RootMusic takes the “bandpage” to a New Level

::Originally Posted 6/30/11::

If you have a Facebook page for your band, you’re probably aware of many of the applications available for enhancing your page. Some of them provide your fans with an ability to listen to your music, buy your album on iTunes, view upcoming tours, etc. The Reverbnation band app has brought a lot of these features together into one tab, however a newer application called RootMusic is taking that model to the next level.

RootMusic provides a free Facebook tab that is almost entirely customizable. Think Myspace page, without the html, all in one Facebook application. The app, called “BandPage ^TM,” makes customizing your page incredible simple; almost anyone can create an awesome page if they have photos and media to upload. The BandPage^TM taps into already existing Facebook tools to pull your photos, videos, information and more into the app, and its integration with Facebook allows fans to post your songs directly to their Facebook walls. Basically BandPage^TM incorporates all the functionalities you could ever need into the tab, so your fans are never directed outside Facebook unless you want them to be.

This allows bands to direct their audience to one location, rather than spreading their attention to multiple points of reference. “Find us on Facebook” is all you have to say, and that’s all they need to know. They’ll find everything on your page. Other features that stand out include a free mailing list sign-up and “listn.to,” a link-shortener like bit.ly to use on Facebook and Twitter. Speaking of Twitter, you can also hook up with your twitter account and even blast particular Twitter lists if you own the list personally. Soundcloud? Vimeo? YouTube? All of that is integrated as well.

RootMusic combines the sharing power of Facebook with the customizable element that made Myspace so attractive. Pilar Vree, RootMusic Community Manager says, “A few years ago it was pretty difficult to represent yourself professionally on Facebook without spending a bunch of cash. When we first started building RootMusic, MySpace Music was the standard for musicians who wanted to share their music online. But MySpace Music was simply a medium for listening to music; it wasn’t the powerful sharing tool that musicians and fans needed. On Facebook, there was no way that musicians could share their songs, photos, videos, and shows the same way they share links to internet content. So we decided to build an app that would allow musicians to both represent themselves and share their music on the social network that all their fans call their online home: Facebook.”

BandPage^TM Basic is already revolutionizing how people share music on Facebook, but BandPage^TM Plus takes it even farther. The extended version allows users to create incentives like “Join the mailing list,” “Send a tweet,” or “Like us” in order to unlock exclusive listens or free downloads. The appearance of your BandPage^TM Plus can change whether a viewer is a fan or not, and it gives the owner advanced editing features for the page’s appearance that allow you to add fonts, customize headers, and more. Their $1.99/month rate is standard for anyone who uses RootMusic, and all subscribers all have access to the same features. “We believe in helping musicians at every level,” says Pilar Vree, thus it’s no wonder why over 200,000 bands are now using BandPage^TM , from your local indie band to artists like Rihanna, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez and more.

The most exciting part? RootMusic has integrated with TopSpin Media to allow fans to purchase merchandise directly from your BandPage^TM. Vree says, “It was something a lot of our users had asked for and this is was first step in that direction. We worked with TopSpin to link into their API and automatically pull users’ store info to the BandPage. Users only need to copy and paste their API key into the store section to add songs, t-shirts and what not to their store on the BandPage.”

BandPage^TM launched in February of 2010 and by their first anniversary the application claimed 20 million monthly active users. As of June 2011, RootMusic has more than 30 million monthly active users, 1.3 million of which are active daily. We asked RootMusic about the original goal when creating the BandPage^TM, Vree told us, “We believed there was a better way to do music online. The Internet is an excellent tool for musicians, but too many musicians are bogged down by the technical rigmarole of coding to know how to maximize its potential. We have already seen the Internet revolutionize the way that music is consumed by listeners, so we knew there were some answers out there for musicians as well. We wanted to create a better way to let musicians interact with their fans, book shows, talk to labels, make money, and connect their music to the people who want to hear their songs.

“We aspire to give musicians the tools they need to optimize their online presence, and our users are the ones who inspire us to make RootMusic better. As our company continues to grow, our users are telling us what they need to succeed in the music industry. They’re always sending us their ideas, and we’re always here to listen and act on them.”

Get to know RootMusic better by watching their product tour video below. If you want to know more, visit www.rootmusic.com.

Photos and video courtesy of RootMusic and TopSpin Media.

UK Responds to “Hargreaves Report”

::Originally posted on the MI Blog 8/2/11::

Katherine Rushton reported for Telegraph.co.uk yesterday that Vince Cable, UK Business Secretary, gave his “broad backing” to a review by Professor Ian Hargreaves of copyright law, claiming it would stimulate innovation.

“We are removing the barriers to the intellectual property system to encourage innovation. We need a legal framework that supports consumer use rather than one that sees it as regrettable,” he said.

Rushton reported, “The changes are expected to pave the way for Google and Amazon to launch ‘cloud’ music storage systems for UK consumers – although there was still some confusion over whether this could run into conflict with European law. A government spokesman said any conflicts would be dealt with during the consultation period, but Mr Cable said he was ‘confident’ there would not be problems.”

Richard Smirke for Billboard.biz commented that “the most significant decision made is the scrapping of the government’s plan to block copyright infringing websites. The blocking of filesharing and other copyright infringing websites was a key provision of the Digital Economy Act, but that has now been scraped as is it ‘not effective’ and ‘extremely complicated to implement,’ according to Ofcom.”

Smirke says, “The government’s decision to scrap web-blocking has, however, been criticized by sectors of the music industry,” quoting Geoff Taylor, chief executive at U.K. music label trade body BPI, who said, “Every day blatantly illegal foreign sites flout our laws, rip off consumers and musicians and wreak huge damage on our creative sector.

“Government has recognized that blocking such sites could help to reduce levels of infringement, but that there needs to be a more effective framework that enables speedier action than would be possible under the relevant DEA provisions,” Taylor continued, urging the government to “act urgently to put in place effective means to protect consumers, creators and UK jobs from the impact of illegal foreign sites.”

Smirke listed the following points among the ten proposals outlined by the British government as the most notable:

“•The creation of a cross-sectoral Digital Copyright Exchange, thereby easing the process of selling licenses for rights owners.

• Legalizing the currently outlawed practice of copying content from a CD or DVD to a computer or portable device, such as an iPod. In addition to legalizing ‘format shifting’ this reform would also have important ramifications regarding the introduction of digital music lockers in the U.K.

• Copyright exceptions to allow parody to be introduced. “Newport State of Mind,” a take on “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, which caused a viral sensation in 2010, has been cited as a parody work that would be allowed under the newly proposed laws. Although the track is still accessible on many websites, EMI initially fought to have it removed from streaming and video services.

•Licensing and clearance procedures for orphan works (material with unknown copyright owners) to be established.

•The introduction of an exception to copyright law for search and analysis techniques known as ‘text and data mining,’ thereby by-passing the need for permission from copyright owners. Research scientists and medical researchers were identified as the core beneficiaries.”

Vince Cable has predicted that the U.K. economy would benefit by £7.9 billion ($12.9 billion) in increased revenue resulting from the proposed changes made in copyright legislation.

“The government also revealed the next steps in how it will deter internet users who repeatedly access copyright infringing material – another key provision of the Digital Economy Act,” reported Smirke.  “Beginning in the second half of 2012, infringers will be sent a warning letter telling them their internet connection has been identified as linked to unlawfully shared copyright material. Consumers who want to appeal will have to pay a £20.00 ($32.80) fee which will be refunded if the appeal is successful.”

Read Katherine Rushton’s article from The Telegraph here.

Read Richard Smirke’s article for Billboard.biz here.

Turntable.fm Launches iPhone App

::Originally Posted on the MI Blog 9/13/11::

“Social DJ service” turntable.fm released an iPhone application today that will allow users to engage in the service from their mobile device.

Mashable’s Chris Taylor downloaded the app today and wrote:

“Visually, the Stickybits team has done a great job of packing everything in to the small screen. It actually seems easier on the iPhone to scroll down the list of rooms people have created (the list loads as you scroll). Step into a room, and it looks exactly like a Turntable room should. Even packed with avatars, it’s not significantly slower. My iPhone 3GS was able to render a 200-avatar room with no problem; the music didn’t skip and the head-bobbing was smooth.”

But an app “this complex,” isn’t without it’s bugs.  “The first time I tried to spin, the app booted me off when it came to my tune. (Anecdotally, I heard a few stories of iPhone DJs getting booted; it’s easy to tell, because the avatar is holding a phone instead of a laptop). The second time, nobody could hear the music — despite it being a track I’d played successfully many times in the web client.”

Chris has no doubt, however, that Turntable will iron out these bugs shortly.

“With a $7 million round of funding led by Union Square Ventures, also announced Tuesday, the company now has a lot more resources. We can’t wait to try the (as yet unannounced) Android and iPad versions.”

Read more from Mashable, VentureBeat, & The Wall Street Journal.

Viacom vs. Youtube – Round 2

::Originally written for the MI Blog 10/18/11::

A second round of the Viacom vs. Youtube battle moves to a Manhattan appellate court today as Viacom appeals a June 2010 U.S. District Court ruling in Youtube’s favor. The case has been boiling since 2007, when Viacom originally sued the Google-owned internet media website for nearly $1 billion in damages for copyright infringement.

Variety‘s Ted Johnson wrote for the publication’s website on Friday with the prediction that this case “could define the rules of the road for the Internet because it centers on where YouTube’s liability lies when users post infringing material, massive amounts of it, on its site.” He wrote, “The ‘safe harbor’ provision of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, written many years before YouTube was born, shields Internet service providers, website operators and others from liability for infringement by their users when they meet certain conditions, like promptly responding to takedown notices sent by content creators.”

Johnson quotes journalist Robert Levine, author of the new book Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, who wrote recently, “The suit could go to the Supreme Court, and its outcome will define the future of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and perhaps the Internet itself.”

Viacom’s case definitely appears stronger this time around, especially in lieu of the many amicus briefs filed by other media companies like Yahoo and Facebook in addition to numerous artists with much at stake in this case.

About the case, Robert Levine said, “The idea of YouTube being responsible for everything on its server would be a disaster for the Internet business, and the idea of them being responsible for nothing would be a disaster for the entertainment business.”

More Information:

Variety

Bloomberg Business Week

All Things Digital