Kings of A&R

Chinese Democracy may happen in your lifetime: Irving Azoff and Andy Gould have taken on the difficult task of managing Axl Rose, according to Rose’s website. Rose says he is “very excited” and hopes “our relationship proves beneficial for everyone, especially the fans.” Fans could get more than music out of this deal, since Dr. Pepper has challenged Axl Rose to release his album Chinese Democracy, which was first announced nearly 2 decades ago. The soda company has promised every American a free can of soda should the album be released in 2008.

Will scholarships pay for the songs kids download?: Artist Royalties may now be coming out of college tuition. According to The Register, copyright reform advocate and EFF Advisory Board member Jim Griffin has teamed up with WMG to change the way American college students use p2p. Rather than suing the students, or the universities they attend, a program is being developed that will allow students to legally acquire music through college campus networks, with artist payments being factored into the cost of an education. Time will tell if this ‘simple solution’ will do anything to change the perceptions of young people regarding the legality of downloading or monetary value of music.

Universities aren’t the only ones: The majors are starting to look closer at various subscription models. The favorite at the moment is increasing your monthly internet or cell phone bill to include downloading services. An article in the LA Times writes that “Warner Music Group confirmed Thursday that it was discussing a subscription service, at a cost of perhaps $5 a month added to Internet bills, that would allow users to download, copy and share music. Revenue would be divided among the labels.” How this sort of thing is implemented and whether or not it will be voluntary is yet to be determined. Again, this doesn’t seem to do much to change perceptions about paying for music, but I suppose it will be an easier discussion to have once people are actually paying. No news yet on when/if all of this talk will turn into action.

Speaking of paying for music: CD Baby is celebrating its 10th anniversary, holding title as the #1 Indie Music Retailer. Founder, Derek Sivers, posted on his blog about the far-reaching impact of the little indie retailer that could. “Now CD Baby has paid over $70 million dollars(!!) directly to musicians. And despite the moaning you hear from the major labels, independent artists are selling better than ever. Even physical CD sales are up 30% over last year!” Congratulations are in order for this small company that has made a big difference for independent artists.