Kevin Cogill -- watch this name

The LA Times reports the arrest of Kevin Cogill for distributing nine cuts from the new Guns 'n Roses recording, "Chinese Democracy." The website was antiquiet.com. Stay tuned. Kevin Cogill is going to be famous for 15 minutes starting very soon.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/08/guns-n-roses-un.html

Check out Cogill's/Skwerl's website: http://www.antiquiet.com/features/2008/06/weve-got-chinese-democracy-and-its-worth-the-wait/

No brainer idea: buy songs off the radio

Here's a story from the Telegraph in the UK. Great idea. You hear a song you like, you push a button on your car radio or playback device at home and you download the music...instantly. Cool idea, too. It's good for radio stations. It's great for the record industry. It's even good for car manufacturers.

What's the problem?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/08/28/dlradio128.xml

Brisbane's ambitions for BIG SOUND

Here's the plan (same as in Tulsa). Build up a local festival to be a "must attend" event for the industry. Tourism. Industrial-strength investment. Finance. Creative community growth. Home values up. Expansion of the tax base.

Brisbane wants to establish a "must attend" music festival for the Southern Hemisphere. Read more about it, below.

http://www.westender.com.au/news/139/15/Qld-dancing-to-a-new-beat

Up down-under, Down in Canada

In a recent post to this blog we noted that Canadian Tories cut the subsidy for the music industry. Now the Labor Party in Australia is campaigning that they will throw $1 million (Australian) at the industry if they win in the next round of elections.

So come on. Pick one way or the other: 1) subsidize the music industry to make it more competitive in the world economy OR 2) do not subsidize the music industry in order to encourage to it to be more competitive in the world economy.

And while you're at it, let's decide once and for all what to do about our subsidies for the oil, farm, tobacco, armaments, chemical, mining, pharmaceutical, banking, and insurance industries.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/28/2348533.htm?section=entertainment

Arizona infringement decision

Mr Howell used KaZaa to distribute copyrighted music and then tried to hide the evidence by reformatting his hard-drive. That was the decision of Judge Neil Wake. The decision on the fines Mr Howell will have to pay will be released soon. Anther music pirate down with another 100 million to go. This ain't no way to fight a war.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012086415

Boyz II Men fan-dom rules

Here's an article in a Utah paper about Boyz II Men. It answers the question you were not asking yourself: whatever happened to Boyz II Men? Defining the relationship between musicians and their fans is very "old school," older even than Boyz II Men. This article does a great deal to illuminate a perennial favorite in the music business.

Besides focusing on their music, Boyz II Men members focused on their fans and whoever wanted to listen to them in whatever setting that seemed suitable. Lessons for the wise.

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/278435/147/

African music industry news

Interested in a career in Africa?

http://www.filmmaker.co.za/readarticle.php?article_id=3375

Read Write Web

Richard McManus has a terrific music industry podcast. The latest installment features the movers and shakers at Imeem, RealNetworks, Yahoo Music, and Webjay. You can check it out at...

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/future_of_online_music_discussion.php

Song contest

M-Audio and Avid are sponsoring a song-writing contest. Funny that the announcement is distributed to the money channel on CNN.com. That's not where one would normally look for this news. What is getting communicated and to whom?

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0428449.htm

Canada's competitive edge gets tax cut

Have you ever wondered about the role of governments in subsidizing and encouraging the music industry. Canada's Tories cut funding for musicians' travel to showcases and industry trade shows. You hear, above the yelps coming from the industry reps, a challenge to the idea that the creative arts need government support.

On the other hand, the CBC has a quota for Canadian music content on all of its broadcast units. Culture and politics -- who would have thought they are intermingled in anyway?

http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid1=115&csid2=844&fid1=33268

Better than hiring a composer

SmartSound Music is a unique service for music editors. It can save thousands in licensing fees for films and TV shows. Bad news for composers who can customize music to a mood, a scene, etc -- SmartSound can do the same thing for dimes on the dollar. With millions of discs to choose from, music editors play a more important (not less if they hire a composer) in editing music to a scene. The "creatives" are troublesome and the music industry can create a few more less expensive jobs by sourcing underscoring from a service like SmartSound Music. The news article shows up in the WSJ's MarketWatch.

Sample the music and learn more about Sonicfire Pro's unique features at www.smartsound.com or call (800) 454-1900 to request a free on-site or online demonstration.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/hit-films-tropic-thunder-bucket/story.aspx?guid=%7BB0F5C491-F3B1-40F6-A7DE-94552D5CF8A3%7D&dist=hppr

Getting pinched in Australia

Australian health clubs are feeling pinched by the mega-US recording corporations. Th record industry can't find enough income in sales so they are pursuing income wherever music is played: health clubs, coffee shops, muzak, Pandora, etc. The record industry is not ALL of the music industry -- but they sure are making a name for the entire industry.

http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/news/australian-music-licensing-affect-2608/

Talent Clearing House

MarketWatch, a service of the Wall Street Journal, reports that a music business is positioned to take advantage of the shift most businesses in the industry will have to use someday: Talent Clearing House. TCH just cleared $20 million "of music sales through its royalty administration system." This kind of business is a sign of the shifting model the recording industry must continue to pursue in order to re-invent itself. It also is beyond the control of the industry "giants" which is also a good sign. The bad news, you have to live in Wilkes-Barre PA if you want to work them.

For more information on Talent Clearing House, please visit www.talentclearinghouse.com or e-mail info@talentclearinghouse.com.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/talent-clearing-house-reaches-20/story.aspx?guid=%7B789DDD4B-0988-47C0-988E-0B2BC174595C%7D&dist=hppr

Borders limiting recordings in-stores

As part of its larger efforts to survive, Borders Books reports that it's continuing to be "disciplined" and limiting its inventory or recordings in order to maximize its profit. Don't look for Hootie and the Blowfish in-store performances anytime soon. This news comes to us via AP wire service.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i0S69B6dHSghDs5bntTCVsNZ6upwD92QN2DG0

Bandstock and other crazy ideas?

The Guardian in the UK is such a great news source. Caroline Sullivan's article highlights the sometimes crazy but always out-of-the-box ideas that the recording industry needs to pursue in order to re-invent itself. Caroline is a funny writer -- and an incisive thinker. ***

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/27/internet.stockmarkets