Music Industry News

Shellac Flacks' Double Dip

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 14, 2010

Upon leafing through old Down Beats from the 1940s the other day, I came across an editorial in the April 9, 1947 issue chastising disc jockeys for engaging in shady practices. Long before the infamous payola scandals of the late 1950s, when on-air announcers accepted cash from record pluggers to repeatedly play specific singles and turn them into hits, the issue of graft had already surfaced. As jazz deejays gained more power and influence after World War II, they were ...

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Bridging the Musical Waters

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
January 14, 2010

One of the most poignant moments at the Rock & R0ll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concert (night one, October 29) when Art Garfunkel joined old musical partner Paul Simon on stage at Madison Square Garden to sing several of their hits. There's no need to wonder if more reunions might happen anytime soon.There is one such event set for the remainder of 2010. Further blurring the lines between jazz events and other musical genres, it will be ...

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Think About These 2009 Music Sales Figures...

Source: HypeBot
January 14, 2010

2009 U.S. music purchases up 2.1% over 2008 Music sales exceeded 1.5 billion for the second consecutive year Overall music sales, digital track sales, vinyl LP sales all hit new highs Digital accounts for 40% of total U.S. music purchases More than 10 Billion music purchases in the U.S. for the decade

The full Nielson 2009 report shows a continuing drop in CD sales and full album sales along with slowing growth for digital sales. But when ...

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2009: My Year in Jazz

Source: Lubricity
January 14, 2010

This year has blessed me with a series of steps forward for which I am very grateful, many of them related to my work in jazz documented here from May through September.  I thought that a look back at this past year, the first in which I have really found a home in the jazz community, would be a good way to start my 2010 blogging odyssey anew.

2009 began with a big move:  just after Christmas, I drove from ...

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NARM Webinar: How to Make Money with MP3's

Source: HypeBot
January 12, 2010

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Five Surprises for the Music Industry in 2009

Source: HypeBot
January 12, 2010

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Universal Music Group Sues Grooveshark

Source: HypeBot
January 12, 2010

Universal Music Group is suing streaming music site Grooveshark for mass copyright violations. Last year EMI also sued Grooveshark, but later dropped the filing and began working with the site.

In the filing against parent company Escape Media, the world's largest label group claims that Grooveshark “uses the lure of free access" to draw web traffic which leads to money from advertising. UMG says that the site stores “copyrighted sound recordings on its own servers ... and then distribute(s) copies ...

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David Bowie Turns 63: A Life's Study of Art and Artful Self-Promotion

Source: HypeBot
January 12, 2010

Think listening to and interacting with your fans is something new - and just a bi-product of the internet? Think again. This 1967 letter from David Bowie to an early fan, shared as he turns 63, shows how he understood the importance of connecting with his fans from the very beginning.

Without pandering to his audience, throughout his long career Bowie changed with the times and was not afraid to experiment - sometimes with disappointing results. But that's part of ...

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