According to the Guardian (article here) the record industry are going to justify their pricing policy of 79p per track (something that doesn’t make sense when you can buy the album as a CD for the same price or less). 

Live Nation, better know by its old name of Clear Channel seems to have aspirations in buying up all the decent music venues in the UK. With the approval of the acquisition of the Academy Music Group (who own Brixton Academy, Shepherds Bush Empire and few other well known music venues (article here)) along with venues such as Oxford’s Zodiac (details here). 

 If this continues then I believe the outlet for smaller upcoming bands maybe curtailed, and the fair potential for ticket prices to rise noticeably.  I’m generally not against corporatisation for the sake of it (I don’t see No Logo as my bible).  But in the music industry it seems that  corporatisation tends to be a choking influence with a reluctance to invest in new artists.  As it is Clear Channel has a serious chunk of radio airplay already, the number of potential organisations to get new artists exposed in traditional means is shrinking.

Aqualung” target=”_blank”>I think I’ve seen a trend that looks very unattractive in the music industry, specifically artists, particularly British ones once they start to make some head way in the States treating their British fans as second rate citizens.  Let give you an example; Aqualung got themselves going in the UK rather well, particularly with the help of some music being used in O2 adverts.  After the second album, someone, somewhere decided that they should make a real push in the USA.  I don’t have a problem with that, and after a couple of years Aqualung are back with a new album.  Well sort of, it appears that they have release dates for the USA (March 13th) – but not in the UK.

 Given that I’ve followed them pretty much every step of the way I feel abandoned. Not only that the next tour – one date in the UK before heading to the USA again.

 Aqualung aren’t the only artist like this, Gomez are just another example of this; although this is a little more understandable as their musical style has roots in the southern states.

The silliest thing is, that by atleast not releasing the album globally they’re giving people an excuse to go to P2P sites and downloading the album.  After all, why should I pay two or three times the album price to get it on import and wait weeks when the same album will eventually be available at the usual price in the UK (assuming they get around to actually releasing it here at all).

According to the International Herald Tribune, they may just be seeing sense (article here) and are now looking at selling music as MP3s.  Arriving at this situation is not surprising, with several different trends:

• Going to MP3s would give them a means to break the strangle hold that Apple and Microsoft currently hold over them. Particularly with the resent friction with Apple over pricing models.
• As home media systems become increasingly integrated users will become more frustrated about restriction on which devices can play their music.
• The IFPI and RIAA‘s war against P2P sharing is only having limited impact and only driving more sophisticated solutions to sharing both in terms of technology – look at the rise of Bit Torrents after the attacks on older P2P solutions and in legal means – setting up indie record labels, buying their own islands etc. No to mention its alienating the very people they want to sell to.
• Research shows that more people download, typically the more music they’ll buy.

I always seem to get excited at the start of a new year, looking forward to the forth coming music releases.  so to start the year, I thought I’d start with a few items of news ….

• Sting to reform with Andy Summers & Stewart Copeland for a Police 30th Anniversary tour
• U2 thinking about change of direction, and possibly going acoustic with an 07 release
• New release from Norah Jones next month
• New Stooges album in March!
• Kaiser Chiefs release album in Feburary (more here)
• Keane to cover the Cult (more here)
• Aqualung release a new album in March (more details here)
• New Air album
• New Tom McRae album
• Bryan Ferry finally delivers a new album in March!
• Another offering from Joss Stone.
• Speculation for releases from Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Cat Power and Ryan Adams

On a sad note we have to farewell to James Brown and Ahmet Ertegun.