So, this is what it’s come to. No longer do starving artists send their demos to labels, or set-up shop outside executive offices to pester A&Rs. Instead, in our YouTube universe, aspiring musicians like California Pop-Rock trio Imperial Stars result to brash activities such as this to draw attention to their tunes. Read the rest of this entry »

“Do more with less.”

How many times have we heard various institutions evoke the sentiment that the people who keep the cogs oiled on the machine need to put out more product with less support? We ask this of auto plant workers, newspapermen and artists.

Especially artists.

Music has been devalued to a level where we, the consumer, demand its artists give us their work for free or risk dismissal as expectant, self-indulgent players who no longer deserve a place in the game. We’ll pull their peg, knock their chess piece, wipe them clean from the board. But we are no more to blame than the artists, who have themselves bought into the idea that if they put out a costless product then they will some how be favored and rewarded down the road. They accept defeat, and embrace and embolden the norm. 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 »

It’s one thing when someone who’s not known for lyrical wizardry publicly offers up their services for a small fee (I’m talking about you Bizarre!). But now this is getting serious & definitely interesting. First Jean via Craigslist, now Sai-giddy via his Myspace. 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 »

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

Words By Patrick M.

I know ya’ll been talking about the big news of last weekend….

No not that Kanye wasn’t invited to Jay and B’s wedding, although the dynamic duo’s nupital arrangement pretty much blew everything else off the radar. Instead, I’m talking about Mr. Knowles’ new record/concert/merchandising contract with Live Nation, guaranteeing Hip-Hop’s self-promoted Greatest Ever 150 million dollars over the next ten years. And that was only the second biggest announcement of the week: MySpace announced they were finally launching MySpace Music which will provide users with free video and streaming music, as well as provide an alternative download catalog to the ubiquitous iTunes. Both of these deals give are attempts to build new business models for the music industry…but will either be successful? Read the rest of this entry »

If I remember correctly, Soulja Boy was the first artist to go platinum off a ringtone. Everyone’s girl, Alicia Keys, is half way there to being the first to do it with ringbacks.

On Monday, RCA announced that she’s gone gold on for her lead single “No One.” Ringbacks play when someone calls a person and they hear the song instead of ringing. Why anyone would pay for that I don’t know, call me & your getting a ring. But go ahead & get that easy money baby, we can use that for our honeymoon. Read the rest of this entry »

I think pretty soon we’re gonna have to put Radiohead in the same category as Jay-Z pretty soon.

They’re not just businessmen; they’re A BUSINESS man.

Despite having no record label backing them (keep in mind with their fanbase’s support, they don’t need one) they continue to find ways to promote & make money off of their latest album In Rainbows. Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently, Jay-z has signed on with LiveNation for meal ticket.

Two quotes sum up this whole thing to me. Read the rest of this entry »