How Realistic is Total Music? Even though Apple and major record labels are talking concerning the idea of bringing the “Total Music” concept to iPod devices, the deal is still not imminent. The Total Music concept involves labels providing music for a specific device, like the iPod, in return for a cut of the device. The labels want a piece of the hardware business which isn’t a bad idea. Regardless, there are several obstacles of Total Music becoming reality which can be read here.

Who Thought of the idea of Pre-loading the iPod with Songs? Universal CEO Doug Morris according to Cnet. Morris has approached Apple with an idea to offer a device that comes preprogrammed with Universal Music’s entire library on it. The FT reported that Morris wants $80 for any Apple device bundling Universal Music songs,while Apple has offered $20.

New Music: Check out music from Columbus band House Of Heroes. Our favorite track is Leave You Know.

Any Takers? Jay-Z wants his own label, but can’t find a home for it. According to an insider, “He wants a label to give him $100 million for the Carter Music Group and provide for overhead, development and digital investment. It’s crazy. He wants the labels to basically be his venture capital fund – but unlike a venture cap, they won’t get 50 percent. This is not the ’90s anymore.”

Sales for Nine Inch Nails: Here is another column that appeared in the New York Times that talks about NIN’s impressive sales figures for an instrumental album. First-week sales generated more than $1.6 million. That sum is the result of more than 781,000 “transactions,” including free and paid downloads, as well as online orders of the CD.

Top Current Albums:

Jack Johnson – Sleep Through The Static – (TW)55,280 – (Total)871,488.
**Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin just said yesterday that people just don’t buy records anymore. That may be true for their audience and demographic, but certainly not true for Johnson. Johnson just sold close to 1 million records in 6 weeks without any big media hype.

Daughtry – Daughtry – (TW)21,092 – (Total)4,000,000
**Daughtry has been charting for 70 weeks and isn’t going anywhere. Daughtry’s debut could easily pass 6,000,000 when all is said done and of course, it’s another victory for American Idol.

Alicia Keys – As I Am – (TW)32,000 – (Total)3,300,000
**Multi-talented Alicia Keys has already sold over 41 million albums and singles worldwide as of 2007, a bucketload of records for a young artist.

Taylor Swift – (TW)33,000 – (Total)2,700,00
**Highly motivated Swift began to regularly visit Nashville, where, at age 14, she wrote songs with local songwriters. Her hard work ultimately landed her on the Top Country Albums charts.

Idol Streamrolls Over the Stars: “American Idol” led FOX to another ratings win Tuesday, trouncing ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” in the hour they aired opposite one another.

Signings: UK singer Adele has signed with Columbia Records. She has been hailed by the British press as the new Amy Winehouse” – I don’t think she is. Listen to the track Hometown Glory.

Smashing Pumpkins May Release Songs, Instead of Albums: “But I don’t think we will make records again,” the drummer Jimmy Chamberlin explains, pointing out that the band’s contractual commitment to Reprise Records is finished. “I look at it like the old business model is dead and the music business doesn’t know how to move forward. We want to keep things vital and keep things viable and get our music across while remaining relevant. Music has in many ways just become an advertisement for your tour.

“I think what we’ll do is start releasing songs,” Chamberlin continues. “The record or CD format places too many limitations on your piece of art. People just don’t buy records anymore.

MTV’s ‘Rock Band’ Song Purchases Double: MTV has said that more than 6 million songs have been purchased for the “Rock Band” video game—doubling the number of purchases as of just two months ago.

New Artist: Ferras is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who is signed to Capitol Records. Ferras struck a deal with the label after an audition for the label’s chairman Jason Flom while on Spring Break from Berklee College of Music. His record was released 3/11/08 and his single from the album ‘Hollywood’s Not America‘ was featured as the “exit song” of part of Season 7 of American Idol.

Facebook About To Pass MySpace In Worldwide Traffic: Facebook was up 2.6%, from January to February, while MySpace grew 3% according to comScore. Facebook continues to close rapidly on MySpace’s visitor total: At 100.7 million uniques in January, Facebook is now just about 8% smaller than MySpace’ 109.3 million. A year ago, MySpace’s worldwide lead was nearly 4x.

How Apple Succeeded: Despite flouting all the rules of being “evil,” Steve jobs has built one of Silicon Valley’s most successful companies. Read the article ‘How Apple Got Everything Right By Doing Everything Wrong‘.

Striking a Deal: Siri Music, the creative venture from producer/songwriter Chauncy Jackson has entered a worldwide distribution and licensing deal with Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman’s brainchild, Federal Distribution via Universal Motown Republic Group. Stefani Vara’s will be the first album released under the multi-year deal.

Fox 411 columnist Roger Friedman discusses Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman and Lyor Cohen’s contract extension. Check out the comprehensive package.

The legal department was too busy figuring out new ways to remuneratively reward Edgar Bronfman and Lyor Cohen for destroying the company. The stock closed on Tuesday at $5.21 after rebounding from $5.02 earlier. There are no WMG albums in the top 20 this week. One wonders, are there stockholders? Where are they? How can this just go on and on? …

The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is in negotiations with the big record companies to offer an unlimited subscription model. The deal would give customers access to the entire iTunes music Library in exchange for a premium price for its iPod and iPhone devices.

Sources say the deal is hinged on a dispute over the price Apple would be willing to pay for access to the labels’ libraries.

Research had shown that consumers would pay a premium of up to $100 for unlimited access to music for the lifetime of the device, or a monthly fee of $7-$8 for a subscription model.

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Starbucks Fighting For Street Cred: The New York Times says Starbucks has lost its creative vision and are now dealing with slumping CD sales. Critics and ex executives of the company say Starbucks has alienated business partners by demanding to much cut of music revenue and not being selective of the artists they carry on the shelves.

The starbucks model sucks – expensive coffee and expensive music! Why would people by the Radiohead ‘In Rainbows’ for 13.00 when you know that same record can be bought for $10 or under says artist manager Steve Ross.

Who Cares About First Week Sales: The Raconteurs are abandoning the standard months-long wait between finishing an album and releasing it with “Consolers of the Lonely,” which will hit retail March 25 via Third Man/Warner Bros according to Billboard. “The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised,” the Jack White-featuring band says. “We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter,” the band says. “The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by its first week sales, pre-release promotion or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.”

Singleless Simpson: Ashlee Simpson will be releasing her third album on April 22nd through Geffen called Bittersweet World. Not suprisingly, her new album features production from Timbaland. Her first two singles have failed to react on the radio charts.

Warner Renews CEO Edgar Bronfman’s Contract: Warner Music Group chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. has re-upped to run the New York-based major for another five years says Billboard. People close to the situation said the backers remain satisfied with Bronfman and recorded music chief Lyor Cohen, who is in the middle of negotiating his own contract extension.

Hits Daily Double looks at it differently claiming, ‘ Edgar Bronfman’s new five-year deal has emboldened the label chief to sell the WMG board on re-upping N.A. head Lyor Cohen for a similar term. He apparently succeeded in convincing Sperling and company that, despite massive evidence to the contrary, Cohen is indispensable. Said one high-profile music business attorney: “Can you name two music business execs in the last 50 years who have done worse in their jobs, and been rewarded more, than these two clowns?”

Internet Shakeup? Google says Microsoft buying Yahoo could shake up the internet by restricting the free flow of information and some how monopolizing the internet. Honestly, monopolizing the internet and making it a legitimate business may not be that bad. The internet and its element of chaos can’t stay the same, it needs organization – plus, Google needs competition.

New Music: Death Cab For Cutie’s new single ‘I Will Possess Your Heart’ can be purchased on Amazon.

Retailers Clash with Pepsi over Free Music: Pepsi is at odds with some of its biggest US retail customers over a national marketing campaign offering free digital music downloads from online retailer Amazon says the Financial Times. “You have to ask yourself why Pepsi would team up with a company that doesn’t sell its products, and risk antagonising all the people that do sell its products,” said a source at one retailer. (read full article here)