Music Industry News

Johnny Cash: The Hospice Sessions

Source: Michael Ricci
February 18, 2010

On 'Ain't No Grave,' it's a vulnerable Johnny Cash, accepting his physical state and making the best of it. Anyone who has lived with the decline of a loved one will feel the raw emotion.

Let me tell you a story about my dad and Johnny Cash. Many American music lovers of a certain age could spin out such a connection; Cash is primary among artists who represent the tough psyche of the post-war patriarchal male, his music exposing the ...

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FTC Orders Refunds Sweeping Changes in Ticket Resale Market

Source: Michael Ricci
February 18, 2010

Calling for an end to deceptive “bait and switch" tactics, the Federal Trade Commission Thursday announced a settlement with Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s Ticketmaster unit that requires the company to provide full refunds to consumers who bought tickets to 14 Bruce Springsteen concerts at dramatically inflated prices.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said thousands of fans were steered to TicketsNow, a resale site owned by Ticketmaster, where they were charged premiums of double, triple or quadruple the $90 face value. Other ...

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Music on Oscar's Mind

Source: All About Jazz
February 18, 2010

Some insights into the way Academy members vote. Is there a formula for winning a music Oscar? Are there certain guideposts or telling patterns that can correctly predict a win for song or score?

This awards season, Variety set out to find the answer, examining half a century of Oscar history and talking to Academy veterans and longtime observers in search of trends and indicators.

MAKING AN IMPRESSION

So come ballot-marking time, what do voters remember? Some common scenarios emerged ...

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Universal in Tune with Mike Knobloch

Source: All About Jazz
February 18, 2010

Film-music veteran Mike Knobloch has been named president, Film Music and Publishing, for Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures co-chairman Donna Langley and vice chairman and COO Rick Finkelstein announced Wednesday.

Knobloch, until recently exec VP of Film Music at 20th Century-Fox and Fox Music Inc., will be responsible for all creative and production aspects of Universal films' scores, songs and soundtracks, and will oversee the administration and licensing of the studio's publishing catalog. He begins March 1, managing a department of ...

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Out Today--6 Titles by Late Singer-Songwriter Kenny Rankin on Sly Dog Records

Source: DL Media
February 18, 2010

Four Titles Digitally Re-Mastered From Original Tapes Today, the Mack Avenue label imprint Sly Dog Records releases six titles by singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin (who died in Los Angeles from lung cancer on June 7, 2009 at 69); Mind-Dusters, Family, Like A Seed, Silver Morning, Inside, and The Kenny Rankin Album, at all popular retailers. The following four titles—Like A Seed, Silver Morning, Inside, The Kenny Rankin Album—have been pristinely re-mastered from the original analog tapes. Kenny's son, longtime music industry ...

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Artists Behind Oscar-Nominated Songs Won't Perform

Source: All About Jazz
February 18, 2010

Some of Oscar's most memorable moments have come during performances of nominated songs. Among them: rap group Three 6 Mafia surrounded by streetwalkers as they performed “It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from “Hustle & Flow" in 2006, and Celine Dion's resplendent performance of the “Titanic" hit, “My Heart Will Go On," in 1998.

Don't expect such musical moments at the 82nd Academy Awards.

The artists behind the year's five nominated songs will not perform during the Oscar telecast. ...

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McCartney Expresses Hopes for Abbey Road

Source: Michael Ricci
February 18, 2010

One of Abbey Road Studios most famous clients hopes that the facility, which has reportedly been put up for sale, can be saved.

Paul McCartney, speaking to the BBCs Newsnight television program on Tuesday, said there have been efforts to save Abbey Road by a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time, although he did not name those people or include himself among them. I have so many memories there with the Beatles, he ...

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Ian Rogers on Artist Marketing: Do Something Small Weekly, Something Big Monthly

Source: HypeBot
February 17, 2010

Ian Rogers spends is days and nights advising artists and their teams navigate the confusing and often overwhelming new music marketing landscape both as the CEO of Topspin and as the manager of Get Busy Committee.

Gone are the days when an artist can release an album every two or three years and ramp up a marketing effort to support it. Modern attention spans are simply too short and fan choices are virtually unlimited," Roger's writes on his ...

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