The Recording Industry Association of America doesnt have many friends, and it seems to do a great job of pissng off just about everyone - Artists, music lovers, independent lables and more.   Continuing that trend, the RIAA are claiming the cost of CD’s is waaay to cheap. I’m not talking about $2 or $3 more per CD, nooo, they claim CD’s should be $35 or thereabouts.  Are these guys on the same drugs as Britney Spears?

If you visit the Key Stats/Facts page on the RIAA website, you’ll notice a justification for pricing CDs. The biggest argument appears to be the fact that the Consumer Price Index rose nearly 60 percent between 1983 and 1996, even though the price of a CD actually went down. While this might be a true statement, this is virtually worthless in determining how much a CD should cost.

Let’s examine this statement, directly from the website: If CD prices had risen at the same rate as consumer prices over this period, the average retail price of a CD in 1996 would have been $33.86 instead of $12.75.  Tell me, how much music would you purchase if the average price was $35 or more?  Not a lot I’d guess

Source: WHAS11

Warner Music Group and Last.fm, one of the leading Web 2.0 social music sites, have signed a deal to allow Warner’s entire music catalogue to be played legally on the Last.fm streaming service.   Last.fm works by recommending s songs by tracking your music-playing habits and suggests and plays new music based on other users with similar tastes.  According to Reuters, Last.fm co-founder Martin Stiksel said the site was in were in talks with the other three major labels and content holders.

Does this mean Google will soon purchase Last.fm - so they have audio and video covered?

Srivats Sampath, former CEO of McAfee and current CEO, of a radio service called Mercora has come out into the light with claims of beating Microsoft to the whole ‘wireless sharing’ phenomena.  The service essentially allows your PC to talk with your Windows Mobile 5.0 enabled smart phone… that is if you have one. 

But nonetheless, it can stream the file to you, no matter where you are.  My question though is… how can I stream music from my PC when my PC is off when I’m out and about?  Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t read the details on how this works but hey, more power to them.

Here’s the direct quote:

“We’ve beat Steve Jobs to the iPhone. Our software delivers all the same capabilities. And we’ve beat Microsoft to the Zune,” said Sampath, because the device lets users share music wirelessly.

My Chemical Romance will launch the second leg of their extensive tour in support of their Number One Rock album, the RIAA gold-certified, The Black Parade. The second round of the U.S. arena tour, produced by Art Show - a national touring division of Goldenvoice - will kick off in Houston, TX at the Reliant Arena. Tickets are on sale Saturday, February 10, 2007 via Ticketmaster.

The Black Parade, an epic theatrical concept album about mortality, has been named “Album Of The Year” by Blender Magazine, stating “My Chemical Romance transcended the cliché…to craft a grandiose epic that just might make them the biggest band in the world.” Rolling Stone says “The Black Parade is the best mid-Seventies record of 2006, a rabid, ingenious paraphrasing of echoes and kitsch from rock’s golden age of bombast.”

The week after its release, The Black Parade claimed the Number One spot on SoundScan’s Rock, Alternative, Top Albums Retailers, Indy/Small Chain, Internet, and Digital Album Charts. It also shot to Number 2 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart, selling more than 240,000 copies its first week of release. The first single, “Welcome To The Black Parade,” has enjoyed eight weeks at the top of the Alternative / Modern Rock Radio hits in the U.S. and the singles chart for two consecutive weeks in the UK.

If you shelled out some money on a tiny Zune remote you can get even more value by controlling your super-duper Xbox 360 with it.  ZuneInsider released a nice video showing the remote in action.  Considering the size of the media remote for the Xbox360, or the pain of using a regular controller, this is a pretty cool idea.  all you need to do is change your Xbox 360 settings to accept other remotes. All you need to do is change your Xbox 360 settings to accept other remotes and your rocking like Chesney Hawkes.

Video: Zune Wireless Remote Works with Xbox 360

Steve Jobs recent outburst against the record companies and DRM has provoked quite a reaction in the blogosphere.  He’s right (as always) when it comes to removing DRM from music - Free The Music should be the mantra, but I can’t help wonder if he’s a little annoyed with the coolest (and least used feature on Zune:  Social Music.  I guarantee if Jobs gets his way, which I know is a small chance, then Version 6 of iPod will have wireless sharing built-in.  I’m not talking about 3 plays/3 days junk we have to put up with, but real social-changing sharing.  98% of the world is honest, and if I received a song I valued, I’d certainly pony up $0.99 to make it my very own.  It’d be a bit like shareware - if I chose to be a dick and keep it for free, then Karma will be knocking on my door an kicking me in the balls (or at least, Lars from Metallica will be knocking).

Anyone else think Social Music will take off?

Here are a bunch of those infamous superbowl commercials showing off what advertisers are really capable of when a big budget is put infront of them.  A few of these include that Kevin Federline leaked Superbowl Commercial as well as a few others you might not have seen before.  Be sure to check back here when the Superbowl kicks off to view the 2007 Superbowl Commercials.

Nationwide: Kevin Federline Rollin’ VIP

Plenty of rumors on the web (what’s new?) regarding a possible Zune Phone offering in 2007 from Microsoft.  We’re guess the positive feedback and vibes regarding the iPhone has made the dudes at Redmond take a good look at the cellphone/music player market. 

With iPhone not due out until May, J Allard and the crazy Zune gang are probably thinking they have a chance to stay level, or close to level with Apple and the iPhone - unlike the Zune vs. iPod - where Zune will be lucky to make any kind of dent into the iPod/iTunes market.

With the rollout of Vista this week, Office late last year and Xbox 360, Microsoft has enough money, time and effort to work on Zune and make it a market leader. Give it time my young apprentices..