On the record

Jim Carrollon music.

Universal takes a giant step into the blogosphere

Judging by recent business deals, music and media companies see plenty of potential in music blogs.

Universal Music Group has invested $25 million in Buzznet, the company which recently acquired high-profile music blogs Stereogum and Idolator.

UMG see the new partnership as an opportunity to be "directly involved in developing editorial programming".

It remains to be seen, however, if this means UMG artists will get preferential treatment in reviews.

In recent months, there has been a huge number of buy-outs, takeovers and investments involving music companies as they seek to diversify their portfolios. This, though, is the first move by a major label into the hitherto uncharted waters of music blogs. As a result, the UMG-Buzznet hook-up will be watched closely for conflicts of interest, reader unease about the lack of editorial independence and how releases on other labels are treated.

Other sites in the news this week were the excellent RCRD LBL, which is joining forces with print mag Fader, while Pastemagazine announced it was bringing 11 music and movie blogs, including Pop Mattersand Virb, together under the Paste Nationbanner to pitch for advertising.

Meanwhile, a Business Weekprofile of the Pitchfork (credited with breaking Arcade Fire, among others) site estimated its annual ad revenues at $5 million.

Some sites have capitalised on their ability to attract bigger audiences by adding self-generated audio and video streams to their sites and turning into quasi radio or TV channels.

For media industry investors, though, the real appeal of music blogs lies in how they act as filters to attract a highly targeted audience."Sites like MySpace are so overarching and so mass, this (RCRD LBL) is much more of a targeted community," said Fader Media's Andy Cohn about the rationale behind their deal with RCRD LBL.

Expect more of these deals in the coming months.

Reclaiming the fields

Not all outdoor shows this summer will feature old men and over-priced indie acts. There are also a few homegrown festivals to keep an eye on.

Festivals returning to a field near you include the Irish Green Gathering (Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, August 8-10), Day Of Darkness (Ballylinan, Co Laois, July 4-5),

Mantua Project (Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon, August 1-3) and Glasgowbury (Draperstown, Co Derry, July 26).

Castle Palooza is all back, with Mystery Jets, The Black Seeds, The Flaws, Luan Parle, Fight Like Apes and others playing in Tullamore in August.

On May 3, Sibin takes over the Man O' War pub in north county Dublin. Its four stages will feature General Levy, DJ Storm, Noise Control, DJ Bailey, Magnetize and many more.

A date with Daniel

While he spends a lot of time in Ireland, Canadian producer and musician Daniel Lanois seldom plays here.

This will be redressed next month when Lanois, currently working with U2 on their forthcoming album, plays two shows to tie in with screenings of Here Is What Is, the documentary on his work as a musician and producer.

Lanois, along with drummer Brian Blade, plays Dublin's IFI on May 31 and Galway's Town Hall Theatre on June 1. Both shows will be followed by a screening of the documentary.