season and the shift to streaming continue to accelerate, but not enough to make up the difference.
Based on our analysis of the decay rates and new subscriber growth for streaming services, we’re predicting that we’ll return to last summer’s peak sales levels by late 2014, not counting growth by international expansion and sales from new clients. This means that, for much of the year, artists and labels will have to more proactively manage cash flow, marketing spends and ensure they’re aggressively pursuing all sources of revenue.
Some will be less affected by this newest paradigm shift. For example, international markets, where downloading never truly took off and piracy was rampant, will benefit from streaming’s availability in their countries. Certain genres like country and classical will also likely see a slower shift from their hardcore fans. However, this shift is going to be more dramatic and meaningful than the format shift from physical to digital downloads.
The value proposition for the consumer is just simply too appealing to have any other outcome, and in digital media, the consumer always wins.
Robb McDaniels is founder/CEO of INgrooves Music Group.
U.S. digital sales are beginning 2014 just like they ended 2013: in negative territory. Through the third week of the year, track sales are down 11.9% and digital album sales are down 13.3%, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Both figures stand in stark contrast to the same period last year. Through the first three weeks of 2013, track sales were up 2.2% and digital album sales were up 18.1%.
Related Articles
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These numbers strongly suggest American consumers are quickly changing how they experience digital music. There are signs of change outside of sales numbers. Beats Music apparently had a strong debut this week — its overloaded system has resulted in spotty service — and reached No. 2 on iTunes’ list of free iPhone apps. Netflix’s fourth quarter exceeded expectations. The streaming video service now has 31.7 million subscribers in the United States and another 9.7 million elsewhere. Pandora’s popularity is an ongoing reminder that streaming is mainstream. The Internet radio service had 76.2 million monthly users at the end of December.
iTunes Radio launched in the second half of 2013. Last week, Rdio debuted unlimited, advertising-supported listening. The much-awaited Beats Music launched this week and apparently has an unexpectedly large number of people signing up for paid or free trial accounts. On Wednesday, Beats Music halted new registrations to fix bugs and has been the second-most-downloaded free iPhone across all categories, according to App Annie.
Digital revenues will be under pressure if download sales end the year down 12.6%, the decline of track-equivalent album (TEA) sales in the first three weeks of the year. A 12.6% decline of revenue would equal a loss in the ballpark of $240 million of trade value and $340 million in consumer spending. In this scenario, a major label group with a 25% market share could expect download revenue to decline about $60 million this year.
But there’s reason to believe digital sales will worsen as the year progresses. If downloads follow the trend established last year, download sales will finish the year in even worse shape. Over the last 12 months, track and digital album sales consistently weakened last year. Track sales were down just 1.3% in the first quarter of 2013 but were down 3.3%, 6% and 12.9% in the successive three quarters. Digital albums had an even greater tumble, going from a 10.4% increase in the first quarter of 2013 to a 7.1% deficit in the fourth quarter.
The pace of download sales’ decline is probably faster than labels and publishers would like to see. After all, the download was a growth format for a decade and helped offset losses from declining CD sales. But the decline in download revenue can be offset — and likely overcome — by gains in streaming revenue. Between on-demand video services like YouTube and Vevo, Internet radio services such as Pandora and a host of on-demand subscription services, hundreds of millions of incremental digital revenue should be realized in the United States this year.
The cycle is clearly evident: the growth of streaming services negatively impacts digital purchases and puts additional pressure on the music business to generate new revenue by growing streaming services. Rinse and repeat.
