Raw Story reports that Isreal regrets cancelling a Beatles concert in 1965. They plan to deliver apologetic letters to the surviving Beatles and relatives of the deceased Beatle members.
Israel plans to deliver letters of apology to the two surviving members of the British group and relatives of the deceased members for cancelling a concert in 1965, an official at Israel's London embassy told AFP.
"We would like to take this opportunity to rectify a historic missed opportunity which unfortunately took place in 1965 when you were invited to Israel," the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot quoted the letter as saying.
"Unfortunately the state of Israel cancelled your performance in the country due to lack of budget and because several politicians in the Knesset had believed at the time that your performance might corrupt the minds of the Israeli youth," it adds.
Israel's ambassador to Britain Ron Prosor was due to meet Julia Baird, the sister of deceased singer John Lennon, on Monday during a visit to the band's hometown of Liverpool, foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel told AFP.
43 years later but better late than never. It certainly would have been a memorable concert. The Beatles toured the U.S. Canada in 1965. 55,000 people saw the Beatles at New York's Shea Stadium.
Another portion of the letter reads, "There is no doubt that it was a great missed opportunity to prevent people like you, who shaped the minds of the generation, to come to Israel and perform before the young generation in Israel who admired you and continues to admire you."
Mary J Blige tells musician wannabees that they need to understand what is happening with music and the Internet. She says they need to be computer savvy and warns that they industry is changing. Blige says, "music stores are closing every day." She's right. The industry is changing and know one knows exactly where it is going to end up.
Alicia Keys sang in support of the striking WGA writers yesterday during a rally. Keys' performance was part of a big rally as the writers strike continued into its third week. Keys gave a performance of her latest song, "Go Ahead." She also performed her song "No One." Both songs are from her album, As I Am.
People. LAist have more scoop on Keys' performance and LAist also shot the video below.
Led Zeppelin is finally going to be selling its albums online. Warner Music Group confirmed in a statement that Led Zeppelin would be going digital through mobile phones. CNN's Media Biz called Led Zeppelin one of the few remaining holdouts and says there will also be iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody availability in addition to the mobile outlets in Warner Music's statement.
Led Zeppelin, one of the few remaining holdouts in the digital music age, said Monday that it is finally releasing its catalog digitally. The only official announcement from the group's record label, Atlantic Records, which is owned by Warner Music Group (WMG), discussed how songs would be available through the V CAST music service of Verizon Wireless, the mobile phone service owned by Verizon (VZ) and Vodafone (VD).
But a spokesman for Warner Music Group confirmed to me Monday that other reports about Led Zeppelin's music becoming available on other major music stores on Nov. 13 were true. That means people will be able to download "Stairway to Heaven," "Kashmir" and other Zeppelin hits from Apple's (AAPL) iTunes, Napster (NAPS) and RealNetworks' (RNWK) Rhapsody for their MP3 players beginning next month.
This is big news for all the online music stores since Led Zeppelin, according to figures from the Recording Industry Association of America, is the fourth-biggest selling artist in U.S. history. Only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks have sold more albums.
It's also good news for Warner Music Group since it opens up yet another way for the company to cash in on Zeppelin's back catalog. The big record labels may increasingly find that their livelihood will depend on nostalgia.
Best Week Ever notes that the day Led Zeppelin's music is available on iTunes is the same day their double-Greatest Hits album comes out. Gizmodo writes that the Led Zeppelin digital music will be available at all online music stores. Sounds good but this is 2007 -- it's about time Zeppelin.
Woman Loses Music Download Case. Ordered to Pay $220,000
CBS News reports that 30-year-old Jammie Thomas has been found guilty of sharing copyrighted music online by a federal jury. Jammie Thomas has to pay $220,000 in damages. Thomas says she didn't have a Kazaa account but the record companies said she used Kazaa to share the music files.
Jurors ordered Jammie Thomas, 30, to pay the six record companies that sued her $9,250 for each of 24 songs they focused on in the case. They had alleged she shared 1,702 songs online in violation of their copyrights.
Thomas and her attorney, Brian Toder, declined comment as they left the courthouse. Jurors also left without commenting.
"This does send a message, I hope, that downloading and distributing our recordings is not OK," said Richard Gabriel, the lead attorney for the music companies.
In the first such lawsuit to go to trial, six record companies accused Thomas of downloading the songs without permission and offering them online through a Kazaa file-sharing account. Thomas denied wrongdoing and testified that she didn't have a Kazaa account.
CNET calls it a key victory for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. However, the article also says the case may not be over.
This is likely not the end of the case, according to Fred von Lohmann, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that advocates for Internet users. Late Thursday evening, von Lohmann said that he had heard from several copyright attorneys who had expressed interest in representing Thomas should she want to appeal the decision.
"There are a lot of copyright lawyers who would be interested in helping her if she wants to continue this," von Lohmann said. "I'd imagine that she doesn't want to pay $200,000. We'll see what she wants to do."
The $220,000 comes from the record companies suing her $9,250 for each of the 24 songs she is alleged to have shared illegally online. USA Todaynotes that damages could have been set as low as $750 per song. That would have made a huge difference - $18,000 in damages instead of $220,000.
Reuters reports that the music industry plans to offer a new format called a ringle which will contain three songs (a hit, a remix and another track) plus a ringtone.
Each ringle is expected to contain three songs -- one hit and maybe one remix and an older track -- and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover. The idea is that if consumers in the digital age can download any tracks they want individually, why not let them buy singles in the store as well? It also enables stores to get involved in the ringtone phenomenon.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which came up with the ringle idea, and Universal Music Group are going to be the first out of the box with ringles. The former will unleash 50 titles during October and November, while UMG will have anywhere from 10 to 20 titles ready. The Recording Industry Association of America has approved the "ringle" name, and there is an industrywide logo to help brand it. But except for Sony, each major still needs to cut a deal with a digital aggregator to allow consumers to redeem the ringtone.
Meanwhile, label profit margins for the format are considered slim. The majors are gambling that the ringle can instill in consumers the mind-set to connect to the Internet via the CD.
Reuters says big retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Amazon will be carrying ringles. They will cost either $5.98 or $6.98 which is far more expensive than it costs to download a single on iTunes. Orbitcast says the music industry "goes mad." Engadget calls it a "hairbrained scheme." Compiler calls the ringle the "Edsel of the recording industry." You get the idea. There isn't a lot of respect out there for the ringle.
Most people thought Marie Digby sounded pretty good for an undiscovered artist when she posted videos of herself singing covers of hit songs like "Umbrella" and "Torn" on YouTube. It turns out that she already had been signed by with Hollywood Records (a Disney label) well before her YouTube channel emerged. The Wall Street Journal explains in this article that outs Digby as a signed artist.
What her legions of fans don't realize, however, is that Ms. Digby's career demonstrates something else: that traditional media conglomerates are going to new lengths to take advantage of the Internet's ability to generate word-of-mouth buzz.
Ms. Digby's simple, homemade music videos of her performing popular songs have been viewed more than 2.3 million times on YouTube. Her acoustic-guitar rendition of the R&B hit "Umbrella" has been featured on MTV's program "The Hills" and is played regularly on radio stations in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Portland, Ore. Capping the frenzy, a press release last week from Walt Disney Co.'s Hollywood Records label declared: "Breakthrough YouTube Phenomenon Marie Digby Signs With Hollywood Records."
What the release failed to mention is that Hollywood Records signed Ms. Digby in 2005, 18 months before she became a YouTube phenomenon. Hollywood Records helped devise her Internet strategy, consulted with her on the type of songs she chose to post, and distributed a high-quality studio recording of "Umbrella" to iTunes and radio stations.
Digby probably should have disclosed that she already had a record deal which is something the vast majority YouTube singers do not have. However, Digby explains in a blog post that just because you are signed doesn't mean you are on the path to success and riches.
IS this guy completely insane. You think it's that easy? That you get signed and suddenly everything's taken care of for you!!!?? DO you think that my record label came to my house, my bathroom! and told me what songs to sing and told me that in a matter of weeks i'd be some "youtube" phenom??!?!
Wake up - I am GRATEFUL to be signed but you know what, Labels don't come to your house, hold your hand, and direct youtube videos for you.
I have so many dear friends who were signed to the biggest record labels in the world, made amazing albums and were DROPPED. that's it.....
Apparently, a lot of the people on YouTube haven't read the Wall Street Journal story because there are recent comments on her videos telling her she is good enough get a record contract. They are more right than they know. You can read more discussion of the WSJ-Digby story here, here, here, here and here. And here is an article about Marie Digby back in 2004 when she was one of three finalists remaining in a Pantene Pro-Voice singing contest. (via Buzz Feed).
Below is Digby's cover of Natalie Imbruglia's hit song "Torn." She also has an original song called "Unfold" that is quite good.
The New York Times is reporting that Universal Music Group (UMI) is going to sell much of its catalog without copyright protection - or DRM protection. However, the music will not be sold DRM-free on iTunes.
Signaling another departure from the music industry's longtime antipiracy strategy, the Universal Music Group will sell a significant portion of its catalog without the customary copy protection software for at least the next few months, the company announced yesterday.
Universal, the world's biggest music conglomerate, said it would offer albums and songs without the software, known as digital rights management, through existing digital music retail services like RealNetworks and Wal-Mart, nascent services from Amazon.com and Google, and some artists' Web sites.
But the music will not be offered D.R.M.-free through Apple's iTunes, the leading music service. The use of copy protection software has become a major bone of contention in the digital music business, where iTunes accounts for the vast majority of download sales. The record labels generally have required that retailers place electronic locks to limit copying of music files.
Some might remember that it was Steve Jobs himself who proposed that all music be DRM free earlier this year so it seems odd that UMI is now selling music without DRM protection everywhere but on iTunes. Engadget it calls it a snub of iTunes.
John Lennon's solo catalog is now available on iTunes. Apple, the company behind iTunes, made the announcement in a statement on its website.
"John would have loved the fact that his music will now be available in a format suited to a new generation of listeners," said Yoko Ono.
"John Lennon is one of the greatest artists of our time," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We're thrilled to have his solo catalog available on the iTunes Store for the first time."
As part of EMI Music's digital catalog, the John Lennon solo works will be available in iTunes Plus, offering DRM-free music tracks with high quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings-for just $1.29 per song.
The iTunes Store features the world's largest catalog with over five million songs, 550 television shows and over 500 movies. The iTunes Store has sold over three billion songs, 50 million TV shows and over two million movies, making it the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store.
SlipperyBrick says Lennon is the second Beatles artist to allow iTunes to sell their solo albums. Paul McCartney was the first. CMJ says Ringo Starr is involved with iTunes as well.
Apple has announced (hat tip The Daily Mac) that more than three billion songs have been purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store at www.itunes.com. The iTunes website contains the following according to Apple.
5 million songs
550 television programs
500 films
"We'd like to thank all of our customers who have contributed to this incredible milestone," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. With the praise the music portion of the iPhone has received Apple should be able to sell plenty more songs over the coming years.
Mia Rose, a singer who became popular on YouTube, has a new video entry. In it she says she has been working on an album that she hopes will be coming out this Fall. That's really cool that someone got a record deal by singing songs on YouTube. Mia was signed (via Thug Online) by Ryan Leslie in April, 2007 to his Next Selection label. Mia's latest video post also includes clips of her in the recording studio.
Kelly Clarkson Blogs About Clive Davis Feud Controversy
Kelly Clarkson has posted a message on her website stating the "supposed feud" with her record label and Clive Davis has been "blown way out of proportion."
"There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the release of "My December," much of which has focused on a supposed feud with my record label, in particular, Clive Davis. I want to set the record straight on this by saying that I want my band, my advisors, those close to me and my record label to be one big, tightly knit family. Like any family we will disagree and argue sometimes but, in the end, it's respect and admiration that will keep us together. A lot has been made in the press about my relationship with Clive. Much of this has been blown way out of proportion and taken out of context. Contrary to recent characterizations in the press, I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time. He has been a key advisor and has been an important force in my success to date. He has also given me respect by releasing my new album when he was not obligated to do so. I really regret how this has turned out and I apologize to those whom I have done disservice. I would never intentionally hurt anyone. I love music, and I love the people I am blessed to work with. I am happy that my team is behind me and I look forward to the future."
Kelly's album My December came out on June 26, 2007 in the U.S. and Canada. Some articles discussing a feud between her and Clive Davis can be found here and here. Kelly Clarkson did fire her manager and cancel her summer tour but she did appear at Live Earth and she sounded fantastic live during the Live Earth concert. You can see some videos on YouTube of her performance here or visit the Live Earth on MSN website.
Crunk is one of the new additions to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. The dictionary defines crunk as "a style of Southern rap music featuring repetitive chants and rapid dance rhythms." MTV reports that crunk made it into the latest edition of the newspaper because the dictionary's editors followed its use from hip-hop magazines to sports magazines and finally to daily newspapers.
"There's only one rule for a new word getting in: If it's likely to be found in printed reading matter - magazines, newspapers, novels - it's likely to get in," Peter Sokolowski, an associate editor for Merriam-Webster, told MTV News. "Our entire staff reads and marks everything we can get our hands on: Vibe magazine, magazines on pregnancy and sailing, math journals, physics journals, soup-can labels, menus. Basically, when a word gains a critical mass of citations, we'll include it.
"We try to include words that aren't just trends," he continued. "We're looking for words that will be referred to in the future and people won't need any explanation to know what it means. If the editor of a newspaper can publish a word and he or she expects readers to know what it means, we'll include it."
Sokolowski said that in the case of a word like crunk, they had followed its use from the pages of hip-hop publications to magazines like Sports Illustrated and finally into Time and The New York Times. And yes, he's aware that including crunk in the dictionary suggests that it's no longer a "cool" word (this actually happened sometime around 2002), but that's just another part of the process: When your parents know what a word means, it's probably about time to include it in the dictionary.
Merriam-Webster's editors also could have searched the term on YouTube. There are 16,700 video listings for "crunk." They also could have taken a look at Lil Jon's bling. For more of Merriam-Webster's new words read this post on the IWJ.
Led Zeppelin is finally going to be selling its albums online. Warner Music Group confirmed in a 
CBS News 
John Lennon's solo catalog is now available on 
Apple has announced (hat tip 
Crunk is one of the new additions to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. The dictionary defines crunk as "a style of Southern rap music featuring repetitive chants and rapid dance rhythms." MTV 