streaming plus vinyl

There has been a slip in sales of music CD's. Music stores are getting rid of CD space and making room for vinyl sales product. Vinyl has strummed a nostalgic chord.

As the chart above shows, the decline in sales has been on a steep slide. CD's are still viable with consumers going for certain genres like country and soundtracks. It does boil down to less CD sales.

Vinyl has made a comeback. Vinyl sales started to climb in 2006. Vinyl sales hit a 25-year high in 2017. Vinyl is seen as the medium of the den and the living room.

 

Streaming has increased among consumers. The car and the kitchen are the most popular streaming locations. 

CD's are still needed, especially for touring acts. It's so much easier to sell CD's at the merch table.

This Rolling Stone article is the source for this post.

35 movies Martin Scorsese likes

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese is one of the most respected movie directors in all of cinema. He is gearing up for the release of The Irishman. One thing I admire about Mr. Scorsese is his knowledge of film history.

Scorsese in Search and Destroy

I came across a post on 35 films that Scorsese likes. I like some of them too. Some I hadn't heard of, but that's what I like from Scosese - I learn from him. This post I discovered was no exception.

Here's some I like too that are on the list of 35.

2001: A Space Odyssey

The Changeling

The Exorcist

Johnny Guitar 

Johnny Guitar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

udiscovermusic rates bass players

I came across udiscovermusic.com with thier list of 50 best bass players. These lists generally interest me. I decided to share it. Take a look, and come up with what you think. It lists 50. Find the link to the article at the end of this post.

Number 50 is Mel Schacher from Grand Funk Railroad.

Schacher

Number 47 is Gail Ann Dorsey

Dorsey

Number 39 is Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead

Lesh

Number 36 is Cliff Burton of Metallica

Burton

Number 21 is John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin

Jones

The bass players carved out signature sounds. Here's the link to the story.

netflix alternatives

Services that offer totally free, totally legal movies to watch online. 

I came across this post from cnet.com about 10 alternatives to Netflix. These alternatives have some great offerings. Here are some that interested me:

Crackle

Pluto TV

Internet Archive

There are 7 more services. Here is the link to the cnet story.

the mood machine

The tech industry is in the business of quantifying our emotions.

Mining emotional states to give A.I. projects something to go on is big business. Measuring human emotion has given rise to new facial recognition programs. The list goes on to include "emotion AI" to measure human emotion.  

Put this technology in a platform like Spotify to manipulate human emotion and we see a powerful tool for mining data given to advertisers. Apparently Spotify touts itself as a mood-boosting platform. 

Spotify also touts that it is a platform for brands. This means that it is good for business, or we are at least being told that. Spotify tells us that it is a place to feel good. 

So if you need a lift in the morning, you know where to go. Personalization is key. Personalization is how Spotify sells users its product. This is how Spotify gets listening data to sell to corporations. Your listening data. 

As we move forward with newer and newer technologies to track people's habits and predict what they'll do next, we must remain aware of what;s really going on.

This post from The Baffler was the source for this post

quantity rules, for now

With 3.9 million "creators" on Spotify, and 40,000 tracks uploaded to that platform daily, is it any wonder why we get the notion that there is too much music? Major record labels are signing artists at a rapid pace. Large labels keep signing new artists to keep market share going them and not to the smaller labels. Smaller labels will sign more and more new artists. Does this mean the major labels will sign more artists? Probably. In 5 years new music will most likely spike. Will this  be too much music? One could argue that there is too much music now.

There is a post on musicbusinessworldwide.com that states 18.8 billion dollars was generated in 2018 by the global record industry.

Of the three majors, Universal Music was the biggest winner over the course of the year, pocketing 31% – or $5.82bn of the total $18.8 billion earned by the recorded music industry, seeing its market share increase by 0.6 points to 30.3%.

Major record labels enjoy a combined 69.2% market share. On the other hand, the market share for artists releasing music by the Artist Direct method grew 35% to earn 643 million dollars in 2018.

Artist Direct and independents accounted for 30.8% of market share in 2018. 

More artists will be signed by major labels because of market share.

In 2018 streaming became the majority of record label revenue. Revenue came in at 9.6 billion dollars, up 30%. Streaming is the avenue of growth. The overall engine for growth is streaming. This shift alone is giving artists new ways to market themselves. New, custom-built models are needed to aid artists in development. 

The major record labels will continue signing new artists. New music galore. Why? The major labels do not want to concede market share. 

Quantity not quality. 

This is an old notion that has stood the test of time. I can remember the Mercury Nashville artist roster in 1991. Small. The quality was superb. Some other labels had larger rosters and the quality seemed layered. Their major artists got more attention. That's predictable I know, but some of the second layer artists that had excellent material, were ignored to a degree. This meant several options within a record label's structure as far as single releases, promotion, and marketing.

This "layered" way of doing things is alive and well in the large-rostered record labels. It will continue for about another 5 years. A new model, using more platforms, will be initiated to promote more artists. New platforms will be created. Some will be real good and others not so much. But there you are.

Keep listening. Enjoy.

 

 

 

composing music with a.i.

Dan Tepfer taught himself coding. He found programming to be powerful. He is an excellent pianist. He has used computer programming to compose music. He has 11 different algorithms he uses to help him compose music.

Dan Tepfer

Will this method of creating music with artificial intelligence become more common? He hopes it opens up artistic horizons. If that keeps occurring, more music will be created by A.I.

When visiting Dan's website, check out Natural Selections. Click on "music" in the heading and "Natural Selections" in the dropdown box.

Here's the link to the source story from NPR.

dylan's nashville skyline

Bob Dylan's 9th studio album Nashville Skyline has turned 50 years old.

No one was anticipating a traditional country music album from Dylan.

"These are the types of songs that I always felt like writing when I've been alone to do so." 

The album was a different vocal style for Dylan. He created a new vocal persona to match his style of music. 

Nashville Skyline was recorded in 4 days

Here is the link to the Rolling Stone story about the album.

Nashville Skyline was a vocal change for Bob Dylan. https://t.co/nsuuN90SUo via @RollingStone The album turns 50. It opened up country rock. #savingcountrymusic #BobDylan #musichistory

— Mike Bertelsen (@mikebertelsen) April 12, 2019

matt carpenter music

Matt Carpenter of the Saint Louis Cardinals uses the Turnpike Troubadours song Long Hot Summer Day as his walk up tune as he goes to the plate.

Carpenter

The Turnpike Troubadours play this song and it is one of the favorites of fans everywhere. It was featured in The World Series in 2013 when the Cardinals went. The song being played by Carpenter has help grow The Troubadours fan base in the Midwest.

Long Hot Summer Day was put on the album Diamonds and Gasoline. It was their second album and was released in 2010.

Turnpike Troubadours

Here is the complete story from Saving Country Music

Let's hope that new music with roots gets discovered all the time.

Cody Jinks, Band of Heathens Join Turnpike Troubadours in Matt Carpenter Walk Up Rotation https://t.co/FHMe4lvPoa

— Saving Country Music (@KyleCoroneos) April 11, 2019

honky tonk time machine

Congratulations to George Strait. His album Honky Tonk Time Machine is number 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. His 27th album to do so.

The single is Every Little Honk Tonk Bar is showing promise on the country airwaves. 

Saving Country Music has an excellent story on George's latest effort.

Let's enjoy this.

 

George Strait Is Back On Top with “Honky Tonk Time Machine," and In More Ways Than Onehttps://t.co/K4wwTxT0eL

— Saving Country Music (@KyleCoroneos) April 9, 2019

reba mcentire's new album

Stronger Than the Truth is Reba McEntire's new album.

Reba has gotten back to her roots. Two songs stand out with me. Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain and No U in Oklahoma.

Reba

 No U in Oklahoma is a western swing tune co-written by Reba. This album is full of strength and emotion. It also has variety. 

Reba's No U in Oklahoma

Reba's Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain

Here's the full album review from Saving Country Music

Reba's contribution to country music is pure and full of feeling. She keeps that going with this album.

Album Review – Reba McEntire’s “Stronger Than The Truth”https://t.co/54J34VuI5S

— Saving Country Music (@KyleCoroneos) April 5, 2019

10 types of content

I came across an article from The Social MS. It's about the 10 types of content for your blog or posts to social media platforms.

Good content helps with search engines. Use content in your email newsletters. Content can help build a relationship with your audience.

10 types of content:

• • Interviews
  • Webinars
  • List Posts
  • How-To-Guides
  • Product Guides
  • Infographics
  • Resource Collections
  • Podcasts and Videos
  • Guest Posts
  • Report
  
  
  
  
  
  

margo: singing to middle america and beyond

I found an article from the Washington Post about Margo Price. She started singing to middle America as a youngster, influenced by Tom Petty. Petty's music was a favorite of hers. She got into country music to get here foot in the door and ventured away for a time to voice her views on social issues. Country radio doesn't usually go for artists who share their views about the social scene. That didn't stop her.

Spotify's Margo Price billboard in Nashville

Price has found fans all over the United States. She has played at several outlaw country festivals where her following has grown. She has several folks in her corner. Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, and Kris Kristofferson, to name just three.

Price's tune All-American Made tells the story of people struggling through everyday life. It strikes a chord of hope and improvement with me. It told me not to give up. Keep going. Do what you do with care and determination. That's what Margo does.

She is nominated for best new artist at the Grammys tonight. I have this feeling she'll get it.

ken burns' country music

Documentarian Ken Burns, who looked at the history of jazz in 2001, will focus on country music for his next PBS series. Burns theorizes that through country music, we can get a better understanding of the American experience.

Burns

 Country Music is a good story to tell and Ken Burns is going to tell it.

Source for this post from BrooklynVegan 

toby keith's song

Clint Eastwood said to Toby Keith, "I just get up every morning and go out. And I don’t let the old man in.”

Eastwood

 Toby Keith knew he had to write a song with that line it in. Eastwood and Keith were playing golf at a celebrity golf event at Pebble Beach when Eastwood told Keith this great line. Keith was admiring how Eastwood, at almost 88, stayed active and asked how he does it.

Source for this post from Saving Country Music

william michael morgan

This artist is with Warner Bros. He has been an advocate of traditional country music. He has explored country's roots. William Michael Morgan's new efforts are with the traditionalist in mind.

Morgan

William Michael Morgan has spoke. His opinion tells us he cares and has concern for country music. 

Morgan has said he would like to record with Margo Price.

Source for this article from Saving Country Music: About the State of Country Music

dwight yoakam 2019 tour

Dwight Yoakam is going on tour in 2019.

Here are some of the dates:

• January 17 - Dubuque, Iowa at the Five Flags Center
• January 18 - Sioux City, Iowa at the Orpheum Theater
• February 21 - Springfield, Illinois - Sangamon Auditorium
• February 23 - Wheeling, West Virginia - Capitol Theater
• Charleston, West Virginia - The Clay Center
• Council Bluffs, Iowa - Harrah's 

Here's a complete list of the concert dates and venues: Dwight 2019 Tour

If you don’t see a date close to you, don't fret, he’ll likely have more dates to come.

2019 should be a good year for Dwight. Remember when Johnny Cash called Dwight the best voice in country music ever? I don't either, but when I read that, it was cool. Thanks Johnny!

 

randy houser and a new album

On January 11th Randy Houser releases a new album. It's called Magnolia.

Houser has also created a movie of the same name that brings to life the lyrics of the project.

“Magnolia tells my story but also tells the story of running away from something while not knowing exactly what you’re running to” - Randy Houser

Randy Houser

With a difficult shooting schedule, he had to push back the release of the album.

Read about his story on Taste of Country 

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His album is one of the most anticipated in 2019 according to Saving County Music.

Many of the signs are pointing to many positives about this album.