*Music Sites Today

NEW Music Sites (digital music services) 

Hype Machine – 1m Users.  Plays on iPhone. Andorid, Windows.  

Soundcloud – 8m Users. The Flickr of Audio. Sound design.

Soundhound -  Mobile phone platform plus share features.

Mobile Roadie - Apps for Artists

Mixcloud - Radio

.MXP4 - linked to Facebook. FB has 800 Users

Spotify (2m Users) and Pandora (60m Users) - Music streaming sites. Many of the new music sites work on a sharing basis.  

The Ease of Free Access

Authors are worried where the future of book sales is heading in this age of free access. I heard an author on the radio the other day saying back in the past writers (and artists and musicians also) were given time and allowed to fail in Public but this is not the case now.  Being able to sustain popularity after a breakthrough isn’t so easy. 

In the Book World festivals matter as book experts study the world book market and carefully evaluate the best writers out there. The music business by comparison with the book world is  'over-diversified' with the ease of access and time… it takes much longer to read a book after all! 

What does a new band need to do?  Oddly with all this internet activity and more music available than ever before, it is harder than ever to get heard!  When MTV started we had ONE excellent music channel, now we have many channels that are diluted. The hard part today is finding the ‘quality’ amongst it all. That is why independent Radio, Websites, DJs, Podcasts, Blogs etc. matter a great deal.

The ‘market-driven’ approach of today's music business takes a broad ‘democratic’ look at ‘polls’ which asks the media which artists they are already supporting and inevitably some of the more innovative music gets sidelined. Marketing polls matter for the likes of Live Nation, labels and the main music festivals.

However to quote Tony Wadsworth former head of EMI Records UK.

‘I’d prefer to listen to the opinion of one trusted blog, magazine or DJ that I’m confident has a history of turning me on to good new artists, rather than the democratic view of the entire business.’ . In music some festivals matter – while some music festivals are mostly Label controlled.

Where Are Machines Taking Us - Does Being Online Control You?

‘Using’ the Internet can be a powerful tool for access and information and communication. I try to avoid getting ‘sucked’ into various online ‘tunnels’ – so I can stay in ‘control’. Once the powers that be controlled the Proletariat through wars and alcohol – today the Big Media Conglomerates control or ‘attempt to control’, through ‘Online Gaming’ and other Media.

These games are addictive just like other drugs, through the clever use of offering small rewards.

And Kindles? Well my son has a Kindle with a retro dark brown cloth cover and it actually looks rather cool. I also like the Kindle apps that offer access to libraries connected to our favourite topics. Yet my daughter prefers the feel of a hardback book under her hands. We are all different! 

We may ask ourselves where are machines taking us? Can a machine, no matter how sophisticated truly replicate the intricacies, interconnections and beauty of the Human Mind and mostly the emotions of the Human Heart. Can electronic sounds ever truly match the earthy realness of a beautifully crafted violin or flute, an Italian piano, a Gibson guitar, the scale of the clarinet or the ethereal beauty of the human voice…………?

After the World War a generation of young men was lost – today a generation is lost to Online Games. Who are the Winners?

I accidentally thought of this new verb for all this! – meaning we are numbed into this passive thinking… condoled. Stay in control!

 "Success is waking up in the morning and bounding out of bed because there's something out there that you love to do, that you believe in, that you're good at - something that's bigger than you are, and you can hardly wait to get at it again."-- Whit Hobbs

The BRITS 2012 – Some great British music while mostly mainstream and not for everyone

Coldplay, the biggest band worldwide, opened the BRITS show with their brand of colourful fun ‘Paradise’ rhythms. I am proud of British music with artists who sell well worldwide – Coldplay, Adele, Florence and the Machine, Jessie J, Laura Marling, Plan B, more.

Adele, the biggest selling British artist of the 21^st century with 17m sales, just swept the American Grammies last week with her ‘coming of age’ album 21. Back home in London Adele again won the categories Best Album and Best Female. Newcomer singer songwriter Ed Sheeran won Best Male and Best Breakthrough act. Best Band; Coldplay (50m sales worldwide); Emeli Sande won Critics Choice award.

International Female; Rhianna (20m albums), International Male; Bruno Mars (500m hits youTube), International Groupl Foo Fighters; International Breakthrough; Lana Del Rey. 

The show closed with 90s band Blur. While performers Olly Murs, Bruno Mars and Rhianna, prove this show is mostly about the mainstream.

It is not all about good vibes on the ground these days, but more importantly attention in the online stratospheres – and all about that Online Buzz now via YouTube hits, Facebook friends and Twitter friends,

The Brits may not have the extravagance and glitz of the Grammies but thank goodness, music should not be all about theatricals! Florence and the Machine put on a beautifully artistic choreographed performance. The presenter James Corden, took to the floor where some audience members walked in front of him… 
Plus quite oddly he felt it was more important the show kept to its allotted time than that Adele was given time for her acceptance speech after winning best album!  I’m all for professionalism but this seemed to be carrying things a bit too far!   

PS As respected songwriter Richard Thompson puts it, 'People in large numbers don't always have the best taste!'  Also I was reading that when Adele recorded Someone Like You simply backed with piano her label wanted the song re-recorded with a full band backing, but Adele stuck to her guns and said no! mmmm It never fails to amaze me the over-production that goes on. Surely it’s about the song and voice in the end? 

Dick Gaughan - Now Westlin Winds