“One needn’t look far to find a music industry pundit saying the album is dead and nobody buys music anymore. Yes, overall sales are down and the download market doesn’t seem to have many more tricks up its sleeve. But the growth in digital album sales, especially as a share of total digital purchases, shows neither consumers nor labels haven’t given up on the album.” [Source: www.billboard.biz]

Grousing about the Grammy nominations is a time-honored practice in the music industry, but those who felt overlooked, snubbed or robbed this year had new ammunition to bolster their complaints: a change in the rules that eliminated 31 award categories, assuring far fewer nominees than in recent years. “Damn, this really hurts,” wrote R&B singer Miguel in a series of tweets Thursday after he failed to get a nomination despite getting some of the best critical notices of the year for his album “All I Want Is You.” “I don’t think I’m God’s gift to music, but I know the album or at least the single “Sure Thing”, should have been nominated.” Nominations in the R&B categories, which were cut from eight to four by the new rules, seemed to favor tradition over Top 40. Despite major releases from Beyoncé, herself a longtime Grammy darling, Jill Scott, Ne-Yo, Jazmine Sullivan and Keri Hilson, nods went to quieter releases from Kelly Price, Ledisi and El DeBarge. There were complaints that the new rules left little or no distinction between contemporary and traditional R&B. “If your music does fall in different genres and categories, it does slim the chances of being able to be nominated once or multiple times,” said Melanie Fiona, who scored two nods for her duet with Cee Lo Green, “Fool for You.” “I know I don’t do it for the accolades, but it’s nice to be recognized. Some people wont be recognized because they don’t fit perfectly in a category.” However, Scott Borchetta, president of Big Machine Records, (Taylor Swift’s label) who scored three nominations Wednesday night, but none in the major categories, offered another view. “Sometimes we get too caught up in it,” he said. “It’s an award show. Yes, it’s wonderful to be acknowledged. But if you’re working just to get a Grammy Award, I suggest that you have to clean your glasses. “Do this art because you love it. If you really love it, it’s not work.” [Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/]

The nomination process is not done by the general public. Record companies are the first step in the process. The recording companies are allowed to nominate the recording artists that the company feels is deserving of such a nomination. There are then a group of about 150 music experts that have the responsibility of reviewing the recordings of the nominated artists to determine if the recordings are suitable for nomination and if they have been nominated in the appropriate categories which include 31 different recording fields.

Not just anyone is allowed to vote for the winners. Of the experts voting in the Grammy Award’s nomination process, experts only have the ability to vote in the categories for which they have expertise. They are also allowed to nominate in the four general categories which are Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. These four categories can contain artists from any genre. They also nominate in a maximum of nine of 31 categories. Once the music experts have done their nominating of the recording artists, the final step is for those who are members of the Academy to vote on those artists who have been nominated. The members of the Academy vote in the same four general categories as the music experts and in no more than eight of the 31 categories. Once the members have voted, the winners are tallied by an accounting firm that has the responsibility of keeping the winners identities a secret until the live telecast in which the Grammy Awards are presented. [Source: http://www.grammy.com]

This is pretty critical to understand because essentially, it may not matter how popular an album or single is to the general public. If the experts voting on the categories do not nominate, then the opportunity to be recognized is zero to none. So interesting. This is why they always say you have to love what you do or do it for the love.

Too funny!

54th Annual Grammy Awards Nominees:

Album of the Year
21 – Adele
Doo-Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars
Born This Way – Lady Gaga
Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
Loud – Rihanna

Record of the Year
“Rolling in the Deep” – Adele
“Grenade” – Bruno Mars
“Holocene” – Bon Iver
“The Cave” – Mumford & Sons
“Firework” – Katy Perry

Song of the Year
“Rolling in the Deep” – Adele
“Holocene” – Bon Iver
“Grenade” – Bruno Mars
“The Cave” – Mumford & Sons
“All of the Lights” – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, & Fergie

Best New Artist
Bon Iver
The Band Perry
Nicki Minaj
J. Cole
Skrillex

Best Pop Solo Performance
“Someone Like You” – Adele
“Yoü And I” – Lady Gaga
“Grenade” – Bruno Mars
“Firework” – Katy Perry
“F***in’ Perfect” – Pink

Best Pop Vocal Album
21 – Adele
The Lady Killer – Cee Lo Green
Born This Way – Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars
Loud – Rihanna

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
“Body And Soul” – Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
“Dearest” – The Black Keys
“Paradise” – Coldplay
“Pumped Up Kicks” – Foster The People
“Moves Like Jagger” – Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
“Airplanes II” — B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams
“Imagine” — Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
“If It Wasn’t For Bad” — Elton John & Leon Russell
“Telephone” — Lady Gaga & Beyoncé
“California Gurls” — Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg

Best R&B Performance
“Far Away” – Marsha Ambrosius
“Pieces Of Me” – Ledisi
“Not My Daddy” – Kelly Price & Stokley
“Is This Love” – Corinne Bailey Rae
“You Are” – Charlie Wilson

Best Traditional R&B Performance
“Sometimes I Cry” – Eric Benét
“Fool For You” – Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
“Radio Message” – R. Kelly
“Good Man” – Raphael Saadiq
“Surrender” – Betty Wright & The Roots

Best R&B Song
“Far Away” – Marsha Ambrosius
“Fool For You” – Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
“Not My Daddy” – Kelly Price
“Pieces Of Me” – Ledisi
“You Are” – Charlie Wilson

Best R&B Album
F.A.M.E. – Chris Brown
Second Chance – El DeBarge
Love Letter – R. Kelly
Pieces of Me – Ledisi
Kelly – Kelly Price

Best Rap Performance
“Look At Me Now” – Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
“Otis” – Jay-Z & Kanye West
“The Show Goes On” – Lupe Fiasco
“Moment 4 Life” – Nicki Minaj & Drake
“Black And Yellow” – Wiz Khalifa

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Party” – Beyoncé & André 3000
“I’m On One” – DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
“I Need A Doctor” – Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
“What’s My Name?” – Rihanna & Drake
“Motivation” – Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne
“All of the Lights” – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

Best Rap Song
“All of the Lights” – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie
“Black And Yellow” – Wiz Khalifa
“I Need A Doctor” – Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
“Look at Me Now” – Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
“Otis” – Jay-Z & Kanye West
“The Show Goes On” – Lupe Fiasco

Best Rap Album
Watch the Throne – Jay-Z & Kanye West
Tha Carter IV – Lil Wayne
Lasers – Lupe Fiasco
Pink Friday – Nicki Minaj
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West

Best Short Form Music Video
“Rolling in the Deep” – Adele
“Yes I Know” – Memory Tapes
“All Is Not Lost” – OK Go
“Lotus Flower” – Radiohead
“First Of The Year (Equinox)” – Skrillex
“Perform This Way” – “Weird Al” Yankovic

Best Long Form Music Video
I Am…World Tour – Beyoncé
Foo Fighters: Back And Forth – Foo Fighters
Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings Of Leon – Kings Of Leon
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest – A Tribe Called Quest
Nine Types of Light – TV on the Radio

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Danger Mouse
Paul Epworth
The Smeezingtons
Ryan Tedder
Butch Vig

For more information on where to get tested, click here.

[Source: http://kbasmuse.tumblr.com]

[Source: http://soul-talkin.tumblr.com/]

Alicia & Miguel.

[Source: http://soul-talkin.tumblr.com/]

“I’m tired. I’m tired. Those of you that I love know who you are. May God bless you.”

- excerpt from Phyllis Hyman’s suicide note

Fascinating voice and life.

[Source: http://soul-talkin.tumblr.com/]

[Source: http://badu-ology.tumblr.com/]

Work Nicole…and you’ve got Boris Kodjoe…Ga-head witcho bad self. OW!

[Source: www.theybf.com]

[Source: http://melodysblog.tumblr.com/]

Real talk…I want to LOL but I actually can’t :-/

[Source: http://stayfab.tumblr.com/]

“I think that giving people the opportunity to judge before they go and buy, I think that can only help. There’s a loyal fan base that’s gonna go and support you just based off the fact that they want to own a copy of your material, and they know what it means to give you that one sale, and they hope that there’s another hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, five hundred thousand people that are gonna do the same thing.” – [www.billboard.biz]

Nuff said!

[Source: http://kbasmuse.tumblr.com]

TuneCore is aiming to do for music publishing what it has done for digital distribution: make it easier for independent artists to get paid. Its new TuneCore Songwriter Publishing Administration Service, unveiled Wednesday, gives songwriters an easy way to sign up for global publishing administration. TuneCore is not taking the place of organizations like BMI and ASCAP, but will work with those and other organizations to make sure its clients’ royalties are collected. And through TuneCore’s in-house licens- ing department, the company will handle requests for sync licenses on behalf of the songwriter. The pricing is straightforward. The songwriter service will cost songwriters a one-time payment of $49.99 plus a 10-percent fee on all royalties collected. The service is currently open only to artists who use TuneCore for distribution, but the company says it plans to open up the service to all rights holders in the near future.

[Source: www.billboard.biz]

Fascinating…Redfoo is the legendary Barry Gordy’s Son and Sky Blue is the son of Barry Gordy, IV who is Redfoo’s brother! WOW!

LOL…cute. I could sure use these….would make my clumsiness sound way more interesting! LOL!

[Source: www.stayfab.com]

Live footage from the “Victory” tour.

Sending you some.

[Source: http://pushthemovement.tumblr.com/]

StyleLikeU Closet Interview With Fatima Robinson from StyleLikeU on Vimeo.

[Source: www.urbanbushbabes.com]

I found a site that has quenched my appetite for fab shoes. Clearly all I’m doing is looking for now…lol…so for all my shoe divas….look and enjoy!

[Source: http://fffuckyeahboots.tumblr.com/]

Miss Piggy in InStyle Fashion editorial spread….lol. Hilarious!

[Source: www.fashionista.com]

So Lovely (Full Length Sample) by rachelwalkeronline-music

• “So Lovely”  has just been added to the daily rotation on the station that has doubled its broadcast power from 3000 to 6000 WATTS. All on KCLT 104.9 FM -”The Force Of The Delta” in West Helena, Arkansas!
• The Station Delivering 50,000 WATTS Of Undisturbed Groove to 4 BIG States; Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma AND Louisiana, has added “So Lovely” to their daily debut rotation on Mon, Oct 17th! It’s all poppin’ on KZRB 103-Five in Hooks, Texas!
• Always blazin’ a trail with Today’s NEW & HOT R&B, Jammin’ Sam Britten has just added “So Lovely” to his RED-HOT daily rotation! It’s all happening on the station the grown & sexy turn-on in Champaign/Urbana, IL-WBCP 1580AM/Online!

Shoutout to Erykah for being one of the few women to make it into the issue.

[Source: www.theybf.com]

The Survivors: GQ November 2011 from Gentlemans Quarterly on Vimeo.

[Source: www.popcrush.com]

[Source: www.theybf.com]

5 Secrets The Music Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know

Interesting article. Check out the complete article it here: [Source:  http://hiphopwired.com/]

MY SUMMARY BELOW

1. Views, Likes, and Followers

While you may think that looking at numbers is a ridiculous way to evaluate an artist’s worth (and it is!), millions around the world feel otherwise.  Sad as it may be, high numbers often propel artists to celebrity status.

YouTube views, Facebook “Likes”, and Twitter followers can be bought for a moderate fee.

2. Buying the # 1 Spot

Once YouTube Views, Facebook “Likes”, and Twitter followers have been bought, it’s time for the label to really go all out and buy thousands of CD’s and downloads to help the artist get to # 1 within the first couple of weeks of release.

3. Professional Reviewers

Writers are paid to act like customers and write positive reviews.  Sometimes, these writers are simply part of the artist’s team, other times, they’re professional writers who get hired for their review services.

4. Wardrobe Malfunctions, Nude Pics, and Sex Videos

Truth is, most of these incidents are planned by the artists and their team for publicity.  As soon as the pictures or videos are leaked, hundreds of blogs and sites repost them right away. Millions of Facebook and Twitter users repost them as well.  In a matter of 24 to 48 hours, that artist is Googled millions of times which causes their name to “Trend” online or on Twitter and increases their search ranking.  For the artist, this is an amazing free promotional tool that would otherwise cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing.

5. Fake Beef, Phony Stories, and Controversy

Replace wardrobe issues, nude pics, and sex videos with fake beef, phony stories, and controversy and the result is the same: free publicity. There was a time when this type of nonsense would have hurt an artist’s career.  Now, it sustains it…and that’s pitiful.

[Source: http://kbasmuse.tumblr.com/]

Pharcyde!!  These cats performed at Tufts back when I was like a Sophomore. Brings back such awesome memories. Love Mya’s song over this track.

Luv her style.

[Source: http://kbasmuse.tumblr.com]

[via Floyd Boykin Jr., Editor & Chief of SpokenVizions Magazine]

Wow. Gorgeous!

[Source: www.theybf.com]

This man….this man!

[Source: www.theybf.com]

“The term “cassette tape” has been removed from the “Concise Oxford English Dictionary” to make room for new words like “retweet” and “cyberbullying.” (The term is not being removed
from the larger “Oxford English Dictionary,” however.)” – USA TODAY [Source: www.billboard.biz]

Photographer David Matterhorn captures the lives of icons, immortalized in gravestone dashes.

Easy E.

[Source: www.rollingstone.com]

Stage production is bananas! So many people are quick to discredit this girl. She is proof that an artist is not just a voice. An artist is a package. BUT most of all and sometimes most important…people have to feel like they know YOU and like YOU! Gotta respect the hustle.

RIP Songstress.

Luvs it!

[Source: www.sandrarose.com]

Is The New Facebook Real-Time Feed Where the Music Will Go?

As part of that redesign, Facebook launched a real-time activity feed along the right side of the screen, which tells users what their friends have been up to – commenting on stuff you haven’t seen yet, friending each other, and so on, as opposed to the main activity feed, which shows you stuff asynchronously that’s more likely to be of interest.We know Facebook is going to let people see what their friends are listening to, and in some cases, join them in real time. We’re pretty sure that the real-time feed pictured above is where that listening activity will surface.Stay tuned…people were complaining about the new Facebook yesterday, but today, they could be more than happy to use it as a way to find out what their friends are listening to, join them, and chat about what they hear. [Source: Billboard Bulletin]

“You know, a lot of people think they’re going to get to a nirvana of cooldom one day, but in fact that place doesn’t really exist. I think life is about having the mixture of the curiosity of an older person and the imagination of a child.“ – Daphne Guiness

LOVE!

[Source: www.theybf.com]

Louboutin is wildin’…foreals!

“Let the doubts be put to rest once and for all: Stevie Wonder can still make love to a keytar. After opening his night-ending Austin City Limits Festival set with a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” he launched into a keytar solo that included lying down on the stage, continuing to play and then doing what can really only be described as humping the keytar – a move that drew cheers from the crowd of thousands.” [Source: www.rollingstone.com]

Best dress of the  night..and that arm candy is def the cherry on top!

[Source: www.theybf.com]

This moment epitomizes where I’m at and the direction of the new album.

I’m very excited to share it with you all. Stay tuned.