|
INDIE NEWS BEAT
April 26, 2004 Edition
* Texas Seeks Artists To Represent State
* 14% Of Internet Users Kick The Download Habit
* The Annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash
* Invite The World To Your Album Release Party
* The First School Of American Popular Music In Europe
* The Convergence of Music & Fashion
* A New Home To More Than 1.7M Songs & 250,000 Artists
* Foreigner In Digital Surround Sound
* Congress Threatens Live Music
* The Cure To Be Inducted Into Hollywood's Rockwalk
Texas Seeks Artists To Represent State
 The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is seeking nominations for the positions of state poet laureate, state musician, state two-dimensional artist and state three-dimensional artist. These positions, created by S.B. 1043 of the 77th Legislature, will be filled by one-year appointments.
Selection of the four positions will be made by a legislative-appointed committee based on the one-time nomination form; multiple submissions or contact to TCA will not be considered in the selection process. All qualified nominees must be native Texans or five-year residents of the state. Candidates must have received recognition for high levels of excellence and success in their respective disciplines. They also must have received critical reviews in state, regional or national publications.
In addition, poet laureate nominees must have developed a substantial body of work, including at least one publication that is not self-published. State musician nominees must have a substantial body of work, including at least two nationally available records, or at least 20 years experience teaching music in a formal classroom, or receive the majority of their income from musical endeavors. Visual artist nominees must work in two- or three-dimensional art mediums, must have been represented in at least one, one-person show and must have an extensive history of exhibiting in recognized museums and galleries.
Source: 
14% Of Internet Users Say They No Longer Download Music Files
The recording industry campaign against those who download and swap music online has made an impact on several major fronts, but the number of Americans downloading music and sharing files online has increased, according to the most recent survey of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
The Project's national phone survey of 1,371 adult Internet users conducted between February 3 and March 1, 2004 shows that 14% of online Americans say that at one time in their online lives they downloaded music files, but now they no longer do any downloading. That represents more than 17 million people. However, the number of people who say they download music files increased from an estimated 18 million to 23 million since the Project's November-December 2003 survey. This increase is likely due to the combined effects of many people adopting new, paid download services and, in some cases, switching to lower-profile peer-to-peer file sharing applications.
"Last January we reported that after the recording industry lawsuits were launched into the public eye, there was a considerable drop in the percentage of Internet users who said they were downloading music or sharing files," said Mary Madden, a Research Specialist at the Pew Internet Project who co-authored the new report. "We wanted to follow up on these findings as soon as possible to see if this would be a consistent trend. And while it's clear that the industry's legal campaign has made a lasting impression in the minds of American Internet users, we are also seeing evidence that a segment of users are simply moving away from the most popular and highly monitored file-sharing networks and are instead using alternative sources to acquire files."
Source:
The Annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash
An all-star line-up has been announced for "Life's A Gas - The Annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash" 2004 to take place Wednesday, May 19th at Irving Plaza in NYC. The legendary lead singer of the "Hall Of Fame" Punk Rock band The Ramones passed away from Lymphatic cancer in 2001. The annual non-profit bash marks the fourth year that Joey Ramone's mother and brother will celebrate the late singer's birthday by inviting thousands of JOEY 's friends and fans to join them.
"Life's A Gas'" perpetuates Joey's tradition of presenting the amazing parties he began hosting on his birthday. The eclectic shows ultimately became a highly anticipated annual event that delighted New Yorkers for decades. People now come from all over the world to partake in the celebration of the late singer's music and spirit.
The Birthday Bash honors Joey by presenting the kind of music he loved, continuing his promotion of new talent and keeping NYC's rock music scene thriving. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Lymphoma Foundation in an effort to combat the disease he battled until his death on April 15, 2001. May 19th would have been the 53rd Birthday of the solo artist and lead singer of The Ramones, known and loved worldwide as "The King of Punk."
Source:
Invite The World To Your Album Release Party
 Indie Artist Radio this week introduced their newest and most exciting promotions opportunity to musicians, the Internet Global Album Release Party. Musicians releasing new albums have the opportunity to have their album release announced on Indie Artist Radio 4 times per-day (Over 100 times a month), block party where the musicians new album will be broadcasted and discussed by DJs for an entire hour along with trivia questions related to the musician and their new release and giveaways for listeners.
Including the tremendous exposure through one of the fastest growing Indie Radio Networks each Album Release Party will be announced through the many-syndicated radio shows in which Indie Artist Radio participates. This exciting Album Release Party is a complete month of exposure dedicated it an artist's new release and a guest list that is unlimited. Album Releases gain "Top Billing" on sites such as Indie Artist Radio, RadioDevil.Com and BandJams.Com along with album reviews, discographies and Press Releases to over 20 online Press Release Organizations and Websites.
Source:
The First School Of American Popular Music In Europe
Musictech College is bridging the continental gap in the modern music industry by opening the first college of American popular music in Europe next Fall. McNally Smith College of Music, named for Musictech co-founders Jack McNally and Doug Smith, will be located at the Media Docks in Lubeck, Germany -- one of Europe's most advanced media facilities.
"Popular music has become a global industry and we have seen significant interest from Europe in our college programs in the U.S.," said Jack McNally, President of Musictech College. "We want to make the global music industry more accessible to European students and create greater opportunities for them to play a part in the future of music."
The McNally Smith International Music Business Program in Lubeck gives students an in-depth introduction to the music business with top instructors from the college's U.S. campus and select leaders in the European music industry. Coursework will range from contract law to entrepreneurship, and students can take elective coursework in Recording, Music Production, Applied Music, and Songwriting.
Source:
MusicDish/Mi2N Founder To Speak On Merging Of Music & Fashion
 Eric de Fontenay, publisher of music industry portals MusicDish & Mi2N has been invited to speak at "The Convergence Of Music And Fashion" being held at The Fashion Institute Of Technology on June 10, 2004. Also speaking on the panel chaired by entertainment attorney Steve Gordon are Daymond John, CEO of FUBU and FB Entertainment, and Denise Seegal, CEO and President of Sweetface Fashion Company that manages Jennifer Lopez' J. Lo clothing line.
Mr. de Fontenay recently spoke on latest business developments shaping the industry at "The Future Of Music And Video" co-sponsored by The Bar Association Of The City Of NY and The CUNY Graduate Center.
"More focus on pricing, as the 99-cent price point is being cast in a new light next to master ringtone stickers that could come in as high as $2.50. To most, the question was irrelevant, as the main issue is the need for major record labels to completely overhaul their business models. Eric de Fontenay favored a flat-pricing scheme instead of a-la-carte systems, pointing to the explosive success of other companies that made similar transitions (AOL, long distance phone companies). "Competing with free" choices from P2P networks was a repeated concern, though de Fontenay correctly noted that services like Kazaa offer much greater selection in addition to free pricing. Services like MusicNet and iTunes are simply not on equal footing." Digital Music News
Source:
A New Home To More Than 1.7 Million Songs And 250,000 Artists
GarageBand and Trusonic have joined forces to offer Trusonic artists the opportunity to join GarageBand.com's music storage and other services. The companies have created a simple method for 250,000 artists to access more than 1.7 million songs and automatically generate new web pages using the Trusonic portion of the content once hosted at www.MP3.com.
Trusonic, formerly a division of MP3.com Inc., uses some of the music giant's song catalog and musicians database in connection with its background music service. After an exhaustive evaluation, Trusonic selected GarageBand as its exclusive partner to offer Trusonic artists additional exposure.
"GarageBand.com provides the award-winning services and exposure that independent musicians deserve," said Dan O'Neill, CTO of Trusonic. "We're delighted to see them offer a new home for this incredible community of musicians and songs."
Source:
Foreigner In Digital Surround Sound
 On May 18, Eagle Rock Entertainment presents Foreigner/25: All Access Tonight on DVD. Foreigner gives a spectacular live performance of some of their greatest hits of all time on this 25th Anniversary Tour, which was recorded in 2002. Experiencing great success in the late 70's into the early 80's, Foreigner has maintained their rock star status and outlasted many other less successful bands of that era.
The Foreigner/25: All Access Tonight DVD features the memorable band recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo with 5.1 DTS Digital Surround Sound, giving giving fans great surround sound, plus exclusive video extras. Eagle Vision was awarded a Surround Music Award for 'Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon DVD'.
This film, with a running time of approximately 84 minutes, includes bonus features include a special October 2002 performance of "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Mick Jones & Lou Gramm with a full orchestra on Night Of The Promos in Antwerp, Belgium.
Celebrating their 25 years together, Mick Jones, Lou Gramm, Jeff Jacobs, Tom Gimbel, Bruce Turgon and Denny Carmassi perform 11 of their classics songs. The track listings include "Long, Long Way From Home '95," "Double Vision," "Cold As Ice," "Head Games," "Fool For You Anyway," "That Was Yesterday," "Dirty White Boy," "Feels Like The First Time," "Urgent," "Juke Box Hero," and "Hot Blooded."
Congress Threatens Live Music
Congress is considering two bills that would hold bands, DJs, bartenders, promoters, venue owners, radio stations and others liable if a patron uses drugs at a nightclub or concert. Legal experts and business owners warn the legislation would devastate the music industry and could spell the end of live music, especially large music festivals like South by Southwest and Burning Man. Music fans, bar and nightclub owners, and music promoters are launching a national campaign to defeat the legislation.
The Ecstasy Awareness Act (H.R. 2962) would throw anyone in jail who "profits monetarily from a rave or similar electronic dance event knowing or having reason to know" some event-goers may use drugs at the event. Similarly, Section 305 of the CLEAN-UP Act (H.R. 834) makes it a federal crime - punishable by up to nine years in prison - to promote "any rave, dance, music, or other entertainment event, that takes place under circumstances where the promoter knows or reasonably ought to know that a controlled substance will be used or distributed."
Under the provisions of both bills, almost any music promoter, nightclub owner or arena or stadium owner could be fined and jailed, because a reasonable person knows that some people use marijuana and other drugs at musical events. Business owners could be prosecuted even if they are not involved in drugs and even if they take steps to stop drug use on their property.
Dozens of music promoters and bar owners, as well as national groups such as the ACLU, American Beverage Licensees (which represents thousands of bars and nightclubs), and the International Association of Assembly Managers (which represents arena and stadium managers), signed letters to Congress earlier this year warning that the CLEAN-UP Act "is a threat to free speech and musical expression, and will undoubtedly harm innocent business owners."
Source:
The Cure To Be Inducted Into Hollywood's Rockwalk
The Cure will be inducted into Hollywood's Rockwalk, the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of Rock 'n Roll.
Internationally renowned for their distinctive style and highly original ethereal sounds, The Cure is one of the most consistent and influential bands of all time. In a career spanning more than 25 years, and with record sales exceeding 28 million worldwide, the band has firmly established itself as a definitive force in shaping modern rock as we know it today. Alternative before the alternative genre even existed, and unconfined by trends, the band achieved a number of hit singles and albums with their distinct compositions that continue to stand the test of time.
Source:
 Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2004 - Republished with Permission
|
