This Week in Music News

Saturday August 23, 2008

Lots of interesting news this week and lots to have an opinion about. Let me know what you think!

Mad at the oil company execs? Well, then you'll love this one, and it hits even closer to home. Digital Music News reported on the salaries earned by the top brass at the RIAA, and wow. How much does suing pre-teens who swap Avril Lavigne songs pay these days? How about $1.5 million? Membership dues pay for these outlandish salaries, especially major labels, who already can't the bills these days. Unbelievable. (Insert string of obscenities here.)
Remember the internet radio royalty debate? It's not over. Take a look at things through Pandora's eyes and find out why your favorite net stations might be no more in this Washington Post article. Thanks to David Rose for bringing this article to my attention on Twitter.
I thought this look at how much MTV has changed over the years on Defamer was spot on. You'll have to be of a certain age to remember this, but MTV actually used to be a really cool place for music. I know, it sounds far fetched, but believe me.
Another day, another story about the death of the CD format. This one takes a different tact, however, and reports on the (great) news that stores like Wal-Mart and Best Buy plan to cut way back on the shelf space they devote to music. Sure, a lot of this comes down to the music business moving to the internet, but being a devoted record store lover, I choose to see this as the music industry shaking out some of the stodgy excess and an opening for really cool music shops to thrive. Shame Best Buy and Wal-Mart have already driven so many of them out of business by breaking street date and selling below cost, but still, let's look on the bright side.