Weekly Music News
Sunday November 1, 2009
- According to Billboard, Live Nation and Ticketmaster are working things out with the Justice Department in the US to get the green light to create their monopoly. Are we really surprised? I have to say, it had been YEARS since I'd bought a ticket using Ticketmaster, but I bought some football tickets using Ticketmaster a few weeks ago. The fees were ridiculous, then the MyTicketmaster account I had to create wouldn't work, and I waited on the customer service line for 30 minutes before giving up. Boy, I bet the service and prices will get better after the merger!
- By the end of this year, TuneCore will have sold $30 million worth of music. One song distributed by TuneCore is sold every second on iTunes. (Despite the fact that people don't buy music anymore and it is just a promotional tool to sell merch and concert tickets! I know, I know, sarcasm is unbecoming.) We Are Listening spoke to TuneCore's Jeff Price about their success - check it out. I'm not sure I really understand the Universal deal and the appeal of opting to use Universal channels, but I guess you can't argue with options!
- The Sony Corp is suffering, thanks to falling sales of electronics, but Michael Jackson is helping. Sales of his back catalog in the wake of his death haven't taken the company out of the red, but they have helped to make the losses much smaller than projected. Though Sony certainly can't be blamed, all of the stories of all of the parties who are profiting from Jackson's death just kind of make a tragic story a little more depressing.
- Good article from CNN about politically active African musicians: check it out.
- It's not news, but remember when music used to be this simple? Minimal bells. Minimal whistles. Just talent. I think there's a lesson there for us all.
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