Two leading music industry trade groups, the National Association Of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) and the American Association Of Independent Music (A2IM), are teaming up to bring “Music 101” to your door step and cover the fundamental industry issues that all music creators and content users need to know.

When & Where?

Sunday, June 7, 8:30 AM-3:45 PM  •  San Diego Ballroom C, San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina

For Whom?

For those in the music business or music commerce space who need to learn the industry rules and regulations and get updated on the latest developments and how to meet the challenges of the music industry as it evolves. Those people include:

• Individual artists

• Music label personnel

• Entrepreneurs entering the music space

• Music business students

What Is Planned?

The course will start with an industry overview and music basics for artists and new labels and businesses. As the day progresses, sessions will cover the fundamental industry issues that all music creators and content users at any experience level need to know. A2IM President Rich Bengloff (former VP of Distribution Operations at Sony Music Distribution, Sr. VP/CFO of Elektra Entertainment Group and WNYC Radio’s VP of Finance) will moderate the program and present portions of his music industry course that he now teaches as part of the Fordham MBA program. Additional instructors will include music label owners, distributors/aggregators, retailers, publishers and social networking/web executives.

Agenda Topics

Welcome & Opening Panel: “Label War Stories: ‘I Wish I Had Known…’”

Music Industry Overview & 101 Business Basics

Music Business 101, continued…

Seven Ways To Market Music

Publishing: “What You Need To Know”

Hiring Staff In-house Or Out-sourcing Your Radio Promotion, Publicity And Other Functions

Social Networks & The Web As FREE Promotion

Distribution/Retail Access: “How Do I Get It? (Physical/Digital)”

Label Back Room: Royalty & Technology Support

Current Industry Issues

For a preliminary schedule with times, please visit the NARM web site.

Lunch is include in the registration fee.

NARM also invites all Crash Course registrants to participate at no extra charge in scheduled NARM events that will take place folowing the Crash Course programming on June 7. These events include: Speed Dating One-On-One Meetings (3:45-5 PM), the Welcome Reception sponsored by Rhino Entertainment and WEA Corp.(5:30-7 PM, and NARM@Night (9 PM-Midnight at On Broadway Event Center). Sign-up is required to participate in Speed Dating. Please sign-up by contacting A2IM’s Al Verik or NARM’s Holly Rosum – contact informtion is below.

Questions? 

Contact A2IM’s Al Verik at 212.999.6113 or al.verik@a2im.org

“What Last.fm is doing here is creating an alternative to the official royalty-collecting organization for musicians (i.e., SoundExchange). Last year, the royalty rates for music streamed over the Internet were raised, making it more difficult for ad-supported music startups to stay in business. Last.fm got bought by CBS, so it’s not in danger of going under. And for any song owned by a label or artist who participates in SoundExchange, Last.fm continues to pay the going Internet radio royalty rate. But it is beginning to bypass Sound Exchange by giving new, unsigned artists an alternative. “

My smarmy headline aside, I don’t really agree with this and will explain exactly why I feel this way.

To not get caught up in some irritating argument over semantics in the comments, let’s define what a label is for the purposes of this post- the core business. A label is an incubator. It filters and creates content (A&R), makes an investment in creating and promoting that talent (human resources and marketing dollars), and ultimately strives to make a profit. Much like VC’s- labels speculate on the ability of talent to generate revenue that will support both parties. So, Live Nation is as much of a label as Epic, Epitaph, Suburban Home or any other traditional label. Large management firms who invest in recordings and perform marketing functions are similarly acting as “labels”, even if they take that moniker or not.

Let’s also dispense with the illusion that any artist can build a lasting career without some sort of business infrastructure. Very few artists can be Ani Difranco and do an amazing job in both music and entrepreneurship. Radiohead, NIN, and others are cool but don’t count in this argument because they had major marketing dollars and resources for years before they went out on their own.  If some unknown built the fanciest website and shot the best video in the world- who the hell is going to see it unless you there’s some meaningful publicity on it? With all the wannabes out there … it’s a fucking WAR for attention out there, and victory (creating artist ubiquity that leads to selling a product) costs buku bucks. Bucks for all the jobs that need to get done, and bucks to grease the wheels of progress.

Let’s start with a product manager does. In the places I’ve worked, product managers are the drivers of the album after the record is done and ready to packaged, marketed, and delivered to physical and digital outlets. On most matters, they are the link between label and artist, and then internally responsible to establish and maintain quality control and time lines on everything from album art to viral videos, publicity campaigns, to the programs at traditional and digital retail. Oh, and all of this within an established budget

How about publicity? Why are some publicists great? Hint: not because of their ability to write hyperbolic press releases. It’s the relationships, retard.  Publicists (and radio people, and sales people) pay YEARS of dues and slugging it out to earn the trust as taste makers for the gatekeepers at magazines, blogs, and late night television shows. Steve Martin from Nasty Little Man started his company doing press for Bad Religion and Helmet out of his apartment after getting paid $5 a year working at indie labels. Now he gets the Foo Fighters on Letterman. I guarantee he ain’t making $5 a year anymore. Who pays for that?

Let’s not forget about the super-sexy jobs of administration. Making sure bills are paid, aggregating content,  processing meta data, formatting videos for viral distribution. The list of thankless and invisible tasks are endless. Let’s not forget the super super fun job of invoicing and collecting on all of those half-pennies Last.Fm and the other vendors are paying.  Is last.fm going to collect royalties from other third parties and dispense them as well? This ill informed argument simply continues to prove that all of these half-baked theories from people who have never lived it like they spit it are just wind.

I’d like to know what 20-something armed only with their used strat, bartending money, and trendy Florence Henderson haircut could possibly do all of that- and then perform and write songs to the best of their ability? Unlikely at best. Their job is to write songs, rock out, fuck their fans, and be that guy or gal that people just can’t take their eyes off. You think they really want to toil their nights away doing all of this maintenance and splitting hairs if Artist Data Systems is the right syndication system for their tour dates? Coffee’s here, wake up.

Here is my plea to all the bloggers out there in tech world: stop the shenanigans, talk to and interview people who are actually in the business and trying to make a difference (we are)  and talk about how your beloved start ups could HELP make the middle better, and stop crying wolf about how it’s over. It’s time to put down the rhetoric and start to propose viable solutions to the problems facing people that make content and people that want to exploit it for profit (labels and last.fm alike.)
Ahhh. I feel better now.

” We are happy to announce that artists can now buy ad space on MySpace. We call the program Find Your Fans. Find Your Fans On MySpace is a quicker, easier and smarter way to promote yourself, your band or your brand on MySpace. Find Your Fans is a user-friendly tool for you to use to advertise your band, brand or yourself on MySpace. You can target specific types of MySpace users you want to reach. Simply create your ad, tell us who should see it, how long you want to run it and how much you’re willing to spend. That’s it!

We’ll display your ad all throughout the MySpace site to the users you’ve chosen, putting your message in front of millions of potential customers and driving traffic to your profile until your campaign’s reached its spending limit or the expiration date set by you, whichever comes first.

When are you charged? Only if someone clicks on your ad — not when your ad is displayed.”

For musicians, this cost-per-click is probably a better investment than Google Adwords, as MySpace is such a specific destination for music discovery. It also has the effect of stealing the thunder from all the spammers. I’m actually surprised they didn’t do it sooner, but I imagine that now that they are in bed with the majors on MySpace music there’s some kind revenue kicker back to the labels.
I also see this as a watershed moment for the perceived value of music to social networks- it’s not just a one way street as some would have you believe. If MySpace is developing an entire revenue source by selling the ads on artist pages, it means they are aware the music drives page views, recorded music and artists fan bases have a value, and the audience they bring contributes to their bottom line.

“For fans of …” has always been a crucial pillar of music marketing, and it really makes sense for artists and social networks to put a tollbooth on it, and re-compensate those artists for those smaller ones drafting behind their brand name. My only beef with this is that if there’s a product sold on an artist page on the basis of that artists popularity, unsigned and indie artists should also participate in revenue generated by their pages as incremental revenues are important to every strata of label/ artist, not just those who occupy the Billboard charts.

“Recorded music is nothing but marketing material to drive awareness of an artist. Websites that bring that music to listeners are doing artists a favor. In fact, they’re doing them a favor that they should (and will) be paid for. Young artists and songwriters in particular benefit from these services - Until a few years ago they had almost no way to break into the mainstream without getting a label to promote them. Now those walls are being torn down, and Bragg has the audacity to complain about it.”

My reply to this is that one word comes to mind when I hear all of the web2.0 types talk about the next generation of music and how artists and labels should not expect to be compensated for recorded music.

Carpetbagger.

Yes. The old fatcats at the top of the music biz totally f’d it up with Napster. That’s ancient news. But they also screwed it up with terrestrial radio and MTV- building huge conglomerates on “promotional” music. To be fair, the biz was making enough money selling discs for it not to matter.

But it does now. We’re wise to Bullsh!t2.0, where some small team of founders and initial investors make millions in funding from selling to Newscorp, Yahoo, Google or CBS. Don’t blame the artists and labels for adapting to the new playing field. Music helps these companies acquire customers who have a lifetime value. So they need to shut up and pay.

These guys are still just as greedy as they claim Doug Morris and Edgar Bronfman are, the just hide behind the popular mantra that music should be free. Free to the consumer? Sure. Free to those who make a windfall? No way.

I suggest anyone in a band or from a label read the post and leave a comment on it.

]]> http://indiehq.com/2008/03/23/its-been-a-while/feed/ http://indiehq.com/2008/03/23/its-been-a-while/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IndieHeadquarters/~3/yE5Qf3I5meY/ http://indiehq.com/2008/02/13/updates/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:22:58 +0000 Sean Klassen About Us Free Music Mixtape News http://indiehq.com/2008/02/13/updates/ Hey everyone. It has unfortunately been a really long time since we have posted anything on IndieHQ. I wish I could say that was going to change in the near future, but with all of our current schedules that is looking to be pretty doubtful. In lieu of this situation, I thought I’d give some quick updates on where we’re all at right now and how to keep up to date with what we’re all up to should you feel inclined…

I recently updated my personal blog and portfolio. I also posted a “Best of 2007″ mix for anyone to stream or download.

Virgil has been extrememly busy with Suburban Home and Vinyl Collective. Check out a new band he is releasing vinyl for called Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground. The record is excellent.

Bill recently launched a new site for Blackout! Check it out and make sure to watch the Sheer Terror documentary available to stream on the site.

Hope all are doing well.

]]> http://indiehq.com/2008/02/13/updates/feed/ http://indiehq.com/2008/02/13/updates/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IndieHeadquarters/~3/5lVeXQotx5g/ http://indiehq.com/2007/12/12/sorry-friends-no-indie-sales-chart-for-a-few-weeks/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:38:27 +0000 Virgil Dickerson News http://indiehq.com/2007/12/12/sorry-friends-no-indie-sales-chart-for-a-few-weeks/ I have some bad news. I will be unable to post the Indie Sales Chart for the next few weeks. Truth is, I am busier now than I have ever been in my life and because of this, I just can’t seem to find the time to make the Indie Sales Chart happen. Both Vinyl Collective and Suburban Home are so busy right now, I can barely find time for anything else. I hope everyone has a great holiday and I really hope that I will be back on top of things in early 2008.

]]> http://indiehq.com/2007/12/12/sorry-friends-no-indie-sales-chart-for-a-few-weeks/feed/ http://indiehq.com/2007/12/12/sorry-friends-no-indie-sales-chart-for-a-few-weeks/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IndieHeadquarters/~3/hVpkw-CFbds/ http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/lumberjacks-top-10-scans-of-the-week-23/#comments Thu, 29 Nov 2007 04:17:49 +0000 Virgil Dickerson Industry & Technology http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/lumberjacks-top-10-scans-of-the-week-23/

SUCIDAL TENDENCIES SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

SET YOUR GOALS MUTINY

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD PUNK LIFE

BLACK KEYS THE BIG COME UP

RX BANDITS AND THE BATTLE BEGUN

ALKALINE TRIO ALKALINE TRIO

CHIODOS HEARTLESS CONTROL

ALKALINE TRIO MAYBE I’LL CATCH FIRE

ALKALINE TRIO GODDAMNIT

VARIOUS ARTISTS SKA IS DEAD

]]> http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/lumberjacks-top-10-scans-of-the-week-23/feed/ http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/lumberjacks-top-10-scans-of-the-week-23/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IndieHeadquarters/~3/Bza9SlfBLhE/ http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/independent-sales-chart-11-28-07/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:55:28 +0000 Virgil Dickerson Industry & Technology http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/independent-sales-chart-11-28-07/

BROOKS*GARTH ULTIMATE HITS

EAGLES LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN

MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS SONG

COOK*DANE ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES-LIVE

VARIOUS STOCKINGS BY THE FIRE

HAIRSPRAY SOUNDTRACK

HAIRSPRAY (COLL ED) SOUNDTRACK

PRESLEY*ELVIS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

LITTLE BIG TOWN PLACE TO LAND

1 BROOKS*GARTH ULTIMATE HITS

This Week: 191700
Total: 747,500

2 EAGLES LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN

This Week: 184100
Total: 1,451,800

3 MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS SONG

This Week: 62600
Total: 213,600

4 COOK*DANE ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES-LIVE

This Week: 59400
Total: 149,800

5 VARIOUS STOCKINGS BY THE FIRE

This Week: 31100
Total: 75,500

6 HAIRSPRAY SOUNDTRACK

This Week: 29700
Total: 741,100

7 HAIRSPRAY (COLL ED) SOUNDTRACK

This Week: 15100
Total: 15,100

8 PRESLEY*ELVIS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

This Week: 11500
Total: 34,700

9 MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

This Week: 10500
Total: 30,900

10 LITTLE BIG TOWN PLACE TO LAND

This Week: 9900
Total: 59,200

12 METALOCALYPSE: DETHKLOK DETHALBUM

This Week: 8100
Total: 117,000

13 BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY T.H.U.G.S

This Week: 7800
Total: 23,100

15 YAMIN*ELLIOT SOUNDS OF SEASON (TARGET

This Week: 7300
Total: 9,300

17 YOAKAM*DWIGHT DWIGHT SINGS BUCK

This Week: 6900
Total: 54,000

20 HALO 3 VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACK

This Week: 5900
Total: 6,300

23 PHISH VEGAS 96

This Week: 5200
Total: 5,200

27 YAMIN*ELLIOTT ELLIOTT YAMIN

This Week: 4800
Total: 445,700

30 SIGUR ROS HVARF/HEIM

This Week: 4600
Total: 25,600

32 PUSCIFER V IS FOR VAGINA

This Week: 4600
Total: 48,200

34 PSYCHOPATHICS FROM OUTER FROM OUTER

This Week: 4300
Total: 4,300

40 NOFX THEY’VE ACTUALLY GOTTEN

This Week: 4000
Total: 4,100

45 DROPKICK MURPHYS MEANEST OF TIMES

This Week: 3500
Total: 83,300

47 OTEP THE ASCENSION

This Week: 3300
Total: 23,200

54 ONCE SOUNDTRACK

This Week: 3100
Total: 184,500

56 DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL SHADE OF POISON TREES

This Week: 3100
Total: 100,100

59 AS I LAY DYING OCEAN BETWEEN US

This Week: 2900
Total: 114,000

64 JR WRITER WRITERS BLOCK 5

This Week: 2700
Total: 2,800

66 ALL TIME LOW SO WRONG, IT’S RIGHT

This Week: 2700
Total: 39,000

68 CAESAR*SHIRLEY CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF

This Week: 2700
Total: 3,800

69 STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO SOMEWHERE IN THE BETWEEN

This Week: 2500
Total: 8,900

71 BO BICE SEE THE LIGHT

This Week: 2500
Total: 23,300

79 THRICE ALCHEMY INDEX: V

This Week: 2300
Total: 48,300

86 OPETH ROUNDHOUSE TAPES

This Week: 2100
Total: 2,600

87 DOWN DOWN III-OVER THE UNDER

This Week: 2000
Total: 64,500

93 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS DISTANT FUTURE

This Week: 1900
Total: 54,400

94 ARLO GUTHRIE ALICE’S RESTAURANT

This Week: 1900
Total: 6,600

99 THURSDAY KILL THE HOUSE LIGHTS

This Week: 1800
Total: 14,800

109 MESSY MARV DRAPED UP & CHIPPED OUT

This Week: 1700
Total: 1,700

121 SILVERCHAIR YOUNG MODERN

This Week: 1500
Total: 50,700

123 RAT PACK & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS WITH THE RAT PACK

This Week: 1500
Total: 2,700

125 DROWNING POOL FULL CIRCLE

This Week: 1400
Total: 48,800

132 FORMAT B-SIDES & RARITIES

This Week: 1400
Total: 1400

133 DEVIL WEARS PRADA PLAGUES

This Week: 1400
Total: 35,900

136 NATIONAL BOXER

This Week: 1300
Total: 66,900

141 SAVES THE DAY UNDER THE BOARDS

This Week: 1300
Total: 12,700

147 BEACH BOYS FOREVER

This Week: 1300
Total: 3,800

149 KOTTONMOUTH KINGS CLOUD NINE

This Week: 1300
Total: 42,400

150 KANSAS SUPER HITS

This Week: 1300
Total: 5,700

151 BETWEEN THE BURIED & ME COLORS

This Week: 1300
Total: 31,500

153 SILVERSTEIN ARRIVALS & DEPARTURE

This Week: 1300
Total: 91,800

164 PETER BJORN & JOHN WRITERS BLOCK

This Week: 1200
Total: 138,700

174 SOCIAL DISTORTION GREATEST HITS

This Week: 1100
Total: 48,400

177 COLD WAR KIDS ROBBERS & COWARDS

This Week: 1100
Total: 138,700

192 AIDEN CONVICTION

This Week: 1000
Total: 35,700

195 PINBACK AUTUMN OF THE SERAPHS

This Week: 1000
Total: 29000
Notable Major label numbers - One Republic (former Colorado Residents) scan 75,000 copies. Amy Winehouse did 22,000 of her former album. Poison’s best of resurfaced on the charts with 20,000 sold and almost 500,000 scanned.

Upcoming / Predictions - I am super slammed today so if you would be so kind as to post comments on what records are coming out and while you are at it, feel free to make predictions on what you think will sell.

]]> http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/independent-sales-chart-11-28-07/feed/ http://indiehq.com/2007/11/28/independent-sales-chart-11-28-07/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IndieHeadquarters/~3/12NYe--uWkM/ http://indiehq.com/2007/11/25/independent-sales-chart-11-26-07/#comments Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:58:15 +0000 Virgil Dickerson Industry & Technology http://indiehq.com/2007/11/25/independent-sales-chart-11-26-07/

BROOKS*GARTH ULTIMATE HITS

EAGLES LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN

COOK*DANE ROUGH AROUND THE EDGESLIVE

MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS SONG

VARIOUS STOCKINGS BY THE FIRE

BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY T.H.U.G.S

LITTLE BIG TOWN PLACE TO LAND

HAIRSPRAY SOUNDTRACK

OSMOND*MARIE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS

GRAY*DAVID GREATEST HITS

1 BROOKS*GARTH ULTIMATE HITS

This Week: 203600
Total: 555,900

2 EAGLES LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN

This Week: 197500
Total: 1,267,700

3 COOK*DANE ROUGH AROUND THE EDGESLIVE

This Week: 90200
Total: 90,400

4 MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS SONG

This Week: 55900
Total: 153,400

5 VARIOUS STOCKINGS BY THE FIRE

This Week: 26000
Total: 44,500

6 BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY T.H.U.G.S

This Week: 15300
Total: 15,300

7 LITTLE BIG TOWN PLACE TO LAND

This Week: 14700
Total: 49,400

8 HAIRSPRAY SOUNDTRACK

This Week: 13200
Total: 711,400

9 OSMOND*MARIE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS

This Week: 10900
Total: 17,500

10 GRAY*DAVID GREATEST HITS

This Week: 10400
Total: 10,500

16 DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN IRE WORKS

This Week: 7000
Total: 7,100

17 SIGUR ROS HVARF/HEIM

This Week: 6400
Total: 21,000

18 STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO SOMEWHERE IN THE BETWEEN

This Week: 6300
Total: 6,500

19 PUSCIFER V IS FOR VAGINA

This Week: 6100
Total: 43,600

26 IRON & WINE SHEPHERD’S DOG

This Week: 4600
Total: 88,800

29 DROPKICK MURPHYS MEANEST OF TIMES

This Week: 4100
Total: 79,900

34 BAND OF HORSES CEASE TO BEGIN

This Week: 3500
Total: 43,300

42 DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL SHADE OF POISON TREES

This Week: 3200
Total: 97,000

48 NEW PORNOGRAPHERS CHALLENGERS

This Week: 2700
Total: 61,200

51 AS I LAY DYING OCEAN BETWEEN US

This Week: 2700
Total: 111,100

53 CHIODOS BONE PALACE BALLET

This Week: 2600
Total: 93,700

59 SHAGGY INTOXICATION

This Week: 2500
Total: 2,600

60 THRICE ALCHEMY INDEX: V

This Week: 2500
Total: 46,000

62 MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK EVEN IF IT KILLS ME

This Week: 2400
Total: 72,800

65 ALL TIME LOW SO WRONG, IT’S RIGHT

This Week: 2200
Total: 36,400

68 THURSDAY KILL THE HOUSE LIGHTS

This Week: 2100
Total: 13,100

70 TAKING BACK SUNDAY NOTES FROM THE PAST

This Week: 2100
Total: 10,400

77 SEBASTIAN*JOAN NO ES DE MADERA

This Week: 2000
Total: 2,300

87 SAVES THE DAY UNDER THE BOARDS

This Week: 1600
Total: 11,400

97 SILVERCHAIR YOUNG MODERN

This Week: 1400
Total: 49,200

103 COLLECTIVE SOUL AFTERWORDS

This Week: 1300
Total: 47,400

111 BETWEEN THE BURIED & ME COLORS

This Week: 1300
Total: 30,300

115 KOTTONMOUTH KINGS CLOUD NINE

This Week: 1200
Total: 41,100

120 MAYDAY PARADE LESSON IN ROMANTICS

This Week: 1200
Total: 26,900

122 PETER BJORN & JOHN WRITERS BLOCK

This Week: 1200
Total: 137,600

128 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM 45:33:00

This Week: 1200
Total: 1,400

135 MR. CAPONE-E DEDICATED 2 THE OLDIES PART 2

This Week: 1100
Total: 9,400

139 SKAGGS*RICKY & THE WHITES SALT OF THE EARTH

This Week: 1100
Total: 6,600

142 KIDZUP 100 CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS

This Week: 1100
Total: 2,200

145 PINBACK AUTUMN OF THE SERAPHS

This Week: 1100
Total: 27,600

166 LOS TERRIBLES IMITADO MAS NUNCA IGUALADOS

This Week: 1000
Total: 1,000

172 GO FISH SNAZZY

This Week: 900
Total: 900

174 COLOR FRED BEND TO BREAK

This Week: 900
Total: 4,700

177 MONSTER MAGNET 4-WAY DIABLO

This Week: 900
Total: 2,800

181 GOGOL BORDELLO SUPER TARANTA

This Week: 900
Total: 37,300

188 DENVER*JOHN FOREVER JOHN DENVER

This Week: 900
Total: 30,400

189 ICED EARTH FRAMING ARMAGEDDON:

This Week: 900
Total: 23,400

197 MINUS THE BEAR PLANET OF ICE

This Week: 900
Total: 35,100
Notable Major label releases - Alicia Keys sold 742,000 to lead the pack. Led Zeppelin sold a pretty impressive 136,000. The Killers sold 82,000. Boyz to Men sold 42,000.

Notes - After watching 60 Minutes, I would like to take back my earlier comment that the Eagles’ new album should not be considered indie. I found out something most of you might already know. They funded and released the album and WalMart agreed to buy a whopping 3,000,000 copies. Pretty insane.
It seems like the Dillinger Escape Plan numbers were a little low for them. Streetlight Manifesto seemed to have a pretty strong first week, I am not sure their past titles have ever done this well.

Upcoming Releases / Predictions - New releases by the Format, NOFX, Anberlin, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Bonnie Prince Billy, Copeland, Dead End Kids, Dead Poetic, D.O.A., Electric Wizard, and Haram.

]]> http://indiehq.com/2007/11/25/independent-sales-chart-11-26-07/feed/ http://indiehq.com/2007/11/25/independent-sales-chart-11-26-07/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IndieHeadquarters/~3/QWvMc3w1N0Y/ http://indiehq.com/2007/11/21/suburban-home-announces-i-celebrate-their-entire-catalog-digital-sampler/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:34:47 +0000 Virgil Dickerson Industry & Technology http://indiehq.com/2007/11/21/suburban-home-announces-i-celebrate-their-entire-catalog-digital-sampler/

I Celebrate Their Entire Catalog 14 song digital sampler [Click to download the entire sampler] AND SHARE THE LINK WITH YOUR FRIENDS AS IT CAN BE DOWNLOADED AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF TIMES
The RIAA would have you believe that file-sharing and sites like Yousendit are label’s worst enemies. I do admit that for a small label like Suburban Home, it has made it more difficult for us to get fans to legally purchase our music, but in the end, I do think that file-sharing can help expose our music to new people. Today’s music fan has embraced all of the many ways to share and try out new music and there is no changing those habits. If we hope to be releasing new music years from now, it is only natural that we adapt to the many changes that are happening.

Just yesterday, we sent out the entire full album download of the Playing Favorites’ “I Remember When I Was Pretty” to every single person who pre-ordered the vinyl or the CD. Will people share it with others? No doubt they will. Will this help or hurt our sales of the album? Honestly, i don’t know. I do know that it is doubtful that I can sell any fewer copies and lately with Suburban Home, I view my relationship with the fans of our bands more like a friendship than a label / customer relationship. I trust my friends to download the album, enjoy it, and if they share it, hopefully they will tell those friends to consider buying the album if they do in fact like what they hear.

With that said, today, I am excited to share with you the latest Suburban Home Records’ sampler, “I Celebrate Their Entire Catalog“. The sampler features 14 tracks from current and upcoming albums and some of the things you will be stoked to see are 2 currently unreleased tracks from Drag the River’s upcoming album, a track from Scott Reynolds and the Steaming Beast, a demo from LaGrecia, a track from our latest signing, Jr. Juggernaut, and a live recording from Jon Snodgrass (the track listing is at the end of this post). The sampler was actually pressed as a CD which will accompany the first pressing of the Playing Favorites’ debut album, but we want the entire world to hear what we have been up to as I firmly believe we are putting out the best music of our 12 year history.

If you like what we do and what we are about, I encourage you to forward the YouSendIt link to anyone and everyone you know. Just copy and paste this url: http://download.yousendit.com/7399CB6878C37021. Post it in your blog, send it out in a Myspace bulletin, burn it onto CDs and give them to your friends, hell text it to your Grandma. We want everyone and anyone to download the sampler.

I am having a blast doing Suburban Home and love that I can try new things like this without having to deal with a bunch of suits. Suburban Home is independently owned and we are damn proud of that fact. You are not likely to see a major label do anything like this, because they have their heads firmly stuck up their collective asses.

Track Listing
1. Playing Favorites “Indigenous”
2. Playing Favorites “Leavingtown”
3. Drag the River “‘Rangement 2.0″
4. LaGrecia “YouLikeBaseballILikeGhosts”
5. Scott Reynolds and the Steaming Beast “None of This is Funny”
6. Drag the River “Death of the Life of the Party”
7. Jr. Juggernaut “Coming in Backwards”
8. Armchair Martian “Re-Routed”
9. Tim Barry “Shoulda Oughta”
10. Josh Small “Come Down”
11. Jon Snodgrass “Brave with Strangers” (live at the Hi-Dive 6-12-07)
12. Two Cow Garage “The Great Gravitron Massacre”
13. The Revenge “Fine Bottle of Some…”
14. Love Me Destroyer “Not If You Were the Last Sinner On Earth”

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