Trent vs. Thom

It looks like Wired Magazine has taken my two favorite topics these days: Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails and did a "head to head" comparison between Trent and Thom. Here are the results.

Trent destroys Thom in most categories including History of innovation, Digital formats, Breaking with the industry,Punk-rock factor, Remixing policy and Smack talk

Thom whoops Trent in Timing, Substance (Mrs. Hops is angry!) and Fan-made music videos.

It's a dead heat in terms of Initial revenue.

Perhaps they will be able to throw down for real at Lollapalooza. Thom would get crushed though, seriously crushed. I bet he wouldn't be fun to fight - but he's more of a Chihuahua where Trent is more of a German Shepherd. I think Thom would give up faster than Hops in a NIN pit!

The First Must Read Article of 2008...

... was actually written in 2007 - it just took me some time to read it. The article entitled "David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars" appeared in Wired Magazine and was actually written by Mr. David Byrne himself - not a bad source to give you insight on the music business. Some interesting tidbits I learned from reading this article:

• David Byrne does NOT think the music business is dead. It's just changing and we can all agree that is a good thing.
  
• An artist may earn less from an album with iTunes than with a traditional CD. This suprised me quite a bit but it makes sense. The record label gives the artist the same cut. And since digital downloads cost less than CDs it makes sense that their adjusted margin won't come up more positive than it was before. Record labels aren't exactly practicers of the "share the wealth" mantra.
• For an average $16 CD the artist makes $1.60 (vs. $1.40 on iTunes), the label makes $1.76 and the a store makes $0.80. I remember going to Best Buy in 2002 to buy the new Johnny Cash album and was both angry and confused when I couldn't find it on the shelf. I asked the clerk and he (after not knowing who Johnny Cash was) looked it up in their system and found they already sold both copies they had. Only two copies? Now I understand why. You aren't going to stock an entire store with CD's you think won't sell (and by think I mean told by the record labels) in the hopes I stumble in there and they make 80 cents on me.
• Less music is purchased today and more is digital. No surprise there.
• Even larger record labels (not the huge ones but ones I easily recognize) have only a dozen or so employees. It makes sense but I always envisioned a larger organization.

Please read the article if you're interested in the music business and how it impact both music and business. While you're visiting Wired also check out David Byrne interviewing Thom Yorke, and a great article on the alternate reality game surrounding Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero "marketing" campaign.

Creepy Music Videos

Happy Halloween!!!!

Remember when music videos didn't suck? Thought provoking, I know. The truth is that there are still bands out there that take the art form seriously. Trent Reznor, Radiohead, Gorillaz and Bjork to name a few. However, for most its just a medium to show skanky women and bands with pretty faces. A good recommendation for music videos that push the envelope and feature great music is Subterranean on MTV2 . Set your DVR's though, because its on at 2AM EST on Mondays.

So in honor of Halloween here are some creepy music videos that are perfect for the occasion.

Bat for Lashes "What's a Girl To Do?":


Radiohead "Wolf at the Door":


and a seriously messed up video, but a brilliant one -
Unkle (featuring Thom Yorke) "Rabbit In Your Headlights":

Hops' Top 5 Albums of 2006

You know you’ve made it in the music business when you’ve received a nomination as on of Hops’ Top 5 Albums of the Year. On the latest Hopscast (Episode 10: Top of the Hops) I’ve played a track from every album on this list. For more information about why I included these tracks check out the extended set notes from Episode 10 on the Hopscast page (click here). I highly encourage you to check it out as it contains some things I forgot to mention on the show. But for now here it is:

Hops’ Top 5 Albums of 2006

1) Return To Cookie Mountain by TV On The Radio

2) Everything All Of The Time by Band of Horses

3) Modern Times by Bob Dylan

4) The Eraser by Thom Yorke

5) Every Waking Moment by Citizen Cope

There were a bunch of other great albums that could be considered for Honorable Mention, but I’ve played something from most of them throughout the year on the show. I hope you check out samples from each of these albums on the latest Hopscast and run out and buy them.

For a recap of my favorite albums from last year click here.