Exclusive: Streaming Revenues Now Surpass $1 Billion Annually In the US...

That's according to revenue statistics shared with Digital Music News by label trade group RIAA, and it includes everything from Spotify to Pandora to YouTube to Sirius XM Radio.  Anything that falls under 'access' instead of 'ownership,' ad-supported or subscription.  "Collectively, [access services] went from just 3 percent of total industry revenues in 2007 to 15 percent in 2012, totaling over $1 billion for the year," an executive from the group shared.   

The more exact total, according to the RIAA count, is $1.033 billion.  On the subscription on-demand front, the group counted 3.4 million subscribers, averaged across the year.  

Sounds great, but there's only one problem with this picture: streaming revenues are still just a fraction of CD revenues, and CDs are tanking.  Which means the overall pie is also still shrinking (see below).  According to the RIAA, CDs raked $2.5 billion in 2012, though digital formats (including downloads) now account for nearly 60 percent of overall recorded industry revenues.

Unclear is whether upfront advances to companies like Spotify are being factored into this calculation.  The advances, often millions per label, are now becoming a business model unto itself for struggling major labels.  And, according to sources close to these transactions, very little of the advances or subsequent major label payouts make it back to artists.

And what about Pandora, which is currently begging Congress to lower its royalty obligations?  Well, there's a reason why labels have little interest in softening these rates.  According to the RIAA, online radio and satellite formats now account for 44.7 percent of broader streaming revenues.  And that's a lot of money. 

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Michael Jackson dances again on one billion Pepsi cans

n">(Reuters) - Michael Jackson is dancing again, on Pepsi cans.

The soft drink maker and the estate for the late pop star on Thursday unveiled plans to put the singer's silhouette on one billion soft drink cans in a global pop culture ad campaign.

The late King of Pop, who pitched Pepsi in 1980s commercials as "the choice of a new generation", will appear in some of his iconic dance poses for the promotion, which will also coincide with the 25th anniversary of the singer's "Bad" album.

The limited edition Pepsi cans will go on sale first in China, starting on Saturday, and then in the United States later this month. They will be rolled out in Asia, South America and Europe later in 2012.

Fans of the singer, who died in June 2009, will also be able to enter contests for tickets to Cirque du Soleil's show "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour."

Pepsi, Jackson's estate, and his Sony Music record company are also teaming up to share new mixes of music from the "Bad" album as part of the campaign.

"We are thrilled to bring Michael and Pepsi back together, as they were in 1988, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 'Bad' album and tour and to put Michael on one billion Pepsi cans," John Branca and John McClain, the executors of Jackson's estate, said in a statement.

The Jackson cans are part of Pepsi's new "Live for Now" campaign, which seeks to harness pop culture to boost sales. Pepsi-Cola is currently No.3 in the United States, behind Coca-Cola and Diet Coke in a declining market for carbonated drinks.

Pepsi said earlier this week that rapper Nicki Minaj would feature in a commercial as part of the campaign.

Jackson has been associated with Pepsi since 1983 when he appeared alongside his Jackson 5 brothers in his first Pepsi campaign.

But the memories are not all good. Jackson's hair famously caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984 in Los Angeles, scorching his scalp. The incident was later blamed for triggering Jackson's addiction to painkillers that caused him to enter rehab in 1993.

Jackson, 50, died in Los Angeles from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol and sedatives. His personal doctor is serving a four-year jail sentence in Los Angeles for involuntary manslaughter.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Bob Tourtellotte)

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