The Evolution of the Single

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"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

                                                               ~Edmund Burke

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In the late 19th century the gramophone disc took over phonograph cylinders as the standard in recording technology.  By 1910 the 78, 10-inch shellac record became industry standard.  Technical limitations of the disc forced recording artists to tailor their work to the medium thus creating shorter songs and only releasing one or two "singles" at a time. It wasn't until the 1960's that this format changed.

In the 1940's the FCC understood that radio broadcasters would eventually run out of spots in the then used AM bandwidth.  To counteract that they forced large scale AM stations to maintain an FM channel as well.  For years these broadcasters did nothing more than duplicate the programming on both channels then In July of 1965 the FCC made another ruling that broadcasters could not duplicate programming on both FM and AM dials in major US markets.  This sent programmers searching for a cheap way to fill dead air on their FM stations. 

Luckily for these programmers a new standard record size was emerging. A 12" disc allowed artists and labels to press more than one track into the vinyl. DJ's and radio programmers realized they could fill up hours of time on their FM stations by playing these "albums" in their entirety and the idea of Album Oriented Rock was born.

Album Oriented Rock and the new FM channel changed the way in which the business of music was done. All of the sudden new recording artists had to create and entire collection of like minded songs to include on one record.  The record deal changed too to cater to this new distribution method with new artists finding themselves signing contracts tying them to three or more albums with the label. 

Now the single didn't die completely.  It was only changed from the main source of revenue into a marketing tool to get people to purchase the entire album for a heftier price tag.  Throughout the 80's this method made the record labels millions upon millions of dollars.

Then the Internet was born and consumers quickly found a way to share their music over phone lines through companies such as Napster. The problem with the new Internet delivery method was that bandwidth was low during the early days of the medium which meant that music files needed to be compressed and sent as singles to other users. 

For years the industry fought this new delivery method as fans became pirates giving away and taking music without retribution to the artists, but that's another story. To combat this problem the industry began endorsing online music storefronts such as Apple's iTunes to distribute their medium, but by the time they finally found a way to make money in the new online world the market had changed.

Underneath all of the piracy fans had developed a new taste in the acquisition of their music. They didn't want the entire album because it took up so much of their personal time to find and then download. Instead they started downloading single tracks that appealed to them from various artists. By the time Apple took over with the iPod and iTunes the market had changed. A new generation of music consumers emerged that didn't want to pay $20 for an entire album for just one track as they had done in the past. They wanted their music instantly which meant that single files were the way to go, and through their test phases with piracy and peer-to-peer sharing they wanted to create their own musical experience through customizable playlists. The market had spoken. They wanted singles again.

Once again the music industry has changed, and once again we witness the cold hard fact that history is doomed to repeat itself.  Luckily for us this time the repetition is producing larger sales numbers then we could have imagined. Unluckily those numbers are for much smaller unit prices.

Keep this in mind.  If history is due to repeat itself then that means the album should come back around. Over recent years ISP's have increased the average level of bandwidth for the end user and they have opened up new channels of distribution through smart phones, and wireless Internet delivery systems such as 3G and 4G. When it comes to price points the labels have decided to challenge Apple's huge capitalization of the market by offering cheaper prices to other retailers such as Amazon who are offering entire albums for as low as $1.99. These small facts make it possible for the fans to afford full albums once again and download them quickly thus fulfilling their needs. 

The biggest issue the labels and artists face in eventually recapitalizing on the sale of entire albums is the quality of the material they offer to the public. For the past decade the industry has shifted back to the pre-1965 single distribution method and with that they have focused on creating only one or two strong hits at a time. To truly recapitalize on the return of the full length album market the industry will have to once again fully develop and nurture artists to their fullest rounded potential so they can once again create entire albums that appeal to their fans.

For now the single once again reigns supreme. This time it isn't on a ten inch shellac disc. It's in a five by three inch phone.

The Streaming Industrial Radio Revolution

To many historians the terms Industrial Revolution is a misnomer.  Primarily because it actually took many years for our society to evolve from an agrarian based product system to a manufacturing based delivery method.  Due to that name including the term "revolution" we tend to overlook the fact that society spent many years in the middle of an unknown changing marketplace.  Families, employees, and employers did not know that eventually the introduction of steam power, railways, and the combustion engine would fuel a more advanced and wealthier society.

The same holds true in what we are facing in today's music marketplace.  The advent of the Internet has drastically altered the music delivery system and this small ripple has created a wave of change in the business the size of a tsunami.   One of the core components to the past music business marketing plan has been crushed by this wave of change.  That component is called radio.

But I am here to tell you that radio isn't dying or dead. It is only changing and with that change has adopted a new name called "streaming."

  

There seems to be a lot of arguments about the viability of Internet based streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, and MOG.  Industry insiders claim that these services provide little, if any, revenue for artists, labels and songwriters. They have waged war on these services claiming that they steal download sales from artists and labels.  A few artists and publishers have even pulled, or threatened to pull, their content from some of these services. Most recently Sir Paul McCartney pulled his content to reportedly force consumers to download his music from online retailers such as iTunes and Amazon where he earns a larger amount in royalties. See the article here.

While this may be a great idea for an established musical icon such as Paul McCartney it isn't a wise decision for newer artists.  These services act as a new revolutionized radio model, but unlike traditional radio artists do not need to sell the gatekeepers on the idea of including their songs on the play lists.  Any artist can upload their newest tune or album to any streaming service without having to shell out huge dough in promotion fees to wine and dine programmers to be let in.

What these services offer new artists is the opportunity to engage potential fans with their music for free.  Any fan can sign-up for a free subscription to basically any streaming company and with that subscription they can seek out an artist or album they are interested in and have a no obligation listen to the music.  There is a division in the industry as to if free services produce more download sales. Billboard reports that they do not.  See the article here.  Streaming service Last.fm reports otherwise. See their article here. Regardless of what industry insiders report these streaming services do offer something to new artists when it comes to revenue.

I myself am an active music downloader whom normally uses iTunes, but over the past few years I have become discouraged having to shell of $1.29 for a new tune or $9.99 for a new album just to find out that I didn't like the song or tracks 4, 6, 9, and 10.  It has cost me hundreds in what I consider wasted downloads.  Then last year I decided to try a streaming service on my iPhone.  I downloaded the MOG app and subscribed for their monthly $10 subscription that lets me download tunes to my device for as long as I keep paying my subscription. Since then I have explored many new artists and dozens of new albums.  Thanks to the service I realized how much I liked Adele's 21 and was happy to buy the entire album from iTunes for $10.99. More importantly I was open up to newer artists such as Trivium, Lana Del Ray, and Nada Surf among many others whom I would have avoided dropping $1.29 a track to find out if I liked them or not.  I am one streaming user whom has checked out over 150 new artists thanks to my MOG account. If their music is good and appeals to me chances are I will buy their downloads, go to their shows, and purchase some of their merchandise.  I would have never been opened up to these unknown names without my streaming account. Through the new industrialized radio I have received added benefits and the artists have received added benefits.  Isn't that a core tenement in business? Think about my Adele experience.  She got a streaming royalty from me listening to her album on MOG and a mechanical royalty when I downloaded the album. Before my MOG account she may have just got a royalty on one or two tunes, but thanks to the new radio I was able to experience her entire works without obligation and encouraged to buy her entire album. Your welcome Adele and Columbia Records.

I think it is imperative that those in the industry embrace streaming services. Even if they do not recognize them as the new radio.  They help curb piracy, open up potential fans to new artists, and add more pennies into the artists royalty accounts. To succeed this industry must not challenge Eli's cotton gin, but rather embrace its potential to change the world.

Go Get Igoe's Groove Essentials

This week I had to prep for an audition.  The prerequisites called for a versatile drummer whom could play various styles of music.  Now I had just gotten off the road and didn’t have the comforts of home, a place to practice, or access to my library of drumming books.  I needed to figure something out so I got to work.  I found a friend with a spot to practice so I could get some wood shedding in, but I still needed something to motivate me to practice. 

Now when I am at home in the comforts of my own studio with access to my own library of materials I often find myself working with a great multi-style play along series by legendary drummer Tommy Igoe called Groove Essentials.  I have purchased series 1.0 on DVD and followed up with series 2.0’s play along set and have been quite impressed by this master drummer’s methodology so I made my way to a local music store to find Groove Essentials 1.0 play along series and was amazed that the drum department employee had no idea about this book or this amazing drummer.

For all of you who don’t know Tommy Igoe was a child drumming phenom who toured with The Glenn Miller Orchestra at the age of 18.  From there he landed in New York were his career really took off becoming an in demand session drummer and hitting the road with a roster of legendary artists from Blood Sweat and Tears to Stanley Jordan and Art Garfunkel.

In 1997 Igoe was asked to create the drum book for the Broadway musical version of Disney’s The Lion King.  His charts converted world and African Rhythms into a pop style for the drum set and have become the standard workbook for a slue of drummer who play the show in New York and around the world.  Soon after that success Igoe teamed up with Vic Firth to create a study manual that opens up drummers to the various styles of world music and to adapt those styles to the drum set.  Together they created Groove Essentials 1.0 that teaches drummers how to play a number of core rhythms on the drum set from rock to funk, to jazz, salsa, calypso, reggae, samba, bossa nova, and so much more.  According to Igoe’s website “This groundbreaking work has been credited with influencing more teachers and educators than any educational publication of the last 50 years.”  The book has won numerous awards in publications such as Modern Drummer Magazine and has become a staple in drum set instruction practices and universities across the U.S.  The book was so successful that a follow was introduced quickly after entitled Groove Essentials 2.0 and itself became it’s own drum set education success.

The included poster that outlines 47 various styles of music.

The packages include a great poster, DVD, play along CD and workbook full of charts.

What is unique about Igoe series is the various packages the lessons come in.  There is a DVD that includes a beautiful poster with the transcribed rhythm notations of the various styles.  On the DVD students can watch as Igoe picks apart each style and demonstrates each rhythm at varying tempos.  The more courageous can purchase the DVD and Play along package that includes written charts for each style minus the drums so the student can attempt to play along to a number of different songs in each style.  

All together this set includes six hours of play along material, and printed charts that represent what a drummer should expect in the real world, minus the bad notations by previous drummers that haven’t been erased.  The charts help you understand how to read music while you work through the demanding selection of rhythms with the play along real band.

Groove Essentials 2.0 goes deeper into various drumming styles and offers the same packages for the student.

Groove Essentials 2.0 is offered in the same packages, but goes deeper into the drum set style dictionary with 53 brand new grooves including jazz brush work, interesting rock and funk styles, less known world rhythms, a section on odd meters such as 5/4, 7/8, and 9/8, and it’s own selection of “World Tour” charts (Groove 1.0 has these also) that are a commanding workout in which the drummer must play to music that changes through various styles. 

For the advanced drummer the “World Tours” found in both the 1.0 and 2.0 version is a unique challenge.  The pieces range from 15 to twenty plus minutes and require the drummer to read and interpret the accompanying charts as the student plays along to a killer band without the drums.  During the music the drummer must change tempos and styles while leading the band on fills, accents, and changing genres of music.  They test your ability to stay focused, move from one style to another, read and interpret charts, and keep great time throughout the process.   

I strongly suggest that any serious drummer look into adding both of these systems to your learning library.  They are available at any brick and mortar or online music store as well as directly through Tommy’s site at http://www.tommyigoe.com/store.htm.  They have helped me elevate my playing and my understanding of the world of music and I am sure they can do the same for you.