Struggling U.S. auto manufacturers are hoping music will do for them what it did for Apple after the introduction of the iPod — make them cool. And in so doing, they aim to attract a new generation of car buyers who expect digital entertainment at all times. Two-thirds of 2007-model cars will enable users to connect MP3 players to factory-installed stereos. Leading the charge is Ford Motor, which at the Detroit Auto Show January 9 introduced a new factory-installed, in-car communications and entertainment system called Sync, developed in partnership with Microsoft. While auto manufacturers have offered iPod-integration kits as a… Read more »
After releasing dazzling pop-rock bangers such as “High Horse” and “Greener,” Taylor Acorn‘s debut album Survival In Motion is finally here. Alongside the release, she dropped a new music video for “Nervous System.” Acorn notes, “‘Nervous System’ is just one of those songs where whenever I listen to it I can’t believe that it’s a song that I wrote. It’s so different from my usual style of writing but in the best way and it’s definitely one of those where you can just roll the windows down on a nice day and jam out. I love the way it feels… Read more »
Inspired by his single “Down to Love”, ARTY joins Life Rhythms to talk to Ryan Skyy about his ALPHA 9 project and discuss how everything in life comes down to love, nature’s inner navigation system.
You know what they say about pictures and a 1000 words, but what about Polaroids? Well, we think they’re worth just a little more, especially when Tennis System is the one taking them. The DC turned Los Angeles band has been busy since their 2011 debut, and a day in their life is probably more exciting than anything you’ve done all month. So go ahead, dive into the indie pop world of Tennis System—frontman Matty T is serving up some of the band’s best memories and favorite places with a Polaroid camera. From their rehearsal space, to MDDN Studios, to their… Read more »
Downwrite is a new, innovative custom songwriting platform founded by Mark Rose and Bob Nanna. We spoke with them about bringing their idea to life, the amazing products its spawned so far, and how they intend to foster an entire community of songwriters.
The new owner of EMI Group PLC has said he will drop artists the music group believes are not working hard enough and will overhaul the company’s own executives’ pay packages, the Financial Times reported Friday. EMI, which has Coldplay, the Rolling Stones and Kylie Minogue on its roster, also threatened to withdraw stars’ lucrative advances if record sales are disappointing, the FT said, quoting an internal memo to staff from the chief executive of the private equity firm that bought the company in August. Guy Hands, the CEO of Terra Firma Capital Partners, said the company would in the… Read more »
With freedom comes responsibility. While fans and some critics cheered iTunes’ Friday roll-out of iTunes Plus – which offers songs from the EMI catalog sans digital rights management but at a premium price – you can bet that Apple wouldn’t give up DRM without getting something in return, and that something is information about you. Just days after the new downloads became available on iTunes, tech bloggers began furiously jumping on what seemed like a security system that embeds the customer’s name and Apple I.D./e-mail address in the purchased tracks. While Apple deferred comment on the matter, experts downplayed the… Read more »
If the actors in Blink-182’s new video appear to have that gangsta look perfected, it’s no credit to their thespian skills. They’re just being themselves. Around 100 former gang members make up the cast of “Down,” the third video from Blink-182’s latest album. They belong to an organization called Suspect Entertainment, which casts ex-gangbangers in film and television roles as a way to keep them off the streets and away from the thug life. The “Down” video opens with a shot of a house party. Everyone is eating, dancing and having a good time until the police show up, looking… Read more »
The European Union launched a probe Monday into 16 national organizations that collect royalties for composers and songwriters, charging that their system for licensing music is hampering the rollout of Internet downloading services across Europe. Record companies in Europe say they are willing to license downloads on a pan-European basis, but the royalty-collecting societies insist on licensing music authors’ work country by country, the way they do for concerts, radio and compact discs. In its statement of objections, the EU’s trustbuster said a preliminary assessment found the royalties societies’ cross-licensing arrangements are extending the organizations’ monopolies onto the Internet. Such… Read more »
What’s up with iTunes? At the ripe age of 1, the innovative market solution for legal music downloads has brought almost $70 million into Apple Computer’s coffers while reinventing commercial music choices for consumers. Other music retailers, including the behemoth known as Wal-Mart, have taken notice and followed suit. CDs? So yesterday, Dude. Before iTunes, the mushrooming problem of illegal downloads seemed, at least to the music industry, a challenge to its existence that could only be addressed by going after downloaders – like the University of Minnesota students last week – still being pursued. The iTunes bridge hasn’t ended… Read more »
