Movement Music Festival Returns to the Root
Jun 28, 2012 Music, Music Festivals
This year at Movement has proven to be a big one. Following the trend in music festivals to book more and more electronic acts – here’s looking at you Lollapalooza and Coachella – Movement, now in its 13th year, has gone with a new take on the theme and gone back to the roots of electronic music.
Bypassing the normal headliners for the electronic scene, Movement booked electronic music originators and Detroit mainstays. While the opening day act with Lil Louis didn’t see the crowds that Skrillex brought in last year, Saturday and Sunday saw thousands of fans flooding Hart Plaza, coming closer to the 100,000 total attendance goal it has been nearing for the past three years. Of course, Sunday’s large numbers may have had some help with headliners Public Enemy.
With a theme revolving around the roots of electronic music, it’s no surprise that pioneers Public Enemy have made a scene with a standout weekend performance. Celebrating 25 years in the business, Public Enemy had a dynamite performance, tearing through songs and giving the crowd its usual flair and a taste of original electronic music.
Other big performances have since included Adventure Club, UK’s Gold Panda, and Detroit’s Carl Craig. With Monday night seeing Major Lazer, araabMUZIK, and “Wizard”, this years Movement has shown that even after the electronic music fad ends, there still may be enough power behind the style to stay alive.
Tags: Carl Craig, Coachella, Detroit, Detroit International Riverfront, EDM, Electronic music, Lil Louis, Lollapalooza, Major Lazer, Music, Public Enemy, Skrillex
Taylor Swift Exhibit
Jun 26, 2012 Music
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Taylor Swift is going to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The country music superstar will have a new exhibition at the museum starting June 6, which will run up until November 4, 2012.
The exhibit it will feature many of the props, set pieces, instruments and costumes from her “Speak Now” world tour. The exhibit will open up as literally thousands of country fans storm into downtown Nashville for the CMA four-day festival that runs from the 7th of June until the 10th.
Kyle Young, who is the museum director, says that the Swift exhibition could be the first of a series of exhibitions that the museum will open in years to come.
Taylor Swift’s exhibit actually comes on the back burner of the museum’s announcement that the country singer had given four million dollars, which is the largest donation by any artist ever in the history of the museum’s existence. This helped to finance a little more than 7500 square feet of education center space along with a major expansion, which is also taking place in the museum. This major expansion is being dubbed the Taylor Swift Education Center and is big enough for three classrooms along with a state of the art exhibit gallery for children that spreads over two floors.
Young stated to that the exhibition is in no way tied to the donation by Swift. He did say dedicating this size of an exhibition is definitely something new for the museum.
Tags: country music, Country Music Hall of Fame, Museum, Museum Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, Nashville Tennessee, Speak Now World Tour, Taylor Swift
RIP Howie Richmond
Jun 22, 2012 Music
The legendary Howie Richmond was a walking anomaly, a hit-making music publisher who was tone-deaf yet oversaw the popularization of some of the last century’s biggest hits. Mr. Richmond passed away May 20 at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy which included more than a dozen grandchildren, hundreds of hit records, and more friends and admirers than any eye-shaded accountant can tally.
Howard Richmond was born into the music business. His father had done so well as a music publisher that the Richmond family was financially secure for many years off royalties from the songs Howard’s dad had ushered to fame. One of those hits was the well known, “Sidewalks of New York.” After college, young Howard left the University of Pennsylvania and went looking for those sidewalks himself, right smack in the middle of the Big Apple, where he found success working as a press agent for mega-names Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters, among others.
After serving honorably in the Army Air Force in World War II, he opened a tiny music publishing operation with two partners in New York City, carving a niche in the novelty song genre. In those days, novelty music was considered a standard entryway into the business for young publishers, since that type of music was easier to sell than other styles.
A trendsetter, Mr. Richmond is thought to be the very first music publisher who mailed physical copies of vinyl records to radio disc jockeys. Until then, record companies were the only ones to do such front-line promotion. As a result, Richmond’s small company posted six hit records in its first year of operation, an unheard of feat at the time, especially for someone still fresh to the business.
Howard Richmond’s biggest hit was to come in the 1950’s with “Goodnight, Irene,” a song that set records for frequency of play, speed of sales, and other industry benchmarks. Howard’s son, Larry, is currently the president and CEO of the Richmond Organization. In 1969, Mr. Richmond was a founder of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, many of whose members, coincidentally, became famous due to his unique skills. He will be missed by everyone who has ever hummed a tune.
Tags: Frank Sinatra, goodnight irene, howie richmond, Music publisher (popular music), Songwriters Hall of Fame
EDC Will Top Last Years in Capacity
Jun 18, 2012 Music, Music Festivals, Uncategorized
If in you are a fan of electronic music dance then chances are you know all about the Electric Daisy Carnival. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway will play home to the party from June 8 through the 10th so get your dancing shoes ready.
The world’s largest dance party for electronic music is back once again in Las Vegas and the city is ready to cash in on the festivities. The strange thing is that sources are saying Carnival is going to be a third larger than last year and that means Las Vegas is going to have one big weekend to cash in on the estimated 345,000 attendees. Only 15% of those are going to be from Las Vegas which means 85% are going to be looking for lodge and food, not to mention a possible place to gamble.
Last year, the party brought in about 230,000 people and almost $136 million to Las Vegas’ economy. If
you break that down here are the numbers:
- $19.5 million (lodging)
- $16.8 million (food/drinks)
- $10.5 million (public and private transportation costs)
- $9.3 million (entertainment costs- excluding gambling)
- $7.8 million (on gambling alone)
- $7.2 million (retail)
The Carnival is not just about dancing. There are 30 rides that are full-sized along with six stages used for dancing and singing. There are almost 450 performers (consisting of dance and theatrical performers), 13 art installations and 150 artists. Last year’s event cost tens of millions to put together but it made plenty more
Tags: Disc jockey, DJs, EDM, Electric Daisy Carnival, Electronic music, June, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Nevada, United States
Depeche Mode preparing for 2013 tour
Jun 16, 2012 Music, Music Festivals
Martin L. Gore performing with Depeche Mode in December 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The next Depeche Mode album is underway. Bandmates Gahan, Gore and Fletcher are in New York working on their next album and Gahan estimates the group is nearly a fourth of the way into making their new record.
Gahan reports that, thanks to the writing of Martin Gore, the group has more songs to work with than ever before. Gahan goes on to report that he too has some material to contribute and feels the band will be able to develop these tunes into some cool, new songs. He feels that this record will be more direct and “punchier”.
Noting the long process involved in the creation of this album, the band estimates they most likely will not finish up until the end of the year. Gahan reports that Depeche Mode is discussing a tour for next year, however, at this point in time the band is focused on creativity and guitars to create the new music.
During Depeche Modes last tour, Soulsavers opened. It was during that time that Gahan and Rich Machin began talking about the process they go through when writing a song. Finding that they had quite a bit in common in this realm, the two decided to share some ideas to see if anything would come of it.
After about a year’s time, Gahan, Machin and Ian Glover had a real project. They created a record without any real plan. Since then, Gahan has reimmersed in Depeche Mode, yet both bands agree that he will also continue to be part of Gahan-Soulsavers. In fact, songs for a second album are already in the works.
Tags: album, Dave Gahan, Depeche Mode, Gore, Martin Gore, record, songs, Soulsavers, techno
Galaxy S III Now Features 19 Million Songs
Jun 13, 2012 Music
Samsung recently launched a smartphone music service to tag on to its Galaxy S III. With this music service, users can stream in music that they have stored in the cloud. A monthly fee of $16 gives access to this service and with this fee, a consumer can access their own music. The service also has a discovery feature that creates radio stations derived from preference of artists.
This service goes by the name Music Hub and is currently only offered for Galaxy S III users. Samsung reports, however, that it will be offered to additional devices in the near future.
Songs and full albums can be purchased in the Music Hub Store. Once stored in the cloud, the owner can access the music through differing devices. Music can locally be stored for offline usage as well. A whopping 19 million songs are offered through 7 digital, experienced music providers.
Upload time is reduced with technology called Scan & Match utilized by Samsung. The technology scans a song to learn if it is already available in the library, and only uploads songs that are unmatched.
With a personal computer, Music Hub customers can access their music, as well. This can be easily brought up through musichub.com, a web player. Plays are unlimited and no advertising will get in the way of the user. A consumer can create playlists, search music, view album information and lyrics, and share songs.
Tags: cloud, Galaxy S III, mobile music, mp3, Music, Music Hub Store, musichub.com, Radio broadcasting, Samsung, Samsung Galaxy
Morocco World Music Festival
Jun 8, 2012 Music, Music Festivals
Rabat, Morocco lures top world artist to perform at Mawazine International Music Festival. This
year, the festival lasted nine days with performances by top artists, such as Lenny Kravitz and
Mariah Carey.
This “Rhythms of the World” festival has been held for the past 11 years, always bringing forth
Morocco’s contradictions. While much of the country finds itself stuck in poverty, Morocco
continues to spend millions of dollars enticing top artists to perform at, mostly free, concerts
during this festival.
Another contradiction is evident in past invitations of certain performers. In 2010, Elton
John’s performance was criticized due to inconsistency with the country’s Islamists beliefs.
Additionally, activists attacked the festival’s spending habits and high costs of attaining such
performers at Shakira in 2011. This year, freedom of expression is the theme of protest.
This theme follows as Human Rights Watch condemned Morocco just one week prior to the
festival. A local rapper was sentenced to a year in prison for “showing contempt” to public
servants after performing lyrics from “Dogs of the State”. Lyrics address police corruptions but
were judged to be insulting to police. This theme is prevalent in rap music around the world.
Morocco officials continue to support the festival. They refer to the festival as a celebration
and feel the estimated $7 million dollar price tag is worth the positive image set abroad for
Morocco. Additionally, the country feels that its residents are able to partake in a musical
experience from around the world.
Tags: EltonJohn, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Morocco, Music, Rabat, Rhythms of The World, Shakira
Porter Robinson
Jun 6, 2012 Music
Porter Robinson has become a sensation in the dancing world. Over the course of the last seven years, he has juggled school as well as mastering different computer programs in his quest to create his own brand of dance music. He knew that he was born to be in the EDM, otherwise known as electronic dance music, industry when he was only 12 years old. He saw his brother’s copy of “Dance Revolution” and was hooked.
He was an exceptional high school student and actually had a 4.0 GPA and was accepted into UNC however he decided to not attend college but went to the EDM circuit instead. His prowess paid off though. Skrillex signed Robinson to his label and the teen’s debut shot to number 1. He will continue to work hard as he always has and he feels that this is the only way to accomplish his dreams.
Robinson says that the highlight of all this is getting to spend time with famous people and his fans. He compares it to a huge family reunion. Over the course of his career, he has met plenty of big stars and people he has considered idols for a while. He does consider what he does to be more like a hobby and not a job. The electronic dance music industry is becoming more popular as months pass especially with artists like Skrillex and Robinson at the helm. Other artists are beginning as young as Porter did and it is because of this fact that the industry is gaining so much popularity.
Tags: Dance music, Dance Revolution, Disc jockey, EDM, Electronic dance music, house music, Porter Robinson, Skrillex