INDIE NEWS BEAT May 7, 2007 Edition

Posted by radiogetswild on 2007-06-18 09:04:27 (2432 views)

* The Keys To Music Career Success * PBS Series 'Fast Focus' Features Singer-Songwriter Amy Speace * Bathtubmusic.com CEO Reflects On "Pay To Play!" * MusicDish Pre-Releases Mashed Buddha EP To Radio Through Airplay Direct * Lula World Presents Kobo Town and People Project * Turn Your Recording Studio Into A Live Streaming Concert Venue * Eric de Fontenay Invited To Denmark's "Knock Knock - The Future Of Music" * The Majestic Twelve Debut New Video For The Single "Break It and Breathe"

The Keys To Music Career Success

Peter Spellman releases "Music Career Juice", a new podcast designed to help musicians get ahead in their careers

Have you heard the joke?

Johnny: "Mom, when I grow up I want to be a musician!"
Mom: "But Johnny, you can't do both."

Music careers are often thought of as fanciful aspirations for the developmentally delayed. Such an attitude often stems from stories about musicians who crashed on the rocks of drugs, laziness or whatever.

The fact is, however, that thousands of musicians are finding success in the new music economy by tapping into their new found powers: desktop recording technologies, internet distribution, and a host of entrepreneurial tools and resources.

Peter Spellman, director of career development at the world-famous Berklee College of Music, shares his insights from twenty years of artist development experience in his new podcast series, "Music Career Juice." In the process Spellman sheds light on music marketing, music promotion, major record companies, indie labels, gigging and music entrepreneurship, and how they all relate to successful career development.

Episodes include "Mapping Out Your Music Career," "Getting More Gigs," "Understanding Today's Music Market," "Thriving in Your Music Career" and more.

Get your free "Music Career Juice" at the iTunes Music Store under "Podcasts", or at Spellman's web site, Music Business Solutions (http://mbsolutions.com/xml).

About Peter Spellman is Director of Career Development at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and a recognized expert on music career development and grass roots music marketing. He is featured in the documentary film, "What is Indie?" and his books are used in universities across the country and are read in over twenty-five countries around the world.

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PBS Series 'Fast Focus' Features Singer-Songwriter Amy Speace

Jersey City-based country/folk artist Amy Speace is presently being featured in PBS' leading series of "short-form" programming, FastFocusTV. The segment, airing nationally on more than 100 U.S. public television stations reaching over 62 million households nationwide, features an interview with the Wildflower Records singer on the former actress' emerging music career. The interview is interspersed with live clips from Amy's performance at Mo Pitkins in NYC this past December.

Amy's PBS video can be seen at the following sites:
* Fast Focus
* YouTube
* Revver
* Motion Box
* Yahoo! Video
* iFilm
* Metacafe

Amy has started 2007 with a bang, winning IMA (Independent Music Awards) Vox Populi for Best Country Song, selected as a runner-up in the Open category of the 3rd Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) and nominated "Emerging Artist of the Year" for the 2007 Folk Alliance Awards.

Amy has also been receiving rave reviews from press worldwide, with recent reviews from Germany's Home of Rock to Sweden's Musiklandet and Trots Allt.

"A fully convincing Singer-Songwriter / Roots-Rock, in short Americana album, that excels with a refreshing variety, superb musicians and wonderfully crafted lyrics. Speace's lyrical elegance and the inventiveness of her finely selected metaphors intertwine very convincingly with the craft of her band, The Tearjerks and give each of the 13 songs its very unique identity. Boredom never comes near the listener, of course." Home of Rock, March 16, 2007

"Amy has the same immediate gravitas as the genre's queen, Lucinda Williams. But the best tracks on Songs for bright street are testimony to the fact that this is an artist who could well bloom into someone really big in the future." Musiklandet, March 16, 2007

"If Lucinda Williams is the queen of Americana, Kathleen Edwards is about to be challenged for the title of princess by this New York resident. Imagine both their spunk in combination with Roseanne Cash's elegance and you get Amy Speace. That she gets helped by Gary Louris from the Jayhawks on the duet is clearly a sign. We'll be hearing a lot more about Speace." Trots Allt, February 2007

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Bathtubmusic.com CEO Reflects On "Pay To Play!"

Payola... the mere mention of the word conjures thoughts of "the New Golden Rule" - those with the Gold RULE! Well, that no longer is the case for independent artists that want a shot at broadcast radio airtime! The Payola Consent Decree - an agreement by the FCC, A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) members and the Radio powers (Clear Channel Communications, CBS Radio, Entercom Communications, Citadel Broadcasting) - is an incredible step in the right direction!

Last month's historic agreement clearly validates Bathtubmusic.com's position that independent artists deserve having their music be heard on ALL major media platforms, including broadcast radio. In the past, the common practice of "Payola" involved looking the other way while the left hand (radio) and the right hand (major labels) shake. It effectively represented a fundamental 'brick-in-the-wall' barring indie artists from breaking through.

It took then New York State Attorney General Spitzer, in his crusade against corporate corruption, for this common 'illegal' practice to finally be investigated and brought into the light for the public and courts to see. And while we are disappointed with the initial lack of zeal that the FCC showed in following up on Spitzer's good work, the voluntary consent agreement between radio broadcasters, their regulator (FCC) and independent artist industry representatives marks a good direction.

The most promising aspect of the agreement is a voluntarily self-imposed commitment by the radio stations to provide 8,400 hours worth of airplay for independent artists! This step is a big leap forward in achieving a "fair play" balance for both Majors and Indies! I applaud the industry for very courageously self policing itself.

However, this simply reflects the evolving future of the industry as opposed to a gesture of kindness from broadcasters. Indies are becoming a strong force in the music industry, representing some 30% of the music being produced. The wisdom to self-impose these positive steps serves to the benefit of all parties involved. But effective monitoring and enforcement of this voluntary obligation is necessary for it to be taken seriously. The FCC has a poor record of regulating the music business, ignoring what has been known throughout the industry for years. The fact that it took a State Attorney General, and not federal regulators, to take action against payola says much in itself.

The task of monitoring and holding the FCC to its word will be the independent music community. I am very pleased to see the independent music organizations flexing its muscle, not merely for muscles sake, but in order to achieve a better opportunity for its members! A2IM, AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and the host of other associations that participated in getting this decision to pass should be applauded. But their task has only begun.

Doing the right thing is what needs to happen across the board, and in cases where we see this imbalance and/or injustice the voice of the independents will need to constantly be ready to unite and be heard. This is just the first of many battles that awaits independent artists, but at least this one was won and now the voice of the indie collective can be heard over the airwaves... without PAYOLA!

Moses de los Santos
CEO
Bathtubmusic.com
"Where the MUSIC makes a splash!"

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MusicDish Pre-Releases Mashed Buddha EP To Radio Through Airplay Direct

MusicDish Network, the artist development arm of MusicDish LLC, a leading music magazine publisher and marketing firm, announced the release of Mashed Buddha's latest EP "Four Keys To Zen" through its strategic partner Airplay Direct. Mashed Buddha will be one the spotlight artist featured on Airplay Direct's site and Radio Programmers newsletter sent out monthly to over 1,300 radio station members in 71 countries around the world.

The "Four Keys To Zen" EP, to be officially released later this May, features the voice of legendary guru of all things enlightening and bender of spoons Uri Geller waxing hypnotic over a chill yet driving groove in the track "Hype." The four track EP and upcoming full length album 'Zen Conspiracy' are a collection of layered funk, drum n bass, and downtempo grooves that allow for jamming keyboard solos.

"What do you get when you mix a cup of jagged beats with a spoonful of savory, funk-laden grooves? You guessed it, Mashed Buddha. Influenced by funk, rock, jazz, reggae, and drum 'n' bass, Mashed Buddha's electronic recipes are delectable." Editor's Choice, download.com

Mashed Buddha's creator John Corda decided to stop waiting for the band of his dreams and instead created his own album of original music. Attracted to the complex drum stylings of jungle and drum n bass, he used this as a rhythmic foundation for much of the music on 'subdue your mind.' Not content with creating just another drum n bass record, he added grooves that are at times hypnotic, dissonant, symphonic, emotional, or all of the above. The result is an organic approach to electronic music.

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Lula World Presents Kobo Town and People Project

The Lula World concert series welcomes the thawing city of Toronto to an evening of conscious grooves inspired by the rhythmic and lyrical traditions of the Caribbean and Latin America. On Thursday, May 10th, Kobo Town will take the stage at the Lula Lounge with their trademark blend of traditional calypso, dub and roots reggae. They will be joined by Philippe Lafreniere and Steven Patterson of People Project, a continent-spanning collective who draw sounds from the blues, samba, reggae, Latin funk and Afro-Cuban music, to create a compelling voice for social change and political awareness. DJ Chocolate, host of CKLN's Rebel Music and one of Canada's pre-eminent reggae selectors, will be spinn! ing records throughout the evening to prevent anyone from standing still.

Founded by singer-songwriter, Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town is a six-piece outfit which explores the rich musical heritage of Trinidad and the Anglo-Caribbean. In their music, bottle and spoon rhythms, syncopated flute melodies, strumming cuatros, and heavy reggae bass lines engage and underscore the tradition of satirical storytelling that lies at the center of Trinidad's foremost lyrical art. Since the November release of their much-acclaimed debut album InDependence, Kobo Town has been performing at venues and festivals in Montreal, New York City, Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa, and they are currently preparing for a busy summer of touring throughout Canada and the United States. Thursday's show at the Lula Lounge will be filmed for an upcoming Bravo documentary series on artists of the Caribbean diaspora.

People Project was founded in 2005 by Gabriel Bronfman and singer/multi-instrumentalist Phil Lafreniere, who have pioneered a musical style drawing from the many varied Afro-American sounds of the New World. With songs in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish, the group's multi-lingual repertory spans the four most common languages of the Americas. This pan-continental character extends into People Project's musical arrangements, where delta blues guitar riffs meet Peruvian cajon rhythms and jazzy horn lines. Since its formation, the collective has performed throughout Canada and Mexico, the two countries in which it is based.

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Eric de Fontenay Invited To Denmark's "Knock Knock - The Future Of Music"

MusicDish CEO and founder Eric de Fontenay has been invited to present his seminar "Are You Ready To Innovate in the Digital Marketplace?" at "Knock Knock - The Future Of Music," a conference presented by Innovation Lab and Danish Rock Council in Aarhus, Denmark. The conference, held on May 31st, will open the SPOT Festival presenting close to one hundred of the most fascinating Danish and Nordic bands and artists. The SPOT Festival attracts approximately 800 international representatives of the music business, record companies,publishers, bookers, organizers, media etc. The conference will be webcasted for free at www.innovationlab.dk/uk

The seminar, which was originally given at MIDEM 2007, will be presented at the upcoming New Music West 2007 in Vancouver on May 5. The presentation will go beyond a synthesis of the market changes created by digitization to a discussion about how labels, artists and others in the music industry must now approach marketing and selling music during a dramatic market transition. Concrete and practical strategies on how to tackle some of the important choices facing today's music industry decision maker will be presented. As such, the presentation is meant to provide a framework for the rest of the conference which will feature a number of cases by businesses and organizations from around the world.

Knock Knock Â The Future Of Music is a must for all businesses, organizations and individuals that want to learn more about the new opportunities arising from the music business 2.0 and learn how the music business intends to navigate the stormy waters and come out all the better on the other side. How will record labels, musicians, mobile companies and technology providers position their businesses to take advantage in the digital music market Â who will be the new players? What new business areas in general will emerge from the combination of new technology and music? How is the industry addressing obstacles, such as interoperability, pricing issues and piracy, to establish a healthy and profitable marketplace? What products, platforms, partner-ships, and user patterns will drive the future of music, and indeed the future of content?

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Turn Your Recording Studio Into A Live Streaming Concert Venue

Creating additional revenue from your recording studio?

This is easier than you may think. CCTV equipment has come a long way in recent years, and utilizing these high resolution cameras can turn your studio into a concert venue with the potential to reach a world wide audience. These cameras are inexpensive, and can be installed quite easily. Affordable video mixers offered by companies such as the Newmark AVM01 and Ededrol V4 enable your technicians to incorporate scene fades, wipes, resolves, picture in a picture and other special effects in real time to further enhance the viewer's experience and a professional looking video stream. Add a PC to encode the video and audio, and you have a live net TV station that can stream and record simultaneously.

Another additional product created with this modest investment is video CDr/DVDr you can offer the performing or recording artist. Not only the live streamed performance, but enhance the recording process by providing a video record of the studio sessions.

Serving up the Stream!
Until now video streaming required a powerful server infrastructure and software licensing or a streaming host, and that is where streaming live video to the masses became expensive. The MusicWorld3D Virtual Venue package not only offers an affordable option, but also creates a unique marketing twist and entices performing artists to afford your newly created service. There are more value packed features included with each Virtual Venue, and you can get a more in depth description by visiting this link.

How it works...
Those who are in the 3D world simply click a video screen in your Virtual Venue and enjoy live and on demand programming. On the screen they see the concert happening in your studio, and even your engineer can get in on the act by being a Video Jockey. The artist and VJ can also appear in avatar form "in world" to interact with the audience via the 3D Virtual World built in chat. The show is completely interactive, immersive and entertaining providing a unique experience for you, the artist and the viewers.

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The Majestic Twelve Debut New Video For The Single "Break It and Breathe"

Indie rock underachievers The Majestic Twelve announce the launch of their new video for the single "Break It and Breathe" off of their surprise underground hit record Schizophrenology. Rising star JR Stauffer and his company Broken Wings Productions produced and directed the video, hot on the heels of being lionized by the Breaking Benjamin music video competition and working with Valient Thorr, Weedeater, and Ironclad. JR's buzz inducing work can be seen at www.brokenwingsproductions.com.

In the video for "Break It and Breathe," The Majestic Twelve show a playful side by documenting the experience of riding the city trolley while wearing homemade astronaut costumes. As a single, the song reaches beyond the intense emotions of popular singles like "Cry" and the socio-political snark of "Condoleezza, Check My Posse," to show yet another dimension to the record. The video is being promoted by Hip Video Promo.

The video also displays gorgeous views of the bands' home base of Wilmington, N.C., where the band will be hosting the critically acclaimed 10th annual W.E. Fest next month during Memorial Day weekend. Get more information at www.wefestival.com.

Schizophrenology has surpassed 30,000 downloads and The Majestic Twelve have sold over 7,000 physical CDs - without touring - directly from their website since releasing Schizophrenology for free download last year. Get your own copy free if you have not already at www.themajestictwelve.com. Make sure to tell a friend if you think it's good.

"Schizophrenology" was co-produced by Kenyata Sullivan and Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo, Ryan Adams). In addition to writing and recording songs for the untitled third Majestic Twelve album due in the fall of '07, Sullivan has landed a book deal to write about his experiences in the underground music scene to be released in the near future.

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