exploremusic

Here’s what I’ve discovered today.

Here’s the Deal with Streaming

Here’s another interesting marketing study by a tech organization called NPD Group. They took a poll of iTunes users in the US and asked “Hey, would you use an iTunes service that allowed you to stream your music library rather than have to carry it around with you all the time?”

When they crunched the numbers, it came back that up to fifteen million people would use it if it was free—and eight million said they’d even pay for it. How much? At least $10 a month. Do a little extrapolating that could mean up to a billion dollars a year for Apple.

Now, considering that other surveys point out that more and more consumers want the Internet in their cars, you can see the idea of being able to stream your library wherever you are could have major, major appeal.

Here’s the Deal with Radio Apps

On a related subject, a UK survey says that 20% of all people who own smartphones have downloaded some kind of radio app and are listening to radio that way. The definition of “radio” is broader here. In some cases, it means regular over-the-air terrestrial stations. In others, it means Internet-only broadcasts. Like I’ve been saying, things are changing fast.

Here’s the Deal with Mel Gibson

No matter how bad your week was, it wasn’t as bad as the one Mel Gibson had. That horrible, hateful screed that he unloaded on his girlfriend is all over the Internet now—and I guess it was inevitable that it would be sampled and turned into a song. I’ll give you the link, but this is NOT suitable for work—or, considering the subject matter, not really suitable for anywhere else, really. Mel, Mel, Mel…

Here’s the Deal with The Gaslight Anthem

Finally, I had a good sit-down with Brian Fallon of the Gaslight Anthem on Wednesday. They’re doing really, really well with their American Slang album. It’s easily one of our favourite CDs of the year. Brian’s a little shocked by it all—you can see what he says in the video we have posted—but he’s certainly enjoying life. The only thing that has him a little down is those youthful decisions to get some tattoos.

If you’re a fan of the Gaslight Anthem, you can get a free acoustic version of a song called “Boxer” from American Slang. Go to this site, where you upload a picture of yourself that will give you something interesting in return to post on Facebook or MySpace. In exchange, you get a free download.