Coldplay have become the latest band to make the news for giving away their creations, gratis, over the interweb. Joining an elite that is fast becomming a who’s who of music, the lads have managed to drum up a great deal of attention through this now tried and tested platform for spreading the word of an album release. In the first 24 hours of making the track available at coldplay.com around 600,000 downloads were processed. While it is indeed a great model on which a successful band can generate a good deal of interest from, it now seems as though such tactics could be to the detriment of recorded music in general.

The free-music ventures are often given the go-ahead as they’re usually on a digital (minimum cost) medium and equate to a loss-leader – where the raised interest for the band has significant impact on gig ticket, and consequently merchandise sales at live gigs. However, from an industry that is fast trying to paint the picture that music should be paid for, cashing in on the short-term profits of a great marketing technique is doing nothing for their cause in the long-run. A precedent is being set with the consumer under false pretenses, a free-music ideal that is becoming perceived as an established form of release. Further still, why, the consumer may ask, is the industry complaining about their peer-2-peer usage and illegal file-sharing when the big suits and acts themselves are giving their hard work away for free anyway.

My questions of this marketing stunt are further exemplified by the lack of compatibility to upcoming artists. It is certainly the case that breaking an artist can be helped through leaking tracks onto peer-2-peer and bitTorrent communities, getting their name bounded about, however the investment into new acts must recoup at some level otherwise it is not worth the initial risk. In short, giving away your single for free can only really work if you are already established; it’s monetary loss weighing against the gained capitol of promotion for other income streams – such as live gigs. However as the larger labels and acts – the taste-makers – start to use this as a solid form of promotion it’s value as such will only decrease, while the concept of legitimate free music to the consumer will ensure that the acquisition of such through illegitimate means doesn’t seem so bad. After-all, (and I can hear the internal monologue) “all these other bands are giving their music away for free and they’re doing fine so if I download this album here it’s not so bad”.

Certainly the idea of, at some point, opening your music up as an artist for the public to obtain free of charge is a nice, and certainly not an entirely detrimental idea. But only if approached with some sort of long-term appreciation and consideration to the music distribution model as a whole. Films, I believe can stand as a good example of this. In the first instance the film is screened in cinemas where you pay for the experience before it is later aired on television to the un-paying population. Releasing music with all the bells and whistles attached, solid-state, before giving away the bare-bones mp3s is one option amongst many. Certainly it is a ripe time for the consumer, but a balance must be met to ensure the industry, and more importantly the artists, can continue to provide the listener with the music they love.

...amazingtunes.com

• Glastonbury are to abandon the pre-registration system put in place in 2007 after they’ve failed to shift the 145,000 tickets made available to the public. Suggestions of ‘wordsmith’ Jaz-Z’s appearance on the bill being a culprit for the low sales has been flatly refused, though opening tickets up to the public in the more conventional manner last week has still failed to realise a sell-out.

• Sony BMG have become the latest major to join Nokia’s new music intiative ‘Comes With Music’. The project will see Sony BMG, along with Universal, offer free unlimated access and downloads of their catalogs on Nokia phones when you purchase certain Nokia handsets. The music will however be hampered by DRM and won’t play on your iPod, however the ownership won’t expire when they promotion does.

• Coldplay are joining the here’s-one-for-free bandwagon, as the moderate rockers prepare to give aware their first single of their new album Viva La Vida in the May 7 edition of the NME. The single, Violet Hill, will come in the form of a special edition 7” vinyl with B-side A Spell A Rebel Yell. The single will have it’s formal release on June 16.

...amazingtunes

So, the day has arrived! Adultery by the Little Comets is now available to download from the Little Comets profile page. If you are one of the lucky ones who has a postcard and you have already signed up to amazingtunes, get yourself to the Little Comets profile page, click on the “buy” icon and pop your unique code in and the little bundle of sonic joy is yours. If you don’t have a postcard, all is not lost. You can still buy the track. All you need to do is follow these steps;

Go to the Little Comets profile page

Click on the “buy” icon

Then login if you’re already an amazingtunes member or sign-up if not (it’s free and quick)

Input your payment details and download the track.

Robert’s your mothers brother. Now you can pogo about the living room to your hearts content. The Little Comets will be back soon with more exciting happenings so keep a weather eye out.

Being aware of the football fever that has enveloped the office I began thinking myself of the beautiful synergy that lies between the worlds of football and music. I obviously use the word ‘beautiful’ in a loose sense, like when Jarvis Cocker bared his rear at the Brits, or when a baby belches, but seriously, there is a definite place for song in sport. Maybe not quite so befitting when it’s a mullet laden Chris Waddle and Glen Hoddle, but playing some grooving samba over the top of a bit Brazilian wizardry is a bit like putting worcester source on cheese on toast. It works. Take ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ away from the Anfield terraces and you’d be removing the ‘twelfth man’, and what kind of disrepair would the game find itself in if fans couldn’t amend the lyrics of Jeff Becks ‘High Ho Silver Lining’ to ridicule the opposing manager.

Anyhow, the guys at amazingtunes have opened the doors to your own efforts and I’d be lying if I were to say I wasn’t excited about the prospect. I’m – amongst other things reluctant to admit – a Sheffield Wednesday fan, which means I don’t really have much to sing about, but with the lows, comes the highs, and there are some clubs that would be desperate to cap a great season with a bangin’ anthem. I think it’s time to reignite the passion encapsulated in a good old English football anthem.

What if my girlfriend thought that the soccer in some way genuinely encouraged musical endeavors, never would week-night champions league football viewing be deemed counter-productive and “boring” again…. well…

...amazingtunes.com

Tesco has upped the ante for the digital distributors this week after announcing that it will revamp it’s current digital downloads service to take on the giants of iTunes and the like.

At first glance it’s easy to assume this is just the inclusion – maybe even just an adaptation of – one more competitor in a large marketplace, however Tesco could find themselves very quickly in a leading position amongst their rivals. It may be the case that Tesco already offer music downloads through their current service, however the model is incomplete, the tracks are locked with DRM, and the only offered format is Windows Media Audio, meaning no compatibility with your iPod and no copying, sharing, backing-up, moving of your purchased music.

Tesco however have announced that their new direction, named ‘Tesco Digital’, will look to offer the same kind of content coverage as iTunes – though no major labels have yet to publicly confirm their inclusion – and over 50% of the music will be DRM-free and thus compatible with your iPod. This 50% is hoped to become 100% within a year, and with the prospect of the major chain’s philosophy to sell-’em-cheap there could also be benefits for the consumer’s wallet, a potentially lucrative offering as the credit crunch beds in. Obviously the reductions will be limited and it would only be Tesco who would feel the pinch of undercutting competition, however Tesco have a number of very promising advantages that could bring about such a tactic. They’re practically omnipresent across the UK and have a widening range of physical products available in their stores that has gone to give them a reputation more toward a real world amazon.com that your bread and milk shop. Alongside this their online shopping is fast becoming a viable, and popular, alternative to a walk down those highly stacked aisles. But what I find most opportunistic for the company is the potential tie-in of these internet based outlets to their relatively recent broadband package. To consider that their early philosophy was always to work on loss-leaders, enticing the customer to walk down their aisle and wed their products, a move into the digital realm with very much the same philosophy could easily generate the same kind of success. A quick look shows that currently 1,000 Clubcard points are on offer when you sign up to their broadband service. Whose to say a monthly allocation of downloads isn’t next, all the while earning points for mums card while filling the kids’ iPods.

Obviously there are aspects which I have eluded to here, one very interesting omission is Tesco’s plans to enter the mobile contract market, which has been reported here, with it providing a viable means to selling their products via mobile phones – undoubtedly this will have implications on selling tunes to modern phone/mp3 player hand sets. I also find it worthy of noting that Wall Mart, up until very recently, were the leading physical, and overall, sellers of music in the States (only overtaken by iTunes in the last month). Should strong synergy across Tesco’s products be put in place it could find itself in a dominating position within the technological front across a whole range of products, not just music.

...amazingtunes.com

It’s a given that Sony BMG are fairly active in the world of piracy due to the current state of affairs in the industry, bringing to justice those ‘evil’ propagators and perpetrators of illegal file sharing.

It turns out however that they’ve been busier than you may think; in between the numerous individual court cases and the anti-piracy software that they hid in their CDs – to the outrage of many – they’ve found time to bag themselves a slice of the free illegal software pie.

It’s all a bit ironic really.

...amazingtunes.com

• U2 have followed in Madonna’s footsteps to reiterate the thought that the money is no longer in record sales, but in merchandise and gigs by signing a 12 year deal with Live Nation. Not a 360 deal, like Madonna’s, but close to it, Live Nation will manage U2’s tours and work with the band on their official website. The financial details of this deal however have not been disclosed.

• Groove Armada have left Sony BMG and have now signed for Bacardi’s musical arm. The drinks manufacturers will manage the bands touring and releases, and the band will manage a newly acquired drinking problem.

• The award for Longevity-in-Music-to-the-Point-of-Worrying-Productivity goes to REM who are about to release their 14th studio album, Accelerate, at the end of March. Points go to anyone who can name all fourteen. Paul Smith, our radio guru, managed 13 – in chronological order I hasten to add! – so can anyone else go one better.

• In other news that I’ve found slightly disturbing Yoko Ono has reportedly been in talks with a clothing company from the states discussing a range of John Lennon ties, as well as nightwear and, rather oddly, boxershorts. Also, Kurt Cobain has endorsed (how, I don’t know) the trainers that he ‘chose’ to die in.

...amazingtunes.com

BPI has written up their own suggestions on their website to combat the illegal music sharing dilemma that goes to outline the idea of getting Internet Service Providers to undertake a three strikes system. That is, all those people that currently partake in downloading illegal files will be given two warnings from their ISP before a third line of action will be taken to block their internet access.

It’s been hitting the UK music headlines more and more in the past few weeks, with the demand for an agreement between the Internet Service Providers and the BPI that addresses the issue – and time is of the essence. The government have already confirmed that they will take control of the situation if the problem cannot be resolved between the respective parties before April ‘09. That may sound like a way off, but the BPI have been speaking to the Internet Service Providers for well over 18 months now without much headway.

Feargal Sharkey, once of The Undertones and now CEO of British Music Rights (BMR), last month jumped on board calling for action from an audience of internet industry insiders (finding time to comment on the matter while undertaking his reviews of the UK copyright law – a discussion concerning the Gowers Review that is, itself, stirring up a controversial debate within the industry and the government about copyright extension.)

Getting back to the point at hand, it was initially reported in The Telegraph last week, though since denied by the BPI, that Virgin Media had agreed on a pilot scheme that would see two warning letters sent out to offending users before a third course of action would be taken to block the users access. Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, denied the papers claims saying that while they were encouraged by all these service providers’ admissions that the illegal downloading was a problem, there was a concern that it was yet to be backed up by action. Fear from the ISPs is thought to be at the centre of this as “even those ISPs that accept the need to act are concerned about taking action before their competitors do so.”

The BPI has outlined their thoughts on a fair and seemingly achievable system that seems not to hand over any rights to privacy. The suggestion works solely on getting the [already publicly viewable] IP address of offending users and forwarding them to the Internet Providers who will then send the owner of that IP address the letters of warning. The ISPs will also be encouraged to educate their users, alongside these communications, on how to reduce others using their connection for illegal file-sharing and how to better protect their own internet connection.

You can check out the BPI suggestions here. Are they fair, discriminative? Should ISPs be right to hold out, or are they protecting their own interests? Let us know what you think.

...amazingtunes.com

The public has spoken and we are finally able to offer our congratulations and adulations to the winner of the amazingtunes.com Sound08 competition, Spokes! As I’ve made mention to in the past the standard of the final 20 was superb and should offer all the finalists a great sense of pride to have stood amongst such talented competition, and I look forward to seeing all of them progress within an industry that they are quite clearly helping to make the future of. The competition itself has been a warming experience for all involved, with a great amount of interest from papers, websites and magazines and some wonderful pieces of promotion from the bands themselves – with bed-sheets hanging out windows and off bridges being a seemingly popular tactic. Special mentions must go to The Rebel Ching who went to the lengths of placing an ad in the NME and The Secret History who, in return for a free gig, got a sixth form college backing them. And on top of this was the voting turn-out itself, which was superb. All great stuff if you ask me.

You can check out the winning tune here and there’s an interview with the band, as well as some funky pictures, here

The Last Republic came in a close second with a commendable effort that I would liken to the rock-pop of Muse or Keane.

Spokes aren’t the only musical group to find success this week. Universal execs have been on the search for an album of Gregorian chanting, attributed to the popularity of the computer game Halo, which used this form of chanting for atmos. Cue the boys of the Monastery of Sound, the Austrian monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, who have blown away the competition and, after missing last year’s opportunity to record an album due to a visit from the pope, now get the chance to wreck hotel rooms and sink cars in swimming pools all across the world. Rock ‘n’ Roll…

Amazingtunes.com...

So we have moved into the final stages of the Sound08 competition and now it’s up to you guys to decide which act could be walking away with this mammoth opportunity. A studied look at the competition finalists has left me clueless as to who could win this, with some simply brilliant tunes from a host of various styles. Whether it be the angular guitars and feel-good vocals of Penfold Gate, the chilled-out, groovey musings of Belle Humble, or the retro, visionary pop from Rob Marr. Then there’s wondeful lyricism from Aunty Doubles and a both fragile yet anthemic offering from Spokes, and I could go on and on. It seems ironic that I feel inclined to vote consecutively for all 20 acts with each day’s vote, but it’s not my votes that will make the difference. You could say, what with the vote for the winner going to you industrious folks out there, that this is all seems a bit like X Factor. That is, apart from the fact that Sound08 seems to be displaying genuine, eclectic talent, and we’re minus a panel of detached, whinging judges. Speaking of which I was a little dissapointed to see Simon Cowell had turned down his big-bucks offer to be the face of viagra. He seems the ideal candidate since the obnoxious, conceited and pretentious music ‘mogul’ can get a rise out of just about anything.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how this competition pans out and wish every act the best of luck.

Don’t forget you can register 1 vote every day and the competition closes on the 23rd of March, so get listening and get voting.

Whilst you’re catching up on your beauty sleep 95% of those enjoying a little bit of late-night surfing, it turns out, aren’t doing their Tescos shopping, but downloading files illegally. This, reported on the Times Online website is one of many reasons why pressure is being put on ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to boot offenders off the ‘net. The plans, currently being consider by the UK government are an extreme measure that have come in light of the lack of commitment from the currently unwilling ISPs. So what of the 6 million users a year that download illegal files? Well if they want to keep their internet connections they will need to find new networks over which to download legitimate files. With the omnipresence of iTunes and the ever increasing influence of Amazon we could well be walking into a new, digital version of the Major 4. It makes me think that now is a great time for the musos to start embracing amazingtunes. Websites like ours will soon be the sole online place to find fairly treated artists and genuine music fans.

A quick look at the Sound08 entrants to date is a real confirmation of a bustling and enthusiastic music community out there. There are some really class acts and already some potential winners, with more cropping up every day. I’m getting very excited to see where your votes go, because I definitely couldn’t predict which of these acts will be your sound of ‘08.

...amazingtunes

The Sound08 competition is in full flow now and boy do I reckon the judges have their work cut out. We’ve seen some excellent entries already and it’s early doors still. Some top acts that have already caught my eye include Lanterns on the Lake and Lazy Hammock with many others that are thoroughly impressive… ...and unlike some sites, when we say we have XFM and Rock Ness involved, that means we do actually have XFM and Rockness involved.

You can check out the Rock Ness lineup to date here. Print it off and pencil your name in, or, enter Sound08 and you may not need the pencil…

...amazingtunes

DRM has finally met the beginning of its end, it seems, as Sony BMG has announced decisions to sell releases without the attached copyright protection software – the last of the ‘Major 4’ labels to do so. For over a decade now DRM has been employed as a means to control the digital distribution of music over illegal channels such as peer2peer communities like Gnutella, however DRM has long been lambasted by legitimate music fans and buyers who wish for the freedom to house their music, that they lawfully own, across multiple platforms – an option removed via the inclusion DRM.

While the anti-piracy intentions of the DRM efforts were good, in principal, this has fast become another antiquated means of copyright that more often than not affects mainly those who acquire the product legitimately, while pushing others towards the very same p2p networks that it intended to put an end to, as the consumers look for the freedom they should be entitled to over how they listen to their music. “DRM is like going into your local stereo shop and having to purchase a DVD player for each movie studio.” Stated one disgruntled blogger, while many more consumers were subject to great frustration when, in 2005, Sony BMG embedded a form of DRM in their CDs that, when played on a PC, left the machines vulnerable to viruses. DRM, I can guarantee, will not be missed.

So it’s good news for the consumer. Or is it?

DRM was one effort to stem the flow of digital information onto p2p networks, but in its wake lies suggestions of new efforts to cut the flow, though this time not to the p2p communities, but from them. Presumably unrelated, but linked none the less to the DRM story, the RIAA and IFPI are looking at other means to control file-sharing. New preventative measures are being suggested, this time at the ISP level with both said organizations – alongside the likes of NBC, Microsoft, and communications giants AT&T – discussing the practicalities and facilitation of ISP filtering. What this means is that your Internet Service Provider could soon be screening the files you are receiving, at network-level, in an attempt to find copyright infringing items. The IFPI and RIAA wants ISPs to exercise more control and responsibility by starting to block unauthorized music transfers, as well as block any BitTorrent traffic. Further encouraged measures could even extend to ISPs completely blocking access to any “specific P2P services that are known to be predominantly infringing and that have refused to implement steps to prevent infringement”

While taxation at an ISP level may be more appealing to some it has weighty repercussions with regards to worldwide implementation, and when viewed against a screening suggestion, ISP filtering seems far more executable in the short-term. It’s success is by no means a definite and based on a trial basis, can be replaced by a taxation method if it fails to work.

I cannot say i like the sound of this allowance of information moderation that could be handed to the ISPs that have, up until now, provided me with the wide-open information super-highway that I have come to love, but the power lies with the money and the money lies with the big-hitters.

Watch this space…

...amazingtunes.com

It Christmas time, the ceramic logs on my gas fire are glowing and the seasonal videos on YouTube are on back-to-back streaming. Bing and Bowie’s nearly convincing acting is quickly following by Jimmy ‘Prince Adam’ Saville giving us a little bit of Wizzard, before pulling out all the stops with Slade. You need a real big hitter to follow that, cue Shakin’ Stevens, then slow it down with Peter Auty – that’s the Aled Jones replacement to you and me. Keep the lights low for some Andy Williams and brothers, if only for the pullovers, before bringing it back to the 80s with Wham and Last Christmas. Find some space for a rendition of Carol of the Bells (a personal favourite) before pulling out the Home Alone dvd and sitting back with a glass of home-made mulled wine.

Have a very merry Christmas everyone, and best wishes for 2008 with love and festive cheer from all the staff at amazingtunes.

...amazingtunes.com

Google’s philanthropic arm – google.org – has been making the news recently over their endeavors to combat climate change and environmental issues. The initiative, focused around investing in other environmentally conscious companies as well as concentrating on their own R&D efforts for renewable fuel sources have led to the setting of an ambitious goal to generate a gigawatt of renewable electricity at a price cheaper than can be done currently with fossil fuels.

This is a really warming commitment from a global company, though it initially all sounds a bit odd, and more so when you consider Google – an internet based company – work in a digitized medium, thus having minimal environmental impact from their main outputs. But that’s not to suggest they shouldn’t undertake these types of responsibilities, in fact, being at the heart of the distribution of information and a leading benefactor of advertising revenue they are in a considerably apt position to make a realistic difference. “It’s very hard to find options that aren’t coal-based or other dirty technologies,” said Google co-founder Sergey Brin, “We don’t feel good about being in that situation as a company. We feel hypocritical. We want to make investments happen so there will be alternatives for us to use down the road.”

So Google are doing something really positive on their side of the counter. It got me thinking about us, the consumers, and where our efforts should lie. While Google are paving the way with e-commerce, their success is aiding the generation of a growing issue with e-waste. As new technology rapidly replaces old, current computers, i-pods, digital cameras, monitors etc. become obsolete and one more feature of a landfill – shockingly up to 80% of e-waste from the U.S. is exported to impoverished countries. But thanks to the concerted effort of folks like the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and GreenBiz.com as well as greenpeace with greenmyapple.org us consumers have a myriad of places (via a simple google search none-the-less) to find out how best to responsibly discard our old electronic goods.

An e-waste guide:

- The green consumer guide – electrical goods

And here are a few e-waste collectors:

- A computer disposal and computer recycling company in the UK

- A free nationwide service for the collection, treatment and recycling of all obligated Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment

- One of the UK’s leading small-business IT recycling and disposal specialists

- Free iPod Recycling Program at US Retail Stores

- Computer monitor and television recycling

no excuses…

...amazingtunes.com