Record-store owners owe Apple iTunes a tremendous debt of gratitude for being an uncaring, scatter-brained, inhuman little jukebox: It’s saving their skin right now.
The running narrative in the music world during the past decade is that the physical album is dead, and file-sharing, downloads and, most notably, Apple’s iTunes killed it. Yes and no.
Coachella enjoyed a record three-day attendance year as 225,000 fans descended on Indio, Calif’s Empire Polo Grounds the weekend of April 16.
By nearly all measures, the festival, now in its 24th year, was bigger than ever with a record 13,022 music industry professionals registered.
For anyone with an iPhone at last year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival, the memories of slow, or nonexistent, coverage on AT&T’s network are something that will likely last for some time.
(Source: Nate Anderson – http://arstechnica.com) With a new school year in full swing, Ars takes a look at the RIAA’s newly updated copyright curriculum. Your kids could be learning from it–so what does it say? School kids in America could certainly stand to learn about copyright in the classroom–it’s a fascinating topic that increasingly impacts the life of every “digital native” and intersects with law, history, art, and technology. But should they be exposed to industry-funded materials meant to teach kids: That taking music without paying for it (“songlifting”) is illegal and unfair to others (RIAA) Why illegally downloading music… Read more »
Goodnight Sunrise and Go! Merch are currently offering fans an opportunity to pre-order the band’s upcoming EP, Stop, Drop and Roll, due to hit stores June 23rd. Hailing from Helena, Montana, the band is preparing a week’s worth of CD Release shows in its home state this month. Formed in 2006, Goodnight Sunrise (Dan Murphy, lead vocals, guitar; Justin Benner, guitar; Mike Ogle, drums; Sam Smetana, bass) went straight to work in the winter of 2007 to write and record its self-produced, debut EP, Close & Counting. Since releasing its debut, Goodnight Sunrise has played over 250 shows and is… Read more »
Morrissey has signed with Nashville-based roots label Lost Highway for the U.S. release of his new album, sources told Billboard. “Years of Refusal” will be released on February 17, and will be supported by a U.S. theater tour that kicks off February 28 in Boca Raton, Fla., and runs through April 15 in Albuquerque, N.M. The project marks the follow-up to the former Smiths frontman’s 2006 set “Ringleader of the Tormenters.” It will come out internationally on February 2 via Universal, which bumped the album from a fall 2008 release for unspecified reasons. Lost Highway is an intriguing destination for… Read more »
Two years after Steve Jobs declared that DRM was dead and a year after Amazon launched its DRM-free download store with all four major labels, the vast majority of tracks on iTunes are still delivered with a little piece of code that restricts transfer and use. What is taking so long? Perhaps deep down Steve Jobs doesn’t really want to unlock iTunes. After all, Apple has profited greatly from the closed loop between the iPod and iTunes. But since early summer, reports have come from all corners that iTunes, which currently offers only EMI and some indie product DRM free,… Read more »
“Corporate radio stations need to show musicians the money” is the title of a piece written by SoundExchange executive director John Simson, published in the San Jose Mercury News back in August. But internet song aggregator Orchard suggests it needs to start following its own advice. Orchard’s Greg Scholl fired off a letter to the Copyright Board, and published in Billboard, arguing that it was time for a major audit of the service, which supposedly is supposed to collect royalty money for redistribution to rights holders. Scholl says it’s very difficult to figure out what SX is doing with the… Read more »
Take The Crown will be tonight’s studio guest on DJ Rossstar’s Punk Show at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET). The SoCal electro-rock band recently announced a brief hiatus and will be coming on the show to answer any-and-all questions you have about this decision. We’ll also be playing some songs from the band’s debut full-length, Relapse React. Electronica-rock act (and recent TRL performer), Settings, will be calling in during the show to discuss its iTunes-exclusive release, Elusion: Extended, new music video and summer on Warped Tour. If you have questions for Take The Crown and, you can instant message… Read more »
