Instead he got a bit of unexpected news from a federal appeals court in California: some major money could be headed his way.
The decision, which one Eminem attorney calls an “earthquake” for the music industry, could transform the online song business and boost the fortunes of untold numbers of artists.
Reversing a lower-court jury decision from last year, the court ruled that Eminem and his production company are entitled to nearly triple the royalties they`ve been receiving for track sales and ringtones on online services such as iTunes.
For Eminem, who has sold more than 6 million downloads this year alone, that could mean tens of millions of dollars in new income.
Universal Music Group, the defendant in the case, said this afternoon it will petition for a rehearing.
The suit was filed by Ferndale`s FBT Productions, which administered Eminem`s record deal with Universal. more
Listen to them here first:
Oo! Now that’s the T.Y touch!
Directed by Becky Smith. "Tic Toc" is featured in NEW indie movie 16 To Life! watch, comment, tag, share and spread the Tic Toc love!
The enchanting picture follows the story of Kate (Hallee Hirsh), the small town girl who has never been kissed.
Good watch. Good Listen. T.Y artist Ellem sings out the end of the movie with her quirky and addictive song Tic-Toc.
A must see!!
Apple has launched a social network as part of the latest version of its iTunes software.
Ping, as it is known, allows users to build networks of friends and professional musicians, in a similar way to services such as Twitter.
The service also builds playlists based on what friends are listening to.
Analysts said it represents a challenge to existing music-based social networks such as MySpace.
"It`s a social network all about music," said Mr Jobs, launching the application at an event in San Francisco.
"We think this will be really popular very fast because 160 million people can switch it on today," he said.
The service will be accessible through iTunes 10 software on Macs and PCs as well as through the iTunes application on iPhones and the iPod Touch.
You can check out Ceelo and more of his tunes @ www.ceelogreen.com
Directed and Animated by Bedroom London
with photographic direction by Kawai Matthews
Go watch, comment, tag, share and spread the love!
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It`s no surprise these days to find people, both young and old, taking a morning walk with their ears plugged — probably listening to some music.The mobile phone or iPod has come in handy, users just keep the device in their pocket and plug their ears while they listen to music even as they wait for the train in a railway station, bus stand or at the airport.
The mobile phone, for instance, has gone beyond just a communication tool to being an entertainment device as well. Digital as a phone factor has created huge value. There is large consumption of music/entertainment in some form or the other.
Why? You see, there was this negotiation involving UMG-backed Vevo, which unfortunately hit a snag. Instead of direct-licensing videos from UMG, MTV is now being asked to structure its video licensing through the Vevo joint venture. MTV Networks appears unwilling to accommodate certain demands related to that syndication arrangement, and one executive pointed to an "out of industry norm" showstopper.
In July, CNET reported that the company had run into money trouble and was looking for funding.
Playlist.com enables users to create and share digital music playlists with friends. A couple of years ago, the service had built a reputation as a potential challenger to some of the other ad-supported music services, such as MySpace Music and Imeem. An embarrassing management shake-up followed, when then-CEO Owen Van Natta, the well-known former Facebook executive, resigned after only five months on the job to become MySpace CEO. (Van Natta then left MySpace after less than a year.)
Watch here:
Ellem Facebook
Ellem Myspace
Check it out here...
Kaitlyn is recording her highly anticipated debut album and kicks off the proceedings with two T.Y tunes "Happily Ever After" and "Altitude".
Listen to a sneak preview of the songs here first:
If you haven`t already seen this YouTube video of the talented young man performing Lady Gaga`s `Bad Romance,` this is your chance. We`ll let it speak for itself, as choosing our favorite part would be like deciding between children -- we could never. The banana mic? The Mickey Mouse lounge wear? The unnamed relative sneaking by wearing significantly less? The slick dance moves, Please just push play.
EXCERPT FROM THE GUARDIAN ONLINE:
Record labels have been on the receiving end of much criticism lately. They`ve been criticised for heavily lobbying those involved in passing the digital economy bill, accused of greediness, of being dinosaurs, of being unwilling to embrace the internet, of treating artists unfairly – even of being obsolete. Now they`re fighting back in an attempt to justify their existence.
A report published this week by IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), claims that record companies invest $5bn (£3.3bn) a year worldwide in artists, and that the "ripple effect" of this investment helps generate a broader music sector, including live music, radio and publishing, worth around $160bn annually. The report also estimates that more than two million people are employed globally in the broader music economy.
In an apparent response to those who claim that, with the internet`s ability to connect artists directly with their fans, record labels will become obsolete, John Kennedy (chairman of IFPI) says: "Even artists who are typically described as having broken through the internet, the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, or Sandi Thom, all ended up combining with conventional record labels."
According to the report, called Investing In Music, breaking a UK or US pop artist typically costs more than $1m (£660,000): $200,000 for artist advance, $200,000 for recording costs, $200,000 for three videos, $100,000 for tour support and $300,000 for promotion and marketing. It`s not only pop artists that need tour support. Dickon Stainer of Decca Records says that his label spent £1m on tour support for jazz artist Melody Gardot to break her globally. Yes, investing in new talent is a hugely risky business, a fact Guy Hands can surely now testify to. "It takes a lot of money and a lot of balls," says Kennedy. This is why record labels need to have multi-album deals to allow a return on their investment, states the report.
As much as the anti-label crusaders paint a very black-and-white picture, unfortunately, so does this IFPI report. Both parties seem to ignore facts in an effort to fight their corner. One side says that record labels became obsolete when recording gear became affordable for the bedroom musician and with the invention of social networking sites. They also claim that touring and merchandising will be how future artist will make a living and pay for recordings. This ignores the fact that there are literally millions of acts on MySpace and that, for the majority of artists, it actually costs money to tour. The IFPI report quotes Nina Persson, lead singer of the Cardigans and A Camp, saying: "It would be very difficult for me to have made a living just from live music. I would have to travel alone with a guitar and no band or crew to make that work."
The record label side uses international pop stars as examples to illustrate the cost and commitment it takes to develop a successful career. The truth lies somewhere in between. This, as artist manager Jon Webster (CEO of the Music Managers Forum) points out, is an issue that can`t be subject to generalisation. A niche singer/songwriter would most likely cost a lot less in terms of touring. Today, a business-savvy artist can make a decent living, though spending a vast amount of time on the internet to develop and sustain a hands-on career takes a lot of time; time that should, one can argue, be used to practice and write songs.
Yes, good record labels still supply a service that venture capitalists don`t. Good A&R people will push artists to write better songs. They provide promotion and marketing teams with contacts and experience, which, along with advances, allows the artist to focus on the music. But the IFPI report omits to mention that their investment comes at a pretty high price (though, notably, it only does so if the artist becomes successful). One could say that it`s a loan with a very high interest rate. The report states that the advance is recoupable from an artist`s sales, but fails to acknowledge that much of the other costs often are, too. Tour support is sometimes recouped from merchandising. A manager I spoke to said his band`s major label refused to provide £20k in tour support (a lot less than the £100k mentioned in the IFPI report) unless they received 50% of all merchandise for the length of the rest of the contract. The band chose to borrow money from their parents to cover the bill instead. If a label decides to spend money on TV advertising campaign for a record, they`ll often recoup that cost from the artist – either by adding 50% of the cost to the artist`s "recoupment bill" or by reducing the royalty rate due to the artist for the record by 50% for a whole year.
The manager of a big international pop star (who wants to remain anonymous for this piece), who has signed to a major, says that his biggest wish is that the artist/record label relationship becomes a partnership in the future. Today, he says, there`s a tangible lack of trust. The fact that artists now have a choice of not signing a record deal will, hopefully, make record labels operate in a much more transparent manner.
Inside Still Beats:
EMI declined to comment on the prospective sale of the studios, immortalized by the 1969 Beatles album of the same name. But the Financial Times today (Feb. 16) reported that five people familiar with the situation said the major had been courting bidders for the studios at 3 Abbey Road in north London.
The FT said the sale could raise tens of millions. That might very slightly ease EMI`s debt burden but it seems unlikely that funds would be available by June 2010, to assist in Terra Firma`s covenant tests with Citigroup this year when the private equity owner expects to inject up to £120 million ($188 million).
The Abbey Road brand name would be a key part of any sale, if EMI wants to raise serious money. EMI and Abbey Road is about to launch a branded product range, beginning with clothing, bags and stationery. Abbey Road Live was launched last year that provides live recordings at concerts.
EMI bought the property in 1929 and converted it into recording studios. Sir Edward Elgar recorded "Land of Hope and Glory" with the London Symphony Orchestra in studio one in 1931, and the Beatles later recorded the majority of their songs there.
Pink Floyd recorded "Dark Side Of The Moon" at Abbey Road and, although it is too expensive for many artists today, the studio is able to accommodate orchestras. It has been used for scores to Hollywood films such as the "Lord Of The Rings" and the "Harry Potter" franchises.
The debut album titled Inside Still Beats will be released under Lily`s artist name "Ellem" (pronounced L.M the two initials of Lily`s first name Lily-May!) and has a modern folk sound which embraces nuances of soul, and indie pop.
Interestingly enough, with all the love packed lyrics and romantic melodies to pick from I`ve actually chosen a much simpler and less predictable little ditty which doesn`t even use the four letter word at all...
Why? Well because love can be sweet, and it can be strong and it can be all those things which we expect it to be - but recently, I`ve discovered, that love can also be quite simply a lovely surprise.
This month TY are equally thrilled to be featured in the Houston edition of MODERN LUXURY pictured here just after performing "Can`t Do It Alone" to attendees and special guest, Laura Bush.
After receiving positive reviews and ratings on Slicethepie (http://www.slicethepie.com/), Scars On 45 reached the financing stage and raised £15,000 from fans.
Their album, and the fact that they had proved popular enough for fans to invest in, attracted the attention of Heavenly Management. They work with Nice Management in the US and the two companies secured a couple of the band`s songs on to soundtracks for US TV shows The Cleaner and CSI: New York. This drew them to the attention of Alex Patsavas, one of the most successful and powerful music supervisors around, responsible for the soundtracks to Twilight: New Moon, The OC, Gossip Girl and Grey`s Anatomy. Patsavas, who also works with Chop Shop Records, which has a deal with Atlantic, promptly brokered the deal.
Courtier-Dutton explains how the fans who invested in the band made a profit: "Fans can invest as little as £1, which entitles them to a single from the band – £5 or more gets them an album. An investment of £10 gives them 10 shares. When the deal with the label was brokered, the shares of the band were trading for £5 a piece."
The story raises many questions. Could this be the future of the music industry? Will we see a world where the fans not only support the artist, but also share in the financial success they may enjoy? What do you reckon?
"I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time. I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn`t last, and now it`s running out. I don`t particularly care that it is and like the way things are going.
The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you`d be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history`s moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it."
From creator/executive producer Liz Heldens (NBC`s "Friday Night Lights"), executive producers Gretchen Berg & Aaron Harberts ("Pushing Daisies") and Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun comes "Mercy," a new medical drama about the lives of the people who work at Mercy Hospital seen through the eyes of those who know it best -- its nurses.
Today Haitians united through song, marched in stoic defiance through the rubble and banded together to peacefully air the voice of survival. Music in the face of disaster.
Among the amazing organizations already mobilizing to offer aid and support are
MUSIC FOR RELIEF the non-profit charity comprising of artists, music industry professionals, and fans work together to support disaster relief wherever it hits.
Music For Relief have already had an incredible impact in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and are now reaching out to those in Haiti.
Akwaaba Music, a digital label pushing the culture and sounds of Africa and its Diasporas, and a member of Music For Relief are in the process of putting together a compilation of music from Haiti, due to go on sale immanently, all proceeds will go towards charities on the ground in Haiti. Will post here as soon as it`s up and on sale!
In the mean time please spare a moment to take a listen to some of the underground artists, many of them young and just gathering momentum whom have been confirmed amongst the fatalities or are still missing. Click on the names to be forwarded to their sites.
You can also help directly in all of the following ways:• Text RELIEF to 90999 to make a $5 donation via the MFR mobile campaign.
• Donate to MFR online via paypal.
• Use Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and email to spread the word.
Every little helps.
Airs 6th Jan at 8pm on CBS.
