Photo by: jlz
Facebook Credits will roll out July 1.
Facebook will be hammering home its Facebook Credits virtual currency on July 1 this year. From this date all payments will go through Facebook Credits and all transactions outside of Facebook’s payment system will be explicitly prohibited. This move will make Facebook credits the main payment system for all apps, where FB takes a 30 percent cut of transactions. The question is, how will Facebook Music appsRootMusic and MoonToast react to this? All in all it is safe to say that developers are less than thrilled with this new move from Facebook.
Spotify enthusiasm low at Midem, rumours say
Digital Music News reports that there is not much love coming Spotify’s way from the gathered industry at the Midhem conference.
Digital Music News:
“Among European labels, continuing frustration exists over low Spotify payouts, and the perception that premium subscription percentages largely remain sub-10 percent. Of course, there’s always someone at this conference ready to toast Spotify’s huge headway in places like Sweden, and utter tired praises about the ‘amazing interface. But that type of talk is usually coming from those not familiar with the monetization issues or unique differences between the US and European markets. And, artists and labels are getting amazingly low Euros from this thing, and instead of praising, some are even pulling out“.
Pay-Per-Play Music Streaming Service Launches In UK
“Psonar is a UK music startup that will let users stream songs they don’t own for a penny. There’s no advertising or monthly subscription required. The company bills users directly on their phone bill, as well as, though PayPal and credit cards”. “In the second quarter of this year, the company plans to launch the service in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Scandinavia. Starting out, Psonar will only contain music from The Orchard – no majors”.
Some data from the Nielsen global survey of music consumers
Music Think Tank crunched some stats from the Nielsen survey. The data is not all too fresh, but I found it quite interesting.
How people consume music:
The survey found that there is considerable diversity in music consumption habits globally, and that no single channel dominates.
Video leading the way:
Watching music on video is the most popular way to consume music. 57% of those surveyed had watched music videos on computers in the preceding 3 months. 44% watch internet videos several times a week.
Free downloads is a good promotional strategy:
Downloading a song without paying for it was the second most popular form of music consumption. The survey did not distinguish between “legal” (free downloads – often promotional) or “illegal” downloads (pirate copies), so many of these free downloads could have been obtained legitimately.
People aged between 21 and 34 are the “core digital music audience”:
People in this age range have a generally higher level of music-related activity. They watch the most music videos (on computer or TV), download more songs (both paid and free), and stream more music.
It’s worth selling digital downloads:
The survey found that just over 20% of people under the age of 34 had paid to download a music track to their computer in the preceding 3 months.
An artist website is a good idea:
About 18% of people surveyed had accessed music from an artist’s own website in the preceding 3 months.
A Facebook fan page is a good idea:
35% consume music via social networking sites.
Streaming on the rise:
36% of the surveyed stream music via a computer.
Being on internet radio is a good idea:
Just over 30% of those surveyed say they listen to music on web radio several times a week. The vast array of genres and sub-genres catered for by specialist radio shows online means that, if we take the time to investigate, we are likely to find the perfect audience for our own music.