grammy

Hooked Up: Hang out with Nelly and his must-have gadgets

In this week's episode of Hooked Up, Kevin Frazier hangs out with Grammy Award winner and multi-Platinum recording artist Nelly. He talks about all the tech he can't live without, and how he co-founded Vatterott College in St. Louis and the Extreme Institute to teach students skills for making music.

Nelly also talks about his MacBook Pro, Canon EOS 7D that he uses for shooting videos, and the Monster Diamond Tears headphones that surprised him with their sound.

I'll break down the best dSLR cameras for shooting video with Kevin that broadcast professionals are using today. And … Read more

Producer-engineer Young Guru on what good sound sounds like

Last Wednesday, I went to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU to meet with Young Guru. He was in New York with The Recording Academy's Grammy U 13-city tour visiting colleges across the country. The tour started on April 8 in Philadelphia and concludes on April 28 in Memphis. Young Guru has collaborated with Beyonce, Drake, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Snoop Dogg, among others.

I didn't know how much time I would have with the engineer/producer/DJ, so I went straight to the heart of the matter and asked him to define what good … Read more

Google's Grammys Nexus 4 ad: Look, it's smarter than iPhone 5

Can I share a secret with you?

Smartphones really aren't that smart.

They do a small amount of thinking for themselves, but they depend quite a bit on the information you give them about yourself. Yes, they're like IBM's Watson -- or pretty much every Valentine's blind date you've ever had.

However, Google chose last night's Grammys to suggest that its smartphone, the Nexus 4, is just a little smarter than, say, oh, the iPhone 5.

Siri has had her troubles understanding you -- both your voice and the strange way you sometimes think. … Read more

Grammy nominees climb in music store rankings

Grammy nominees and winners are getting a post-show bump in music store rankings, while online retailers are riding the coattails of the awards show to higher sales.

Amazon, which tracked the change in artists' rankings after the Grammy's officially ended, found Rihanna, Sting, and Wiz Khalifa to be some of the biggest winners.

The company, as well as Apple and other online music retailers, today is promoting songs and albums by Grammy artists, which is likely helping them move up the rankings.

Rihanna's "Unapologetic" climbed 40 spots, while Sting's "The Very Best of Sting … Read more

7 social media lessons from the Grammys for organizers of other events

It's awards season in the U.S., with the focus primarily on the upcoming Oscars and Sunday night's Grammys.

Last year, I wrote about how the Oscars missed an opportunity to use hashtags the right way on TV, and I look forward to seeing if the organizers learned anything from this year's Grammys. (Note: CNET parent company CBS owns the broadcasting rights to the Grammys, but I am writing this unprompted and on my own).

Here are six things the Grammys did right on social this year -- plus one they didn't -- and what folks … Read more

The new year is in gear

Welcome to 2013. We're getting ready to welcome America to a trifecta of supersize TV events in the next 40 days:

January 20: AFC Championship Game February 3: Super Bowl XLVII February 10: The 55th Grammy Awards

We call these "tent pole" events because they get most of America watching CBS, bringing them under our "big tent." The value of big event TV is more than just the audience gathered and the advertising dollars collected; it's the hugely valuable exposure we get for marketing our shows and building awareness for millions and millions of … Read more

Insiders skeptical of Sony's 'mistake' on Houston music prices

Sony Music Entertainment says the price hike in the United Kingdom on Whitney Houston albums following the singer's death was a "mistake," but some industry insiders are skeptical.

On Sunday, a day after Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel, prices for two of her albums: "The Ultimate Collection" and "Greatest Hits" jumped in price in the U.K. iTunes store. In dollars, the prices rose from $7.80 to $12.50.

Right away, Sony and Apple came under fire from consumers who believed one or both of the companies were … Read more

JBL runs TV ads; watch out, Bose

I nearly fell off my couch when I saw Harman Kardon and JBL ads in the middle of the Grammy Awards show on Sunday night.

Audio-brand awareness in the mainstream is mostly limited to Bose and Beats by Dr. Dre, but now it looks like Harman, the parent company of AKG, Harman Kardon, JBL, Mark Levinson, Lexicon, and Infinity is starting to flex its muscles. I spoke with Chris Dragon, the senior global marketing director of Harman, to learn more about the campaigns.

JBL's "Hear the Truth" ads will feature many of the world's top musical … Read more

The 404 992: Where we're getting to the bottom of this (podcast)

Did anyone else besides Jeff get teary-eyed yesterday watching Adele's performance at the Grammy Awards?

According to psychologist John Sloboda, there's a specific musical device called an "appoggiatura" that produces chills and a physiological reaction--in Jeff's case, a fist-clenching, hand-trembling faucet of man-tears.

On today's episode, we'll go around the table with the songs and movie scenes that pull at our heart strings, and why.

Apple launches labor inspections

Google Wallet puts hold on prepaid cards, Samsung unveils the Galaxy Tab 2 and Apple launched independent investigations into the working conditions at its overseas factories.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded: