Revenue is an important factor that keeps artists interested in having their work on these streaming services—one need look no farther than Taylor Swift and her disputes with Spotify to see what happens when an artist feels like he or she is getting a raw deal.


Ernst & Young worked with French record label trade group SNEP to figure out just where the all the money from these streaming services goes, and the results aren't that good for the actual music-makers.

Read more at pcmag

The B Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song

Everybody knows and loves the American Songbook. But it’s a bit less widely understood that in about 1950, this stream of great songs more or less dried up. All of a sudden, what came over the radio wasn’t Gershwin, Porter, and Berlin, but “Come on-a My House” and “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” Elvis and rock and roll arrived a few years later, and at that point the game was truly up. What happened, and why? In The B Side, acclaimed cultural historian Ben Yagoda answers those questions in a fascinating piece of detective work. Drawing on previously untapped archival sources and on scores of interviews—the voices include Randy Newman, Jimmy Webb, Linda Ronstadt, and Herb Alpert—the book illuminates broad musical trends through a series of intertwined stories. Among them are the battle between ASCAP and Broadcast Music, Inc.; the revolution in jazz after World War II; the impact of radio and then television; and the bitter, decades-long feud between Mitch Miller and Frank Sinatra.

The B Side is about taste, and the particular economics and culture of songwriting, and the potential of popular art for greatness and beauty. It’s destined to become a classic of American musical history.


Available on Amazon.com

Has the cold got you down? Thinking of taking a vacation, but not interested in spending time at a typical resort? Of course there are plenty of options, but have you ever thought of going somewhere warm for a music festival? Central and South America have seen some of the biggest growth in the industry when it comes to new festivals and famous ones that are looking to expand, and the best part is that most of them are held when America and Europe are cold and dark.


If you were looking for an excuse to get away, one of these might be it.

Read more at forbes.com

Honoring Chuck Busch, founder of Mondo Kayo

As founder, captain and guiding spirit of the Mondo Kayo Social and Marching Club, Chuck Busch, who died of cancer in 2002, left a legacy that continues to delight, amuse and inspire. “It’s a Joseph Campbell, follow-your-bliss thing,” he once said of his progeny, a Fat Tuesday phenomenon that offers visions of tropical abundance and spreads elation through music.

Read more at http://mardigrastraditions.com/chuck-busch/

While most of us have assuredly attended a festival or two in our time, the festival cruise is for many an as-yet uncharted piece of live music territory. This may soon change, as the success of several prominent music cruises around the world could soon see them become as ubiquitous as camping festivals.


The appeal of the festival cruise is obvious. It’s fun in the sun, surrounded by scantily clad dudes and dudettes, world-class artists and DJs playing or spinning tunes, which kicks off on a lavish cruise ship and ends on a tropical beach paradise. Basically, you get to live out your millionaire fantasy for a weekend.

Read more on tonedeaf.com.au

Eric Vandercar had a 20-year friendship with Mark Rechler, a Long Island architect and musician. But it didn't start out that way.

They met when Vandercar "shushed" him at a concert. Rechler was making noise and Vandercar, a taper, needed quiet around him to get the best recording possible.

But once they started running into each other at seemingly every concert, the friendship took off. "He was a great guy. Really smart. A meticulous dude," Rechler said.

Vandercar, 53, lived in Bedford Hills with his wife, Jill, his son and his daughter. He worked at Morgan Stanley for 27 years before joining Chicago-based Mesirow Financial as a senior managing director of international sales and trading at the firm's New York office last March.

He was the quiet one growing up on Lori Street in Poughkeepsie, a tight knit neighborhood where the names of kids on the block roll off the tongue decades later. Robert Gropper, a neighbor, and Vandercar were born four days apart — meaning some years there was good-natured competition for prime birthday party dates.

Read more on lohud.com

Version from 'Physical Graffiti' reissue highlights John Bonham's drum fills and Robert Plant's harmonies

Next month, Led Zeppelin will reissue their sixth album, the 1975 double LP Physical Graffiti, with a disc's worth of unreleased versions of the record's songs. Among these is a rough mix of the funky hard-rock radio staple "Houses of the Holy."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/led-zeppelin-house-holy-physical-graffiti-rough-mix-20150120#ixzz3PfywVBnu
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Read more: rollingstone.com

Tie-Died: Rock n Roll's most deadicated fans

Plans for a giant Memorial Day country music festival in downtown St. Louis are on hold, and a top aide to the mayor says a similar rock festival over Labor Day weekend is uncertain.

In April, aldermen voted to allow both festivals on the Gateway Mall for the next 10 years. The decision was criticized by some local musicians and promoters — the annual Taste of St. Louis festival moved to Chesterfield once the new agreement was reached.



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