Amazon just launched their Prime Music service, promising more than a million songs, all free to members of Amazon Prime. Since I’m an Amazon Prime member, thought I’d take it for a spin.
Music
What to do once you’ve finished all the beer
[VIDEO] Now that’s talent.
Amazon Prime to get free streaming music service, starting this summer
In a nutshell, Amazon is sweetening its $99 per year Prime membership by adding a free streaming music component.
The company will expand its Prime membership offerings by adding a stockpile of old and newish music for subscribers to stream on demand. The Prime music service, which is scheduled to launch this June or July, will not include recent releases but instead restrict its catalog to songs and albums that are 6 months old and older, five music industry sources familiar with the company’s plans confirmed to BuzzFeed.
Meet Jimmy Iovine, Apple employee, and one of the most powerful people in the music industry
Brilliant story on a real music impresario. A terrific read.
Gigantic lawsuit against Pandora, Sirius/XM, for pre-1972 royalties
In 1972, copyright law was amended to cover sound recordings, but not retroactively. Yet there are many pre-1972 songs that are played on streaming and satellite radio, enriching the companies that play them. This issue is coming to a head.
Fantastic article, does a great job laying out the issues/players involved.
UA releases Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Plug-In Collection
The Neve 1073 Channel Amplifier is easily the most revered preamp and EQ circuit ever designed. Introduced in 1970, this hallowed class-A, transistor mic/line amp with EQ epitomizes the beautiful “Neve sound,” with unparalleled clarity, sheen, and bite.
I love the Neve gear—it’s my favorite.
Review: Universal Audio’s Apollo Twin
There are many products on the market, like the Apollo, that will give you studio-quality audio, but finding that same quality in a small package is a bit more difficult. With the [Apollo Twin, Universal Audio hit on a great balance between power and portability.
iTunes Radio adds Blue Note Records and 75 years of Jazz
It’s a good day for Jazz lovers—iTunes has just added Blue Note Records to its list of labels on the store. That’s not all, iTunes Radio is also featuring Blue Note in a special channel that streaming music from 75 years of The Finest In Jazz.
Science shows how guitar players’ brains are actually different from everybody elses’
I knew it!
Whether it’s playing “Stairway to Heaven” until your fingers bleed or always finding yourself in the center of a group of people intent on singing “Wagon Wheel,” some things are common to all guitarists.
Including, as it turns out, their brain chemistry.
Fascinating.
Fender ends U.S. production of Ovation guitars
Fender Musical Instruments Corp., one of the largest guitar makers in the world, said Wednesday it is closing its Ovation plant in New Hartford, where nearly 50 employees work, due to low sales and “market conditions.”
Very sad.
Are you tone deaf?
This test will tell you if you are tone deaf.
Why the music industry is trying—and failing—to crush Pandora
There is a lot to digest here. How Pandora works, what are the motivations of the various players, are songwriters being paid fairly?
A terrific read.
Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World
[VIDEO] The wah-wah guitar pedal emerged in the 60s as a huge influence in the guitar universe. I still have mine. A fantastic invention.
Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World tells the story of the wah wah effect pedal, from its invention in 1966 to the present day. Musicians, engineers, and historians discuss the impact of the pedal on popular music and demonstrate the various ways it has been used, as well as how its evolution has improved the ability of artists to express themselves musically. The film features interviews with Brad Plunkett, the inventor of the pedal, plus many other musical luminaries such as Ben Fong-Torres, Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Buddy Guy, Art Thompson, Eddie Kramer, Kirk Hammett, Dweezil Zappa, and Jim Dunlop. These professionals explain how a musical novelty transcended convention and has become timelessly woven into the fabric of modern pop-culture.
Video embedded in the original post.
Getting delay right when mixing guitars
The most important rule to me is do you actually need it. Use your ears, and don’t put things in your mix that don’t improve it.
Something original and fun to play with
Just start hitting keys. This is a lot of fun.
Twitter and Billboard to create continuously updated song charts
I think this is a clever idea. It’ll be interesting to see if this catches on with the industry.
A photo every day for 9 months combined with a great song
[VIDEO] I’m a sucker for a well written song. Welcome to the world, Buzz Michelangelo Fletcher. Back to the post to watch the video.
The rig used in Jimmy Fallon’s iPad duet with Billy Joel
Nice job by Apple Insider’s Neil Hughes to pull together the details on the hardware used by Jimmy Fallon and Billy Joel on their fantastic duet.
If you missed it, our servers were rocked yesterday when Tim Cook tweeted our blog post sharing the performance. Yesterday was a lot of fun.
Imogen Heap, her incredible music controlling gloves, and SNL
[VIDEO] I remember the moment I discovered Imogen Heap. I was watching Saturday Night Live and one of Andy Samburg’s Digital Shorts came on, called Dear Sister. It was crazy weird, funny as hell, and the music grabbed me immediately. If you are interested in this part of the story, watch the second of the embedded videos. The song is called Hide and Seek.
The real point of this post is Imogen Heap’s new Kickstarter project. If you play an electronic keyboard or any sort of MIDI controlled device, watch the first of the embedded videos.
The Mi.Mu gloves are MIDI and Open Control-savvy and allow you complete control over your sound. To me, this is a phenomenal development and just the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming down the pike for musicians.
Twitter music app is gone, existing app will continue to work until April 18th
Twitter Music is an experiment that never quite caught on.
Here’s the official goodbye tweet.
An oral history of Nirvana and the recording of Nevermind
I stumbled upon this earlier today. This came out a few years ago, but is new to me. Had to share it. GQ interviewed almost 40 people about the creation of Nirvana’s seminal Nevermind.
Jimmy Fallon and Billy Joel take an iPad app for an incredible ride
Last night’s Tonight Show was one for the ages. Jimmy Fallon introduced Billy Joel to a beatboxing iPad app called Loopy HD.
Watch the video. Magic.
Band makes album of silent tracks to get fans to milk money from Spotify
Vulfpeck’s latest album is a business experiment, not a musical one. The idea behind the project is for fans to stream the “songs” constantly, generating royalties for the band in their spare time. Vulfpeck plans to use the proceeds to go on tour. It’s an ingenious publicity stunt and, if you squint hard enough, a commentary on the way music is valued in the digital age.
Um, what? Is this art or is it theft? Interesting question.
The busker’s gift
This is worth watching for two reasons. First, Nellie Niel is a street musician, down on his luck, but is an incredibly gifted slide guitarist. Just wow!
But enter Rob Chapman. Rob has a channel on YouTube, posted a video of Nellie on his channel, and actually made a nice bit of change on the post. It’s what he did next that got my attention and respect. Well done, Rob. Love this!
The very first Fender Stratocaster goes on sale for $250K
I’m a long-time Strat fan and find this pretty amazing.
The sunburst-finish Strat bears the serial number 0100. Although some Strats have lower numbers that begin with 0001, Gruhn says they actually were manufactured later in that first year of production. He says the number-one Strat was sold to an amateur who evidently took good care of it.
If someone is going to sell a Strat for $250K, there better be some damn well documented provenance.
Pandora CTO and VP of Product Tom Conrad to step down
Tom Conrad has been with Pandora since almost day one. Sad to see him go.
Judge decides Pandora will pay ASCAP 1.85% of annual revenue – Win for Pandora, loss for songwriters
From Billboard:
“This rate is a clear defeat for songwriters,” Sony/ATV Music CEO Martin Bandier says. “This rate is woefully inadequate and further emphasizes the need for reform in the rate court proceedings. Songwriters can’t live in a world where streaming services only pay 1.85% of their revenue. This is a loss, and not something we can live with.”
Pitch perfect Neil Young and James Taylor parodies
[VIDEO] I just can’t believe that the same person is singing both of these.
Video of a 17-year-old Alex Lifeson, Rush guitarist, arguing with his parents about quitting high school
[VIDEO] Whatever your feelings about Rush, this video is amazing. First, think of the odds on capturing such a seminal moment in a kid’s life? And then having that kid grow up to be a world class guitarist. Fantastic.
Neil Young’s Pono kickstarter crushes fundraising goal
[VIDEO] As of this writing, his Kickstarter campaign has raised more than $1.27 million, far in excess of his goal of $800,000. Watch the embedded video. Well worth it. Some musical giants weighing in with their opinions.