Spotify this week announced that it had reached the magic number of 2 million paying subscribers. It's a good number and speaks well of their interface and success in selling the streaming model.
Obviously it may have been a harder number to crack had they not limited the freemium model previously offered and harder still had they not launched in the U.S.A. which at one point seemed like it might never happen.
In the same week an indie band called Uniform Motion revealed some stats and info about the pitfalls of 'doing it yourself' in an excellently written blog which may do more for them than their music ever could. It's an extremely relevant read for everyone interested in the music business.
The BRIT School alumni (a horrifically American sounding term for a very British project) meanwhile celebrated 65 million album sales globally with a bit of spin and self-congratulatory-back-slapping.
They're nice stats and all British musical success is worthy of celebration but have they produced anything other than pop? Their top tens suggest not and it is clear that their success now (and possibly in the future) is becoming self-fulfilling. The record labels who once used to scout around areas where successful bands were emerging need now only camp out on the lawns of the school itself.
Since the School invites many label people to 'lecture' their pupils they need not even do that, it's not like they're working hard to find the talent the school is doing it for them and developing it in a manner that they have proven to be successful. Is this really rock 'n' roll?
Obviously it may have been a harder number to crack had they not limited the freemium model previously offered and harder still had they not launched in the U.S.A. which at one point seemed like it might never happen.
In the same week an indie band called Uniform Motion revealed some stats and info about the pitfalls of 'doing it yourself' in an excellently written blog which may do more for them than their music ever could. It's an extremely relevant read for everyone interested in the music business.
The BRIT School alumni (a horrifically American sounding term for a very British project) meanwhile celebrated 65 million album sales globally with a bit of spin and self-congratulatory-back-slapping.
They're nice stats and all British musical success is worthy of celebration but have they produced anything other than pop? Their top tens suggest not and it is clear that their success now (and possibly in the future) is becoming self-fulfilling. The record labels who once used to scout around areas where successful bands were emerging need now only camp out on the lawns of the school itself.
Since the School invites many label people to 'lecture' their pupils they need not even do that, it's not like they're working hard to find the talent the school is doing it for them and developing it in a manner that they have proven to be successful. Is this really rock 'n' roll?
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