Depeche Mode Leaves The Building: According to sources Depeche Mode has left Warner Music only to sign a deal with EMI who will release their music worldwide. This move doesn’t come as a surprise as Depeche Mode is managed by Jonathan Kessler who recently teamed up with Coldplay. Depeche Mode followed in the same steps as the Eagles, Madonna, and Nickelback. Depeche Mode is one of the most successful bands emerging from the new wave era having sold over 72 million records. Watch this incredible live performance.

Is The Music Business Immune To a Recession? Music related stocks are suffering despite the bailout. To illustrate, Warner Music Group (WMG) slipped to $6.09 before recovering to $6.61, down 4.21 percent. Apple (AAPL) had its ups and downs, dropping to a 52-week low of $87.54 before landing at $98.14, up 1.1 percent. Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) continued to suffer, ending at just 50-cents, (Digital Music News)

Others remain optimistic. For instance “In a bad economy people retreat to cheaper forms of entertainment,” said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at Pali Research in New York. “CDs have held up a lot better than I had expected this year.”

We believe touring bands will feel the economic crunch. For instance,
Scars on Broadway has canceled all scheduled appearances although not citing economic reasons. Bigger acts like Metallica will be immune and will do quite well. Consumers will save their money and only spend it for the favorite artists.

Here are some tips for developing bands touring in a harsh economy.

Trash Talking: The Los Angeles Times trashes the new album “Appeal To Reason” by Rise Against. “Such songs are nothing revolutionary. If kids wanted their own politics screamed back at them, they could watch cable news.