Apple Ticketing

Could be interesting... though I have little faith that Apple could pull of something monumental with regards to pricing and accessibility - despite being an "empire." But from a Tech standpoint - kick-ass.

Apple patent reveals concert ticketing plans

The latest Apple patent to hint at its future music plans is for a service called Concert Ticket, which would take the form of an iPhone and desktop application.

It’s described as an “iTunes based web service for tickets that will naturally enhance the iTunes music empire”. It includes e-tickets distributed to the handset, maps to the event, song lyrics, the ability to buy a live recording of the gig, virtual coupons for free drinks, and social features to find other fans at the concert.

[From Music Ally | Blog Archive » Apple patent reveals concert ticketing plans]

Finally! MySpace Events

The one thing I've been waiting on forever, is for MySpace to take advantage of their Event listings for all their bands. Even though I rarely use MySpace personally, it's still my go-to source for listening to music for some new band I want to check out. The number of bands on there is staggering, and so is their concert data. Finally, I'm now able to see every MySpace event listing in the area... Not that I needed the ability to discover and attend more shows... http://events.myspace.com/

MySpace Launches Events & Ticketing Platform

How does MySpace plan to stop the outward flow of traffic to Facebook and Twitter. Apparently, by connecting with them and an ongoing series of launches rather than a single splashy makeover. And today's announcement might have actually given artists and music marketers a reason to keep their MySpace profiles more up to date.

Late on Wednesday, the social networker unveiled MySpace Events, a calendar and ticketing platform that allows artists and fans to create and share events. Each event appears inside the user's MySpace calendar, including any from Facebook thanks to a growing implementation of Facebook Connect; and they can be shared on their MySpace Stream, Facebook pages, on Twitter, and via tiny url.

[Continued... MySpace Launches Events & Ticketing Platform - hypebot]

Now if only they could start leveraging the power of RSS feeds...

Songkick Is Now the Biggest Concert Database?

I don't know about that claim... but Songkick has impressed me lately. It particularly made my day with this update this morning:

JUNE 2010

Saturday 12

Freelance Whales at Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH, US

Event details

Saturday 19

DJ Rupture at Cleveland Museum Of Art, Cleveland, OH, US

Event details

Songkick Says It’s Now The Biggest Live Concerts Database

Songkick said last year that they wanted to become the largest global database of concerts in the world. It looks like they may have got there already.

Their latest figures say the site now carries information on 100,000 upcoming music events, with over 2,500 added daily added from about 80 sources. These include Ticketmaster down to small local listings papers, as well as by the Songkick user community. It’s particularly that aspect which has supercharged the site: user uploads are now up 900% year on year.

The live music industry’s benchmark for coverage until now has been Pollstar’s data – and their homepage currently says they know of “11,978 Artists and 78,818 Events”. Songkick’s numbers quoted are from internal data.

[From Songkick Says It’s Now The Biggest Live Concerts Database ]

Grooveshark on Jailbroke iPhones

I'm really trying hard to not want to jailbreak my iPhone... Help me out Apple.

Rejected By Apple, Grooveshark Releases App For Jailbroken iPhones On Cydia

When Jason Kincaid tried out the iPhone app online music streaming startup Grooveshark built and showed off in July 2009, he wrote that it was great but that he “wouldn’t expect this to pop up in the App Store any time soon”. He was right on both counts.

Grooveshark now says it has given up on its ambitions to get approved for the official App Store, claiming that Apple has been “ritually rejecting” the app for “primary selfish reasons”. We’ve heard that song before.

The startup says it spent many months developing the iPhone application, and on occasion went months without a hearing a peep out of Cupertino.

Denied access to the App Store, Grooveshark decided to head underground and is today releasing the app on Cydia, enabling people who have jailbroken their iPhone and iPod touch devices to enjoy it – and it is actually pretty cool.

[From Rejected By Apple, Grooveshark Releases App For Jailbroken iPhones On Cydia ]

Gotta Groove Records

Since the purchase of my new turntable, I'm becoming enamored the vinyl revolution. And what better place to be than in Cleveland, which boasts both a kick ass Record Store (Music Saves) and one of the few Record Presses in the country (Gotta Groove Records). Check it out below.

Gotta Groove Records - "Groove With Us" from Nick Cavalier on Vimeo.

Local Music Scene: Ante Up Studio

Great Article! Link below...

Some Quotes:

"The bustling, 20,000-square-foot complex is home to 14 full-time employees. In addition to two recording suites, it houses a performance space for small concerts and rehearsals, as well as the offices of Reversed Image Unlimited, Seifert's record label and artist-development company. Under the same roof, he also operates a music-publishing firm and a post-production facility for film and television projects."

"Friends questioned his sanity. Yet where others saw folly, Seifert saw opportunity. The question I got the most was: 'Why are you building a studio at all, and if you're going to do it, why in Cleveland?' A lot of big studios in other cities are closing, but I think a lot of them are closing because they couldn't afford to have that much space in Los Angeles or New York City."

[Continued... Michael Seifert's Ante Up Audio recording studio lures big names to Cleveland and puts local talent on the map | Pop Music with John Soeder - cleveland.com - - cleveland.com ]

Only Music Left on FaceBook

Trying something out...Thought I'd create a page for Only Music Left on FaceBook as a way for people to get updates if they want 'em. I think it's still a better idea to subscribe to the RSS Feed, because then you'll get to see the content in all it's original glory (embedded media & all). But this is at least an easy way to get headlines out to friends.

Remember you can still "fan" the site but hide updates if there are too many for you... but give me a little time and see what you think first.

Old CD's

I can't imagine getting rid of mine... but maybe you're considering it.

Hey Music Lovers! Don’t Toss Your CDs
by Amanda Wills

If you’ve made the switch to MP3 downloads, chances are you’ve got a box in your garage that’s full of CD cases from artists that were less than forgettable (this author admits to still holding on to the Macarena single). But if you haven’t made the digital jump, we’ve got some news: You’re way behind.

As of September 2009, Apple has sold 220 million iPods, and users have downloaded more than 8.5 billion songs from iTunes. To put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of 85 million CDs that would have been made.

Polystyrene downcycles quickly. As a result, recycled plastic from cases is used as an additive to new plastics rather than to make new products on its own. Photo: Flickr/LuluP
CDs contain three main components: plastic, metals and ink. Discs are made mostly from polycarbonate, although a small amount of lacquer is also used as a protective coating. Aluminum is the primary metal in discs, but traces of gold, silver and nickel are also present.

[From Hey Music Lovers! Don’t Toss Your CDs - Earth911.com]

eMusic Adds Warner Music Group To Catalog

Despite all of eMusic's messing with their download plans (not for the better), I'm still a fan. It's a great legal supplement for stuff that you can't easily find elsewhere online - and if you refuse to pay $0.99 per track on iTunes (like myself).

eMusic Adds Warner Music Group To Catalog
In Talks To Add Streaming

(UPDATED) Digital music download subscription service eMusic has added the Warner Music Group family of labels to its offering in the US. The agreement includes Atlantic Records, Rhino Records and Warner Bros. Records as well as indies distributed through WMG’s ADA. Sony signed with eMusic last year, but thus far Unive rsal and EMI have not.

eMusic sells monthly memberships starting at $11.99 for 24 tracks making the effective single track price $.50 or less under some plans; significantly less than many of its competitors eMusic says it has has sold more than 350 million downloads under its current ownership.

[From eMusic Adds Warner Music Group To Catalog - hypebot]

12 Ways to Scrobble

Keeping up with my geekery... I thought I'd share this article on the plethora of ways to Scrobble. Don't know what it is? Read on... Why should you? It's a pretty cool way to track and share what you're listening to.

Last.fm: 12 Ways to Scrobble

“Audio Scrobbling,” as defined by Last.fm, is the act of submitting to a central database the details of what songs you’ve been listening to (what album, by who and when you listened). Scrobbling to Last.fm is the main reason I use the service these days, especially since it made the internet radio part of it a paid subscription only service for Australia. I think that being able to easily track and visualise my listening history and share that with friends is a great example of the social internet revolution.

There are a number of ways to have your music scrobbled to Last.fm from your Mac. Which one you chose depends on which fits into your music workflow the best.

[From Last.fm: 12 Ways to Scrobble ]

How do I Scrobble you (don't) ask? Coversutra.

A Net Neutrality Video Primer - Pay Attention!

Very important...

A Net Neutrality Video Primer

As fundamental as it is, net neutrality isn’t the easiest thing in the world to explain. That said, FMC has certainly its best to illustrate why the open internet is so important to artists and fans (check out our Rock the Net campaign and our body of articles, factsheets and blog posts). As the principle that protects the open internet, net neutrality is important to just about everyone. So it’s crucial that we work to ensure that the internet we know and love isn’t reshaped by a handful of powerful telecommunications and cable companies seeking to install toll booths on the information superhighway.

This video from Jesse Dylan (yes, he is the son of Bob) breaks down why net neutrality is key to expression, creativity, commerce and free speech. Through interview snippets with such luminaries as the “father of the internet” Vint Cerf, Damian Kulash of OK Go, Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge, Professor Lawrence Lessig and FMC’s own Michael Bracy, the clip demonstrates why open internet structures are essential to our lives as artists, innovators and Average Joes (not to be confused with Mr. Sixpack.)

[From A Net Neutrality Video Primer | Future of Music Coalition]

History of the Boombox

Very Cool...

Flickr Photos

Saw they just released Cooliris Express for making your own photo wall... thought I'd try it with my Flickr Photo account.

Apple Buys Lala

I wasn't expecting this... Could be cool. Maybe they'll approve the La La iPhone app now.Apple Strikes Deal to Buy the Music Start-Up Lala

By BRAD STONE
Published: December 4, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO — In the most recent sign that Apple is looking at alternative ways for people to store and play their digital music, the company has agreed to buy Lala, a four-year-old

start-up based in Palo Alto, Calif., a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday.

Lala, unlike Apple’s iTunes, lets users play the music they own from the Web — or in tech industry parlance, from the cloud. If Apple introduces its own cloud-based streaming music service, it would let people skip having to download music they buy or synchronize their music collection between their computers and mobile devices.

A person’s music library would always be available on the Web and accessible on a PC, smartphone or other Web-connected mobile device.

[From Apple to Buy the Music Start-Up Lala - NYTimes.com]

App Watch: HD Radio for Apple's iPhone - Digits - WSJ

I haven't thought much about HD radio, but this gets me thinking.

App Watch: HD Radio for the iPhone
By Lauren Goode

Third time’s a portable charm — at least, that’s what iBiquity Digital, the company behind HD Radio technology, is hoping with its new app.

The first portable HD Radio device hit shelves through Best Buy’s Insignia brand in July, followed by the launch of Microsoft’s Zune HD in September. At the time there were no HD Radio options for Apple’s iPhone or iPod touch.

Now, there’s an app for that.

[From App Watch: HD Radio for Apple's iPhone - Digits - WSJ]

Low Power FM

This isn't really making the headlines, but Low Power FM is making it's way to the Senate tomorrow... I hope it passes.

Erin McKeown, Nicole Atkins, Indigo Girls & Rep. Mike Doyle Talk Low Power FM in Billboard

These days, there are seemingly endless options for entertainment and information at our fingertips. But how much of it is local or independent? There’s the internet, sure, but it’s not really designed to serve local communities. That’s where good old-fashioned terrestrial radio can fill a crucial void.

Unfortunately, due to massive consolidation in commercial station ownership, much of what you hear on your hometown dial is pretty much what you’d hear anywhere in the country: playlists are narrow and homogenized and even the best indie and local acts have almost no chance of reaching the public airwaves.

In the latest issue of Billboard Magazine, reporter Cortney Harding looks at what LPFM in more communities would mean for artists — particularly the independent variety. Harding talked to some of our favorite musicians, including Nicole Atkins, Erin McKeown and Indigo Girls, as well as Representative Mike Doyle, who co-introduced the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 in the House of Representatives. The article also features a couple of choice quotes from FMC’s very own Policy Director, Michael Bracy.

“There is a real disparity between people who can access the Web and satellite radio and those who can’t,” musician Erin McKeown says. “There are also a lot of people who listen to the radio in their cars out of habit, and it’s easier for them to flip to a new channel than convert to satellite.”

McKeown and others who say they owe their careers to small, noncommercial stations are celebrating a recent victory. On Oct. 15, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Local Community Radio Act of 2009, which eases requirements on channel separation between low-power and full-power FM stations, paving the way for more LP FMs to appear on the radio dial. The legislation will now go before the House of Representatives for a full floor vote. . .

“Low-power FM is about creating opportunities and forcing the big broadcasters to compete,” FMC’s Michael Bracy says. “People have a huge desire for these stations. They want to feel like the radio station they are listening to is part of their community.”

Local community support is especially important for indie musicians, who have fought without much success for airplay on commercial stations.

“Obviously, one of the best places for any musician to build their following is on a local level,” says Amy Ray of Indigo Girls. “Think about the Athens [Ga.], Seattle or Austin music scenes. The bands from these scenes were served by a bastion of independent resources — radio stations, record stores and indie media. It’s all tied together. If any of these elements start to fall out of the picture, they are all affected.”

[From Erin McKeown, Nicole Atkins, Indigo Girls & Rep. Mike Doyle Talk Low Power FM in Billboard | Future of Music Coalition]

Lala's Potential

Having a huge iTunes library is great... what's not great is having to select what I take with me on my iPhone. There are definitely ways to stream my iTunes library to my iPhone, but that typically requires that I have my home computer connected to the internet (not always possible when it's a laptop).

I've also had a friend tell me about Lala lately, which sounds decent, but nothing has really sparked interest with me until I read the article below about Lala streaming your library to your iPhone via their new iPhone app. If Lala can pull this off and do it well, this will be a very tempting service. I'm still not a fan of "renting" music, which is essentially what you do when you "buy" a 10¢ web-only track from Lala, but that may change. And of course they're also more appealing (and probably more stable) because of the additional exposure because of Google.

Streaming From Lala Land

Hey, kids! Wanna stream your iTunes library to your iPhone? Lala’s got your app. Music service Lala showed off its yet-to-be-approved iPhone app, giving users the ability to listen to songs almost instantly and not have to wait for time-consuming downloads.

The idea is simple. Assuming you already own the tracks in your iTunes library, Lala places copies in your digital locker for streaming to your iPhone. Each track you stream comes with a one-time-only charge of 10 cents, after which, you can stream the tunes ‘til the cows come home.

“There’s no downloading, no links to click on, it’s just there,” said Lala co-founder Bill Nguyen, who called the app “the end of the MP3.”

Like Rhapsody’s iPhone app, users are streaming the music from “the clouds.” Unlike Rhapsody, the Lala app identifies the tracks a user listens to most and then stores those songs on the person’s iPhone to allow listening when data connections are weak or nonexistent.

The Associated Press reports it takes about two seconds for songs streaming from Lala to play on iPhones, considerably less time than the two minutes or more it takes for music downloads to land on mobile devices.

There is a catch. Lala is streaming as little as 32 kilobits per second – not quite the same quality as the 256 kbps tunes sold on iTunes and found on most music files already stored on mobile devices. But Nguyen says streaming bitrates will improve as cell phone data networks become stronger.

[From Streaming From Lala Land | Pollstar - The Concert Hotwire ]

...and while writing this article I noticed Lala's embed options, offering to embed the entire track (very important). I went back and re-posted the previous Drummer tracks from this service. I typically use Grooveshark, which has been good to me, but they didn't have Drummer and Lala did. Looks like they get another point.

A Graphic Look At The Rise Of Digital Music - hypebot

[From A Graphic Look At The Rise Of Digital Music - hypebot]

Article: Heavy illegal downloaders buy more music

I would completely agree with this study...

Heavy illegal downloaders buy more music

A new British independent poll conducted by Ipsos Mori concluded that the people who do the most illegal downloading also buy the most music. This is in line with many other studies elsewhere and is easy to understand: people who are music superfans do more of everything to do with music: they see more live shows, listen to more radio, buy more CDs, buy more botlegs of live shows, buy more t-shirts, talk about music more, do more downloading -- all of it.

And of course, these are the people the music industry's supergeniuses have set their sights upon for bizarre enforcement regimes like the one that British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has promised: anyone who lives in a house that generates three or more copyright infringement notices will be barred from Internet access.

[From Heavy illegal downloaders buy more music - Boing Boing]

Google's New Music Search Feature

Pretty interesting...

Google Supersizes Music Search

Google brings together My Space, lala, imeem, Rhapsody, Gracenote for robust music search. More partners t.b.a.

(NEWS & VIDEO) Last night Google announced partnerships that will simplify and improve how people find music. As only the tech giant could do, MySpace, lala, imeem, Rhapsody, Pandora, Gracenote and all four major label groups have come together to provide Google content for a new music search engine.

Users who type on an artist's name, album title or a snippet of a lyric will see results that include a single song play button from either lala or MySpace's iLike. A buy option and links to more content are also included, as are links to artist content on imeem, Rhapsody and Pandora. Gracenote is powering the lyric search function.

[From Google Supersizes Music Search - hypebot]