The Digital Music Weblog

• Goodnight from The Digital Music Weblog
  

  Filed under: News, General

  
  
  The Digital Music Weblog is retiring from active duty as of today. I'd like to say a huge note of thanks to everyone who has helped or contributed to this fantastic blog since its launch in 2004. TDMW has seen some brilliant bloggers and has been a launching pad for many among the ranks of Weblogs, Inc; I will always be proud to say I'm one of them.
  
  TDMW may be retiring but, I will continue to write for other Weblogs, Inc sites. You can still read my work, along with a stable of other great bloggers, on Download Squad.
  
  Thanks...
  



• The greatest drum battle that ever was
  

  Filed under: General, Music, Must Hear

  Nope, it's not Tommy Lee vs. Neil Peart. It's not John Bonham vs Keith Moon. It's Buddy Rich vs. Animal. That's right. Animal. Elmo's whacked out black sheep uncle.
  
  
  
  
  
  Buddy Rich is the obvious winner here. He's the greatest Jazz drummer who ever lived, able to bang out monster beats at a speed and precision that would tax even the most exacting of robot drummers from a creepy musical future. That being said and all things being equal (as equal as can be when one opponent is a Muppet), Animal gives it his best...
  



• Why music blogs will one day rule the earth
  

  Filed under: General

  What happens when your label's advertising budget runs thin? Well, you can't purchase ads in major music magazines. What happens when you stop purchasing ads in major music magazines? They stop covering your releases*.
  
  *if the magazine is Amplifier and the label is The Birdman Recording Group and, if this email exchange over at Idolator is the real deal.
  
  When told that Birdman's ad budget was closer to what I'd find in my pocket than to what an ad exec would use to buy a new Porsche, Amplifier's director of advertising wrote back, " Bummer.....wish we could continue to support your artists, but...
  



• From the Idol to the Bizzare
  

  Filed under: General

  Ok, we admit it, we were glued to the TV just like you last night, watching the part of American Idol which pays entertainment dividends like no other; The auditions.
  
  Seattle didn't fail to bring memorable characters to light. There's the Taylor-Hicks-haired hair dresser, who freaked out the security guards by trying to give Simon a little pomade. The bleach blond, gold wrapped, mother accompanied novella writer who butchered "Don't Cha" just as much as anyone else. That girl who removed the gum from her mouth just long enough to prove she couldn't sing. And, who could forget the God Bless America singing...
  



• Atlantic Monthly : Mp3 = VHS / DRM = Betamax
  

  Filed under: General, DRM, Apple, RIAA, IFPI, BPI, iTunes

  Michael Hirchshorn of The Atlantic Monthly takes a look at Web 2.0 music services and while drawing lines though a connect the dots progression comes up with several gems of inference. The highlight of which is a comparison of Mp3 to DRM "protected" media that contrasts VHS and Betamax, "One next step could be a move by the labels to make more pay-per-download music available without restriction, meaning that once you've purchased a song, you can do anything you want with it, currently a no-go on Zune or iTunes....
  



• Mashup madness, "Best of Bootie 2006"
  

  Filed under: General, Music, Must Hear

  Rebel DJ's, DJ Adrian and The Mysterious D have released what they call "Best of Bootie 2006", a full mixed contiguous mashup that cuts razor slices through the best of 30 years of music, then bakes them until crisp and golden brown.
  
  Get it while it's hot, I can't imagine it will be available long. Mashups include highlights like "Crazy Logic", combining Supertramp's "Logical Song", Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" into what can only be called a feast of paranoid delight. Also a gem, DJ Topcat's, "Dec. 4th, Oh What A Night" which digs deep...
  



• Hypebot asks indie labels about DRM
  

  Filed under: General, DRM, RIAA

  Bruce at Hypebot has been an an anti-DRM rampage in the new year. He's started contacting industry figures and asking them a few questions each about how they view the Mp3, and on the flipside of the coin, DRM.
  
  His most recent victim target is Director of New Media for Beggar's/Matador Adam Farrell. Wanna know what Beggar's position is on Mp3 downloads? "At the end of the day, we support any steps that a DMS or device company or label might take to reduce friction in the market and improve the customer experience."
  
  It's an avalanche waiting to happen....
  



• Music videos of the 90's bonanza
  

  Filed under: General, Must Hear

  
  
  I stumbled across this gem of a thread on SomethingAwful in which a bunch of hipsters are collecting links to 90's music videos on YouTube.
  
  It's a veritable cornucopia of awesomeness to waste away your afternoon. Great stuff like Pixies, Cranberries, Dee Lite and The Reverend Horton Heat. Guilty pleasures like 4 Non-Blondes (if you can resist rocking out to "What's Up" after 4 or 5 beer, you are superhuman). Plus, total cheese like Ace of Base, Goo Goo Dolls and Reel Big Fish.
  
  The whole list is enough to push a weak...
  



• Music for Robots releases second comp CD
  

  Filed under: General, Music, Must Hear

  Robots are at it again. Those crafty automatons have been working hard to put together a CD of infinite indie wisdom, packed full of bands on the edge of hotness.
  
  "Us robots scoured the world for amazing music, from the hallowed halls of our nation's capital, to the rain-soaked streets of Glasgow. We traveled as far afield as Sweden and the UK, as well as Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, and New York City. In between we found a cohesive, flowing album that defines our tastes while highlighting the diversity of music for robots."
  
  Available direct from Music For Robots or...
  



• Since when is "making available" considered "distribution"
  

  Filed under: General, RIAA

  A newly contested RIAA case involving Sony in South Carolina may help set some important precedents. Court filings obtained by Recording Industry vs. The People show a legal team that's stepping back from the trees to take a whole new whack at the forest.
  
  An astute reader of RIVTP points out the crux of the argument in the counterfiling, "The Complaint fails to join an indispensable party or parties, including but not limited to the "online media distribution system" [...] and therefore should be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(7), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." That same astute reader explins it for...