hypebot

Music 2.0 Week In Review: Clive Put Out To Pasture, EMI Rumors, Music Press For Sale, MySpace Music & More

> Clive Davis has been demoted and Jive's Barry Weiss promoted to run Sony BMG

> Nokia's Comes With Music could mean a huge cash windfall for major record labels.

> Is Music 2.0 editorial for sale? Universal invested $25 million in Buzznet which recently bought the Idolator and Stereogum music blogs.

> MySpace Music is sharing equity with the major labels. But some indie labels and bands may be left out

> Derek Sivers of CDBaby writes, "What's Really Keeping Us From Where We Need To Be. (It's Not Piracy.)"

> A consortium of UK music trades is backing a music tax to cover the money they're loosing as people make copies for private use. And UK digital retailers are floating a five point digital  music action plan

> BIG EMI NEWS: Nick Gatfield has left Universal to head A&R for EMI in the UK and North America. Rumors are swirling about big changes in the executive suite at EMI and morale is low at the label as the inevitible layoffs of 2000 appear delayed. The label is already closing Asian offices.

> Starbucks and iTunes are teaming for free weekly downloads

> Tuncecore paid out $1 million in January to indie artists

> Amazon MP3 sells more albums than iTunes

> Peter Gabriel is launching a new music filter

> Chrysalis Publishing rejected a bid from EMI and took itself off the market

> Earn a free pass to Digtal NARM in San Francisco as a report for Hypebot

> eMusic has topped 200 million downloads and strengthened its EU team

> IODA names Rhapsody's Kartzman VP Client Services

Today Is Record Store Day

GET OUT AND SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INDIE RECORD STORE

Today, Saturday April 19th, hundreds of U.S. independent record stores will join together on for National Record Store Day. The Coalition of Independent Music Stores, The Alliance of Independent Media Stores, Newbury Comics, the Value Music Concept stores and The Music Monitor Network as well as other independent music stores will participate.

"On this day, all of these stores will simultaneously link and act as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally."

Music, video and gaming will all take center stage with each store  doing something different to celebrate including sales, in store performances,  demonstrations, swap meets or an "afternoon at a record store" promotion, as well as, provide info on new formats and releases. The goal is to showcase everything that makes an indie store unique.

Learn more @ RecordStoreDay.com and visit your local indie records store today.

Is 2.0 Music Editorial For Sale? Universal Buys Into Buzznet

It's official. Universal has made a major investment in Buzznet.  The music centered social networking site also owns music blogs Stereogum and Idolator. Here's part of the press release:

"This partnership marks one of the first times that a music company will be directly involved in developing editorial programming for a social media site, with both companies sharing in the revenue."

There are many good reasons that this is "one of the first times" a record label has some control over music editorial  content.  The biggest one is fairness. Can Universal squash a bad review? Will other labels and bands get the same amount of space? Should the fans trust these site to remain impartial?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MUSIC COMPANIES INVESTING IN NEW MUSIC MEDIA? WILL STEREOGUM REMAIN A TRUSTED SOURCE?

MySpace Shares Some Equity Plans. Bands Beware...

Co-founder Chris DeWolfe shared some details of MySpace's move into music in a Wired interview, but failed to reveal exactly how revenues will be shared with indie labels and offered only bad news for unaffiliated musicians.

When asked if MySpace's equity sharing would extend to distributors like The Orchard and IODA, DeWolfe said, "We're open to extending our equity deals to the right partners, but at a certain point, you can't extend equity to everyone." Does that mean there will be a tiered system with only larger aggregators receiving equity? And is MySpace offering distributors equity like the majors or a just share of ad revenue?

Unaffiliated indies and acts are completely left out. "We don't really have the mechanism right now to develop an affiliate program or a payout structure for millions and millions of bands," said DeWolfe. If MySpace doesn't have a mechanism; its because they don't want one. Thousands of affiliate and revenue sharing programs exist across the net. 

Listening Post's Eliot Van Buskirk suggests, "If you're an indie artist on MySpace, it's time to start shopping around for an aggregator...It's the only way you're going to re-level the playing field and get the same treatment MySpace accords the major labels."  But will a share of equity offset the fees charged by the aggregator?  And are they really getting a deal that equals the majors?

And by the way... Hey, MySpace! How much are you charging for downloads and exactly how much of that are you keeping?

Clive Down, Jive's Weiss Up At SonyBMG

PLUS A COMMENTARY

The legendary Clive Davis has been replaced by Zomba/Jive's Barry Weiss as Chairman and CEO of the BMG Label Group. Davis, who is 74, has been named to the newly minted post of Chief Creative Officer. Charles Goldstuck, Davis' close associate and President and COO of the BMG label group as well as Tim Bowan, Sony BMG's COO have also departed in the shake-up.

Clive Davis's career reaches back to signings from Janis Joplin to Bruce Springsteen through Witney Houston and Alicia Keys.  In his new roll, Davis will continue to work creatively with some of the company's top talent. Weiss came to prominence as part of the team that built the Zomba Jive group from the ground up into a hit making powerhouse that includes Britney Spears, Usher, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain.

MEET THE NEW BOSS. SAME AS THE OLD BOSS.

Commentary: Most early reaction from the music press dubs this a change of the guard; and generationally, they are correct. Weiss is 25 years younger than Davis.

But Clive still has a place a the table. And both men are creations of label machines that manufactured hits by throwing big money and massive resources at select releases. Now money and manpower are in far shorter supply; and the wisdom as well return on investment of expensive campaigns have diminished in an era of short attention spans, fractured media, and falling sales.

Sony BMG may have a younger man at the helm, but this is not the seismic shift that they need.

What's Really Keeping Us From Where We Need To Be. (It's Not Piracy.)

Guest blogger Derek Sivers runs CD Baby and is a strong advocate for the indie/d.i.y. music community.  He blogs regularly at sivers.org and this post comes via Andrew Dubber's Music Think Tank. Derek writes:

I spoke at a conference last weekend, where a woman in the audience was SO mad about piracy that she was physically shaking, red in the face, tears in her eyes, fuming spitting livid, asking how we can stop this rampant piracy.

I didn’t answer her concern well, but I said “More people are killed by pigs than sharks each year, but because shark attacks are more newsworthy, they seem more prevalent. Piracy gets all the attention, but I don’t think most of you in this room have lost more than $30 to piracy.” (I got a big “Booo” from the audience for this.) “Obscurity is your real enemy. Fight obscurity until you’re a household name, then piracy will be more of a problem than obscurity. Until then, worry about pigs, not sharks.”

The woman got so furious about this that she screamed at me with tears in her eyes, “I HATE YOUR POINT OF VIEW, BUDDY!” (and some other angry things I forget.) From her point of view, piracy was Enemy #1 and anybody ignoring this massive threat was hurting us all.

Driving away from the event, of course I figured out what I wish I would have said in that moment:

UK Digital Music Retailers Float 5 Point Plan

A coalition of leading players in the UK digital music business is urging reforms it says are essential to maintain growth in the market. The new trade group ERA Digital, is an offshoot of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

Members including hmv.com, Play.com, 7digital.com, Orange, EUK, digitalstores.co.uk, Playlouder MSP, Trackitdown.net and a number of specialist operators are putting forward this five point action plan:

1. A commercially-driven and collaborative approach to ISPs.
ERA Digital believes that illegal file-sharing and the unwitting role played in facilitating it by internet service providers are best addressed commercially.

2. A more open approach to new models from the recording industry.
While ERA Digital notes and supports the progress made by the record industry in supporting new models beyond the a-la-carte download, it believes a step-change in openness is required. Too often, it says, the starting point for discussions is custom and practice in the physical world.

3. Encouraging competition among collection societies.

Friday's Music 2.0 Briefing: MySpace India, Radio Slumps & More

HYPEBOT FEATURES:

• MySpace Music shares some equity plans for indies and it ain't pretty.
• Clive Davis is moved down and Jive's Barry Weiss promoted at SonyBMG
• CD Baby's Derek Sivers Guest Blogs: What's Really Keeping Us From Where We Need To Be. (It's Not Piracy.)
• UK digital music players float a 5 point action plan
• Saturday is national indie Record Store Day
• Nokia's Comes With Music could mean a major windfall for the major record labels

> MySpace has launched a local site in India. This comes days after a similar launch in S Korea and marks 30 local sites in 15 languages for the social networker. (press release) How many are you active on?

> RADIO: Ad revenues are down in most markets. 120 lawmakers are asking the FCC to revisit new localization rules. (FMQB)

> Limewire again tops the P2P applications popularity chart. Here's the list via MP3Wire.

> R.I.P. - E Street band keyboardist Danny Federici

National Record Store Day This Sat. April 19th

This Saturday April 19th, hundreds of U.S. independent record stores will join together on for National Record Store Day. The Coalition of Independent Music Stores, The Alliance of Independent Media Stores, Newbury Comics, the Value Music Concept stores and The Music Monitor Network as well as other independent music stores will participate.

"On this day, all of these stores will simultaneously link and act as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally."

Music, video and gaming will all take center stage with each store  doing something different to celebrate including sales, in store performances,  demonstrations, swap meets or an "afternoon at a record store" promotion, as well as, provide info on new formats and releases. The goal is to showcase everything that makes an indie store unique.

Learn more @ RecordStoreDay.com and visit your local indie records store this Saturday.

Nokia's Comes With Music Could Mean Windfall For Labels

DETAILS EMERGE BUT HOW WILL ARTISTS AND INDIES GET PAID?

Two informed sources are putting the per unit payout to Universal for Nokia's new "Comes With Music" cell phones at $33.50-$35.00 per unit.

From there the numbers get staggering. Nokia sold 437 million phones last year and sales are growing. If only 1% of 500 million phones carry "Comes With Music" downloads, the payout to Universal is  $175 million. If it's 10%, Universal grabs $1.75 billion. Factor in market share and the other participating majors get similar checks.

Also intriguing is the leak that each phone comes with "a limited but relatively high number (of) songs", and that the songs are downloads rather than via subscription.

But the devil is always in the details. For example, what restrictions are put on moving the songs to other devices? How will the revenue be shared with artists?  And how will the indie label community be included and compensated?

That's not Nokia's problem....yet.

Thursday's Music 2.0 Briefing: EMI Board, PirateBay Blogs, $'s For Imeem & PluggedIn And More

UPDATED:

> EMI is changing the structure of its Board. (FMQB)

> PirateBay has launched an uncensored blogging service called Baywords.  Some blog providers pull blogs with links to unlicensed content.

> imeem got a new round of funding from Sequoia and newly launched HD music video site PluggedIn landed $2M from Will Smith's Overbrook venture firm.

> A look inside the Korean music industry and how it could be a model for the future. (Portfolio)  The Koreans can teach a lot about new models and artist branding, but I'm hoping that producer created pop groups is NOT the  only way forward.

> Some strong numbers coming from artist services site ReverbNation

• Artists: 160,000 
• Songs: 525,000
• Website, widgets and apps total reach: 24,000,000 uniques/month

> Tube Mogul enables spreading videos to various sites with a single upload.

> Iconic NYC rocker WNEW has relaunched as a net, HD station and blog mixing a classic rock with AAA in a format I think has legs. Listen here.

> Fashion and music combine at Tommy (Hilfiger) TV. SonyBMG is a partner. (Reuters) Please tell me know one cares.

CIMS Charts For 4-13-08

CIMS Top 25 Debuts for April 15, 2008
1 MCMURTRY,JAMES    JUST US KIDS
2 CAREY,MARIAH  E=MC2
3 M83  SATURDAYS=YOUTH
4 THRICE  VOL. 3-4-ALCHEMY INDEX
5 DESTROY THE RUNNER  I LUCIFER
6 KOOKS  KONK
7 RUSH  SNAKES & ARROWS LIVE
8 PRETTYMAN,TRISTAN  HELLO
9 CHILDREN OF BODOM  BLOODDRUNK
10 PLASTIC CONSTELLATIONS  WE APPRECIATE YOU

Read the rest of the CIMS Debut chart as well as the Vinyl  and Top 200 Charts after the jump.

Nick Gatfield Joins EMI As VP A&R From Universal Island

In a move designed to strengthen its struggling A&R operation, EMI has appointed former President of Universal Island Nick Gatfield as President of A&R EMI Music Labels, North America and UK. All the company’s label heads in those territories will report directly to him.

Gatfield has been known as an agent of change at Universal Island where he organized a  turnaround for the label and oversaw one of the UK's most successful domestic repertoires selling 32 million albums worldwide since 2002 including five million in the US. Artist signings since he became head in 2001 include Amy Winehouse, Keane, Mika, The Fratellis, McFly, Busted, Sugababes, The Feeling, Robyn and Sam Sparro.

Amazon MP3 Sells More Albums Than iTunes

From a Fortune profile of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos by Josh Quittner:

"One exec I know at a big label...says he's excited by one trend in particular: At Apple's iTunes store, two thirds of the music sold is single tracks and one third is albums. But at Amazon, two thirds of the music sold is albums and one third is tracks."

New EMI Rumors Swirl

It's no secret that changes are afoot at EMI. I haven't substantiated the latest rumors, but recent Hypebot guest blogger Maths of Music 2.0 shares that his sources tell him that major changes will be announced in the next 48 hours:

• Nick Gatfield from Universal/ Island is going to be named to a major position at EMI UK. UPDATE: Gatfield was just named EMI President Of A&R UK and North America. (full story)
• Jason Flom, Chairman and CEO of Capitol Music Group in the US is on his way out.
• No EMI restructuring rumors are complete without the obligatory "Roger Ames is under intense pressure and his head is still on the block"

He also reports that EU regulations require that if more than 100 people are laid off, a 60 day announcement has to precede it. Thus there is every likelihood that the US and Asia will be the first victims of Guy Hand's axe.

Starbucks & iTunes Team For Free Weekly Downloads

Expanding their ongoing marketing partnership, Starbucks and iTunes yesterday announced Pick of the Week, offering coffeehouse customers free downloads and videos. Upcoming Pick of the Week artists include Carly Simon, Duffy, Counting Crows, Adele, Sia, and Hilary McRae.

Each Tuesday, more than 7,000 Starbucks US locations will give away download cards redeemable on the iTunes for a complimentary song or music video. The first Pick of the Week, available now is Counting Crows’ “Washington Square.”

Peter Gabriel Launches The Filter

Peter Gabriel has launched The Filter in private beta with the lofty goal of transforming online discovery by filtering online entertainment and info and personalizing it for each user.

    "...many of us are now drowning in an ocean of options. An intelligent filter can remove the burden and boredom of choice and get us what we want and need with plenty of exploration and discovery." - Peter Gabriel

The Filter claims a holistic approach to filtering out irrelevant content that reflects individual tastes and moods through unique algorithms, across music, film, entertainment news and TV. In addition to launching as a consumer entertainment experience at www.thefilter.com, The Filter will also provide white label and co-branded solutions for content partners seeking to match their inventory to visitors' tastes.

    Users who visit www.thefilter.com will be able to aggregate their music, film, and entertainment RSS feeds...

Wednesday's Music 2.0 Briefing: Amazon's Gains, PluggedIn, Tesco MP3 & Much More

HYPEBOT FEATURES:

• New rumors are swirling of high level changes at EMI
• Starbuck and iTunes team for free weekly downloads
• Earn a free pass to Digital NARM
•  Peter Gabriel Launches The Filter

> New data from NPD show that the growth in sales at Amazon MP3 has not come at the expense of iTunes or other stores. Only 10% of Amazon's customers also buy from iTunes. (ars)

> Motley Crue to release new single "Streets of LA" via the Rock Band video game. Def (Reuters) Def Leppard is reportedly doing the same via Guitar Hero. That way it's success won't get measured against traditional releases.

> Fader will be handling ad and sponsorship sales for the ad support RCRD LBL.

> Another entry into the online music mix, PluggedIn has launched in public beta. Its got the usual content, info and social functions adding higher almost-broadcast quality video as a point of differentiation. Little new yet but worth watching.

> The relaunch of UK supermarket chain Tesco's download store will include a major shift towards mp3. (press release)

> MySpace has launched a local site for South Korea. According to DMW, when the company launches in India, MySpace will have 30 localized versions available in 15 languages.
 

A Free Pass To Digital NARM

Would you like a free $699 all access pass to the Digital NARM convention May 6-7 in San Francisco?

With the permission of our friends at NARM, we'll be choosing one lucky reader to represent Hypebot at what is shaping up to be a new required stop the music convention circuit. The catch? You'll have to write at least two medium length posts at the end of each day's conference sharing highlights. Digital photos would be great, but aren't required.

How to qualify? Leave us your name, qualifications and contact info in the comments section below. (If for some reason you'd rather do this in stealth mode, email me) A link to a copy of something you've written beyond a letter to your Mother would help you win as well. The names of all those deemed qualified (by me) will be thrown in a hat and the winner announced on Monday, April 29th.

TuneCore Pays $1M In January Fueled By Indie Artists

Many digital distributors are still trying to find their footing, but one outfit seems to  have found its own indie sweet spot. TuneCore.com artists and labels earned more than $1 Million in January marking a new peak for the flat fee discount digital distribution service. TuneCore says customers have now earned a total of over seven million dollars from digital sales of their music.

Tunecores revenue growth is in part being fueled by big names like Bjork, Nine Inch Nails, Keith Richards and Jay-Z, But according to the distributor unsigned artists are earning the majority of the revenue generated.

Two examples of artists thriving under the new paradigm:

Chrysalis Rejects EMI Bid. Stops Sale.

CREDIT CRUNCH ADDS TO INDUSTRY TROUBLES

Chrysalis Publishing announced today that it has rejected a 155p per share cash offer for the company. The company declined to name the bidder but sources with knowledge of the deal say it was EMI.  Chrysalis shares fell sharply.

Chrysalis claims the offer “significantly undervalues” the company and that it has stopped looking for a buyer. It claimed that global and credit market conditions had stopped it from getting full value for its assets.

EMI Morale Low Over Restructuring Delays

These are tough times at EMI.  Sources tell Hypebot that morale is at an all time low in many departments with staffers unsure of their future four months after new owner Terra Firma promised 2000 job cuts. Deal making, except in the publishing division, is also said to be at a standstill as outsiders wonder if the person they're talking to will be around next week.

A NY Post piece yesterday claims that money and EU employment regulations are behind the delayed cuts.  Sources told the Post that restructuring costs were running higher than Terra Firma and Guy Hands had anticipated and more capital was being raised. Others are blaming tough EU employment laws which require a lengthy review process before and pink slips can be handed out.

Whatever the reasons, the staff and artists at EMI are left disillusioned and without a clear plan moving forward.  Not a great start for Hands & CO.   

Tuesday's Music 2.0 Briefing: Portishead To Last.FM, Verizon's Madonna Remix & Much More

HYPEBOT FEATURES

• Chrysalis rejects bid from EMI
• Staff moral at EMI slumps as restructuring delayed
• Tunecore tops $1M in January
• IODA names Rhapsody's Kartzman VP Client Services
• eMusic tops 200 Million downloads and strengthens its EU team
• Buzznet buys the Idolator music blog
• SprialFrog adds indie content from RoyaltyShare and MPress
• EMI closing Asian offices
• UK Music trade back music tax. Plus a commentary

> Last.fm has grabbed another exclusive.  This time its Portishead – the new album ‘Third’ will be available to listen to for free on Last.fm from April 21st, a full week before the official release.

> In a nice mix of new and old, a new web video series from Sun Studio in Memphis brings in younger acts to perform in the same room that Elvis, Johnny Cash, Howlin Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis and other greats recorded their first hits. Here's Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

> Verizon Wireless has teamed with Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake to deliver a "mobile underground remix" of Madonna's new single "4 Minutes" from the upcoming album "HARD CANDY."

> The lineup for this year's Austin City Limits Festival has been announced.

> A well written look at the aging of touring acts and why Live Nation is rushing to diversify.  (American via Coolfer)

> UK grocery giant TESCO is re-launching its digital store including 3M+ tracks. (PaidContent) Why?

IODA Names Rhapsody's Kartzman VP Client Services

Digital distributor IODA has named Ted Kartzman as Vice President of Client Services. He joins from FealNetworks' Rhapsody where he was  Director of Independent Label Business responsible for overseeing promotion, legal and accounting for the thousands of indie labels and artists available through the service.

Prior to Rhapsody, Kartzman managed independent rock trio The Slip and co-founded JamBase.com. He remains Chairman of the Board at reapandsow, a marketing and distribution company for independent artists, which uses IODA technology for digital distribution.

Buzznet Buys Idolator Music Blog

The Idolator music site is being bought by social networker Buzznet, "the music site which says it doesn't want to roll up other music blogs, but seems to do so, anyway. This was the last of the three deals to be finalized, which apparently happened over the weekend," according to Silicom Alley Insider. Buzznet also recently bought Stereogum.

Nick Denton's Gawker Media also off-loaded Wonkette to new owners. Gawker apparently did not get top dollar for nay of the blogs. Denton and others are predicting a shakeout in the blog  sector.  I sure hope the new Idolator editors link to Hyepbot as often as the last ones. And don't worry, as an indie Hypebot is going strong and we're looking at some additions and spin-offs. 

SpiralFrog Adds RoyaltyShare And MPress

SpiralFrog has announced a licensing agreement with RoyaltyShare to add its independent label customers to the free ad supported service.  Indie label MPress has also been added to the SpiralFrog catalog which now tops 1 million tracks.

More on the deals: RoyaltyShare, MPress

eMusic Tops 200M Downloads, Strengthens EU Team

eMusic today announced that it has sold more than 200 million downloads since establishing its subscription model 11/03.  The total includes downloads sold in the U.S. and E.U., where eMusic has been available 10/06.  The company says it is now delivered more than 7 million tracks a month across all territories to subscribers.

eMusic also strengthened its EU presence today with the appointment of Madeleine Milne to the position of managing director, Europe and James Wheatley as director of business development, Europe.

UK Music Trade Supports Copy Tax plus a Commentary

Ripping your CD onto you iPod is a crime in the UK. But as is the practice globally, most people do it; and a recent survey showed that 88% don't even know they are breaking the law. Proposed legislation would decriminalize the practice, but a coalition of major industry groups including AIM, BPI, The Manager's Forum and the Musicians Union are backing a tax to compensate for what they see as a loss in income. A summary of their logic:

• there is a value produced by the ability to format shift for both consumers and commercial enterprises
• it is imperative that creators and performers should benefit directly from this value
• the only solution which achieves these goals is a "flexible and market-led  approach based upon a business-to-business relationship"

The position paper (pdf) does not propose a specific fee or percentage leaving it "subject to commercial negotiations".

COMMENTARY -

Unless they embrace the opportunities provided by the internet rather than fighting the challenges, the music industry will remain in decline

Sadly, this is another example of how far behind the consumer the music industry is.  While the tax would presumably be on portable players rather than individual copies, the effect...

EMI Closing Asian Offices Earlier Than Rumored

It has been rumored for several weeks that EMI was shutting down most of its Asian operations and seeking a partner to handle future operations.  Now our veteran Asian music industry watcher Maths who blogs at Music 2.0 reports that offices are already being closed and front runner has emerged in the partnership race.

According to Maths, EMI has already "effectively closed offices in Thailand and Singapore whilst those in Japan, India, Australia and China will remain to some level of direct EMI jurisdiction especially on the digital front." The more lucrative publishing arm appears to be spared from major cuts.

The future? While EMI is apparently in talks with several companies license and manage their catalog in Asia rumours have Warner Music as the front runner.

MORE: Music 2.0 has commentary on why EMI and other major label efforts in the region are failing.

Monday's Music 2.0 Briefing: EMI Debt, Radiohead Tricks Charts, Teen Spending Drops, Radio 1 Gets Social & More

> CitiGroup is struggling to unload its EMI loan exposure thanks to down markets and an unknown future for EMI. (FT)

>  Think you can't trick the charts post Sound Scan?  Think again.  Listening Post figured out and Idolator confirmed that it was the sales of individual remix tracks that pushed Radiohead up the Billboard charts recently.

> Terrestrial radio stations have grabbed a 45% share of the internet broadcasting market according to a new in depth JP Morgan study. The recent CBS Last.fm integration is powering some of the growth. (pdf)

> A Piper Jaffrey shows a major 15-20% drop in overall teen discretionary spending, but a slight drop in illegal downloading (summary) Mom and Dad have to find the cash to pay for gasoline and groceries somewhere.

> US urban broadcast group Radio One has bought social networker Community Connect Inc. for $38 million. CCI owns sites such as BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com and AsianAve.com. The company says its sites have more than 20 million members combined. (press release)

> Is music the soundtrack to you day? There's a look at how I use music to motivate and set my moods on my consumer music blog OurDigitalMusic.com.