BLOGCRITICS

Here's an online critic blog (Blogcritics) looking for unsigned bands to reveiw for it's weekly column.

[Resource http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/07/27/130548.php]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

SNO-NEWS

"Snocap has rolled out a new technology that allows independent artists to sell music through Myspace and other Web sites." Read more here

[Resource [http://music.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1184733.php/Snocap_technology_allows_artist_to_sell_music_through_Myspace_]

"...the digital music company founded by Napster creator Sean Fanning, is testing a new service that enables bands to sell their music from Websites like MySpace.

Snocap's Linx service is also designed to let online retailers sell music from the company's vast registry of songs.

It has distribution deals with Universal Music, Sony BMG,EMI Group (EMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Warner Music (WMG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), along with a numberof independent labels.

Buying the songs, which are sold in the unencrypted MP3format, requires registration with Snocap and PayPal, the electronic payment system owned by eBay" Read more here

[Resource http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-07-26T172057Z_01_L26438324_RTRIDST_0_MEDIA-SNOCAP.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

PIRACY GOES LEGAL

KAZAA, the popular online song-swapping service, will become a legal paid-for service after settling out of court with four of the world's biggest record companies.

Read more here.

[Resource http://news.scotsman.com/music.cfm?id=1094802006]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

GET YOUR INDEPENDENT MUSIC HEARD BY INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

Q Song entries close August 14!

Want to get your music heard by music industry professionals? Want to grab a slice of over $25000 worth of cash and prizes? If so, it’s time to get your best song into Queensland’s ... more

[Resource http://www.air.org.au/index.php]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

A DIGITAL FUTURE

This comes from US reports - Physical album sales at the lowest since January 1994, July CD sales down 7.8% for the year -- "the world of physical product--is on the wane, even though it still accounts for 90 percent of all music sales. The age of digital sales already has dawned, but things are still hazy on the horizon."

To read more click here.

[Retail http://news.com.com/Drawing+up+musics+retail+future/2100-1027_3-6101667.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

WORLDSOUNDS IDEAS FOR MARKETING

This is a press release from WorldSound Productions, Inc. based in Santa Cruz, Califorrnia.

The CEO of WorldSound Productions, Inc. is Janet Cucinitti, she is not a musician or an artsist but set up this unique business to help promote the music of some of her close freinds who are independent musicians.

By putting together 'party paks' Janet was able to market assorted electronic music to radio stations though a previous company called Waveform International, Inc. Janet shut down that company whilst dealing with some health issues. Now with the experience and contacts she has made since starting that company in 1991 WorldSound Productions Inc. have just launched it's new website with many new and interesting projects underway.

[Resource http://www.pr.com/press-release/15080]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

OPEN AIR IN MELBOURNE

Need Office Space in Melbourne City?

AIR has developed an open plan music business incubator in West Melbourne. Situated above Rubber City in Spencer St, Open AIR is designed to support emerging music labels and other music based businesses and related industries (managers; publicists; graphic designers; etc) to access professional office space that is both affordable and functional. The space will support a placement of 8 companies and they will be housed with a range of other companies within the block. Currently, there are a number of companies already situated in the vicinity that include record labels; management companies; publishing and financial services. In addition, companies in the space will also have access to guided support sessions provided by industry professionals. [read more]

[Resource http://www.air.org.au/index.php?cID=2080&apply=&webpage=default&menuID=480]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

THE CHANGING FACE OF MTV

On Sunday, Britain's 'Top of the Pops' will be broadcast for the last time on BBC. Top of the Pops was the world's longest running weekly music show.

MTV, once at the cutting edge of music will be re-inventing itself with an interactive TV channel and Web site targeting the online social networking craze.

These progressions seem to be opening the way for the indie musician to come up with creative ways to get their music seen and heard via mobile phone and Internet technology.

[Resource http://news.com.com/When+music+TV+tangles+with+the+Net/2100-1027_3-6099896.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

A REBEL AND A CAUSE

I found this story interesting. It's about the trial of a Uzbekistan musician who wrote and recorded a pop song containing lyrics that supposedly 'insult' the Uzbekistan president. The singer Dadakhon Khasanov is on trial for 'slander'.

The song's lyrics are about the Andijan massacre where Human Rights Watch says "bullets were falling like rain" and that hundreds of demonstrators were gunned down.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that freedom of expression is not alive and well everywhere.

Read the full story here.

[Resource http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1207610.ece]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

INDIE MUSO ON MERCURY SHORTLIST

An independent musian has made it onto the shortlist for this years' UK Mercury Prize.

From the UK Guardian this is a story about Zoe Rahman - a pianist with no agent, no manager and no record company getting on the prestgious Mercury prize shortlist.

Read on here.

[Resource http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1836221,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=6]

Here's what they say (below) about the Mercury prize from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Music_Prize#2001]

The Mercury Music Prize is seen as something of a controversial event in the UK. The award can in no sense be seen as representative of prevailing trends in popular music, as the winning album is selected from the shortlist by an extremely small panel of individuals from within the music industry.

Also, the artists selected for the shortlist have in the past been prevailingly from major record labels, which has irked many independent record label owners and artists. The exclusion of independent artistes has purportedly been on the grounds of lack of sales, however the same might be said of many of the major label artists who have made the shortlist. A notorious example of this was Helicopter Girl, whose 2000 album How To Steal The World reportedly sold fewer than 1,000 copies.

For the official spin BBC, have a look at the bbc.co.uk

[Resource http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1836221,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=6]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

SOUND ADVICE

This comes from a UK site called TheWhippinPost It's a resource for all things mixing and mastering.

"Mixing audio music can be a baffling science for most muso's. This interview and tutorial attempts to break down the science of mixing sounds in a candid discussion between a nobody muso (me), and pro sound engineer (Rick Snoman)"

[Resource http://www.thewhippinpost.co.uk/mixing-music/mixing-music-interview.htm]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician, mixing,

WESTERN AUST MUSOS CLOSER TO INTERNATIONAL MUSIC MARKETS

Good news for WA indie musicians. Read here how WA music artists are now a step closer to accessing international music markets.

[Resource http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=25&ContentID=1164]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

LIVE MUSIC AND THE INTERNET

Internet Is Seizing the Spotlight in the Live-Music Business

This is a 2 page artcicle I found from the New York Times - it speaks about DIY live performance videos and YouTube.  There are ways of getting your music to an audience without a big budget video and MTV.

Read it here

[Resource http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/arts/music/03live.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

NATIONAL BAND FESTVAL - VIETNAM

Here's a Vietnamese national band festival I found.

National Bands’ Festival: a competition for all genres of music

A good way to combine your love of travelling with performing.

[Resource http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/culture/220706/culture_na.htm]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

WARNER MUSIC GROUP GOES INDIE

Warner Music inks indie distribution deal

by Samantha Marshall

"Warner Music Group's indie distributor has just struck a deal with dance music label Ultra Records as part of an on going effort to build up the alternative and independent side of its music business and attract new talent."

[Resource http://newyorkbusiness.com/news.cms?id=14253]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

MUSIC HISTORY FROM THE STREETS

Goodbye Michael Jackson.  Remember the 1983 video for 'Thriller'?  That went for 13minutes which is the current record for the longest video.

Well not for much longer.

Hey, how long did the video for David Bowie's 'Blue Jean' go for?  I'm pretty sure it was for 'Blue Jean' that included a short movie before the actual video began.

Anyway, back to what I was talking about.

Mike Skinner (The Streets) is teaming up with MTV to make a 20 minute 'promo' to celebrate MTV's 25th birthday.

"An MTV spokesman said it was a "truly unique project"."

Look out for it's first airing 1st August.

[Resource http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5208576.stm]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

MUSIC AND POLITICS

Can't give away a million dollars! This is one consequence of 'speaking your mind'.

The infamous Dixie Chicks remark from 2003 is still making news. That's some publicity mileage!

"The fallout from Natalie Maines' now infamous remarks in 2003 bashing George Bush is well documented: radio boycott, CDs publicly destroyed, a sharp decline in sales, death threats, and ridicule from the country-music industry.

But what bothers Maines the most, she says, is that the American RedCross refused a $1 million donation from the Dixie Chicks in 2003."

Read more here.

[Resource ]http://www.projo.com/music/content/projo_20060723_chicks.11f8b5e.html

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

'Mc' BOB

Dylan's debt to Scottish music

Karin Goodwin

"HIS heartfelt anthems evoke the windswept prairies of the American Midwest and the cotton fields of the deep south.

However, Bob Dylan’s debt to the hills and glens of the Scottish Highlands has been revealed in the first encyclopedia of the celebrated singer.

In his new book, Michael Gray, one of Dylan’s leading biographers, claims that Scottish folk music and poetry have had a significant influence on the singer-songwriter.

Dylan, 65, admitted recently that his most famous protest anthem, The Times They Are A-Changin’, was inspired by a Scottish folk tune."

Click on the article title to keep reading.

[Resource http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2090-2281957,00.html]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

MEDIA AND MARKETING

Media and Marketing.

This comes from Ireland's siliconrepublic.com

"Pondering the new reality of the global music business, where a band could lose a record contract if it fails to be a top 20 success within a year, O’Grady is sanguine about the impact of the internet in making a viable future for artists and independent labels."

Read more of what Dave O'Grady (Irish music industry veteran) has to say about how this could affect the music industry.

[Resource http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6796]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician

METALLICA ON iTUNES

Metallica now on iTunes Music Store.

Read the full story here.

[Resource http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/8274/]

technorati tags:indie, independent, musician