J Robbins on today's production techniques
Acclaimed producer J Robbins has posted a lengthy and comprehensive rant about the current state of music mastering on his website. Specifically, citing the the tendency of many engineers to produce music louder in attempt to push the effect as higher quality. I'm not saying it's wrong to want your record to leap out of the speakers; far from it. But I am saying by playing into "the loudness wars" you are allowing people you've never met - the prime movers of the highly expoitative mainstream music industry, who are deeply invested in the logic of dick-size comparison - to…
2007-06-21 12:30:04

Ohio teen jailed over lyrics
There's an interesting situation developing in Jefferson Ohio that our friends at VMS Records wanted you to know about. Kevin Beebe, a 19 year old student, was arrested and ended up in an Ashtabula County jail on charges of inducing panic and aggravated menacing. Beebe reportedly self-recorded and released a three song CD, which he distributed around his school. The lyrical content of these recordings have landed him in trouble, as detailed in this…
2004-03-10 00:19:12

Is Punk Rock the Next Big Thing? MTV Sez 'Maybe...'
us with the following commentary on the state of music right now. Take a read. It's no secret that 2002 was a disaster for the music industry, with sales plummeting by 9% in the US when compared to 2001. The music industry is quick to blame P2P file sharing and CD burning as the primary culprits, but the real reasons are far more complex; a soft economy, high CD prices, the popularity of DVDs, and the simultaneous decline of two fads which had been serious cash cows for the industry over the past few years: teen pop and nü metal. Although it remains to be seen what the industry…
2003-01-16 11:12:42

Opinion: On musical likes and label hatred
us with the following letter. I realize that the comments following Kip's article on the Warped Tour and the Drive Thru stage spiralled off into the (unfortunately) typical Punknews.Org-style cycle of insults. We were sent this by an anonymous reader with a rather level-headed opinion on all the ongoing arguments. I'm posting it because it was one of the few opinion pieces we've been sent that actually have a point. Click READ MORE to check it out, then by all means proceed to argue like 10 year olds. On a side note, everyone STOP sending us opinion pieces. If you have something…
2002-08-15 23:22:58

Emo Monster Must Die!
In the August 2002 issue of Seventeen magazine, there is an article by Mara Schwartz entitled "Am I emo?" This article includes a full page on how to dress "emo," and even some "emo" pick up lines. Suggestions on how to look emo include toting "deep reads" from authors such as JD Salinger. There are also really annoying references to "emo" bands. For instance, "Black Hair Dye: Because blonds don't really have more fun (not at the Get Up Kids show, anyway)." Time to cut your moppy hair and take back them big thick glasses 'cause emo is not going to be "hip" by next summer with…
2002-07-02 15:31:56

Wanna be in a Rock Band?
We recently had this submitted to us: "ASM MEDIA GROUP (ASM) a new Los Angeles entertainment firm is currently developing a musical rock group that will dynamically change the outlook of Rock. Our purpose is to audition, prepare, produce, support, and guide this group’s musical endeavor. This group will return style and grace to the rock industry and highlight the creative and charismatic talents and attitudes of today’s music artists." You can read the rest of the letter below. If you can't figure it out from that paragraph, this company is basically trying to start a boy…
2002-06-23 13:01:54

Big Letter Guy on how to promote your band successfully, jackass
"Today, via e-mail, I just received my 500,000th Form Letter from [your band]. Yes, [your band] from [your location, your country] that plays [genre], and whose MP3's I can download from mp3.com/***1to4RandomWords*****. Read on to find out how you too can prevent your band from being this stupid!" Big Letter Guy, you make me laugh. Everyone can get a good chuckle by reading his rant under READ…
2002-06-21 19:06:04

Sony pees in the wind
The major music labels have been testing copy-protection technology on several new releases by artists that (for the purposes of Punknews.Org) are not really important to mention. However, Sony Music's copy protection, probably the end result of countless hours of work, has been broken already by common office stationery. To crack Sony Music's elaborate copy-protection system, simply scribble around the rim of the disc with a felt-tip marker. Am I advocating CD piracy? No. In fact I truly believe the artist should have control over how their music is distributed. Piracy is especially…
2002-05-20 19:48:22

Don't Call Me Punk: It's Time for a Change!
us with a message to the punk community. I humbly invite you to click READ MORE and see what's up. His rant addresses a lot of the shit-talking that's been going on here…
2002-05-09 19:18:38

Dinosaurs Will Die
What happens when an industry mistreats its customers and its suppliers? When 8,999 of 9,000 audits show shoddy accounting practices? When a core business is bungled and the marketplace shrugs and moves on? When scandals and greed lead to massive layoffs and massive disgust? Click here to find out. Quite an interesting little article for those of us who pay attention to the music…
2002-03-01 09:36:17