Viewpoint by Frances Moore on the benefits of Global Release Day

Feb 26, 2015

According to a statement from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents labels worldwide, a study found that a majority of consumers who bother to care which day new music comes out prefer to hear it on Fridays and Saturdays.

“Music fans live in the digital world of today,” wrote IFPI head Frances Moore. Read below his statement in full.

After many months of discussions with groups across the music sector, today we are announcing an important milestone for our whole sector – the plan to implement an aligned global release day.

The concept has been long in preparation, and long in consultation. Since last summer IFPI has been a forum for monthly meetings with groups representing retailers, record companies, artists and musicians’ unions. We have looked at the different conditions and at a swathe of research and insight across international markets. Now we’ve reached the point where we can move ahead. There is a tremendous amount of support, from retailers, labels and artists. The list of supportive quotes, from Paul McGowan at HMV to Crispin Hunt at the Featured Artists Coalition, from Ken Parks at Spotify to Francesco Riganti at Mondadori Retail in Italy, gives just a snapshot of this.

Crispin Hunt of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC)
“The FAC applauds the IFPI for involving the Artist Community in the development of this initiative. The FAC supports a Global Release Day as a great opportunity to re-engage the public with new music and re-ignite excitement around new releases. We are in a time when the general public’s involvement with music has become more fleeting and somehow less social – a global release day could help change that. As the weekend is when the public are most engaged with music and offers the best opportunity for musicians to access their audience, we believe a Friday release would best serve the artist and the fan, and help to make new music the occasion it should be.”

Paul McGowan, chief executive of Hilco Capital, the group which owns HMV
“A global release day is a totally logical move in today’s global music market and Friday is overwhelmingly the right choice for the day. Quite simply, new music should hit the high street when people hit the street. New Music Fridays will get new releases to fans when they most want to buy them. As the UK’s biggest music retailer, that makes perfect sense to us.”

Frances Moore, chief executive, IFPI
“A global release day makes sense for one overwhelming reason – it meets the needs of the music consumer. In today’s globalised world, it makes no sense for new music to be released to fans on different days of the week. At the same time, we view this as a tremendous opportunity to breathe new life back into the release of music. Friday has a compelling logic to it, at the start of the weekend when fans most want to listen to and buy music, which is why it has been chosen as the day.”

Glen Barros, President and CEO of independent label Concord Music Group
“We’re very pleased to see that the industry is now moving toward a global release day, as this clearly reflects the realities of the current global music business. While this change presents a number of challenges and concerns understandably resulting from a major adjustment to long established customs and practices, our involvement in the planning process has led us to conclude that it will ultimately benefit the consumer. And that should mean that we’ll all be better off in the long run.”

So the target is a big one but a manageable one: by the summer this year new releases will be issued at 00:01 on Fridays.

Why is global release day such a smart idea for today’s music business? First, because it is what our consumers want. Music fans live in the digital world of today. Their love for new music doesn’t recognise national borders. They want music when it’s available on the internet – not when it’s ready to be released in their country. An aligned global release day puts an end to the frustration of not being able to access releases in their country when the music is available in another country. This is particularly prevalent in a world united by social media, where fans can instantly see friends or family in other countries enjoying the music they want.

Second, global release day is about celebrating new music. By creating a single day for new releases across the world, it’s an opportunity to re-awaken the excitement and anticipation of new music everywhere. Many artists feel the sense of an event in releasing music has been diminished. That is why the artists involved in the discussion around the project have been so fired up by the concept.

And there is another benefit: the global release day narrows the gap on piracy by making it less likely that consumers will go to pirate sites when they can’t get new releases in their country. This will help channel revenues back to the legitimate rights owners.

Implementing this project across markets worldwide is going to be no small task. We asked our IFPI national groups to form working groups just for this task when discussions started last summer. Retailers, chart companies, labels and artists need to be involved. The key tasks of these working groups will include: adapting the charts to a Friday release for countries that presently have a different day; managing the process and system changes between different parties in the supply chain; marketing and branding so that there is a clear brand and consumer awareness around Global Release Day; and dealing with glitches that will inevitably arise during the process of the switchover.

What has been gratifying about the consultation has been the near-unanimous support for the concept of the aligned global release day. Of course there has been plenty of debate about which day to choose. In the end the decision has been for a global release Friday. The compelling logic of Friday is that it is the day that best suits consumers. Consumer research across 7 diverse markets – Brazil, France, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, Sweden and the USA – produced almost totally consistent findings: nearly 7 out of 10 consumers who expressed a view preferred to have new music released on a Friday or Saturday.

Looking at consumer behaviour reinforces this. Friday and Saturday are the days of highest footfall in physical retail stores and the highest levels of purchasing traffic online. It’s also the time of greatest activity on social media, helping amplify the buzz around new releases everywhere. And the weekend is a time for greater spontaneous purchasing.

Of course, moving a whole industry to a global release day involves big challenges. Inevitably a global project involving more than 50 countries is not going to make every stakeholder in every country happy. There will be upheaval for some, no doubt. However, the truth is that there has been no credible alternative to a Friday proposed that would work at the global level.

Looking ahead, I think this is an exciting moment for the international music business. This is artists and labels thinking smart, thinking of the future, and, above all, thinking of their consumers. I’m delighted we’ve been able to come together and make this announcement. It’s now time to move on and implement Global Release Friday.

“John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967” Features Unreleased Live Recordings Feature John Mayall, Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood

Feb 23, 2015

Forty Below Records announces an April 21 release date for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 (Never Before Heard Live Performances), a very special archival recording of one the best of the Bluesbreakers band lineups, featuring legendary musicians John Mayall (vocals, keyboards, harmonica), Peter Green (lead guitar), John McVie (bass) and Mick Fleetwood (drums). Distributed by Sony/RED, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 showcases a band that was together for only a scant three months, yet created a lasting legacy, made an immense impact on music and led to the formation of one of the most acclaimed groups of all-time when Green, McVie and Fleetwood left to form Fleetwood Mac.

The genesis of Live in 1967 came about because a staunch fan from Holland, Tom Huissen, was able to sneak a one channel reel-to-reel tape recorder into five London clubs (including the famed Marquee) in early 1967 and capture this exciting glimpse into music history. For nearly 50 years these tapes remained unheard until John Mayall acquired them recently and began restoring them with the technical assistance of Eric Corne of Forty Below Records. “While the source recording was very rough and the final result is certainly not hi-fidelity, it does succeed in allowing us to hear how spectacular these performances are,” says Corne.

“I’d known for a decade or two of the existence of these tapes and in fact Tom Huissen had sent me a CD with 50 second teasers for some of the tracks that he’d secretly recorded at our London shows,” recalls Mayall. “Last year, Tom decided he wanted the world to hear these performances and work soon began on restoring the already fine quality on the old reel-to-reel tapes.”

John Mayall has some fond memories about how this band came about. “Through most of 1966, Peter and John were both regular members of the Bluesbreakers and Aynsley Dunbar was the drummer,” states Mayall. “However, even though Aynsley was a great drummer, it was starting to become apparent that his jazz influenced style of playing was veering away from the blues. As I recall, Peter had been close friends with Mick Fleetwood for some time and he suggested I give him a shot. And so for a short period of only about three months Mick became a Bluesbreaker.”

The band’s repertoire on the tracks of Live in 1967 includes some songs that were originally recorded on The Bluesbreakers first two albums, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton and A Hard Road (which featured Peter Green), plus the soon-to-be recorded Crusade album, which featured young guitarist Mick Taylor after Peter Green left the band. Other songs on the new CD make their live debuts after having been recorded originally as singles in the UK and would later appear on Mayall’s Looking Back album. In addition, several of the songs on Live in 1967 make their first appearance in any form on a Bluesbreakers album.

Two long-time mainstay influences on John Mayall’s storied career – Freddy King and Otis Rush – are well represented here with live versions of songs long-associated with the two blues giants. “All Your Love,” “Double Trouble,” “So Many Roads” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” come from the Otis Rush canon of blues classics; and Freddy King’s “The Stumble,” “San-Ho-Zay” and “Someday After Awhile,” are given resounding treatments here by the quartet playing with a sense of energy and urgency.

“Ever since Eric Clapton joined the band, we both had a great interest in the recorded work of Otis Rush and Freddy King and many of their classic songs became part of our live performing catalogue,” Mayall says about the two blues icons. “Their guitar work was always an inspiration for Eric, Peter Green and Mick Taylor in those early years.”

The music on John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 showcases a band that although only together for a short time, was incredibly tight and in-the-pocket while still allowing room for improvisation, none more so than Peter Green, whose guitar work on this CD will stand as some of his best-ever on record. All of Green’s guitar trademarks – the stop time signatures, his incredible sustain and a hair-raising powerful tone – are presented here in all their glory, highlighting a musician who was more than able to assume the mantle as the guitar player following in Eric Clapton’s well-trod footsteps as a member of one of blues music’s all-time aggregations, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 Track Listing
1) All Your Love
2) Brand New Start
3) Double Trouble
4) Streamline
5) Have You Ever Loved a Woman
6) Looking Back
7) So Many Roads
8) Hi Heel Sneakers
9) I Can’t Quit You Baby
10) The Stumble
11) Someday After Awhile
12) San-Ho-Zay
13) Stormy Monday

Australia’s Entertainment Industry Workers Have Higher Rate Of Mental Health Issues, Suicide

Feb 23, 2015

From The Age:

Australia’s 25,000 entertainment industry workers are more likely to suffer from mental health issues, have higher rates of suicide and are paid much less than the rest of the community, according to research from Victoria University.

The pilot study highlights a work environment that is “unhealthy, often divisive, competitive and lacking social support” and concludes “there are strong indicators these creative workers have a disproportionate rate of mental health issues”.

In 2012, the Australian Road Crew Collective identified 70 roadies who had died prematurely, many from suspected suicide. That sparked Entertainment Assist, a charity that helps people working in the entertainment industry, to try and found out why.

The Pratt Foundation funded the pilot study, which was completed by Dr Julie van den Eynde, Professor Adrian Fisher and Associate Professor Christopher Sonn, from Victoria University. For the Phase I report, the researchers interviewed entertainment industry workers across three employment groups.

Solution For People Who Hold Up Phones At Concerts (Starring Marky Ramone)

Feb 23, 2015

Don’t just get mad, swat it.

Record players in tree trunks

Feb 23, 2015

Audiowood makes wooden turntables and stereo gear, but with a twist. They also make other things out of wood, like iPhone docks, AV furniture, and sometimes lamps and clocks.

They started making custom turntables over 6 years ago, and they’ve been riding the waves of burlwood turntable mania ever since. Audiowood designs have graced the pages of over 20 major international magazines and are featured in dozens of design, audiophile, and tech. blogs. Captain Kirk spins our Bachelor Turntable in Paramount Pictures’ Star Trek: Into Darkness, and they are happy about collaborations with SHFT.com and Bushmills on various advertising and web projects.

All of their products are sustainably produced, by hand, in the US, using domestic and European components. In addition to making their own things, Audiowood is also a retailer for some other brands of quality European and US-made audio gear, including Rega, Music Hall Turntables, Grado, Bellari, High Resolution Technologies, Red Dragon Audio, and SME S2 Tonearms.

Barky

Barky is a precision turntable that features a high-quality Rega parts kit, glass platter, RB303 arm and Rega Elys2 cartridge. Solid ash round is finished with polyurethane and paste wax, and has adjustable solid-brass spike feet.

Custom turntables are their specialty, and are available in almost any design imaginable, from $900 up. In addition to custom made parts, their custom turntables frequently feature quality parts made by European and US manufacturers like Rega, Origin Live, SME, Groovetracer, Grado, Phoenix Engineering, and Music Hall. Turnaround time for custom turntables is usually less than one month.

How To Explain David Bowie in 1 minute, in 1 take

Feb 23, 2015

The many ch-ch-changes of David Bowie, in one minute, in one continuous take.

Massey Hall Celebrates the Launch of Phase 1 of Seven-Year Revitalization

Feb 23, 2015

The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall today celebrated Phase 1 of its seven-year Massey Hall Revitalization project. The revitalization, which will be completed in two distinct phases, will have a total projected cost of $135 million.

In an event that highlighted the unified and leading support of all orders of government, the Corporation also acknowledged individual donors who, led by the Corporation’s Board of Governors and past Chairs, have contributed more than $1M in funding towards Phase 1. Both RBC and TD Bank Group announced funding commitments of $1M in support of the Massey Hall Revitalization Project, with RBC directing $250,000 towards the Corporation’s respected initiatives in artist development. Also announced were commitments in funding support from both American Express Foundation and Edwards Charitable Foundation.

Phase 1 funding began with an $8M commitment from the Government of Canada. “Massey Hall is a landmark that has attracted some of the biggest names in performing arts to Toronto for more than 120 years,” said Joe Oliver, Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the GTA. “Our Government is proud to be supporting this revitalization project, because it will maintain and modernize this iconic building, contribute to the cultural and social fabric of the city and generate economic growth, job creation and increased tourism throughout the GTA.”

Of the historic project, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario commented, “the revitalization of Massey Hall will not only benefit the arts and culture industry, it will also increase tourism by attracting visitors from all over the world. Our Government is committed to creating vibrant Canadian communities and supporting cultural venues, like Massey Hall, in their pursuits to become desirable destinations for international audiences.”

The Province of Ontario also provided $8M toward Phase 1. “Over its 120-year history, Massey Hall has become a symbol of the live music experience here in Ontario,” said Michael Coteau, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “This revitalization will ensure that Massey Hall can continue to offer worldclass performances, draw visitors from around the globe and remain centre stage in a thriving live music scene. Our government is proud to support this project, which aligns with our goal of strengthening Ontario’s position as a global leader for live music.”

“Massey Hall is an iconic building at the very heart of our city,” says Mayor John Tory. “Like many Torontonians, I have spent countless evenings enjoying concerts there with friends and family. I’m thrilled that all three governments, along with the private sector, have come on board to revitalize this historic landmark that means so much to our city and, in particular, to Toronto music lovers.”

At the celebration, the Corporation gratefully acknowledged the key role played by Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, and thanked City of Toronto staff for their support and cooperation. “Councillor Wong-Tam has played an essential role in guiding us through the city’s Section 37 process and has shown unwavering support of our revitalization efforts,” said Charles Cutts, President and CEO, Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.

Phase 1 will cost $32M and began with the demolition of the Albert Building that was adjacent to the south wall of Massey Hall. It includes the construction of a two-story basement that will serve as the foundation for an addition to the hall and will accommodate a modernized back of house, a first-ever loading dock at Massey Hall, backstage and artist space, as well as technical and production facilities. Phase 1 also includes $9M towards the planning of Phase 2.

Phase 2 construction, set to begin in 2019, will result in both the exterior and interior restoration of the building and a revitalized Massey Hall that will include much needed space for enhanced and accessible artist and patron amenities. The revitalization will ensure that the hall continues to contribute to the lives of Canadians through arts, employment, and cultural celebration. It will add to the economic vitality of downtown Toronto, supporting tourism and businesses. The announcement also marks a commitment by the Corporation to continue to invest in artist development, education, and audiences, while embracing technology as a tool for enriching ways in which Massey Hall is experienced by generations to come.

“In a city so rich with talent and a live music community that is a voice for entertainment around the world, Massey Hall is committed to being a home for developing new talent,” says Charles Cutts, “Massey Hall has hosted countless memorable experiences over the years. This revitalization will ensure it continues to do so while we also contribute to the cultural landscape of Canada that, for 120 years, has given so much to Massey Hall in return.”

This unique revitalization opportunity is made possible by the transfer of a 4,804 square foot piece of land along the south wall of the Hall made available by Toronto-based MOD Developments Inc. and Tricon Capital Group Inc., who are participating in the development of the Massey Tower, a 60-storey condo tower currently under construction at 197 Yonge Street.

Under Section 37 of the City’s development by-laws, the land has been conveyed to the Corporation, providing the space necessary to expand the existing footprint of Massey Hall. Throughout the three years allotted for the construction of the Yonge Street tower, Massey Hall will provide the required access to the site from Victoria Street behind Massey Hall. Upon the completion of the Yonge Street development, (which is expected in 2018) Massey Hall will proceed with Phase 2 of the revitalization with a projected completion date of 2021.

The Corporation and its Building and Technical Design Committee are underway with the planning process for Phase 2 and will determine the capital cost budget after further study. To accommodate construction, there will be a time period in Phase 2 when Massey Hall will close for 18 to 24 months. This will be determined during the planning for Phase 2 and will be announced well in advance of 2019 when it is anticipated that this will take place. Massey Hall will continue to host concerts and events as usual until that time.

Dog: “More Cowbell!”

Feb 23, 2015

Guess what, I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell.

A Golden Retriever/Border Collie mix puppy named Maple adds more cowbell as her owner Trench plays an acoustic version of the 1976 Blue Öyster Cult song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper“.

Paul Stanley’s Long-Lost Folgers Commercial

Feb 21, 2015

Here is the never-aired Folgers commercial featuring Paul Stanley that ultra conservative parent company, Proctor and Gamble shelved out of concern regarding being associated with KISS.

“This is your wake up call / Time to reach and go for it all / Folgers stirs inside of me and I know what I can be,” Stanley sings, coffee mug in hand. “Limit is the sky / Hey world, watch me fly / The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.”

Stanley actually talked about the nixed Folgers ad in an interview. “Life is strange. I got a call asking if I was interested in singing a Folgers commercial. And like many other things, I thought “Why not?” Stanley said (via KISSanity). “I wasn’t at all concerned with who thinks it is okay or not okay, cool, not cool, rock & roll or not. I had a blast doing it and like I said, isn’t that what this is all about?”

Bert and Ernie on their 50-year friendship

Feb 21, 2015

They’re two of the most famous friends in television history. For almost 50 years, Bert and Ernie have lived together on “Sesame Street,” teaching children about numbers and letters, singing songs and going on adventures. But what originally brought the two together? On “Oprah: Where Are They Now?”, Bert and Ernie talk about what makes their friendship work:

Bert: “How did we meet? I think it was over tea.”

Ernie: “No, buddy Bert. It was ‘Y.'”

Bert: “No, no, it was tea.”

Ernie: “No, it was ‘Y.’ We met over the letter ‘Y,’ Bert. Remember? That’s why there was the yak there, and the yarn. And the yo-yo!”

“I’d say the key to a lasting friendship is always respecting each other, listening to each other, and caring what the other person thinks and feels,” Ernie says.