I hope you picked up on this story!
Monday December 20, 2010
By Paul Gorman
A surprise new buyer has emerged as a leading candidate to acquire EMI’s catalogue with BMG revealing it now wants to become a player in recorded music.
As buyers circle – amid reports that current owner Terra Firma is preparing to relinquish control of the beleaguered major to Citigroup Bank – BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch has confirmed his company’s interest in EMI’s back catalogue, rather than its publishing division.
In an exclusive interview with Music Week, Masuch states: “Integrating EMI’s publishing would be tough, but if you look at the recorded side, it is a different story. We are increasingly moving into representing master catalogues and EMI is the iconic catalogue. We are more confident these days; it is no secret we are more interested in rights to masters than publishing.”
BMG may also want to make a move on EMI sooner rather than later because it is understood that David Bowie’s catalogue is up for renewal at the major next year with informed sources suggesting the singer/songwriter might want to follow acts such as Queen, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney out of the door.
The source adds much of Bowie’s catalogue is “crying out” for the repackaging treatment and very little has been done with the works of other long-term EMI stars such as Kate Bush. “I’m not sure a lot of artists have confidence in EMI handling their catalogue,” says the source.
Masuch, who oversaw the recent £107m acquisition of Chrysalis Group and has made no bones about his ambitions to build an empire in the UK, unveiled his plans amid reports that Terra Firma’s controversial chairman Guy Hands is relenting to pressure from investors to hand control of EMI to Citigroup in return for the bank wiping clean its £2.5bn debt slate.
If this happened, analysts believe the most likely scenario is Citigroup breaking up EMI and selling it in the new year. Until Masuch declared BMG’s hand, it was expected that EMI’s most likely buyer would be a partnership of private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (which also owns BMG Rights Management in partnership with Bertelsmann) and long-time EMI suitor Warner – with the spoils split; publishing going to KKR and the recording interests merged with Warner.
Alongside its blue-chip catalogue, EMI’s strong performance in 2010 has made it an increasingly attractive proposition for bidders. So far this quarter it has increased year-on-year artist albums market share in the UK from 12.0% to 14.2% on the back of such solid albums as Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and Robbie Williams’ greatest hits, which have both sold 400,000-plus copies in the UK. Add to those Tinie Tempah’s Disc-Overy, which is one of the biggest-selling debut albums of 2010 with 300,000-plus sales and Eliza Doolitle’s eponymous debut (250,000).
With such US successes as Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum, EMI’s year has been topped off with the 2m iTunes/Beatles downloads sold in the first week which have reinvigorated sales of such catalogue as the remastered Red and Blue.
AS and A-Level Media Studies
Monday, 20 December 2010
Thursday, 16 December 2010
DVD story in Media Guardian
Please read
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/29/dvd-industry-sales-slump-blu-ray?INTCMP=SRCH
Also - feature on Chris Anderson's Long tail theory on AS and A2 blog
AS Media HW
Due Jan 7th 2011
‘Are changes in production practices led more by audience demand or technological innovation?' Discuss in relation to a major record label (EMI) and a smaller/independent label.
Choose 3 artists from very different genres who are signed up to EMI.
Find out what music they perform, their audience, how they are marketed and how their product is typically consumed – plus any other pertinent information.
After Christmas you will complete your presentations on marketing, distribution and exchange/consumption for ACE, Clarence and the Clams and Unwilling Loners
Keep a keen ear and eye out for any major music industry stories – especially if they involve EMI. Please email me charper5nr4@nsix.org.uk with useful links and I will post them on the central blog for everyone to share.
Merry Christmas!
Mrs H
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/29/dvd-industry-sales-slump-blu-ray?INTCMP=SRCH
Also - feature on Chris Anderson's Long tail theory on AS and A2 blog
AS Media HW
Due Jan 7th 2011
‘Are changes in production practices led more by audience demand or technological innovation?' Discuss in relation to a major record label (EMI) and a smaller/independent label.
Choose 3 artists from very different genres who are signed up to EMI.
Find out what music they perform, their audience, how they are marketed and how their product is typically consumed – plus any other pertinent information.
After Christmas you will complete your presentations on marketing, distribution and exchange/consumption for ACE, Clarence and the Clams and Unwilling Loners
Keep a keen ear and eye out for any major music industry stories – especially if they involve EMI. Please email me charper5nr4@nsix.org.uk with useful links and I will post them on the central blog for everyone to share.
Merry Christmas!
Mrs H
Thursday, 9 December 2010
AS Foundation Portfolio Students
Well done to all the students who have completed their foundation portfolio.
I am extremely impressed with the hard work, dedication and commitment that the majority of you have put in.
You should be proud of yourselves.
Miss. Brown
I am extremely impressed with the hard work, dedication and commitment that the majority of you have put in.
You should be proud of yourselves.
Miss. Brown
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
A2 Group
You may already have found this! I don't think we can access it at school so you will have to look at it at home. You could copy the text and paste it into word.
http://tivo.virginmedia.com/public/how
MM
http://tivo.virginmedia.com/public/how
MM
Friday, 26 November 2010
AS Group -Story for your EMI notes
UK music publisher Chrysalis Group is being sold for £107.4m.
Chrysalis is being bought by German rival Bertelsmann Media Group (BMG) and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).
London-based Chrysalis controls the publishing rights to songs by artists including David Bowie and Michael Jackson.
Chrysalis, founded in 1969, used to own a record company of the same name before it was sold to EMI in 1991.
Chris Wright, Chrysalis' founder, said the deal marked "the end of one era and the start of another" for the firm.
BMG and KKR are buying Chrysalis through a joint venture.
They are paying 160 pence per Chrysalis share, 45.5% higher than the 110p closing price on 29 October, the last trading day before Chrysalis announced that it was in takeover talks.
Chrysalis shares were down 2% to 158.50 pence in Friday trading.
BMG chief executive Martwig Masuch said the deal represented "an important step forward" in his company's building of a "major, global music rights business".
Mr Wright added that he was proud of Chrysalis' "track record".
Chrysalis is being bought by German rival Bertelsmann Media Group (BMG) and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).
London-based Chrysalis controls the publishing rights to songs by artists including David Bowie and Michael Jackson.
Chrysalis, founded in 1969, used to own a record company of the same name before it was sold to EMI in 1991.
Chris Wright, Chrysalis' founder, said the deal marked "the end of one era and the start of another" for the firm.
BMG and KKR are buying Chrysalis through a joint venture.
They are paying 160 pence per Chrysalis share, 45.5% higher than the 110p closing price on 29 October, the last trading day before Chrysalis announced that it was in takeover talks.
Chrysalis shares were down 2% to 158.50 pence in Friday trading.
BMG chief executive Martwig Masuch said the deal represented "an important step forward" in his company's building of a "major, global music rights business".
Mr Wright added that he was proud of Chrysalis' "track record".
A2 Please watch this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00w8kxc/Click_20_11_2010/
Thanks to Cameron for spotting this one! If you know how to record it - please do!
MM
PS Lessons next week are for your Foundation and Advanced Portfolio work - register with me first.
Thanks to Cameron for spotting this one! If you know how to record it - please do!
MM
PS Lessons next week are for your Foundation and Advanced Portfolio work - register with me first.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Print Evaluation AS Foundation Portfolio
In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:
(2000 words)
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
(2000 words)
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
AS Students. Story to add to your EMI notes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/nov/16/beatles-apple-itunes-emi
A2 students . Please read and consider implications for 'Media in the Online Age'
Culture minister Ed Vaizey has backed a "two-speed" internet, letting service providers charge content makers and customers for "fast lane" access.
It paves the way for an end to "net neutrality" - with heavy bandwidth users like Google and the BBC likely to face a bill for the pipes they use.
Mr Vaizey said ISPs must be free to experiment with new charges to help pay for the expansion in internet services.
But critics warn the move could harm free speech and stifle innovation.
'Fast lane'
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are supposed to treat all web traffic equally - serving only as a one-size-fits-all pipe for whatever data is passing from content providers to end users.
But a debate has been raging around the world over how much they should be allowed to control the size of their pipes, and thus the internet speed that users get from the site.
In the US, President Barack Obama has backed net neutrality - treating all traffic equally - and regulators have threatened possible legal action against ISPs that block or restrict access to sites.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
In order for the internet to continue as the open, innovative force for good that it has been over the past 20 years it is essential that all elements continue to prosper”
Ed Vaizey
Culture minister
But some traffic management, where traffic from one source is favoured over another, is likely to be allowed, with a ruling due next year, Mr Vaizey suggests.
The EU has also backed traffic management but with greater transparency to ensure the internet remains "open" - something that will soon be enshrined in UK law.
Mr Vaizey argues that most ISPs already carried out traffic management "to ensure the smooth running of their networks" without any impact on competition or consumer rights.
In his speech, he argues that the continued quality of internet services in the UK is under threat due to the rapid expansion of mobile and wireless networks and the "massive investment" it needed.
As a result, ISPs had to be free to experiment with new ways of raising revenue - provided customers were clear about what they were buying.
He says: "We have got to continue to encourage the market to innovate and experiment with different business models and ways of providing consumers with what they want.
"This could include the evolution of a two-sided market where consumers and content providers could choose to pay for differing levels of quality of service."
He also suggests that content makers could be charged for the first time for the use of the ISP's networks - provided they too were clear about what they were getting.
"Content and application providers should be able to know exactly what level of service they are getting especially if they are paying for it," he says.
'Appalling'
He added that the government did not want to introduce new laws on top of those already being adopted from the EU to guarantee an "open" internet, arguing that light touch regulation was better.
He also argued that, that unlike in the US where some areas only had the choice of one service provider, there was enough rivalry between providers to ensure consumers' rights were protected.
"The essential competition we enjoy in Europe and especially in the UK, will be an essential safeguard against unfair discrimination," he argues.
He said ISPs must also guarantee that net users can continue to access any legal website or content.
"In order for the internet to continue as the open, innovative force for good that it has been over the past 20 years it is essential that all elements continue to prosper.
"This means ensuring that content providers and applications have open access to consumers and vice versa.
"But it also means allowing ISPs and networks to innovate and experiment with new ways of delivering what consumers want so we can ensure continued investment in the infrastructure that delivers the content and applications we all use."
But Jim Killock, of net freedom campaigners the Open Rights Group, said the proposals could have "appalling" consequences for free speech and commercial innovation.
"Ed Vaizey is wrong to assume that there is no problem if BT or Virgin restrict people's internet access for their commercial advantage. Removing 'net neutrality' will reduce innovation and reduce people's ability to exercise their freedom of speech.
"This is why ORG will campaign against any market abuse, should Ed Vaizey allow it to happen."
'Peak times'
But the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) welcomed what it called Mr Vaizey's "lightly-regulated, market-based approach" towards traffic management, adding that ISPs should be "open and transparent" to boost confidence in the industry.
An ISPA spokesman said: "This approach will reassure those who are investing in networks and coming up with new, innovative online business models.
"A number of ISPA members already provide consumers with clear information on traffic management practices and we expect to see this extended.
"ISPs use traffic management techniques so that they are able to effectively and efficiently run and manage their networks for the benefits of all users.
"This enables ISPs to prioritise time-sensitive applications, such as VoIP and online gaming, at peak times."
It paves the way for an end to "net neutrality" - with heavy bandwidth users like Google and the BBC likely to face a bill for the pipes they use.
Mr Vaizey said ISPs must be free to experiment with new charges to help pay for the expansion in internet services.
But critics warn the move could harm free speech and stifle innovation.
'Fast lane'
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are supposed to treat all web traffic equally - serving only as a one-size-fits-all pipe for whatever data is passing from content providers to end users.
But a debate has been raging around the world over how much they should be allowed to control the size of their pipes, and thus the internet speed that users get from the site.
In the US, President Barack Obama has backed net neutrality - treating all traffic equally - and regulators have threatened possible legal action against ISPs that block or restrict access to sites.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
In order for the internet to continue as the open, innovative force for good that it has been over the past 20 years it is essential that all elements continue to prosper”
Ed Vaizey
Culture minister
But some traffic management, where traffic from one source is favoured over another, is likely to be allowed, with a ruling due next year, Mr Vaizey suggests.
The EU has also backed traffic management but with greater transparency to ensure the internet remains "open" - something that will soon be enshrined in UK law.
Mr Vaizey argues that most ISPs already carried out traffic management "to ensure the smooth running of their networks" without any impact on competition or consumer rights.
In his speech, he argues that the continued quality of internet services in the UK is under threat due to the rapid expansion of mobile and wireless networks and the "massive investment" it needed.
As a result, ISPs had to be free to experiment with new ways of raising revenue - provided customers were clear about what they were buying.
He says: "We have got to continue to encourage the market to innovate and experiment with different business models and ways of providing consumers with what they want.
"This could include the evolution of a two-sided market where consumers and content providers could choose to pay for differing levels of quality of service."
He also suggests that content makers could be charged for the first time for the use of the ISP's networks - provided they too were clear about what they were getting.
"Content and application providers should be able to know exactly what level of service they are getting especially if they are paying for it," he says.
'Appalling'
He added that the government did not want to introduce new laws on top of those already being adopted from the EU to guarantee an "open" internet, arguing that light touch regulation was better.
He also argued that, that unlike in the US where some areas only had the choice of one service provider, there was enough rivalry between providers to ensure consumers' rights were protected.
"The essential competition we enjoy in Europe and especially in the UK, will be an essential safeguard against unfair discrimination," he argues.
He said ISPs must also guarantee that net users can continue to access any legal website or content.
"In order for the internet to continue as the open, innovative force for good that it has been over the past 20 years it is essential that all elements continue to prosper.
"This means ensuring that content providers and applications have open access to consumers and vice versa.
"But it also means allowing ISPs and networks to innovate and experiment with new ways of delivering what consumers want so we can ensure continued investment in the infrastructure that delivers the content and applications we all use."
But Jim Killock, of net freedom campaigners the Open Rights Group, said the proposals could have "appalling" consequences for free speech and commercial innovation.
"Ed Vaizey is wrong to assume that there is no problem if BT or Virgin restrict people's internet access for their commercial advantage. Removing 'net neutrality' will reduce innovation and reduce people's ability to exercise their freedom of speech.
"This is why ORG will campaign against any market abuse, should Ed Vaizey allow it to happen."
'Peak times'
But the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) welcomed what it called Mr Vaizey's "lightly-regulated, market-based approach" towards traffic management, adding that ISPs should be "open and transparent" to boost confidence in the industry.
An ISPA spokesman said: "This approach will reassure those who are investing in networks and coming up with new, innovative online business models.
"A number of ISPA members already provide consumers with clear information on traffic management practices and we expect to see this extended.
"ISPs use traffic management techniques so that they are able to effectively and efficiently run and manage their networks for the benefits of all users.
"This enables ISPs to prioritise time-sensitive applications, such as VoIP and online gaming, at peak times."
Friday, 12 November 2010
Cinema and Nandos
Becca - you panicked me! The sixth form parents' evening is not until the following week! We can all go out!
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Media Outing
Hello all
In A2 we fancy a jolly good evening out to see the Social Newtworker at the majestic.. Justin Timberlake mmmmmmmmmmm
so the important information..
DATE: THURSDAY 18TH NOVEMBER
TIME: FILM STARTS @ 4.30
PRICE:Adults £6.00 OR with a student card £5.50
Followed by a cheeky NANDOS!!
hope to see all your beautiful faces !!
From the legends in A2 ;)
In A2 we fancy a jolly good evening out to see the Social Newtworker at the majestic.. Justin Timberlake mmmmmmmmmmm
so the important information..
DATE: THURSDAY 18TH NOVEMBER
TIME: FILM STARTS @ 4.30
PRICE:Adults £6.00 OR with a student card £5.50
Followed by a cheeky NANDOS!!
hope to see all your beautiful faces !!
From the legends in A2 ;)
Thursday, 4 November 2010
AS GROUP - FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO
Please can you ensure that all research and planning is now complete and on your blogs.
I only want to see work on the construction of your music magazine in lesson please.
Completion of planning and research MUST now be done in your OWN time.
Some of you are producing excellent work on your front covers, contents page and DPS! Well done!! Keep it up!
Miss Brown.
I only want to see work on the construction of your music magazine in lesson please.
Completion of planning and research MUST now be done in your OWN time.
Some of you are producing excellent work on your front covers, contents page and DPS! Well done!! Keep it up!
Miss Brown.
Saturday, 30 October 2010
News Corp story
Why News Corp really pulled the plug on Project Alesia
Could hostility from potential publishing partners, up in arms over Murdoch's proposed takeover of BSkyB, be the real reason News Corp ditched Project Alesia just days before the digital venture was due to go live?
The disbanded Project Alesia would have aggregated News Corp and third-party content across online, mobile and iPads
News Corporation has been forced to abandon plans for its eagerly anticipated digital news platform, the company’s Project Alesia initiative, citing runaway costs.
As revealed this morning (21 October), bean-counters at Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate have decided to pull the plug on the year-long activity, just as it was expected to be finalised.
The decision is understood to be absolute. This is not a delay, or grand-standing or being placed on hold; this is an entire, dedicated News Corp UK operation being dismantled just days before a product was due to go to market.
So what’s going on at the media conglomerate?
£20m but still no cigar?
The unofficial line from News Corp is that after 12 months of development and at an estimated cost of £20m, those with control of the purse-strings decided the stakes for the news aggregation service are just too high, and it’s simply too big a gamble.
Can this really be true? Can the project’s failure be attributed to a last-minute (after 12 months of development) realisation about the full costs involved? Anyone who knows anything about News Corp’s approach to its finances would be surprised at such an oversight.
Apparently, more than 100 people who hived away in a Gray’s Inn Road office for the best part of a year were only told of their fate last Friday (15 October). Permanent staff are now in consultation, while the specialists working on contracts (about 80 workers) have been unceremoniously disbanded.
The UK project promised to make content from News Corp’s core print titles available across all digital platforms, including the iPad and Google’s Android operating system. It formed part of a bigger US drive, led by News Corp’s chief digital officer Jonathan Miller.
Separate commercial leads were being developed and pursued in the US and UK, but both operations are now understood to have been mothballed. News of the digital failure is just the latest twist in what is already a very tangled and fascinating affair.
Where next for News Corp?
As things stand, News Corp is believed to have a very real, saleable asset that could yet attract VC backing or other joint venture possibilities.
Apparently, protracted negotiations have already been held with most major UK magazine and newspaper publishers, with one well-placed source confident that "all major titles would have come on board within six months of launch, with the exception of The Guardian".
It’s worth noting here that GNM’s Tim Brooks was the first newspaper leader to go on record and warn against a united News Corp/BSkyB when Media Week interviewed him in July.
Sources close to WPP’s media-buying powerhouse GroupM, which had been exclusively tasked to find launch advertisers for the new platform, express reservations about how many publishers had committed to the project.
"Every press director I’ve talked to outside NI has denied being involved in the project, so it was always very unclear who the amalgamation of publishers would be," said one.
"I only ever gleaned that NatMag was keen to be involved; apart from that it was pure speculation," said another.
Nonetheless, the project certainly attracted interest from clients, but a list of known publishing partners would have provided a welcome boost for the launch.
Hostile potential bedfellows
Another pertinent development is the fact that, since last week, many players in the British media industry have joined forces against Murdoch’s attempts to takeover BSkyB in an open letter to business secretary Vince Cable.
Fearful of the combined control of a fully-aligned News Corp/Sky offering, Murdoch’s digital crusaders have performed a small miracle and prompted the uniting of the Guardian, the Daily Mirror, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail. This is no mean feat - just ask the Newspaper Publishers Association.
Murdoch's potential multimedia empire awaiting regulatory approval includes The Sun, the News of the World, The Times, the Sunday Times, BSkyB and book publisher HarperCollins, and it has the rival media organisations clamouring about "serious and far-reaching consequences for media plurality".
The petition’s united front at such a delicate stage of proceedings has led to an unprecedented backlash from Murdoch’s stable that has spilled out into Sky News reports, a leader column in The Times and a comment piece in The Sun.
Hackles have been well and truly raised by the very publishers News Corp was hoping to enlist in the new project. Is it possible to get into bed with the same people who rail against you?
News Corp sources are adamant the decision not to take the product to market is purely related to concerns over running costs, estimated at about $200m over the next few years. But with the initial outlay for technical development already paid, would News Corp beancounters really pull the plug now?
Realistic economies of scale?
The biggest change since the project began 12 months ago - as far as News Corp’s finances are concerned - is the company’s move to take full control of BSkyB at a cost of more than £7.8bn. That sort of money is guaranteed to eat into anyone’s cash reserves.
The Project Alesia deal on the table would have seen individual publishers paid every time a subscriber came on board, meaning costs would be high until critical mass was reached.
The plan was to charge £9.99 per month for unlimited access to the bundled content, and projected forecasts were to achieve one million subscribers by the end of year one.
News Corp was funding the physical platform, described by some as "light years" ahead of anything else currently available, but sources strongly deny there was ever any interest in asserting editorial control over third-party content.
By way of comparison, News International has just launched a joint offer for access to the Times and Sunday Times sites, at a cost of just £1 for 30 days. But as yet, there is still no official statement on the impact these paywalls are having on the business.
The autopsy for the News Corp platform that never was has only just begun.
But Media Week believes that when faced with an increasingly hostile circle of potential publishing partners, uncertain advertising support and an expensive subscription drive, securing the proven assets of BSkyB became a far more attractive priority.
Could hostility from potential publishing partners, up in arms over Murdoch's proposed takeover of BSkyB, be the real reason News Corp ditched Project Alesia just days before the digital venture was due to go live?
The disbanded Project Alesia would have aggregated News Corp and third-party content across online, mobile and iPads
News Corporation has been forced to abandon plans for its eagerly anticipated digital news platform, the company’s Project Alesia initiative, citing runaway costs.
As revealed this morning (21 October), bean-counters at Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate have decided to pull the plug on the year-long activity, just as it was expected to be finalised.
The decision is understood to be absolute. This is not a delay, or grand-standing or being placed on hold; this is an entire, dedicated News Corp UK operation being dismantled just days before a product was due to go to market.
So what’s going on at the media conglomerate?
£20m but still no cigar?
The unofficial line from News Corp is that after 12 months of development and at an estimated cost of £20m, those with control of the purse-strings decided the stakes for the news aggregation service are just too high, and it’s simply too big a gamble.
Can this really be true? Can the project’s failure be attributed to a last-minute (after 12 months of development) realisation about the full costs involved? Anyone who knows anything about News Corp’s approach to its finances would be surprised at such an oversight.
Apparently, more than 100 people who hived away in a Gray’s Inn Road office for the best part of a year were only told of their fate last Friday (15 October). Permanent staff are now in consultation, while the specialists working on contracts (about 80 workers) have been unceremoniously disbanded.
The UK project promised to make content from News Corp’s core print titles available across all digital platforms, including the iPad and Google’s Android operating system. It formed part of a bigger US drive, led by News Corp’s chief digital officer Jonathan Miller.
Separate commercial leads were being developed and pursued in the US and UK, but both operations are now understood to have been mothballed. News of the digital failure is just the latest twist in what is already a very tangled and fascinating affair.
Where next for News Corp?
As things stand, News Corp is believed to have a very real, saleable asset that could yet attract VC backing or other joint venture possibilities.
Apparently, protracted negotiations have already been held with most major UK magazine and newspaper publishers, with one well-placed source confident that "all major titles would have come on board within six months of launch, with the exception of The Guardian".
It’s worth noting here that GNM’s Tim Brooks was the first newspaper leader to go on record and warn against a united News Corp/BSkyB when Media Week interviewed him in July.
Sources close to WPP’s media-buying powerhouse GroupM, which had been exclusively tasked to find launch advertisers for the new platform, express reservations about how many publishers had committed to the project.
"Every press director I’ve talked to outside NI has denied being involved in the project, so it was always very unclear who the amalgamation of publishers would be," said one.
"I only ever gleaned that NatMag was keen to be involved; apart from that it was pure speculation," said another.
Nonetheless, the project certainly attracted interest from clients, but a list of known publishing partners would have provided a welcome boost for the launch.
Hostile potential bedfellows
Another pertinent development is the fact that, since last week, many players in the British media industry have joined forces against Murdoch’s attempts to takeover BSkyB in an open letter to business secretary Vince Cable.
Fearful of the combined control of a fully-aligned News Corp/Sky offering, Murdoch’s digital crusaders have performed a small miracle and prompted the uniting of the Guardian, the Daily Mirror, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail. This is no mean feat - just ask the Newspaper Publishers Association.
Murdoch's potential multimedia empire awaiting regulatory approval includes The Sun, the News of the World, The Times, the Sunday Times, BSkyB and book publisher HarperCollins, and it has the rival media organisations clamouring about "serious and far-reaching consequences for media plurality".
The petition’s united front at such a delicate stage of proceedings has led to an unprecedented backlash from Murdoch’s stable that has spilled out into Sky News reports, a leader column in The Times and a comment piece in The Sun.
Hackles have been well and truly raised by the very publishers News Corp was hoping to enlist in the new project. Is it possible to get into bed with the same people who rail against you?
News Corp sources are adamant the decision not to take the product to market is purely related to concerns over running costs, estimated at about $200m over the next few years. But with the initial outlay for technical development already paid, would News Corp beancounters really pull the plug now?
Realistic economies of scale?
The biggest change since the project began 12 months ago - as far as News Corp’s finances are concerned - is the company’s move to take full control of BSkyB at a cost of more than £7.8bn. That sort of money is guaranteed to eat into anyone’s cash reserves.
The Project Alesia deal on the table would have seen individual publishers paid every time a subscriber came on board, meaning costs would be high until critical mass was reached.
The plan was to charge £9.99 per month for unlimited access to the bundled content, and projected forecasts were to achieve one million subscribers by the end of year one.
News Corp was funding the physical platform, described by some as "light years" ahead of anything else currently available, but sources strongly deny there was ever any interest in asserting editorial control over third-party content.
By way of comparison, News International has just launched a joint offer for access to the Times and Sunday Times sites, at a cost of just £1 for 30 days. But as yet, there is still no official statement on the impact these paywalls are having on the business.
The autopsy for the News Corp platform that never was has only just begun.
But Media Week believes that when faced with an increasingly hostile circle of potential publishing partners, uncertain advertising support and an expensive subscription drive, securing the proven assets of BSkyB became a far more attractive priority.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
A2 Myspace story link
Please take a look at this story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/28/myspace-relaunch-neworking-sites
M M
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/28/myspace-relaunch-neworking-sites
M M
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
A2 group, New newspaper launch
Please take a break from your hw to read some comments on today's launch of 'i'. You can incorporate them in your essay. I have heard some interesting comments re audience behaviour.
Mrs H
Mrs H
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Mrs Harper's A2 group -essay practice
Over half term please could you write an essay on the following:- 'What threats are there to the future of the newspaper industry and what are the various groups doing to ensure the continued success of their business.' Use a mixture of your opinion and specific evidence from your research. Remember to use lots of appropriate media terminology and references to theories. Look at how the marks are allocated. Have fun!
**IMPORTANT YR 12** PLEASE READ
Hi Year 12,
The final deadline for your foundation portfolio is Monday 6th December 2010. Please remember that I am marking your planning and research work over October half term and if you have not uploaded your work, I will be marking whatever work is there, so don't forget this deadline.
Remember also that if you fail the portfolio then you will fail the course as it is worth 50% of the final grade!
If you have any queries, please see either Miss Brown or Mrs Harper immediately.
The final deadline for your foundation portfolio is Monday 6th December 2010. Please remember that I am marking your planning and research work over October half term and if you have not uploaded your work, I will be marking whatever work is there, so don't forget this deadline.
Remember also that if you fail the portfolio then you will fail the course as it is worth 50% of the final grade!
If you have any queries, please see either Miss Brown or Mrs Harper immediately.
Monday, 18 October 2010
FAO Mrs Harper's A2 group
Interesting stories in the news about the threat from virus attacks. Would be useful to get some examples for your notes.
Monday, 27 September 2010
Rupert Murdoch
A feature on our friend Rupie on 'The One Show' tonight! They must have been listening to our Media Studies lessons! Will try to get it on iplayer in class.
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Sunday, 12 September 2010
A2 students -Please read this!
Please read this with reference to your Murdoch research. I suggest you create a media folder and copy and paste these sorts of stories with some of your own comments.
Media Mum
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
AS 2010-2011
Great start - all of you who have posted media stories this summer. I am looking forward to our lessons. Bring a notebook with you to class - a spiro bound reporters' style is fine. You will also find a memory stick useful for when you are doing presentations to the group.
Media Mum
Media Mum
Monday, 28 June 2010
New students
Congratulations! If you are reading this you have successfully found your way to our blog. I shall follow your posts; I suggest you become followers of each other's blogs. Remember though, this is your media studies work blog - not msm or facebook. No inappropriate postings or comments.
Media Mum
Media Mum
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)