The music wars from a musician's point of view. And free tunes. http://www.azoz.com October 17, 2010 — This week, Tunecore co-founder Jeff Price is using Nielsen SoundScan statistics exactly the same way Nielsen does — to manipulate the truth and misrepresent facts. My criticism at the page on which the offense occured has been erased, so it's time to shine a brighter light. http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/10/twistedstats.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/10/twistedstats.html October 13, 2010 -- People turn me on to indie bands all the time. Once in a while, something special shows up. The Kicks are one of the special ones. http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/10/kicks.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/10/kicks.html October 7, 2010 — My first reaction to the story of Converse entering the music business was one of dismay. Do we really need more corporate interference with art? The more I think about it, though, the answer is that it's certainly better for artists than America's Got Talent. http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/10/converse.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/10/converse.html September 5, 2010 -- Journalistic integrity requires keeping yourself at a distance from what you're writing about to remain objective, something I complain that the news media seems incapable of remembering. Then I look at my own writing of late and see that I've lost some of the fire that used to make my examination of the music industry interesting. Which is worse? http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/09/detachment.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/09/detachment.html September 4, 2010 -- Not entirely of my own choice, I stopped watching television at the beginning of June. Three months later, I'm finding that the lack of the boob tube blaring at me is surprisingly liberating. http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/09/nonews.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/09/nonews.html August 23, 2010 -- According to Nielsen/SoundScan, the week ending August 15 was the first time since they started keeping track in 1991 that less than 5 million albums were sold. While this comes as no great surprise, what I find interesting is the general logic that tries to explain it. http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/albumsales.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/albumsales.html August, 18, 2010 -- I've been really thinking about what I could offer to give all the college researchers something new to chew on when school kicks back in. So I dug back into those stats and numbers again. http://www.azoz.com/topics/riaastats/releases2010.html http://www.azoz.com/topics/riaastats/releases2010.html August 18, 2010 -- "Radio broadcasters and music labels are seeking to legally mandate FM radio reception as a feature in all consumer mobile devices in an effort to expand the market for radio." Why the hell would the RIAA want to do that? http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/radioipods.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/radioipods.html August 13, 2010 -- I've had a web site since about 1998. Lately, I'm getting approached to monetize the site by isolating some content off behind a pay wall. Am I the only one in the country that finds this idea disgusting? I guess I see the greater question to be: How did everyone manage to forget the original purpose of the internet? http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/cashflow.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/cashflow.html August 12, 2010 -- Found a page of social networking stats in an e-mail. No link source, but I thought I'd share it anyway. http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/socialnets.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/08/socialnets.html Aug 10, 2010 -- Went across the country and back again on a self-discrovery journey. Took longer to write about than it did to happen, but now it's finished. http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/07/journey.html http://www.azoz.com/newsarchive/2010/07/journey.html