I subscribe to a bunch of geeky tech podcasts like TWIT and Diggnation that have been raving about Twitter, a “mini-blogging tool” that basically lets you publish short 140 character updates about whatever’s on your mind.  Think Facebook status updates that you send from a cellphone.  Here’s a generic “Newbie’s Guide to Twitter” if you want to get some details on how it works.

Twitter seems like a great way for bands to interact with their fans while on tour.  (more…)

Portfolio.com did an interesting estimate on how much money Stairway to Heaven  has made over the years.  You can check out the full article here.

In the end they estimate that Stairway to Heaven has made over $500 million and could make at least another $10 million if Led Zeppelin decided to license it for use in commercials, movies and TV shows. (more…)

I’m a bit of an online news junkie thanks largely to the deadly combination of Digg and Netvibes.  Every now and again I stumble on an article about the music business that goes beyond the stock “Is the music industry dead?” question and looks at what’s really going on.  Here are a few great ones that stood out to me:

David Byrne’s Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists

Talking Heads frontman David Byrne dissects the current state of the music business to identify a range of strategies bands can use to make a living making music.  This is the best introduction to the business side of music I’ve seen online.

China: The Future of Free?

Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail posted some observations on the music industry in China.  What’s really interesting about the music business in China is that due to rampant piracy virtually no money is made on selling CDs so musicians are forced to make money from their music in other ways.  The blog post also links to a more in depth article about music in China.

RIAA Sues Radio Stations For Giving Away Free Music

Sometimes a bit of satire is the best way to get a point across.  Here’s a great article from The Onion which satirizes the filesharing lawsuits.  Ironically, when radio was first invented this actually happened.  The record industry at the time was worried that if people owned a radio they’d never buy another record.  ASCAP which was already chancing down venues and restaurants to pay licenses for playing music, took up the task of getting radio stations to pay for a blanket license to broadcast.

If you know of some other cool articles/blog posts that discuss the music biz share them by posting a comment.