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Magic Microphones

Fri, 23 May 2008 11:25:02 GMT

Rocker's son knows he has to earn way in music industry

It's usually noted in the first paragraph of every story on Justin Townes Earle that he's the son of iconic rocker Steve Earle, but the 25-year-old doesn't expect to breeze through on his name alone.

"No matter who you think you are, this is still hard work," Earle said from his Nashville home two weeks ago. "It has to be earned."

The only child from his father's third marriage - he's racked up four more marriages since - Earle grew up in Nashville and played briefly in his father's band. He's the latest member of the family to jump into music industry - his aunt, Stacey Earle, is a musician, along with his uncle, Mark Stuart, and stepmother, Allison Moorer.

Growing up in a musical family "does breed a certain kind of alternative lifestyle," Earle noted with a laugh. "Life around my house was definitely not like many people's."

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Entertech

Thu, 22 May 2008 11:26:15 GMT

Legal Eye: What's the score for the music biz?

Coldplay's decision to offer their latest single, 'Violet Hill', as a free download shows what a state of flux the music industry now finds itself in.

It seems that the collective power of the majors is under threat as artists, using their own sales and marketing techniques, look for alternative distribution methods and tie-ups. So what does this all mean for the music and wider media industry?

As well as giving away the new single, Coldplay announced free concerts in London and New York. For a band renowned for shunning the limelight, and firmly under contract to EMI, their announcements highlight the uncertainty surrounding the future of media companies.

There's a tangible unease between artists and promoters too. As Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was quoted as saying "being on a major label at the moment is like living in your grandparents' house".

Big names have signed deals outside the mainstream. EMI recently lost Sir Paul McCartney to the nascent Starbucks music label, Hear Music. Drinks brand Bacardi will release Groove Armada's latest songs and the dance duo will headline Bacardi's international music events throughout 2008.

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Prosong

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:16:23 GMT

MySpace forms music venture with big labels

NEW YORK - News Corp's MySpace, the world's largest social network Web site, said it has formed an online music venture with three major recording companies in a challenge to Apple Inc's dominant iTunes Music Store.

Vivendi's Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group have minority stakes in the new MySpace Music venture announced on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed.

MySpace Music will offer free music and video streaming supported by advertising, paid-for MP3 downloads, ringtones for cell phones, concert ticket sales and merchandise.

Chris De Wolfe, chief executive of MySpace, said the launch date of the new service was "fluid" with commercial features being added to the site over the next three to four months. He said MySpace is in talks with more music industry partners to offer their services on MySpace Music.

"We're talking to all the big ticketing companies as well as the small ones," De Wolfe told Reuters in an interview. He declined comment on EMI, the fourth big music company, which is not in the initial deal.

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Koritech

Tue, 20 May 2008 13:58:00 GMT

Johansson enjoys music industry freedom

Scarlett Johansson has said that she enjoys the "freedom" of working as a musician.

The actress-turned-singer claimed she felt more in control while she was working on her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head than she does when making a film.

"I found that making this record there was so much freedom," she told NME. "When you shoot a movie, you do your part and you hope the editor keeps in your best takes.

"With this it was great to be involved in the whole creative process. This record is an extremely personal experience for me."

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Magic Mike

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:38:09 GMT

SIMON FULLER - FULLER NAMED MOST SUCCESSFUL BRITISH MANAGER

Music mogul SIMON FULLER has been named as the most successful British music manager of all time in a new survey.

The man behind the Spice Girls and Annie Lennox has been crowned king of the music industry by Billboard magazine, with 116 million sales by his artists in North America, 500 number one singles worldwide and over 240 number one albums.

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Karaoke Mic

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:38:46 GMT

Belt out your favorite tunes at karaoke

Snowbirds like to entertain themselves and singing is one way they do it. They, like many other birds, have found that singing brings a smile to their faces and to the people around them.

I am a big karaoke fan. When I visit Naples, is there any place I can do my thing?
Gayle Fandetti,
Smithfield, R.I.

A form of entertainment which includes singing that everyone can enjoy and interact is karaoke. Yes, karaoke! Now, you might think, "Why would I want to do that?"

If you go to a karaoke club you will be pleasantly entertained. Yes, there are what we call karaoke professionals out there and they have beautiful voices, proving that you don't have to go to the Naples Philharmonic to be entertained.
The origins of karaoke are obscure. Some say it started with a drummer; others say it was a snack bar owner who invented karaoke, but everyone agrees that the phenomenon started in Kobe, Japan, in the 1970s.

Don't have anything to do? Just find a karaoke bar, sit back and enjoy. Or, be bold, relive your high school chorus days or sing a song that reminds you of something special in your life. Having that mike in your hand for three minutes and laying your emotions into a favorite song can be quite exhilarating.

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Magictecnina

Wed, 14 May 2008 04:34:37 GMT

Chhote Ustad Anwesha records for I M 24

It has been barely 2 months for 14 year old singing prodigy Anwesha Datta Gupta, Star Voice of India - Chhote Ustad fame and she is already making her presence felt in the music industry.

She is all set to make her singing debut with Planman Motion Pictures forthcoming romantic comedy I M 24. It's been rightly said that talent never goes unnoticed and Planman took a step ahead and identified this talent. Recently Anwesha recorded a romantic song for I M 24. Top music director Jatin Pandit (duo Jatin-Lalit fame) has lent the melodious music to this romantic song.

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Prosong

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:43:28 GMT

Album with no cheer

Tom Waits' music has never really been about the brighter side of this life. He champions the sort of people who (to paraphrase onetime New York Gov. Mario Cuomo) live in the gutter where the glitter don't shine. They are beaten, wrecked and miserable.

But most importantly, the characters are alive.

In braving the dreaded crossover, Scarlett Johansson has dulled Waits' vivid portraits to death on Anywhere I Lay My Head. Her debut album features 10 Waits compositions and one original, all delivered in the same hazy sleepwalk tone.

Beyond the single songwriting credit and vocals, Johansson's participation in the project appears to have been pretty minimal. The weight of the album falls squarely on the shoulders of producer and arranger David Sitek (TV on the Radio). Although Sitek's work on Anywhere varies greatly in imagination and success, it is conceivable he could have pulled it all off with the right voice.

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Magic Mike

Tue, 13 May 2008 03:23:53 GMT

Chicago promoter’s ordinance: Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd ward

This afternoon, I spoke with 42nd ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, whose ward covers the Loop and River North - an area with many performance venues and clubs, from the House of Blues to Club 720 to Funky Buddha Lounge to Blues Chicago - about the proposed promoter’s ordinance. Reilly’s generally in favor of the ordinance, but in talking with him, it was clear that there are still vagaries written into this ordinance that would knock most smaller promoters out of the business, and might result in Chicago’s live performance scene being relegated only to the largest venues, booked by the biggest promoters.

TOC: You’ve got quite a few live music venues in your ward.
Brendan Reilly: We sure do.

TOC: At this point, what are your views on the ordinance, as written?
BR: I think the revised substitute ordinance certainly shows dramatic improvements. The original ordinance [from last year] required quite a bit of work. Many criticized it as overly broad and possibly creating insurmountable barriers for promoters to do their business. So I do think the new ordinance is substantially better than the original, and I think it addresses many of the concerns that the industry had.

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Koritech

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:38:59 GMT

7th Shot: Jon B

Jon B. comes from what some would call the old school of R&B. A time when male crooners didn’t necessarily have to dance, employ the use of pyrotechnics, or have a featured rapper on every track in order to gain popularity. For Jon B. the focus has always been nothing but the music. But after a string of hits that included “Someone to Love,” “They Don’t Know,” and “Don’t Talk,” he seemed to fade away into obscurity. After some personal and professional life changes he’s back and ready to remind everyone of his talent with the upcoming release of Helpless Romantic.

Sixshot caught up with Jon B to talk his new daughter, the new love in his life, his biggest personal change of the past few years, why he doesn’t keep many industry friends, being unprepared for fame, new dreams, and more.

You’ve been out of the spotlight for some time now. What have you been up to?

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Entertech

Mon, 12 May 2008 03:44:52 GMT

He knew just what he liked

Frank Zappa gave Maryland more than just the first 10 years of his life. He also gave his home state one of its most memorable moments in legislative history.

Never before, nor since, I'm guessing, has someone testified to the state Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, "I like nipples."

That was back in 1986. My excuse for revisiting this tawdry episode all these years later: Baltimore is preparing to erect a statue of Zappa, yet another of its offbeat natives.

Zappa and his family left Maryland while he was a grade-schooler. He was a famous, 45-year-old rocker, living in California, by the time Maryland was mulling a ban on the sale of "obscene" music to minors.

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Karaoke Mic

Wed, 07 May 2008 04:46:13 GMT

Music as medicine for your brain

What happens to your brain when the music of Def Leppard, Frank Sinatra or even Michael Bolton blasts through a speaker and fills your head?

Obviously, there are different reactions and feelings depending on your musical tastes and tolerance for a particular genre of music.

Daniel Levitin, a McGill University professor often referred to as the "rock 'n' roll doctor" for his music-industry work with Steely Dan, The Grateful Dead and Stevie Wonder, has studied the effect of music on the brain.

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Magic Sing

Tue, 06 May 2008 03:44:40 GMT

Music Marketing Is In Throes Of A Digital Transformation

TAMPA - If the MP3 was a shot across the music industry's bow, Radiohead's "In Rainbows" may have been the torpedo that sank the ship.

The English art-rock quintet initially released its latest album as a pay-what-you-want download.

The set-your-own-price angle captured the most headlines, but the secondary story was more important.

As the old TV pitch used to go, Radiohead cut out the middleman and brought the savings to you. A major rock band put out a new album sans record industry.

"In Rainbows" was the result of seismic changes in the technology and economics of the music business.

Fans cheered. The recording industry shuddered. Some other artists followed suit.

Where does it go from here?

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Magic Microphones

Mon, 05 May 2008 04:37:54 GMT

Steve Jobs Stakes Out the TV Den

A week ago, the family was stuck on I-95 between Washington and New York for seven hours. The Meatgrinder, as it is affectionately known to us, had a little case of congestion and after five hours of quality time, we were reduced to silently hating the intermittent FM signal and the brake lights that framed our existence.

But after we hooked an Apple iPod to a doohickey that works with the radio, the car suddenly filled with an hour’s worth of storytelling from a podcast of “This American Life,” followed by some quality time with Taylor Swift, an improbably gifted teenage country star. The ability to program our temporary purgatory lifted the pall and before we knew it, we were home.

But once we went inside, we hit the halt button on Apple. There was the second season of “Friday Night Lights” on Netflix, “John Adams” from HBO on the digital video recorder and back copies of “Weeds” from Showtime, there for the plucking from the on-demand service.

While a lot of us carry a little bit of Steve Jobs around in our pocket, Apple is now after the remaining bit of life-share that it doesn’t already own, the home front.

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Koritech

Fri, 02 May 2008 05:25:00 GMT

Scare-mongering digital music leaflet plays into BPI’s hands

Childnet International, a registered charity set up in 1995 to ‘make the internet a great and safe place for children,’ has issued a leaflet (396KB pdf) that might have been drafted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The leaflet contains some startlingly tendentious stuff.

First of all, it conflates P2P with MySpace, Bebo and Facebook, and all of them with the spread of viruses and ‘unwelcome content.’ The companies in question might wish to take legal advice.

To parents, the leaflet says they should urge their children to ‘consider what would happen if you faced legal action – who would pay the bill or lose out if their internet connection was disconnected?’ So the BPI’s ‘three strikes and you’re disconnected’ demand is now law? Not quite. Even the EU parliament has rejected it, and HEXUS.channel applauded the robust response of Carphone Warehouse CEO Charles Dunstone to the proposal nearly a month ago.

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Magic Mike

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:47:24 GMT

Karaoke party, character appearances to mark Free Comic Book Day

The Legends comic book store on Broad Street will participate in the worldwide Free Comic Book Day set for this coming Saturday.

The annual event, which draws crowds to comic book stores, is what Legends owner Gordon Lee calls an “outreach program by the comic book companies to try and promote their products.”

For Lee, it is also a chance to give back.

Charges against Lee were recently dropped, and his defense was funded by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Lee will host a party Saturday will help raise money for the CBLDF. The party, which will also feature a silent auction for comic books, hardbound volumes and some autographed items, will feature karaoke and will start around 9 p.m.

“It’s a mini celebration for us,” Lee said.

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Karaoke Mic

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:59:25 GMT

Baby Mama Reminds Me Everyone Loves Karaoke Revolution

I managed to sneak in a screening of Baby Mama this weekend and was reminded that Karaoke Revolution is a universal crowd pleaser. Without giving away any pivotal plot points of the movie I can reveal that Amy Poehler's character, the not-so-worldly Angie who Tina Fey's character Kate hires to carry her baby, spends ample time in Kate's apartment sharpening her Karaoke Revolution skills. The habit annoys Kate at first but eventually brings the two together when they join forces for a wicked "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" performance.

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Magictecnica

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:50:36 GMT

Electronic-based PlayRadioPlay look break onto national scene

The digital age has quickly dawned upon us with ever-growing technologies and techniques to accomplish normal, everyday tasks in half the time required. But when you say the "digital age" regarding the music industry, there's a different feel; a feel of an iTunes dominated, label-less music world. However, a select number of musicians take the "digital age" to another meaning - one of computer beats, synth programming and electronic music.

PlayRadioPlay's Dan Hunter takes this musical "digital age" and mixes it with a recipe of fast drums, fuzzy guitars and soft vocals to come out with a concoction all of its own. When you listen to his music, it's no wonder Hunter's wildest dreams came true for him at an age we all just thought of as the age you could purchase a ticket to an R-rated movie. Now at just 18 years old, Hunter's debut album, Texas, has taken his unique sound to the nation, including MTV. (By the way, PlayRadioPlay was also one my three breakout artists of the year at the beginning of 2008. Not to brag or anything.)

"My music's hard to describe," Hunter said. "It's electronic music and rock mixed together. I'm really happy with the way [Texas] came out."

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Karaoke Mic

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:37:27 GMT

The reality about reality shows

FROM as far back as 2003, the local showbiz scene has been flooded by TV talent show “wannabes”. Critics often question their strengths, dismissing their staying power in the music industry as “touch-and-go”, saying that these shows are more popularity contests where looks and charisma take precedence over talent.

It is true that reality talent shows have produced a tad too many singers who don’t measure up to artistes who have honed their skills independently of such debuts.

Talent shows have provided a platform for many young Malaysians for their shot at stardom. By and large, it requires a lot of perseverance and a good deal of luck to make it to success.

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Entertech

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:58:04 GMT

Nokia to lead new revolution in music downloading business

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) will soon begin to offer music from artists at Sony BMG (a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and privately-held Bertelsmann AG) on the company's music phones, reports Reuters. The addition of the second largest music company to top label Universal Music Group gives listeners and phone buyers access to tracks and the ability to keep those tracks even if they do not renew the program (or, if Nokia and the labels do not renew the agreements). "Comes with Music" will launch later this year on a number of different Nokia devices in select markets, and the phone company expects all labels to come on board before it is unveiled properly.

Reuters also commented that "such unlimited download models could offer a shot in the arm to the music industry, which is struggling to find ways to make up for falling CD sales." In a market where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iTunes Store is the top online retailer for music and other media, a free program with download capabilities would not be a very welcome addition. With the developments in the industry over the past year or so, a move to complete digital access for listeners is quite revolutionary and a very different model for the labels to be embracing. The only shame to it all is that it took as long as it did for the labels to realize how they could readjust marketing and sales platforms in order that listeners, artists and the labels would all profit.

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