Marketing Madonna: The material girl is making money from her new album without selling copy. Madonna entered in contracts with Vodafone, Unilever and Fuji, which will use her music to sell products from hairspray to mobile ­phones offering free publicity. Madonna’s deal with Vodafone will allow customers to listen to her new album on their mobile phone prior to the April 28th release date. Also, her new video will make its debut online rather than on MTV. The truth is major corporations want to be associated with superstars and the material girl will always say ‘YES’.

U2 Signs with Concert Promoter Live Nation: U2 have signed a 12-year deal with concert promoter Live Nation to handle the band’s merchandising, digital and branding rights. Live Nation has promoted every world-wide U2 tour since 1997, and it’s subsidiary even manages the band’s Web site and fan club. The U2 and Live Nation deal does not cover distribution of recorded music or music publishing and the band will continue to release records through Universal Music.

Warner Hires New Digital Head: Warner Music recently hired Digital Head Jim Griffin who previously worked at Geffen running the technology department. Warner hired Griffin to lead the brigade of a controversial plan to bundle a monthly fee into consumers’ internet-service bills for unlimited access to music. Blogger Michael Arrington of TechCrunch called Warner’s plan a “music tax on U.S. residents. The effects on innovation in music would be disastrous if such a scheme were ever to become reality,”. Check out Chris Castles blog on Jim Griffin.

Why Steve Jobs wants to sell you a music subscription: Steve Jobs doesn’t care about music, he is concerned with iPod sales. So why does the CEO of Apple now supporting the subscription model? ‘iPod buyers would pay anywhere from $20 to $100 to get all the music they can download. Ah, but they’d have to download it from iTunes, onto an iPod’ says Valley Mag.

Sara Bareillas Beats the Odds: Bareillas won a songwriting contest and her prize was free CD duplication, but she didn’t even have a CD to duplicate. The monster hit, ‘Love Song’ was written out of frustration towards her label because every song she turned in was shot down. She sang the national anthem at Dodger Stadium when she was in middle school and she auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club along with Britney, Justin, and Christina. All of her efforts eventually landed her a record deal and of course a hit song that she wrote. I love the persistence!

Tour Sponsorships: Music tour sponsorships have grown 75% since 2003 and will hit $1.04 billion this year according to BrandWeek. This is fantastic for touring bands or at least for great bands who have built a career on the road.

New Music: Check out the new track titled ‘It Has To Be This Way‘ from experimental band Kaddisfly. It’s a good song but the mastering job is poor, which is why it sounds like a wool blanket is suffocating the tracks. The band has a slew of tour dates running thru April and May.

Chinese Democracy may happen in your lifetime: Irving Azoff and Andy Gould have taken on the difficult task of managing Axl Rose, according to Rose’s website. Rose says he is “very excited” and hopes “our relationship proves beneficial for everyone, especially the fans.” Fans could get more than music out of this deal, since Dr. Pepper has challenged Axl Rose to release his album Chinese Democracy, which was first announced nearly 2 decades ago. The soda company has promised every American a free can of soda should the album be released in 2008.

Will scholarships pay for the songs kids download?: Artist Royalties may now be coming out of college tuition. According to The Register, copyright reform advocate and EFF Advisory Board member Jim Griffin has teamed up with WMG to change the way American college students use p2p. Rather than suing the students, or the universities they attend, a program is being developed that will allow students to legally acquire music through college campus networks, with artist payments being factored into the cost of an education. Time will tell if this ‘simple solution’ will do anything to change the perceptions of young people regarding the legality of downloading or monetary value of music.

Universities aren’t the only ones: The majors are starting to look closer at various subscription models. The favorite at the moment is increasing your monthly internet or cell phone bill to include downloading services. An article in the LA Times writes that “Warner Music Group confirmed Thursday that it was discussing a subscription service, at a cost of perhaps $5 a month added to Internet bills, that would allow users to download, copy and share music. Revenue would be divided among the labels.” How this sort of thing is implemented and whether or not it will be voluntary is yet to be determined. Again, this doesn’t seem to do much to change perceptions about paying for music, but I suppose it will be an easier discussion to have once people are actually paying. No news yet on when/if all of this talk will turn into action.

Speaking of paying for music: CD Baby is celebrating its 10th anniversary, holding title as the #1 Indie Music Retailer. Founder, Derek Sivers, posted on his blog about the far-reaching impact of the little indie retailer that could. “Now CD Baby has paid over $70 million dollars(!!) directly to musicians. And despite the moaning you hear from the major labels, independent artists are selling better than ever. Even physical CD sales are up 30% over last year!” Congratulations are in order for this small company that has made a big difference for independent artists.

Bob Lefsetz Rages Against the Machine: The industry music critic tells the Washtington Post that he really isn’t making money. He sometimes gets checks from Celebtrity Access and Yahoo! which reprints some of his screeds. “I live on a no-cash basis,” he says. “I live in a rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica. . . . I don’t have kids or all these other expenses people have. If I’m going to dinner, somebody else is picking up the tab.” No doubt, Lefsetz knows how to strike a chord among his readers whether right or wrong. “I’m not angry; I’m just passionate about music and trying to speak the truth about it” says Lefsetz. Read the full article here.

Clear Channel Drama: Buyout firms Bain Capital and THL Partners sued a cadre of giant Wall Street banks yesterday to force them to finance the $27 billion takeover of radio company Clear Channel Communications according to the NY Post.

Reznor vs. Radiohead: Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have been taking turns giving the music industry the finger. Both bands are coming up with innovative ideas and both are receiving major press. Trent recently sucker punched Radiohead calling their promotional strategy insincere. Who is really the better innovator? Read the full commentary here.

#2 Digital Retailer: Amazon is sitting right behind iTunes as the #2 digital retailer, and a total 239 million digital tracks have been sold this year. Amazon’s Baltaxe says the best defense against piracy is a good offense. “Songs sold without DRM, at high quality, with album art, that’s the best way to get people to buy music instead of stealing it.

Where are the new superstars? I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but here we are in 2008 and we still don’t have any new artists seriously breaking through. Look at the radio charts and you will find support acts, no headliners. Music is in third place behind movies and video games because it still cannot gain the public’s attention. The best remedy for the ailing music biz is a slew of artists popping through the pile of mediocrity, let me rephrase, the pile of shit. I agree with Clive Davis that artists need to start teaming up with good songwriters. Artists today are no doubt different than yesterday, meaning newer acts just can’t lock down great songs, let alone dress themselves. Please don’t tell me that I’m searching in the wrong places and that you found the Ark of the Covenant, it’s all bullcrap. Email tips@kingsofar.com with a link to your myspace.

Fleetwood Mac surprised by Sheryl Crow claim: Sheryl Crow’s recent claim that she would be working with Fleetwood Mac surprised a lot of people — including the members of the classic rock group according to Reuters. Crow told Spinner.com that she and the band “definitely have plans for collaborating in the future, and we’ll see what happens.” “I think we were all a little surprised (Crow) was announcing that to the world with such certainty,” Fleetwood Mac principal Lindsey Buckingham said with a laugh. Sheryl Crow has turned into a fame junkie always trying to claw her way into the press and back on the radio charts. She even tried to barge herself into the White House. Her new music is void of emotion and soul, I wonder how she sells a record these days…

The True American Idol: Forget about Underwood or Daughtry, it’s Simon Cowell who roars up in his $1million supercar to view his $8million mansion. A total rockstar to say the least..

Its Time: 3 Doors Down new single ‘It’s Not My Time’ has become the fastest moving song at Active Rock radio in the past five years. ‘The early radio success of ‘It’s Not My Time’ is an incredible indication of more great things to come from this band and this album,’ stated Monte Lipman, President & CEO of Universal Republic Records.

Clear Channel Buyout Collapsing: A flurry of reports now suggest that the near-$20 billion acquisition is edging towards collapse, thanks to tightening credit markets and reluctant lenders says Digital Music News.

Corgan Speaks Out On Pumpkins Suit: Corgan says he has been feuding for years with Virgin over the handling of the Pumpkins’ back catalog, but that the Pepsi/Amazon.com promotion crosses the Rubicon. Corgan insists the group has veto power over such deals and has turned them down several times in the past. I believe the Pumpkins surrounded themselves with money hungry lawyers that convinced them they could squeeze out some money from Virgin.

Sony BMG plans online music subscription service: Sony plans to launch a subscription plan to give clients unlimited access to its digital catalogue, chief executive Rolf Schmidt-Holtz said. ‘The simplest option would be a flat rate under which a monthly payment would provide access to our entire music catalogue for all digital players, including Apple’s Ipod,’ he added.

New Music: Listen to “Where’d All The Scene Girls Go” by
The Crash Moderns. The NYC band is influenced by The Kinks, The Clash, Kiss, Squeeze and have been been featured on Fearless Music TV (Fox) and in Time Out NY.

Major Music Labels Near Deal with Myspace: MySpace’s plan to launch a digital-music joint venture with the major record companies is quickly becoming a reality according to the NY Post. Once again, the deal is all about advertising dollars. The labels are trading content rights in exchange for minority equity stakes in MySpace Music and the chance to capitalize in the advertising revenues that myspace hopes to generate from the service.

Connecting with Fans: Check out the article that comes from the Canadian Press titled ‘Musicians seek extra ways to connect with fans, build market‘. “As this business has gone through tremendous change in the last five or six years, it’s simply the way it has to happen,” Arts and Crafts executive Kieran Roy says of the many ways artists are squeezing marketable material out of their musical exploits. “It’s not enough to go and record 10 tracks and call it an album and call it a day. There has to be live content, B-sides, covers, EPK footage, web shorts, videos, podcasts, audiocasts, videocasts, you name it – everything and anything under the sun. And these are all ways for artists to further develop a relationship and loyalty with their fan base.”

The Smashing Pumpkins Sue Virgin: The Smashing Pumpkins are suing Virgin Records, saying the record label has illegally used their name and music in promotional deals that hurt the band’s credibility with fans. The Pumpkins said they have “worked hard for over two decades to accumulate a considerable amount of goodwill in the eyes of the public,” and that Virgin’s use of the band in a “Pepsi Stuff” promotion with Amazon.com and Pepsi Co. threatens their reputation for “artistic integrity” according to AP.

Honestly, I thought the integrity began its downward spiral when Billy Corgan announced a reunion tour in 2006, allowing fans to believe it was the original line up with guitarist James Iha and bassist D’arcy. Is this lawsuit about true artist integrity or the lining of pockets?

Penny Smart: Pennywise’s new album has been downloaded over 500,000 times through clever marketing promotion and part of an ad-supported promotion, according to Digital Music News.

Merging Satellites – SiriusXM: Not everyone is excited of the approved merger of Sirius and XM. “We are astonished that the Justice Department would propose granting a monopoly to two companies that systematically broke FCC rules for more than a decade,” National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton said. “To hinge approval of this monopoly on XM and Sirius’ refusal to deliver on a promise of interoperable radios is nothing short of breathtaking.”

New Music: Check out the track Crazy Beautiful from the christian rock alternative act Chasen. OMG Records signed the band and their first single quickly became a hit on top 40 christian radio. “It’s amazing to see how quickly radio has embraced ‘Crazy Beautiful,’” said Gene Krcelic, founding partner at OMG. “I don’t know that we could have asked for a better setup leading into the launch of the full project in 2008.” The new single ‘If It Comes Down’ can be heard here.

Recommended Listening: Listen to In Pursuing Design by female fronted VersaEmerge. They have a slew tour dates which can be found on their myspace.

Kings of A&R: We want to hear new music. Send us a link to your myspace and let us know what song we should be listening too. Email tips@kingsofar.com. We are in a high energetic mood right now, no sappy music please.