Weird Fishes – Intro Post!
Hi folks. My name is Caitlin, and I am the lead (and only!) current blogger for “Weird Fishes: Trends in Music.” This blog is designed to keep you posted on the current trends in music, from industry news to new technologies to fantastic bands creating a buzz. My goal is to collect all of the various kinds of music trends being reported, and link to them here. I’ll weigh in with my thoughts, and also do some original reporting, particularly about groups from Austin (my hometown.)
The name of the blog is based on a song from Radiohead’s latest release, “In Rainbows.” As has already been thoroughly reported, the release of the album was incredibly innovative, as Radiohead made the album available as a digital download, and people could pay as much as they liked for it. There was a minimum tax charge assigned, but it was miniscule. I feel like this could be an incredible direction for music to take. It remains to be seen if more and more artists will release their albums in this vain.
TechCrunch and others are currently most interested in the launch of MySpace Music, a joint music venture-gone commercial. MySpace is partnering with folks like McDonalds and Toyota for this project, which is supposed to generate a lot of money. I wonder how much all of these giant conglomerates will impact the actual music being produced and consumed via MySpace. I know that a lot of musicians have broken onto the scene through the website, and it will be interesting to see how this launch affects musicians’ participation.
Indie darlings Peter Bjorn and John are releasing a new instrumental album, “Seaside Rock,” set to drop in the middle of the month. As soon as it does, I will post a personal review. Until then, you can preview three tracks here.
That’s all for now. Welcome to the blog!
