Starbucks Slowing Down: Starbucks walked away from the recorded music biz because the caffein pusher has to many other fishes to fry. Starbucks CORE business is coffee, not music. It’s challenging to put any thought into music when earnings have sunk 21% in the second quarter. The company even plans to cut on planned U.S. Store Openings.

Will YouTube Make Money? CEO of Google wants to make money off of YouTube, but he just has to figure out how. “I don’t think we’ve quite figured out the perfect solution of how to make money, and we’re working on that says Chief Executive Eric Schmidt’. Of course the only solution seems to be advertising. Schmidt said YouTube planned to introduce new products aimed at generating advertising revenue.

Who’s The Sellout? As for his entry into the music business…Â You’re just jealous. He’s passionate about acts, he’s got an audience, he’s a tastemaker (Lefsetz on Perez Hilton)

The amazing critic Bob Lefsetz just wrote these even more amazing words about the Gossip Gangstar! (Perez Hilton)

Don’t let anyone fool you. This love letter relationship is just about press and attention.

The one (Lefsetz) who tells you never to sell out to the BIG MAN, sells himself out to Perez Hilton. I think many critics and artists are frightened of the queen of gossip and want to assure themselves a hunky-dory relationship exists in an effort to escape possible negative press. The easy road is to join popular culture. The artistic road to change is pain and suffering. Building a career is about saying NO, not saying YES. I understand Perez Hilton has become a marketing bullet point because of his popular blog. I also understand the motto “If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em “, just don’t educate me about CHANGE and SELLING OUT.

New Music: Check out the indie band SeaBird. Our favorite tracks are Stronger and Let Me Go On. Singer Aaron Morgan says this about his record, “There is a redemptive quality present in this record, even in the darker moments. We hope this record will be an oasis for those who were left thirsty by years of heartache.”

Attention Artists: We feel your pain and certainly understand how it must feel for not being paid for your creation. You’re told everyday that you should be giving away music for free and never should expect a real payday. The good news is that online media giants like Yahoo, RealNetworks and AOL could pay up to $100 million in royalties owed to thousands of songwriters and publishers, after a federal judge established a formula for determining the payments. Of course these companies are tying to buck the system but let’s hope the federal judge upholds his formula for potential license fees on songs played by the three online services from July 1, 2002 through December 31, 2009, the trade group said.

Concert Attendance Slips:Â Could it because of the credit card crunch? Is everyone in debt up to their ears? We think so…