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Linda Perry blames Katy Perry for declining album sales

Songwriter Linda Perry has blasted Katy Perry as “crap” and blamed her for declining pop album sales.

Linda, who has written songs for Pink and Christina Aguilera, accused Katy of making music without substance and releasing albums with only a handful of good songs.

“I'm not a huge fan of Adele but that's a solid record and it's selling,” she said. “That means people are still buying records. It's the crappy, like, who wants a Katy Perry record? I'm sorry, but you're going to get the two songs that are probably the hits that are good, but the rest of the album is going to be crap. It's going to sound like sh*t.”

She added: “So people download the single, and that's it. She's great for what she does, but she's not reinventing the wheel, she's not giving substance, she's just giving microwave popcorn to feast on right at this moment. She's not looking to change the world musically, so all the power to her. I'm not saying that's bad, I'm saying it's not what I participate in. That's part of the reason why the music business is in turmoil.”

Although she’s been slammed by Linda, Katy must be doing something right. She just equaled Michael Jackson’s Billboard chart record by having five songs from one album go to number one.
- Aug 19 2011 Tweet
Bass Guitar Buying Guide

The bass guitar is an extremely versatile instrument, and is heavily relied upon in many genres of music. Do you know what you are looking for when shopping for a bass guitar? There are many aspects to take into consideration, and if you know nothing, or very little about bass’, you will struggle to understand the technical terms and jargon. If you serious about playing the bass guitar, It is important that you undertake some research before setting out to buy an instrument. Here are some top tips to consider when buying a bass guitar:

Type of guitar
The most common bass guitar is the electric bass guitar, but there are also acoustic bass guitars and electric-acoustics. The electric bass guitar has a solid body and requires plugging into an amplifier to be heard, this is essentially a powered speaker. Acoustic bass guitars have large hollow bodies, and a hole where the sound comes out. There are also electric-acoustic, which are designed to sound acoustic but are plugged into amps allowing them to be heard in large venues.

Number of strings
The 4-string bass is the most popular type of bass, and is usually more than adequate. It is possible and quite common to tune a 4-string bass lower than its standard tuning, but you might not get the best sound. Heavier music is easier to play on a 5-string bass as it isn’t necessary to detune your bass, it is recommended to purchase a 5-string bass if you regularly need low notes.
A 6-string bass would not be recommended for a beginner, it is simply too much to take in. It makes far more sense to focus on learning the traditional role of the bass, and perfect that before taking on 6 strings.

Frets
You can buy both fretted and fretless bass’, but if you buying your first bass, it wouldn’t be advised to purchase a fretless bass. If you want to play a fretless bass in the future, it is recommended that you learn on a fretted bass first to ensure that you learn to play in-tune. This is important because to play the fretless bass, you need to be able to hear the notes in your head, and then play to match them. It can take a lot of practice to accurately play notes on a fretless bass.

Scale
The scale of a bass refers to how long the vibrating length of the strings is, i.e. from the bridge to the nut. The lower the pitch you need, the longer the string required – why is why guitars are shorter than basses. The most common scale for an electric bass is called ‘long scale’ and is 34”.

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- Aug 19 2011 Tweet
Bug Music For Sale… Again

Bug Music was put up for sale in an auction last year, but was eventually aborted. However, it now seems that JP Morgan Chase is putting the company back on the block, with bids being accepted next week.

Spectrum Equity Investors and Tom McGrath bought Bug in 2006, and when it went up for sale last year, were reportedly looking for somewhere in the region of $270 million to $300 million. When the auction was unable to deliver bids anywhere near what they were after, they pulled it.

At that time Bug Music had an annual revenue of around $72 million, but the company has tried to boost this over the past year by buying the Saban Music Group catalog – includes theme music.

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- Aug 19 2011 Tweet
Saxophone Buying Guide

Size of Saxophone

Soprano & Sopranino
These are the high instruments can can be difficult to can good intonation unless you are an experienced player. Beginners should avoid a soprano or sopranino until they are able to achieve a nice sound.

Alto & Tenor
Either of these two sizes are often the first choice for beginners, with children usually avoiding a tenor because it is too big. If you prefer a tenor but struggle with the ergonomics, try out a few different ones because they will all have different fingering.

Baritone & Bass
These are the two lowest saxophones and can be very hard to blow and finger, particularly for young people and smaller adults. The baritone and bass are also the most expensive saxophones to buy.

New or Used?
It is often easier to buy a new saxophone because you can be pretty much guaranteed that it will be in full working order when you buy it. However, as soon as money changes hands and it becomes a used instrument, your saxophone will swiftly depreciate in value. If you a buying from a well known dealer, you shouldn’t have a problem with buying second hand, but your instrument may need a little more care. If you are a professional player you might find some reasonably priced vintage instruments from dealers but be wary if you are beginner as the sound and ergonomics are more difficult to get used to.

Accessories
Reeds: 1 ½ strength for a beginner
Sling: A strap will take the weight out of your sax
Cleaning pull through: you need to clean your sax after playing to prevent a build up of moisture.
- Aug 19 2011 Tweet
Electric Guitar Buying Guide

There is quite a lot to consider when purchasing an electric guitar as there are numerous variations and picking one which does not suit your needs could be a big mistake. Consider these things when buying your electric guitar to ensure you get one that is right for you.

Body Style
There are three basic body styles to an electric guitar, solid-body, semi-hollow, and hollow-body. Guitars with a solid body are ideal when you are using lots of effects, loud amplification, whereas semi-hollow bodied guitars are more effective when looking for an acoustic sound with high amplification. A hollow body is also known as a jazz guitar and provides an acoustic sound but creates feedback at high amplification.

Scale Length
The scale length has an impact on the tone and the tension of the strings. Modern guitars usually use one of two scale lengths, the “Gibson” scale 24-5/8” and the “Fender” scales at 25-1/2”. There is a more uncommon scale length of 25”.
Number of Frets
Electric guitars usually come with 22 frets as standard but you can get a 24 fret neck which allows you to play a full octave about the twelfth fret.

Wood
The wood of an electric guitar is less important than that of an acoustic guitar because so many other factors come into play with the tone of the guitar. A more expensive wood does not automatically mean a better sounding guitar. Choose the wood you prefer the sound of.

Bridge
The two bridges, the tremolo bridge and the stoptail bridge, are good for different types of music. The tremolo allows you to bend the strings altogether meaning that it can create a good rock or metal style, but this can lead to strings being out of tune. The stoptail is fixed into the body preventing strings going out of tune and it can create more sustain than the tremolo.
- Aug 19 2011 Tweet