tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10171523451716993812024-03-12T18:27:57.737-07:00Tried To Buy.... DeniedIf the music industry wants consumers to purchase music... why is it becoming so tough?Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-83880141331032171172008-02-21T20:42:00.000-08:002008-02-21T21:18:00.075-08:00Buy the CD, get the iPodSome artists are going to new and interesting lengths to promote their releases and give their fans something value-added. Take Kathleen Edwards for example:Kathleen Edwards, an Ottawa singer-songwriter on the Maple Music label, is hoping that a nice package and some extra features might appeal to fans: She is auctioning off a 160-gigabyte iPod on eBay filled with every piece of music she has Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-42585731074192993332008-02-19T17:23:00.000-08:002008-02-19T17:27:19.598-08:00RIP TVTTVT Filing Chapter 11, Staff Fired -- AllHipHop.comI have no real nostalgic connection to TVT, so while this is definitely sad news, it's nothing I'm going to wax poetic about as a sign of the times in the music industry.I've been reading that indies are on the upswing -- some of the deals they're offering to artists are even more sketchy than majors. But maybe you have to be an indie formed in Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-59385377420819543002008-02-15T21:16:00.000-08:002008-02-15T21:24:14.121-08:00Record Store DayWhat a great idea -- a day to celebrate the record store.Just reading the artist quotes alone stirs up that musical camaraderie....Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-18990367096891192062008-02-11T09:15:00.000-08:002008-02-11T09:28:45.479-08:00Tried To Buy... Success!I'm not sure why we keep going back to A&B Sound. It must be purely morbid fascination.Hubby and I finally made it out for this week's new release shopping. We each had a pretty decent list, especially once we included all the titles we haven't been able to find yet. This week I wanted the pick up the new Jack Johnson and Sheryl Crow and I just could not imagine any store would not have those.I Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-71050904057692216242008-02-08T12:42:00.000-08:002008-02-08T12:49:00.336-08:00Can music still change the world?Just this morning I was watching a biography of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and their "Bed in for Peace". Lennon made a lot of comments about war and government that made me wonder what his thoughts would be today.Neil Young has his own thoughts about that, and they're generally not positive:"I think that the time when music could change the world is past," he told reporters. "I think it would be Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-10774423054028097982008-02-08T12:13:00.000-08:002008-02-08T12:40:54.992-08:00Groovy -- Is Vinyl Making a Comeback?It has sort of been a cliche for years: "Vinyl sounds sooo much better than CD" "You lose the feeling with digital media" and so on. Usually it's accompanied by a sniff of the nose, or a comment about "real" audiophiles.I had the worst luck with vinyl when I started out -- but then my family had a brutal stereo. I latched onto cassettes quickly -- cheap, portable, worked well with my Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-39020372951423244942008-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:002008-02-04T19:36:46.420-08:00New Releases -- Tuesday, February 5, 2008It's been a long time since there were enough titles to look for at the record store, but hubby and I both have a number of CDs to look for:Sheryl Crow - DetoursJack Johnson - Sleep Through the StaticBob Mould - District LineNada Surf - LuckyThere are also a few carry-over titles from previous weeks that we still have not been able to find. It's a pretty sad list:Magnetic Fields - Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-73940914761733905062008-02-04T19:04:00.000-08:002008-02-04T19:25:56.921-08:00Royalty Rate: What's fair for songwriters?The RIAA, labels, and Digital Media Association (DiMA) are back at it again -- trying to dictate who gets what in the wonderful world of the music industry. This time they're taking on songwriters.The Copyright Royalty Board is meeting to determine which, if any, royalties need to be adjusted. The RIAA and DiMA are insisting songwriter royalties need to be at least cut in half. The reasoning? Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-41800974462826041422008-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:002008-01-30T09:35:22.366-08:00Tried to Buy...Week 2 (or Week 3 depending on which New Release schedule we're working from) of the ongoing saga to find a single copy of the Magnetic Fields. We're not even picky about price anymore... we'd just like to see the damn thing.Hubby has also let me know he's on the hunt for the new Joe Jackson. I'm not terribly knocked out by this week's crop of New Releases. I'm tempted by the Vampire Weekend discMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-58646110440337712632008-01-28T10:11:00.000-08:002008-01-28T11:19:53.848-08:00QTrax Round-UpWell, all the buzz this weekend was QTrax, an online P2P music sharing/streaming/music-on-demand service that the Big 4 Major labels had signed off on and licensed their songs for.The idea was the advertising would generate enough income for the labels to buy more hookers and blow be able to compensate the artists.The idea intrigued me. I love me my iTunes, and have generally avoided anything Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-40381885492240844112008-01-23T10:50:00.000-08:002008-01-23T11:29:36.010-08:00Why I still buy CDsIt seems lately I've seen a ton of comments about the CD being dead and how no one buys CDs anymore. Yes, the numbers are down and yes, as a format it is certainly not going to survive long in this digital age, but as a music fan I still love CDs.Liner Notes. I love liner notes. That should put me into the music geek club right there. It goes beyond the lyrics. I like knowing that Prince co-wroteMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-91903316619399380222008-01-20T16:13:00.000-08:002008-01-20T16:18:55.847-08:00Cockburn Tracker -- Inner City FrontHubby managed to scoop this at a Best Buy on Friday. Just when you think you've picked the city clean of catalog Bruce Cockburn discs.....Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-16922625662206271502008-01-20T15:43:00.000-08:002008-01-20T16:13:15.762-08:00Tried To Buy... Weekend EditionDespite the worst weather we've seen this season (yeah yeah, it was nothing, we know), hubby and I ventured out for some CD shopping. Maybe it was the fabulous luck we'd had last weekend, maybe it was the fact I'd finally heard enough tracks from some recent releases, but we had a decent number of CDs on our list:Cake - B-Sides and RaritiesWeakerthans - Reunion TourNeil Young - Prairie Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-59720761439439421362008-01-20T15:36:00.000-08:002008-01-20T15:43:06.958-08:00Life is Way Too Short for American IdolVancouver Sun, American Idol's Dilemma, January 15, 2008:LOS ANGELES -- American Idol is poised to set ratings records when Fox's talent show returns to the airwaves with a four-hour season premiere tonight and Wednesday.And the US says it doesn't torture....Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-9315695495682530692008-01-17T11:39:00.000-08:002008-01-17T11:47:32.650-08:00Calgary Music Store NostalgiaI was heading out to meet friends at a pub on Stephen Avenue Mall when I came around the corner at 1st St and 8 Ave SW and saw this:I never even liked Music World and this made me sigh deeply and remember better music retail days. The store has been closed for over a decade (in fact I worked across the street at A&B Sound at the time), and I even know the guy who opened a Subway franchise at thatMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-85522304667613477682008-01-17T10:54:00.000-08:002008-01-17T11:37:10.931-08:00Music News Link BlastLots going on in the music world the past couple of days and little more I can contribute beyond throwing some links out there:My Fair Copyright for Canada Principles (Michael Geist) - Canadian Copyright activist spells out what he would like to see in Canada's new copyright laws. Excellent read.No iPod tax for Canada (George) - blogger with a good breakdown as to why the iPod tax being scrapped Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-80291294972558335532008-01-14T11:52:00.000-08:002008-01-14T12:06:20.746-08:00EMI to Cut 2,000 jobs?It's been widely reported that EMI will be announcing layoffs this week. 2,000 of its 5,500 employees is the number that's floating around right now.That's a mighty deep cut. And it truly sucks for the people who work there, because I figure if you're still in this business, you must really care about the industry (high-level execs excepted).But what I really don't get is how shocked people are. Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-430976267210652122008-01-14T10:51:00.000-08:002008-01-14T22:14:45.463-08:00Tried To Buy.... Success StoryThe whole "Tried to Buy" segment of this blog sort of fell by the wayside with the dismal release schedule of December. Since January is usually pretty dire itself, I didn't really anticipate much shopping this month either.But you know, when you're a die-hard music consumer, you eventually have to venture out to the stores anyway, and on Sunday, that's what hubby and I did.Maybe it's because ourMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-73325247130443042592008-01-11T11:55:00.000-08:002008-01-11T11:59:41.547-08:00Canadian iPod levy rejectedThe Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has killed the iPod levy.This is not necessarily good news.The always informative Michael Geist spells it out better than I ever could here: Federal Court of Appeal Kills iPod Levy.The discussion below the story is an excellent read as well: it highlights the complexity of the issues, particularly in regard to artists and consumers.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-72952765253478746472008-01-11T11:35:00.000-08:002008-01-11T11:48:27.737-08:00EMI to leave the IFPI?Variety reports that EMI has filed a letter to leave the International Federation of the Photography Industry, better known as the IFPI, even better known as a thinly-veiled spin-off of the RIAA.From the Variety article:Following the guidelines of the Intl. Federation of the Phonographic Industry, EMI sent a letter the last week of December to IFPI leadership stating that the company would file Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-7597297389984455492008-01-10T15:15:00.000-08:002008-01-10T15:20:08.642-08:00Sony BMG Goes DRM-free: Take TwoNow this sounds a little more like it:Amazon.com has announced that it will be adding music from Sony BMG to its Amazon MP3 DRM-free music store later this month, which will make it the only service to offer DRM-free tracks from all four major labels.I could not figure out where Sony BMG was going with that whole DRM-free music card thing. Leave it to me to jump the gun.Yet iTunes still doesn't Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-35931005385714149322008-01-07T14:17:00.000-08:002008-01-07T14:27:37.703-08:00Sony BMG's next big thing -- Digital Music CardsFrom Billboard.com:The digital album gift cards, which retail for $12.99, will be artist-specific and feature album artwork, and will come with bonus material. The card will contain a scratch-off that will reveal a PIN number that can be redeemed for a download at MusicPass.com.While I applaud any initiative to keep the retailers in the loop, I just can't see how this is going to fare any better Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-14697766343219055412008-01-03T19:58:00.000-08:002008-01-03T20:04:13.016-08:00RIAA: "Unfairly maligned"?There's been a lot of chatter in the blog sphere about the RIAA and the concept of ripping. I've stayed away because I didn't feel the need to add to the choir. Suffice it to say, much as I despise the RIAA and their tactics and completely misguided approach to a changing industry.... they never said ripping was illegal. CNET sums it up very well, in a simple and direct article documenting who Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-32492291697885030812007-12-22T14:56:00.000-08:002007-12-22T14:59:28.125-08:00David Byrne on the music industryOh. My. God. David Byrne wrote a piece for Wired about how artists can adapt to the changing music industry. It's an amazing read. Go. Read Now.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017152345171699381.post-48224340106235280512007-12-22T14:22:00.000-08:002007-12-22T14:50:07.836-08:00Mac Users More Likely To Purchase MusicFull disclosure: I am a die-hard Mac user since 1992, and am completely addicted to iTunes, my iPod and the iStore. But even I was a little surprised by this story from Apple Insider stating Mac users are much more likely to legally download music, purchase physical CDs, listen to music on their computers and upload music to an MP3 player.I've worked with plenty of people who downloaded gigs of Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556603086274846863noreply@blogger.com