Holtzbrinck Online

The Corporate Free Music Movement

There is change afoot in the music industry, and it centers around the debate whether to release digital music files in the MP3 format without copyright restrictions (see more in the NYT article). Some independent companies already offer free digital content as a means of creating hype (the logic being that hype will lead to eventual sales). EMI has linked up with Baidu.com in China (where music piracy runs rampant) to provide free streaming music on the latter's site. Yahoo intends to offer more unrestricted digital music files in '07, and Sony BMG and EMI are looking into the unrestricted model as well. Some European governments are assessing consumer-driven demands for legislation on interoperability between formats and platforms (gasp!). I spent a LONG day at a symposium last week intended to create a bit of similar change in the publishing industry. Looks like the momentum is building for more free stuff online, right? Well, the point really isn't about free digital content; its about making profits using free digital content. We're all scrambling to find the right digital business model that incorporates some free content that will make users want to buy. I'm sure many are scrutinizing what the music industry is doing now for lessons on what (not) to do.

A Pretty Good Read

Modest Mouse: A Pretty Good Read, the unauthorized biography of the band Modest Mouse is in bookstores now. The author, journalist and bassist Alan Goldsher, chronicles the chaotic rise of the Washington State rock trio from little-known indie heroes to platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated, international superstars.

Click on these links to hear Goldsher read Chapter 2, Interlude 2, and Interlude 4 from the book.

Goldsher shares great stories about the band, and incorporates interludes of analysis on the music world, especially the indie music scene. Plus, he is very funny. I can’t help but tell one of my favorite, more literary, nuggets from the book: Goldsher points out that the name “Modest Mouse” does not have anything to do with Mighty Mouse, but is actually a reference to Virginia Woolf’s short fiction work “The Mark on the Wall.” Listen to Chapter 2 to hear the whole quote from Ms. Woolf.

Read more about the book here: Modest Mouse: A Pretty Good Read.

Rites of Passage

There’s a running trend for web giants – when you make it big, you’ve got to be sued at least once or twice, maybe even thrice. This rite of passage is demonstrated through cases such as Rob Turner vs. YouTube, Gentry vs. Ebay, and recently, Universal Music Group’s lawsuit against MySpace. 

What do the cases all have in common? The ongoing debate of whether the overseers of these online communites are responsible for user uploaded content.  According to my trusty Cnet article (linked above), MySpace’s current headache is Universal’s claim “… that Myspace has looked the other way as users unlawfully uploaded copyright music videos.” Last Friday, court documents were filed against MySpace for copyright violations. Since late October, the word on the virtual streets was that MySpace recruited Gracenote technology to eliminate the uploading of unauthorized copyrighted music. Sounds like Universal got impatient. 

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see how this turns out.

Where's the Bass?

While listening to a playback of what will undoubtedly become a punk classic, one of the recording band members, whom I'd just met, started to talk about how great it is being able to listen to music on his iPod and how he rarely uses his turntable these days. This got me thinking about my old LPs and tapes, long neglected but not completely forgotten. For those of us who can't bear to get rid of our vinyl and cassette collections (and don't have the technical expertise to patch together a transfer system of our own), there is the Teac GF-350. It will transform your records into CDs. An article in the NYT walks you through the process. Unfortunately,  the Teac suffers from a few serious drawbacks. The sound quality for record transfers is "reminiscent of a car radio;" the bass is nearly nonexistent; and it cannot be hooked up to your stereo. Tape transfers fare much better. I think that I'll skip the Teac and get a turntable instead.

Hardcore

I'm a sucker for band documentaries.  It doesn't matter if I'm into the band or not, I'll watch it.  Netflix is amazing for this, their selection of such documentaries surpasses any collection I've come across elsewhere, and they're sent directly to my apartment.

I'm an even bigger sucker for books I've read being made into documentaries, which is why I'm psyched on seeing the documentary for Stephen Blush's American Hardcore.  As you can see, this was a book that was read mostly at home due it's cover.  I didn't want people on the subway to get the wrong idea.

If you're interested in this type of music/ scene check out the trailer on the site, it looks great.  There's also some great photos on the site, along with a neat-o interactive map with information about the different parts of the US where hardcore grew up.

Maybe at some point I'll get tired of hearing Keith Morris discuss the scene, he does seem to pop up in everything, but it hasn't happened yet.  And, how long till Our Band Could Be Your Life becomes a documentary?

Listen up: Download black_flag_rise_above.mp3  

highway to Belle

The new Belle and Sebastian record comes out next week, and today the New York Times runs a story on the band and the new CD. The story says the CD is very good, but admits that it's still not as good as "If You're Feeling Sinister," the band's best recording to date (and when your best record was your second record, that unfortunately leaves a lot of career left to keep trying). Anyway, we published a bio of the band last year; check it out.

Here's a link to the band's website.

Also, if you're feeling interviewy, Sam points out this Q&A with Stuart Murdoch on the Onion website.

If only the Gin Blossoms had a new album this year

Here's our top 3 music picks for 2005. 

Matt
1.  Soundtrack to Avenue Q
2.  Freezepop
3.  Guitar Hero (a music based video game with an amazing soundtrack)

Jeff
1. Sufjan Stevens, "Come on Feel the Illinoise"
2. Antony and the Johnsons, "I Am a Bird Now"
3. Low, "The Great Destroyer"

Sam
1.  Kanye West, "Late Registration"
2.  Bear vs Shark, "Terrorhawk"
3.  From Monument to Masses, "Schools of Thought Contend"