Morning Music Notes – What to Buy, a Dress or a Tooth?
Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black Dress To Be Auctioned
The dress that Amy Winehouse rocked on the cover of her smash album, Back to Black, is going to be auctioned for charity (via Gigwise).
“The printed chiffon dress is expected to raise up to £20,000 for the Amy Winehouse Foundation when it goes up for auction at La Galleria in London on November 29. Kerry Taylor, the auctioneer said: “What makes this particular dress so special is that it is an emblematic reminder of the magic voice and sublime talent of Amy Winehouse, a sound that resonates with an entire generation.”
You know what else you could buy for £20,000? John Lennon’s tooth. Not quite sure how a dress and tooth are of equal value, despite the people they originate from. But this is why I’m not an auctioneer. That, and the time I was an auctioneer, I thought I got to keep all the proceeds myself. That was an awkward parking lot fight.
Music Is Doing Very Well on Facebook
A couple of months ago, Facebook announced a series of music upgrades. This included Spotify tie-ins, as well as other streaming services. Hypebot runs down the stats from these past 2 months:
Spotify: Expanded to the US this summer and added well over 4 million new users since f8.
Earbits: Y Combinator-funded startup built by a team of musicians saw a 1350% increase in the number of users becoming fans of the band they’re listening to.
MOG: A unique social business model has led to a 246% growth in Facebook users since f8.
Rdio: A strong social ecosystem has expanded with a 30x increase in new user registrations from Facebook.
Slacker: Available across mobile, TV, auto and web, Slacker saw a more than 11x increase in monthly active users in the month following f8.
Deezer: Based in France, they’ve added more than 10,000 users per day since finalizing their Open Graph integration.
“Ticketing has also benefited, according to Facebook reporting that ticketing sites like Eventbrite, Ticketmaster and Ticketfly all have seen between $2 and $6 in direct ticket sales for every link shared on Facebook.”
When you combine the biggest social media source with the music industry, big things were bound to happen. It seems the benefits for artists are just beginning. Except for Rihanna, who appears to suck at Farmville. I’m not listening to ANY of her music ever again.
Stream: Girls – Lawrence
Girls recently released a new album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. They have a new single, with a song not taken from that album – tres productive. The song is called Lawrence and is dedicated to the Felt frontman, whose name is Lawrence (they really NAILED it with the song title). Hopefully Lawrence likes instrumental songs, or else he is gonna be pissed! The single is out November 28 in the UK, and December 6 for us suckers in North America. Check it out below.
