Music industry torn over album download success
According to figures released by music industry body the BPI, digital album sales rose 26.6% to 26.6 million which helped balance a large drop in CD sales. Combined sales of digital and physical albums fell by 5.6% to 113.2m in 2011, with albums on CD declining 12.6% year-on-year to 86.2m in total.
Is Google+ important for musicians?
Google+ is a social network competitor of Facebook and Twitter that exhibits many similar features. Why then is another social network necessary for a rising band and how is it going to aid in exposure?
Support the NUJ campaign to fight for our BBC
BBC Director General Mark Thompson announced his Delivering Quality First (DQF) cuts plan in October 2011. The proposals involve a 20 per cent budget reduction over 5 years, the loss of 2,000 jobs in the core BBC areas of news and programming.
Spotify opens up to add-on apps to take on Apple
Developers will be able to write programs to add functionality to the music player, such as the ability to see lyrics or buy concert tickets from artists being listened to.
The Bull & Gate, is it goodbye to another live music venue?
On 16th Nov 2011 Davis Coffer Lyons, a property firm, announced that one of London’s legendary live music venue’s, The Bull and Gate, is to be put on the market. The venue, which is situated in Kentish Town is up for sale for offers in the region of £2.7m.
London Jazz Festival: Stagecraft panel
The Musicians’ Union hosted an event at the Royal Festival Hall on Monday 14th November as part of the London Jazz Festival 2011. The event featured an industry panel of performers and experts on the subject of ‘stagecraft’, the art of performance and engaging with your audience.
Online music sales to go up 7%: Gartner report says
Global online music revenues are expected to rise by about 7% this year to $6,3 billion as digital services such as Spotify and Apple Inc’s iTunes gain momentum, technology research firm Gartner said on Tuesday.
BPI asks BT to block BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay
The UK’s main music trade body, the BPI, teamed up others in the creative industries on November 4th 2011, to request BT, the UK’s leading broadband provider, to block access to Pirate Bay, one of the biggest sites for illegal music downloads using BitTorrent.
Shlomo has collaborated with a range of artists and has pushed the boundaries of beatboxing, which is something he aims to continue to do. One of his earliest collaborations was with Icelandic pop queen Bjork on her all vocal album Medulla in 2004.
Fan acquisition tip: Find fans, don’t make them
Here’s a great post by Minh Chau over at Music Think Tank. The article tackles the tricky balance between actually getting people to like your music after you’ve made it.
