-
Springsteen To Headline Benefit Concert Friday Night On Nbc For Victims Of Hurricane Sandy
November 2, 2012
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
When in doubt, you call on "The Boss" for help.
If you haven't yet heard, Bruce Springsteen will play a televised benefit concert on NBC-TV for victims of Hurricane Sandy on Friday along with Jon Bon Jovi, Sting, Christina Aguilera and Billy Joel, the network announced Thursday morning.
Matt Lauer will host the show, and Brian Williams and Jimmy Fallon will also appear.
The concert specia,l "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together," will air Friday at 8p ET on NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, E!, Style Network and G4, and online at NBC.com, Today.com and NBCNews.com.
Money collected will go to the American Red Cross, which is providing food, shelter and other support to those affected by the hurricane and other disasters.
To donate, visit RedCross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
FOLLOW-UP ON 'THE ALBUM IS NOT DEAD'
As expected, Taylor Swift's new album 'Red' completely dominated music retail this week selling 1.2 million copies.
From Billboard, "That's more than any album has sold in a single week since 2002, when Eminem's "The Eminem Show" sold 1.322 million in its first full week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200." (Source: http://tinyurl.com/bunmq4p )
Congrats go to both Taylor Swift and Big Machine's Scott Borchetta on an incredible debut. (And they did it without the special pricing on the last album that did a million its first week, the last album that did a million in a week: Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way.')
The success of 'Red' is directly related to the talent Taylor has, to write and put out great SONGS that the audience engages in BIG numbers.
I've already said this type of success also soundly defeats (or at the very least greatly diminishes) the whole "iTunes killed the music business" sound bytes too many have put out there for too long a time.
iTunes has passed the 10 billion songs sold mark, and is on its way to 11 billion. Before iTunes, billions of songs were simply downloaded for free from dozens of P2P websites. So sorry, record people, iTunes isn't the reason your sales started tanking a decade ago.
The reason was the MUSIC just wasn't that good. (Yeah, I said that already as well)
-------------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
APPLE'S PLANS FOR ITS NEW MUSIC SERVICE THAT'S SUPPORTED BY ADVERTISING
Apple is reportedly moving full speed ahead with its plans for an ad-supported streaming radio service with Pandora in its sights. That means intensifying talks with major music labels, and figuring out how to share ad revenue, Bloomberg reports.
"A deal could be reached by mid-November, with Apple starting service in the first three months of 2013," it reports, citing sources. Both Apple and record companies are being driven by a decline in music downloads, and a need to create new ways for customers to discover and buy music.
Read more on Bloomberg here: http://tinyurl.com/99ezndv
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/26/tech/gaming-gadgets/apple-mac-schiller/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
FROM ROLLING STONE ' THE STATE OF STREAMING MUSIC'
Rolling Stones rates the six biggest streaming services and their chances of survival.
Read the article here: http://tinyurl.com/cgunudh
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
FROM BERKLEE MUSIC ... A FREE 'OPEN HOUSE' NEXT WEEK
Join next Tuesday, November 6th at 4p ET* for a free online Open House with bassist and vocalist Annie Clements. Annie has toured with multi-Platinum Country duo Sugarland for the past seven years, serving as bassist and backing vocalist. She's also a graduate of Berklee College of Music ('03) and continues her education online with Berkleemusic.
In this half-hour event, Annie will share insight on what she's learned about the music industry, and discuss her entrepreneurial approach to maintaining a career as a professional musician in the modern music industry. Focus areas will include: Tips on developing your career; Focusing on multiple income streams from your music; Important educational resources
Registration is required to attend this event Sign up at: https://www.berkleemusic.com/openhouse-signup/
-----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
FROM THE ATLANTIC: THE FUTURE OF AUGMENTED REALITY
Diving into what will likely be a serious matter for media buyers in, say, five years, The Atlantic looks into the future of augmented reality, and what sort of content -- including advertising -- it will offer consumers. "If you pick up a book, do you see a biography of its author, an analysis of the chemical composition of its paper, or the share price for its publisher?"
For a little guidance, the magazine goes to Google, which, with its Glass project, has already established itself as a leader in AR. Read the whole story...
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 7
FROM THE WRAP: 'WILL NETFLIX, YOUTUBE, HULU CONTENT CREATE A SECOND REVOLUTION IN TV?'
Forget broadcasting. Streaming services like Netflix think the next money to be made is in narrowcasting, a strategy that both mimics and challenges the television business model. For those services, it may be just in time.
Read the rest on The Wrap here: http://tinyurl.com/922m9tc
AND...
Carl Icahn has acquired a 9.98% stake in Netflix, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Netflix's share were up more than 15% on that day, providing a boost to a company that has taken a beating on Wall Street since last summer.
Full story at TheWrap.
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 8
E-WEEK LISTS 10 HIGH-END PCs WORTH THE MONEY
PCs are under siege, as consumers are increasingly turning to tablets to handle their mobile computing needs. But that doesn't mean that the PC market is dying -- far from it. In fact, there are a number of PCs available now that are worth the hard-earned dollars of the average consumer or even today's enterprise buyers. eWEEK takes a look at some of them here: http://tinyurl.com/9s8yk92
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 9
GEORGE LUCAS SAYS STAR WARS EPISODES 7, 8, AND 9 WILL BE "MOST EXCITING"
After the sale of Lucas Films was announced, George Lucas came out to talk about the next three episodes in the 'Star Wars' series.
Full story at TheWrap.
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 10
SAMSUNG IS SELLING SMARTPHONES AT AN AMAZING PACE AND FASTER THAN APPLE
Worldwide, Samsung shipped 56.9 million smartphones in the third quarter of the year, according to new research from Strategy Analytics.
"That adds up to a massive 35% global share in a market that is also growing at 35% annually," VentureBeat notes. Even more impression, that's more than double the number of iPhones that Apple sold -- 26.9 million -- during the same period. As for other phone makers, VB writes: "Apple and Samsung appear to be almost the only companies that matter in mobile."
Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/9pao6te
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 11
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES
The U.S. Copyright Office is seeking public feedback regarding "Orphan Works" in order to advise Congress on possible legislation. Orphan works are copyrighted works -- books, movies, music, etc. -- for which the owner cannot be identified or located. A major issue with orphan works is that potential users of such works are afraid to do so for fear that the author will come out of the woodwork and sue for damages -- what the Copyright Office calls "a frustration, a liability risk, and a major cause of gridlock in the digital marketplace."
For the full article, click here on the Cooper, White & Cooper website: http://tinyurl.com/9zn4s5m
AND...
The DOJ Grants $2.4 Million to Prevent Intellectual Property Crime. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced more than $2.4 million in grants to 13 jurisdictions throughout the country to combat intellectual property theft, primarily the purchase and sale of counterfeit and pirated products.
For the full article, click here.
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 12
THAT FACEBOOK STOCK KEEPS SINKING
Facebook's stock on Wednesday took its worst fall in more than five weeks on what Bloomberg reports to be concern that employees will start selling their shares now that prohibitions on insider sales have ended.
"Shares of Facebook fell 5% ... and earlier touched $20.73 for the biggest intraday decrease since Sept. 24th," Bloomberg reports. The lockup was originally put in place to prevent a rush of shares immediately after the company's initial public offering in May.
Read the whole story...
----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - BONUS TRACKS
* From Rolling Stone: "Back in 2007, Led Zeppelin reunited for bombastic a two-hour set at London's O2 Arena as part of a tribute concert for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The film documenting that legendary one-off, Celebration Day, is slated for home release on November 19th, and with the band insisting that another reunion isn't coming, you can take solace in this exclusive clip of the rock icons blasting their way through the Physical Graffiti classic "Kashmir." Watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/bzot3vp
* Tiny little speaker, huge pipes. The JBL Micro Wireless Bluetooth speaker plays bigger than its size. An attractive form factor and a good feature set give it a leg up in the world of tiny wireless speakers. Read more
* Google Music to roll out scan-and-match feature soon. The feature that helps users avoid having to upload every song individually to Google's cloud is expected to be offered first in Europe and then in the U.S. Read more
* As the Rolling Stones celebrate their 50th year, the band is set to release an incredible look back at their earliest success. Watch an exclusive clip of them rocking "The Last Time" during a 1965 tour of Ireland, captured in the new documentary 'Charlie Is My Darling'. Read More
* The verdict on Windows 8: The aggressively innovative new operating system from Microsoft is available now, and it's nothing like you've ever seen before. CNET spent months getting to know it: Read more
* The post-Jobs Apple is here, like it or not. With a big and dramatic management shakeup, CEO Tim Cook has unquestionably put his own stamp on the company. Read more
* New iPad: The best gets a little better. CNET makes it an Editors' Choice, but it is just a tad tweaked. Read more
* Google Search (free) has been on iOS for some time, with well-known search capabilities, access to Google apps, Google Goggles for identifying products, and Voice Search. But an update to the app yesterday enhanced Voice Search with spoken answers, and it quickly became clear Google Search had an edge on Siri -- especially when it comes to speed. Read more
Short News Items ...
ARCADE FIRE AT WORK:
Arcade Fire are officially at work on the follow-up to their Grammy-winning third album, "The Suburbs." In an interview with Ottawa radio station CKCU, drummer Jeremy Gara confirmed that the Canadian alt-rock stars are in the studio working on their fourth album, hinting that the album could be released by the end of 2013 but saying that the band has "no deadlines" in mind.
COOPER CANCELLED:
Anderson Cooper's nationally syndicated daytime talk show, "Anderson Live," will be canceled after two seasons due to continued soft ratings, despite a re-brand at its recent sophomore launch. The series will continue to air through summer 2013.
GREEN DAY CANCELS:
Green Day has canceled the remaining dates on their club tour that was scheduled to launch in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre on Sept. In addition, the band has postponed all scheduled appearances for the months of January and February in the new year.
LEVON HELM FLICK COMING:
'Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm' will be released in movie theaters nationwide for the first time next year. The film follows the singer-drummer and longtime member of the Band after his 2007 comeback album Dirt Farmer and tracks Helm as he writes the follow-up, 2010's "Electric Dirt," which won the inaugural Grammy for Best Americana Album.
TWEEDY PRODUCING:
Chicago ensemble Kids These Days have already logged several claims to buzz status - a hit video ("Don't Harsh My Mellow"), a major festival spot (Lollapalooza in 2011) and tons of good press (including for a performance on Conan). But the group has one thing that differentiates them from their peers: Seven songs on their upcoming debut album, "Traphouse Rock," were produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy.
SNL MUSIC AND UPCOMING HOSTS:
Rihanna and Maroon 5 will perform on upcoming episodes of "Saturday Night Live," with Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Renner serving as hosts. Hathaway and Rihanna will anchor the show on November 10th, while Renner and Maroon 5 will take the reigns on November 17th.
AUCTION ACTION:
A selection of memorabilia and artwork owned by Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and his ex-wife, Jo Wood, went up for auction at a two-day sale over the weekend, Reuters reports. The collection featured items spanning four decades of Wood's career in music, including clothing, instruments, and tour ephemera. Among the prizes were a 1955 Fender Stratocaster guitar that Wood played onstage, which sold for $60,800. A cardboard cutout of a guitar that Keith Richards had given to Wood sold for $6,875. The auction also included a lithograph that Wood drew of Eric Clapton, signed by both Wood and Clapton, which sold for $5,120.
WOOD ENGAGED:
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, 65, is engaged to marry Sally Humphreys, a 34-year-old theater producer. (What's a 31-year difference, right?)
R.E.M'S BUCK GOES SOLO:
R.E.M.'s Peter Buck cut his solo debut the way he wishes his old band worked: fast. Done in five days, 'Peter Buck' features Lenny Kaye, Corin Tucker and more. It's a vinyl-only release.
MUMFORD VIDEO ON WAY:
Mumford & Sons' "The Road to Red Rocks" is slated for release on November 26th, and now you can check out the trailer, which gives a taste of Mumford's rousing stadium shows. You can also check out this clip of the band playing Babel's first single "I Will Wait" at Red Rocks: http://tinyurl.com/9ogymcp
THE FORCE WILL BE WITH US AGAIN IN 2015:
A seventh "Star Wars" film entitled "Episode 7" is slated to be released in 2015 -- and will launch a new trilogy with which George Lucas pledges to hand off the intergalactic saga to "a new generation of filmmakers." The news comes as Disney announced it has purchased Lucas' Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion.
iTUNES 11 COMING:
Apple has pushed back the release of iTunes 11 by a month to November, according to The Hollywood Reporter, saying they wanted to "get it right."
BOXEE TV COMES TO WALMART:
Boxee TV has signed an exclusive deal with Walmart stores: Starting tomorrow and through the holiday season, the mega-retailer will be the only seller of the new $98 Boxee TV, a Web-connected device that brings live television and online video together, competing with Apple and Roku, will have the advantage of Walmart's marketing muscle.
PASSING:
Terry Callier, a soul and jazz singer and guitarist who collaborated with Massive Attack and Beth Orton, died yesterday at his home in Chicago, Stereogum reports. He was 67.
PASSING:
Bill Dees, the songwriter who penned "Oh, Pretty Woman" with Roy Orbison, has died in Mountain Home, Arkansas, Reuters reports. He was 73. Dees co-wrote nearly 70 songs with Orbison, and also wrote songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Glen Campbell. The 1964 single "It's Over" was their first hit, reaching the top 10 in the U.S. and Number One in Britain.
Quotes of the week
"She certainly didn't break the group up. I don't think you can blame her for anything. When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant garde side, her view of things. She showed him another way to be, which was very attractive to him. So it was time for John to leave."
-- Paul McCartney, countering the commonly held belief that Ono caused the Beatles' dissolution. McCartney added that Lennon was "definitely going to leave.""I have trouble with the way iTunes says everybody's music's worth the same price. I don't think that's right, there's music out there that's not worth a penny. They should be giving it away, or they should be making the artist pay people to listen to it. There's other stuff that's worth a little more. That's the great thing about America, we're not scared to pay what something's worth."
-- Kid Rock, talking about iTunes last year. This week, he allowed his music to be sold on iTunes."At the time of the [Use Your Illusion] tours, Slash and Duff said, 'You're an idiot, you're a loser.' I didn't write for years. I felt I was hindered for a very long time. I was also trying to figure out what I wanted to say, when it's right to be venting and when you're digging a bigger hole. Lyrics on Chinese took a long time."
-- Axl Rose, venting about his ex-bandmates in an interview with USA Today
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
I Hope The Guy Who Got Knocked Out "By The American Thighs" In That Song Is Okay
I just heard a song on the radio that, quite frankly, left me feeling very concerned. While I understand that the gentleman singing the song was having -- or sounded as though he was having -- an enjoyable time, I can't help but worry. All I can say is, I'm glad he met the best damn woman he'd ever seen (as he put it), but I sure hope that guy who got knocked out by the American thighs in that song is okay.
Read the rest here and laugh: Click Here.
The Music Industry Past, Present & Future, And The Internet I answer questions on EconTalk
I did an interview about the industry and the Internet at EconTalk with host Russ Roberts. Russ is also a professor of economics at George Mason University, blogs at Cafe Hayek, and has written three novels that teach economics. He's also the co-creator of the Keynes-Hayek rap video. (And if your understanding of the economic meltdown that occurred needs to be enlightened, this video will do it)
In the interview we talk about the evolution of the music industry, the impact of the digital revolution, and I give my reasons for believing in the virtues and potential of the Internet in enhancing the music industry. I point out, as I have many times here in the newsletter, that the internet allows numerous artists to make money from their music and it can enhance revenues from live performances by expanding an artist's base. We also discuss the challenges facing record companies and I suggest that the full potential of the Internet as a distribution channel has yet to be fully exploited. There's a lot of ground covered, but based on the comments already posted of those who have tuned in, they've enjoyed it.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Smart Marketing Consulting Services
Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.
"And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ... drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain."
"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon
-
-