Nearly a third of Youtube searches are for Musical Content

Recently it was reported by research company Sysomos that %30.7 of Youtube's traffic comes from users watching music videos, or videos of songs with still images. Youtube, the internet leading source for media, has virtually become a pseudo-media player for many internet users. Instead of playing songs off of Itunes or Windows Media Player, people search on Youtube for music the want to hear. Youtube has adapted to support this mentality by giving Youtube members the options to 'favorite' certain videos and even make play lists of memorable content. This news supports the theory that music lovers are moving to more on-demand streaming platforms, as they find less reason to actually own music. Streaming sites like Pandora and Last.fm have reached new heights of popularity within the last year. The evolution of the internet into the most powerful and unprecedented storage unit of content in the world has many music indusrty experts signaling the change to more all-access type media platforms already popular online. Youtube serves as a accurate gauge of how this transition is taking place. The sharable nature of Youtube videos also accounts for the surge of video related searches. Embedded videos have become a fixture of for bloggers, who embed 57% of music videos shared last year. Also notable is that music videos are the most viewed category on Youtube for all age groups, although younger demographics do statistically view music content more frequently.

Abbey Road's Future Unclear

Reacting to speculations that music industry giant EMI is selling Abbey Road studios, the company announced Monday that it is not selling but 'revitalizing' the famed studio space. Apparently, the stumbling economy and Abby Road's historically high recording rates has greatly reduced EMI's income over the past few years. Rumors surfaced last week that the company was considering putting the studio up on the market, prompting protest from former Beatles member Paul McCartney. In their statement the company expressed concern that the future of the studio is uncertain, as the space undoubtedly needs investment for repairs and maintenance. EMI stated,

"Abbey Road studios had, for a number of years, been losing money and we have developed plans to revitalize the studios, these plans would involve a substantial injection of new capital."

So what does the future hold for Abbey Road? Well, we don't really know. EMI admitted that many potential investors have already sat down with the company to discuss possible finincial relations. We do know however that the record company will not sell the studios, as they revelaed that they recieved a 46 million dollar offer for the space in 2009, but rejected it. They have not cited who made the offer.

Abbey Road is of course the most famous recording studio in pop culture, and one of the most prestigious recording spaces available to musicians. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Kate Nash, Elliott Smith and many more have all recorded important albums at Abbey Road.


Herbie Handcock and Corinne Bailey Rae cover Joni Mitchell's River at Abbey Road.

Happy Birthday J Dilla

Today, February 7th, would be the 36th birthday of legendary record producer and composer J Dilla. Born James Dewitt Yance in Detroit, Michigan, Dilla first gained a reputation for composing beats used by popular rappers in the mid 1990's. Dilla's influence on hip-hop is undeniable; he has produced records for A Tribe Called Quest, Bust Rhymes, De La Soul, Q-Tip, Janet Jackson, The Roots, Common, Mos Def, Daft Punk, Talib Kweli and many more. In addition to making beats and producing, J started a notable performance/MC career in 2000. His final album, entitled Donuts- released 3 days before he died- has become one of hip-hops 'classic albums'. On February 10th, 2006, Dilla passed away from a complications related to a blood disease. He died peacefully in his Los Angles home. Yancey will always be remembered for his contributions to american music, and more specifically hip-hip and rap. RIP