As I've worked for you or networked with you in the past, I know how important music can be to your projects. But this month I wanted to point out some developments in the branding, music and film industries that may prove advantageous. The summaries with links that I have copied below may be informative and possibly useful to you. If you think I can be of help or would like to discuss further, please feel free to contact me.
The general sense I had from networking around and reading about this topic of brand and indie film tie-ins is that a brand is more likely to be interested in a production company or producer with a slate of upcoming films rather than just one film. Such a tie-in should involve similar values for both along with a similar audience or consumer base. In some cases however producers may still be looking to connect with a brand on a film by film basis.
I had previously posted some of these articles on my Linkedin pages – you can always see me there. Also, of course, please keep me in mind for any music supervising, clearances or licensing you may need done.
And if you read this to the end there is a great article about the critical success of the STEVE JOBS film – but why it may have failed commercially.
Thank you for your business.
1. “Past films like ALIEN, LIFE OF PI, GONE GIRL, and BLACK SWAN are on Fox’s list for the Virtual Reality treatment” – How will music be affected? That remains to be seen…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/business/media/virtual-reality-has-liftoff-from-fox-innovation-lab.html?_r=0;
2. “The New York Times announced on Tuesday a virtual reality project in collaboration with Google, which will include the distribution of more than a million cardboard VR viewers to subscribers.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/business/media/the-times-partners-with-google-on-virtual-reality-project.html;
3. “I can’t imagine a world in five to 10 years where this (virtual reality technology) isn’t a primary means of entertainment and communication,” said Forest Key, chief executive of Pixvana. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/technology/in-virtual-reality-headsets-investors-glimpse-the-future.html?login=email&mtrref=query.nytimes.com;
4. “I've recently decided to make my entire music catalogue, including soundtrack recordings and various other instrumental tracks, completely free to the public. The idea is to provide more free options to fellow DIY filmmakers seeking music for their films.”
http://www.indiewire.com/article/attention-filmmakers-this-filmmaker-is-giving-you-free-music-for-your-soundtrack-20151020?utm_medium=sailthru_newsletter&utm_source=iwDaily_newsletter;
5. “Vinyl record sales brought in $221.8 million in revenue between January and June 2015, a 52 percent year-over-year increase, according to the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA). Ad-supported streaming services brought in $162.7 million during that same time period,”
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/vinyl-records-are-making-more-money-than-ad-supported-streaming/;
6. Christine Eloy, general manager of Europa Distribution, a Brussels-based trade body for independent film distributors, also says it may be tough to finance European movies if content makers cannot guarantee returns from selling films separately within the European Union’s 28 countries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/technology/europe-plans-to-ease-copyright-rules-on-using-digital-content.html;
7. Streaming apps now account for 70% of internet bandwidth – with Netflix alone accounting for about 37% of that. http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2015/12/07/netflix-spotify-other-streaming-apps-consume-70-percent-of-internet-bandwidth/;
8. I probably watched SUGAR by Maroon 5 (the #2 video) the most of these 10 music videos but with over 1.2 billion views, the #1 music video was Wiz Khalifa, “See You Again (ft. Charlie Puth)” And apparently, concerning the Wiz video, the viewer did. - http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2015/12/10/the-10-biggest-youtube-videos-of-2015/;
9. The rate increase was from 14 cents per 100 plays to 17 cents per 100 plays for Pandora and other services that operate mainly on the internet. SoundExchange says it was not enough. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/17/business/media/streaming-royalties-rise-but-not-as-high-as-music-industry-wanted.html?_r=0;
10. Despite being critically successful, did the STEVE JOBS film deserve to fail commercially? The NYTimes says NO.
https://lnkd.in/bT-YTBc;