Free Republic

Sub Pop art director Jeff Kleinsmith talked to us earlier this week about ideas the label is kicking around about selling physical products (like concert posters and T-shirts) that come with digital downloads of albums as a new way of giving fans a physical item to go along with their digital purchase, beyond the common practice of including a download code along with vinyl sales. Today, Sub Pop's general manager, Megan Jasper, sent us a statement with more on the ideas that are swirling around the label's offices. "Although Sub Pop is primarily known for its many fine artists and...

Even a trip to iTunes for a new song or movie might soon be within the grasp of Illinois’ tax collectors. Imposing the state’s sales tax on downloaded songs and movies surfaced as a new money-making idea Tuesday from Gov. Quinn’s administration to help bail out the state, which has a $13 billion deficit. Quinn also proposed selling off a portion of tobacco settlement proceeds to raise $1 billion; requiring banks to divulge the accounts of tax scofflaws to arm the state with a potent new tool to collect unpaid taxes, and extending for four months deeper into the next...

ASPEN, Colo.--Recording industry and motion picture lobbyists are renewing their push to convince broadband providers to monitor customers and detect copyright infringements, claiming the concept is working abroad and should be adopted in the United States. A representative of the recording industry said on Monday that her companies would prefer to enter into voluntary "partnerships" with Internet service providers, but pointedly noted that some governments are mandating such surveillance "if you don't work something out." "Despite our best efforts, we can't do this alone," said Shira Perlmutter, a vice president for global legal policy at the International Federation of the...

Williams and Reznor were trying to follow the lead of Radiohead by distributing music online without the backing of a label. Like the British supergroup, Williams made the album available for free in one version but he also offered the option of buying a higher-quality digital download for $5. The promotions were groundbreaking and plenty of people predicted that a profitable outcome would convince many musicians to drop their labels and use the Internet to distribute their own artistic creations. And then Reznor ended the hoopla last week when he reported on his blog that 154,449 people had downloaded NiggyTardust...

DENVER (Billboard) - This past March, Greenpeace made headlines by criticizing Apple's environmental policies -- or lack thereof. The move generated a rare response from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who outlined previously undisclosed plans for "a greener Apple" in a Web-published memo. It also sparked protests from pro-Apple bloggers, who claimed Apple's leadership in the digital music space had a positive impact on the environment. After all, replacing physical CDs with digital files must help the environment right? Wrong. Environmental groups claim the music industry's transition from physical to digital has no discernible benefit to the environment and, in the...

One music industry source said some subpoenas may have been issued already in connection with the probe, while other labels had been tipped off that subpoenas would likely be coming in the next few days. It appeared that Sony BMG had already received a subpoena, the second industry source said. The major record labels are Warner Music Group, EMI Group Plc, Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group and Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann Ag. Executives from the labels were not available or declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the DOJ was not immediately available for comment....