GrindEFX

On October 10, 2009 Mariah Carey will make “history”. Well, “history” according to Def Jam and Global Digital Entertainment.

Here’s the details, Mariah Carey recently linked up with Global Digital Entertainment which is, you guessed it, a digital entertainment company. This Saturday GDE will be launching iviago.com, which is, well, let me get to the point.

On October 10, 2009 a concert simply titled “Mariah Carey: Live in Las Vegas” will be the first concert simulcasted to a great number of digital and mobile devices. The only way to see this concert is by texting Mariah @ 313131 for a virtual concert ticket which cost 9.99. (7.99 if you pre-order).

“Fans from all over the world can now share the excitement of a live concert, wherever, whenever, and on whatever digital device they chose,”  - Steve Bartels President and COO of Island Def Jam Music Group.

Read more…

After waiting nearly a year for Nokia to launch its “Comes with Music” service, it appears North America will have to wait a little while longer. A spokeswoman for Nokia told Reuters that there isn’t any dates planned for the launch of this service.

“We’ve actually not given a firm time-frame yet for when it will be launched in North America. Our priority is on creating and delivering an optimal experience as we roll this service out in each market,” as told by a spokeswoman for Nokia.

Nokia’s “Comes with Music” service was launched last October in Britain, and so far, nine different countries. Unfortunately for Nokia, the results of these launches have been less then stellar. This is probably the reason the launch for the U.S. was temporarily postponed, since the U.S. is the world largest music market.

“Comes with Music” currently (in other countries) offer unlimited downloads of Music from all the major labels and some independents. The price of this all you can eat music service is built into the subscription plans or the price of the phone itself. Music can be downloaded to the phone or even downloaded to the consumer’s computer and be kept after their phone plan has expired.

Going in direct competition with Napster, Rhapsody, and a few others. Kazaa officially return to the U.S. market as a monthly “all-you-can” eat subscription service.

The Service that carries a monthly rate of $20 will unfortunately include DRM(isn’t DRM dead?) where users will only be allowed to play songs on their assigned PCs. Another buzz kill is the fact that users won’t have the ability to transfer their favorite songs to their mp3 players.

Other features include over 1 million tracks and ringtones licensed from all four major labels, downloadable movie content, and music licensed from Indie labels.

Kazaa is one of the latest services (i.e. Napster, Sweden’s Pirate Bay) to switch over to a legalized operation.

What a way to start the morning. I’m sure some of you may remember me posting up a free e-book called: 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online.

Well the university the author works for created a series of videos based on the sections of this book.

Note: This is not a video version of the book, it’s 20 different video podcasts of the author discussing each section of the book.

Enjoy

Source: New Music Strategies

Looks like Michael Jackson will forever remain one of the top selling artists of all time. According to Soundscan data, Jackson overall album sales jump to a unprecedented 800,000 sold on a week ending Sunday July 5.

Even more interesting is that fact that 656,000 of these sales are all physical. Though the industry has no choice but to enter a digital future, this is proof that fans may still want a little something to hang on to. ;) Speaking of digital, Jackson also sold 2 million more digital singles this week in the U.S.

Michael Jackson is the first artist to sell more than 1 millions downloads in one week.

Microsoft’s recently launched Web browser Internet Explorer 8 will be the official sponsor of the upcoming Nickelback tour and the Live Nation-produced Bamboozle Music Festival.

As part of a sponsorship deal between Live Nation and Microsoft, music fans who download customized versions of the new Windows Internet Explorer 8 will have access to exclusive content.

Nickelback fans who download the browser at ie8-nickelback.com will receive an exclusive version of the rock band’s single “Something In Your Mouth” and behind-the-scenes footage of its upcoming summer tour, among other offerings. By downloading the Bamboozle version of the browser at ie8-thebamboozlefestival.com, online users will be given access to updated interviews from artists performing at the festival.

Source: Billboard

After a competive bidding war, Universal comes out strong with the signing of Canadian rapper Drake. Though details of the deal are still under wraps, it’s been reported that Drake is signed to Young Money with distribution from Universal Republic.

“Just know that whatever label we sign to it’ll be because they’ll add to what we’ve created on our own,”  I am very happy in my situation now, which is signed to Cortez [Bryant] and Gee Roberson at Young Money and management through ‘Hip Hop Since 1978.’ The most important thing for me is being around my team – they are stronger than any label.” – Drake

Drake’s debut album “Thank Me Later” is slated for a fourth quarter release.

He is currently preparing for a summer tour with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy Tell’em as part of the ”Young Money Presents: Americas Most Wanted Music Festival”.

Source: Billboard

Looks like another music app is coming to the iPhone thanks to developer EpicTilt.   The “Rock Band” inspired app titled “TapStar” will have players matching on screen commands rhymthly with songs exclusively licensed from Sony. After Sony’s 1 year exclusivity ends, other labels will have the chance to license their respective catalogs in the game.

Other features include the artist images in the background as the game is played and the ablity to buy songs from within the game.

TapStar is currently 99 cents to download, but prices are expected to rise in the next couple days.

Source: Billboard

It appears John Legend stands to be one of the few major artists preparing for his future. According to Cherry Lane Publishing, both parties agreed to extend their relationship with an exclusive joint venture named “HomeSchool Music”. This newly formed deal will allow Legend to sign and guide various writers.

“I’ve had such a great, successful working relationship with Cherry Lane. It felt right to expand the partnership and create a new business venture. I look forward to working with them further and finding and developing new talent.” – John Legend

Source: Cherry Lane Music Publishing