The King Of Christmas: Josh Groban 2007’s album ‘Noel’ could be this year’s best Christmas seller. USA Today wrote: ‘Noel, released Oct. 9, is No. 1 for the third week straight, tying a record for holiday albums set by Elvis Presley’s Elvis’ Christmas Album in 1957. Last week, he sold 581,000 copies, a gain of 8% over the previous week’s haul of 539,000. Noel could reach 3 million.

Major Music Companies Pass On Extra Costs To Artists: Touring and merchandise sales are the main sources of income for an artist to get from one city to the next. Gas prices are soaring close to $4 a gallon making it extremely difficult for touring artists. As if it weren’t hard enough, it just got a little harder.

Once again, major music companies are finding new ways to find money, in this case labels have increased the prices for venue CD’s (CD’s that artists buy back from their label to sell at their live performances). Sources have told KOAR that the major labels are now treating their own acts as a ‘retailer’ and selling CD’s at whole sale prices to their OWN artists.

For instance, some labels have increased the CD price from $6.00 to $6.50 and Roadrunner charges artists $12.00. If an artist buys back their CD for $12.00 that means they need to sell the CD for $15.00 to make a profit. What kid who attends a live show is going to buy a CD for $15.00? Isn’t it true that CD’s are becoming an artifact? Products like the CD with a shelf life about to end don’t go up in prices. Lets get real, artists need a break.

Passings: Dan Fogelberg Died at age 56 from a battle with prostate cancer. Fox Column, Roger Friedman said it nicely: ‘No one, I mean no one, in pop today is capable of these kinds of sublime recordings. They’re too interested in fashion. Dan Fogelberg, with many hits and no place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will be sorely missed’.