The Brit Awards, or any awards ceremony for that matter, rarely stray too far from controversy. Following in the footsteps of the Oscars the Brits have been accused of being “blind to black British talent”, as well as being too safe and commercialised. A number of celebrities have criticised the lack of prominent Grime artists such as Skepta and Stormzy and have even gone so far as boycotting the ceremony. How big is the issue here and how much do the Brits need to change? Continue reading
These days more than ever music is all about business. Less about the art and more about the money, which has sadly gotten far worse since the advent of streaming services. A world where all music is readily available to everyone at the touch of a button is a music mogul’s worst nightmare. As such the industry has been coming up with more and more nefarious ways to squeeze some extra pennies out of us, the latest of which involves making albums only available to an exclusive group. Continue reading
It should come as no surprise that the music industry is constantly changing. In my lifetime alone I’ve seen the rise and fall of downloads, the emergence of streaming services and the surprise return of vinyl. For the most part the official charts company has moved with the times and brought out special dedicated charts for streaming and vinyl, as well as counting them towards the main charts. However there is one important aspect of the modern music industry that they have thus far steered clear of: EPs. Continue reading
Following the recent death of David Bowie his music dominated the charts and Blackstar became his first ever number one album in the US. As bleak as the mourning period may be, death can be rather profitable. Michael Jackson for instance was in debt before his death, and a few months afterwards his estate had made millions. Record labels often use this fervour to produce albums long after an artist has passed away. The question is whether they should, or whether they should just let people rest in peace? Continue reading
I’m sure we’ll all agree that 2016 hasn’t got off to a good start. In the space of a few weeks we’ve already lost Lemmy, David Bowie, and now Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey. As the world of music is in mourning a hard truth suddenly becomes apparent: How long do our other musical icons have left. It’s not a nice thought but many of the greatest artists and musical pioneers are getting on a bit. One day we will enter a world without Bob Dylan, without Elton John, without Aretha Franklin, without Bruce Springsteen, without Paul McCartney, without Stevie Wonder. Who will carry the torch once the greats are gone? Continue reading
Let’s make one thing clear before we move on, that awful pun was absolutely necessary! Okay, now we’ve cleared that up it’s time to move on to a serious musical issue. It’s a well documented fact that the majority of second albums don’t live up to the band or artist’s debut. In some cases the second albums are that bad that it spells the end of an otherwise promising musical career. What causes this worrying trend and how can you avoid the pitfalls? Continue reading
There was a time when live albums were thought of in the same regard as studio albums. A time when every home in America had a copy of Frampton Comes Alive and every self respecting band needed at least one live album. Those days are behind us though as live albums are ever decreasing in popularity. What has sparked this change and will they ever make a comeback? Continue reading
Despite it’s mixed reception, Sam Smith’s ‘Writing’s on the Wall’, the theme for the latest James Bond Film Spectre, has made history by becoming the first Bond theme to reach number 1 in the charts. The prestigious honour of performing a track for a Bond film isn’t given to just anyone, but the end results have always been a bit hit-and-miss even with the big name stars. So who would be best suited then to perform the song for the next instalment? Who can match Smith’s chart success and yet find the universal acclaim that ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ has been missing? Continue reading
Mainstream media love telling us that albums are dead. They say that LPs are a thing of the past and that singles rule the world. But since the advent of the digital age, a new contender has arisen. EPs are becoming an increasingly popular music format, especially amongst up-and-coming artists. Where has this change come from and which format is best. Continue reading
These days I buy most of my music on vinyl when I can. With the recent resurgence, vinyl manufacturers have upped their game so that the records are sturdier and download codes often come as a standard. However sometimes I am a little put off by some poor production decisions. The issue is with modern albums which weren’t recorded with vinyl in mind as the preferred format. It’s in trying to convert these recent releases into a different format that causes the trouble. Many albums get made into double albums when they shouldn’t be. Continue reading
Belwood Music 