http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/t ... itter.html

There is a God!

I did read that she is quitting music. I hope that is true.

Oh I don't no thinking Glastonbury this year

I didn't know she'd started producing music...

I used to like Keith Allen but now I hate him.

She got bit quite badly over her comments on downloads. A couple of blogs banged on about how she was in effect a stooge for EMI and the BPI amongst others. I don’t think she liked them very much. The blogs entries in question have been replaced by this message.

http://www.upstartblogger.com/steady-as-she-goes

Oh, well.

Yes but if you make a comment you should expect to stand by it or be willing to alter your view. I am not supporting illegal downloads of music but to call all downloads illegal is crass. Apple have made the iTunes store very successful by offering legal content to users, at a price they can accept. The music industry wants too much for the current stuff and anything that is selling well. Maybe the solution is for artists to approach iTunes and sell their music directly cutting out the labels. Eminem has the rights to his music so should be able to do so himself as could many unsigned artists.

That would be the record companies armageddon scenario. The internet and download stores (such as iTunes and Amazon etc) have shown that you dont need record companies any more unless you are a useless no hoper (such as L. Allen) with no talent scaping along by the dint of other peoples talent.

The only decent thing she did on Twitter was give away free concert tickets to fans.

Leaving twitter.... who cares?

The latest Mac User magazine has an article on Eminems settlement with Apple and iTunes. It appears that his record label did not have the rights to sell the tracks on iTunes. Apple were not to know that, but it would make sense for all the artists to be contacted directly. In Eminem's case he could deal directly with iTunes and pocket the 70 cents from each download rather than it going to the label. It would make sense, and would as you be armageddon for the labels.

Would that not simply turn iTunes into a record label?

Amen to that, I recently subscribed to a record label (m-nus), I get all their output for a year for $30 euros, plus 10% discount on existing releases and other bonus stuff. All the money goes directly to the label and artists.



No, but it would turn itunes into an incredibly powerful distributor, unless artists were prepared to invest in their own digital distribution, it could result in scenario much worse than the one that the monolithic record labels present.

If the artists presents the tracks for iTunes then iTunes would be a distributor. The artists could and would be his or her own publisher. It would end the labels, but then that might be a good thing. It might cut down on the manufactured bands. Though there is still a place for them.