The UK organisations responsible for collecting music royalties have reported here that they have had a record year in collected royalties. Although royalties from physical media sales have dropped by 10% everything else (e.g. public performance, downloads and so on) have been increasing in or near double digit rates giving an overall growth of 3%.  The report says …

For the first time, income from broadcasting and online out-performed that of recorded physical product. Online royalties, although still a small proportion of the overall whole (at £10m), grew significantly by 54% year-on-year, largely due to the growth in the legal online music market led by iTunes.

A picture that isn’t too gloomy given the current global economic down turn, although this is only really good news for the artists and composers rather than the record labels themselves.

Having only recently released his covers album – “On Your Sleeve“, Jesse Malin is now putting out another live album on June 3rd called “Mercury Retrograde“.  The album is getting a limited CD release, and will be generally available through iTunes. The album has 16 tracks recorded Christmas last year at New York’s Mercury Lounge.

The next Peter Gabriel release isn’t looking like it will be a new solo album as hoped, but the compilation of a ‘recording week’ sessions over the last 15 years at his Real World recording studios in Box, Wiltshire, England.  The album Big Blue Ball (so called because of who the Earth appears from space) gas got some teaser material here. 

The recording weeks at the Realworld studios have been like super charged jam sessions with lots of Real World artists past and present such as Peter along with Joseph Arthur, Karl Wallinger and a host of other famous, and not so famous names.

Although we’d hope for a follow on to Up, Big Blue Ball should still prove to be very interesting listening given the names that will appear on the album. But like all Gabriel fans we’re wondering when he’ll get onto the next solo outing.

Delays – Southampton Guildhall 17-05-08

We managed to catch the Delays performing their home town gig on Saturday. Some photos of taken with my camera phone are available on our flickr site – http://photos.mp3monster.org

Thea Gilmore’s new album, Liejacker is available from today, and is getting good reviews with five stars from the Guardian yesterday. Thea’s website gives some background to the inspiration to the album here.  This is an album I’ll be checking out.

The EELS LIVE AND IN PERSON! London 2006 live CD & DVD package previously only available at the Eel’s 2008 concerts is now available exclusively at the band’s online store (here). It’s a limited edition two disc package containing a CD and a DVD priced at £12.