July 2010

In This Issue:
* Editor’s Musings
* Music Reviews – Cyrus Rhodes, Dan Cohen & Don Sechelski
* New Artist Spotlight Additions
* Songwriting Book Review – by Ed Teja
* Musical Notes – Songwriting Contests & Market Info.
* Muse’s Clues – Songwriting Web sites that inspire – brought to you by singer/songwriter & teacher, Irene Jackson.
* Featured Article – Lucky Emma – by Sally Morgan
* On Site Featured Article – An article already online for your viewing pleasure.
* Classifieds & Useful Services
* Contact information
ISSN 1480-6975. Copyright 1998-2010 – Jodi Krangle.
For more contact information, see end of issue.

FIND THE PERFECT SUPPLEMENT FOR YOUR SONGWRITING!

All sorts of products and services especially for songwriters, negotiated so that you get the best price possible. You’ll find means of promotion and distribution, songwriting aids, educational products, musical instruments and their accessories, and lots more. Any of these items would be a great way to kick start your creativity and marketing efforts. Check it out!

Sponsor Message:
(Many thanks to the sponsors that help support this newsletter!)

WRITE BETTER SONGS WITH MASTERWRITER 2.0 – NEW PRICE!
(And Muse’s News readers *still* get a special discount!)

MasterWriter 2.0 – at New Price!Looking for something really special for that songwriter in your life? (Maybe it’s you!) MasterWriter 2.0 is the most powerful suite of songwriting tools ever assembled in one program. MasterWriter is endorsed by ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, NSAI and is used by some of the world’s leading songwriters including Gwen Stefani, Rob Thomas, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Jimmy Webb, Kenny Loggins, Trent Reznor, Clint Black, and many more.

In addition to giving you Rhymes, Close Rhymes, Phrases, Pop-Culture, Synonyms, and the Definition, new features include Word Families and Parts Of Speech, two unique and revolutionary reference dictionaries that will open up a new world of possibilities for descriptive words and ideas. There have been updates and improvements to the existing features, including greatly expanded Sound-Alikes (close rhymes), and a completely redesigned Interface. These are serious tools for the serious songwriter.

MasterWriter’s NEW price is now only $199 – but you’ll still get a *$20* discount (your price is just $179!) by ordering through The Muse’s Muse! Take the Tour, Download a Free Trial, and get a $20 discount! Note that the auto-inserted discount number 3004 will apply the $20 discount when ordering online. Windows and Mac compatible.
Editor’s Musings:

Hello again for another month! As you can see, we’re going through some changes here … I like to think they’re a giant leap forward. From now on, I’m going to basically just include some info here about what the issue contains and this Musing along with the raffle winners. Beyond that, you can pick up the issue online! That’ll mean I can make it look the way I want it to without having to worry about all the different email programs out there mucking it up. Yeah. It only took 13 years. I hope you enjoy. And if you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them! And I hope, since you’re looking at the issue on the website now, that you’ll take the time to have a look around there, too. You never know what helpful information you’ll find!

I also have a question to put to you all. As it turns out, Ed Teja, the book/services/ reviewer here who has been doing such an excellent job for me for so long – will be doing some traveling. He’ll be unable to continue to do reviews for The Muse’s News and I can say that I will definitely miss him a LOT. (But I know you’re doing what you want to do, Ed – and that’s great! Go for it!)

That does leave an opening though – and I’d love it if someone who is a regular subscriber and knows this newsletter and cares about the songwriting industry and the people in it, would take up the mantle of reviewer. Unfortunately, it’s not really a paying gig … but you *do* get to keep all the review copies that get sent your way, after you’re finished reviewing them. And I do reimburse you for any shipping costs involved in getting raffle winners their copies (typically, you’re sent two – one for review, one to send out).

If you’ve been reading the newsletter and the reviews, you’ll have a good idea of how they’re done – the length, what’s typically covered in them, etc. I try to have all contributions by the 20th of each month. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, please do let me know! I’d love to hear from you so that we can talk about it.

Lots of interesting information in this issue, and a great guest article by Sally Morgan of “Sing Like You Speak” that I think you’ll all find inspirational.

In the meantime, here are the raffle winners for this month:

* Dale Matthies from Goderich, ON Canada, has won a beautiful (and highly useful!) notebook from The Jotted Line.

* Meg Tennant from Waterloo, ON Canada has won a copy of”100 Miles To A Record Deal” by author and publisher Bronson Herrmuth.

* Michael Blache from Mandeville, LA has won a copy of “The Rise and Fall of EMI” reviewed in a previous issue.

* Cliff Keller, from Cardiff, California, has won a copy of Virtual Studio Systems’ Lyricist software.

* Kimberly Hales Kime, from Climax, NC, has won a free 3 month membership to SongU, an Internet-based learning environment providing online coaching, co-writing and pitching opportunities, in addition to over 70 multi-level courses developed by award-winning songwriters.

* Shane L. Whelan, from Riverton, UT has won a downloadable version of Rhyme Genie, a dynamic rhyming dictionary featuring over 300,000 entries and 30 different rhyme types.

I know I say this a lot – but it’s really true. If you’re interested in one of the raffle prizes listed at the top of http://www.musesmuse.com/musenews.html – or in the books, software or services reviewed in these issues, please write to me with your first and second choice, and your mailing address so I know where to send the prize. They could really be yours! And I’m happy to send them to good homes.

For the products reviewed, I may or may not have another copy to raffle – or it might have already been given out – but it’s always worth a try! The quicker you write to me about a product that was just recently reviewed, the better your chances are!

Happy July, everyone! Enjoy the newsletter!

All the best,

–Jodi
Return to the Top
Contact Info & Credits

Jodi Krangle, Editor: editor@musesmuse.com

The Muse’s News is a free monthly newsletter for and about songwriters. Subscribers are welcome to recirculate or reprint The Muse’s News for nonprofit use as long as the appropriate credit is given and the ENTIRE text of the newsletter is included (including credits and information at the end of each issue). Others should contact me at editor@musesmuse.com. All articles copyrighted by their authors.

Back issues and other information will be available here.

The Muse’s News is part of The Muse’s Muse, a web resource for songwriters.

Back issues of the newsletter can be read here or in an archive at the National Library of Canada ecollection.
Return to the Top

Click here and go to the middle of the page to change your subscription – or click the links below.

Short Session Consulting by phone, Skype and IM.
Many of our clients have specific problems that need only short consulting sessions to solve. We have introduced small increment consulting with sessions by phone or online as short as 15 minutes. Get advice about all aspects of professional and home recording. HRBC short term consulting.

Recording Boot Camp in Los Angeles August 23-28
Now accepting applications for our next Recording Boot Camp™. Learn more about the Boot Camp here, and contact us if you are interested in attending.

Italian Villa Boot Camp
It looks like we are sold out for HRBC in the Italian Villa September 13-18. If you would like to be put on the stand by list in case of cancelation, let us know.
You are receiving this because you are a client or possibly met us at a conference or event. If you do not wish to receive the occasional email we will gladly unsubscribe you.

Unsubscribe sdcinternetics@msn.com from this list | Forward to a friend | Update your profile
Our mailing address is:
Home Recording Boot Camp
4712 Admiralty Way
#536
Marina del Rey, CA 90292

“Glee” And The Stones Driving Digital Music Sales
By Mike Sachoff — Coming on the heels of its mid-season April premiere, the music themed-TV show “Glee” saw digital downloads from its four compilations jump from 51,000 to 359,000, according to new data from Nielsen. The program’s latest “Showstoppers” album topped the Billboard charts this week as digital sales of “Glee” songs surpassed 500,000. Songs from the show posted 4.1 million track sales in 2009 and 3.2 million so far in 2010.

The Half-Life Of A YouTube Video Is 6 Days
By Jay Yarow and Kamelia Angelova — A video on YouTube gets 50% of its views in the first 6 days it is on the site, according to data from analytics firm TubeMogul. After 20 days, a YouTube video has had 75% of its total views. That’s a really short life span for YouTube videos, and it’s probably getting shorter.

Radio Rebound in 2010
By Erik Sass — Better-than-expected first-quarter ad revenues have prompted BIA/Kelsey to revise its forecast for radio, giving a cheerier outlook for 2010. For the full year, BIA/Kelsey now expects radio revenues to increase 3.7% from $13.7 billion in 2009 to $14.2 billion in 2010. The new projection partly reflects significant growth in revenues from digital and mobile initiatives launched by radio broadcasters.

If You Liked This …
By Lev Grossman — The trouble with recommendation engines is that they’re really hard to build. They look simple on the outside – if you liked X, you’ll love Y! – but they’re actually doing something fiendishly complex. … They’re trying to reverse-engineer the soul.

Bee.tv Recommendation Engine for TV and Film
By Curt Hopkins — From shopping to music, the overload of information on the Web has been shaped and ordered by recommendation engines. There are even tools like the browser extension GetGlue that purport to sail the entire recommendations ocean. But one very important aspect of the online experience has been overshadowed: video. Milan- and Tel Aviv-based Bee.tv, currently in beta, has introduced a proprietary, cross-platform recommendation service to personalize television, film and video viewing. Bee.tv aspires to do for video what Pandora or Last.fm do for audio.

The Orchard Reaches 1.2 Billion Mobile Customers Across Asia
(Press release) — Today, The Orchard, a global leader in music and video distribution and comprehensive digital strategy, announced that the company is now reaching more than 1.2 billion mobile customers across Asia through distribution partnerships with top mobile operators and licensors in China, Japan, Korea, India, and the Middle East

House Judiciary Chairman Seeks Cooperation From Google, Facebook in Privacy Inquiries
By Joelle Tessler — The head of the House Judiciary Committee is asking Google Inc. and Facebook to cooperate with any government inquiries into privacy practices at both companies. Michigan Democrat John Conyers sent letters to Google and Facebook on Friday amid mounting concern in Congress that the two online companies are not adequately protecting personal privacy on the Internet.

The Action Class: Restraining Order Blocks Google From Destroying Wardriving Data
By Chris Castle — Business Insider reports that not only was Google “wardriving” and hoovering up personal data in 30 countries in Europe-they were doing it in the US, too. And strangely enough, they were about to destroy the data before they got sued and hit with a restraining order faster than a code monkey can snarf a Ring Ding.

Silicon Valley Backs YouTube in Viacom Case
By John Paczkowski — Google and YouTube have some powerful new allies in their pitched battle with Viacom: Yahoo, Facebook and eBay. Earlier this week, the three companies filed amicus briefs in support of Google and YouTube, which are defending themselves against a $1 billion copyright lawsuit by Viacom. In the briefs, they urge the judge presiding over the case to dismiss Viacom’s suit, claiming to do otherwise is to violate protections given Google under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. [Now let me see, YouTube reformats the videos uploaded to its site, stores them on its systems for on demand viewing, sells advertising against them, makes them available to anyone who wants them to generate advertising revenue for their own sites, does not get licenses and thinks it's swimming in a "safe harbor?"]

Need a Program Guide for the Real-Time Web? Try Live Matrix
By Sarah Perez — The web is no longer static pages of text and still images. It’s alive with tweets, “tweetups,” live video conferences, uStreams, live-blogged product launches, webinars, live auctions, virtual world meetups and events, time-limited sales and contests, live audio and video podcast recordings, live chats and more. And it’s all happening in real-time. … Live Matrix is your program guide to the real-time web, allowing you to search, save and create reminders for all the live web events you want to be a part of.

Ray Charles’ Copyrights a Lucrative Business
By Ed Christman — While Ray Charles has a substantial songwriting catalog post 1961, “what is interesting is he didn’t like to write,” says Tony Gumina, president of the Ray Charles Marketing Group. “He wrote songs when he was on Atlantic because he didn’t like what (Atlantic principals) Ahmet (Ertegun) and Jerry (Wexler) were giving him (to record). So his most prolific writing period was between 1948 and 1960. “As soon as he became big enough to record the biggest songs, he started recording the American songbook Rogers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, the Gershwins and Irving Berlin.” [Not to mention Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Hank Williams, Cindy Walker, Floyd Tillman, Don Gibson, Cowboy Jack Clement and a number of other country songwriting legends who powered two of Ray's greatest albums, "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" - Volumes one and two.- DK]

Robin Williams as the American Flag

The Music Industry’s Demographics Problem
By Mark Mulligan — Apps, a fundamentally interactive experience, are tailor-made for the digital natives, whereas the static 99-cent music download remains wedded to a bygone era. Of course, the kids still like music, but the current digital-music product doesn’t compel them to part with their cash in the way an app does.

Watch Out, iPhone Devs: One-Man Android App Nets $13K Monthly
By Jolie O’Dell — As Android’s growth continues to explode since the release of the Droid, only the most foolish of app shops are not planning to expand beyond Apple’s walled garden.

The Pirate Bay Torrents Remain Online Despite Court Order
By Ernesto — Last October the Amsterdam Court ruled that three former Pirate Bay operators had to remove a list of ‘infringing’ torrents from the website and block access to Dutch users. The Pirate Bay trio had to comply with the Court’s demands before today, but nothing has changed and it’s unlikely that the Dutch will be shut out of the site in the near future.

French Youth Making Piracy a “National Sport”
By Jared Moya — Now boasts having one of the highest rates of software piracy in the European Union as the country’s youth challenge one another “to crack the most elaborate software programs” and rebel against the most repressive copyright legislation in the world.

New Zealand Proposes Internet Suspension, $15,000 Fine for File-Sharers

BBC Proposes Deep Cuts in Web Site
By Eric Pfanner — The British Broadcasting Corp., yielded to critics of its aggressive expansion, proposing sweeping cuts in spending on its Web site and other digital operations.

The United States Steps Up
By Chris Castle — Authors can feel a bit better–they have a great advocate in William Cavanaugh of the Justice Department representing the United States in opposing the Google Books “settlement”. This passage in the recent hearing sums it up…

20 Free Ways (Some of Questionable Legality) to Manage Video, Music, and Photos
By Adam Pash and Rick Broida – These eight no-cost utilities and services can help you find, organize, and wrangle your media files–or enjoy some great video online.

Audio Dedupe Cleans Up Your Music Collection
By Preston Gralla — Keeping an ear tuned to a fat collection of music files and an eye on your PC’s ever-diminishing hard drive space? Then give Audio Dedupe ($30, feature-limited free demo) a try. It uses a sophisticated set of tools to find duplicate music files, even if they’re in different file formats.

i-Tab Digital Tablature Reader
By Jimin Brelsford — The i-tab will have you playing pop songs in no time, its up to you whether or not you look like a putz while doing so…. Probably the most newsworthy part of this unit is how it represents a real push for so-called “legal” tabs.

Music Software Popularity Index – 2009 Q4
PRWeb — Digital Music Doctor announces the results of the Music Software Internet Popularity Index for Fourth Quarter 2009.

Looking Back at Oscar’s Biggest Goof
By Gregg Kilday — The 61st Academy Awards, held March 29, 1989, at the Shrine, stands as the great object lesson…. Oscarologists still shake their heads over the infamous opening production number in which Merv Griffin sang “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts!” amid an onstage re-creation of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub before turning the stage over to a high-pitched Snow White, who boogalooed with Rob Lowe to the tune of “Proud Mary.” [Producer? Allan Carr.]

[How to make your website sing]
Put Your Web Site in the CodeOrgan
By Ben Johnson — The CodeOrgan analyses the *body* content of any web page and translates that content into music. The CodeOrgan uses a complex algorithm to define the key, synth style and drum pattern most appropriate to the page content. [This is really fun. You've got to try it.]

Kids on The Web: Are They Satisfied With Virtual Worlds And Games?
By Richard Macmanus — For kids under 12 years of age, entertainment websites and virtual worlds are all the rage. My 8-year old daughter plays ToonTown a lot. Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters are also popular in this demographic. But are these types of sites fulfilling the potential and talent our kids have with technology?

Some Ditch Social Networks to Reclaim Time, Privacy
By Marco R. della Cava — As the social networking train gathers momentum, some riders are getting off. Laura LeNoir is done. “I feel better, I feel lighter, I got my privacy back,” says LeNoir, 42, an office manager at an educational software company in Birmingham, Ala., who logged off a few weeks ago. “People say, ‘You’ll be back.’ But I read more, walk the dogs more. I’ll be fine.”

The Key To Making Free Music Services Work
By Mark Mulligan — On-demand, access-based services will be the foundation stone of the 21st-century music business. Added to that, the majority of consumers simply have no appetite for paying for digital music, certainly not on a subscription basis. Free and subsidized services are quite simply part of the future. But, and it’s a big “but,” these services and their associated business models still pose many as yet unanswered questions.

Van Natta Resigning as MySpace CEO
By Ryan Nakashima – Owen Van Natta is stepping down as CEO of struggling social networking site MySpace, effective immediately, after less than a year on the job. The former chief revenue officer at MySpace rival Facebook will be replaced by Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, who were promoted to be co-presidents.

iPod Gets the Beatles Music …Through an Internet Radio Station App
By Amy-Mae Elliott — While the world waits for The Beatles back catalogue to go officially digital, a Beatles-themed internet radio station ( “Beatles-A-Rama!!!”) has launched an iPhone app that will see all tunes John, Paul, Ringo and George streamed to your handset.

With Buzz, Google Plunges Into Social Networking
By Miguel Helft and Brad Stone — The new service, called Google Buzz, allows Gmail users to share updates, photos and videos as on Facebook and other social networking sites.

Google Buzz Criticized for Disclosing Gmail Contacts
By Robert Mcmillan — One day after its launch, privacy concerns have been raised about Google’s new Gmail-based social-networking tool, Buzz. At issue is a feature that compiles a list of the Gmail contacts who users most frequently e-mail or chat with. Buzz automatically starts following these people and makes the list public, meaning strangers can see who Buzz users have been in contact with.

Shazam Connects with Pandora, Last.fm Apps
By Jason Ankeny Mobile music discovery provider Shazam announced it will bolster its Shazam Encore and (Shazam)RED applications for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch with the addition of new features enabling users to connect to personalized radio services Pandora and Last.fm to create their own Internet stations based on tagged music.

Google Subsidizing Ultra-Fast Broadband Test
By Stephen Shankland — Google, never satisfied with the pace of change, plans a test that will provide 50,000 to 500,000 people with fiber-optic broadband Internet access with a network speed of a gigabit per second.

Is Google a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing to ISPs?
By Marguerite Reardon — Google says its plan to build new fiber networks will promote innovation in broadband technology, but its moves could be seen as a threat to existing broadband operators.

Google Shuts Down Music Blogs Without Warning
By Sean Michaels — In what critics are calling “musicblogocide 2010″, Google has deleted at least six popular music blogs that it claims violated copyright law. These sites, hosted by Google’s Blogger and Blogspot services, received notices only after their sites – and years of archives – were wiped from the internet.

New Russian Botnet Tries to Kill Rival
By Robert McMillan — An upstart Trojan horse program has decided to take on its much-larger rival by stealing data and then removing the malicious program from infected computers. Security researchers say that the relatively unknown Spy Eye toolkit added this functionality just a few days ago in a bid to displace its larger rival, known as Zeus.

Cutting-Edge Crooks Keen on the Cloud
By Toby Wolpe — Cloud computing has been enthusiastically taken up by criminals for a variety of activities, a security expert says. What better endorsement for the cloud could there be?

Korean iPhone Stylus: It’s Made of Meat
By Charlie Sorrel — Korean sausage maker is experiencing a sales boom due to cold winter weather. People are buying CJ Corporation’s snack sausages to use as styluses for their iPhones.

VIDEO: Clay Shirky on Information Overload Versus Filter Failure
This Clay Shirky talk from Web 2.0 Expo NY (“It’s Not Information Overload. It’s Filter Failure”) challenges the idea that we’ve got information overload problems (we’ve had more books than any human could read for hundreds of years), what we have is a series of filter failures, as our systems for managing information abundance are swamped by the growth of information.

‘Interactive’ Grammys Reach Most Viewers in 6 Years
By Eliot Van Buskirk — The music industry is flailing and the mainstream running dry, according conventional wisdom, but this year’s Grammy Awards – arguably most mainstream event in the world – was a surprise hit. Over 56 million viewers tuned in this year, which represents 35 percent more than last year and the broadcast’s highest Neilsen rating since ’04 (the year of Outkast).

Microgen Named as First Technology Company to Join Digital Data Exchange Board
(Marketwire) — Microgen Aptitude Solutions Ltd (Microgen) today announced that it has been accepted as a Charter Member of the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), a standards organization that is working to improve information sharing efficiency for the digital music industry.

AUDIO: Catchy Tune Not Enough To Make Money In Music
By Audie Cornish (NPR) — The band KISS has come a long way from selling t-shirts and albums. Now, when you go to one of their concerts, you can leave with a recording of the show on a thumb drive. This kind of marketing has become a necessity, not an option, for a lot of acts.

[Great to have Nancy Prager blogging again.]
The Importance of Taking a Long View, Even with Creative Commons Licenses
By Nancy Prager — Creative Commons gives licensors (i.e. creators or copyright owners) the ability to license their works to the public in general, and not to a specific user. The licenses seem like a good idea because many people who upload content on the internet create as a hobby and are excited when they see their works being used on other sites. However, as with anything else in life, it is important to read the (not so) fine print.

Survey: Only 1% of Torrents Non-Infringing
By Andrew Orlowski — 99 per cent of files accessed through a Torrent network are unlicensed copyright material, according to a survey by an American undergraduate…. The only surprise is that it’s so low – can 1 per cent of Torrent material really be non-infringing?

Hacking for Fun and Profit in China’s Underworld
By David Barboza — A young hacker let a reporter into his world of trolling for information that may one day be worth money.

Is Free Wi-Fi Killing Toronto’s Indie Cafés?
Columnist Leah McLaren lamented the loss of café culture due to “MacBook-toting jerks” who take up tables and siphon away the free Internet at coffee shops. The phenomenon has been unfolding for years, but Wi-Fi has only recently been considered a make-or-break element of a coffee shop, much to the dismay of café owners who see their hangout turn into a study hall.

Abolish ‘Cloud Computing!’
By Lee Gomes — Not the idea, just the phrase.

PBS Documentary Questions Tech and Our Future
By Larry Magid — Like Douglas Rushkoff, I’ve been an enthusiastic supporter of digital technology for more than 20 years and, also like Rushkoff, I’ve had some second thoughts as to whether–at least for some people–immersion in technology is doing more harm than good.

5 Ways Techno-Gadgetry Is Bringing Out the Worst in Humanity
By Scott Thill — “It’s not technology we have to worry about, it’s the humans.” – Arthur and Marilouise Kroker, editors of the academic technology and culture journal CTheory.

[So misguided. So blatantly dismissive of creator's rights.]
Anti-RIAA Site Folds
By David Kravets — Provocative website p2pnet.net, the online voice of one of the world’s most blistering and perpetual attacks on the Recording Industry Association of America, is shuttering amid financial doldrums. It’s been vocal (and viciously anti creator) for nine years.

The #1 Reason Your Music Promotion Fails
CDbaby — With all the hard work the indie music community puts into promotion and marketing of music, it’s amazing how often key information is missing from the message.

[Oh, that's just great ... Now the refrigerator is going to be spreading rumors about me to the stove.]
Social Networks for Things
By Richard Macmanus — At the recent DLD Conference (Digital – Life – Design) in Munich, Germany, Esther Dyson moderated a panel on the Internet of Things. The subject of the discussion was giving identity to things, just as people have an identity. In essence, creating social networks for things.

Euro MROs Sign On With Digital Data Exchange (DDEX)
By Ed Christman — Five European music rights organizations (MROs) have signed on to using the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX) standards for receiving sales information reported by digital service providers. DDEX was formed in 2006 by major record labels, online music distributors and music rights societies to create standards to facilitate the exchange of metadata.

MySpace to Pay ‘Lost’ Royalties Back
Big Pond News — MySpace, which has enabled many artists to launch their careers, is now helping to pay them back millions in ‘lost’ royalties for songs and performances. MySpace CEO Owen van Natta said on Sunday the company had signed a groundbreaking deal with performance rights group SoundExchange to track down about 25,000 major, independent and unsigned artists owed more than $US14 million in unpaid royalties.

What Does Indie Even Mean?
By Yahya Chaudhry — Selling 124,000 copies, “Contra” is the best-selling album in the country. Released by XL, an independent record label, “Contra” is only the 12th independently distributed album to reach the coveted top spot on the Billboard 200 since such data has been recorded. Why is that a big deal, and what does being “indie” mean?

TheSixtyOne Redesign Positions it as the Anti-MySpace Music Site
By Mark Milian — Indie music portal TheSixtyOne launched a drastically redesigned website over the weekend. Loyal users were less than enthused, but something tells us they’ll get over it. Just take a look.

4 Tech Trends You Must Understand to be an Effective Marketer
Written by Elyssa Pallai — Recent technology trends enable a brave new world of marketing. Ignore them at your peril.

Vodafone Claims Europe’s Largest Base of Digital Music Subscribers
By shinychris — According to Vodafone nearly 450,000 of its customers have signed up for music subscription services since it signed digital rights management free MP3 music deals with all major labels in 2009. Two million tracks are currently available through the DRM-free library with Vodafone claiming it will grow to 6 million in 2010.

Apple: iPhone App and iTunes Stores Don’t Make Money
By Rik Myslewski — Apple’s App Store and iTunes Store aren’t moneymakers. They’re lures for prospective handset customers.

Analysts Predict Bold Growth for Google Android
By Marguerite Reardon — Google’s Android is expected to take the smartphone market by storm in the next few years, growing faster than all its competitors, according to an IDC report published Monday.

Where Do We Find the Time? Social Networking Use Up 82%
By Mike Melanson — According to Nielsen, we’re spending 82% more time on social networking sites than we did just a year earlier. So much so, actually, that it’s nearly a full-time job.

Moodagent Asks, Are You in the Mood for Some Advertising?
By Jon Healey — Moodagent, Syntonetic, mobile advertising, iPhone apps, music playlists If you were an advertiser, how might you change your pitches to match a consumer’s mood? That’s the question that Syntonetic plans to pose as it starts plugging targeted advertisements into its Moodagent iPhone app.

Sorry, Facebook Friends: Our Brains Can’t Keep up
By Don Reisinger — Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Oxford University, developed a theory in the 1990s dubbed Dunbar’s Number. The theory contends that the human brain is only capable of managing relationships–staying in contact at least once per year and knowing how friends relate to others–with about 150 people.

Quincy Jones, John Mayer and Bill Withers Lead Speaker Lineup for ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo
(Marketwire) – Music legends Quincy Jones and Bill Withers and music superstar John Mayer will lead the list of speakers at the 5th annual ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, it was announced by ASCAP. The three-day EXPO will take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, April 22-24, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA. Deep discount pricing ends January 31st.

Pianist Earl Wild Dies at 94
By Martin Steinberg – Earl Wild, the first pianist to give a solo recital on American television, is dead at age 94. … Wild’s first televised recital came in 1939, when NBC began transmitting its first commercial live musical telecasts.

Is the Digital Age Cutting Us Off From Aliens?
By Chris Matyszczyk — There is something so painfully wishful about life out there being better than life down here. What if it isn’t?

Some Amazing Numbers Re: Growth of Net & Social Media

Social Media Is Finally About the Media
By Caroline McCarthy — What does the maelstrom of hype around the launch of Apple’s tablet device have in common with Google’s announcement that select Sundance Film Festival titles will be available for rent on YouTube, or Digg founder Kevin Rose’s comments to the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper that the social news site he founded has “drastic” changes ahead? A lot, actually.

If You Could Just Monetize This, That Would Be Great
By Paul Resnikoff — Understandably, a major focus of Midem has been monetization. That introduced a number of ‘conference cliches’ and platitudes, including tired jabs against major labels, consumers, legislators, and entrepreneurs. But more constructively, Midem integrated executives from other industries, many of whom are grappling with similar challenges.

There’s No Such Thing As Free Content
By Jolie O’Dell — Someone, somewhere ends up putting out money for everything you do online, every piece of news you read, every web app you use. It takes professionals and hardware across a gigantic industry to make these things work.

Labels Learn To Monetize Apps
By Andre Paine — Music-related apps can build a fan base for artists and create revenue – and they are going to become even more ambitious. That was the message from Ted Mico, EVP Digital, Interscope, Geffen, A&M at day two of the MidemNet digital music conference in Cannes.

The Tipping Point for Radio?
By Jerry Del Colliano — Monthly fees have failed miserably in the music sector but Apple could pull it off with a cool new device that allows consumers to read books, save the newspaper industry from itself, access school textbooks, read PDFs, go online, use apps from Apple’s app store, play video and movies at a whim, listen to Internet radio and Pandora and on and on…. But what appears to be left out is radio — terrestrial radio. [Thanks to Tom Bocci for the link.]

Digital Piracy on the Rise on Campus
By Arth Pandya — Record number of student copyright infringement violations reported.

Swedish Music Fans Start to Steer Clear of Pirates
By Eric Pfanner — Sweden, long considered one of the world’s most welcoming havens for digital piracy, is now showing signs of turning back toward legal, licensed music, both online and in stores. Music sales in Sweden rose 10.2 percent last year, according to the recording companies’ international trade group, even as they fell by nearly 10 percent worldwide, continuing a nearly decade-long downward spiral.

Tetris Passes 100 Million Paid Mobile Downloads
By Barbara Ortutay — More than 25 years after its birth, Tetris is the best-selling mobile game of all time, having surpassed 100 million paid downloads on cell phones around the world.

Music Stars Raise £35m in Hope for Haiti Telethon

Astronauts Finally Get Internet Access in Space
AP — – In a high tech first – really, really high – astronauts in space finally have Internet access. Space station resident Timothy (TJ) Creamer had been working with flight controllers to establish Internet access from his orbital post ever since he moved in last month. On Friday, his effort paid off. He posted the first live Twitter post truly from space.

Having trouble viewing this email? View at this URL:

http://www.songwriting.net/012610?&t=95561

*****************************************************************

1/26/10
SXSW, Bluebird Shows, Guitar Player Freebies, 2010 Competition Begins
*****************************************************************

** 15th Annual USA Songwriting Competition is now accepting entries! Winning songs will receive radio airplay in United States and Canada along with great prizes such as a Top Prize of over $50,000.

Sponsors of the 15th Annual Competition are: Guitar Player Magazine, New Music Weekly, Sony, Audio-Technica, Ibanez Guitars, D’Addario Strings, Mackie, Presonus, Imageline Software, Acoustica, Sonoma Wireworks, Intellitouch Tuners, SongFrame Software, Rockstar Texting, Acoustic Café Radio Program, Livewire Contacts, AirplayAccess.com, Loggins Promotion, Superdups.com, Sirius XM Radio, Sonicbids & Broadjam.

EARLY ENTRY BONUS: First 1,000 Entries Will Each Receive FREE 3 issue subscription to Guitar Player magazine, ($19.50 Value!) + free software (see below) Hurry, While Stocks Last! Please obtain the entry form at:
http://www.songwriting.net/entryform.html

Or enter online here with your MP3:
https://online.songwriting.net

Or via Sonicbids:
http://www.sonicbids.com/usasong

Or via Broadjam:
http://www.broadjam.com/contests/details/contest/index.php?contest_id=2032

===[Sponsored in part by New Music Weekly]======================
NEW MUSIC WEEKLY covers the radio and music industry within its
weekly magazine, website, NMW-mail and fax services. NMW, built
by radio stations who “break” the hits first, has become the
standard for tracking radio airplay nationwide. For information
visit: www.newmusicweekly.com or call 310-325-9997

==================================================================

*** PAST WINNERS & FINALISTS’ UPDATES

*Kyler England (2009 USA Songwriting Competition 1st Prize Winner), Gabriel Mann (2003 USA Songwriting Competition Overall Grand Prize Winner) & Adrianne Gonzalez (1999 Overall Grand Prize Winner) formed a Pop group “The Rescues”, were just signed to Universal Republic Records in Dec 2009.

*Aaron Tap (1998 USA Songwriting Competition 1st prize winner in the Rock/Alternative) plays guitar and sings backup vocals with platinum-selling artist Matt Nathanson, toured with Matt in Australia and played guitar and background vocals in his biggest hit “Come On Get Higher”.

*The 2007 Grand Prize winning song “Where The Music Takes You” written & performed by Ari Gold aired on ABC TV’s “Scrubs” on 12/16/09. The winning song hit Top 10 on the Billboard Charts 6 months after winning the competition.

*Kate Voegele (2005 USA Songwriting Competition, 1st Prize Winner, Pop) appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Conan O’Brien performing her hit song “99 Times”, a Billboard Adult Top 40 Hit, peaking at #24. She hit Top 10 On Billboard 200 Albums Chart on June 15, 2009. Her album “A Fine Mess” is released on Interscope/MySpace records.

*Quinn Loggins (2004 USA Songwriting Competition Honorable Mention Award Winner) wrote a song “Trial of Lies” with Lisa McCallum and Katie Armiger. It’s been released to radio along with a music video on CMT and GAC where Katie is the artist of the month.

~Were you a past winner or finalist of the USA Songwriting Competition or IAMA and have some interesting news on yourself? If so, please e-mail us at:
info@songwriting.net

*** Top 10 USA Songwriting Competition Winners Of The Decade
Kate Voegele, Ari Gold and Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer lead the way of the Top 10 USA Songwriting Competition of the decade

==================================================================
MyMusicSuccess.Com is the number one music marketing and promotion company. From press, radio, specialist marketing in Japan, to Billboard chart hits and beyond, whatever your genre, wherever you are, MyMusicSuccess.Com can get great results for you.
==================================================================
** UPCOMING SHOWCASES:

*SHOWCASE DURING SXSW

USA Songwriting Competition will present a showcase during SXSW 2010 (South By South West) in Austin, TX on Friday, March 19, 2010, 7pm to 9.30pm. South By South West is the largest musician’s conference in the USA.
Austin Borders, 4477 S. Lamar, Austin, TX, Tel: (512) 891-8974
~Artists/Songwriters to appear:
Kyler England (1st Prize, Country, 14th USA Songwriting Competition)
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

~There are only 4 slots left for this showcase. If you are interested in performing at this showcase, please e-mail us your website and other information to: info@songwriting.net
*BLUEBIRD CAFE SHOWCASE

USA Songwriting Competition will present a showcase at the world renowned “Bluebird Café” in Nashville
Thursday, May 6, 2010, 6pm to 8pm
Bluebird Café, 4104 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37215-2700, Tel: (615) 383-1461 (alcohol & food are served, reservations are accepted).
~Artists/Songwriters to appear:
Jesse Terry (Honorable Mention, 14th USA Songwriting Competition)
Anadara Arnold (Honorable Mention)
Mandee Radford, Alathea (Honorable Mention)
Will Hopkins (Honorable Mention)
Greg Trafidlo (1st Prize – Novelty, 14th USA Songwriting Competition)
Carla Cappa (1st Prize – Rock/Alt, 14th USA Songwriting Competition)
TBA
TBA

~There are only 2 slots left for this showcase. If you are interested in performing at this showcase, please e-mail us your website and other information to: info@songwriting.net

===[Sponsored in part by D'Addario]==============================
From the D’Addario-pioneered phosphor bronze acoustic strings
to the world-famous XL electric strings, D’Addario has your
instruments covered. Quality, consistency, and innovation make
“The Player’s Choice.” http://www.daddario.com/
==================================================================

** COMPILATION CD [sponsored by WWW.SUPERDUPS.COM]
“NEW MUSIC NOW Vol 7″ – THE USA SONGWRITING COMPETITION COMPILATION CD sponsored by SUPERDUPS.COM. USA Songwriting Competition’s CD Compilation. This CD is now out and features winners such as Sarah Lonsert, Eric Coleville, Anne Simoni & more.

“New ACOUSTIC MUSIC Vol 5″ – featuring winners and runner-ups of the 5th Annual IAMA is out. Artists includes; The Refugees, Larry Pattis, Katy Kinard, Wendy Colonna, Kate Lush, Wayne Southards, Jeanette Williams Band, Victoria Vox, etc.

** COOL MERCHANDISE
You can now purchase our cool USA Songwriting Competition T-shirts, Hats & other stuff online:
http://www.cafepress.com/usasong

** ACOUSTIC MUSIC PODCAST:
http://www.inacoustic.com/blog/2009/11/podcast-1-of-international-acoustic-music-awards/

==================================================================

Music Books Plus is your best source for music & audio books, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, software & sheet music. We carry over 12,000 titles on Music Business, Songwriting, Arranging, Theory, Directories, Pro Audio, Video, Live Sound, Recording, Lighting, MIDI, Synthesizers, Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Violin, Brass, Woodwinds, Harmonica, Voice, Biographies, Fake Books, Songbooks. Worldwide shipping. Free Newsletter.
Check out www.musicbooksplus.com

==================================================================

** MUSIC CONFERENCES, FESTIVALS & WORKSHOP PARTNERS

~MIDEM Music Tradeshow – January 24-27, 2010, Cannes, FRANCE

~22nd International Folk Alliance Conference:  February 17 – 21, 2010 Memphis, TN

~Canadian Music Week: March 10-24, 2010    Toronto, Canada

~SXSW (South By South West Music): March 17-21, 2010, Austin, TX, USA

~Winter Music Conference: March 23 – 27, 2010, Miami Beach, FL, USA

~Musikmesse Frankfurt: March 24 to 27, 2010, Frankfurt am Main, GERMANY

~I Create Music ASCAP Expo 2010: April 22-24, 2010, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Early Bird registration price for USA Songwriting Competition entrants is just $260, or $235 if you are also a member of ASCAP.  To take advantage of this special rate, select our organization name from the Partner menu towards the end of the registration process.

http://www.ascap.com/expo

~MIAC (Music Industries Association of Canada) 2010 Trade Show – May 16, 17, 2010 at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Canada.

~NXNE 2010 – June 16 – 20 – Toronto, CANADA

~Baybeats – Aug 20 – 22, 2010, (South East Asia’s version of SXSW) Singapore, REP OF SINGAPORE

~Australian Music Association Convention Melbourne – Sept 30 & Oct 1, 2010

~WOMEX – October 27 – 31, 2010, Copenhagen, Denmark

~AES San Francisco / 129th AES Convention, November 5-7, 2010

===[Sponsored in part by Loggins Promotion]=================
LOGGINS PROMOTION is the leading radio promotion and marketing
firm providing services to all genres of music. We operate at
the highest level of efficiency and integrity, so that you
receive maximum promotion, exposure, and attention. For further
info: 888-325-2901 or email: promo@logginspromotion.com
www.logginspromotion.com
==================================================================

*** IAMA Featured Artists Of the Month Spotlight

~John Landry [Canada]

~Jen Ambrose

~Sturle Andersen [Norway]
*For more details of the featured artists, please visit:
http://www.inacoustic.com/artists2.html

===[ REFER A MUSICIAN FRIEND TO US ]==============================
Tell a musician or songwriter to sign up for this FREE informative
e-mail newsletter of USA Songwriting Competition with chock full
of opportunities for the musician or songwriter, please e-mail
them on where to sign-up:
http://www.songwriting.net/join
==================================================================

PRODUCTS FOR MUSICIANS

*IK Multimedia StealthBoard – From the Winter NAMM 2010 show, StealthBoard is the first USB-MIDI floor controller for guitar and bass players that gives you full control over your entire rig. You may now control your software and/or hardware-based tone and effects units, plus channel switching, all from just one unit on the floor.

*IK Multimedia AmpliTube 3 – The long awaited release of IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube 3 is here.

*GrooveMaker – the revolutionary iPhone/iPod Touch app to create non-stop electronic, dance and hip-hop tracks, in real-time. FREE for USA Songwriting Competition Entrants

*Mackie Onyx 1640i
http://www.songwriting.net/whatsnew

===[ Sponsored in part by IBANEZ Guitars ]========================
Ibanez Acoustic Guitars… Diversity in Size, Sound, and Style. Ibanez has
over 75 different acoustic guitar models in 12 very different body shapes to
help you FIND YOUR VOICE. http://www.ibanez.com/acoustics/
==================================================================

MUSIC RESOURCESMUSIC RESOURCES
*Songwriting Blog

http://www.songwriting.net/blog

*Follow USA Songwriting Competition on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/usasong

*USA Songwriting Competition’s YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/usasongcomp

*Follow USA Songwriting Competition on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/usasongcomp

*Follow USA Songwriting Competition on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/USA-Songwriting-Competition/262844446590

*ASCAP

http://www.ASCAP.com

*Folk Alliance

http://www.folk.org

*AirplayAccess.com – available to Program Directors, Music Directors, Syndicate Radio, and Internet radio. Radio airplay is tracking using the STS technology. AirplayAccess is the music industry’s answer for fast, secure music delivery, enabling registered industry professionals, records labels, artist/bands to get their promotional music directly to radio as broadcast quality digital files. Airplay Access is a complimentary service to radio stations from a trusted name in radio airplay tracking…STS

http://AirplayAccess.com

*New Music Weekly

http://www.newmusicweekly.com

*Loggins Radio Promotion

http://www.logginspromotion.com

*Hal Leonard

http://www.halleonard.com

*Ibanez

http://www.ibanez.com

*Sony

http://www.sonystyle.com

*Livewire Contacts

http://www.livewiremusician.com

*Onlinegigs – Onlinegigs Version 4 fully automates the booking and promotional process for bands, booking agents, record companies and music managers. Onlinegigs will do it all for you, from finding the right venue to automatically reminding your fans about upcoming performances right on their cell phones.

http://www.onlinegigs.com

*Intellitouch Tuners

http://www.tuners.com

*SongFrame – Songwriting Software for writing and refining songs

http://www.tanageraudioworks.com/Products/SongFrame

*Sonoma Wire Works

http://www.sonomawireworks.com

*Recycle Your CDs

http://www.cdrecyclingcenter.org

===[ To Advertise ]===============================================
To advertise in the newsletter, please e-mail: ira@songwriting.net
==================================================================

Many thanks to SOCAN, ASCAP, BMI and Music Connection magazine.

We urge you to help Haiti, in light of the earthquake earlier this month:
https://secure3.convio.net/arc3/site/Donation2?idb=0&df_id=1320&1320.donation=form1

…Jessica Brandon, Artist Relations ~~

********************************************************************
If you would not like to receive any more updates on any
songwriting competitions or music news, or to unsubscribe,
simply go to http://www.songwriting.net/join
and click on “leave”

This message is in full compliance with U.S. Federal requirements for
commercial email under bill S.1618 Title 111, Section 301, Paragraph
(a) (2) (C), passed by the 105th U.S. Congress and cannot be
considered SPAM since it includes a removal mechanism.
*************************************************