Morning Music Notes – Using Twitter to Bet on Facebook

Facebook Will Make Bono the World’s Richest Living Musician

The headline is a sentence that pretty much no one would’ve believed 5 years ago. Paul McCartney was famously the world’s first rock billionaire. But the Beatle is going to be surpassed by U2 singer, Bono, because of his 2.3% investment in Facebook from 2009 (via Spinner). Bono’s $90 million investment in something that could’ve gone belly up, like MySpace, might have raised a few eyebrows. Now, with Facebook valued at over $100 billion, Bono is looking at around a cool $2.0 billion (depending on opening price). Fuck me!

But just how high will the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Facebook go? People like to guess (and if you’re me – gamble) on such things. Well, now you can on FacebookIPODayClosingPrice.com site! If you have a Twitter account, you can log in and place your guess (read: bet). The average closing price guess, as of time of me typing these letters, is $54. The graph shows a lovely bell curve, meaning that the bell curve isn’t something the Illuminati made up. Join in the fun and win…nothing.

Adam Yauch Gets Special New York Senate Tribute

The passing of Beastie Boys rapper, MCA, has touched many people. Not only was he a musical pioneer, but he was a director, a fundraiser, and an all-around good guy. It’s great to see that this is being recognized by a lot of people. Amazingly, it was even touched upon in the New York state senate, with them passing a resolution on Tuesday, named J4637-2011. It’s a bit of a lengthy read, and it’s written in proper bill format, but it opens with:

LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of famed rapper and activist Adam “MCA” Yauch
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to honor and pay tribute to those individuals whose commitment and creative talents have contributed to the entertainment and cultural enrichment of their community and the entire State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Adam Yauch, also known as MCA, the rapper, musician, activist, film director and founder of the pioneering New York hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, died on Friday, May 4, 2012, in Manhattan at age 47.

Good job, New York!

One Sentence About A Release I Don’t Care About

New Matchbox 20 album in September!

Amanda Palmer Continues to Kick Ass on Kickstarter

She’s being compared to Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, at least in terms of independent releasing and funds. Amanda Palmer has used Kickstarter to raise almost $750,000 to fund her album and art book, and she was only seeking $100,000 on her Kickstarter campaign. Amanda is offering up her new album in all kinds of formats, and as per Kickstarter campaigns, varying levels of donations give you various “prizes” from Amanda, including “house parties” ($5,000), VIP tickets to private, semi-acoustic performances during the art gallery tour ($300 per ticket), and a chance to spend the entire day with Amanda (solo, or with her band) during which she will wine and dine the fan and stage a day of art involving portrait painting or a professionally shot, fully styled photo shoot with the band and the fan ($10,000).

So why is she being compared to Radiohead and NIN? Well, she left her label 4 years ago, she blogs like crazy, and through Kickstarter has essentially funded her album through a “pay what you want” style campaign, albeit with rewards for higher donations. Amanda & The Grand Theft Orchestra will perform exclusive acoustic shows within the gallery to reward local Kickstarter backers. Palmer explains: “I’m pretty sure I became a musician so I’d have an excellent excuse to throw an Art Party everywhere I went. This upcoming gallery tour is about as close as I get to fulfilling that fantasy. Wine flowing, visual art and artists everywhere, music playing loudly, everybody excited about the album in one tiny room, jumping up and down…it doesn’t get any better than that, really.”

Add in free gummi bears, and I’m there! Check out a video that helped launch it all.