Audiophilez Music Blog

The band with a sound that just won’t quit has done well for themselves this decade.  With a resurgence in the popularity of bygone hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, and “You Give Love a Bad Name” thanks to their inclusion in the popular game Rock Band, they’ve managed to reach a whole new audience and ride the wave of success to bigger and better things (which is pretty incredible considering the millions of records this band has sold worldwide).  They’ve also released six albums over the last ten years, including the eminently popular Have a Nice Day.  And what’s amazing is that this one-time hair band from Jersey is heading into their fourth decade as entertainers with enough momentum to stay viable for another decade.  And they plan to kick it off right with a headlining gig at the Hard Rock Calling Festival 2011.

The festival is scheduled to take place in London’s Hyde Park starting Friday, June 24^th and ending Sunday, June 26^th of 2011, with music starting around 3:00pm and ending around 10:30pm each night.  Bon Jovi is set to play Saturday, June 25^th, although it is just one of three UK dates on next summer’s European concert tour.  The Calling Festival next summer will commemorate Hard Rock’s 40^th anniversary and Hard Rock International couldn’t be happier to have a band of Bon Jovi’s stature lighting up the stage at their penultimate event.  CEO Hamish Dodds cited not only the band’s success (and rabid fan base), but also their long and fruitful relationship with the Hard Rock organization as reasons for seeking the collaboration.  And there’s no doubt that they will draw a crowd.  Earlier in the year they sold out 12 solid nights at the O2 in London, something that the band claims still gives them a thrill.  And why not?  There are only a handful of bands worldwide (and throughout history) that have had the luck and longevity to continue doing what they love for over 30 years, much less pack stadiums and receive top billing.

So far Bon Jovi is the first and only band to confirm their presence at the Hard Rock Calling Festival, but they’re bound to be in esteemed company.  This year’s festival featured such big names as Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, and Stevie Wonder, so there’s no doubt that next year’s audience will be in for some wild times with a lot of great bands, although it would likely be worth the ticket price just to get a look at the still-very-sexy members of Bon Jovi (especially with their penchant for gun-bearing sleeveless tees).  In any case, there will be more music than you can shake a stick at, and all of it no doubt excellent.

Tickets for the blessed event go on sale this Monday, November 1^st at 9:00 am and start at about £60 per day, or around $95 U.S.  But don’t wait to purchase tickets.  If previous years are any indication, it will be a quick sellout. 

Norman Harris is the owner of Norman’s Rare Guitars in Tarzana, California. Norm specializes in high end vintage guitars in addition to basses, amps, and accessories.

There have been many huge changes in the music industry in the past fifteen years. These many changes have profoundly affected everyone in the music industry from the recording artists and their music labels, from attorneys to consumers, and of course the companies that manufacture the gadgets and gizmos to keep listeners listening.

Fifteen years ago it was almost unimaginable to listen to free streaming music on your computer or to download music, let alone putting it on an iPod. No, a mere fifteen years ago Discmans, or portable CD players, were still all the rage and in fact basically the most advanced thing an average listener would use. Even these Discmans were relatively new to the scene and companies were still trying to advance the technology enough to make it so your disc wouldn’t skip when you moved. Disc skip protection was highly coveted amongst users for a mere 5, 10, or 30 seconds. Hard to imagine skipping music now!

Fast forward just a few years and the ability to and interest in downloading music was beginning to catch on. Websites like Napster and Kazaa helped set the stage for a new era of how consumers would acquire and listen to their music. This time period ushered in a litany of lawsuits and copyright infringement cases as well, and new laws and punishments for downloading music began to emerge. “Pirating” music began to become a household term and a widely known concept.

At this time, people would mostly download music to burn onto mix CDs. Even though these CDs would only have about 12-15 songs on them, the ability to have multiple artists and your own selection of songs on one CD was a great pleasure. Gone were the days of having to wait for your favorite song to come on the radio and run to try to record it to tape!

A few years later and things have changed a lot, and quickly, since those days. Now very few people listen to CDs on Discmans anymore; almost everyone can be seen rocking out to their mp3s on their iPods, cell phones and other portable media players. Thousands and thousands of songs, artists and albums can be kept in one place or on one player on the go. And at home, it is rare that people play CDs even on their home music systems; many opt to simply stream music through their computer, listen to online radio stations or play their mp3 collection.

Along with all the positives and conveniences that have come from this digitization of music, many challenges have cropped up too. Music piracy is a big issue now and there are hundreds of ways for people to acquire or distribute music illegally that are relatively difficult to control or track, which upsets many recording artists and their labels.

However, on the positive flip side, this digitization of the music industry has also made dissemination of new, fresh, unsigned talent much easier to reach the masses and new talent is heard and discovered across the world in a much faster and more independent way. Plus, some recording artists and labels actually embrace the easy sharing of digital files and will do special releases or albums for their fans specifically for free dispersal, which earns big nods and appreciation from the listeners.

It is interesting to try to guess what will come next for the music industry. Things are always changing in this digital age and the music industry has already seen a lot of major advancements and changes in only about 15 years!

Vera Mosley has been in the music industry for more than ten years and is now a writer for a music streaming website.  When she is not scoping out the newest artists, Vera loves to travel and see the world.