Wednesday, September 25, 2002

• Musicians Ask Calif. About Royalties
  The most amazing thing about this story is that it has taken California lawmakers this long to look into the notoriously corrupt accounting practices of the recording industry. It's one of those open secrets that everybody knwos (except, obviously, artists who are hungry for fame). The R.I.A.A.'s response- "Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America ( news - web sites), complained the industry faced "trial by anecdote" and lambasted the panel for allowing indiscriminate charges, misleading allegations and innuendo." Dude, I seriously doubt you'd want a real trial. You'd be up to your neck in damning evidence. The R.I.A.A. also chided artists for persuing this issue and not focusing instead on (the alleged) damage done to the industry by piracy and peer-to-peer file trading. Another point-- this story has a good quote: "Artists usually settle because they have run out of time and money ... That's why the legislature should get involved, because on their own, the vast majority of artists cannot do it in court," said Simon Renshaw, who manages the Dixie Chicks.
  
  
• Def Jam Takes Rap Duo to Movies
  Plans are now under-way for a Method Man-and-Redman-in-military-flick. Looks like they are on their way towards replicating the 'Ernest Goes To. . " series. Just with more nudity and jokes about smoking the cheeba cheeba. *Sigh* Whatever happened to hip-hop cred?
  
  
• Kool G Rap LP Finally On The Way, Capone-N-Noreaga, Michael Stipe Included
  What more needs to be said about this story than "Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is on the new Kool G. Rap album?!?!?" What's up with that? And why is MTV News running this story without further explaining what this duet is all about and how it came to be?
  
  
• Brains 1, Barbie 0
  Salon premium members should peep the above linked story about this year's Miss America pageant. It is a pretty remarkable piece about how this year's winner landed the crown, the state of the pageant today and why some of the girls lost out. Nice work. If you aren't a premium member, I don't know what you're waiting for! Click here to become a Salon premium member.
  
  
• Talking During The Movies
  Roll your own DVD commentaries are already a reality. Not an overwhelming reality-- but the furue is here. Read the above linked article and then check DVD Tracks for your dose of D.I.Y. fun.
  

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

• Christian Hip-Hop Comes To Print with FEED Magazine
  How many dc Talk and Father MC articles can one magazine print? Luckily, it is just a quarterly. I kid, of course-- the more media, the merrier. More info about the magazine can be found at The FEED Magazine website.
  
  
• AOL, Disney in Talks to Merge News Operations
  Sweet sassy molassy, no. No more consolidation, especially in the news business. Thankfully, the AOL board seems kind of uninterested-- mostly over control issues.
  
  
• Flav in Jail for PE Opener
  Hip-hop legends Public Enemy are currently on tour with openers Dilated Peoples and Blackalicious, but without hype-man and frequent jail-bird Flavor Flav. Flav is once again in the clink after violating the terms of his probation-- stemming from an earlier arrest for driving without a license. He hope to be out to rejoin his band-mates during the later part of the tour.
  
  
• Camper Get Boxed
  Quirky college rock legends Camper Van Beethoven will release Cigarettes and Carrot Juice, a five-CD box set, on November 5th. The set will include four of the group's albums -- Telephone Free Landslide Victory, II & III, Camper and Camper Vantiquities -- in addition to one CD of live performances. Missing in action are the album they recorded for Virgin-- Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart ( and Key Lime Pie . According to the linked article, the live disc was preferrable to the group instead of going through their archives and listening to the covers they used to do. David Lowery sez '"Cause nobody wants to hear us do 'Kung Fu Fighting.' There could be a whole disc of covers: 'Rock Your Baby,' the theme to 'SWAT.' The MTV theme." Well, actually, I would-- but I'm kinda strange that way.
  
  
• Basement Jaxx Prep New Material
  They have about thirty songs, which will be whittled down to an album's worth of material in time to get the record to their label, Astralwerks, at the end of this year. As with previous efforts, the group is in the process of finding unknown vocalists to appear on the as yet untitled release.
  

Monday, September 23, 2002

• Inside the Rolling Stones Inc.
  Nevermind all that art vs. commerce crap-- Fortune magazine shows how The Rolling Stones have become the money making machine that they are.
  
  
• Love Says Suits Settled With Nirvana Members & Universal Music
  Courtney Love tells Howard Stern that her legal battle with the former members of Nirvana is over and that they all have come to an agreement over how the band's recordings, name, and images will be released and marketed. In more disapointing news, Love also told Stern her legal battle against Universal Music Group has been settled "for a lot of money." Which means that Love will not challenge the recording industry's underhanded practices in court and will instead re-join the machine. That really sucks. Love also added that she would have put her own album out before the end of the year. Now word yet as to if that will also suck.
  
  
• Music-Swapping Service Gains Stature in New Deal
  I think maybe The New York Times is making a bigger deal out of this than it really is, but oh well. KaZaA's owner, Sharman Networks Ltd., will advertise high-speed Internet access provided by Tiscali, an Italian Internet provider, to its tens of millions of European users. In return Tiscali, which serves around seven million customers in 15 countries, will pay Sharman a "bounty" for each KaZaA user who signs up for its high-speed access service. The times article treats this advertising deal like a super-ligitimitation of file-trading, but I just don't see it that way. It's not like Tiscali is promising to shield it's customers from prosecution or anything.
  
  
• Copyright Hurdles Confront Selling of Music on the Internet
  This is an excellent piece in The New York Times about the ins-and-outs (mostly outs) of getting legitimate music downloading services up-and-running. Battles with artists, labels and publishers stiull abound. "It's as if Franz Kafka designed this system and employed Rube Goldberg as his architect," said Rob Glaser, the chairman of MusicNet. Too true.
  
  
• Rock Group Finds a New Way to Sell Out
  This could save the music industry from itself-- or at least save artists from being trampled on a regular basis. Dozens of people have invested up to $20,000 Grey Eye Glances an adult alternative" band. They are using the money to record start up The Grey Album, a company responsible for producing, manufacturing and promoting Grey Eye Glances' seventh album, A Little Voodoo. Rykodisc will distribute the new CD. I was just thinking about this a month or so ago-- since all bands trying to make it professionally have to become a company-- why not go after investors or bank loans instead of a restrice, exploitive and elusive major label contract?