The Digital Music Weblog

Goodnight from The Digital Music Weblog

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-31T14:49:00+00:00

The Digital Music Weblog is retiring from active duty as of today. I'd like to say a huge note of thanks to everyone who has helped or contributed to this fantastic blog since its launch in 2004. TDMW has seen some brilliant bloggers and has been a launching pad for many among the ranks of Weblogs, Inc; I will always be proud to say I'm one of them.

TDMW may be retiring but, I will continue to write for other Weblogs, Inc sites. You can still read my work, along with a stable of other great bloggers, on Download Squad.

Thanks to everyone who made TDMW a great place to be! Some high-points on TDMW from our last year.

The Math Behind Weird Al's Raw iTunes Deal

Hands-off my Slingbox, my podcasts and my Tivo; The EFF's Gwen Hinze

Minor alternatives to major labels; a crash course in free music on-line

Debbie Foster to RIAA : Dude, where's my legal fees?

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The greatest drum battle that ever was

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-19T10:25:00+00:00

Filed under: General, Music, Must Hear

Nope, it's not Tommy Lee vs. Neil Peart. It's not John Bonham vs Keith Moon. It's Buddy Rich vs. Animal. That's right. Animal. Elmo's whacked out black sheep uncle.

Buddy Rich is the obvious winner here. He's the greatest Jazz drummer who ever lived, able to bang out monster beats at a speed and precision that would tax even the most exacting of robot drummers from a creepy musical future. That being said and all things being equal (as equal as can be when one opponent is a Muppet), Animal gives it his best shot. Watch the video here.

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Why music blogs will one day rule the earth

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-18T13:54:00+00:00

Filed under: General

What happens when your label's advertising budget runs thin? Well, you can't purchase ads in major music magazines. What happens when you stop purchasing ads in major music magazines? They stop covering your releases*.

*if the magazine is Amplifier and the label is The Birdman Recording Group and, if this email exchange over at Idolator is the real deal.

When told that Birdman's ad budget was closer to what I'd find in my pocket than to what an ad exec would use to buy a new Porsche, Amplifier's director of advertising wrote back, " Bummer.....wish we could continue to support your artists, but I guess we can't. Best of luck."

When pressed further, he reportedly quipped, "Hey Sorry man.....my kids have to eat....if you're never going to advertise with us I can't justify the cost of covering your releases"

This is why music blogs will rule the world one day. Our publishing costs are miniscule, our circulation is great and, we'll still cover your artists even when times are thin (as long as they make us bob our heads.. and don't make our ears bleed).

See Also:
Music blogs a future payola target? No way!

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From the Idol to the Bizzare

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-18T11:24:00+00:00

Filed under: General

Ok, we admit it, we were glued to the TV just like you last night, watching the part of American Idol which pays entertainment dividends like no other; The auditions.

Seattle didn't fail to bring memorable characters to light. There's the Taylor-Hicks-haired hair dresser, who freaked out the security guards by trying to give Simon a little pomade. The bleach blond, gold wrapped, mother accompanied novella writer who butchered "Don't Cha" just as much as anyone else. That girl who removed the gum from her mouth just long enough to prove she couldn't sing. And, who could forget the God Bless America singing Costello to that tiny little Abbot who said he's often compared to The Backstreet Boys and N'Sync?

Thanks to DeathbyCamera for their incredible work on a frighteningly thorough Myspace hunt for all your favorite also-rans, didn't make its and creepy nutjobs.

Next week, Idol hits the south and we can only assume I'll be reminded of exactly why I moved very, very far away.

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Atlantic Monthly : Mp3 = VHS / DRM = Betamax

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-12T16:43:00+00:00

Filed under: General, DRM, Apple, RIAA, IFPI, BPI, iTunes

Michael Hirchshorn of The Atlantic Monthly takes a look at Web 2.0 music services and while drawing lines though a connect the dots progression comes up with several gems of inference. The highlight of which is a comparison of Mp3 to DRM "protected" media that contrasts VHS and Betamax, "One next step could be a move by the labels to make more pay-per-download music available without restriction, meaning that once you've purchased a song, you can do anything you want with it, currently a no-go on Zune or iTunes. Unrestricted MP3 sites could play VHS to iTunes's Betamax. However it occurs, though, the execution of a widely used free and free-flowing music download and sharing system is surely imminent."

Coolfer was struck by the same quote, and asks not "if" but "when" this whole magical convergence of factors will result in the reiterated statement, "everything will eventually become available everywhere for a price that will approach zero" will become fact rather than lore. We're already on record as saying DRM will die, so where and when can we expect the fiery crash and burn which we all agree is inevitable? I wanna bring marshmallows and watch the flames.

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Mashup madness, "Best of Bootie 2006"

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-12T12:44:00+00:00

Filed under: General, Music, Must Hear

Rebel DJ's, DJ Adrian and The Mysterious D have released what they call "Best of Bootie 2006", a full mixed contiguous mashup that cuts razor slices through the best of 30 years of music, then bakes them until crisp and golden brown.

Get it while it's hot, I can't imagine it will be available long. Mashups include highlights like "Crazy Logic", combining Supertramp's "Logical Song", Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" into what can only be called a feast of paranoid delight. Also a gem, DJ Topcat's, "Dec. 4th, Oh What A Night" which digs deep to hook up Jay-Z with Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

[via Boing Boing]

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Hypebot asks indie labels about DRM

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-10T15:45:00+00:00

Filed under: General, DRM, RIAA

Bruce at Hypebot has been an an anti-DRM rampage in the new year. He's started contacting industry figures and asking them a few questions each about how they view the Mp3, and on the flipside of the coin, DRM.

His most recent ~~victim~~ target is Director of New Media for Beggar's/Matador Adam Farrell. Wanna know what Beggar's position is on Mp3 downloads? "At the end of the day, we support any steps that a DMS or device company or label might take to reduce friction in the market and improve the customer experience."

It's an avalanche waiting to happen. If nothing else, the labels are all exceptionally competitive. Once a few start mp3 distribution, opening themselves up to new possibilities online and (in my estimation) increasing their digital sales by sharp margins, the rest will be forced to follow. Frankly, I believe that for the most part, the labels know full well that DRM isn't working, only they've painted themselves into a rhetorical corner over the last few years and, no one ever wants to be the first one to eat crow.

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Music videos of the 90's bonanza

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-10T13:51:00+00:00

Filed under: General, Must Hear

I stumbled across this gem of a thread on SomethingAwful in which a bunch of hipsters are collecting links to 90's music videos on YouTube.

It's a veritable cornucopia of awesomeness to waste away your afternoon. Great stuff like Pixies, Cranberries, Dee Lite and The Reverend Horton Heat. Guilty pleasures like 4 Non-Blondes (if you can resist rocking out to "What's Up" after 4 or 5 beer, you are superhuman). Plus, total cheese like Ace of Base, Goo Goo Dolls and Reel Big Fish.

The whole list is enough to push a weak man to heart palpitations. You've been warned.

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Music for Robots releases second comp CD

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-09T14:36:00+00:00

Filed under: General, Music, Must Hear

Robots are at it again. Those crafty automatons have been working hard to put together a CD of infinite indie wisdom, packed full of bands on the edge of hotness.

"Us robots scoured the world for amazing music, from the hallowed halls of our nation's capital, to the rain-soaked streets of Glasgow. We traveled as far afield as Sweden and the UK, as well as Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, and New York City. In between we found a cohesive, flowing album that defines our tastes while highlighting the diversity of music for robots."

Available direct from Music For Robots or from a select few online retailers and regional music stores, it's a veritable treasure trove of indie goodness for $10 American. How can you go wrong?

Take the jump for a track and artist listing.
1. These United States - So High So Low So Wide So Long
2. Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper
3. Pela - The Song Writes Itself
4. Twilight Sad - That Summer, at home I had become the invisible boy (Peter Katis mix)
5. The Long Winters - The Commander Thinks Aloud (solo piano version)
6. The Slats - King of Hawaii
7. Walter Meego - Wanna Be A Star
8. Copy - Has Your Life Changed
9. Lo-Fi-Fnk - Wake Up
10. Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler (SMD's Dub for Dave Pianka)
11. Dead Disco - Automatic (Raufast's Indie Disco Remix)
12. Hot Club de Paris - Your Face Looks All Wrong
13. Matt Harding - Close
14. Black Gold - Plans & Reveries
15. Findlay Brown - Separated By The Sea
16. Danava - Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger

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Since when is "making available" considered "distribution"

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-08T17:33:00+00:00

Filed under: General, RIAA

A newly contested RIAA case involving Sony in South Carolina may help set some important precedents. Court filings obtained by Recording Industry vs. The People show a legal team that's stepping back from the trees to take a whole new whack at the forest.

An astute reader of RIVTP points out the crux of the argument in the counterfiling, "The Complaint fails to join an indispensable party or parties, including but not limited to the "online media distribution system" [...] and therefore should be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(7), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." That same astute reader explins it for the rest of us, "this lawyer went one step further and is requesting that the RIAA include anyone who ACTUALLY downloaded content from the defendant."

Thus far the RIAA hasn't ever proven anyone has downloaded music from a defendant, aside from the RIAA or its own representatives, and this suit is essentially asking them to put up or shut up when it comes to that specific point. Even one successfully defended case that rests on the difference between "making available" and "distributing" copyright protected content could be quite important for other defenses.

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Eulogizing the CD, the ills of disposable music

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-08T16:36:00+00:00

Filed under: General, DRM, RIAA, IFPI, BPI

"The CD as it stands is dead", that's what Alain Levy of EMI told a packed room at London School of Business in October (Lomax's article says different but, we checked). John Nova Lomax of Houston Press is taking the time to eulogize it, examine why it's dying and take a cursory look at where the format is heading.

Lomax writes, "Looking back over the past 45 years, it is now plain that the move from vinyl to CD was not the bold step forward we were told it would be. CDs were not scratch-proof (as the labels had us believe early on), nor was the sound an improvement on vinyl -- indeed, most audiophiles argue that their sound is inferior. Jewel cases were ridiculously brittle -- they were rendered useless by a drop of four feet or so -- and they were hard to open, as were the huge and idiotic long-boxes CDs were packaged in well into the 1990s. Their visual appeal was almost always minimal and yet they took up what now seems like a lot of shelf space."

The truth is the CD, due to its fragility, has become a disposable item. One hipster quips in Lomax's article that she treats her music burned to CD with the same dismissive regard as she would treat any disposable lighter. As a culture, we're plenty fed up with disposable items which are sold to us as a "semi-durable" good. We know we'll be back to replace it far to early, and we feel ripped off when we find ourselves back in line again, holding a package full of the same empty promises we bought last time.

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Rock Hall of Fame gets a little Punk flavor

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-08T13:31:00+00:00

Filed under: News, General

The votes are counted, and the inductees have been named. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomes R.E.M., Van Halen, Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash, and The Ronettes in 2007.

R.E.M. and Van Halen are pretty obvious, the real story here is Patti Smith. When she was nominated back in October, I put in my (worthless) vote by writing, "If they gave music blog writers a vote, which I can assure you they don't, I'd have to give the nod to punk rock's own poet laureate."

Smith is a part of the fabric that makes up early punk history. She's the thing that connects the dots between punk rock and art, validating the place early punk holds as a brash and uncompromising unifier between the bifurcated worlds of avant garde music and its physical art counterpart. Smith's welcome into Rock's vaunted hall of fame is, in small part, like Rock and Roll finally opening its arms and hugging its edgy, artsy and dark little brother Punk after so many years of misunderstanding. We'll never be close, but at least we don't argue so much anymore.

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Fatboy Slim learns the dangers of digital music

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-05T11:08:00+00:00

Filed under: General

Zap! You'd think a middle aged man like Norman Cook (better known as Fatboy Slim) would know better than to hang around a bunch of electrical equipment in the driving rain but, apparently no one forwarded him the memo about how electricity and water don't mix.

Cook winced through a 2 hour set in his hometown of Brighton on New Year's Eve. Reports say 15 times Cook became the path to electrical "ground", receiving electrical shocks while mixing a live show.

Playing for 20,000 fans in your hometown would obviously be rewarding but, becoming a part of the circuit powering your equipment could quickly make the gig a really uncomfortable experience. Cook told reporters, "The one good thing was the shocks stopped my hands getting frostbite."

Oh Fatboy Slim, you will forever be our Pollyanna.

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A message from the iPod workers union

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-04T16:49:00+00:00

Filed under: General, iTunes, Apple

Ever wonder what goes on inside your iPod? If you're like most of us, you simply listen and browse, taking for granted all of thehard work going on deep inside your pocket-sized boredom destroyer.

These guys would like to remind you that it's not all fun and games in there. Cranking out tunes and keeping things organized is tough work.

Warning: This video contains not-so-safe-for-work language.. but is overall pretty harmless. Enjoy!

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Creative Commons Hungary remix album released

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-04T11:51:00+00:00

Filed under: General, Must Hear

In late 2004, the Creative Commons foundation launched a remix contest that allowed you (in that overused, Time Magazine Person of The Year sense) to mix, mash and sample popular artists such as Chuck D, David Byrne, and Le Tigre. The contest was a great success, increasing awareness of the Commons and ultimately giving hundreds of little known mixers and producers to be heard by a wide audience.

The newly launched CC Hungary tried the same idea, only with well known Hungarian musicians. How often do you get to hear Hungarian break-beat? The resulting album has quite a few high points, even if you don't speak Magyar. Listen to or download the whole album here.

[via Creative Commons]

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Who will buy my misery?

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-03T16:57:00+00:00

Filed under: General

Next week you could be missing out on a chance to stretch your tacky cross-dressing clothes budget if you don't head directly to A.J. Willner Auctions in Irvington, New Jersey. Former pop diva and current pop-pariah Whitney Houston is trying to raise some much needed cash. Just think, your costume and equipment budget could help seperate a do-nothing former chart topping superstar from her do-nothing formerly chart topping superstar husband while also stretching further than you'd ever thought possible. It's a win-win if we ever saw one.

The auction catalog includes a myriad of equipment and wardrobe as well as some of ex-Bobby Brown's awards and RIAA certifications. It's like a DIY kit for throwing an Elton John concert.

For a while we were concerned that Britney Spears was set to overtake Whitney Houston's title of "trashiest former pop star". Sure, Brit had a long way to go. She'd have needed to find much better drugs, gaudier clothes and brush up on her humiliating public argument skills. However, had she continued to cling to K-Fed, she was certainly destined for a Whitney/Bobby sequel. Alas Brit kicked K-Fed to the curb, and she's started to put herself back together again. Whitney dropped Bobby as well; only 15 years too late.

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Magnatune in Six

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-02T13:34:00+00:00

Filed under: General, DRM, RIAA, New Artists, Must Hear

I've often mentioned Magantune as an example of an upstart company doing things the right way. This is another great example. A six minute video explaining how Magnatune works (non-exclusive contracts, 50/50 split with artists, etc) and showcasing just a few artists from Magnatune's stable.

Featuring interview segments with Artemis, DJ Markitos, Mija and Jan Hanford of Human Response, the six minute video touches on the differences between Magnatune and the majors, the diversity of music at Magnatune, and the fan to artist interaction that comes with a growing net-centric label.

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Last.fm's weekly chart of free downloads

Grant Robertson — 2007-01-02T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: General, Must Hear

Ever wanted a weekly hit chart of free downloads? I'm not sure when Last.Fm launched this gem but, I'm certainly glad they did.

The Last.fm weekly chart of "Most Popular Free Downloads" is a can't miss tool for finding what's "in" this week. The current chart features free downloads from scores of popular favorites like Alexisonfire, Nouvelle Vague, and Grandaddy as well as lesser known up and comers like Gay Against You, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and Avacadoclub.

It's an eclectic chart, so you're almost guaranteed to find something you like in the list. Add the word "Free" to that and, I'm starting to wonder why more people haven't discovered this fantastic resource.

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Mp3 format as major label cure

Grant Robertson — 2006-12-29T12:46:00+00:00

Filed under: General, DRM, eMusic

An interview with Bob Kohn (co-founder of eMusic and the man who wrote the book on music licensing) in Forbes gets to the core of what Kohn thinks of DRM and the digital music market, "When the majors told us in my eMusic days that they wouldn't sell their recordings in MP3 format, I would say, 'You already are--you're selling CDs, and you can turn them into MP3 files.' If they [drop DRM] today, you will see a tremendous increase in digital download sales, because then you will finally see some good competition to iTunes."

eMusic's popularity has done a great deal for the credibility of the mp3 as a distribution format, and Amazon's new entry should do still more but we've still got a long way to go. It's encouraging to see Mp3 positive language in a publication like Forbes but, we need a full court press on the labels to make 2007 the year of the Mp3. Music fans and musicians need to step up and demand that the majors give us music in the format we want.

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Where's the ad supported P2P?

Grant Robertson — 2006-12-28T17:18:00+00:00

Filed under: General, DRM

Remember SpiralFrog? Or how about Qtrax? Both of these ad supported P2P services have been scheduled to make their debut but have so far failed to leave the starting gate. Both companies, as well as the previously announced and delayed Mashboxx, are aiming to start delivering DRM mangled and advertising supported music in the new year but, will they?

Qtrax has been on and off the table since 2004, Mashboxx had planned its original launch in 2005 and newcomer SpiralFrog had hoped to be live this month but, between the three of them no one has been able to bring the supposed ad based free-for-all panacea to market. Forbes offers a quick run down but, stops short of offering any real answers as to why these three are still prepping the launch pad.

Glenn Coolfer takes a shot at the "why", "The companies' delays are fitting given consumer hesitancy to engage their business models. If anything has been learned over the last few years, it is that consumers want to own their music. Subscription services and the idea of "renting" music have not broken into the mainstream. The three mentioned companies have different approaches but face the same problems of value proposition."

I'm with Coolfer when it comes to pointing out lackluster consumer acceptance but, the ad based P2P companies don't really know yet what will or won't fly. I'm anxiously awaiting the day that one of these ad based comers makes their real debut. A strong offering from any one of the three will finally lay to rest the question of whether this ad supported model can gain any traction.

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