The Obama Administration record on supporting US Made Music.ain't so Good.

Now that the Obama Administration has come to an end I wanted to do a bit of a rap-up post about his time as of running the economy and being the commander in chief and top spokesperson for US Made Music and figured that just before the April 4th Trade Data is released we can catch everyone up on where US Made Music stands in the business world and how Obama's 8 years in office impacted the entertainment in the US;  Specifically, Prerecorded Compact Disc (Except Software), Tape, and Record Reproducing: which is category 334612.

And, it's easy to see that imports are larger than Exports.

January 2017
Trade in Goods
and Services

Deficit: $48.5 Billion

Exports: $192.1 Billion

Imports: $240.6 Billion

Next release: April 4, 2017

Complete Release Schedule

Just so we're all on the same page: 334612  is the same "rock and roll" that is coming into the US as an Import and not being exported. Moreover, this category used to be an industry leading sector driving the US economy and the dissemination of US culture abroad.  Remember the phrase Cultural Diplomacy,   I've been the one asking Obama's  Secretary of Commerce, numerous Under Secretary's  plus leading figures at the State Departhemet.

I've taken the newest trade date for NAICS334612 and posted it as a Google Sheet for anyone to take a look without having to jump through all the hoops and dig through all the data.   HERE

If  we don't export our music how's the US doing this Cultural Diplomacy? 

Worst of all is the Obama Administration knew that we needed to do something about spurring US Made Music that it helped to pass the Music Act in 2012 that set aside money in the Commerce Department to -- Develop, Manufacture, and export it and I've never met someone that even knew it existed or that it's expiring.

Moreover! How is it possible, I love to ask, that we have some of the biggest recording artists in the world; Yet, the USA is negative in it's export of music made in the USA?   Want to Learn more about how we got here and what to do by the above link or visit TheMajorsSuck.com and the question I have to ask is why is this subject so under reported and hard to find data about something as important as US Made Music?  

Prerecorded Compact Disc (Except Software), Tape, and Record Reproducing: 2002

As Micheal E. Porter eloquently pointed out in “The Competitive Advantage of Nations,” that a nation's prosperity is created and not inherited, states must recognize that a nation's competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industries to innovate and upgrade.’

We have failed to heed these words and worse is that -- we are entertaining our economy to death!   Nelson Jacobsen, USMADEMUSIC.ORG 

Thanking Lil Flip, for his show during SXSW 

Ps Why we need the US Music Act is the next blog and I'll wait for the April Trade Data.

Merry Holidays for those of you with Physical Releases

So here's the years top numbers total units sold

BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Album(000)				YTD
Total:				247,143
Digital:				102,982

A bit of simple math shows that of the majority sold it wasn't digital it was ????? Physical Goods at 14,416,1000 items sold (often in Brick and mortar stores) with a lot of Amazon, which is opening it's 1st  music store in NYC. 

I will say that we have one more week left and Digital Music can really turn it around and make all those tech founders rich........ Cuz it sure ain't doing anything for the artists. 

For any city planners that have happened to have stumbled upon this blog if the plan for you cities music doesn't include getting it made physically, closer to home the better, and distributed out of the boundaries of your wonderful town then you're missing the biggest opportunity and IMHO the current failing of our economy -- We're entertaining our economy to death. 

In the words of Jeffery Immelt, CEO General Electric "The United Sates should have 3 priorities; Become a country that is good at manufacturing and exports"* does the 3rd matter?

Detroit Economic Club June, 2nd 2009. 

Now in order to export it you have to make it physical and that means CDs, Cassettes, Vinyl records the old fashion stuff, that was going to go away.  Well it didn't and that really a good thing

So this Holiday I hope the you BuyIndieSupportLocals.org and get ready for more of this in 2015 cuz it's the newest fad and getting a City Music Deal will be part of it.

Physical music is almost 70% of sales last week and it's #WhatWorks

Not sure how many times I have to keep posting this information; However, it seems that way to many people still think that digital music is the dominate way music is consumed and yet each week over the last several months the numbers show that the total opposite is happening.   I'm reminded of meeting the head of Start Up America, Scott Case, at a DC Tech Cocktail event and after talking to him about the music business he bluntly stated that he and Startup American would be working with any Carbon based business.

Now here we are about a year later and the bottom is digital is finding new lows and physical is growing.  And, I have to ask what and where would the US Economy be today and startups in general if we didn't have such myopic ideas about one of American most important industries, US Made Music?


How much longer can America so called leaders ignore something simply based up their personal taste, I say this because all too often my friends say I don't buy music and ergo the rest of the world must be the same - even when direct evidence is presented to them (i.e.  every Starbucks in the USA has CD's right next the cash register or the fact that the largest manufacture of CD's last year made more CD's than any other prior year.

If we're going to try to figure out what works we'll need to listen to someone that actually knows what they are talking about - Right!