March 06: It’s 31 Days of Free Music month at Podcasting News. Every day in March, we’re highlighting a free music podcast.

Previously, we’ve highlighted a free electronic music podcast, a classical music podcast, an Americana music podcast and more.

Today’s podcast is Blibb Blobb – The Chiptune Podcast. It’s a great example of how podcasts can open up a world of music that you’ll never hear on mainstream radio.

If you’re not familiar with it, chiptune or 8-bit music is music written for obsolete gaming systems, like the Commodore 64 or Amiga computers. If you’ve played old video games or Gameboys, you’ve heard classic chiptunes.

The music is cheesetastic – the limited sound capabilities of old gaming systems pose a challenge for musicians, but the best chiptune music turns the “blibb blobb” of cheap synth effects into real music.

The latest episode, below, looks at chiptunes programmed on Amiga with Protracker (mod). All songs recorded from Amiga Computers.

You can subscribe to the Blibb Blob podcast by adding this URL to your podcast software:
http://members.inode.at/severin.stefan.kittl/blibbblobb/feed/rss.xml

On March 22, podcasters from across the globe are planning to take a song from indie band Black Lab to No. 1 on the iTunes sales chart.

The project, Bumrush The Charts, aims to encourage listeners, through blogs, indie labels and artists, to buy one song by one band on that particular day. The song chosen by the podcasting community for the kickoff is Mine Again by L.A.-based Black Lab, former major label darlings-turned-label-less crusaders.

“An important point to make, that some people on forums have not quite understood… is that the podcasting community chose the band‚Äînot the other way around,” says Neil Bearse, host of The Podsafe Revolution podcast. “The band has reached out to podcasters by allowing us to play their music, after they were jerked around by two major labels. As the RIAA et al are considering podcasters pirates and amateurs, bands like Black Lab are embracing the technology and allowing us to play their music royalty free.”

You can watch Black Lab’s video for This Night, or download The Real You below.

March 05: It’s 31 Days of Free Music month at Podcasting News. Every day in March, we’re going to do our best to hook you up with free music podcasts.

Previously, we’ve highlighted a free electronic music podcast, a classical music podcast, and a free music podcast from guitarist Ottmar Liebert.

If you like Americana and folk-rock, you’ll want to check out Flyinshoes Radio.

It has a simple formula – just lots of acoustic guitar work and great songwriting. You can preview the latest episode below.

To subscribe, add this feed URL to your podcast client:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/flyinshoes

On Friday, the United States Copyright Royalty Board announced new royalty rates for webcasts, effective from 2006 to 2010.

The new rates force webcasters to pay for each traditionally copyrighted song streamed to each user, and increase over the next few years as follows:

• 2006: $0.0008 to stream one song to one listener
• 2007: $.0011
• 2008: $.0014
• 2009: $.0018
• 2010: $.0019

These fees apply to music that is streamed, not podcasts that are downloaded. Because of the many ways people can publish and listen to music on the Web, though, this is a blurry distinction.

The Radio and Internet Newsletter RAIN calculates that, assuming that the average station plays 16 songs per hour, sites would have to pay “about 1.28 cents” per listener per hour using the 2006 rate, and would owe this retroactively, in addition to licensing fees going forward. RAINs math suggests that the rate would render Internet radio unsustainable, or at the very least, more ad-laden than terrestrial radio — and that’s before the songwriters licenses are taken into account.

Looks like the RIAA is going to drive webcasters to use Creative Commons licensed and other indie music.

via WIRED

TASCAM has introduced a new MP3 player specifically designed for musicians, the MP-GT1. The portable audio player features variable-speed playback, guitar effects and pitch-shifting.

MP3s can be played at slower speed without changing the pitch, and sections can be seamlessly looped while practicing tricky passages. Song playback can be pitched up or down to match the tuning of an instrument, and a Guitar Cancel function nukes the recorded guitar part so the musician can play along.

The MP-GT1 includes enough memory for storing over 200 songs, each of which can be slowed down, looped and processed to help you learn new music. A guitar input lets guitarists play along with thick overdrive and multi-effects, including a guitar canceller so you can play along with the Zeppelin.

A rechargeable 9-hour lithium ion battery is built into the unit, and an optional power supply is also available. The MP-GT1 can be loaded and charged via a high-speed USB connector.

A top Microsoft executive said Thursday that in three years, the bulk of its nearly $1 billion in U.S. ad spending will be in the digital sphere.

“We’re actually pretty confident that by 2010, the majority of our media mix will shift to digital,” said Mich Mathews, senior vice president of the company’s central marketing group, at the AAAAs media conference.

The announcement bodes well for podcasts, video podcasts and other forms of Internet media that have recently begun to draw attention away from more traditional media sources.

Mathews said the company is simply following its consumers, who are increasingly migrating to the Web and an array of nontraditional outlets for information and entertainment. Microsoft is also attracted to the accountability that digital marketing can provide.

Microsoft has allocated 3% of its current ad budget for a multi-continent experiment to test a series of emerging media, Mathews said. Mobile and IPTV are being gauged in Europe, interactive and out-of-home in Asia, and the effectiveness of satellite radio and RSS feeds in the U.S.

via MediaPost

March 04: It’s 31 Days of Free Music month at Podcasting News. Every day in March, we’re going to do our best to hook you up a great free music podcast.

Previously, we’ve highlighted a free electronic music podcast, a classical music podcast., and a free music podcast from guitarist Ottmar Liebert.

Today’s free music podcast is ReGenesis Remixed, a regular podcast that explores the electronic and atmospheric music of ReGenesis, a dramatic series about an organization that investigates questionable advances in biotechnology.

Hosted by music supervisor Andrea Higgins, ReGenesis : ReMixed focuses on the artists, the songs and the underscore heard on the show, and features exclusive interviews with some of the people involved in putting ReGenesis together.

There’s lots of driving electronic music and moody ambient tracks, mixed with some voice samples from the series and brief introductions by Higgins.

All in all, it’s a very smart corporate audio podcast that introduces listeners to a lot of cool music, offers fans of the show a Regenesis fix and doesn’t get bogged down in hype.

March 03: It’s 31 Days of Free Music month at Podcasting News. Every day in March, we’re going to do our best to hook you up a great free music podcast.

Previously, we’ve highlighted a free electronic music podcast and a classical music podcast. Both of these podcasts are radio-show style podcasts, combining music and some discussion. Today’s podcast is a little different.

Ottmar Liebert’s Listening Lounge is a podcast that is just music. Ottmar Liebert, if you’re not familiar with him, is a German composer and guitarist, born to a Chinese-German father, and a Hungarian mother, who plays Brazillian-influenced Nouveau Flamenco. As you might guess, his work has a world music feel to it.

Liebert helped pioneer the use of podcasts as a promotional tool for musicians. Early on, Liebert created his Listening Lounge podcast, which features live versions of his music, alternate takes, tracks in progress, and music by other label-mates. In other words, subscribe to Liebert’s podcast and you’ll get a regularly updated collection of free music.

You can preview Liebert’s music with the track below, Bells. Find out more about Liebert at his official label site.

MXL Microphones has introduced the MXL USB.007 stereo mic for direct to computer stereo recording on a PC or Mac.

No special software or drivers are needed, just plug the mic into your portable or desktop computer, set your preferences and enjoy instant studio quality recordings.

The mic uses dual gold diaphragm capsules in a XY pattern together with low noise electronics and the latest in enhanced digital conversion techniques for pristine audio quality.

The new mic opens up new possibilities for direct stereo recording with a standard computer such as live performances in the professional, school and home environment. It should also offer a lot of possibilities for podcasts, multimedia, news and broadcast applications using portable computers for remote stereo recording of concerts, lectures, or even documenting outdoor sounds in stereo for film and TV backgrounds.

The MXL USB.007 ships with a carry bag, a desktop mic stand, mic stand adaptor, a 10-foot USB cable, wind screen, owners manual and an applications guide.

The MXL USB.007 carries an MSRP of $ 199.00.

HHB has introduced the FlashMic DRM85-C Cardioid Microphone, an innovative mic that combines a Sennheiser capsule with a broadcast-quality Flash recorder. The mic is designed to be a portable recording solution for broadcasters and podcasters.

The mic joins HHB’s original, omni-directional FlashMic DRM85. Both FlashMic models share the same feature set, which includes 1GB Flash memory for up to 18 hours recording, USB audio data transfer, a high-quality preamplifier with full manual or automatic gain control (AGC), an illuminated LCD display and nine user templates which can be configured externally using the FlashMic Manager software supplied.

“When news breaks, the FlashMic provides a convenient, all-in-one, portable recording solution with no fiddly cables or connectors,” continues Jones. “And it’s every bit as easy to transfer audio files to a laptop for editing and onward transmission.”

Unfortunately, the FlashMic’s cutting edge technology comes at a price; the DRM85 retails for about $1200.