Remember Public Enemy’s push to drop a fan-funded album? In two short weeks, the band has already raised over $50,000 towards the recording of their new album with SellaBand.  Meaning over 700 fans believed enough in them to put their money where their mouth was and pony up $25.  At this juncture, Chuck, Flav & Co. are 1/5 of the way towards their goal of $250,000 and could reach it by Christmas if they & their loyalists keep up the pace. Read the rest of this entry »

Raise your hand if you would pony up $25 for an album? A new album from Hip-Hop legends Public Enemy, because they are somewhat deserving of your support right? Well, that’s the hope of sorts as PE has connected with Euro site Sellabrand in a reverse effort to raise $250,000 towards the production of their next album. Read the rest of this entry »

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You ridicule the idea of paying for mp3s, you rebels you. Yet, we forget that not everyone is as savvy to the ways of thievery as you innernuts. But Apple isn’t going anywhere any time soon with this type of predicted dominance. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m no techie but the past 24-48 hours have been full of news from Apple. First, Steve Jobs comes clean regarding his illness & his decision to step down for a few months. Today @ the Macworld conference, word has leaked that Apple, in partnership with music labels, will make it’s music catalog DRM-free.

Citing two unnamed sources, CNET is reporting that Apple agreed to a three-tier variable pricing model in return for the ability to sell music without its limiting FairPlay technology, which restricts the use of iTunes-purchased music to Apple-created devices. According to the report, there will be different prices for older catalog titles, modern but less popular songs, and current hits. The announcement could come during the MacWorld keynote.

What does that mean? Read the rest of this entry »

In another bid to extract blood from a recession-suffering turnip, NY state is attempting to enact an “iPod tax.” Read the rest of this entry »

Somebody better tell all artists under the EMI umbrella to hurry & cash whatever checks they got laying around. They might even consider only accepting future payments in gold or shillings, as the company is reporting a $1.2 billion dollar loss. Read the rest of this entry »

… Is the equivalent of a fourth quarter Hail Mary from the opposite endzone with one second left on the clock.

Best Buy is set to acquire online music distributor Napster, the one-time illegal P2P site, in an effort to compete keep up with the growing digital music industy. Read the rest of this entry »

The Skinny…

– 160G iPod is out replaced at the top of the line with a sleeker 120G model.
– a new taller and thinner Nano.
– Three new IPod Touch models: an 8-gigabyte for $229; a 15G @ $299 and a 32 GB model for $399.

One of the new advanced features (for those of you who indulge in this sort of thing) is the new Pandora-like Genius feature in iTunes 8 (available now)… Read the rest of this entry »

The RIAA released their statement regarding their current duel with Muxtape, simply saying they had been in communications with Muxtape for months but the site “was hosting copies of copyrighted sound recordings without authorization from the copyright owners. Making these recordings available for streaming playback also requires authorization from the copyright owners.” Read the rest of this entry »

The above was the image displayed @ Muxtape yesterday. While they didn’t specify the “problem,” I think it’s safe to say that it has to do with payment & revenues. Muxtape isn’t alone because Pandora recently indicated that they might be pulling their streams as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Making the rounds, so you don’t have to…

First look @ RZA’s video trailer [SDSU]

Jay Electronica & The New Royales – “Posers” [Sweeney Kovar]

Shaya’s “Fall Back” and “Industry Life” [Audible Treats]

What Did John McCain Say to Young Jeezy? [Vulture]

Read the rest of this entry »

Enough storage to last you for a minute for only $100 plus at least a 5% coupon. Two-day sale. Cop.

I’m currently running a few of these bad boys, but I prefer Western Digitals. I got so happy when I saw that price, me & my inner geek did a little dance.

*Cues the theme music for this post*

Method_Man-Ill_Be_There_for_You-Youre_All_I_Need_to_Get_by-(CDS)-1995

Buckshot’s Lyric Book From The Formula.

Previously Posted — “No Comparison” – Review Of Buckshot & 9th Wonder’s The Formula

Loosies

Lil’ Wayne Feat. Kanye West – Lollipop (Official Remix)

Idle Warship (Talib Kweli) Feat. Chester French – Fall Back

Kurupt – Yessir (Prod. by Pete Rock)

Foul Mouth Jerk Feat. Grandmaster Caz and TOPR – Day One

Ashanti Nelly and Akon – Body On Me

Usher – Play Me

JR Writer – Get This Money (Unreleased)

Mike Jones Feat Lil Wayne, Twista, & T-Pain – Cutty Buddy

FKi Feat. Mickey Factz – Lookin’ Fly

Ne-Yo – Trouble

The Dream Feat. Fabolous – I Luv Ur Girl (Remix) (Dirty)

Loosies

Stickers|Link Exchange|Myspace|Facebook|One5Seven|FatKnots

Remember when a quarter could buy you a song in one of these ancient machines?

Warner Music Group will begin an interesting trial test this month, one where they will begin pricing music differently than the typical “a buck per song” model that’s the current format with iTunes.

Warner Music Group plans to run a test starting this month through Digonex Technologies on various unspecified online music stores in which certain songs be priced dynamically. Like an artificially intelligent version of Amie Street, Digonex “gathers sales data in real-time, analyzes purchasing behavior, and sets new prices that hit the ‘sweet spot’ where consumer demand and market potential meet.” Nettwerk Records experimented with the same system last year, charging 33, 66, or 99 cents for singles, and between $3.30 and $10 for albums.

As one of the “big four,” WMG has a slew of material to offer. In a market where you’ve got teens & others conditioned to paying for ringtones, this might not be a bad move and even a way to court those who typically don’t pay for music. If I like artist X, I wouldn’t see an issue with chucking out buck to buy a few tracks instead of just one song for that same price, even if it were nothing more than a good faith purchase. Even if gas prices & inflation aren’t going down, it’s good to see music making it’s way and adapting to supply & demand because not much beats the current state of free. But if they charge more than a wooden nickel for Souljah Boy songs, I’ll be thoroughly pissed.

Would you pay for digital downloads if they were cheaper?

Warner Music Group Plays with the Price of Music [Wired]

Stray Shots

MC Lyte – Lyte As A Rock

Chaka Khan Feat. The London Symphony Orchestra

Nature – Wild Gremlinz

Miracle – Miracle

Steely Dan – Can’t Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy

Maxwell-Embrya

Rhyme & Reason OST

DJ_Drama_And_Little_Brother-Seperate_But_Equal

Stray Shots

With the industry changing more and more every day, each one of us is affected in different ways by the aftershocks of the current technological overhaul.

For me, the tremors have literally hit home.

The picture above is of what used to be the best record store around my ‘hood. Record Time. It was located in Ferndale on 9 Mile and was one of the few remaining mom and pop shops of its kind left around the area.

Each time I walked in there, it was like walking into a room full of zombies. Everyone was always on their own mission. Between their new and used selections, customers could just zone out for hours sifting through their vast selection of material. It was the kind of place you’d leave with carpel tunnel. From Paradime and Segar, to Debarge and Daft Punk, they usually had everything you were looking for. If it wasn’t in stock, the thick dude with the dreads behind the counter would happily make a few phone calls to make it right. Sticking to the small business mantra, Record Time knew how to keep their customers happy, to say the least.

However, like I told the inquiring soul who saw me taking these pictures, everything must come to an end at some point. Read the rest of this entry »