• The Militia Group have signed singer/songwriter Ronnie Day.
• Lady Gaga who just performed at the BMI showcase last night signs to Island/Def Jam.
• The Little Ones have signed a deal with Astralwerks. via (Coolfer)
• The Exploders are signed to Rubber / EMI for Australia but are available for the rest of the world. They are currently recording the second album in Dallas Texas with producer Stuart Sikes (Modest Mouse, Cat Power, The White Stripes) and will be performing Sept 18 @ Piano’s and Sept 19 @ the Knitting factory. For more information email paul.goodwin@optusnet.com.au.

B’Day
Beyonce
TW 541,198

Revelations
Audioslave
TW 141,817

Matter of Life and Death
Iron Maiden
TW 55,722

Extreme Behavior
Hinder
TW 53,722
Total 609,103
*The power of top 40 radio

Oh No
Ok Go
TW 13,697
Total 77,718
*jumped 66%. Read the recent article “WebBuzz/Record Sales”

• Apple’s iTunes to start selling movies
  Apple Computer Inc. said on Tuesday it will begin selling movie downloads from Walt Disney Co.’s film studios, aiming to turn its iTunes online music store into a one-stop shop for digital entertainment.
• Madonna will sing suspended from a cross in the finale of her Moscow concert on Tuesday despite a plea from the Russian Orthodox Church to drop that part of her act. Madonna has outraged Christian groups across Europe by staging a mock crucifixion and wearing a crown of thorns on her global “Confessions”
• BMI Presents New Music: Tuesday September 12th Arlene Grocery
• Alternative rockers God or Julie will be showcasing September 13th at Arlenes Grocery (NYC). Expect a big label turn out. Check out the video. For more information email michael@childlikemanagement.com or 917-709-7170. Check out Say Your Last Goodbye.

Nielsen Media Research Monday said it is in talks with Clear Channel’s electronic ratings committee about measuring radio listening which could pose a serious challenge to Arbitron.

The technology Nielsen could employ to measure radio would be its cell-phone-based “go meter� which the company has earmarked as a device for measuring out-of-home TV viewing.

Nielsen’s potential entry into radio could pose additional problems for Arbitron beyond challenging the radio ratings’ company’s core business. The two companies are currently partnering in Project Apollo, a national marketing service that combines Arbitron’s PPM with ACNielsen’s consumer scanner panels to provide advertisers with multimedia and product purchase data from a common sample of consumers. Project Apollo has six major advertisers participating in the pilot service.

(Media Week)

iPod Sales are declining at an unprecedented rate.
From its launch five years ago its sales graph showed a consistent upward curve, culminating in a period around last Christmas that saw a record 14 million sold. But sales fell to 8.5 million in the following quarter, and down to 8.1 million in the most recent three-month period. Wall Street is reportedly starting to worry that the bubble will burst.

iPod Backlash?
Industry experts talk of a ‘backlash’ and of the iPod ‘wilting away before our eyes’. Most disastrously, Apple’s signature pocket device with white earphones may simply have become too common to be cool. Industry-watchers warn that the iPod could soon be regarded by teenage cynics as their ‘parents’ player’ because a mass-market product rarely equates with edgy fashionability.

Updating the iPod is time consuming.
The Zandl Group, a New York-based trends forecaster which regularly interviews a panel of 3,000 consumers aged 25-35 cited that the batteries are not replaceable which means you need a new player. Other complaints include that iTunes is overpriced and the format is not easily transferred to other players. Many iPod users claim updating their iPod is too much work and many consumers who purchased iPods had not even taken theirs out of the package.

Is the iPod in Danger of its own success?
The Zandle Group spokeswoman, Carla Avruch said the iPod is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success: ‘Some backlash is against the ubiquity of the iPod – everyone has those white headphones on the train.’

(The Observer)