Jerry's Blog
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Music Education Leader Alfred Music Publishing Revitalizes Music Education
Customizable, Print OnDemand Music Textbooks Help Fight Budget Cuts and Cater to Varied Classroom Settings. In the days of school budget cuts and alternative learning environments, music classrooms come in all shapes and sizes. To help music teachers make the most out of their time with their students and teach most effectively, Alfred Music Publishing has created a revolutionary technology that allows music teachers to customize their music curriculum based on the needs of their unique classroom, school, or district. |
* Eddie Blazonczyk, dubbed the ‘King of Polka,’ has now passed. Blazonczyk suffered from heart-related conditions, and was 70.
* Universal Music Group has now filed responses to a class action suit brought by the Temptations, Rob Zombie, Chuck D and the estate of Rick James (among others). On the issue of whether downloads should be treated as sales or licenses, UMG says the former was a rational and reasonable business decision.
* In or around Oakland? The California Music Industry Summit is happening at the Stork Club on June 8-9, with Slacker, NARIP, E-40, BandPage, and the mayor of Oakland among the attendees.
* A few realignments are emerging following Alliance Entertainment’s acquisition of digital-to-physical distributor Audiolife. In particular, Audiolife partner Topspin will be shifting its physical fulfillment to Alliance, and expanding its suite of services in the process.
* Spotify just landed in Australia, sure, but MOG? This was unexpected, though MOG has recently tied with ISP Telstra, with a launch touted ‘within weeks’.
* Actually, there’s even more Facebook news to care about, though we’re unclear how much work this means for bands. The company is now tweaking a few Timeline changes, and many of these alterations could become permanent. These appear to be cosmetic to the average user (though quite possibly, a headache for everyone else).
* Take twenty file-sharing studies, put them together, and what do we find? That’s exactly the ‘meta-research’ undertaken by Zeropaid, which found “no scientific basis for laws such as a ‘graduated response’ or censorship of the internet.”
Jerry's Blog
Good read: Want More People to Care About Your Music? Then Charge for It… http://digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120526charge
Spotify is spreading into multiple continents, but not the Middle East (at least not yet). Which is where Anghami steps in. The on-demand, mobile-leaning service is targeting Middle Eastern countries and audiences, with a blend of Western and local music.
Opt-ins, T&Cs, free trials, and other dangerous internet weaponry. In response to lingering consumer complaints in Washington, former Rhapsody owner RealNetworks has now created a $2 million compensation fund to settle user complaints of unfair and deceptive charges. ”Deceptive pre-checked boxes and fine print obligated consumers to not-so-free trials for subscription services they didn’t want in the first place,” Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna told Reuters.
Point, censorship. Lady Gaga has now cancelled dates in Indonesia, based on stepped-up threats from Islamic extremists. That follows word from Gaga manager Troy Carter that the show wouldn’t be toned down. ”With threats if the concert goes ahead, Lady Gaga’s side is calling off the concert,” Minola Sebayang, an attorney for promoter Big Daddy told the Associated Press.
Amanda Palmer‘s hyper-successful Kickstarter campaign now kicking towards $1 million, easily a record-smashing result. The question now is, can this be done again – and again – and again…?
Music-focused advertising group ToneMedia has just named Cliff Paulson as its new EVP of Sales and Marketing. The ToneMedia ad platform contains more than 100 online music content and lyric publishers.
Annie, the remake? Emma Thompson is now writing the updated film version, with Jay-Z fittingly overseeing the music and contributing original tracks. Willow Smith will play the lead, with Will Sr. producing.
Facebook is redoubling its efforts at creating a smartphone, according to a weekend report in the New York Times. Engineering teams are being assembled, and a release by next year is planned, according to various sources.
Jerry's Blog
* We keep hearing rumblings on TuneIn (tunein.com), a web-based radio portal with roughly 50,000 stations. That includes some unconfirmed funding rumors, though for now, the company has just finalized a deal to bring 40 different CBS Radio stations into the fold. TuneIn claims 30 million monthly users, and its Alexa ranking of 1,660 seems to back that claim.
* Live Nation loves to buy stuff! The latest acquisition involves Michael Coppel Presents, a top promoter in Australia and New Zealand. The deal closely follows Ticketmaster’s rollout of an interactive seatmap for Metricon Stadium in Australia.
* Ditto Music’s got a DIY deal to support its new Facebook app, but does this make sense? After submitting a song, musicians can get free Spotify distribution by sharing the Ditto app with three Facebook friends.
* Funny, Vegas never had a problem with him. Freshly-released, grand jury indictment charges could saddle Electric Daisy Carnival creator Pasquale Rotella with 13 years of prison time. The 29-count dossier alleges that Rotella participated in shady deals involving kickbacks, embezzlement, and money laundering to broker a relatively hands-off Electric Daisy Carnival at Read More
