digitalmusic.org | Digital Music

Excerpt from full LA Times article: "San Francisco-based INgrooves has been in business for 10 years, but few people have heard of it or its chief executive, Robb McDaniels. That’s beginning to change, in part because the company earlier this year purchased Fontana, a Los Angeles distributor of physical albums for more than 200 independent labels. INgrooves is turning the most heads, however, for its role in the new digital economy. Last year, INgrooves distributed songs that rang up roughly $1 billion in digital revenue. And while it's true that distribution isn’t the kingmaker it once was, as only a handful of labels have the resources to ship albums to thousands of physical stores, it's an interesting perch from which to witness the digital tidal wave that has permanently transformed the music industry’s retail landscape. As a sign of how much things have changed, McDaniels, 37, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on Wednesday at the annual Music Biz 2012 conference of NARM and digitalmusic.org." Read the full article at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/05/robb-mcdaniels-ingrooves-on-streaming-music-narm-2012.html Read More »

"This year I hope the Music Startup Academy sessions during the SXSW Accelerator help the next generation of great music apps get a kick start," says Bill Wilson in his interview with SXSW as he discusses his participation in this year's event. For the full interview, click here. Read More »

NARM has rolled out upgrades to its 15-year old database of music releases, which is dubbed the NARM Product Platform. Starting this week, the product database features a new, streamlined web interface that allows for simpler queries and improved search options while providing uniform metadata, thus enabling retailers to more accurately populate their backend systems. NARM will now move into Phase 2 of the upgrade, an expansion the database to include digital and mobile product data from all four major labels and leading indie aggregators, which is expected to launch in early 2012. Read More »

The ng Connect Program, the multi-industry open innovation program founded by Alcatel-Lucent to create the new connected user experience, today announced 20 new members, including digitalmusic.org. Read More »

Thanks to a surge in digital sales and strong catalog sales -- and possibly the shutdown of a major P2P network -- music sales have jumped in 2011. A recent NARM-sponsored webinar by Nielsen examined the sales spike and showed a number of causes at work. One number in Nielsen's presentation got the most attention: 4.8. Through August 21, the 33rd week of 2011, track equivalent albums (TEA) were up 4.8%. TEA was down 0.7% at this time last year and finished up 1% at the end of 2010. Read More »

NARM in 2011 is "not your grandfather's NARM," according to Jim Donio, President. Having been with the association since 1988, Donio has seen the industry mood change from positive to negative and now — finally — after seven years things, are optimistic again as the music industry has reported positive figures. Donio tells Debbie Galante Block about the changes to NARM that make the association current and essential for the evolving industry today. Read More »

Billboard's Glenn Peoples gives thumbs up to Bill Wilson's article about the top 10 things to know before launching a music-based company that was published at musiciancoaching.com. Scroll to "Musician Coaching: 'Content Is King'" to read People's reaction. Read More »

Bill Wilson recently spoke with musiciancoaching.com and shared 10 valuable insights about what it takes to launch a music-based business in the climate of the modern music industry. Read More »