LMAO a signing bonus of $10000.00?? Ahhh, perfect example of youth proving that ignorance is bliss. He probably would have settled for an xbox 360 with a lifetime membership on xbox live.

All seriousness aside, too bad the kid didnt have Scooter Braun representing him. And where was J.R. Rotem's brother Tommy at, doing his routine youtube A&R work? They wouldve added at least a couple of extra digits on that. Boy jumped the gun. Question is, what is Ellen capable of? Seems like charity money to me.

Yeah so every other day I run into bootleg Ryan Leslie's, Dream's, Ne-yo's and Kevin Cossom's, and all this time, it seems as though everyone is just emulating, nobody is creating. Then I came across this guy Jasper Sawyer and I feel like the kid who found the gold wrapper in Willy Wonka. This guy has IT all. Melody, soul, lyrics, EVERYTHING. I would bet my bottom dollar that he IS what is next and if this dude had a stock, I'd be all in. I never had that much faith in any unsigned artist until now. Word is that he's shopping his demo to Syco Records. Dont tell me I didnt tell you "I told you so".

Yeah, so the chain looks pretty official, but I dont believe it until Diddy make a public statement. I dont really believe Diddy would sign someone who clearly fits the same target audience as currently signed artist Donnie Klang. Same style, same image, isnt that a conflict of interest?

Any how, the sound Jeremy Greene has is a mash of techno and hip pop. He has potential, but I'd like to see what pans out with a diddy contract.

Uhmmmm yeah... I admire his drive and ambition, but talent is lacking all around. Sorry kid, aint hating, but telling it like it is.

It seems one pioneering achievement wasn't enough for Sean Forbes.

When he cofounded the Deaf Professional Arts Network (D-Pan) in 2006, the Royal Oak resident garnered national acclaim for his efforts. Producing high-quality sign-language remakes of hit videos, D-Pan helped open pop music culture to hearing-impaired people.

Now Forbes can add another eye-popping line to his résumé: deaf man with a big-time music deal.

The 28-year-old rapper and songwriter has inked a contract with Web Entertainment, the Ferndale production company and label that helped break his musical hero Eminem.

And in what his associates are hailing as a breakthrough for the American deaf community, Forbes has linked up with Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), the globally renowned composers' society whose clientele includes the Beatles on down.

The BMI deal sets him up to receive royalties for public airings of his original music, including the just-released video "I'm Deaf," a propulsive manifesto that features Forbes rapping and conveying lyrics in American Sign Language. Web will release the single on disc and vinyl Tuesday, along with an iTunes digital download, followed by a Thursday night release party at Royal Oak's Memphis Smoke.

"My endorphins are running like crazy right now," says Forbes. "These are exciting times."

Forbes, 90% deaf since infancy, grew up drawn to the booming low-end vibrations of hip-hop, playing drums to hone his rhythmic skills. D-Pan cofounder Joel Martin says Forbes' songwriting talent was destined to break through.

Forbes' interpretive performances "had already given him a name in the deaf community as an artist at the forefront," says Martin. "But it's one thing to perform other people's work. It's something else to do your own, and at some point it became apparent that Sean had the ability to write really good music."

Charlie Feldman, BMI's vice president for writer-publisher relations, describes Forbes' songs as emotionally inspirational and musically impressive, and says the

relationship

with BMI will increase the exposure to Forbes' work.

Yeah this guy is crack. I can't even front, his music sounds like stuff that should be on the radio. It's just sounds friendlier than most rap and he's got skills. Im not sure why noone picked him up yet. I think it's undeniable.

Article via BBC

Chirp - Twitter's first-ever conference for developers - attracted a wide and varied band of geeks and engineers from 28 countries. Co-founder Biz Stone said that around 1,000 people flocked to the Chirp event.

Serial angel investor Ron Conway told me that "today it was 1,000 people; in five years it will be 10,000".

He has invested in a number of developers building for Twitter and said that the conference shows that "real-time data is really in its infancy and the number of people here tells you what an awesome opportunity it represents".

Another person who thought the conference was "dope" was the hip-hop artist Will.i.am.

He appeared on stage for an informal chat and wandered the floor at the Palace of Fine Arts to discuss music and technology with anyone who wanted to talk. What he was really here for was to learn from those at the cutting edge of the social-media revolution.

In the space of four years, Twitter has evolved from a sketch to a service that has over 105 million registered users who have played key roles in world events from the Mumbai bombings to the Iranian elections and from the Haiti earthquake to the downing of a passenger jet in the Hudson River.

Biz Stone called all of this a "triumph of humanity, not technology in how people use Twitter". That is also how the Library of Congress views these tweets given its move to archive every single one of them every posted since March 2006.

For Will.i.am, the significance of Twitter is how it has affected the world of music.

"Right now, the companies responsible for content (in the music industry) haven't accepted the new way of distributing stuff because there is no way to monetise it."

Twitter-watchers may agree, given that the same question has dogged the company for years and is one that has been playing out at this conference. Will.i.am told me that "Twitter gives a hint of what is coming tomorrow" and that "the music industry is gone, but Twitter will inspire the next industry".

He believes the service will influence the types of songs he and others will write because it is like watching a stream of consciousness and you can see what parts of the world are engaging with the music and the bands.

"Now you can surf people's thoughts and it's scary but it's also pretty dope."

Talking of which, Will.i.am also reckons that the very nature of the band will also be changed forever by social media like Twitter and Facebook.

"The band of the future is not going to be a singer, a guitarist and a bass player. It will be a singer, a guitarist, a bass player and a code writer - the guy who does apps, computer animation. That is a group. It is going to be about self-contained content-providers."

Will.i.am suggests some implications for those moguls who currently control the billion-dollar music industry.

"It's not music that is dead. It's the people that house it that are dead. The industry I came from ain't there any more, but it's pretending to be."

As someone who is getting to grips with social media and learning how to code, Will.i.am relished his star status at this conference. Even though he stuck out like a sore thumb as the coolest dude in the room, he seemed very comfortable mingling with the coders and engineers.

"You know what's dope," he told the crowd "I am the only person from the music industry here."

They liked that.

With all these free mixtapes releasing now, you wonder, how are these artists eating? Truth is, theyre not, theyre all pretending. Lady Gaga is probably the music industry's last stab at trying to convince investors that the music industry still exists and is profitable. EMI will probably collapse this year and with it, a domino effect which will hit all the major labels. Downsizing staff is prevalent in an uncertain market and the ease of internet sales just make tangible distribution obsolete. One thing is certain though, As Jay-Z makes 9 million for 3 shows, it's evident, there is still a market for performances. I dont see companies like Live Nation laying anyone off. The moral of this story is, regulation is impossible on the internet, if you can hear it, you can record it. That Cocktail/CMX technology is useless.

Posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 11:21 pm

By BellaNaija.com

Who would have thought?

I did think that gaga sounded a little too much like M.I.A. on wale's track Chillin. So finally, M.I.A. addresses the swag jacking.

NME: Do we still need record labels?)
M.I.A: Are they even interested in making money from music anymore? Lady Gaga plugs 15 things in her new video. Dude, she even plugs a burger!**

(NME: Do you think those programmes [X-Factor] and the Internet have destroyed the mythology around popstars?)
M.I.A.: I don’t know. Again, there’s Lady Gaga — people say we’re similar, that we both mix all these things in the pot and spit them out differently, but she spits it out exactly the same! None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is. She models herself on Grace Jones and Madonna, but the music sounds like 20-year-old Ibiza music, you know? She’s not progressive, but she’s a good mimic. She sounds more like me than I fucking do! …

M.I.A. continues: That’s a talent and she’s got a great team behind her, but she’s the industry last’s stab at making itself important – saying, ‘You need our money behind you, the endorsements, the stadiums’ Respect to her, she’s keeping a hundred thousand people in work, but my belief is: Do It Yourself.

NME: How important are image and visuals to your music?

M.I.A.: Very. But it’s not like “Haus of Gaga” (laughs). Me blindfolded with naked men feeding me apples and shit.

**Lol, I think this is the video that M.I.A. is referring to: Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce “Telephone”….with the various product placement. How much did that Honeybun placement cost? ; ) Not sure which video features the apple-feeding ; ) Is it “Bad Romance” or “Poker Face“?

case and point