Jennifer Lopez Making Record Label Poor

Digital Spy comments on how Jennifer Lopez is making Epic/Sony Records poor by draining their promotional budget when it comes to her “maintenance”. Moreover, her album sales for “Brave” have been sluggish in comparison to the overhead costs required to promote it. Some figures reportedly look something like this:

$300,000 for video

$60,000 to produce “Brave” album cover/artwork

$8,000 in make-up fees for TV performances not including budget for entourage/band

A&R: Sarah Jaffe at Work With Producer John Congleton

Indie girl Sarah Jaffe is at work down in Texas with producer John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree). Mentioned previously, she’s a young, talented storyteller with an ambient folk presence akin to Patty Griffin or Beth Orton.

Coldplay Blog, Producer Markus Dravs, and Forthcoming Album

Coldplay weighs in on their current recording status by posting a “handwritten note” at their homesite. Producer Markus Dravs (Bjork, Arcade Fire) is credited with fueling the creative process as he collaborates with Brian Eno and the band. The update informs fans that “Famous Old Painters” and “Glass of Water” will be two of the titles included on this release (NME).

UK Band Doves Delay New Record, Release 2008

UK Band Doves have delayed the release of their forthcoming record until 2008. According to an October blog entry, their Cheshire studio efforts have resulted in only 8 recordings of the 16 songs planned. Mickie Most’s RAK Studios played host to some of the mixing while big time producer John Leckie has exited the project altogether for work with Baaba Maal. Dan Austin (Massive Attack, KT Tunstall, B-52’s) has replaced Leckie to finish up co-production on the future album.

Nine Inch Nails and Producer Atticus Ross Recording New Songs, October 2007

Following a break with Universal/Interscope, Nine Inch Nails and producer Atticus Ross (Korn) are recording new songs this month. Trent’s new method of music distribution has yet to be decided.

Among the many nameless bands vying for market place attention are L.A. youngsters Endless Hallway. Recently they’ve begun recording with producer Noah Shain (Orson) with a Wind-Up Records release expected in the first part of 2008. This particular band is unremarkable to say the least. Rarely can you make an accurate projection on the fate of a new artist in the current music climate…but this band won’t succeed commercially.

The L Word, Leisha Hailey, Rock Band Uh Huh Her

Even before her cable TV personality on “The L Word” (Alice Pieszecki), Leisha Hailey was a professional musician (The Murmurs) signed to the former MCA record label in the early 1990s. The 36 year old now divides her artistic calling between starring on the hit cable series and performing/recording with her indie project Uh Huh Her. She currently uses Nettwerk Management (Dido, Avril Lavigne).
Amazon.com Widgets

Evan Rachel Wood, Interscope Records

Most recently starring in “Across the Universe”, young actress Evan Rachel Wood is reportedly negotiating a recording contract with Interscope Records. You may recall her earlier roles in ABC’s “Once and Again”, the feature film “Thirteen”, “Down in the Valley”, and “Running with Scissors”. Romantically linked to shock gother Marilyn Manson, Wood performs 3 songs on the “Across the Universe” film soundtrack (Interscope). IMDB attaches her to future movie projects “Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll” (directed by Marilyn Manson) and “Brontë”, a flic that co-stars veteran Kristin Scott Thomas.

Portishead to Master Album 3 In November

Per their blog entry, Portishead is on schedule to begin mastering Album 3 this November 2007. They finished touching up the forthcoming album in London and are currently holed up in Bristol rehearsing and turning out the record’s art work.

The Verve, The Thaw Session, MP3 2007

NME got a jump on the new 2007 London jam sessions by The Verve. Recorded in the borough of Richmond at State of the Ark studio, The Thaw Session MP3 can be streamed here. You’ll hear their long-winded, psychedelic, instrumental chaos – bringing back the days of old. We’re not kidding about the lengthy audio as it borders on 15 minutes.
[audio:The Verve-2007 New.mp3]

SlideRocket, Flash Slideshows, Adobe Flex Technology

SlideRocket might very well be the leader of online flash slideshows at this point. It runs on the Adobe Flex technology with a specific appeal to those who want to customize their slideshows beyond RockYou, PictureTrail, Photobucket, and Slides.com. SlideRocket definitely has an engine that matches PowerPoint’s might (you can actually import PowerPoint) as well if you’re into business presentations. The user interface is pretty glossy and easy to manage lacking only a drag/drop feature. Other than that, SlideRocket is very competitive in the area of flash presentations with full screen option, sharing/collaborative capabilities, and an analytics tool to track the progress of your work. Let’s see what Toufee.com has to offer once they release their revamped Adobe Flex program…

Radiohead Jigsaw Falling Into Place MP3, In Rainbows, Videotape

You can test drive the new Radiohead “In Rainbows” album with full streams of the “Jigsaw Falling into Place” MP3 plus “Videotape” and “House of Cards”.

“Jigsaw Falling Into Place”
[audio:Radiohead-Jigsaw Falling Into Place.mp3]

“Videotape”
[audio:Radiohead-Videotape.mp3]

“House of Cards”
[audio:Radiohead-House of Cards.mp3]

Alexa Chung Dating Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys

Gigwise mentioned that ex-Popworld girl Alexa Chung is dating Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys. In addition to being a regular columnist for Company magazine, Alexa Chung is a former model and continues to be a personality on Channel 4 in the UK (see “Freshly Squeezed”). She’s represented by London’s Independent Talent Group Ltd.

Madonna Signing to Ingenious Media Active Capital?

Is Madonna signing to Ingenious Media Active Capital? Following all the hullabaloo and suspense regarding Radiohead’s record label decision, NIN’s new found freedom, Oasis’ questionable future, and the slew of heritage artists already allied with Ingenious Media (Peter Gabriel, Travis, Prodigy), Madonna could possibly be headed in the venture capital trust’s direction. With a London residence as a second home, the inventive pop star, now 49, is rumored to have expanded business discussions beyond Live Nation (and others) with a keen eye for Ingenious’ (a UK company) crafty financial arrangements and deep pockets. If a deal is ever to materialize, Madonna would also join Ingenious venture capital mates UB40, as the aging Brit reggae act will use the VC to release the new full length album “Tyler” come 2008.

Pontiac Car Commercial Music, GXP Series, Digitalism, Pogo

Amazon.com Widgets
You may wonder what tune is playing in the new Pontiac car commercial, GXP Series, that’s been airing in October 2007. It’s the band Digitalism with a song called “Pogo”. In fact, the voiceover track is done by actor Matt Dillon. Recognize his voice? Leo Burnett is the ad agency that produced this new Pontiac commercial.

Digitalism is a German music act signed to the EMI company. They sound a bit like New Order meets Fatboy Slim. They are currently touring in the U.S. with a NYC stop at Brooklyn’s Studio B on 10/12.

Billy Howerdel Completing New Album, Alan Moulder, Danny Lohner, Josh Freese

Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle) is completing his new solo album. Most recently he’s commissioned mixer Alan Moulder (The Killers, NIN) to finish three tracks in London. Howerdel has recorded material with Danny Lohner and drummer Josh Freese.

There is no indication that he has signed with any record label.

We Barbarians, Formerly Known As The Colour

We Barbarians is a relatively new Long Beach, California outfit that boasts 3/5 of defunct band The Colour (Rethink/EMI, labelmates included This World Fair). The demos are slightly unimpressive. Generally they share similar influences with elders Radiohead and the late Jeff Buckley.

The Verve Unsigned? New UK Tour Dates, Nick McCabe On Myspace

Are The Verve Unsigned? Their Myspace status lists them as so. Anyhow, here are the newest tour dates:

The Verve Tour Dates:

London o2 Arena – December 13
Glasgow SECC Centre- December 15
Belfast Odyssey Arena- December 17
Manchester Central – December 20
Manchester Central – December 21

Notes: Nick McCabe often sounds off on his Myspace

Portishead, Third Album Complete

It appears Portishead’s third album is complete with final touches on the mixing underway. Three days ago band member Geoff Barrow wrote,

Hello we have mixed all the tracks and the whole album is shit, so we’re going to start all over again. Ok only kidding…sorry ! It sounds pretty good but we have to go back to a few things in the next few weeks though. It sounds pretty different from what we have done before. I don’t think the fondue society will be happy, oh well, like the bee joke ends……. fuk em bye geoff

UK Band The Orange Lights Get Funding From Ingenious Music VCT

Music Week talked about how UK Band The Orange Lights is getting funding from the Ingenious Music VCT. Ingenious is a venture capital company that has worked/is working with Travis, David Ford, Ulrich Schnauss, Blackbud, and Embrace (all four through the Independiente record label). In addition, they’re supporting Indiana Gregg, Prodigy, Passenger, Peter Gabriel and UB40 among others.

So, are they producing results? I mean, they’re literally pouring millions of dollars into these established and unknown music artists. You can check their progress report here.

In The City Unsigned, UK A&R, Godwits, Nut Bros

In The City Unsigned (ITC), UK A&R. 12 British bands that are getting all the attention. And yes, we’re missing a few. Please comment. Visit GarySavelson.com for detailed news. Here’s where the buzz is:

Newbury UK 5 piece Godwits. A more robust Thom Yorke? Polished, hi-fi, acoustic meets power pop. “Winter Coats” is a real delight for falsetto fans (picture to right).

Glasgow, Scotland electonic four piece Nut Bros. ROTD board suggests they have a major label offer in. By the way, is Calvin Harris doing well in the States? Is this music relevant in North America. Do the Brits know something we don’t?

Electro pop rock Liverpool kids Elle s’appelle. They’re like Stereolab on uppers.

Irish new wavers The Flaws. This is for fans of The Killers, Interpol. They record with producer Gareth Mannix (Republic Of Loose, Delorentos).

The Moths! from London. They’re signed to publishing and managed by Crown Music.

Sergeant from Glenrothes, UK. Pleasant, acoustic, youthful. At first impression they’re harmless with no distinct kicker.

Sam Isaac. Melodic, light, pseudo-emo as in Get Cape Wear Cape Fly. Marsha Shandur manages them and also works at Xfm radio. ROTD suggests he’s signed for a single.

London nu-folk indie band Noah and the Whale.

Leeds indie band Sky Larkin. On tour with Los Campesinos, they’re a mix of disco rock and Bjork? They’ve played with lots of bands including The Gossip, Broken Social Scene, The Organ, Forward Russia, Howling Bells, 1990s.

Alan Pownall. Unremarkable yet poignant songwriting if that’s possible. Sounds like Jack Johnson Brit style. He’s simply not a very good vocalist.

The Slips. Again with the electronic infatuation. It’s been intimated on ROTD that they’re in cahoots with Virgin Records/EMI. Unconfirmed.

Manchester classic rock throwback Twisted Wheel.

More at GarySavelson.com

30,000 First Week Sales for Iron & Wine Shepherd’s Dog, Cut Off You Hands, Late of the Pier, A&R

Visit GarySavelson.com to see this post.

It’s 30,000 first week sales for Iron & Wine, “Shepherd’s Dog” (Sub Pop).

Cut Off Your Hands is now on the 679 Recordings label (UK).

Nottingham, UK band Late of the Pier is releasing through Parlophone Records (UK). They are currently on tour with Hadouken.

Stoke-on-Trent, UK act The Alones will record for V2.

Need more music news? Visit GarySavelson.com

In The City Unsigned, UK A&R, Godwits, Nut Bros

In The City Unsigned (ITC), UK A&R. 12 British bands that are getting all the attention. And yes, we’re missing a few. Please comment. Here’s where the buzz is:

Newbury UK 5 piece Godwits. A more robust Thom Yorke? Polished, hi-fi, acoustic meets power pop. “Winter Coats” is a real delight for falsetto fans (picture to right).

Glasgow, Scotland electronic four piece Nut Bros. ROTD board suggests they have a major label offer in. By the way, is Calvin Harris doing well in the States? Is this music relevant in North America. Do the Brits know something we don’t?

Electro pop rock Liverpool kids Elle s’appelle. They’re like Stereolab on uppers.

Irish new wavers The Flaws. This is for fans of The Killers, Interpol. They record with producer Gareth Mannix (Republic Of Loose, Delorentos).

The Moths! from London. They’re signed to publishing and managed by Crown Music.

Sergeant from Glenrothes, UK. Pleasant, acoustic, youthful. At first impression they’re harmless with no distinct kicker.

Sam Isaac. Melodic, light, pseudo-emo as in Get Cape Wear Cape Fly. Marsha Shandur manages them and also works at Xfm radio. ROTD suggests he’s signed for a single.

London nu-folk indie band Noah and the Whale.

Leeds indie band Sky Larkin. On tour with Los Campesinos, they’re a mix of disco rock and Bjork? They’ve played with lots of bands including The Gossip, Broken Social Scene, The Organ, Forward Russia, Howling Bells, 1990s.

Alan Pownall. Unremarkable yet poignant songwriting if that’s possible. Sounds like Jack Johnson Brit style. He’s simply not a very good vocalist.

The Slips. Again with the electronic infatuation. It’s been intimated on ROTD that they’re in cahoots with Virgin Records/EMI. Unconfirmed.

Manchester classic rock throwback Twisted Wheel.

30,000 First Week Sales for Iron & Wine Shepherd’s Dog, Cut Off You Hands, Late of the Pier, A&R

It’s 30,000 first week sales for Iron & Wine, “Shepherd’s Dog” (Sub Pop).

Cut Off Your Hands is now on the 679 Recordings label (UK).

Nottingham, UK band Late of the Pier is releasing through Parlophone Records (UK). They are currently on tour with Hadouken.

Stoke-on-Trent, UK The Alones will record for V2.

BBC Radio 4 Today, Radiohead In Rainbows, Managers Talk Signing

Radiohead managers Brice Edge and Chris Hutton chatted on air with BBC Radio 4 Today about Radiohead’s “In Rainbow” release. Quotes by the managers from the show:

There are actually people who are going on the website and saying ‘I don’t actually like Radiohead but I’m gonna give them some money cause I think it’s a brilliant idea’.

We do need record companies, cause we’re gonna need them for January.

I think what we’re going to learn is…we’re going to learn a lot about the MP3, that particular form of music…where its role lies in selling music…whether it’s just a promotional device that you don’t make much money off, but actually you can use it to create a huge interest in other more profitable bits of product like the disc box that we’re doing and the regular CD.

Flux.com Developed By Social Project (formerly known as TagWorld)

Visit GarySavelson.com to see this post.

Flux.com is the self proclaimed “social disaggregator” specializing in what’s going to become the OpenID climate online. OpenID meaning you can be a transient social networker bouncing from one website community to the next, all the while with the same profile and login info. In fact, it is a pain in the arse to continually sign up for different communities echoing the sentiments of high profile portals like Myspace, YouTube, and Facebook etc.

Interestingly enough, Flux is powered by the newly founded company Social Project which used to focus its efforts on TagWorld. TagWorld was a short lived social site that did the members, music, youth gathering thing. They failed to compete. But MTV Networks/Viacom did come along in late 2006 to claim a stake in TagWorld’s ailing activities thus leading to the present day Flux initiatives. In one respect, Flux wants to embed its social tools experience into up and coming blogs in a “semi-white label” capacity. In return, their intention is to take a cut of revenue generated from “traffic” they get you. Translation: install mini-Myspace engines that your users can benefit from, drive up traffic, split monetized elements. The one emerging feature here that poses an inkling of promise is that you’ll be able to take your “Flux Identity” from website to website as long as these sites use the flux engine. If you don’t care about online socializing, commenting, messaging, blogging, playlisting and photo sharing, then Flux’s future endeavors will be completely meaningless to you!

Visit GarySavelson.com to see this post.

Band of Horses New Video Is There a Ghost

Prepare yourself for the Band of Horses new music video “Is There a Ghost”. Here are photos taken from the set:

Discovering Music: Jango, Finetune, Meemix, Slacker, Deezer, MOG, Last.fm, Pandora, Haystack

Do you discover music using social networks, recommendations and streaming playlists? Have you seen the plethora of free options when taking on this arduous task? Jango, Finetune, Meemix, Slacker, Imeem, Deezer, MOG, Last.fm, Pandora, Haystack etc. These are all avenues to finding new music or just kicking back to enjoy non-terrestrial or satellite (Sirius, XM) radio. But gosh darn it, which one is the best?

Naturally that’s difficult to answer as each one tries to update it’s sticky features almost on a weekly basis. Pandora and Last.fm are considered the dinosaurs of this social realm. The more recent entries such as Jango, Meemix (Israel based), and Deezer (French based) are vying for distinct market share in what’s now becoming a crowded internet category. Above all else, the controversy of traditional royalty payments to recording artists by these social startups has come head to head – the goliaths (Last.fm etc) are feeling the most heat from aggressive copyright owners and performing rights organizations.

To oversimplify it when discussing each company’s offerings, there are the ones who allow for social networks and an abundance of interactive features, and the ones who serve more as introverted tastemakers.

Pandora.com is easy enough in that is just streams music and you click “yes I like”, “no I don’t like” – from this is formulates a channel to your satisfaction. This would appeal to older users as they have little time to IM, add, trade, and network with their “friends” group. No social network.

Last.fm is the Viacom owned behemoth based in London. It has a large fanbase sharing similar interests in destinations like Myspace and Facebook. This site is all about the social networking! Since they held the spotlight for the past couple of years, the record labels/publishers want them to pay..and pay BIG!

Jango.com is brand new to the scene and I can tell you I met with the founders recently in their Soho, NY offices. They have a polished 2.0 presentation, high quality streaming, and a good work ethic. Again it’s for the youth as you can click on other members’ similar songs/playlists in real time. Each time you select or search music/artists, alternative song choices/soundalikes/same taste friends appear on your screen which makes it a never ending maze into the bowels of internet radio hell. Eventually you’ll tailor a station or stations to your exact liking with only the same old songs you’ve always loved. In effect, a roundabout way to the same old, same old.

Imeem.com just harnessed the rights to broadcast Sony-BMG artists in return for a cut of the ad money in the broadcaster’s players. Again, they put emphasis on sharing, social networking.

Meemix.com is another brand new entrant and has yet to really get beyond Alpha phase. They’re behind in the pack at this point.

Finetune.com features major label artist bookmarks (Coldplay) on it homepage if that’s any consolation? Like some of the others, this company made it a point to create embed players for Myspace and Facebook. In small part, they also insist on administering some playlists themselves from data compiled by….whatever method they choose I guess.

MOG.com has instituted not only radio streaming but now MOG TV. Now you can watch 400,000 more music videos online with playlists dissected by users galore. Is that good or bad? They have that Rhapsody editorial thing going too headed by chief Michael Goldberg. This Bay Area 2.0 is a bit useless and cluttered but who can blame them for trying.

Haystack.com prides itself on having an indie like mentality. At least this is what the casual visitor will take away from it. In that respect, it comes off as being exclusive which is definitely not a positive aspect. They also have a “Tastemakers” section which doesn’t amount to much. The user may become confused as to why they should return to Haystack despite the typical social networking setup.

Slacker.com fits better with the Pandoras of the world as it lacks the social feature. But you don’t have much say in the channels so it’s a more passive experience like Yahoo Music radio. For that matter just choose your local KEXP, KCRW or WDST for streaming.

Deezer.com, the French company, used to be called Blogmusik. They ran into licensing trouble, got reprimanded and now operate legally under the Deezer moniker. I notice that the buffering delays test the user’s patience. The other sites do not have this issue. Once again, users can share music lists and the like. There’s no sign-up necessary to browse through stations/songs and get a basic overview of the free content.

Old Navy Commercial, Fair Isle Sweater Collection, Ingrid Michaelson, The Way I Am

Amazon.com Widgets
The newest Old Navy commercial, Fair Isle Sweater Collection or “Sweaters”, featuring the Ingrid Michaelson song The Way I Am, has been running several times nightly for the past two weeks. You can’t miss it when switching channels.

If you are chilly, here take my sweater
Cuz I love the way you call me baby
And you take me the way I am

I’m sure she’s making a pretty penny through the residuals not to mention the original master and sync payout. Ingrid Michaelson has made quite the indie career out of licensing to “Grey’s Anatomy” in addition to several other commercials. An old WSJ article noted she pulled in over 30k just for iTunes digital sales alone. Back in January I had corresponded with her manager Lynn Grossman at Secret Road Artist Management & Music Services. Mentioned earlier, Lynn previously handled Alexi Murdoch and licenses for the Savoy Label Group (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker), Jonatha Brooke, Lionsgate Music, and Toni Childs.