In 2010, theatrical presentations beyond just movies generated $112 million for the exhibition industry, a 51 percent uptick over 2009, according to Screen Digest.

Could music service Topspin fix the artist-fan relationship?

By Duncan Geere

17 March 11

If it seemed like Pandora was everywhere at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, it's because, well, it was.

Pandora on your refrigerator? You bet.

--> The streaming radio company was in connected TV devices from Samsung, Sony, Roku and others; tablets from BlackBerry and Barnes & Noble; in-car apps from BMW/Mini, Toyota, Ford and Hyundai, and even a Wi-Fi enabled refrigerator from Samsung. More than 50% of Pandora listening is now done on devices other than the PC, and not only is Pandora the leading streaming audio app on the iPhone and iPad, it has also become the first (and in multiple cases the only) radio partner for many devices.

Daryl Peveto/Luceo for The Wall Street Journal

OK Go performs at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, above. The band is known as much for its inventive music videos as it is for its music.

Many of us are prone to using the Shazam music-identification service whenever we encounter unfamiliar songs. After all, it's just so easy to whip out our phones, open an app, and know everything about a mystery song in seconds. But how does Shazam gives us all this information so quickly?

Since we're going to go see "The Social Network" this week I thought it'd be apropos to share a link to the music used in the film's trailer. (Mild NSFW language.)

But how much money do musicians really get paid in this new digital marketplace?

A nice visualization - if the figures on Last.fm and Spotify are true then musicians better be prepared to tour to make money. The recorded music is a promo for the live performance, which is kind of what it used to be about.