Next Big Sound (a/o May 24th):
Why can't concert ticketing be just like airline ticketing? Because it's not the same thing, and consumers treat them differently - at least for now. Learning this lesson the painful way is Radiohead, whose Ticketmaster-powered, ticketless shows in the UK seemed to provoke a mini-meltdown among fans. Ticketbuyers became irked by their inability to transfer tickets to anyone - for free (to a friend, for example) - or even at face value if a conflict arose. Ticketmaster seemed willing to entertain some complaints, but not adjust the pre-existing terms.
And, expectation keeps building around Neil Young's upcoming Pono hi-fidelity digital release, slated for early next year. Young is now releasing his book, Waging Heavy Peace, that offers more detail, and early-testing musicians are heaping praise on the experiment. A few problems are poking out, however, including elevated price tags, compatibility questions, and 90s-style download times. Do modern-day, digitized fans really want this?
It looks like Grooveshark has completely scrubbed deadmau5's latest album from its site, while US-based Spotify continues to lack the release. Grooveshark CEO Sam Tarantino pointed Digital Music News to a partnership with deadmau5 label Ultra Records, which might explain the rather comprehensive cleanup job. Separately, the album - >place album title here< - briefly 'leaked' onto Spotify in the US, though the company pointed to an error.
So is Kanye just stealing stuff, or is this sort of result inevitable when sampled music is involved? The latest rip-off allegation is coming from TufAmerica, who says West lifted two licks on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Some of the licensing fees were paid, just not for multiple uses, according to the just-filed complaint in the US District Court in Manhattan.
Avicii struggled to fill bigger arenas in the US, but Swedish House Mafia quickly sold out a list of large venues on its US-based farewell tour. That includes Madison Square Garden and United Center in Chicago, among many others, with fresh dates being added. The upcoming trek starts in San Francisco, and also includes stops in Los Angeles and Toronto.
Robert Kraft is now leaving Fox Music after 18 years. The division president and CEO has supervised music for a long list of blockbusters, including Titanic, Ice Age, Moulin Rouge, and Slumdog Millionaire, as well as a string of series on the television side. Kraft is now venturing out to produce music for film and television shows on his own, according to a press release.
And, it looks like Sony/ATV is complicating Apple's attempt to launch a Pandora-like competitor, at least according to the New York Post. Pandora pays publishing based on pre-existing formulas, but this snag suggests that Apple wants to create something more complex or direct. The report also states that Sony/ATV is looking to wriggle out of its ASCAP and BMI agreements, a huge development if true.
beetsnotbeats Saturday, September 29, 2012
Re Pono: I'd rather deal with "90s-style" download times than 90s-style digital formats. The MP3 was designed for 28.8Kbps connections and 2GB hard drives. Kids born when those were standard will be in college soon. Supposedly, technological innovations are always supplanting previous ones, but the MP3 has outsurvived its physical equivalent, the 8-track tape.
Aaron Monday, October 01, 2012
Good thing they allowed higher bitrates in the original spec then wasn't it! ;)
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