The rules are dead simple. You have two options to enter the giveaway:

• “Like” the Dotted Music page on Facebook.
• Share the message about the sweepstakes on Twitter (and don’t forget to follow me).

Or do both ;)

The winner will be announced later in June (the end date has been pushed back).

1,2,3

Confetti 7" Cover

A little background on 1,2,3, signed to almost as much young Ooh La La Records, a boutique artist development company and record label from Brooklyn, founded by producer Theo Aronson.

The outfit consists of Nic Snyder (vocals, guitar & keys) and his long-time pal Josh Sickels (drums). 1,2,3 hail from Pittsburgh and are late of the well-known power punk outfit, The Takeover UK.

“I’m really excited about this new band,” Nic proclaims, “It’s what I’ve always wanted a band to be.”

1,2,3 is the platform for some very smart songwriting, for example, “Confetti,” a tune about death that quite happily sounds like the orgasmic collision of latter day Beatles (definitely a Lennon tune), Gram Parsons and Big Star, and “Can’t Bribe God,” a kind of slow, Gospel shuffle that finds Snyder displaying simply the most viciously visceral vox work this side of Prince Rogers Nelson with a middle eight that feels curiously like ELO… in a good way.

Both songs were recorded last Fall at Aronson’s Brooklyn recording studio. Inquiring minds can expect to hear them very soon, followed by a full album in early 2010. Check out the band’s MySpace page for a sneak peak. “Confetti” is available in the Ooh La La Records online store.

Myself, FYSed

Upon completion, the photos can be saved and sent to either Facebook or Twitter. Or posted on a blog, like here on the right (I decided to keep it simple, as I look dumb even with only those sunglasses added).

As the announcement says, Four Year Strong have always embraced the idea of not taking themselves too seriously and now, they have spread that philosophy with FysYourself. Hours after its launch, FysYourself reportedly attracted the likes of Pete Wentz, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and over 10,000 other viewers.

Fans will have the opportunity to enter a contest with their FysYourself “masterpieces,” and the best entry will receive the ultimate Enemy of the World prize package: FYS Skatedeck, vinyl, CD, shirt, poster, pin pack, and tickets to see the band live.

What has been done here is relatevely simple technically wise, which only confirms that a viral idea doesn’t require an enormous budget.

My advice: if you are thinking of what game concept could be adopted for your own brand, just go to a random online collection of Flash games for inspiration – you will get dozens of ideas. But if you don’t care about viral promotions, or just goofing off at your computer: go FysYourself.

The list is based on my personal preferences, all items have been hand-picked. And, as you guessed, each of them costs less than $50 (without shipping)!

Disclosure

• The list includes some affiliate links. While I might be able to earn few bucks from them, I hope you understand that this isn’t the aim of the article.
• Yes, I love Etsy.
• I used these great blogs while working on the list: Coolest Gadgets, Fashionably Geek, Oh! Gizmo.

Enough of introduction, the Holidays are near and you’ve got lots of presents to order! I’ve divided the goodies into groups to help you.

Books

1. All You Need To Know About The Music Business, 7th Edition
   $21.12
   The latest edition of what they call “a music industry bible,” written by Donald Passman. Not recommended as a gift to your client if you are a music attorney or a label representative.
2. Confessions Of A Record Producer, 10th Anniversary Edition
   $16.49
   Another reissued classic, which I’m currently reading. This work of Moses Avalon is also packed with a CD full of videos.
3. Friction Is Fiction
   $19.98
   The most recent collection of Gerd Leonhard’s essays. If you don’t know who Gerd is, visit his Media Futurist blog and seriously consider checking out his books and presentations (moreover that most of them are available online for free). The book is sold as a $60 full color dead-tree version, the same b&w version (offered to you here) and a $7.50 PDF file. More info.
4. Remix: Making Art And Commerce Thrive In The Hybrid Economy
   $17.13
   Wired columnist Lawrence Lessig ranting on the copyright law applied to the online world.


Donald Passman

5. Fans, Friends And Followers
   $15.95
   The title, “Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age,” is pretty self-explanatory. A great guide on building online fan base. Read a recent Hypebot interview with the author, Scott Kirsner.
6. Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top
   $17.81
   I received a copy few months ago, when we promoted the book’s release on UG. This is a very sincere story of Joey Kramer: a man, a real person with difficult childhood and broken life, who happens to be a drummer of one of the biggest rock bands in history. I’d recommend sending this to your nephew, dreaming of a rock & roll life (especially if he is a fan of Aerosmith).
7. Why AC/DC Matters
   $11.33
   As stated by the author, Anthony Bozza, this book is not just for the AC/DC fans, but for “the rest of you” as well. Interesting and easy read.
8. Kill Audio Comic Book
   $3.99-$42.00
   A comic book series co-written by Coheed & Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez and his wife Chondra Echert. The comic revolves around the title character, an immortal and unsuspecting hero who must save the world with his music. Sounds like fun!
9. Six-String Heroes
   $23.10
   A beautiful showcase of 150 of the greatest guitar players in history by rock photographer Neil Zlozower. Steven Rosen wrote the text. This music journalist, who is in the business for more than 30 years, now constantly writes for UG.

Clothes / Bags

10. Starwars Yoda DJ Men’s T-shirt
    $39.30
    What would this list be without the mightiest Star Wars character?
11. Classic Cassette Tote
    $9.99
    An old-school geeky cassette tape tote.
12. “I Listen” T-Shirt
    $20.00
    Red tee, headphones, and the “I Listen” sign in Japanese. Aesthetically good.
13. Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious Retro Punk T-Shirt
    $17.00
    For real punks other there.
14. I Heart Guitars Baby Shirt
    Don’t forget about the babies! They can love guitars, too.
    $10.00


I Want To Be A Crock Star tee

15. “I Want To Be A Crock Star” T-Shirt
    $14.00
    Didn’t you just have a feeling that you know at least 10 people whom you’d present this tee?
16. “Girl Talk I Am Not A DJ” T-Shirt
    $20.00
    Another cool tee for all the superstar djs around you.
17. Joan Jett ‘Born To Be Bad’ Tee
    $39.00
    This is replica of a shirt Joan Jett wore in 1978 by Worn Free.
18. Michael Jackson Dancing “This Is It Tour” T-Shirt
    $17.00
    Might be a good gift for the fellow MJ fans.
19. Rock On, Rock Off T-Shirt
    $18.00
    Loved this description at FashionablyGeek: “It’s hard to imagine the type of music that would warrant the simultaneous use both a flaming Bic and the sign of the horns, but if you know of any, this shirt will provide them both when the lights go out.”
20. Turntables Hoodie
    $40.00
    Spread some love for turntables!
21. Womens Turntables Tee
    $11.00
    I said love? Don’t forget about women, your close ones might adore vinyl & turntables too.

Accessories

22. Technics Wallet
    $6.30
    An official product by Technics DMC.


Guitar Hero Cufflinks

23. Rolling Stones 1975 Tour Belt
    $22.00
    If the Rolling Stones rocked your pants off in 1979, here’s a commemorative belt to help keep you clothed. (c)
24. Guitar Sunglasses
    $6.25-$8.00
    One of the most insipid things I’ve ever seen, but I couldn’t resist from posting it here. Makes sense to order few dozens at once to make your co-workers look equally cheerful (and stupid).
25. Guitar Pick Earrings
    $25.00
    Accessories for the true rock-chicks.
26. Guitar Hero Cufflinks
    $50.00
    If your friend is more into Guitar Hero than real guitars, this is a must-buy-and-send-as-a-present thing.
27. Black Grand Piano Cufflinks
    $18.00
    A pianists’ version.

Guitar Stuff

28. Sterling Silver Guitar Pick
    $30.00
    A silver pick with “Play On” hand stamped onto it.
29. The Beatles Guitar Picks
    $8.00
    Picks with Fab Four’s printed faces.
30. Steve Clayton Custom Picks
    $39.00-…
    If the above two options didn’t work for you, check this out. At this site you can design everything from the shape and gauge to the text/design and material of your picks.


Butt-O-Meter

31. Handmade Adjustable Guitar Strap
    $45.00
    A nice “Whimsical Floral” handmade guitar strap for female guitarists. Other patterns are available.
32. Strap Graphics
    $59.00 (yes, I know I exceed the limit a bit)
    Want something totally unique? Head over to this site, upload your own design and select specs like the strap width, leather color, and stitching.
33. Batt-O-Meter
    $34.95
    Simple and irreplaceable tool for reading voltage and hours of use on most active basses, guitars, and effects pedals that use a 9 volt battery. Essential for gigging.
34. Outlet Tester
    $37.66
    Taking the time to use the outlet tester a few minutes before a show can save your friend’s precious amp.
35. Dunlop Pyrex Glass Flare Slide
    $7.95
    The Dunlop Pyrex Glass Flare Slide can deliver you a warm, middle-harmonics tone. For fans of Joe Walsh, Jack White, or Billy Gibbons.

Gadgets

MIXA USB cassette

36. MIXA
    $32.70
    A “USB cassette” for the digital stuff. Design your own version before ordering right on the site.
37. USB Rocking Teddy
    $42.00
    Your little sister / daughter will love it.
38. Mobile FM Transmitter Handsfree
    $17.00
    This digital FM Transmitter lets you listen to mobile phones’ music on car stereo (has a built-in hands-free function). Might be useful for people spending half of their lives in cars.

iPod / iPhone Accessories

39. BudFits By Innovelis
    $8.93
    A nice little thing for music & sport lovers. BudFits help iPod and iPhone earbuds not fall out and maximize your comfort by eliminating the need to wedge earbuds into the ear canal to keep the earbuds in place.
40. Handmade iPhone/iPod Case
    $28.00
    A handmade Apple range cover for protecting your iPod Touch/iPhone, with the soft inner suede and a cool cassette Artwork.

Online Services / Stores

Soundcloud

41. Soundcloud
    $42.20
    An ideal gift for any musician, in my opinion. Consider the better Premium packs as well.
42. iTunes Gift Cards & Gift Certificates
    $50.00
    Even if you put your own records on iTunes, it isn’t a reason to abandon buying music at it, right? Same applies to your friends.
43. Rhapsody Music Gifts: Rhapsody Unlimited
    $29.99 (for 3 months)
44. Amazon
    $5.00-$5000
    Amazon is good at such kind of things. You can choose a desired type of your gift card and load it with as much money as you want.
45. ShockHound $50 Gift Card
    $50.00
    A good place with lots of music and accessories.

Random Stuff

46. Michael Jackson Lap Tray
    $32.50
    Another souvenir for hardcore Michael Jackson fans.
47. The Gripp Hand Trainer
    $4.99
    This cheap hand/forearm strengthener is aimed to help musicians playing for a longer period of time. Can be taken anywhere (unlike a guitar).


The Gripp Hand Trainer

48. The Beatles Pint Set
    $45.99
    Beatles & beer, what a combination! 4 pint glasses featuring cover images from Rubber Soul, Revolver, Let It Be and With The Beatles on each one.
49. STS9 Merchandise Pack
    Free, if you are lucky
    You don’t have to pay anything for it, just subscribe to Dotted Music! The prize won’t be delivered earlier than in January, so consider this as a nice present to yourself.
50. Leonard Cohen Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 LP
    Free, if you are lucky
    Another sweepstakes now running on Dotted Music. If you are a fan either of Leonard Cohen or vinyl records, enter the giveaway by subscribing to our friendly RSS feed!

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ordered / tried any of the listed products, or think that this gift guide is a garbage – hey, I’m open to any feedback!

But if you found the post useful, don’t forget to save the link in Delicious to get back to it when another holiday season strikes.

I dubbed the giveaway “In Defence Of Vinyl” because of a strong personal passion for vinyl records. If you care about Technics axing its 1200 and 1210 turntables, or worry about low 12” sales – enter the giveaway as well, it’s so easy! And there is no better way to support vinyl than by adding more records to your vinyl collection.

What you need to get the prizek

The rules are similar to the STS9 giveaway.

Subscribe to Dotted Music blog using this RSS link, or subscribe via email (in the sidebar on the right side). On December 28th, I will publish a post with simple instructions on how to claim your giveaway entry. Only subscribers will see that post.

Remember, entering this sweepstakes gives you a pretty high chance to win, so subscribe now! I hope that you’ll enjoy the blog and find info from the feed informative enough to keep it landing into your RSS reader or email box even after the promotion ends.

Please note: this contest if for the US residents only.
The prize won’t be shipped until early January.

About the release

Leonard Cohen

Nearly 40 summers ago on August 31, 1970, 35-year-old Leonard Cohen was awakened at 2 a.m. from a nap in his trailer and brought onstage to perform with his band at the third annual Isle Of Wight music festival. The audience of 600,000 was in a fiery and frenzied mood, after turning the festival into a political arena, trampling the fences, setting fire to structures and equipment – and stoked by the most incendiary performance of Jimi Hendrix’s career, less than three weeks before his death.

As Cohen followed Hendrix’s set, onlookers (and fellow festival headliners) Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Judy Collins and others stood sidestage in awe as the Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet-novelist quietly tamed the crowd. Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Murray Lerner, whose footage of the 1970 festival did not begin to see release until 1995, was able to capture Cohen’s performance. Likewise, Columbia Records staff A&R producer Teo Macero, who was ostensibly there to record Miles Davis’ set, did a brilliant job of supervising Cohen’s live recording as well.

Leonard Cohen Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 is a fascinating and timely portrait of the artist as a young man, just three years into his recording career (though he was already a published poet and novel­ist for 15 years). As he mesmerizes the Isle Of Wight audience, Cohen intersperses a baker’s dozen songs with tales both real and apocryphal, as well as a handful of his poems. In pristine condition after nearly four decades in the archive, the video and audio programs will be available together as a deluxe two-disc DVD+CD package at all physical and digital retail outlets starting October 20th through Columbia/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTER­TAIN­MENT. A double-LP vinyl set will be released on the same date.

Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 will also be available on Blu-ray, exclusively through Amazon.com.

The CD (and double-LP) of Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 represent the 77-minute concert set as performed by Cohen and his backup band: Bob Johnston (Cohen’s Nashville-based Columbia A&R staff producer), and Nashville musicians Charlie Daniels (electric bass, fiddle), Ron Cornelius (lead guitar), and Elkin ‘Bubba’ Fowler (bass, banjo). They were joined by backup singers Corlynn Hanney, Susan Musmanno, and Donna Washburn. During the course of their European tour – which Cohen only agreed to undertake if Johnston (producer of Cohen’s most recent LP, Songs From A Room) would manage him and organize the band – the group began to call themselves The Army, owing to the battles they were subjected to by audiences on the road.

The DVD (and Blu-ray) of Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 is a masterwork by Murray Lerner, known for his work on Festival!, his Oscar-nominated 1969 documentary of the Newport Folk Festivals. His work on that film spurred the Isle Of Wight promoters to bring him aboard and document their festival – whose violence turned it into the last of the three original Isle Of Wight festivals of 1968, 1969, and 1970. (Bob Dylan put the festival on the map when he performed there in 1968, his first public performance since recovering from his fabled motorcycle crash of 1966.)
Lerner’s Isle of Wight footage went unfunded for decades until 1995, when the multi-artist Message To Love (with its brief snippet of Cohen singing “Suzanne”) was finally issued on video. Since then, Lerner’s documentary-style Isle of Wight videos on the 1970 performances by Miles Davis, The Who, and Jimi Hendrix have inspired a new generation of music fans. In 1980, Lerner’s From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern In China won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 cover

Adding further historic provenance to Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 is a newly commissioned 2,000-word liner notes essay written by veteran British rock journalist and BBC commentator Sylvie Simmons. Author of well-received biographies on Neil Young (Reflections In Broken Glass, 2003), Serge Gainsbourg and others, Simmons previously wrote liner notes for the 2003 Sony International compilation MOJO Presents An Introduction To Leonard Cohen.

“Before he sang,” Simmons writes, “Cohen talked to the hundreds of thousands of people he couldn’t see. He told them – sedately – a story that sounded like a parable and a bedtime story, that worked like hypnotism and at the same time tested the temper­a­ture of the crowd. He described how his father would take him to the circus as a child. Leonard didn’t much like circuses, but he enjoyed the part where a man would stand up and ask everyone to light a match so they could locate each other in the darkness. ‘Can I ask each of you to light a match,’ Leonard asked the audience, ‘so I can see where you all are?’”

UPDATE: The contest is now closed, and the winner is Hannah Turner. Congratulations!

Accidentally, we’ve got few examples of these cool merch products, and we are going to give them to you! I don’t expect that you are a fan of STS9, but isn’t it a great chance to become one, or at least get a couple of geeky clothes for free, as an Xmas present?

What we are giving away

• White STS9 Derby Hat
• Red STS9 T-Shirt
• White STS9 Socks (yes, a pair of branded socks)

The photos are at the bottom of the post.

What you need to get the prize pack

Subscribe to this blog. Dead simple! Just use this RSS link, or subscribe via email (in the sidebar on the right side). On December 22nd, I will publish a post with simple instructions on how to claim your giveaway entry. Only subscribers will see that post though.

The catch? Dotted Music doesn’t have that many subscribers, as of yet, so entering this sweepstakes gives you a pretty high chance to win.

Of course you can unsubscribe anytime, and you can just check the feed on the 22nd, but I do hope that you’ll enjoy the blog and find info from the feed informative enough to keep it landing into your RSS reader or email box.

Please note: this contest if for the US residents only.
The prize won’t be shipped until early January, unfortunately.

About the promotion

STS9 will release their new studio effort Ad Explorata tomorrow, December 8, through 1320 Records. It’s the tenth release in their discography.

As the band explains, “Ad Explorata was inspired by the idea that there is always more to be discovered, manifested by the belief that you can always push towards the unknown and unexplored, and created by the will and desire for constant artistic evolution, expression and change.” Visit their website to read the full “Genesis of Ad Explorata” (check it out, awesome story!)

More info on the band can be found at their MySpace and Facebook pages. Follow STS9 on Twitter.

You can also listen to some of the band’s tracks, including the latest single, “Oil and Water” (always a pleasure to use the Topspin player):

More about the prizes

Here are pics of the sick prizes:

UPDATE: The contest is now closed, and the winner is Kimball Packard. Congratulations!

“It happened very organically” says Gama Bomb frontman Philly Byrne of how the decision came to be. “One night, me and Joe (McGuigan) our bassist were having a bit of a chat, sitting about in his house with a cup of tea. We started saying “Yeah, we’re gonna make another album“, and “We’re gonna make an album a year for a wee while. There was an album last year. We’ll make one this year. It’ll be more consistent, like the way bands used to be in the eighties“. Releasing albums frequently is dying off a lot, so that was the first thing that we thought, that we would make one. Then we said “What if we give it away for free?“. I don’t really remember who said it first. We talked to the rest of the lads, and they said “Yeah, that’s a good idea“. We played a show in London, and Digby Pearson, who runs Earache Records, came along to the show. We spoke to him, and he said “Yeah, so you guys are talking about an album?“. We said “Yeah, yeah. We want to give it away for free“, and he just said “Yeah, good idea” (laughs), which was surprising.”

Given Earache Records‘ penchant for off the wall decisions though, the most notable being the release of 1987 Napalm Death album ‘Scum‘, was Pearson‘s reaction that much of a surprise?

“He has a history of doing things his way I suppose. It’s not that alarming, really. They were waiting for a band who were willing to do it for some time, and obviously with the changing trends and all these things in music consumption, and music trends, it’s actually quite a smart move for them to make. So yeah, it came about really organically, and it’s just a reflection of how we’ve been listening to music. I’ve been downloading music for ages now, and I’m not paying for any of it. I don’t think you should have to either. You should pay for gigs, you should pay for T-shirts, and for I don’t know, thermal flasks with logos on them or whatever other rubbish you want, but music should be free. That’s why the album is.”

More cynical quarters might simply dismiss Gama Bomb‘s decision to issue ‘Tales From the Grave In Space‘ as a ploy to encourage more concert ticket sales, though Byrne stresses this wasn’t a factor in the group’s decision.

Gama Bomb promo photo

“T-shirts and gig sales, the money side, weren’t really what motivated us. Obviously, money does smooth the way and you keep doing what you’re doing for longer. If there was no money, you’d be back home in a month. The Earache stance on it was that if we made our CD available in the traditional way, it’d only sell X thousand number of copies, and that’d only generate this much of a return. If we took a gamble though, and said “This is for free“, it might generate more interest, and make more of a return in the long term. Our interest in giving it away for free was to draw people in, to get more fans, and to get our songs out there so that we could play bigger gigs, play better tours, meet more people, play more shows, and have more fans. That’s the be all, and end all – just to enjoy the music with other people really. I think it is actually working right now. The first day the album was on release, we got six thousand downloads from the Earache site, and that’s a significant number. Yeah, I think it’s working – our shows are better attended and everything already.”

As mentioned, embracing newer methods of distribution is something commonly associated with Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead. In reality however, Gama Bomb have little in common with either, finances being the major difference. Surely digitally distributing ‘Tales From the Grave In Space‘ must’ve been a riskier decision by comparison?

“There’s two big differences. One, they’re not on a record label and we are, and two, they’re all fucking minted. There’s five million people who are insanely into Radiohead, me included, who want to have the album, whether it be for free, or paying a quid or whatever (laughs). That’s the difference. There is a bigger risk involved, because we’re on a label, and it’s some guy’s money we’re spending. But then again, it may be the best use of that money, rather than just another CD. It’s worth the risk.”

To digitally distribute ‘Tales From the Grave In Space‘, Earache Records has partnered with RapidShare, one of the world’s largest file-hosting websites.

“We’re delighted with RapidShare” Philly enthuses. “RapidShare are our friends in downloading; if you want to get an album, just go onto RapidShare, and get your link. We’re very happy to partner with RapidShare, because as I say, we’re very familiar with their service. It’s a goodwill gesture, and that’s what the album is all about. There’s other people who are making that gesture too. In December, Metal Hammer are gonna give away our album for free as a CD, which has never been done before to my knowledge. They’re paying to print up all the CDs – they’re printing an X number, thousands of pounds worth, and giving it away for nothing, because they understand the gesture is worth making. It’s really cool to see that.”

In the United Kingdom, the subject of illegal downloading has been a hotly debated topic. In August 2009, Lord Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, proposed introducing legislation that would see those who persistently and illegally download copyrighted content having their broadband connection cut. Unsurprisingly, Philly doesn’t share Mandelson’s views.

[quote]

“I think that’s nonsense. They just need to devise a better system. I don’t think cutting off people’s broadband is gonna work, and here’s the other thing as well. If people start cutting off broadband because of downloading, I’ll just start a company that sells broadband where you don’t get cut off for downloading, and then I’ll be really rich. If I didn’t do it, some wee man would, and he’d be really rich. There’s always a way around these things, and that’s the other thing as well. The internet is like a pocket full of holes; you think you’re gonna put something into it, and someone’s gonna catch it whenever it comes out the other end. Thinking you can stop people downloading is just a fantasy. When is he fucking looking for a DJ Shadow album (laughs)? When’s he gonna go looking for an obscure thrash metal EP from Belgium in the eighties? When is he not gonna be sure about the new Amy Winehouse album, and will want to hear it first? He’s literally out of touch, and doesn’t consume in the way that people do now.”

One musician who came out in support of Mandelson was popstar Lily Allen, who echoed the man’s proposals to disconnect illegal downloaders. Responding, Philly airs his feelings on Allen, and doesn’t mince his words.

“Lily Allen grew up in that Notting Hill, Britpop society with her dad. She was literally taken to Alton Towers by people like Damon Albarn (Blur vocalist) on the strength of CD sales or whatever, so her whole life has been funded by “Vindaloo” (1998 song by Fat Les, fronted by father Keith) and fucking “Country House” (1995 UK chart topping Blur song which features father Keith in its music video), and whatever other songs. She’s a major label artist; they’re coached, and talked into saying what they say. I’m just saying maybe you got an A&R guy and somebody with a big chart with a load of numbers on it, going “Here’s the amount of money we can make in a month” or whatever. No wonder she’s got pound signs in her eyes, running around going “For flip sake, stop downloading“. She can see the imaginary nirvana of cash that she’s supposed to be reaching, and she can’t reach it, but the truth is, she can easily do that and already has. She’s just looking at the other alternatives. It’s just that all those labels have their fingers in their ears.”
quote

Gama Bomb promo photo

And will Gama Bomb release its future albums through RapidShare?

“I don’t see any reason to go back on this plan. I’d also like to try something else, to be honest, because that’s what a career is. You make calls, you make projects, and it’s not just music as the whole thing. I like the idea of doing a whole load of singles, and then Joe’s talking about doing two EPs. Other different ways of distributing our stuff are really interesting, so yeah, we will look at it. I would be disappointed if we just did another CD after this, and I don’t think I’d settle for that. There’s definitely gonna be more of this kinda thing, because to be fair, by the time we do another thing, this is how the world’s gonna be. The doors are coming down now, and the music business is starting to re-solidify after years of being in a blender. I’m sure by the time we get our heads together to make another album in a year or two years, it’ll probably be how things are done anyway.”

Slightly tempted to download ‘Tales From the Grave In Space‘, especially since it’s legally available? If you’re not wholly tempted, and need further reasons to take the plunge, then Philly happily supplies those reasons in abundance.

“The album is eighties thrash metal, eighties thrash speed metal, very much in the vein of Megadeth and stuff. It draws on all the best points of that, condensed down with a bit of the musical retrospect you get when you’re a younger person listening to music from back in the day. It’s that, and it’s themed around fifties and sixties horror, and sci-fi compilations, things like ‘Twilight Zone’ and ‘Tales From the Crypt’. The whole artwork (designed by Jeff Jordan), and all the themes and stories on the album, reflect that. It’s an album of stories, really, and of course there’s one to two songs on it that don’t stick to that theme, but that’s just what happens when you make a record. It’s really fast, really, really fast, with a lot of riffs, a lot of screaming vocals, bass and drums, and penny dreadful horror stories for people who are too old to enjoy that sort of thing, but still do (laughs).”

Of course, not all are enamoured by digital downloading, with many still purchasing compact discs. In fact, several mourn the steady decline, if not extinction, of the vinyl record. Thrash metal lovers who harbour such feelings have no reason to feel sad then, since ‘Tales From the Grave In Space‘ will still experience a release via more traditional formats in February 2010.

“We’ll have it out on CD, vinyl, and in a box set” confirms Philly. “It’s coming with an EP as well that we recorded separately from the album, an EP of all new songs. That gives you a bit of an incentive to buy the album.”

Robert Gray is a freelance interviewer, whose interview series “Hit The Lights” can be viewed exclusively at Ultimate-Guitar.com. If you wish to contact Robert, you can email him at robertpgray@ymail.com.

Sybreed

Plus you can win some killer Sybreed gear – which I declare the band as awesome. So why not give it a shot? The band is calling for your video skills; here’s the deal:

1. Produce your own 10 to 15 seconds video advertising “The Pulse of Awakening” and send it before the 21st of December to contest@listenable.net
2. They will then launch the best ones on Sybreed’s official Youtube Channel (The Sytube for short) and the video that has been viewed the most after two weeks will be declared the winner.
3. The creator of this video will be rewarded with 2 T-Shirts, Sybreed’s complete discography and a signed poster. The video will be posted as well in the media section of the band’s Myspace page.

To note: For obvious reasons, please make sure you avoid any political imagery (guys with small moustaches are utterly forbidden), as well as explicit violence or gore (Sybreed aren’t Cannibal Corpse after all).

Ten years after Napster tried to make a deal with the record labels to digitally distribute their content, the record labels have found themselves dragged kicking and screaming into the late 90s, offering exactly the same thing Napster proposed. DRM for music has come and gone, having shown that it created hassles and limitations for paying customers while remaining a triviality for infringers. The recording industry’s cry of “we can’t compete with free” has been proven false, with the iTunes Music Store selling billions of dollars of digital music. These sales all happened while P2P traffic remained significant, thereby discrediting the notion that file sharing and digital music purchases are a zero sum game; that an illegal download is a lost sale. In fact, several studies have shown that heavy P2P users are among the biggest music buyers. Consumers have proven that they pay money when there is a good value for their money, even if they have a free alternative.

Napster logo

In fairness to the record companies, it is true that digital download sales have not replaced lost CD sales. But it is unclear to what extent that this is related to piracy. Consumers, especially young ones, have many more forms of media — games, internet, DVDs — jockeying for their attention than at any time before. Perhaps the era of the long form CD has simply run its course.

Much like a doomsday cult’s members have to figure out what to do when their prophecy fails to come true, we are left to envision the future of the music industry now that the bogeymen of technology have failed to materialize. The recording industry is free to innovate without the fears of the past impeding its imagination and vision. Novel distribution models such as blanket site licenses, new relationships between artists and labels such as three-sixty deals, new forms of product packaging such as the iTunes LP are all indications that the music industry has hope for the future.

What will that future look like? Technology has driven down the cost of recording and producing a professional-quality album or single, making the dream of creating music more accessible than ever before. The internet, with social networking, YouTube, and internet radio make marketing and distributing that music equally accessible to aspiring musicians. Without the need for their recording studios or distribution networks, what is the value proposition of the major labels? How will the labels take advantage of these new tools and incorporate them into their businesses?

By Tony Berman. Originally published on M.E.L.O.N. blog. Reposted with a permission.
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As we told you earlier, Monday was declared a “Dotted Music Monday” here on DM, so today I’m free to speak about music as music, not a business. And today I will share some music that I discovered for myself last week.

STS9: “Atlas”

Sound Tribe Sector 9 is “a 5-piece electronic jam band fusing live instruments with electronic music.” It is releasing a new album entitled Ad Explorata on December 8th, and below is a free stream of “Atlas,” a track taken from the album.

Vaguely reminded me of early Orbital material, and that nostalgic feeling is wicked!

Heather Greene: “Moon Hangs Fire”

Oh guys, just listen to it… I’ve never heard of Heather before, but fell in love with this track.

The single is available as a free download on her website. It comes from Greene’s latest release, Sweet Otherwise, out now on Paved Earth Records. Described by Boston Globe as the “songs that evoke the defiant, giddy energy of musicians associated with John Hughes movies.”

Mirrorkicks: Anything Lip Dub music video

Not a free track, but still here. Loving the way iPhone is used in this clip. Plus, a bit of a Radiohead-alike vibe is never out-of-place.

Brim Liski: “Fight”

“Happy depression, electronic doom painted over with shimmering vocal layers and symphonic guitar tones – this is Brim Liski. Complexly self-described as electrogaze dreamhop, painted over with shimmering vocal layers and symphonic guitar tones.” Yay, kinda complex, but not too bad description. Grab the free MP3 here.

Bosques de mi Mente: “Inocencia” LP

This is my discovery of the past weekend (thanks to Jamendo iPhone app): album Inocencia by Bosques de mi Mente, released in October of this year… The act has four albums, and all of them are available online for free here!

Minimal, melancholic, beautiful. Also highly recommend is the Lo-Fi album (the production is better than the title suggests, trust me).

Atlantic Connection: “Westbay’s Pacific” promo EP

When I was talking about “my favorite music genre” in the post’s intro, I, of course, meant drum & bass. I will be dropping some bits of dnb here and there, but to not overload you – today I will just offer to download this free promo EP from LA’s Atlantic Connection (thanks for the link to Dubplatedigest.net). The track listing:

1. Moby – Porcelain (Atlantic Connection Remix)
2. Submorphics – Philly Dub
3. Brooklyn – Lightyears
4. Brooklyn – Lightyears (High School Crush Remix)

The EP is brilliant, from Brooklyn’s dubstep and house tunes to the remixed Moby “Porcelain,” the only straight forward drum & bass track (not the greatest one though) on the release, and a halfstep “Philly Dub” thing.

Well, I think it’s enough for today. Enjoy the music!

Obviously, finding a song of a favorite artist is getting easier than ever. Not only you can listen to a tune with one click directly from a search results page, now you don’t even need to type in the name of the song to find it (you can use a line from the lyrics, for example). A post on the official Google blog lists the smart new search capabilities.

Google search results example

The downsides? First of all, due to the licensing issues some of the songs will only include 30-second samples. Secondly, the service will be rolled out only in the US, so far.

There are surprising advantages though, according to the recent TechCrunch report. The blog reveals that Music Onebox will feature exclusive songs from “a number of well known artists.” Over 20 acts are said to be offering tunes that can only be found through Google search, and some of these tracks will be given away for free.

On the business side of things, Google is not working directly with record labels for licensing, but the company says that the labels approve the new feature, according to DMW . “Everybody’s been very supportive. Indeed, our business model is to improve the search experience with the help of streaming partners, which offer interesting business models of their own,” R.J. Pittman, director of product management for Google, told Reuters.

“Google is the most powerful internet partner that these music services could have,” Michael Nash, Warner Music Group’s executive vice president of digital strategy and business development, told Wired.com. “We think that it’s potentially very significant from the standpoint generating revenue and gives a big boost to legitimate digital music services.”

Now, why should bands that are not among those 20 “well known artists” care? Hypebot just reported that indie artists and labels might be able to control and improve the content of their search results with OneBox.

Says Matt Rosoff on CNet’s Digital Noise:

Eventually, artists will be able to use Lala’s platform to ensure that specific content, such as a new song, shows up in the music search results at Google… (they)  will also be able to work with Lala to sell products other than MP3 downloads through Google’s search results. For example, Lala is working on a deal with Rhino Records where users will be able to buy vinyl Joy Division records directly from Lala.

Interesting? Indeed. In any case, if you are an artist, getting your music to Lala and MySpace seems pretty essential.

By the way, the improved search results will link to bands’ websites as well.

Check out the OneBox in action.