While a whole lot of hype is building around The Search for the Next Great American Band, a report from the Fox upfront casts some light on another project that will be interesting to musicians. Nashville is from the same…
Farewell Little Brother’s — Another Live Music Venue Closing
I was talking with a musician the other day about why it’s so hard to find places to play lately. We’re in another real estate surge nationwide, which means that all the cheap spaces and run-down buildings that are great…
Fabulous but Unsigned
Nekesa Mumbi Moody chronicles a common complaint, especially among high-ranking women in the music business: If you don’t look better than you sound, the recording industry doesn’t want you. And it’s true. Armchair quarterbacks are already noting that Melinda Doolittle…
America’s Hot Musician Suing to Stop Idol Spinoff. Maybe.
How many ways can you possibly pitch a talent competition to a television executive? According to the producers of America’s Hot Musician, a series airing on the Oxygen Network this spring, FremantleMedia and 19Entertainment are just copying the idea they…
Search for the Next Great American Band: Most Bizarre Elimination Challenge?
American Idol’s producers have already told us how they’re going to spending the fall looking for “The Next Great American Band.” What they didn’t tell us was just how bizarre this contest is shaping up to be. According to this…
NYT Profiles Jonathan Coulton and other Musicians Earning “Reasonable Living”
The New York Times Magazine looks at the various ways that musicians connect with fans in order to make a living. Although the carrot of super-stardom still dangles (the article mentions that Justin and Beyonce are creatures of and for…
The Search for the Next Great American Band
19 Entertainment wants us to stay glued to our screens all summer as they search for the Next Great American Band. Looks like the Idol format, but with bands instead of solo performers. The biggest questions I have right now……
How Local Record Stores Can Stay in Business
It’s not the first time we’ve covered the issue here, but amidst the horror story that has become the chart of overall music sales, there’s a quiet confidence among the owners of America’s finest record stores. The Columbia Free Times…
Michael Penn to Tour Second Life?
CNN catches up with Michael Penn on the occasion of his “best of” collection’s release — which is, in itself, a curious story of how corporate consolidation can actually benefit the kinds of “dropped” major label acts I wrote about…
Remix Our Masthead
I got a great idea from one of our readers who sent in a new masthead… since you’re all so creative and since we recently revived our old logo, I thought I’d let you take a spin at designing the…
Songwriting Contest Secrets: Who’s Really Judging? (Part 2)
Earlier today, I asked if it was “fair” that many songwriting contests use interns to screen entries. It all comes down to what is promised in a contest’s terms and conditions. Unfortunately, many songwriting contests use vague terminology in their…
Songwriting Contest Secrets: Who’s Really Judging? (part 1)
So far in this special series, I’ve written about some of the myths and realities of songwriting contests, the reasonableness of entry fees, and the real involvement of contest sponsors. Today, I’m tacking one of the most subjective elements of…