shiny dot bulletin

via FYIMusic.ca, via PRWeb

Rockanomics.com, a pro-American, pro-military, conservative online rock music journal and community, launches this fall. The site features music reviews and downloads, videos, interviews, conservative news articles, analysis of national events and pop culture issues, trivia, discussions, blogs and a special 9/11 remembrance. While helping expose lesser known up-and-coming music artists, another focus of the site is to raise awareness of the needs of U.S. military personnel and highlight their successes around the world.

“Though we intend for Rockanomics.com to become one of the Web’s leading online portals for conservative news and rock music, we still find it important to help our readers find a fulfilling career path and share in the American dream…”

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) October 8, 2008 — World Anthem Inc. announces the upcoming launch of Rockanomics.com, a conservative news site and rock music community in one. Pro-American and pro-military, Rockanomics.com aims to take on the bands, magazines, newspapers and other media that constantly slam the country and the president. Rockanomics.com will also offer an “ally” program, motivating businesses and individuals to refer subscribers and earn ongoing revenue. The site is scheduled to launch in late 2008.

Rockanomics.com

“One of the main reasons for Rockanomics.com is to raise awareness of the needs of U.S. military personnel and highlight their tremendous successes around the world,” says Rob Stanley, founder of Rockanomics.com. “To show our support, a portion of subscription fees will go to one of several military charities benefiting wounded or disabled veterans and their families.”

Rock music is the primary genre featured on Rockanomics.com, but exceptional pop, contemporary country and hip-hop is also included to attract a broad and diverse fan base. On the music pages, emphasis is given to exposing lesser known up-and-coming artists, while featuring newsworthy events in the mainstream entertainment press. Individuals who subscribe to the site’s mailing list can download free music and are entered in a drawing for an iTunes gift card or an iPod Nano. Visitors can also subscribe to a pre-launch mailing list to stay informed of the exact launch date and get sneak previews of the site before it goes live.

In addition to music reviews and downloads, the site features technology reviews, videos, interviews, articles, analysis of national events and pop culture, trivia, discussions, blogs and a special 9/11 remembrance. Rockanomics.com writers tackle the big news stories, point fingers, name names and offer fact-based analysis of national concerns and their effects on American life.

“With the dawn of a new media committed to providing non-biased reporting, and with intelligent, informed, engaged listeners, the momentum is shifting back to a patriotic ‘America First’ winning attitude, where clear thinking, honest debate and masterful problem solving rule the day. Rockanomics.com is built in this spirit, and strives to drive these ideals home,” Stanley says.

A unique feature to Rockanomics.com is the site’s career and business departments. Individuals looking to advance will find education and career information, business basics and personal finance tips on this section of the Web site.

“Though we intend for Rockanomics.com to become one of the Web’s leading online portals for conservative news and rock music, we still find it important to help our readers find a fulfilling career path and share in the American dream,” Stanley says.

To view a video greeting and statement from Rob Stanley, founder of Rockanomics.com, the Web’s newest site for rock music and conservative news, visit http://www.rockanomics.com.

Contact:
Rob Stanley
RobStanley @ rockanomics.com
215-598-2807

Technorati Tags: conservative news, music news, Rockanomics, Rockanomics.com

I received this via email yesterday:

September 25, 2008

Dear Canadian musician,

I am writing to encourage you to donate your time and talent to help convince Canadians to vote for any party other than the Conservatives in the upcoming federal election. I administer one of several Facebook groups with memberships now numbering in the tens of thousands that are dedicated to “vote ABC” (Anything But Conservative). While online protests are useful, many of our members believe that the most effective way to get Canadians excited about the movement against the Tories would be to hold a large collective music concert. Such an event would not only gain widespread media attention, but would foster a sense of excitement and camaraderie amongst those who oppose the Conservatives’ social, environmental, artistic, cultural, and economic policies.

I understand that this may be a lot to ask, but I (and others who are concerned about the state of the country) lack the resources to organize and put on the concert that could stop the Harper government. We would like to ask you to use your contacts, friends, instruments, and whatever resources are at your disposal to stage a show somewhere in Canada that will attract as large an audience as possible.

Such a concert would require the donation of a great deal of time and resources; nevertheless, I (and other members of various ABC groups) believe that given the recent cuts to arts funding in Canada, such a sacrifice could actually be an investment for the future. The Prime Minister has recently stated publicly that governments should not go out of their way to support Canadian artistic talent, and unless something is done now, before the October 14th election, Mr. Harper’s vision for Canada’s future will become a reality.

Please call your friends and colleagues today. Your country needs you… and your music!

Sincerely,

Danny Jackson

P.S. Neither I nor any of the administrators of the other above mentioned Facebook groups are officially connected to the Anything But Conservative campaign run by Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams; however, we fully support Mr. Williams’s endeavor to convince Canadians not to vote for the federal Conservatives.

Technorati Tags: anything but conservative, arts funding, canadian election, funding cuts, stephen harper

This just in via Excess Copyright.

You can read Howard’s previous low-down on the situation here:

An excerpt:

While the narrow legal issues are highly technical, the ramifications entail the potential imposition of multiple layers of payment to multiple claimants for multiple rights involving the same activity and transaction. The concept of “double payment” could become “triple” or more. The “making available” right may some into play if the case is heard.

The three dozen or so collectives in Canada and the oversight provided by the Copyright Board are supposed to simplify the legal landscape and reduce transaction costs so that creators can be paid more efficiently for their efforts and avoid market failures. Canada has more collectives and a larger full time Copyright Board with far more full time resources than any other comparable tribunal in any comparable country.

So far, the result has been excellent for a small number of lawyers and consultants but is of questionable benefit overall to most actual creators, who have seen very little if any money from most of this adversarial and litigious activity.

Technorati Tags: canadian copyright, copyright, excess copyright, howard knopf, Ringtones Tariff, SOCAN

I have a guest post at Radical Trust today: Buckcherry Lies to Fans, Breaks Important Tenet of Radical Trust

Full disclosure… Radical Trust is my husband Collin’s excellent blog about transparency in social media marketing and why it’s so important to be truthful and honest in business in general.

The principles of radical trust translate to the music business very well and I hope to continue to post about the relationship between the two periodically.

Technorati Tags: buckcherry, Marketing, radical trust, social media, social media marketing

My old pal Howard is back on the air at EZRock…

They don’t play my favourite music in the world, but at least they do have John Tesh in the evening… Intelligence For Your Life is brilliant… really. It’s my guilty pleasure you could say.

Congrats Howard!

Technorati Tags: ezrock, howard glassman, humble howard, john tesh, toronto radio

From the Association for Downloadable Media:

On July 28, 2008, ADM issued two sets of standards and guidelines: Advertisement Unit Standards and Downloadable Measurement Guidelines.

These guidelines and standards arose from the collaborative effort of our representative committees and an open comment period in which the entire online community was invited to provide feedback and input.

Advertisement Unit Standards
Final Version issued July 28, 2008. PDF Download

The purpose of the Advertisement Unit Standards is to provide baseline recommendations for advertisement units in order to better facilitate advertising transactions relating to downloadable media.

Download Measurement Guidelines
Final Version issued July 28, 2008. PDF Download

The purpose of the Download Measurement Guidelines are to establish baseline recommendations for how individual publishers, companies and organizations can measure how downloads are delivered to consumer audiences.

Visit http://www.downloadablemedia.org/index.php/standards

Technorati Tags: Advertisement Unit Standards, Download Measurement, new media analytics, new media metrics, podcast advertising, podcast analytics, podcast guidelines, podcast metrics

From BusinessWeek:

Drowning Out the Big Labels
Some indies are selling more records than ever while the majors limp along
by Jon Fine

This is how crazy the music business is right now. Certain veteran independent labels, which in some cases spent the 1990s alternating between slamming the majors and begging them for emergency funding, are starting to look as if they know what they’re doing.

The grievous state of selling music is well annotated, with total album sales falling 11% in the first half of ‘08. Major labels struggle to keep platinum sellers (acts that sell a million units) from backsliding to gold (500,000 units) or worse. But some smaller labels—among them Sub Pop, Merge, and Matador—have hit a pocket of relative prosperity, with many of their top stars selling more records than ever.

Seattle’s Sub Pop, famed for signing a then-unknown trio called Nirvana in the late ’80s and long adept at minting a hit moments before the label’s lights went out, has recently notched three gold records. One of them, The Postal Service’s Give Up, is nearing platinum. Another, the Shins’ Wincing the Night Away, debuted at No. 2 on Billboard. This, for a label and milieu in which selling 50,000 records was once considered an ungodly feat.

According to Sub Pop, in 2007 it posted record revenues, which rose 79%, to around $20 million—14% from licensing its bands’ music to advertisers and entertainment properties. It also sold more records in ‘07 than in any other year. (Sub Pop is private, so these figures cannot be independently confirmed. Some executives familiar with similar labels say that revenue level sounds high. And—disclosure—I play guitar on one Sub Pop release.)

Read the full story.

Technorati Tags: business week, major labels, matador, merge, music business, postal service, shins, sub pop

From Michael Geist:

Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice introduced Bill C-61, which many have dubbed the Canadian DMCA, in June 2008. There was an immediate outcry from thousands of Canadians concerned that the bill would render illegal every day activities and harm both consumers and businesses.

The C-61 in 61 Seconds video competition is one way that you can speak out. Just post your video as a response to this video. We will post the best videos on the FairCopyright4Canada channel. Deadline for submission is September 1st. A great panel of judges that includes the Barenaked Ladies Steven Page and Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian will select the best of the best. The winners will be announced on September 15th.

To make sure that your voice for fair copyright in Canada is heard, be sure to write to your MP, the Minister, and join the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group today.

Technorati Tags: Ann Cavoukian, c-61, C-61 in 61 Seconds, c61, canadian copyright, Canadian DMCA Video Competition, cdmca, copyright, fair copyright, jim prentice, michael geist

POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE ANNOUNCES 2008 SHORTLIST FOR BEST CANADIAN ALBUM

Steve Jordan, Founder and Executive Director of the Polaris Music Prize, today revealed the Short List of 10 Canadian albums eligible for the third annual $20,000 award.

The 10 nominees are, in alphabetical order:

1. Black Mountain – In The Future (Vancouver, BC)
2. Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling (London, ON)
3. Caribou – Andorra (Dundas, ON)
4. Kathleen Edwards – Asking For Flowers (Ottawa, ON)
5. Holy Fuck – LP (Toronto, ON)
6. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue (Montréal, QC)
7. Shad – The Old Prince (London, ON)
8. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War (Montréal, QC)
9. Two Hours Traffic – Little Jabs (Charlottetown, PE)
10. The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour (Winnipeg, MB)

Technorati Tags: basia bulat, black mountain, canadian music, canadian music awards, caribou, holy fuck, kathleen edwards, plants and animals, polaric music prize, polaris, shad, stars, the weakerthans, two hours traffic

If you think that Bill C-61 won’t affect you, think again my friend.

ScruffyDan has done us all a nice favour by breaking down Michael Geist’s series of five posts describing exactly how a regular Canadian family will be affected by the Canadian DMCA: Concrete examples of how the Canadian DMCA would impact everyday activities

Gracias Dan!

Get involved and let’s kill this very scary bill. Here are some places to start:

Fair Copyright for Canada on Facebook
copyrightforcanadians.com

Technorati Tags: bill c-561, c-61, canadian copyright, canadian dmca, cdmca, copyfight, copyright, jim prentice, michael geist