Paul McCartney: ‘Still prancing’

10 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

The Famous Beatles Songwriter and Musician Speaks to Sir David Frost About His Life in the Spotlight

(Source: Aljazeera)

Paul McCartney, one of the most famous musicians of all time, rose to prominence 50 years ago as part of the British pop sensation The Beatles.

From humble, working-class beginnings, McCartney, 70, is now one of the richest men in the world. He has even topped the bill at the White House, playing for Barack Obama, the US president.

He sits down with Sir David for a full hour to tell his own story of the band, and its break up; to discuss some of the highs – and a few lows – of his life; and to provide a glimpse into his world behind the headlines.

The Beatles – John, Paul, George and Ringo – helped to define the 1960s, transforming modern music. They played sell out concerts all over the world, in front of hysterical fans. At the height of “Beatle Mania”, fans screamed so loud that the band said they could not hear their own music.

With more than 20 number one hits through the 1960s, they were seemingly unstoppable.

But the glory days did not last and the group split in 1970. However, the songs written by McCartney and the late John Lennon continue to live on through the generations.

“John and I wrote together something like 300 songs, just short of 300. We would meet up, sit down to write and three hours later we would have a song. And never, never did we have a dry session, we always wrote a song …. It was a great thing. Looking back on it I really feel blessed to be the guy who wrote with John. Because he was pretty hot stuff. And writing with me, I was pretty hot stuff too, so the two of us gelled,” McCartney says.

Recalling the break-up of The Beatles, McCartney says: “I think it was time for John certainly to leave. It was a bit of a shock to all of us, he just announced ‘oh I am leaving the group’. We all said ‘are you sure about this?’ We tried to keep it together but he was definitely going to leave, so that was basically what did it.

“But I think, in a way, then we realised that we had come full circle, we had kind of done everything we wanted to do … So in actual fact it wasn’t that bad a thing.”

On Yoko Ono, Lennon’s then-wife who is often blamed for the break-up of The Beatles, McCartney says: “She certainly didn’t break the group up.”

“The group was breaking up and I think she attracted John so much to another way of life that he then went on to, very successfully, add a sort of second part to his career, writing things like ‘Imagine’ and ‘Give Peace a Chance’. I don’t think he would have done that without Yoko.”

On his own enduring career in music, McCartney says: “I saw something the other day where I was quoted as saying ‘It will be pretty sad to be prancing around on a stage at 40’.

“But no, I am still prancing,” he laughs. “And enjoying it.”

Let’s Talk About Max Raabe

10 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

German bandleader and composer Max Raabe champions the German dance music of the 1920’s and 30’s with his Palast Orchester, which has become a worldwide touring attraction. His original music also appears regularly in German films.

But he’s arguably at his most cheeky and entertaining when he’s covering English language pop stars like Britney Spears, Salt-n-Pepa and Tom Jones. In a world where Grammy voters had a clue, Max’s version of “Let’s Talk About Sex” would have been honored for its genius clash of song and style. Check out a few highlights:

“Oops…I Did it Again”:

“Let’s Talk About Sex”:

“Supreme:

The Top-Earning Dead Musicians of 2012

09 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: , ,

(Source: Forbes)

Zack O’Malley Greenburg, Forbes Staff

Michael Jackson may not be the top-earning dead celebrity anymore–last week he ceded that title to his friend, Liz Taylor, on FORBES’ annual list–but he’s still the world’s best-paid musician, living or dead. The King of Pop pulled in $145 million in 2012, the third straight year of nine-figure earnings for the “Thriller” mastermind.

Jackson isn’t the only musician raking it in from beyond the grave. In honor of Halloween, we present this year’s list of the top-earning dead musicians: six singers, songwriters and composers who earned more than $5 million from October 2011 to October 2012 despite no longer walking the Earth. They account for nearly half the names on our overall dead celebs list, thanks to continued demand for their music, image, name and likeness.

Some of the most creative business deals of music’s dead legends have come from the estate of Michael Jackson. In addition to continued revenues from the work of other artists (through his 50% stake in the Sony/ATV publishing catalog) and his own material (the Mijac Music catalog), the Gloved One’s latest large revenue stream is the Michael Jackson Immortal World tour. The joint venture with Cirque Du Soleil grossed $160 million during its first leg, making it the most successful tour in North America during the first half of 2012.

Jackson’s $145 million total would be even higher if FORBES hadn’t credited the advance for the Cirque show to last year’s $170 million total. Expect the bonanza to continue in 2013 as the tour goes to other parts of the world, where Jackson enjoys arguably even greater popularity that he does in the United States.

Elvis Presley ranks second on this year’s list with $55 million (matching the earnings of Justin Bieber). The King of Rock n’ Roll’s earnings are flat this year—the closure of his Viva Elvis show in Las Vegas was offset by an uptick in Graceland attendance due to 2012′s unusually warm weather. The estate’s value was clear to billionaire Leon Black, whose Apollo Global Management purchased CKX, the parent company of American Idol and the estates of both Elvis and Muhammad Ali, for $509 million last year.

Bob Marley claims the third spot on the list with $17 million–more than living herbal enthusiasts like Wiz Khalifa or Snoop Lion (the artist formerly known as Snopp Dogg). Not necessarily known for commercial ventures during life, Marley has become a diversified businessman from beyond the grave. In addition to selling over 75 million albums in the past 20 years, he’s recently added the Marley Beverage company (home to the “relaxation drink” known as Marley’s Mellow Mood) and House of Marley (producer of eco-friendly audio and lifestyle products) to his portfolio.

The rest of the list is rounded out by Beatles–John Lennon and George Harrison continue to share in the group’s spoils (over 63 million albums sold in the U.S. alone since 1992)–along with composer Richard Rodgers. Though the latter’s Rodgers and Hammerstein body of work sold for a reported $200 million back in 2009, his estate continues to benefit from his solo works and collaborations with Lorenz Hart, including songs like “Blue Moon” and “This Can’t Be Love.”

There were a few big names who didn’t make the Top 13, perhaps most prominently Whitney Houston. Though the singer signed a $100 million record deal in 2001, she still hasn’t earned back the $30-$40 million advance she received as part of the deal, and didn’t leave behind much in the way of unreleased material (for more, see the story “Why Whitney Houston Didn’t Make Forbes’ List Of Top Earning Dead Celebs”).

Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul and Tupac Shakur all pulled in more than $3 million, but not enough to make our list. Watch out for Shakur next year–his holographic appearance at Coachella in early 2011 could be a sign of big things to come.

  1. Michael Jackson
  2. Elvis Presley
  3. Bob Marley
  4. John Lennon
  5. Richard Rodgers
  6. George Harrison

Near misses:

Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Richard Rodgers and George Harrison are the only dead musicians who earned more than $5 million over the past year. But there were a few who were right on the bubble — including Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul and Tupac Shakur, all of whom are still earning millions annually in the afterlife.

Beatles Buses Headed for New York, L.A.

09 Nov 2012 1 Comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

(Reprinted from Rolling Stone)

The Beatles will celebrate the vinyl  release of their remastered studio albums with pop-up shops in the form of  custom double-decker buses set to appear in New York and Los Angeles November  13th.

The 14 stereo LPs – the 12 U.K. originals, the  U.S.-originated Magical Mystery Tour and the  B-sides and rarities collection Past Masters Volumes One &  Two – will be available individually or in a box set that includes a  hardbound book. In addition, the Beatles’ mobile record store will have  available CD versions of the albums, DVDs and Blu-Rays of the newly  restored Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine films  and a unique t-shirt exclusive to each city.

In New York, the pop-up bus will appear at 9:30 a.m. on Seventh Avenue  between 49th Street and 50th Street; at noon on Broadway between Price Street  and Spring Street; and at 2:30 p.m. on Broadway between Cortlandt Street and  Liberty Street. In Los Angeles, the bus will appear at 9:30 a.m. at the Capitol  Records building at 1750 North Vine St.; at noon at the ICE at Santa Monica  skating rink, 1324 5th St. at Arizona Avenue; and at 2:30 p.m. at L.A. Live at  Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street.

The Secret Genius Of Taylor Swift

09 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

(Source: NPR)

Taylor Swift’s new album, Red, sold more 1.2 million copies in its first week — the highest first-week sales total for an album in over a decade. She did it partly by answering a surprisingly complicated question: What’s the best way to sell an album?

There are so many ways to release your music these days. You can sell it at Amazon, iTunes, Wal-Mart, and Starbucks. You can release it to streaming sites like Spotify. You can go on tour.

Each artist chooses a mix of tools from this toolbox. And choosing the right mix can help an artist make money — something that’s hard to do in an era when it’s so easy to get free music.

Taylor Swift picked expertly. As Paul Resnikoff, editor and founder of Digital Music News points out, she has chosen from the toolbox only the outlets that would give her the most money for every album sold: Outlets that pushed a full album purchase.

The first week her album came out, you could only get it in a few key places: i-tunes, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target. You could order a Papa Johns pizza and receive the CD — at the sticker price of around 14 bucks.

But the tools Swift didn’t use are as important than the ones she did. By refusing to release her singles on Spotify, or any other streaming site, she pushed her fans to buy the album. Spotify pays the artist pennies on the dollar. Taylor Swift skipped it.

“Taylor already has so many fans, that she doesn’t need to have that, like, incentive,” 16-year-old superfan Lindsey Feinstein says. “Like, ‘Oh, listen to this, and then you’ll buy it.’ She’s past that level.”

Streaming music is more like an advertisement for the artist. It’s a process of music discovery, not necessarily music fandom. You build brand loyalty to the artist through streaming. Taylor Swift does not have a problem with brand loyalty. As Lindsey says, she’s past that.

Election Officials Defend Special Voting for Usher

09 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

(Source: Wonderwall)

The Associated Press, Friday, November 9, 2012, 3:14am (PST)

  • ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) — Election officials in the Atlanta area are defending their decision to allow singer Usher to bypass long lines and cast his ballot on Election Day, infuriating voters who had to wait.

     Fulton County election officials tell WSB-TV that Usher Raymond IV was escorted to the front of the line to minimize distractions at his Roswell polling place. They said in a statement that poll manager Frank Padula was directed to move Usher through the process as quickly as possible.

    WSB reports that Usher took cellphone pictures of himself voting, then posted them on Twitter.

    Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann questioned the decision. Hausmann said she can think of only a few people who might deserve such treatment, such as people with disabilities, the elderly and voters with small children.

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