The Beatles

Special edition vinyl albums cause some fans delight – but others suspect a cynical marketing ploy

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

In fact, physical sales are so healthy that HMV has risen from the ashes and returned to its flagship store on Oxford Street.

Key Points: 
  • In fact, physical sales are so healthy that HMV has risen from the ashes and returned to its flagship store on Oxford Street.
  • According to Lawrence Montgomery, the managing director of Rough Trade record stores, Swift owes her success in part to appealing to a younger contingent of fans by turning her albums into collectables.
  • She has done this through the release of multiple alternate album covers or disc colours.
  • A few days later, another special edition, with a fourth bonus track, was made available.

The special ones

  • Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine album, released in March 2024 came in five CD and six vinyl variants, as well as a deluxe edition.
  • Perhaps the most troubling aspect of all this is how children are being targeted as consumers of these expensive products.
  • Researchers have observed that Swift’s 2019 album, Lover, was focused on a “tween identity”.

Cross-generational collecting

  • Millennials like me are also being suckered in by the allure of special editions.
  • I’m a Beatles and Pink Floyd fan, and I’m not oblivious to the numerous re-releases both acts have been party to over the decades.
  • I have three copies of Abbey Road, three White Albums, three versions of Let it Be, and more editions of McCartney than anyone rightfully needs.
  • And yes, I’ve bought them, even though I already own more than one copy of each.


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Glenn Fosbraey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

BEYONCÉ RELEASES COWBOY CARTER

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 29, 2024

LOS ANGELES, March 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Beyoncé's eighth studio album is available worldwide now. act ii COWBOY CARTER arrives today following the successful release of two lead singles, "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and "16 CARRIAGES" on February 11, Superbowl Sunday.

Key Points: 
  • act ii COWBOY CARTER arrives today following the successful release of two lead singles, "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and "16 CARRIAGES" on February 11, Superbowl Sunday.
  • COWBOY CARTER, executive produced by Beyoncé, is about genres, all of them, while deeply rooted in Country.
  • On COWBOY CARTER the work of an artist who created on her own terms, in the absence of rules, persists boldly.
  • The character, Cowboy Carter was birth from these experiences and inspired by the original Black cowboys of the American West.

BEYONCÉ RELEASES COWBOY CARTER

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 29, 2024

LOS ANGELES, March 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Beyoncé's eighth studio album is available worldwide now. act ii COWBOY CARTER arrives today following the successful release of two lead singles, "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and "16 CARRIAGES" on February 11, Superbowl Sunday.

Key Points: 
  • act ii COWBOY CARTER arrives today following the successful release of two lead singles, "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and "16 CARRIAGES" on February 11, Superbowl Sunday.
  • COWBOY CARTER, executive produced by Beyoncé, is about genres, all of them, while deeply rooted in Country.
  • On COWBOY CARTER the work of an artist who created on her own terms, in the absence of rules, persists boldly.
  • The character, Cowboy Carter was birth from these experiences and inspired by the original Black cowboys of the American West.

Guitarist Bobby Broom Serves Up a Platter of Spicy Organ Jazz with "Jamalot," Set for May 24 Release by Steele Records

Retrieved on: 
Monday, March 25, 2024

RICHMOND, Calif., March 25, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Acclaimed guitarist Bobby Broom makes a welcome return to one of his longtime favorite formats—the jazz organ trio—with "Jamalot," a live album and the second by his Organi-Sation, to be released May 24 on Steele Records. While the trio (which also features organist Ben Paterson and drummer Kobie Watkins) debuted on record with 2018's "Soul Fingers," they have been a working band for much longer; the new release features performances going back 10 years.

Key Points: 
  • RICHMOND, Calif., March 25, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Acclaimed guitarist Bobby Broom makes a welcome return to one of his longtime favorite formats—the jazz organ trio—with "Jamalot," a live album and the second by his Organi-Sation, to be released May 24 on Steele Records.
  • It first bore professional fruit in his twenties, when he joined the band of the legendary Charles Earland.
  • A decade later, in the 1990s, he founded the Deep Blue Organ Trio, which continued working into the 2010s.
  • "I thought after the Deep Blue Organ Trio that I would never feel anything quite like that in terms of chemistry," Broom says.

The Op Games Launches New Version of MONOPOLY®: The Beatles Edition

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

CARLSBAD, Calif., March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Op Games, the board game and puzzle publisher behind iconic licensed games and best-selling party games Telestrations®, Blank Slate™, and Hues and Cues™, today launched a revamped version of a classic board game to commemorate the most influential band of all time with MONOPOLY®: The Beatles Edition. Under license by leading toy and game company Hasbro, the new game brings one of the world's largest pioneers of the music industry back to the tabletop to celebrate 60 years since the band first landed in the United States. The Deal was brokered by Bravado International, The Beatles' North American licensing agent.

Key Points: 
  • The Deal was brokered by Bravado International, The Beatles' North American licensing agent.
  • "The Beatles are a household name, well-known by fans of all ages, even six decades later," said Dane Chapin, CEO of The Op Games.
  • "Listening Parties" take the place of the game's traditional "Houses," with "Concerts" as the classic "Hotels", all paid for with the game's custom Beatles money.
  • MONOPOLY®: The Beatles Edition (MSRP: $44.99) is available now on The Op Games' website.

Magnachip Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2023

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

A reconciliation of GAAP results to non-GAAP results is included in this press release.

Key Points: 
  • A reconciliation of GAAP results to non-GAAP results is included in this press release.
  • Beginning in Q1, the Company will begin reporting results under its newly organized businesses: MSS (Mixed-Signal Solutions) and PAS (Power-Analog Solutions).
  • While actual results may vary, Magnachip currently expects the following:
    Consolidated revenue to be in the range of $46 to $51 million, including approximately $3 million of Transitional Foundry Services.
  • These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations.

A brief history of the diss track – from the Roxanne Wars to Megan Thee Stallion

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 16, 2024

Fans and critics have suggested the track takes aim at multiple artists including Tory Lanez, Nicki Minaj and Drake.

Key Points: 
  • Fans and critics have suggested the track takes aim at multiple artists including Tory Lanez, Nicki Minaj and Drake.
  • The relationship between diss records and rap battles was crucial to the expansion of diss records during the 1980s.
  • The Roxanne Wars is the most famous exchange of diss records, with over 50 releases by 35 different artists.

The Roxanne Wars

  • The Roxanne saga was triggered by an “answer-back” record (a song which responds directly to the content in another artist’s song) by rapper Roxanne Shanté, directed at hip hop group U.T.F.O.’s 1984 hit Roxanne, Roxanne.
  • released their own orchestrated answer-back, titled The Real Roxanne.
  • This musical altercation spawned diss records by other artists too, who took on personas such as Roxanne’s Doctor, Rocksann, The Parents Of Roxanne and Little Roxanne.
  • The Roxanne Wars fostered a new paradigm of diss records.

Female pioneers

  • Looking back at the history of the diss track, it is the strength of female emcees that stands out.
  • However, she lost due to judge Kurtis Blow’s alleged bias of not voting for a female rapper.
  • Throughout the 1980s, female rappers were often dismissed due to the patriarchal structure of rap.
  • But the tenacious next wave of female rappers – including MC Lyte, Monie Love, Queen Latifah and Queen Mother Rage – constructed diss songs with deeper metaphorical complexity.


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Adam de Paor-Evans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Kiss’s debut album at 50: how the rock legends went from ‘clowns’ to becoming immortalised

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 16, 2024

It has been 50 years since Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Kiss launched their thunderock-doused debut album into the pop culture stratosphere. The eponymous album, released on February 18 1974, became a platform-stacked foot in the music industry’s door. What followed established Kiss as one of the most memorable hard-rock bands of the 1970s and ’80s, with a globally recognised legacy. The early daysThe pair then hatched a plan to form a far more aggressive and successful rock band.

Key Points: 


It has been 50 years since Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Kiss launched their thunderock-doused debut album into the pop culture stratosphere. The eponymous album, released on February 18 1974, became a platform-stacked foot in the music industry’s door. What followed established Kiss as one of the most memorable hard-rock bands of the 1970s and ’80s, with a globally recognised legacy.

The early days

  • The pair then hatched a plan to form a far more aggressive and successful rock band.
  • Drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley were recruited, and the new-generation Fab Four renamed themselves Kiss.
  • By late November of 1973, the band had developed their bombastic live performance style, perfected their makeup and signed a deal with Casablanca Records.
  • Armed with reworked songs from Wicked Lester, Kiss entered New York’s Bell Sound Studios to record their debut.

The Kiss sound

  • The salesperson, responsible for the glitter glue, enthusiastically recounted seeing Kiss play VFL Park (now Waverley Park stadium) in 1980 and made me promise I’d listen to them.
  • With their reputation of on-stage pyrotechnics and gore, I’d expected something more akin to Black Sabbath’s Paranoid than the jangly riffs of Let Me Know or Love Theme From Kiss.
  • Despite calling the album exceptional, Fletcher described its sound as a cross between Deep Purple and the Doobie Brothers.
  • This commercial unviability loomed over Kiss until the release of Alive!

Success and beyond

  • bridged the gap between the audacious intensity of Kiss’s performances and the timidness of their studio recordings.
  • Their early tracks were repurposed to let listeners remotely experience the infamous Kiss live spectacle.
  • As Rock and Roll All Nite claimed #12 on the Billboard charts, the platform-stacked foot burst through the door to mainstream success.
  • Fifty years after Kiss first stepped into Bell Sound Studios, the band played their final sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on December 2 2023.
  • Promised to be their biggest and best shows ever, the farewell became a colossal celebration of the band’s legacy.


Charlotte Markowitsch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Using ‘trip killers’ to cut short bad drug trips is potentially dangerous

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

As interest in psychedelics has grown, so has interest in ways to end a bad trip.

Key Points: 
  • As interest in psychedelics has grown, so has interest in ways to end a bad trip.
  • Recent research reveals that people are giving potentially dangerous advice on social media on how to stop a trip that is less than pleasurable.
  • One of the earliest descriptions of a psychedelic experience in western literature can be found in Aldous Huxley’s 1953 book The Doors of Perception.
  • Research shows that if someone is in a bad mood or depressed then they are more likely to have a bad trip, as are people who take too high a dose.

Trip killers

  • Few clinical studies have examined trip killers, but one has found that ketanserin – a drug used to treat high blood pressure – reverses the psychedelic effects of LSD.
  • A recent article in the Emergency Medical Journal analysed posts on Reddit about trip killers.
  • Trip killers were discussed most often for LSD (235 posts), magic mushrooms (143 posts) and MDMA (21 posts).

Receptor blocking

  • To kill a trip then, one simply has to give the drug user another drug that blocks (rather than activates) the 5-HT2A receptor.
  • Many prescription drugs can do this and they tend to be antipsychotic drugs.
  • Quetiapine from the list above is one popular example, while another antipsychotic, olanzapine, was mentioned in 14 posts in that study.
  • Similarly, the atypical antidepressants trazodone and mirtazapine also block the 5-HT2A receptor.


Colin Davidson has previously received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH, USA) and the European Community for projects related to stimulant drug abuse and novel psychoactive compounds respectively. He is currently a paid consultant with the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (MOD) working on new psychoactive compounds.

From rebel to retail − inside Bob Marley’s posthumous musical and merchandising empire

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

But as a music industry scholar, I wonder if the film is yet another extension of the Marley marketing machine.

Key Points: 
  • But as a music industry scholar, I wonder if the film is yet another extension of the Marley marketing machine.
  • This image, however, is fundamentally at odds with what has happened to Marley’s name and likeness since his death.
  • Now you can buy Bob Marley backpacks, Bob Marley jigsaw puzzles – even Bob Marley flip-flops.

On and off the record

  • According to the publication, Marley earned US$16 million – or rather, his estate did.
  • The commercial power of Bob Marley’s name generates the royalties earned by the estate, though precise percentages are not publicly available.
  • One posthumous musical release, in particular, has been a gold mine: Marley’s “Legend” compilation album.
  • But the material absent from that record speaks volumes.
  • These tracks don’t appear on “Legend.” In fact, none of the tracks from “Survival” do.
  • And so four decades after his death, Bob Marley remains the world’s top reggae artist.

Merchandising a mystic

  • In an era of minuscule music royalties, a large portion of that $16 million in earnings also comes from merchandising, which has further watered down Marley’s revolutionary politics and spiritualism.
  • Thanks to what two writers called “the Disneyfication of all matters Marley,” you can now buy Bob Marley-themed coffee, ice cream and body wash. There’s sustainably sourced, Bob Marley-branded audio equipment, in addition to a line of Bob Marley skateboard decks.
  • It’s funded by the American private equity company Privateer Holdings, which the Marley family had approached to gauge their interest in collaboration for the product’s release.
  • The creators of the Starbucks logo were hired to design the logo for Marley Natural, further underlining the venture’s commercial ties.
  • In 2001, his daughter Cedella, who runs parts of the estate, released a fashion line called Catch a Fire.
  • On it, tracks like “Slave Driver,” “Concrete Jungle” and “400 Years” connect the poverty of the present to the injustices of the past.

The reel situation of ‘One Love’

  • The estate has long portrayed the rampant commercialization of the Marley name and image as an important way to sustain and spread the artist’s ideals.
  • However, I think it’s important to ensure that the artistic and cultural values embedded in his music do not become clouded in a haze of rampant commercialization.
  • And his anti-imperialist messages, as warmongers threaten basic human rights around the world, are perhaps needed now more than ever.


Mike Alleyne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.