Interview with Walter Yetnikoff

Click here to watch an interview with Walter Yetnikoff.

The legendary former head of CBS Records, speaks frankly and on the record about why major labels today are failing to capitalize on the new artists they sign, and why the record industry has thus far completely missed out on the internet music revolution.

One of the most storied – and controversial – executives in the history of the record industry, Walter Yetnikoff was head of CBS Records from 1975 to 1990. Over the course of his career at CBS, he oversaw an explosive growth in record sales (both by his label group and the industry at large), became embroiled in numerous feuds with artists and rival executives, and presided over the sale of the CBS label group to Sony in 1988. Along the way, he made the careers of a who’s who of modern rock and pop music – Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Billy Joel among them. Today, Yetnikoff runs a small boutique label and is an in-demand public speaker. His memoir, Howling at the Moon: Confessions of a Music Mogul in an Age of Excess, was published in 2004.

watch this dj scratching with cassettes!

Frosty Freeze/Pee game/Waxpoetics

Wayne “Frosty Freeze” Frost, a hip-hop pioneer whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 movie “Flashdance” helped set off a worldwide b-boy craze, has died. He was 44. Frost died Thursday at Mount Sinai Medical Center after a long illness. His life will be celebrated at the Rock Steady Crew’s 31st Anniversary, set to take place in New York July 24-27.

Music & Copyright has released a new report with global sales figures for recorded music in 2007.
Universal Music Group – 28.8%
Warner Music Group – 14.4%
Sony BMG – 20.1%
EMI – 10.9%
Indies – 25.8%

You gotta check out this Video Game for Nintendo Wii from Japan that provides a “Virtual Peeing Experience“. Too funny!

My man John Carluccio did a really cool video piece on Waxpoetics magazine.