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CNET ASKS "IF DIGITAL AUDIO IS SO GREAT, WHY DIDN'T IT KILL THE LP?"
August 2, 2013
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"The rawness and the richness of music on vinyl almost went away, but it still seems to be on a lot of people's radar, and for good reason. It does something different than more accessible means of music playing, like MP3 players and downloads and whatnot. You get in front of these archaic contraptions that go 'round and 'round."
-- Z.Z. Top's Billy GibbonsYup, that vinyl thing just keeps popping up again and again, doesn't it?
Now, CNET's Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg asks a good question: Even the most die-hard LP fans concede its many flaws, so why didn't the LP fade away a few years after the CD was introduced?
There's no sense denying vinyl's imperfections. First there are the noise issues -- pops, clicks, and rumble -- and they all get a little worse every time you play an LP. That was all true back in 1983, and digital has only improved since then. So why are vinyl sales up year after year since the early 2000s?
Vinyl fans argue it still sounds better, but what do you think? Vote in the CNET poll and READ MORE
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
WHAT DOES A RECORD PRODUCER DO?There's little doubt that a great record producer can contribute significantly to the making of any artist's record, and most major recording albums with legendary albums will tell you that.
Now comes an article on the BBC.com that asks, "Are the days of the record producer numbered?"
With the record industry facing changes and cutbacks, Miranda Sawyer looks behind the scenes to find out how this affects the role of the mysterious figure behind the mixing desk. Read more----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
CHROMECAST CATCHES ONVideo networks are lining up to support Chromecast, Google's new streaming video adapter.
"Vimeo told us it wants to support Chromecast, and we have learned that Redbox Instant is going to support the device as well," GigaOm reports.
"The makers of the Plex media center are also hinting strongly at plans to support Chromecast, and code found by Chromecast hackers seems to stem from efforts to bring HBO Go to the platform." Read the whole story
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
THE U.S. NOW USES MORE DIGITAL MEDIA THAN TVThis year, people will watch more media online and on devices than on televisions for the first time, though mostly because everyone is watching more media total, market research firm eMarketer estimates.
Researcher: US to devour more media digitally than on TV
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
NETFLIX ISN'T TAKING AWAY FROM NORMAL TV VIEWINGViewers who watch Netflix regularly also watch a lot of regular TV, according to a study from TiVo Research and Analytics, Inc., that says "Netflix subscribers are still watching as much TV as people who don't have the streaming video service," writes Peter Kafka."
This isn't the first time we've seen data that shows that the more video we can get, the more video we watch, and that the TV isn't going anywhere soon." - Read the whole story
As the streaming-video site ramps up more original series, a study by TiVo's research arm finds no significant difference in the amount of TV watched by people who subscribe to Netflix and those who don't. Read more
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THE 'A-SIDE' - THE BONUS TRACKS* Guitarist Randy Bachman Demystifies the Opening Chord of 'A Hard Day's Night'
* Dumb Rock Star Busts
* 50 Greatest Live Acts Right Now
* The All-Time Hot 100 List: Nos. 20-11
* Kid Rock, Ted Nugent Not Surprised By Bankrupt Detroit, Voice Optimism
* 'Madonna' Turns 30: A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album
* Nirvana 'In Utero' Reissue Will Include Complete Live Show
* Music Photos of the Week
* Life-size model of 'Star Wars' TIE Fighter seeks rebel scum
* Best gadgets under $100
* The 13 best gadgets under $50
Short News Items ...
BLAKE HITS A MILLION:
Blake Shelton's 'Red River Blue' has become his first million-selling album. The album spawned four hit singles on the Country Airplay chart, all of which reached #1: "Honey Bee," "God Gave Me You," "Drink on It" and "Over."
THE BIEBS A POTHEAD?
U.S. border authorities found marijuana on Justin Bieber's tour bus on Sunday during a search in Detroit as it tried to enter the U.S. from Canada, the Detroit Free Press reports. The singer was not on the bus at the time, according to Kenneth Hammond, chief officer and public affairs liaison for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Detroit.
FOR THOSE WHO ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT TWEETS:
Katy Perry has surpassed Lady Gaga to becoming Twitter's most-followed woman. Perry's account currently has 39.8 million followers. Lady Gaga, meanwhile, slides to become the third most-followed person on Twitter with 39.2 million followers. The #1 spot still belongs to Justin Bieber, who surpassed Lady Gaga in January 2013 and currently boasts 42.2 million followers on the platform.
NO CHEAP TRICK FOR THE DRUMMER:
Drummer Bun E. Carlos is suing his fellow Cheap Trick bandmates for money he says he is rightfully owed. According to Chicago's Courthouse News Service, Carlos (real name Brad Carlson) along with the band's manager, David Frey, filed a lawsuit in an Illinois court against the three other members of the band – Richard Nielson, Thomas Peterson and Robin Zander – for their "outright refusals to account for, or pay, hundreds of thousands of dollars which are owed to each of the plaintiffs."
MADONNA 30 YEARS LATER:
It was "the first new wave disco music," as one of Madonna's friends says. Thirty years ago the world was introduced to Madonna Louise Ciccone, the future Queen of Pop. Her debut was the product of months of work by artists, photographers, executives and musicians. Read More
JACKO AND FREDDIE DUETS COMING:
Three duets that Michael Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury 30 years ago will finally see an official release later this year. According to The Times of London, the demos were recorded in 1983 at Jackson's home studio, but a larger project never came to fruition due to the singers' conflicting schedules.
WILLIAMS MUSIC IN NEW STAR WARS:
Academy Award winning composer John Williams has confirmed that he will return to score the next installment of the Star Wars saga, reports the BBC. J.J. Abrams, who is directing the first film in the next trilogy, had previously hinted that Williams would be involved.
GAGA SINGLE:
Lady Gaga's upcoming new single have been confirmed. The title is "Applause," and the release date is set for August 19th.
WHITE DONATION:
Jack White has donated $200,000 to the National Recording Preservation Foundation, an organization dedicated to safeguarding the nation's recorded sound history. White's donation is the first the group has received, Billboard reports.
BANKRUPT:
DMX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday in Manhattan, claiming he has just $50,000 in assets and between $1 and $10 million in debt, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to court papers, DMX owes $1.24 million in child support and more than $21,000 on an auto lease along with other outstanding loans. His primary asset is a 50% stake in property in Mount Kisco, NY. Filing for Chapter 11, the rapper – real name Earl Simmons – hoped would "enable me to reorganize my financial affairs."
THE FORUM SET TO REOPEN WITH THE EAGLES:
In 1979 the Eagles, coming off the big success of The Long Run, played four nights at L.A.'s "Fabulous" Forum, with Roy Orbison opening. The venue, which was almost razed for a housing development, will reopen in January with three shows by the Eagles. Read More
DIGITAL FEST:
An event tagged as "Earth's first live digital music festival" will be led by some fittingly big names: The Grateful Dead and Furthur's Bob Weir (and his Scaring the Children band) and Kings of Leon will headline Forever Festival, seven days and seven nights of shows from across the globe that will be broadcast live on their website. During the festival's August 4th through August 11th run, Weir will perform from San Francisco, and Kings of Leon will broadcast their Fred Armisen-directed gig from London. Other artists confirmed for Forever Festival include Mos Def, Slayer, Anthrax, Lamb of God, Richie Hawtin and SBTRKT.
TRAVIS HEALING:
Country singer Randy Travis has been released from Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, TX, where he had been in critical condition since he was admitted on July 7th. Travis, 54, has been transferred to a physical therapy facility to recover from congestive heart failure and a stroke he suffered while in the hospital that required surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.
JETT LANDING:
Joan Jett will release new music for the first time since 2006 with a 10-song album featuring contributions from Dave Grohl and Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! Unvarnished, due out on October 1st, will be Jett's 14th studio album with the Blackhearts.
MUCH MORE 'AVATAR':
20th Century Fox and James Cameron have set "Avatar 2" for a December 2016 release, and are wedging in yet another sequel -- with "Avatar 3" and "Avatar 4" coming in December 2017 and 2018.
Leaving Us
J.J. Cale, the songwriter behind the Eric Clapton classics "Cocaine" and "After Midnight," died Friday at the age of 74. Born John Weldon Cale in 1938 in Oklahoma City, OK, the Grammy winner was an originator of the "Tulsa Sound," a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country and jazz influences. His career saw him release 14 albums, and his songs have been covered by acts including Johnny Cash, Santana, Tom Petty, Waylon Jennings and Captain Beefheart. His biggest U.S. hit single, "Crazy Mama," peaked at No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972.
Mike Shipley, a Grammy-winning producer-engineer who worked on records by Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Van Halen, AC/DC, The Cars, Tom Petty, Faith Hill, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and countless other acts, died last week, according to multiple reports; a cause of death has yet to be determined.
Chuck Thagard, a 50 year promotion professional in the music business passed away Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 74. I had the pleasure of meeting Chuck many times, and knew him as a total professional who was loved by all he worked with. His good friend, another great Florida promotion man, Ken VanDurand posted the following on Facebook about Chuck's passing: "He set the standard for promotion then---he continued to set the standard until this morning. He was the first to send a newsletter to Florida stations {I still have a couple dozen from 1968}; he practically invented the road trip [every station was delighted to see him]; he always had the camera and his pictures document nearly 45 years of the record/radio biz (they would make a great coffee table book); in artist relations he was the tops -- because he truly cared about every artist he promoted. Promotion was a calling for Chuck and he never let anyone down."
Quotes of the week
"Losing J.J. Cale is losing an American musical treasure. Always under the radar, he has been, and always will be, a huge inspiration to me and the band."
-- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, on J.J. Cale's passing"He pulled away. That was a big hello for me. I realized I could lose the person I loved and I had to deal with some things, issues I think a lot of women have."
-- Katy Perry, sharing details with Elle about what led to her breakup with John Mayer in February. (Seriously, Katy? John Mayer's pulling away from every woman he's dated wasn't a big enough "hello" before you dated him?)"There's been a lot of success depending on how you define the term success, if you're not in the negative in this business, you're succeeding."
-- Adam Levine and his 'Voice' cohorts Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Carson Daly addressing the show's track record with breaking new talent. The show, which is going into its fifth cycle in September, has yet to produce a breakout star."No show can survive without that. (Making a star) You're making a promise to the artists. It's not a guarantee, but I take this responsibility the most seriously. It's not what happens inside the competition, but outside the competition that matters."
-- "The X Factor's" Simon Cowell disagrees with 'The Voice' coach Adam Levine who said finding a star wasn't the show's goal or a measure of its success
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Fans Of Green Screens, Incredibly Fake-Looking Things Express Love For Modern Cinema
NEW YORK—Self-proclaimed fans of artificially sleek movies that at no point appear as though they contain real human beings onscreen in real locations doing real things expressed their ongoing appreciation for modern filmmaking today, sources confirmed.
"We live in a veritable golden age for films featuring performers hoisted up on wires in front of green screens and talking to inanimate objects that will later be replaced in post-production with oddly humanoid, cartoonish CGI characters," film aficionado Kevin Wu told reporters. Read the rest and laughThe 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
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