Mashup master DJ Earworm has released his yearly “United States Of Pop” song, which takes the 25 biggest hits of 2012 as determined by the Billboard 100 and pus them all together in one song. You can listen to the song below and also download it for free.
Personally, I like the 2009 mashup the best. For those of you who have listened to the past several years, what’s your favorite? READ MORE
Rapper 50 Cent has released a music video for his new single “My Life”, which will be on his fifth studio album Street King Immortal (out Feb. 26th, 2013). The song features Eminem and Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine. You can purchase it on iTunes.
The video shows 50 Cent and a friend driving a car around what looks like Detroit while a helicopter chases them. Meanwhile, Eminem is running through fields while, yup, a helicopter chases him. And as for Adam Levine? He stands around singing the chorus while helicopter lights circle around him. You can check it out below. READ MORE
It’s no big secret that the amount of money a musician makes from their songs being streamed is pretty much next to nil (check out this graph from 2010 that illustrates how many times a song had to be streamed on Spotify for a musician to make the US minimum wage). However, artists like Pandora and Spotify are trying to get Congress to introduce the Internet Radio Fairness Act, which will mean that these streaming services will pay artists even less per stream. The idea here is that cable and satellite radio services pay far less in terms of royalties and internet radio outlets want the same treatment.
According to Variety, musicians such as Common, the Dead Kennedys, Maroon 5, and more have signed an open letter that will be published this weekend. In it, they ask, “Why is the company asking Congress once again to step in and gut the royalties that thousands of musicians rely upon? That’s not fair and that’s not how partners work together.”
In a post written on Oct. 9th, 2012, Pandora founder Tim Westergreen lauds his service for the amount that it pays to each artist, claiming that they are helping create a “…musicians middle class”. However, in the same post, Westergreen advocates for lower royalty rates. It’s a very uncertain piece, one that says, “…we’re proud to pay performance fees” yet asks people to understand why they do not want to pay those exact same fees.
Damon Krukowski (Galaxie 500, Damon & Naomi) wrote a fantastic piece on Pitchfork in which he explains the royalty rates from the perspective of a working musician. The amount of sneaky fine print that is involved in payment to musicians is astounding. For example, he writes that his band Galaxie 500 has a song entitled “Tugboat” that was played 7,800 times in one Pandora quarter. Know how much the band made from this? $.21. Each musician got seven cents. That’s it.
All three of the above linked articles are well worth reading so as to inform yourself over how music streaming is “helping” the everyday musician. But what do you think about all of this? What’s your position? READ MORE
Fearless Records has released the fifth volume of their Punk Goes Pop series. Included are artists such as Memphis May Fire, Upon This Dawning, Craig Owens, The Word Alive, and more doing covers of famous pop songs. You can check out the full track list below as well as a lyric video for Issues cover of Justin Bieber‘s “Boyfriend”.
You can snag your copy of Punk Goes Pop vol. 5 on iTunes. Also, now through Nov. 19th, all previous editions of Punk Goes… are on sale for $7.99.
Personally, and maybe I’m not understanding this idea, but doesn’t it seem like you should have, I don’t know, punk bands doing Punk Goes Pop? These seem more like screamo, metalcore, and bands that fall into those types of genres. Help me out here readers, am I wrong? READ MORE
It’s nearing that time again when the music industry collectively pat each other on the backs and present awards to artists who already have shelves devoted to little statues that they earned based on record sales and not any sort of artistic merit. Yup, I’m talking about the AMAs (American Music Awards). But, before we get our panties in a bunch, let’s actually look at what the AMAs were created for. You see, according to a press release, Dick Clark created the AMAs in 1973 as a means of paying “…tribute to popular musicians from various genres of music and to put audiences in touch with the latest phenomena in American music. Since its founding, the AMAs have honored and showcased the talents of some of the biggest names in the music industry.”
So, I’m left scratching my head. Why even create such an event? What is the purpose? I mean, aside from the collective back patting and sycophantic groveling that I mentioned above, is there a point to these shows? Well, obviously ratings. People are gonna tune in to see over-the-top performances (where their favorite artist will no doubt be lip syncing) so they can gush about them to their friends via Facebook and Twitter (who talks on a phone anymore, right?). It’s also a status symbol: “My favorite artist won an award, meaning that he/she/they HAVE to be respected and lauded!”
Whatever. As per my thoughts on ANY award ceremony, I don’t think they do a damn thing. The only people that tune in are those that have a vested interest. No one that is seeking avenues to find new music will even consider watching. What’s the point? They’ve already heard it all before.
If you want to see the list of AMA nominations, check it out below. It’ll be a really recognizable and familiar list. READ MORE
I’ve been obsessed with Minecraft since snagging it on my Xbox. TJ and I have made some amazing constructions and Adam has done his best to destroy them. But before I got sucked into actually playing the game, I was already hooked on watching the Yogscast and their hilarious journeys through the blocky world of Minecraftia. Simon and Lewis got me all set for the day that I would get to play the game myself, all while making me laugh until I was nearly in tears.
The group has now decided that the best way to celebrate the joining of Martyn Littlewood into the YogTowers was by having the three put out a parody of Maroon 5‘s “Moves Like Jagger” entitled “Screw The Nether”. It’s well worth checking out if you’re a fan of the game. If you like the song, you can purchase it off of iTunes.
Bacardi and Maroon 5 hosted a Halloween Party where all sorts of celebrities got together for good times and good music. I’ll tell you what, Adam Levine makes a pretty convincing John McClaine. The rest of the band dressed up as Nikolai Tesla (Jesse Carmichael), Bono (James Valentine) and The Boy With The Red Balloon (Michael Madden). Other guests included Rose McGowan as Marie Antoinette and Austin Nichols and Sophia Bush as Russell Brand and Katy Perry, respectively. You can check out more photos after the jump.
Most Popular
Most commented on articles over the past 30 days.
Featured Stories
Top Stories From Bloody Disgusting
Please reactivate your account by selecting a new password and entering the secret code obtained from your email address.
2 Comments
[BD Caption Contest] Win “Texas Chainsaw 3D” On Blu-ray!!!