Unsigned resigned – the on-going saga…
It seems that brands are literally all at it. It’s now Intel’s turn to go down the unsigned route with their ‘Intel studio‘ initiative. But unlike the myriad of other ‘battle of the bands’ competitions around at the minute does it offer anything new or different? Our intrepid citizen reports… Intel is the latest brand...
Unsigned resigned…
Last week while on the London Tube I picked up a copy of free morning newspaper The Metro to find out that it is the latest brand to launch its own unsigned band competition, called On-line & On-Tour 2008, under the strap-line – create, listen, be discovered. Yet another offering that gives us, the humble...
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That Venice Festival of Media panel in full…
We finally got hold of the recording of our DIY: Do or Die session at this year’s Venice Festival Of Media. You can listen to it here or by downloading it to listen to on your computer, iPod or MP3 player. Again a big thanks to Maarten Steinkamp, Jon Webster, Martin Stiksel and John Ingham...
DIY music: It was easy, it was cheap: part 2
After digging out my Desperate Bicycles records I decided to hunt out my copy of the first single by Scritti Politti. If that name seem familiar it may be from the hits they had in the mid 80s with singles such as Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) or The Word Girl, or you may...
P&G and Def Jam: The birth of TAG records in the DIY culture
During our DIY panel at the Venice Festival of Media, the panellists were inevitably asked about what we thought about the recent deal between Proctor & Gamble TAG deodorant spray and Def Jam records. In case you haven’t heard, TAG records has been set up by both parties to find new hip hop talent and...
It was easy, it was cheap, go and do it!
I came across a great blog called Little Hits last night. Each week or so they post up a favourite track from often long forgotten records, the majority being from the punk and post punk era. As the site’s owners are based in the US it’s quite amazing how many obscure British punk and indie...
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Venice Festival of Media 2008: What inspired the DIY: Do or Die panel?
When I stood up to start the panel at Venice, I was looking for a way to immediately frame the topic so that the audience understood what they were about to sit through. So I mentioned a journey I took on the 137 bus in south London one day… There were five kids on the...
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It’s official the DIY revoltion is here!
One minute we are on the stage at the Venice festival of media discussing the impact of a DIY revolution on the music business, and a few days later the Sunday Times Style magazine is running an article about the very same topic! And as if by serendipity, the article is about Manchester band the...
Venice Festival Of Media : DIY and the music industry
The Music Industry is going through a time of repositioning, where record labels, concert promotors, music distributors, digital retailers and artist managers are vying for the position as the one-stop shop for their clients – the artists. CD sales are falling fast while people are paying inflated prices to see their favourite band live. Artists...
Battle of the B®ands?
In almost twenty years as an A&R person in the record industry I've seen plenty of Battle Of The Bands competitions come and go. Did I ever think to show any interest in any of the artists that came through these competitions, not really. Was I unusual, certainly not. So why is the music industry...
The One to Watch for 2008: Tawiah
I saw Tawiah at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards last week at Cargo in London. She completely blew me away. She has everything. A great band, well crafted songs, an amazing presence on stage, confidence unlimited (for a second performance no less!) and a voice that drifts from Carmun Lundy to reggae, back to Jill...
Officially ‘The Hardest Working Band in the Business’ – Red Star Rebels
So many young bands were looking for their first break at In the City. Many paid their own way there to showcase their art, in the hope that some music industry person will spot the talent and sign them up. I have heard at recent panels on the future of the music industry, where someone...