Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” begins week three at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart today. Watch out for this kid - he seems like the sweet harmless type, but he’s one savvy teen. Plus, he seems to be getting the sweet end of the Epic stick. Turns out that Epic has outsourced the marketing of Sean Kingston’s debut album to Koch Records. Combining Epic’s resources with Koch’s targeted marketing might be better than a single record deal with either one! ([More →])

WTF?! Today on hypebot I found something that did not surprise me, yet the shock and awe lingers even as I type this. The post was a simple question and answer quote. The question was put to President George W. Bush after a speech he gave in Nashville last week. It’s a simple question, one that has even been discussed on the Congress floor. But as we know, Congress is hip enough to discuss the music industry, like the intellectual rights of mash-ups. Our President, unfortunately, is not hip. Not even a little bit. That is no surprise, but this example is still unsettling. ([More →])

The music industry watchblog hypebot posted some interesting conversations today regarding the availability of DRM-free downloads. In particular, we learn why businesses like Rhapsody, Napster and others have yet to offer DRM-free downloads when EMI and the independent labels have made them available. Some claim that, while EMI and the indies are making a step in the right direction by offering their music without restrictions built in, the amount of music that this adds up to is not yet large enough to offer in their services. ([More →])

Anyone paying attention to the situation with independent music on terrestrial radio will recall that the FCC was investigating Clear Channel over payola issues. Not long ago, they reached an agreement that included the broadcast of 8,400 half-hour blocks of independent music on all of Clear Channel’s commercial radio stations. ([More →])

The CompactDisc turned 25 today! On this day 25 years ago, it was Abba’s new album The Visitors that made music history by becoming the first album published on this new compact format. It was the smallest album available at the time…

It marked a revolutionary time in the music industry. In addition to the scheming CEOs with dollar signs in their eyes and futures, pirates and thieves also quickly figured out the benefits of such a pocketable disc!

A fan-built video to “The Visitors” from Abba’s albu of the same name:

You can also click over to iVi’s MOG to watch the Reuters report about the 25th Birthday of the CD featuring lots of great factory shots reminiscent of Mr. Roger’s educational visits to production facilities:
25th Year Of The CD - DJ iVi’s MOG

Abba have recently taken over a century-old customs warehouse just south of central Stockholm. They have plans to build an ABBA museum within. The century old doors will sigh pleasantly as they are opened to the public in Spring 2009.

Check the ABBAsite for more details…