InTune

Musicnotes.com Revenue Growth Exceeds 20% Going into Holiday Sales Season

Posted on Nov 17, 2009 by Bill Aicher (Director of Marketing).

MADISON, WI – November 17, 2009 – Musicnotes.com, the leading digital sheet music retailer and publisher, announced today it is seeing better than 20% sales growth year-over-year as the holiday sales season begins.

The site, which recently sold its six millionth download, is approaching 200,000 paid downloads per month and is receiving 120,000 visitors to the site daily.  A meaningful percentage of this growth in sales and traffic is due to Musicnotes’ international business, which now accounts for more than 20% of sales and is growing at a faster rate than overall business.

As a result of the continually growing sales, Musicnotes is also approaching $15 million in total royalties paid to its publishing partners since 2000, with almost $4 million alone expected to be paid in 2009.

Musicnotes attributes its growth to a continued focus on improving the customer experience as well as its continually expanding catalogue of downloadable sheet music, including songs from several significant content deals signed in 2009.

“What we find most interesting is that we are seeing this level of growth without any new “hit” songs,” said Bill Aicher, Musicnotes Web and Marketing Director. “Less than 4% of our sales are coming from our top ten downloads.  This growth is really coming from across the entire spectrum of our catalog.”

According to the most recent data from research firm, Hitwise, Musicnotes.com continues to lead the digital sheet music retail market with a market share of over 80%.

About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of 100,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Disney Music Publishing, Cherry Lane Music Company, Peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer Magazine’s list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009.

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Musicnotes.com Sponsors Night of Music and Fun for Women Rock for the Cure

Posted on Oct 20, 2009 by Monica.

MADISON, WI – October 20, 2009 – Musicnotes.com, a leading online digital sheet music retailer and publisher, announced today it is a proud sponsor of the Madison-based event called Women Rock for the Cure, as part of the national Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

On Friday, October 23, 2009, the second annual Women Rock for the Cure will take place at several music and restaurant venues throughout Madison. Musicnotes is a proud sponsor of this event and will also be offering a night of musical entertainment called the Musicnotes Hootenanny at the Hemingway Lounge in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. For $3, music lovers will hear performances by Blue Beyond, Juice Jenkins, The Mudangels, Meaghan Owens and Tom Nauman.

$1.00 from each admission to the Musicnotes Hootenanny will be donated to the Madison Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Seventy-five percent of the funds raised will support breast health and breast cancer programs in Madison and Dane County.

Please visit http://www.womenrockmadison.com for more information about this venue and other events taking place for Women Rock for the Cure. To attend the Musicnotes Hootenanny, visit the Hemingway Lounge located at 2960 Cahill Main, Fitchburg, Wisconsin from 8-12 p.m. on Friday, October 23rd.

About Musicnotes Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of 100,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Disney Music Publishing, Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer Magazine’s list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009.

On the Web: http://www.musicnotes.com

About the Madison Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure The Madison Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure—along with those who generously support us with their talent, time and resources—is working to better the lives of those facing breast cancer in our community. We join more than 100,000 breast cancer survivors and activists around the globe as part of the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting breast cancer. Through events like the Komen Madison Race for the Cure, we have invested over $1.8 million in local breast health and breast cancer awareness projects in Madison and Dane County. Up to 75 percent of net proceeds generated by the Komen Madison Affiliate stay in Dane County while the remaining income goes to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Award and Research Grant Programs supporting research, awards and educational and scientific programs around the world.

Join us by calling (608) 836-1083 or visiting us online at http://www.komenmadison.org

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, We have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit http://www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

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Cherry Lane and Musicnotes.com Enter into Online Sheet Music Distribution Agreement

Posted on Aug 26, 2009 by Monica.

MADISON, WI and NEW YORK, NY – August 26, 2009 – Cherry Lane Music Company, one of the world’s leading independent print publishers, has entered into a worldwide licensing and distribution agreement with Musicnotes.com, the market leader in downloadable sheet music.

Under this newly minted agreement, Musicnotes.com will sell downloadable digital sheet music and guitar tab created by the print division of Cherry Lane Music. This includes songs from songwriters and artists such as: The Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, The White Stripes, Metallica, John Mayer, David Cook (American Idol winner), Leslie Bricusse (”Jekyll & Hyde – The Musical”), Jason Howland (”Little Women – The Musical”) and John Denver.

Songs from the Cherry Lane print catalog will also be available to learn through Guitar Guru, Musicnotes’ popular guitar teaching software.

“Musicnotes is a leader and an innovator in sheet music delivery,” said John Stix, Senior Vice President of Rights Acquisition and head of the Cherry Lane print division. “Cherry Lane is excited to join forces with them and looks forward to exploring how our companies can work together to reach music makers everywhere.”

“The Cherry Lane print catalog represents some of the greatest music ever written. It contains both classics from the past and the most popular hits of the present and Musicnotes is honored to be their digital distributor,” said Kathleen Marsh, CEO of Musicnotes.com. “We look forward to a partnership that will blend Cherry Lane’s publishing expertise with our leadership in digital distribution to bring their songs to our ever-growing worldwide customer base.”

About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of 100,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Disney Music Publishing, Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer Magazine’s list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009.

About Cherry Lane Music Company: Milton Okun founded Cherry Lane with a few copyrights and the desire to attain success by applying the values of integrity and reliability to creating musical product. We have achieved quality in our printed music through a steadfast commitment to providing the finest arrangements, engravings, design, paper stock and printing. Our reputation for the precision of our guitar tablature books is an indication to that commitment, as is the playability of all of our transcriptions and arrangements. The print company is known for its wide assortment of folios and sheet music for a diverse group of artists from Barbra Streisand, Keith Urban and the White Stripes to the Dave Matthews Band, Metallica and Jack Johnson.
On the web: Cherrylaneprint.com

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Musicnotes and Tunecore Team Up to Offer Artist Sheet Music

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Bill Aicher (Director of Marketing).

TuneCore has teamed up with Musicnotes.com to provide yet another way for musicians to make money off their fame. Kicking off in May 2009, any TuneCore Artist selling over 25,000 songs within 90 days can have at least one of their songs professionally scored, translated to sheet music and made available for sale via paid download at Musicnotes.com, earning money from each sale. Musicnotes.com has sold over five million sheet music downloads since its inception in 2000 at an average price of $4.95.

This relationship further democratizes the industry by providing, for the first time in the history of the music and publishing industry, a unique opportunity for artists based on sales numbers, not an editorial filter. “The music industry began in many ways with the selling of sheet music. The irony of the intertwining of digital downloads with sheet music is not lost on both companies,” said Jeff Price, founder and CEO of TuneCore.

“TuneCore has established a strong distribution model, and Musicnotes is excited to provide their clients with a new royalty stream for great songs that deserve to be scored and preserved,” said Tim Reiland, Chairman and CFO of Musicnotes, Inc. “Sheet music is as old as the hills, but digital distribution of the product represents a brand new opportunity for most singer-songwriters, and we are confident the 100,000 daily visitors to Musicnotes.com will appreciate the ability to legally purchase these songs.”

Many TuneCore artists are already being actively searched within the Musicnotes.com system for their most popular selling songs, including those not on traditional music labels. The initial TuneCore artists eligible for this opportunity include:

Gavin Mikhail, William Fitzsimmons and Ingrid Michaelson are already taking advantage of the opportunity.

About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of almost 100,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Disney Music Publishing, Peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer’ list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009. In 2008, Musicnotes.com purchased and re-launched MXTabs.net, turning it into the web’s first “free and legal” guitar and drum tablature site. On the Web: http://www.musicnotes.com and http://www.mxtabs.net.

About TuneCore: TuneCore.com has changed the 100-year-old rules and model of the music business. It is a low, flat fee service that distributes anyone’s music or videos to iTunes, eMusic, AmazonMP3 and many other major download sites while taking no rights and no revenue from the sale of the music. Artists are building careers, selling significant volumes of music and generating revenue while keeping their rights utilizing the new model created by TuneCore. In its 33 months since launch, TuneCore has distributed tens of thousands of albums and millions of songs to iTunes and other digital stores including Grammy winners, record labels and unsigned artists. Customers include Jay-Z, Keith Richards, Public Enemy, Nine Inch Nails, Ricky Skaggs, Paul Westerberg, MGM Studios, Warren G, Bjork, Moby, High School Musical cast members, Ali Lohan, Cirque Du Soleil, Starbucks and tens of thousands more. TuneCore currently distributes between 150 – 250 release a day (more music is released in one day via TuneCore than any major record label over a year) and recently expanded its offering to distribute full-length films, TV shows, live concerts, documentaries etc to iTunes and more. TuneCore’s own Billboard Top 25 seller chart went live in July 2008.

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Susan Boyle Phenomenon Resonates in Sheet Music

Posted on Apr 20, 2009 by Bill Aicher (Director of Marketing).

Madison, WI – April 20, 2009 – Musicnotes, Inc., the market leader in downloadable sheet music, announced today that Susan Boyle, the singer who stunned viewers the world over with her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” on the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ TV show, has influenced sales of sheet music as well.

“We have never encountered anything like this in the history of Musicnotes,” indicated Marketing Director, Bill Aicher. “This one song is even outselling songs from the hit movies ‘Twilight’ and ‘Hannah Montana: the Movie.’”

Sheet music sales for “I Dreamed a Dream” have surpassed sales for the Miley Cyrus song “The Climb” from ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie.’ In absence of the record-breaking popularity of “I Dreamed a Dream,” “The Climb” would be setting sheet music sales records of its own.

In addition to “I Dreamed a Dream,” Boyle’s first recorded song, the Arthur Hamilton standard “Cry Me a River,” is also rising in Musicnotes.com’s list of top downloads due to the Boyle’s recent Internet stardom.

“Shows like ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ‘American Idol’ are having a definite impact on more than just fans of the show,” commented Aicher. “These talent shows are inspiring musicians and singers as well.”

About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of almost 100,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Disney Music Publishing, peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer’ list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009.

On the web: http://www.musicnotes.com

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Musicnotes.com Sells Five-Millionth Download; Growth Continues In 2009

Posted on Mar 12, 2009 by Bill Aicher (Director of Marketing).

Madison, WI – March 12, 2009 – Musicnotes, Inc., the market leader in downloadable sheet music, announced today that it recently sold its five-millionth download since the site first launched (1999). The five-millionth download was a Guitar Guru Session of Don McClean’s “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night),” and was sold to a customer in Germany.

Musicnotes also announced today its sales growth continues in 2009.  “We have seen some moderation in our rate of growth as the recession has deepened,” indicated Chairman and CFO Tim Reiland, “however our current growth rate remains strong at 20 percent year-over-year.”

One area where growth has actually accelerated for Musicnotes is its Guitar Guru product line. Guitar Guru utilizes free, interactive software for guitar players and was a featured download at www.apple.com in early February. Guitar Guru for Mac was a “staff pick” on the Apple Download Page and was on their top ten download list for much of the month, which contributed to greater interest and higher sales.

Musicnotes will also pass another milestone in early 2009, when royalties paid to publishers and songwriters will pass the $10 million mark.  “We are thrilled to provide a growing royalty stream to music publishers and the songwriters they represent,” commented Reiland. “Because our business is entirely dependent on offering our 100,000+ daily visitors the songs they want to play, talented songwriters are critically important to Musicnotes.”

About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of almost 100,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, BMG/Universal, Disney Music Publishing, peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer’ list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009.

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Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” Wins Musicnotes.com Song of the Year Award

Posted on Feb 24, 2009 by Bill Aicher (Director of Marketing).

Madison, WI – February 24, 2009 – Musicnotes, Inc., the market leader in downloadable sheet music, announced today that songwriter Leonard Cohen, and music publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing, are the recipients of the seventh annual Musicnotes Song of the Year Award for the song, “Hallelujah.”

The Musicnotes Song of the Year Award is presented each year to the songwriter and publisher of the best-selling sheet music for a song made popular in the previous calendar year. In 2008, that song was “Hallelujah.”

“Hallelujah” has an interesting song history, as the song was originally released in 1984 by Leonard Cohen. In 2008, the song had a dramatic resurgence in popularity for several reasons, primarily due to its use on the popular television shows “X-Factor” in the UK and “American Idol” in the U.S. This year, Musicnotes.com expects “Hallelujah” to continue its popularity since it will be featured as a song in the upcoming film, “Watchmen.”

The award will be shared by songwriter Leonard Cohen and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, who owns and administers the publishing rights for the song.

Throughout the years, several artists have lent their voice and interpretation of “Hallelujah” including U2, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley, Imogen Heap and kd lang, among others.

Commenting on the award, Martin Bandier, Chairman & CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing said, “‘Hallelujah’ is one of those incredible songs that never ceases to catch the attention of everyone when it is played or performed. It is a truly emotional song that cuts across all genders, genres and religions — it feels very spiritual. All of us at Sony/ATV are grateful to Musicnotes for this wonderful recognition. We are fortunate to publish this terrific song as well as to continue our long-lasting partnership with the talented and iconic Leonard Cohen.”

Musicnotes, the leading online digital sheet music publisher and reseller, has previously presented awards to Vanessa Carlton (”A Thousand Miles”), Linda Perry (Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”), Evanescence (”My Immortal”), Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd and Jeff Hanna (”Bless the Broken Road”), Daniel Powter (”Bad Day”) and Tom Higgenson (”Hey There Delilah”).

About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of almost 100,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, BMG/Universal, Disney Music Publishing, peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer’ list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009.

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Musicnotes.com Earns Spot on Hot 100 Internet Retailer List for 2009

Posted on Dec 17, 2008 by Bill Aicher (Director of Marketing).

Madison, WI – December 17, 2008 – Musicnotes, Inc., the market leader in downloadable sheet music and guitar tablature, announced today that Internet Retailer has named Musicnotes.com as a Hot 100 Internet Retail Web Site for 2009.

The Hot 100 list for 2009 is the 10th annual recognition of e-commerce leaders chosen by Internet Retailer. Other retailers selected include: iTunes, Amazon.com, Overstock.com and Thinkgeek.com.

According to the December 2008 issue of Internet Retailer, Musicnotes.com was selected because of its continual enhancement to its customers’ ability to buy and interact with sheet music.

Traffic to Musicnotes.com currently exceeds 120,000 visitors per day and sales of downloadable sheet music continue to grow at more than 30% year-over-year. Musicnotes attributes this success to its devoted customers, its adaptation to trends in technology and an enriching experience, including:

• Interactive sheet music with matching audio
• New Mac compatibility for Guitar Guru, a guitar teaching software
• Music news, special offers and freebies through their company blog
• Broad selection of sheet music for almost 90,000 songs in downloadable format
• Excellent, on-hand customer service
• Personalized customer profiles on Musicnotes.com
• Customer product reviews
• New biodegradable gift cards, 100% environmentally-friendly

“Even though 2008 has proven highly successful for Musicnotes, we are even more excited for what lies in our future,” said Musicnotes’ Director of Marketing and Customer Experience, Bill Aicher. “Several new initiatives for 2009 are already underway, all of which are focused on further improvement to the Musicnotes.com experience.”

Musicnotes.com’s listing in Internet Retailer’s Hot 100 for 2009 is available here:
http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=28561#musicnotes

About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. offers an online catalog of almost 90,000 digital sheet music titles, built on the strength of content agreements with Alfred Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Faber Music Ltd, Sony/ATV Publishing, BMG/Universal, Disney Music Publishing, peermusic, Word Music, EMI Christian, Bug Music and many others. Musicnotes is included in Internet Retailer’ list of the Top 500 Online Retailers and was recently selected by Internet Retailer as a “Hot 100″ site for 2009.
On the Web: http://www.musicnotes.com.

About Internet Retailer: Published by Chicago-based Vertical Web Media LLC, Internet Retailer publishes a monthly national business magazine, operates the largest web site in the retailing industry and the largest conference in e-retailing and publishes directories, all serving the retailing community. The Internet Retailer family of products focuses on the Internet’s vital role in a wide array of retailing activities, including web merchandising, supply chain management and multi-channel integration.
On the Web: http://www.internetretailer.com.

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