News: Wilco Splitting from Nonesuch, Possibly Forming Label

Doh! Rolling Stone reported today that Wilco has split from its current label, Nonesuch.

A new Wilco record is expected in early 2011. "It has not yet been determined who will release the next Wilco record, but forming their own label and releasing future albums through it is definitely a potential scenario," said a rep.

Wilco Split From Nonesuch, Consider Forming Label
Jeff Tweedy and Co. weigh self-releasing eighth disc, due in early 2011
By Daniel Kreps

Wilco have become the latest band to ditch a major label to explore their own independent options: A rep for Jeff Tweedy and Co. has confirmed to Rolling Stone that "Wilco's deal is indeed up with Nonesuch Records," a Warner Music Group subsidiary that was the band's label home for nearly a decade. News of Wilco's departure from Nonesuch was first revealed in an Express Night Out interview with guitarist Nils Cline. "Jeff [Tweedy] was basically not wanting to be on a record label for a while — he didn't renew his contract with Nonesuch — so we're striking out on our own, our own label," Cline said. While Cline added that Wilco might first release a "souvenir" 7" single through their nascent label to coincide with the Wilco-curated Solid Sound Festival, a rep tells RS, "It has not yet been determined who will release the next Wilco record, but forming their own label and releasing future albums through it is definitely a potential scenario."

Wilco will start work on the follow-up to 2009's Wilco (The Album) later this month before pausing for the Solid Sound Fest (August 13-15th in North Adams, Massachusetts) and other U.S. and European touring obligations. They'll hit the studio in the fall to finish work on their eighth album, which the band's rep says should be released in the first half of 2011. "The process of making the next Wilco record is going to be long in terms of the writing and arranging and demoing phase," Cline told Express Night Out. "I think we'd love to make a really uptempo alienating record — I think everyone agrees that would be enjoyable — but the natural course of music-making kind of precludes that."

Nonesuch Records had been Wilco's home since the release of 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. As depicted in the behind-the-recording documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Nonesuch swooped in to release Foxtrot after Wilco and their then-label Reprise Records (another Warner label) disagreed over the commercial viability of the now-landmark album; Reprise ultimately rejected Foxtrot and bought Wilco out of their contract. Nonesuch also released A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album).

Should Wilco opt to independently release their next album, they'll join an ever-growing list of marquee artists — including Jack White (Third Man Records), Pearl Jam (Monkeywrench), Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead — who have abandoned the struggling major-label system in the last few years.

News: Controversial New FTC guidelines to Include Bloggers/Twitters/FBers

Some interesting news today from the FTC and its new guidelines. Hmm...awhile back we posted about how rock bands can stay for free at Motel 6 if they give a shout out from the stage or via their website. In theory, I think that would be a problem for the FTC. Which sucks because it's a fair quid-pro-quo, I think; I mean, isn't it really just another type of promotion?

Prominent users of Twitter and Facebook won't be exempt from controversial new Federal Trade Commission guidelines that keep tabs on blogger freebies and giveaways, according to Richard Cleland, associate director for the FTC's advertising division. The agency absolutely plans to keep tabs on social networks as well as blogs in accordance with revised regulations that could see violators fined up to $11,000, he said.

Here's a sample scenario: a celebrity or other prominent figure with loads of friends on Facebook receives free hotel says from Hotel Chain X in exchange for running Hotel Chain X ads on his or her blog. If that person then signs up as a Facebook fan of Hotel Chain X--which, remember, could mean that the person's name can show up for his or her Facebook friends alongside Hotel Chain X display ads on the social network--he or she could be held liable by the FTC.

"It would be the same thing if you were going to pay the celebrity a thousand dollars to go register as a fan," Cleland said. "In that case, there wouldn't be any question about it."

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt told CNET News that the social network doesn't have anything concrete to say in reaction to the new regulations just yet. "I don't think we have anything to say other than that we've had an ongoing dialogue with the FTC and we'd love to talk to them more about what this means," Schnitt said. "I think we're already consistent with the spirit of it."

Schnitt added that some of the practices that may be encompassed by the new FTC guidelines are already banned by Facebook. "We say in our statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and people actually applauded this when we added it in a few months ago, that you will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain such as selling your status to an advertiser." This is contained in section 4.2 of the document, he said.

As for Twitter, the FTC isn't letting you get a pass with the excuse that 140 characters--Twitter's famous text limit--is simply too short. "There are ways to abbreviate a disclosure that fit within 140 characters," Cleland said. "You may have to say a little bit of something else, but if you can't make the disclosure, you can't make the ad."

The question still remains as to exactly how the new guidelines will be enforced, given the sheer scope of online media--not to mention the millions upon millions of active Twitter and Facebook users.

"As a practical matter, we don't have the resources to look at 500,000 blogs," Cleland said. "We don't even have the resources to monitor a thousand blogs. And if somebody reports violations then we might look at individual cases, but in the bigger picture, we think that we have a reason to believe that if bloggers understand the circumstances under which a disclosure should be made, that they'll be able to make the disclosure. Right now we're trying to focus on education."

That's worth highlighting. Small-time bloggers freaking out over whether the FTC will really crack down on them may be pleased to know that the FTC at least claims its aim is to make everyone aware of what's right and wrong rather than to hunt down every Twitter user who may have been given a free toaster or something. Unless, that is, somebody rats them out--and at least one blogger is already raising concerns that angry readers may use the regulations to attempt to get back at blogs they don't like.

Industry blogger Peter Feld of Brandchannel thinks he can see another outcome. "A safe prediction for 2010: some big scandal when the first celebrity to run afoul of the new rules, by promoting a product on Twitter or a talk show, gets fined by the FTC." (Cnet.com)

News: Ramones Biopic In The Works

Remember the episode of Entourage where Vince was trying to get the Ramones bio project off the ground but couldn't for a variety of reasons? It seems everything mentioned were the actual reasons as to why the Ramones bio project hasn't been made yet in real life either.

The memoir mentioned in the article will be released in December '09.

Fox Searchlight wants to be sedated.

The specialty division is in negotiations to board a project about the life of the Ramones, based on the upcoming memoir "I Slept With Joey Ramone," by the musician's brother, and featuring the band's tunes.

The project, which initially had been conceived independently under manager-producer Rory Rosegarten, would get a significant boost with the involvement of the 20th Century Fox unit.

Written by Joey Ramone's brother Mickey Leigh and longtime punk writer and Ramones chronicler Legs McNeil, it centers on the life of Joey Ramone, aka Jeffrey Hyman, the lead singer of the seminal punk act. The memoir is scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster imprint Fireside in December.

Rosegarten is a former executive producer of "Everybody Loves Raymond" who negotiated several years ago to buy the rights to the book as it was being written and, most critical, the rights to the music. The studio negotiation process has been a complicated one because of the multiple rights involved. The deal with Fox Searchlight is not closed, caution people close to the situation.

The four unrelated musicians John Cummings, Jeffrey Hyman, Thomas Erdelyi and Douglas Colvin formed the Ramones in Forest Hills, New York, in 1974. Going by the names Johnny, Joey, Tommy and Dee Dee Ramone, they became cult symbols and fathers of punk music, attaining little commercial airplay but heavily influencing modern music with songs like "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Rockaway Beach" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," and giving rise to the countercultural catchphrase "Gabba Gabba Hey." Other members -- including Marky, C.J. and Richie Ramone -- also played with the band at various points.

While the act's music was more freewheeling than political, the Ramones were both contemporaries of and influences for other 1970s and 1980s punk bands such as the Clash and the Sex Pistols, while acts including U2 have cited them as key influences on their music.

Many of the band members struggled with addiction and assorted health problems, and Joey Ramone overcame obsessive-compulsive disorder and other obstacles. (Of the four principal members, only Tommy Ramone is still living.) The band was torn apart by in-fighting, particularly between lead singer Joey and guitarist Johnny, who went years without speaking to each other because of personal and political differences.

The Ramones split up in 1996, though they did subsequently appear several times in public together.

The Ramones have been on the big screen before. In the 1979 teen-rebel comedy "Rock 'n Roll High School," the band starred as musical mavericks who help teens face off with a disciplinarian principal. Howard Stern last year signed on to produce a remake of the movie. A well-received documentary, "End of the Century," came out in 2004.

But there has never been a feature tale centering on the band's musical influence and backstage drama.

As with other influential bands, a Ramones biopic would face hurdles en route to the screen. A take on the life of Nirvana and frontman Kurt Cobain has been in the works for years.

The difficulties of getting a Ramones movie made were referred to during the third season of "Entourage," when a Ramones script was pounced on by the show's fictional movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), who subsequently lost the project. (Billboard)

News: DC Venue Black Cat Kicking Ticketmaster to Curb, Using Ticket Alternative

The Black Cat is a rad middle-size venue here in Washington, DC (roughly 500-800 people I'd guess-timate), and consistently books great acts. Owner Dante Ferrando has long held the respect of many because while he's a music club owner, it's obvious he's also a music fan (Ferrando had been a drummer in many of the DC HardCore bands), and acts accordingly. Be it because TicketMaster is so pricey, or to avoid giving money to the competition, I know an entire community of music fans is singing Ferrando's praises right now.

Venerable D.C. music venue the Black Cat announced today that it will stop selling advance tickets through Ticketmaster, instead switching to competitor Ticket Alternative. The change will become effective September 25, so all shows that are taking place after that date are already on sale via Ticket Alternative.

In a strongly worded release, the venue made plain the reasons for the switch: Ticket Alternative's service charges are lower, typically $2.50 or less for the vast majority of Black Cat shows; and Ticketmaster's impending merger with Live Nation.

In a conversation with DCist, owner Dante Ferrando explained that while the local version of Ticketmaster has been relatively easy to deal with versus the oft-maligned national corporation, the company's merger with Live Nation made continuing to work with them impossible. Live Nation operates several venues in the Washington, D.C. market, including the Warner Theatre and Nissan Pavilion. "It just doesn't make any sense to be handing a portion of your shows to your competition," Ferrando said.
According to Ferrando, tickets for Black Cat shows that are $10 and under will be charged a flat $2 fee by Ticket Alternative, while for tickets that are $11-$20, it will be $2.50. The Black Cat's box office will remain free of all service charges. (Source)

News: Rock Bands Can Stay Free at Motel 6 For a Post on Their Website

From today's NY Daily News

A new promotion links the budget chain Motel 6 with budding rock bands, in hopes of helping poor musicians while also giving the frumpy chain a hipper image. (Right now, the average age of their guests is 35 to 64.)

Here’s how it works: Motel 6 will give free rooms to developing bands on the touring circuit. (The cheapo chain has roughly 1,000 properties in every U.S. state save Hawaii.) In exchange, the bands promise to give shout-outs to the chain on their web sites, and even from the concert stage.

The promo will begin next month with the Massachusetts-based alterna-country band Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. Other acts on board include the punk-pop band Hit the Lights and the rock act Sparks the Rescue.

All the bands involved are signed to Primary Wave Music, which brought the idea to Motel 6 several months ago.

Later, the promotion is expected to expand beyond bands affiliated with Primary Wave.

To ensure that the groups don’t pull a Keith Moon on the rooms, company spokesman Jeff Palmer told Reuters, they’ve asked Primary Wave to insist that its bands “not go crazy" during their stays.

News: Ryan Adams Writing Video Game Column

The column isn't posted yet so keep checking I guess...From today's Page Six of the NY Post:

ROCKER Ryan Adams is branching out. The "New York, New York" singer, who married Mandy Moore in March, will be writing a once-a-week video game column for fledgling general-interest Web site The Awl. His first column, about the video game Gorf, debuts today.

News: Les Paul Dies at 94

Talk about a contribution to the music world...thanks so much Mr. Paul.

(Source) WHITE PLAINS — Les Paul, the guitarist and inventor who changed the course of music with the electric guitar and multitrack recording and had a string of hits, many with wife Mary Ford, died on Thursday. He was 94.

According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side.

He had been hospitalized in February 2006 when he learned he won two Grammys for an album he released after his 90th birthday, "Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played."

"I feel like a condemned building with a new flagpole on it," he joked.

As an inventor, Paul helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll and multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the "tracks" in the finished recording.

With Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records and 11 No. 1 pop hits, including "Vaya Con Dios," "How High the Moon," "Nola" and "Lover." Many of their songs used overdubbing techniques that Paul the inventor had helped develop.

"I could take my Mary and make her three, six, nine, 12, as many voices as I wished," he recalled. "This is quite an asset." The overdubbing technique was highly influential on later recording artists such as the Carpenters.

The use of electric guitar gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1940s, and then exploded with the advent of rock the 1950s.

"Suddenly, it was recognized that power was a very important part of music," Paul once said. "To have the dynamics, to have the way of expressing yourself beyond the normal limits of an unamplified instrument, was incredible. Today a guy wouldn't think of singing a song on a stage without a microphone and a sound system."

A tinkerer and musician since childhood, he experimented with guitar amplification for years before coming up in 1941 with what he called "The Log," a four-by-four piece of wood strung with steel strings.

"I went into a nightclub and played it. Of course, everybody had me labeled as a nut." He later put the wooden wings onto the body to give it a tradition guitar shape.

In 1952, Gibson Guitars began production on the Les Paul guitar.

Pete Townsend of The Who, Steve Howe of Yes, jazz great Al DiMeola and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page all made the Gibson Les Paul their trademark six-string.

Over the years, the Les Paul series has become one of the most widely used guitars in the music industry. In 2005, Christie's auction house sold a 1955 Gibson Les Paul for $45,600.

News: Joe Pernice Debut Novel, "It Feels So Good When I Stop," Out This Week

Out this week is a debut novel by Joe Pernice. While his band, the Pernice Brothers, didn't ever really do much for me musically, his book sounds interesting. Course, I love any book that provides music lyric references (otherwise why else would I still be willing to read Chuck Klosterman after that god-awful Downtown Owl?). And "Charles Bukowski after listening to Dusty Springfield," how can you resist something with a comparison like that?

(From today's NY Post):

READING indie pop musician Joe Pernice's debut novel, "It Feels So Good When I Stop," is like being assaulted by Charles Bukowski after listening to Dusty Springfield.

The artist's pretty pop songs can have a lyrical dark side, but they don't generally need an R rating. On the other hand, his profanity-laced tome -- which includes a character named Dogs - - t -- might. "I didn't make it filthy for the sake of being gratuitous," says Pernice. "Plenty of guys talk like that."

In this case, the guy is a nameless 20-something musician who has fled his wife of three days after a long, tumultuous relationship. The novel, set in Cape Cod, follows his search for self and is sprinkled with musical references, varying from hits such as Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me," to lesser known tracks such as the Dream Syndicate's "Tell Me When It's Over."

Pernice, who is known for his '60s-pop and roots-rock style of music with bands the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline and the Pernice Brothers, also recorded a CD of covers by artists name-checked in the book.

The singer, who grew up in the Boston area and now lives in Toronto, will read excerpts from the book and perform songs on Friday at the Bowery Ballroom.

As an undergrad at UMass Amherst, he considered writing fiction but wound up turning to poetry in grad school and published a book of poems. "Fiction took a back seat, mostly because I didn't have much to say at that age," says Pernice, now 42. "I hadn't really lived."

After the 2003 publication of his novella, "Meat Is Murder," based on the Smiths' song, Pernice revisited the idea of writing a novel.

Before he settled in to write "It Feels So Good When I Stop," he brainstormed ideas for the plot and characters for nearly a year, as he and his wife took care of their newborn.

When he finally did begin writing, he was more likely to hear Aussie kid band the Wiggles than any indie rock acts in his household. "It's true, man," he says. "Their songs are hook-y, and they're not just a bunch of washed-up guys making a buck off of kids' music. They're the real thing. Kids are berserk over them. I have listened to some of their songs 50 times in a row. No joke."

Although Pernice says he "subconsciously" had a covers album in mind while he was writing, the Wiggles didn't make it into this book. Maybe for the next novel -- if it's G-rated.

News: Author Frank McCourt Dies at Age 78

Ah boo...I'd read Frank McCourt had taken a turn for the worse last week but, as usual, you never expect death so soon.

A friend of mine, who, much like me, has read most of Malachy McCourt's writings but not "Angela's Ashes" for the same reason (McCourt wrote a great sad story, almost too well), had a great summation about his passing;

""Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood,"...probably one of the best openings since ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...’...for letting you know exactly what you are about to dive into...a wonderful bit of writing to open a book...

It’s a shame...he could write a great sad story...so much so I couldn’t bear it...it’s a shame he couldn’t write a sad story funny...then again, guess that’s his brother’s gift...sorry to see him go...especially in that manner...suppose to be a horrible death...not many good story tellers around...and you can never have too many...that’s a loss of a good one...

but as I’m sure he’d agree...it was a miracle he lived at all...and he did live...so good for him...shame he didn’t get more time though...it usually is...

Here's what the NY Post said about McCourt's passing today:

Frank McCourt, the beloved raconteur and former city schoolteacher who enjoyed post-retirement fame as the author of "Angela's Ashes," the Pulitzer Prize-winning "epic of woe" about his impoverished Irish childhood, died yesterday of cancer.

McCourt, who was 78, had been gravely ill with meningitis and recently was treated for melanoma. He died at a hospice.

Until his mid-60s, the Brooklyn-born McCourt was known primarily as a creative-writing teacher and as a New York City character, singing songs and telling stories with his brother Malachy and joining the crowds at the White Horse Tavern and other literary hangouts.

But there was always a book or two being formed in his mind, and the world would learn his name, and story, in 1996.

With a first printing of just 25,000, "Angela's Ashes" was an instant success.

"F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. I think I've proven him wrong," McCourt later said. "And all because I refused to settle for a one-act existence, the 30 years I taught English in various New York City high schools."

McCourt was good company in the classroom and at the bar, but few had such a burden to unload.

His parents were so poor that they returned to their native Ireland when he was little and settled in the slums of Limerick.

Simply surviving his childhood was a tale. His father drank up the little money his family had. Three of his seven siblings died, and he nearly perished from typhoid.

"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood," was his unforgettable opening.

The book was a long Irish wake, "an epic of woe," McCourt called it, finding laughter and lyricism in life's very worst.

"Angela's Ashes" became a million seller, won the Pulitzer and was made into a movie of the same name.

Much of his teaching career was spent in the English Department at Stuyvesant HS, where he shared personal stories with his classes, slapped a student with a magazine, and took on another with a black belt in karate.

After "Angela's Ashes," McCourt continued his story in " 'Tis," which told of his return to New York in the 1940s, and in "Teacher Man."

News: Panic at the Disco's Co-Founder/Guitarist and Bassist Leaving the Band

Panic at the Disco's co-founder/guitarist and bassist announced today that they were leaving the band to start a "musical excursion of their own." Band and current tour will continue. No word as to who gets to keep the "Backstreet's Back" moves though.

(From today's Billboard.)

Panic at the Disco guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker are leaving the band "to embark on a musical excursion of their own," they announced today.

"Though the four of us have made music together in the past, we've creatively evolved in different directions which has compromised what each of us want to personally achieve," wrote Ross and Walker in a post on the band’s website. "Over the years, we have remained close and honest with each other, which helped us to realize that our goals were different and that parting ways is truly what is best for each of us. We are all excited for the future, you should be too."

The post confirmed that drummer Spencer Smith, who founded the band with Ross in 2004, and frontman Brendon Urie will continue as Panic At The Disco. It also said that all touring and album plans for Panic will continue as previously announced.

Panic at the Disco is currently scheduled to open for No Doubt on August 8 in San Diego, and has U.S. dates with Blink-182 planned throughout August.

As Billboard previously reported, the band had been writing on tour last fall with hopes of releasing their third album sometime this year.

News: NYC Club Getting Sued for Causing Damage to...the Bee Gees, Poison and Rage Against the Machine?

From today's NY Post. Suing for "public performance"? More like "highway robbery." I only learned this a little while back, if one plays cd's in a bar, restaurant, coffee shop, the owners need to pay a monthly fee, a fee which most restaurant owners I know refuse to pay primarily on principle. Yeesh, if they're going to sue a tiny place like Pianos for "publically performing" music without paying for it, maybe they could go after those awful warbling street musicians butchering "Every Rose Has its Thorn" next? Cause you know Brett Michaels, he has to pay for those bandannas and eyeliner to keep those Rock of Love babes interested, cmon now!

It's a triple bill you'll never see sharing the same stage: the Bee Gees, Poison and Rage Against the Machine.

But the disco legends, glam metal band and left-wing alternative rockers have teamed up to sue a Lower East Side club for playing their tunes without permission.

The Manhattan federal court suit accuses the Pianos club and owner Yoav Kipnes of causing "great and incalculable damage" through the alleged copyright infringement.

The suit, filed by the Broadcast Music Inc. licensing agency, claims the Ludlow Street hot spot allowed "Stayin' Alive," "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Bulls on Parade" to be "publicly performed" during March and June of last year without paying a required fee.

Pianos did not return a call seeking comment.

Michael Jackson Dead at 50 from Cardiac Arrest

CNN: Michael Jackson dead at 50 after cardiac arrest

They're doing an autopsy today, the results of which should be interesting. I mean, "cardiac arrest" in a 50 year old man who had been dancing since he was 5 doesn't make a whole lot of sense; a dancer's cardiovascular system is usually outstanding. My money's either on some weird heart defect no one knew about or....knowing the Michael Jackson of today, a side effect of some weird drug from Thailand that turns your skin whiter or promises eternal youth or something.

To many, Jackson's Thriller was his best work (and it had the kabillion sales to prove it. I think it may still be the best selling record of all time). For me however, it was its precursor, 1980's Off the Wall. I was 9 years old, but the minute I heard "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," I knew this record (and Jackson) were something altogether different and unusual. (In fact, now that I think about it, it may have been the first record I ever owned.)

As I said to someone last night though, the sad thing is that anyone under the age of what, 30, will only know the tabloid-Jackson from more recent years, the sad, loony, and probable pedophile, not the guy who made Thriller and changed the face and view of music videos forever. If it weren't for the Thriller videos like "Billie Jean" and the title track (especially the title track) ushering in a much more creative and serious approach to music videos, (the album was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools), I'm pretty sure that genre would have died long ago.

And don't even get me started on the Jackson 5...tracks like "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "I'll Be There" are super-infectious. And I double-dog dare you to not want to get up and dance the minute "ABC" starts....or keep a smile from crossing your face. I think if you ever need a song that best symbolizes unabashed happiness-love-summer-ice cream-puppies-babies-joy, "ABC" is the only one you need.



Give a Listen: ABC-Jackson 5

News: Dirty Projectors Van Flips en Route to Toronto Show

From Toronto's Eye Weekly last night:

After the Dirty Projectors' highly anticipated headlining appearance tomorrow night at Lee's Palace was cancelled this afternoon by the show's promoter, the Brooklyn art-rockers' label, Domino Records, have released the following statement explaining what happened:

Dirty Projectors' van flipped outside of Detroit, MI on their way up to Toronto. Although the crash was serious, we're happy to report that all members of the band have been safely discharged from the hospital. The band will be flying home to New York in the morning to regroup and rest. Unfortunately, the band will have to cancel Toronto and Montreal.

Thank you for understanding and sending your well wishes.

News: Universal Music and Virgin Reach a Download Deal

From yesterday's New York Times. First Sony gets more with the new world order, now Universal Music....A few years behind the time, sure, but the music industry has to start somewhere. While I'm sure music industry execs bristle mightily when having to concede to stuff like this, it's good to know that they're at starting to change their mindsets about digital music and all that it entails, if only a little. Maybe next they'll get with the program in terms of larger festivals like All Points West, Download Festival, and Lollapolooza, and view online music sites in the same "press" light as they do dailies. Because honestly, where do you go to learn more about the bands playing these larger festivals, the Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today, or sites like mine (hopefully)? Exactly....

PARIS — The Universal Music Group and Virgin Media said on Monday that they had reached a deal that would offer consumers unlimited downloads as part of a partnership that steps up antipiracy enforcement.

Universal, the largest recording company in the world, said it would offer its entire catalog — which contains works by artists like Amy Winehouse and U2 — to customers of Virgin Media for a monthly subscription.

The music will be free from copy protection, a feature that distinguishes the service from most existing subscription offerings. The cost of the service, which will probably start by the end of the year, was not disclosed.

In return, Virgin Media, the British cable television and broadband provider, agreed to take steps to reduce piracy on its network, something that other broadband providers have resisted.

The measures could include temporary suspensions of offenders’ Internet connections, the company said.

For the recording industry, developing new digital business models is essential because pirated tracks account for 95 percent of online music, according to industry estimates.

The announcement pre-empts by a day the expected publication of the British government’s plan for the digital economy, including antipiracy proposals.

Britain wants copyright owners and Internet service providers to cooperate in the fight against piracy, and it welcomed the agreement between Virgin and Universal.

“Government has a role in creating the right legal and regulatory framework for rights and copyright,” said Stephen Carter, the British communications, technology and broadcast minister, in a statement. “However, the market will flourish through innovative commercial agreements between companies, and agreements such as this will help significantly in reducing any demand for piracy.”

Analysts said Virgin, which has more than seven million broadband customers, might have been willing to yield on copyright enforcement because it also produces and sells content via its cable television system, unlike many broadband providers, which simply serve as a conduit for content.

“This is a really high-stakes game,” said Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research. “Universal and Virgin have come to the table with all they can offer.”

The entrepreneur Richard Branson owns a 6.5 percent stake in Virgin, whose shares are traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Virgin said it was talking to the other three major music companies — Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Warner Music Group — in an effort to include them in the new service.

News: Sony Agrees to Provide Its Older Songs to eMusic

Sorry for the radio silence kids. Was prepping, then conducting, a video interview this weekend with The Wrens and it took some time. I promise it will be worth the wait. The formula for hilarity is definitely multiple Guinness + (Charles Bissel + Kevin Whelan).

From Sunday's New York Times, it seems Sony is going to partner with a BL&L favorite, Emusic. Yay for opening up a whole new bunch of things and getting to dig into Sony's back catalog (more than two years old), sure, and it's great Sony specifically is getting with the new world order finally. But raising prices to do it and lowering one's monthly number of downloads to do it, that's kinda lame. Doesn't Billy Joel have enough money, yeesh...

In another example of struggling major music labels and Internet services finding common ground, Sony Music Entertainment has agreed to make its back catalog of songs available on eMusic, one of the largest music retailers on the Web.

EMusic, a company based in New York City, has some 400,000 subscribers who pay a monthly fee to download a certain number of songs. Its service is primarily aimed at adults who are fans of music from independent labels.

The company plans to announce on Monday that it will add all Sony Music tracks that are more than two years old, including material from artists like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.

The major labels had long been skeptical of the economics behind eMusic’s proposition to consumers. Subscribers to eMusic’s “basic” plan, for example, pay $11.99 a month to download 30 songs — or about 40 cents a song, far below the prices on Apple’s iTunes. Songs are in the MP3 format and do not have restrictions against copying.

As part of the deal, eMusic says it will slightly raise prices and reduce the number of downloads for some of its monthly plans.

Danny Stein, eMusic’s chief executive, said he had been talking to the major labels about adding their music for several years. Talks continue with Warner Music, the Universal Music Group and EMI, he said. He added that many of the independent labels had been asking the company to raise its prices.

“We have been looking for a catalyzing event to do it, and we think introducing this vast, quality catalog from Sony is that event,” Mr. Stein said.

The deal highlights several shifts in the online music landscape. The major labels gave up their objections to selling songs in the unprotected MP3 format in 2007. They also prevailed upon Apple this year to move to variable pricing in its iTunes store. Apple now sells older songs for 79 cents and new tracks for $1.29.
The major labels have also been more willing lately to strike more flexible and less expensive deals with start-ups like Imeem that are trying new approaches to online music.

Sony Music and eMusic would not disclose the particulars of their deal. An executive at Sony Music, a subsidiary of the Sony Corporation, said the company was interested in seeing multiple models for digital music coexist on the Web.

“We think the model of buying a set amount of music each month under an MP3 allowance is an attractive subscription option for consumers,” said Thomas Hesse, president of Sony’s Global Digital Business unit. “We are supportive of offerings that encourage fans to dig deep into the repertoire of our artists and discover the richness of our catalog.”

News: The Campaign to Save Paste Magazine

Give a little, get a lot back. Paste Magazine has always been pretty top-notch (its encouragement of Scarlett Johansson by giving her the cover aside of course). Plus mp3s for free from artists you really like for even the smallest donation, who can turn that down?

Dear Paste readers,
We write this letter with great appreciation for all you’ve done for Paste, as well as sorrow that we need to come to you and ask for further support. The economy has taken its toll on Paste, and we need your help to continue.

As the global recession has continued, many of you have written us (especially as ad pages shrunk) to say, “If you ever need help, let us know.” That day has come.

Today, we are launching the Campaign to Save Paste to raise money to keep Paste coming to your mailboxes and computer screens. If you are in a position to give even a little, please consider donating. As thanks for your generosity, over 70 amazing artists (including The Decemberists, Neko Case, Bob Mould, Cowboy Junkies, Indigo Girls, The Jayhawks, Brandi Carlile, John Roderick of The Long Winters, Patterson Hood, The Avett Brothers and Josh Ritter—with more to come) have gathered and donated rare & exclusive MP3s for all who join us in the campaign. Here's what artists are saying about why Paste should be saved.

As a completely independent company, Paste has struggled for the past nine months as advertisers have decided to wait out the recession. As most of you realize, magazines are heavily subsidized by advertising. Industry experts estimate that an average subscription for a monthly publication would cost $60-$80 per year without advertising support.

But last month was brutal. Cash received unexpectedly reached an all-time low, and turned a tough situation into a short-term crisis.

Long-term, Paste will emerge in good shape. Even with the fall-off at the end of the year, 2008 was our best year yet—print subscribers, print ads, online readers and online advertising were all at record levels. Readers (print and online) remain strong. And new advertisers have come on board even in the recession, with more ready when their advertising budgets come back.

In the meantime, we’ve adjusted our business to weather this storm. We’ve cut costs, and we developed a robust online business that’s among the best in the industry. Fundamentally, we’re in good shape and won’t need another appeal down the road. But it’s taken us until this point to get there—leaving us critically low on cash, without some large corporation behind us to bridge the gap.

We’ll make it through this short-term economic crisis—but it’s only with your help. Our fate is (and has been and always will be) in your hands. Big-time investors are not “in the game” right now—but readers can rise up and “invest” in Paste’s future. Will you be a part?

We appreciate all of your support so far—everyone who’s subscribed, given a gift, or even read a story online or opened a newsletter. It’s all enabled us to make it this far. Now, we humbly ask you to consider giving a little more.

It doesn’t take much. Every little bit helps and you can be a part of continuing our efforts to help you find signs of life in music, film and culture. If $1 (yes, one dollar) came in from everyone on our e-mail lists (or $10 from 10% or $100 from 1%), we’ll reach our goal and emerge from this recession as a stronger magazine and website. While we’re not a non-profit (this isn’t a tax-deductible gift), know that every dollar you give goes into keeping Paste alive and, ultimately, making it even better.

While you’re at it, also let us know what more you’d like to see from Paste. What should we do (or do better) online to help you discover new music, film and more? As advertising comes back and the magazine thickens, what would you like to see in print?

CLICK HERE to give via PayPal or credit card.

With our sincerest thanks,
Josh, Tim and Nick for the entire Paste family

PS. As thanks for your help, a number of our favorite musicians and labels have donated free rare & exclusive MP3s (from artists including She & Him, Arrested Development, Shawn Mullins, Samantha Crain, State Radio, Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Rogue Wave, Passion Pit, Over the Rhine, The Minus 5 and more) for everyone who donates. And as more artists contribute, you'll have access to those songs as well. We also have a number of goodies (such as signed R.E.M. posters, an ocean-view cabin on next year's Cayamo cruise, and more) to give to donors in random drawings. And, anyone giving $350 or more will receive a lifetime subscription to Paste as a thank you.

News: DC in on the Springsteen/Ticketmaster Debacule

You may recall this story from a few months back when people buying tickets for the Meadowlands shows were sent to TicketsNow.com, or what I like to call "Ticketmaster's Sanctioned Scalping Site." Fans, and Springsteen himself, raised a ruckus and as part of its settlement, Ticketmaster will create a wall between its site and TicketsNow.com for one year, and establish a lottery where fans who filed complaints could purchase tickets to Mr. Springsteen’s New Jersey shows. Seems their "wall" is about as flimsy as those go-go beads Greg Brady used for a door because the same thing happened for the show here in DC

Hundreds of concertgoers who thought they bought tickets for a coming Bruce Springsteen show from Ticketmaster but instead purchased seats from TicketsNow, a resale service owned by Ticketmaster, will receive reimbursements or tickets to another of Mr. Springsteen’s shows, The Washington Post reported. More than 300 fans said that they were misled when they bought the tickets to Mr. Springsteen’s show this Monday night at the Verizon Center in Washington. In February, Ticketmaster said that it would change its sales policies as part of a settlement with the State of New Jersey after more than 2,000 Springsteen fans there made similar complaints. In a statement at Mr. Springsteen’s official Web site, brucespringsteen.net, his manager, Jon Landau, wrote that there “appear to be chronic problems” with how Ticketmaster uses TicketsNow and that he and Mr. Springsteen “deeply resent the abuse of our fans.” (Source)

News: Jay Bennett Suing Jeff Tweedy for Royalty Payments

From today's Chicago Sun-Times.

Wilco Lead Singer Sued by Former Band Member
They famously parted ways eight years ago, and now it appears that multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy may be headed for a courtroom showdown.

Bennett filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit Thursday against his former Wilco bandmate, saying he’s owed “artist royalty payments” and proceeds from a documentary about the band. Bennett left the band in 2001, and the parting was described in the vague terms of “creative differences.”

Those differences were captured in the 2002 documentary “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” which shows an argument between the two as they’re producing the album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” that sends Tweedy to the bathroom to vomit.

Bennett, who was with the band from 1994 to 2001, claims that while he had a significant role in the film, Tweedy “never obtained the necessary releases for the use of Bennett’s performance” and that he has not been compensated for that appearance.

Tweedy could not be reached for comment. But one line that suggests this is more bitter divorce than breach of contract: “Defendant [Tweedy] has repeatedly refused to compensate Bennett for Bennett’s membership in and contributions to Wilco despite Bennett’s numerous and repeated requests.” (Source)

News: Matador Reissues Delayed by Lost Album Masters

...or to put it another way, "How much does that totally suck?"

One of the largest US indie labels has postponed reissuing albums by Mogwai, Yo La Tengo and Cat Power after losing the master tapes when a pressing plant went bust.

Vinyl masters of albums by Mogwai and Yo La Tengo were among those lost when an American pressing plant went bankrupt in 2006, Matador Records has admitted. Records, vinyl lacquers, sleeve films and the masters themselves were binned when 33 1/3 went out of business, making it much harder to reissue albums like Mogwai's Happy Songs for Happy People, Yo La Tengo's Painful and Cat Power's The Covers Record on vinyl.

"Nothing was recovered from 33 1/3," Matador's director of production, Jesper Eklow, told Comcast News this week. "We lost everything. The doors were locked due to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy."

"Everything" makes a substantial loss. Matador is one of the largest American indie labels, representing everyone from Belle and Sebastian to Interpol. The label lost "pretty much everything up to May 2006," Eklow confirmed, delaying planned reissues by Pavement, the New Pornographers and many more.

While worldwide CD sales tumble, vinyl has seen a resurgence, particularly among fans who buy reissues. Records may make up less than 1% of album sales worldwide, but US vinyl sales were up 89% in 2008, making them that rare and valuable thing: a slice of the music industry that is still seeing growth.

Labels like Matador have therefore rushed to reissue popular albums on high-quality vinyl, so the 33 1/3 bankruptcy is a major setback. "Some titles prove difficult to reissue unless we go back and basically remaster the albums from scratch," Eklow said. "It's a slow, expensive and quite an annoying process."

While Pavement, Belle and Sebastian and Interpol reissues are promised "soon", others – particularly early records by Yo La Tengo and Mogwai – are much further off.

"There shouldn't really be any titles that we couldn't ever bring back," Eglo said, "but the question of course would be if it's worth spending a lot of money on remastering and reprinting components we already should have on hand on certain titles. The money lost on the 33 1/3 adventure is quite substantial." (Source)

(Thanks to Mouse for the lead)

News: Kurt Cobain Estate...Broke?

COURTNEY Love finally sobered up and realized that some of the people handling Kurt Cobain's estate had lost all the money the Nirvana frontman had left her and their daughter, Frances Bean, her lawyer says.

A team of investigators, forensic accountants and lawyers found that Cobain's estate had been looted of more than $30 million cash and up to $500 million in real estate.

"I have never seen such greed and moral turpitude. This case is going to make Bernard Madoff look warm and fuzzy," Love's lawyer, Rhonda J. Holmes, of Gordon & Holmes in San Diego, told Page Six.

"We will be filing civil cases . . . within the next 30 days. There are many, many millions missing. We've only been able to track down $30 million, but there is more. And then there is the real estate."

According to Holmes, bank accounts using Cobain, Love and Frances Bean's Social Security numbers were set up and used to buy and sell real estate across the US.

"There is now a web of homes which were bought, flipped and used to launder money -- up to $500 million worth," Holmes said. "Any of the property we can get back will be donated to people who have lost their homes in foreclosures."

Asked how this could have happened, Holmes said, "Courtney noticed the money was gone when there wasn't any left. It's no secret she struggled with substance-abuse issues, but in the last year she's taken a more serious approach to sobriety and started noticing things were wrong. She hired private investigators, accountants and me.

"We are also working with local and federal authorities," Holmes said. "When Mr. Cobain died in 1994, he left his enormously wealthy estate behind for the benefit of his mother, two sisters, a brother, his wife and young daughter. Many of those [involved with] the estate's coffers mismanaged, stole and outright looted it shamelessly." (Source)