What’s worse than fake plastic grass that sits in a landfill for eternity? Worse than corn syrup capsules disguised as beans? Worse than room temperature hard boiled eggs? Easter albums! You know how Christmas music is just plain awesome? You know how it makes you feel warm and fuzzy and happy? Well Easter music is the exact opposite. I’m going to guess that almost 99% of Easter music was created because some large label exec thought it could bring in some dollars. Want an example of what I mean? Check out an album on iTunes called Easter Bunny Hits by Big Eye Music. Look at what track 17 is! Is this a sick joke? An Easterized version of Who Let the Dogs Out! Are you afraid yet? Oh and check the released date: 2009! Wow.
Yippee!
This entry was written by , posted on April 12, 2009 at 9:14 am, filed under business, music and tagged Easter, music business. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Appetite For Self-Destruction is a great new book by Steve Knopper about the crash of the music industry. NPR (National Public Radio) has a 38 minute interview with Mr. Knopper and it’s a must listen for any musician. The interview, which aired on NPR’s superb show Fresh Air was posted yesterday so it’s a fresh look back at all the simultaneous ways the record 
industry blew it. Greed, laughable negotiations with Apple and CD-R manufacturers, and top level execs not listening to their younger underlings yelling “Napster is the future!” are just some of the things that contributed to this spectacular crash. As a musician it maybe painful to listen to because this was once a valid livelihood but it’s time to re-tool the workshop and produce a different product.
“In the sub-sub-genre of books about rock music and the industry, I rank this right up there with classics like “Hit Men” and “The Death of Rhythm and Blues.” We think in terms of “industry,” but through his deftly drawn portraits of industry leaders, Knopper helps us see clearly how we got to here from there: simple bad decision making and a blatant refusal to consider, first, that the world had changed and then a stunning lack of curiosity about how it had changed. Highly recommended. Enjoy!” – Patricia Romanowski, Amazon.com (book review)
The interview is online so head over and listen now: click here
Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age (Hardcover) is available at Amazon for $17.16: click here
photo credit: alwright1
This entry was written by , posted on January 15, 2009 at 7:48 am, filed under business, interviews and tagged book, music business, NPR, record label, Steve Knopper. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
It’s hard to be writing in any publication concerning audio and not comment about this week’s events. Radiohead shocked the industry by announcing it’s new album In Rainbows was available to download for any price you think it’s worth (including free). They also let us know they are no longer bound contractually by EMI. They broke another convention by not giving radio stations a single to hype before the album release.
Besides paying (if you so choose) for the digital download super fans can purchase a box set for £40 that contains a CD, 2x 12″ vinyl and a bonus CD with some photos and artwork. Interestingly, the NYTimes.com reports: “And Radiohead plans to release “In Rainbows†as an old-fashioned CD no later than January, though it has not determined if it will return to a major label to do so.”.
It seems like Radiohead has made a smart move and covered all their bases. They look like heroes for dropping EMI and giving their music away for free. They also did it first and such are receiving lots of attention. They have a plan to make some money and even a fall back to the traditional CD on a major label if things don’t work out.
Trent Reznor, Jamiroquai and Oasis all said they have similar plans. Somewhat related Madonna turned down an offer from Warner Music Group to go with concert promoter Live Nation Inc.
But wait a minute. Deep breath. What does this really mean? At first I was actually angry. I thought “Great, a bunch of rich people are giving away what I need to sell to make a (more…)
This entry was written by , posted on October 13, 2007 at 11:43 am, filed under business, live performance and tagged , mp3, music business. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
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