Looks like the new Myspace Music is a bigger prayer than initially thought.
Leaked documents published Monday by Business Insider show current-year estimated losses of $43 million at Myspace, and ambitious plans by parent Specific Media (now Interactive Media Holdings) to raise $50 million to launch a streaming Spotify and Pandora competitor. That follows a fire-sale ‘deal’ of $35 million from previous owner News Corp., though the documents show that losses, overhead drag and other financial drains continue post-deal. That said, a ‘space’ may exist for music hubs and discovery outside of Spotify, Facebook, Pandora, and Pitchfork, though the question is whether Myspace can extract equity from the masses of non-major label bands, and reasonably renegotiate existing deals with major labels.
Eric Clapton just released the schedule for his spring tour in 2013. Starting off in Phoenix on March 14th, Clapton is going to wrap it up on April 12th and 13th at the Crossroads Guitar Festival at Madison Square Garden, along with the Allman Brothers Band, John Mayer, Jeff Beck, and more.
Florence + The Machine frontwoman, Florence Welch, is now working on her dream project, a musical. After touring all over the world for years, Welch is taking a year off to retrieve new inspiration for writing songs again.
This year’s American Music Awards pulled in the lowest ratings ever with 9.5 million viewers, down from 12 million in 2011. Despite performances by Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Christina Aguilera, and Psy, the AMAs had to compete with Sunday Night Football. And, apparently a lukewarm audience for such pop-heavy fare.
Sasquatch! Music Festival will be happening May 24-27, 2013, over the Memorial Day weekend at the Gorge Amphitheatre. Previous lineups have included Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, and hundreds more. The complete 2013 lineup will be announced in February.
WiMP, the Norwegian music streaming service, has just released an Android version. Users of the Android OS will now receive the benefits of a newly-designed WiMP, complete with full tablet support, more photos, descriptions, album reviews, improved search functionality, new sharing options, and more.
INgrooves Fontana, a global independent music distributor, just announced its new INresidence Artist Services. INresidence will provide clients with product management, radio/video promotion, sync licensing, online marketing, and more services. The first musician to join is Kate Nash, whose Death Proof EP will be distributed by INgrooves Fontana.