At home you can play with your mommy and daddy, and you can talk whenever you want. At school you can play too – with your friends, but you must raise your hand to speak and follow your teachers’ instructions. You live in two different worlds.
Except if you’re on Earth, where the only thing we can all agree on is how great Ed Sheeran is.
Combining home movies and clippings from the archives, Montage of Heck tells the story of Kurt Cobain’s struggle to balance his desire for the spotlight with his hatred of fame. In this clip Cobain’s diaries reveal some of the names Nirvana toyed with before deciding on the moniker they’d use to define a musical era.
Cobain: Montage of Heck is out in the UK in cinemas from April 10, available on digital download on April 24 and on DVD and Blu-ray from April 27, and premieres in the US on HBO on May 4.
For this special episode of Adult Swim’s Off The Air, the channel brought together nine of their favorite animators to each animate one section of Dan Deacon’s song “When I Was Done Dying” off his latest album Gliss Riffer.
The fire extinguisher uses low-frequency sound waves to douse a blaze. Engineering seniors Viet Tran and Seth Robertson now hold a preliminary patent application for their potentially revolutionizing device which, by blasting a fire with low frequencies between 30 and 60 hertz range, the extinguisher separates oxygen from fuel.
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) is proud to announce that the fourth annual Libera Awards Lifetime Achievement Award will honor Pat Chin, co-founder of VP Records, for innovation in the independent music industry. Chin will be honored with the award on June 25 at NYC’s Highline Ballroom during A2IM’s 10th Anniversary Indie Week when A2IM members from across the U.S. will meet along with their International colleagues from over a dozen countries around the world. In what has now become a Libera Awards tradition, 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Bruce Iglauer, founder of Alligator Records, will present Pat Chin with the award.
With more than 50 years in the music business, Pat Chin has always been a champion for innovative, independent music and a pioneer among women in the music industry. From the retail store founded with her late husband Vincent “Randy” Chin in their native Kingston, Jamaica, the Chin family was present at the birth of reggae music. In 1979, the family moved their business to Jamaica, New York and adopted the moniker “VP” (for Vincent and Pat). As a woman in the male-dominated world of reggae, “Miss Pat” (as she is affectionately known) built a business on strong relationships with artists, producers, suppliers and an ever-growing fan base. Miss Pat is the heart of VP Records and continues to serve as a powerful example of female leadership in business and the community.
Under her leadership, VP Records created a reggae empire, contributing to the careers of countless artists including Shabba Ranks, Sean Paul, Maxi Priest, Gyptian, Bunji Garlin, Beenie Man, Lady Saw, Sizzla, Mavado and Etana among others. With the passing of Vincent Chin in 2003, her children and grandchildren have taken on leadership of the day-to-day operations as Miss Pat extends her legacy through her philanthropic efforts. To commemorate the 35th anniversary of VP Records in the United States, the family collaborated with celebrated graphic artist Michael Thompson to establish a reggae Archive titled A Reggae Music Journey, a mobile exhibit of the history of reggae. Their vision is to create a permanent home for the exhibit and establish a reggae museum in Jamaica. With her unique spirit and indefatigable energy, Pat Chin continues her musical journey.
Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records, the winner of the 2014 A2IM Libera Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, will present Pat with the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. Bruce is the founder of the independent record label Alligator Records. Iglauer, in addition to his numerous philanthropic and artist support efforts, has spent his career championing blues and roots rock, jumpstarting the careers of new talent or renewing the careers of legendary artists including Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Lonnie Brooks, Mavis Staples and Charlie Musselwhite, among many others. Iglauer was a longtime board member of A2IM who stepped down in July 2014 due to term limits.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City representing a broad coalition of over 350 Independently-owned American music label small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The organization represents Independents’ interest in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community, as well as, supports a key segment of America’s creative class and the small business community that represents America’s cultural and musical genre diversity. Billboard Magazine, using Nielsen SoundScan data, identified the Independent music label sector as 35.1 percent of the music industry’s U.S. recorded music sales market in 2014 based on copyright ownership, making Independent labels collectively the largest music industry segment.
In 2013, the winner of the A2IM Libera Awards Lifetime Achievement Award was Tom Silverman of TommY BoY Entertainment. The 2012 A2IM Libera Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Martin Mills of Beggars Group. Nominations for the 2015 Libera Awards will be announced Wednesday, April 29 and voting will open immediately to the A2IM independent music community.
After Gov. Mike Pence signed the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, an upsurge of people rallied against it as a thinly veiled means to legalize discrimination based on sexual identity in the state. Wilco (who canceled a concert in Indiana) to Miley Cyrus (who tweeted her support for that decision) has railed against IRFRA. Now a group of indie labels have written a press release signed by a number of labels and businesses to make clear their allegiance to the civil liberties of the LGBT community and calls on Gov. Pence and legislators to repeal the law. But they also argue a boycott isn’t the best way to achieve meaningful change.
Here is the text of their open letter:
We are a group of independent record labels and music businesses based in INDIANA. We are deeply disappointed with the recent passage of the INDIANA RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RESTORATION ACT and the message that it sends to those both in and out of our state. At the very least, this is a poorly written and unnecessary piece of legislation. At the worst, it provides a path to legal discrimination.
We join the chorus of INDIANA residents and businesses calling on GOVERNOR MIKE PENCE and the INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY to repeal the IRFRA. Additionally, we appeal to our state government leaders to enact legislation clearly protecting the civil liberties of LGBT individuals to assure that none of our employees or neighbors may be discriminated against due to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Some businesses and individuals have taken action to suspend or reduce participation in INDIANA’s economy. While this sort of action is well-intended to place pressure on government leaders to repeal or fix this law, we feel an isolationist approach can sometimes be misguided.
As music companies, we cherish the power which music and art can have in promoting social progress. We believe cultural events can be a great opportunity to put a glaring spotlight on injustice. We will continue to proudly call Indiana home, and we call on others in the arts community to address this issue constructively. To musicians with events scheduled in INDIANA — please follow through and perform. While canceling shows is one way to protest, a greater statement can be made by coming here and using your art to influence the policy debate that is occurring locally. You can insist that the venue you play publicly states that they will not discriminate under any circumstances. If the venue won’t do that, rebook your show with another venue that will. Your performance can be a rally. We need your support locally.
Other music businesses in INDIANA who wish to show their support are invited to join in signing: http://www.musicforindiana.org
Asthmatic Kitty Records
The Bishop
Bloomington Guitar & Amp
Cultural Cannibals
Dead Oceans (Secretly Group)
Flannelgraph Records
Fort William Artist Management
The HI-FI
Indy CD & Vinyl
Jagjaguwar (Secretly Group)
Joyful Noise Recordings
Jurassic Pop Records
Landlocked Music
Luna Music
Magnetic South Recordings
Mahern Audio
Meitus Gelbert Rose LLP
MOKB Presents
Russian Recording
SC Distribution
SC Publishing (Secretly Group)
Secretly Canadian (Secretly Group)
Spirit of ’68 Promotions
Via Billboard
From Billboard:
In a burst of activity, the Concord Music Group and its sister publishing company, the Bicycle Music Company, have merged to form Concord Bicycle Music. The combined company immediately turned around and acquired Vanguard Records and Sugar Hill Records from the Welk Music Group, in a deal that closed today.
The company also announced it has raised $100 million for acquisitions and to implement further growth strategies. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The merger and subsequent acquisitions create a new indie powerhouse that will have an estimated $125 million in annual revenue, with a master recording portfolio of about 10,000 albums, and a music publishing catalog of about 60,000 songs. Albums now under the combined company include work from such artists as George Benson, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Creed, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Evanescence, Isaac Hayes, Kenny G, Carole King, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Steve Martin, Paul McCartney and Wings, Nine Inch Nails, the Offspring, Robert Plant, Otis Redding, Seether, Paul Simon, Social Distortion, the Staple Singers, James Taylor, George Thorogood, Tone Loc, and Esperanza Spalding. The Bicycle Music publishing catalog includes such songs as “Always On My Mind,” “Eye Of The Tiger,” “Guantanamera,” “Lady Sings The Blues,” “Let Your Love Flow,” “Man In The Mirror,” “Slow Ride,” “Stand By Your Man,” “Time After Time,” and the songs from A Chorus Line.
The Vanguard and Sugar Hill acquisition adds albums from such artists as Merle Haggard, O.A.R., John Fogerty, Levon Helm, The Indigo Girls, Jerry Lee Lewis, Joseph Arthur, Lee Ann Womack, Marc Broussard, Bruce Hornsby, Chris Isaak, and Bare Naked Ladies; and a catalog of albums from Buddy Guy, Mississippi John Hurt, John Hammond, the Weavers, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Country Joe McDonald, James Cotton and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.
Statistics prove that content marketing has created an enormous difference in the advancement and development of businesses in the industry. Content marketing can change the way customers view businesses, and to shed light on this technique we have created an infographic titled ‘How to Be an Expert in Content Marketing’.
The information graphic provides details of the aspects to consider while creating quality content, ideas on building content, tips on how to make the best of the content generated, and points to make note of while creating and marketing content.
Via DCI
Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce nominations for the 18th annual Canadian Radio Music Awards. Kiesza, MAGIC! and Hedley, are among those honoured. This year’s award show will take place on Friday, May 8th at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Sponsored by Bell Media, the Canadian Radio Music Awards celebrate first-time charted artists and honour individuals or groups with some of the most played songs on Canadian radio.
This year’s show will feature performances by MAGIC!, Kiesza, Dear Rouge, Andee, Virginia to Vegas and Jess Moskaluke. Full list of nominees below.
The Canadian Radio Music Awards offer an opportunity to honour national and international artists who have gained significant traction on the radio over the past year. Radio has long served as a significant platform for artists to break through and gain mass appeal. This year’s nominees fittingly reflect the power of a songs ability to connect with the public and push artists to the next level.
Other notable nominations include several Canadian acts that have received considerable international success this past year including, Drake for “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, Chromeo for “Jealous (I ain’t with it)” and Death From Above for “Trainwreck 1979”.
This year’s award categories include: AC, Rock, CHR, and Country as well as the SOCAN Song of the Year and Fans’ Choice. Nominees for the Heatseeker Award will be announced at a later date.
Nominees include artists who have hit the Canadian charts for the first time and who have achieved top airplay in different formats based on radio “spins”, as recorded by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) in 2014. Votes cast by program directors, music directors, and on-air personalities determine the winners.
Radio listeners from across the country can vote online for the Fans’ Choice Award, at: www.cmw.net.
Two additional non-voting awards will also be presented at this year’s ceremony: the FACTOR Breakthrough Award for top airplay for a new FACTOR supported artist; and the Sennheiser Chart Topper Award for top overall airplay.
FULL LIST OF NOMINEES
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: AC
ANDEE – NEVER GONE
CHROMEO – JEALOUS
KIESZA – HIDEAWAY
MAGIC! – RUDE
VIRGINIA TO VEGAS – WE ARE STARS
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: CHR
ADVENTURE CLUB – WONDER
CHROMEO – JEALOUS
KIESZA – HIDEAWAY
MAGIC! – RUDE
SHAWN MENDES – LIFE OF THE PARTY
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: ROCK
CURRENT SWELL – KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
DEAR ROUGE – I HEARD I HAD
DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 – TRAINWRECK 1979
GAY NINETIES – LETTERMAN
WILDLIFE – LIGHTNING TENT
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: COUNTRY
JESS MOSKALUKE – CHEAP WINE & CIGARETTES
LINDSAY ELL – TRIPPIN’ ON US
MADELINE MERLO – SINKING LIKE A STONE
ROD BLACK – KEEPIN’ ON
TRISTAN HORNCASTLE – A LITTLE BIT OF ALRIGHT
SOCAN SONG OF THE YEAR
CHROMEO – JEALOUS (I AIN’T WITH IT)
DRAKE – HOLD ON, WE’RE GOING HOME
GLENN MORRISON – GOODBYE
HEDLEY – CRAZY FOR YOU
MAGIC! – RUDE
FANS CHOICE
CHROMEO
GLENN MORRISON
HEDLEY
MAGIC!
SERENA RYDER
On 27 February 27, 1977, while Keith Richards was staying in a Toronto hotel, then known as the Harbour Castle Hilton on Queen’s Quay East, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found heroin in his room and he was charged with “possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking” – an offence that under the Criminal Code of Canada can result in prison sentences of seven years to life. His passport was confiscated and Richards and his family remained in Toronto until 1 April, when Richards was allowed to enter the United States on a medical visa for treatment for heroin addiction. The charge against him was later reduced to “simple possession of heroin”.
For the next two years, Richards lived under threat of criminal sanction. Throughout this period he remained active with the Rolling Stones, recording their biggest-selling studio album, Some Girls, and touring North America. Richards was tried in October 1978, pleading guilty to possession of heroin. He was given a suspended sentence and put on probation for one year, with orders to continue treatment for heroin addiction and to perform a benefit concert on behalf of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind after a blind fan testified on his behalf. Although the prosecution had filed an appeal of the sentence, Richards performed two CNIB benefit concerts at Oshawa Civic Auditorium on 22 April 1979; both shows featured the Rolling Stones and the New Barbarians. In September 1979 the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence.
