Tag Archives: music biz

Venue Builds 400-Foot Vinyl Copy Of The Eagle’s Hotel California (And It Rotates)

Stereogum recaps: The record now sits atop the roof of the Forum in Inglewood, CA, and measures 407 feet in diameter — or maybe it’s more appropriate to simply call it a 4884-inch. It was installed in anticipation of the six Eagles shows to mark the re-opening of the Forum since its purchase and renovation by the Madison Square Garden …

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David Byrne On Web Streaming

“The larger question is that if free or cheap streaming becomes the way we consume all (recorded) music and indeed a huge percentage of other creative content – TV, movies, games, art, porn – then perhaps we might stop for a moment and consider the effect these services and this technology will have, before ‘selling off’ all our cultural assets …

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Apple Announces iTunes Radio

At today’s developers’ conference Apple announced the launch of iTunes Radio, a streaming service that will compete with Pandora and Spotify.  Via Gizmodo: Apple has finally announced its online streaming and music discovery service. This is how millions of people will listen to music from now on. What we’re looking at here is a Pandora-like radio service that’s built directly …

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It’s National Record Store Day

Even though the days of Tower, Virgin, and many other national chains are long in the rear view mirror, there are still many independent record shops around the nation.  Hit the link for a guide to the stores participating in today’s event.

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Pet Shop Boys Leave EMI After 28 Years

After spending their entire career with EMI’s Parlophone Records, the Pet Shop Boys have jumped ship and this June will release a new album with the relatively unknown Kobalt Label Services. “This is a very exciting point in our careers,” said Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe in a statement. “We are hugely proud of the new album and are very …

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Billboard Magazine Rejiggers Pop Charts

Last week Billboard Magazine altered the methodology of tabulating its pop charts, making a radical change not seen since they began including digital downloads as a ranking criteria. YouTube streaming data is now factored into the Hot 100 (and other genre charts), enhancing a mix of data that includes digital download track sales (and physical singles sales), as tracked by …

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Clive Davis Comes Out As Bisexual

Music industry legend Clive Davis, the man credited with Whitney Houston’s career (and the careers of many others), has come out as bisexual in a new memoir titled The Soundtrack Of My Life. Davis, who is twice divorced, remains close to his family, which includes three sons, a daughter and six grandchildren, and to friends, with whom he vacations regularly. …

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Britain’s Last Music Retailer Goes Bankrupt

Billboard reports that Britain’s last national music retailer has declared bankruptcy. Ailing music and entertainment retailer HMV is to suspend the trading of its shares and enter administration, the U.K. equivalent of Chapter 11 bank protection, the company has confirmed. The troubled music company is the U.K.’s last major high street music retailer and has over 230 brick and mortar …

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YouTube Strips Billions Of Fake Views From Music Industry Channels

YouTube has stripped billions of fake views from the channels of several of the world’s largest music industry companies.  The views were reportedly purchased from companies that use automated programs to artificially inflate the counts. Google slashed the cumulative view counts on YouTube channels belonging to Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG, and RCA Records by more than 2 billion views Tuesday, …

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TRAILER: Inventing David Geffen

It airs tonight on PBS at 8PM. The New York Times has a review.  An excerpt: Mr. Geffen’s story starts on a classic Hollywood arc: Brooklyn Jewish boyhood, apprenticeship in the William Morris mailroom, quick success as an artist’s manager and record company executive. But then it refuses to follow the usual rise-and-fall trajectory — it just keeps rising, to …

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The CD Turns 30

NPR Music takes note: Today marks the 30th anniversary of a musical format many of us grew up with: the compact disc. It’s been three decades since the first CD went on sale in Japan. The shiny discs came to dominate music industry sales, but their popularity has faded in the digital age they helped unleash. The CD is just …

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Billboard Mag Rejiggers Hot 100

In recognition of the way many people listen to music these days, Billboard Magazine this week began compiling its famed Hot 100 singles chart with the inclusion of data about the tracks that are the most popular on streaming services such as Spotify. They’ve also added a new chart that exclusively ranks the most-streamed songs. Billboard, Nielsen and NARM’s digitalmusic.org …

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Whitney Tops iTunes Album Charts

Source.

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If They Can Make It There…

Flavorwire sez: “Even in this brave new age of internet self-distribution and SoundCloud and unlimited online streaming, you’re much more likely to get heard if a) you’re American and b) you suck it up and go to scrounge a living in the big city in order to get your music heard.”

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Bands That Broke Up This Year

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2011 Grammy Nominations

The Grammys tried a new tactic tonight and tipped some of this year’s nominations in a televised concert. The rest of the nominees are here. Song Of The Year All Of The Lights – Kanye WestThe Cave – Mumford & SonsGrenade – Bruno MarsHolocene – Bon IverRolling In The Deep – Adele Record Of The YearRolling In The Deep – …

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Elvis Costello: Don’t Buy My New Box Set

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On Brighton & Hove Gay Men’s Chorus

Earlier this week I mentioned that Universal Records has awarded the chorus an unprecedented £1M recording contract. Their album will be released on October 5th in the UK.

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BRITAIN: £1M Record Deal For Gay Chorus

Britain’s Brighton and Hove Gay Men’s Chorus has inked an unprecedented £1M deal with Universal Records. The 30-strong Brighton & Hove Gay Men’s Chorus will release its debut album later this year after signing a deal, said to be worth around £1 million. The choir is working on its repertoire of alternative rock songs in an effort to get away …

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Lady Gaga Sells 1.1M In First Week

The first week of sales for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way are the highest for any release in the last six years. Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 1,108,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s only the 17th album to sell a million in a …

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