2009 September | creative deconstruction

Album Review: Castanets – Texas Rose, The Thaw, and the Beasts

Posted on 16. Sep, 2009 by refe.

1

Texas Rose, the Thaw and the Beasts is Castanets’ biggest and most ambitious work to date, featuring a full band and bringing to the table a brand new appetite for the epic. It’s a challenging, but oddly accessible collection of music. The album is something of an enigma – rooted in rustic country-folk, yet twisted [...]

Continue Reading

The Future of Product Innovations in Music

Posted on 15. Sep, 2009 by refe.

3

During the reign of the CD there seemed to be no need to innovate. For decades that one product brought in plenty of revenue to keep the industry rich. If it’s not broken why fix it? Meanwhile, we understand now that new technologies were quietly transforming the markets. At some point the right time to [...]

Continue Reading

Forrester Report: The Way Forward for the Music Industry or a Step Backward?

Posted on 13. Sep, 2009 by refe.

12

A new report from the Forrester Research Group has been getting a lot of buzz lately, fueled largely by the fact that due to its hefty $500 price tag very few people have actually read it. Nothing like a bit of mystery to spice up what is being heralded by some as “a plan to [...]

Continue Reading

To Leak or Not to Leak? 3 Ways Artists Can Respond

Posted on 09. Sep, 2009 by refe.

3

The process of releasing new material has never been airtight. These days, however, digital technology has poked so many holes in the recording industry that it’s beginning to look more like a siv. From Radiohead to Jay-Z to Muse, more and more anticipated releases are showing up online days, even weeks before their official drop. [...]

Continue Reading

The Music Business Gets Leaky – Radiohead, Jay-Z, Muse and More

Posted on 08. Sep, 2009 by refe.

1

It’s incredible how quickly news bunches up these days thanks to the social web. Seems like only a week or two ago that the online music community was all a twitter about the leak of Radiohead’s new single These are My Twisted Words.This week Jay-Z’s new album Blueprint 3 was rushed out a week ahead schedule [...]

Continue Reading

What Do You Do When You Just Aren’t Good Enough?

Posted on 07. Sep, 2009 by refe.

6

What do you do when you find out that you aren’t good enough? Because let’s be honest – there are plenty of fish in the sea. Musicians, songwriters, and performers all but grow on trees. If you’re going to make it you’d better either be great, or have something so compelling to say that listeners are willing stick it out in spite of the rough edges. So, assuming you aren’t there already, how do you get there?

Continue Reading

Deconstructing the Week in Music August 24 – September 6

Posted on 06. Sep, 2009 by refe.

1

Here’s a recap of what went on in the music industry this week. Make sure to check out anything you might have missed and leave your comments. Know something we don’t? Submit a story.

Continue Reading

Record Sales Haven’t Hit Bottom Yet

Posted on 04. Sep, 2009 by refe.

11

Album sales continue their rapid decline, falling 18.1% this month over August of last year, and 37.2% over the same month in 2007. According to Billboard August had the “worst year-over-year deficit of the entire year” but was preceded by decent sales in July. “That five-week period, starting June 28 and ending August 1,” the [...]

Continue Reading

The ‘Paradox of Choice’ in the Music Industry

Posted on 02. Sep, 2009 by refe.

7

There has been an explosion of choice in music. Technology has made it easier and cheaper than ever before for just about anybody to record and distribute their music. An unprecedented number of new artists and new albums flood the market every week, every day. Not only is there an abundance of choice in new [...]