Band Metrics Expands Private Beta

Music data analytics leader Band Metrics took a major step forward this morning when it let several thousand artists, labels and music marketers on to test its expanding system in private beta.

I had an exclusive look under the hood just a few days ago and can report that because of the sophistication of the analytics and because they are focused exclusively on music from the artist's perspective (a handful of competitors are attempting to focus on songs or on a much broader media landscape), Band Metric's work has the potential to revolutionize the way that music is marketed.

Just a few of the new features:

* track plays, fans, profile views and comments across MySpace, Last.fm, iLike, SoundCloud and YouTube
* track airplay from over 3,500 terrestrial radio stations
* view real-time reviews about your music on aggregator Musebin
* view real-time comments on Twitter
* 8 different types of scores relative to your music including hotnes, fandom, and brand strength, among others

Already in development are these additional features:

* daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly stats/reports
* enhanced charts
* advanced data porting
* additional social media site monitoring
* manage multiple bands from one login
* view real-time comments about your band in Facebook
* API
* Sentiment Analysis

Article first published by Hypebot. Subscribe to the Kerascene Digital Music News Blog to be kept informed of the latest news. Services offered by Kerascene Music include: Easy Digital Distribution, Music Business Email Lists, Music Contracts, Kerascene Recordings... and more: www.kerascene.com.

Sony Music, IODA Create Digital Network

Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment, the second largest music company in world, said on Wednesday it made a strategic investment in IODA, a digital distributor of independent music.

The move is a sign of a trend by major music companies to tap into the indie music sector's growing importance. More artists are able to use smaller record labels to promote their music as the traditional barriers to physical distribution of CDs become irrelevant in a digital world.

Sony Music, home to major artists such as Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen, already has its own independent distribution unit, RED, which will now use IODA's digital distribution as part of the overall Sony Music network.

"IODA is a natural extension of our indie strategy," said Thomas Hesse, Sony Music's global president digital. "As entrepreneurs, we think this is a business we'd like to grow and expand and as a result we took an investment."

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Six year-old IODA is one of a growing group of digital music distributors who help smaller labels handle everything from digital rights licensing through to royalty payment administration, as well as promotional support. It has nearly two million songs in its catalog, which it licenses to more than 400 digital storefronts worldwide.

Others in the sector include The Orchard and INGrooves, as well as many other smaller players.

"Because of the democratization of media and distribution channels, independents have taken on a larger role in the business," said Kevin Arnold, chief executive of IODA.

Arnold said his company would benefit from being able to use Sony Music's existing global network of digital technology beyond distributing songs to include everything from ringtones to music videos.

Article first published by Yahoo!. Subscribe to the Kerascene Digital Music News Blog to be kept informed of the latest news. Services offered by Kerascene Music include: Easy Digital Distribution, MySpace Marketing, Music Business Email Lists, Music Contracts, Kerascene Recordings... and more: www.kerascene.com.

Slicethepie Starts Playing Hit Predictor

London-based Slicethepie is the latest to delve into the tricky game of hit prediction and song analysis, according to details shared with Digital Music News on Tuesday. That is just one component of an aggressive expansion, one that also traverses synchronization licensing. Slicethepie chief executive David Courtier-Dutton discussed the specifics with Digital Music News from London, ahead of a presentation Wednesday at Musexpo Europe.

Slicethepie, best known for a model that focuses on developing fan-plucked, fan-financed artists, first emerged in June of 2007. Since that time, the company has amassed 90,000 users, 3 million track reviews, 24 financed artists, and over 300,000 pounds ($491,790) in contributions. The company has also structured significant deals with Bebo and Samsung.

Sounds great, but is this model something that can produce serious superstars? The remains to be seen, though currently, one financed artist is getting ready to sign to a major, US-based label. But clearly, Slicethepie - and competitor Sellaband - need a stronger success trail to validate the approach, though concepts sometimes require time to mature.

As part of its fan financing structure, Slicethepie also retains a small army of music reviewers. The company actually pays per review on a large amount of unsigned content, a system designed to filter the best music. Now, that filtering mechanism is powering SoundOut, a service that provides feedback and marketing direction to artists - or labels, publishers, and broadcasters.

According to Courtier-Dutton, the concept has been floating in an under-the-radar, beta mode for several months. "At the moment we have artists using it, but we'll have some of the biggest radio stations using it to determine playlists," Courtier-Dutton told Digital Music News.

Essentially, Slicethepie charges a modest fee, and spits out a song report that includes demographic profiling, a rating across different components, and 'computational forensic analysis' of the reviews themselves. That last part, otherwise known as semantic analysis, is also being parlayed into a freshly-launched synchronization licensing service - an incredibly crowded field already populated by players like Rumblefish and Pump Audio.

Article first published by Digital Music News. Subscribe to the Kerascene Digital Music News Blog to be kept informed of the latest news. Services offered by Kerascene Music include: Easy Digital Distribution, MySpace Marketing, Music Business Email Lists, Music Contracts, Kerascene Recordings... and more: www.kerascene.com.

Pirate Bay Sold To Global Gaming Factory

News began to trickle out in the wee hours this morning that The Pirate Bay has been sold to Global Gaming Factory X AB for $4 US million in cash plus an equal amount in stock. GGF develops gaming software and operates internet cafes and gaming centers in Scandinavia. Details are vague, but the original team will still stay involved and promise to keep the site much the same.

Ownership of the Pirate Bay had been transferred away from the individuals being sued in 2006 according to an interview (translation via Techdirt) with co-founder Peter Sunde conducted on Twitter. Neither Sunde or his fellow pirates are the beneficiaries of the sale according to a PirateBay blog post, but rather "into a foundation that is going to help with projects about freedom of speech, freedom of information and the openness of the nets."

Article first published by Hypebot. Subscribe to the Kerascene Digital Music News Blog to be kept informed of the latest news. Services offered by Kerascene Music include: Easy Digital Distribution, MySpace Marketing, Music Business Email Lists, Music Contracts, Kerascene Recordings... and more: www.kerascene.com.

The Unhealthy Jobs: Does Apple Have to Talk?

Is Steve going to die? It's a macabre question, almost inappropriate to ask out loud. Nobody wants to see this visionary pass too early, for obvious reasons. But investors are also feeling nervous, based on limited disclosures by Apple.

Is that too money-focused and insensitive? Apple is required to share details with investors as part of its obligations as a publicly-traded company. Apple has defended its level of disclosure, though this is being heavily downplayed.

According to details slipping from a leading transplant center in Memphis, Jobs was shuttled to the top of the list because of the seriousness of his situation. The Apple CEO is battling "end-stage liver disease," according to the center, a condition far more serious than the initial "hormonal imbalance" described by Jobs and Apple. "Steve Jobs is important to Apple," Warren Buffett recently told CNBC. "Whether he's facing serious surgery or not is a material fact."

Jobs is expected to return to the helm shortly, potentially within days.

Article first published by Digital Music News. Subscribe to the Kerascene Digital Music News Blog to be kept informed of the latest news. Services offered by Kerascene Music include: Easy Digital Distribution, MySpace Marketing, Music Business Email Lists, Music Contracts, Kerascene Recordings... and more: www.kerascene.com.