“I feel that it makes everyone look smaller, not bigger. Take for example, when you see some joe schmo artist who has a well known band in his
top 8. If you are a complete unknown and you have U2 in your top 8 it makes them look smaller.”

Throughout the entertainment industry it is getting harder and harder for acts to define their market. On paper, one would think that with so many available resources and new avenues to get heard, record companies should be able to really up the ante, however it is becoming apparent that much of the problem is indeed stemming from the “artists� themselves.

(You can find Phaze 9 promoting themselves daily drowning out comments on mainstream bands myspace pages including SOAD, Flyleaf and 10 Years.  Phaze 9 consist of a family including mother, father, and seven year old son. They purchased a Friendbot)

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There is more than one issue to address, the first being that there simply seems to be a lack of quality acts in general, but why is that? Maybe kids are too quick to pick up the Playstation controller over the axe. But beyond a lack of inspiration there is a major shift in this country that is happening right before our eyes: the insatiable lust for fame. Now, even my 40yr. old balding next door neighbor thinks he is going to be famous. The two biggest contributing factors of this in my opinion are Myspace.com and American Idol. American Idol has paved the way for thousands of fairly talentless people to take the mainstream airwaves. At best, the majority of these people are closet singers that ordinarily couldn’t draw their best friends out to come see them perform at a karaoke bar,
and now they really have a “voice� with this Myspace craze. Myspace.com is really interesting because it takes all the allure and mystique away from the artist. Back not too long ago you would only have a few outlets to get your “fix� on the band in which you craved. You invested your time to see them perform, to see the video on MTV, or you went to the store to buy the magazine they were featured in…there was an investment. These days you can know what band ate what for breakfast this morning, what brand of toilet paper they use, and what their favorite TV show is- there is no mystery. Everything about our culture and where it is headed is the antithesis of Rock-n-Roll. What rock band back in the day would post a journal on their daily life…are you kidding me? CONTINUE READING

Over 8 American Idol contestants will be releasing records from September to mid November with 3 contestants releasing CD’s on the same day November 14th. Fantasia Barrino’s sophomore effort is due Oct. 17. Ruben Studdard’s will release his third CD on September 26th. Clay Aiken’s street date is October 14th.

Take a Look at these sales figures below.

Kelly Clarkson – 5.4 million copies
Carrie Underwood – 3.2 million units
Clay Aiken – 2.8 million
Ruben Studdard – 1.8 million
Fantasia Barrino – 1.7 million
Josh Gracin – 667,000
Bo Bice – 641,000

Kelly Clarkson is the only true megastar American Idol broke. Auditioning 10,000 artists and finding one legitimate gem? This sounds about right.

(Variety)

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Tooth and Nail has signed Mississippi based Jonezetta. Its a new wave act a cross between The Killers and Franz Ferdinand.

Victory Records has signed Florida’s hardcore emo screamo act A Day to Remember.

Virgin Records has signed singer/songwriter folk artist A Fine Frenzy (pictured) out of Los Angeles.Â

San Diego based Dynamite Walls are beginning to make a mark selling 1,000 EP’s in the 1st month of the release online. The band has been compared as everything from Coldplay to John Mayer, but I also hear radio contempories such as the Fray. For more information contact Jason Burkhart or legal Nick Ferrera.
Aug 7 Los Angeles, CA – BMI
Aug 10 Santa Barbara, CA – Club Soho
Aug 17 Tempe, AZ – The Sugi Tap
Aug 26 San Diego, CA – Epicentre
Sep 8Â San Diego, CA – The Beauty
Sep 29 San Diego, CA – Pi Beta Phi Sorority
Kiss and Ride (mp3)
Now (Tell Me) (mp3)

She has a platinum record and a sold out tour that may end up being the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist. She is controversial and always creates a national buzz and is one of the best selling music artists of all time. What’s odd about this is that I rarely heard her new singles on the radio. Radio barely spun first three singles from her latest album.

Hung Up” got middling airplay on mainstream top 40 outlets, “Sorry” was barely played, and “Get Together” has been all but ignored by pop stations. (Her album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” has sold a healthy 1.5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.)

Why did radio shun legitimate Madonna singles that J Lo could never get her hands on? Because she isn’t hip hop enough. I know many at this point haven’t tuned into radio for the last year but your not missing anything. Hip Hop owns radio.

Warner Bros. was aware that the songs on “Confessions” could present challenges at mainstream top 40 radio, acknowledges Tom Biery, the label’s senior VP of promotions. “Top 40 radio is so hip-hop-driven,” he says. “We were coming in with a global pop star who made a dance record.”

If you want to earn your position at top 40 I suggest you lose your artistic vision and write hip hop songs. Nelly Furtado and Mariah Carey took no chances and quickly hopped on the hip hop wagon. Even so called punk rockers Good Charlotte are going to trade in the axe for a rap and has recorded a track with the Game for their upcoming album.

According to Dom Theodore, regional VP of programming for Clear Channel and program director of top 40 WKQI Detroit, today’s programmers consider each Madonna song on a case-by-case basis to determine if it fits mainstream top 40, adult top 40 or both. Or neither. For Theodore, the sound of “Confessions on a Dance Floor” skews more retro-adult top 40 than mainstream top 40, while recent club tracks like Rihanna’s “SOS” have “more hip-hop credibility.” The Rihanna jam may reference an early-’80s dance hit (Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”) but Theodore believes it does not have the same “retro ’70s feel” as the Madonna tracks.

Are your ears bleeding from the beats of Hip Hop? Then pack your bags and move out of the US (The Home of Hip Hop)

Madonna has had no such problems internationally. Since its release last November, “Confessions on a Dance Floor” has topped the charts in 29 countries and sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, according to Warner Bros. Except for dance radio outlets like KNGY San Francisco, KNRJ Phoenix and KNHC Seattle, Madonna is missing from the terrestrial radio landscape in the United States.

To shun legitimate singles because they are not hip enough is exactly why music is in its lowest life form. But to avoid singles from a career artist like Madonna is even more frightening. This is why terrestrial radio is chopping its own head off and people are tuning out. (Reuters)