As a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency, I am always amazed at either the scope and talent of an artist’s business team or the why and how an artist exists within the mediocre framework which they are operating from. And believe me, I’ve seen plenty of both. It would seem that many managers fall into these positions, like in many fields, not out of genuine talent or know-how, but by mere presence alone – They were friends of the artist or a brother to one of the members of the act and so forth. If a manager, important at every turn of an artist’s career, is so important, than what exactly is it that makes up a good manager or booking agent?
Most everyone thinks of contacts. No doubt that contacts are important in this business. The thinking is – “Just as long as they act like they know what they are doing and talk a big game dropping some names along the way,” than they must “know” what they are doing and they can get the job done – Or can they? >>>

TDK has recently, announced the release of the Blu-Ray Disc, a new generation DVD disk. The first wave of release will feature single layer disks which will hold 25GB, this will be followed by 50, 100 and eight-layer 200GB on subsequent releases. While we cannot yet, vouch for the reliability of this technology, it appears that the backup of large VSTi's problem has been solved; the latest Seagate 750 GB Drive will allow us to create a perfect setup of both EW/QL Symphonic Orchestra and Vienna Orchestra on the same drive!

Microsoft has dropped their support of Windows 98 this month. It is hard to believe that some people are still running this outdated OS. Nevertheless, for some nonprofit organizations and small offices, upgrading XP or, in the near future Vista, this can be quite expensive simply because they have more than one computer to upgrade. Also, after upgrading your system, you might find that it needs more memory or faster CPU, as well. Personally, I never rely on tech support from corporations such as Microsoft, as I always try to solve the problems independently. We all know that Windows 98 is not that stable. So, here is what I did: so as not to get technical with you, I am just going to tell a story of how once you purchase the PC, and everything seems to be operating just fine with no problem, then after some time has passed the PC gets slower, and crashes became more frequent. Does it mean that something changed even if we didn't install new programs or deleted some important files? Yes, it does change every time you run your programs. New files have been created, some files have been dumped in the TEMP folder, and some files have been rewritten back to your hard drive after you have closed the program. If you have the Internet connection, then some stuff can be dumped to your PC from even legitimate websites. The list of what can be changed after even one session can be quite extensive. So, instead of keeping track of what has been changed, why don't we just lock the computer somehow and avoid all these problems in the future? >>>

It's a safe bet that, since the arrival of cognitive human beings on this earth, music has, in some form had a significant effect on their lives. The first sounds, other than speech, were probably produced by hitting something; wood, stone or hide; and ancient peoples must have appreciated the sounds of the world around them; of water, weather and animals; and were the sounds of a rippling stream or a gushing waterfall music to their ears? And when they stood at the seashore did the crashing waves and the suck of the tides move them in some way?
There is something deep within our psyche, which reacts and 'remembers' music. It is more than probable that sounds relating to music and rhythm came long before sounds relating to communication and speech. Today, this theory can be tested by noting a baby's reaction to a lullaby as compared to speech. If you're lucky, humming can soothe the most fractious child and even send them to sleep! Music, in the form of rhythm was used by many peoples as a way of sending messages to out of sight recipients; consider the jungle drums of Africa or the Alpine horn, the Aboriginal didgeridoo or the use of bells as a warning of attack. >>>

To many people, listening to their favorite music as they go about business is a necessity. To others, it is simply a diversion as they go about the boring day-to-day chores we have in life. For some, it is a sensual experience and a form of creative self-expression, whether as an active participant or merely an avid listener.
I myself don’t just enjoy music; I live and breathe for music. I am a musician/songwriter and when I am not writing music or playing music somehow life is not the same for me. This is how I express my emotions, share thoughts, and converse with the world around me. Many times I get lost in the height of a passionate compositional piece, only to find the time has passed by so quickly that I have forgotten all of the things on my mind that have been bothering me. >>>

One of the most popular guitars today and one of the best is the Fender Stratocaster. It has been around for years and has established a well known reputation for having an original sound and been great to play. Many top guitarists of the past and present played Strats - Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, the list goes on and on. All of these artists have that beautiful tonal sound of a Strat but when you hear each one, you can tell the difference between them, and that's the beautiful thing. The Fender Strat gives you such originality while having that beautiful tonal sound no other guitar has.

The secret to that great sound that the Strats have is in the single coil pickups, the wood of the guitar and the way the body of the guitar is put together (2 sections). The combination of these 3 things put together is one of a kind, that guitarist have come to love right from the beginning of the Strats birth. >>>

Billy Brag, well known songwriter and performer, won the battle with MySpace.com forcing them to change their policy and conditions on ownership of the material promoted by the site. More or less the site's policy could be characterized by complete ownership rights in artist's works. Billy Bragg has long experience in fighting different companies over royalties. In the past musicians needed a record company to produce, advertise, and sell their music, and in exchange for that, the record company basically owned their music for decades. You may call it exploitation of talent. >>>

Boy, I really detest how some people do websites. Bands are some of the worst. Seems like any band that wants to look "professional" feels they must create a website using pop-ups and flash. Why? Cuz that's what the Majors do?
I tried to go to a friend's website today to find his email address. He's in a band. "Click here if you have a pop-up stopper." Now is that a stupid way to start a website or what? So I clicked... dreading the outcome... For the next minute the minute flash loaded... A MINUTE! Meanwhile, I was enjoying some wonderful music by Angelo Branduardi, a wonderful Italian world folk musician. Then "BLLAAAAARRRR." The frickin flash program was trying to play music that was causing problems with the music I was enjoying... All I wanted was an email address, not a headache! >>>

Can music really help you think better? Yes, according to the research that has been done so far. Listening to, and participating in music creates new neural pathways in your brain that stimulate creativity. Studies have shown that music actually trains the brain for higher forms of thinking. There was a study at the University of California, for example, about 10 years ago. Researchers followed the progress of three year olds, split into two groups. The first group had no particular training in, or exposure to music. The second group studied piano and sang daily in chorus. After eight months the musical three year olds were much better at solving puzzles. When tested, they also scored 80% higher in spatial intelligence than the non musical group. With such a dramatic difference, there is bound to be more research like this in the future. >>

Senator Diane Feinstein is pushing a bill that would punish streaming audio sites for delivering mp3 content, which does not contain digital rights management. The bill, dubbed the Perform Act, would require sites to use copy-protected audio formats rather than easily-rippable mp3 format used by many Shoutcast streaming sites. It’s not clear if the bill would apply to podcasts as well.

To merge, or not to merge, that is the question, or at least it's something to think about for two music industry giants: America's Warner Music and Britain's EMI. If, indeed, a merger takes place, there would be only three major record labels controlling the entire music industry, viz, Sony BMG, Universal Studios and America’s Warner Music/Britain’s EMI. EMI believes their offer of $31 per share is adequate. At the same time, however, EMI is of the opinion that Warner’s counteroffer of 320 pence per share is unacceptable.

To merge, or not to merge, has been debated for the last six years. Some observers feel that such a merger is inevitable and would be beneficial  to both firms. However, the big question remains: Would it benefit the consumer?

Only in this modern world of complicated copyright laws, where almost everything is regulated and controlled by giant corporations, could a story like this happen. A family from Clacton, Essex, England lost a child and wanted to put an image of Winnie the Pooh on the headstone of their deceased child.
The Disney Company refused to give their permission claiming it would violate copyright laws leaving the grieving parents in shock. Aaron Clarke, the stonemason, said that the Disney Company, who makes billions of dollars a year from children, should not be so rigid and unfeeling under the circumstance. After reviewing their previous decision Disney may possibly grant the Clacton family's request.