THE VINYL RECORD MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION AND THE VINYL ALLIANCE JOINT STATEMENTThe Vinyl Record Manufacturing Association (VRMA) and the Vinyl Alliance have joined forces to voice their combined concern to Luminate’s upcoming changes to reporting methods for independent physical retailers.  This fall Luminate, the entertainment industry’s preeminent data and insights company and Billboard’s data partner, announced that starting week one of 2024 data on physical sales (vinyl, CDs, and cassettes) will reflect a direct representation of those reported from indie retailers in the United States and Canada which have agreed to participate in their new program. Historically and currently, these sales are algorithmically determined due to the very small number of record stores contributing to the weekly sales activity acting as the representative base for the entirety of the Indie Retail market segment.  This change is a dramatic departure from the current practice and one that will unfairly minimize numbers creating a seismic change in providing true insight into the importance and scope of both physical media and independent retailers and their impact on the makeup of the music business landscape. The joint statement from the VRMA and Vinyl Alliance is as follows.

“We at the VRMA and the Vinyl Alliance are committed to both accurate data and reporting.  With less than 5% of independent physical retailers currently reporting directly to Luminate, the data collected will be a grossly inaccurate representation on the sales of physical products, and therefore the overall size and strength of the industry. There will be an immediate break between the market reporting by the RIAA and the IFPI, both important and globally recognized industry organizations. Reviewing current data, the overall US physical market reporting could be reduced by as much as 40% in units and by 35% in value in retail dollars. This break from the historic measurement process will have many consequences, most notably the decimation of market share currently held by Independent Retail. This reduction will have an immediate effect, and the downward perception of the value of the market will reverberate around the globe. We agree that accuracy is the goal and with the proper amount of time dedicated to onboarding an expansive list of new Independent Retail reporters we will arrive at the desired destination - an accurate measure of the market confirming the most popular artists in any given chart week.”

The sale of Vinyl Records has seen continual growth year-over-year for the past 16 years. Last year, in 2022, was the first time in over 30 years that vinyl record sales surpassed the sale of CD’s.  In the U.S. Vinyl sales YTD for 2023 in the United States, as reported by Luminate, are up 18.4% from the previous period (39.5M units vs.33.3M units). There are currently fifty-two pressing plants in the US that are conservatively producing 193,550,000 record discs per year.  Globally, the annual number is 360,180,000, with close to 200 plants targeted to be online by the first quarter of 2024.

“The continued growth in vinyl sales was the impetus for starting the Association, says VRMA President and Chief Creative Officer of Hand Drawn Pressing’s Dustin Blocker.  “This new reporting would be a widely imprecise reflection of the popularity of physical products and the strength of the industry as a whole, with the potential to have a large ripple effect on not just pressing plants but the entire vinyl value chain. We have over 50 members from across the industry which include half the pressing plants in the United States, but also audio companies, plating, mastering, print, packing, technology, record labels, and, of course, record stores, all of whom would be affected.”

Says Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day and Vinyl Alliance member, "The most devastating thing that any corporation could do to an artist, a record label, a vinyl manufacturer, or a record store is to take away the sale of an album. All of the resolve of the artist, all of the passion of the artist, all of the efforts to bring the artist’s creation to their fans by their record label, vinyl manufacturer, and distributor, all of the hard work by the record store to support the artist, all of it, are all zeroed out by Luminate and Billboard with this change. It will not increase accuracy in reflecting sales, but only create more doubt of the legitimacy of Billboard’s charts.

ABOUT THE VRMA

The VRMA is a professional trade association of independent businesses committed to the craft of vinyl record manufacturing through collaboration, advocacy, standardization, and education. The association serves to advocate and promote the vinyl record manufacturing industry while providing the latest and most accurate information to the industry at large. The association offers a forum for member companies to engage in ongoing discussions and provide external communications concerning various issues and opportunities related to other new technologies that may emerge. 

ABOUT THE VINYL ALLIANCE

The Vinyl Alliance is a global industry group committed to the future of the vinyl record business. The Alliance unites prominent players from across the global vinyl record value chain to exchange knowledge and work together to jointly address issues facing the industry. Vinyl Alliance members include record labels, manufacturers, materials and component suppliers, retailers, printers, and many others. Together, Vinyl Alliance members work to strengthen vinyl’s position in the recorded music market and advocate for vinyl records as a premium listening experience with unique cultural significance.

Apple cuts off Beeper Mini’s access after launch of service that brought iMessage to AndroidWas it too good to be true? Beeper, the startup that reverse-engineered iMessage to bring blue bubble texts to Android users, is experiencing an outage, the company reported via a post on X on Friday. And Apple is to blame, it seems. Users, including those of us at TechCrunch with access to the app, began […]
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Davidson Audio & Multimedia Lyrihorn-1 Lyrihorn-1 delivers a set of rare and unique MIDI control options that enhance expressive play ability over one of the most sought after classic wind synthesizers. Physical modeling has... Read More

Joint Statement Of Tom Petty Family & RR AuctionRR Auction and the family of the late Tom Petty announce that all concerns regarding the recent offering of personal clothing and items of the rock star have been resolved without litigation.

The Petty family is grateful that RR Auction facilitated the safe return of the items, which have been returned to the Petty family's secure archives, and there is currently no belief RR Auction committed or knew of any wrongdoing regarding the disputed ownership of the items.

To show their gratitude, the family has agreed to a select few of the belongings to be offered for auction through RR Auction. The family supports the upcoming sale and verifies the authenticity of the items to be offered.

From Spotify’s 1,500+ layoffs and CFO exit to Enrique Iglesias’ nine-figure deal… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place
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“We couldn’t figure out what to do with it”: Meduza nearly scrapped hit track Piece Of Your HeartElectronic music trio Meduza nearly scrapped their hit track, Piece Of Your Heart ft. Goodboys, entirely when they hit a wall creatively in the studio.
The track, instantly recognisable for its vocalised “da da da” melody, reached number two in the UK singles chart at its release. It was also nominated for a Grammy award for Best Dance Recording.

READ MORE: Michael Jackson’s first-ever studio recording released digitally

Speaking to Music Radar in a new interview feature, the group – consisting of Luca de Gregorio, Mattia Vitale and Simone Giani – reflected on how the hit came to be, and how they nearly abandoned it altogether.
“Usually back then we did covers and nothing original. So we started to write something new, and we were having fun with some sounds,” de Gregorio shares. “I remember getting a sound in Serum (his go-to synth of choice) that sounded far, far away. I think in two or three minutes we started it, tweaking the sound, and as soon as I heard this thing, I started playing the melody.
“After getting this riff, we said ‘Ok, let’s work on this, it’s actually pretty good’. We had a verse on this demo sound. When we went back in the studio and tried to add more we couldn’t figure out what to do with it. We were actually close to junking it.”
At its early stage, the track was relying on a vocal chop that wasn’t working out: “We decided that instead of using the chop, we thought we’d try and sing something that’s like a chop but isn’t.
“Josh [Grimmett] from Goodboys, said in the room, ‘Sorry – just quickly, what if it’s ‘da, da, da…’ and proceeded to vocalise a hypothetical melody. Luckily we were recording that moment. That melody, and the original recording of the spontaneous idea from Josh, became central to the track. It just sounded so good!”
Listen to the track below:

View Meduza’s upcoming tour dates via their official website.
The post “We couldn’t figure out what to do with it”: Meduza nearly scrapped hit track Piece Of Your Heart appeared first on MusicTech.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the first ever tour to gross over $1 billion, says PollstarCiting box office reports, Pollstar says that Taylor Swift took in an estimated ticket gross of $1.04 billion
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Spotify CEO blames layoffs on fake work, pushes out CFO who just cashed in $9.4M in stockSpotify CEO Daniel Ek seemed to blame workers and another executive for this week’s layoffs that saw 1500 or 17% of the streamer’s global workforce shown the door. In a. Continue reading
The post Spotify CEO blames layoffs on fake work, pushes out CFO who just cashed in $9.4M in stock appeared first on Hypebot.

Spotify CFO cashed out $9 million in shares 24 hours after layoffs were announcedSpotify’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Paul Vogel, cashed out 47,859 shares earning him $9.377 million, just 24 hours after the company announced that 17 percent of its workforce would be laid off in a “hard but crucial step.”
The streaming service’s CEO, Daniel Ek, has since released a statement revealing that Vogel is due to depart from the company at the end of Q1 in 2024 (31 March) as part of a new phase for the streaming giant.

READ MORE: Hainbach says his 1 million annual Spotify streams earned him $2,160 before tax

The findings regarding the shares were uncovered in an SEC filing, as spotted by Music Business Worldwide. The outlet found that the shares were cashed in on Tuesday this week (5 December), with the layoffs announced in a statement from Spotify’s newsroom the day prior on 4 December 2023.
Vogel’s annual base salary at Spotify was $600,000 in 2022, according to SEC documents, but he also pulled in option awards worth $6.187 million in the year.
In a press release from the platform shared online (7 December), Ek explains why Vogel’s time at Spotify is due to come to an end: “Spotify has embarked on an evolution over the last two years to bring our spending more in line with market expectations while also funding the significant growth opportunities we continue to identify.
“I’ve talked a lot with Paul about the need to balance these two objectives carefully. Over time, we’ve come to the conclusion that Spotify is entering a new phase and needs a CFO with a different mix of experiences,” says Ek.
“As a result, we’ve decided to part ways, but I am very appreciative of the steady hand Paul has provided in supporting the expansion of our business through a global pandemic and unprecedented economic uncertainty.
“As we initiate the search for a new leader, we do so from a position of strength. I am enormously proud of the strides we’ve made as a company. We are on track to deliver against the goals we outlined at our Investor Day and our recent actions will help us accelerate these efforts. We look forward to tapping a strong financial leader as our next CFO and I will share more details soon.”
Employees affected by the lay offs at Spotify will receive five months of redundancy pay. The company also promises to cover their healthcare over the five month span.
The post Spotify CFO cashed out $9 million in shares 24 hours after layoffs were announced appeared first on MusicTech.

Erica Synths launch EDU DIY Hi-Hat module Erica Synths and Mortiz Klein’s mki x es.EDU series has gained an analogue hi-hat Eurorack module inspired by the Roland TR-808.

Musicians & Songwriters: What happens when your post goes ‘mini-viral’Learn what happens when a piece of a musician or songwriter’s content goes viral – or in this case, mini-viral – and how to make the most of it now. Continue reading
The post Musicians & Songwriters: What happens when your post goes ‘mini-viral’ appeared first on Hypebot.

Brand Building for MusiciansAll of the recent press about the juggernauts Taylor Swift and Beyonce reminded me of two popular posts on building brands for musicians that should resurface for this week’s Hypebot. Continue reading
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HeadRush launches fifth edition of its free ReValver software with new cloning toolsMusic technology brand HeadRush has launched the latest iteration of its ReValver series, ReValver 5 – now offering the ability to shape the sound of the guitar itself by cloning the tone and characteristics of other instruments.
ReValver 5 is free for life and “infinitely expandable.” Users can now recreate the sounds of acoustics, folk instruments, and even other electric guitar and pickup combinations with its Audio Cloning Technology (ACT).

READ MORE: We’re giving away a Roland AIRA Compact S-1 worth $150

In an “industry first,” ReValver and HeadRush pedalboards have combined their amp and effects models together for this new edition of the software. Musicians can now recreate HeadRush presets in ReValver and utilise them in their DAWs via ReValver’s VST and AU plugins.
Additionally, ReValver’s RIR2 cabinet module also allows for control over the cab model’s microphone type, placement, and environment. You can now load any go-to 3rd party cab impulse responses in the RIR impulse response player module for custom tone shaping.
​​According to a press release from the brand, ReValver 5 is also the only software that offers official Peavey and Budda amp and effects models, which have been developed in collaboration with the original engineers. These models – which include the ReValver Peavey 6505 – are a “faithful” digital representation of the iconic amps they emulate.
All parameters inside ReValver 5 can be MIDI controlled, facilitating real-time adjustments and providing ease when preset switching via its GIG Mode feature.

“With over two decades of setting industry standards in realistic amp and effects modelling, this fifth generation release elevates the music creation experience, whether in a commercial studio, a home-based production hub, or live on stage,” says HeadRush.
ReValver 5 will always remain free, but a collection of four paid-for expansion packs are currently available at promotional prices until 31 December. Find out more via then official HeadRush website.
The post HeadRush launches fifth edition of its free ReValver software with new cloning tools appeared first on MusicTech.

Producer slams “hypocrisy” of artists who release physical records while championing “save the planet”Robin Millar, producer and co-founder of artist label Blue Raincoat Music, has argued that the vinyl revival is exposing the “hypocrisy” of artists who champion environmental causes.

READ MORE: Michael Jackson’s first-ever studio recording released digitally

In a new interview with Guardian, Millar says he’s “baffled that no large record company has had the backing of a big-selling artist to stop making physical records.”
The producer notes how CD and vinyl records are packaged with “chopped-down trees and plastic” and shipped to customers worldwide, saying “How can anybody stand up and say ‘save the planet’? Artists are awful for hypocritical bandwagonery.”
According to Millar – who claims he’s no “militant climate warrior”, the quality of digital songs are now comparable to vinyl. He also slams the pollution caused by the global touring of artists, saying shows can be screened online instead.
Earlier this year, it was reported that sales of vinyl records in the US have surged by over 20 per cent in the first half of 2023.
The report, generated by the Californian data analytics service, revealed that 23.6 million LPs were sold from January 2023 to June 2023, up from 2022’s 19.4 million sales.
Physical album sales overall also saw a notable rise of 13.3 per cent in 2023, with 41.5 million physical copies sold compared to 2022’s 36.7 million.
Demand aside, it’s unlikely that we’re seeing the end of physical record production and tours anytime soon as they’re often cited as the main source of income for musicians, who have long lamented the struggles of making a living from music streaming alone.
Berlin-based electronic composer Hainbach, for one, revealed last week that his 1 million Spotify streams have earned him a total of “$2160 a year or $180 per month”, a sum he reckons is enough to cover his utilities bill.
The artist also says going to a live show is “still the best way to support me and other artists”.
The post Producer slams “hypocrisy” of artists who release physical records while championing “save the planet” appeared first on MusicTech.

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