4.4.09

Diplo’s Mad Decent Partners with Downtown Records

Indie label Mad Decent, created by Philadelphia-based DJ and producer Diplo, has made a partnership deal with another indie, Downtown Records.

Home to artists such as Bonde do Role, Brick Bandits, and DJ Blaqstarr, Mad Decent will join acts like Gnarls Barkley, Justice, Eagles of Death Metal and Santigold at Downtown, which already partners with A-Trak and Kid Sister’s Fool’s Gold Records. Dance music seems to be congregating under the same banner. Continue reading...

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Verizon Sells Mp3s Online

Telecommunications giant Verizon Wireless has announced today that it is adding more than 5 million mp3s to its online media store. The mp3s will be playable on any device, and therefore without digital rights management (DRM) restrictions. Read more...

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Wireless Mics for Guitar Hero and Rock Band 2

The wireless-capable microphones that shipped with Microsoft’s singing video game, Lips, will be compatible with Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Rock Band 2. Being hooked up to a video game console by a short cord impedes many of the more enthusiastic vocalist moves, so singers can revel in this forthcoming freedom. Read more...

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Swedish Anti-Piracy Law Causes Internet Traffic Drop

On Wednesday, a new anti-piracy law was implemented in Sweden that will allow courts to order Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to reveal the identities of suspected file sharers. On its first day, the law provoked a 30 percent drop in the country’s Internet traffic, from 120 gigabits of data passing over the network every second, down to 80Gbps. Continue reading...

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3.4.09

Obama Gives Queen Elizabeth an iPod

Barack Obama’s aide has reported that the president gave the Queen of England an iPod, containing video and photos of her 2007 trip to Virginia and Washington, DC, in 2007, as well as some Broadway show tunes and accessories. Read more...

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2.4.09

Dubstep in the US with Rusko, Tour Dates

For those who appreciate the electronic genre, Rusko is currently touring in the US, and will end the tour with performances in New York and Los Angeles on 10-11 April. The track in the background is “Marco Del Horno ‘Samurai’ - Rusko ‘Safe Sex’ mix”, available on 12″ at Bullet Train Records.

The 23 year old from Leeds has remixed artists such as Adele, A-Trak featuring Kid Sister, and Leon Jean-Marie, and over the past years has gained popularity with other artists, having been remixed by Buraka Som Sistema, Diplo, Drop the Lime and the Scratch Perverts. Check out another track and more US tour dates after the jump: Continue reading...

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Study: Teens Stream Music Instead of Purchasing

A new report from the NPD Group says that teens (age 13 to 17) bought 19 percent less music in 2008 than they did in the previous year. CD purchases also declined 26 percent, and paid digital downloads fell 13 percent compared to 2007. Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group, says in the report:

“With popular music sites like Pandora, imeem, and MySpaceMusic complementing offerings by terrestrial and satellite radio, more teens may be getting their fill of music and feeling less compelled to buy music or share it with others.”

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YouTube Blocks Music Videos in Germany

Today, German music fans visiting YouTube will be frustrated, because certain videos have been blocked as the result of a failed licensing deal between Google and German organization GEMA.

GEMA represents 60,000 German artists, and said in a statement that incident is “similar to what happened in Britain two weeks ago.” We reported on the blocked videos in Britain, and the ensuing revolt of PRS for Music and the Featured Artists Coalition. Will there be a similar rebellion in Germany? Continue reading...

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1.4.09

Warner Bros. Acquires Pirate Bay for $13.37 Billion

In a press release, The Pirate Bay announced a deal with Warner Bros. that sold the file sharing site for $13.37 billion. After years of hostility, the conflict between the largest Bittorrent tracker and the media conglomerate has finally been resolved, with cash. Read more...

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EMI Launches the First Major Label Blog

The first major label blog, The In Sound From Way Out, has been launched. EMI Australia has a smartly designed blog that promotes EMI signed artists and includes audio and video streams, tour dates and links to sites with mp3 downloads. It’s such a good idea, that it’s surprising how none of the other major labels have started their own blogs to promote their wares yet. This is 2009, how archaic can they possibly be? Continue reading...

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