hypebot

LEGO Rock Band: Why???

I admit that the allure of using a controller to interact with animated action on  a screen holds limited appeal for me.  Perhaps its my age or the fact that a potato rolling down a hill has better hand-eye coordination than I do. But the latest incarnation of Rock Band which brickifies rock stars into claw handed stumps just mystifies me.  Nevertheless LEGO Rock Band has attracted David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Queen. (Full track list after the jump.)

Here's video of Blur (or as Joystiq so abtly put it, the band best known for that one song with all the "Woo-hoos" in it") in LEGO Rock Band:

Do You Follow We Follow?

First, a big thank-you to all of our Twitter followers who collectively made Hypebot the #1 "Most Influential" Music Industry News Twitter stream and #3 in the overall Music Industry category according to Digg owned Twitter ranking site WeFollow.

Do you follow We Follow? You probably should.  Not only should you see how you measure up to others in your categories or location, you can discover others worth following measured both by number of users and influence.

You can join the 4367 other Hypebot Twitter followers here and get updates on new posts plus exclusive info and links.  Also, here are 5 top music industry leaders and thinkers that I've found worth following.

More Music Industry News: Vevo Investor, Spotify Mobile, Chrysalis, Pias + YouTube & More

More Music Industry News: Vevo Investor, Spotify Mobile, Chrysalis, Pias + YouTube & More

by Bruce Houghton

•  Vevo Gets Its Investor: Abu Dhabi Media Joins “Hulu for Music Videos” (MediaMemo)
• Spotify to launch UK mobile offering with carriers 3, HTC. (Reuters) and Forrester'sMark Mulligan declares it a real threat to Nokia's Comes With Music. 
• Bat for Lashes lifts Chrysalis with Beatles boost to come. -  The music publisher is anticipating full-year results will top boardroom expectations.
• Amazon, Wal-Mart battling over book pricing. (CNet) Does this mean that they think that music isn't even worth battling over?
• Pirate Bay Takes Bias Claims to Supreme Court - Two of the main judges appointed to the upcoming Pirate Bay appeal have been accused of a conflict of interest, since they have both been members of pro-copyright groups. The appeal court decided that the judges are not biased, but the defense has announced that it will take the case to the Supreme Court, which is likely to delay the trial. (TorrentFreak)
  
• UK based digital music distributor Pias has signed a deal with YouTube. The global deal covers audio and video releases, as well as user-generated content that features repertoire owned by labels that Pias distributes, giving them a share of ad revenue. (Brand Republic)
• YouTube’s Bandwidth Bill Is Zero. Welcome to the New Net. (Wired)
• Digital distribution and management platform FUGA signed 5 new labels and distributors last week and is opening a Berlin Office. (mi2N)
• INgrooves expands is distribution roster with the addition of With Hopeless Records, Suburban Noize and Independent Label Collective. (press release)

•  Vevo Gets Its Investor: Abu Dhabi Media Joins “Hulu for Music Videos” (MediaMemo)
• Spotify to launch UK mobile offering with carriers 3, HTC. (Reuters) and Forrester'sMark Mulligan declares it a real threat to Nokia's Comes With Music. 
• Bat for Lashes lifts Chrysalis with Beatles boost to come. -  The music publisher is anticipating full-year results will top boardroom expectations.
• Amazon, Wal-Mart battling over book pricing. (CNet) Does this mean that they think that music isn't even worth battling over?
• Pirate Bay Takes Bias Claims to Supreme Court - Two of the main judges appointed to the upcoming Pirate Bay appeal have been accused of a conflict of interest, since they have both been members of pro-copyright groups. The appeal court decided that the judges are not biased, but the defense has announced that it will take the case to the Supreme Court, which is likely to delay the trial. (TorrentFreak)
  
• UK based digital music distributor Pias has signed a deal with YouTube. The global deal covers audio and video releases, as well as user-generated content that features repertoire owned by labels that Pias distributes, giving them a share of ad revenue. (Brand Republic)
• YouTube’s Bandwidth Bill Is Zero. Welcome to the New Net. (Wired)
• Digital distribution and management platform FUGA signed 5 new labels and distributors last week and is opening a Berlin Office. (mi2N)
• INgrooves expands is distribution roster with the addition of With Hopeless Records, Suburban Noize and Independent Label Collective. (press release)

Umphrey's McGee Encourages Fans To Inspire Their Live Improvisations

Chicago jam rockers Umphrey's McGee are know for their loyal and engaged fans; and the band has always gone out of their way to hold up their end of the relationship. At select shows, the band is taking fan interaction to a new level.

Ideas were submitted from fans by texting descriptive words, phrases, and pop culture references ("pretty much whatever came to mind") to the Umphrey's Mozes mobile interface. The suggestions were then filtered by Umphrey's "sound caresser" and projected on a screen for the band to digest and turn into the next phase of a live jam. The music took off based on varied suggestions ranging from afternoon bus ride in Jamaica to drinking pina coladas in a hurricane. 

Here's a video glimpse of fan interaction 2.0 Umphrey's McGee style:

Indie And D.I.Y. Music Coming Soon To Rock Band

Making your music available on Rock Band is about to get a lot easier as the game maker nears its launch of its Rock Band Network.  Details are still a little sketchy, but we do know that you'll be able to use their tools to author playable tracks and submit them for review by the Rock Band Creators community. Approved tracks become available in the Rock Band Store and on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace with the artists getting paid per purchase. This video explains more:

The 'Unofficial' Hypebot Reading List

Kyle Bylin, Associate Editor

As anyone could’ve guessed by perusing through my essays, I read quite a bit.  It wasn’t always this way, but, if you’re looking for a way through the clutter, here’s a look at both books I’ve read and would recommend.  Or, am simply interested in.  By all means, if you have a book and would like me to read it, feel free to send it my way.

Also, recommend some books you've liked lately in the comments.

Books I've Read:

• Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy
• Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives
• Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity
• Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
• The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
• YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture
• Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life
• Everything Bad is Good for You

Tunecore's Widget Gets An Upgrade

Tunecore's signature widget has gotten a major upgrade with many new features:

• Streams up to 100 tracks in full.
• Has an optional Donate To The Band link.
• Links to the iTunes Store from each track.
• Join button collects fan emails and other information.
• New menu offers a band bio and tour dates.
• Streams video clips tied to YouTube and contains photo gallery via Flickr.
• Can be shared on any website, including Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, etc.
• Publishes Twitter feeds automatically.
• Pops out from page on which it's embedded.
• All data input by fans is sent back to the band.

The original comments to this post we're deleted in error on Tuesday morning.  You can read them here and follow the controversy surrounding the widget's privacy policy and Tuncecore CEO Jeff Price's response here.

Tunecore's signature widget has gotten a major upgrade with many new features:

• Streams up to 100 tracks in full.
• Has an optional Donate To The Band link.
• Links to the iTunes Store from each track.
• Join button collects fan emails and other information.
• New menu offers a band bio and tour dates.
• Streams video clips tied to YouTube and contains photo gallery via Flickr.
• Can be shared on any website, including Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, etc.
• Publishes Twitter feeds automatically.
• Pops out from page on which it's embedded.
• All data input by fans is sent back to the band.

The original comments to this post we're deleted in error on Tuesday morning.  You can read them here and follow the controversy surrounding the widget's privacy policy and Tuncecore CEO Jeff Price's response here.

Why Amanda Fucking Palmer Is Never Afraid To Ask For A Fan's Money

Taking A Stand As A Virtual Street Performer

Excerpted from Amanda Palmer's blog:

 listen.

artists need to make money to eat and to continue to make art.

artists used to rely on middlemen to collect their money on their behalf, thereby rendering themselves innocent of cash-handling in the public eye.

artists will now be coming straight to you (yes YOU, you who want their music, their films, their books) for their paychecks.

please welcome them. please help them. please do not make them feel badly about asking you directly for money...

...i am shameless, and fearless, when it comes to money and art.

i can’t help it: i come from a street performance background.

Rdio: Kazaa, Skype Execs Tackle Subscription Music

 Is there room for one more in the stream?

The founders and tech geniuses behind Kazaa and Skpye are work on their own entry into the crowded streaming and subscription music sector. Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have created and financed a secretive start-up called Rdio, with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Chief Executive Officer Drew Larner told Bloomberg only, “The idea is to create a subscription streaming service that’s between desktop and mobile. For someone who’s interested on a subscription basis, the notion of ownership becomes less important than the idea of streaming on-demand.”

Tell us something we don't know. Like why people will prefer to use your service? Or how you're going to make money to pay right holders?

Apple Denies $10K iTunes LP Production Fee

Apple is denying reports that it charges a $10,000 "production fee" to become part of the new iTunes LP platform designed to add value and revitalize falling album download sales..

Brian McKinney of Chicago indie Chocolate Lab Records had done some digging and been told by his distributor that "Apple was charging a fee of $10,000 to produce them, but aside from the cost, they were not being opened up to indie labels."  But UK tech site Electric Pig says it was contacted by an Apple spokesperson who said, "“We’re releasing the open specs for iTunes LP soon, allowing both major and indie labels to create their own. There is no production fee charged by Apple,”  and others are confirming the story.

The roll out of any new format often begins with restrictions and then is spread to the broader industry. But too much delay - or any excessive fees - returns to the major labels some of the competitive advantage that iTunes and digital distribution took away.

Tunecore's Widget Gets An Upgrade

Tunecore's signature widget has gotten a major upgrade with many new features:

• Streams up to 100 tracks in full.
• Has an optional Donate To The Band link.
• Links to the iTunes Store from each track.
• Join button collects fan emails and other information.
• New menu offers a band bio and tour dates.
• Streams video clips tied to YouTube and contains photo gallery via Flickr.
• Can be shared on any website, including Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, etc.
• Publishes Twitter feeds automatically.
• Pops out from page on which it's embedded.
• All data input by fans is sent back to the band.

Here's a sample widget:

MySpace Enhances Executive Team

There were more appointments at MySpace as new CEO Owen Van Natta puts together his team.

• Nada Stirratt has joined as Chief Revenue Officer. She was EVP of Digital Ad Sales at MYV
• Dustin Finer has come on board as Chief People Officer 

The integration of the staff of the recently purchased iLike picks up steam:

• Ali Partovi, former CEO of iLike, will serve as Senior Vice President of Business Development based in San Francisco.
• Hadi Partovi, former president of iLike, will serve as Senior Vice President of Technology based in Seattle

Spotify Improves Music Purchase Features

Part of making money for Spotify and for the record labels its licensing from is its buy feature; and that got an upgrade this week:

• Buy without leaving Spotify: Previously users needed to complete a number of steps before being directed to purchase music from download partner 7digital's site.
• Better visibility: Before the upgrade users had to right-click on a track/album to discover if the music was available to buy. They can now see exactly what music is available, with special  'buy' buttons visible either underneath the album cover or next to a track. 
• Playable within Spotify: All Spotify MP3 purchases will also be available to play on the service and can be transferred to any other MP3 player, program or transferred to a CD.

Video of the new purchase features:

More Music Industry News: RIAA Can't Stop BitTorrent, Spotify Thinks Big, Scholl To NBC & More

• RIAA and MPAA Can’t Stop BitTorrent, Study Finds - For years RIAA and MPAA members have hired companies to attack popular BitTorrent swarms in an attempt to interfere with their downloads. According to a recently published paper by New York University researchers, these attacks are highly ineffective. At best, they slow downloads for a few minutes, something most users don’t even notice.  (TorrentFreak)
• Spotify’s Ek Thinks Big: Packaged Service Promises ‘A Trillion Transactions’ - Ek communicated his desire to “package” music with mobile tariffs, ISP bundles, cable plans and with devices including TVs - a broad long-term vision that’s often overlooked amid the current Spotify hype. (paidContent) “The key for us is getting music in to people’s existing billing habits,” he told Screen Digest’s Future of Online Media Distribution seminar. 
• Greg Scholl, the president and CEO of independent digital music distributor The Orchard until he resigned a week ago, has been named president of local media platforms for NBC Universal, PaidContent reported. (DMW) Congrats Greg!
  
• Rumor: Apple To Switch On Sleeping FM Radio in iPhone, iPod Touch (Wired)
• Sony Premieres New 'Club Dates' Series of Music Concerts in Digital Cinema Theaters. (press release)
• Concert Vault: Free live recordings from Wolfgang's Vault on the iPhone. (CNet)
• Music Attorney Steve Gordon interviews Nettwerk's Terry McBride. (audio)

Michael Jackson Download To Be Album Only

(UPDATE 2)  CONFIRMED: Peter Kafka of Media Memo has confirmed that as our sources (below) hinted, Michael Jackson's new album will be available on iTunes, as well as, other download services.

(EARLIER) The Michael Jackson soundtrack to the posthumous concert film "This Is It" will be released as an album only download, according to sources. Fans who want to purchase the single, which is already making noise at radio, will be have to purchase the entire album.

Digital Music News is reporting that Amazon MP3 will have an exclusive on downloads of the release because iTunes requires that individual track sales be made available, as well. But sources contradict the DMN story, telling Hypebot that the other major digital services will also make the download available on its Oct 26th (world) and 27th (North American) release dates.

iTunes is also rumored to still be considering selling the Jackson release. Which, if it does, will mark an exception to Apple's policy that has previously seen only multi-artist albums made available without a single track option.

Facebook Traffic Soars As MySpace Tumbles

Facebook accounted for 58.59% of all U.S. visits to the top 155 social networking Web sites in September of this year - a 194% increase since September 2008 according to Hitwise.  MySpace was second with 30% of social networking. The picture was far different just a year earlier in September of 2008 when MySpace accounted for 66.84% of U.S. social networking and Facebook sat at just under 20%.

Twitter, which grew 1170% in the last year, still accounts for only 1.84% of all social networking traffic. The seldom talked about Tagged.com grew 47% in the last year to stay ahead of Twitter with 2.38% of social traffic.

ANALYSIS: For marketers of music, success is not just found in overall numbers, but in who is being reached. MySpace still puts more emphasis on music and attracts a younger crowd; though that too is shifting: the 18-34 demo declined 13% at MySpace and increased 10% at Facebook last year. Twitter users are more active consumers and often help shape trends and opinions. 

But Facebook has the eyeballs and is grabbing more every day. If there is still mass media, Facebook, at this moment, is it.

MOG Readies Premium Music Streaming

The rush to beat Spotify to the US market continues with music blog network MOG announcing that it will launch a premium music streaming service before late November. Yesterday Grooveshark announced that EMI had signing on to its add supported service and all the major streaming and subscription services are adjusting their offerings as competition increases.

Through partnerships with all four major label groups and many indie labels via IODA, The Orchard, Beggars Group and others, MOG's $5 monthly All Access plan will provide unrestricted play of 5 million tracks with more being added monthly.

When Free Works

This guest post from David Harrell first appeared on his Digital Audio Insider blog. When he's not blogging, David also makes music with the Layaways.

Free music is getting a bad rap as of late by some industry analysts (see Mark Mulligan's recent post), but - in certain circumstances - I still think it can work. I agree with the skeptics -- having all artists give away digital downloads of all their music isn't a long-term solution for the industry. However, it's important to distinguish between what works for the entire industry and what works for an individual artist.

Here's a recent example that I think is going to succeed, in the sense that free music is going to increase both the attention the artist receives, and his long-term income: Mojo Nixon, of "Elvis Is Everywhere" and "Don Henley Must Die" fame (and currently a DJ at Sirius XM), is giving away his entire catalog via Amazon MP3.

It works because:

1. It's a limited-time offering -- it's not free forever, just the next few weeks.

2. Mojo Nixon is already relatively well known, but I'm guessing he's not selling a ton of music these days. So he's receiving some attention for it, while there's limited downside in that he's probably not giving up much by forgoing his sales for a few weeks. (Though you could also argue that he's giving up some future sales as well.)

3. The free music isn't coming directly from the artist -- you download it from an actual digital store. I doubt the free music gambit would work as well for Nixon if the files were coming from his own website. There's already too much artist (and MySpace) hosted content for listeners to digest. Having the free music come from an established store makes it relatively unique. It also enhances the perceived value of the tracks -- you see them listed as "free" among other downloads that cost anywhere from 89 cents to $1.29.

What does Nixon expect to gain from it?

Ecast Raises $17M For 10K Digital Jukeboxes

Ecast, a maker of digital jukeboxes, has secured $17 million in new funding from new investor LG Electronics. Current investors including Foundry Group, Escalate Capital Partners, DCM and Crosslink Capital also particpated in this round.

The company operates a network of 10,000 internet connected digital jukeboxes in bars and restaurants which, in addition to music, also display more an a billion interactive ads monthly.  Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal and indie artists distributed via IODA all offer songs on Ecast.

Video: Rhapsody On HP's New TouchSmart PC

Rhapsody Unlimited users can now access their subscription service with the touch of a finger on HP's nifty new TouchSmart PC.  I guess that means handi-wipes next to the computer screen during my next house party...

Universal Moves Thanksgiving Week Street Date

From NARM:

NARM has been advised by Universal Music Group Distribution that they and their labels have decided to make Monday, November 23 the street date for their titles for the upcoming Thanksgiving week only. It appears that other major label groups may do the same.

The impetus for moving the street date...

More Music Industry News: Spotify + Facebook?, Shazam $'s, RCA Pomotions, Soundcloud & More

• Music Alley is hearing growing rumors of a possible partnership between Spotify and  Facebook.  Details are few, but appears to revolve around easier ways to share playlists with Facebook friends. It may evolve into an app to play the songs with an announcement as early as next month. 
• But Spotify is also wasting valuable time trying to negotiate lower fees with rights holders according to CNet
• Venture firm DN Capital have confirmed that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers ("KPCB") has made an investment in its portfolio company Shazam, a growing mobile music discovery provider. This investment is one of the few by KPCB into a European technology company and recognizes the successful international expansion to date of Shazam. 
• RCA execs shuffle: Bill Burrs has been promoted to SVP of Rock Music Promotion for the RCA/JIVE Label Group and Adrian Moreira has been promoted to SVP, Adult Music, RCA Music Group. No offense to these very capable gentlemen, but do the majors need more Senior Vice Presidents or more foot soldiers toiling working the niches?
• Dan Dougherty has joined MediaNet to head business development.
• SoundCloud has appointed former MySpace SVP of strategy and global marketing Jamie Kantrowitz as its new board director.
• Will the music industry ever extract real value from digital?  (Stereo Subversion)
• Compadre Records founder Brad Turcotte with his wife Susan Turcotte has launched Turcotte Multimedia Group, the parent company of music consulting firm Amigo Music Group, Interactive Legal Tools, and Law School Downloads.

EMI Drops Lawsuit, Partners With Grooveshark

(UPDATED) Digital music service Grooveshark has signed a deal with EMI Records and Publishing that both ends the lawsuit from the major label group and licenses its content.

In a statement, a company spokesperson said that it "hopes this will set a precedent for the industry to be more innovative and less litigious in the digital music space".  Dubbing themselves “The People’s Music Service,” Grooveshark has a "focus in helping signed and unsigned artists build and monetize their careers, while making on-demand streaming music easy and legal for the public to access". 

Apples Charges Indies $10K For iTunes LP

South American Startup iLongPlay Offers Alternative

When Steve Jobs promised that the new iTunes LP format would reinvigorate the album concept for the digital age, he apparently did not mean music by indie artists. Brian McKinney of Chicago indie Chocolate Lab Records did some digging: 

"We approached our distributor a couple weeks ago to see how we go about submitting an iTunes LP to the iTunes music store. The response was that Apple was charging a fee of $10,000 to produce them, but aside from the cost, they were not being opened up to indie labels (like ourselves). That chapped my hide a bit because what we lack in huge budgets at Chocolate Lab, we attempt to make up for with quality and services. Take for instance the iTunes booklet. We’re now designing booklets to be included with every CLR iTunes album download. they’re not expensive to make, but we want to do everything we can to give the end consumer the best experience possible."

There are rumors of changes in pricing and polices at Apple. In fact, Tunecore has delivered at least one indie project as an iTunes LP though they to told Hypebot that Apple was considering applicants on a case by case basis. For now, however, $10,000 is out of reach for most indie labels and bands.

But iLongPlay, a South American startup, has a far less expensive alternative. 

Another MTV Exec Moves To MySpace

Nada Stirratt, who was running digital sales for Viacom’s  MTV Networks, is leaving that post to head sales at MySpace. MediaMemo even has her goodbye email to staff.)

 MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta is re-assembling a team of MTV veterans at the social networker as he overhauls the entire senior staf.  Former MTV digital guru Jason Hirschhorn is now MySpace's chief product officer; and Courtney Holt had been in charge of digital music for MTV before Chris DeWolfe, Van Natta’s predecessor, tapped him to head MySpace Music

Nielson Study: Adult Women Love Music Sites

Think that music is a man's world?  As it has in many other ways, the internet is leveling the playing field, at least for female fans. A new Nielson NetView study showed that in August, women made up 56.1% of the traffic to music sites or 42.5 million unique female visitors.

The female traffic is not just teenage girls scouring sites for the latest on the Jonas Brothers. Women 35-60 make up about 1/3 of visitors to music sites; with women ages 35-49 making up the largest group. More than 14.5 million women within that demo visited online music sites in August or 19.2% of all male or female visitors to music sites during the month.

Women Want To Learn Not Listen

10 Reasons MySpace Is The Best Music Site Evah

GUEST POST: This entry comes from UK indie artists Georgia Wonder, who in addition to writing amusing blog posts make some really good music and using all things d.i.y. to promote it.  In fact, some day soon, I'll tell you the story of how they used Twitter to finance their new "Destroy" EP.

1. It's still predominantly a cool toilet blue colour. 

2. It's 'retro chic' menus and pages still give you the feeling that you're in 2001

3. Most of MySpace still try to dedicate at least 30% of screen real estate to banner ads, sometimes 50%

4. MySpace still allows you to connect with your fans by letting you check every comment on your page for html embeds

5. You can now sync your tweets up with your myspace account, so people can leave cool update comments like 'weekends almost here! not trying to brag but i got paid $212 today :) if you wanna make some extra money read this article.'

More Music Industry News: Deezer's $9.6M, Spotify Payments, Carly Simon Sues, P2P Profits & More

• French music streaming site Deezer raises another $9.6 million in its second round. (paidContent) What funding freeze?
• We7's CEO helps calculate those elusive Spotify royalty numbers. "If Spotify were to pay full whack for its music licensing, it would be paying something over £9m per month for that alone - while getting income of around £1m. But as you'll discover, it's unlikely that the cost is anywhere near that." (Guardian)
• Carly Simon has sued Starbucks for their failure to promote her last record and says she'll have to keep working due to financial difficulties. (NY Times)
• New studies show that music is good for your heart and stress levels. (CNN) Does the stress reducing thing work even if you're in the music business?
• Warner/Chappell Music announced that Steve Markland has been appointed to VP A&R, Nashville.
• Illegal Downloads Are  150x More Profitable Than Legal Sales -  Who says piracy can't make record labels money? German pirate-tracking outfit DigiRights Solutions says that copyright holders can earn 150 times more money from illicit downloads than from iTunes and other legal stores by chasing down the illegal users. (TorrentFreak)
• Could music become less a priority for iTunes? The online media store is already one of the largest e-commerce sites in the world. Here are some other things Apple might sell via the web. (Business Week)
• Recording studios are being left out of the mix - Inexpensive software is shifting music-recording to the home. Industry experts estimate that up to half of the commercial studios in the L.A. area have closed or been sold to artists for private use. (LA Times)
• The new Sonos ZonePlayer S5 is a wireless music system controlled by an iPhone. It's designed to bring music from the Internet and computer to any room in the house.  The S5 takes advantage of the multi-functionality of the iPhone and turns it into a remote control @ $399 a room.  Video after the jump.

Live Nation Extends Club 2 For 1 After Sales Jump

After seeing a sales increase of 300% over the previous weeks’ promotions, with fans saving more than $350,000, Live Nation announced today that they will continue there 2-for-1 concert ticket offer for a second week. The offering will expand to more than 450 shows and 250,000 tickets at its company owned nightclubs including the Filmore and House of Blues chains.

This Wednesday, October 14th for 24 hours, ticket buyers will save 50% on select shows when they buy two tickets for the price of one. Participating artists including Anvil, Train, Hanson, Trey Songz & Mario, Honor Society, The Used, The Bravery and many more. The sale for club tickets begins Wednesday, October 14th at 12:01a.m. only at LiveNation.com.

Artists include but aren’t limited to:  

How NOT To Quit Twitter: Miley Cyrus Raps "Good-bye Twitter" On YouTube

If you read Hypebot, you probably don't care much about Miley "Hannah Montana" Cyrus.  And since it has already been viewed more than 1.4 million times, you may have already seen this video. But I post it again here purely for instructional purposes; as in..How Not To Quit Twitter.

It's easy to forget that in the world of entertainment, how you exit is just as important as how you enter. Apparently, Miley Cyrus has not yet learned that lesson.  After amassing the social trust of 2 million Twitter followers, young Ms. Cyrus abruptly quit tweeting with the declaration that her boyfriend wanted her to "for good reasons".  Apparently unhappy with the What the F?'s that followed, she decided that a rap recorded in a bathroom was needed to explain her actions (She has started to "tweet her pimples.") on YouTube.