Beach Boys Kick Off 50th Anniversary Tour in Tucson 42-song set features trademark harmonies, a slew of beach balls ...

You probably could've guessed it was a Beach Boys show just by the shirts the men in the audience wore: Collared, short-sleeved and oversized, with palm trees, hibiscus flowers and nautical gear printed all over them. At the back of the stage, surfboards were lined up like Grecian columns on either side of a huge video screen. It wasn't until midway through the band's second set that Mike Love acknowledged what half the people in the audience must've been thinking: "It's, uh, been a little while since we've all been on tour together."

Pink Floyd Immersion and Experience Edition of The Wall to release on February, 28, 2012

Pink Floyd Immersion and Experience Edition of  their opus The Wall will be available through EMI on February 28, 2012. It is the final installment of the recent Why Pink Floyd reissues and extended releases. The Wall (out in November 1979) is their biggest-selling after

The Cassette Comeback (That Doesn't Exist...)

When it comes to retro formats, vinyl seems to be taking the cake. Because as fun as a cassette revival would be, it just doesn't seem to be happening in reality.  According to year-2011 stats shared by Nielsen Soundscan, cassettes are enjoying sales of between 0 and

SoundExchange Royalty Processing Problems Entering Crisis Mode...

SoundExchange is now grappling with emergency-level performance problems related to its royalty processing system, according to meeting notes leaked to Digital Music News.  In a November meeting of the SoundExchange Board, an agenda item labeled SERENA System

The Black Keys Blame Nickelback for "F--king Ruining" Rock n' Roll...

When asked by RollingStone about the state of rock n' roll, the Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney had this to say.

It's Official: Vinyl Sales Up 39 Percent In 2011...

We've seen some conflicting data on vinyl sales this year, especially from indie stories. But this is looking pretty bullish: according to stats just released by Nielsen Soundscan, vinyl sales in the US topped 3.9 million in 2011, a 39.3 percent gain over 2010.  The modern-day LP

Next Big Sound Secures $6.4 Million In Financing...

Data-focused startup Next Big Sound has just secured a $6.4 million round, according to an email from CEO Alex White. The round was led by IA Ventures and the Foundry Group, and will help to bankroll a New York expansion (among other things).  Next Big Sound, based in Boulder, is/was a longtime competitor of just-acquired BigChampagne (now part of Live Nation).

Why Labels Hate the Idea of Simplifying Copyrights...

Copyright simplification could have monumental implications for the music industry, not just for startups, but also for preservationists, producers, artists, and fans. The only problem is that some of the most powerful companies in this space absolutely hate the idea. The latest

Singer, actress Kaye Stevens dies in Florida; frequent Carson guest, performed with Rat Pack

THE VILLAGES, Fla.  Singer and actress Kaye Stevens, who performed with the Rat Pack and was a frequent guest on Johnny Carsons The Tonight Show, has died at a central Florida hospital. She was 79. Close friend Gerry Schweitzer confirmed that Stevens died Wednesday at the Villages Hospital north of Orlando following a battle with breast cancer and blood clots.

In 1969, Jim Morrison Predicted This About Machine Music...

...from the pages of Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend, as well as the freshly-released Skrillex track, 'Breakn' a Sweat,' comes this. These comments were made by the Doors frontman in 1969, roughly ten years before rap and twenty-five years before techno hit the scene. 

Van Halen Back on Tour in 2012

It is one of the most anticipated musical events of 2012. Legendary Rockers, Van Halen who signed with Interscope Records are back on Tour.They have confirmed it via a long trailer, on their official website.The promo clip was shot at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California . It features Eddie , Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen as well as

Believe It, or Not: Major Labels Say Sales Improved In 2011...

Everyone loves a good fairytale for the holidays, so here's another one.  Ahead of the official count, major labels are now claiming a slim 1 percent album sales increase over last year, based on preliminary stats from Nielsen Soundscan. The 'bottom' is being powered by heavy-sellers like Adele, Michael Buble, Justin Bieber, Jason Aldean, and Drake, who are likely to put year-2011 sales in the 350 million range (US only).

If You Hated Radio In 2011, Then Youll Really Hate Radio In 2012...

Can't get enough of repetitive playlists and huge commercial breaks? Then there's good news: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to leave its ownership rules around terrestrial radio stations unchanged in 2012, while proposing to loosen cross-media ownership restrictions between newspapers, TV stations and radio. Which means less people owning more stuff, and lots more Maroon 5, Drake, and Lil Wayne.  But the FCC found that there are

Skrillex: If Youre Broke, Please Pirate My Album...

So, what happens when you tell your fans that piracy is okay? Even when your major label says it's definitely not okay? You may just end up with more purchases in the end, and much stronger fan relationships. The latest pro-piracy message comes from Skrillex (Big Beat/Atlantic/Warner Music Group), who just told his fans to pirate his latest album if they can't afford to buy it.  "Happy holidays just like I promised," Skrillex posted on his Facebook

The Tallys In! Music Startups Received $458.8 Million In 2011...

It never hit the half-a-billion mark, but there was certainly a lot of cash being thrown at music startups this year.  That is, $458.8 million worth of financing, of which Spotify claimed a handsome $100 million chunk. Other gigantic rounds included Beyond Oblivion, which lured an obscene $77 million, though the average round was $10.2 million. Digital Music News has been tracking and reporting every round, often before the formal announcement. If you'd like the xls file to play around with, just drop a comment and we'll get it to you.

Major Labels Blast Google for Destructive Rhetoric and Self-Serving Criticism...

Makes you wonder how solid those Google Music licensing agreements are, after all. Now, the major labels are pointing a stern barrel at Google, and making their opinions very clear on issues like search-driven piracy and SOPA advocacy. This is a relationship that seems to be deteriorating, fast. And SOPA could be tearing these partners apart. While professing to agree that copyright infringement is a serious problem that needs to be addressed, Google

MegaUpload Is Now Launching a Music Service Called MegaBox...

Theres another gigantic wrinkle in the MegaUpload drama. Not only is MegaUpload fighting tooth-and-nail against Universal Music Group, but theyre now planning the launch of a cloud-based music locker, store, and do-it-yourself artist-selling service.  Its called MegaBox, and its already up in beta form with listed partners 7digital, Gracenote, Rovi, and Amazon MP3.  Actually, this is technically a relaunch of an earlier concept, and a perfect re-stab at

Girls Generation Gets Help From Snoop Dogg on The Boys Remix EP + Feedback

Korean superstar pop group, Girls Generation, released an eight track Remix EP for their global hit, The Boys, which recently reached the Top 5 on Billboard’s K-Pop Hot 100 in the U.S.  The EP features remixes by Clinton Sparks, Disco Fries, Teddy Riley and David Anthony, along with special guests Snoop Dogg and Lil Playy. Get a preview on iTunes, where the album is available for only $6.99. The Boys appears on the nine-member group’s third album of the same name, getting its official U.S. release on 01/17/2012.

Porcelain Black Talks Lil Wayne and More with Clevver TV

Porcelain Black paid a visit to Clevver TV this week for an exclusive interview about her exciting year and what’s to come. In the clip, Porcelain discusses her collaboration with Lil Wayne on her track This is What Rock N Roll Looks Like, her role in upcoming film Rock of Ages with Russell Brand and Tom Cruise, and what to expect from her debut album. Porcelain is wrapping up 2011 with a surprising highlight, having the

Big Deal? iTunes, Rdio, & MOG All Beat Spotify On Radiohead's Latest...

Radiohead's latest release was missing on Spotify until early this (Wednesday) morning, and iTunes had it on Monday. But despite Radioheads penchant for windowing, this doesn't seem like a calculated delay, according to details shared with Digital Music News. But why the two-day lag? This could be a tiny window for a tiny release, but a Spotify executive told Digital Music News that this was merely an ingestion delay.  In fact, the company had both