From Business 2.0:
A Proposal for the Recording Industry: Embrace MP3!
“These are tough times for the music business. But that’s precisely why the industry should consider radical ideas.”
WFHB is Back!
After being pushed of the Internet air waves a number of months ago over concerns related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, WFHB in Bloomington, IN is back on the Internet! Using your Real Player you canlisten to WFHB via Shout cast technology.
Make sure you tune to the “Leave it to Beebe” show every Monday morning from 9am to noon (Indiana Time), I would have to rate it as my very favorite current radio show.
Go Ogg Vorbis
Go Ogg Vorbis!
Beth is Back!
Hallelujah! According to Rolling Stone: “Beth Orton will kick off a seventeen-city North American tour on May 20th in Vancouver, British Columbia. The tour comes in support of her upcoming release Daybreaker, due July 30th.
Daybreaker is the follow-up to Orton’s critically acclaimed second album, 1999’s Central Reservation. Orton pulled out all the stops for the new album enlisting collaborators like Ryan Adams, the Chemical Brothers, Johnny Marr and Emmylou Harris. Ben Watt (Everything but the Girl) and Andy Bradfield mixed the album.”
Kate Rusby
It is not often that I am totally taken with an artist after hearing but a few notes or words. A few years ago I became a devoted fan of the brilliant British singer Kate Rusby after hearing her for a few seconds. Her bell clear voice and her respect for the British tradition had me hooked right away.
Last night I had the great joy of seeing her perform at Ann Arbor’s own Ark folk club. The last time I saw her a year ago, her audience was a mere 50 or so. However, last night the audience members had swelled to an enthusiastic 150. Featuring multi-instrumentalist husband, John McCusker (who’s solo album Yella Hoose is brilliant as well) and Accordionist Andy Cutting, Kate had me transfixed the whole evening. If you want to learn a bit more about Kate, Visit her home page.
Music Biz Falls Off the Scale
The Deserters Lyrics
Listen to my LaunchCast radio station
Go Ani Go
In a profile in The Ann Arbor News, Ani DiFranco shows that success has not diminished her strong political views, particulary when it comes to the Music Industry…
“The interests of large corporations are contrary to the interests of human beings, and to the interests of art,” says DiFranco. “I am just not willing to be part of the corruption and homogenization of art and culture by business and corporate forces.”
From Salon comes this well written article, , about the battle between content owners and users:
“Copyright-holding corporations are pushing new laws and computer-crippling technologies in their war on piracy. But can anything keep geeks from copying the music and movies they crave?”
Apple chief blasts labels
Steve Jobs is pleased to have been awarded a Grammy by the recording industry last Wednesday night, for technical achievements in music for Apple Computer. But that doesn’t stop him from criticising record labels’ efforts in digital distribution.
Phil Aaberg won’t win
Tonight, my old friend, pianist Phil Aaberg is up for a Grammy in the “New Age” category. Does he stand a chance of winning? Absolutely not. Unfortunately for Phil, he’s up against major label pop star Enya.
Just like in the New Age category, major label star Bob Dylan will win over brilliant artists such as Buddy & Julie Miller, Townes Van Zandt, Gillian Welch and Lucinda Williams.
What’s sad about the smaller Grammy categories is that the independent label artists who usually deserve to win lose out to any act who happens to be on a major label.
RIAA: We’re losing out to Web pirates
Back at you SONY
Finally there’s some legal movement on the issue of the five major label’s attempt to control the online distribution of music.
In her ruling today (Friday), Judge Marilyn Hall Patel stated:
“plaintiffs are attempting the near monopolization of the digital distribution market. The resulting injury affects both Napster and the public interest.”
Dave Van Ronk RIP
One of the great American musical icons, Dave Van Ronk, died at approximately 9:30 AM, February 10, 2002, at New York University Medical Center in Manhattan. He was sixty-five years old.
Although Van Ronk did not achieve the public notoriety achieved by many of his peers from the Greenwich Village folks scene of the early 60’s, he was as loved and as influential as any of them.
“Familiarly known as “The Mayor of MacDougal Street,” Van Ronk presided over an apartment that served as hangout pad/salon to peers like Odetta, Tom Paxton and Peter Yarrow, and a virtual graduate school to the next generation of guitarists, some of whom, like Christine Lavin, achieved broad popularity in their own right. Others who acknowledge his influence include Janis Ian, Suzanne Vega, The Roches and members of The Blues Project. “
CD Baby
If you’re like me and have eclectic music tastes that tend to run more towards non-major label artists like Mark Kozelek, Grant-Lee Phillips or Melissa Ferrick, where do you go to discover and listen to bands like Some of None? Why, you go to the online indie music store CD Baby!
Not only can you do the traditional browse by artist, title or genre, but you also dig deeper by choosing styles and moods. Want to find Dreamy music from The Russian Federation? It’s in there.
It’s great to see that they’re finally getting some mainstream attention like this recent piece on MSNBC.
Not only do the sell great music, but their sense of humor rocks as well. Check out the order confirmation email I received from them. If this doesn’t convince you that CDBaby is the coolest, I don’t know what will.
Record Companies on the Defensive
For anyone who follows the anti-consumer, anti-artist and anti-retail stance of the five major record labels, issues discussed in this NY Times article Record Companies on the Defensive (requires registration to read) come as no surprise:
“According to transcripts made public today, the judge in the case said on Jan. 16 that she intended to grant a request by Napster to explore whether the record companies might have colluded to prevent Napster and other online music competitors from licensing music to sell on the Internet. The judge, Marilyn Patel of the Federal District Court in Northern California, also said she would allow Napster to explore whether the record companies might not control all the copyrights they claimed to own. ”
Jonathan Richman
Ever since I was a teenager, Jonathan Richman has been one of my heros. There’s nothing particularly Jonathan worthy going on, but I just figured I’d use to daddyo podium to point to a few JoJo resources.
First of all, there’s a great article on Jonathan in Salon that’s a great read.
The Long Road to Freedom
On this morning’s “Morning Edition”, host Bob Edwards spoke with Harry Belafonte about a new 5 CD anthology of black music in America, called “The Long Road to Freedom”. You can listen to this wonderful interview here.
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