Noel Gallagher on the state of the music industry

Mar 10, 2015

The artist used to drive the industry, but the industry reacted to Britpop, or whatever it was. And now bands go to the industry and go, ‘What is it you want again? OK, I can do that.’ But when we all came along – and it wasn’t by design, it was completely accidental – the industry took a step back and was like, ‘What the fuck is this? These people are all drug addicts and maniacs, they’re gonna fuck the fucking share prices up! We need to get rid of these people!’ If Oasis were starting tomorrow we would have nowhere near the impact, because you’re judged instantly on your first gig, and then Radio 1 will judge you on how many fucking followers you’ve got on Facebook. Oasis never had an A&R at Creation – we were given the fucking keys to the kingdom and they went, ‘Off you go, see you in a bit’. Now, the manager is accountable to the A&R guy, who’s accountable to the guy above him, who’s gonna lose his fucking job.

Via NME

Hit The Road – Ray Charles Souvenir Program

Mar 10, 2015

I’ve never thrown out any of the concert programs I bought, and even though I haven’t purchased one in a long time, I love going through them, looking at the artist’s sense of musical purpose, style and brand.

Ray Charles – The Genius – performed in the UK on his 1963 tour, which took in venues such as the Hammersmith Odeon and Manchester’s Free Trade Hall. A mix of early sixties and modern design, it’s a cool look into an evocation and passionate performer.

H/T Voices Of East Anglia

The Game to release “The Documentary 2” in Summer 2015; new single out now

Mar 10, 2015

Ten years after releasing his groundbreaking multi-platinum debut album The Documentary, hip hop legend The Game announces the Summer 2015 release of The Documentary 2, his highly anticipated forthcoming album on eOne Music/ Blood Money Ent./Fifth Amendment Ent.

The first single from the album is “The Soundtrack,” featuring Meek Mill. Listen to it here. Purchase the single here.

Earlier this year, on January 18th, The Game celebrated the 10th anniversary of the release of The Documentary with a concert in his hometown of LA at the Belasco Theater. Game brought out surprise guests Dr. Dre (who produced the debut album), Kendrick Lamar, Tyga, Ab-Soul, ScHoolboy Q, O.T. Genasis and Marsha Ambrosius.

Game released Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf through eOne Music/ Blood Money Ent./Fifth Amendment Ent. in 2014, and the album debuted at #1 on the R&B / Hip Hop Chart, #2 on the Independent Chart, and #7 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release.

Arguably, The Game has single-handedly revived the West Coast hip hop scene with his 2005 debut album. He continues to be one of hip hop’s true superstars, selling over 20 million albums worldwide. With his continued rivalries and infamous lyrics, Game is one of the most controversial figures in music.

Famous Songs Broken Down Into Charts And Graphs

Mar 10, 2015

Comedian Erik Tanouye no doubt loves music. In fact, he’s used pie charts and graphics to detail popular music lyrics on Tumblr, in a blog called – wait for it – Song Lyrics in Chart Form.

Canadian Music Week Presents the 2015 SiriusXM Indie Awards Performers Billy Talent, Alvvays,

Mar 10, 2015

Canadian Music Week is proud to announce this year’s performers for the SiriusXM Indies – 15^th Annual Independent Music Awards – taking place on Saturday May 9th, 2015 at The Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto. This year’s show will feature a concert set from headliner and multiple JUNO Award winning band Billy Talent.

Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining three information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival; a comedy festival; four awards shows and the nation’s largest new music festival, CMW spans a 10-day period from May 1 to May 10, 2015 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel and over 60 downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.net.

Since the release of their self-titled debut in 2003, Billy Talent have cemented themselves as a generation-defining rock band. Boasting nearly one million albums sold in Canada alone and nearly 3 million albums sold internationally, the band have seen multi-platinum certifications for their albums Billy Talent I and II and III, and platinum status for the latest studio album Dead Silence. The band has enjoyed tremendous success at Canadian rock radio where they have had three #1 hits that combined for 19 weeks at the top spot, five Top 5 hits, and five Top 10 hits.

Celebrating the best of independent music – both Canadian and International – the event will also feature performances by 2014’s breakout band Alvvays, who graced the cover of this winter’s issue of Exclaim!. 2015 JUNO-nominated ‘Best Rock Album of the Year’ act The Glorious Sons are also set to take the stage, followed by Oklahoma’s fuzz-rock BRONCHO and Montreal’s Miracles.

Hosted by SiriusXM Canada’s Jeff Leake, the 2015 SiriusXM Indies will be broadcast live for SiriusXM subscribers in Canada and the U.S. on “Iceberg” (Sirius 161) and “The Verge” (XM 173). Those satellite radio subscribers who add SiriusXM Internet Radio access to their subscription can also listen on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online.

Tickets for the show are available to purchase now online at www.indies.ca

Venue: Grand Ballroom | Sheraton Centre Hotel | Toronto
Doors: 7:00pm | Show: 8:00pm
Ticket price: $39.50

Canadian Arts/Media Job Posts For March 9, 2015

Mar 9, 2015

CFMWS – SBMFC in Shilo, MB is looking for an Assistant Editor.

Reporting to the Director of Brand & Social, Hootsuite in Vancouver is looking for someone to create strategies that extend the voice of Hootsuite through innovation on existing and new social channels. Working with a team of social ninjas, you’ll help drive awareness, grow our following and continue to develop their brand as the leaders in social media.

Best Buy in Burnaby, BC has an opening for a Digital Media Specialist.

TAG Group is a high energy entrepreneurial company of big thinkers and big doers, and have an opening for a Social Media Specialist who will passionately believe in the message they at ZAG want to deliver to the world.

LCBO’s Corporate Communications department has an opening for a strategic, creative and proactive professional who wants to join a well-respected, award-winning team.

Canadian Tire’s head office is hiring a Social Media Community Specialist to represent the Canadian Tire branded voice in social media and online communities, to facilitate conversations around content that is meaningful to their customers.

Princess Margaret Hospital is looking for a Director, #NoHairSelfie Campaign accountable for the overall management of The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation’s #NoHairSelfie Campaign.

Corus Entertainment Inc. has an exciting full time opportunity for an On-Air Promotion Coordinator at their Toronto location. Reporting to the Manager, On-Air Promotion this position maintains quality control over the brand of assigned Networks. Working in the On-Air Promotion department, you will support on-air promotion for programming, marketing and sales initiatives through audience management strategies on assigned network brands with available airtime.

Cossette is a dynamic Canadian marketing communications agency, and they are seeking a Media Planner working closely and collaboratively with direct media planning teams, other departments and media buyers either in-house or at partner agencies.

R’CAP (Rosseau Culture and Arts Project) is a multi-disciplinary, non-profit arts and culture organization based in the Village of Rosseau, District of Parry Sound. They are looking for an Assistant Arts Administrator/Programmer/Producer.

The Stettler Independent is looking for an experienced reporter with good writing and photography skills for a widely read and appreciated newspaper.

Caribbean Tales International Film Festival in Toronto has an opening for a Project Co-ordinator/ Fundraiser.

TIFF, a vibrant not-for-profit arts organization, has created the new full-time position of Duty Manager, Cinemas.

Pride Toronto is a not-for-profit organization that hosts Pride Week, an annual ten day long arts and cultural festival celebrating Toronto’s LGBTTIQQ2SA* communities, and they’re looking for an Accessibility Coordinator.

Meredith Potter Arts Management is seeking a highly motivated person interested in on-the-job training in managing theatre and dance companies.

Coalition Music is looking for a team player with a positive attitude to fill an available Part-Time Volunteer Marketing Intern position.

The Vermilion Voice is currently looking for a full-time journalist to report on local news, local events, breaking news, re-write and edit submitted stories for their newspaper.

Toronto International Film Festival is currently looking for videography volunteers to document special events and screenings—a great opportunity for film and video students to gain more experience and to play a unique role in the Festival.

TIFF, a vibrant not-for-profit arts organization, is accepting applications for the full-time position of Senior Coordinator, Marketing.

TIFF, a vibrant not-for-profit arts organization is accepting applications for the contract position of Festival Venue Staff Manager.

The Visual + Digital Arts (VDA) department is looking for a Photography Facilitator to provide support for artists in creative residencies at The Banff Centre.

Krug Studios is a full-service photography studio located in Toronto’s west-end, and they are looking for a charismatic Studio Manager/Producer who is responsible for the creation, production, and delivery of all projects.

99.9 BOB FM in Winnipeg is looking for a Morning Show Host.

Corus Television has an exciting opportunity for a Traffic Coordinator in their Toronto office. The successful candidate will report to the Senior Traffic Coordinator.

Western Living magazine/TC Media in Vancouver has an opening for a Staff Writer.

93.1 CHAY and 95.1 the PEAK FM in Barrie is seeking a Swing Announcer.

Barrie’s Hit Music station, B101 is currently searching for a talented and eager Audio Producer. Reporting to the Creative Director, the successful candidate will be responsible for the creation of stellar commercials, promos and imaging.

Corus Digital Products has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Project Manager at their Toronto location who will be reporting to the Executive Producer, Digital Ops.

Corus Entertainment has an exciting opportunity for an Executive Assistant/Research and Compliance Analyst in their Toronto location. Reporting to the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, the Research and Compliance Analyst is responsible for a variety of compliance obligations of the Company.

John Legend joins Sam Smith with Lay Me Down for Red Nose Day 2015

Mar 9, 2015

Sam Smith and John Legend teamed up to raise money for Red Nose Day, a biennial event where British residents and celebrities wear clown noses to attract funds and awareness for underprivileged parts of the U.K. and Africa. Smith and Legend team up for a rendition of the former’s debut single, Lay Me Down, serving as the official song of this year’s Red Nose Day.

Listen To Richie Furay “Don’t Tread On Me”

Mar 9, 2015

On March 31st founding member of Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young, Steven Stills) and Poco, Richie Furay is back with his first new album in over 8 years. Today UltimateClassicRock.com premieres a new song off of the upcoming Hand In Hand entitled “Don’t Tread On Me”

Click Here To Listen To “Don’t Tread on Me”

Click Here To Preview Hand In Hand

“Where did this song come from?” Furay says. “I take many long walks on my road pondering life and where this great nation of ours has gone. I love America, but the polarization of left and right is tearing us apart. The very fabric of our society is unraveling as a result of this. But I have hope. We are a great nation; we should be proud of it. We have a heart of gold, which we have shown to the world. Yet some think it’s wrong. I’m not ashamed to say, Born in the U.S.A. Don’t tread on me!”

Legendary singer-songwriter and author Richie Furay is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his work with Buffalo Springfield, a group he formed with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin. In addition, he was recently inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame for his work with Poco, alongside bandmates Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham, and Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit.

In Music, Uniformity Sells

Mar 9, 2015

From The Atlantic:

Even unapologetic Top 40 hit-lovers would have a hard time denying the claim that popular music, on the whole, tends to sound pretty repetitive. This assertion feels so intuitive, that even detailed scientific studies backing it up tend to bemet with a shrug. While hardly indicative of Good Art, repetition and simplicity aren’t all bad. In fact, most listeners tend to seek a balance of familiar and new, two factors that “influence not only how we perceive popular music, but also how it is produced,” according to researchers behind a new PLOS One study that examines how a style’s musical complexity increases or decreases over time in relation to album sales.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, scientists found that the more popular a musical style grew, the more generic it became—partly due to the glut of artists that flock to a burgeoning sound and the drop-off in innovation that tends to accompany demand.

The study looked at the “instrumentational complexity” of more than half-a-million albums from 1955 to 2011, across 15 genres and 374 styles as diverse as “hyphy,” “viking metal,” “acid jazz,” and “Korean court music.” Within those styles, researchers analyzed the use of nearly 500 instruments. Styles that used generic instruments found in many other styles had low complexity, while styles with a wider array of instruments that were used in fewer styles had high complexity.

Apple Watch Available in Nine Countries on April 24

Mar 9, 2015

Apple today announced that Apple Watch, its most personal device yet and the newest innovative addition to Apple’s ecosystem, will be available on Friday, April 24 to customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US. Apple Watch is an incredibly accurate timepiece, an intimate and immediate communication device and a groundbreaking health and fitness companion. Highly customizable for personal expression, Apple Watch also brings an entirely new way to receive information at a glance and interact with the world through third-party app experiences designed specifically for the wrist.

“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before.”

“Conceived, designed and developed as a singular product, Apple Watch merges hardware and software like never before,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design. “In Apple Watch, we’ve created three beautifully curated collections with a software architecture that together enable unparalleled personalization in a wearable device.”

Apple Watch introduces revolutionary technologies including the Digital Crown, an innovative way to scroll, zoom and navigate fluidly without obstructing the display. The Retina display with Force Touch on Apple Watch senses the difference between a tap and a press, providing a new way to quickly and easily access relevant controls. The all-new Taptic Engine discreetly delivers a gentle tap on your wrist whenever you receive a notification or message.

Incredibly Accurate & Customizable Timepiece
An extremely precise timepiece, Apple Watch keeps time to within 50 milliseconds of UTC, the universal time standard.* Apple Watch can be personalized with watch faces ranging from traditional analog such as the Chronograph face, to the information-rich Modular face, or beautifully animated butterflies and jellyfish on the Motion face. Apple Watch goes beyond telling time with specialized functions on the watch face—known in watchmaking as complications—such as the sunrise/sunset, upcoming calendar events or daily activity level. With multiple customizable watch faces and complications, Apple Watch enables millions of possible configurations. Swipe up from the watch face for Glances that quickly show you information you care about, such as the weather forecast, your current location on a map or the music you’re listening to.

Intimate & Immediate Communication Device
Apple Watch enables you to send messages, read email and answer calls to your iPhone right from your wrist. The Taptic Engine alerts you with a gentle tap so you won’t miss important notifications. With Digital Touch, Apple Watch allows you to communicate in all-new ways by sending a sketch, a tap or even the rhythm of your own heartbeat. Interact quickly and conveniently with the world around you with Apple Watch by paying for coffee using Apple Pay**, boarding a plane with a Passbook boarding pass, or raising your wrist to ask Siri for turn-by-turn directions in Maps.

Groundbreaking Health & Fitness Companion
Apple Watch encourages you to sit less, move more and get some exercise every day. The Activity app provides a simple visual snapshot of your daily activity with three rings that measure active calories burned, brisk activity and how often you’ve stood up to take a break from sitting during the day. Apple Watch provides the detailed metrics you need during dedicated workout sessions for the most popular activities, such as walking, running and cycling through the Workout app. With an accelerometer, a built-in heart rate sensor, GPS and Wi-Fi from your iPhone, Apple Watch smartly uses the best sensors for different types of motion and provides a comprehensive picture of your all-day activity and workouts. The Activity app on iPhone collects your activity and workout data from Apple Watch so you can see your history in greater detail. Apple Watch uses this history to suggest personalized activity goals, reward fitness milestones and keep you motivated.

Apple Watch is available in two different sizes, 38 mm and 42 mm, and in three distinct collections—Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition. Apple Watch Sport features a lightweight anodized aluminum case in silver and space grey with a Retina display protected by strengthened Ion-X glass and matching high-performance fluoroelastomer Sport Band in five colours. The Apple Watch collection features highly polished stainless steel and space black stainless steel cases with a Retina display protected by sapphire crystal. The Apple Watch collection comes with a choice of three different leather straps, a stainless steel link bracelet and Milanese loop, and a black or white Sport Band. Apple Watch Edition features cases specially crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys developed to be twice as hard as standard gold, a Retina display protected by polished sapphire crystal and a choice of uniquely designed straps and bands with 18-karat gold clasps, buckles or pins.

The world’s most vibrant and innovative developer community has been creating all-new experiences specifically designed for Apple Watch. From requesting an Uber, checking in to your American Airlines flight, booking a bike for your Equinox class to remotely controlling your Honeywell Lyric thermostat while away, the possibilities for Apple Watch apps are endless. These experiences extend the functionality of your favourite iPhone apps, while delivering an innovative way to interact—right from your wrist. Popular apps such as Instagram, MLB.com At Bat, Nike+ Running, OpenTable, Shazam, Twitter, WeChat and more will also be available on Apple Watch. The new Apple Watch app that comes with iOS 8.2 on iPhone lets you browse, buy and download apps from the Apple Watch App Store.

Designed to be worn throughout your day, Apple Watch delivers up to 18-hour all-day battery life*** and comes with a unique charging solution that combines Apple’s MagSafe technology with inductive charging for a quick connection that simply snaps into place.

By design, the shopping experience for Apple Watch will be the most personalized Apple has ever offered. When Apple Watch becomes available for pre-order from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.ca) on Friday, April 10, Apple retail stores and department store shop-in-shops will begin offering customers the chance to preview their choice of Apple Watch and try it on in-store.

Pricing & Availability
Beginning April 10 in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US, Apple Watch will be available for preview, try-on by appointment at Apple’s retail stores, and available for pre-order through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.ca). On April 24, Apple Watch will be available online or by reservation in Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers in China and Japan. Customers who purchase online or in-store from Apple will be offered Personal Setup to customize and pair Apple Watch with their iPhone.

Apple Watch is available in three collections, Apple Watch Sport, priced at $449 (CAD) and $519 (CAD); Apple Watch, available from $699 (CAD) to $1,459 (CAD); and Apple Watch Edition, crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys, with prices starting at $13,000 (CAD).

Apple Watch will also be available to preview or try on at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Isetan in Tokyo and Selfridges in London on April 10. Apple Watch will be for sale on April 24 at these select department store shop-in-shops, and at boutiques in major cities across the world including colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles and The Corner in Berlin.

Starting today customers can explore and choose their favorite Apple Watch in the Apple Online Store (www.apple.ca) or through the Apple Store app for iPhone and iPad.

Apple Watch requires iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 8.2. or later. iOS 8.2 will be available for download today.