iTunes AAC Encoding/Submission Service

[MacRumors]

MacMinute reports (http://www.macminute.com/2003/07/18/oasiscd) that Oasis CD Manufacturing (http://www.oasiscd.com/raindog/index.html) announced that they now offer Encoding/Submitting services for Apple's iTunes Music Store, promotion/listing, cddb database submissions and more.

This is targetted for the indie musician or independent label who wants their music in Apple's iTunes Music Store.

[Freg3000]

Sounds good. I hope a lot of Indie labels are eager to gain exposure and get their stuff on the iTMS.

[MrMacMan]

Cool, I like the sound of that.

[AppleMatt]

Excellent. Although there were minor set-backs with Linkin Park, Metallica etc withdrawing, Avril lavigne being on there should attract a 'certain' audience, and indie music will attract many who have so far canned it for lack of indie.

I wonder if certain bands will eventually come back?

Now all we need is international support!

Matt

[Snowy_River]

Well, I must say that this is what I had hoped would happen from the beginning. I was rather disappointed with Apple for having made it a stipulation that an artist had to be represented by a label that had signed a contract with Apple. Now, Oassis is doing what I think Apple should have done to begin with. Of course, this could lead to the downfall of labels, in general, and that may be why Apple couldn't do it themselves.

Anyway, I think this is great news!

[jimjiminyjim]

This is EXTREMELY exciting. I'm tempted to get my fiddle out right now, and call in the family for a shin-dig. We'll plug ourselves into this old mac, and burn us a DVD. Yeee-haaah!

What you wouldn't buy my music??

*note: while this may seem like a sarcastic post, the sarcasm is in reference only to my musical ability. I am extremely supportive of the these independent label signings - anything to break the monopoly (shouldn't that be monotony?? i get confused about phrases sometimes...)

[Waluigi]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
Of course, this could lead to the downfall of labels, in general, and that may be why Apple couldn't do it themselves.

Hey, that sounds great! Could you just clarify how you came to that statement (I don't understand, thats all, nothing personal)?

--Waluigi

[daRAT]

Yup this rocks! (bad pun I know).

Screw Metallica, I'd rather hear some fresh new tunes from indies :)

[dstorey]

while this is good news in a lot of respects, it could also provide to be bad for the ITMS. I gether oasis will submit anyones work to the itms. This could ring alarm bells to the record labels. As the apple service has equal footing for all, it would mean well established artists would be better off in the future signing for small labels like this and negotiationg much larger deals...of course this is great, but not what lables want...could this mean that labels, not being dumb, would see this as a huge threat and pull their support, and thus their support form things like the ITMS, cause they dont stand to beinfit if they lose all their artists this way, as the middleman is effectivly cut out (not exactly as apple stup ot, but near enough with the likes of indies just acting as a interface for a small fee to get artists work on there).

just a few rambling thoughts really....

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by Waluigi
Hey, that sounds great! Could you just clarify how you came to that statement (I don't understand, thats all, nothing personal)?

--Waluigi

If a band can simply upload their music to a universal music server (i.e. iTMS), who needs a label? Yes, there are questions of promotion, and getting music to radio stations, and that sort of thing, but Oasis is even taking care of some of that (again, doing what I feel Apple should have done from the beginning). And, while this circumvents the actual physical CD, I have no doubt that CDs will eventually become a thing of the past, anyway (it may take a while, but iTMS and iPod are already a big step toward making that happen).

So, if bands can handle their music in this way, and they stop going to the labels, then the labels will die (and loose their choke hold on the music we listen to).

[medea]

does anyone know how much this will cost the musician?

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by medea
does anyone know how much this will cost the musician?

If you download the PDF file from their website, and dig into it a bit, you find that they charge a $165 for the first CD for "The Works" (includes a variety of things such as iTMS placement, digital fingerprinting, special placement of favorite track, etc.) and $135 for each additional CD. Also, the artist then gets 70% of profits from the songs on iTMS. There are also cheaper options, that don't include as much as "The Works".

[crees!]

Looks like my band is going to submit some albums. This is awesome.

[Makosuke]

s'about time--I'm not a big music shopper, but indies making it to the iTMS en masse is way big, for Apple, for the indies, for consumers (small bands you can buy easilly--what's cooler than that?), and for music in general.

Let's hope this takes off like wildfire, and that more fruits of Apple's indie plans start to show up soon. (I'm assuming this is just one group offering to do what Apple had that meeting about recently, and many more groups and individual bands will follow, right?)

[rundevilrun]

This is what I think the future of music should be, a band records some songs, pays a reasonable fee to a record company to distribute online. Then if they're good they make money and contract the record company to produce cds, etc. and if they're bad they don't sell and just drop out of sight.
In this scenario the record companies work for the artists and the"popular" music is chosen by the people who buy it instead of what mtv is spewing out.

[sushi]

Just tried out iTMS for the first time today.

Love it...very nice implementation.

And now with indies. Less label control is a great thing!

What I really like, is no more having to buy a CD for one or two songs! :D

You know, now that I think about it...I am going to hate the iTMS since I will be purchasing more music than I should. :eek:

Anyhow, way to go Apple! Now let's get iTunes for the PC out there!

Sushi

[Cecret]

Can anyone tell me what this is about??? Are they going to let indies upload their songs so they can be downloaded for free or what? Somebody let us know because this is really hard to figure out.

[DeusOmnis]

135 bucks isnt that bad! it's just enough to prevent every silly kid from submitting stuff.

[VegetaPunk]

Cool maybe some Punk Rock bands will get on itunes :D

[solvs]

Originally posted by Cecret
Can anyone tell me what this is about??? Are they going to let indies upload their songs so they can be downloaded for free or what? Somebody let us know because this is really hard to figure out.

Probably same price as any other music at the iTunes Store.

[coumerelli]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
If you download the PDF file from their website, and dig into it a bit, you find that they charge a $165 for the first CD for "The Works" (includes a variety of things such as iTMS placement, digital fingerprinting, special placement of favorite track, etc.) and $135 for each additional CD. Also, the artist then gets 70% of profits from the songs on iTMS. There are also cheaper options, that don't include as much as "The Works". (bold added by coumerelli)

I want to help everyone read this slowly so we don't get ahead of ourselves... the quote from the pdf is as follows...

Rain Dog shall pay to Customer seventy percent (70%) of any and all Net Revenues from digital delivery service, less a quarterly statement fee, as described...blah, blah, blah.

I don't think that they are trying to be slick, but if you read it too quickly, it would sound like you get $0.70 out of $0.99 each time a song is downloaded (less fees etc.) But I'll bet it's only 70% of what Apple gives them (whatever that is...I forget).

Either way, what a rockin' deal. I'm in!

[Mosco]

If you guys remember, apple a meeting with a bunch of indie music people about ITMS. At the meeting, they apple said:

" Independent artists themselves, not with a label, can't use this[this refers to the ITMS aac encoder]. You have to go through an iTunes partner."

Is it safe to say that this company is an itunes partner?

[pianojoe]

Originally posted by AppleMatt


Now all we need is international support!

Matt

What a philosophical statement!

[crees!]

Originally posted by Cecret
Can anyone tell me what this is about??? Are they going to let indies upload their songs so they can be downloaded for free or what? Somebody let us know because this is really hard to figure out.

Rain Dog is an indie record label under Oasis (a disc manufacturing company). Bands can pay per album to have their music uploaded to iTMS via Rain Dog. Indies will have the same deal as the major label acts.

Yes, you will have to pay for indie bands music.

[nagromme]

You can download their PDF and probably get a better understanding than I have, but I believe the simple version is this:

1. You send Rain Dog your album on CD and pay them $90. ($65, plus I believe $25 to get a UPC code. They have other services too, if you want to pay up to $80 more--like extra promotion on Oasis's "Indie Music Channel" site of whichever track you think is your best.)

2. They encode the tracks for you as copyright-protected AAC, with your name, album name, etc. embedded in the tags.

3. They upload the songs to the iTunes Music Store, complete with cover art and free 30-second previews of all tracks. Your music is then available and will come up in searches just the same as U2 or any big-name artist. (Audience is limited to Mac owners now, but the store still sells half a million songs per week, and is coming to a wider audience this year: first Windows and Canadian users, and then worldwide when the legalities can be worked out.) Apple has told independent labels like Rain Dog that the "big labels" will NOT get special treatment or extra say in who gets promoted in iTunes. If your music catches on, it has the chance to be noticed. People can buy your whole album for $9.99 (possibly more for longer albums?), or just the songs they want for .99 each. They can burn your CD, put your music on their iPod... the usual.

4. Apple gives Rain Dog about 65% of the iTunes price every time someone downloads your music. That's the same cut the big-name labels get. (The other 35% goes to Apple and the credit card companies, pays for the servers, etc.) Promote your music however you want--tell everyone to look for it at the iMS. Rain Dog does their own promotion too, of course--they want their artists to sell!

5. Rain Dog gives you about $4.55 for every album downloaded (or more: you get 70% of their cut). About 46 cents per individual song purchased.

6. Once a quarter, they send you your profits, minus a $9 quarterly fee. If you don't make any money in a quarter, the $9 charge is delayed to the next quarter. If you never sell anything, it sounds like you never have to pay the $9--unless you want to stay with Rain Dog anyway. Still, that's just $36 per year.

7. After one year, you must pay an annual renewal fee of $65 if you want your album to stay online.

8. They'll sell your physical CDs too, IF Rain Dog's parent label, Oasis CD, enters into an agreement with you. Your online sales renewal fee would then be waived.

Feel free to correct me on the details--I skimmed. It sounds pretty well thought-out though, with minimal financial outlay by you as the artist, and a generous share of any profits for you. They have ALL the paperwork packaged in one PDF, right down to your IRS W-9 form. There seems to be some tie-in to Audible, too? Rain dog will also submit your info to CDDB--but you can do that for free yourself, I thought--right from iTunes, even.

It will be interesting to see how this develops. The big labels will probably not be pleased at all! But they still have big promotion/advertising power on their side.

This also sounds like a way for iTunes' "also bought" cross-promotion database to shine. You've probably noticed, when you browse the online store, in the top-right is a list of OTHER music that people like who are interested in the same music you are. Your music can end up in lists like that for people to find and explore even if they weren't looking for you at all!

[LoopHoles]

can anyone provide more details on the "fingerprinting" part of the deal?

apparently, Audible Magic will insert a fingerprint of each song in a database so they can identify the song when it is played or downloaded off a P2P network. but, how does this technology fit with the iTMS and what could the benefits be? it's clearly not required to get into the iTMS. could it be used to collect digital reproduction royalties from places other than iTMS?

this kind of deal could be the internet boom for music. start-up costs are low, anybody can go in and it'll be survival of the fittest. some bands could score big from this. not only in royalties, but record deals with major labels. that is, in fact, so probable that the Rain Dog contract says they will release the author from the contract should they get into a record deal that requires them to do so.

anyhow, this all looks like a sweet deal to a lot of great indie bands. i'm going to my favorite indie bands' web sites and emailing them a link to the oasis page. (it's pissing me off that i can't find their CDs anywhere)

[tmornini]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
Of course, this could lead to the downfall of labels, in general, and that may be why Apple couldn't do it themselves.

You ain't seen nothing yet!

Just wait until eMagic Logic has a menu item for "Upload Album to iTMS..."

Small fee, direct to Apple, online contract signing.

Apple could have deals with artists YEARS before the "labels" will ever hear of them!

Ever wonder why eMagic Logic isn't labeled as an Apple product yet? :-)

No inside information claimed.

[orion123]

So what's the deal with rights for these guys? If you submit your CD to RainDog, do you basically sign on to their label or can you still go out and try to get signed to a more real label in the mean time.

And if you do get signed by a larger label, does RainDog own the rights to the songs you sent in? Just wondering and not wanting to read the legalese.

[Cecret]

When will we start seeing these songs on itms??

[Jerry Spoon]

Great for a lot of music lovers and really great for Apple. I'm looking forward to it!

[Pappy Wappy]

i work, to an extent, in the music industry and often find oasis compilations in my inbox. each band they press has an option to be on this compilation, i believe.

they are normally 2-disc sets and i've had countless editions sent to me. i can't say that any of them were particularly interesting though. oasis, to me, seems to be a good option for bands who lack the talent to get signed by an indie label or just aren't connected in the music world enough to be able to pull much off by themselves.

the thing with "indie" music is that the great majority of it is bad. don't take that the wrong way and think i'm not for indie music, my job is to get indie music out there, but i sit and sort through dozens of discs a day to find maybe one or two that are actually worth people's time. there is a lot of inexperience, immaturity and posing going on in some indie music. on the other hand some of it (a lesser proportion, though) is the best music out there, far superior to what you're already finding on the iTMS. if all of the sudden itunes is hit with a deluge of mediocre indie bands i don't see that as a good thing for itunes and i don't see it as a good thing for the indie bands that are amazing but haven't the name recognition they deserve.

then there is the talk of the downfall of the label or big labels pulling out because of this. first off oasis isn't going to make the big labels run away. they do not have good enough product to probably even be noticed by the big boys and they are in themselves a label (rain dog? or whatever dog it's called) then there is the fact about the really good "indie" bands already being on "indie" labels and waiting for them to negotiate with apple themselves.

as for the destruction of the label. that is a long ways off. i think it's possible that it will happen, but the label is important because it provides one thing that the artist doesn't always have. money. no matter how they can distribute their music, if a band can't tour then a band can't prosper. touring costs money (it makes a lot of money too, but you have to spend money to make money is what they say, i believe) so until a band doesn't need startup capital to record and tour and help with retail distribution (all things that a band would have trouble with on their own unless they have some good funding, which some do) the label isn't in any danger of extinction.

the only band i can think of right off that has done a good job for themselves independently of a label is troubled hubble out of chicago. (www.troubledhubble.com) i know there are more but that is the first that comes to mind. regardless, there aren't a ton of them that continue on without label support at some point.

sorry for the length, hope this was a little informative

[BaghdadBob]

Yes, I think we were all hoping for this.

But before we get all starry-eyed about the "downfall of labels" let's remember that it's very expensive to record music at the quality that is becoming expected. This will be a little less apparent with iTMS quality, but we've all heard radio releases from local bands, they usually stink, even if the band is good. And they stink well enough to easily notice at 128-bit AAC.

Labels give big advances to facilitate the high-quality recording and producing of records. I'm not saying they haven't taken advantage of this, but it does give signed bands a certain audio edge over the competition if they have no backing.

Bottom line: if a band doesn't have backing from somebody (that could be a studio) they will need their own money to make quality recordings.

[jaedreth]

I know an indie band that is good. Great? He needs a little
work for that. Natchet Taylor, headed by Rich Smith. Album
is called Backlash America. I love the DIY version, but
it's a bit too raw for commercial consumption, they're
working on a better cut. Rich even works for Apple Computer
in Austin, so I hope his band gets on the ITMS. If anyone
is interested in checking out this band, I forgot the url
but I'm sure you can search google for Blacklash America
and Natchet Taylor. But then again, I'm in Austin, and we
do have a lot of good indie music, because there is a lot
of competition here.

Jaedreth

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by tmornini

Small fee, direct to Apple, online contract signing.


It's my understanding that the labels specifically didn't want Apple to allow independant artist to sign up to upload their music to iTMS, and it was through their arm twisting that Apple placed the stipulation in their contract that an artist had to be represented by a label. So, at least for the time being, I don't think we'll see this...

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by Pappy Wappy
...
as for the destruction of the label. that is a long ways off. i think it's possible that it will happen, but the label is important because it provides one thing that the artist doesn't always have. money. no matter how they can distribute their music, if a band can't tour then a band can't prosper. touring costs money (it makes a lot of money too, but you have to spend money to make money is what they say, i believe) so until a band doesn't need startup capital to record and tour and help with retail distribution (all things that a band would have trouble with on their own unless they have some good funding, which some do) the label isn't in any danger of extinction.


I agree. It is a long way off. I just think that this is the first step toward that. Or, to put it in a better way, I think that this is the first step toward the transformation of the 'label' system into something that will be much more music friendly, and less controlling.

Yes, there are issues of costs in producing a good record. I think getting studio backing could be a real possibility for indies to produce quality recordings. And what better incentive for a studio than to know that the artist's recordings are going to be available around the world through iTMS?

And, yes, there are questions of paying for a tour. But, if a band's music is selling well enough, and they want to go on tour, I'm sure that there would be a bank or lending house that would be willing to put up the money . . . given proof of album sales from iTMS, of course. Or, perhaps there will even be professional tour companies that will buy sales information from Apple and directly approach indie bands that are selling well.

Anyway, I think that this will lead to quite a change in the music industry. I have no delusions that it will happen over night. This will be a slow process, but I think that it could be a very, very good thing.

[Pappy Wappy]

Originally posted by Snowy_River


Yes, there are issues of costs in producing a good record. I think getting studio backing could be a real possibility for indies to produce quality recordings. And what better incentive for a studio than to know that the artist's recordings are going to be available around the world through iTMS?

And, yes, there are questions of paying for a tour. But, if a band's music is selling well enough, and they want to go on tour, I'm sure that there would be a bank or lending house that would be willing to put up the money . . . given proof of album sales from iTMS, of course. Or, perhaps there will even be professional tour companies that will buy sales information from Apple and directly approach indie bands that are selling well.


i don't think studio time/quality is an issue for indie artists. i'd say the ones who know what they are doing are already making better music and better sounding recordings than the majors. i know quite a few artists who are also recording technicians and either own a studio or do lots of work for other bands in studio like mixing or producing. if someone can't put together at least a decent sounding 4-track then odds are they have other things to work on before they get to recording.

as far as your comment about touring. the touring is what makes the cd sell. it's a rare case that cd sales enable touring. most often it is touring that enables cd sales. so that point doesn't quite hold the way you want it to but it isn't too far from the truth in what you're trying to say. right now a band can get a good start with a little helping hand and easily be on their way, independently booking their own gigs around the country, paying for pressing of their own cds and getting their music out to radio (noncommercial radio). the key is the jumpstart, being from a label or some mysteriously benevolent benefactor (it happens. . .)

[Genie]

CD Baby has posted a much better deal (I think) than Oasis CD. 9% take, and $40 signup.

Also, very cool, an online submission that takes about 10 minutes, including reading the entire contract.

Oasis' contract is 13 pages, requires printout, mailing, and signature.

http://www.geniesongs.com/products/closeups/geniesongs.html

[pboy]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
Well, I must say that this is what I had hoped would happen from the beginning. I was rather disappointed with Apple for having made it a stipulation that an artist had to be represented by a label ///// I would guess they had to put it that way to get the majors in.