Month: August 2014

Every Musical Guest from the Simpsons… in order

Posted by Glinda on August 27, 2014

Okay, admit it. We have all watched them, despite occasional rumors to the contrary. The Simpsons is the longest running sitcom in television history and a list of the pop culture reference based on the show would probably be a very long list. Can you say “Meh?”

The list of guest stars on the show reads like a Hollywood who’s who. They have also had a talented array of musical guests that also reads like a celebrity A-list (including the group Fall Out Boy which took its name from an episode of the show). To celebrate FXX’s 522 episode Simpson Marathon, Billboard Magazine has put together a list of every music guest from the Simpson show, in chronological order. It is a pretty amazing list that includes Johnny Cash, Lady Gaga, the B-52s and so many more.

It is a lovely bit of music trivia and worth checking out. 🙂

–Glinda

Image from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons#mediaviewer/File:Simpsons_FamilyPicture.png

Soundcloud: Read the fine print

Posted by Glinda on August 19, 2014

There is an interesting article on Hypebot that anyone who is using Soundcloud REALLY, REALLY needs to read. Most of us just roll our eyes and click accept when presented with the pages long Terms and Conditions (TOS) for a site we want to use. But when you are uploading and sharing your music, you need to be extra careful. That’s the digital equivalent of a contract you are signing when you click accept.

According to the article, the royalty-free license you are giving Soundcloud also covers publishing and third-party uploads. You might find that you are giving away a lot more rights than you bargained for.

Link to the original article at Hypebot.

–Glinda

PS: You can follow Skafish on Soundcloud here.

The Daily Spin: Industry News for 8-15-14

Posted by Glinda on August 15, 2014

Spotify begins rollout of expansion to Canada (Billboard) – Select potential Canadian users are getting invites to the new service.

91% of Music Fans Sample a Song on YouTube Before Buying It… (Digital Music News) – And this is why you have to have a video to sell a record…

26% Of All Potential Album Sales Happen BEFORE the Release Date… (Digital Music News) – Now, compare this to yesterday’s piece on a universal street date for albums.

How The iPhone 6 May Be The Start Of Apple’s ‘Back To Music’ Strategy (Music Industry Blog) – An interesting look at Apple’s future role in the music industry.

Availability (Lefsetz Letter) – There are so many areas where today’s book business intersects with the music industry. As always, Lefsetz call it like he sees it.

10 Biggest Album Release Flops Of 2014 (Hypebot) – Even TV music contest winners are not exempt here….

$5 digital albums for sale (Amazon) There’s some fun stuff here: a little something for everyone with albums from Sinatra to the Supremes to the Smashing Pumpkins for only $5.

🙂 This are the links and stories that caught my eye today….

–Glinda

Should we have a standard, global release day for music?

Posted by Glinda on August 14, 2014

There’s an interesting piece in Billboard that says that the recording industry is considering Friday as a worldwide release day for albums. Currently, Australia releases on Friday and the UK street date is Monday. In the US, albums, software, books and home video are all released on Tuesday.

The reason for the consolidation? Combating global piracy, of course. 🙂

According to Billboard, not everyone agrees with the idea of a Friday street date:

While sources say that digital music service providers like the Friday street date, not all physical merchants have given the change their blessing; some indie labels and indie merchants are opposed to having the global street date on Friday. They say they like the concept of having street dates early in the week because they feel it helps sell more CDs — devout customers of an artist will come in on Tuesday while others will come in on payday, which is usually at the end of the week. Yet, in the end, brick-and-mortar stores and indie labels may not have much say in picking which day of the week functions as the global street date.

If adopted, the new street date would probably begin in 2015.

While I am not sure about the plan that the labels are proposing, it is encouraging to see things moving in a more universal direction. We live in a global economy now, and it would be nice to see new releases available to all fans at the same time, no matter where they are in the world. What do you think?

–Glinda

Image via Morguefile: http://mrg.bz/U7RnGi