Morning Music Notes – iTunes Has 1 Million Apps, Less than 1% Are Useful

MySpace Has Lost Over $40 Million This Year; Plow Ahead with Streaming Service

It seems pretty amazing to think that MySpace was sold for $580 million in 2005. The buyer, News Corp, ended up flipping it for a mere $35 million last summer. Justin Timberlake was one of the guys who hopped on board the rebranding, in the hope of bringing it back to it’s lofty heights. The web traffic increased 36% since the new takeover (via Hypebot). Despite that, reports show that MySpace has lost $40 million so far in 2012. Ouch.

Investors are being asked to shell out $50 million so that MySpace can be re-re-launched as a music streaming service, ala Spotify or Pandora. The plan by new buyers, Interactive Media, is to use $10 million to market MySpace, $15–$25 million to license music and hold $15 – $25 million for “general working capital.” That last part means hookers if I know anything about business.

How will MySpace win in the online streaming world, when their name is no longer cooler? They think it’ll be because of the unsigned artists that feature on MySpace. 5 million unsigned artists contributed to the 27 million total songs on the old MySpace. This was enough for 50% of all listens on MySpace – royalty free for MySpace, too.

How many times can you re-brand yourselves before you pull the plug?! When will JT start bringing his star power to the site? If there were some exclusives to MySpace, maybe it would be worth checking out. Otherwise, it’ll lose money, like Spotify and Pandora still do.

Puscifer Announce New EP

The band is called Puscifer. They have an album called V is for Vagina. They have an EP called C Is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here). There’s no real shock or surprise when I found out that the Maynard James Keenan band’s latest EP will be called Donkey Punch The Night (via Consequence of Sound).

The EP will drop on February 19, and follows the 2011 release of Conditions of My Parole. Check out the tracklisting below and determine which songs you want to donkey punch the night to.

Tracklist for Puscifer – Donkey Punch The Night EP
1. Bohemian Rhapsody “O.G. Mix”
2. Breathe
3. Dear Brother
4. Balls To The Wall “PIllow Fight Mix”
5. Breathe “Drumcell rework”
6. Dear Brother “Denton rework” (Big Black Delta)
7. Balls To The Wall “Silent Servant El Guapo Mix”
8. Bohemian Rhapsody “Sonoio rework”

iTunes Store Hits 1 Million Apps

Have you asked a question and had someone reply “There’s an app for that!” You would be forgiven if you punched them in the face. Anyway, there’s a reason there’s an app for that – there are a shitload of apps. Apple’s iTunes store now has 1,000,000 apps for you to check out (via Slash Gear). So next time you’re locked inside the Panic Room with your cat and friend who is allergic to peanuts – you can ignore their cries for apps that might help the situation by playing Angry Birds.

Listen! The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up (Major Lazer Remix)

The problem I have with most remixes is that they provide a totally wild take on a song that I have already listened to 100 times and am in love with. Most of these songs are already great, so exactly how much do you change to make it your own when you remix it? The latest example is for The Prodigy’s classic tune, Smack My Bitch Up. The band are about to have their Fat of the Land album re-issued, and one of the remixes on one of the EPs is done by Major Lazer. There doesn’t seem to be a lot to this remix at times, but check it out and spot the differences – it’ll be fun.

The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up (Major Lazer Remix)