'Canada Sings!' Searches For Workplace Glee Clubs - Casting Now - Canada Sings! (working title), an all-new homegrown series, seeks out talented singing enthusiasts and their harmonizing workmates to battle it out in a fun and exciting competition. The show is scheduled to premiere on GlobalTV in early 2011. Deadline is September 22. Website
Report: 90-Second Song Samples Coming to iTunes Store - Apple's iTunes, the largest music retailer, will boost the amount of time users are allowed to sample a song, sources told CNET on Monday. On Wednesday, when Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage at the company's annual September media event, he is expected to announce that iTunes users will be allowed at least twice the amount of time to sample a song, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the move. The sources said the sample period could be extended to as much as 90 seconds. Complete Article
Hello Music to Present CMJ Showcase - Apply By September 10 - Hello Music, one of Billboard Magazine’s Top 10 Startups of 2010, is seeking unsigned artists to play its official showcase at October’s CMJ Music Marathon, the annual New York City conference where the music business discovers scores of emerging bands. Artists interested in playing at the showcase must upload music and prequalify at hellomusic.com by September 10. It is free to sign up and submit. Website
5 Ways for Indie Musicians to Get Played on KCRW Santa Monica - For indie bands, getting their music played on KCRW is a sign of success - and not just because of the estimated 375,000 people per week who listen to the station's music programming, both online and over the air. That's because the public radio station has a reputation for being a tastemaker, with its fingers on the pulse of independent music trends poised to be the next big thing. It's one reason why music directors in Hollywood troll the station for new music to include in their television shows and movies. Complete Article
How To: Make Free iPhone Ringtones - Ringtones - they are the darlings of the music industry and the bane of anyone subject to hearing a bad one. If you’re sick of your plain old telephone ringer but don’t want to download a canned tone, you don’t need to spend extra money to turn your favorite song into a ringtone for your iPhone. There’s a way to create ringtones in iTunes from your existing music. Once you’ve done it, you’ll be making ringtones faster than you can download them. Complete Article
MySpace: Still Here - MySpace remains big, attracting 61 million unique users in July, according to comScore, second only to Facebook's 146 million among social networks measured by the researchers. And it's trying to escape the looming shadow Facebook inevitably casts with its 500 million-strong global user base. To do so, it seeks to improve its usability; focus on its core audience of youth; and emphasize the sharing of music and entertainment - all while reminding people that it matters, despite the buzz focused on Facebook, Twitter and newer platforms like Foursquare. Complete Article
iPod Sales Drop to Lowest Quarterly Number Since 2006 - Seasoned watchers know that this is the time of year when the iPod gets a refresh, yet there's a shadow over the digital music player that turned Apple from an also-ran computer company into a force in the technology world. The latest sales figures for the quarter through June showed 9 million sold – the lowest quarterly number since 2006. In short, the iPod, launched in October 2001, looks to be in terminal decline. While Apple is unworried – sales of its iPhone and iPad are booming – the drooping figures for the digital music player market are a concern for another sector: the music companies. Complete Article
OK Go on Net Neutrality: A Lesson From the Music Industry - The Internet is the purest marketplace for ideas that the world has ever seen, and the amazing power of such a level playing field has revolutionized everything. Google knows this better than anyone. It started in a garage and became an industry leader by having great ideas, not mountains of cash. And it's wonderful: The Internet works! It rewards innovators such as Google, and it relegates protectionist, defensive, idea-squashing fogies such as record companies to the dustbin of history. Now that the Internet has been around long enough to have developed its own giants, though, we need to make sure they don't ruin what's great about the technology that made them. We need to make sure they don't crush the idea industry the way the music giants crushed the music industry. I hope Google keeps succeeding (seriously, I'm a stockholder), but it must be because of the power of its ideas, not its power to tilt the playing field. Complete Article
JanSport Sets the Stage For Online Battle of the Bands Competition - JanSport, the outdoor gear brand that makes backpacks, travel gear and collegiate apparel, has announced its third annual Battle of the Bands competition in conjunction with Sonicbids. The winning band will play Sonicbids Official SXSW Party in March 2011 in Austin, Texas. Artists must first submit to SXSW through Sonicbids, then follow instructions to apply for the Jansport Battle of the Bands. Deadline November 1. Website
Music Royalties Strangle Playlist.com - The long saga of free music streaming service Project Playlist (now just called Playlist.com) looks like it will end in a classic case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire." Any hope that the company's worries were over when it settled with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group dropped its suit in May could be dashed if UMG succeeds in stopping Project Playlist from paying off millions of dollars-worth of debt with a $15.7 million loan from the label. The label filed papers to that effect on Monday as part of Playlist.com’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in which the company said it only had $2.2 million in total assets, little of it in cash. Complete Article
Kanye to Release New Song Every Week - Kanye West has promised to release new music via Twitter at the end of every week this year, as part of a series he's calling "G.O.O.D. Friday." "I'm dropping one new song every weekend until Xmas. It may be my song, it may be a new [Jay-Z] song, etc.," Kanye wrote. Complete Article
Apple, News Corp. in Talks on 99-Cent iTunes TV Show Rentals - Apple is in "advanced talks" with News Corp. on offering TV shows for 99-cent rental in its iTunes Store, and has held similar discussions with other media firms, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. The service in discussion would provide 48-hours of commercial-free viewing time for the 99-cent rental fee, with programs becoming available within 24 hours of their first broadcast. Apple is also reportedly speaking with CBS and Disney about TV show rentals on iTunes. Complete Article
Tour With The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad - Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC ) and The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are pleased to collaborate for a sixth year on The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad. JALC is now accepting band applications for the 2010-11 season. American music quartets from throughout the United States specializing in jazz, urban/hip hop, bluegrass, blues, Cajun, country, gospel, and zydeco are invited to apply for the opportunity to tour internationally and share their music with the world. Auditions will be held in New York City at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center and, for the first time in the history of the program, in New Orleans. Website
Calling All Woodstockers - Join the Alumni Registry - The Museum at Bethel Woods, part of Bethel Woods Center of the Arts which is located at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival, has launched the brand-new, Woodstock Alumni Registry. Anyone who attended the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair, or attempted to attend, and local residents who volunteered or participated in the event in some way, will have the opportunity to become a part of The Museum’s archive and the festival’s permanent history by joining this historical Woodstock attendee database. Website
Pitchfork.tv POV Allows Viewers to Customize How They Watch Concert Series - Pitchfork.tv, the online music channel and sister of Pitchfork, the online music magazine, is giving music fans an entirely new way - or six new ways to be more precise - to experience a concert performance. Pitchfork.tv has created POV (Point of View), which enables fans for the first time to watch a concert from any one of six camera angles - or all six imultaneously. Website
IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) Now Accepting Entries - The 7th Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) is now accepting entries with it's own online submission. IAMA promotes excellence in Acoustic Music Performance and Artistry. Acoustic artists in various genres can gain exciting radio and web exposure through this competition. IAMA is open to all independent artists and labels. Unlike other music industry competitions, IAMA focuses on developing new markets for Acoustic artists, labels and with or without CD releases. Enter by August 31 and receive a free subscription to Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine. Website
Review: Neil Young wrote "Ohio" just days after that fatal event at Kent State, then immediately recorded it with his friends. Jefferson's songs have that kind of intensity and honesty. And like that classic song, he gets his point across clearly but doesn't bash you so hard you never want to hear him again. Damn, he's good. And if I may continue the comparison to Young, he's got that 60's folk-rock vibe that worked so well then so why not now? It's far from dated and much more effective than some of the pablum that passes for music these days.
It's not enough that he wrote all these great songs but reading his bio, it looks like he plays all the instruments, too. And well. An acoustic guitar is often at the center of each song; he also kicks it up with drums, bass, electric guitar and more.
"Disposable Me, Disposable You" is about our throw away society. "Disposable bottles, disposable cans / disposable lovers, disposable friends." It only leads to a "six figure mortgage and credit card debt"... and ... "He who dies with the most stuff wins." Amen, brother.
In "Stranded" he sings about being stuck in a cubicle and in a world where there's no room for neighborly conversations over the fence. He blames the car, the malls, and everything that's supposed to lift us up.
"Christmas in Falluja" is heartbreaking, inspired by a kid who enlists to fight because he doesn't have the training to do anything else.
The "price we pay for keeping the nation free" is covered well in "Trail of Tears".
Unlike the others, "One Percent" leans toward techo. He raps over the beats, telling us "One perent of the people own 50 percent of the wealth ... where do you fit in?"
If you like Young, John Prine or Steve Earle, buy a hundred of his CDs. Give them to your friends. Be sure your congress people get some, too. Heck, mount your diesel-powered Volvo with speakers and drive around town. Everyone needs to hear this guy.
Review: She's got that Britney crack in her voice and with those beats, it sounds like a good Britney song or maybe a less quirky Katy Perry. There's a great vibe for dance clubs or just playing around the house when you realize it's a lot better than downing a half dozen expressos.
"Ride the Stars" is a feel-good cut with a good keyboard hook and a catchy chorus. "Carousel" and "Love Me or Hate Me" are harder edged, with a cutting guitar cranked to eleven. In the latter, she sings, "I'm not your every day ordinary girl" but I'm not so sure 'cause these tunes sound like something we've heard before. Maybe she's got a great stage show to go with this and that would certainly amp things up.
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