Music Industry News

Wow: Looks Like Indies Just Got Third-Class Treatment from Apple...

Source: Digital Music News
November 6, 2010

Yesterday, we reported that Apple was negotiating through various details with publishers over its expanded iTunes previews. Looks like they gave the brush-off to big publishers initially, though everything's now moving towards an amicable resolution.

But just moments after filing that story, we started hearing from unhappy indies. The reason is that Apple negotiated the 90-second clips with the majors first, then 'remembered' to negotiate with the publishers, and then essentially told the indies what was happening. But many of ...

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Getting Your Music into China, Part Two: What's Popular There, and Why

Source: We All Make Music
November 6, 2010

Yesterday, our Getting Your Music Into China series began with an interview with Music Dish founder Eric de Fontenay. Eric explained why China, which for decades had been closed off to Western sounds and artists, has recently begun to open itself up to outside influences again.

Today, our conversation with de Fontenay continues, this time centering on what kinds of resources are available to westerners who want to learn more about this growing, evolving market.

Let's talk about the issue ...

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More Legal Services Needed to Counter Piracy

Source: HypeBot
November 6, 2010

According to a report by James Myring at BDRC Continental, the best way to counter music piracy is to create more legal services. At the Media Research Group conference in Malta, Myring said that, “If piracy is to be reduced, it can't be through threats and sanctioning. Carrot and stick need to work together." His research suggests that legal alternatives like Spotify and other streaming sites have reduced piracy. The more ways that fans have to access music the better. ...

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How Hollerado Stayed Full-Time Musicians, Avoided Real Jobs, and Sold Records in Zip-Lock Bags

Source: HypeBot
November 6, 2010

Recently, I spoke with Dean Baxter, who is the bassist for the Canadian indie rock group Hollerado. In this interview Baxter talks about the various guerilla marketing tactics that his group used to sell their music; their twenty-eight day residency tour; and how they've created a sustainable career out of making records in a bag, connecting with fans, and giving them reasons to support the music they make.  Instead of waiting to get booked, what are some of the ways ...

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Getting Your Music into China, Part One: Why China? Why Now?

Source: We All Make Music
November 5, 2010

Next week, the good people at Music Dish will be hosting a panel discussion entitled “Breaking Into International Markets, From China to MIDEM." Though the discussion will likely be about quite a lot of different things, we figured this would be the perfect opportunity to delve into the world's biggest, and arguably most interesting, music market: China's.

This is the first of a four part series that will go over everything from Chinese tastes to distribution and promotion, all things ...

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Don't Be Afraid to Get "Squishy" with Your Marketing

Source: We All Make Music
November 4, 2010

Igor Stravinsky once famously said that “a good composer does not imitate; he steals." And today, with most musicians in charge of their own brands, it's important to note that Stravinsky's wisdom applies to marketing, too. Over the weekend, the veteran French Touch production duo known as Cassius released the above video teaser for their new EP, The Rawkers, their first for Ed Banger Records. To the average viewer, the video's juxtaposition of blabbing mouths on club-going faces is little ...

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Map Pinpoints over 200 Detroit Record Labels

Source: HypeBot
November 6, 2010

Someone has created a Google Map that pinpoints over 200 Detroit record labels throughout history. In their blog post, they say that they have been working on the project for a couple weeks. “It is by no means complete or perfect," cassdetroit writes, “but I think it's a good start." Every pinpoint comes will a little info about each label. Overall, it's a rather intriguing map. What would be interesting is to animate the founding of the labels and their ...

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SXSW Seeks Emerging Artist Submissions

Source: HypeBot
November 5, 2010

Sonicbids and SXSW are looking for the best indie artists. Again, Sonicbids is hosting the online submission platform. Through them, indie artists can submit for a chance to play the festival. Last year, 2,000 bands hailing from 49 different countries, performed in 88 venues in downtown Austin, Texas. SXSW takes place from March 11-20, 2011. To help artists see what they are looking for, they have crafted these blog posts:

The Top 5 Things SXSW Looks For From Artists. The ...

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