RIP Chris Whitley: Keywords: RIP iRocker: Turn Your iPod Into a Guitar Tuner / Metronome / Practice Tool: Keywords: music, tools RIAA Bears Down on Webcasting Rules: Keywords: RIAA, webcasting Lefsetz Letter : Kate Bush: Keywords: reviews Indie Music Success…
What If Making Music Was Your Day Job and Reaching Audiences Was Your Hobby?
Scottish band Looper is asking exactly this question. A snippet of their song wound up in a commercial, earning them enough money to stop worrying about selling records. They’re focusing on composing more music for film and television to pay…
Walk The Line
If you’re a working musician, you must see this movie. Yes, like “That Thing You Do,” it hearkens back to the era when you could track down someone like Sam Phillips on the street and actually get an audition. On…
My Favorite New Christmas Song
I’ve been lamenting to my clients that we’re always in need of fresh, new holiday songs. So Rhonda and Pale Beneath the Blue have whipped up the Snow Emergency EP. “Christmas Break” is definitely fresh and different — and it…
Selling records to your MySpace Friends
Scott Andrew relates the story of an independent band that spent an entire week featured on the front of MySpace.com — and managed to sell zero CDs. This is not uncommon, and not unxpected. Here’s why: It takes a typical…
Black is Back
Cafepress is finally rolling out one-off black t-shirts. Track these topics:
Band Practice Without the Funky Aroma
Apparently, folks are now using Skype to telecommute to band practice. Track these topics:
iTMS Outsells Borders and Tower
NPD figured out that, when you equate 12 singles to one physical CD, iTunes now sells more music than Borders or Tower. See, we told you that record stores were becoming lousy places to try to sell records! iTMS Outsells…
Music Miracles and the Power of Intention
Kathy writes about the “miracle” she experienced when a documentary producer contacted her to use one of her tunes in an upcoming television special about Hurricane Katrina. I believe wholeheartedly that we create our own luck and our own opportunities.…
It feels nice to report on something a major label is doing RIGHT.
Have I been drinking the same Kool Aid as the founder of Elektra Records, Jac Holzman? Cordless, his new skunk works project deep in the bowels of Warner Music Group, marks a return to artist development and smart audience growth.…
All your Mac are belong to SonyBMG
I finally have a computer that works, with no creaking hard drive, and has not self-immolated (knock wood) and SonyBMG wants to install backdoors on it? Uh, no. I will not be putting any SonyBMG discs into my pristine optical…
Get a $50,000 music video for $1,000.
I frequently tell clients that they don’t have to spend too much money on music videos, since there are plenty of talented filmmakers that are happy to work with the right band for free or for cheap as a portfolio…