Outside the Box 9 – A Beyond-Music

Outside The Box
A beyond-music
entertainment trends review
By Juliana Koranteng, Founder / Editor,
MediaTainment Finance
(UK)
Issue 9 – July 2014
Table of content
A round-up of developments and disruptions in
entertainment + media
Television
Film
Tech
Ads & Marketing
Books & Print
Games
Copyright
Feature Focus – Value of French repertoire
A round-up of developments
and disruptions in
entertainment + media
Television News
YouTube network Fullscreen to invest $10m in original content
Fullscreen, one of YouTube’s largest multichannel networks (MCN) with more than 3 billion monthly views, has
pledged to spend US$10m investing in original video content. The announcement, made in June, comes as
traditional legacy media conglomerates, including Walt Disney Company and Time Warner, as well as major
advertisers, invest in MCNs (MTF Issue No.20). Investors have been approaching Fullscreen, which features
shows starring YouTube celebrities like Shane Dawson and Grace Helbig. Future plans include offering
subscription-funded content.
Viacom grabs 10% of YouTube MCN Defy Media
Viacom, the US entertainment giant that owns the MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and Paramount Pictures, has
snapped up 10% of YouTube multichannel network Defy Media. In return, Defy Media will acquire Viacom’s videogames and digital-games websites that include Addicting Games and Shockwave. Defy Media was formed last year
when youth-targeted digital-entertainment companies Alloy Digital and Break Media merged. Defy Media’s audience
currently compromises 37 million YouTube subscribers and 60 million active monthly users. Defy Media’s investors
include film producer Lionsgate Entertainment, digital-media investor Zelnick Media and venture-capital firm ABS
Capital Partners.
Atlantique Productions/Keshet develop major new Ron Leshem drama
Award-winning Israeli TV executive, journalist and author Ron Leshem has clinched a deal that sees his latest
work, Crater Lake, being developed into a new drama series. It is being created by French group Atlantique
Productions and the international arm of Israel’s Keshet Media Group. The eight-part, 52-minute series is described
as a “life-affirming show… about death”. Leshem’s portfolio of successes includes an Oscar nomination for
Beaufort, which he co-wrote; and Israel’s top literary prize Sapir for the original book. US network NBC is to remake
MICE/The Gordin Cell, the spy thriller he created.
Film News
MGM clinches $300m loan for future expansion
Rumours of an IPO for stock-exchange listing or a planned acquisition is said to have triggered the need for a
US$300m “second-lien loan” by MGM Studios in Hollywood. According to the Hollywood Reporter, investment banks
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Securities arranged the six-year loan, at a 5.125% interest rate. But it is allegedly
US$100m more than was originally planned. The move has also surprised industry observers who note that MGM has
no debts but has access to US$600m in credit.
New Japanese/Thailand joint venture target SE Asia animation
Japanese terrestrial broadcaster Nippon Television Network Corporation, film production group Nikkatsu and
Thailand’s biggest film-and-media conglomerate Kantana Group have formed an animation-production and services
joint venture called Kantana Japan Corporation. In addition to providing computer-graphics and other post-production
services to third-party animation producers in south-east Asia (including Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam), the new
company will pursue opportunities to co-produce animation films. The move was triggered by Kantana’s ambitions to
expand into Japan, while Nippon TV and Nikkatsu seek entry into south-east Asia’s animation sector.
James Bond producers filming US security whistleblower Snowden
Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, makers of the James Bond movies, have been nabbed to produce the film
about Edward Snowden, the US National Security Agency’s whistleblower. Sony Pictures Entertainment clinched the
film rights. It is based on the book No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the US Surveillance State by
journalist Glenn Greenwald. The movie is faced with the challenge of depicting an ongoing real-life tale as Snowden is
stuck in Moscow, a fugitive from US prosecutors.
Tech News
Google scheduled to tune viewers into Android TV later this year
Google is to launch Android TV, its Internet-TV platform, this autumn. It appears to be an enhanced version of
connected-TV platform Google TV, which came out in 2010 but never gained much traction. Android TV will
similarly enable Internet-delivered content to be accessible on TV screens. In-built features include Google’s
popular Chromecast digital player for streaming content. Users can download multi-player games from the Google
Play app store. Additionally, it can be remotely activated by voice or Android Wear products such as smart watches.
Sony and Sharp are making their next-generation TV sets Android-TV compatible.
Facebook buys LiveRail to hike ad-tech capabilitie
Facebook, the acquisition-hungry social-media behemoth, has bought LiveRail, the online ad-exchange
platform, for a reported US$400m-plus. LiveRail’s programmatic platform automates the most relevant ads served
on digital publishers’ websites and apps. Equally, it helps Internet advertisers find the best online-video inventory to
buy. With more than 7 billion ads served monthly, LiveRail is one of the world’s biggest online-video advertising
platforms. Among the online sites featuring LiveRail-served ads are US TV network ABC, Major League Baseball
and video-sharing platform Dailymotion.
Chernin Group/AT&T JV to spend $500m on streaming TV
The Chernin Group, the media-and-entertainment investment venture founded by former News Corp
president/COO Peter Chernin, has formed a partnership with US telecoms group AT&T to spend more than
US$500m in new over-the-top TV platforms. They will be used to serve online-video entertainment and media to
subscribers, including AT&T customers. As part of the deal, Chernin Group will include the majority stake it holds in
Crunchyroll, the anime subscription-funded video-on-demand service, to the investment.
Ads & Marketing News
World Cup to boost 2014 global ad spend
The FIFA 2014 World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil will accelerate growth rate for global advertising spend
this year, according to ZenithOptimedia. In its recent Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report, the global media
agency predicts ad spend worldwide will grow 5.4% in 2014. This compares to 3.9% in 2013. And global economic
recovery is expected to boost growth at a 5.7% rate next year, followed by a healthy 6.1% in 2016. While
advertisers’ expenditure in the Eurozone region is forecast to grow steadily, a new blot on the global landscape will
be in Ukraine. The current crisis is expected to push down growth rate by 32.5% this year.
Google beats Apple to No.1 in brands-value ranking
Google has usurped Apple to the throne of the world’s most valuable brand in 2014, says The BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Brands report by Millward Brown Optimor. Google’s brand value soared 40% from last year to
US$159bn thanks to a string of innovative developments in digital mapping, social media, mobile payment and
wearable tech. The study felt Apple, which was No.1 three years in a row, has not been inventive enough, and its
brand value collapsed 20% to US$148bn. In descending order, IBM was third, followed by Microsoft, and
McDonald’s.
Branded-entertainment social network Talenthouse nabs $10m in funds
Talenthouse, the international social-media network that invites creative artists to create and share branded
entertainment, has amassed US$10m in new investment. The Series C round was led by Starwatch, the musicand-entertainment division of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, the German commercial TV broadcaster. Other new
investors include Hollywood actor Gerard Butler, and former Eurythmics Dave Stewart via his investment vehicle
First Artist Bank. Talenthouse, whose members have produced entertainment content for brands like Coca-Cola,
Volkwagen, Samsung and Spotify and worked with celebrities, such as Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga, has
more than 3 million registered artists on its network.
Books & Print News
Time Warner reportedly bidding $1bn for VICE Media
Time Warner, the US-based multinational media and entertainment conglomerate, is reported to be offering
US$1bn for a substantial stake in VICE Media. VICE began 20 years ago as a print magazine in Canada. The
controversial lifestyle monthly with a circulation of 1.2 million still forms the core of a business, which now includes
original online-TV content, a record label, film production, a creative-marketing agency and book publishing. Current
shareholders include 21st Century Fox (5%) and WPP Group (less than 20%).
UK supermarket chain presents new kids-book prize
UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has launched Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards, its first book prize. The
nine shortlisted titles will be unveiled in October. The company already publishes children’s books. This awards
news came just before Sainsbury’s unveiled its first autobiographical series. Called Ordinary People, Extraordinary
Lives, it is an own-label series of books about individuals who have overcome impossible odds. They will be printed
via Little, Brown’s Constable & Robinson imprint. Sainsbury’s also operates an online store selling e-books, music
and movies.
Authors urge complaints against Amazon.com
A group of famous authors, including thriller writer John Grisham and British novelist Lee Child, are urging
readers to complain to Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos about what appears to be the online bookstore’s deliberate
delayed shipment of purchased books. The move comes right bang in the middle of a dispute between Amazon and
the authors’ publisher Hachette. The latter alleges Amazon is deliberately delaying the delivery of books by weeks,
instead of the standard two days, unless Hachette agrees to new unfavourable terms and conditions.
Games News
Vivendi raises funds from selling more Activision shares
Vivendi, the French multinational media and entertainment group, has sold almost 50% of its remaining 12%
stake in Activision, the US-based video-games publishing giant. The move sees Vivendi earning a reported
US$850m for selling 5.8% of Activision via book building, the process used to determine a company’s valuation for
stock-exchange flotation. The sale follows the 61% stake Vivendi sold for US$8.2bn in 2013 to focus on its music
and TV businesses. The French company has the option to sell its remaining 6.2% share in January 2015.
Moshi Monsters’ parents to get their own Mind Candy game
Mind Candy is going after the grown-ups. The tech start-up is famous for creating an international entertainment
empire thanks to the online Moshi-Monsters games played by 80 million registered kids. It has now launched
Moshling Rescue aimed at the kids’ parents. The free-to-play “match 3” iOS and Facebook app game, which has
been compared to King.com’s phenomenally successful Candy Crush Saga, is also Mind Candy’s first game aimed
specifically at North America. Once downloaded, players can pay cash to play at higher levels.
Gears of War creator Bleszinski is boss of new games studio
Video-games celebrity Cliff Bleszinski has launched Boss Key Productions, a new US video-games studio. The
enterprise’s launch was unveiled as Bleszinski fans noted the new business had been registered in North Carolina
and the US Patent and Trademark Office. Boss Key is expected to focus on online and downloadable interactive
games. The source of Bleszinski’s funding is said to include his earnings from the US$330m China-based Tencent
Holdings invested for a 40% stake in Epic Games. He is famous for developing and designing the Unreal and the
Gears of War franchises while at Epic Games.
Copyright News
US Supreme Court decrees maverick cloud-TV service Aereo illegal
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the country’s terrestrial-TV broadcasters in their copyright-theft
dispute against Aereo. Using technology to offer access to broadcast-TV channels via miniature antennae stored
in the ‘cloud’, Aereo gave multi-platform viewers access to the ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks for only US$8 a
month. The networks argued Aereo was effectively a cable-TV operator allowing viewers to watch streaming
programmes live and record for later viewing; so it had to pay retransmission fees. Otherwise, it was stealing their
networks’ content.
MOG founder sues the newly Apple-owned Beats Electronics
David Hyman is seeking US$20m-plus in damages from Beats Electronics, which is being acquired by tech
conglomerate Apple for US$3bn. Beat Electronics includes the fledgling but acclaimed US music-streaming
service Beats Music. It was launched after Beats Electronics, co-founded by music producer Dr Dre and industry
executive Jimmy Iovine, took over Hyman’s groundbreaking MOG and hired him in 2012. Hyman now alleges that
he lost a potential equity share (worth an estimated US$80m) due to him after he was constructively dismissed.
CISAC/BMAT form pact to improve ID for music performance
CISAC, the royalties-collection societies’ global umbrella organisation, has partnered with Spanish technology
company BMAT to enhance the identification of music tracks wherever they are played. CISAC’s ISWC coding will
be integrated into BMAT’s Vericast, a system used to identify music on 3,000-plus radio and TV stations in more
than 50 countries. The agreement comes at a time when digital-music services need accurate metadata (detailed
information about each recording and composition) to ensure rights owners receive the royalties due.
Feature Focus – Value of
French repertoire
Feature Focus – Value of French repertoire
To quote the title of a now largely-forgotten London West
End stage musical, The French Have A Song For It, writes
music-industry consultant Chris White. And there can surely
be no disputing that some of the most-popular and bestloved English-language hit recordings of the last half century
have started their life as Les Chansons Francaises, a fact of
musical life not always recognised by an unsuspecting
general public. My Way, Let It Be Me, What Now My Love
and Charles Aznavour’s chart-topping She are just four of the
French songs that have broken down international musical
barriers, albeit with anglicised lyrics and new titles.
The iconic Charles Aznavour’s sell-out concert at London’s
Royal Albert Hall on 1 June 2014, one of the celebrations
surrounding his 90th birthday, brought back into focus the
importance of French music within the international music
industry. No slouch at writing songs, he is responsible for
composing several hundred titles during a career that has
spanned over 60 years. Aznavour’s international hits include
She, (with English lyrics by former Daily Mail show business
journalist/theatre critic Herbert Kretzmer), which reached
No.1 in the UK in 1974 and gave him the accolade of being
the first French performer to top the British charts. The song
was later successfully revived by Elvis Costello and featured
in the soundtrack of the smash-hit movie Notting Hill. Other
Aznavour songs with appeal that has crossed international
boundaries include (Dance In) The Old Fashioned Way, and
Yesterday When I Was Young (Hier Encore), the latter
covered a diversity of artists including Barbra Streisand,
Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell and Dusty Springfield.
Arguably the most successful French erformer/songwriter,
however, in terms of international hits, must be Aznavour’s
contemporary, the former Francois Silly, who is better
known in the world of popular music as Gilbert Becaud.
Originally a musical protégé and (rumoured) lover of the
legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf, Becaud’s first
international hit song came with The Day The Rains Came
(Le Jour Ou La Pluie Viendra), a million-seller for
American singer Jane Morgan in 1959.
Better remembered, however, is What Now My Love (Et
Maintenant), with English lyrics supplied by Carl Sigman. It
was originally a 1962 hit for the ultimate singing diva
(Dame) Shirley Bassey, and subsequently recorded by a
multitude of legendary artists including Judy Garland, Elvis
Presley, Sonny & Cher, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams,
Barbra Streisand, Bobby Darin and Herb Alpert.
Becaud also secured another international success with
Let It Be Me (Je T’Appartiens), a huge transatlantic hit for
the Everly Brothers in 1961 and subsequently covered by
a multitude of names, including Bob Dylan, Nina Simone,
Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, James Brown, Sam & Dave,
and Jerry Butler. Another one was It Must Be Him (Seul
Sur Son Etoile) with English lyrics by Mack David, which
was a mid-1960s smash hit for Vikki Carr and reached the
Feature Focus – Value of French repertoire
both the US and UK Top 10.
In 1980, Becaud teamed up with Neil Diamond to compose
Love on the Rocks, performed by Diamond in his movie The
Jazz Singer, which is based on the life of Al Jolson.
Ironically, in his own right, Becaud only chalked up one UK
hit single, A Little Love and Understanding (Un Peu D’Amour
Et D’Amitie), with English lyrics courtesy of Decca Records
A&R boss Marcel Stellman; it reached the Top 10 in 1975.
The French music-hall star Charles Trenet also made
significant contributions to the international music scene via
two of his self-penned songs that have become recognised
as song standards. La Mer reputedly lay in a drawer for three
years before Trenet got around to recording it.
It was also a massive hit for French ‘heartthrob’ singer and
actor Yves Montand. Significantly, Bobby Darin took it to the
top of the US pop charts – albeit with its anglicised title
Beyond the Sea - in the early 1960s and Trenet’s song
enjoyed a new lease of life when revived by George Benson
some two decades later. It was also performed by Kevin
Spacey in the movie Beyond the Sea: The Bobby Darin
Story.
Trenet subsequently composed Que Reste-t-il De Nos
Amours?, which is now better known as I Wish You Love, a
ballad recorded by Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole,
Natalie Cole, Rod Stewart and Michael Buble no less.
And so the list of French song classics continues ... The
Edith Piaf classic Hymne A L’Amour, which she wrote in the
immediate aftermath of the death of her married lover, the
boxing champion Marcel Cerdan who died in a plane crash,
became better known internationally as If You Love Me.
Other Piaf recordings whose appeal crossed musical barriers
include Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regrets), Milord (a
British hit for Frankie Vaughan), La Vie en Rose (Take Me to
Your Heart Again) and, most notably, Les Feuilles Mortes
composed by Joseph Kosma and Jacques Prevert. The last,
when supplied with English lyrics by the legendary American
songwriter Johnny Mercer, became better known worldwide
as Autumn Leaves, a song standard recorded by Sinatra, Nat
King Cole, Jo Stafford, Eve Cassidy and even guitar virtuoso
Eric Clapton, among a plethora of international artists.
The one song that started life in France and has become
possibly the best-known to have emerged from the country
has to be Comme d’Habitude. It was penned by the late
French pop idol Claude Francois (Cloclo to his French fans),
composer Jacques Revaux and lyricist Gilles Thibaut in 1967.
When US singer/composer Paul Anka heard Francois’
recording of the song during a holiday break in the south of
France, he negotiated the English-language rights to the song
and wrote a new set of lyrics. The result, My Way (released in
1969) became Frank Sinatra’s theme song.
It spent almost two and a half years in the UK charts, climbing
to No.5.
Feature Focus – Value of French repertoire
Ironically, in his native US, My Way struggled to top the
Billboard Hot 100 for Sinatra (it got to No.27). Since then,
My Way has been recorded by a multitude of artists – no
less than three cover versions also charted in the UK (by
Elvis Presley, Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols, and Welsh
singing diva Dorothy Squires) while other recordings of the
song have been made by Robbie Williams, The Gipsy
Kings (with Joan Baez providing vocals), Julio Iglesias,
Jay-Z, Luciano Pavarotti, Nina Simone, Tom Jones and
Shirley Bassey.
Interestingly, a then-unknown David Bowie had actually
got to Comme d’Habitude first and wrote his own lyrics to
the melody in 1968, under the title Even A Fool Learns To
Love. Bowie recorded the song with Mick Ronson and
Rick Wakeman but, following a dispute with the producer,
it was not released, (although it has since resurfaced on a
CD re-issue). In an apparent act of retaliation, Bowie
composed Life on Mars?, recognised as an all-time record
classic.
Another French song standard that has enjoyed
international success is La Belle Vie, originally penned by
the late Sacha Distel in 1962 and which became better
known as The Good Life when Jack Reardon added
English lyrics. Apart from Distel’s own recording of the
song, The Good Life was a Top 30 hit both sides of the
Atlantic for Tony Bennett.
It was also reprised by Bennett on his recent Duets CD
when he was joined by Billy Joel. Distel’s song has also
been covered by Frank Sinatra, Petula Clark, Sarah
Vaughan, Buddy Greco, Sammy Davis Jnr, Dionne
Warwick, Bobby Darin, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington and
Julie London.
And not to be ignored is the stage musical-turned-movie
Les Miserables, based on Victor Hugo’s powerful novel and
with a musical score by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel
Schonberg. The show had a low-key run in France but
became a smash hit in London where it is still running 26
years after its first night. Britain’s Got Talent contestant
Susan Boyle shot to international fame with her recording
of I Dreamed a Dream, and the musical also gave birth to
Bring Him Home and Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.
Kretzmer (translator of Aznavour’s She) wrote Les
Miserables’ English lyrics and, as he once commented, it
has more than provided him with a pension for life.
And where is Jacques Brel in this compendium of French
songs that became international hits? The fact is that Brel
was born in Belgium, although many people associate him
with France.
That said, Brel’s songs were popularised in the UK by the
great Scott Walker in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and
his best-remembered number remains Ne Me Quitte Pas (If
You Go Away), recorded by just every top ballad singer of
Feature Focus – Value of French repertoire
the day, including Streisand, Bassey, Springfield, Alison
Moyet, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra and, of course, Scott
Walker. Written in French, many of Brel’s classics were
given English lyrics by US composer Rod McKuen.
Footnote: According to Sacem, the French royaltiescollection body, revenues from French repertoire
repertoire overseas reached €80m in 2013. Although it
represented a 2.3% drop from 2012, it amounts to a 3%
increase during the past five years. The organisation
adds that the Francophone songs it represents is the
second largest exported repertoire after Anglo-American
repertoire.
About the author
Juliana Koranteng is the founder/editor-in-chief of MediaTainment Finance (MTF), the business journal that
covers investments in international media, entertainment and the impact of related digital technologies.
Koranteng, an international journalist, is a regular contributor to Billboard magazine, and the daily magazines
published by Boutique Editions at the annual MIPTV, MIPCOM and Cannes Lions events in Cannes. She has
been a correspondent for TIME magazine, the Hollywood Reporter, Advertising Age, the Washington Post,
The Economist, UK national newspapers and the author of several books and reports. She also conceived,
developed and sold New Media Age, the UK’s leading digital-marketing publication, to Centaur Media. She
has given speeches at international events hosted by, among others, the New Zealand government and the
Olympics’ IOC, and been interviewed on BBC TV and radio, CNN and Bloomberg TV. MediaTainment
Finance and TechMutiny are published by JayKay Media Inc, the London media group that also includes an
editorial consultancy, speech-writing, ghost-writing and photography-design. @OutsidetheBoxMT
@mediatainmentMT
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