Keynote Speech: U2 manager, Paul McGuinness wants to end illegal music downloads and urges internet service providers and governments to toughen up their policies.

In a keynote speech spoken at the MIDEM music conference McGuinness said it was time for artists to stand up against what he called the “shoddy, careless and downright dishonest way they have been treated in the digital age.”

“There’s a lot of money in the music business, but it has stopped coming to the artists,” McGuinness said, though he agreed that U2 long ago determined that it “would be pathetic to be great artists but not be great at business.”

Read the rest of his passionate speech where he blames record labels that “through lack of foresight and planning allowed a range of industries to arise that let people steal music”…..

“We Are Not Idiots”: The new digital start up, Qtrax offers a free 25 million song catalogue and claimed to have deals in place with all four major labels. Wired Mag says the Time Online UK tracked down the CEO of Qtrax where he offered a response to the recent press.

“We are not idiots,” he said. “We wouldn’t have launched the service in front of the whole music industry unless we had secured its backing. We feel we have been unfairly crucified because a competitor tried to damage us. Everyone is very upset.”
Read more here….

The Signs of a New Era: We urge you to read the WSJ column entitled
‘Beyond The Album‘ that urges musicians to experiment on their own.

Digital Christian Music: EMI who is the leading distributor of Christian music and DVDs, is hoping for some divine intervention for the struggling genre’s sales according The NY Post. EMI plans to develop 500 new digital Christian music storefronts.

New Music and Recommended Listening:

The Midnight Academy – Sacramento, California. Think Queens of the Stone Age and My Bloody Valentine. The first track on their myspace, ‘The Epidemic‘ lays down an opening riff reminiscent of Interpol. (contact the band)
Next Show Dates:
Jan 28, The Old Ironsides-Sacramento, California
Feb 1st,The Upstairs – Inside Country Club Lanes, Citrus Heights, CA