New York, NY (March 28, 2008) – From Wired Magazine:

…”Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s Warner Music Group has tapped industry veteran Jim Griffin to spearhead a controversial plan to bundle a monthly fee into consumers’ Internet service bills for unlimited access to music.

The plan—the boldest move yet to keep the wounded entertainment industry giants afloat—is simple: Consumers will pay a monthly fee, bundled into an internet service bill in exchange for unfettered access to a database of all known music.

Bronfman’s decision to hire Griffin, a respected industry critic, demonstrates the desperation of the recording industry. It has shrunk to a $10 billion business from $15 billion in almost a decade. Compact disc sales are plummeting as online music downloads skyrocket.”

This announcement comes at a time when several other major players in the industry are trying their hand at “music as a service” solutions.  Sony is working on an on-line subscription service that would give consumers unlimited access to their catalog, while Apple is in talks with the Big Four about an unlimited music deal.  Warner thinks that this small additional fee – maybe $5 a month, bundled into their monthly Internet access bill in exchange for the right to freely download, upload, copy, and share music without restrictions – is the answer to “monetizing the anarchy of the Internet.”

While some will cry foul that they’re being charged for a service they’re not using, it’s an interesting idea.  Griffin believes that by getting the right people on board, he can create a $20 BILLION annual pool to pay artists/labels from.  Eventually, he says, “advertising could subsidize the entire system, so that users who don’t want to receive ads could pay the fee, and those who don’t mind advertising wouldn’t pay a dime.”

I say go for it.  If there’s that much money to split, the artists are going to recoup on it now more than they have in the past, which would be a good look.  It would definitely give some assistance to the traveling road or indie artists out there.  And it shows that at least one of the majors is thinking with a foot outside the box.  Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem paying the extra money if I knew I was going to use it. 

I wonder what the breakdown of people willing to pay for it would look like?

New York, NY (March 28, 2008) – Directed by Benson Lee, "Planet B-Boy," might just be the latest edition to classic hip-hop film noir.  The film weaves its story around crews from 18 different countries as they compete in Germany for the title of world’s best b-boy crew.  From The San Francisco Chronicle:

…”The stories in "Planet B-Boy" might surprise some who view hip-hop as a destructive force. For a young white man in Paris, for instance, his involvement in break-dancing has forced his mother to come to grips with her admittedly retrograde opinions. "No one had ever thought that hip-hop could help the racist mother come to terms with the fact that she was racist, no one thought that the Korean father, a nationalist … could find hip-hop to be a unifying thing.

"What really intrigued me was how socially and politically conscious the dancers were," Lee says. "It’s what hip-hop is really about. When it started in the Bronx, these kids were basically ignored. The Bronx was burning and no one cared … the kids needed to voice their opinion. It was the youth that created hip-hop, that’s why it’s so popular. It has transcended America and found a very, very important role in other countries. Hip-hop is everywhere now."”

That’s what the fuck I’m talking about!!!!  The film opened in the States for the first time in theaters last week in LA and NY, and is all over Killa Cali this Friday (TODAY) at Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre, 1572 California Street in San Fran. 

For more information, pictures, kick ass vids and screenings, get over to their official website and get involved.  The below clip is an older trailer (from 2006), but it’s stupid ridic.  Check out Vegas putting it down:

New York, NY (March 28, 2008) – New video from rising underground star Blu, “Blu Collar Workers” is off his LP, “Below The Heavens.”  Check for dude, he’s legit.

New York, NY (March 28, 2008) – The brand known as 50 Cent sat down with MTV News at the god’s CT mansion and chopped it up about Fif’s new video game, “Blood On The Sand.”  It features 50 and his G-Unit buddies shootin shit in fitteds and diamond chains.  Peep the convo:

You can read the interview at MTV.com here.  He gives credit to his son and Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie “Blood Diamond” for helping inspire the game.  Blaow.

New York, NY (March 28, 2008) – What started out as a bad week for Diddy has turned into cause for celebration.  After investigative watchdog website The Smoking Gun published a report Tuesday that claimed L.A. Times writer Chuck Phillips implicated Diddy in the Tupac Shakur/Quad Recording Studio shooting based on forged documents, effectively removing Diddy’s head from the hip-hop chopping block, his drop-dead gorgeous girl group debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 this week.

Danity Kane (Shannon, Aundrea, Aubrey, Dawn, and D. Woods, if you had forgotten) defied the breakup rumors that dogged them all last year and sold a whopping 253,000 copies of their sophomore record, “Welcome To The Dollhouse.”  The second biggest one-week debut by anyone all year, DK is scheduled to do some shows in Florida in early April, and will likely hook up for a full tour later this summer.  Fans will shriek, girls will dress half nekid, boys will drool.  Should be hot.  But on a quasi-related note, does anyone think that Aubrey and Shannon http://www.myspace.com/danitykane don’t look as ill as they used to?  What the hell is up with that promo photo?  And why has their MySpace turned into free advertisement for Donnie and Day 26?

Blah.  In other news, Rick Ross held down the #3 spot this week, moving another 90,000 copies of his second LP, “Trilla.”  He handled Snoop and Fat Joe in his debut rather easily, but it looks like Now That’s What I Call Music 27 proved too strong this week.  His total stands at 289,000.

Cleverly named Flo Rida was close behind at #4 with his major league debut, “Mail On Sunday.”  With 3 million digital downloads already to his name, courtesy of his monster hit “Low,” the perpetually wife-beater-rocking homie moved 86,000 copies.  Apparently loaded with slick singles and devoid of any artistic content, Flo Rida might just see his album succeed.  His second single “Elevator” is definitely catchy and his seemingly ubiquitous television appearances will certainly (duh) keep him in the public eye.  Now all he needs is a case!

Overall, the Top 25 got shuffled up pretty nicely this week.  The aforementioned Snoop dropped four spots to #7, scanning another 57,300 copies of “Ego Trippin;” his two-week total sits at 194,200.  Alicia Keys remained at No. 13 for the second straight week, adding 40,600 copies of “As I Am” to her 19-week total of 3,317,800, but Janet Jackson continued to slide.  Damita Jo’s “Discipline” dropped to No. 17, moving 33,500 copies this week; her total scans are at 310,000 albums.  Of course, that’s not exceedingly bad, but it’s certainly not great either, especially for a singer that’s gone platinum with every record she’s ever released.

Moving on, hipster faves Gnarls Barkley (Cee-lo and DJ Danger Mouse) sold 31,000 copies of their eclectic sophomore release, “The Odd Couple,” good enough for #18.  Behind them and anchored by the ‘blazin street single’ "Umma Do Me," Hotlanta’s Rocko impacted the charts this week at #21 with his debut LP “Self-Made.”  His grand total, though?  27,800.  Ouch.

After him, most of the names should be familiar.  At #24 (OK I embellished a bit about the Top 25 being shaken up early, sue me), Amy Winehouse stumbled in by moving a scant 26,400 copies of “Back To Black.”  The Grammy winner sees her 53-week total at 1.83 million.  Teen Pimp Chris Brown followed her, moving 25,400 copies of his sophomore set, “Exclusive.”  The hitmaker has sold 1.4 million copies in 20 weeks.  And interestingly enough, his duet partner, Jordin Sparks, continued her climb up the Billboard 200 off the strength of “No Air,” landing behind Breezy at #29.  She scanned 23,800 copies of her self-titled debut for a total of 595,400.

Some serious hip-hop queens dominated the next few spots, with Mary J. Blige in at #32 with 20,000 copies of “Growing Pains.”  Her eighth disc has amassed a 14-week total of 1.37 million.  Keyshia Cole slid in behind her to #36 this week, moving 18,900 copies of “Just Like You.”  And the enigmatic Erykah Badu saw her critically acclaimed “New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) free-fall from #9 to #37 this week with 17,500 copies.

The rest are fairly uninteresting, so I will fail to mention them.  Next week, though, we’ll be checking for the latest Diddy project, Day 26, to make their debut on the charts.  Could the Puffed One make it two #1’s in a row with two separate acts?  Who the hell knows!  Until then, however, look for Diddy… he’s the one tap dancing in the board room.

New York, NY (March 27, 2008) – While our nation’s biggest entertainers feel it necessary to break the law willingly and often, this has been an exceptionally busy week.  Lawsuits, claims and guilty verdicts… just another day in hip-hop.

Gangstas Don’t Dance, They Boogie: Remy Ma Facing 25 Years

Remy Ma (real name Remy Smith), on trial for allegedly shooting long-time friend Makeda Barnes Joseph after a monetary dispute, was found guilty today of weapons possession and coercion in relation to the July 2007 incident.  She was lead out of the downtown Manhattan Supreme Court in handcuffs and tears; she faces up to 25 years in prison.

For those of you not up to speed on the trial, Remy and her peoples were partying down in the Meatpacking District of NYC when the rapper and Joseph got in a dispute over $3,000.  Remy alleged that Joseph stole it, a claim Joseph denied.  In the struggle that ensued, Joseph was shot in the stomach and Remy fled the scene, crashing her SUV a few blocks away.  Joseph’s injury would require three surgeries to fix.  At trial, Remy’s defense team admitted that she shot Joseph, but claimed it was an accident and that the gun went off as they fought over a purse Remy believed contained the money.  The former Terror Squad femcee was denied a bail request and will wait in jail until sentencing on April 22nd.

Read more from The Post.

T.I. vs. The Feds

Clifford Harris, pka T.I., pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges today, and will begin serving his jail sentence in one year.  While he awaits sentencing, Harris must complete at least 1,000 hours of a total 1,500 hours of community service, which includes but is not limited to, talking to youth groups about the pitfalls of guns, gangs and drugs.  No word on how the perception of any music released during that time will be taken into account for sentencing (what’s T.I.’s music without a couple threats?)

Details of the case had Harris pleading guilty to charges that included possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of machine guns and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  He was initially charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, as well as possession of firearms by a convicted felon; he had faced a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count (instead he’ll receive a year and one day when he goes in March 27, 2009). 

Harris was allegedly trying to buy machine guns and silencers when he was arrested.  He initially pleaded not guilty, and had been under house arrest since being released October 26th on $3 million bond.  Incidentally, Tip was let out his house for Easter and mingled with other Sunday churchgoers.

Will Diddy Sue The L.A. Times?

In case you’ve been high for the past 48 hours, one of the biggest news stories circulating has been the story of, well, the lack of a real story.  Last week, the L.A. Times published an expose that accused Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jimmy “Henchmen” Rosemond of having prior knowledge of the 1994 Tupac Shakur/Quad Recording Studios shooting incident in New York City, the incident that ignited the East Coast/West Coast fued.  The information was based on an anonymous studio informant and apparently legitimate FBI documents obtained by the L.A. Times from James Sabatino, a part-time promoter for Combs at the time. 

However, on Wednesday, The Smoking Gun, a U.S.-based investigative watchdog site, claimed that the documents Pulitzer Prize-winning Times journalist Chuck Philips based his article on were elaborate forgeries, done at the hand of the full-time scam artist Sabatino.  They cited a mountain of evidence in extremely detailed expose of their own (click here for TSG: “Big Phat Liar"). 

After reviewing the Smoking Gun report and some internal conferences, the Times and Phillips issued a joint apology late last night, admitting they were “duped” by the very con artist that they trusted to delivery the real story.  Phillips said he was sorry and accepted responsibility for the goof.  If you haven’t already, you can check out the original L.A. Times piece (as well as the official apology directly before it) here.

On the media side, the fall-out here is akin to the NY Times/Jayson Blair case a few years ago, and the Dan Rather/CBS fiasco over President Bush’s war records.  These are only two of many examples where sensationalism got the best of an overzealous scribe, and it’s unfortunate because everyone involved in the situation (including me) was seeking some sort of closure and deemed this a somewhat definitive step in that direction.

Now, on the legal side, the day the story hit the web, both Diddy and Rosemond vehemently denied involvement; if the documents prove to be as false as The Smoking Gun is claiming and Sabatino did indeed fake the entire funk, then the cards are stacked for a potential slam-dunk defamation lawsuit against the Times.  The question is, will Diddy pull the trigger (no pun intended), or refrain and let the situation dissolve?  What SHOULD he do?  Read more on the ethical problems involved here.

In other Diddy news, he settled his assault case from February 2007.

Kanye Stole The Good Life Away From Me!

A Maryland-based producer named D’Mystro is suing Kanye West for copyright infringement.  The suit alleges that West “didn’t obtain a license to use ‘Volume of Good Life’” in creating his own version, “Good Life.”  TMZ.com has links if you’d like to actually see the documentation. 

D’Mystro also says that his reputation is being damaged because of West’s “vulgar and offensive” lyrics.  In D’Mystro’s bio on his MySpace, he happily claims to have rubbed elbows with Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, Dame Dash, Freeway, Roc Family and the Neptunes as part of the Sprite Liquid Mixer Tour.  My question is… what was his image like back then that it wasn’t being affected by authors of such gems like: “cheat on your man ma, that’s how you get a-hizzead”? 

Sounds like someone wants some money and isn’t afraid to whore himself out to get it.  Thoughts?

Oh No!  Nate Dogg Ain’t Scared To Assault…

This one might have slipped under the radar.  TMZ.com reported on Tuesday that hook-master Nate Dogg pleaded guilty to trespassing and battery in a 2006 Huntington Beach, CA incident where Nate punched his ex-wife’s boyfriend in the face.  As part of the agreement, TMZ.com notes, he must complete “three years informal probation, must complete a domestic violence/batterers treatment program and can not own a weapon for 10 years.” 

Sixteen in the clip and one in the hole…

New York, NY (March 26, 2008) – Some good shit from around the web yesterday:

Lil Wayne is planning on dropping “Tha Carter III” on May 13, and West Coast revivalist The Game will release his third (and last?) album entitled “L.A.X.” shortly thereafter, on June 24th.

Miss Info weighs in on the Buffy The Body / Gucci Mane saga making it’s rounds.  Someone has taken great pains to make Gucci look like a fool (I could care less either way), but the venom makes for a chuckle-worthy few minutes.  Eh, enough of me, the video below explains…

The crew over at The Smoking Section caught up with Chicago’s “The Cool Kids” for a great interview.  And peep the Flickr photo set as well.

And lastly, meet my new favorite blogger, Ronald Jenkees.  The guy has got to be some sort of made up character (think a hip-hop Harry Carey), but his beats are no joke.  Dude gets down.

New York, NY (March 26, 2008) – Songwriter and author Billy Bragg contributed this op-ed to the NY Times on Monday.  While he doesn’t offer any concrete solutions to the problem, his point remains a valid one.  Read:

…”Last week at South by Southwest, the rock music conference held every year in Austin, TX, the talk in hotel lobbies, coffee shops and the convention center was dominated by one issue: how do musicians make a living in the age of the Internet? It’s a problem our industry has struggled with in the wake of the rising popularity of sharing mp3 music files.

What’s at stake here is more than just the morality of the market. The huge social networking sites that seek to use music as free content are as much to blame for the malaise currently affecting the industry as the music lover who downloads songs for free. Both the corporations and the kids, it seems, want the use of our music without having to pay for it.”

Much has been made of the conundrum faced by the labels these days, often leaving those unfamiliar with the overall situation the impression that artists are winning.  And, perhaps they are to the point that their music is readily available.  But for the moment, the dreams of a fat wallet and a million-dollar spread are long gone.  Being a rock star in today’s industry almost seems like a blue-collar enterprise.  And truthfully, there’s no shame in that; in fact, outside of hip-hop’s bling bling culture, I’d bet easy money that most other artists would be happy to say they make a living as a working musician, getting by from touring and recording.  The point is, though, not everyone can make a dope song; and just like baseball players make sick money for swatting at a little ball, so should extremely talented artists be rewarded for the phenomenal music they create.

This article would have been of more use had Bragg suggested some solutions, but for the moment… he can take comfort in knowing that he’s not alone in his concerns. 

New York, NY (March 26, 2008) - MTV’s got the scoop on a the latest installment of DJ Drama’s “Gangsta Grillz” Mixtape series, this one being planned with G-Unit. 

…"A couple of days after G-Unit dropped their Elephant in the Sand mixtape [two weeks ago], I got the call from 50 [Cent] and he was like, ‘Drama, what up? It’s time to do this G-Unit/ Aphilliates Gangsta Grillz.’ He’s really going heavy on the ThisIs50.com Web site, and he was saying basically it’s time to get G-Unit hot in the South. What better way to do that than to do a Gangsta Grillz? Not only from a South aspect but from a quality street-music aspect. Me and Whoo Kid talked the other day, Fif and G-Unit are getting songs together, [my artists] Willie Da Kid and La Da Darkman are getting some songs together. I reached out to the King and told him it’s a special project; I need him to get busy. We’re gonna go in."

"The King" Drama is referring to is, of course, none other than the King of the South, T.I. Drama said he’s also reached out to a slew of his other friends from the South and told them to get their best material ready. Fif’s DJ, Whoo Kid, will also be heavily involved in putting the project together.”

Should be an interesting listen.  Thoughts on G-Unit taking it to the South?

New York, NY (March 26, 2008) – Shout out to HipHopDX for their stellar wrap-up of the A3C Hip-Hop Festival in Atlanta last week.  Co-sponsors of the event, DX had their people on scene in full force and were able to snap some crazy pics and video.  Solid review, as well.

DJ Lord (of Public Enemy) set it off

New Interscope signee, Wale

Little Brother threw down…

DX also had Biz Markie on hand.  Peep video:

And click here to listen to their Official A3C Mixtape.

Read the full review and see more video of some dope b-boys and other exclusive pictures of Blue and The Clipse, among others.

New York, NY (March 26, 2008) – Much of the news you find here at Loud.com focuses on the machine behind the industry, the deals being made that will affect the future of music, and of course, the technology now available to you that can help increase the amount of ears tuning in to your music.  Part of that intricate playing field and one of the more confounding topics we focus on is social networking.  There’s MySpace, Facebook, Orkut, Bebo, Open Social (more a technology than a “destination,” but never-the-less, a network), YouTube, Delicious, LinkedIn, Twitter… the list goes on and on.  It seems daunting.  It IS daunting.  Sometimes, it’s a fucking headache trying to make sense of it for you.

But here’s the thing: whether you ride the wave of the newest start-up by getting in on the ground floor or you go with a tried and true site like MySpace, all of these platforms need to be freaked properly by the user for them to do anything worthwhile.  And by that, I simply mean interacting.  Which, when you have 10+ sites to deal with, can become incredibly time consuming and take away from any shows your trying to book, street team objectives you’re trying to accomplish, studio sessions, writing/rehearsing time and all the minutes hustling over the phone.  Couple that with the 9-5 that allows you to pay for your music and you’ve got a recipe for frustration.  I hear you.

The links below contain some expert commentary that should help ease your mind about becoming overwhelmed in the social sphere.  As important as the Internet is to modern media and communication, getting in front of people’s eyes in the flesh is still the best avenue for success. 

So get your read on here and then go make it happen off-line.  Boardroom Hip-hop 101.

Social Behavior: Following, Friending, and the Establishment of Credible and Trusted Sources

This was written by the CEO of Wiredset, LLC, a digital marketing agency based here in NY.  Mark Ghuneim was a prolific executive with Sony back in the day and continues to be an innovator in the digital space.  Here, he talks about the usefulness of social bookmarking and how you can create your OWN network within a network by simply bookmarking the things you enjoy reading about (can you say, “ready-made e-team?”).  Check:

…”Online, one’s innovator status can be exhibited through their social network behaviors; what they are bookmarking, how it is being tagged, how early they identify new information, sites, and trends. With tags, one’s skills are further refined, and in the case of Delicious, the more thorough a user is at parsing the single most relevant line in a story, the more quickly that user can evolve into a trusted source and establish themselves as someone other users look to for the latest news and innovations.

This following process has enabled a natural selection-like structure of networked intelligence to emerge that is vastly different from the friending process of social networks and the associated social relevancy and importance of users with high friend counts.  It is amazing how much one can see and learn by following the social networks and the related web-tools utilized by their peers.”

Google “mediaeater” and see what comes up.

Marketing With Social Media

Marketing trends are constantly changing, and a good marketer has the ability to adapt to those changes while anticipating what their potential consumers want.  As users of this site, you would want to be up on the latest techniques to increase your own marketing skills while surfacing your music to the listening public.  This article from Scott Monty via the Wall Street Journal contains a list of blogs and sites that speaks specifically to honing those skills for the on-line world.

AOL Acquires Global Social Network Bebo

This link makes the cut because it shows the ever-increasing amount of attention focused on the social space.  AOL paid $850 million bucks for Bebo!  Now, as an internet property, AOL has nowhere near the influence it did in the early 90’s, but even so, their network is still pretty large and integrating Bebo into their fold will bring new eyes to their pages, and vice versa. 

Getting in on the ground floor of a successful start-up like Bebo is mostly a crapshoot because you never know which ones will flounder and which will prosper; but it’s an example of how innovation within a proven space (Bebo takes chances on dynamic partnerships within the “social networking” realm) can lead to success.  It’s a perfect example of creation and implementation.

Video Road Hogs Stir Fear of Internet Traffic Jam

The New York Times ran this article a few days ago.  While it doesn’t necessarily deal with social networking, it does speak to the machine behind it – bandwidth.  As the presence of video and other innovations in web-based communication move forward, the amount of space it takes up on the networks and in storage houses across the U.S. will increase.  Understanding the guts (so to speak) behind the sites you’re using to market your music and communicate with fans gives you a leg up on the competition.  Why?  From author Steve Lohr:

“In the Internet era, they say, high-speed networks are increasingly the economic and scientific petri dishes of innovation, spawning new businesses, markets and jobs. If American investment lags behind, they warn, the nation risks losing competitiveness to countries that are making the move to higher-speed Internet access a priority.”

Understanding the machine gives you a better idea as to what the web is capable of and where the next series of innovation might be happening.  You don’t have to be a programmer to see the utility in that knowledge – time saved is money in the bank.

Everywhere And Nowhere – The Economist

I saved the best for last.  The Economist published this piece last week, and in it, they take a look at the economics (duh) behind social networks.  Surprisingly, for all the big-money corporations willing to shell out billions to own a MySpace or Facebook, there’s really no money to be made with a social network!  At least not yet.  Sure, you can advertise on them, but what about all the precious user data that only network administrators are privy to seeing?  That would be digital GOLD to companies wanting to market their products to you more accurately.  In the end though, the Economist suggests that social networks will never actually be the cash cows these buying executives assume them to be.  Read:

…”It is entirely conceivable that social networking, like web-mail, will never make oodles of money. That, however, in no way detracts from its enormous utility. Social networking has made explicit the connections between people, so that a thriving ecosystem of small programs can exploit this “social graph” to enable friends to interact via games, greetings, video clips and so on.”

 
Why does this matter to your music?  Because eventually, as global as these social networks are, and as integrated as The Economist presumes they will become, localization will still take place.  And by making yourself a big fish in a little pond, migration to bigger ponds can occur naturally.  From no one in particular to paparazzi lawsuits.  Maximizing utility for the purpose of achieving a goal.  So pick a site (Loud.com, * ahem *), hustle your ass off, and watch good things happen for you.

 
The bottom-line here is let the world know about your music in any way you can.  Be overwhelmed by these networks, but don’t drive yourself crazy.  Figure out the social space and use it to the best of your ability. 

But please… when you DO get on… be sure you’re not an anti-social loser.  Blaow.

New York, NY (March 25, 2008) – “Yo, Suge…  what I tell you when I get out of jail, what I was gonna do…”

“Heartz of Men” is one of my favorite Pac joints, full of that Cali swag and bravado people love to hate.  You might expect that and more from the imposing Suge Knight, as he attempts to resurrect his career with Black Ball Records.  However, by the looks of this trailer, his new show “Unfinished Business” is less on the menace and more on the Dennis.  80% of these kids look like herbs and Suge seems to be lacking in the discipline department.  Blah.  See for yourself:

Let the West Side ride tonight…

New York, NY (March 25, 2008) – Some of the better videos that made the rounds this weekend and today:

“I Wonder” – Kanye West (Listening Session Version)

“Suicide Doors” – David Banner (Live @ SXSW)

Kill You” – Hi-Tek ft. Push Montanta

“Paper” – Pacific Division

“Shoulda Known” – Atmosphere

“Get Riches” – Guilty Simpson (best name in hip-hop)

N.E.R.D. @ SWSW via Allhiphop.com

Stones Throw / Duckdown Records Sound Clash @ SWSW via Allhiphop.com

New York, NY (March, 25, 2008) – Yo! Raps Magazine, the site that broke the story about Young Buck never having received a royalty check since being signed to G-Unit, laid out their case today in defense of their reporting.

And the straw that breaks the camels back: they have the audio as proof.  Site webmaster and Editor-in-Chief Kai Denninger:

…”When we work with writers, whether they are bloggers or journalists or any of our staff for that matter, we choose them carefully.  Yo! Raps Magazine reports industry news, but our integrity is based on our accuracy and that is something we pride ourselves on.  That is predominantly why our readers are loyal and our readership is constantly growing. We wouldn’t jeopardize that for the sake of some entertaining rumor."

Say word. 

New York, NY (March 25, 2008) – In association with the launch of its new Sansa Fuze music player, SanDisk is debuting a program called Sansa Sessions that will highlight DRM-free, independent music. 

The skinny: when consumers purchase a new Fuze, they are privy to an offer that gives them access to a microSD card with 50 pre-loaded songs from new and emerging artists; songs that, because they are DRM-free, are easy to share. According to Digital Trends, “more than 50 tracks have been licensed for the sampler by LA-based NonStop Riot; the songs represent a cross-section of hip-hop, rock, and rap music tracks and videos from more than 30 music labels, including Nada Surf, Of Montreal, The Coup, and Magnet.  SanDisk says it’s working with NonStop Riot to develop new ways to distribute music directly on devices and memory cards.”

From the Sansa Fuze website:

…”Listen, watch and play all day with 24 hours of battery life and room for up to 2000 songs. The new Sansa Fuze from SanDisk is your portable music machine with 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of storage. Watch your favorite video clips on the Sansa Fuze’s 1.9" color screen. Jam to FM radio with 40 preset stations, play with the built-in voice recorder, and share your photos wherever you go. Choose from five electric colors: blue, red, pink, black or silver. Incredible battery life in a 0.3" thin device - the Sansa Fuze marks the next wave of music & video players.”

Assuming the program sticks and they continue creating more Sansa Sessions, this is a great way for independent artists to get their music out.  While SanDisk faces some stiff competition from the other digital device makers out there, the Sansa Sessions is a great incentive for curious music fans to whet their appetites for new tunes.  The site is down at the moment, but take a minute and make a note to get over to NonStop Riot and see what’s up.

New York, NY (March 25, 2008) – We reported last week on the Financial Times article that revealed Apple was in talks with the Big Four about a device with access to the entire iTunes library.  While it would most likely prove a windfall for Apple, on paper, the discussion has anti-trust violations written all over it.

In the wake of the announcement, most agree with that assessment.  Even as EMI announced that it would likely be part of Nokia’s own “Comes With Music” program (which gives users a free music subscription to Universal’s entire catalog and allows them to keep whatever music they downloaded even if they were to cancel), competition against an all-inclusive Apple device would be near impossible.

With iTunes controlling the lion’s share of the market, a device giving the user unlimited access to the entire library, even with some sort of extra fees attached, would be too much to pass up for most music heads already enveloped in the Apple universe.  The Coolfer had an insightful op-ed on the situation last week, noting that “the only way to make this equitable to labels is to make them tethered downloads.”  Read more:

…”Owners of sound recordings would get a percent of revenue. Publishers would get a percent of revenue. Allowing for unlimited downloads — or even a high, set number of downloads — would be problematic for a number of reasons, the most obvious of which is plain old dollars and cents: Labels could lose their shirts paying mechanical royalties on downloads unless some other royalty structure is magically agreed upon. (I won’t get into whether or not labels would get a fair return for all the music downloaded. Some people would be gluttons. Some would download sparsely. It’s hard to say how it would turn out.)

But another problem is political: If unlimited downloads were allowed, labels would have to endure the wrath of every other online music store and service… the very ones labels have hoped would rise up and challenge iTunes’ dominance.”

The article goes on to cite another op-ed from Michael Gartenberg at JupiterResearch.  He envisions the Apple deal more a subscription-based model and how that might work.  Details in the Financial Times report were rather scant, so indeed, it’s hard to say how any of it will work.  But irregardless, the monopoly-talk Apple has done so well to deflect in past instances would certainly become the central focus in any deal that’s inked.  Here, CNet News takes a look at how problematic that path would be.

So: how might an unlimited Apple deal affect you?  For space and sanity’s sake, lets assume this new model exists in a most extreme-case-scenario.  And that piracy has gone the way of the do-do bird…

For starters, if Apple succeeded in closing this deal, you’d be paying a premium on whatever new generation of iPod they developed to house the technology.  It could be exorbitant, it could be reasonable.  What would be clear though, is that, if people want the music enough, they’ll pay the money and Apple will charge as much as they can get for it.  Capitalism at work; get busy livin or get busy dyin.

Secondly, you’ll see a chance in the way each competitor does business, and probably the industry as a whole.  It would be the next logical step in dealing with the above stated effect.  In order to compete, places like eMusic and Amazon (and Verizon and Nokia if they choose to go forward in the space) will have to offer major labels a sweeter deal, driving the aforementioned price point down.  Which will be both good AND bad.  Good because any device is now cheaper, but bad because to make back their money on the now "free" (read: cheaper) music, you might see a Nokia-sponsored tour with tickets for Bow Wow upwards of $200 dollars - just for mezzanine seats.  Maybe you get a gift bag for that price, but the point is, everyone’s got to make their money back somehow, and by tying together entertainment and service goods/products, the smoke and mirrors get more elaborate.  360 deals would be affected, and the artist may very well lose out to the labels.  Again. 

Oh, you’ll get your free music; but you’re still going to pay for it.  Would it inflate the dollar?  That I don’t know, you’d have to ask an economist.

But lastly (for the purposes of this article, at least – there could be a hundred other outcomes), you will see a change in terrestrial radio.  As more music is made available to people, the independent channel already being carved will bust out of its walls like a broken dam.  Radio will become less heavy-handed, catering instead towards a particular sound, perhaps even more localized to the region, giving equal time to both mainstream and underground artists.  You’ll still have your pop stars, but the entire scope of the music industry’s economics will change.  Clear Channel’s influence will fade.  Artists will no longer have to pigeon-hole themselves to get airplay because they’ll be a market for them somewhere; and that will allow them to flourish in other aspects of their career: acting, writing, business development, etc.  We’re talking a completely new revenue stream into the American economy.

Well, I mean, maybe.  Who the fuck knows what’s going to happen?  We don’t even know if this idea made it past lunch. 

I’ve always maintained that the way the music industry responds to it’s financial problems could very well change the way all businesses go about… business.  In all likelihood, we’ll get a model somewhere in the middle of these outlined extremes and $free.99.  Despite any new approach to creating wealth, the market will only allow so much.

It’s both the beauty and the beast of our system.

New York, NY (March 24, 2008) – The Internet is choc full of people dying to make a difference.  In and around that rank and file, lists are the number one way people rally support to their cause.  Don’t want Hillary elected?  Go get yourself a million signatures.  Want to curb the influence of the RIAA?  Great, all you need is 500,000 and good things will happen.

But that last line is the kicker: things will happen.  How often did a cause of yours ever end in something actually changing?  More often than not, things didn’t happen because there was no way to mobilize your army.  Well, in the age of social networking, things have finally come to a head.  Or more accurately, a point.  The Point.

The Point fancies itself as “a platform for group action.”  In a nutshell, their core values center around assisting you with creating assistance to achieve your goals.  In their tour, they lay out the steps of how to actually go about this.  Their site is part-socialism, part-revolution, and part-idealist.  This three-pronged approach could very well give this site the legs it needs to stand on (pardon the horribly obvious pun) and truly become the difference-maker it aspires to be.  You can read more about what people are saying here, and actually listen to an interview with The Point’s CEO Andrew Mason, conducted by Mashable’s Mark Hopkins here.  They even have a Facebook application (make sure you’re logged in to view it).

When things get rolling, you end up with this:

So if you have a cause you’d like to see through - more books for your classroom, a politician put out of power, less grease in your McDonald’s fries or better music on your radio - check out The Point and see how it might work in your favor.  I’ll see you there.

New York, NY (March 23, 2008) – Warner Music Group and Lyor Cohen agreed to a contract extension (aha shout out to baseball terminology) through March 15, 2013.  WMG also gave him the new title Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Recorded Music – North America.  You can click this link to see the actual papers filed with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) last week.  Gotta love public records.

And peep the number of shares… whooooo.  The monetary terms aren’t too bad either; Cohen will receive “an annual base salary of 3,000,000, subject to discretionary increases from time to time by the Board of Directors or Compensation Committee; a target bonus of $2.5 million, with a minimum of $1.5 million and a maximum of $5.0 million.” 

And this is during a shitty time in the industry.  Capitalism at work!!

New York, NY (March 23, 2008) – The NY Times ran an interesting piece about how warped sensibilities can become when money gets involved.  The example?  Starbucks and independent music.  I’ll leave my own narrative until after the quote, but definitely check out the article from author Jeff Leeds here.  Dude does his homework.  Below, the main point of contention:

…”In 2005, Starbucks looked like it was going to do for undiscovered music what it had done for the nonfat latte. The company decided to stock “Careless Love,” a CD of sophisticated pop-jazz songs by Madeleine Peyroux, who had attracted only a modest following in this country, plying her craft in small bars. Ms. Peyroux soon found herself at No. 81 on the Billboard chart, and has become a mainstay of jazz.

But the ardor for Starbucks has gone the way of yesterday morning’s grounds. Critics in the music industry say the company squandered its cachet by mismanaging the effort to broaden its music mix. The choices that reflect its early taste for the offbeat — like an album from Lizz Wright, a torchy pop singer — are now squeezed in with offerings not unlike those at Wal-Mart, including the latest releases from Alicia Keys and James Blunt. The shift has not been lost on some customers.”

Now, I am not a coffee drinker in waking life, but never-the-less, I have always had a strong distaste in my mouth for Starbucks.  To me, the whole set-up reeks of vile, corporate-hipster swank: contrived cosiness, faux wood grain adorned with over-sized baked goods, the cliché yet palpable writer’s angst hanging in the air.  And not to mention their ubiquitous presence on every 2nd corner in NYC.  How can you get more corporate??

Why all that bothers me so much is hard to describe.  And being that I have a lot of good friends that swear by Starbucks, I know it’s mostly in my head, that not ALL the people inside those oblong walls are just lights and clockwork.  But truth be told, I’ve never felt more uncomfortable in a place where I’m the one being served than Starbucks.  Fuck your $5 dollar foam!! 

I was aware years ago (around the time I began addressing my malcontent with the place) that Starbucks was hip to the indie music scene.  And against my better judgment, I ventured into one for the actual purpose of musical purchase; most other visits up til that point were limited to the bathroom use or to cop some OJ.  Now, I don’t recall buying anything at that particular juncture, but a few years later (2007), I went into a store and saw the enormous music selection at my fingertips.  From my previous experience perusing Starbucks music, it definitely confused me to have mainstream artists sitting alongside no-names.  And as an independent music supporter, it pissed me off.

The NY Times article does a much better job than I at explaining the nuts and bolts, cause, effect and aftermath, but in-so-many words, that’s essentially the issue at hand: indie music had a great platform for exposure and money got in the way.  And in the wake of the article, I have to admit that I feel a little hypocritical/asshole-ish that the very corporate-hipster swanks keeping Starbucks beancounters happy might feel the same way as I do.  It’s difficult to fathom that we might actually be on the same page.  Without the writer’s angst, of course.

…I’m still not ready to admit that Starbucks is an OK establishment, but yo, I really can’t front – their salted almonds are pretty effin good.

New York, NY (March 23, 2008) – Awww, shit!!!!  New music from some of the illest to do it!!! Sound quality isn’t great on the stream, but the beat is obnoxiously ill (the bassline!) and all three emcees come ridiculous.  Big Boi sounds energized (reminded me of Pac?) and Rae gets in real laid back, super dope/easy schemes.  But damn if 3000 doesn’t sound like a preacher!  The staccato/chest out delivery, peep:

…”Hey I’m talking young man
With this chalk in my hand –
I will take your lil ass to school.”

Peep here.  Thanks to Allhiphop.  Do the hokey pokey til you turn your life around.  Wow.  Outkast!!!!