INDIE NEWS BEAT November 15, 2004 Edition
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* Teese Gohl Works On Sony Pictures Film Music At Manhattan Center
* Rick Spreitzer Wins 1st Place In NC Songwriters Contest
* Metaledge Records Unveils New Website To Coincide With Move To NYC
* BBC Debut, Rave Reviews Follow Allison Crowe's Secrets Tour
* Former Sony Music Executive Mark Ghuneim Launches WiredSet
* Grass Roots Approach Brings All Access Live Into 30 Million Homes
* EU Strengthens Fight Against Piracy And Counterfeiting
* Independent Music In Demand Around The World
* RRadio Network - Survey 27 Results
* Ruckus Network And The Harry Fox Agency Announce Agreement
* Digital Music To Replace CD In 10 Years
* Media Industry Attracting More Private Equity Funding
Teese Gohl Works On Sony Pictures Film Music At Manhattan Center
The earliest recording of music for the upcoming Sony Pictures animated film "Open Season" was recently done in Manhattan Center Productions' Studio 4. Music Producer Teese Gohl mixed one song in addition to the music for three scenes during his sessions at MCP as a part of the initial music demo for the film.
Gohl returned to Studio 4 after working with Elliot Goldenthal on the score for the Sony Pictures film S.W.A.T. last summer. Both the environment in Studio 4 and MCP's staff are the two factors that drew Gohl back to the Manhattan Center. "I come to Manhattan Center Productions ever time I do work in New York," stated Gohl. "I love the log cabin setting of Studio 4. The natural light and the windows overlooking 34th Street are amazing."
MCP's Halsey Quemere and Kyle White assisted Gohl on the "Open Season" project. "These guys were great," said Gohl. "I always leave the Manhattan Center happy with my work."
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Singer-Songwriter Rick Spreitzer Wins 1st Place In NC Songwriters Contest
The 7th Annual NCSC Songwriting Contest held in Carrboro Arts Center on November 6th, 2004, featured eight finalists. Artists were judged on quality of composition, quality of performance and quality of musicianship.
Winner Rick Spreitzer, a Charlotte, NC based singer-songwriter who writes songs that he describes as "tip jar americana," folk music steeped in common tones that dodge the lyrical middle ground, entered and performed two songs from his latest release "Dirt Tracks" -- "Invisible Wind"and "Porter Wagoner."
**3rd Place finalist in the 2004 Flat Rock Music Festival's Hank Williams Songwriting Contest.
**"Left Off The Dial" Staff Picks [Meanderthal] for Top 10 Best Mid-Atlantic Releases of 2003
**"With dozens of vocalizing songwriters in every decent-sized city, it's too easy to lose the most promising ones in the shuffle. Here's a heads up: be on the lookout for Charlotte's Rick Spreitzer..."
- Rick Cornell  Music Critic, Music Monitor/No Depression
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Metaledge Records Unveils New Website To Coincide With Move To NYC
Premiere hard rock/metal label Metaledge Records unveiled a new website which will coincide with their move to New York City in 2005. The new website has some new features as well as the features that were on the former site.
The label decided to move to NYC from Boston to broaden their musical horizons. Being in a music city will open up many more opportunities not available to them in their current location. Bear in mind that even though Metaledge Records is moving to New York, in no way means that their support for the Boston Red Sox will diminish.
Metaledge Records is the premiere hard rock/metal label. Founded by hard rock/metal vocalist Chris Cambra, the label is geared towards developing long term artists. The label has multi-platinum artists Lionsheart, as well as Cambra's own band Scylus Creed. Metaledge Records is a division of the Metaledge Entertainment Group.
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BBC Debut, Rave Reviews Follow Allison Crowe's Secrets Tour
Allison Crowe has returned home to the west coast following her month long "Secrets" tour of eastern Canada and the U.S. Performing in cities from Charlottetown to Sudbury, the Canadian singer-songwriter demonstrated, again and again, why audiences and critics alike place her among the most original and exciting performers in the world today.
The concert tour began in Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada's smallest incorporated town, and wrapped boisterously with a show in New York City at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on West 42nd. Ben Strothmann, (who shoots for Playbill, NYC's Broadway institution), captured Crowe's Manhattan debut in a series of still photographs.
Overseas, Crowe's profile continues to rise - and as an interpreter of Canada's great musical poets. This past August, U.K. trade journal "Record of the Day" named her version of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" its Record of the Day and Record of the Week, saying: "Bet you thought you heard all the versions you need to hear of this song, right? Think again, because Allison Crowe has a voice to fall in love with. She is from Vancouver Island in Canada, descended from Irish and Manx stock. She's exactly the sort of artist who can make serious headway on her own label and that's just what she's doing."
Earlier this month, Crowe made her British radio debut. BBC DJ Bob Harris, described by 'Radio Times' as "one of the greats of British contemporary music broadcasting.still an independent champion of great music", played a track off Allison Crowe's upcoming album, Tidings - her rendition of "River" by Joni Mitchell. Harris' program play-list brought together Allison Crowe with fellow Canadian artists, including Rufus Wainwright, Gordon Lightfoot, Sarah McLachlan, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson and Neil Young.
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Former Sony Music Executive Mark Ghuneim Launches WiredSet
Former Sony Music senior vice president Mark Ghuneim announced today the launch of WiredSet, a new company offering creative online and mobile solutions to help recording artists and music companies reach music fans and build customer loyalty. "WiredSet offers services ranging from brand and product identity consulting to online and mobile campaign development and execution," said Ghuneim.
"WiredSet provides innovative and proven online and mobile marketing methods based on establishing credibility with music fans and treating them with respect," Ghuneim said. "The changing music marketplace requires the use of non-traditional methods such as peer-to-peer networking, RSS syndication and other new technologies, and WiredSet can help companies maximize the potential of these technologies."
Ghuneim is a 25-year music industry veteran, who until September was the Senior Vice President of Online and Emerging Technologies for Sony Music Entertainment. There he developed online music and wireless services, and was instrumental in the video and on-line promotion of artists such as Bob Dylan, System Of A Down, Jeff Buckley, Bruce Springsteen, Nas, Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett, Lauryn Hill and Destiny's Child.
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Producers' Grass Roots Syndication Approach Brings All Access Live Into 30 Million Homes
All Access Live, the weekly 30-minute concert series brought to you from Austin, Texas ‹ the Live Music Capital of the World ‹ is breaking national ground! The very first episode of All Access Live premiered on Austin's WB on October 4, 2003. One year later, this concert series has expanded from one mid-sized market to debuting this fall before an audience of 30 million households.
This unfiltered behind the scenes concert show featuring Platinum recording artists such as Los Lonely Boys, Blues Traveler, 3 Doors Down and others; as well as up and comers like Gavin DeGraw and Ben Kweller, is currently broadcast via satellite and airing coast to coast in 28 cities throughout nineteen states including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Washington D.C, Seattle and Orlando to name a few. The new affiliates will broadcast a 52-week run of 26 original episodes.
The show's producers Art Attack Productions, Inc. took an unconventional approach to getting the show out to the masses. With the help of Atlas Worldwide Syndications and through a series of cold calls from the producers themselves, All Access Live slowly gained ground one market at a time and continues to add more markets almost weekly. It is estimated that All Access Live will reach over 50% of the country by early 2005.
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EU Strengthens Fight Against Piracy And Counterfeiting Beyond Its Borders
In an effort to halt the increase in piracy and counterfeiting the European Commission has today adopted a strategy for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in third countries. The action plan focuses on vigorous and effective implementation and enforcement of existing IPR laws. It proposes to identify priority countries where enforcement actions should be concentrated. Stress will be put on technical cooperation and assistance to help third countries fight counterfeiting but the Commission will not hesitate to trigger all bilateral and multilateral sanction mechanisms against any country involved in systematic violations. The Commission will foster awareness raising of users and consumers in third countries and support the creation of public-private partnerships for enforcement.
EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said: "Piracy and counterfeiting continue to grow every year and have become industries, increasingly run by criminal organizations. This is a serious problem for us but also for third countries whose companies are also suffering the consequences of violation of their own intellectual property rights". He added: "Some of these fakes, like pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs constitute an outright danger to the public, while others undermine the survival of EU's most innovative sectors, confronted with the misappropriation of their creations. Adopting new legislation on intellectual property is one thing. But devising the right tools to enforce it is another. This is now our priority".
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Independent Music In Demand Around The World
"The Indie Limelight Radio Show", produced by IAR Networks and Indie Artist Radio, has proven that Independent Music has become "sought for" music around the world. The shows production is a complete hour of Independent music and artist interviews distributed to over 100 radio networks around the world with latest statistics of over 1.2 million listeners every week.
Genre does not seem to play a role in the international market where most listeners are searching for new fresh music, which has become the appeal for independent music worldwide. "The Indie Limelight Radio Show" has featured some of the best independent artists from all genres including MaDD MaXxx (Rap), Johnny Neel (Southern Rock/Blues), and lately UK based CatDesigners (Alternative Rock).
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RRadio Network - Survey 27 Results
Because shopping and spending time with family is a normal routine in the fourth quarter, Survey 27 gets into the personal lives of 1,999 online radio listeners.
Going into Q4, 2004, RRadio Network asked, "Do you plan to shop online for the 2004 holiday season?"
52.4% said "yes," spending from $10 to over $900.
Both genders show their 25-49 year olds will be the most active with shopping online. Men extend that activity to the 50-54 age group.
As for "How much will you spend?"
15% - $10-150 holiday budget
10.8% - $151-300 holiday budget
13.1% - $301-450 holiday budget
4.8% - $451-600 holiday budget
3.1% - $601-750 holiday budget
2.5% - $751-900 holiday budget
2.9% - $901 + holiday budget
42.7% claim they will do no holiday shopping online this year.
4.8% abstained from the question.
Reaching those that will be shopping online is easy for advertisers using internet radio. Survey 27 asked 1,999 listeners, "When tuned to your online radio station, how long is your AVERAGE listening session?"
40.9% say that, on average, they spend more than three hours EACH TIME they listen.
16.5% say their average listening session lasts 2 - 3 hours.
27.4% - 1 - 2 hours.
13.1% spend less than 1 hour.
2.1% abstained from the question.
Looking at this through gender: 52.9% of females listen in "average sessions" lasting more than three hours. Only 37.3% of males claim the same.
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Ruckus Network And The Harry Fox Agency Announce Agreement
The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), the premier U.S. mechanical rights organization, is pleased to announce today that it has entered into an agreement with the Ruckus Network, a digital network aimed at the college market, to provide licensing for songs from its affiliated publishers. HFA represents more than 27,000 music publisher principals for mechanical licensing.
"Music is so essential to the lives of college students, but this is the same audience that has been a challenge for the music industry to reach with legal music services. The Ruckus Network delivers a licensed entertainment package tailored to that group," said Gary Churgin, President and CEO, The Harry Fox Agency. "Colleges and universities are some of the most wired locations in the nation, and we are pleased to be working with Ruckus to enable their delivery of a legal, quality entertainment experience."
"It's important to get college students excited about legal online music services, and creating an entertainment service in conjunction with their schools helps to bridge the gap," said William Raduchel, Chairman and CEO of Ruckus. "Licensing through HFA makes it easier for us to create our digital entertainment service."
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Digital Music To Replace CD In 10 Years: Mobile Channel To Play Key Role
Digital music is making CD's an object of the past. Just like the compact disk replaced the vinyl record, digital music is staking its claim as the format of the future, according to a new report by the independent research provider, Generator.
Digital music will also serve as a springboard to launch a new phase of growth in the music industry. "The end result will be more music, improved access to that music and a superior consumer experience. Plus, the industry should be able to price digital music in such a way that consumers spend more on their music -- just as they spent more on CDs when they arrived: music has always been a value sell, not a price play. That's good news for record labels, digital music stores, device vendors and key channels such as mobile," says Andrew Sheehy, Research Director at Generator.
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The recent wave of investments and acquisitions in music and film libraries not only indicates a boom in digital entertainment in 2005, but those moves are also attracting more interest from private equity and venture capital firms, according to Shahid Khan, a managing director with BearingPoint, Inc., one of the world's largest business consulting and systems integration firms.
"The investment and venture capital community is a leader in recognizing industry-transforming technologies. In 2005, media industry investors will back companies that can capitalize on the opportunities in digital entertainment, such as digital music services, enabling and support technologies for digital entertainment, video and online gaming, as well as mobile content and services," said Khan. "Larger investors, including private equity and leverage buyout shops, see the sector as poised for growth. The trend today is to look for intellectual property based assets like content libraries with music, movie and/or video game properties, rather than hard assets like television stations and movie theaters.
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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2004 - Republished with Permission
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