Gayngs announce fall dates, Prince changes his schedule
By E. Nagurney on Jun 7 2010
I have a bone to pick with Gayngs. They’re a fine band and all, but their disrespect for conventional spelling? Hate it. Some of us were spelling bee champs, Gayngs. Some of us still think that means something. Maybe I’ll go make a mockery of weirdo soft-rock/R&B pastiche. See how you like that.
To put aside my spelling quibbles for a second, I should tell you that Gayngs are going on tour this fall. Participating in the guest-based group’s tour will be indie-folk heartthrob Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver), along with members of Megafaun, Solid Gold, and The Rosebuds, and others. Prince was at the First Ave show in Minneapolis, so who knows who else we can expect.
Listen to “Faded High” here and read our review of Relayted here.
Gayngs toredaytes:
09.29.10 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
09.30.10 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10.01.10 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Theatre
10.02.10 - Boston, MA - Paradise
10.03.10 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
10.04.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.05.10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
10.07.10 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
10.10.10 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
• Gayngs: http://gayngs.net
• Jagjaguwar: http://www.jagjaguwar.com
EFF fights for your right to resell CDs in a hearing today
By Kid Midnight on Jun 7 2010
Back in the wonder years of 2007, Seattle resident Troy Augusto enjoyed shopping at used music stores and second-hand shops, where he would buy shitty music for cheap prices and then turn around to sell the items on eBay. Nothing wrong with that, right? I’m sure you’ve all bought some used CDs on eBay.
Well, Universal Music Group (UMG) thinks otherwise, and it especially takes offense to Augusto’s practice of reselling promotional CDs (the type with that annoying “promotional use only, not for sale” label on the front). UMG believes that those labels have higher legal standing and outweigh Augusto’s (or any US citizen’s) “first sale” rights, and thus promptly sued Augusto.
Let’s take an educational detour and learn a little bit about “first sale” legality. According to an excellent and riveting piece of writing found in section 109 of The Copyright Act, the law states that once you legally own a lawfully-made piece of media (CD, book, or DVD), you can sell it, give it away, lend it to a friend, or even do nothing with it, and you never have to ask for permission from the copyright holder. In other words: You buy it, you own it — it’s yours, dude.
Of course, a giant conglomerate like UMG doesn’t like pinko-commie bullshit like that, because then all the NEW product it releases has to compete with all the OLD product being sold for reasonable prices at local shops or sold online without disgruntled record/book store types grumbling at your idiot selections. So it sues people instead.
The good news? Mr. Augusto won (YAY!). But then UMG was all “not yet you commie-pinko jerk” and appealed the ruling. Damn appeals! Why can’t it just help the common man and reformed criminals! Accordingly, the 9th Circuit of the US Court of Appeals will be listening to oral arguments this Monday, the 7th of June.
This is where the EFF comes in. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization of lawyer types dedicated to “champion(ing) the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights,” has taken on the case in support of Mr. Augusto. The EFF, alongside legal-counsel Joseph C. Gratz of the San Francisco law firm Durie Tangri LLP, will argue the case with the goal of, according to the EFF, “urging the court to uphold the ‘first sale’ principle against self-serving ‘not for resale’ labels on compact discs.”
Good luck you pinko-commie heroes!
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: http://www.eff.org
• Official EFF press-release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/06/01
• UMG vs. Augusto: http://www.eff.org/cases/umg-v-augusto
RIP: Stuart Cable, former Stereophonics drummer
By Shane Mack on Jun 7 2010
From MTV:
Stuart Cable, the former drummer with Stereophonics, has been found dead in Wales aged 40.
According to reports his body was discovered at 5.30am this morning at his home in Aberdare.
His mother told Wales Online: “Stuart has travelled all over the world with the band and I have worried myself silly. He is now settled down and then this has happens. It has not sunk in yet.”
Cable left the group in 2003 and later had his own radio and show on Welsh TV. He also started a new band called Killing For Company.
• Killing for Company: http://www.myspace.com/kfcband
• Stereophonics: http://www.stereophonics.com
[Photo: Rockhack.co.uk]
Superchunk reveal Majesty Shredding details, then make their kids’ lunches, then announce Fallon TV appearance, then weed their vegetable gardens!
By Nobodaddy on Jun 4 2010
On September 14, your older half-brother’s favorite band Superchunk will release Majesty Shredding on CD, LP, and digital download. The band’s first album in almost a decade was produced/engineered by Scott Solter (The Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice) and features some (presumably pretty scrappy) backing vocals courtesy of The Mountain Goats’ own John Darnielle. And, as we previously reported so eloquently, old man McCaughan and co. have announced a handful of summer festival dates and fall East Coast dates in support of the new record. Touring in support of a new album? It almost sounds like these kids know what they’re doing or something…
So why are we re-reporting old news to you, you ask? Has Tiny Mix Tapes run out of ideas? Dried out? Washed up? Gotten sponsored by Merge? While all of those things may seem like valid contenders for the truth, the real reason is that we now we have the tracklist and cover art for Majesty Shredding, along with the news that da ‘Chizunk will also perform on a little show called Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday, September 20 (making this their first television appearance since 1994, a.k.a. The Beck Administration). And that’s news you can take to the BANK, kids. Which bank? I don’t know. Joseph A. Bank? (Is that a bank?)
Majesty Shredding:
01. Digging for Something
02. My Gap Feels Weird
03. Rosemarie
04. Crossed Wires
05. Slow Drip
06. Fractures in Plaster
07. Learned to Surf
08. Winter Games
09. Rope Light
10. Hot Tubes
11. Everything at Once
The “Chunk Light” tour:
06.19.10 - Denver, CO - Westword Music Festival
06.20.10 - Chicago, IL - Taste of Randolph Street Festival
07.24.10 - Omaha, NE - MAHA Music Festival
09.17.10 - Washington, DC - 930 Club
09.18.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09.19.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
09.20.10 - New York, NY - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
09.21.10 - Boston, MA - Royale
09.22.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
• Superchunk: http://www.superchunk.com
• Merge: http://www.mergerecords.com
• Joesph A. Bank (not a bank, as it turns out): http://bit.ly/akfuYl
Attention rich people! World’s largest independent publisher Bug Music for sale
By Liz Louche on Jun 4 2010
So, you’re a major label, and you’ve got this huge pile of money sitting around. Something in the ballpark of, oh, $300 million. Now this is where it gets difficult: you want to use the money for good… or at least for rock ‘n’ roll. If this describes you (and really, who reading TMT right now doesn’t see a little bit of himself/herself in the above scenario?), you’re in luck, because publisher Bug Music is currently for sale.
The first round of bids has seen the likes of Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony/ATV Music, and a partnered KKR and BMG stepping up to the plate. The next round of bidding takes place on June 18, so now is probably the best time to sell off that private island you bought in the Caribbean in order to raise funds.
In an interview with The New York Post, Lisbeth Barron, a Berenson & Company banker with music industry access, stated that , “Typical music publisher multiples currently range from 8 to 10 times net publisher’s share for quality assets.” Bug, however, is asking for 12 times net. (Their annual revenue is estimated at $70 million.)
So what makes Bug so special? Well, the company is the largest indie publisher in the world, with copyrights to over 250,000 songs. So, next time you hear “What a Wonderful World” in a commercial for cold medicine or that shitty Kings of Leon song “Use Somebody,” just know this: Bug Music owns publishing rights to them, but those rights could be yours.
• Bug Music: http://www.bugmusic.com
