Subblime, a new online hub for YouTube stars to shared products they love (and generate revenue in the process), launched publicly on Tuesday. The site has been in a private beta stage for months. It has already drawn YouTube creators like Elle Walker and Kristina Horner to publish lists of their favorite items.

Fans who join Subblime immediately subscribe to their favorite YouTubers’ lists and can choose to favorite it or buy it.

“My number one customer is the content creator on YouTube and my goal for them is to help them grow their business,” said co-founder and CEO Adam Winnick, noting that everyone on YouTube is looking for additional revenue streams to buttress the influx of ad dollars.

Winnick made frequent analogies to examples in traditional media such as “The Biggest Loser,” which made a lot of its money from integrating fitness apparel and dietary supplements into the fabric of the show.

Buzz Track: On Your Own

Ed Ghost Tucker is a five-piece indie folk/pop band from San Diego. Think Of Monsters and Men and Mumford & Sons. They have been gaining recognition around their area after being selected as the April winners of the SoundDiego Blog’s ‘Garage 2 Glory’ contest. They just came off a tour on the CA coast, performing shows with The Lonely Wild, The Americans, and Mojo Stone. They kicked off the tour with a Sold Out show in May.
Contact: edghosttuckerband@gmail.com

Samsung has purchased 1 million copies of Jay-Z’s coming album, entitled “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” slated for release July 4, and plans to give them to Samsung Galaxy smartphone users for free – 72 hours ahead of the release. The users are to receive the music through an app they’ll receive later this month. (Recipients won’t be able to share it until the official release date.)

Samsung paid $5 apiece for the albums, according to a person familiar with the matter. It wasn’t immediately clear if Nielsen SoundScan will count Samsung’s purchases in its sales tallies.

For Jay-Z, the deal is a precious advertising opportunity and gives him $5 million in sales before the album is even released. The agreement signals the increasing importance of corporate sponsors to the music industry, which has seen sales tank over the past decade.

Buzz Track: Slow Motion

Social Club has become a Kings favorite. The San Diego pop rock band has solidified their sound with an unrelenting presence both live and on the Internet. After releasing their debut EP, Pictureshow, Social Club inked a deal with Pacific Records, a regional label. Following this release, Social Club quickly rose to the top of the San Diego music scene, pulling record crowds at local venues and finding feature spots on local televisions and radio shows. Their live performances incorporates influences of the driving beats of bands like The Killers and Arctic Monkeys.
Contact: SocialClubJams@gmail.com

BMI wants Pandora to pay the piper. Or at least pay the piper a little more.

Music licensing company BMI filed suit against internet music streaming service Pandora on Thursday, demanding higher licensing fees and accusing Pandora of trying to do an end-run around BMI’s licensing rate structure.

In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in southern New York, BMI contends that, despite Pandora and other streaming services’ growing share of the music-listening marketplace — and accompanying increase in advertising revenues — Pandora has been paying an unreasonably low licensing rate, and in fact has been lobbying Congress to lower its fees even further. Read more