Lesson 3

Sorry it took me a while to get this post up, I tried to spend a lot of time on each site- and there were a lot of them!!
I feel that I am beginning to see some of the bigger picture. As I identify the "hot topics" I spot them all over and this is helping me connect the dots. As an example: I had just finished reviewing Universals site when I saw the headline that Cher is suing them for royalties. The name would have meant absolutely nothing to me before but I was able to visualize all that I had just seen about them. A lot of these music sites are so similar, that I have little if anything to say about them. I tried to look for distinguishers in all these sites. And I tried a search for my favorite singer where applicable so I could use that to judge content and presentation.

- soundstage av- great definition of MP3s as well as pro's and cons. Its great information, I just don't know who this is.

- Fraunhofer IIS - This is nice! I love how the site is divided to show you what this company does in various areas such as communication and automotive. They advertise their services at the most applicable spot. I also like that they have a point of contact for these services/products.

- wmg - Rob Thomas!!! If he likes them, they must be allright. They claim to be the worlds only publicly-traded major music company. I like the recent achievements. For one thing, it helps me to see what they consider an achievement. I like the green initiatives. Hey, at least they are advertising that they are trying to do something!!
I can't help but notice that there are no women present in management. I'm just saying...

- sony - I've certainly heard of them. Kings of Leon!! They are so cool!
Back to Sony,, I see that they only have 2 executives listed. ?? There is no company info listed here. ?? Under pro music there is some good stuff for musicians getting started. Good "free music myths" typos and all. I'm not impressed. I'm also not impressed by their soapbox about "free music" and all that. I don't know if its because they are not actually giving you anything to back up their arguments or what but I'm not sold somehow.
You can't tell me on the one hand that artists don't make money anymore anyhow because they are being so ripped off and then tell me in the next paragraph that digital music is the devil.
convince me.
And what is Sony's mission statement? Everybody else so far has managed to have that.

- universal - Ah yes, Cher's buds. They say they are comprised of two core businesses: recorded music and music publishing. They claim to represent 98% of the music market. I see that Luciano Pavaratti is still listed as being represented by them. Does he still need representation? Is this the legal coverage (because I would not have thought so). Universal represents All American Rejects!
Universal has a neat little timeline under history that shows universals idea of what their biggest accomplishments are. They also have a good FAQ section that is very informative.

- emi - They have Norah Jones! This is divided into three business units: New music, catalogue, and music services. They claim to have been in the business since the very beginning of recorded sound. They claim to be the only privately owned major music company. I am really unsure of the pros and cons surrounding that. In the real world, if you work for a private company there are two disadvantages, you are subject to their whims with little recourse and you may be fired at any time. I am unsure if the same laws apply to music companies....
They do have a helpful graph of the music industry.

- riaa - cannot be found.

- bmi - They say they formed in 1939 as a non profit making performing rights organization. They also claim that they founded in part to assure royalty payments and to provide an alternative source of licensing for all music users. I like that very much. Having options is one of the greatest rights of civilization. I also see that they have one female senior vp.

- ascap - They give a discount on college classes at the Berklee college of music. Neat workshops, at least they sound neat, you have to be a member. They claim to be the only US performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters, and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership.
Of course, that makes you feel that there is no big brother here. I hope that's true.

- eff.org - Ok, I really liked this site! I am just learning here, but at least they are presenting alternative viewpoints. I have mentioned briefly above that I am seeing whiny trends from the big companies about digital music and illegal downloading, etc. At least these people are using numbers and legislation, etc to make their points. I respect that. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. There are some really great stories here about federal rullings and re-education. Now I see why they have the little donate button at the top of the page. Lots of women on their staff, they even have an "activist".

- apple - not much to say here. I am an i pod junkie, I should be given stock in that company I have turned so many people on to the i touch!! Now, I see that I can have it engraved. Sweet!

- usf - This would be wonderful. Instead of the occasional live lectures, this would be so much better. Come on USF, get on the ball.

napster (never used it), rhapsody, and amazon, I don't really know what to say about them. To me, they are all pretty much the same.
I can distinguish yahoo as they have blogs and radio stations that the others don't have advertised.
The only thing I can say about sirius and xm is that I did not know that xm had individual plans.
I really like the artisthouse music and I will buy some cd baby.