As much as it hurts me to say something positive about a record label, I am forced to give credit where credit is due. Universal Music actually did something smart today. A little overdue but smart. Today Universal Group Distribution launched an online storefront, Groovetown Vinyl, specifically for vinyl and FLAC formats. “In recent years,...
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The record industry is putting all of their eggs in the Google basket, some labels believing that the search engine giant’s music service will deliver them from ruin, as well as the grips of Apple, and restore them back to health. They’re looking at the Google deal as a monster payday, with one label...
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The guys at Torrentfreak do a terrific job of covering the torrent and p2p scene. I’m always amazed at the stories they break and the excellent writing. And if I understand it correctly, they do it in their spare time when not at their day jobs. Last weekend they broke another story that I...
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Yes, I’m back. Apologies for the long hiatus, but I was busy with some knucklehead who had the world convinced that he was going to buy the Pirate Bay. Oy vey. What a story. I’ll get into all of the details in the coming months. It’s one of the weirdest chapters of my extremely...
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The other day Billboard Magazine published an analysis on the effect of variable pricing using Nielsen SoundScan data on February-May sales of hits and a sample of popular catalog songs. They found that “while variable pricing made sales volume decline, higher prices compensate for that to create more revenue”. They note that results vary...
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God I know it may be getting old, but EMI just never fails to do stupid stuff to keep jerks like me interested. This time, they’ve started their own HR merry-go-round. Maybe musical chairs would be a better metaphor. A friend in London was telling me a crazy story. Everyone knows that EMI has...
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According to a new study released yesterday, file sharers in the UK couldn’t care less about getting warning letters from the ISP’s. They would, however, stop illegally downloading if their net connections were cut. Some pretty drastic stuff, no? The study was commissioned by Wiggin, one of the top media and technology law firms...
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A few short weeks ago, Goldman Sachs analyst Ingrid Chung gave Warner Music some big love. She upgraded her rating of Warner stock, giving it a 14.6% bump in one day, sending shares from an April 13 opening of $3.08 to a close at $3.53. Chung saved some extra big hugs for Junior, saying...
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Wimp soft rockers Coldplay are trying to get hip by giving away their new CD. Fans who attend one of their upcoming North American tour dates will get a free copy of their new live album The CD, called “LeftRightLeftRightLeft,” will also be available as a free download through the band’s website www.coldplay.com This isn’t...
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