Category: Industry Insights

Tween Metal Band Unlocking The Truth Signs to Sony

Posted 15 Jul 2014 in Artist News, Industry Insights
Unlocking The Truth

These days, having the support of a major label is often the difference between making it and going bankrupt for a band. No matter how much complaining they do, major labels definitely have access to assets and monetary sums that are far out of the reach of an independent label. This leads to the major labels often having first pick of artists on their roster, which makes the choices each of the three company’s respective A & R departments make…

Music Sales Plummet

Posted 08 Jul 2014 in Industry Insights
Music Sales

In today’s world of digital streaming and file sharing, few people actually own the music they listen to. Think about it: services like Pandora and Spotify offer access to their massive collection of music, so why bother stocking up on MP3’s or even physical versions of your favorite song? For this reason among many, the recent findings by Nielsen Soundscan reveal that while music sales for the first half of 2014 are down 15% at 121 million, the streaming industry…

Black Sabbath Leaks Cheap Tickets Link

Posted 01 Jul 2014 in Artist News, Industry Insights, Miscellaneous

Spend any amount of time talking with members of older generations, and you’ll undoubtedly hear some old timers discuss how things used to cost so much less back in the day. Of course, they made less money as well, but that’s not the point. However, wouldn’t it be awesome if you could get a concert ticket today for 1970’s prices? For a few lucky Black Sabbath fans, this was the case for the Hyde Park show Sabbath has planned for…

Study Finds Playing Guitar Good for Brain

Guitar is good for the brain

After reading that headline, we have little doubt that a great deal of you readers forcefully smacked your head and let out an exasperated “duhhh.” After all, it’s pretty intuitive: of course playing guitar is good for your mental health. Playing any instrument definitely uses different sections of one’s brain than any other activity. However, we finally have a bit of hard science to back up this claim. Conducted by the Boston Children’s Hospital, the study looked at children who…

U2 Members Bono and The Edge Join Fender Board of Directors

Posted 01 Jun 2014 in Industry Insights, News
U2

It’s not uncommon for musicians to get endorsement deals from company’s. You see musicians representing everything from guitar strings, drum sticks, amps and guitars.  If you’ve got a big enough fan following, you can likely get a guitar company to send you a plethora of free gear on the condition that you play it on stage. You might even get paid. However, few musicians reach a level of stardom to where guitar companies are asking them to hold a position…

Link Found Between Metal Acts and GDP

Posted 28 May 2014 in Industry Insights, News
Metal GDP

The average metal fan would like you to believe that they are receiving the bad end of a deal with society; all the anger and violence often channeled through metal music tends to portray its fanbase as low class, outcasted individuals. However, a new studio seems to claim just the opposite: metal heads are more likely to be found in wealthier societies. Richard Florida studies sociology and music, and two years ago published a chart detailing which areas in the…

Led Zeppelin Sued Over “Stairway to Heaven”

Posted 22 May 2014 in Artist News, Industry Insights

If you’ve been alive at all in the last 50 years, chances are you’ve heard Led Zeppelin’s ultra-hit “Stairway to Heaven”. The track has basically been everywhere since its release in 1971. However, a new lawsuit may reveal there is more to the song than meets the eye. Apparently, there exists a belief that the band lifted the opening meditative guitar licks from the Los Angeles band Spirit’s instrumental track, “Taurus”. We’ve included a video of the track below; check…

Slayer and Rick Rubin Part Ways

Posted 27 Apr 2014 in Artist News, Industry Insights

Just the other day, we told you readers all about the new Slayer single, “Implode”. As their first original track in 5 years, the tune was pitched as a sort of rebound effort and as an introduction to the new guitarist Gary Holt. However, the release would not be the only time Slayer made news this week. The band also announced a controversial decision to split from famed produced Rick Rubin for their next effort. Rubin and Slayer have been…

Ovation Guitar Factory Closing

Posted 24 Apr 2014 in Acoustic Guitar, Industry Insights

These are sad times, friends. A legendary Ovation guitar factory in Connecticut has been forced to shut its doors after 47 years in the business. During that time, the company produced for the likes of Mick Jagger, Eddie Van Halen, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and Paul Simon. Additionally, the company managed to get itself acquired by Fender. In an interesting twist, Fender will actually continue to manufacture Ovation guitars, however they will be doing so through an offshore…

Fender Reveals MLB Themed Guitars

Posted 23 Mar 2014 in Electric Guitar, Industry Insights, News

Collectively, sports and music probably make up most of the entertainment the average American consumes nowadays. Think about it: even if you’re watching TV, there’s a pretty high chance you’re watching sports, and no matter what you’re watching, it’ll have music periodically playing. It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, then, that crossovers between these two industries happen all the time. Typically, this takes the form of a musician playing a sporting event, but Fender recently announced a…