John Wick doesn’t look so scary now, does he?
Here’s What The World’s Oldest Piano Sounds Like
Dongsok Shin performs the Giga of Sonata number 6 in B flat major by Lodovico Giustini (1685-1743) on the earliest known surviving piano, made by the instrument’s inventor, Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), in Florence, 1720. This sonata is from the 12 Sonate da cimbalo di piano e forte detto volgarmente di martelletti, Op. 1, written in 1732. These are the first known pieces to have been composed specifically for the piano.
James Blunt Will Release Brand New Album “The Afterlove” On March 24
Britain’s very own Twitter all-star is back… James Blunt will release his fifth studio album, ‘The Afterlove’ on March 24th through Atlantic Records. The new album is the follow-up to ‘Moon Landing’, which reached platinum status in the UK and spent 33 weeks in the UK Top 40 after it was released in 2013.
James worked with a wide range of talent when writing and recording ‘The Afterlove’ including Ed Sheeran, Ryan Tedder, Amy Wadge (Ed Sheeran, Shannon Saunders), Johnny McDaid (Example, Biffy Clyro), Stephan Moccio (Miley Cyrus, The Weeknd) and MoZella (Miley Cyrus, One Direction).
James Blunt will also be embarking on a UK headline tour, The Afterlove Tour, which includes a date at London’s Eventim Apollo. This is the first tour for James following his extensive Moon Landing Tour, which saw him perform over 140 shows across the world over the course of twelve months.
November UK Tour Dates as follows:
17th Nottingham – Motorpoint Arena
18th Leeds – First Direct Arena
20th Glasgow – Clyde Auditorium
21st Birmingham – Barclaycard Arena
23rd London – Eventim Apollo
24th Brighton – Brighton Centre
25th Bournemouth – BIC Windsor Hall
James Blunt has sold over 20 million albums worldwide and 12.8 million singles. He’s also amassed over 625 million views on YouTube and over 680 million global streams on streaming platforms.
Billboard’s Charts Are A-Changin’ Starting Next Week
Billboard’s genre album charts are evolving to a consumption methodology, following the successful conversion of the iconic all-genre Billboard 200 chart to a multi-metric ranking, including traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The first newly formulated genre album consumption charts will premiere on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Jan. 31 (with charts dated Feb. 11), and will reflect album sales, track sales and audio on-demand streaming data, tracked by Nielsen Music, for the week ending Thursday, Jan. 26.
The transformed genre charts will match the Billboard 200 formula, equating 10 digital track sales from an album to one equivalent album sale (TEA), as well as 1,500 on-demand song streams from an album to one equivalent album sale (SEA). Sales and streaming data is compiled by Nielsen Music.
On-demand audio subscription services contributing to the Billboard 200, and the above charts under their new methodology, are Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, Soundcloud, Slacker, Napster, Google Play, Groove Music and Medianet.
The charts making the move to a consumption methodology are:
Top Country Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, plus:
-R&B Albums
-Rap Albums
Top Rock Albums, plus:
-Alternative Albums
-Hard Rock Albums
-Americana/Folk Albums
Top Latin Albums, plus:
-Latin Pop Albums
-Regional Mexican Albums
-Tropical Albums
-Latin Rhythm Albums
Top Dance/Electronic Albums
Top Gospel Albums
Top Christian Albums, plus:
-Christian/Gospel Albums
Soundtracks
Top Catalog Albums
Holiday Albums
Infographic: Essential Digital Marketing Tools
Smart Insights just released an infographic and their free Digital Marketing Tools and Services 2016 download recommends 30 categories of marketing technology and our pick of the most popular 5 in each category. We’ve grouped them across the Smart Insights RACE Planning framework for managing digital marketing so you can review where you could make better use of the tools across the customer lifecycle.
Science Proves Dogs Love Reggae Music
A new study by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Glasgow finds that dogs love reggae — and soft rock. “Researchers played a variety of music to dogs at a rehoming centre in Dumbarton and assessed physiological and behavioural changes,” reports the BBC. While dogs, like humans, proved to have varying individual tastes — and while all types of music tested had a soothing effect — overall the canine subjects responded most positively to reggae and soft rock. (BBC and The Current)
Pressing Matters in Jamaica – a film about the island’s forgotten record industry
Late last year, The Vinyl Factory accompanied Vivien Goldman on a trip to Jamaica to track down the remaining vestiges of the island’s failing record industry.
Queen and Adam Lambert Announce North American Tour
Back by popular demand, Queen + Adam Lambert will rock North America this summer with a highly-anticipated 25-city arena tour kicking off June 23 in Phoenix, Arizona at Gila River Arena, followed shortly after with a special Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl performance, June 26.
After wildly successful and sold out tours throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin and North America, Brian May, Roger Taylor + Adam Lambert will debut a brand new show specially designed and created for this outing, bringing fans all their favorite Queen hits, like “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” “We Are The Champions”. The high-energy concert will bring their history alive in all its passion and glory, with stops in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and more, before wrapping on August 5 in Houston, TX at the Toyota Center. The tour is presented by Live Nation.
Tickets will go on sale beginning Friday, February 3 at 10AM local time through the Live Nation mobile app and at Livenation.com. Members of both Queen and Adam Lambert’s Fan Clubs will be able to purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, January 31 at 10AM, and American Express Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, January 31 at Noon and ending on Thursday, February 2 at 10PM. Exclusive VIP Package offers available at VIPNation.com
Since their first meeting on the final of American Idol in May 2009, Queen + Adam Lambert’s magical combination has been recognized worldwide with sold out shows in every part of the world.
TOUR DATES
Friday, June 23, 2017 Phoenix, AZ Gila River Arena
Saturday, June 24, 2017 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
Monday, June 26, 2017 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
Thursday, June 29, 2017 San Jose, CA SAP Center
Saturday, July 1, 2017 Seattle, WA Key Arena
Sunday, July 2, 2017 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Tuesday, July 4, 2017 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
Thursday, July 6, 2017 Denver, CO Pepsi Center Arena
Saturday, July 8, 2017 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center
Sunday, July 9, 2017 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Thursday, July 13, 2017 Chicago, IL United Center
Friday, July 14, 2017 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Monday, July 17, 2017 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Tuesday, July 18, 2017 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Thursday, July 20, 2017 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
Friday, July 21, 2017 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
Sunday, July 23, 2017 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Tuesday, July 25, 2017 Boston, MA TD Garden
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Friday, July 28, 2017 New York, NY Barclays Center
Sunday, July 30, 2017 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Monday, July 31, 2017 Washington D.C. Verizon Center
Wednesday, August 2, 2017 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
Friday, August 4, 2017 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Saturday, August 5, 2017 Houston, TX Toyota Center
2016 saw Queen + Lambert perform fifteen shows across Europe headlining major festivals such as Portugal’s Rock in Rio Lisbon where they played to 74,000 people, the UK’s Isle of Wight Festival, by far one of Britain’s most prestigious and successful music festivals with a heritage of such headliners as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, as well as sold out arena shows, such AS Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi Olympic arena.
Queen + Adam Lambert revved up again in the fall of 2016 to take on a series of sold out dates across Asia which saw Queen perform for the first time and introduce Adam Lambert to some new audiences in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai, and Singapore including three nights at the famous Tokyo Budokan theatre where Queen first appeared in 1975 and induced fan mayhem. Similar scenes greeted them on this return.
In 2015 Queen + Adam Lambert had 26 sold-out concerts in 10 countries throughout the UK and Europe taking their critically acclaimed show to France, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria.
In March 2014 Queen + Adam Lambert embarked on their first North American Summer tour. Not only did all 24 dates sell out almost overnight but at the end Queen + Adam Lambert were awarded Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honor awards and were also voted Best Live Band of the Year in Ultimate Classic Rock’s reader’s poll.
Queen + Adam Lambert topped off 2014 by performing to an audience of over 12 million TV viewers when they performed live for UK BBC Television’s New Year’s Eve spectacular Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben. In the subsequent 24 hours ‘Adam Lambert’ was the top of the trending searches on Google in the UK with more than 500,000 searches for his name.
Following that very first performance together of “We Are The Champions” in 2009, Queen and Adam Lambert teamed up again in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards for an electrifying eight-minute finale, and in the summer of 2012 they performed their first live concerts with appearances across Europe including playing live before half a million people in Kiev, AS THEIR FIRST SHOW!
That Time Husker Du Covered Mary Tyler Moore’s Theme Song, “Love Is All Around”
When Husker Du released “Makes No Sense At All” from their 1985 album Flip Your Wig, it was a curious choice not just because it was the only single from the album. The flip side track “Love Is All Around” was the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. RIP to Mary Tyler Mooore, and to another piece of my childhood.
Southern Folklife Collection partners with Yep Roc Records to release rare music recordings from its vast archives
Music lovers will soon be able to own rare audio history, thanks to a partnership between the Southern Folklife Collection (SFC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yep Roc Records, based in Hillsborough.
The SFC, part of the Wilson Special Collections Library, will create digital masters of rare archival recordings from its collections, which Yep Roc Records will produce, package and distribute.
The Southern Folklife Collection is one of the nation’s foremost archival resources for the study of American folk music and popular culture. SFC holdings extensively document all forms of southern musical and oral traditions across the entire spectrum of individual and community expressive arts, as well as mainstream media production. Centered around the John Edwards Memorial Collection, the SFC is especially rich in materials documenting the emergence of old-time, country-western, hillbilly, bluegrass, blues, folk, gospel, rock and roll, Cajun and zydeco musics.
“Music lovers and researchers have long come to Chapel Hill to hear the unique recordings that are in the Southern Folklife Collection. Through this partnership, we are able to bring historic roots music to audiences around the world,” said Steve Weiss, director of the SFC.
The inaugural release— Dolly Parton’s first single, “Puppy Love”—is a 45-RPM with a B-side of “Girl Left Alone.” The limited edition run will be available exclusively in participating stores on April 22, Record Store Day. Subsequent releases will be available on compact disc, vinyl and from digital providers.
“Like a first love, a first record for a singer will always be remembered above all others,” said Parton. “Hopefully I’ve improved since I recorded ‘Puppy Love,’ so don’t laugh…just enjoy.”
The first three releases from the SFC/Yep Roc partnership include:
Dolly Parton: “Puppy Love” and “Girl Left Alone” (April 22)
Dolly Parton recorded “Puppy Love” for Goldband Records in 1959, when she was just 13. This edition is re-mastered from the original mono master tape. Packaging will include reproductions of the original Goldband record labels, housed in a picture sleeve featuring an early promotional photograph of Parton.
“Swampland Jewels” (Sept. 22)
A compilation of classic Cajun music from Goldband Records,“Swampland Jewels” features recordings by Jo-El Sonnier, Boozoo Chavis, Iry LeJune Jr. and Cleveland Crochet. Packaging features the original album art of a bikini-clad girl riding a giant crawfish, and includes the booklet “From the Bayou,” a history of Goldband Records by music writer Mike Leadbitter and Goldband Records founder Eddie Shuler.
Doc Watson: “Live at the Club 47” (Date TBA)
A newly discovered performance by Doc Watson, “Live at the Club 47” was recorded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1963. This recording features unreleased songs from Watson’s early repertoire.
“This is an amazing opportunity for Yep Roc to work with Steve Weiss and the Southern Folklife Collection to help bring some incredible music to a worldwide audience of music fans,” said Glenn Dicker, co-owner and A&R for Yep Roc Records. “Walking through the vast archives for the first time to see, touch and, of course, hear what kinds of treasures are in the collection was a mind-blowing experience. Steve is doing a terrific job curating the collection and we’re honored to be part of the team.”
More information on the Southern Folklife Collection is available here. For purchase and online ordering details, visit www.yeproc.com.