The clothing company made one jacket for one customer by request, didn’t charge her for it (since it was considered a promotional item), and apparently caused “irreparable damage” to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose merchandising company is suing them and several other “bootleg” merchandise sellers for $11 million
The sheer numbers attending talent shows such as X-Factor and Pop Idol are anything to go by then more and more people are becoming gripped with becoming music stars and musicians- and for the lucky few this dream becomes a reality- Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood, David Cook and many more.
By the same token [...]
Mumbai, May 2 (IANS) Live concerts and music on the internet will be key to the music business of the future, feels Ralph Christoph, an electronics music expert from Germany who is scouting for talent in India.
When the heartbeat of Indian Idol, Emon is eliminated everybody including Mini and Anu Maliik, cried for him but he did not shed a single tear. He came across as a brave soldier, who is ready to take the Indian film industry by storm.You seem to have taken the verdict quite sportingly. Or are you hiding your disappointment?I am not hiding anything. Definitely I am sad that I’ve to leave now. But it`s ok… it is a part of the game. It could have been anyone’s turn this time. It could have been Prashant bhaiya or it could have been me. Now I’ll go out of here, practice hard and become the best singer. I promise that to those who voted for me.Did you expect it?I did expect it today. We have come to a stage in the contest when anyone can be eliminated. It could have been Amit or Prashan
China businesses large and small have been stealing intellectual property from US and European firms for so long that no one remembers when it began. The...
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Sony BMG has decided to dip its toes into the world of podcasted music with its recent agreement with marketing agency Rock River Communications Inc., making it the first (and only, for the time being) major music label in the US to license music for podcasting.
So, Sony has agreed to accept royalty payments from podcasters, [...]
It seems that the turbulent end of the music industry (as we know it) is coming closer and closer. I mentioned in a previous post how the Smashing Pumpkins were supposedly going independent after breaking from all label contracts, and now it seems that a break from their label is not enough as [...]
"Back in high school I used to drive to a friend's house to copy cassette tapes. Would a reasonable response to this piracy have been to place a toll (voluntary or not) on all roads, since they might be used to transport illegally copyrighted material? The Internet is just today's highway, and its used for a lot more than illegally copying music.If the music industry wants to offer $5/month unlimited licenses to users enabling them to freely copy any material that is a separate issue. But why tie the license to the transport mechanism ? It is possible to copy material without using the Internet, and if I actually bought a license I would expect to be able to copy material using any medium I chose." Vanu Bose [vanu@vanu.com]There is nothing wrong or nothing right.It is just a way to get sti
Lou Pearlman created the “pop boy band” when he put together (and later robbed) N’sync and The Backstreet Boys. Then he went on to rob investors and employees in his company of...
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“A restaurant owner who doesn’t even offer live music was approached for payment for having the TV on while the Monday Night Football theme played. And if the owners pay up to one licensing company, all of the others start harassing them, calling four times a day, demanding payment too. It sounds like they don’t [...]
If the music industry really wants to save itself, it could start by doing away with all the bullshit. What bullshit, you ask? Here are six underhanded tricks that we could live without, and that our kids probably will
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If the music industry really wants to save itself, it could start by doing away with all the bullshit. What bullshit, you ask? Here are six underhanded tricks that we could live without, and that our kids probably will.Funny, sad, but true. I personally think #5 is the worst offender...read more | digg story
Things have cooled off a bit after the hype surrounding Radiohead’s In Rainbows release, the first major release to use the innovative pay-what-you-want business model. In the interim, two other notable artists have released work on the pay-what-you-want model, Trent Reznor and Saul Williams’ Niggy Tardust and comedian Steve Hofstetter’s The Dark Side Of The Room. Taken together, these three examples prove the success of the business model and foreshadow the game-changing effect it will have on the industry.
It’s pretty easy to rebut the typical arguments made against the model:
This is a one-shot phenomenon. At some point the hype will die down and people will lose interest.
As mentioned above, three notable albums have now been released on this model, all months apart and in very different genres. At the very least, the pay-what-you-want model seems to show a clear trend. This model offers the promise of free or cheap music to fans. Free or cheap music as a
The music and film industry continues to pursue its idea of a politically "corrected" Internet - one that they imagine could protect their old business models without requiring any extra costs on their part. This time, the fix is Internet-wide filtering. In a memo to European policy-makers, the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) has called upon ISPs in Europe to filter the content sent across their networks, block protocols used by their customers, and cut off access to persistently infringing sites from the Net.Disturbingly, European politicians seem open to the idea of ISPs policing and interfering with their customers' communications on behalf of rightsholders. Last month, the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) tabled an amendment to a Parliamentary report that changed a request to "rethink the critical issue of intellectual property", into a call for "internet service providers to apply filtering measures to prevent cop
The following quote sums it up nicely: “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince should know that with behaviour like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores. And I say that to all the other artists who may be tempted to dally with the Mail on Sunday.” They really do sound like a bunch of petulant little kids, don’t they?
This goes back to his AFKAP / ‘Slave’ days. I would suggest that he’s bided his time and decided to deliver a ‘f*ck you’ to the music industry in general. Are you watching this George ‘Dope’ Michael?
via Wired"Despite the continual legal pursuit of music file-sharing "criminals" by the "RIAA ( )", the ability to find great music and create a significant music library at virtually no cost is still quite feasible. So we'll start by dividing this into categories and giving a few examples of what we know. But it's up to you to fill in the blanks."
Kylie Minogue has been honoured with a prestigious music industry award lastnight, wearing a Dolce & Gabanna golden brown gown. She was with her sister Dannii Minogue who did not out shine Kylie in...
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Getty Images, Inc. enters into a new chapter and will now start offering music and audio to their customers. They’ve just launched a new section of the site powered by Pumpaudio, which will focus on licensing and selling music for Getty Images. Adding much value to the site and making it a unique and [...]
This is off topic, I know, but it does have implications for those of us who have entertainment companies in our portfolio. Today, the Independent ran a story explaining that the band 'The Charlatans' are to give away their new album for free on the Internet. Guess what? The music industry is none too happy about it.
"You Cross My Path" will be free to anyone who wishes to download it from the
Of all the great music industry sites that are available on the web, very few can compare to what Vic Firth offers in the way of educating those who use their products (and for that matter -those that use their competitor’s products as well!). If you are a budding percussionist or a professional, Vic Firth offers free educational materials that will make you better.
Sure they want you to buy their products, but they want you to be able to use them right as well! Vic Firth offers a “second to none” array of free materials to be used by students, performers and educators alike. I’ve used their free materials for years in my percussion methods course at the college and can tell you they are top rate, first class and indispensable.
With regard to the realm of Snare Drum Studies, they offer an excellent guide to learning the 40 rudiments. Norm Weinberg’s WebRhythms not only boast a progressive way to learn rhythms, but also include online metro
music industry newsThe music industry is receiving a lot of criticism (no news here) from the blogosphere for its new product, the "ringle". The "ringle" attempts to link wireless media with CD store culture. It's a fairytale idea and simply doesn't resonate with consumers. Sony BMG introduced the idea saying they plan to charge 6 to 7 bucks for a CD single wrapped with a ringtone and a jpeg (desktop wallpaper) and call it a "ringle". What's particularly asinine about the "ringle" is that it comes in light of Apple's announcement to include a ringtone converter product on iTunes. Better yet, there are free ways to create your own ringtones.Also, remember Sony BMG were the ones who secretly included the copy-protection software XCP on select CD products. Consumer outrage ensued and the products were recalled. Now who is going to load-up one of their discs?Sorry guys - CDs are over!On the flip side, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Amazon have agreed to participate in selling the "rin
In the RIAA wishful spreading of lawsuits around the country, it comes as no surprise that a few targeted individuals have flashed with counter-suit action. One such person is Tanya Anderson, a disabled mother, who was recently dismissed in a two year court-side battle with the RIAA. Now she is launching the the first class action lawsuit against the RIAA, claiming negligence, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress and RICO racketeering violations. Further, another suit has been filed by Michelle Santangelo, this time against AOL and her friend, holding the company liable for not filtering illegal activity performed on KaZaa, a file sharing software item installed by her friend.(Link)Sonific today announced an Application Interface that will instantly connect content providers with 100s of partner social networking sites. Additionally the Interface allows record labels and musician the ability to shovel-in songs for streaming across the respective networking sites. In retu
Get your spy game on with an Mp3 wristwatch from the Thanko Corporation, currently released in Japan. The watch both records sound, monoaurally in 64kpbs, 16kHz audio, and features playback functionality using an Mp3 flash player. Additionally, audio data can be transferred to and from a computer via USB 1.1. (Link)
It doesn’t take a genius nor a industry insider to figure out that the industry is going down the drain. Record sales down 33% as I’ve mentioned in a previous post. These are hard times to be in the rap game (other genres are still grinding out and doing the damn thing). And no, the reason behind this decline is not excessive downloading and pirating contradictory to what the media has said and is saying. Its the RIAA and record companies fault for being so damn greedy and twisted. The fact of the matter is that even if good music is being made it isn’t being put out because A&R’s and the higher powers are stuck on strictly crunk repetitive bullshit. Don’t get me wrong I like crunk music it gets it poppin’ in the club but in year 2007 can you say “over-saturation”, I mean, WHAT THE FUCK is a “Ay Bay Bay”.
To take it even further the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) aka “greedy ass bitches that have way
The major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models, even as some wonder whether it's too late. "The record business is over," says music attorney Peter Paterno, who represents Metallica and Dr. Dre. "The labels have wonderful assets -- they just can't make any money off them." One senior music-industry source who requested anonymity went further: "Here we have a business that's dying. There won't be any major labels pretty soon."In 2000, U.S. consumers bought 785.1 million albums; last year, they bought 588.2 million (a figure that includes both CDs and downloaded albums), according to Nielsen SoundScan. In 2000, the ten top-selling albums in the U.S. sold a combined 60 million copies; in 2006, the top ten sold just 25 million.(source: Rolling Stone)What is your opinion?Subscribe to my Posts...
Facing an outcry over imminent royalty fee increases for Internet radio operators, the music industry body that lobbied for the changes has attempted a peace offering.SoundExchange, the nonprofit group that collects the fees on behalf of hundreds of major and independent record companies, said on Tuesday that it would give "small" Webcasters the option of paying "below market" royalty rates on the songs they play--that is, by keeping the required royalty rates essentially the same as they are under a 2002 law called the Small Webcaster Settlement Act."The net result of this proposal is that small Webcasters would be guaranteed no increase in royalty payments for 13 years, from 1998 to 2010," SoundExchange general counsel Michael Huppe said in a statement.Webcasters that fall in the "small" category would be required to pay 10 percent of all gross revenue up to $250,000 and 12 percent for all gross revenue above that amount. Those rates would hold until 2010 and be retroactive to 2006,
The music industry is rapidly moving online. People are finally discovering the amazing power of the internet to collaborate with talent around the world and easily go from unheard of and unsigned in…Read full story
If you happened to pick up a recent Time magazine, you might have noticed an interesting little music piece about progressive band Radiohead. I’ve been a Radiohead fan for a while now and have been anticipating a new album for quite some time. They’ve developed into quite a progressive and artist band and it appears that they are forging a new path again.
The column is short and for those of you who might not have read it, I’ll give you a little overview. It talks about how Radiohead has had their contract with EMI expire and is currently considering both signing for a one record contract with a new label and going “label-less.” There is even an interesting quote from front man Thom Yorke where he questions why “…anyone needs one…” when referring to a record label.
This doesn’t really strike me as odd coming from Radiohead as they’ve always done their own thing and been a little more progressive. I hope they do release the new re
Here's some more interesting news on DRM from slashdot:
Apparently there was a Jupiter Research survey conducted before Steve Jobs's anti-DRM essay, indicating that most music industry execs see DRM-free music as a way to expand sales on digital tracks.
The survey covered large and small record labels, rights bodies, digital stores, and technology providers.
To summarize: 54% of music execs think that current DRM is too restrictive and 62% think selling unencumbered music would be a way to boost sales.
Even limiting the survey to the record labels themselves, 48% believe this. Yet, many also believe it's not going to happen without significant governmental intervention ”even though most insiders think DRM is harmful, the labels are keen to stick with it."
Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/91197028/article.pl
Bob Cefail says: You betcha, DRM is hurting sales:)
(Manila, Philippines, October 5, 2006) - Digital Media Exchange introduces first social network service/online music store in South East Asia
Capitalizing on the boom of the Web 2.0 technology, Digital Media Exchange (dme) recently introduced mobiuslive (www.mobiuslive.net), the first music community website that combines the popularity of social network services with the success of digital distribution.
Read more!
CANNES (Reuters) With global music sales down for a seventh straight year, the talk at an annual industry meeting in Cannes, France, has become heated over how to develop digital sales against competition from the dreaded F word -- free. Global sales are expected to be down again for 2006 despite digital sales almost doubling to $2 billion...Read More | Digg Story
The music industry has recommenced its legal assault on p2p file sharing with the announcement of more than 8,000 cases against alleged sharers in 17 countries.Internet users in three countries, Brazil, Mexico and Poland, are being targeted for the first time. The IFPI, the major record companies international umbrella group, estimates that in Brazil alone, [...]
MSNBC has a great new Q&A with Apple boss Steve Jobs. Jobs talks about how iPod has succeeded, how they battled with the music industry, how the Mac’s low market share HELPED them and some very insightful comments on Microsoft’s new “iPod killer”, the Zune!
Some people say that iPod might lose its cache because it’s [...]
