Article: Universal Music CEO: We're Not In This To Make Art

Sad perspective

Universal Music CEO: We're Not In This To Make Art | Techdirt
"Universal Music CEO: We're Not In This To Make Art from the of-course-not dept Whenever debates come up about disruptive innovation in the entertainment industry, the big record labels and big movie studios like to fall back on claiming that they (and often they alone) are the last vanguards protecting our culture. They talk about how, without greater copyright protections, their 'art' may die off. But, of course, as most normal people recognize, the labels and the studios (and the RIAA and MPAA who represent them) are not representing art at all, but commerce -- and just a specific type of commerce. They represent the gatekeeper model, which makes less and less sense in a digital world where we need filters and enablers, not gatekeepers. But it's pretty rare for them to actually admit that, since their entire public persona and lobbying efforts are based on 'we represent culture and art.'
And then, finally, an exec speaks the truth. In a quite interesting New Yorker profile of Scooter Braun, the man who made Justin Bieber into Justin Bieber, Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group (the biggest of the record labels) explains why he named Braun the company's first technology 'entrepreneur in residence' by admitting that 'art' has nothing to do with Universal Music: The company likes hits, the fans like hits, and that's what he's there to do--make hits. We're not in the art business."
(Continued... Universal Music CEO: We're Not In This To Make Art | Techdirt)

Lighthouse & the Whaler Documentary

I've been sitting on this trailer for a while.  I don't know where this documentary has ended up - but with Cleveland's own Lighthouse and the Whaler just releasing their new album, just playing at the Grog Shop, and now going out on a national tour, I figured now is as good of a time as any.  These boys are definitely making a name for themselves.

Article: We Are Hunted Founder On Spotify App & Music Discovery

Makes me want to check this site out again…

We Are Hunted Founder On Spotify App & Music Discovery [INTERVIEW] - hypebot

NBT: In plain terms, can you describe what We Are Hunted does for those unfamiliar with the company?

We Are Hunted aims to be the best music discovery service in the world. We exist to help you find your next favorite artist. We do this by continuously scanning the internet, to find the best new artists in the world each day. We then make it easy for you browse these artists, listen to some of their latest tracks, save your favorites, and share them with friends.

Behind the scenes, Hunted is a technology company. We write search software that crawls the internet to identify people who are talking about new music. Our software captures what they are s"

(Continued... We Are Hunted Founder On Spotify App & Music Discovery [INTERVIEW] - hypebot)

Tomorrow: Santigold @ House of Blues

Tomorrow night is Santigold at the House of Blues.  This is the rescheduled date from June 29th with Theophilus London and I was kinda looking forward to seeing him again.  This time it's Teen who's opening, and check them out below.

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Video Tuesday

OMG!  I've been loving CITIZENS!'s True Romance for a while now, and finally there's a video for it - deserving of equal adoration!  Everyone who hears me play this song always asks who it is…  Next up is another stunning video by ALT-J for Something Good, who you just saw "last week".  Finally is the next in a series of Miike Snow videos for Pretenter, as we follow this other-worldly character around… Love the live reactions of festival-goers here.

For a bonus, trip out with Diplo feat. Jahan Lennon.  This guy seems to do no wrong.

(Last Week's) Video Tuesday

Technically, this is last week's Video Tuesday.  I thought about just not posting one, but there are just too many good videos to share.  Starting with ALT-J for Fitzpleasure.  These guys were just up in Ann Arbor and I hope they come around here soon.  Next is a charmingly creative video for Moonbeams by Family Band. Finally,  if you need any reason to see Future Islands on Nov. 19th, this video for Grease should help.  Not my favorite song, but love the video.

I honestly was going to post PSY's Gangnam Style video a s last week's bonus video, but shit's blown up  (OVER 266 MILLION VIEWS) and I'm already overexposed.  Instead, check this shit out.

Missy Higgins (9/18/12)

Finally getting back to normal.  I hadn't been to a show at the Beachland for several weeks, so it was nice to be in that element again.  This Missy Higgins show was definitely a "girls night out" from both the performer and audience perspective.  Opening first was Butterfly Boucher from Australia.  She was great, and from what little I've listened to her new album, she's pretty impressive (and even co-produced Missy's new album).

Next up was Katie Herzig, who i've missed at the Beachland before, but was very glad to see finally.  She put on an amazing performance, ending with a stunning mash-up of Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics) vs. Seven Nation Army (White Stripes).  She also announced that she'll be opening for Ani DiFranco at Kent Stage next weekend - so I'm glad I'll get to see her again.

Missy took the stage in front of the increasingly imbibed audience.  Well, at least a small pocket of girls were really imbibed and Missy luckily shut them down rather quickly, so the rest of us could enjoy the show.  It was pretty good.  A lot of sound… a full band.  Matt told me about seeing her perform acoustically before and how it was a much better show.  I can see how it would be.  Missy has a strong voice, but it was lost in the full band sound they were presenting.

There were some acoustic songs, which really punctuated what we were missing from the entire show.  However, the album is really strong and she's a great performer. I go again.

Dragonette / Ingenuity Fest (9/16/12)

Right after my DJ gig, we raced over to Ingenuity Fest on the Lakefront in Downtown Cleveland to catch Dragonette.  This was unfortunately my first time making it to Ingenuity for the weekend, but probably the (musical) highlight of the fest.  

We quickly walked around and got a lay of the land, the food and beer.  

We then found the stage.  By the time we got there, some people were already pulling up their stakes, but was glad to see people were still sticking around for this show.  I'd really spent so much time prepping for my DJ gig that I didn't get much time with Dragonette before their performance, but I can say they kept me movin' throughout their entire high-energy set (just as they did the last time I saw them with Dan Black)  I often feel bad for bands in unusual performance spaces like this, but they pulled of an excellent (yet short) set.

This show really got me excited for their upcoming release Body Parts on Tuesday!

DJ TZA @ Beachland Brunch

After almost a couple weeks off of recuperation and preparation, I was ready for my first DJ gig at the Beachland Ballroom for their Sunday Brunch.  It was awesome!!  Thanks to those who came out to support me and definitely looking forward to maybe doing it again!  (Thanks to Matt for the photos!)

New York City!

So not a typical review, but I guess none of them really are.  I did want to document going to NYC over Labor Day weekend, which ultimately was to see Roxette, but many other fun things happened along the way.  The first of which was a stop off in Youngstown.  We got to watch this amazing performance.  I really thought about embedding it, but decided a link was good enough.  Next we swung through Pottsville, PA to tour the Yuengling brewery.  We then stayed the night in Allentown, PA and hit this amazing record store (Double Decker Records).  

So amazing that we had to ship a box back home We also got a chilling talk on the state of things in Downtown Allentown, right where we walked from and back to (and staying in).  It was an adventure indeed.  Next night… Benny Benassi at the Roseland Theater in New York City.

We were already tired, so we only stayed long enough to catch the Bingo Players.  This was the closest to a rave I've ever been to… (wait for it…)

 

Next night, the venerable Roxette