Click here to check out She&Him's new album, 'Volume Two' on NPR before it's release!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
American Idol Strips its Contestants of Social Media Identities
American Idol is something else - today's American Idol not being the something else it used to be though. Remember when it seemed like America in its entirety would watch the show attentively to root for favorites like Jordin Sparks? That doesn't seem to be the case these days. With the programs being on its ninth season, contestants are not getting the same kind of attention and the network is hungry for numbers.
During the beginning of this month, a new rule was put forth by the show. Contestants have actually been prohibited from having personal MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook pages. According to Wall Street Journal, contestant followers in these social networking websites received the following message during the first week of March: “Thanks so much for following me/joining my Fan Page! All my updates from now on will be on our Official American Idol 9 Contestant Page, please become a fan there to read all my updates throughout the season!”.
A fellow blog, Hyperbot, reports that this move might have been an attempt to pump up the numbers for the show in general (the sponsors do need to be pleased) and also to even out the attention to the contestants. Only a small number of the guinea pigs - I mean, finalists - have been getting the desired attention from the public. The producers are also prohibiting the contestants to "grow their own brand ad establish more direct [contact] with their fans" - whatever that means.
Going back on last weeks post, this seems like a big plot to control control control. It's doing exactly the opposite of what record labels want. Then again, record labels and American Idol have different plans and uses for their musicians.
Has anybody asked the contestants how they feel about this? Is anybody saying a peep? It wouldn't surprise me that no one would. These contestants must be petrified to even make a move judging by the way the network is controlling these humble contestants.
This is not only oppressing to these Americans trying to rise up the music ladder, but a blasphemy when it comes to the spirit of social networking.
During the beginning of this month, a new rule was put forth by the show. Contestants have actually been prohibited from having personal MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook pages. According to Wall Street Journal, contestant followers in these social networking websites received the following message during the first week of March: “Thanks so much for following me/joining my Fan Page! All my updates from now on will be on our Official American Idol 9 Contestant Page, please become a fan there to read all my updates throughout the season!”.
A fellow blog, Hyperbot, reports that this move might have been an attempt to pump up the numbers for the show in general (the sponsors do need to be pleased) and also to even out the attention to the contestants. Only a small number of the guinea pigs - I mean, finalists - have been getting the desired attention from the public. The producers are also prohibiting the contestants to "grow their own brand ad establish more direct [contact] with their fans" - whatever that means.
Going back on last weeks post, this seems like a big plot to control control control. It's doing exactly the opposite of what record labels want. Then again, record labels and American Idol have different plans and uses for their musicians.
Has anybody asked the contestants how they feel about this? Is anybody saying a peep? It wouldn't surprise me that no one would. These contestants must be petrified to even make a move judging by the way the network is controlling these humble contestants.
This is not only oppressing to these Americans trying to rise up the music ladder, but a blasphemy when it comes to the spirit of social networking.
Song of the Week - Week#7
Within the upcoming weeks I plan to have a special post on some friends and local artists, Sires&Sealions - so, I decided this week we should keep it local!
Check out Rachel Goodrich's (a fellow Miamian) video for Lightbulb
Check out Rachel Goodrich's (a fellow Miamian) video for Lightbulb
Saturday, March 6, 2010
On that iTunes note..
Take a look at iTunes's top 25 downloads of all time -
Click Here Please
Mainstream isn't called mainstream for no reason I guess.
iTunes's 1,000,000,000th download
Apple thanks us a billion.
Don't you wish you were the 13 year old responsible for the 1 billionth download?
I certainly wouldn't mind a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod touch, their Time Capsule (think storing your music online for FREE!) AND a MacBook Pro.
Don't you wish you were the 13 year old responsible for the 1 billionth download?
I certainly wouldn't mind a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod touch, their Time Capsule (think storing your music online for FREE!) AND a MacBook Pro.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tweets and Statuses: Record Labels Encourage Musicians to Embrace Social Networks
It's not a kept secret that the music industry has been hurting. With the boom of illegal downloading, labels are scrambling to make that extra money by making most out of the available resources. Even with legal downloads; there have been 1 million less online purchasers of music per NPD (leading global provider of consumer and retail market research).
As CNET's Greg Sandoval reports:"The music industry is in a major state of crisis and some up and coming acts are reluctant to dirty their hands with social networking". With the explosion of social networks, there has come this expectation for artists to get closer to their fans and vise versa. According to Sandoval, record labels are turning down artists because of their reluctance to do this. Most of them being pre-madonnas who think their only job is to make music. What does this push to use social networking sites really mean for artists and their music?
TechDirt's post Getting Part the 'But Artists Should Just Be Artists' Myth touches this question. There is a difference when it comes to being a musician today compared to before. With the massive impact of the internet on record sales, if you want to make music as a profession, you have to go the extra mile. Your whole career is in your hands, but also in the hands of your record label. As TechDirt mentioned, "Artists should just be artists" was a tool for labels to have more control over their bands. That is not the case today. Record labels recognize the importance of getting their artists to connect to their fans as a means of keeping their fans happy. Happy fans mean more sales.
Supporting this is Daniel Glass, founder of the label Glassnote, when he said "There may be some indie hipper-than-thou artists who want to let the music speak for itself. . . They are probably not for us. We believe an artist has a responsibility to communicate with their audience...We embrace the world of technology and the vast improvements in communication".
His labeling of "indie hipper-than-thou artists" may not have been very nice, but I have to agree. An artist should take pride in their music and want to see it flourish. This does not mean they have to sell their soul or completely expose their life in the internet.
As CNET's Greg Sandoval reports:"The music industry is in a major state of crisis and some up and coming acts are reluctant to dirty their hands with social networking". With the explosion of social networks, there has come this expectation for artists to get closer to their fans and vise versa. According to Sandoval, record labels are turning down artists because of their reluctance to do this. Most of them being pre-madonnas who think their only job is to make music. What does this push to use social networking sites really mean for artists and their music?
TechDirt's post Getting Part the 'But Artists Should Just Be Artists' Myth touches this question. There is a difference when it comes to being a musician today compared to before. With the massive impact of the internet on record sales, if you want to make music as a profession, you have to go the extra mile. Your whole career is in your hands, but also in the hands of your record label. As TechDirt mentioned, "Artists should just be artists" was a tool for labels to have more control over their bands. That is not the case today. Record labels recognize the importance of getting their artists to connect to their fans as a means of keeping their fans happy. Happy fans mean more sales.
Supporting this is Daniel Glass, founder of the label Glassnote, when he said "There may be some indie hipper-than-thou artists who want to let the music speak for itself. . . They are probably not for us. We believe an artist has a responsibility to communicate with their audience...We embrace the world of technology and the vast improvements in communication".
His labeling of "indie hipper-than-thou artists" may not have been very nice, but I have to agree. An artist should take pride in their music and want to see it flourish. This does not mean they have to sell their soul or completely expose their life in the internet.
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