It may not be a fun time to be a music-biz insider but it's a hell of fun time to be a music-biz watcher. Take, for example, the industry's latest attempt at wrangling up some revenue in the face of declining physical album sales and record store closures: Mariah Carey's upcoming new disc, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, will include a 34-page booklet produced by Elle magazine.
The booklet will have such in-depth features as "VIP Access to Her Sexy Love Life" (man, we don't make this stuff up; we couldn't make this up) and will have ads for the Bahamas Board of Tourism, Elizabeth Arden and more, reports Rolling Stone.
The Carey booklet will also be in issues of Elle that coincide with the September 15 release date of the disc, and a digital version of the book will accompany the digital release of the album.
Apparently, if this works out, ad-filled booklets for Rihanna, Bon Jovi and Kanye West could be in the works, says Rolling Stone.
In some related news, other artists are looking at Apple's app store for unique ways to package their music with other offerings at a price that can be set for each app.
On Monday (August 3), six of the 20 most recently submitted music apps in the Apple app store featured a single artist, reports Wired. The artists were Jason Carver, Jessica Harp, Jimmy Cliff, John Butler Trio, Kadence and the Cribs. The apps featured videos, games, news, pictures, tour dates and community features that allow fans to share pics with each other.
The apps are as an always-changing reminder of an artist on a person's portable device and get the fan involved through the interactive content. And while that may be a smart approach to getting people interested in buying more music, we're not so sure if booklets with ads for the Bahamas will have the same effect.
The booklet will have such in-depth features as "VIP Access to Her Sexy Love Life" (man, we don't make this stuff up; we couldn't make this up) and will have ads for the Bahamas Board of Tourism, Elizabeth Arden and more, reports Rolling Stone.
The Carey booklet will also be in issues of Elle that coincide with the September 15 release date of the disc, and a digital version of the book will accompany the digital release of the album.
Apparently, if this works out, ad-filled booklets for Rihanna, Bon Jovi and Kanye West could be in the works, says Rolling Stone.
In some related news, other artists are looking at Apple's app store for unique ways to package their music with other offerings at a price that can be set for each app.
On Monday (August 3), six of the 20 most recently submitted music apps in the Apple app store featured a single artist, reports Wired. The artists were Jason Carver, Jessica Harp, Jimmy Cliff, John Butler Trio, Kadence and the Cribs. The apps featured videos, games, news, pictures, tour dates and community features that allow fans to share pics with each other.
The apps are as an always-changing reminder of an artist on a person's portable device and get the fan involved through the interactive content. And while that may be a smart approach to getting people interested in buying more music, we're not so sure if booklets with ads for the Bahamas will have the same effect.
