Rihanna Runs Promotion for New Album on Groupon – Wait, Seriously?
In the wake of uber hits like “Umbrella” and “Disturbia,” it’s likely that you’ve not only tapped your toes and hummed along with a Rihanna tune or two, but I’d expect you’ve experienced your own personal American Idol style vehicular sing-along with one of the many hits from this Barbadian beauty. On November 16th, the [...]
Girl Talk Breaks The Internet With a Free Release of His New Album
Girl Talk, the mash-em-up, mix-em-down star of your last late night fraternity party, “silently” released his new album “All Day” as a free download from his record label’s website earlier this week. After only a few hours, the site’s web servers had crashed from the immense amounts of traffic that the free download had generated, [...]
The Beatles are Finally on iTunes – Is the Album Officially Dead?
Earlier today Apple announced that The Beatles’ entire studio album discography will now be available on iTunes, and while a part of me is excited that a new generation of digital-first consumers will be exposed to the musical perfectness that was John, Paul, George and Ringo, I can’t help but rid myself of the bittersweet understanding [...]
Kings of Leon Release New Website – Come Around Sundown, Stick Around Consumer
In support of the release of their critically-acclaimed new album “Come Around Sundown,” The Kings of Leon have updated and enhanced their website to effectively “harmonize” with the new album’s vibe and surprisingly “coastal-southern
Arcade Fire and Google Chrome Launch Experimental HTML5 Masterpiece
If you’re like me, you’re probably totally satisfied with your browsing experience through FireFox and Safari, as they are both fast and functional browsers that pretty much do it all, and thus you have yet to download and use Google Chrome. Well, Arcade Fire just gave you a reason. I’ll go ahead and say that it is a necessity that you go watch their interactive, HTML5 web experience just launched at Chrome Experiments (Note that you will need to download and install Google Chrome for the video to work).
Why The Beatles Are Still “Nowhere Men” with iTunes
I first want to quickly note how, in terms of practicality, the music industry’s fight to sustain a relevance for the physical product for recorded music in the eyes of the consumer has been a tough sell. People have voted with their dollars (or lack thereof) that, for the average music listener (which is by [...]
Arcade Fire Teams Up with American Express for Live Streaming Concert on YouTube
Arcade Fire might just be the best band on the planet. Since forming in 2003, they have released two critically-acclaimed albums, Funeral and Neon Bible, that are so refreshingly creative that, if the albums could, would stand up to recent chart-topping imitators like ColdPlay’s “Viva La Vida” and smack it straight in the mouth. (Sharp [...]
Kanye West Shows Us All How Not to Tweet
(Let me preface this article by saying Sharp Dressed Brand LOVES Kanye’s music. I own every album he’s released on a major label, and other than 808′s and Heartbreak, I celebrate his entire collection.) Kanye West, rapper, mogul, and all-around gentleman (just ask Taylor Swift), finally joined Twitter two weeks ago, and the tech and [...]
5 Great Musician and Band Websites for Design, Functionality, and Branding
With the current Web 2.0 trend that is pushing design and functionality toward ease-of-use, standardization, and simple integration into social communities, the stand-alone website, especially for musicians, might ever-so-slowly becoming obsolete, or at least somewhat unnecessary. The impact that Facebook Pages, Twitter feeds, ReverbNation, and MySpace Music have had on the music industry is revolutionary, [...]
Prince Declares the End of the Technology Formerly Known as the Internet
For as innovative and forward-thinking Prince’s music has been over the past three decades, the 52 year-old pop star, who has had a public love-hate relationship with about every aspect of the music and entertainment industry, has now started an East Coast, West Coast style feud against, who else, the Internet.
Glastonbury Music Festival Tags Concert Goers on Giant Facebook Photo
The Glastonbury Music Festival might possibly b the “pinnacle” of annual music festivals in the world, featuring a mish mash of amazing bands that range the entire auditory spectrum, from up-and-coming acts like Mumford & Sons and The Xx to seasoned rockers like Muse and The Flaming Lips.
MIX ME IN2 Taylor Swift – an iPhone App with Purpose
If you’re familiar with Big Machine Records, the new kings of Music Row in Nashville, TN, then you’ll know that this newly-formed country label led by founder and CEO Scott Borchetta sings a different kind of tune, and it turns out, they’re not singing that tune alone. Over the past five years, Big Machine Records [...]
The Dirty Guv’nahs – Swamp, Sweat, and Social Media
One of the exciting things about closely following the music industry is watching the clever and effective ways independent artists are taking responsibility for their own marketing and promotion due to the rise in cheap and accessible web 2.0 technology. Case in Point: The Dirty Guv’nahs, a rock and roll six-piece that is currently burning [...]
Conan O’Brien and Jack White – Live, In Concert… Together?!?
So, I just spent four plus hour standing in the ninety-five degree heat for a chance to watch Conan O’Brien and Jack White perform an exclusive show for 325 people. For those Nashvillians, Jack White is a local, and he owns his own studio/concert hall called Third Man Records. Conan O’Brien is in town because [...]
The Young Veins Take Merchandise Bundles to the Next Level
The Young Veins take the idea of merchandise bundling to the next level to promote their debut album “Take a Vacation!” with four different package levels. As many of you know, the music industry has been struggling to identify new revenue opportunities ever since the cash cow of selling recorded music has officially gone the [...]
