Latest Indie News

  • Watch: Jessie Ware Discusses Big Pun and the Inspiration Behind "Wildest Moments"

    Jan 9

    During her recent visit to New York, Jessie Ware sat down with Pitchfork.tv for a chat. She described herself as "the biggest geek ever," identified her least favorite interview question ("What's your wildest moment?"), discussed her legal issues with Big Pun's estate, and shared some choice words about her friend Sarah-- the inspiration behind "Wildest Moments". She also talked about her New Year's resolutions, which involve working on the follow up to Devotion: "I wanna keep on writing...

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  • Guitar Hero Co-founder On Bootstrapping A Product Retailers Didn't Want

    Jan 9

    Bootstrapping a startup doesn't sound too hard if you're talking about software and a tight, devoted crew. But try bootstrapping hardware for years with a maximum of two week's operating funds in the bank and you face a very different challenge. The creators of "Guitar Hero" lived that challenge when building their company before going on to bootstrapped success leading to acquisition by Activision. Startup Grind ft. Charles Huang (Co-founder of Guitar Hero, Red Octane) Guitar Hero...

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  • Tom Kelly, Acclaimed Songwriter, Speaks on Writing “Like a Virgin” for Madonna

    Jan 9

    Back in the 1980s, Tom Kelly formed one half of a formidable songwriting tandem with Billy Steinberg. For several years running, they wrote #1 hit songs for artists like Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Heart, and Madonna. In this Renman Live segment, Tom recounts writing “Like a Virgin” and how he and Billy overcame a small case of writer’s block to pen one of the biggest (and at the time most taboo) pop songs of our time! Watch on to hear Tom tell the story behind “Like a Virgin.”  

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  • Listen: New Low Track: "Just Make It Stop"

    Jan 9

    Low: "Just Make It Stop" on SoundCloud. Slow-burning Duluth, Minnesota indie act Low will celebrate their 20th year as a band with their tenth studio album, The Invisible Way. As reported, it was produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and is scheduled for release on March 19 in the U.S. and March 18 in the UK via Sub Pop.  The band has shared the tracklist, which can be found below, as well as the first taste of the record, a song called "Just Make It Stop". Have a listen to that,...

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  • Watch: Pantha du Prince and the Bell Laboratory Perform "Spectral Split" From Elements of Light

    Jan 9

    On January 15, Berlin producer Pantha du Prince (Hendrik Weber) and Norwegian collective the Bell Laboratory will release Elements of Light via Rough Trade. The album prominently features marimbas, xylophones, cymbals, chimes, and a bell carillon (a three-ton instrument containing 50 bronze bells). Below, check out their performance of "Spectral Split". The clip, directed by German filmmaker Sandra Trostel, shows a close-up view of the bell carillon. Subscribe to Pitchfork.tv on YouTube here. ...

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  • How MP3.com's IPO Changed SEC Regulations

    Jan 9

    By Eliot Van Buskirk of Evolver.fm. One of the big stories of 2012 was that the big music services, most of which are losing money themselves, are stiffing artists. Hopefully, 2013 will be the year when payouts from subscription services make the big leap we’ve heard they will, and maybe even when physical distributors will stop bullying labels into giving them part of their download revenue. But before iTunes became the top music store in the world, and even before most people knew what an...

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  • How To Improve Your Music Tech Event

    Jan 9

    Guest post by Cortney Harding (@cortneyharding) for sidewinder.fm, a music and tech think tank. Many of us spend a lot of time and money attending music tech events, as the number of them has mushroomed over the last five years. In fact, it seems like there is a nomadic class of people who do almost nothing but attend these various summits, conferences, meet ups, demos, panels, and hack days. But as these events multiply, their quality overall seems to have gone down; and it’s a shame,...

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  • Creator Of Infinite Jukebox & Bohemian Rhapsichord Presents Boil The Frog

    Jan 9

    By Eliot Van Buskirk of Evolver.fm. The Echo Nest's Paul Lamere, the man who brought us the Infinite Jukebox, Bohemian Rhapsichord, Bangarang Boomerang, and other fun stuff is at it again with Boil the Frog, a free web app that’s a little bit like “six degrees of separation.” Boil the Frog is a curiosity — a conversation piece of sorts, but it’s also a new way to listen to music. To try it, simply go here and enter the names of two bands that are ideally quite dissimilar to each other. The...

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  • New David Bowie Album Rocks, Is Mix of "Classic and Innovative", According to Producer

    Jan 9

    To the surprise of just about everyone, David Bowie will release a new album, The Next Day, in March. Now, the record's producer Tony Visconti has shared some details about the sound of the album, as well as the recording process, with BBC News. According to Visconti, The Next Day is "quite a rock album" with a mix of "classic Bowie" and "innovative Bowie," written over the past two years. He told the BBC he was surprised to see the downcast "Where Are We Now?" as the first single: It's...

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  • #CutForBeiber: Internet Prank Turns Ugly

    Jan 9

    Upticks in cyber-bullying and ever nastier pranks point to a viral net that is turning ever uglier, creating landmines for musicians that rely on their social connection with fans. Now the notorious Internet trolls from 4chan's /b/ message board are taking aim at Justin Bieber with a faux viral social media campaign that appears to show people cutting themselves in an effort to urge Justin Bieber to not use marijuana. Dubbed Operation Cut For Beiber, the viral campaign which featured posts on...

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