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Monday, November 10, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Live from London - One last night on the MUSEXPO Europe band trail..
The final night of gigs at MUSEXPO Europe 08 kicked off with Hertfordshire band Jukebox Vandals. The five-piece follow a long tradition of skippy, danceable indie pop bands from Britain. They won the Xfm Uploaded unsigned band competition recently after enjoying some airplay on the station. Theirs is certainly a formula that could find an audience outside Britain too.
The Travelling Band play a lovely country-infused goodness complete with flawless harmonies and some very decent songwriting. Their debut album 'Under The Pavement' is released in a couple of weeks and they've sold us on pre-ordering a copy already. Former winners of Glastonbury Unsigned competition, we were in disbelief that these guys are from Manchester, England - it's the kind nfo astute twang-pop that drips with Americana authenticity.
Natalia Lesz is a Polish pop star who peddles a convincing guitar-led euro pop. It's accomplished stuff, as well it might be given that she's recently worked on an album with two of the world’s best producers: Greg Wells (Celine Dion, Mika, OneRepublic, Katy Perry) and Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, No Doubt, Shakira, Michael Jackson). Her first two singles “Fall” and “Power of Attraction,” made it to the top of the Polish singles chart. It's difficult to see where something so euro-pop might be placed in any particular market, but with the right songs we're sure she'll be heard above the noise.
Laura Izibor blew us away at Borderline. We've been fans of the Dublin-born soul singer since hearing some of the tracks from her forthcoming album 'Let The Truth Be Told'. Signed to Atlantic, her powerful voice was enough to silence the normally chatty industry crowd. She sang three songs that sound like out-of-the-box hits, first single 'From My Heart To Yours', 'Shine' which will be a single in the new year and 'If Tonight Is My Last', which is essentially a re-imagining of Whitney Houston's 'Your Love Is My Love'. Fantastic stage presence, great songs, backed by a fine band- what's not to love?
Danish band Dúné played a rapid-fire set at the Metro. They're a bunch of annoyingly good-looking 18/19 year-olds whose heavy riffs and screaming, soaring vocals bridge a gap between electro and sex-pop. They played their MUSEXPO Europe show with conviction, and seemed to be having a lot of fun. Having listened to their album 'We Are In There, You Are Out Here', we're happy to say their live prowess translates to the record. Ones to watch.
Melbourne band Young Lovers brought proceedings to a close at Metro with their high energy synth--driven rock. The influences and comparisons were too many to count: Depeche Mode, a poppier Foals, one song even had a similar intro to U2's 'With Or Without You' before veering into a properly banging dance-rock song. Call it hybrid music if you like, one thing is certain,Young Lovers are an invigorating live act. A fittingly thrilling end to Musexpo Europe's live programme for this year.*******************************************
[All Photos Courtsey of KC Morse]
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Global Radio Forum
MUSEXPO Europe's final panel of this year's event had the good fortune of a line-up which included the most relevant men in radio from around the world. Jeff Smith, head of BBC Radio 2 couldn't have picked a better time to get out of the office, given the current Russell Brand/ Jonathan Ross 'Sachsgate Scandal' that's dominating the front pages in the host country at the moment. Co-moderator Andrew Phillips told the audience from the off that that prickly issue was off-limits during this panel, as news filtered through that Brand had resigned from his Radio 2 show.Not that we needed to pick over the titillating tabloid stories when there were more important things to mull over.
“Is radio still relevant?” Phillips asked a bunch of men who were always going to fight their corner, with London's Capital FM, Australian station Triple J, KROQ Los Angeles and UK station Absolute all represented on the panel. Jeff Smith noted radio's role as “more important than ever before in a sea of music” with Yahoo's John Lenac agreeing that, given the ubiquity of choice for music everywhere, filters for the music are more needed than ever.
Lenac later berated some radio stations for not understanding how to integrate social networking understanding into their programming. Stations with large MySpace presence didn't help, simply resulting in more traffic, and more money, for Mr. Murdoch.
In the age of exploiting radio content for as many uses as possible (podcasting/ events/ video streams) Mark Findaly of Capital FM said the biggest danger facing them was “not forgetting about the original radio content”. Richard Kingsmill of Triple J followed by giving an example of his station's role in exploiting the content that tests well on-air. Currently their comedy series about the US Elections (which has aired previously on Triple J), is now the No1 podcast on iTunes Australia.
Clive Dickens of Absolute warned of radio stations “narrowcasting music”, featuring it simply because it was signed to a large label. It was certainly encouraging to hear the COO of a large commercial station talk about playing music irregardless of whether it's signed, unsigned or has a 'plot' or not. He also got a plug in for an unsigned band added to Absolute Radio last week – Jersey Budd
As the panels closed, the assembled delegates got their networking shoes on for a cocktail party hosted by Natalia Lesz at Carbon Lounge, presumably exchanging them for dancing shoes later on for the final night of the live showcase schedule – of which, more later.
In Conversation: The Music Men
Another day, another couple of music industry legends to grace the stage at The Cumberland. This time the turn of XL MD Richard Russell and Mute Records President Daniel Miller.Both of them admitted that one of the ways of making their engagement with the business more interesting was to still make music themselves, or as Miller put it “I just like mucking about with synthesizers.”
Russell feels that in the time since XL began he's become more uncompromising about the people he works with, and in the past 10-15 years has got back to doing it largely on instinct.
Daniel Miller admitted that he doesn't like many different types of music and doesn't have a large record collection at home. In the mid nineties, he said he went through a fallow signing period, being disinterested in a lot of the music coming out then, until he signed latterly influential electronic act Add N To (X).
When the topic turned to dealing with the difficulty of getting an artist away in the face of a disinterested public and media, Richard cited MIA as an example of an artist who provoked an “overwhelmingly negative” reaction from media when she first surfaced.
“You've got to feel you're right in the face of evidence that you're wrong”, said Russell. And how right he was with MIA, whose single 'Paper Planes', he revealed is now the biggest selling single on XL ever, worldwide.
Miller cited Moby as an artist he had to let explore their own ambitions,even if it wasn't attuned to the rest of the music coming out at the same time. When artists like Prodigy were emerging, Moby went off and made a “lo-fi punk-rock album”, an effort when latterly enabled him to make the massive unit-shifting 'Play' album. “Sometimes doing nothing is the best input you can give” Miller said.
Miller also revealed that he passed on Nine Inch Nails even though Trent was desperate to be on Mute.
Global Live Entertainment Forum
The Live Entertainment Panel (co-moderated by RotD editor Nicola Slade and ILMC's Allan Macgowan) was a predictably no-nonsense affair.
With panelists such as Harvey Goldsmith and Australian promoter Michael Chugg in attendance, it was hardly a surprise that straight talking would be the order of the day. The panel touched on many subjects in a lively and personable fashion: 360 degree deals, which Ossy Hoppe (Scandinavian booker) decried with enthusiasm, while Goldsmith surprisingly defended (to a point);brand sponsorship as a means of investment in live music (AEG Live managing director Jessica Koravos revealed that O2 invest £6m in the AEG-run venue in London each year).
New technologies was also broached as a subject (all agreed that webcasting and the like have failed to take off owing to the simple fact it is hard to replicate a live show). However, the real hot topic of the hour was addressing the growing problem that middle-weight acts (Goldsmith cited Sheryl Crow as an example) are failing to reach the 'upper echelons' of touring where they might sell out arenas or stadiums.
A lot of the blame was aimed squarely at record companies who are often seen to give up on an act too soon. CAA agent Emma Banks was brave in suggesting that the public's need for immediacy has meant that acts only tend to get one shot these days. In conclusion though, the general feeling about the live sector was upbeat and optimistic, suggesting that even in times of economic difficulty the industry still has the strength to survive.
With panelists such as Harvey Goldsmith and Australian promoter Michael Chugg in attendance, it was hardly a surprise that straight talking would be the order of the day. The panel touched on many subjects in a lively and personable fashion: 360 degree deals, which Ossy Hoppe (Scandinavian booker) decried with enthusiasm, while Goldsmith surprisingly defended (to a point);brand sponsorship as a means of investment in live music (AEG Live managing director Jessica Koravos revealed that O2 invest £6m in the AEG-run venue in London each year).
New technologies was also broached as a subject (all agreed that webcasting and the like have failed to take off owing to the simple fact it is hard to replicate a live show). However, the real hot topic of the hour was addressing the growing problem that middle-weight acts (Goldsmith cited Sheryl Crow as an example) are failing to reach the 'upper echelons' of touring where they might sell out arenas or stadiums.
A lot of the blame was aimed squarely at record companies who are often seen to give up on an act too soon. CAA agent Emma Banks was brave in suggesting that the public's need for immediacy has meant that acts only tend to get one shot these days. In conclusion though, the general feeling about the live sector was upbeat and optimistic, suggesting that even in times of economic difficulty the industry still has the strength to survive.
Global A&R Forum
A wealth of A&R experience gathered to discuss the finer points of the decisions and methods used to spot and shape talent in an ever-competitive and always-changing environment.
Discussions were moderated by Ajax Scott of Woodshed Media and Mike Walsh, Head of Music, XFM. Getting around to the level of expectations heaped upon artists to sign deals to majors, Martin Dodd (VP of A&R Worldwide SonyBMG) thought that it was a shame that artists who sign 300-500k copies aren't considered a success and talked about 'setting the ambition level' realistically with each signing.
Nick Raphael, MD of Epic saw A&R's role as people who are in essence “opportunists”. He also pointed out that the role is increasingly about spotting movements, trends and the momentum within. With The Priests (who Nick signed to Epic in a flurry of publicity last year), he said he saw the Catholic Church as a movement with quite a momentum, and that he will “pray for success”.
This led Mark Jones from Wall of Sound to quip that he's signed an act named The Qur'an.
Corny jokes aside, the issue of the spiraling costs of deals was raised. Christian Tattersfield from 14th Floor said he'd never been involved in a bidding war and wouldn't ever be. A&R men hitting each other on the heads with wallets is the thing to be avoided, agreed most of the panel.
Before they made phone calls to The Temper Traps' manager to put in a ludicrous offer. (We jest).
Discussions were moderated by Ajax Scott of Woodshed Media and Mike Walsh, Head of Music, XFM. Getting around to the level of expectations heaped upon artists to sign deals to majors, Martin Dodd (VP of A&R Worldwide SonyBMG) thought that it was a shame that artists who sign 300-500k copies aren't considered a success and talked about 'setting the ambition level' realistically with each signing.
Nick Raphael, MD of Epic saw A&R's role as people who are in essence “opportunists”. He also pointed out that the role is increasingly about spotting movements, trends and the momentum within. With The Priests (who Nick signed to Epic in a flurry of publicity last year), he said he saw the Catholic Church as a movement with quite a momentum, and that he will “pray for success”.
This led Mark Jones from Wall of Sound to quip that he's signed an act named The Qur'an.
Corny jokes aside, the issue of the spiraling costs of deals was raised. Christian Tattersfield from 14th Floor said he'd never been involved in a bidding war and wouldn't ever be. A&R men hitting each other on the heads with wallets is the thing to be avoided, agreed most of the panel.
Before they made phone calls to The Temper Traps' manager to put in a ludicrous offer. (We jest).
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sleet 'n' Success: Musexpo Europe 08 Showcases - Night 2
After another cocktail reception, hosted by the kind folk at MCPS-PRS, it was time for the MUSEXPO Europe faithful to venture out into the cold, wet and later on snowy London weather to watch another night of handpicked bands.
Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Domenica are a hard rock quartet fronted by former teen model Bekki. But there's nothing postured about their fiercely aggressive live show at Metro tonight. Reminding us of bands like POD and Evanescence (in that they have some pop hooks as well as strong rock riffs), their metal chops come to the fore in the live show, which almost split it up. 'I Love My Gun' is the recommended listening from their MySpace.
Fabienne Holloway was a revelation for many at her Borderline show. Previously signed to Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, this 17 year-old English girl is now out of that deal, but already has a wealth of experience in the business and it shows in her confident, at times effortless performance. Her cover of Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind' was spine-tingling, even if some of her original material might need fine-tuning. On that note, songwriter Diane Warren has chosen to work with her - little wonder given this fine display. She mastered the slow jams and the uptown Motown-esque numbers didn't go down too badly either. A huge voice, and masses of potential.
Another Winnipeg band followed at Metro. Floor Thirteen make high-energy rock in a classic rock vein. Singer Jeremy Koz has quite the voice on him, a rasping rock voice that would have Robert Plant reaching for the throat lozenges. They immediately struck us as owing a debt to Jet in their commercial sound. A refreshingly energetic show to warm the cockles of the frozen crowd, they also win the 'Rock Posturing' award for shapes thrown.
Swiss band The Bianca Story were an interesting prospect. Not quite new-wave nor post-punk, they blended a mish-mash of genres, never settling on one (even throwing in the odd bit of synth, which we approved of). Dark, moody art rock to melodic, danceable indie-pop, they're almost unnervingly erratic in their broad-minded approach to musical style. Recorded looping sample of the Musexpo crowd -participation could have gone horribly wrong, but instead showed they had a sense of fun too.
British Ska/Punk outfit The King Blues are that rarest of things, a young band with a genuinely political approach to their work. They were born out a creative squat in London's east end and vocally support anti-racism and anti-capitalism agendas. Happily they deliver their anger with protest songs that have a raucous reggae-tinged sound. Now signed to Field Recordings/Island in the UK, The King Blues have a special blend that deserves to spread to other territories too – seek out their forthcoming second album 'Save The World, Get The Girl' when it arrives.
Melbourne band The Temper Trap attracted many an A&R down to Borderline. It was worth the trip, if only to prove that there's much more to Australian music than Jet and Wolfmother. Singer & guitarist Dougy’s sweet vocal drives the sound, which we couldn't begin to find comparisons to. Pitchfork, those arbiters of fashionable music, did try though and said that their new single 'Sweet Disposition' was "an elegant, radio-friendly anthem, with ringing U2-style guitars and portentous Chris Martin-style vocals". Smart song progression, entrancing vocals and some standout songs make us want to hear their full length debut even more. They recently completed the album with UK producer Jim Abbiss (Bjork, Placebo and Arctic Monkeys).Check out the video for 'Sweet Disposition'. We hope those A&R folk brought their chequebooks.
*******************************************
[All Photos Courtsey of KC Morse]
Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Domenica are a hard rock quartet fronted by former teen model Bekki. But there's nothing postured about their fiercely aggressive live show at Metro tonight. Reminding us of bands like POD and Evanescence (in that they have some pop hooks as well as strong rock riffs), their metal chops come to the fore in the live show, which almost split it up. 'I Love My Gun' is the recommended listening from their MySpace.Fabienne Holloway was a revelation for many at her Borderline show. Previously signed to Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, this 17 year-old English girl is now out of that deal, but already has a wealth of experience in the business and it shows in her confident, at times effortless performance. Her cover of Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind' was spine-tingling, even if some of her original material might need fine-tuning. On that note, songwriter Diane Warren has chosen to work with her - little wonder given this fine display. She mastered the slow jams and the uptown Motown-esque numbers didn't go down too badly either. A huge voice, and masses of potential.Another Winnipeg band followed at Metro. Floor Thirteen make high-energy rock in a classic rock vein. Singer Jeremy Koz has quite the voice on him, a rasping rock voice that would have Robert Plant reaching for the throat lozenges. They immediately struck us as owing a debt to Jet in their commercial sound. A refreshingly energetic show to warm the cockles of the frozen crowd, they also win the 'Rock Posturing' award for shapes thrown.Swiss band The Bianca Story were an interesting prospect. Not quite new-wave nor post-punk, they blended a mish-mash of genres, never settling on one (even throwing in the odd bit of synth, which we approved of). Dark, moody art rock to melodic, danceable indie-pop, they're almost unnervingly erratic in their broad-minded approach to musical style. Recorded looping sample of the Musexpo crowd -participation could have gone horribly wrong, but instead showed they had a sense of fun too.British Ska/Punk outfit The King Blues are that rarest of things, a young band with a genuinely political approach to their work. They were born out a creative squat in London's east end and vocally support anti-racism and anti-capitalism agendas. Happily they deliver their anger with protest songs that have a raucous reggae-tinged sound. Now signed to Field Recordings/Island in the UK, The King Blues have a special blend that deserves to spread to other territories too – seek out their forthcoming second album 'Save The World, Get The Girl' when it arrives.Melbourne band The Temper Trap attracted many an A&R down to Borderline. It was worth the trip, if only to prove that there's much more to Australian music than Jet and Wolfmother. Singer & guitarist Dougy’s sweet vocal drives the sound, which we couldn't begin to find comparisons to. Pitchfork, those arbiters of fashionable music, did try though and said that their new single 'Sweet Disposition' was "an elegant, radio-friendly anthem, with ringing U2-style guitars and portentous Chris Martin-style vocals". Smart song progression, entrancing vocals and some standout songs make us want to hear their full length debut even more. They recently completed the album with UK producer Jim Abbiss (Bjork, Placebo and Arctic Monkeys).Check out the video for 'Sweet Disposition'. We hope those A&R folk brought their chequebooks.*******************************************
[All Photos Courtsey of KC Morse]
In Conversation: The Pioneers – Seymour Stein and Tommy Ramone
“Your son has shellac in his veins”
That's what Seymour Stein's parents were told by legendary King Records owner Sid Nathan back when Stein was just a boy. Alongside shellac, it's obvious from this evening's interview alongside Tommy Ramone, conducted by XFM's John Kennedy, that music still runs through his veins too.
After signing The Ramones when finished watching the band perform 18 songs in 15 minutes in a New York studio, Stein defended the outcries of his friends, who asked 'How can you fuck up your label with this king of band?' - the response drew enthusiastic applause from the audience: “ I thought this music was fucking brilliant. I didn't care what anyone thought – I never do...”.
Asked by Kennedy if his reading of Ramones' history did indeed include a confession of their admiration of the Bay City Rollers. Tommy confirmed that they all had wide-ranging tastes (his own involvement in a bluegrass label confirms that) – as an aside he also confirmed that The Ramones had “an amazing sense of irony”.
Stein's list of mentors gave a sense of the making of the man – Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun, Sid Nathan to name but a few.
Asked by a delegate, if he was starting out these days, which technological tool he would use – well, his response was pure Seymour:
“My ears".
That's what Seymour Stein's parents were told by legendary King Records owner Sid Nathan back when Stein was just a boy. Alongside shellac, it's obvious from this evening's interview alongside Tommy Ramone, conducted by XFM's John Kennedy, that music still runs through his veins too.
After signing The Ramones when finished watching the band perform 18 songs in 15 minutes in a New York studio, Stein defended the outcries of his friends, who asked 'How can you fuck up your label with this king of band?' - the response drew enthusiastic applause from the audience: “ I thought this music was fucking brilliant. I didn't care what anyone thought – I never do...”.
Asked by Kennedy if his reading of Ramones' history did indeed include a confession of their admiration of the Bay City Rollers. Tommy confirmed that they all had wide-ranging tastes (his own involvement in a bluegrass label confirms that) – as an aside he also confirmed that The Ramones had “an amazing sense of irony”.
Stein's list of mentors gave a sense of the making of the man – Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun, Sid Nathan to name but a few.
Asked by a delegate, if he was starting out these days, which technological tool he would use – well, his response was pure Seymour:
“My ears".
Global Publishing Forum
Nokia's Comes With Music was the focus of much debate with final forum of the day.
Jeremy Fabinyi from MCPS-PRS found himself defending the decision of the society to strike a deal including non-disclosure agreements with Nokia. Christian Wahlberg of Murlyn Music Group in Sweden seemed incensed that figures couldn't be passed on for him to explain to his songwriters. Sarah Stennet from Crown Music and SSB Solicitors sympathised with the alliance, but also said that it “sticks in the throat” if you're a songwriter. Better a deal struck by a collection society than no deal at all, argued Fabinyi.
Elsewhere, Chrysalis CEO Jeremy Lascelles thinks that “the long-term propsects of music publishing are secure”, but warned that the next few years will be easy for nobody, advising that the deal sizes should get smaller.
Jeremy Fabinyi from MCPS-PRS found himself defending the decision of the society to strike a deal including non-disclosure agreements with Nokia. Christian Wahlberg of Murlyn Music Group in Sweden seemed incensed that figures couldn't be passed on for him to explain to his songwriters. Sarah Stennet from Crown Music and SSB Solicitors sympathised with the alliance, but also said that it “sticks in the throat” if you're a songwriter. Better a deal struck by a collection society than no deal at all, argued Fabinyi.
Elsewhere, Chrysalis CEO Jeremy Lascelles thinks that “the long-term propsects of music publishing are secure”, but warned that the next few years will be easy for nobody, advising that the deal sizes should get smaller.
The Digital Summit
With a presence from Nokia, whose Comes With Music platform arrived in a hail of publicity and controversy in equal measure recently, this panel, moderated by Ted Cohen, was always going to spark debate. John Grinham, Nokia's Director of Strategy was there to shoot the breeze.
The discussion soon swayed around to the the way music consumers might best use these new platforms. Dave Ulmer from Motorola reckoned that that consumers no longer needed a short list of filters, given the presence of Pandora, Last.fm and other music recommendation. He also distanced himself from the idea that a mobile company could start releasing records, as Motorola doesn't see itself as one of those filters.
Ian Rogers from Topspin called for the role of bloggers to be recognised (we hear ya, Ian), especially when it comes to leveraging tastes into the editorial or music discovery elements of new services.
Rob Wells, the Senior VP of Digital for Universal, who were the first label to sign a deal with Nokia for Comes With Music exclaimed that the editorial function for CWM was far better, more interactive and more frequently updated that “existing digital stores”. We have no idea who you might have meant, Rob....
Wells was also quick to point out that dropping DRM on music doesn't solve everything. Not able to resist a dig at EMI, who went DRM-free and then saw their digital market share drop in the weeks to follow. Defending the piecemeal approach to revenue-generation in music subscription services, he made sure to tell the panel that subscription serves are intended for high volume business - “it's about getting as many people as possible to listen to as much music as possible.”
Also defending what some panelists saw as the reluctance of major labels to get involved in digital start-ups he declared, in no uncertain terms that “Universal is sick of driving business for spotty teenagers in garages and not seeing any upside for the artist”.
The discussion soon swayed around to the the way music consumers might best use these new platforms. Dave Ulmer from Motorola reckoned that that consumers no longer needed a short list of filters, given the presence of Pandora, Last.fm and other music recommendation. He also distanced himself from the idea that a mobile company could start releasing records, as Motorola doesn't see itself as one of those filters.
Ian Rogers from Topspin called for the role of bloggers to be recognised (we hear ya, Ian), especially when it comes to leveraging tastes into the editorial or music discovery elements of new services.
Rob Wells, the Senior VP of Digital for Universal, who were the first label to sign a deal with Nokia for Comes With Music exclaimed that the editorial function for CWM was far better, more interactive and more frequently updated that “existing digital stores”. We have no idea who you might have meant, Rob....
Wells was also quick to point out that dropping DRM on music doesn't solve everything. Not able to resist a dig at EMI, who went DRM-free and then saw their digital market share drop in the weeks to follow. Defending the piecemeal approach to revenue-generation in music subscription services, he made sure to tell the panel that subscription serves are intended for high volume business - “it's about getting as many people as possible to listen to as much music as possible.”
Also defending what some panelists saw as the reluctance of major labels to get involved in digital start-ups he declared, in no uncertain terms that “Universal is sick of driving business for spotty teenagers in garages and not seeing any upside for the artist”.
State Of The UK
BBC Radio 1, Universal, Relentless, Mika's manager, live promoters and a venture capitalist group were all represented on the panel which poured over the state of the host country.
At times we might have been forgiven for thinking that it was a running advert for each panelists' business concerns, with their own wares being brought up as particularly forward-thinking and excellent. In some cases you couldn't argue with the logic, but other times if felt like trumpet-blowing, something you get used to if you attend a lot of music business conferences.
Nonetheless, some insight was abound. Brian Rose, Commercial Director of Universal Music UK & Ireland stressed the importance of merchandise in the Christmas retail market (as indeed he might, what with Universal acquiring merchandise company Bravado).
Stuart Galbraith of Kilimanjaro Live warned of the knock-on of economic hard times on the live sector with a tougher time for what he called “mid-range” artists and less US artists visiting the UK.
Brian Rose told the audience that digital albums aren't as much of a challenge as everyone thinks – while digital tracks are up 30% in the past year, digital album sales are up 70%.
Ian Watt of Machine Management announced that new thinking of the reintroduction of artists to the market after the end of a previous campaign was needed. Punters can now look forward to a 6 month lead-up before Mika's next album is released next year. He also saw learning lessons from the rest of the enertainment industry as key to his company's success.
Shabs from Relentless even argued that artists “just can't afford to go away anymore”, citing his company's approach to singles-based deals and asked for more multi-faceted relationships between labels and artists, such as the one he has with folk artist Seth Lakeman. It's anything goes – as Shabs put it himself “It really is the Wild West out there”.
George Ergatoudis from Radio 1 saw the reintroduction of artists and the long lifespan of artists as the biggest challenge to engage listeners.
Each panellist was asked to pick out one act at the end of the panel who they thought could succeed next year, here are the experts' picks:
George Ergatoudis, Radio 1 picked Dan Black
Brian Rose from Universal picked I Blame Coco
Shabs Jopanputra from Relentless picked out the genres of dance and urban
Iain Watt from Machine Management picked Magistrates and the track Walking In The Distance by Empire of The Sun
Stuart Galbraith from Kilimanjaro Live picked The Chaplin Family and Laura Izibor
David Glick from The Edge Group picked Sneaky Sound System
At times we might have been forgiven for thinking that it was a running advert for each panelists' business concerns, with their own wares being brought up as particularly forward-thinking and excellent. In some cases you couldn't argue with the logic, but other times if felt like trumpet-blowing, something you get used to if you attend a lot of music business conferences.
Nonetheless, some insight was abound. Brian Rose, Commercial Director of Universal Music UK & Ireland stressed the importance of merchandise in the Christmas retail market (as indeed he might, what with Universal acquiring merchandise company Bravado).
Stuart Galbraith of Kilimanjaro Live warned of the knock-on of economic hard times on the live sector with a tougher time for what he called “mid-range” artists and less US artists visiting the UK.
Brian Rose told the audience that digital albums aren't as much of a challenge as everyone thinks – while digital tracks are up 30% in the past year, digital album sales are up 70%.
Ian Watt of Machine Management announced that new thinking of the reintroduction of artists to the market after the end of a previous campaign was needed. Punters can now look forward to a 6 month lead-up before Mika's next album is released next year. He also saw learning lessons from the rest of the enertainment industry as key to his company's success.
Shabs from Relentless even argued that artists “just can't afford to go away anymore”, citing his company's approach to singles-based deals and asked for more multi-faceted relationships between labels and artists, such as the one he has with folk artist Seth Lakeman. It's anything goes – as Shabs put it himself “It really is the Wild West out there”.
George Ergatoudis from Radio 1 saw the reintroduction of artists and the long lifespan of artists as the biggest challenge to engage listeners.
Each panellist was asked to pick out one act at the end of the panel who they thought could succeed next year, here are the experts' picks:
George Ergatoudis, Radio 1 picked Dan Black
Brian Rose from Universal picked I Blame Coco
Shabs Jopanputra from Relentless picked out the genres of dance and urban
Iain Watt from Machine Management picked Magistrates and the track Walking In The Distance by Empire of The Sun
Stuart Galbraith from Kilimanjaro Live picked The Chaplin Family and Laura Izibor
David Glick from The Edge Group picked Sneaky Sound System
Daytime Conference - The Global Keynote
A stellar line-up kicked off a day's talking in The Cumberland. In a lively and wide-ranging panel, Harvey Goldsmith, Ged Doherty, Steve Schnur (EA Games) Alex Patasavas (Chopshop Music) and Anthony Lucan from MySpace UK took the questions from Owen Thomas of the BBC.
The ever-shy and retiring Harvey Goldsmith echoed this and called it "One of the biggest scams ever".
Ged also told the story of pulling out of Prince's last album release. He said he's a big Prince fan and was excited about the album which he thought contained a potential radio hit. Then Prince's representative called him and said they were giving the single away as a download. Ged thought "OK, we'll deal with it". Then she called again and told him they were giving an album free with every ticket for the O2 gigs. Ged thought "OK, that's 300,000 albums and the last Prince album sold 100,000 but I'm an optimist and a Prince fan so let's do it". Then the promoter called him "because the manager was too scared" and said the Daily Mail had approached them to give away 2.3 million albums so Ged said "Go fuck yourself". Ged said when Prince got wind of this he offered to give Sony BMG the profits from the Daily Mail giveaway if they'd still release the album, but Ged refused on a point of principle.
Schnur called the games and entertainment industry in general “a recession-proof medium”, which will be a relief to the labels who got “healthy 7-figure cheques” for music-based games, according to the EA Games Music and Marketing head.
Steve Schnur: "It used to be that if you didn't get on radio in the US you were screwed". Harvey Goldsmith: "Now if you do get on radio you're screwed".
Ged Doherty spoke about how all the new labels from coffee companies etc haven't broken one band locally or globally. Likewise bands employing DIY models have only got so far. He then said "Radiohead seem more interested in shrinking their fanbase rather than growing it" and said the In Rainbows release was "one of the biggest PR scams of all time. Instead of trying to grow their market and reach new consumers, they're trying to get as much money as possible out of existing consumers."The ever-shy and retiring Harvey Goldsmith echoed this and called it "One of the biggest scams ever".
Ged also told the story of pulling out of Prince's last album release. He said he's a big Prince fan and was excited about the album which he thought contained a potential radio hit. Then Prince's representative called him and said they were giving the single away as a download. Ged thought "OK, we'll deal with it". Then she called again and told him they were giving an album free with every ticket for the O2 gigs. Ged thought "OK, that's 300,000 albums and the last Prince album sold 100,000 but I'm an optimist and a Prince fan so let's do it". Then the promoter called him "because the manager was too scared" and said the Daily Mail had approached them to give away 2.3 million albums so Ged said "Go fuck yourself". Ged said when Prince got wind of this he offered to give Sony BMG the profits from the Daily Mail giveaway if they'd still release the album, but Ged refused on a point of principle.
Schnur called the games and entertainment industry in general “a recession-proof medium”, which will be a relief to the labels who got “healthy 7-figure cheques” for music-based games, according to the EA Games Music and Marketing head.
Ged again: "If I get fired tomorrow which I probably will after some of the things I've said today, I'd start up an independent label. It has never been a better time to start an independent label if you know what you're doing."
Monday, October 27, 2008
Is this thing on? Hello Europe....
MUSEXPO Europe 2008's newborn head had been well and truly wet by the time the live schedule kicked off. A cocktail reception at Carbon Lounge in London's Cumberland Hotel saw to that. The fine folk at Electronic Arts and A&R Worldwide generously provided social lubrication for the night ahead....
Melbourne rockers Skybombers had the privilege of opening proceedings for the live part of the inaugural Musexpo Europe in Metro. It was the UK's first chance to see the quartet, who's music was recently licensed by the aforementioned EA Games. Their single “It Goes Off,” was added to rotation on the influential radio station Indie 103.1FM Los Angeles. And it did indeed go off, as they say in these parts. Sporting an Aussie drawl which lent itself beautifully to many a rambling between-song story (“This is about when I was 19 and not doing very much with my life”...) singer Hugh led the assault on the audience backed by some of the most solid hooky, riff-laden rock you're likely to hear in this or any other hemisphere. Highlight for us was “If You Want To Be The One” (video), which even as one of their slow numbers still had plenty of snarling attitude. Job well done.
Over at The Borderline, The RGBs were the first of three acts flying the flag for the host country tonight. Three synth-obsessed English ladies and a drumming Frenchman, they certainly looked the part for their punk-electro musings. Technical gremlins aside("Welcome to electronic music" mused singer Becky, as the show came to an awkward halt), we didn't feel the songs made as much of an impression as the band's costumes, which isn't as uncommon as you'd think for female-fronted electro-punk bands. They did seem genuinely as mad as a box of frogs though, and with forthcoming help from Tom Cato of Groove Armada in the studio, we're sure they'll achieve their potential.
Zipping back over to Metro in time for the start of Dresden band Polarkreis 18's set was one of the wisest things we've done at a music conference. Currently riding high in the German singles charts with the insanely catchy 'Allein Allein', these five 23 year-olds didn't let up, right from the high-octane show-starter (the title track of their excellent new album). Resplendent in all-white, looking like a traveling evangelical troupe, they're quite the engaging prospect. Songs with dark, crunchy soundscapes are lifted by theatrical, sometimes operatic vocals from their frontman, who, to put it mildly, appears to have avoided the ugly stick. In other parts they throw out singalong choruses, soft pop touches and pulsating electronic beats. On paper, this should be a dog's dinner, but how beautifully it worked. Their second full-length album in Germany 'The Colour Of Snow' has just been released. W The comparisons name-check Sigur Ros, Radiohead and Snow Patrol, we were reminded of Danish band Mew ourselves. The point is, they showed the mettle to become a stadium-sized prospect. Check them out.
You may know Andrew Paul Woodworth from previous bands Virgil and Elephant Ride. You may even know his cover of Beastie Boys' 'Fight For Your Right' (YouTube), the first time the Beastie Boys have ever approved the usage of a cover of one of their songs - it was featured on TV show 'One Tree Hill'. "It's because of Musexpo that I'm...playing..Musexpo". Well put. What he awkwardly tried to tell the assembled crowd at The Borderline was that it was at 2006's Musexpo event that the LA-based musician caught the attention of Rodeostar Records in Germany, who promptly signed him. His Ben Folds-esque tales of heartbreak showcased a sharp and confident songwriter.
It's often said that in times of economic crises, people find comfort in the arts, and that artists themselves become more creative. Thank the current financial Armageddon for giving us Hertfordshire band Rotating Leslie then. "Fuck The Crunch" yelled their flyers. "Fuck Gordon Brown" (ooh, political!) yelled their singer, who was understandably hacked off at being made redundant from his job recently. But their umbrage at economic woes didn't filter through to the music, which was jangly, punchy and highly hummable Brit-pop at its strongest. Think Kaiser Chiefs meets Supergrass with a dollop of The Jam and you're getting close. Firey stompers like 'Mind On My Money' and gentler moments like 'Last Words of a Dying Man' show versatility and verve. Cheeky English boys with loud guitars will take our minds off the woes of Wall St, you mark our words.
The last waltz of the night at The Borderline belonged to the adorable thecocknbullkid ("One word, lower case, no apostrophes please." according to her MySpace page) aka East Londoner Anita Blay. She's DIY pop princess du jour in England with NME, The Guardian and influential BBC TV spot 'Later with Jools Holland' all frothing over her. And rightly so - the charming, classy and smart pop songs just trip out of her. Her sweet voice and unassuming stage presence belie the darker edges of her her beat-driven pop. On songs like 'On My Own' and new song 'Boys And Girls' she possessed enough to appease both the cool kids and the Top 40 punters. A delightful turn.
Come back soon - we're going to rest our fingers until the conference panels get underway on Tuesday. We're back with a full review of what happens in The Cumberland tomorrow. We're salivating at the prospect of a Global Keynote, a 'State Of the Nation:UK' panel, a digital summit and most of all, a chance to see Tommy Ramone (The Ramones) and Seymour Stein (Chairman, Sire Records Group) tell us young 'uns how it's really done. Stay tuned.
*******************************************
[All Photos Courtsey of KC Morse]
Melbourne rockers Skybombers had the privilege of opening proceedings for the live part of the inaugural Musexpo Europe in Metro. It was the UK's first chance to see the quartet, who's music was recently licensed by the aforementioned EA Games. Their single “It Goes Off,” was added to rotation on the influential radio station Indie 103.1FM Los Angeles. And it did indeed go off, as they say in these parts. Sporting an Aussie drawl which lent itself beautifully to many a rambling between-song story (“This is about when I was 19 and not doing very much with my life”...) singer Hugh led the assault on the audience backed by some of the most solid hooky, riff-laden rock you're likely to hear in this or any other hemisphere. Highlight for us was “If You Want To Be The One” (video), which even as one of their slow numbers still had plenty of snarling attitude. Job well done.Over at The Borderline, The RGBs were the first of three acts flying the flag for the host country tonight. Three synth-obsessed English ladies and a drumming Frenchman, they certainly looked the part for their punk-electro musings. Technical gremlins aside("Welcome to electronic music" mused singer Becky, as the show came to an awkward halt), we didn't feel the songs made as much of an impression as the band's costumes, which isn't as uncommon as you'd think for female-fronted electro-punk bands. They did seem genuinely as mad as a box of frogs though, and with forthcoming help from Tom Cato of Groove Armada in the studio, we're sure they'll achieve their potential.Zipping back over to Metro in time for the start of Dresden band Polarkreis 18's set was one of the wisest things we've done at a music conference. Currently riding high in the German singles charts with the insanely catchy 'Allein Allein', these five 23 year-olds didn't let up, right from the high-octane show-starter (the title track of their excellent new album). Resplendent in all-white, looking like a traveling evangelical troupe, they're quite the engaging prospect. Songs with dark, crunchy soundscapes are lifted by theatrical, sometimes operatic vocals from their frontman, who, to put it mildly, appears to have avoided the ugly stick. In other parts they throw out singalong choruses, soft pop touches and pulsating electronic beats. On paper, this should be a dog's dinner, but how beautifully it worked. Their second full-length album in Germany 'The Colour Of Snow' has just been released. W The comparisons name-check Sigur Ros, Radiohead and Snow Patrol, we were reminded of Danish band Mew ourselves. The point is, they showed the mettle to become a stadium-sized prospect. Check them out.You may know Andrew Paul Woodworth from previous bands Virgil and Elephant Ride. You may even know his cover of Beastie Boys' 'Fight For Your Right' (YouTube), the first time the Beastie Boys have ever approved the usage of a cover of one of their songs - it was featured on TV show 'One Tree Hill'. "It's because of Musexpo that I'm...playing..Musexpo". Well put. What he awkwardly tried to tell the assembled crowd at The Borderline was that it was at 2006's Musexpo event that the LA-based musician caught the attention of Rodeostar Records in Germany, who promptly signed him. His Ben Folds-esque tales of heartbreak showcased a sharp and confident songwriter.It's often said that in times of economic crises, people find comfort in the arts, and that artists themselves become more creative. Thank the current financial Armageddon for giving us Hertfordshire band Rotating Leslie then. "Fuck The Crunch" yelled their flyers. "Fuck Gordon Brown" (ooh, political!) yelled their singer, who was understandably hacked off at being made redundant from his job recently. But their umbrage at economic woes didn't filter through to the music, which was jangly, punchy and highly hummable Brit-pop at its strongest. Think Kaiser Chiefs meets Supergrass with a dollop of The Jam and you're getting close. Firey stompers like 'Mind On My Money' and gentler moments like 'Last Words of a Dying Man' show versatility and verve. Cheeky English boys with loud guitars will take our minds off the woes of Wall St, you mark our words.The last waltz of the night at The Borderline belonged to the adorable thecocknbullkid ("One word, lower case, no apostrophes please." according to her MySpace page) aka East Londoner Anita Blay. She's DIY pop princess du jour in England with NME, The Guardian and influential BBC TV spot 'Later with Jools Holland' all frothing over her. And rightly so - the charming, classy and smart pop songs just trip out of her. Her sweet voice and unassuming stage presence belie the darker edges of her her beat-driven pop. On songs like 'On My Own' and new song 'Boys And Girls' she possessed enough to appease both the cool kids and the Top 40 punters. A delightful turn.Come back soon - we're going to rest our fingers until the conference panels get underway on Tuesday. We're back with a full review of what happens in The Cumberland tomorrow. We're salivating at the prospect of a Global Keynote, a 'State Of the Nation:UK' panel, a digital summit and most of all, a chance to see Tommy Ramone (The Ramones) and Seymour Stein (Chairman, Sire Records Group) tell us young 'uns how it's really done. Stay tuned.
*******************************************
[All Photos Courtsey of KC Morse]
Monday, October 6, 2008
Showcasing Artists (Set-Times / Bios)
MUSEXPO Europe will feature the talents of 18 bands from all around the world. The bands include: Skybombers, The RGB's, Polarkreis 18, Andrew Paul Woodworth, Rotating Leslie, thecocknbullkid, Domenica, Fabienne Holloway, Floor Thirteen, The Bianca Story, The King Blues, The Temper Trap, JukeBox Vandals, The Travelling Band, Natalia Lesz, Laura Izibor, Dune and Young Lovers. Click below for more details.
Speakers Confirmed
To read more about MUSEXPO Europe's speakers, please click below.
Speakers for MUSEXPO Europe 2008 include: Alex Patsavas, Founder, Chop Shop Music (who music supervises “Grey’s Anatomy,” “24,” “Rescue Me,” Ugly Betty,” “The O.C.” and others); Alicen Catron Schneider, NBC Universal Television Vice President Music Services; Nic Harcourt, US radio tastemaker and Music Director KCRW Los Angeles; Gene Sandbloom, Operations Manager of the world-famous KROQ Los Angeles; Steve Schnur, Worldwide Head of Music & Marketing – EA; Max Lousada, President, Atlantic Records (UK); Nick Raphael, Managing Director, Epic Records (UK); Jeff Smith, Head of Music, BBC Radio 2; Brian Nielsen, CEO, Skandinavian Booking & Management Agency; Jessica Koravos, Managing Director, AEG Live (UK); Clive Dickens, Chief Operating Officer, TIML Radio; Mike Tunnicliffe, Founder/President, Tuna Music; Emmanuel Legrand, Editor, Impact Publishing Magazine; Ged Doherty, Chairman & Chief Executive, Sony Music Entertainment UK & Ireland; Bruce Flohr, Partner, ATO Records/Red Light Management; Rob Wells, Sr. Vice President Digital, Universal Music Group International; Ian C. Rogers of the highly touted artist platform Topspin; Rob Lewis, CEO/Co-Founder, Omniphone; George Ergatoudis, Head of Music at BBC Radio 1; Sarah Stennett, Founding Partner, Spraggon, Stennett, Brabyn; Richard Kingsmill, Music Director, Triple J Radio (Australia); Iain Watt, Founder, Machine Management; Dave Goldberg, Executive, Benchmark Capital; Doug Mark, Founder, Mark Music & Media Law, P.C.; Ajax Scott, Media Consultant and Andrew Phillips, Media Consultant, Channel 4 (UK)
Speakers for MUSEXPO Europe 2008 include: Alex Patsavas, Founder, Chop Shop Music (who music supervises “Grey’s Anatomy,” “24,” “Rescue Me,” Ugly Betty,” “The O.C.” and others); Alicen Catron Schneider, NBC Universal Television Vice President Music Services; Nic Harcourt, US radio tastemaker and Music Director KCRW Los Angeles; Gene Sandbloom, Operations Manager of the world-famous KROQ Los Angeles; Steve Schnur, Worldwide Head of Music & Marketing – EA; Max Lousada, President, Atlantic Records (UK); Nick Raphael, Managing Director, Epic Records (UK); Jeff Smith, Head of Music, BBC Radio 2; Brian Nielsen, CEO, Skandinavian Booking & Management Agency; Jessica Koravos, Managing Director, AEG Live (UK); Clive Dickens, Chief Operating Officer, TIML Radio; Mike Tunnicliffe, Founder/President, Tuna Music; Emmanuel Legrand, Editor, Impact Publishing Magazine; Ged Doherty, Chairman & Chief Executive, Sony Music Entertainment UK & Ireland; Bruce Flohr, Partner, ATO Records/Red Light Management; Rob Wells, Sr. Vice President Digital, Universal Music Group International; Ian C. Rogers of the highly touted artist platform Topspin; Rob Lewis, CEO/Co-Founder, Omniphone; George Ergatoudis, Head of Music at BBC Radio 1; Sarah Stennett, Founding Partner, Spraggon, Stennett, Brabyn; Richard Kingsmill, Music Director, Triple J Radio (Australia); Iain Watt, Founder, Machine Management; Dave Goldberg, Executive, Benchmark Capital; Doug Mark, Founder, Mark Music & Media Law, P.C.; Ajax Scott, Media Consultant and Andrew Phillips, Media Consultant, Channel 4 (UK)
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