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The Show Will Go On
September 14, 2007
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"Baby, there's an enormous crowd of people
They're all after my blood
I wish maybe they'd tear down the walls of this theatre
Let me out, let me out
Oh, I'm so blind Oh, I'm blind
I wasted time Wasted, wasted, wasted time
Walkin' on the wire, high wire
But I must let the show go on"
-- 'The Show Must Go On' - Lyrics by Leo Sayer/David Courtney.You've all heard about it. Probably saw the clip on a bunch of TV shows.
Britney Spears attempt at a "comeback" in opening the MTV Video Awards Show last Sunday proved more than devastatingly bad; it was amazingly disastrous.
It would have been better if she wore a cut-out costume that looked like the Titanic, ran across the stage into an iceberg, and then sank amongst the onstage set design while lip-synching her own version of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." We might have had sympathy for her in that scenario. We would have to; we would feel sorry for anybody who would have to sing that song yet one more time.
What was she thinking? That's the $64,000 question. Obviously, she wasn't. Thinking, that is. Anybody in a rational state of mind would have just hung up the bra, stockings and bikini shorts, and waited until they had their proverbial you-know-what together before stepping out on that stage.
Jay Leno summed it up nicely: "They say that Britney Spears is already working on her next career move -- trying to come back from her comeback."
Of course. in this celebrity-driven media, Britney's on-air catastrophe has only resulted in her generating more press than ever. Now, we'll all be looking forward to her next career move to make sure she really was that bad.
The best news that came out of the MTV show was that after getting blanked out in all categories he was nominated in, Kanye West allegedly told a reporter he would never return to MTV. Maybe that means they won't play his videos from this point on. In any case, there's reason to pop the cork on the champagne bottle and celebrate.
Well, not really. His new album will début at #1 next week. Hopefully it won't stay at the top of the charts too long. If it does, hell hath no fury like Kanye's ego. (Quick, name Kanye's biggest hits ... yeah, I thought so)
But seriously, folks, does anybody doubt anymore how irrelevant MTV is now?
One of the headlines on one of the news stories below could have come from The Onion, but it didn't. It came from ABC News. It reads, 'Has MTV Lost Its Appeal? ... In Booming Entertainment Industry, MTV Isn't So Unique Anymore, Experts Say'. Can you hear that big Homer Simpson "D'OH!" I included the article because it's about more than just that, and because it goes into more detail about why MTV ain't what it used to be.
While MTV tries to figure out how to get back to being a trendsetter (and a bisexual dating show in the works doesn't sound to me like that's going to do the trick ... see that item below as well), they should simply remember that their call letters used to stand for MUSIC Television. Now, they could stand for MEANINGLESS Television.
But maybe MTV ain't what it used to be because the industry ain't what it used to be. Radio ain't what it used to be. CD sales are down almost 15% year-to-date, and it's likely that percentage will grow by year-end.
I've said it before ... and I'll say it again. Industry leaders should stop trying to place the blame for the industry's ills on iPods, iTunes, downloading and the Internet.
You want to turn this ship around? Then re-watch the MTV Awards show. Watch a REAL artist like Alicia Keys perform. Her performance was one of the show's few (maybe THE only) highlights. You see, REAL artists make REAL music. And it stays with us for a long time after they leave the stage. And it stays on the charts a lot longer (i.e., catalog sales) than the flavor-of-the-month "artists" nurtured and played on MTV.
The show must go on. And it will. With or without MTV.
It's already going on at YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and other online hot spots.
AND NOW THIS
Steve Jobs and iTunes are the target of a whole lot of Hollywood people lately. Doug Morris and UMG took their catalog elsewhere. Edgar Bronfman has complained about iTunes pricing for a long time. NBC pulled its shows from iTunes and made them available on Amazon.com's Unbox service.
This week, trade magazine Variety reported that the real reason NBC decided to abandon the iTunes ship was because Apple wants to cut the price of most TV shows sold via iTunes from the current price of $1.99 down to just 99 cents, the same price it charges for a song.
After selling three billion songs and tons of videos (and basically creating an online destination that was easy to use and then creating dynamic marketing for it), iTunes became the #1 online store. As I said in the newsletter previously, why anybody would want to remove songs from iTunes in a time when CD sales are dropping fast is a bit puzzling.
Ubiquity is the answer to maximizing online revenues, and choosing sides with other online stores at this point in place in time is rather silly. If people can't find what they want easily, they will steal it by downloading it for free. I wonder how many execs think about such things before they make such decisions for their artists and their labels?
This week, after coming out with a less expensive iPhone, Apple decided to give a $100 in store credit to everyone who shelled out $499 for the 8-gig iPhone when it was introduced. Steve Jobs said the company received "hundreds of e-mails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale," so it was the right thing to do.
"We need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these," Jobs wrote in an open letter on Apple.com.
This week, the iPhone passed one million in sales.
Why anyone would bet against Apple at this point, or think they can do an iTunes one better, is a puzzle to me.
If it's all about money, then fight the good fight and let the "lawyers dwell on small details."
Music Industry Betting On 'Ringle' Format
As the recording industry wakes up from its summer slumber and starts thinking about what will motivate the consumer for the holiday selling season, the major labels are getting ready to launch the "ringle," which combines the mostly defunct single-song format with ringtones.
Each ringle is expected to contain three songs--one hit and maybe one remix and an older track--and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover. The idea is that if consumers in the digital age can download any tracks they want individually, why not let them buy singles in the store as well? It also enables stores to get involved in the ringtone phenomenon.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Classic Rock Songs Take On Modern Form
Billboard's chart of the top-selling digital download tracks reflects the hottest tunes of the day: Leading the most recent list is rapper Soulja Boy, whose debut, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)," is also No. 1 on the Hot 100, ahead of Kanye West, Nickelback, Timbaland and Fergie.
But dig deeper and you'll find classic rock chestnuts from as far back as three decades, including Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird," a sign that baby boomers' love for the music of their youth goes on and on and on and on, no matter how modern the medium.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Out-of-Print Tunes Get New Life In Digital World
Hank Thompson last had a hit song in 1983, but people have more access to his music now than they've had in years. Last month, Capitol Records made 18 of the Country Music Hall of Famer's albums, recorded from 1948 to 1964, available as downloads.
"We'd get requests all the time -- 'Where can I get a copy of this?' -- but they were no longer in print," says the 82-year-old singer, who made his name with hits such as "The Wild Side of Life" and "Smoky the Bar." "Now we can tell them."
As CD sales plummet and shelf space dwindles, labels increasingly are turning to digital-only reissues of catalog titles.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple: 1 Million iPhones Sold
It seems like only yesterday that Apple had sold its first 270,000 iPhones -- not a bad tally for just a little bit more than the first day on the market. Monday morning, a little more than two months after the much-lusted-after gadget went on sale, Apple said in a brief press release that it had sold its one millionth iPhone.
"One million iPhones in 74 days," Apple CEO Steve Jobs exulted in a press release. "It took almost two years to achieve this milestone with iPod."
Read more about it by clicking here.
Has MTV Lost Its Appeal?
In Booming Entertainment Industry, MTV Isn't So Unique Anymore, Experts SayDescribed as a "train wreck," "incoherent" and "weak" by gossip bloggers and TV critics, this year's MTV Video Music Awards has many people wondering whether the longtime popular cable network has completely lost its appeal.
The ratings for the VMAs over the past few years have steadily declined, but noteworthy events like 2003's kiss between Britney Spears and Madonna, and a celebrity-studded red carpet were elements obviously missing from the latest VMA installment. MTV programming isn't what it used to be, pop culture experts told ABCNews.com, but then again, neither is the entertainment industry.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Is Free Music Too Expensive For SpiralFrog?
Miniscule revenues, no users and plenty of debt haven't stopped SpiralFrog executives from "studying options" for listing the company on a stock exchange.
The company made a splash a year ago by promising to offer consumers free advertising-supported music. But getting that business off the ground has proved a challenge to a revolving executive team led by Joe Mohen, SpiralFrog's founder and chairman. Now faced with hard-to-fulfill commitments to investors, Mohen isn't ruling out going public, despite his company's still-embryonic situation.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Site Of The Week: imeem
How, you wonder, to indulge your music-downloading urges without dishing out too much cash or having the RIAA hunt you down for pirated MP3s? Sign up for imeem, that's how. Imeem is the latest networking site to provide fans and artists alike with a thriving online content-sharing community. But it has a few features that set it apart from other music-based social networks. Check out PC Magazine's Site of the Week review to find out what they are.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple's MacBook Shines
The MacBook Pro 17-inch is still the lightest in its category (6.7 pounds) and now has the fastest components available and a top-notch screen. It's the type of desktop replacement that current MacBook owners will drool over.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple, AT&T: Bosom buddies or odd couple?
The corporate pair that launched the iPhone shares much in common. They also have plenty of conflicts as they push competing digital music businesses.
Read more about it by clicking here.
THIS WEEK'S "WHO CARES?" NEWS STORY AND YET FURTHER PROOF THAT MTV IS SO OVER #2
This past week it was the Britney Spears fiasco, now it's this: MTV has a bisexual dating show in the works in which 16 men and 16 men will compete for a chance to get romantic with Internet sensation Tila Tequila, who's made a name for herself as "the Madonna of MySpace." "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila" is set to debut Oct. 9th. And you thought MTV get any worse?
AT LEAST THERE WAS ACTION IN THE AUDIENCE
While Britney Spears seemingly sleepwalked through her MTV opening, there was real action in the audience. In the off-camera highlight of the night, Kid Rock and Tommy Lee got into a brawl. Rock was later cited for misdemeanor battery, police said.
CONGRATS TO
Steve Martin, Diana Ross, Martin Scorsese, Brian Wilson and pianist Leon Fleisher, who have been selected as the recipients of the 30th annual Kennedy Center Honors. The awards will be handed out at a Dec. 26th ceremony to be broadcast by CBS.
ZEPPELIN FLIES AGAIN IN TRIBUTE TO AHMET
Led Zeppelin is getting back together, sort of, for one night only. The group will play a one-off show at London's 22,000-capacity O2 arena on Nov. 26th as part of a tribute to Atlantic Records co-founder and chairman emeritus Ahmet Ertegun, who died last December. The band recorded for Atlantic its entire career. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones will be joined by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums. Also on hand will be Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman, Foreigner and other British artists who worked with Ertegun over the years. Profits from the event will go to the Ahmet Ertegun Educational Fund.
YOU CAN'T OUT-FOX THE LAW
Rapper Foxy Brown was sentenced to a year in jail Friday for repeatedly violating probation in connection with the 2004 fracas she started at a New York nail salon by refusing to pay full price for a mani-pedi. "I'm not going to give you any more chances," Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson told the rapper, who, since being sentenced to three years' probation, had left New York twice without authorities' permission, changed her address without permission and forgot to tell the court about seven separate traffic summons she had received.
LOU MUST HAVE SOME SERIOUS BAD KARMA FOR BRINGING ALL THOSE BOY BANDS TO MARKET
A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of boy band mogul Lou Pearlman's $7.1 million Orlando home, as well as a $335,000 New Jersey condo in bankruptcy proceedings, as he faces separate federal charges of defrauding a bank out of $20 million. The 53-year-old Pearlman, who launched the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, remains jailed, after being arrested in June in Indonesia.
SO MUCH FOR HER SPIRITUAL REVELATIONS ON LARRY KING
After her release from jail, Paris Hilton told Larry King she realized that money wasn't the key to happiness ... yada, yada, yada. Not that we believed her anyway, but now after selling her 3,000-square-foot Hollywood Hills pad, she has purchased an almost 7,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion, located in the gated Mulholland Estates. The new digs feature five bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms and a fitness room that Hilton intends to convert to a shoe closet.
PRINCE VERSUS YOU TUBE, ET AL
Prince said in a statement Thursday that he's out to "reclaim his artistry on the Internet" by planning legal action against YouTube for unauthorized use of his music. YouTube told Reuters in response that it's constantly working with artists to help them manage their music on the site. Prince says he's also planning to go after alleged piracy-facilitators eBay and Pirate Bay.
TOMMY AND MOTLEY
Tommy Lee responded to recent reports that he has quit Mötley Crüe with a statement acknowledging his "future with the band is uncertain." However, the rocker said he had informed his band mates that he would not be walking away from his band of 25 years and hoped that the band would be able to work through its differences. Gee, they always have in the past when it comes to getting together for another tour that guarantees the big bucks.
IT'S OFFICIAL, SHERRI SHEPHERD JOINS 'THE VIEW'
They announced it this week. Which brings about the question: Who is Sherri Shepherd?
ACADEMY AWARD WINNING EX-IDOL GETS SEX IN THE CITY
Jennifer Hudson has joined the cast of 'Sex and the City: The Movie,' playing the assistant to Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carrie Bradshaw.
Quotes of the week
"If I had been looking after Britney, I'd have taken one look at her in rehearsals and I wouldn't have allowed her on stage. It would have been worth pulling her off the bill -- no matter what the cost -- to save any chance she had of resurrecting her career. She wasn't ready for that show in every possible way. The song wasn't right, the image wasn't right and she just wasn't rehearsed."
-- The always brutally honest American Idol judge, Simon Cowell."I understand this whole situation has made Britney Spears' kids very nervous. Because of the way her performance went the other night, the kids are afraid that she might quit show business and become a full-time mom. This is her big comeback? She looks like she's come back from the buffet table."
-- Jay Leno"He told me that he may have gotten himself into a situation and he may have fathered another child outside the relationship, and I said, 'Really? Well, I already knew. I'm glad you decided to be a man.' I was like, 'Dude, this is so whack, I can't even respect you right now.' And for me, once the respect is gone, I'm not even listening to you."
-- Kim Porter, on why she left Diddy, her on-and-off boyfriend of 10 years, after she learned he fathered another child while she was pregnant with their twins."I kind of feel like an astronaut who lived in a space station for a year, staring at Earth and then when he got home, stared up at the night sky wishing he could go back into orbit."
-- John Mayer, on how he felt after coming home from touring, on his blog. Ground control to Major John."They exploited Britney in helping to end her career. When Britney was opening [the VMA telecast], near the end, I felt so bad for her. I said, 'Man, it's a dirty game. This game will chew you up and spit you out.'"
-- The all-knowing, all egocentric Kanye West, talking to JJ Kincaid on New York Top 40 station Z100 on Monday."I'm staying out of it. What are you going to do? Boys."
-- Pamela Anderson, commenting on the off-screen fight that occurred between her two exes, Tommy Lee and Kid Rock on 'Ellen.'"I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends."
-- Disney's High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens, speaking out after a nude photo of the actress hit the Internet."A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."
-- Kathy Griffin at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend. Though religious groups were quick to castigate the comic, with Catholic League President Bill Donohue, calling her remarks a "vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech," I for one, congratulate and thank Ms. Griffin for telling it like it is.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Pitchfork Media Gives Music a 6.8 - September 10, 2007
CHICAGO -- Music, a mode of creative expression consisting of sound and silence expressed through time, was given a 6.8 out of 10 rating in an review published Monday on Pitchfork Media, a well-known music-criticism website. According to the review, authored by Pitchfork editor in chief Ryan Schreiber, the popular medium that predates the written word shows promise but nonetheless "leaves the listener wanting more."
"Music's first offering, an eclectic, disparate, but mostly functional compendium of influences from 5000 B.C. to present day, hints that this trend's time may not only have fully arrived, but is already on the wane," Schreiber wrote. "If music has any chance of keeping our interest, it's going to have to move beyond the same palatable but predictable notes, meters, melodies, tonalities, atonalities, timbres and harmonies."
Schreiber's semi-favorable review, which begins in earnest after a six-paragraph preamble comprising a long list of baroquely rendered, seemingly unrelated anecdotes peppered with obscure references, summarizes music as a "solid, but uninspired effort."
Read the rest and laugh here: http://tinyurl.com/2py6ok.
The Blogs
Check out a great blog (that I contribute commentary to) by Jerry Del Colliano, the Director Executive Programs, Clinical Professor Music Industry & Recording Arts, at the Thornton School of Music,University of Southern California, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com.
Box Office
Check The Daily & Weekly Box Office (and more film info) at: www.boxofficemojo.com.
TinyURL
Check out www.tinyurl.com where you can make a smaller URL that will work for any webpage you wish to link to or reference. (As you can see, I'm using it in my news stories above!)
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