Guns N’ Roses will finally release ‘Chinese Democracy‘ on November 23rd via Best Buy. Andy Gould, GNR manager, told the 900 employees the news about “Chinese Democracy” before previewing three songs from the album.

Recommended Listening: Still In The Dark by Aranda. This song is showing some signs of life on rock radio, they can sing live too.

Three music venues will open in Los Angeles capable of holding 8,000 concertgoers. Despite the economy, promoters believe they can keep venues packed, others are not so sure. “There’s an enormous pool of artists who can sell 1,000 to 2,500 tickets — more than at any time in history,” Goldenvoice president Paul Tollett said.

ReverbNation, a promotion platform for musicians, labels, managers and venues, has secured $3 million in funding.

Apple’s Co-Founder questions the iPod shelf life. “It’s kind of like everyone has got one or two or three. You get to a point when they are on display everywhere, they get real cheap and they are not selling as much.”

New Music: Listen to Don’t Wake Up by Los Angeles act I Am Ghost. Manchester Music says, “I Am Ghost present themselves as a dark rock band, but musically this is in fact a collection of modern metal via accessible assaults of melody and hard driven rock.” The band just released a full length ‘Those We Leave Behind’ via Epitaph.

Gloomy News At Music Conference: The future of artists and the business was the focal point at this years UK’s ‘In The City’ music conference. Warner Music, one of the major labels, has cut back on new signings. But Warner boss Lyor Cohen said that was because greatness is evident from the start, and there is no point taking a punt on anything less.

“There was a time when I signed every possible average artist,” he said. “We were quite arrogant thinking we could make good magnificent. Good sucks – I’d rather be terrible or magnificent.”

I can’t fault Cohen for signing average artists since top execs are pressured to meet revenue targets. Greatness is rare and mediocrity is all to common, especially today. We want to hear greatness – email tips@kingsofar.com.

YouTube will integrate links to iTunes and Amazon for DVDs, CDs, and digital downloads allowing users direct access to buy and download music. The YouTube eCommerce Platform will allow partners across all industries including music, film, TV, and publishing to generate additional revenue.

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.

Signings: Chicago alt act, A Company of Thieves signs to Wind Up Records. We at KOAR have been saying new bands lack musicianship while enslaving themselves in a narrow box afraid of taking chances. A Company Of Thieves steps forward drawing influences from Edy Brickell. Check out the self produced tracks Oscar Wilde and Pressure.

Las Vegas band Adelitas Way who was released from Interscope Records looks like they could find a new home shortly. During the Interscope days, the band recorded with producer Brian Howes (Daughtry, Hinder, Rev Theory). Expect some of their myspace tracks to be on their forthcoming album. Adelitas Way frequently graced the pages on KOAR.

Virginia pop rock outfit My Favorite Highway who spent years on the scene should generate excitement with their new full length. My Favorite Highway caught the interest of KOAR when they released their first track ‘Murder On The Radio‘. During the course of the years, the band dropped the rock roots and gravitated towards the pop direction ala Jason Mraz and The Fray.

Thursday who is a post-hardcore emo band from New Jersey signs to Epitaph. The band has released albums through Eyeball Records, Victory, and Island. We credit Thursday for the explosive emo.

Apple is threatening to yank iTunes if the US Copyright Royalty Board forces them to pay a higher royalty rate. The publishers association wants rates raised from 9 cents to 15 cents a track according to CNN.

Apple is known to play hardball when negotiating and managed to build a reputation that they could be the next Microsoft. The Vice President of iTunes said Apple might close its download store rather than raise its 99 cents a song price or absorb the higher royalty costs. “Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably.”

David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers Association said he opposed any attempt by companies like Apple and its record label allies to do away with the fixed royalty rate. “Apple may want to sell songs cheaply to sell iPods,” he said. “We don’t make a penny on the sale of an iPod.”

We understand Apple is in business to make money but artists need to make money to. Apple is known for treating its competitors as enemies and is also known to squeeze out every penny from its allies. Apple is known to take up to 75 percent of the sales price from accessory makers and leaving them with zero profit. As Newsweek says, “Bullish behavior can invite backlash.”