In a recent article in Mojo magazine, Otis Williams of The Temptations was quoted as follows:

Motown used to throw local industries parties at the Roostertail Club and the Greystone Ballroom. At one of these I overheard a couple of white guys who worked for other labels.

One said, “We’ve got to stop this. Too many more of these Motowns” - meaning successful independent companies - “and we’ll be out of business.” When you’re successful enough to make the establishment nervous, that’s success.

Music scenes used to be referred to as city based, yet the more you look the more localised they are than that. After all, Hip Hop was Bronx, not NY.

Right now, so many local music scenes are out there, greased by the power of myspace. Croydon dubstep, Ladbroke Grove Broken Beat and so many more…

So much of this music is finding their own ways to consumers…

After so much consolidation in the music industry, are we on the verge of the return of the spiirt of Motown?

I love this. A school in the north east of England has played calming classical and sounds from nature to the kids at lunchtime and before they head off home. The same soundtrack has been played at the local metro station too.

The aim has been to make lunchtimes a little less rowdy and the journey home a little calmer. It seems to have worked too.

This reminds me of how music played a great role in calming football fans down at the European football Championships 2004. The Dutch authorities played happy dance tunes to the English footy fans, putting them in a positive mood as they downed the beers. Meanwhile in Belgium, the authorities used water cannons and riot police to deal with the fans.

The only worry I have is that some teachers might take it upon themselves to share their ‘chill-out music’ for ‘the kids’. Will we get ‘Morning Has Broken’, ‘Kumbaya”, ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘Greensleeves’, ‘All things bright and beautiful’ and Enya?will it be Miles Davis and Elgar? Or will it be more Acid House, Sonic Youth and Happy Mondays and Bjork?

Will keep you posted…

At the Understanding Digital Youth conference, one young guy mentioned that he was turned off by music based radio (as opposed to talk radio).

Why?

Because he was sick and tired of hearing the same few songs being played throughout the day. For him, the radio station policy of playing from the playlist is pushing him away from those stations. Such a music policy from the radio stations could be justified in this age where people have choice fatigue. So many people are turning to trusted sources for help on what to listen to.

Last.FM is growing massively due to the this phenomenon. You can find my last.fm station here. Others are turning to sites where involvement is higher, such as the wonderful mog, which uses the slogan ‘A Musical Nudist Colony’ which says it all really…

The key to these sites, aside from great ideas and technology that works is the belief that everyone has something to share in terms of music. The music playlist is a community project, not a dictat from above.

This is where the radio stations are missing out enormously. Until they ditch the old playlist model and open up, more people will just turn to better alternatives.

So I have been chatting with my online friends about great album covers. We were thinking of the ones where the visual impact of the album cover fused closely with the sound inside the album. Integrated Communication if you wish…

Here are one example:

Bim Sherman - Miracle. A legendary reggae singer. This album fused his great voice with the sound of the indian tabla…Serene, Calm, spiritual music. Now look at the cover. It gives that sense too…

Not known for my love of focus groups as a way of getting insights on what consumer think about brands. Same for the world of music.

No way that focus groups could have helped the late great Ahmet Ertegun when he set out to start Atlantic Records.

We started Atlantic simply because we wanted to sign a few artists whose music we liked, and make the kind of records that we would want to buy.

I honestly never imagined I would be able to make a living from doing something that was so much fun. I am very glad I was wrong.

Brands who wish to be Brave can learn a thing or two from the story of this man. Sometimes you just know what you are doing is right. So do it and believe.

Really interesting post on the death of music retail by Andrew Dubber, degree leader of Music Industries at UCE Birmingham.

His suggestion is for the independent stores to give up the ghost and go online, creating your community there. Very thoughtful piece from someone who clearly loves the independent store but fears for their future if they do not adapt.

I like this idea.

You hum a tune into the computer microphone for 10-15 seconds, a clever bit of software from Nayio.com will match your attempt to Napster’s library of music. They will get a free listen to the song and will also be able to buy the tune from Napster.

I am off to try it out. Will let you know if it works. I think it goes like this…Ummm um umm uum umm la la la ummm

I joined MOG thanks to John Ingham, but don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

For those not in the know, it is a fantastic little place to share your music and discover new music from others. Nothing new I guess, but it really is great. Once MOG took hold of my iTunes library, I was in. I could see who else was listening to music like me. First song on my list was the great jazz vocalist Andy Bey (with a version of River Man by Nick Drake that is stunning). I found four others on MOG with Andy Bey tunes in their list and within hours we were sharing favourite tracks of his. So at the blink of an eye, I was connected and sharing with others…and that was with only the first song on my list.

Now here is my worry. I have a host of other tunes on my list. If I start chatting to everyone about every tune I have and they have, where will it end? This will be an addiction before I know it…

If you are weak like me, then stay clear. Otherwise be prepared to lose yourself

By the way, the Sting songs on my iTunes are there because I had to put them on to my partner’s iPod…honest. The Yes songs though are all mine. You will find me under citizensound…