Country music sales, industry's last stalwart, are finally taking a dive
BusinessWeek Sep 2, 07 7:40 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Country music album sales are down nearly 30% so far this year. That might seem slightly less dramatic against the whole industry's 15% slide, but country’s been the biz’s final remaining hold-out—holding nearly even in 2005 and 2006 amid the digital revolution. So the newest dive may signal the last beachhead is broken, BusinessWeek reports.
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Ability may be in genes, but early musical training a must, too
Scientific American Sep 1, 07 5:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Sounds like absolute pitch—the ability to identify a note without a reference tone—might be genetically determined. “Either you have it or you don’t,” said the lead researcher in a report in Scientific American , who cautioned that even those with the theoretical genetic predisposition must be exposed to music early. It remains to be seen if a single gene controls the tonal gift.
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Sirius radio targets niche market
devoted to legendary band
Variety Aug 29, 07 4:25 PM CDT
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Twelve years after Jerry Garcia's death, the band is getting back together—on satellite radio. Sirius will launch a channel that's all Grateful Dead, all the time on September 7, kicking off with a legendary 1974 performance at the Hollywood Bowl. "This is gonna be one fun channel," says guitarist Bob Weir.
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NYC club CBGB launched some of movement's top acts
Associated Press Aug 29, 07 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Hilly Kristal, whose iconic club CBGB was the epicenter of American punk rock, died yesterday at 75 after a battle with lung cancer. The New York venue—fully titled CBGB & OMFUG, or "Country, Bluegrass and Blues & Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandisers"—showcased the Ramones, the Talking Heads and Patti Smith before it closed down last year in a dispute over rent.
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Post-Katrina hard times in the Big Easy threaten legendary jazz scene
Times-Picayune (New Orleans) Aug 27, 07 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The battered post-Katrina economy drove jazz musicians into the streets of New Orleans yesterday, holding instruments silent at their sides in what they termed a “solidarity march.” Ninety percent of city musicians were living at or below the poverty line even before the hurricane, the Times-Picayune reports, and now competition for remaining spots has bands playing for peanuts.
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Skinnydipping Nirvana cover boy looks back with mixed feelings
MTV Aug 23, 07 5:06 PM CDT
(Newser)
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One of rock music’s most famous cover subjects is a little leery of his past. Spencer Elden was 3 months old when he appeared naked as a money-grubbing underwater baby on Nirvana’s Nevermind; now he says the photo, on an album that sold tens of millions of copies, may make him “the world’s biggest porn star,” MTV News reports.
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Troubled 'Rehab' singer needs to 'address her health,' publicist says
BBC Aug 22, 07 2:51 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Another overseas import has been held up due to a high level of suspicious substances -- Amy Winehouse has canceled her U.S. tour to address her "health problems." A publicist's statement made no mention of rehab, but said the chanteuse was advised by doctors to shelve her tour, and that her affliction was caused by "the rigours involved in touring."
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New online music store undercuts iTunes, lifts limits on copying
The Motley Fool Aug 21, 07 5:20 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Seeking to wrest control of the market from Apple, Wal-Mart today launched an online music store that undercuts iTunes by 5 cents per song. More important, the retail behemoth has dropped DRM copyright protection, which means customers can burn as many CDs as they like and play songs on any MP3 player, the Motley Fool reports.
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Wired salutes the 'obsolete form of optical media,' which turns 25 today
Wired Aug 17, 07 5:06 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The compact disc, which Wired calls an "obsolete form of optical media," has been spinning for 25 years today, according to a press release from Philips. The first disk, a recording of ABBA’s “The Visitors,” was produced in Hanover, Germany in 1982. A stunning 200 billion CDs have been produced since, and the technology and form have been adapted for next-gen media like DVD and Blu-Ray.
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First album in five years due October 2
Reuters Aug 16, 07 4:27 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Bruce Springsteen will release "Magic"—his first album with his iconic E Street Band in half a decade—on October 2. The 11-track album is produced by Brendan O'Brien, who also produced the Grammy-winning "The Rising," the last Springsteen/E Street collaboration.
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Allofmp3.com founder ruled innocent of copyright infringement
Reuters Aug 16, 07 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A Russian court has acquitted the founder of Allofmp3.com of breach of copyright, Reuters reports. The now-defunct Russian website infuriated American and Western European music companies by offering cut-rate downloads that they said infringed on their copyright. EMI, Time Warner, and other major corporations insisted on prosecution, but a judge found Allofmp3 had paid sufficient royalties.
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Fans around the world pay tribute, cough up cash to honor the King
Reuters Aug 16, 07 6:49 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Elvis fans braved 100-degree heat to make the pilgrimage to Graceland for the 30th anniversary of the King's death, lining up last night for a candlelight vigil and chance to pay their respects. Tens of thousands were expected to file past the grave and snap up commemorative T-shirts.
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Pakistani pop ballad deeper than it sounds, Salon's Leonard says
Salon Aug 15, 07 6:41 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A certain Pakistani pop song would be piffle if it were a love song, but it's not: it's an anti-terrorist ballad, an emblem of a “society-wide identity crisis,” and as such it has meaning, writes Salon ’s Andrew Leonard. Eight pop idols recorded the “We Are the World”-style ballad, and it’s become a major hit.
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Suspended Titan
barred from wrestling, tries recording
Associated Press Aug 15, 07 5:16 PM CDT
(Newser)
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After failing as a Total Nonstop Action Wrestler, Tennessee Titan Pacman Jones has found another way to fill the idle hours of his NFL suspension: the cornerback is at work on a hip-hop album. Jones, whose strip-club arrest earned him a one-year NFL hiatus, has assembled an outfit called "Posterboyz"; the group will release its first single this month.
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