“Coldplay has already shattered Jack Johnson’s previous one-week iTunes sales record of 140k in a single day.” More »
In October 2007, the Brooklyn outfit Creaky Boards was excited to see a person who resembled Coldplay’s Chris Martin enjoying their CMJ festival performance. Less than a year later, that enthusiasm has turned into frustration as bandleader Andrew Hoepfner discovered that Coldplay’s iTunes-ad-featured “Viva La Vida” had a melody that was kind of close to their “The Songs I Didn’t Write,” performed at the aforementioned concert. Did Martin go hopping from show to show at CMJ, lifting bits for his next album? Don’t be daft, say the superstars; “Viva La Vida” was allegedly demoed over a year ago. This hasn’t stopped Hoepfner from creating a video clip comparing the tracks and publicizing his band.
Part of the reason I took my DVR recording of American Idol off fast-forward during the the above ad was to make my girlfriend groan about how much she hates Chris Martin and his stupid face. But the title track of Viva La Vida is actually getting stuck in my head in a more than pleasant way. Somebody’s figured out how to mix the Arcade Fire’s ornate bombast (it might be about the French Revolution!) with the usual Bonosity, and, well, maybe I was too quick to assume the new album was bound to stink. Then again, there are only two other singles by the group I can actually get all the way through. (And “Clocks” ain’t one of them.)
With the forthcoming launch of the 3G iPhone, Apple is trying to make the iTunes Store available to any iPhone users, and not just those who are already within reach of a wireless connection. More »
Overly excitable music-business types are looking at Apple’s recent deal with HBO, where top-tier shows like The Sopranos are priced at $2.99 per episode on the iTunes Store (as opposed to The Wire’s $1.99-a-pop price), as a sign that the company may someday embrace variable pricing, which would… More »
Overly excitable music-business types are looking at Apple’s recent deal with HBO, where top-tier shows like The Sopranos are priced at $2.99 per episode on the iTunes Store (as opposed to The Wire’s $1.99-a-pop price), as a sign that the company may someday embrace variable pricing, which would… More »
Overly excitable music-business types are looking at Apple’s recent deal with HBO, where top-tier shows like The Sopranos are priced at $2.99 per episode on the iTunes Store (as opposed to The Wire’s $1.99-a-pop price), as a sign that the company may someday embrace variable pricing, which would… More »
Chris “dennisobell” Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week’s Billboard charts:
You can’t kill Leona Lewis, you can only make her stronger. For the first time in 30 years, a song returns to the No. 1 spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100 after being evicted twice. Love her or hate her, Ol’ Dead Eyes is back.
As unusual as Leona’s threepeat is, the more interesting moves this week are made below the No. 1 spot, in part because it looks like the songs we may be hearing during car-radio season are hitting the charts now. That includes big debuts by the unsinkable Chris Brown and heartthrob Jesse McCartney, a first-time appearance by new British “It” girl Duffy, and a huge move on Modern Rock by a certain gang of veteran geek-rockers trying to regain their cred.
Man, those Hot Chip guys sure love irony. They’re in the middle off a month-long tour promoting Zune (remember Zune?) that will take them to Coachella–and then they’re headed to Berlin to do their post-modern thing at the iTunes Festival! So whether you prefer AAC or WMA, you can easily get your hands on the best album of 2008. But which company does the band have more love for?
You may have heard that iTunes has taken Wal-Mart’s position as the top music retailer in the US. While this is probably a gradual inevitability, and iTunes sales have risen quickly over the last two years, the stats involved only cover the month of January 2008, a period influenced not just by… More »
