Recent Posts in industry
November 6, 2009
Matador bought True Panther
After months of speculation (much of it in our own corridors), we can happily announce that Matador Records has purchased the True Panther Sounds label. TPS, best known to many of you as the imprint behind Girls' recent rise to prominence, will continue to be managed by label founder Dean Bein. What would possess Matador to become involved with another label in this capacity? As Victor Kiam once explained his decision to purchase the Remington Shaver operation, "I liked it so much, I bought the company." Needless to say, we like Dean, Girls, Glasser, Tanlines, Lemonade and Hunx & His Punx much more than than Mr. Kiam appreciated those razor blades.Girls, who Amazon says put out the 6th best album of 2009, are on tour with Real Estate. They play a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC tonight (11/6).At the moment, Girls' 'Album' is the only True Panther Sounds title to be worked through Matador's fearsome promotional & marketing machinery (ie. Hunx' recent 'Gay Singles' LP, was not). However, in the months to come, additional offerings from TPS' impressive roster (prior releases have included titles from The Fly Girlz, Ty Segall, Rainbow Bridge, The Standing Nudes amongst others) will receive similar treatment. Stay tuned! [Matador]
Girls were not here for CMJ when Matador and True Panther teamed up for a showcase at The Suffolk.
Tanlines' last NYC show was at the Guggenheim with Yeasayer.
Posted by brooklynvegan at 10:30 AM | Comments (6)
October 29, 2009
Google launches Music Search
Every day we get millions of search queries about music. You want to know more about your favorite artists, find that new album or iconic song or figure out the name of that tune stuck in your head. In fact, according to Insights for Search, two of the top 10 queries in the U.S. are music-related. But often, if your answer is in a song, it can take a while to get there. We call this "time to result" -- and we're always looking for ways to reduce it.Video instructions below...Today, we're rolling out a search feature that does just that by enabling you to search and more easily discover millions of songs, all via a simple Google web search. If you're searching for music, "time to result" is really "time to music." Now, when you enter a music-related query -- like the name of a song, artist or album -- your search results will include links to an audio preview of those songs provided by our music search partners MySpace (which just acquired iLike) or Lala. When you click the result you'll be able to listen to an audio preview of the song directly from one of those partners. For example, if I search for [21st century breakdown], the first results provide links to songs from Green Day's new album. MySpace and Lala also provide links to purchase the full song. [Google Blog]
Continue reading "Google launches Music Search"
Posted by brooklynvegan at 10:41 AM | Comments (14)
October 18, 2009
The Love Language - now on Merge, coming to CMJ (dates)
"Chapel Hill's The Love Language began in 2007 as lead singer and songwriter Stuart McLamb found himself living with his parents after a particularly disastrous break-up. He rented a storage space, borrowed some gear and started recording the album on a 4-track. He passed the songs around, and when he received an invitation from The Rosebuds to kick off their Life Like tour, he formed a band with six of his closest friends.The Love Language announced their Merge signing on October 1st. This Tuesday, October 20th, they'll kick off a busy CMJ week in NYC with at least five shows. One of those shows is that Wednesday night showcase at The Bell House with Surf City, Pete & The Pirates, and Let's Wrestle.The last one on their schedule is the BrooklynVegan party happening Friday night in a secret Williamsburg loft (details TBA any second). All dates and some videos below...The Love Language's self-titled debut was released in March of 2009 by Portland's Bladen County Records to rave reviews. Several heralded performances at SXSW and the Monolith Festival and tours opening for Cursive, Rural Alberta Advantage, and Headlights have established Stuart as a songwriter to watch and The Love Language as a not-to-be-missed live band.
The Love Language are currently at work on their sophomore record which will be released on Merge Records in 2010. Stuart says, "As of yesterday I've overdrawn my bank account by $200, my girlfriend dumped me and my car won't start. I think this Merge deal could be a real turning point."" [Merge Records]
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Posted by brooklynvegan at 3:37 PM | Comments (6)
September 23, 2009
Ted Leo signs to Matador, JEFF the Brotherhood & Stupid Party opening the Bowery Ballroom show
Ted Leo @ Pier 54 (more by Chris La Putt)
Check out Ted's message below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 1:40 PM | Comments (37)
September 21, 2009
Holly Miranda signs to XL, touring w/ The Antlers (dates)
Holly Miranda @ Mercury Lounge (more by Tim Griffin)
"XL Recordings is excited to announce the signing of HOLLY MIRANDA. Holly is a New York based musician and her debut album will be released in early 2010. It will be preceded by a 7"/digital single in November with a song called "Forest Green Oh Forest Green" and a cover of Yoko Ono's "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do".Holly was of course also in The Jealous Girlfriends. Congrats Holly!Holly has been singing for as long as she can remember. She first began playing in New York at age 16, when she dropped out of high school in Michigan, told her mom she was going to visit her sister in New York for a few weeks, and never turned back. She soon discovered the world of the East Village and started playing at places like The Sidewalk and meeting kindred spirits in the New York scene. Whether solo or with her band, she's become an artist consistently able to mesmerize with her range as well as her songs.
Holly starts a tour with Antlers tonight, and will be in Europe in October for shows with Wild Beasts and The xx."
The Holly/Antlers tour hits Maxwell's in Hoboken on October 3rd.
Tickets are on sale.
Holly and The Antlers are both also playing CMJ, but not necessarily together (though you never know). One of the shows Holly is playing is at Le Poisson Rouge on October 23rd with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Glasser. Stay tuned for more announcements related to that. All dates below...
Continue reading "Holly Miranda signs to XL, touring w/ The Antlers (dates)"
Posted by brooklynvegan at 11:20 PM | Comments (6)
August 31, 2009
Sunday NY Times article on scalpers
Once infamous -- and in many places illegal -- the reselling of tickets for profit has gone mainstream. Accelerated by the Internet and changes in state laws across the country, it is now a multibillion-dollar business serving consumers who want that last-minute ticket to Taylor Swift or "Wicked."The above picture by Dominic Bugatto accompanied the Times article. Transparent maybe, any less horrible?"The days of scalping sounding like drug dealing in a dark alley are gone," said Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, whose deal for Michael Jackson's 50-night engagement in London included a partnership with a ticket reseller. "It's all aboveboard. It's very transparent now." [NY Times]
Posted by brooklynvegan at 1:44 PM | Comments (20)
August 11, 2009
Matador Records co-owner Gerard Cosloy loses home in fire
sadness...
Matador Records co-owner Gerard Cosloy was the owner and resident of a nearly 100-year-old home on Lindell Avenue [in Austin] that burned to the ground early this morning.---Cosloy and another person escaped a fire this morning at the home near the intersection of South Congress Avenue and West Live Oak Street, said Austin fire Captain Andy Reardon.
Fire officials received the call about 3 a.m., Reardon said, and crews arrived to find the entire house on fire. Police had to alert the people inside the home that it was on fire, Reardon said. The 3,888-square-foot home, which is estimated to be a total loss, was evacuated safely.
The two-story house was built in 1911, and is located in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood.
Officials said the fire did about $500,000 worth of damage. The cause is still under investigation, officials said.
Cosloy sounded shaken but calm this morning. "There are a lot of people who have a lot less than I do who deal with a lot worse, but this is pretty bad," he said.
Cosloy worked out of his home." [Austin Statesman]
Posted by brooklynvegan at 4:58 PM | Comments (17)
July 29, 2009
Dr. Dog sign to Anti, playing Bethlehem Musikfest (lineup) & other places - 2009 tour dates & more Prospect Park pics
photos by Tim Griffin
Dr. Dog has signed to Anti-Records (home of Os Mutantes), which will release the band's fifth record in early 2010. What does Dr. Dog guitarist-vocalist Scott McMicken have to say about that?
"Each album we've made was the best one we could have made at the time and I don't have any regrets," McMicken says. "But something has changed. We've never really recorded as a band before. We started as a recording project but over the years we've become a real band. We tour all the time and we have this certain place we fall into. And I think we're ready to use that as a reference point now"This fall Dr. Dog will go on an extensive North American tour, with a select number of dates opened by NYC's own Jeffrey Lewis. No NYC dates yet though, but there are two in the band's hometown of Philly, and one pre-tour gig in Bethlehem, PA.
Bethlehem Musikfest is a music festival that runs from July 31st to August 9th and consists of more than 300 performances, most of which are free (Dr. Dog on August 3rd included). Pay shows at the fest include a stop on the Pat Benatar/Blondie/The Donnas tour (which has a free Coney Island show on August 13th) and a show with the B-52s (also playing NYC) and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.
Dr. Dog's last NYC show was also a free one. It took place at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn. We already posted a set of pictures from it. Now here's another one, along with the full lineup for the Bethlehem Musikfest and all tour dates, below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:04 PM | Comments (14)
July 15, 2009
"Blogger sentenced for G N'R album leak"
"A federal judge has sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to leaking part of the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy to a year's probation. Blogger Kevin Cogill will also serve two months of home confinement, subject his computers to government scrutiny, and record a public service announcement for the Industry Association of America." [LiveNews]
Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:54 PM | Comments (18)
tUnE yArDs signs to 4AD, playing MHOW w/ Phosphorescent
DOWNLOAD: Tune Yards - Sunlight (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Phosphorescent - Torn Up Praise (MP3)
Tune Yards @ MHOW 2/4 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)
Tune Yards (or tUnE yArDs as its usually written) is the one-woman band of Merrill Garbus. Her debut record BiRd-BrAiNs, previously out on Marriage Record, is being re-released by 4AD, first as a limited-edition screen-printed CD on August 18th, then to wider release later in the year. "Sunlight," a track from that record, is posted above.
As Tune Yards, she tends to perform solo -- she also plays as part of Sister Suvi. Tune Yards will be performing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, September 5th with (opening for) Phosphorescent (also a one-person band, Matthew Houck, though live he usually has company). Tickets go on sale Friday, July 17th at noon.
A track from Phosphorescent's latest, To Willie, is also posted above. Their most recent NYC shows took place in Prospect Park and in Bruar Falls.
Check out a video of Merill at Trophy Bar during the Northside Festival (with Zach Condon of Beirut, a band that Tune Yards has opened for, and who are also on 4AD, in the audience) and all tour dates, below...
Continue reading "tUnE yArDs signs to 4AD, playing MHOW w/ Phosphorescent"
Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:25 PM | Comments (18)