In case you hadn't heard, Starbucks launched its own record label about 10 days ago; it will be an extension of their Hear Music brand. The first artist they've announced signing is Paul McCartney (for a one album deal distributed both through Starbucks and through regular retail channels). This move towards creating their own label wasn't particularly a surprise to...

This past week, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) announced its decision on internet radio royalty rates. In doing so, it chose to reject all arguments made by webcasters large and small & instead decided to adopt a 'per play' rate proposal presented by Sound Exchange (a digital music collection organization that the RIAA created during the last decade). There's a...

MTV recently turned 25. The cultural behemoth has morphed many times since its initial coming out, when it woke up a whole generation to the power of music videos, and played a key role in music discovery and promotion. To this day, there is no underestimating the power of MTV's brand; it's one of the most widely recognized around the...

Folk-rock artist Jimmy Camp was recently evaluating options for recording his demo album. In frustration at not being able to find an affordable commercial recording studio that met his budget, he wound up recording using only his iPod. He purchased a Belkin Tune Talk ($70) mic accessory for his video iPod, connected it to a basic mixer, and was able...

There's a fantastic "must read" article gracing the cover of this month's Fast Company (February 2007) entitled "Music's Secret Money Machine" talking about a company called Music Today that connects artists and fans -- and is making a boatload of money for artists. Artists like John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Dave Matthews Band, and hundreds of others are taking control over...

People thought it was pretty cool when I worked at one of the major record labels (EMI America) in the late 80s. And actually I can think of worse jobs to be honest; I did enjoy myself for awhile. But actually, the reason I left was owing to mass label consolidation (at the time there were five big major labels...

As many of you are no doubt aware, Second Life is a successful online 3D virtual world (developed by Linden Labs) which is built and owned by its 'residents'. Fellow 'residents' retain the rights to their works which they can then buy, sell, and trade with other 'residents' in a thriving e-commerce marketplace. Several notable musical acts (including Suzanne Vega,...

Here are some of my hopes for what we'll experience in the digital media world during 2007: *Resolution regarding copy protection issues between technology companies and content owners *Fresh, dynamic new companies that have the impact MySpace, YouTube, and Skype have had (with or without the wild valuations) -- just looking for creative, innovative solutions with impact & longevity. *An...

Here's a dozen of some of the most popular (and arguably among the coolest) consumer electronics goodies available this Holiday season: -- Sony PlayStation 3 -- Nintendo Wii -- iPod Shuffle (1 GB) -- iPod (80 GB w/video) -- Zune (30GB) -- Creative Zen Vision: W (60 GB) -- SanDisk Sansa MP3 players -- Motorola Q -- Blackberry Pearl --...

Have you ever driven past your favorite arena or club in town, and noticed that somehow you missed one of your favorite groups who just performed there a couple of nights earlier? Or maybe you heard about the show around the watercooler - the next day. Frustrating right? Well say goodbye to that challenge. A new widget has become available,...