A = ANTICIPATED RELEASES
We chose ten of ‘em, some already scheduled, others still works in progress.
Bruce Springsteen: most of High Hopes, of covers and reworked unreleased material, was cut during an Australian tour when The Boss and the E-Street Band proved they were still more vital than we could expect them to.
Muse: they’ve already started work on the follow up to The Second Law, with Matt Bellamy predicting that they’ll go into the studios in a few months. “I’ve written some good tracks, actually,” he told triple j. “We haven’t had a chance to rehearse them out yet.” First single is due by Christmas.
U2: due in April with input from Danger Mouse, will.i.am, David Guetta and RedOne. New track Ordinary Love from the Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom biopic could be from their 1980s albums. Others offer flashes of Clash, Kraftwerk and Pistols, “stuff we listened to when we grew up,” Bono revealed.
Tame Impala: Kevin Parker plans a minimalist and speedier approach for the follow up to Lonerism. “Instead of a supreme pizza, where you just throw everything on, it’s gonna be like a marguerite. I don’t want to over-fill it.”
Gotye: it’d be impossible to recreate the success of THAT hit, and Wally De Backer admits he’s hit a “hurdle” pulling ideas into songs for his next album But then again, he faced a similar issue with Making Mirrors, so let’s see how the sessions in Canada with producer Nick Launay pan out.
Metallica: it’s been five years since Death Magnetic, but members promise that 2014 is the year they’ve cleared the diary to work on new music.
Daniel Johns: confirmed for a release this year, sessions for Johns’ long awaited debut solo album saw him work with an exciting array of guests including Kimbra, 360 Empire of the Sun and Lorde’s collaborator Joel Little.
Foo Fighters: after their hiatus the Foos this month they go into the studio to start work on the next album, which was already written last August. Dave Grohol told XFM he expects 2014 to be “a really big year for the Foo Fighters without question. It’s going to be great, I can’t wait.“
Kate Miller-Heidke: the title track of O Vertigo is an intriguing piece, sharpening the elements in her music. In the past year, Miller-Heidke’s live shows took in major cities, regional towns, India, churches and a two-week WA camping trip, so let’s see what emerges from these experiences.
Temper Trap: they always said they wouldn’t hit their strides until Album III, and all indications are that it’ll deliver. Bassist Jonathon Aherne revealed, “As we’ve discerned and had feedback from album two, and reviewed our strengths from album one, there’s a pretty clear vision of what we want to do.”
B = BUZZED-OUT WORDS
A University of Michigan survey found the words we want to see disappear in 2014 are selfie, twerk, hashtag, twittersphere, Mr Mom and T-bone.
C = CONCERT EXPERIENCE
Expect a huge growth in the streaming of concerts, with additional offers as Australian inventions as Soundhalo (you buy the concert minutes after it finishes) adding to the concert experience. Is this a generational change to enjoy shows in pajamas at home? With computers now weaved into clothes, glasses and rings, expect more amateur concert footage to go online.
D = DATA
As more artists go indie, they’ll need new data on how much traction their music so they can invite more private investment. Is a play on triple j sell more records than being on a booze ad? Are you over-pricing your tickets? Are you as hot, or hotter, than you were last year? Success remains the factor that fans, execs and investors will be drawn to, analyst Bob Lefsetz emphasizes. You can even track your music on pirate sites to offer a legit alternative.
E = EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
As more new media sites appear, and more traditional media go online, and video games and edgy TV shows see new edge music as the way to reach audiences, there’s a growing need for “exclusive content” to make them stand-out from competitors. Who wins? Indie acts and their bank managers.
F = FILE FORMAT
Whatever happened to last year’s prediction of the emergence of a new digital music file format to make mp3 and AAC formats obsolete? This year?
G = GRAMMYS
With so many Aussies nominated for the Grammys, will this be a year where more than one local wins? In any case there’s always the thrill of seeing Daft Punk making their first live TV performance since 2008.
H = HIP HOP CATEGORY
Will this be the year that ARIA gives Australian hip hop its own category rather than get lumped in the urban category?
I = INDIE ARTISTS
Five predictions by Tunecorp for indie acts in 2014: (1) more use of publishing administrators to collect money from all sources notably YouTube; (2) starting the promotion of a new release with pre-orders; (3) managers have a greater role in picking the artist’s team to increase the value of their brand; (4) iTunes Radio, after a few tweaks in its discovery suggestions and listener experience, “will usher in a fierce challenge to competitive streaming services”; (5) Vine and Instagram video allow acts to send more creative messages to fans, and hence with greater opportunities to go viral than Facebook posts.
J = JUSTIN FACTOR
2014 could well be the year we don’t have to put up with this Canadian pest any more. Long before Justin Bieber tweeted his “retirement”, Australian fans turned their back on him. His latest album sold around 4,000 copies first week. Teach him to keep them waiting for 90 minutes while he was on Facebook backstage. Add Britney to this use-by list.
K = KANYE FACTOR
Involves whining every time you don’t win an award because your massive talent isn’t acknowledged by the heavens. Granted, Kanye has promised to shut up in 2014. But we bet that Ego lands again in March with the release of a textbook of 14 academic essays compiled by Julius Bailey called The Cultural Impact Of Kanye West. It is an in-depth analysis of the “moral and social implications of West’s words, images and music in the broader context of Western civilization’s preconceived ideas” and “how West both challenges religious and moral norms and propagates them.”
L = LABELS
Of the many scenarios of the future of major labels, one is they will have just ten superstars on their roster, and their signings will focus on just pop or urban or hip hop. They’ll hire out their services to indie acts, aka Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ ground-breaking hiring the radio promo services of Warner Music Group in America for a percentage of the profits.
M = MUSICACT AWARDS
After a strong start in showcasing Canberra and ACT talent, the MusicACT Annual Music Awards (MAMAs) might be a no-show this year. They missed the deadline to get their annual $22,500 grant.
N = NICHE
Niche is the new black. The day of the super-festival (same acts! same experience!) will be superseded by niche festivals that offer something different for everybody. Promoters noticed the cultural shift in 2013 and predict it’ll become glaringly obvious this year.
O = OVERTURNED MANAGERS
Managers who don’t tally with their artists about their new expanded duties and marketing savvy are on their way out. Or they’ll start large companies and serve as consultants to younger managers. In the last few months of 2013, we saw management changes (for various reasons) by U2, Lady Gaga, John Meyer and Nine Inch Nails. Expect more in 2014.
P = PREDICTED DROP
The last ARIA figures showed that the Australian recording market was worth $396.1 million, up 4% from $382.7 million the year before. But unofficial estimates suggest a 5% drop in 2014. Musicians meantime will discover streaming services and realize that despite the whining in 2013 (“they don’t pay enough”) will turn to the realisation that small amounts from many different sources can add up to something significant.
Q = QUOTA
Will 2014 be the year when the industry gets Oz radio to increase its quota of airplay for local acts, and pay proper royalties, instead of hiding behind a 1% cap which their friends in the Liberal Party gave them in 1969?
R = RETAIL
How many artists will follow Beyonce’s lead in unexpectedly releasing albums and exclusively on iTunes? (Adele?) This invariably means a ban by outraged retail competitors on stocking their products. If this happens, will fans find the CD and vinyl versions of these albums only in independent retail stores?
S = SYDNEY LIVE MUSIC
The City of Sydney will this year bring in initiatives as allowing young musos to rehearse for free in town halls, piloting a live music series coordinated by its youth services team, establishing a mediation service to resolve complaints about live music, developing a permit system for bands to load and unload in areas outside venues without being ticketed, get the National Live Music Office to develop a data collection program to monitor the health of Sydney’s live music sector and finds ways to fund all-ages and under-age gigs.
T = TRIPLE J’S TOP 20 PREDICTIONS
triple j’s Next Crop for 2014: Bad // Dreems, Born Lion, Cosmo’s Midnight, DD Dumbo, Dustin Tebbutt, Eves, Gang Of Youths, Mathas, Meg Mac, Remi, SAFIA, Statues, The Bennies, The Creases, The Kite String Tangle, The Love Junkies, The Murlocs, Tkay Maidza, Wave Racer and Willow Beats.
U = UKULELE REVIVAL
Expect the growth of this revival to this year expand to more world record bids, specific festivals, awards and showcase albums.
V = VINYL
Vinyl sales in Australia saw albums increase by 70% over the previous year and 50% in singles, says ARIA. These now constitute $2 million of sales. Globally, Amazon reports sales of vinyl records are up 745% since 2008.
W = WOMEN
After women dominated the pop charts last year, will 2014 be the year when we see women in the Australian music biz form together in associations to address inequality of representation in all aspects of the industry?
X = X FACTOR GAINS CREDIBILITY
The amount of X-Factor (and other reality series) contestants who had wins in last year’s ARIA awards show that the industry (or at least the awards’ judges) are acknowledging that such shows are a legitimate source of talent. High ratings for such shows will see TV networks introduce more of ‘em.
Y = YOUTUBE
If record labels discovered YouTube as a revenue source, this year will see musicians and songwriters actively monetize their channels manually or via multichannel networks, and post more videos. A ground-breaking deal saw Australia first YouTube partner network, Boom Video, pact with the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners’ Society (AMCOS) for its content creators to access songs represented by AMCOS. The money generated is shared back with songwriters, composers and music publishers.
Z = ZZZZZ
A new music reality series this year, Platinum Hit, will concentrate on singer songwriters. Expect an influx of mournful beardies who can’t dance or show off their belly-buttons. Or alternatively, we’ll hear great songs unearthed.
