Downloading music, movies, e-books and Apps could soon cost Connecticut residents more as lawmakers consider a tax on digital downloads.

The  bill, proposed by the General Assembly’s Finance, Review and Bonding Committee, would have consumers pay the 6.35% sales tax on any electronic transfer.

Supporters say the bill would level playing the field. Brick-and-mortar retailers are required to charge a sales tax who purchase products in their stores, why is downloading music from an internet based store exempt?

In fact, 25 states have already begun taxing digital downloads.

The Committee will hold a public hearing about the proposed bill Friday morning at 10am at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

SXSW pick: 

March 16th
4:30 pm // Banana Beat x Oakley acoustic set at Double Decker Bus
12:00 am // Official SXSW showcase at The Belmont

March 17th
3:00 pm // Dub Frequency ‘Creme De La Creme’ at Malverde Lounge

Buzz Track: Runaround

Kings favorite G-Eazy just performed at Irving Plaza with ASAP Rocky on February 1st. G-Eazy’s Runaround video has received close to 500,000 views on YouTube.

Contact: danielrfriedman@aol.com

Buzz Track: Walk Out On Me

Act As If, an indie/rock band from Los Angeles has become a Kings favorite. Check out the video for Walk Out on Me as well as the catchy indie pop track Oh My My. They landed on iTunes ‘New And Noteworthy’ and The Deli Magazine ‘LA Artist of the Month‘. The band has had several song placements on TV and licensed the song ‘About Saying and Meaning Goodbye’ to Apple for use in its Lion OS video.  The band has three big shows coming up.

March 20th – The Living Room, NYC
March 21st – Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
April 17th – The Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles

Contact: actasifmusic@gmail.com

SXSW pick: March 16th – RedGorilla at 10pm – the Rooftop Bar on 6th St.

Buzz Track: The Last Song

If you haven’t heard of singer-songwriter Tim Halperin, he has the #1 album on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts. Halperin also landed in the top 24 in last years American Idol and has shared the stage with Hot Chelle Ray, Cody Simpson, etc.  For fans of The Fray, etc.

Contact: danielrfriedman@mac.com

Buzz Track: Fairest One of All

The Spin Room is the stage name of American emo/indie/pop punk musician Nick Miley from Long Island, New York. The Spin Room recorded his debut EP “The Dream We Keep” with producer Rob Freeman (Cobra Starship, Hit the Lights) with several songs landing on shows such as E! Channel’s “Keeping up with Kardashians”, “Kourtney and Kim Take New York” and other shows on E!, MTV and VH1. PureVolume has picked The Spin Room as one of their Top Unsigned Bands of 2011. The Spin Room was also the 25th most played band on PureVolume in 2011. The song “Fairest One of All” is being featured on the popular online game “Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 4” by Second Impact Games.

Contact: daniellencaruso@gmail.com