Why are so many people choosing downloads over actual CDs?

So recently we've heard in the news that entertainment retailer HMV is going into administration after the chain of stores has been seeing sales margins get progressively lower due to the online entertainment market sky-rocketing upwards, but I can't help but think, why?

Personally, I have always preferred going to the shop the day a particular CD is released to buy the physical CD of something, rather than spending a minute buying the download online via itunes. Yes, some would argue that staying awake until midnight to download the CD is exciting, but I'd rather be itching at school, waiting until the end of the day when I can go to the HMV in Bury or Manchester to buy the CD!

Despite this, I do really like the idea of websites like Netflix and LoveFilm which allow you to pay a certain amount a month so that you can watch high quality films and/or TV shows online, which could be really useful if you are on the move, temporarily staying somewhere, or if you're in university. But unfortunately, this still means that less people will go into the shop or online to the website, to buy physical copies.

But HMV also do some really cool stuff that I would really miss due to lack of funds, such as signings/meetings with celebrities and bands (in 2010 I met The Wanted, in 2011 I met The Midnight Beast and in 2012 I met Matt Cardle). HMV also organise some small gigs around the place, like in Manchester we have the HMV Ritz which hosts great people like The Lumineers (which got upgraded to Manchester Academy 1 due to high demand), Lianne La Havas and Ben Howard.

Evidently this new year has proven to be a bad omen to some high street shops as Jessops has also gone into administration and now HMV is looking like it will too. As the online market grows I do fear for high street shops closing down, as they are the only reasons that I will venture outside. I'd rather go out to buy a physical CD in HMV any day rather than download it off of itunes. Sorry itunes....

Virgin Media Music Awards 2013

It's that time of the year approaching again, awards season! This year, I'm taking a bigger interest into music awards and in particular, the virgin media music awards.

As you may know, I love up and coming new artists, as well as older, better known artists, but when I found out that 5 artists that I like were up for a 'Next Big Thing' award, I was truly shocked!

In the 'Next big thing' category are:

• Little Green Cars
• Tom Odell
• Nina Nesbitt
• Bastille
• Rascals
• Gabrielle Aplin
• Mikill Pane
• Angel Haze
• Foxes
• Haim
• Kodaline
• Aluna George

The ones bolded are my personal favourites to win, however I can't choose between them! I know that Haim as well, were marked as BBC Introducing's Big Thing of 2013 (previously won by Ellie Goulding and Florence and the machine). But out of the ones in bold, I really can't decide who I would want to win, they are all hard working and would deserve of the award!

In the 'Best group' category are:

• Little Mix
• JLS
• Muse
• Coldplay
• Blur
• The Stone Roses
• Girls Aloud
• The Maccabees
• The Vaccines
• Swedish House Mafia
• The Wanted (I have a real soft spot for them!)
• One Direction

I would really like any of the three in bold to win the award, the ones I would not be happy to win would be One Direction, Little Mix or JLS (I have a strong dislike for TV talent show offspring).

Who I'd like to win the other categories

Best album

• Jessie Ware - Devotion
• Mumford and Sons - Babel
• Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg
• Lana Del Rey - Born to die

Best Music Video

• Katy Perry - Wide Awake
• Lana Del Rey - Ride
• Calvin Harris ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing

Best Solo Artist

• Calvin Harris
• Lana Del Rey
• Jake Bugg

I really do like the nominations for all the awards this year, although choosing who I'm going to vote for and who I want to win is really difficult, but only time will tell who's the public choose as the best!

You can vote for all the categories by clicking on the headings.

As usual, thanks for reading, and who would you like to win these awards? ☺

New year, new music

Hello! So I hope you all had a nice, relaxing break from work/school but unfortunately, most of us are back to the hell of not being able to sleep in all day!

So, as you may have read in my previous blog post, 2012 has been a huge year for emerging artists and you know what that means? A whole bunch of EP's, debut albums and headline tours of course!

Okay so firstly, over the christmas break I discovered a couple of new artists:

• Jake Bugg - Yes we've all known him for a good month or two now, but I really started appreciating his talent when he was on Jools Holland's Hootenany 2012. His voice reminds me of a sort of 60's feel with a tinge of Noel Gallagher and a sprinkling of Alex Turner. This bright young teenager is definitely having a good start to this year! 

• Thomas J Speight - I've been following this artist for a good few months on twitter after hearing a couple of his songs, however I lost track of him until about a week ago when I caught up with his new releases including 'The Willow Tree' EP. His sound is quite Noah and the Whale, mixed with a bit of Chris Martin? Not really sure how to describe him as his songs do very, but he is very capable and gifted and has even been given support from Sir Paul McCartney and Ryan Adams!

• Taylor Ames - I only discovered this gem the other night on twitter, but his voice is so different I had to write about him. His sound is a bit of Ben Howard/Lewis Watson however his voice is very different to any of the artists I've listened to. This guy is very new as he's only been at it for around 3 months and he's already released an EP with 4 tracks (which you can get for free here). I'm very much looking forward to seeing what follows this E over the next few months.

I've also been happy to hear that BBC radio 1 have developed a new show at night which is looking at all the new music releases and artists, which I am absolutely loving! I've already heard a few people I follow but there are so many  people it's hard to keep up with! 

I've also heard news of several EPs and albums to be released over the next couple of months which I can't wait to hear, but in the mean time thanks for reading! ☺

2012 Music review and ones to watch 2013

Hello! So as you may have noticed, 2012 has been a big year for music, as there has been an uprising of new music artists from all over the world, plenty or new albums from already big artists, thousands of sold out tours and the 2012 Olympics hosting a whole world of British music talent. I'm going to be splittint up this article into 4 pieces, most popular songs of 2012, my favourite songs/albums of 2012, my favourite new artists of 2012 and my ones to watch in 2013. So, let the music fest begin!

Other People's Heartache Pt. 2

If you've been listening to radio 1 recently, you may have heard of this delightful band from London singing either 'Flaws' or possibly 'Bad Blood', however today they released their brand new free EP 'Other people's heartache pt. 2' which I am completely in love with!

Lewis Watson gig featuring his new band!!!

(This lovely picture is thanks to my wonderful friend Holly, my phone died on me ☹)

Hello! So I've just finished 1 week of mocks and inbetween I got to see the adorable Lewis Watson perform live at the Deaf Institute in Manchester along with his astounding support acts!
(If you don't know who Lewis Watson is, then look at my first review of him, listen to a few of his youtube songs then come back and be ready to sob over his beauty)

As I said, last night was phenomenal! (even if I got 5 hours of sleep before a 2 hour maths mock, oh well it was worth it!) The support acts were from The Lake Poets and Mayer, both of whom I had never heard of before but I did enjoy them, especially The Lake Poets who is an absolute cutie with a brilliant voice. Mayer was also brilliant despite his elaborated hand movements and facial expressions while singing.

So, Lewis Watson who is currently a massive part of my revision playlist, played a divine set, including his new 'band' (a drummer and a bassist/keyboard/backing harmony) which excelled his performance even further. Since the last time I saw Lewis live, his voice has grown so much more, as well as his stage presence and interactiveness with the crowd. He has also added 2 new songs to his repertoire of songs which were called 'Little Darling' which he wrote in Australia, and another song which he played at the end, but I can't find or remember the name of! (as soon as I find out I will update this) But the second new song will be a definite hit, it's upbeat, good rhythm, lovely lyrics and most of all, this charming man wrote the lyrics himself unlike a lot of the mainstream music artists these days.

As a whole I found Lewis' gig this time much more enchanting and captivating than last time, nevertheless Lewis is absolutely fabulous live!

After the gig, Lewis/Mayer/The Lake Poets met fans and signed things and took pictures with us, which was really nice! Even after the venue had to clear us out of the building (into the rain) Lewis still met every fan and took pictures and signed things which was really sweet, I got a picture with Lewis and Martin from The Lake Poets

(sorry for the odd face, the wind was blowing in my eyes, also there's a girl behind me creeping in on my moment with Lewis, sigh)

(odd flash but Martin is a right angel and also looks like he was a bit drunk)

We were also given fabric bracelets on the way in as a little memo of the gig:

(the yellow one is from his first headline tour in October from Sound Control, the grey one is from the latest gig ☺)

As always, thanks for reading and I really do hope you like Lewis Watson as he is immensely talented and has the most amazing personality, I wish him well in his new tour next March (where he isn't coming to Manchester ☹☹☹ but I also hope he does well supporting Birdy in Australia next April! Good luck Lewis you little cherub!

March tour details

Twitter - @Levvis_

Facebook - Lewis Watson

GABRIELLE APLIN - THE POWER OF LOVE CD

Okay so, as you (should) all know, Gabrielle Aplin is the singer on the christmas 2012 John Lewis advert. However at 8pm tonight (UK time) she will be selling a CD copy of the single, but there are a limited number of CDs so you'll have to be very quick to get one!

The CD will cost £2.99 (about $4.80?) plus postage and some of the money made will go to the 'save the children' charity!

Check back on Gabrielle's facebook page at 8pm sharp to (try) and be able to get a 'the power of love' cd!

*** CD AVAILABLE FROM THIS LINK ***

(hope you're all doing well, exams are killing me but I have a night off tonight so I'll be posting a couple of reviews, thanks for reading as usual ☺)

Imagine Dragons

So it's likely you've heard of this talented American band's music on several adverts such as the backing track of the Assassin's Creed III, the trailer for 'The Host' film made from the novel by Stephanie Meyer. several of Apple's Barcelona retail store opening and a couple of the XBOX kinect advertisements. Once listening to them, you will know you've heard of them even if you didn't know who they were, but you will want to listen to them more.

The Wanted

If you didn't already know, this, is The Wanted. They are a boyband from the UK and they have conquered the US and a lot  of the rest of the world and they've 'only just begun'. However with a third album and rumours of them moving to america, it might just kick off.

Nina Nesbitt

This cutie is Nina Nesbitt, she's an 18 year old singer from Edinburgh. Nina is extremely talented as she can not only sing, she can also play guitar (electric and acoustic), play the keyboard and she used to be a model (if you can't already tell by her face then you should see her legs, wow). 

Lewis Watson

20 year old Lewis Watson from Oxfordshire is one of my favourite artists ever. His songs are beautiful and his covers are brilliant.

Lauren Aquilina

This beautiful young lady is Lauren Aquilina. She's just 17 yet she's already releasing music videos fetching over 200,000 views on youtube and hitting the top 20 in the album charts with her first EP 'Fools'.

Review of McFly (because of their new greatest hits album)

Okay so you probably know who McFly are, they've been around for years but you'd probably know them best for their earlier hits such as 'Star Girl', 'Obviously', 'All about you' and 'Five colours in her hair'.