I’ve been eagerly awaiting the new Coldplay release, Mylo Xyloto for sometime now. Call me soft, call me ladylike, call me simpleminded; I think they’re a great band that has constantly been able to re-invent themselves while somehow retaining the core elements of their identity as a group. Also… I like the music.

I was really perplexed when I opened up Spotify on Tuesday morning to find that Coldplay’s latest release was absent from the album library.

“That’s werid, I guess they released it early on iTunes…”

Wrong.

It came out yesterday on CNet that Coldplay will NOT be releasing the album on Spotify… like, ever.

This is so backwards on a few levels. Some people in the Coldplay camp are saying that the band wants their new work to be heard in its entirety as an album, rather than allowing listeners to pick and choose singles. If that’s the case, why can I pop on iTunes right now and buy any ONE track from the album? Not to mention the fact that the band let the album out one track at a time via iTunes last week anyway.

I think the true motive is that they want to collect more revenue from the songs now, rather than waiting for smaller payouts from streaming services. This solution is VERY short-sighted though.

Restricting your music to pay-only channels is going to drive certain consumers toward other free channels, since the legal ones are closed (and by “other free channels,” I mean piracy).

The public is moving toward streaming at a furious pace. Every time I open Spotify, my friends list seems to be multiplying faster than a nest of rabbits; and with saturation in every demographic on Facebook. Artists need to be where the people are.

EMI, the band’s label, is quiet on the matter and is continuing to hurt after losing Robbie Williams to Universal. Likely too scared to ruffle any more of their artists’ feathers, they’re content to allow their larger artists to do as they please.

As for me, I’ll have to wait until Monday when the vinyl comes in to my local shop to pick it up. Why they released that a week later, I’m not sure. Scratch that. I think they were hoping fanboys would need to hear the new album so bad that we’d buy it on iTunes this week, then get it on our preferred medium, vinyl, next week… kind of like when movies do the DVD release before the Blu-Ray or “collector’s edition.”

To clarify, I’m not against the band trying to make a buck. On the contrary, I want long-term success for them. A business model that at best ignores, and at worst spits in the face of, where trends in music acquisition are headed is exactly the model that will perpetuate the struggles of the music industry.

This goes for you too, Adele.

To be clear, this is not a debate over download vs. streaming. I’m an advocate for legal download channels, as well as streaming. I simply think that artists need to get behind streaming services if they hope to cut back on piracy.

Without the support of chart-topping artists, streaming services have no shot at overtaking downloaded content as the primary means of media consumption. While that may sound great to those rooting for the success of downloaded media, it basically puts us in the same place we’ve been for the better part of the past decade; extinguishing the one technological advance that could have saved the music industry.

Coldplay Snubs Spotify is a post from: wax&wires

New Jonsi Song – FREE Download is a post from: wax&wires

My buddy Joe Hartman just sent me this link for $3 credit at the Amazon MP3 store. With their Black Friday Deals going on right now, they’ve got several albums for $1.99, and they’re changing them up daily if you don’t find anything that suits your fancy.

Click here to snag it.

Amazon MP3 – $3 Free is a post from: wax&wires

Related posts:

1. Free Amazon Cloud Drive + Cloud MP3 Player

If Blu, Dov Charney and Chuck Bartowski’s intersect all met at a rave, you’d end up with something like Sufjan’s new video. In other words, it’s two Excedrin looking for a place to happen.

So why do I love it so much? That’s easy: the sleeveless Nike shirt.

… and the music.

Snag a FREE download of the song, courtesy of the label, here. You can purchase the new album, The Age of Adz here.

VIDEO: Sufjan Stevens is “Too Much” is a post from: wax&wires

Digital Bang: The 2010 Sub Pop Sampler

FREE Sub Pop Sampler is a post from: wax&wires

From the Merge Blog:

Spring has sprung and it is time for a new free Merge sampler! Featuring hit songs from the latest albums of Radar Brothers, Spoon, Let’s Wrestle, She & Him and more, visit amazon.com now to download all fourteen free songs with special cover art by Let’s Wrestle’s Wesley Patrick Gonzalez!

As always, you can find new albums from all of these artists and more in our handyMerge store.

Free Merge 2010 digital sampler track listing:
1. Radar Brothers – Horses Warriors (from The Illustrated Garden)
2. Let’s Wrestle – I Won’t Lie to You (from In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s)
3. Destroyer – The Very Modern Dance (from Streethawk: A Seduction)
4. Shout Out Louds – Fall Hard (from Work)
5. Spoon – Written in Reverse (from Transference)
6. Lou Barlow – Don’t Apologize (from Goodnight Unknown)
7. She & Him – Thieves (from Volume Two)
8. Superchunk – Learned to Surf (from Leaves in the Gutter)
9. Alec Bathgate – Glide (from Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox)
10. The Clientele – I Wonder Who We Are (from Bonfires on the Heath)
11. Caribou – Odessa (from Swim)
12. The Clean – In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul (from Mister Pop)
13. Wye Oak – I Hope You Die (from My Neighbor / My Creator)
14. Lambchop – Give It (from Live at XX Merge)

Free Music From Merge Records! is a post from: wax&wires

50 Free MP3s From InSound is a post from: wax&wires

Read the press release below:

Earlier today, the free download of Coldplay’s new live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, was made available – click here to download your free copy from Coldplay.com now. Today is also the day of the band’s first North American tour date, in West Palm Beach, where the first copies of the LRLRL CD will be given away.

The CD will then be handed out to all fans at every remaining Coldplay live shows in 2009 (apart from Festival shows). The free download will also be available from Coldplay.com until the band play their final 2009 show. We hope you like it.

The tracklisting is comprised of classics and new editions:
1. Glass of Water
2. Clocks
3. 42
4. Strawberry Swing
5. Hardest Part/Postcards from far Away
6. Viva La Vida
7. Death Will Never Conquer
8. Fix You
9. Death And All His Friends

Coldplay Free Live Album Out Now is a post from: wax&wires

Check out the site here.

The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads.  The Free Music Archive is being directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America.  Radio has always offered the public free access to new music. The Free Music Archive is a continuation of that purpose, designed for the age of the internet.

Every mp3 you discover on The Free Music Archive is pre-cleared for certain types of uses that would otherwise be prohibited by outdated copyright law.  Are you a podcaster looking for pod-safe audio? A radio or video producer searching for instrumental bed music that won’t put your audience to sleep?  A remix artist looking for pre-cleared samples? Or are you simply looking for some new sounds to add to your next playlist?  The Free Music Archive is a resource for all that and more, and unlike other websites, all of the audio has been hand-picked by established audio curators.

The Free Music Archive is a platform for collaboration between WFMU and a group of fellow curators, including KEXP, dublab, KBOO, ISSUE Project Room, and CASH Music. The site combines the curatorial approach that these organizations have played for the last few decades, with the community generated approach of many current online music sites.

Inspired by Creative Commons and the open source software movement, the FMA provides a legal and technological framework for curators, artists, and listeners to harness the potential of music sharing. Every artist page will have a bio and links to the artists’ home page for users to learn more about the music they discover via the Free Music Archive. We also seek to compensate artists directly. Artist, album and song profiles will contain links to buy the full album from the artist and/or label’s preferred vendor(s).  Users can also “tip” an artist if they like what they hear, sending a donation directly to the artists’ PayPal account.  Artist profiles include tourdates, encouraging users to step away from the glowing computer screen and see some real live music.

While the Free Music Archive is free and open to anyone regardless of registration or other requirements, written and audio content is curated, and permission to upload/edit content is granted on an invitation basis.

FreeMusicArchive.org Makes Creative Commons Accessible is a post from: wax&wires

IODA SXSW 2009 Sampler

Ioda SXSW Opening Day Bash Sampler 2009 – FREE DOWNLOAD is a post from: wax&wires

Just finished watching these guys on the Late Show, a little band you might have heard of… and a little media blitz you’ve definitely heard of.

I suspected that this would be the Tuesday deal of the day, and sure enough, here it is.

U2′s new album, No Line On The Horizon for $3.99.

U2 – No Line On The Horizon

Wax Pick: U2 – No Line On The Horizon is a post from: wax&wires

[via ars]

What happens when a professor who believes that file-sharing has been beneficial to the music industry takes the witness stand in The Pirate Bay trial, then learns that prosecutors have been talking to his boss about the quality of his research? Fireworks—and flowers.

The Pirate Bay trial settled into something (sort of) approaching normality today as two professors took the stand. One explained more about how BitTorrent functions; the other got into a fight with prosecutors, suggested that file-sharing wasn’t bad for the music business in general and that it has led to a huge transfer of wealth to artists, and sarcastically asked the court to send flowers to his wife.

Read the full story.

What’s even funnier is you can track how many flowers have actually been sent to his wife here. So far, over 125.

Pirate Bay Trial Witness: File-Sharing Not Bad For Music Business is a post from: wax&wires

Eminem’s two-year-old lawsuit against Universal Music Group over digital music royalties finally entered a courtroom today, the Wrap reports. In a trial featuring star witnesses like UMG head Jimmy Iovine and Apple’s Steve Jobs, Slim Shady’s publishing company F.B.T. Productions is seeking more royalties from purchases made using digital music services like Jobs’ iTunes. Eminem is not expected to testify.

If the jury sides with F.B.T. Productions, this trial could serve as a landmark case that finds hundreds of millions of dollars in digital royalties being shifted from the already-struggling record companies to the pockets of the artists themselves. Eminem sued Universal over how much he felt he was entitled to after UMG sold his music to other services like iTunes and phone companies that sell ringtones.

“This is very significant case,” entertaiment lawyer Jay Cooper told the Wrap, “A lot of people are going to be watching very closely because there’s a lot of money involved.” At the heart of the case is whether digital downloads represent a distribution deal or a licensing agreement. If the jury feels that downloads fall under the umbrella of a distribution deal, thus agreeing with UMG’s take, the artist will continue to receive their usual royalties. However, if its considered a licensing deal, which usually finds the label and artist splitting the royalties 50/50, then Eminem and countless other artists may find their digital revenues more than doubling.

While Eminem’s publishing company is only seeking around $1.3 million in unpaid royalties, the repercussions of the trial might be felt throughout the industry. Interestingly enough, the main defendant in the F.B.T. Productions’ suit is Aftermath Records, Eminem’s own label under his UMG deal.

Read the full story.

Eminem Sues Universal for Royalties on Downloading is a post from: wax&wires

U2′s yet-to-be-released album, No Line on the Horizon, is already available on P2P networks across the Internet thanks to a leak that the band is always so adamantly working to prevent. Considering U2′s views on piracy and Safe Harbor, the leak is both poetic justice and confirmation of the band’s fears.

What’s the worst thing that could happen to a band that is adamantly pro-DRM and anti-filesharing? Having an unreleased album leaked all over the Internet, of course, and by one of the Big Four labels to boot. U2′s upcoming album, No Line on the Horizon, is slated for release on March 3, but it’s already available on numerous filesharing sites and P2P networks thanks to the accidental posting of the album by Universal’s Australian branch.

Read the full story.

Upcoming U2 Album All Over P2P After Band’s Label Screws Up is a post from: wax&wires

I’m about halfway through my first listen, and definitely digging it. It’s got a great ambient/chill vibe and mixes organic samples of real instruments with electronic effect-heavy textures well. The lo-fi vocal samples cast a shallow homage to Moby, but Archaeology is not nearly as poppy, making it a great album for background music at work or a swanky dinner party.

Check it out. It’s free after all!

Josh Furey – Archaeology

Big thanks to Tyler for the find!

Josh Furey – Archaeology FREE DOWNLOAD is a post from: wax&wires