Neil Young has released his next album, "Living With War," on a Web site specializing in high-fidelity downloads--before the record hits stores.

The collection of songs, which will be sold as an album and not singles, is available on MusicGiants. The company sells music in the Windows Media Audio Lossless format, a beefier format that provides better sound quality than standard downloads from iTunes or other services, according to MusicGiants.

An average song in the Lossless format might be 15MB, said Elliot Mazer, a producer for Young (he mastered the 1970s album "Harvest") and a consultant for MusicGiants.

"On a Lossless file, when played back it is exactly like the CD. If you took a CD and listened to it and then listened to something on Napster or iTunes, it would sound deader or smaller," he said. "With bandwidth and storage the way it is, why would you want to go with the smaller format?"

---

The verdict is out - Apple Computer will continue to sell songs through its iTunes Music Store at 99 cents apiece. The company has confirmed renewing of contracts with four big record companies to arrive at this decision.

The agreements have come after months of bargaining, and are being seen as a defeat of sorts for music companies that have been so far pushing for a variable pricing model.

The "big four" comprising Universal, Warner Music, Sony BMG, and EMI North America tried to convince Apple to change the price and adopt a variable pricing scheme but in vain. Moreover, during the last few months, the officials of the four companies made a lot of statements to the effect that old records should be priced at 60 to 80 cents while new tunes should be around $1.20 per song.

---

We are a growing coalition of Canadian music creators who share the common goal of having our voices heard about the laws and policies that affect our livelihoods. We are the people who actually create Canadian music. Without us, there would be no music for copyright laws to protect.

Until now, a group of multinational record labels has done most of the talking about what Canadian artists need out of copyright. Record companies and music publishers are not our enemies, but let’s be clear: lobbyists for major labels are looking out for their shareholders, and seldom speak for Canadian artists. Legislative proposals that would facilitate lawsuits against our fans or increase the labels’ control over the enjoyment of music are made not in our names, but on behalf of the labels’ foreign parent companies.

It is the government’s responsibility to protect Canadian artists from exploitation. This requires a firm commitment to programs that support Canadian music talent, and a fresh approach to copyright law reform. Canadian music creators have identified three principles that should guide the copyright reform process.  

---

The internet was supposed to free the marketplace, but in the music industry the opposite applies, writes Alex Malik.

The digital revolution has been used as an excuse to wind back the clock.

This is not a uniquely Australian problem. Because record companies have repudiated the global nature of the internet, consumers worldwide have been forced to pay too much for music downloads, and their choices have been limited.

When will parallel-import laws be extended to the digital market, so that Australian consumers are finally charged a fair price for downloads?

Throughout the world, how much have consumers been overcharged for digital downloads as a result of this imposition of geographical boundaries on the internet? Where have these excess profits gone?

Years ago, the record companies carved up the world market for CDs to maximise profits. When Australia rejected this move by turning to digital technologies the record companies were not perturbed. They simply carved up the global market for digital downloads in a similar manner. Competition was reduced, and the song remained the same.

---

Until this month, download sales could only count towards a chart position if it was also available to buy in stores.

But a change in the rules has enabled download sales to be considered - as long as physical copies of the single go on sale the following week.

One retailer, HMV, said it was its fastest-selling music download ever.

Gnarls Barkley consists of two Americans - producer Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) and hip-hop artist Cee-Lo Green, aka Thomas Calloway. Their song has been in demand since featuring in BBC TV promotions for Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show.

Full Article

---

In a period of lackluster sales, illegal downloading isn't the only factor affecting the depressed music industry. Disgruntled consumers have contributed significantly to the decline in retail music sales. Retail music sales, valued at $12.5 billion in 2005, are predicted to fall to $10.5 billion by 2010, according to a recent Mintel report. The major labels have been quick to blame consumers, but slow to listen to their needs.

"The growing distance between the music industry and its consumer is due to a number of factors," said Justin De Santis, analyst for Mintel. "These include lawsuits against individual consumers, payola practices, and, most recently, restrictive use of digital rights management."

Music labels have a negative stigma to overcome, brought on by battles against illegal downloaders, radio "pay-for-play" scandals and homogeneous artist offerings on radio stations. The introduction of iTunes and similar sites has slowed the decay of music retail sales, but it has not stopped it. Even though technology is starting to work for the industry rather than against it, labels still face the challenge of meeting the demands of a diverse consumer marketplace.

Music Industry News Network

---

Ian McNabb, in association with SJM Concerts, is happy to officially announce that the rumours that have been floating around the Internet are true this time. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Icicle Works, the leader of the famed Liverpool band The Icicle Works is back with a tour featuring the fans' favourite songs from the period. The Icicle Works brought you such hits as "Birds Fly (Whisper to A Scream" and "Love is a Wonderful Colour", as well as crowd pleasers like "Evangeline" and "Understanding Jane".

The dates are:

• Thursday, 19 October 2006, Glasgow, ABC Club
• Friday, 20 October 2006, Birmingham, Academy 2, Tel: 0870 771 2000
• Saturday, 21 October 2006, Manchester, Academy 2, Tel: 0161 832 1111
• Thursday, 26 October 2006, Sheffield, Leadmill, Tel: 0870 010 4555
• Friday, 27 October 2006, London, SBE, Tel: 0870 771 2000
• Saturday, 28 October 2006, Liverpool, Academy, Tel: 0870 771 2000

Tickets will also be available on the SJM site at gigsandtours.com.

---

One of the biggest names in class-action lawsuits has filed a complaint in federal court accusing major music labels of fixing prices for Internet music downloads and CDs, the court reported Thursday.

San Diego lawyer William Lerach’s suit says that Sony BMG, Universal Music, Time Warner, Bertelsmann, and EMI fought together to keep the online music market from emerging, and then “conspired to fix and maintain” music prices once services like Apple’s highly successful iTunes became inevitable.

Lerach's firm filed the suit on behalf of 11 plaintiffs who purchased music online or on CDs, and on behalf anyone who has "paid inflated prices" for music.

Full Article

---