Tag Archive for: Technology

Live Nation Giving Away Tickets Via Twitter

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live-nation-logoTwitter users are coming up with new ways to use the service all the time…the latest is contest giveaways.

During the month of August Live Nation is giving concert fans a chance to win the Ultimate Concert Access Pass, which allows the winner and a guest to attend any and twitter-logoevery show at any and every Live Nation owned and operated venue across North America for 1 year, beginning January 1, 2010.

Additionally, Live Nation is giving away 38 Ultimate Local Venue Passes in 38 cities, which gives the winner and a guest access to every concert at one Live Nation owned and operated venue of their choosing for an entire year.

The Twitter sweepstakes will be held on Live Nation’s national and local Twitter pages through August 31st. Fans can enter once a day to increase their chances of winning. Daily prizes include concert tickets, artist merchandise, parking upgrades and concessions discounts.

To enter the Ultimate Concert Access Pass Sweepstakes:

1) Follow @LiveNation on twitter

2) Send a tweet to @LiveNation and include the hashtag #LiveNationUltimateAccess

Example tweet: Please @LiveNation! I want #LiveNationUltimateAccess!

To enter the Ultimate Local Venue Pass Sweepstakes:

1) Follow your local Live Nation twitter page (visit www.livenation.com/ultimateaccess for a map of participating cities) Example: @LiveNationNYC

2) Send a tweet to your local Live Nation twitter page and include the hashtag #LiveNationUltimateAccess

Example tweet: Please @LiveNationNYC! I want #LiveNationUltimateAccess

Web Initiatives Help Nichols Support Troops, Single

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joe-nJoe Nichols is supporting the troops as well as promoting his new single, “Believers,” with several viral initiatives.

While he was on a tour in Iraq performing for the servicemen and women, he had the video crew documenting the excursion also interview the soldiers about what they believe in. The result is a moving video posted on YouTube titled Believers Challenge From Iraq. “Believers” is the lead single from Nichols’ new CD Old Things New, scheduled for release later this year by Universal Records South.

He also has e-cards and Web site banners (shown below) available featuring the song and the troops. Send an e-card by clicking the banner, or click here to add the banner to your own site.

Nichols has also been making the promotional rounds, including a recent visit to Crook & Chase.

Joe Nichols will perform music from his upcoming CD release Old Things New when he makes a special guest appearance on The Crook & Chase Show this week. Recorded in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the episode will premiere on RFD-TV Thursday August 13th at 8:00 pm ET. Nichols treated the studio audience to an unplugged version of his hit single "Believers.” Pictured (l-r) are: Nichols, Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase.

Nichols will perform music from his upcoming CD release "Old Things New" on "The Crook & Chase Show" this week. Recorded in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the episode will premiere on RFD-TV Thurs., Aug. 13 at 7 PM/CT. Pictured (l-r): Nichols, Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase.

Big Green Ringtones, IBMA, and More

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aldeaNJason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor” is in its fourth consecutive week at the top of iTunes’ all-genre ringtone chart. Additionally, among Verizon’s 84 million subscribers, it is this week’s No. 1 most downloaded ringtone, in front of such megastars as The Black Eyes Peas, Mariah Carey and the late Michael Jackson. Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor” is consistently more than doubling any other country song on the Ringscan chart.

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Del McCoury and Alan O’Bryant will announce the final nominees for the 20th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards at a press conference on Thurs., Aug. 13 at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater. IBMA Hall of Fame inductees and Distinguished Achievement Award honorees will also be announced.  The awards show will take place on Thurs., Oct. 1, at the Ryman Auditorium. An all-star collaboration of reigning and former IBMA Award recipients, including Dailey & Vincent, Dale Ann Bradley, Adam Steffey, Stuart Duncan, Scott Vestal, Phil Leadbetter, Josh Williams and Mike Bub, will perform at the press conference.

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Clear Channel will start selling ads for Pandora, with its ad sales rep firm Katz Media Group handling the placements. This is significant because online radio station Pandora is expanding its inventory beyond simple display advertising into in-stream audio advertising, a growing market. The free radio service credits the addition of in-stream audio inventory for its ongoing sales growth.

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JB Rocket and Steel Magnolia are the last duos remaining on CMT’s Can You Duet. After weeks of  auditions and performances in front of a live audience, the winning duo will be announced on Sat., Aug. 8 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CMT. Hosted by CMT’s Lance Smith, Can You Duet’s panel of celebrity and expert judge/mentors includes Naomi Judd, Big Kenny, and Big Machine Records’ President Scott Borchetta. JB Rocket were paired by the judges. The winning duo will record an album to be released by Big Machine Records.

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Sugarland: Live on the Inside airs tonight, (8/3) from 7-8 PM/CT on ABC. Tomorrow, the Grammy winning duo will release their CD/DVD set, entitled Live On The Inside, exclusively at Walmart.

Tech Tracks: Kazaa, Rock Band, Twitter

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kazaaKazaa relaunched today (7/20) in a new form; morphed from an illegal file-trading service to a legal download subscription outfit. For $20/month, users get unlimited downloads of over 1 million tracks from all four major labels. The downside of the service is that the DRM tracks cannot be transferred to portable devices and can only be played on subscribed PCs. Kazaa is owned by the Australian company Altnet.
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The Rock Band Network is a ground-breaking initiative that gives musicians and record labels the ability to author their own original recordings into gameplay files and sell their music as playable Rock Band video game tracks through the newly-created Rock Band Network Music Store. From Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games, The Rock Band Network will launch as an open beta in late August 2009 in the U.S. and provide a sophisticated toolset, with detailed documentation on how bands can begin the process of authoring songs into Rock Band gameplay files.

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Wonder what the most popular subject matter is on Twitter? Find out what’s trending and why at whatthetrend.com.  You can also see the latest tweets, Flickr photos and news stories

Palming Off a Bug Fix, CMA Voting, Songwriters Team With Studdard

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iphoneApple has just released an iTunes update (8.2.1) and among the “issues and improvements” it addresses is the music program’s ability to sync music with the Palm Pre phone. One of the new Palm smartphone’s selling points was that ability to seamlessly move music between iTunes and the phone, but obviously, Apple preferred that only official Apple products be endowed with that ability. Palm responded saying, “Palm’s media sync works with iTunes 8.2. If Apple chooses to disable media sync in iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience. However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we can consider.”

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Polls for the Nominating Round of balloting for the 2009 CMA Awards will close at 5:00 PM CDT today (7/16). To vote you must be a current CMA member, and have your Member Number and PIN number ready. Click here.

The remaining CMA Awards ballot schedule is:
Aug. 11– Second Ballot sent

Aug. 24–Deadline for Second Ballot

Oct. 16–Final Ballot sent

Nov. 3–Deadline for Final Ballot

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Several Nashville songwriters have cuts on the new Ruben Studdard album, Love Is. The R&B/American Idol star came to Music City to write for the project. With Bob DiPiero and Tom Shapiro, he wrote “Love Is My Rock,” and he teamed with Bill Luther and Barry Dean for “That’s Enough.”

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The Refuge Center for Counseling, a local nonprofit that offers a variety of counseling services to those in need regardless of income level, along with corporate sponsor Wells Fargo/Wachovia Wealth Management will host a Songwriters Night at Boxwood Bistro tonight Thurs., July 16, from 6 to 10 p.m. Headlining the event will be Doug Johnson (“Three Wooden Crosses”), along with Rob Crosby, Chip Davis and Mark Steven Jones. Tickets are limited and can be purchased in advance for $75 at www.therefugecenter.org. Tickets are also available by contacting Virginia Fontanella at (615) 969-0064 or by e-mail at songwritersnight@aol.com. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.

MusicRow Now on Facebook, More

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facebookBecome a fan of your favorite magazine, MusicRow, on Facebook. Click here.

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Facebook is worth $6.5 billion, estimated by a deal the social networking site made with a Russian Web firm called Digital Sky Technologies. The New York Post reports that Facebook is letting its employees sell their stock to the company which invested $200 million in it in May. Digital Sky will purchase up to $100 million in common stock at a price of $14.77 a share, which places Facebook’s value at $6.5 billion.

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Rhino Entertainment, a division of WMG, debuted “Digital 45s” today through online retailers. For $1.49 or $1.99, the buyer gets a reissue of two songs—the original single, and the B-side track, as well as digital versions of the original artwork. Among the available tracks are “Take I Easy”/”Get You In The Mood” by The Eagles and “Kiss”/”Love or Money” by Prince. The label says this is a way to sell music at a value point that lies between the single and the EP. It also celebrates the 60th anniversary of the 45-single.

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Even though Michael Jackson‘s This Is It tour isn’t happening, his handlers are still cashing in by selling the merchandise, online and at retail. The major run was scheduled to begin yesterday (7/13) in London.

Twitter Bridges Fan/Artist Connection

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Twitter is becoming an increasingly common way for artists to communicate with fans. Stoney Creek Records’ Megan Mullins has been using it and other popular social networking sites for her “Total Request Video” extravaganza. Keeping within the weekly theme (ex. classic country), fans log onto Mullins’ Facebook, MySpace or Twitter account and request a song. Each week, Mullins will pick a winner and post a video of her playing the tune on her MM-TV YouTube channel.

Due West recently took requests via Twitter during a live radio stop in Spokane, Washington. Tim Gates, Brad Hull and Matt Lopez were Twittering with fans while on the air and trying to decide which song to play. So the band asked fans via Twitter what song they would prefer to hear, and followers quickly responded. Due West’s premiere single, “I Get That All The Time” is steadily growing at country radio (No. 34 on the Country Breakout chart). It will be on their debut album, set to be released later this summer on Bigger Than Me Records.

Tech Tidbits: MySpace, Twitter, Godin

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MySpace has announced layoffs of approximately 30% of its staff totaling about 420 workers. After the cuts, the social networking site, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, will retain a staff of almost 1,000. “Simply put, our staffing levels were bloated and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company,” stated Chief Executive Owen Van Natta. “I understand these changes are painful for many. They are also necessary for the long-term health and culture of MySpace. Our intent is to return to an environment of innovation that is centered on our user and our product.”
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In yet another sign of the increasing role of social networks in the global culture and everyday life, the U.S. State department asked Twitter (6/15) to delay its scheduled maintenance. The shutdown would have stopped service to Iran and kept its citizens from issuing news to the outside world about unfolding events related to the recent election unrest. Twitter rescheduled the work to Tuesday afternoon (U.S.A.), 1:30 a.m. in Tehran. Iranian officials are blocking text messaging, but have been unable to quell tweets. “We’ve been struck by the amount of video and eyewitness testimony,” said Jon Williams, the BBC World News editor. “The days when regimes can control the flow of information are over.” According to the New York Times, “The episode demonstrates the extent to which the administration views social networking as a new arrow in its diplomatic quiver.”
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Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has posted video clips online of marketing expert Seth Godin’s keynote address from this year’s CRS-40. Visit www.CRB.org and log in at the CRB Vision page to view the address. Online registration for CRS-41, to be held Feb. 24-26, 2010 is now also available in installment payments.
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A recent blog on TheAtlantic.com says that Nashville is the only city in the U.S. that has attracted musicians and music industry population growth since the 1970’s. The blogger says “my research team and I charted the geographic centers of the music industry from 1970 and 2004 using a metric called a location quotient, Nashville was the only city that registered positive growth.”

RIAA Under Fire, Beaming Up Bonnaroo, World Copyright Summit

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Minnesota lawyer Kiwi Camara and Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson have signaled their intention to file a class action lawsuit against the recording industry demanding the return over $100 million that the RIAA supposedly has collected as penalties from file-sharing cases with consumers. Camara is also in a high-profile Minnesota RIAA case later this month. According to Arstechnica.com, Camara will seek to disallow evidence from MediaSentry which tracks IP addresses of file-sharers on the basis that it is not licensed as a private investigator in Minnesota. There is also an issue regarding certified copyright registrations which the RIAA admits, “will be difficult and expensive to obtain in time for the trial.” Arstechnica says that the “Nesson/Camara tag team have a couple more eyepoppers to make: P2P file-sharing of copyrighted material is fair use and huge statutory damage awards against noncommercial users are unconstitutional.”

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Verizon Wireless technicians have deployed two COLTS (Cell On Light Trucks) for Bonnaroo Music Festival to ensure that the 80,000+ music fans can make and receive calls, send messages and stay connected during the festivities from June 11-14. COLTS have the same call capacity as a freestanding cell site and can handle both voice and wireless data service, allowing music fans and residents to rely on their phones before, during, and after the festival.
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CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) today continues the World Copyright Summit: New Frontiers for Creators in the Marketplace. The second day of the program focuses on finding common ground and new revenue streams on which to build the future of creative industries. Today’s activities opened with Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, with other segments featuring legendary singer and songwriter from the Bee Gees and President of CISAC, Robin Gibb; National Music Publishers Association President and CEO David Israelite; and chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing, Roger Faxon.

Twitterific: MusicRow Debuts Chart, Twitter Stops Fake Accounts

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twitter-logoEver been duped into following a celeb imposter on Twitter? You’re not alone. So the brains behind the microblogging site have begun working on a new feature called “Verified Accounts.” The beta version will debut this summer, with a special seal to help users differentiate between the real and fake Oprah, Brad Paisley, etc. First up, the company plans to tackle accounts belonging to public officials, public agencies, famous artists, athletes, and other well-known individuals at risk of impersonation.

MusicRow has a new Twitter chart, ranking the Country music artists with the most followers. Click here to check it out.