New York, NY (December 31, 2007) – It’s always difficult to pinpoint one word to accurately describe a year.  Change is often the default answer, mainly because it seems like we’re always in a state of flux in whatever we do.  We never know what’s coming next, and our only proof is in front of us every day – right before “change” happens. 

If anything, 2007 was a tumultuous year, with a series of ups and downs that had our attention being pulled in different directions, both positive and negative, seemingly every day.  Probably of most national/cultural importance, a string of racial events made headlines (Jenna Six, Imus Scandal, Columbia Noose, Dog The Bounty Hunter, etc.) and got people talking again, at least for awhile.  The American public also got first-hand accounts of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan like never before, through places like YouTube & C-Span.  And lastly, we saw the credibility of some of our most revered sports tarnished when news of the Mitchell Report, NBA Referee Betting Scandal, Michael Vick and cheating Olympians hit our television sets.

But in light of all that, there were still moments when America stood together: to commemorate the six-year anniversary of September 11th; to mourn publicly for the VT students; and to extend our sympathy and goodwill to Youssif, the six-year-old Iraqi boy burned by insurgents and reconstructed by California doctors.  There were moments of kindness and generosity from unlikely sources (Brad Pitt and Co. helping rebuild New Orleans) along with heart-wrenching tales of tragedy and bravery in the face of uncertainty (NYC Firefighters at the Deutsche Bank disaster in August).  While these and many stories like them often get lost in the stew, they were very real in 2007, and for some, had a huge impact on their lives.  Nothing exemplified those kinds of person-to-person relationships better than the CNN Heroes Series.

From the bizarre (Britney Spears) to the hilarious (“Don’t tase me, bro!”), from the world stage (Putin, Iran and Benazir Bhutto) to here at home (our President today and in ’08), 2007 was, without a doubt, a year of change.  Radical advances in technology changed the way we get connected, missions to Mars are no longer just fantasy, the environment suddenly became important and people, for once, actually seemed to be paying attention.  But perhaps this change, this tumultuousness, this… unrest… is really just a sign of civility?

My own 2007 experience has been an odd one: moving up at one job and then having the job taken away; people I know going through changes and wondering how I myself have changed through their eyes; envy for some, anger at a self-imposed dependency upon others to attain success; family dynamics shifting, changing, evolving into a more positive light; the hope that the music we love isn’t dying and FINALLY being in a position to effect change within it.  There’s other details I won’t bore you with, but for the most part, 2007 has been a solid, successful year.  The wheels still spin sometimes, but there are moments of illumination that stick with you.  Too many times it feels like nothing is happening when your legs aren’t moving… but it’s during those moments of illumination and the time it takes to make your feet stick that ultimately gives you traction when the wheels are spinning.  I’ve realized that’s how you keep moving forward.

So… with that said… this is my list from around the web that I’m hoping will help define 2007 for YOU and allow YOU to analyze the year through your own perspective.  Think about what you’ve accomplished, what’s still in the works, ideas you had that went un-activated, what’s still missing, things that went wrong, problems that don’t have solutions yet and what you haven’t found within yourself to help sync your head and guts together.  It can be a painful exercise, but it’s worth doing now (while your sober!) and not at 2am tonight when you find yourself in that one, poignant conversation that always happens when drunken people get together.  Happy New Year!!

…”And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give us a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
For auld lang syne.”

Skillz Rap-Up, 2007
For the past five years, the incredibly talented Skillz (b.k.a. Mad Skillz) has been bringing us yearly reviews. Every year, around this time, Skillz takes inventory of the main events that rocked the worlds of hip-hop, R&B, and pop. (Loud.com Author Note: I saw him at the BK Hip-Hop Festival this summer; dude TORE IT DOWN).  Click to listen to the The Rap Up, 2007.  Shout out to Henry at The Rap Up, dude does large things.

Top 10 Music Stories of 2007
Probably of the next most important to you, this comes from Wired Magazine.  Everything you’d expect to be on there is, with links to the posts to read more.  Check the RIAA story, the 360-deal report, and of course, note how Apple is slowly tightening its grip on the industry.

Top 10 Tech Stories of 2007
Second on my list here is this Top 10 from ReadWriteWeb.com.  It’s a collection of the most important tech stories of this year, highlighted (surprise) by Apple, Facebook and Google.

Top 10 News Stories of 2007
Fox News unbiasedly (we’ll call that a word for the sake of argument) polled editors and writers alike to determine the Top 10 News stories of 2007.

MSNBC’s 10 Most Important Business Stories of 2007
Home ownership is a big deal, but so are soaring oil prices.  MSNBC put together a list of the 10 most important business stories of the year.  Definitely on point, save for the footnote that I happen to rent an apartment.  Aha.

Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Songs of 2007
RollingStone.com has laid out a list of 2007’s best songs, topped by Jay-Z’s “Roc Boys.”  Interesting choice, but then so is the rest of the list.  Drinks IS on the house.

Pitchfork.com’s Top 50 Albums for 2007
Well-versed music bloggers convened over at Pitchfork.com to offer their opinions on the best albums of ’07.  Looking through the list, there were only five or six hip hop albums, with the rest being mostly indie-rock or world music.  If you were looking to expand musical tastes, however, this would be the place to start.  It’s interesting to see how your own opinions of the albums fare against theirs, as well as how hip hop stacks up against the rest.

BET.com’s 2007 Persons of The Year
Barack Obama tops BET.com’s list of 2007 Persons of The Year.  Click through the list for the rest of their choices; they might surprise you.

Hip-Hop Charts 2007: Hits and Bricks from SOHH
The Hip-Hop and R&B charts in 2007 were filled with much-hyped battles, record-breaking successes and abysmal flops.  This is SOHH’s recap of 2007’s hits, bricks and albums that never saw the light of day.

Speech Is My Hammer…
HiphopDX Blogger Ketchums offers some insight on his 2007.  An interesting read.

XXL 2007 Year-End Wrap-Up
XXL offers it’s year-end wrap-up as eloquently as you’d expect.  Who got next?

Yahoo! News Reports on Music Sales for 2007
Album sales for 2007 are now down 15.3% for the year, compared with 2006. But for the four weeks beginning with Thanksgiving week and ending December 26, U.S. album sales were down 20% to 84.2 million units from 105.3 million a year ago, according to Nielsen SoundScan.  Wait, shitty news about the industry?  Really?  Some facts to impress your business partners with…

The Most Impressive Gadgets of 2007
Infoworld.com has a list of 2007’s most impressive gadgets.  A couple I thought were cool:  the direct-to-YouTube digital camera and the talking car, the latter very I, Robot-sounding.

Top Sports Photos of 2007 from Sports Illustrated
A few of my favorites from SI’s Top Sports Photos of 2007 – Sunrise at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Tiger Woods snapping his club around a tree as he tries to blast out of the fescue at the Masters, the White Turf Horse Show and Race in San Mortitz (I’m a sucker for horse racing), the shadow picture of Rockies hurler Taylor Buchholz and the boy bull racing in Indonesia.  But my personal favorite (courtesy of Fox Sports) is at the end of this post and comes from Saturday’s fight.  Ahh, the taste of victory.  WAR Chuck!!!

Top 10 Worst Events of 2007
Something that may invigorate and/or piss you off, this is a viewpoint from outside the viewpoint from the Constructive Curmudgeon, as he offers his opinion on the Top 10 Worst Events of 2007.

10 Things That Will NOT Happen in 2008
From Ronald Grover at BusinessWeek.com.  These ten items bubbled to the surface during 2007, but, as the author prognosticates, they will NOT come to pass in 2008.  Beyond today, well, he can’t really confirm that either, but, hey, it’s a good read anyways.

Dave Barry’s Year In Review. 
If you haven’t read Dave Barry, you’re missing out.  He’s got genius comedic timing and is one of the finest writers in print today.  Terrific wit and a deft touch help him poke fun without the caustic sarcasm some people need to be funny, but at the same time, he can transition and tug at the emotions when the moment calls for it.  Great month-by-month recap.  Miami in the HOUSE!!

2008, Coming In With A Bang!  Happy New Year Loud.com.  Stay Safe.

New York, NY (December 30, 2007) – Lupe’s probably one of my favorite emcees.  There are times when I’d wish he’d keep his mouth shut (ala the Tribe Called Quest debacle) and check his ego, for the most part, he’s everything an emcee should be.  His swagger hasn’t really lit a fire with the masses yet, and his egghead persona seems to confuse a lot of hip hop heads out there, but the bottom-line is the kid can rap his ass off.  And in my own hip hop universe where I steady stay starved for lyricism, he’s a cat I can depend on.

The Evil Collector, a dope urban fashion blog, sat down with the Chi-city emcee and talked shop about the fashion buzz that’s seemingly riding shotgun with his sophomore release, “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool.”  It’s interesting to hear him talk about the way he mashes fashion styles because if you listen to his rhymes (his debut album “Food & Liquor” is ridic), he essentially does the same shit on wax.  He’ll take old-school/true-school flavor and fuck everything up with the rhyme scheme and deliver nerd-rap wordplay with Jay-Z’s swagger.  If you haven’t listened yet, dude is fresh.  Get the full article here.

New York, NY (December 29, 2007) – While Josh Groban and his holiday album “Noel” refuse to relinquish their stranglehold on No. 1 overall, two of hip hop’s most critically-lauded female vocalists charted right behind him on the Billboard 200, setting up a final week that could turn into a sales cat-fight.

Mary J. Blige, back with “Growing Pains,” supplanted Keys at No. 2 this week, moving 629,000 copies.  Here’s an excerpt from the Yahoo! article, which can be read in it’s entirety here.

…”Among first-week sales figures this year, Growing Pains finished fifth behind albums by Kanye West, Alicia Keys, the Eagles and 50 Cent. Like Blige, Fiddy also opened at number two thanks to a spoiler, in his case West’s Graduation.  Though there were no other Top 10 bows this week, Chris Brown’s Exclusive inched up two spots to number 10 selling another 176,000 copies in its seventh week.

“Lupe Fiasco, known for last year’s rap-skate anthem "Kick, Push," followed at 15 selling 143,000 copies of his new concept album, “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool.”  Inspired by the song "The Cool" from his debut disc (“Food & Liquor”), “The Cool” tells the tale of the Streets and the Game, two characters who personify urban street life. Further epitomizing his bold ways, the Chi-town rapper recruited Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump to produce one of the album tracks.

“Gospel great Kirk Franklin scored the week’s other big bow, “Fight of My Life,” selling 74,000 copies at 33. In his 15 years as a recording artist, Franklin has picked up five Grammy trophies, his own BET show and the first platinum album for a gospel artist. Fight leads at radio with the Kenny Loggins-sampling party-starter "Declaration (This Is It)."

“Further down the chart, "Right Thurr" rapper Chingy found the answer to his album title as “Hate It or Love It” sold a disappointing 31,000 copies at number 84. The St. Louis rapper’s first three albums all debuted in the Top 10, including last year’s “Hoodstar.”

I’m looking forward to ’08.  Some questions I have:  Can we get another Nas album?  Are Eminem and Primo REALLY going to collab?  Is Saigon actually going to drop?  What’s the new Gnarls Barkley going to sound like?  Will Andre 3000 stop singing and make a real Outkast record?  WHERE IS MOS DEF??

New York, NY (December 27, 2007) – For all you stock market hounds, check out this Online Media Performance Review from the folks at Seeking Alpha.  They were nice enough to take a look at all your favorite (and major) online media sites from 2007 and give them the business.  Notable, as always, were the fiscal gains by Google, mainly because it seems nothing can slow down the tech giant.  Others around the company/verb floundered (or jockeyed for position, whichever sounds nicer to you), with many still uncertain about their 2008 fortunes.

Speaking of 2008, give this link a look.  It’s a projection from The Guardian about some of the lesser-known sites that could potentially hit the mass media radar in ‘08.  Twitter, having officially made its prime-time debut on CSI, might finally gain some national traction.  Now… who’s going to figure out how to monetize it best?

New York, NY (December 27, 2007) – Shout out again to the Wall Street Journal.  Gotta love that shit when it’s free, the articles are fire.

Raymund Flandez penned a piece in the WSJ small business section the other day, focusing on how best to use Internet video, be it to market a band, a product, a business or if you’re just attention-starved.  The article looks at why some videos do better than others, how relevancy can help, the importance of a partner, how to frame the content for your viewer correctly, and lastly, why it’s important to get the customer involved.  Click here for the full article.  Here’s an excerpt:

…”There’s one simple way to sidestep all of the complications of creating a video: get customers to do the work. Big companies have famously solicited user-made ads, including McDonald’s Corp. and Domino’s Pizza Inc. Now small firms are learning the value of the strategy.

“Last year, Moe’s Southwest Grill of Atlanta started a "Burrito in Every Hand" campaign, encouraging customers to send in 30-second videos about the food. The clips were posted on a Web site, where visitors could vote on them; the company reviewed the 20 highest-rated clips and picked a winner.  The grand prize: Moe’s burritos for life, equal to 2,860 vouchers good at any participating Moe’s franchise.

“Moe’s received about 40 submissions that met the guidelines, and the promotional Web site got 211,000 visitors. "We knew that our customers would really enjoy getting involved," says Sara Riggsby, director of marketing for Moe’s, which is now owned by Atlanta-based Focus Brands Inc., the operator of Carvel and Cinnabon shops.

“Ms. Riggsby says that the company has seen increased sales since the program ran. And Moe’s achieved its goal of building brand awareness among younger customers: The majority of the participants were ages 18 to 25. The company’s email marketing database also grew to 200,000.

“The winners: four amateur rappers. Michael Squitieri, a 20-year-old acting major at Boston’s Emerson College, wrote the script, and his friend Kevin Schwoer, 21, edited and put original music into the video. The group, which goes by the name "Notorious M.O.E. and Nacho Daddy," is now working on a radio commercial for Moe’s.”

I almost hate that they won, because the name is so fucking corny, but that’s not the point – bottom-line, they found a lane and exploited it.  Whether or not Notorious M.O.E. is the real deal is immaterial.  They successfully embraced the qualities of a good video and the company struck pay dirt.  Brand recognition increased for Moe’s and they were able to bring their product to a larger market.  Whether it’s you submitting songs or you taking submissions for your products, the concept should be the same.

New York, NY (December 27, 2007) – Adtunes.com released a list on Christmas Day of the 10 Most Memorable Music Trends in Advertising that had people downloading, sharing, head-scratching and humming for 2007.

Adtunes.com is an ad music blog that serves as a guide to music used in television commercials, shows, film trailers, soundtracks and more.  They’ve got a lively forum community, link section, store and archives for any and all search questions you might have.  I think they missed on though – to me, the most overexposed song affiliated with advertising was the jingle used in the iPhone commercials.  I can hear it in my head now and get nauseated.  That might be the one reason why I don’t scoop it (still debating about the Verizon Voyager).

The site has been around for awhile, with archives dating back to 2002, but it appears that it’s not updated very often, averaging around three posts per month.  What’s interesting about the site is the depths it goes to locate and identify songs, though; the writing is intelligent and might be a good resource to artists and managers for song placement, as the blog posts often list names and affiliations of who was involved in song selection for a given project.  Check it out, see what you can find and explore how it might work with your own music.

New York, NY (December 27, 2007) – Not to overload you with news about Mac and iTunes today, but this announcement by Warner and Amazon will likely prove to be more a help than a bane to the fruity giant as more and more music becomes DRM-free.

From the official press release:

…”Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) today announced that DRM-free music audio downloads from Warner Music Group are now available to customers on Amazon MP3, Amazon’s a la carte MP3 digital music store where every song and album is playable on virtually any personal digital music capable device.  Beginning today, songs from WMG’s digital audio catalog will be available for purchase and download from Amazon MP3. In addition, Amazon and WMG will make available to consumers digital music products such as album bundles containing exclusive tracks.”

Apple first took this stance back in late May.  But Warner’s move could possibly be the coup d’etat against those still holding out for some sort of protection on digital files. 

It feels like a solution to monetize the music industry again is right around the corner (I’m not sure the final answer is co-branding and 360 deals), and something like this solidifies the unspoken consumer-demand that a marketplace will pay for something if the system works.  If the system is flawed, however, and consumers can’t get what they want, it’s also evident that a market will steal it.  Oddly enough, today’s logic around that issue has the consumer on the musician’s side; so while DRM-free deals might seem anti-artist, they’re really more anti-establishment in the way the buyers (and execs) have come to see things.

Letting go of an aging business model is the only way this industry can move forward.

New York, NY (December 27, 2007) – As Steve Jobs (and most of the creative world) prepares for the annual MacWorld Conference and Expo, set to kick-off January 14, 2008 in San Fransisco, CA, one of the rumored surprises has apparently been let out of the bag. 

Both the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal reported late yesterday that Apple and 20th Century Fox have signed a deal that will allow users to download Fox movies and view them for a limited time through iTunes, thus adding a new wrinkle to the world of on-demand movies.  Here’s more from CNNMoney.com:

…” Apple is reportedly extending its FairPlay digital rights management system for the first time to another company’s product. As part of the same deal, Fox will sell its new releases on FairPlay DVDs that permit customers to transfer, or “rip” the content to a computer or video iPod. As the FT points out, there is software available to rip movies today, but using it is considered piracy and can land you in jail.

Disney is the only other studio that makes new releases available on iTunes, but only to buy, not to rent. Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lionsgate sell older library titles. But the tide may be turning, and Apple is reported to be in talks with Sony, Paramount and Warner Brothers.”

Get over to the Alley Insider for more on who wins and who loses here (and the Zune matters, why?), as well as six pressing questions sure to be on the minds of executives and consumers alike (can we rent to own?).  Look at Apple; all on it’s King Kong and shit.

New York, NY (December 26, 2007) – Hip hop has seen its fair share of artists, friends and loved ones taken too early by the flash of gunfire.  Many more die in our streets without the pomp and circumstance, unfamiliar names to the viewing public, but nonetheless, they remain a jagged wound for the ones that held the departed close in waking life.

Much like American hip hop artists, Mexican musicians have long been embroiled in the turbulent life they sing about in their songs.  Violence, drugs, betrayal and fear have been and are often still the conductor behind some of the country’s greatest music.  But since June 2006, that reality has moved beyond the airwaves; at least 13 musicians are dead, and the grieving parties have no answers. 

TIME Magazine writer Ioan Grillo explored the issue in this article.  It’s a haunting reminder of the ones closest to hip hop’s history that have past on.  Because death, for all its overblown caricatures and personas in modern music, is our ultimate reality; hopefully something like this so close to home can serve as an alarm for our culture’s future.

New York, NY (December 25, 2007) – Apologies the updates have come infrequently this week, I’ve been traveling for the holidays and dealing with a lack of Internet access.  Being that today is Christmas and you might have been focused on treating others this holiday season, here’s a list from The Rap Guide at About.com.  While the malls were closed today, you think about dumping any and all of his Top 10 into your own big red bag tomorrow morning.

10. Wyclef Jean - The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant
9. Cash Money - 10 Years of Bling … Vol. 1
8. DJ Drama - Gangsta Grillz: The Album
7. Hi-Tek - Hi-Teknology 3: The Underground
6. Styles P - Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman)
5. Beanie Sigel – The Solution
4. Scarface – M.A.D.E.
3. Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
2. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool
1. Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams

Check out Henry’s commentary on each.  Dude is always on point. Happy Holidays, and Peace to You and Yours!!!

 New York, NY (December 22, 2007) - Alicia Keys continued her stranglehold on the Billboard R&B/Hip-hop charts and #2 overall, while several other notable artists made fairly quiet debuts.

Keys moved another 299,000 copies of her nearly twice-platinum "As I Am," easily pushing her five-week total past 1.8 million. Chris Brown and his sophomore LP "Exclusive" edged out Bow Wow & Omarion’s "Face Off," but not by much, the former selling 108,400 to the latter’s 108,200. It was good enough for #11 and #12 respectively on the Billboard 200, though. Fellow fly-guy Birdman pushed 86,000 copies of "5 Stunna," a fairly modest debut compared to what he’s probably used to selling. The album features possible love-child Lil Wayne (I kid, I kid), Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and Fat Joe. Good for #18, Birdman is followed closely by R&B young boy, Mario. Dropping into the charts this week at #22, the now legal and somewhat under-the-radar Just A Friend moved 77,000 copies of his third solo album, "Go!" He got a couple 16’s from Juelz Santana and Rich Boy. Could be an interesting album.

Coming in with 68,000 copies, good for #25, was "8 Diagrams," the comeback album for the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. Some thought with all the publicity surrounding their release, both negative and positive, they would have moved more. Such is today’s market, though. Clan will always be in the front sucka!

The-Dream debuted this week at #28 with 59,000 copies of "Love/Hate." Following him was Soulja Boy, with "souljaboytellem.com" cranking up a few spots to grab #29. Moving another 58,600 units, SB can likely accredit his upward momentum to the strength of his second single, "Soulja Girl." After 11 weeks, the phenom is sitting comfortably on a gold record. Hoping to reach that same plateau is Roc-A-Fella’s Beanie Sigel, who unleashed "The Solution" to the tune of 49,300 copies, good for #38 on the Billboard 200. Jay-Z follows Beans at #46, hustling another 46,000 units of his sort-of-themed story album, "American Gangster." Rounding out the notables after Jigga was Atlanta’s Gucci Mane, who moved 31,700 copies of "Back to the Traphouse," enough for a debut at #64. The album features guest spots from Lil’ Kim, Ludacris, Rich Boy, Trey Songz, Shawnna and the late Pimp C.

Next week, be sure to look for 2007’s best, "The Cool" from Lupe Fiasco, as well as offerings from Mary J, Jaheim and Chingy. Til then, good night and happy holidays.

New York, NY (December 20, 2007) – Wired is an awesome magazine for a lot of reasons, tops among them are that they cover a lot of cool shit and always feature some really dope interviews.  This latest one is definitely par for the course.

Without re-hashing too much, earlier in the year, we talked some about Radiohead and their decision to sell their music for what their fanbase thought it would be worth.  “Financial suicide!” came the screams from across the industry.  Maybe for an up-and-coming band, but when you’re one of the most critically-lauded and fan-celebrated groups of all-time, you can afford to do that.  If anything, it showed that there was some wiggle room in how artists and labels approached selling albums.

Wired featured this article the other day, where they asked legendary songsmith David Byrne (he wrote the Talking Heads tune “Radio Head” from which the seminal band derived their name) to talk with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke about the whole experience and what other bands, managers, record labels and music consumers could learn from it.  There’s audio links on the sidebar if you prefer listening.  This is definitely worth your time.

New York, NY (December 20, 2007) – The relationship between the Internet and the music industry has been a tenuous one since first becoming entangled around 1998.  Put bluntly, it has been love-hate: love coming mostly from the people consuming the music and hate coming mostly from the executives selling it.  Artists are often forced to choose sides, depending upon how successful they are (and what they can afford to give away), but there are still a few who will straddle the line.  However, in the nearly 10 years since Shawn Fanning and Napster single-handedly flipped the industry on it’s back, there remains a group of music fans who still ascribe to the principles behind Fanning’s software, but with a catch – they define themselves as a voice for the voiceless.

Record labels are still trying to avoid the ground and pound from the small digital burden they ignored for so long, but the progress they have made to catch up can partially be credited to the mp3 Blogger.  What began as a hobby for most has grown into a truly viable marketplace for undiscovered music and a sensational promotional tool for the labels.  The blogosphere is littered with people writing about music, some better than others; but at the core of their success is the independent spirit embodied by their effort (usually solo) and in the content they post.  In years past, the recording industry would typically hem and haw about copyright infringement; but as some of these blogs grew to massive proportions, labels begrudgingly had to embrace their influence and reach.  And they’ve actually seen results.

Now, it’s been in the wake of lawsuits and threats from the Big Four that many bloggers adopted a limited-time download approach to their posts (each review written usually has an mp3 included available for only a few days), but the love/hate-fest didn’t end there.  Some might have seen that as a blip on the radar for the blogs, but as third party marketing firms and record labels came knocking, it was clear traffic was being noticed and as such, opportunities for advertising money began flowing in.  Suddenly, these unassuming (yet largely egotistical) part-time journalists found themselves in the middle of a bidding war. 

Fast-forward to today.  As the blogger’s role and popularity has grown, so too have questions about their ethical approach towards the music they post.  Because, even while the indie ethos has become the new punk rock, it’s clear that music fans still feel a need to keep their bloggers honest and open to the criticism that comes with a limelight tan.  Jim Wayne of USC’s Online Journalism Review recently penned a great article on the subject.  Here’s an excerpt from “Music Criticism 2.0?”

…“The pleasure, from the side of the people who aren’t in love with the record industry, is the scramble factor,” said music critic and regular New York Times and Los Angeles Times contributor Josh Kun. “Now it’s the labels that are trying to keep up with bloggers.”

That’s because as soon as one of those free audio seeds becomes a trend, it can spread like a struck match in Malibu. Right now The Music Slut is posting an iBook-tracked MP3 that could propel a Toledo basement band to multi-platinum stardom this time next year. All it takes is the right buzz in the right places.

Such is the tale of so-called “blog bands” like The Arctic Monkeys and Tapes N’ Tapes. And though the blogosphere’s indie-rock tastes have been accused, accurately so, of being somewhat homogenous (good luck finding a popular jazz blog), its impact on the business is undeniable. In fact, the very growth of indie rock music itself in recent years speaks volumes to that end.

But where there is money, there are ethical lapses. And one would expect the lines of communication between record labels and these trendsetting scribes to be muddled with them. Indeed, some form of payola, said Kun, be it monetary or moral, has traditionally been cost of entry in music criticism. The prevalence of so-called "sponsored posts" is hotly discussed in blogger arenas, but so long as there is money to be made off music, that payola dynamic is not going anywhere.

For the Spin staff critic, becoming entangled in that corruption carries career-mangling consequences. For the dorm-room blogger posting reviews from his futon, perhaps not so much; and you can be sure the publicists are keen to that. With the latter rapidly climbing to the top of the PR monkey’s contact list, just how susceptible is this new breed of taste influencers to record-label charm? What are the suits doing to influence the influencers? Is there some sort of ethical filter at play? Mark Willett, co-founding editor of Music (For Robots), an audioblog forefather, said self-regulation has thus far maintained a reasonably pure playing field.

“Ya know, in the very early days, a few of us first sites like Fluxblog and Said The Gramophone talked over ethics and guidelines,” he said. “But ultimately we all decided on common sense.”

“People expect blogs to be something done independently,” added Oliver Wang, founding editor (of), Soul Sides. “If it was revealed that certain blogs were getting kickbacks from record labels or whatever, I think the reputation of those blogs would take a hit; at least in the short run.”

Now, these guys all come off as pretty stand-up, but from my time in the digital PR world, there is definitely a lot of ego stroking involved before they will listen to you.  Sometimes it takes a few weeks of flattery, other times it’s as simple as scoring said blogger a hot ticket to a private show (ala Mika).  But either way, there is no doubt about the impact a well-received, well-respected blogger can have on any given band or artist.  That’s not to say you’re only going to get your break if you can get in with Gorilla vs. Bear, but you have a good chance of generating some buzz around yourself if you can start there. 

Rifkind always says that the streets don’t lie.  In this day and age where bloggers have proven to be quality earners, you’d better believe their block is one that shouldn’t be ignored.

For more on mp3 blogs, visit Elbo.ws, The Hype Machine and TasteStalkr.

New York, NY (December 18, 2007) – The Federal Communications Commissions decided today to lift a 30-year-old ban on media companies owning each other, marking perhaps the most drastic change in media policy in the last ten years.

Television stations can now purchase newspapers and vice versa, paving the way for larger companies to consolidate and streamline the news process.  Not lost in the mix, however, is the notion that news and sources for news will become homogenized, where the information consumers take in is told by only one, loud, booming voice instead of from the mouths of many different sources, as there exists in today’s market.

Democrats are predicting doomsday in the wake of the approval of FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin’s plan.  Republicans have maintained that the limitations expressed in the plan would prevent any sort of radical changes in the Top 20 markets in the U.S., and call their assersions overblown rhetoric.  These divergent viewpoints make for an interesting conversation on what the media might look like in the next 10 years. 

To be honest, I think there’s too much money to be made on both ends and you will definitely see some consolidation.  However, this could be the first step towards a social networking News aggregation site.  The Internet has already transformed the way people get their news, empowering bloggers to inform their readers on lifestyle, fashion, music and technology, while giving them the analysis devoid on many of the larger news programs due to time and program limitations.  Wouldn’t it be cool to have a New York State news tab on some GloboNews.com site and have credible, independent, credentialed writers detailing the scoops that the newspapers and television stations can’t because of their format?  It’s the ultimate entrepreneurial venture – business with a purpose, where everyone gets fed.

For additional reading on the issue at hand, go here.

New York, NY (December 18, 2007) – ASCAP recently announced that registration is open for their “I Create Music” EXPO in Los Angeles in 2008.

The world is littered with songwriters and composers, and ASCAP (as well as BMI), works to ensure that published songwriters and music composers get properly compensated.  I’m not going to delve into which organization is better, but getting on board with one or the other will prove valuable if you plan on reaching a level where royalty checks will be rolling in (and I’d assume ALL OF YOU want to get there).  Here are the particulars:

…“The ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO elevates the conference experience to an unparalleled magnitude. Since its inaugural year, the EXPO (open to all regardless of performing rights affiliation) has attracted more than 4,000 music creators, industry professionals and exhibitors and is expected to convene an unprecedented gathering for the third annual EXPO in Los Angeles Apr. 10-12, 2008 at the Renaissance Hotel at Hollywood & Highland.”

Read the rest of the article here and get a feel for what the event is about.  There will be seminars, performances, mixers and all sorts of other opportunities to politic with the people you are seeking advice from or want to network with.  If you don’t want to bother reading the article, click here to register.

New York, NY (December 16, 2007) – One of my new favorite sites is Velvet Addiction.  They’re a monthly, Internet zine that caters to everyone addicted to the velvet rope, and have some pretty bangin interviews with folks like Diddy, L.A. Reid and a host of other entrepreneurs, newsmakers and trendsetters. 

This podcast comes from VA’s interview with Apple Bottoms co-owner, Yomi Martin.  It’s dated last month, but the information is still relevant.  Listen to it here.  And God Bless Apple Bottoms everywhere.

New York, NY (December 16, 2007) – In case you missed it, check out the charts from this past week, courtesy of HitsDailyDouble.com.

Alicia Keys held down the No. 1 spot on the Billboard R&B/Hip-hop charts again this week, coming in at No. 2 overall on the Billboard 200 with her celebrated third studio release, “As I Am.”  Keys’ infectious single “No One” has helped buoy the album, which features John Mayer, as well as production help from Jack Splash and Kerry “Krucial” Brothers.  The Harlem homegirl moved 234,500 copies this week, pushing her total to 1,584,000.

Breezy,’s “Kiss, Kiss” featuring T-Pain slipped to No. 4 on the Billboard 100 for singles, but his album is still holding steady just outside the Top 10, coming in at No. 12 with 83,000 copies.  “Exclusive” has a five-week total of 681,900, definitely a number to be proud of in the diluted teen and R&B categories this year.

Coming in No. 3 on the R&B/Hip-hop charts and No. 18 overall is Scarface, with his latest effort, “M.A.D.E.”  The long-awaited follow-up to his critically acclaimed “The Fix,” “M.A.D.E.” has been welcomed to the charts by very good reviews.  Staying relevant is always a hard task in today’s market, though, so his 62,900 copies are below what we might be used to seeing.  He is and always will be an underground hero, though.  “M.A.D.E.” features appearances from Z-Ro, Trey Songz, Lil Wayne and T.I.

Drama (no more DJ in his name!) made his debut this week as well, coming in behind Scarface at No. 26 with “Gangsta Grillz,” selling 48,700 copies.  The usual suspects show up on the album, namely Young Jeezy, The Clipse, Outkast, G-Unit and Jim Jones, while other guest spots include Freeway, Rick Ross, Nelly, Diddy, Paul Wall, Pharrell, Devin the Dude and 8Ball & MJG. 

Following Drama were chart-mainstays Fergie with another 45,800 of “The Dutchess,” Jay-Z moving 45,100 of “American Gangster” and Soulja Boy doing 43,400 of “souljaboytellem.com.”  Fergie, certainly boosted by the quick-climbing, gimmicky “Clumsy,” her six millionth single off the album, is certified three times platinum.

There were several notable debuts that failed to dazzle, one of them being Wyclef Jean’s sequel to 1997’s classic “The Carnival,” the musical mash-up “Carnival II: Memoirs of An Immigrant.”  The lead single “Sweetest Girl,” is a catchy, guitar-driven rock/R&B ballad with Lil Wayne and Akon getting busy.  Reviews seem to have confused most hip hop fans as to what to expect, but he still managed to slide in the charts with 46,400, good enough for No. 28 overall.  Ghostface Killah’s “The Big Doe Rehab,” scanned 35,600, amidst rave reviews from Pitchfork (an 8!!!).  Also making a quiet debut to the sound of ringing gunshots was Styles P of D-Block.  He moved 28,500 of “Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman), his third solo release.  P’s latest features The Alchemist, Ghostface, Akon, Beanie Sigel, Black Thought, as well as Jadakiss and Sheek, to name a few.

Next week, Wu’s “8 Diagrams” will hit the charts.  Clan in da front!!

New York, NY (December 13, 2007) – This actually happened a few days ago, but it’s worth mentioning.  What’s odd here is that there’s a TON of hungry producers, writers and talent that would gladly cross the picket lines to work for Viacom and MTV, so I’m not so sure anything was accomplished other than a loud voice of disapproval.  Sometimes that’s all you need, though.  In any case… the beef:

…” A rallying crowd of 200 freelancers for MTV Networks took to the streets of New York yesterday after Viacom’s re-evaluated benefits package prompted a walkout outside the company’s headquarters on 1515 Broadway.

“The group of permanent freelancers, or permalancers, was comprised of employees who had been working for the MTV Networks (MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon) for more than 365 consecutive days; that crowd includes writers, producers and talent.

“News of the new benefits plan came to freelancers at the same time they were disinvited from the Viacom holiday party.”

You can check out the rest of the article here. 

MTV is clearly in a state of flux, both internally with their business model and also with their search for compelling content.  To the latter point, I can’t recall the last time I actually sat and watched an entire show on MTV… it has to be at least since like, June.  I’ve stopped in a few times to see what’s going on, but anymore, all you get is a bunch of whiny/spoiled teenagers crying and complaining on some wack reality show about a contrived issue.  I just can’t relate to that shit anymore.  It’s definitely incredible the amount of time you get back when you get off the fucking couch.  In-CRED-ible.

I’d be interested to see what happens if this writer’s strike actually lasts more than a year.  What are people going to do? 

New York, NY (December 13, 2007) – Most hip hop fans are acquainted with the likes of a select few rock gods – The Stones, Guns N Roses, Elvis, Chuck Berry, David Bowie, U2, The Beatles.  The latter played a prominent role in launching the mainstream career of one Danger Mouse, and the first five taught every hip hopper how to party like a rock star.  U2 became the voice of advocacy (I’m still waiting for a high-profile hip hop star to take it to that level), but there’s one band that’s probably more hip hop than any other, past, present or future – Led Zeppelin.

Now, I don’t profess to be the biggest Led fan around, but I’m a music head and classic rock fan, and I’ve heard a fair amount of their tunes.  All of them kick ass.  Their unmistakable blend of rock and blues (I include soul and funk, too) defined American music for roughly three decades.  THREE DECADES!  The fact their music continues to endure 300 million albums later is a testament to the guts of their catalog – solid, soulful, memorable musicianship.  Jimmy Page is to guitar riffs what 50 Cent is to hooks.  Every song hinges on a memorable melody, builds on Robert Plant’s often-profound (perhaps drug-induced), scratchy-throated prose and culminates with the soaring chorus and solos that make their music rock as much as it does uplift.

Whenever the Led comes out, be it in the car or at home, I get the same feeling as when I’m at a hip hop show and “T.R.O.Y.” or “Runnin” comes on.  The pulse, the warmness of the instruments, the energy… it’s all the same.  Some of you might remember when Diddy tapped Page for the guitar-driven “Come With Me” for the “Godzilla” movie.  While it was a totally forgettable song, the root of it was a riff from Led’s “Kashmir.”  To really understand how ill Zeppelin is though, you’re going to have to dig around for some tracks.  My personal favorite is “The Ocean,” but there’s plenty to chose from.  Check out the original “Kashmir,” “Dazed and Confused,” the obligatory “Stairway to Heaven,” “Whole Lotta Love” and “Rock and Roll.”  If it doesn’t blow you away, well… turn up your Shop Boyz, I guess, cuz I got nothing else for you.

On Tuesday, LZ reunited in London to play a full concert for the first time in 27 years.  Check out this article from the Washington Post as the writer recounts his own experience at the show and what the music means to him.  Ridiculous.

New York, NY (December 13, 2007) – A lot of good shit on the menu today.  Below are five noteworthy links, a little bit about each and why they’re important.  Shout out to being snowed in.  Except if you work from home.  Like me.  Middle school was ill.  But I digress…

The Buzz Around Celebitrix

“Celebitrix is a self-promotional website that’s looking to leverage social networking tools to get you where you need to be. That being said, there are a lot of different directions you can go with your own profile and use-file for your presence on Celebitrix. There’s a classifieds section, video-sharing, a marketplace, news and a section for career-related networking. So there seems to be objectives on Celebitrix’s part to appeal to individuals, artists and businesses for promotional purposes.” - Mashable

Seems a bit broader than LinkedIn as to what you can actual do on the site itself.  It’s a cool idea, but as you can see, not much traffic yet and the updates seemed have to have stopped towards the end of November.  It’s being talked about, though, so definitely keep it on your radar; everyone starts small. 

Mobile Content Creation Has Big Potential

"From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call ‘circular,’" said Mark Selby, vice president at Nokia.  "The content keeps circulating between friends, who may or may not be geographically close, and becomes part of the group’s entertainment." - eMarketer

How I interpret that is pretty fundamental to hip hop already: get out of the studio and take your music with you.  Ringtones, artist-themed games, text message updates, blogging, music-sharing and video will all be key components in discovery for future mobile users.  If you can record an on-the-spot performance and email the video around seconds after it’s over while you wait for the C train, think of the viral spread just within your own network.  The Internet has created a generation with short attention spans – use that to your advantage and invest in ways to make yourself easily and quickly accessible.

Mahalo Goes Social

“Mahalo is a search engine that focuses on user link submissions and an editorial process to theoretically produce better search results than algorithm-only engines like Google. It first launched in May 2007.  The company already pays users for quality submissions. Today, they are adding user profiles and other social networking features to further incentivize users to submit quality content.” - Techcrunch

While most of the Techcrunch readers had a lukewarm response to Mahalo, siding with another similar web-crawler called Wikia, by all accounts both could change the way people find information.  I agree with one of the readers in that it’s more like a directory than a search, but that’s sort of semantics.  Assuming the filtering system works, it would encourage Internet users to become more involved and informed about certain subjects.  I wouldn’t characterize that as a bad thing.

Did Bebo Snub Google?

The real news here, at least to me, isn’t the perceived “snub” of Google; it’s that Bebo is opening itself up to the same developers that are all salivating about getting their applications on Facebook by essentially cloning FB’s platform.  Sure, it’s kind of a take-that-Google (the G-men are still working to get OpenSocial on it’s feet), but even with the social network-crunch upon them, when has Google done something that wasn’t a calculated and well-articulated undertaking?  It’s even more reason now for app-developers to get on their grizzly and make some things pop with all the possibilities on the horizon.  Competition is always good for the consumer.  And that means YOU.

Financial Management Taps Power of Social Networking

From Newsweek.  I saved the best for last.  Financial management is something most, if not all, of us struggle with at some point or another.  There are kicks to cop, beats to scoop, whips to push and drinks to drank.  Amidst all that, though, are your phone bill, rent, child-support (married or divorced), food, gas, heat and other necessities that have a funny way of popping up when we least want to remember them.  Definitely check out the article, though; surf through the links and see if there’s a site on there that strikes a chord with you.  Financial planning is key to the future of your studio, family and/or legacy, so joining a community that’s going to help you remain solvent is a pretty good look.  Hallur.