Sound Recording Industries

Searchable Database Released Today Lists 50,000 Bands Owed $31 Million in Royalties

SoundExchange is a not-for-profit entrusted by the Library of Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for bands. That includes SIRIUS, Pandora and more. So far, it's found the rightful owner of some $1 billion in royalties, but paying up has proven a challenge. The organizat ... More >>

[Kim Dotcom Arrest Video: Update] The Eight Most Eyebrow-Raising Elements of the Megaupload Shutdown

Editor's Update, 8/9/12: Video of the raid on former Megaupload CEO Kim Dotcom's enormous New Zealand home in January has just emerged -- you can watch it above. The report, from 3 News in New Zealand, includes testimony from Dotcom -- who is accused of the largest copyright infringement in U.S. hi ... More >>

Eleven Things Every Independent Artist Should Work On

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Ten Years Later, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Still Wilco's Masterpiece

Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is rightfully associated with excellence, a piece of work commonly heralded as one of the best albums of the 2000s. It's the type of record with enough depth, lyricism and experimentation to get people interested in serious music, no small feat for any band, and this one ... More >>

"The Sweet Escape" Showcased Akon's Cooperative Mentality

Akon hasn't been perfect throughout his career, but it's hard to accuse him of being selfish. The St. Louis native developed a propensity to share the spotlight with other artists, even if it means his presence isn't always noticed. That cooperative mentality allowed Akon's behind-the-scenes career ... More >>

The Eight Most Eyebrow-Raising Elements of the Megaupload Shutdown

This FBI notice is all the content that remains on the now-shuttered Megaupload.com domain.​SOPA and PIPA have been the talk of the internet for weeks, if not months now. Several major websites blacked out their content in opposition to the controversial bills this past Wednesday. On Thursday, ... More >>

Last Collector Standing: Kate Eddens on Working at Thrill Jockey and Vintage Vinyl, and Her Musical Education (and Evolution)

Jon Scorfina​As major record labels have struggled to adjust to the new digital landscape, independent labels have thrived by sticking to the tried and true demand for vinyl. We caught up with Kate Eddens, a former employee of both Thrill Jockey records and Vintage Vinyl, at her south city hom ... More >>

Yeah, Pomplamoose sold out to Hyundai, but this indie duo just might revolutionize the music business

YouTube Removes Pro-Palestinian/Anti-Motorola Video

Two weeks ago, we told you about the local activists who busted out an anti-Motorola song-and-dance routine at the Best Buy and AT&T stores in suburban Brentwood -- and we posted a video of the performance. That video quickly drew more than 35,000 hits.Last week, however, YouTube unceremoniousl ... More >>

Former American Idol competitor Aloha Mischeaux plots her return to the spotlight

St. Louis Weekend Concert Calendar: Friday, April 9 to Sunday, April 11

Arctic Monkeys are at the Pageant on Sunday​Back and better than ever. Or something. Friday, April 9 *Pretty Lights/Savoy, The Pageant *Kevin Devine/Cody Alan/Race Human Race, Firebird (early) *JEFF the Brotherhood/Flaming Death Trap/Rooftop Vigilantes, Firebird (late) *Killola/Sick of Sarah/B ... More >>

A to Z Gets a Cease-and-Desist Letter for...Linking to a Blog?

Timothy Norris/LA WeeklyLady Gaga in LA, 12/23/09​​Last Thursday, to preview Lady Gaga's show at the Fox that night, I posted about a Nirvana-Lady Gaga mashup floating around the Internet. In that post, I embedded the YouTube video and a link to the where the mashup originated: a blog post on th ... More >>

Show Review Photos: Pale Divine at the Pageant, Tuesday, December 29

Fellow members of Generation X who attended the second annual Pale Divine reunion show:  We are getting old. Remember snickering when our Baby Boomer parents went to cheesy Beach Boys reunion shows? We're getting close to that turf.Photo: Jason StoffPale Divine guitartist Richard Fortus last ni ... More >>

St. Louis Craigslist Musician Post of the Week: A Smart Response to "FORMED A BAND"

Well, this didn't take long: I was passed a very well-thought-out, measured response to the subject of our blogpost this morning, "FORMED A BAND." The poster, a St. Louis native, is part of a band that's "signed to a Warner Brothers subsidiary" -- he doesn't say who; Cavo's on Reprise, but he says t ... More >>

Built to Spill

8 p.m. Tuesday, September 29. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

Revolution 9.9.9: Will New Media Formats Bring the LP and The Beatles into Digital Age?

Photo by Crabchick via Flickr​Record companies have been dragged kicking and screaming by consumers (and Apple) into the digital age in the last ten years. And predictions are that 2010 will mark a tipping point where music purchased digitally via download will account for more than half of all mu ... More >>

St. Louis Music — R.I.P.

Stuff White People Like: Music Piracy

Fist City: Rockwell Knuckles aims to punch through St. Louis hip-hop's glass ceiling

What’s in Pandora’s box? The RIAA, Journey and Karl Marx, among others.

You Play, They Pay: Internet Radio's Demise?

Local rappers ink major-label contracts, only to be left wondering: Deal or no deal?

And some St. Louis hip-hop artists take their future into their own hands.

Hang the DJ?

A Static Lullaby / The Classic Crime

7 p.m. Wednesday, November 15, Creepy Crawl (3524 Washington Boulevard).

The Next Big Thing

A middle-aged couple with a million dollars and a big dream: To make St. Louis a pop-music hub

The Format

Dog Problems (The Vanity Label)

Last Year's Model

It might be the last dance for St. Louis' independent record stores.

The Anton Newcombe Massacre

An underground band self-destructs in the hands of its damaged leader

Making Traks

Sham Daugherty and Alonzo Lee Jr., the Trak Starz, aim to make St. Louis the center of the hip-hop universe

Ghost in the Machine

The new Wilco album has been leaked. Should we feel guilty for listening?

Peer-to-Peer Pressure

Wash. U. students find a way around their Kazaa conundrum

Shortwaving Radio

Proposed legislation by the U.S. Senate aims to deter the spreading radio empire. Good luck.

Yankee Hotel Hoopla

Wilco commits commercial suicide and succeeds as never before

Do the Math

The music industry says online piracy's killing the biz. Stan Liebowitz says otherwise.

Do the Math

The music industry says online piracy's killing the biz. A UTD prof says it ain't.

Caught in the Web

Internet-only radio stations take a beating

Just Like Candy

Jack and Meg White resist the spoils of success

Air Piracy

Internet-only radio faces a shaky future thanks to the grasping hands of the Recording Industry Association of America

When Online Got Off Base

Or: How Mark Cuban would have -- and could have? -- saved the music biz

The Producers

From a suburban roller rink, identical twins David and Darren Stith gamble on future hip-hop stars. Getting paid is everyone's preoccupation.

Sugar, Sugar

A new book about bubblegum bands provides more than empty calories

For the Record

Big-box stores deal big blow to old-time music retailers

Digital Dilemma

Wave bye-bye to the bootleg -- in the MP3 domain, a digital file is replacing an artifact

Label-Makers

Local bands hit the big-time -- or do they?

Ransom Notes

Can one man convince millions of people to pay for their "free" music?

Mama Let 'em Play

St. Louis may be the center of the classic-rock universe

DOUBLE GRAMMY

East St. Louis trumpet wunderkind Russell Gunn makes no bones about his desire to bring home a Grammy

Maximum Groove

Listening Post

Meet the Beat

Hip-hop's here. Deal with it. Check the local MCs and DJs moving up from the underground.