Roots of Reggae: Book Recommendation
Been reading a lot of music books recently. This one is for any fan of reggae music of the 70s. Bass Culture is brilliantly researched and packed full of insights by Lloyd Bradley So well written in fact that, as I read it I noted the tunes I had to buy. Thanks to Selectors Music...
Starbucks, McCartney and the fans…who benefits?
Now that this one has had time to settle, has it actually worked for all? Well, Starbucks seem to be on a roll with their label, signing James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. Not hearing much about the financial success of this, but given they are full steam ahead on the artist sign-up front Starbucks clearly...
Praxis please…
Tony Wilson made things happen. He tried things out. He believed in things/attitudes/ideas, but crucially followed through and brought those beliefs and passions to life. Having only met him twice, I can only comment from afar. Yet from this perspective, I see someone who just went out and did things, rather than just theorise… A...
innocent’s new music experience
I like innocent and so does Paul (see his blog posts on citizenbay) Yes, their fruit smoothies are tasty treats but beyond that I like the brand and how they’ve positioned themselves in the music space: effortlessly, playfully, hip and down-to-earth. Take the now defunct Fruitstock music festival. With its eclectic talent line-up, central London...
Starbuck’s audio blitz
There has been an enormous amount of coverage on the Starbucks/McCartney tie-up. At the Venice Festival of Media, Pete Jenner suggested that Paul McCartney would have been better tying up with Saga Holidays than Starbucks. This may be a fair comment if McCartney wanted to target his new release to what some might feel is...
Discover Music: / Local Music: / Share Music: / Sound & Vision: / The kind of stuff citizensound does:
The Return of the Boombox…?
Kids at the back of the bus. One plays a beat that he made the night before to his friends. They decide whether it lives or dies before the bus comes to a stop… There is the obvious outcome of high irritation levels of fellow passengers. Plus the future of the music industry could look...
Are we on the verge of a million Motowns?
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...
Calm down kids and listen to this tune!
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...
Radio Playlists a thing of the past?
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...
Sound and Vision
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...
Would a focus group have built Atlantic Records?
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...
Goodbye independent record shop?
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...