idobi writer Catherine Yi caught up with New Beat Fund to discuss their unique sound, the craziest nights on tour, the current Los Angeles music scene, and more.
Indie rock has been growing exponentially popular in the mainstream, and newcomers Atlas Genius are sure to make their mark in the scene with When It Was Now. With smooth vocals, lush synths, and vivid guitars, this album is perfect for long drives or relaxing with your friends.
The 2006 suicide of Megan Meier, which came after the girl was harassed online, spurred a flurry of new state laws aimed at cracking down on “cyber-bullying.” Now some members of Congress are pushing for a federal law against the practice. The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act was first introduced last year. But it died in committee. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., introduced the measure again last month and says she believes she has enough support to make the bill law. “Schoolyard bullies – at least when you went home for the day, you could escape that,” Sanchez… Read more »
Shannon Halligan checks JuicyCampus.com quite a lot — but not because she’s obsessed with gossip. She wants to make sure her name doesn’t pop up when her classmates dish the dirt in online posts. “That’s what I’m scared of,” Halligan, a junior at Syracuse University, said recently. “Some of the ones just say peoples’ names and then they’ll say, ‘Discuss.’ And then they’ll just bash them.” She’s in Delta Delta Delta, one of the many sororities at SU whose members said they have been targets on what is becoming one of the most popular — and most controversial — Web… Read more »
Buzznet today announced the addition of Absolute Punk. Founded in 2000, Absolute Punk is the premier destination for alternative music, industry news, reviews, interviews and community, and has become the top source of information for devoted music fans. “The addition of Absolute Punk to our site helps us to deliver on our promise of making Buzznet the go to destination for all different kinds of fans across all genres of music,” said Scott Boyd, General Manager. “Buzznet is committed to delivering the most robust, diverse and all-encompassing music experience online. Absolute Punk’s loyal community and high quality editorial and social… Read more »
Harp magazine, which folded last month, is at least the third music magazine to cease publishing in 2008, joining alt-country title No Depression and indie rock mag Resonance in the dead pool. For a certain section of the indie world focused on a more mature, college-educated demographic, the loss of Harp and No Depression hit especially hard. “Those two outlets really spoke to our consumer,” says John Biondolillo, general manager at Dave Matthews’ ATO Records, which handles such critical darlings as singer/songwriters Patty Griffin and David Gray. Josh Wittman, group marketing director at Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc Records, home… Read more »
Amid ongoing competitive pressure from Facebook, MySpace is taking its latest shot at entering the music business as other social networking peers, such as Last.fm and imeem, are making big audience gains with ad-supported music offerings. According to sources, MySpace is planning a service that would combine free ad-supported music listening with paid MP3 downloads and music subscriptions. MySpace parent company News Corp. has approached the major labels about forming a joint-venture music site, similar to its partnership with the major Hollywood studios for video site hulu.com. The new service would be operated by MySpace and seemingly be positioned to… Read more »
There’s nothing like 1.3 billion potential ticket buyers to attract the attention of the live entertainment business. With the world’s largest population and an exploding economy, China may represent the future for international touring artists. That’s why the three biggest players in the U.S. live entertainment business — Live Nation, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Ticketmaster — have all staked claims in China. It’s virgin territory. “In China you have a huge potential market, a clean slate and opportunities you don’t see in more mature markets,” Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty said. “There is no established way of doing business yet,… Read more »
British rock band Radiohead scored its second No. 1 album on the U.S. pop charts on Wednesday with a release that was initially sold on the Internet under a revolutionary “name-your-own-price” system. “In Rainbows” also topped the charts in Britain, Canada, France, Japan and Ireland, a representative for the group said. The critically acclaimed album sold a relatively modest 122,000 copies during its first official week in U.S. stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan data for the week ended January 6. It sold an additional 10,000 copies the week before, when some retailers put it on shelves ahead of its January… Read more »
When it debuts Tuesday on the Web, My Damn Channel will become the latest attempt by Hollywood professionals to cash in on the huge popularity of online video. Comedian Harry Shearer, filmmaker David Wain and music producer Don Was, among others, also hope to find creative freedom seldom offered by traditional media companies. The site is the brainchild of former MTV and CBS Radio executive Rob Barnett, who believes Internet audiences want to see professionally produced shows other than network TV fare. “The old media companies don’t know how to program for this medium,” Barnett said. “There is a focus… Read more »
