Way to go Coldplay!!

Best selling Pop act of the year and it seems you couldn't do it without Joe Satriani!?!

You know, I've had moments when I've played something that I found running through my head only to be reminded later by way of the background music at the mall that, oops, that was just a Hall and Oates line that I picked up subconsiously. Stuff like that happens. I mean, maybe ol' Chris Martin was just standing at the Jewlry counter tapping his toes to the background music while he shopped for a new pair of earrings for the misses. It's plausable. But check out the similarities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofFw9DKu_I

Now, Coldplay has made their official response to the allegation of plagiariasm.

"If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him," "Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song 'Viva la Vida'. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavors."

Wow, I guess that's one way to handle it.

Let's look at the track record of people who blatently rip off another artist. My personal favorite is how the Rolling Stones all but destroyed the Verve for Bittersweet Symphony. Does the Verve even get any of the royalties for that now?

When was the last time you heard Duran Duran's Do You Believe In Shame on the radio, or at one of thier shows for that matter? I bet John Fogherty wishes you would.

Who knows, maybe Mr. Satriani will play it like Tom Petty who called The Red Hot Chili Peppers Dani California one of the best covers of Last Dance with Mary Jane he'd heard, but left it at that. Maybe?

Oh, he's suing? Good luck guys.

The fact is that a really great, catchy, earworm kind of melody can really make a band, but make sure it's your own.

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/120908coldplay

More decline in the market for Physical Media?

Well, well, It seems that the decline in CD sales is starting to effect retailers as well. In fact, Border's Books is reducing their floorspace for Music because of lower demand. It's not just Border's though. I was in Best Buy the other day and their CD section was about half of what it used to be.

Anyone remember when Best Buy had an Import section?

While retailers like Target have never really been a music emporium, their CD selection is still getting smaller at the same time they're offering more in the way of Drop Cards.

Even the used CD outlet chain of CD Warehouse stores here in the Kansas City area have gone out of business.

Have you noticed that the cost of duplication is dropping too? How hard is it getting to get people to drop the cash for a CD at one of your shows? How long till we, as Indies, are dealing in an all Digital world, and would that really be a bad thing?

Check out the links below, it's pretty interesting.

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/120108borders

http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE4B10CI20081202?feedType=RSS&feedName=internetNews

It's a new frontier for the Music World. Almost daily we're seeing new innovations, issues, technologies, and lawsuits in the digital music world. The funny thing though, is we're also seeing greater and greater sales figures there as well.

I'm starting to think the long life arc of the CD is going to be cut short for this ever growing, and always controversial medium. We're seeing a larger number of artists being thrust into the spotlight by more unconventional methods. Whether it's my "favorite" Disney creations like Miley or the Jonas Bros and their TV shows, or Fiest and her huge iPod ad, or MTV's Making the Band series, we're seeing the new music moguls always reaching ahead for the new technologies, the new marketing ideas, and the next best way to stand out and at the same time lower their costs.

Face it, more can go into promotion and marketing if you don't have to pump said money into duplication and production. It's a different world now, and we've got to roll with the waves or be drowned in the surf.


http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/mp3-compatible-music-campaign-unveiled-481711

It's a matter of Auditude

Here's an interesting file sharing idea. Auditude has developed a plan that would decriminalize file sharing by turning each file into an advertisement for the publisher. Now granted, I'm not familiar with all the fine print of this thing, but it appears that both MTV and MySpace think it has some merit, as they have both signed on.

Now, as I looked over the blog that I've linked below, I got to thinking about how something like this might work.

How would the artist have to innovate to still be able to make money under a business plan such as this? Even with the ad embedded in the file, the song is now totally free. Would it then mean that you'd go with a lesser quality file and then offer an "ad free" higher quality file for a download fee? Would it be advertising for your CD, a medium I see fading fast? Would it throw the artist into having to rely on merch and live performance monies to survive? Would it lead to an over saturation of music availability making it that much harder for people to find you?

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, and it certainly demands more looking into.


Read more here, http://government.zdnet.com/?p=4160

Don't take YOU for granted!

Hey all,

After being down sick for the last week, I came to the realization of just how important it is to make sure your health is a priority.

How many of us, as Indies, hold health insurance on ourselves? Do you set aside a portion of your earnings to cover yourself and the other members of your band? Do you just wing it? Leave it chance?

I know there are many Indies (probably more than not actually) that hold a day job to "pay the bills" and "cover insurance", but there are a large number of us that are out here on our own without the safety net to make sure we don't fall, and health insurance is expensive.

The good news is that there are people looking after us.

As a member of ASCAP I have access to their insurance pool, a great pool of other working musicians and songwriters and publishers that band together to get decent pricing on health insurance. I'm sure the other PROs have similar deals.

All I'm saying is, that when you depend on yourself to stay afloat, don't take yourself for granted.

Take care of yourselves and stay healthy.

Doom, Despair, and Agony on me..........

It's been pretty Doom and Gloom in the media recently. Hell, even the music news outlets are talking about economic recession and the failing economy, and by the way Wall St. is acting, the $700 Billion Bailout didn't ease any of the panic.

People want an escape. They want to be able to run away from the negativity and just get out and have a beer.

I'm not sure how, but gasoline has actually dropped in price. $2.99 a gallon here in Kansas City this morning. Now, I may be way off, but I would think that this might actually be a grand time for enterprising young touring bands. Load up the old van and hit some regional clubs. Play up on the escapism branding in your marketing and draw out the people who want to run away from the hype for a while.

The thing is, no matter how hard things have been for me in the past, I've always felt that a cover charge, a CD, or a beer or two with the guys are luxuries I couldn't live without. I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only guy in America that feels this way.

If you play it right, you may just be able to make a bit of money, and you'll be doing your part to pump money back into the economy. Win/win, and you're a true American Hero.

More on the CD Baby buyout front.

Linked below is an article from Moses Avalon's website. For anyone who doesn't know who Moses Avalon is, he's the author of such books as "Confessions of a Record Producer" and a long time critic of Derek Sivers and CD Baby.

I won't even begin to go into his credibility, mainly because I don't put a lot of faith in people who hide behind a pseudonym, but his math in this is pretty intriguing. I do find it funny though, that for someone who has made it one of his missions to cast doubt on Derek Sivers, he sure does stroke him there toward the end.

It does seem that Discmakers are going to have their hands full doing damage control for some time to come.

Again, if any of this is true, which I'm sure it would be pretty easy to verify, then I truly hope that Discmakers does the things that they are promising and lends a little of their credibility to the situation.

http://www.mosesavalon.com/mosesblog/