Chalupa

Music industry tries carrot after years of stick By Kate HoltonMon Jan 28, 12:56 PM ET Away from the headlines of job losses, grumbling artists and falling global sales, the music industry is trying new business models to boost digital sales and offset the decline in CDs. At the annual industry meeting on the French coast this week, much of the talk was dominated by a new service called Qtrax, which plastered all available space with huge posters declaring the CD dead and estimating that over 1.2 billion illegal downloads would be made during the event itself. Qtrax plans to offer millions of tracks for free with the backing of the music majors, though on Monday it was still in talks for deals with the four big music groups. It plans to act as a legal online file-sharing site, funded through advertising, and it is one of several services that have been launched after criticism that the music industry has been distracted by the fight against piracy, when it should have been developing alternative services. CARROT AND STICK Janus Friis, who once terrified the media industry with file-sharing network KaZaa, told the Midem conference that the industry was beginning to move from the "stick" to the "carrot" approach, citing legal online services Last.fm and Imeem as leading examples. "You have the carrot and you have the stick, and you kind of need to use both, but the carrot has become much more important," he said. "Last.fm and Imeem are beginning to be great Internet services." London-based Last.fm has more than 15 million active users and is known for its song-recommendation system among fans. It announced a deal last week to allow users to stream a song free, up to three times, while a link connects a user to a legitimate music store such as Amazon or iTunes. Social network Imeem is also built around music, is supported by advertising and boasts 20 million users. Steve Jang, Imeem's chief marketing officer, told Reuters the site commanded great loyalty from its users because it was much more than just a retail offering. As part of the transition, U2 manager Paul McGuinness told the conference that the time had come for new thinking on how the music and technology sectors worked together, saying their "snouts have been at our trough feeding free for too long." He touted the idea that music could be provided as part of a subscription service for an Internet service provider in the same way that some mobile phone companies have worked, with the revenue being shared. But it is not just the payment systems that are changing. When Guy Hands, the new owner of British major EMI, unveiled his plans for the struggling group recently, he said he would look into the role of corporate sponsorship arrangements, where an album or tour could be backed by a sponsor. Veteran music promoter Harvey Goldsmith told Reuters that the idea of combining musicians with a brand was not new, but warned it had to be handled carefully. "Some acts like the Arctic Monkeys would think their street cred was under attack," he said. "But the truth is it's an opportunity. You have to remember that a band is also a brand, and if you can link the two and it makes sense, then it's cool. "But it's just as valid for new, up-and-coming acts as the established ones, because what better credibility can a big brand have than discovering a new band."

This is gonna be really cool! http://www.crossroadsconcerts.org/?p=30 Debashish Bhattacharya Hindustani Slide Guitar Saturday, April 5, 2008 Calvary Center for Culture & Community

Vivendi chief says music industry gloom overdone By Kate HoltonSat Jan 26, 11:09 AM ET Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy has no plans to spin off the music unit Universal and he said on Saturday he believed the gloom surrounding the industry had been over done. Speaking at the annual Midem conference, Levy said the music industry was going through a huge transition at the moment, with new business models for mobile and Internet services appearing all the time. But he predicted there would still be a viable market for physical products like CDs for many years to come and he said the industry's future lay, as always, in spotting the right creative talent. "I think altogether today there is an exaggeration in the industry," he told the conference. "Of course it is not doing that well, but look at us, we have flat revenues, a good two digit margins and it's not as dark as what many people describe." The music industry has been hit in recent years by Internet piracy and the rapid growth in digital sales but the planned job losses at British company EMI have highlighted the issue even further. Levy joked that Universal could benefit from its rivals' problems, by gaining more staff or bands, but he said that ultimately a stronger competitor would benefit the whole industry. "We like to have strong competitors," he said. "I hope that after the shake up (at EMI) there will be a strong set of major companies that will help the music industry to grow." Universal is the world's largest music company, with artists such as Amy Winehouse, Mika and U2, and Levy said he was very committed to the group. "Back in 2003 the numbers didn't look very good," he said "(But) as a shareholder of Universal, I have seen the numbers go up quite sharply. We had in '03 a 3 percent operating margin business and we have today a 12 percent operating margin business. "We do have a lot of satisfaction ... and we're very committed." DIGITAL TO GROW He said digital entertainment would continue to grow, due to the developments in technology, broadband penetration and globalization but he said this would not necessarily mean the immediate demise of the CD. "If we (have the right creative policy) and if we understand the technology well and the consumer well, then ... digital entertainment will continue to expand and will be very successful," he said. "It is a transition into a very diversified model, of which CDs will still play a part. So I do not think it is black and white." A report released this week by the international trade body, the IFPI, said global music sales were expected to be down around 10 percent for 2007, despite a 40 percent increase in digital music sales.

I saw Louis Moholo last June in a duet w/ Marshall Allen. He/they were great. He did a mini tour of the East Coast - NYC, Philly, and Baltimore.

Agreed. I first became aware of him when I heard him on Don Pullen's "Random Thoughts" album and saw him a backing up Sonny Rollins a couple of times in the early 90's. The last time I saw him play was w/ McCoy two years ago. He just blows me away w/ every time I see him perform.

Barry Bonds Asks Judge To Toss Out Perjury Case http://www.ktvu.com/sports/15122501/detail.html

Sorry to hear that Joe. Listen, get a security system. Don't worry if you can afford the cost. Ask yourself if you can afford to have someone rob you again. I have ADT - $40 bucks a month. Worth it alone for the peace of mind. Seriously, the cost of a new guitar could pay for a few years of security.

$.53(.3333) per. A great deal just got even better!

Hey does any know what's up w/ ep1str0phy??? He hasn't logged in since December 14. I thought he would be all over this box set.

18,000??? Holy smokes! Were your floors reinforced??

That works out to $1.88 per http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:SS:US:1123 and the seller throws in a VPI record cleaner too!

somewhat related topic here.... http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=33846

Zappa on Mike Douglas http://youtube.com/watch?v=4dXTifyOu3Y&feature=related and http://youtube.com/watch?v=8i-ilfShB0g&feature=related

Zappa on Steve Allen http://youtube.com/watch?v=9OkaecV_O3A and http://youtube.com/watch?v=gziIMi2nqY8&feature=related

There's a CT list? http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/CTResearch/

This info is courtesy of Margaret Davis via the CT list.... From http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/m...nfo.cgi?id=5837 CECIL TAYLOR AHA 3 2OO8-O1-31, 8 PM $2O cover at bar, $35 at table Blue Note 131 West 3rd St New York, NY 1OO12 212-475-8592 club@bluenote.net www.bluenote.net Produced by Jill Newman Productions Don't miss the chance to see this incredible jazz pianist for one night only with his trio at the end of January! Cecil Taylor AHA 3 FEATURING: Cecil Taylor, piano Other musicians, TBA "Practice, to be studious at the instrument, as well as looking at a bridge, or dancing, or writing a poem, or reading, or attempting to make your home more beautiful. What goes into an improvisation is what goes into one's preparation, then allowing the prepared senses to execute at the highest level devoid of psychological or logical interference. You ask, without logic, where does the form come from? It seems something that may be forgotten is that as we begin our day and proceed through it there is a form in existence that we create out of, that the day and night itself is for. And what we choose to vary in the daily routine provides in itself the fresh building blocks to construct a living form which is easily translated into a specific act of making a musical composition. " - Cecil Taylor Cecil Taylor has been an uncompromising creative force who is a testament to his own existence and personal experience since his earliest recordings in the 1950's. In the 1960's, his music would become a leading exponent, along with that of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, of the budding "free-jazz" movement. This movement shook the very foundations on which jazz music was securely resting and marks a major turning point in the history of the music that challenged the structures of form and the tonal harmonic system. Taylor has said of his characteristic rhythmic playing that he tries "to imitate on the piano the leaps in space a dancer makes" and his orchestral facility on the piano has allowed him to innovate new musical textures in small ensemble performance. Taylor's playing has always been technically sophisticated, but as he once said, "technique is a weapon to do whatever must be done". The personnel in his bands over his almost five decades in jazz comprises a list of astounding talent including: Steve Lacy, Jimmy Lyons, Albert Ayler, Buell Neidlinger, Dennis Charles, Archie Shepp, William Parker, Max Roach, Tony Williams, Mark Helias, Mary Lou Williams, and Bill Dixon. Additionally, he has worked with several notable dancers and choreographers including composing music for Diane McIntyre, Mikhail Barishnokov, and Heather Watts. While his music has always been controversial to mainstream audiences, he has always been totally true to his artistic vision, and this has extended into all aspects of his life including his passions for reading, dance, theatre, and architecture. He is also an accomplished poet, and has incorporated this talent into many of his performances and recordings. Born in New York on March 15, 1929, Cecil Taylor began playing piano and at the age of five at the encouragement of his mother. From 1951-1955 he attended the New England Conservatory where he concentrated in piano and music theory. His early professional career began working with Hot Lips Page and Johnny Hodges (c. 1953). In 1955 he formed a quartet with Steve Lacy and soon released his first important album, Jazz Avance (1956). An engagement shortly after at the Five Spot helped to establish the Greenwich Village club as a forum for East Coast new jazz. During this period he also made an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Great South Bay Jazz Festival. In 1960 his "free-jazz" quartet controversially temporarily replaced a "hard-bop" band in the play The Connection. In 1962 he was awarded Downbeat's "new star" award for pianists while ironically unable to get work for most of the 60's. He claims he was forced to live on welfare for at least five years during this period. In 1964 he took part in the October Revolution in Jazz, a series of New York City Concerts self-sponsored by Bill Dixon's Jazz Composers Guild (consisting mostly of musicians of the avant-garde variety). In the 70's, he briefly taught at Antioch College, the University of Wisconsin, and Glassboro State College in New Jersey. Virtually all of Taylor's recorded music between 1967 and 1977 was recorded and released in Europe. After 1973, his career began to gain momentum and he began to tour regularly as a solo pianist and leading his own groups. He was also awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and ran his own record label named Unit Core. In 1975 he was elected into the Down Beat Hall of Fame. In 1979 he composed music for the play "Tetra Stomp: Eatn' Rain in Space". In the late 70's and early 80's Taylor began to collaborate with Diane McIntyre and her dance company Sound In Motion. This company focused on combining jazz and spoken poetry into dance. In 1988 he was honored with a month-long festival of his music in Berlin, involving many of Europe's prominent avant-garde jazz musicians. In 1990 he was named a NEA Jazz Master and in 1991 he was awarded a McArthur Foundation "genius" grant-in-aid, which provided him with considerable financial security. He was not invited to play at Jazz at Lincoln Center because of certain accusations that his music did not fit into the artistic directors' definition of "jazz", so he rented Alice Tully Hall and gave an unaccompanied piano concert, which won him a considerable amount of critical acclaim. In October of that year he gave a concert with orchestral accompaniment in San Francisco and in 1999 he appeared at a Library of Congress concert in Washington, D.C. Taylor, now in his 77th year, continues to compose music and poetry. At a time in his career when most artists of his stature could sustain themselves with a victory lap of regurgitating the past or to slip into silent retirement, Taylor continues to push new boundaries with his art. Taylor is unquestionably an artist of the highest rank, and a direct link to America's art music. His very personal and distinct artistic vision has taken him through much innovative and unexplored musical territory, demanding much of his listeners but also providing content that can be enjoyed. The musical world is awaiting the next step of Cecil Taylor. - AAJ # # # [NOTE: Cecil invited Henry Grimes to play this concert, but Henry has a previous commitment that requires him to be in Europe on January 31st.]

After hearing the news about the reissues last night I checked our library catalog and found that we have Maxine McGregor's book and "Mbizo - A Book about Johnny Dyanni". Anyone read these?? The Dyani book looks really good. It's an oral history w/ lot's of pictures and illustrations

Wiki.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Fischer

Chess champ Bobby Fischer dead ASSOCIATED PRESS REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Bobby Fischer, the reclusive chess master who became a Cold War icon when he dethroned the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky as world champion in 1972, has died. He was 64. Fischer died Thursday in a Reykjavik hospital, his spokesman Gardar Sverrisson said. There was no immediate word on the cause of death. Fischer, born in Chicago and raised in Brooklyn, was a fierce critic of the United States. He renounced his American citizenship and moved to Iceland in 2005. He was wanted in the United States for playing a 1992 rematch against Spassky in Yugoslavia in defiance of international sanctions.

I saw him open for the Espers last February. Fantastic. He opened w/ 15 minute rendition of "Love Abides". He had the whole place mesmerized. Thanks for reminding me that I need to pick this up.

I have "Blue Notes for Mongezi" on vinyl and the rest in "the other format". I can't wait to hear them in better sound. Now if Polydor would just release "Very Urgent" and "Up To Earth" .....

I just read about the forthcoming box set in the BFT forum and thought it deserved a thread of its own..... http://www.cadillacjazz.co.uk/code/news.html OGUN RECORDS Are busy preparing the next Ogun issue, and are very pleased and excited to announce the awaited release of all the music recorded on Ogun by the legendary BLUE NOTES LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO ~DUDU PUKWANA ~ JOHNNY DYANI AND CHRIS McGREGOR. A box set with Blue Notes for Mongezi, 2 full length CDs with extra material from the double LP previous release OG001/002 Blue Notes in Concert ( OG220 ) with extra material from the live concert Blue Notes For Johnny ( OG532 ) extra material from the studio recording All of which have never been on CD before, plus the re-issue of Blue Notes Legacy formerly released as a CD OGCD007 which has been out of print for over a year. 5 CD BOX SET OGCD 024 - 028 A booklet with contributions from an international collection of writers, and musicians with photos collected from various archives, hopefully available by late March early April. Definitely something to look forward to ~ watch the web for up-dates on the progress. All the best for 2008. Hazel Miller Wahoo!! :party:

Jayson Stark is blogging live from the hearings.... http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?...sional_hearings

Congress asking Justice Department to investigate Tejada http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3197286