2 MusicWeek 23.08.13 NEWS EDITORIAL


Patience required for music’s tech ownership chance


THE MUSIC INDUSTRY lost the battle for the living room a long time ago. In the coming months, Microsoft and Sony will go head-to- head to convince us that there is space amongst the clutter of our BT Vision boxes, Sky hubs, Smart screens, Apple TVs and Blu-Ray players for their multi-functional new video games consoles. They will do so fighting an uphill battle: we already have too


many devices in our lives. We can usually only be convinced to add to this chipset hodgepodge when a gadget offers truly spectacular, never-before-seen appeal. But there is a limit to the number of screens and buttons we’re willing to engage with each day, and I’m unsure either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One will greatly test that ceiling. The music industry would be foolish to try and compete with this


army of space-thieves. A music device no longer has a natural place in the lounge. Even with the aid of a Trojan Horse, music struggles: Spotify’s bold flirtation with telly land - a Virgin Media bundle struck in 2011 - proved about as popular as decorum at V Festival.


“It is inspiring to witness the fearlessness of Tesco as it bursts into the tablet space, refusing to have its business throttled without a fight”


So if the nerve centre of the family home has been ruled out,


what about the mobile phone? Here, famously, the music market is considered far less extinct - but it is surely too late for Universal et al to launch a device to take on the Samsungs and Apples, companies that boast a terrifying stranglehold on the market. Sadly, the powerlessness of major labels and vendors such as


Spotify as they await the mass adoption of 4G (and all the piracy- busting potential it brings) speaks volumes. The telco networks and the handset manufacturers are the ones


with the keys to the mobile consumer. Like with the living room, music companies have missed the chance to take the reins of distribution. (With the possible exception of Sony Corp, whose tech arms will need to work more collaboratively with its music division if its in-house record company can enforce such grand ambitions.) As shown by the era of iTunes’ dominance, when a device owner


is truly invested in driving consumers to music, it spells a windfall for the music industry. Some understandably pine for the days when EMI controlled the Gramophones and Sony was mass- manufacturing Walkmans - effectively, the then-majors’ rudimentary precursors to Apple’s iPhone or Microsoft’s Xbox. So where could music’s next opportunity to leap back into device-


land arrive from? When Google, Apple and Amazon seem to have spread their muscular tentacles into hardware from all directions, is there any margin left to go head-to-head with such aggressive entities? Tesco certainly seems to think so. The supermarket is reportedly building its own tablet for Q4 to take on Kindle and iPad - pre-loaded with its Blinkbox Music service (aka We7, which it bought in 2011 for £10m), as well as books and movie options. I’m not advocating music rights-holders dive into this increasingly


crowded marketplace - but rather that it’s undeniably inspiring to see the fearlessness of Tesco, and its ultimate refusal to let others throttle the lifeblood of its business without a fight. When the next must-have screen evolution arrives in our lives, I


hope the labels don’t miss their chance to do the same. Tim Ingham, Editor


Do you have views on this column? Feel free to comment by emailing tim.ingham@intentmedia.co.uk


Platinum Lumineers album marches on


A ‘METEORIC RISE’, BUT CAMPAIGN STILL HAS LEGS


TALENT n BY TINA HART


T


he Lumineers’ self-titled debut album has achieved platinum sales in the UK


- and the band’s domestic label Decca believes there are still plenty of new fans it can bring to the LP via smash single Ho Hey. The hit track, released in the


UK in November last year, is now comfortably platinum- certified in the territory, selling 718,000 units according to the Official Charts Company. The album on which it appears that was released at the same time, has now also gone platinum, selling more than 306,000 units. Decca licensed The


Lumineers from Dualtone for markets outside the US. The firm’s Affiliated Labels director, Mike Bartlett, is certain that the group’s impressive run is far from over – even for this album campaign that’s nearly a year in. “There’s an awful lot of


people that have been exposed to Ho Hey that haven’t yet gone on to be album consumers - as well as latent consumers that haven’t bought the single nor the album - that we can still tap into,” he told Music Week. “They may be persuaded to purchase further down the line.” Second single Stubborn Love


was released in the UK in March, and the third single from


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the LP, Submarines, is due this month. The band play the iTunes Festival on September 3. Bartlett attributes the initial


success in breaking the band to a UK audience largely to the landing of a huge nationwide E.On TV advert sync for Ho Hey. “That brought the track to millions of people and created an environment where, even in the absence of more traditional types of promotion, we could drive sales through to online, TV and billboards,” he added. “It was that moment that really planted the song in people’s minds and from there the campaign has flowed.” Decca is now readying a


deluxe edition of the album in time for Q4, which will reach the US before Europe. It will contain extra material and video content. Said Bartlett. “After the


iTunes Festival peformance, EP and video content will be up


within 24 hours after the show for the whole 30-day period. This will help provide a re-profiling of the band around the world.” The Lumineers album hit


No.2 on the Billboard 200 in the US, topping the Billboard Rock Chart. Meanwhile, the LP has gone platinum in Ireland and Canada, as well as gold in France. Ho Hey has gone platinum in Canada (5x), Ireland (2x), Italy (2x), Norway and Switzerland. Added Bartlett: “They’re a


very creative band – there’s a lot of talent there. They’ve had a meteoric rise to fame in the last two years and I think there’s still a lot of talent yet to play out. There’s much more growth in songwriting and performance and yes – new albums. I think the future’s bright with this band - this isn’t the last you’ll hear from them by any means.”


Prose sign to Virgin/EMI after Naughty Boy publishing deal


Mancunian three-piece Prose - Mike Murray, David Stone and Lee Royle - have signed a record deal with Virgin/EMI, following their publishing deal with Hotel Cabana. Prose signed their publishing


to the Naughty Boy and Emeli Sande joint venture with Sony/ATV last month (pictured). And after being discovered by Naughty Boy - real name Shahid


Khan - who has been working closely with them, the band have now also been signed by Virgin/EMI. They are currently working on new material, with an EP due at the end of the year and an album scheduled to follow early summer 2014. Naughty Boy’s debut


headline artist album Hotel Cabana will be released next week (August 26).


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