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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

#1 Fan / Teh Internets Hunx Starts His Own Record Label + New Web TV Show

Posted by Kelly O on Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 2:23 PM

Well, hello Wacky Wacko Records! And HELLL-LOOO Hollywood Nailz!

The first is the brand new record label founded by Seth Bogart of Hunx and His Punx. He started Wacky Wacko as an outlet to release novelty records, children's music, holiday themed hits, songs from his upcoming TV Show Hollywood Nailz and "other bizarre things that most labels wouldn't bother with."

Check out one of his first releases, Saba Lou "Until The End". Little Saba Lou is Arish "King" Khan's daughter. So sweet:

Then, check out the Nailz trailer. SWOON...

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Life / Love / Teh Internets So You Wanna Date a Juggalo?

Posted by Kelly O on Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 1:59 PM

Someone's putting all the juggalo personal ads from OKCupid into a handy-dandy Tumblr site. Hoo, it's a crazy read, if you dare. Sample ad:

"The most private thing I’m willing to admit:

I miscarried a child when I was 18. I then proceeded to beat the girls head into the asphalt that my ex-fiance had cheated on me with, whom stressed me out, thus making me miscarry. Wow…

And I’m dating a female. Lol"

Coffee? Dinner? Long walks on the beach?

Kelly O
Coffee? Dinner? Long walks on the beach?

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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Business / Teh Internets Analysts Spot Big Problem in Spotify Profit Model

Posted by Grant Brissey on Tue, Oct 9, 2012 at 8:42 AM

Spotify was already huge in Europe before it jumped to the United States. where it's user base is currently ballooning, but Friday brought the news that the numbers aren't all that impressive for one very fundamental reason: The more users the service gains, the more money it loses. Privco, which conducts business and financial research on major privately held companies, released a report on Spotify's year-end financial report for 2011.

"[In 2011] virtually every new dollar of revenue went directly to music companies as royalty payments," the abstract said. "Evidencing the fact that the more members Spotify adds, the more money the company loses."

This is a clear indication that the online licensing fee/royalty model is increasingly restricting Spotify's ability to generate sustainable margins using its freemium model. In almost a one-for-one scenario, every dollar Spotify is generating immediately exits the company due to licensing fees as members listen to music and ring up Spotify's music royalty tab.

The report also noted some other elemental issues. For example, "Spotify's 311 employees grew salary costs 173% year over year, outpacing revenue growth." Spotify has verified that the numbers are accurate. And unsurprisingly, Privco's conclusion is that Spotify's current business model is unsustainable, and the firm suggested a tiered pricing system. Below are Privco's key financial data points on Spotify:

Revenue (2011): $244.54M (€187.8M)

Revenue (2010): $96.15M (€73.9M)

Revenue Breakdown (2011): 84% Subscriptions, 15% Advertisements, 2% Other

1 Year Revenue Growth Rate (2010 to 2011): 151%

Key Backers: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Digital Sky Technologies, Creandum, Northzone Ventures, Li Ka-Shing, Wellington Partners, Sean Parker, The Founders Fund, Accel Partners

Employees (2011): 311

In light, of this, or just in general, would you pay for Spotify if it became necessary?

Via Digital Music News

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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Teh Internets / Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Sometimes The Internet Gives You a Present...

Posted by Kelly O on Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 3:38 PM

... and sometimes it's as simple as BACON and BEERCANS.

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Friday, September 28, 2012

#1 Fan / Teh Internets Sweet Brown, The Autotune!

Posted by Kelly O on Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 12:30 PM

I'm a long time super-fan of Sweet Brown, meme-worthy hater of bronchitis. Behold, her new hot single, "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That."

h/t to Glen!

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Business / Teh Internets Kim Dotcom Prepping Megabox Music Service to "Unchain Artists and Fans"

Posted by Dave Segal on Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 1:43 PM

Via shocklee.com

Kim Dotcom is readying a new online service called Megabox that will provide a legal method for people to digitally access music while still paying musicians, an approach, he posits, that will “[unchain] artists and fans.” Dotcom was the operator of Megaupload, which the US Department of Justic shuttered in January for alleged copyright infringement.

Check out the video below for further enlightenment and major-label '90s electronica flashback.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Teh Internets Who's Torrenting the Most Music?

Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Sep 18, 2012 at 12:02 PM

Via Gizmodo

A company named Music Metric has tabulated the number of torrents worldwide by country, along with the most pirated artist in each nation. The depressing results are below. As in so many things, America is #1. Another thing the study reveals is that people who habitually torrent have mediocre musical taste.

· United States - 96.7 million downloads - Drake (most torrented artist)
· United Kingdom - 43.3 million downloads - Ed Sheeran
· Italy - 33.2 million downloads - Laura Pausini
· Canada - 24 million downloads - Kanye West
· Brazil - 19.7 million downloads - Billy Van
· Australia - 19.2 million downloads - Hilltop Hoods
· Spain - 10.3 million downloads - Pablo Alboran
· India - 9 million downloads - Billy Van
· France - 8.4 million downloads - Sexion d'assaut
· Philippines - 8.4 million downloads - Maroon 5

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Monday, September 17, 2012

Sort of News / Teh Internets Digital Music Streaming's Impact on the Environment

Posted by Dave Segal on Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 10:07 AM

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, now there’s a report projecting that streaming music from the cloud may cause more environmental damage than consuming music via physical products. A paper* on “the hidden cost of digital music consumption” from the MusicTank—a network group for the music industry—concludes (via Robert Andrews’ article for Paid Content):

Digital music streams could harm the environment even more than compact discs – so green-minded operators should introduce caching, or even ship their entire catalogues on a single chip.

YouTube alone could account for 1 percent of global electricity consumption by 2013. For some reason, this Rolling Stones song just came to mind.

*You have to subscribe to MusicTank's newsletter (it's free) to read the report.

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Monday, September 10, 2012

Sex / Song / #1 Fan / Teh Internets And Now, Further Proof That Gangnam Style Goes With Perfectly With EVERYTHING

Posted by Kelly O on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 1:53 PM

So first, there's a video floating around teh internets of some Jehovah's Witnesses telling deaf people that it's really uncool for them to masturbate. Now, a bunch of wisecrackers are putting music to the silent original.
There's the R. Kelly. But I think it best shines with Gangnam Style.

Heyyyyyy sexy lady!

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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Teh Internets Seth Bogart Is Naked!

Posted by Kelly O on Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 4:05 PM

Seth Bogart, aka HUNX, is the star of a new Tumblr. Rrrrrrrowsa! Call me a fag hag—I don't even care. I am so glad Seth Bogart is naked.

>>> CLICK HERE <<<

May be NSFW, depending on where you work.

SUZY POLING
Clothes. Who needs 'em?

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Friday, August 17, 2012

Business / Teh Internets Bands/Musicians: It's Summer 2012, What Social Media Platform Do You Prefer and Why?

Posted by Grant Brissey on Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 1:57 PM

I believe we've asked this question before on Line Out, but technology is ever-changing, and it often evolves faster than we users can keep up. As a consumer of music, I have my own gripes and hypes about some of the more ubiquitous services (the hyper-positive commenting on Soundcloud, or the fact that Bandcamp's Checkout button doesn't automatically open in a new window or tab, thereby shutting off the music that you like so much you decided to buy.

I haven't messed enough with Facebook's feature to decide whether I like it or not as a consumer, and Twitter is an entirely different beast. Also, I have a running theory that rockers use Facebook and heads use Twitter. And are there others out there? I don't even know. Chime in via the comments section to answer an explain/complain.

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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Tip / Teh Internets / Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Sing Me a Songza

Posted by Bree McKenna on Wed, Aug 15, 2012 at 3:33 PM

I really don't like Pandora!! Computer automated radio (The Music Genome Project) seems like it would be awesome because it starts off on a song or band I like, but then it spirals into something totally shitty because it shares superficial characteristics with "the stuff" I like (gender of lead vocalist, level of distortion on the electric guitar, type of background vocals). Instead of getting turned on to new music, I end up irritated and skipping over songs like an impatient, petulant child. Because when it comes down to it, it's the SONGS, not elements of songs broken down into vague classifications, that make for good listening.

This is why I'm newly into this handy playlist app Songza. You log in and it takes into account the day of week, time, and possible moods and genres that you can listen to. Since it's all playlists compiled from their "music experts" (they even have a section called "record store clerk"), it's a pretty decent way to pick what you want to listen to based on your mood, the genre, and the time period. Check it out especially if you wanna get this sick 90210 playlist! You're welcome!

90210 Playlist!

Options!

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Song / Teh Internets Gotye Remixes All the Gotye Covers/Parodies

Posted by Anna Minard on Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 3:46 PM

From Gotye, on the YouTubes:

Reluctant as I am to add to the mountain of interpretations of Somebody That I Used To Know seemingly taking over their own area of the internet, I couldn't resist the massive remixability that such a large, varied yet connected bundle of source material offered... All audio and video in Somebodies is from the YouTube user videos featured, each of them a cover or parody of Somebody That I Used To Know. No extra sounds were added to the mix, but I used some EQ, filtering, pitch-shifting and time-stretching to make the music.

This calls for a poll!

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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Teh Internets BURN!

Posted by Kathy Fennessy on Thu, Aug 9, 2012 at 12:03 PM

Mercury/Polygram
One man who never brags about himself.

I've always believed that it's better to kill 'em with kindness than to kill 'em with contempt, but when your question is particularly ill-informed, you're just opening the door to trouble. I'm sure you've met instructors who like to say, "There are no stupid questions." More often than not, I'm inclined to agree, unless the question revolves around a sweeping generalization, in which case, the fate of Anonymous could be yours. Check out his/her exchange with blogger David Brothers here.

Not-so-humblebrag: Bon Jovi has "seen a million faces, and he's rocked them all."

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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

??!! / Teh Internets Parody or Sincerity: Krispy Kreme the Rapper

Posted by Megan Seling on Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 12:51 PM

There isn't much out there about YouTube rapping sensation Krispy Kreme and his straight-faced sidekick Money Maker Mike. They claim to be from Alabama, they love guns, Mac Miller, Tupac, and Eminem, and their homemade rap videos have racked up several million views. They sit in trees, on motorcycles, and in front of chain-link fences singing about making out with girls and having stacks of money. Sometimes Krispy Kreme appears to have snot and/or sweat glistening on his upper lip.

The lyrics are so bad, that it seems obvious that they're fucking with us: "I bet you sleep with a nightlight / 'cause you're scared of the dark / 'case you smell like a fart." And: "I have 400 cars / I have 400 scars and 400 guitars / I have 400 houses / I have 400 mouses and 400 houses."

Yeah, he rhymed houses with houses.

But KK's deadpan delivery in every single video has made it nearly impossible to know if it's a really well-done parody or accidental comedy genius from some kind of dumb but charming kid. The act has also bled over into his Wikipedia page, Twitter feed, and non-rap videoblogs (here, he sobs while talking about following his dreams).

I mean, of course it's a joke! It's so bad, that it has to be a joke, right? But I would've said the same about Rebecca Black and we all know that turned out to be 100% for real. Rebecca Black has ruined my bullshit detector.

Well, turns out it is a joke. Internet detectives uncovered Krispy Kreme's real name, Tyler Cassidy, and found out he was the valedictorian of his high school in Michigan. He's not dumb, he's not from Alabama, and he doesn't have 400 houses.

His videos are still hilarious, but I'm kind of sad that I can no longer be fascinated by the possibility of it being legit. Now that the secret's out, does it ruin anything for you?

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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Song / Teh Internets Six Guys, One Uke (and One Gotye, Too)

Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 11:07 AM

Question: How many guys does it take to do a great cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" on a single ukelele? Answer: SIX! (I suppose fewer than six could do it... but hey! The more the merrier!)

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Love / Teh Internets Typing Lyrics Into the Ermahgerd Translator Makes for Endless Fun!

Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 7:24 PM

ERMAHGERD! An ermahgerd translator! And what is the first thing I plug into the text box? The lyrics to "Call Me Maybe," duh.

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Teh Internets Justin Timberlake Trying to Bring Sexy Back to MySpace

Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 9:47 AM

Via Forbes

Pop star/actor Justin Timberlake is one of three investors who bought MySpace from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Along with Chris and Tim Vanderhook of Specific Media, he’s hoping to revive the social network site with an emphasis on its benefits for musicians and music fanatics. “In essence, MySpace is going from being a Facebook also-ran to being a more comprehensive Spotify alternative,” writes Forbes’ Jeff Bercovici.

Chris Vanderhook asserts that “MySpace is the only site in the world where you can get everything an artist does if you’re interested in that artist. To do all those things would probably take you 30 different properties.”

MySpace has been undergoing a year-long rebuild. Let’s hope when the new format debuts soon, it won’t take nine days to load its pages. (Funny side note: I couldn't get Timberlake's website to load in my first attempt while putting together this post; the second attempt took very long.)

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Friday, July 20, 2012

Teh Internets / 206 THEESatisfaction and the Internet Trade Remixes

Posted by Mike Ramos on Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Seattle's THEESatisfaction and Odd Future satellite the Internet (Syd the Kid and Matt Martians) seem to be on the same creative plane with their futuristic soul/hiphop/R&B fusion, so it makes sense that they're apparently fans of each other's work. The Internet took on awE naturalE's lead single "QueenS," taking only bits and pieces of the intro vocals, and turned it into a 4-on-the-floor electro-lounge groove.

THEESatisfaction reworked The Internet's "She DGAF" into a stripped-down, less-jazzy (here's the original), but way hazier version that definitely fits that "Smoked the Whole Eighth Remix" title.