Music Industry News

Guitar Market Strikes a Nostalgic Chord

Source: Michael Ricci
May 2, 2009

In one upside to a down economy, collectors are finding there's a string of vintage options on the market -- and some lower prices

Signature guitars of the rock 'n' roll era -- candy-colored Fender Stratocasters, slab-bodied Fender Telecasters, flame-topped Gibson Les Pauls and voluptuously shaped Gretsch hollow bodies -- are symbols of a uniquely American pop culture that continues to excite guitar enthusiasts. But aside from their nostalgia value, they've proved to be good investments.

A Gibson Les ...

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Mark O'Connor: Living on the Cracks

Source: JamBase
May 1, 2009

By: Dennis Cook

Mark O'Connor Not everyone can communicate without words. Getting meaning, feeling and narrative across using nuance and texture instead of defined syllables is beyond the grasp of many musicians. Yet, Mark O'Connor has always told vivid tales with his violin and compositions. From his early pithiness as a Nashville session hot shot through innumerable award winning projects in the jazz, bluegrass and classical fields, O'Connor has ...

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Jazz This Week: The Yellowjackets with Mike Stern, New Music Circle Turns 50, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
April 30, 2009

This will be a relatively short post by the usual “Jazz this week" standard, both because yr. humble editor has some time constraints due to other pressing matters, and because there's a slight lull in the St. Louis concert scene this weekend with regard to jazz and creative music. Specifically, we're at the time of year when some of our not-for-profit presenters, such as the Sheldon and the Touhill, have already wrapped up their jazz concert series for the season; ...

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What Ever Happened to Ron Crotty?

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
April 30, 2009

One of the pleasures of the 3000-mile motor excursion down and up the west coast of the US was silence. Except for conversation between two people who don't seem to get enough of it at home, and a modicum of music, we cruised along luxuriating in the glorious spring scenery. We saw shades of green I'd forgotten existed. This was along the old Columbia Gorge highway in Oregon.

For purposes of relief and recharging, we limited listening to a ...

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Next Music Battle: Hulu vs. Vevo

Source: All About Jazz
April 30, 2009

Music videos started life online as giveaways to win bands new fans — much as they did when MTV actually showed videos. But now, as the future of music sales seems dim, music labels see gold in what they used to handout for free. The change started about five years ago when labels began charging distributors for the right to show videos. Then the rise of YouTube brought enormous exposure for music videos online, but record labels claim YouTube’s payouts ...

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Japanese Rights Body Fights Back

Source: All About Jazz
April 29, 2009

JASRAC denies monopolistic practice charge

The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), a major rights org, has filed an appeal to the Fair Trade Commission against a February FTC ruling that Japan's current set-up for compensating holders of rights to music used on TV and radio constitutes a monopolistic practice.

Broadcasters currently sign umbrella contracts with JASRAC, which in turns compensates rights holders for tunes used on shows, using a fixed percentage of earnings from the ...

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People's Music Store Adds 300k Universal Tracks to Fan Retail Offering

Source: HypeBot
April 29, 2009

Universal has become the first major label to embrace fan powered download retailer People's Music Store. Using the UK based site, fans in set up online stores, choose music, write reviews, and market via their blogs and social pages. But People's is not another multi-level marketing scheme. Fans-turned -storekeepers earn 10% of each sale in points which can be used to buy music. I met two of the People's Music Store team ...

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Harmonia Mundi - An Indie Classical Label That's Thriving in Tough Times

Source: HypeBot
April 29, 2009

Classical Record Industry Down 30% In '09, Harmonia Mundi Up 9%

All this week on Hypebot, we're exploring how the double whammy of falling sales and the global economic downturn is effecting the music industry. This guest post by Charlie Dahan, which first appeared on his Center Of The Indie Label Universe blog, shows how one indie label is using old fashion A&R to thrive in tough times.