Summertime is flying by, no? Next week will mark round three of Blogger Book Club, during which the ladies and gents will be gathering to type about The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business by Tara Hunt. Quick, somebody Twitter about it! But seriously, I'm expecting this to be a pretty fantastic down and dirty on the subject. We've been watching the performing arts community adopt (and in some cases heedlessly lunge and in others scream and kick) their way … [Read more...]

We just wrapped up a three-part series on the contemporary classical recording scene penned by ace reporter Jody Dalton over on NewMusicBox. Dalton's research seemed to demonstrate that despite the wider recording industry's tales of woe and gloom and tripping and bloodying knees and plummeting down cliffs, etc., the contemporary classical CD bin still chugs along, scrappy before, still scrappy now. And they are still pressing real-world product. But it's 2009 and I have to wonder: why this … [Read more...]

There are many great conversations about music to be had, but I also suspect that quite a few debates sound something like this to eavesdroppers. (Thanks for the tip, John!) … [Read more...]

This just in: Embedding a YouTube Video May Cost You a Bundle in ASCAP Bills Now seriously, a bundle? What is going on here? On closer reading, sounds like just the next round in the "It should all be free" vs "You'll need two lawyers and $5,000 to do that" rights debates/posturing, on top of the divide between what commercial entities can handle as the cost of doing business vs the average girl with a blog. I don't mean to get off on a rant here, but I am genuinely stumped as to why things … [Read more...]

Last night my mom wanted to see Michael Jackson moonwalk again, so I called up the blog post where I'd embedded a YouTube clip from his legendary Motown performance in 1983. Alas, it was gone. So instead, we educated ourselves about copyright law: Later I replaced the Jackson performance with someone else's upload of the same clip and wondered (again) where all this was leading. Where is the line between the need for money and the need for social good, between what is mine and what is ours, … [Read more...]

In the context of the genre wars, this site is pretty hysterical. You can explore Musoc.org's "fundamental arguments against Pop 'Music' and for Art Music, as outlined in About and the FAQ" if you're feeling game. Yes, the quote marks are very, very much intentional on the part of the site's authors. … [Read more...]

Sorry to break in on your holiday celebrations with a downer of a post, but Darcy James Argue emailed this morning to make sure this little review of Maria Schneider's Montreal performance was on my radar. Its non-musical content has been grinding on me ever since. Before you read it, Darcy's post helpfully included a YouTube link to Schneider in action (though the footage is not from the performance in question). Take a look: Now, read the post referenced above: Jazz fest 2009: Maria with the … [Read more...]