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Brian Setzer Recruits Visionary Arranger Frank Comstock
Source:
Michael Ricci
What does a modern-day big band leader do when they want to re-create the sounds of classic 1950s film noir music? For Brian Setzer, the answer was simply to go to the source, the legendary Frank Comstock, who wrote arrangements for Benny Carter, Stan Kenton, Les Brown, and Judy Garland, penned the theme songs for Rocky & Bullwinkle, Adam 12, and Dragnet, and recorded the cult classic “Music From Outer Space." Comstock wrote the horn charts for nine of the ...
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Rhino Records Lays off 30-40
Source:
HypeBot
Are More Cuts Ahead?
WMG's catalog arm Rhino has pink slipped 30-40 staffers with cuts across all departments.
A statement from Rhino blamed “fundamental transformation of the physical new release and catalog business" for the cuts. Rhino will evolve into a leaner division that “handles WMG's global digital catalog initiatives, film, TV, videogame and commercial licensing, and name and likeness representation for legendary artists."
ANALYSIS: Catalog departments are generally among the most profitable divisions at most label ...
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A Must Read: Wynton Marsalis's Enduring Opus
Source:
Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
The Thursday, September 24 edition of the Wall Street Journal contains a terrific piece by Larry Blumenfeld taking a close look on the positive impact that Jazz at Lincoln Center has had on the New York and national jazz scene since its founding in 1986 and principally since moving into its own three-venue performance space five years ago. The range of its impact, with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis as its highly visible, deeply engaged and perceptive artistic director, is considerable. Check ...
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David Crosby's Reason for 1985 Golden Bear Show Cancellation Beats Them All
Source:
Michael Ricci
When a concert venue cancels a show these days, nine times out of 10 the reason given is scheduling conflicts, a catch-all phrase that can mean “We couldnt sell enough tickets" to “The star attraction got a better gig."
Cancellation explanations dont get much better than the one issued by the Golden Bear back in 1985 when David Crosby bowed out of a booking at the Huntington Beach club whose legacy is being saluted this weekend with shows Friday and ...
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Lawsuit Claims Guitar Center, NAMM Fixed Prices
Source:
HypeBot
A nationwide class-action lawsuit has been filed against Guitar Center and the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) claiming the two conspired to fix retail pricing on guitars, allowing the music retail giant and other major retailers to reap higher profits and squash competition at the expense of consumers.
The suit filed earlier this week by the firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiroclaims that retailers met at NAMM in 2001 and voiced concerns that gross margins would erode from ...
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Who Says CD Sales Are Dead? Remastered Beatles Sell 2.25 Million in 2 Weeks
Source:
HypeBot
Without the help of a single digital download, The Beatles have broken multiple chart records around the world following the 9-9-09 CD release of their digitally re-mastered catalog. In the major music markets of North America, Japan and the UK, consumers purchased more than 2.25 million copies of The Beatles' re-mastered albums during the first five days of release.
A 20 country breakdown new Beatles chart accomplishments:
US: During the first five days of release, consumers purchased more ...
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RIAA Chief Says the Music Industry Has 5 Reasons for Optimism
Source:
HypeBot
Now that the RIAA is tiring of suing individual filesharers, its head Mitch Bainwol needs a new soapbox to stand on. Apparently he's decided that what's needed is a record label cheerleader to cut through all the doom and gloom indicated by the sales numbers. To kick off his campaign, he released an essay “5 Reasons for Optimism in the Music Industry". The 5 reasons behind Bainwol's optimism include:
Our product, music, remains as popular as ever. Long ...
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The Music Industry Pays the Price of Negativity
Source:
HypeBot
It's Time For A New Conversation New calls for three strikes laws and P2P taxes in the UK have spawned strong reactions from high profile artists including Lily Allen, James Blunt, Muse and Elton John. Their calls to end piracy seem strange this many years after Napster changed the face of the music industry and only serve to widen the gap between music and the fans that love it.
Some within the industry have also seized on the new attention ...
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