BigChampagne Media Measurement Blog

Now Playing: Jay-Z's Data-Driven Setlist...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:20:00 -0800

As revenue sources continue to shift, touring is becoming increasingly important. The live performance sector has its own demons, most notably macroeconomic pressures, though the show is a unique experience that is difficult to reproduce. But how can artists maximize that experience by playing the songs that fans want to hear the most?

For newer artists, the challenge is getting enough material together to fill a set. But for multi-album, multi-decade artists with long-term, loyal followings, the question becomes more complicated. Fans certainly want the classics; the sing-a-longs that peppered their experiences growing up, partying through college, and living out their adult lives. But artists need to balance older songs with newer material, including songs that are still catching on. And, all of that needs to be smartly blended into a package of 15, 20, or more songs.

But what to play? Digital Music News, using data from BigChampagne, attempted to answer that question using the example of Jay-Z, a relevant, touring artist with a massive catalog. Jay-Z has played lots of gigs, and has the best sense for what crowds want to hear. But online channels also offer some guidance, especially when multiple platforms are considered – in this case, MySpace Music, YouTube, and file-trading networks.

MySpace Music offers a considerable level of programming to its audience, and in the case of Jay-Z, positions the latest release (The Blueprint 3) most prominently. In the case of YouTube, the monitoring focus was the Jay-Z channel, a section that also leans heavily towards promotional and newer content. P2P may offer the purest indicator of demand, simply because users are entering searches cold. But those choices are still informed by outside media sources, prompting the move to acquire.

And the takeaway? Jay-Z is obviously pushing newer material, and shows are not just about memory lane. But, in the interests of mixing old and new, a number of older songs are must-plays according to the data. (Incidentally, plenty of songs feature guest artists and therefore call for tricky work-arounds in a live setting, though they are still incorporated here based on user demand.)

So, without further adieu, the most demanded tracks across the various platforms, sorted loosely by time period…

Newest:
1.    Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) (2009)
2.    Run This Town (feat. Rihanna, Kanye West) (2009)
3.    Brooklyn Go Hard (feat. Santogold) (2009)
4.    D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) (2009)
5.    History (2009)
6.    Hate (feat. Kanye West) (2009)
7.    Already Home (feat. Kid Cudi) (2009)
8.    Thank You (2009)

Relatively Recent:
1.    Hello Brooklyn 2.0 (feat. Lil’ Wayne) (2007)
2.    Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)… (2007)
3.    American Gangster (2007)
4.    Jockin’ Jay-Z (Dopeboy Fresh) (2008)
5.    Lost One (feat. Chrisette Michele) (2006)
6.    Show Me What You Got (2006)

Older Songs, Classics:
1.    Can I Get A… (feat. Amil, Ja Rule) (1998)
2.    Big Pimpin’ (feat. UGK) (1999)
3.    99 Problems (2003)
4.    Girls, Girls, Girls (2001)
5.    ‘03 Bonnie & Clyde (feat. Beyonce) (2002)
6.    Money, Cash, Hoes (feat. DMX) (1998)
7.    Money Ain’t a Thang (feat. Jermaine Dupri) (1998)
8.    Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love) (2001)

Just Like Old Times: 50 Cent Rush-Releasing Leaky Album...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:23:00 -0800

Digital Music News:

Before leaks were automatic, labels would rush-release big titles that slipped early. Nowadays, the more frequent reaction is to stick with existing dates, but for 50 Cent, a more aggressive approach is being applied.

According to data partner BigChampagne, the 50 album, Before I Self Destruct, first started leaking on October 28th - nearly one full month before a street date of November 23rd. That prompted Interscope executives to strike an iTunes exclusive starting November 10th, according to details shared by Hits Magazine. The physical album was pushed forward to November 17th (Tuesday), a bit of damage control that followed three weeks of unfettered access across file-sharing networks.

Still, the strategy is rustling some sales - Apple agreed to force-bundle the album, and sales within the exclusive iTunes window reached 46,000. Moreover, those ‘pre-release’ sales are getting counted against the first scheduled week, also according to Hits.

The rush-release sounds somewhat similar to the response in 2003, when Get Rich or Die Tryin’ started leaking. But that was when leaks were considered an accident and an anomaly, and release dates carried more meaning. It was also before CD sales started seriously tanking, and multi-platinum results were the norm from superstars.

When Divas Leak... Rihanna, Lady Gaga Now Unleashed

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:27:07 -0800

Digital Music News:

Shouldn’t Beyonce and Mariah have something leaking this week, just to keep up with the other divas? Tracks from Rihanna’s new album, Rated R, have been slipping one-by-one for the past week, and according to information tracked by BigChampagne, the full album surfaced last weekend. File-sharers are, of course, combing through the pre-release for references and hints regarding the Chris Brown incident, and all this chatter and curiosity will most likely boost album sales.

What else? Lady Gaga’s new album (or is it an EP?) The Fame Monster also began leaking in full on Monday. No, it’s not a reissue, but eight new songs that darkly reflect on her rise to super-stardom. In a regard, however, the album is leak-proof - at least as far as her (rather huge) core fanbase is concerned.

Premiums are the reason. Hearing the music a week early is great, but it’s not exactly the same as owning, say, a lock of Gaga’s hair - which in fact can be obtained by purchasing either the “Lady Gaga Super Deluxe The Fame Monster Pack” ($100) or the “Lady Gaga Super Deluxe The Fame Monster Bundle” ($115). These are just two of ten (!) different packages available. Most also include a copy of the previous album The Fame, a “collectible puzzle,” posters, paper dolls, fanzines, and 3-D glasses (for use with future Gaga swag).

Purchasers of the Bundle might even receive the equivalent of a chocolate factory golden ticket - randomly selected CDs will be autographed by The Lady herself.

Both albums are officially due on November 23rd.

Report by John Robinson.

The 'In Rainbows' Experiment: Did It Work?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:57:13 -0800

The 'In Rainbows' Experiment: Did It Work?:

NPR:

Despite the fact that the band offered a legal free and low-cost option to obtain the album from its Web site, piracy was up. Way, way up. In fact, In Rainbows was downloaded from unauthorized sources at 10 times the rate of new releases from other top artists. On file-sharing networks, 400,000 copies of In Rainbows were swapped in a week. By the end of the month, the number was more than 2 million.

“Frequently, music industry professionals suggest that an increase in legitimate sales must necessarily coincide with a commensurate reduction in piracy, as if this were a fact,” we wrote. Yet we found that piracy rates follow awareness and interest. “The biggest-selling albums and songs are nearly always the most widely pirated, regardless of all the ‘anti-piracy’ tactics employed by music companies. Or, to sum up by paraphrasing an earlier argument, ‘popular music is popular everywhere it’s popular.’ “

Read the whole article here.

Hulu's Backers Bicker as Web Video Soars

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:24:51 -0800

CNET:

So what? What does it mean if the studios hobble Hulu? Consumers have watched TV for over half-a-century. They can still go back there. Right?

Eric Garland, CEO of Big Champagne, a company that tracks traffic on peer-to-peer sites—where most illegal file sharing occurs—told me recently that consumers are heading online for video entertainment and he doesn’t expect them to return to their traditional viewing habits ever again. Garland’s data shows that Hulu is the first legal Web service to snatch market share away from the pirate sites.

He also said that the lords of video, with their rejection of Internet businesses, are behaving much the same way the music industry did when confronted by the digital age. Garland said that if network and film studio executives are dissatisfied with the returns they see from Hulu and similar sites, they should consider the possibility that this is all the new media landscape will yield.

Read the whole article HERE.

The Latest Leaks: Norah Jones, Leona Lewis, John Mayer...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:47:00 -0800

Digital Music News:

On November 2nd, NPR began streaming Norah Jones’ fourth album, The Fall. The release was streamed in its entirety as part of the ‘Exclusive First Listen Series,’ often the beginning of a leak story. Typically, rips of the broadcast begin to surface across BitTorrent sites immediately, though Jones enjoyed a rare moment of exclusivity before the piratical hounds took over.

But sure enough, after a few days, an online release group announced a high-quality rip of an advance CD, the ‘beginning of the end’ in leak terms. According to details tracked by data partner BigChampagne, The Fall began leaking on Sunday the 8th, and is now spreading through music blogs and BitTorrent trackers worldwide. The album will be officially released on November 17th, and iTunes will be offering the album with six bonus live tracks, including covers of songs by Johnny Cash, Wilco, and the Kinks.

What else? Also topping the BitTorrent rankings are two other major album pre-releases: Leona Lewis’ Echo and John Mayer’s Battle Studies, both due November 17th. Incidentally, Battle Studies is now being ‘exclusively’ previewed on Rhapsody and VH1’s ‘The Leak,’ starting Tuesday.

Report by John Robinson.

Breaking: 50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct is Leaking Now.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:45:50 -0700

Breaking news: 50 Cent’s first album in 2 years, Before I Self Destruct, started leaking late Wednesday afternoon — nearly a month before its November 23rd release date. The news began spreading via a handful of hip-hop sites (including Nah Right), and bloggers began immediately redistributing the album through one-click hosting sites like HotFile. The leaked album is marked as the “International Version” and does contain all of the officially announced tracks (minus the iTunes bonus tracks), but the lower sound quality indicates that it is likely from a streaming source - not a CD as the file claims.

The leak marks another blow to 50 Cent’s reputed strict demands in the quality control department. The leak of the “Follow my Lead” video back in 2007 was alleged to have pushed the promotion strategy for Curtis off the rails.

Keep in mind that, after losing a hugely-publicized album sales bet to Kanye West in 2007, 50 declared that he would never make another album (he didn’t say anything about mixtapes). Yet, here it is: the follow-up to Curtis that he has claimed will “revolutionize hip-hop”. Let’s see what happens…

-John Robinson

Big Champagne Sees a Brave New World That Ain’t All Doom and Gloom

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:58:00 -0700

Big Champagne Sees a Brave New World That Ain’t All Doom and Gloom:

PopMatters:

One of the best recent articles I’ve seen about the future of the entertainment biz online comes from this CNET interview by Greg Sandoval with Big Champagne CEO Eric Garland, whose company tracks the unauthorized downloading that’s given the music industry so much grief.

The Latest Leaks: Weezer, Robbie Williams, Amerie, Slayer...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:33:28 -0700

Digital Music News:

The release schedule is intensifying ahead of the Christmas shopping season, and so are the leaks. After a few quiet weeks on the pre-release scene, BitTorrent groups now seem to be ramping up for the holiday season.

One major release now leaking is Weezer’s seventh album, Raditude. The album streets November 3rd, though copies started circulating on private tracker sites on Saturday and publicly on Sunday. The slip happened on the heels of the release of the Lil’ Wayne collaboration “Can’t Stop Partying” (just think Weezy and Weezer).

In a further twist, Raditude is the latest in an ongoing series of leaked albums first promoted through the iTunes Pass program (earlier examples include Rob Thomas and U2). Fans were able to purchase a pass to the “Weezer Raditude Club” and receive a track and bonus material each week until the entire album dropped. Now, those fans are left with a debit of $20, while the entire (UK double-disc) CD is available for free ahead of the iTunes Pass micro-releases.

Other notable leaks happening this week are:

Robbie Williams, Radio Killed The Video Star (Web - 10/27, Street - 11/17)
Amerie, In Love & War (Web - 10/26, Street 11/03)
Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes), Phrazes for the Young (Web - 10/25, Street - 11/03)
Slayer, World Painted Blood (Web - 10/25, Street - 11/03)
Ryan Leslie, Transition (Web - 10/26, Street - 11/03)

Leak report by John Robinson.

Lefsetz Letter: Eric Garland On The Movie (Music) Business.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:42:05 -0700

Oct. 28 -

This is so right on, so exhaustive and prescient, that I must send it to you and you must read it.

Ostensibly about the movie business, i.e. its challenging future, Garland states that past is prologue and we look to what happened in the music business to know how things play out in the film business.

The key passage is this:

“They will have to chase legal remedies, legislative agendas, all the way to what they view as being the end of the line before they say ‘OK, so this really is the landscape we’re stuck with. As much as we didn’t want it, this appears to be it. Now we have to just dive in and make businesses that work here.’

And that’s where music has only just arrived in this country and note it hasn’t even come close to arriving in a lot of European countries. If you ask Universal Music Group in the U.K. ‘Are you going to win this war on piracy?’ They will say ‘Oh yes, swiftly and decisively and soon. The rate of peer-to-peer infringement will be down 70 percent in the U.K. in the next few months. They have specific targets. Not here. We’ve exhausted all of those paths. There’s a big gap. If the music industry in this country just now sort of arrived at the conclusion where they say ‘We just have to play on this field even through it ain’t home court and there isn’t a lot of advantage.’ And in some territories, music hasn’t even gotten there yet, then how can Hollywood be there?”

The above comes from the answer to the final question of the interview, you can scroll down to there for full context, but you should really take the time to read from beginning to end.

In other words, who you gonna trust, the media titans or a guy who makes his living on the computer, detailing how people actually use the Internet?

Mr. Garland is not histrionic. He has no agenda, other than making BigChampagne profitable, selling data. Please don’t shoot the messenger, pay attention to him!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10383572-261.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Orchard Artist Mojo Nixon Surpasses One Million Free Downloads on Amazon MP3

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:04:34 -0700

Orchard Artist Mojo Nixon Surpasses One Million Free Downloads on Amazon MP3

U2 a Hit on YouTube

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:54:29 -0700

U2 a Hit on YouTube:

U2’s concert at the Rose Bowl shattered attendance records at the venue as more than 100,000 people, including Rose Bowl staff, took in the band’s Southern California stop on its 360 Tour, according to the venue’s general manager, Darryl Dunn. Yet the number of fans who watched the concert online probably dwarfs that tally.

Final figures aren’t in yet from Google-owned YouTube, which streamed the concert live, but the page housing the concert has received close to 7 million “channel views.”

A YouTube spokesman expects to have viewership numbers today, but does note that the concert was the top global-trending topic on Twitter while it was streaming. The promotional clip advertising the concert received 2.7 million views.

[]

Best Buy senior music purchaser Chris Smith isn’t expecting a noticeable bump in sales for U2’s new “No Line on the Horizon” CD from the stream, as the retailer hasn’t necessarily witnessed a correlation between YouTube content and retail sales.

But Nielsen SoundScan tracks data through Sunday evening, and the final data may not be reflected on this week’s chart.

The album did, however, receive a one-day boost on iTunes, albeit a relatively minor one, according to data from Big Champagne. The album jumped from No. 68 to No. 59.

Q&A: Eric Garland's Front Row Seat for Media's Meltdown

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:46:07 -0700

Q&A: Eric Garland's Front Row Seat for Media's Meltdown:

During a visit to Hollywood last week, I wanted to talk to people who knew a thing or two about the film industry’s burgeoning meltdown. One of the people I sought out was Eric Garland, CEO and co-founder of Big Champagne.

Beverly Hills, Calif.,-based Big Champagne has collected data on file-sharing and sold it to media companies for almost 10 years. Garland’s company has survived all that time, even while making the same sad pitch. He tells the music labels and film studios they are going to be chopped down at the knees by the Internet and online piracy—but that doesn’t mean they can’t survive.

As anyone might have guessed, almost everybody in media initially told Big Champagne to stick a cork in it. Back in the early part of the decade, nobody wanted to hear it, and Garland logged lots of five-minute meetings. Thanks to his persistence, though, he saw up close how digital technology buffeted the music industry. Now, some of the big labels are striking partnerships with his company.

What makes Garland an important speaker on this subject is that despite his gloomy message, he’s bullish on both the Internet and movies. His interests and Hollywood’s are aligned, he says, because if the studios don’t survive then he loses customers. He wants them to do well but he just doesn’t think that telling them what they want to hear, the “bedtime stories” as he calls it, is going to help.

WSJ: Cult Musician Mojo Nixon Storms the Web

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:49:20 -0700

WSJ: Cult Musician Mojo Nixon Storms the Web:

Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Nixon, who was hoping to get just 10,000 or so downloads out of the scheme, says he is very happy with the outcome so far. Typically, about 35,000 of his songs a week trade on illegal file-sharing networks, levels that largely haven’t changed since the promotion started Oct. 6, indicating a separate group of fans may be tapping into the songs.

“That would be much bigger than his traditional audience,” says Eric Garland, chief executive officer of filesharing consultancy Big Champagne LLC. “The people-who-bought-this-also-bought aspect of Amazon is going to make this really viral within the Amazon marketplace.”

"A 28-year-old woman I’ll call Alexandra (she asked for anonymity) grew up in Missouri,..."

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:36:00 -0700

“

A 28-year-old woman I’ll call Alexandra (she asked for anonymity) grew up in Missouri, graduated from college, attends church every Sunday, and told me that she watches episodes of the hit cable show “Mad Men” at least twice a week at Surfthechannel.com, a site that hosts links to many unauthorized clips. She gleefully said that visitors can find almost any TV show they want and not pay a dime. […]

Eric Garland, CEO of Big Champagne, a company that tracks file-sharing usage and sells the data to the studios and major record labels said: “Hulu may be doing immediate harm to elements of your business, but waiting right behind Hulu in the shadows, are things that do so much more harm.”

”

- Greg Sandoval, CNET

"Our tightness and reluctance to take any chances or risks over the years is adding up. It’s..."

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:41:00 -0700

“

Our tightness and reluctance to take any chances or risks over the years is adding up.

It’s lead the audience to start discovering music in many different places. Just take a look at the Big Champagne download charts and you’ll see music that radio has only touched lightly pretty high on the charts. In fact Led Zeppelin’s tour a while back built 2 song lists for the shows. One came from rock radio plays and the other from Big Champagne downloads. Reports are that they were quite a bit different with Plant and Page using the Big Champagne list with good results.

-Dave Lange

”

- http://mcvaymediarocks.blogspot.com/2009/10/taking-music-risks.html

A Country Giant's New Track

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:08:00 -0700

A Country Giant's New Track :

Wall Street Journal:

The number of top country songs swapped on file-sharing networks spiked 52% in the past year, while activity in most genres was largely flat, according to the monitoring firm BigChampagne.

Miley Cyrus says goodbye to Twitter with a rap; Courtney Love's account is removed.

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:22:59 -0700

Miley Cyrus says goodbye to Twitter with a rap; Courtney Love's account is removed.:

LA TIMES:

Cyrus was leaving Twitter while she was on top. According to data from BigChampagne, Cyrus had the third-most Twitter followers among musicians as of Oct. 6, with more than 2.2 million users tracking her pimple updates. Only Britney Spears and John Mayer had more.

Latest Leaks Reveal Some Surprising Holiday Releases...

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:28:21 -0700

Digital Music News:

The holidays are fast approaching, and we know what that means: new Christmas albums by older, previously-edgy artists. According to data partner BigChampagne, Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart started leaking across the internet on Thursday following its limited-edition early release to a Citibank loyalty rewards program. The official release date is October 13th.

Reactions are decidedly mixed, but after recovering from the initial shock of, well, a Dylan Christmas album, some fans and critics are stunned that this is not merely a charity quickie. Instead, some are reacting to a thoughtful musical exploration of the roots of the American caroling tradition, and their close kinship to the type of folk music that made Dylan famous.

Also dipping his toe into the holiday music waters is Sting. His album If On a Winter’s Night began leaking this week as well, ahead of an official release date of October 27th. Like Dylan, this is Sting’s first holiday album and is also a deeper take on winter songs. On this collection, Sting avoids popular carols in favor of a darker rediscovery of traditional, centuries-old seasonal music of the British Isles. To that end, Sting is joined by virtuosos of regional instruments such as the Northumbrian pipes and the metal-string Scottish harp.

Report by John Robinson.

Live@ Digital Music Forum West: Small? Who Me, Small?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:50:00 -0700

Live@ Digital Music Forum West: Small? Who Me, Small?:

Digital Music News:

The music industry has more transactions, and less money. Consumers are more engaged than ever, though less businesses have the ability to monetize it. But is the music industry ready to assume a smaller footprint, shrink cost structures, and realign pricing towards radically-refreshed consumer valuations on media?

At Digital Music Forum West on Wednesday in Los Angeles, BigChampagne’s Eric Garland advised a packed ballroom that smaller is smarter, and TopSpin vice president of Marketing & Artist Services James Lamberti noted that A&R (artists and repertoire, or talent-scouting and development) is no longer a scalable craft.

This is the stuff of disruptive transition, though many executives seemed resistant to the structural shift. Major labels are typically defensive in public forums, and the spin is sometimes extreme. But the ‘think small’ advice simply added fuel to the fire. “You’ve always been able to do it without a label,” said Interscope Geffen A&M head of Digital Ted Mico, responding to the increasing wave of do-it-yourself artists. “But can you be a world superstar without a major label investment? Probably, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

On the issue of A&R scalability, Mico also offered a different take - one that reflected big thinking, not dime-based transition. “The idea that A&R doesn’t scale actually isn’t true,” Mico asserted, while referring to broader, 360-degree development and ownership structures. “If you’re part of building a brand, you have no idea what the true value of that brand may be worth over time,” Mico continued, while referencing an expansion by Dr. Dre into consumer electronics like headphones and computers (Beats by Dr. Dre).

Others jumped in with similar, broader-term takes. Rhapsody America vice president of Programming & Creative Tim Quirk noted that “there’s too much ‘how much money can I make today?’” while moderator Ted Cohen (TAG Strategic) opined that “we’re looking at artists in terms of their long-term potential, instead of ‘we’ll get them to here, and then revisit this.’”

Separately, Getty Images vice president of Entertainment Partnerships and Development Vince Bannon directly countered the ‘get-smaller’ takeaway, telling Garland that Getty is actually growing, not shrinking. “It’s funny, because I want to say ‘Eric, I am at Getty Images, and I’m at a growing company,’” Bannon retorted, while pointing to a profitable images business that also includes music components. “We acquired Pump Audio a couple years ago… we have musicians on there that are now making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year doing blanket licensing,” Bannon continued.

Suddenly, the topic of ‘smaller’ has indelibly entered the discussion, and other executives sided with a projection of diminished, more hardscrabble revenues ahead. “It’s going to take a lot of work to build the revenue base, but it will never reach anything close to what it once was,” commented David Leibowitz, the newly-slotted chairman of Sir Groovy and a former RIAA attorney. “You’re never going to get anywhere near the level it was before.”

Report by publisher Paul Resnikoff in Los Angeles.