Music Industry News

Westside Joint Gives Unsigned Bands a Boost Breathes Life into Music

Source: All About Jazz
May 7, 2010

Just west of L.A.'s Miracle Mile, the restaurant/nightclub Life on Wilshire hosts a weekly Monday night showcase of mostly unsigned acts that's been slowly gathering steam over the past year and a half.

Westsiders with a taste for live music who dread penetrating the rock-club bottleneck of the Strip, the alt-pop lounges of Silver Lake and Echo Park, or downtown's urban hipster zone might view this almost forlorn stretch of Wilshire Boulevard as an oasis of easy access and plentiful ...

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San Francisco Jazz Group Plans Its Own Building Dedicated to the Genre

Source: Michael Ricci
May 7, 2010

SFJazz, the San Francisco arts organization, will announce plans on Friday to build its own facility dedicated to jazz: a 35,000-square-foot building in that city's Hayes Valley neighborhood, with two adaptable theater spaces inside.

“The concept of an institution for jazz is a very new thing obviously, Jazz at Lincoln Center made that concept work," said Randall Kline, the groups director. “Its the idea that jazz has earned a right to permanence. And because our view of jazz is wide-angled, ...

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Nielson Offers More Proof of MySpace Decline, as Facebook and Twitter Soar

Source: HypeBot
May 7, 2010

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ASCAP 2009 Revenues Jump $176m To $995m

Source: HypeBot
May 7, 2010

ASCAP reported that in 2009 collections rose to $995 million for its 380,000 members paying out more than $863 million. That's up from $819 million in 2008 and $741 in 2007. Foreign revenue grew to nearly $302 million. “Music is performed more often, in more places, in more ways by more businesses than ever before. That expanded music use, combined with dramatic ASCAP Membership growth, market share increases and effective strategic management have led to stunning revenue and distribution growth ...

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WMG Offers Mixed Financial Report, Digital Sales Up

Source: HypeBot
May 7, 2010

In a report to investors this morning, Warner Music Group showed a loss for the quarter ending March 31st of $25 million or 17 cents a share. That's down significantly from the $68 million or 45 cents a share loss in the same quarter last year. Overall revenue fell 1.3% to $662 million with rising digital sales contributing to WMG's improving numbers. Other highlights:

Jazz Goes Silent at Ortlieb's Jazzhaus

Source: Michael Ricci
May 7, 2010

It had been one of Philadelphia's cozy hideaways, the former lunchroom of a bygone brewery at Third near Poplar, where the jazz was cool and the food was hot for more than two decades. Ortlieb's Jazzhaus, the club with a tiny stage where the Philadelphia jazz elite played, closed Sunday night after 23 years. “It was very nice," said Bob Perkins, host of the BP with the GM, jazz show on WRTI 90.1-FM.. “Good food and a great jazz club." ...

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MusikPitch Responds to Complaints, Revises Terms

Source: HypeBot
May 6, 2010

MusikPitch, which facilitates custom song commissions for film, TV and individuals, launched last week to a mini-storm of controversy over terms which required the writers of chosen songs to transfer ownership to the startup. One Hypebot reader called the terms and conditions, “blatantly predatory, preying on emerging artists".

To their credit, MusikPitch responded quickly and has fundamentally changed the way they are doing business providing more transparency and options that protect the songwriter. “In direct response to ...

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Quick Interview with We7 CEO Steve Purdham

Source: HypeBot
May 6, 2010

On The Future Of we7 & Ad Supported Music

Last week UK music streaming service we7 announced the first month where its on demand music was paid for in full by advertising. It was a milestone for BOTH We7 and for ad supported music which has struggled to find ad funded modes that are both profitable and return measurable payments to rights holders. So we asked we7 CEO Steve Purdham what's next for the company.