Author: Jamie Bonk

I'm a guitarist/composer/producer and I have released seven LP's, two EP's, and eight singles of my own recordings. Just about every day you can find me in my studio writing, recording and practicing.

My New Acoustic Pedalboard

Here’s a shot of my new acoustic pedalboard:

I’m loving the sound of this pedalboard!  The Tonebone PZ-Pre put the the final touch on the overall sound quality, but I think the Fishman Aura (Nylon String) and the Yamaha Magicstomp Acoustic are equally important to the tones I’m getting now.  And I have zero complaints about the Ernie Ball VP Jr. or the Korg DT-10 tuner.  Everything is working perfectly!

U2 manager: ‘Ultimately free is the enemy of good’

I can’t say I agree with everything U2’s manager Paul McGuinness says in this interview, but his comments sure garnered a lot of response.

Irving Azoff And The “De-Monetization” Of The Music Industry

Irving Azoff And The “De-Monetization” Of The Music Industry

I think a better title would have been: “Irving Azoff And The “De-Monetization” Of The Record Industry”. Still it’s a good article and Azoff made some interesting comments. Two that stick out to me are:

  • “Recorded music is more a marketing tool than a revenue source”
  • “Recorded music is down to less than 6% of major musical acts’ revenues.”

The first comment I’ve heard many times before, but the second one is new to me. I have no way of knowing if his 6% number is correct or not, but even if he’s under by 100%, recorded music is clearly not making up a very large percentage of “name” acts’ income.

Mobile Music Keeps Humming As Music Industry Shrinks

Mobile Music Keeps Humming As Music IndustryShrinks

I don’t have a smart phone (yet!), so I can’t really comment on the downloading of songs to your phone. Maybe it’ll be the next big thing. Or maybe not. As the article states there are some real challenges to the music/smart phone market — streaming (any song/any time) is just one of them.

The Race To Zero

The new Best Buy/Napster program and Danger Mouse’s latest gimmick show just how quickly the value of recorded music has fallen.

Napster relaunching, again: $5 per month streaming plus five free downloads

Music industry 0-1 Illegal downloaders

Download Decade

The Globe and Mail is doing a five part series called Download Decade. The series is focused on (oddly enough!) downloads — everything from iTunes to P2P file sharing — and includes some great audio interviews, graphics and video. I think the first part of the series is absolutely terrific!  I also like the new look of the Globe site — very clear and easy to navigate.

Why Radio & Music Industry Sucks Nowadays

That’s not my title, but it sure seems to fit the situation the industry is in right now.  This video edit makes some great points and shows some opposing views.  But in the end, there’s no answer put forth — just more questions.