By Steve Redmond

Has technology opened up a new avenue for rock 'n' roll rebellion? If so, it's surely the daftest one yet. I'm talking metadata, the information accompanying digital entertainment files which ensures consumers find what they want, digital retailers can properly manage their stores - and that the right people get paid.

Retailers have long complained about poor, sometimes non-existent, metadata coming from record companies, resulting in grief, confusion and frustration for both vendor and consumer. The acerbic commentators at Digital Music News have recently had fun with the topic, naming Rod Stewart ( here) and 30 Seconds To Mars ( here) as particular offenders.

The point is that without accurate data, the database which is the beating heart of every
digital music service is pretty much useless.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that a retail-focused organisation, ERA's sister US organisation NARM, has come up with probably the first "style guide" yet for artists and musicians to help them ensure their metadata is in shape. (You can download it here)

There was a flurry of media interest in it this week as journalists had fun with the idea that rock 'n' rollers, long bemoaned by teachers as enemies of grammar and spelling, are finally getting their act together. But renowned record producer Don Was, while supporting the idea in principle, was quoted as a sceptic. "Artists are there to break rules," he said. "That's kind of at the core of rock 'n' roll." 

Which when you think about it has to be one of the dumbest statements uttered on the subject so far.

Self-destructive behaviour is no stranger to the music world. But shouldn't someone explain to them that if you don't get your metadata sorted, you might not get paid. Deliberately ensuring or recklessly ignoring whether you get paid for your work is not "rock 'n'
roll". It's nuts.

We are now five years off DVD's peak, and inevitably attention has turned to the nascent digital video market, but latest market figures suggest it is way too soon to write off the physical market just yet. A string of well-spaced and well-marketed blockbusters has seen the video business managing its evolving portfolio of formats far more effectively than even as recently as last year.

Combined year-to-date sales volumes of DVD and Blu-ray are currently down less than 4% on the same period last year, and - sound a fanfare - sales value has actually increased by an impressive 4.2%. Compare that with 2012's year-end video tally of units down nearly 14% and value down nearly 12% and that's a significant improvement.  Given this has happened against the background of the UK's biggest High Street specialist, HMV's,  struggle with administration and the figures are impressive indeed.

The key to this improved performance is simple and will come as no surprise to retailers - it is something they have been lobbying suppliers about for months: a strong release schedule.

2013 began in fine style with Skyfall, which has now sold an astonishing 2.5m units [on disc], but importantly the trend has continued with The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey (1.3m units), Les Miserables (933k) and The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn  Part Two (930k). All four titles have sold enough to have featured in 2012's year-end Top 10, and Skyfall has already sold nearly 50% more than did 2012's best-seller,The Dark Night Rises (1.69m units).

Retailers have long argued that such blockbusters are not just important as big-sellers in their own right, but they bring in their wake at least two other benefits. First, there are the
additional impulse purchases blockbusters bring, and the strong 25% year-to-date growth in catalogue sales on Blu-ray may well be testament to this. But there is also the impact on pricing - in a mature market like video, retailers need premium content to drive premium prices. In 2013 the average selling price of a DVD has firmed a respectable 6.4% to £7.98.

DVD is of course only part of the story: what is in some ways even more impressive is the return of Blu-ray to vigorous growth. 2012 was a disappointment on many levels, but the slowing in the growth of Blu-ray to just 8.4% (volume) and a measly 2.7% (value) was
perhaps the most dramatic example. 2013 have [has] brought a breath of fresh air along with those big-selling titles and year-to-date Blu-ray growth is up 36% by volume and 39% by value.

Now that is something worth shouting about.

Company name - Instru-Magic

Activities- The app's aim is to enable anyone to play the guitar, using pre-set songs. InstruMagic is a team of Waves Audio veterans specializing in DSP and audio software development. They are driven by their vision of bringing the joy of playing music to everyone. InstruMagic is backed by Jeff Pulver , an internet entrepreneur and one of the early investors in Twitter.

Launch-2011

CEO- Eyat Eldar

Website- www.instru-magic.com       

Company Name-StageIt

Activities- StageIt is a free live streaming video service which though primarily focused on musicians and can accommodate any live performance or event. Setting up an account is quick and easy and one is given a choice of when to play and for how long, though sets are limited to 30 minutes with a 20 minute encore. Shows are not archived so the experience is
designed to be limited potentially increasing its value to the audience.

Tickets are sold using a virtual currency called Notes, worth ten cents each, and can be distributed in batches to raise audience urgency and to also turn upcoming releases of additional batches of tickets into an event. "Pay what you can" is one pricing option and a tip jar is also available which opens up the possibility of folks responding to an excellent experience.

Launch-2011

Founder- Evan Lowenstein

Website- http://www.stageit.com/

Company Name - Neon Play

Activities- Gloucestershire-based game developer Neon Play is already seeing its mobile apps downloaded over 20,000 times a day. In his previous life as a creative director for digital marketing, Christie made hundreds of branded games for clients including Tesco (he maintains that the popular 'paper toss' app was inspired by a game he made for the BBC).

Launch-2010

Founder- Oli Christie

Website - www.neonplay.com

Company Name - Kwalee

Activities- Leamington Spa-based Kwalee produces multi-player games for smartphones. Founder David Darling CBE is no newcomer to the gaming industry, having sold his previous business Codemasters in 2007.

Codemasters, founded in 1986 by Darling and his brother and father, became one of the largest video game publishers in the world, creating hugely popular titles such as Dizzy, Micro Machines and Colin McRae Rally. Darling now has his sights on the competitive mobile apps market and, through Kwalee, aims to produce the best multiplayer games for mobile in class - with a big focus on innovation.

Launch- 2011

Founder-David Darling CBE

Website- www.kwalee.com

Steve Redmond on a very British chart battle

"Well, that was a short weekend, eh   #clangclangthatweekisover " tweeted the Official Charts Company's Martin Talbot on Monday morning as the dust settled on one of the
most torrid chart weeks of recent years.

The controversy over the ultimately failed attempt to mark the death of Margaret Thacher by propelling "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" to Number One created a major headache for the Official Charts Company, but they emerge from it with credit - and the reputation of the charts enhanced.

The fact is that a brazen attempt to hijack the charts with a political stunt failed to achieve its goal. And the whole affair reinforced once more the increasing standing of the chart as a key part of the UK's national conversation.

At least every six months or so, I get a call from a friend of a friend, perhaps representing a charity or even a brand, saying that they come up with a great marketing idea and can I help. The great marketing idea is always the same: "We've got loads of followers and, given singles sales are so low these days, I think we could get them all to buy a download and get our single to Number One."

Patiently, I have to explain to them that they are at least 10 years too late and the sheer volume of download sales - an average 3.6m per week last year compared with barely a million a week in 2002 - means it is virtually impossible to buy your way to chart success these days.

Not only are the volumes required enormous, as record labels know well, actually motivating people to go out and buy a track, even one they feel strongly about is no walk in the park. MargaretThatcher, as has been said on countless occasions this past week, generated very strong emotions, the media coverage of the whole affair was enormous, yet
a maximum of 65,000 people - allowing for multiple purchases - participated in
last week's "epic chart battle" accounting for barely 2% of the singles market.

Analysis of sales last week shows a fairly predictable sales pattern with the regional split of sales reflecting Margaret Thatcher's political popularity. Thus 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead' fared disproportionately well in the north of England and Scotland while the rival 'I'm In Love With Margaret Thatcher' by the Notsensibles did particularly well in London and the south.

The media scrutiny of the Official Charts Company in these circumstances was forensic, but it acquitted itself extremely well, and reinforced its reputation as an objective and independent measure of success.

It is that credibility which gives the Official Charts their value, both as a source of market research and as a brand.

Do not be surprised to see details of the huge media coverage generated by last week's controversy featuring heavily in the Official Charts Company's marketing materials going forward.

The silver lining of the Thatcher controversy is that it has reinforced once more the value of one of the entertainment industry's greatest assets.