Expanding Your Music Interest
According to information found on MSNBC, Bill Cosby has recently recorded a hip-hop album set for release next month. “Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency” blends the comedian’s concepts and stories with a hip-hop, pop and jazz soundtrack.
“I do not rap on any of these things,” Cosby said Monday. “I wouldn’t know how to fix my mouth to say some of the words.”
The hip-hop label, called TAG Records, is a joint venture involving Island Def Jam (UMG), TAG Body Spray, and rap mogul Jermaine Durpri. “This label is going to provide new artists with a chance of a lifetime,” Dupri proclaimed. “New artists will receive ten times the typical marketing support – a first in the industry.“
The branding move makes sense for the Proctor & Gamble-owned TAG, a product that carries a younger male demographic. According to the partners, signed artists will be layered into TAG deodorant marketing campaigns, already a strong vehicle. The first artist will be announced in May. [Digital Music News]
truly . . .truly disturbed by this! What do you think?
I recently posted this comment to an article (and comments) addressing what’s on the horizon in the music business. I want to preface it by saying that I am very optimistic about the future of music - I just think the most of these people have got it all wrong. Let me know what you think!
I think most of these comments are top-down instead of bottom-up. Piracy is about one thing: rebellion. Not convenience. Not access. Not control.
Piracy is a response to feeling taken advantage of and that’s not something that “streaming music” will fix. The artists will still get the smallest share of the pie (pirates hate that). Labels will still collect royalties just for saying “yes, you can have it,” or “no, you can’t” for years to come (pirates really hate that). Labels will start double-dipping by charging pay-per-play fees to the streamers as well as take cuts of the likely to increase bandwidth fees from cable, DSL and WiMax companies (pirates are smarter than you think). And so remains the feeling of manipulation. And so remains piracy.
I know, I know . . . it’s been a long time. But things are that busy and that is a good thing! Since my last post, we have hired a new exec, added some new developers, raised a little money and created a serious off-line buzz about what we are up to.
But how could I forget you guys 
! ? !
8trk is stronger than ever right now and closer each day to getting out the door and onto your browsers. Sign-ups for Alpha testing are back open as we prepare the launch. Everything is in place and since I have probably built too much suspense in the past, I won’t tell you how awesome this is going to be (i’ll just type it - LOL).
You will notice the blog will take on a new direction in the upcoming weeks. More about the project and how you as a reader can get involved in the process. Stay tuned.
Cheers,
headcoach
