“The Conjuring 2” Advanced Screening with Slash

Why am I a social media investor? If you have a hobby you are passionate about, say Rock&Roll for example, and you wish to stay informed and connected, there is no better medium. At the top of my radar, as you can likely guess, is the incredible talent of one of Rock&Roll’s greatest bands, Guns N’ Roses. Along with a few select champion gymnasts, GN’R Twitter feeds go directly to my iPhone text message screen, and their Facebook pages are programmed to notify me with any update. Technology rocks! From the same generation as GN’R, I feel we are learning together to take full advantage of mobile and social media technology, that I couldn’t have even imagined back in the days of soaring music sales in the 80’s and 90’s. Perhaps this is why I feel a very strong loyalty and connection to this iconic band, above and beyond my passion for their music.

So I’m delighted to share my latest advanced screening experience with Slash. Following my first two incredible experiences, The Witch, and 10 Cloverfield Lane, Slash delivered once again! I knew a third opportunity was in the works, but the announcement timing caught me completely by surprise, as the contest was announced Friday evening Memorial Day Weekend. I was already on a friend’s boat, sitting up top to be exact, with my cell phone charging down below. I should tell you that I had been on high alert for a month, waiting for this post. After all, how often do you have the opportunity to hang out with a legendary Rock&Roll Artist, not just once, but three times in the same year that his iconic band launches the reunion tour of the decade, and perhaps even the century? I saw the contest announcement about thirty minutes after it had been posted and I immediately sprung into action, quickly securing two passes to an advanced screening of “The Conjuring 2” with Slash and Director James Wan, Thursday evening June 9, 2016 at the legendary United Artists Theatre in the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles ! Thankfully I was right about the date, as I had been planning a list of activities around this particular event. Slash will typically tweet about the opening date of a horror film, and will follow with an advanced screening contest for the evening prior. For those of you wondering why a legendary Rock&Roll musician is inviting fans to watch a horror film, the answer is simple. Slash is a lifelong horror film fan dating back to the release of the “Exorcist”, that he saw as a child with his mom. Now branching into film production, he is building a film company called Slashfiction Films, with “The Hell Within” scheduled to begin production shortly. To generate fan interest and investment in his company, he has been teaming up with some pretty solid film industry veterans to offer up a unique experience to the legion of Rock&Roll fans he has around the world. It’s a two way street of promotion, as film studios and directors are always looking to generate buzz for new releases, and of course even film legends want to be in Slash’s orbit, as the very cool and legendary Hall of Fame guitarist for Guns N’ Roses.

“The Conjuring 2”, which opened nationally Friday June 10, 2016, is an American supernatural horror film, distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures, and directed by the very talented and energetic “Horror Maestro” James Wan. At the screening, we were treated to a live Q&A with Slash and Director Wan that was streamed lived through Facebook’s MOVIECLIPS page. Original “The Conjuring” franchise stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprised their roles as paranormal investigators, this time traveling across the ocean to England, to investigate terrifying and evil happenings in the real life home of the Hodgson family. Their involvement was critical to James Wan decision to take on this huge challenge, following enormous box office success of the lead film in this franchise, “The Conjuring” released in 2013. The plot and characters were carefully developed for this film, based on a true story, about a financially strapped single mom raising four children in a dilapidated home, where a previous owner had died. Their husband and father had abandoned them for another woman, and rarely lived up to his financial commitments to his family. You can clearly see the effect this had on this mother and her children, also raising some interesting questions as to the credibility of their story. The plot development was brilliant! Once the viewer was completely invested in this “underdog”, yet “hopeful” family, we were treated to a carefully crafted rollout of developing terror in this old English council house, that elicited a few screams from this screening audience. Thirteen year old Madison Wolfe landed the lead, quite ably so, as the second oldest child Janet Hodgson, the unfortunate target of the evil spirit terrorizing this poor family. Her loyal older sister Margaret was played by promising young Australian born actress Lauren Esposito, landing the role after a lengthy search in the U.S., England, and Australia. I also took notice of youngest child Billy, played by Benjamin Haigh, a boy bullied by his schoolmates, but showed tremendous courage in the face of some pretty terrifying stuff happening with his fire engine, in the home where he is trying to prove he can be the man of the house. Older brother Johnny, played by Patrick McAuley, rounds out the young talent pool. Their strong and determined mother Peggy Hodgson, also quite fearless, was played by Frances O’Connor, who delivered a convincing and gritty performance.

Our GN’R fan group outside the legendary United Artists Theatre at the Ace Hotel. Photo credit to our terrific fan leader Margott Hinostroza.

It was yet another Bucket List evening for the memory books, this one with many great surprises! When I arrived, the line was already forming and I joined Carlos, a new GN’R friend. Our fearless fan leader Margott arrived next. Soon we had a nice little GN’R fan group energy going as our friends started to arrive! Upon entering the theatre, a member of the lovely Slashfiction Films team handed me a poster. I immediately noticed a paper bracelet taped to the back. WOW! I knew exactly what that meant! The staffer smiled and said I was going to meet Slash. The screening contest awarded passes to more than 300 people, so I certainly did not expect a Meet and Greet photo. I later learned, that out of the 300+ guests that evening, only 30 received that bracelet. My friends Carlos, Margot, Meredith Ann, Tammy, and Doreen also scored one; what remarkable luck! We found seats in the first row and settled in with some popcorn. Eyeing the reserved seating section in the back of the theatre, we soon realized that every band member from Guns N’ Roses was in attendance, except Axl Rose of course, who was touring in Europe with AC/DC. Very cool! I first saw keyboardist Melissa Reese, the newest member to the GN’R lineup and the only female band member. I then spotted rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, then drummer Frank Ferrer. Later I saw bassist Duff McKagan arrive, who I had seen at the 10 Cloverfield Lane screening. It’s a very cool and humble group, our beloved Guns N’ Roses rockers!

Slash and Director James Wan soon came out on stage to thunderous applause, treating us to thirty minutes of Q&A about their personal experiences in this industry and the motivation that led them in the horror film direction. Slash shared with us that he just found a Director for his upcoming production “The Hell Within”. Terrific news! Soon, the lights dimmed and the film began! For the next two hours and 14 minutes, we sat on the edge of our seats, fully engrossed in this suspenseful thriller.

The lucky paper bracelet crew was instructed to meet in the lobby. As we stood there, I got to shake hands with drummer Frank Ferrer and rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus as they emerged from the theatre! We were then led downstairs to get our photo and say a quick and hearty thank you to our host, the one and only Slash. Jazzed with energy, our little GNR group then went up to the rooftop lounge for a celebratory drink, chatting up this incredible evening!

Our little GN’R fan group celebrating at The Upstairs Bar on the rooftop at the Ace Hotel!

Thank you to Warner Brothers Pictures, Fandango, Director James Wan, and to our beloved and humble Top Hat Rocker Slash for a great evening at the movies!

June 21, 2016 By Cynthia Drew In Slash Film Screenings / 1

The Musical Artist P&L in Today’s Digital Streaming World – 2015 Update

As a follow up to my inaugural post, “The Musical Artist P&L in Today’s Digital Streaming World”, where I first took a look at recorded music sales trends 1983 through 2014, this Rock&Roll “Super Fan” and finance analytical professional is excited to share 2015 results, my thoughts on what all of this means for Artists and record labels, and how fan music consumption is driving business today. In the evolving recorded music marketplace, with 2015 global revenue totaling $15.0 billion, today we see a continued shift away from physical sales and digital downloads toward digital streaming subscriptions. For the first time in history, total digital revenue of $6.7 billion at 45% of total, now exceeds physical revenue (CD, tape, & vinyl) of $5.8 billion, at 39% of total. In fact, within the digital revenue category, the explosive growth in streaming is close to overtaking downloads to become the industry’s primary digital revenue stream. Performance rights revenue, generated by radio and web broadcast play, totaled $2.1 billion or 14% of the total. Synchronization revenue, from the use of music in advertising, games, film, and television, totaled $400 million at 2% of the total.

Let’s take a closer look. According to the The 2016 IFPI Global Music Report, 2015 global recorded music revenue totaled $15 billion, up 3.2% to 2014, the first year of measurable growth in twenty years, driven by a commanding increase +45.2% in digital streaming sales. Overall global growth of 3.2% varied by geographic market, with Latin America leading the charge up +11.8%, follow by Asia +5.7%, Europe +2.3%, and North America +1.3%. Looking specifically at the U.S., the largest recorded music market, 2015 revenues totaled $7.0 billion, up a mere 0.9%.

While the first year of overall growth of 3.2% in a very long while is certainly encouraging news for an industry that has experienced seismic change since the highs of the late 1990’s and the introduction of the MP3 and digital formats, there is still a lot more work to be done to support and encourage an enduring legacy of artist creativity and growth. Global music advocacy groups, and there are many, including The Grammy Creators Alliance, The Future of Music Coalition, and the Berklee College of Music’s Rethink Music Initiative to name a few, are increasing their efforts in support of the Musical Artist. The key issues for Artists include a level playing field in ad-supported digital user upload platforms, the issue of sound recording revenue in the U.S. for terrestrial broadcast radio play, and the 2017 renegotiation of recently heralded progress in pre-1972 sound recording contracts. On a positive note, the explosive worldwide growth of streaming music has opened new markets. Further, digital streaming and social media platforms provide rich consumer consumption and sentiment data for record labels to feast upon and better target music promotion.

To refresh the basics of the Recorded Music Money Flow model, available from the Berklee College of Music Rethink Music Initiative, Songwriters and Artists are compensated in three specific ways, for musical composition, sound recording, and streaming mechanical royalty. Musical composition is specific to the Songwriter(s), who may also be the Artist(s) performing the track. Musical composition royalties are paid through Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) to Songwriters and music publishers where applicable, for terrestrial broadcast radio play (AM&FM), webcast & digital radio play (Pandora & Sirius XM), and digital streaming services (Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music). Composition royalties for digital sales (iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, eMusic) flow through record labels rather than PROs. For digital sales and streaming services, third party aggregators will also receive a cut when handled by Indie labels or through self release where the Artist owns the recording copyright.

Sound recording revenue is paid for webcast & digital radio play, digital download sales, and digital streaming. For webcast & digital radio play, royalties are distributed through Sound Exchange with 50% going to record labels, and 50% to Artists. In the U.S. no sound recording revenue is currently awarded for terrestrial broadcast radio play. Big labels that offer direct deal services pay sound recording revenue directly to Artists for digital download sales and streaming service play. Indie labels follow the big label model but add aggregators like Orchard and INgrooves who get a piece of the action. For Artists who have gone the self release route and are not represented by a record label, these royalties are paid directly from an aggregator such as CD Baby or Tune Core.

Streaming mechanical royalty revenue is specific to digital streaming revenue and is disbursed to songwriters and publishers through PRO’s. In the case of indie labels and self release, a mechanical licensing agent also receives a cut.

Focusing on the United States, 2015 U.S. Record Industry sales revenue, available from the RIAA 2015 Year End Shipment and Revenue Report, totaled $7.0 billion on 1.3 billion units sold, at a total average unit price of $4.29. In comparison to 2014, sales revenue was essentially flat up 0.9%, with volume down 14% from 1.5 billion units sold, offset favorably by a 15% increase in average unit price from $3.75. In comparison to U.S. industry highs in 1999, 2015 sales revenue was down 66% from $20.7 billion, and the average unit price was down 76% from $17.87. Current trends across the globe in recorded music consumption are consistent. Consumers are purchasing fewer CD’s and digital downloads, instead increasingly subscribing to digital streaming services. The 2015 total average unit price of $4.29 in the U.S. has stabilized to near 2009 level of $4.51, and also represents the third consecutive year of price improvement, up 21% to a low of $3.53 in 2012, driven by increased demand in digital streaming paid subscriptions, at an average unit price of $112.90 in the 2015.

Speaking to the key issues forward, the elephant in the middle of the room is the value gap between the huge ad-supported user upload audience of an estimated 900 million users, the world’s largest on-demand music audience, and the tiny piece of digital streaming revenue it generates, a mere $634 million globally or 4% of total global recorded music revenue value in 2015. Of course I’m referring to Google’s You Tube platform, that claims protection from “safe harbour” rules that were established in the early days of the internet, intended to protect truly passive online intermediaries from copyright liability. Musical rights advocates view this platform as active engagement in the distribution of music and should therefore be subject to music licensing practices that all other forms of digital music are governed by today. Expect the pressure to build as advocacy groups and musical fans around the globe, particularly those with passion and energy, continue to raise awareness and seek practical solutions from judicial and legislative branches to ensure a rich and enduring legacy of musical creation in our world.

Additionally on the legislative front, is the issue that U.S. terrestrial broadcast radio stations do not pay sound recording royalties to Artists, as is the case in all major countries outside of the U.S., as well as for webcast digital platforms like Pandora and Sirius XM. Learn more here. A related and final legislative issue surrounds the payment of sound recording royalties for pre-1972 music that clearly includes some of the most iconic records of all time. There have been three large recent victories for performing Artists, all against Sirius XM resulting in negotiated settlements that provide an opportunity in 2017 to negotiate license fees through 2022. Sirius XM to pay $210 million. To learn more on the full background and implications forward, read more here.

To wrap up it all up on a positive note, the discussion returns to the subject of digital revenue and how growth in digital streaming platforms and music listener consumption are shaping the industry going forward. Globally, digital revenue totaled $6.7 billion in 2015, comprising 45% of total revenues, up 10.2% to 2014. For record labels in the U.S, this amounted to $4.8 billion, at 68% of total revenues, up 6.2% to 2014. Clearly the U.S. dominates in digital revenue, but the rest of the world is catching up. Digital streaming music has opened new markets in China and Mexico, and has led to a resurgence of record label investment in Sweden and the Netherlands. Opportunity exists in Germany and Japan, where physical sale currently dominates, with streaming comprising only 11% and 5% of the total respectively. In the U.S., for the first time in 2015, digital streaming revenue of $2.4 billion equals digital download revenue. Also, for the first time in 2015, the average unit price in the U.S. for paid subscription streaming service increased to $112.86, following five years of decline from a high of $189.58 in 2009. This was fueled by explosive growth in subscription volume demand from a low of 1.3 million when first introduced in 2005, to 3.4 million in 2012, to 10.8 million in 2015.

The final point to note, is that with music consumption data widely available on digital platforms, and music sentiment measures available on social media platforms like Twitter, where 7 of the top 10 followed people are music stars, record labels now have a large palate of analytical data to discern fan trends and grow an enduring legacy of music creation. Fine tuning the “fan favorite strategy” will likely differentiate the leaders and the followers. Thank you to my good friend Robert Finn, for this little gem.

I’ll leave you with this classic 2008 Rock ballad, that I figure will start presenting prominently in current streaming play lists as global Rock&Roll sentiment is huge and passionate on this band’s epic 2016 reunion. Enjoy!

Cover Photo credits: KEXP Fundraiser at NYC Winery with Danish singer & songwriter Soren Juul.

*All U.S. data is sourced by the Recording Industry Association of America database, with all $ figures expressed in 2015 inflation adjusted dollars. Also note that certain forms of revenue cannot be quantified in units sold and are therefore excluded in the average price calculations. This includes Sound Exchange Distribution & Ad-Supported On-Demand Streaming under the Digital Streaming Category, as well as Synchronization revenue. All Global data is sourced by the IFPI 2016 Global Music Report Summary.

June 20, 2016 By Cynthia Drew In Music P&L / 1

Sebastian Bach and Santa Cruz Rock B.B. King’s Blues Club!

My 2016 Rock&Roll calendar marches on in grand fashion, most recently at Live Nation’s iconic Time Square B.B. King’s Blues Club Wednesday, May 18, 2016. It was yet another epic night of classic Rock&Roll with the incredibly talented Sebastian Bach of Skid Row fame, and an emerging and very talented young Rock band from Helsinki, Finland called Santa Cruz. And it was my first “official” VIP experience listening to a sound check. Performing live and delivering a masterful technical experience is no small feat. You can have all the talent in the world, but at the end of the day, the production elements have to be first rate when it matters most. The sound check must be a stressful situation that requires very coordinated concentration, under clear time pressure. To open that up to a small group of adoring, yet unpredictable fans, is very generous and I really appreciated that! Bobby Jarzombek kicked things off on Drums, followed by Brent Woods on Guitar and Rob De Luca on Bass. We may not know the names of Sebastian’s band so well, but I can tell you that these are very talented veteran musicians! And they’re nice guys. I had a brief interaction with them at the Meet and Greet following the performance.

Sebastian Bach May 18, 2016 at B.B. King’s Blues Club

As Sebastian’s band was warming up, the band members from Santa Cruz were milling about before their turn on stage. It was a nice experience for the VIP fans to get a relaxed informal look at a promising young band that could very well achieve Rock&Roll superstardom some day. They seemed to be very focused on the business at hand, ahead of their performance on this big New York stage. Due to the usual time conflicts that arise around live performance, the sound check started late, which of course applied time pressure on these young musicians, yet they seemed to handle it just fine. They actually did most of their warm up as ticketholders starting filling up the club.

Santa Cruz finished their warm up and the club soon hit “sold out” capacity. This New York crowd was pumped and ready for a legendary Rock&Roll evening! The lights dimmed and the young Finnish rockers returned to the stage to great audience applause! Of Scandinavian ancestry on my father’s side of the family, I love that this young band’s talent, hard work, and perseverance has brought them to this iconic New York stage so early in their career! Of course this is my first time seeing them perform, but this is actually their third time performing in New York, as I understand it. Several points stand out. First, every band member sings. Lead Singer Archie Cruz (born Arttu Kuosmanen) has a powerful voice with great range, particularly appealing with his Finnish accent, also with tremendous confidence and charisma on stage. Lead Guitar player Johnny Cruz (Joonas Parkkonen), Bass player Middy Cruz (Mitja Toivonen), and Drummer Tazzy Cruz (Tapani Fagerstrom) all sing Back Up Vocals, that add a very powerful harmonic blend to the sound! Further, they are all very technically proficient musicians on their respective instruments. Lead Singer Archie Cruz is also very strong on guitar, in addition to vocals. This band is extremely talented musically! Of course they have the look all the ladies love, with thick blonde hair flowing down their shoulders. They’re also very athletic on stage, with hair and body moving succinctly to the musical beat. To round out the talent picture, they have great songwriting ability, including their newest hit single “Skydiving Without A Parachute” that they debuted that evening; what a treat for this connoisseur Rock&Roll New York audience! I’ve already downloaded it to my iPhone and highly recommend you do the same. It was a big night for these young talented rockers from Helsinki, Finland and I look forward to the next time Santa Cruz returns to the New York stage! Of course, it was great for this to happen warming up for one of their idols, Sebastian Bach, who is such a great guy, always very enthusiastic and supportive of the talent around him. It’s a great energy!

Archie Cruz Lead Singer Santa Cruz May 18, 2016 at B.B. King’s House of Blues

Middy Cruz Bass Player Santa Cruz March 18, 2016 at B.B. King’s House of Blues

Johnny Cruz Guitar Santa Cruz May 18, 2016 at B.B. King’s House of Blues

Sebastian Bach and his band took the stage shortly before 10PM to a packed and completely engaged B.B. King’s Blues Club audience! They actually did something quite unique, in that they first performed an acoustic set, which was then followed by a full electric show. Sebastian did not participate in the early sound check as “..the vocal experience at show time is always different!..” he explained. Makes complete sense! The acoustic set was Sebastian’s method to vocal sound check. Of course, the VIP ticketholders knew this ahead of time but certainly appreciated Sebastian’s authenticity in explaining the rationale. This is the first point that stands out about Sebastian, who has an extraordinary level of integrity in engagement with his audience. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. Moreover, he has an incredible energy and presence on stage! At 48, his voice is still mighty and powerful, and he is extremely fit and athletic for a guy who stands well over 6 feet tall with a very large frame! He was clapping arms over head, jumping up and down, and moving with incredible agility and tight synchronization to the beat. It was really impressive! It’s one thing to perform like that in your 20’s, even in your 30’s as he did on Broadway in Jekyll & Hyde and Jesus Christ Superstar, but in your late 40’s, and particularly with an aggressive live performance schedule with multiple consecutive evening performances, wow! Sebastian Bach and his band knocked it out of the park!

Sebastian exudes great energy and strikes you as one of the happiest guys around! He came out smiling and joking about a seat that David Grohl made for him, of course in tribute to his great friend Axl Rose and our legendary Guns N’ Roses band. He made reference to GNR several times during his performance, clearly with great respect and deference to this iconic band, who brought Sebastian up on stage April 9 in Vegas to sing “My Michelle”; very cool indeed!

Sebastian Bach May 18, 2016 at B.B. King’s House of Blues

Sebastian and his band opened the acoustic set with a Jimmy Hendrix cover, “The Little Wing” before moving into their first Skid Row cover “Breakin’ Down”. Then they launched into a more recent solo hit “Battle With The Bottle” released September 30, 2008. Other than an “April Wine” and “PainmuseuM” cover, the rest of the night was devoted to the veteran fans who came to hear the iconic front man perform his stuff from the legendary Skid Row days. One guy in the audience shouted out that Skid Row was not Skid Row without Sebastian Bach. With complete Rock&Roll cool and humility, our very professional and consummate performer joked that “..clearly that wasn’t the case…” It was yet another poignant connection between this legendary singer and his adoring fan base. And if that wasn’t enough, Skid Row Drummer Rob Affuso, who was sitting at a nearby table, came up on stage to perform “Rattlesnake Shake” with his good buddy, 2/5^th’s of a Skid Row reunion, and more jokes about complex math. Sebastian has a great sense of humor, which would explain his long run on the hit TV series “Gilmore Girls”. It was great fun all around!

To wrap up the main set, Sebastian brought Santa Cruz back out on stage to perform “Youth Gone Wild” and to promote this young emerging band. Sebastian is forever a cheerleader and it was great to see these very talented, hard working rockers from different generations tear it up together!

For the encore, perhaps also in tribute to his buddy Axl Rose, currently helping out and performing with AC/DC, Sebastian and his band closed this incredible night with AC/DC cover “T.N.T.”! Well done guys! The fans definitely had a “Dynomite” night! Too bad House Speaker Paul Ryan wasn’t in the house. I’ll bet he would have enjoyed this.

A terrific Rock&Roll performance and we still had the Meet and Greet ahead! Sebastian was great, taking his time with each of us. I told him that I was sorry I missed his “My Michelle” performance April 9 in Vegas with Guns N’ Roses, as I only attended the debut April 8 performance, but thrilled that I could see him here in my hometown of New York. Sebastian revealed that the “My Michelle” performance “… caught me completely off guard. I didn’t even know that would happen. Axl texted me about 10PM, My Michelle. Be ready.” Wow! I love it!

If you want to learn more about this amazing performer, Sebastian Bach is set to release his first memoir this year. This read promises to be gripping and entertaining as it reveals the incredible highs and lows of his extraordinary talent and personal journey of Rock&Roll fame! Pre order here.

Thanks for coming to New York Sebastian, we hope to see you again soon!