Gun N' Roses and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

By now we have all heard about the recent spectacle and drama surrounding Guns N' Roses being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In case you haven't here is the short version, Fans have been hoping for years that a GNR induction would lead to a long awaited reunion of the original lineup. With the announcement of their addition to the Class of 2012, fans hopes were sparked that the former bandmates would be able to put aside their differences and play together one more time.  Axl Rose then shattered these hopes for fans by writing a public letter to the Hall of Fame declining his induction and stating that he would not be attending.  Fans were now left with no hope for a reunion, and little hope that they would even get to see a performance from some of the original members.  The night of the induction, original members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler showed up with other former members Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke to accept their induction, then surprised the crowd by performing three songs with Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy on vocals, the crowd seemed to forget the most hated man of the hour (F- Axl was a commonly shouted phrase by fans that night), and went wild for the semi-reunion led by Kennedy's spot on vocals.  While I was personally thrilled, as I'm a big fan of Kennedy, and had called that he would end up singing with them at the ceremony to many friends, what I have to wonder, is what impact will this have on the current Guns N' Roses lineup? They've been selling tickets like crazy for their recent US tour, but will this incident leave a sour taste in the mouths of fans for the next run? Will Axl's refusal to bury the hatchet to give the fans their biggest wish leave fans feeling betrayed by the temperamental frontman? I suppose only time will tell, but I know that I for one would not step foot into a GNR show after such childish behavior. On the other hand, I would definitely tip my hat to the rest of the band for coming together and trying to make something really cool happen for fans.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/guns-n-roses-perform-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-myles-kennedy-axl-rose-312396

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/arts/music/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-inducts-guns-n-roses-beastie-boys-and-red-hot-chili-peppers.html

The Tupac "Hologram"

Fans were wowed at Coachella this weekend as Tupac took the stage and performed with Snoop Dogg.  The fact that he has been dead for 15 years seemed to be forgotten as he ever so realistically made his way back and forth across the stage.  The success of this performance even has many talking about the possibility of a new tour for the late rapper.  One would think that the technology behind this feat was cutting edge, but in reality, it was simply an old magician's trick. The 2-D animation was created and displayed on a screen via an angled mirror.  The trick was used to make audiences believe they were being visited by a ghost back then, and was used in basically the same manner for Tupac's five minute resurrection. What would this mean for audiences if the trend were to continue, and what type of audience would this appeal to? The technology has been used by other artists, such as the Gorillaz, but would Beatles fans want to see this used to bring back John Lennon?  Not likely. I think that an artist like Tupac would draw quite the crowd, but I don't really see the use of this technology as being something that's going to become very common.

Tupac Hologram wasn't a Hologram at all

Video: Tupac at Coachella 2012

Goldenvoice Purchases Coachella Grounds

Goldenvoice, the company that runs the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals, has purchased 280 acres of land that the festivals are held on. They also hold a long term lease on the other 280 acres that comprise the rest of the festival grounds.  The president of the company stated that this would allow them to build infrastructure for the festivals instead of having to redo everything each year.  I think that the purchase will be good news for fans.  The building of a permanent festival structures could lead to a decrease in some costs for the company.  It will also lead to safer structures.  While Coachella has never had any major disasters.  Weather related catastrophe's at other festivals and fairs in the last year have raised some concern about the ability of temporary stage structures to hold up in adverse weather conditions.  While I don't see the reduction in costs to put on the festival trickling down to the fans for some time, it may be a possibility that in the future some costs for fans attending the festival may be slightly less.  Of course, Goldenvoice could just decide to reap all the benefits of the cost reduction in profits, but let's hope they decide to be a bit more generous than that.

Concert Promoter Purchases Coachella Grounds

Steve Jobs: How to Live Before You Die Speech

As an assignment for a class I am currently taking, we were asked to watch a speech from the TED website, give an analysis, and describe what the speech means to us.  If you are unaware of the TED concept, I highly suggest that you go to TED.com to check it out.  

I chose to watch Steve Job's Stanford commencement speech from June 2005.  Jobs to me is an important part of the music industry in part to his revolutionization of the way we get our music today.  He spoke of his failures in life, from dropping out of college, to being fired from Apple, and of the lessons that he learned from these low points in his life.  He also spoke of his brush with death from his Pancreatic cancer diagnosis.  We know now, of course, that this came back several years later to claim his life. Prior to his death, he helped to launch so many great things, and had such a great list of accomplishments, from starting Pixar, to the release of some of the most popular mobile devices in the world.  Jobs ended his speech by asking the graduates to follow something he always tried to do himself "stay hungry, stay thirsty." I took more from those words than I did anything else in the speech.  It is vital in this industry to always maintain a great passion for what you do.  If you lose the love and passion for the music, you lose touch with what really matters.  You forget about that moment at your first concert when the lights went out, the music started, and the artist exploded on stage, or the moment during your favorite song when you swear they were singing to you, and you felt more alive than you ever had.  So very simply, I repeat his words to you, as I will do for myself, "Stay Hungry, Stay Thirsty."

Steve Jobs: How to Live Before You Die 

The RIAA

The RIAA provides a great deal of service to the music industry.  They work to protect the First Amendment rights and Intellectual Property of artists.  They provide licensing services, and work to stop music piracy.  The RIAA also tracks music sales for gold and platinum certification purposes.  The association has a wide array of services to help parents choose music that is appropriate for their children as well.

As someone who is interested in the concert promotion industry, the RIAA is very important to me.  Paying attention to data provided by the RIAA can help me to determine what artists are hot right now, and may be worth bringing to my area.  It can also alert me to any big events happening for an artist I have already booked, such as a newly certified gold or platinum single.  Having this information can help me to plan a more dynamo and exciting marketing campaign for an event.  Advertising an artist as platinum selling can generate more interest in them, and help to sell more tickets to their shows.

Another industry that I have a great deal of interest in is Artist Management.  I've always had a passion for promoting artists that I think deserve a shot at their big break, and the RIAA is a very valuable asset to these artists.  Their work to stop music piracy can help to save many small artists who are struggling because their music is being passed around on file sharing sites for free, when they are in desperate need of every penny that comes from the sale of their single or album.  These struggling new artists also depend on album sales to help generate more interest in their career, and piracy can do quite a bit to halt any momentum that they may be able to build.  They then become dependent on the reputation of their live show in order to garner interest from major record labels, but a lack of album sales, either digitally or standard, may make it difficult for them to book shows, as promoters have little interest in booking acts that can't sell albums.

The RIAA is a valuable asset to any recording artist, manager, or promoter.  Hopefully they continue their work, and focus their efforts on projects that benefit the artists they represent.

http://www.riaa.com

2012 Grammy Social Media Summit Focuses on Streaming Music

The fact that digital outlets have become the standard for music fans to obtain their tunes from is not news to anyone.  Where the digital world may be headed, however, is anyone's guess.  This year's summit at the Grammy's focused on this aspect of the industry and where it may be headed.  The panel featured prominent members of the digital music community from Spotify, Turntable.fm, Shazam, and GetGlue.  It was also moderated by the CEO of Topspin Media, Ian Rogers.  The fact that fans are more connected than ever, and expect a new level of openness and availability from artists was agreed upon as the biggest change to the industry in the last ten years.  This is a change that I have definitely noticed.  A Decade ago,  fans were only given access to artists through chance meetings before or after concerts, or a peek inside their minds through interviews that they did for magazines or television shows.  With the birth of Social Networking, it has become almost shocking to learn that your favorite musician doesn't have a Twitter, or that they aren't a fan of Facebook.   With this increasing level of access to artists, fans have come to expect more and more from them, in terms of what they give to the fans.  This has also led the way to artists distributing more of their music themselves, which was another topic that was discussed at the summit.  The level of connection with the fans has made it much more simple for musicians to simply email or post a link on Social Networking sites to give their fans direct access to their latest music.

The Future of this industry looks to be wide open, as all the companies represented had different ideas for what they hope to venture into next.  Spotify is looking to reduce the number of consumers that get their music for free, and seriously expand the size of the industry.Turntable will be seeking to help new talent catch their big break, while Shazam will be working in the music discovery area, a venture which began with the Super Bowl, and will continue with the Grammy's.  In any case, it looks as though 2012 will be a very interesting year for Digital Music.

Spotify, Shazam, Turntable.fm Are Hot Topics At Grammy Social Media Summit

Fake Concert Promoter Sentenced to 9 Year in Prison

This was a case that I found very interesting when I heard about this man being arrested.  Every now and then you will read about some fake concert promoter setting up a show and selling tickets, and then people get upset with the artist when they don't show up, only to find out that they never even knew about it.  Mike Wady of Pheonix, AZ took this to a whole new level.  He was convicted of 5 counts of wire fraud and 5 counts of transactional money laundering.  In addition to his 9 years in Federal Prison, he now has to pay $30 million in restitution, and perform 250 hours of community service.  Wady posed as a promoter for the Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, and over 40 other major touring artists.  He convinced investors to give him money for these shows with a promise of repayment once the net profits were finalized.  Since Wady had no connection to any of these artists, he would use the money to finance his lifestyle, then return parts of it to the investors as their repayment.  Approximately 240 investors lost over $30 million throughout the course of this scam.

Now Why does this case concern me? As someone who is entering the world of being an independent concert promoter, Someone pulling off a scam on this scale stands to threaten that entire industry.  When stories like this make headlines, potential investors become more and more suspicious of newer independent promoters, and are much less likely to give their funds to a promoter that is not already well established in the industry. This will force new promoters to start on a much smaller scale and work their way very slowly by building a solid reputation.  Hopefully investors will realize that not all independent promoters are scam artists and will be willing to give them a chance.

http://www.fbi.gov/phoenix/press-releases/2011/man-sentenced-to-prison-and-ordered-to-pay-over-30-million-in-restitution-for-multiple-concert-promotion-ponzi-schemes