For yesterday's Soundcheck program on WNYC (rebroadcast nationwide by NPR), I squared off in a "Soundcheck Smackdown" against Ben Goldberg, owner of the independent record label Bada Bing.

Goldberg argued that the practice of leaking albums in advance of their official release dates shortchanges fans, because oftentimes the pre-release version is only a rough mix.

I took the opposite position: that music fans want to hear as much of a band's material as we possibly can, regardless of the finality of its mix.

Listen here to Goldberg vs. Van Buskirk in this week's Soundcheck Smackdown, hosted by Joel Meyer:

See Also:

• U2 Tracks Apparently Leaked from Bono's Holiday Home
• FBI Visits Leaker of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy
• VB On The Radio: Body Spray Launches Record Label
• VB On The Radio: Talking MySpace Music on WNYC
• VB On The Radio: Cellphones Belong at Rock Concerts
• VB On The Radio: Remembering The First MP3 Player
• VB On The Radio: What's Happening to Independent Record Stores?
• VB On The Radio: The Prince Album Giveaway
• VB On The Radio: What's Happening to Music Videos?
• VB On The Radio: What's Happening to Independent Record Stores?

Music has long been associated with advertising, but these days, the concept has been taken even further. Some brands are acting like labels, signing and promoting artists in exchange for the artist lending their identity to advertisements.

Recent examples include Bacardi signing Groove Armada, Nike hiring Kanye West to release a song about their shoes and Red Bull reportedly working on a studio where it will record its own roster of artists. Now Tag Records -- from the makers of the similarly named body spray -- hopes to make a mark in the hip hop community.

To make inroads with the "urban market," Tag partnered with rapper/producer Jermaine Dupri and Def Jam Records to create Tag Records, which has already signed the rapper Q and released a commercial to promote him and their spray side by side. Other artists are expected to follow suit.

Continue reading "VB On The Radio: Body Spray Launches Record Label" »

On WNYC's Sound Check show with host John Schaefer on Tuesday, I argued that cellphones are enhancing the live music experience in a "Smackdown" against Thor Christensen, a columnist who recently posited in The Dallas Morning News that cellphones are ruining concerts.

The segment should start zinging around the nation through various NPR and PRI affiliate stations soon, but WNYC has already posted the stream, embedded below.

I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Indeed, station staff told me that the majority of WNYC callers agreed with Christensen that cellphones are a bad thing for live music. I too have been annoyed by cellphones at shows every so often, but think I made some decent points about why they're a positive development (referencing the spread of Prince's infamous cover of Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella, among other things).

Hopefully you'll have time for a listen before voting in the poll:

Continue reading "VB On The Radio: Cellphones Belong at Rock Concerts" »

Richard Shindell, a singer-songwriter who paid his dues behind an open guitar case on the floor of Paris Metro subway stations as a street musician, has spotted a similarity between busking and the internet.

In his busking days, anyone in the station could hear what he was playing, but only those who wished to pay threw coins in the case -- a situation he likens to musicians' prospects for payment online.

However, he sees two differences between the internet and busking: On the internet, the listener can walk away with a perfect copy of the song whether they pay or not, and those who don't wish to pay online cannot be forced to do so (yet).

Under Shindell's analogy, Jim Griffin's plan to levy general listening fees through ISPs could be thought of as somewhat akin to the Paris Metro adding a music fee to the price of every subway ticket. Shindell explains why he thinks that's a bad idea:

I would no more expect every person who downloads my music on LimeWire to pay for it than I would every passing commuter in that tunnel.... Is it reasonable to tell those people to cover their ears as they pass by? Does it make sense to banish them from the tunnel? Would any sane person advocate barring the doors of the Metro? Should we serve them all with subpoenas? Blow up the whole system? Of course not. And yet that is exactly what the RIAA and its lawyers would have us do.

Continue reading "Is the Internet Turning Musicians Into Buskers?" »

With so much music being accessed online, independent record stores are facing the same harsh realities that drove Tower Records out of business. However, some have found ways to stay relevant to music fans in their community and beyond, by adding digital storefronts or offering things that can't be had online.

Earlier today, I spoke Kojo Nnamdi of American University Radio, a Washington D.C.-based NPR station about the possible decline of the record store, as Record Store Day approaches to make us all feel guilty of freeloading on the internet. Other guests included Bob Boilen, the host of All Songs Considered and three Washington, D.C. record store owners:

The segment is online in two formats:

Windows Media  |  Real

The Decline of the Record Store?

The local record store used to be a cultural hub of the music industry, a place where fans could discover, debate and buy new music. But new technology is changing the way we listen to music. And many small businesses are struggling to keep up, as business migrates to the Web. We examine changes in the way we discover music, and the future of independent record stores.

Guests

Bob Boilen, Host, NPR's All Songs Considered
Eliot Van Buskirk, Editor, Listening Post (Wired.com's music blog)
Jack Menase, Owner, Melody Record Shop (Washington, DC)
Neal Becton, Owner, Som Records (Washington, DC)
Matt Joyner, record store guy, Crooked Beat Records

 

 

Listening Post appeared live on WNYC's Soundcheck program yesterday to discuss a potentially huge problem with MySpace Music, which is partially owned by the major labels and yet will include music by unsigned and indie label artists.

Other topics covered included Madonna and Mariah Carey besting Elvis Presley's sales records, Live Nation's "360-degree" deals with Jay-Z and others, the Muxtape phenomenon and more.

You can listen here:

Continue reading "VB On The Radio: Talking MySpace Music on WNYC" »

Last week was a heavy media month for Listening Post, with an appearance on G4 to talk about whether the digital music age will be kind to artists, a chat with NPR's "Fresh Air" host Terry Gross, and now this discussion on Weekend America (airing on NPR) of my memories of the world's first MP3 player.

Correction: The fifth song on my Eiger Labs F20 is My Bloody Valentine's "Drive It All Over Me," not "Soon."  (I recorded the songs from my Eiger Labs F20 MP3 player at home, and apparently confused the song titles by the time I arrived at the studio.)

One of my favorite sounds in the world is the voice of NPR "Fresh Air" host Terry Gross.  Rational, soothing, and intelligent, that voice has guided many a listener through complex issues in a thoughtful, enjoyable way.

That's only one reason I was happy to discuss new models for digital music in a "Fresh Air" segment that airs today around the country. 

You can also stream the segment on NPR's website.

This morning, I discussed new business models in the music industry with the dulcet-voiced Terry Gross for a segment of National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" (slated to air Thursday), as well as the loss of the album as the standard unit of musical measure.

When Gross hears talk of "thousands of songs," she can't relate, thinking of her own music collection in terms of CDs.  What's going to happen to the album, now that music has splintered into singles, and listeners group songs by artist rather than by album?

Continue reading "Will Collaborative Playlists Replace the Album? " »

Phil Kay of Working for a Nuclear Free City and I joined host Kevin Pereira of G4's "Attack of the Show" for a discussion of the recent Nine Inch Nails album release, artists considering suing labels for a chunk of the Napster lawsuit millions, and whether the digital age will be kind to musicians.  Please don't make fun of my winter beard.

In case you missed it, Listening Post's year-end roundup of the biggest stories of the year is online in audio form on WNYC.org. 

We posted the list here earlier, but the below audio version from Soundcheck program delves a bit deeper.

Bonus: Just before the seventh minute, you'll get to hear a snippet from the biggest-selling album of the year -- Josh Groban's Noel, which somehow sold 2.8 million copies in 2007.

This was a turbulent year for the music business, as the copyright-related lawsuits continued and music sales plummeted ever faster.  But there were also some glimmers of hope, as the labels starting to budge, ever so slightly, in terms of making deals with new businesses.  We also saw a few new ideas emerge on how to do music in the digital age.

These stories seem to sum the year up nicely; I'll be chatting about them this afternoon on WNYC's Soundcheck show at 2pm est (also on XM 133 and to be archived here) as part of the shows Critic's Week feature.

Some entries were suggested by Listening Post readers.

- Radiohead released In Rainbows.

- Two major labels (EMI and Universal) moved away from digital rights management.

- The Copyright Royalty Board determined potentially disastrous per-song, per-play royalty rates for internet radio that are still being contested (from Peter and Eric).

Continue reading "Top Ten Music Stories of 2007" »

Next Friday, Listening Post is scheduled to appear on WNYC's Soundcheck program (also broadcast on XM channel 133) to talk about the biggest technology- and business-related music stories of 2007, as part of that show's "Critic's Week" feature.

Radiohead's In Rainbows release could have been the music business's biggest story of the year, although the fact that two major labels (EMI and Universal) moved away from digital rights management this year is another big contender.

In your opinion, what were some of the biggest music news stories of the year?  If I use your suggestion, I'll read your name over the radio (unless you don't want me to).

With the MTV Music Video Awards right around the corner, Listening Post appeared on WNYC's Sound Check program today to discuss what's happening to music videos, which used to be considered a promotional item but have become a sort of final product as record labels look for ways to offset declining album sales.

The other guest during that segment was Patrick Daughters, who directs videos for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and other bands.  Then, during the second half of the show, Bill Callahan (formerly known as Smog) performed a great live version of a song called "Prince Alone in the Studio," complete with a full in-studio backing band.  The show aired live today in New York, and will be rebroadcast on all sort of NPR channels, but you can also hear it online (kudos to the WNYC staff; this stream was available about an hour after I left the studio.

Listen

Listening Post appeared with host Jon Gordon on American Public Media's Future Tense show today to talk about Prince's controversial album giveaway -- the latest in a string of curveballs the innovative popstar has thrown to the music business over the past few decades.

Interview: Prince runs afoul of recording industry again (MP3)