Are labels - especially major labels - critical financiers of musical creativity? That is a tough thesis to defend these days, especially against a backdrop of surging music supply and consumption among unsigned artists. But record labels have played a major filtering and financing role in the past, and their pocketbooks have created some of the biggest superstars of modern music history - starting at the stage of obscurity. Read the rest of this entry »
IFPI: Labels Investing $5 Billion Annually on Artists…
March 11th, 2010Charlotte Church Gets $3M From Power Amp to Finance Album
March 11th, 2010London - Welsh singer-songwriter and television host Charlotte Church has signed a $3 million deal with investment fund Power Amp Music to finance the recording of a new album, the Financial Times reported. Read the rest of this entry »
A2IM Keeps Stumping for Net Neutrality…
March 9th, 2010The complicated debate over net neutrality continues this week, thanks to a pro-neutrality filing by A2IM. Group president Rich Bengloff has been stumping for neutrality for some time, though the group just filed its support paperwork with the FCC. “In an increasingly networked, digital world, the internet represents a crucial marketplace, and when able to compete on fair terms, independent music thrives,” the group relayed Monday afternoon. Read the rest of this entry »
TV Interview with Alexandra Patsavas of Chop Shop Music
March 8th, 2010
Report: Apple Urging Labels to Reject Amazon MP3 “Daily Deals”
March 4th, 2010Apple has begun urging record labels not to participate in a discounted MP3 promotion offered by rival Amazon.com and withdrawing iTunes Store marketing support for some releases featured as Amazon “Daily Deals,” Billboard reported, citing sources. Read the rest of this entry »
Washington, DC: Performance Anxiety Strikes Again…
March 3rd, 2010The seemingly-endless battle over terrestrial performance royalties for recordings continued Tuesday in Washington, DC. As usual, the typical combatants are facing off, including the RIAA and NAB (National Association of Broadcasters). And once again, the topic du jour was the Performance Rights Act. Read the rest of this entry »
Thumbplay Music: Still a Cloud-In-Progress…
March 3rd, 2010Conceptualizing the cloud is one thing. But building it is something entirely different, and Thumbplay is currently struggling through the early stages of delivering ubiquity. An early test of Thumbplay Music by Digital Music News was mostly problematic, though some bright spots poked through. At this developmental moment, consider Thumbplay Music a ‘cloud-in-progress’. Read the rest of this entry »
Will A Revamped Attitude Make Users Reconsider MySpace?
March 2nd, 2010First reported by TechCrunch and later confirmed by Billboard, MySpace’s new slogan is “Discover and be Discovered”. The strategy was reportedly revealed to employees during a meeting last week at the Los Angeles HQ. The meeting, attended by some 600 employees as well as being broadcast to other offices, was most likely a move to calm the frazzled employees that apparently didn’t foresee CEO Van Netta’s departure last month. Read the rest of this entry »
European Commission Strikes Down Three-Strikes, Again…
March 1st, 2010Want a three-strikes provision in your European country? Then expect resistance from EU-level lawmakers and courts, a group that has repeatedly brushed back attempts to disconnect. Read the rest of this entry »
