USA recorded music sales up as streaming soars

The USA, the world's largest recorded music market, saw double digit revenue growth in 2016. US recorded music sales last year were up 11.4% to $7.7 billion, fuelled by the streaming boom. The American streaming market grew 68% last year, and streaming services brought in marginally more cash than downloads, CDs and vinyl combined, with subscription streaming driving the growth, as revenues more than doubled year-on-year in 2016, while income from the ad-funded on-demand platforms like YouTube and Spotify Free were up 26%.

US hikes up visa costs

US visa fees for foreign musicians are set to increase 42% on 23rd December. The new US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee schedule reveals the fee for submitting form I-129 for “non immigrant workers” – which includes artists and entertainers – is set to increase from $325 to $460.  USCIS director León Rodríguez says: “This is our first fee increase since November 2010 […] We are mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve. That’s why we decided against raising fees as recommended after the fiscal year 2012 and 2014 fee reviews.


The fee is per act as a whole, no matter how many people that comprises. A separate fee, which will increase the same amount, also applies to the crew, again regardless of the number of people.

The Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) has responded to the increase, as Billboard reports: “A fee surge of this kind adds an additional and unacceptable financial burden on our members,” said executive director Liana White.

http://www.iq-mag.net/2016/11/us-visa-fees-hiked-42-percent-touring-artist/#.WBzPY_mLSM9

Music Sponsorship booms in the USA

Tours by Taylor Swift, U2, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney and the Rolling Stones along with such festivals as Coachella, Stagecoach, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits have pushed ticket sales, attendance and sponsorship deals in the USA to new heights.  Sponsorship spending on music tours, venues and festivals is predicted to reach a record $1.4 billion in 2015, up 4.8% from last year, according to a report from IEG Sponsorship Report from research, marketing and consulting firm IEG, Chicago. The spend tops the projected 2015 increase in the overall sponsorship industry, which IEG places at 4%, as well as sports (4.4%), causes (3.7%) and "every other property segment."

http://nysportsjournalism.squarespace.com/swift-uber-drive-music-spend-9/

Slight decrease in CD and download album sales in the US and UK

The BPI says that album sales in the UK fel by 5.25% in in the first half of 2015 (38.1m down to 36.1m). Sales of downloaded LPs actually declined faster than their physical rivals: In the first half of 2015, CD album sales in the UK fell 5.7% from 22.68m to 21.38m. In the same period, sales of digital albums dropped 6.6% to 13.86m. 

Anbd overall album sales in the US – real album sales, not counting ‘track/streaming equivalents’ – were down 4% year-on-year in the first six months of 2015… as streaming continued to soar. According to new data from Nielsen/Billboard, 116.1 million album unit sales were clocked up versus 120.9 million units in H1 2014. The growth of vinyl album sales continued: the format grew 38.4% to 5.6 million in H1 2015, taking a 5% share of CD/digital/vinyl formats in the US. In the UK, vinyl album sales shot up once again in the Jan-June period, up 56.3% to 833,137 sales in H1 2015.

A2IM calls on the US to relax visa rules for Canadian acts

CMU Daily reports that American indie label trade group A2IM has used the Canadian Music Week conference in Toronto last week to call on the US to remove visa requirements for Canadian artists who wish to tour the States. The Canadian government last year axed the red tape American artists used to have to navigate to tour north of the border, and A2IM says its home country should return the favour, which seems reasonable. The trade group said on Friday: "Under current legislation, Canadian artists are only able to tour within the US after securing a P Visa, a practice that is mandated to be processed in two weeks but can often stretch to six months time. This can stall tours and result in artists, US clubs and restaurants losing revenue. Relaxing visa requirements would allow for an open exchange of ideas and cultural reciprocity between two neighbouring countries". Noting how this impacts on its members, A2IM added: "Our diverse membership nationwide with Canadian artists on their roster has been impacted by this practice and support eliminating the visa requirement".

Hot Stones in the UK, cold Stones in the US

Despite selling out their two Hyde Park shows in London in record time, the Rolling Stones shows in the USA have failed to sell, with the Observer newspaper suggesting the the tour guarantee offered by promoters AEG may be renegotiated as ticket prices are discounted. Some fans are blaming the high US ticket prices - ranging from $170 to $635, with VIP packages at $2000, on the band's greed, and others are not prepared to travel to the limited number of shows. London prices were between £95 and £300, although some £750 UK hotel and ticket packages remain unsold according to reports. The band have also announced that they are headlining the already sold out Glastonbury Festival.

ESA will launch US Event Safety Guide at Event Live Expo

The Event Safety Alliance has confirmed plans to publish an American edition of its guide to best practices in the event production industry, launching the edition at Event Live Expo 2013.

The Event Safety Guide, also known as The Purple Guide, is a 33 chapter publication first published in 1999 and now widely used in the UK. Topics covered include planning and management as well as more specific subjects such as electrical installation, sanitation, structures, and other vital event safety issues for all productions.

The ESA's mission is to promote a culture of "safety first" throughout the industry and provide materials by which this can be achieved, protecting both those who work in the industry and the millions of fans who attend music events each year. Jim Digby, spokesperson and one of the founders of the Alliance, commented  "This is a collaborative effort by some of the best minds in the industry lending their expertise in the specific areas of event production safety they are most qualified in. This collaboration will provide event professionals with a reference guide that is more than a starting point to find solutions to common problems in attendee safety."

Leaders of the organization include members of some of the most highly respected event production companies and Event Live Expo exhibitors, including Matt Bettenhausen (Vice President of AEG Worldwide), John Brown (CEO of Brown United Staging), Steve MacFadyen (Production Manager for Pollstar), Tim Roberts (TESS), Harold Hansen (IAVM-AVSS Academy), Roger Sandau (Doodson Insurance), Dave Lester (Clair), Charlie Hernandez (Production Manager), Hadden Hipsley (Production Manager), John Conk (Production Manager) and Ron Stern (Production Manager).

Event Live Expo 2013   February 5-7  Los Angeles  http://www.eventlive-expo.com/register

US live revenues grow

After a difficult 2010, the US live music industry is having a better 2011 according to Pollstar with the country's top 50 tours brining in 11% more revenue in that first half of 2011 than the equivalent tours did in 2010, despite a 2.1% drop in ticket sale volume

StubHub guilty of violating anti-scalping laws

TicketNews.com report that StubHub has been found to be in violation of North Carolina's former anti-scalping laws for its part in the 2007 sale of high-priced Hannah Montana tickets by a reseller on the company's exchange Judge Ben Tennille ruled that StubHub and Massachusetts reseller Jason Holohan violated the laws when Holohan sold four Hannah Montana tickets to parents Jeffrey and Lisa Hill for a total of $596, plus $59.60 in service fees and $11.95 in shipping costs