A source inside Sony BMG's Global Digital Business division tells me that "the Hypebot ads are the buzz of the moment" inside the company. The source went on to explain how the practice of ads on Colmbia's sites evolved, "We innovated the advertising on artist sites and it's revenue stream was successful enough to gain the notice of the labels. Obviously someone at Columbia wanted to realize some revenue from their site based on our example and put ads without thinking of the possible results."

"Our group grew very large very fast," the source continued. "The money we generated got the attention of management and we are now responsible for over 50% of the sites. Things change when your group starts making money though...They are throwing everything they can at us to try and get revenues up."

Hell, at this rate, why not go the iTunes or Amazon affiliate-link route instead? That idea at least promotes the actual purchasing of music, although perhaps Sony BMG not using that strategy means that it knows just how dire its straits are at this particular juncture.

Major Labels [Hypebot]

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS Prospective candidates will be seasoned "business development" oriented executive who does not necessarily come from the music business, but could. He/She will more likely be an executive from the more broad-based entertainment and media field, but with an appreciation for the unique characteristics of the music industry. The successful candidate should be a strong negotiator with an acute sense of strategy and strong business acumen. He/she should be a strong "closer" in terms of getting deals done and take a pragmatic approach of what can be done.

Specifically candidates will have the following:

* Outstanding negotiation skills;
* Ability to develop and continually refine a vision and to identify strategies, tactics, and the resources required to achieve that vision;
* Strong leadership and management skills which include a hands-on style and the ability to build alliances;
* Solid experience in business and relationship development on a global basis; the ability to forge new relationships in the broad-based entertainment and media sector;
* Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to enhance the organization's culture;
* Highly capable of independently handling complex negotiation situations. Strong "closer" in terms of getting deals done and take a pragmatic approach of what can be done.
* Demonstrated "change management" experience.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPETENCIES
Prospective candidates will be passionate, business development oriented executives who can articulate both the vision and market position in a clear and compelling way. Strong leadership characteristics are a must. He/She needs to be able to quickly grasp financial models and capable of rapidly and thoughtfully drawing conclusions about the viability of different alternative business models. With excellent judgment of people and the strategic opportunities, the candidate will have built and crafted an organization to achieve significant revenue goals while focusing on the efficient and effective operation of the business. The ideal candidate must be a focused, proactive and collaborative leader, who can refine and extend the Company's vision.

* Be a strong contributor to the overall strategy in further developing the music business model.
* Be mindful of the longer implications of changing the company's business models but also strongly focused on optimizing the short term.
* Have a keen eye to find money on opportunities at hand.
* Be an intelligent, decisive, quick, forward-thinking, strategic and tactical executive; bring exceptional business acumen, common sense, wisdom and insight;
* Have the proven ability to work across an organization at all levels with technical, creative and executive team members; have excellent diplomatic and political skills to build collaborative working relationships across a wide array of constituents.
* Have strong interpersonal skills, good judge of character and great at building lasting and productive relationships.
* Be a strong motivator for the business development team and have a high energy level to drive things forward.
* Be realistic and not over-promise, yet drive, communicate and believe in a bigger vision.
Most importantly, the successful candidate will have an unquestioned level of personal and professional integrity, as well as an intuitive understanding of and unbridled enthusiasm for the challenges and rewards arising from this unique opportunity.

i think I saw that same "skill set" in an ad for a temp agency a few years back. ("Strong verbal and written communication skills?" Does that even need to be said at this point?)I guess finding a job does get a lot easier once you get up to executive-restroom levels!

Also of note: "Experience in the professional culture of a major consulting firm or investment bank would be a plus though again is not required." Which I think means that they should take out the word "necessarily" from that first sentence about candidates' past experience not really needing to be from the music side of things.

$700K salary can't get Sony BMG a digital exec [Valleywag]

With NHS dentists already in disastrously short supply, the patients of one north London surgery will be relieved to learn that their man intends to complete their fillings - despite landing a £1m recording contract.



Andrew Bain's contract with SonyBMG is a lifetime's dream come true. He started singing in an Essex church choir at the age of eight, and said he had wanted to be a full time performer since the Christmas he sang the solo verse in Once in Royal David's City.

The urge to make a terrible joke here about England's notorious dental situation is overwhelming.

His debut album - which he has promised will not contain "yet another version of Nessun Dorma", despite a plea from a fan for just that on his MySpace page - is due out in September. He has promised, however, that he will not put down his drill for at least another three months, and said he did regret that the NHS was losing yet another dentist.

Richard Hinkley, a senior executive at the record company, called him "a refreshingly different talent ... He is performing opera with a uniquely contemporary touch. He has taken what is traditionally elitist and made it resonate with fans of popular music," Hinkley said.

Um, hello?

Currently the only song on Bain's MySpace is a quavery-voiced rendition of David Bowie's "Life on Mars." It's a decent cover with pretty solid production, and there's no denying that Bain can sing, but it's a bit like listening to college a cappella covers—technically impressive, yet uncomfortably absurd. But I doubt that will matter once SonyBMG gets this dude's picture plastered all over the UK:

Hunky!

Recording deal: Say do-re-mi-ah. Operatic dentist lands £1m recording contract
[The Guardian]
Andrew Bain [MySpace]

The good news, I guess, is that Amazon is going to use data collected from its currently existing store (read: find out which discs are selling well used and are relatively easy to license) to make new physical copies available through this CreateSpace thing. The bad news? There aren't really any titles available, and it's currently impossible to find them.

Amazon, Sony BMG, and EMI Music said that they will make hundreds of out-of-print albums available on Amazon's Web site through CreateSpace's Disc on Demand service.

Some of the titles that have been restored to availability include Hatari Soundtrack by Henry Mancini, Earthquake Weather by Joe Strummer, Motorcade of Generosity by Cake, Telepathy by Bill Stewart, Foreign Intrigue by Tony Williams, and Carryin' On by Grant Green.

A few of the recordings being made available through Disc on Demand are new releases rather than reissues, such as the upcoming title in KCRW's Sounds Eclectic series.

The arrival of brand-name, major-label content should enhance the credibility of CreateSpace's media on-demand service, which has yet to shake of the stigma associated with self-publishing. CreateSpace was born last August. It used to be called CustomFlix, which Amazon acquired in July 2005.

If you've been sitting around waiting for the opportunity to purchase the one somewhat tolerable Cake disc, that day has arrived, good sir! Otherwise, best of luck; as Maura found out yesterday, the somewhat unimpressive titles in the press release—all slapped up on Amazon with a $12.98 price tag (in the case of the Strummer disc) a copy—are all that the CreateSpace/Amazon partnership is willing to say that it's offering at the moment.

It's hard to understand what the real revelation is here for the consumer. Amazon makes a big connection with two major labels, and for what? A Henry Mancini soundtrack? Another KCRW comp to clog my shelf? In the age of endless opportunities to find out-of-print albums digitally, adding a plastic case and the (likely lousy) original liner notes isn't much to brag about. Anyone who has tried to work their way through the endless red tape involved in gaining the rights to an out-of-print title realizes the inherent difficulties involved in the process, but one can hope that Amazon, Sony BMG and EMI can get their collective acts together to give people something they might actually want, conveniently and at a decent price. If not, Europe's 50-year limit on copyrights will put quite a bit of stuff in our hands soon enough.

Amazon's CreateSpace Puts Out-Of-Print Music Back On The Market [Information Week]

Clive Davis might be running one of the few music entities anywhere making a profit, but that's not enough for the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer to keep his spot at the top. Like most things these days, his replacement, Zomba head Barry Weiss, features T-Pain.

The announcement surprised many in the music industry, as Mr. Davis, who has survived several executive suite setbacks only to rise again in a career that spans five decades, seemed to be playing a hot hand. This week's No. 1 album is the debut from Leona Lewis, the latest in a long string of divas that Mr. Davis, 76, has signed and shaped.

The latest album from Ms. Keys, who Mr. Davis mentors, has sold 3.4 million copies since its release last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and his division operated at a profit.

But the pop hits that Mr. Davis is known for delivering typically require the kind of expensive videos and marketing campaigns that labels are reluctant to finance at a time when music sales have been sliding. Sony BMG's decision to promote Mr. Weiss underscores the idea that hits alone cannot save the industry.

Mr. Weiss, 49, who also personally oversees many of his artists' creative decisions, has enjoyed his share of chart success with acts like Chris Brown and T-Pain. But he also has a reputation for tightly managing expenses, and being savvier about the digital revolution. T-Pain's hits, for example, have had considerable success as ring tones, the kind of high-margin, low-glamour products that are becoming more important to labels' bottom lines.

Clive Davis might have discovered Chicago and Janis Joplin, but those artists sounded lousy coming out of a cell phone's speaker, so it's time to step aside, pal, and let the young guys take over. I've never been a huge fan of Davis and his neverending stream of women with big voices making somewhat overwarmed pop records, but it's a little sad to see one of the old guard shoved aside. Davis will probably try to find a way to avenge this apparent setback, since he's bounced back from this sort of thing twice before. Even so, you have to wonder how long Davis' legendary "ear" would hold out as he approaches his 80s. Weiss' rise to the top means just one thing; we're coming just a step closer to every song released having either an appearance by Chris Brown or T-Pain

Longtime Executive Steps Aside at Sony BMG [NY Times]

Yes, we are thrilled that Leona Lewis is doing so well in America.

She has a #1 song with Bleeding Love and we can say....."We called it way back in 2006!"

Leona's success is also very bittersweet for us because, as many of you have noticed, we haven't been writing about her. Nor will we mention her any time soon.

We also have several other artists that are "dead to us." They include: Tori Amos, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, The Gossip, Adele, Lil' Mama, Pink, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Whitney Houston and more. These are some of our favorite musicians. It really, truly pains us not to talk about them. But, it is something we HAVE to do!

Why????

Because Zomba, which is owned by Sony BMG, is suing us and we had a lightbulb go off recently: we can't support any artist signed to Sony BMG.

Why should we help the company suing us make money???? Especially when their lawsuit is personal!

...Sony BMG may win this battle, but at the end of the day we will be the ones laughing.

We KNOW that our support can help their artists, some of our favorites, immensely. We hope alienating us was worth it for Sony BMG!

Every other label out there wants to have us as a friend. It really makes us question the business practices of Sony BMG that they would rather have Perez as an enemy.

Their loss!

And, though we may never write about Leona again, we still love her. Always will. Same for Xtina. And J Lo. And Adele. And Ditto.

Our heart is sad.

Celebrities have already begun to voice their support for Perez's bold stand:

Because A Lot Of You Have Been Asking [Perez Hilton, via Hypebot/Photo: AP]

PointDev's CEO, Agustoni Paul-Henry, underlines what a douche move Sony BMG has been pulling.

"We are forced to watch every week if key software pirates are not [sic] on the Internet. We are a small company of six employees. Instead of trying to protect us, we could spend this time to develop ourselves.

I think piracy is linked to the policy of a company. If the employee has the necessary funding to buy the software he needs, he will. If this is not the case, he will find alternative ways, as the work must be done in one way or another."

PointDev is suing for under half a million in damages, about what the RIAA would hit you for if you shared three songs via the peer-to-peer program of your choice.

Sony BMG's hypocrisy: company busted for using warez [Ars Technica]

On the same query over the future for the Sony BMG alliance, Ostrowski chimed in with a handful of scenarios. "We might take over 100%, or sell our 50% to Sony so that they have 100% or we might continue the joint venture," he said. "All three outcomes are possible."

Bertelsmann and Sony's five-year retention period for the joint venture is due to expire in the summer of next year. "However, that doesn't mean that we then have to really do anything. Instead, it has to be decided by a partner. In the meantime, we will continue to develop our business jointly," says Rabe.

"We have good relations with our partner Sony and consensus on the strategy, and we see in our business a significant option value, particularly in the development of new digital business models," Rabe added. ...
The market for physical media showed a 17% decline, which was "only partially offset" by 40% growth in digital formats, the company admits. Digital sales accounted for 17% of total revenues during the period.

Bertelsmann Execs Undecided On Sony BMG Fate [Billboard]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Sony BMG trades cards for downloaded tunes [USA Today]

^* Yes, they're DRM-free. Welcome to spring 2007, Sony.

Apparently modeled on the iTunes digital download album cards, Sony BMG will place 40-50 album cards in about five large retailers. The cards will be a select mix of hit and catalog titles from artists such as Bob Dylan, Pink and Bruce Springsteen, as well as a few compilation releases.

The cards, which sources say are priced at $12.99, will come with a code that can be redeemed at a Sony BMG download store, which is expected to be called musicpass.com. Currently, no such site is live on the web.

The program is scheduled to launch sometime next month—just in time for returns season! or, uh, Super Bowl Sunday?—and so far, it's the only venture into MP3s that Sony has been linked to. You'd think that for a company with a president who can't stop talking about "going green" they'd have worked with an all-digital company like Amazon or iTunes before going back into the physical-product world, but that just sounds too logical, I guess.

Sony BMG To Embrace MP3s [Billboard]

Sony BMG has since started the long process of making "copyright claims" on all the videos, apparently since most of them contain two minutes of "Ring"; of course, that hasn't stopped videos from popping up in place of the ones that have gone away. If you haven't seen the clip yet, searching on "beyonce fall orlando," or "Ring The Alarm gone wrong," will get you a few results; just don't click on the one by this guy, who apparently thought the dearth of B-falling videos would be a perfect opportunity to put up a video personal of sorts. The entire two-minute clip is a "sensitive" photo of him, interspersed with a still shot like the one above. He's so far received about 80,000 views on the clip, although he disabled comments, so no ladies have come a-callin' yet.

Falling Down On The Job [Gatecrasher, third item]
Earlier: Beyonce A Survivor, Even When Her Stage's Setup Turns Against Her

SonyBMG is pulling Prince's new album, "Planet Earth," from shelves in the U.K. after the reclusive rock star struck a deal with a local newspaper to give away the CD, The Post has learned.

According to two sources close to the situation, Columbia Records - the label Prince records on with SonyBMG - is none too pleased with the miniature minister of funk's deal to include free copies of his new record in The Mail on Sunday.

Known as "cover mounts," record labels are generally against this kind of promotion because it cuts into retail sales. And with CD sales already down about 20 percent so far this year, no major label can afford to have one of its marquee artists giving away what amounts to its biggest source of revenue.

One label executive said that in the U.K., in particular, there's been strong pushback against cover mounts.

While a Columbia Records spokeswoman stressed that the label still plans to release Prince's new record throughout the rest of the world, including the U.S. and other European territories, she added that, "After giving away two million copies for free, we didn't think it made good business sense to put the record out to retail in the U.K."

The story goes on to note that Prince could engage in legal action against SonyBMG for pulling the album in the UK—although we suspect that he's having a lot more fun watching them squirm over the business idea that his camp negotiated behind their back. (Not to mention that he apparently has a few other things on his plate at the moment.)

SONYBMG, PRINCE IN ROYAL ROW OVER FREEBIE [NYP]
Prince May Be Planning To Make Your Newsstand Much More Beautiful
[Photo: AP]

Yesterday I went to buy Avril Lavigne's new record "The Best Damn Thing" (shut up) for $9.99. They also had a "deluxe limited edition" that featured a bonus DVD for $16.99. I have no interest in paying extra for a DVD I will never watch so I passed, opting to buy the single disc edition instead.

When I popped the record into my CD player I was surprised to hear that I purchased the edited version, the record wasn't labeled as edited so I thought it was just a mistake. I walked back into Best Buy and asked to exchange it for the uncensored version, they said I couldn't because it was already opened.

The customer service manager came and I told her my story. She went to get a copy of the unedited version for exchange and came back with the $16.99 version saying that it was the only one that was unedited and that I could pay the extra $6 and get the uncensored 2-disc edition. I then asked if they had any of the uncensored single discs in stock in the back and she said that they didn't have any unedited single disc versions. Thinking this was bad business practices on Best Buy's part because they would only stock the uncensored version at a higher price, I walked out of the store with my crappy, edited version of the album.

Wanting to make sure my shit was in order before I sent a complaint to Best Buy, I decided to stop off at the other music stores in my area to see if they were selling the single disc, uncensored version. To my surprise, they weren't. Apparently the only way to get the true version of the album is by paying the extra $6 for the deluxe edition. Seriously. RCA/BMG/Sony are forcing the customer to pay extra to get the uncensored edition of the album.

Frustrated, I drafted a complaint letter and sent it off to the people at RCA. For an industry that is constantly complaining that downloading is killing them, these guys are sure quick to screw the fans who go out and purchase records on the first day of release.

I can tell you one thing's for sure, I won't be buying anything on RCA/BMG/Sony ever again. I will, however, download the shit out of them.

Way to go, SonyBMG! Clearly, you still have not learned the "try not to screw the consumer" lesson that we thought they'd have gleaned from the whole rootkit debacle of 2005. (And let's give a few points to Best Buy, too, who stood their no-returns ground even though their customer had no clue what he was getting.) You'd think that, in a time when record sales are in the crapper, the music business can't really afford to alienate people who actually feel like buying records—especially when those records are among the biggest titles your label will be offering all year. But we're glad to see that Sony BMG's attitude toward its customers is, like, so whatever—and that attitude is driving even more people to downloading.

The Best Damn Thing? Far From It. [Kent's MySpace blog, via The Velvet Rope]
Earlier: Who Charted?: Avril Lavigne Spits All Over The No. 1 Slot

From Monday the next Arctic Monkeys must upload a video or MP3 audio package to a new SonyBMG website where it will be assessed by label bosses and any musician or fan who chooses to log on at columbiademos.co.uk or rcademos.co.uk.

The change is necessary because [SonyBMG Europe CEO Ged] Doherty does not believe that recorded music, overall, will recover. "Digital sales are not going to make up the decline in physical CD revenue," he says. "By 2010 income from CDs will be down 50 per cent. The old world is gone for ever.

"We need to enter into a new relationship with our artists, where they see us as partners rather than the enemy." The demo blogs are designed to create an open, transparent access point for musicians.

This is a pretty ingenious idea, if only because of the ecological implications; imagine the number of trees that will be saved from all the one-sheets that won't have to be Xeroxed, mailed out, and glanced at briefly before being lost to the circular file. But really—is fan voting as a way to determine who gets a deal the best idea? Because we give it about three days before someone has the bright idea of starting a Vote For The Worst clone, just to screw the whole thing up.

SonyBMG retires demo and urges new talent to upload songs [Times Online, via Popjustice]

Sony BMG Music Entertainment will pay $4.25 million as part of a settlement with 39 states to resolve investigations into problems caused by music CDs loaded with hidden anti-piracy software, state officials said Thursday. Under the terms of the settlement, which also applies to the District of Columbia, the record company also agreed to reimburse consumers whose computers were damaged while trying to uninstall the anti-piracy software.

Customers will be able to file a claim with Sony BMG to receive refunds of up to $175. A Web site has been established with details of the settlement. Sony BMG also agreed not to distribute any compact discs loaded with copy-protection software that hinders computer users from easily locating it or removing it from their PCs.

So there you go: Sony BMG lies to you and messes up your computer, and you get a measly $175 in return. We're pretty sure no one's going to be spending this at the Sony Connect Store.

Sony BMG settles with 39 states [AP, via San Jose Mercury News]

Sony BMG to sell entire back catalogue online in Russia [CBS MarketWatch, via Coolfer]

Congratulations, Sony BMG. You must be so proud: You've done the musical equivalent of giving expired food to a canned-goods drive.

Tori Amos' radical reworking of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the camp rendering of "Dancing in the Street" by David Bowie and Mick Jagger are among the tracks collected for a covers compilation CD that will benefit a medical charity.

Also included on "Between the Covers," which Sony BMG will release in the United States on September 12 to benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation, are Lenny Kravitz's take on "American Woman," Madonna's reheated "American Pie" and the Dixie Chicks' update of "Landslide."

[ ... ]
In general, the artists, record companies, songwriters and music publishers licensed the recordings and compositions on "Between The Covers" at significantly below-market rates....

Even the presence of a new Bacon Brothers track won't wipe the botulism stink from this one.

"Rock Stars Lend Tunes To Covers Album" [Reuters]