Morning Music Notes – Let’s Get Digital, Digital

50% of 2011 Music Sales Were Digital

Why walk to the shop when you can purchase music with the click of a button? It seems that is the mentality people are taking, as over 50% over music sales in the USA in 2011 were digital (via Chicago Tribune). This was the first time that digital sales have exceeded 50% of all music sales. 2011 was also the first time I ate a taco – they are fantastic!

Physical music sales dropped 7.7% last year, but digital sales went up 9.2%, showing an idiot what the future holds. Further proof: music subscriptions, to services such as Spotify and MOG, increased 18.9% for paying subscribers. The revenue for these subscriptions was up 13.5%, bringing it to $241 million. And who says people don’t pay for music? Oh yeah – all the major studios!

World’s Biggest Apple Store to Open in China

Apple is going to open the world’s biggest Apple retail store in Dailan, (northeastern) China, reports say (via Digital Trends). This is fitting, since it’s the world’s biggest country, right? Oh, it’s not?

Giant Apple signs were outside the proposed location, but local retailers aren’t happy, and started pulling down the barricades, claiming “it’s Microsoft town!” their businesses were being affected. Yes, eventually having thousands of people come to the adjacent store every day is going to KILL your business.

There has been no announcement from Apple about the opening date. The store will be Apple’s 6th store in China, to go along with the dozens of knock-off Apple stores around the country. Check out footage of the “riot” below.

Florence + the Machine to Record New Track for Snow White Soundtrack

Florence + the Machine, who PHM will be seeing and reviewing this upcoming Tuesday at Royal Albert Hall, have announced they have recorded a new song for the Snow White And The Huntsman movie (via NME). The track is called Breath of Life, and will feature a backing orchestra on the track. Florence Welch said that Charlize Theron’s character, the evil Queen Ravenna, inspired her.

Speaking about the track, Florence said, “We went in and demoed the track, these big, clattering drums, huge bass sounds and everything was very intense and then we sent that to the guys in LA who composed it. And it was amazing to see the music we played being turned into this amazing orchestral thing. You feel in a bit of a way like you’re kind of making it up as you go along, and then when you see it done, laid out before you in such a beautiful, orchestral fashion, it’s really incredible… I love choirs and I love choral music, and there was a 60-piece choir singing the vocal parts that I had written. When the baritones came in, I nearly wept, it was so emotional.”

You heard it here first: Make sure you have a box of tissues handy, for when the baritones come in.

Watch! OK Go – Skyscrapers

Viral video masters, OK Go, have a new video. The makers of the treadmill video, the crazy contraption video, and the car driving and playing instruments video have made a new video for their song, Skyscrapers. Will they blow up worldwide skyscrapers and somehow film it? Not quite. Actually, the video is LACKING skyscrapers. Instead, the video features dancers dancing (the tango, from my expert knowledge of dancing) and their colourful outfits matching the colours of the buildings (not skyscrapers!) behind them. As always, A+ for effort, but perhaps not as brilliant as past videos. Perhaps they should’ve been jumping on different treadmills over the top of skyscrapers?! Check it out below.

OK Go – Skyscrapers