Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know that we’re on for this
week’s live chat — we’re going to be talking with our special guests
from the band Big Rock Candy Mountain about live show and touring
strategies, as well as the importance of working together and forming
‘collectives’ with like-minded folks.

We’ve talked a lot about this theme here on the blog - check out these articles:

* Pulling Your Tribe Together http://is.gd/nIIq
* New Music Labels as Artist Collectives http://is.gd/nIHB

Let’s continue the conversation live in our chat! You can get in touch with
the extremely talented guys from Big Rock Candy Mountain on twitter:
@brcm.

Tune in Wednesday, March 18, at 6:00pm Central Time (click here to convert time zones) at: http://www.artistshousemusic.org/live

Check us out this Wednesday, February 4, at 3:30pm Central Time for a live video chat with the Artists House crew. Details here: http://ow.ly/8Cv

For all of our new friends, I just wanted to make you aware of our (relatively) new blog: Artists House blog. We're talking music business for musicians, reviewing new music websites, and pulling the best content we can find from the main Artist House database. Check it out, subscribe to our feed, and don't forget to follow us on twitter! http://www.twitter.com/artistshouse

Hey everyone! We hope this message catches you in good creative health! Some good news: Artists House is now on Twitter. Check us out here.

Also, we have started a new blog to help musicians like you understand how to approach music business in a practical way. Check it out now!

According to a new NPD MusicWatch Survey, and first discussed on ArsTechnica, Apple has for the first time beaten Wal-Mart to become the nation’s largest music retailer by capturing 19 percent of the music retail market in January 2008. Wal-mart came in second with 15 percent market share.

The day when digital downloads would exceed physical media purchases has long been expected. For the deafest of deaf in the music business, the proof is finally in the pudding. The CD is dead. The nightmare is real... read more here.

Well, there’s certainly no shortage of news from the major labels lately. Following recent announcements from Warner (who are presenting a vague idea to charge people a flat fee for all the music they care to download from peer-to-peer sites), and Sony/BMG (who’s head, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, revealed that he supports the idea of a DRM-free unlimited music service), The New York Times today reported that... read more here.

I’ve felt somewhat alone in my abject disdain for these so-called 360 deals that labels are foisting upon artists. In a nutshell, a 360 deal entitles the label to a piece of pretty much all the revenue streams of the artist (hence the term "360"). Typically, a label would only be entitled to revenue generated from the sale of the records they release. Under a 360 deal, the labels not only get that stream, but also a piece of ticket sales and merch... read more here.

For students and parents who may be stressed out over testing, here’s a lullaby for the times. Grammy Award-winning children’s artist Tom Chapin offers the "Not on the Test" song and video to raise awareness about the importance of music education in all classrooms and to express concern about what is missing from American public education. "Not on the Test," with music and lyrics by Chapin and his long-time collaborator John Forster, and produced by PST Records... Read more here.

Whew. Just got back from one of the largest music conferences in the world – SXSW (South By SouthWest) in Austin, TX. It’s like a musical wonderland down there. I was floored by Earthless, These are Powers, A Place to Bury Strangers, Chuck Prophet, Mark Kozelek, Brad Barr, The Peasantry, and in particular, Monotonix, which might have put on one of the most ridiculous/riveting performance I have ever seen. Read more here.

You'll have to excuse me if this editorial seems a little more stream of consciousness than normal. I've been listening to Ghosts I from the new Nine Inch Nails album Ghosts I-IV that I downloaded from the official 'leaked' torrent on The Pirate Bay.

"This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams."

Read more here.