12.22.2003

Happy Holidays!

On behalf of the entire PhreshWater.com staff and Internship Team I’d like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season no matter where you are or way of celebrating this fine and festive time of year.

We will all be, like most folks out there, taking a small hiatus to enjoy our friends and families and will rejoin the ranks of the diehard music fans on New Years weekend with a bunch of new material and thoughts.

Please drive safe and help make this world a better place any way that you can……

Peace on Earth!


S. Remington – Editor
PhreshWater.com
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or Comments to : editor@phreshwater.com

12.11.2003

Outkast: Kings of Pop Digital Revolution!

A milestone was reached last night on Billboard’s 2003 Music awards. The first ever award to an artist for Digital Downloaded music was given to triumphant applause at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas last night.

The award was given to the artist who had sold, according to the Billboard charts, the most downloaded singles since tracking of those sales had begun earlier in the year. Outkast beat out other artist offering their wares in digital format for their song ‘Hey Ya!’ which racked up over Coldplay, Beyonce, and Black Eyed Peas for this ground breaking award. Read more about the Billboard awards HERE.

Hats off to Billboard for offering this fine award in a time when it is needed most. Also, hats off to Outkast who took the stage to accept their award and stated clearly to the audience and millions on the airwaves that they appreciated the award dearly, that downloading without paying was directly stealing from the artists, and that it “Shows Honor..” that fans worldwide are gathering forces to pay for digital downloaded music.

S. Remington – Editor
PhreshWater.com
Submit Editorials, Questions,
or Comments to : editor@phreshwater.com

12.08.2003

Single Power!

I just purchased my first album via download a few days ago. What a bargain! On Napster my wife and I were able to grab up a complete John Prine album for $9.95 and have it burned to a CD in less than 15 minutes. In doing so I avoided several issues that I will most certainly avoid again:

1) Over-Priced CD’s at the commercial record store
2) The Long Drive and Gas it took to get there
3) Wasted Paper and Packaging

Although Rock superpowers like Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers have stated their case in defense of the dying art of the ‘Album Format’ I have to point out an interesting fact to all of them. Since the opening of Apple iTunes and Napster we are seeing a resurgence in the power of the ‘Single’. A music medium that had its heyday when our parents were listening to The Beach Boys and Beatles is about to make it’s mark on the digital world without the aid of vinyl.

Thom Yorke, front man of Brit rock sensation Radiohead, stated in a recent interview that he is pleased with the new frontier of music for download even if it means people are more inclined to single songs instead of an album. He also said, and I’m in full agreement, that the way we are experiencing music is continually changing and that musicians should be able to evolve with those changes, to enhance the overall music experience. There are some interesting statistics on the recent surge in the digital ‘Single’ for sale. Click HERE

Whine about albums all you want. It still doesn’t mean they are going to go away. I still buy vinyl LP’s at the thrift store and enjoy them thoroughly. One thing is certain: The music industry wasn’t ready for the download revolution and the people responded regardless. Isn’t it beautiful?

S. Remington – Editor
PhreshWater.com
Submit Editorials, Questions,
or Comments to : editor@phreshwater.com