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THE INDUSTRY STANDARD'S
B E A T S H E E T
A Weekly Report on the Convergence of Music and the Net
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| http://www.thestandard.com |
Tuesday, March 14, 2000
TOP STORY:
* Live (Sort of) From South by Southwest
NET NOISE:
* DJs bust a move at Soundbreak.com
UPBEAT:
* Prince throws an online snit fit
* MTVi acquires Mischief Media
SOUND OFF: If the only way to get the music you want digitally is to
resort to criminal behavior, would you do it? Why or why not?
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TOP STORY:
~~~~~~~~~~
Live (Sort of) From South by Southwest Webcasts bring performances to
those who can't make it to the Texas musicfest.
By Julene Snyder
Fans of "live" online concerts will find more than the usual goodies
to choose from this week, thanks to South by Southwest. Live sets from
over 250 bands performing at the annual music industry hoedown will be
Webcast at www.ClubCastLive.com. That won't reproduce the experience
of attending the conference - you'd need booze, barbecue and business
cards to do that - but it should produce some good listening.
As "Official Webcaster of SXSW 2000," ClubCastLive promises shows
"from up to 20 stages broadcasting simultaneously each night from
March 15 to 19." The site will archive the performances so listeners
can tune in at their convenience. ClubCastLive's press materials quote
company president James Weiss explaining the concept: "Before, record
execs had to choose between hearing Band A or Band B. Now they can see
one band that night, and hear the other - or 30 others - while they
drink their morning coffee."
The selection will be dominated by lesser-known bands, who flock to
the festival hoping to catch the ear of an A&R starmaker or two. But
listeners can also check out sets from emerging names like MIRV, Mary
Lou Lord as well as more vintage groups like the Mekons. Alas, the
shows will be streamed via audio only, but the sound quality tends to
be very good, and ClubCastLive gives visitors the option to listen
either via RealAudio or streamed MP3.
The site won official sanction to broadcast from South by Southwest in
part because it's based in the conference's hometown of Austin, Texas.
"Our offices happened to be directly above Babe's on 6th Street," says
Weiss, recalling the early days of the company. "We couldn't think at
times because the music was so loud. We figured we might as well just
get it out on the Internet. About a month later, we snaked a wire into
Babe's and had our first live broadcast." From that beginning, the
company has grown to the point where it bills itself as "the world's
leading Internet broadcaster of live music." Its selling point is a
proprietary technology that lets users with connections ranging from
28.8Kbps modems to T1 lines enjoy high-quality audio. (The 28.8 crowd
only gets as far as FM radio-quality.)
Those who are more visually minded should log on to www.musicblitz.com
on Friday. The site will be Webcasting its DealBLITZ contest, in which
musicians will take the stage at the Copper Tank Brewing Co., play a
single song and keep their fingers crossed that they'll win a one-song
recording deal. Visitors will have a chance to watch and listen to the
proceedings, which will be judged by folks like former 91X music
director Mike Halloran, MC5 veteran rocker Wayne Kramer and rock
writer David Sprague.
Don't expect a finely polished product. Although Webcasting has been
around since the mid-1990s, it remains a rough art at best. Andrew
Rasiej, the president of live broadcaster Digital Club Network,
compares the state of Webcasting to the early days of movie cameras.
"They put them on tripods and put them in front of people performing
plays. That wasn't movie making. Today, we're putting cameras on
tripods and mounting them on the ceiling and connecting them to the
Internet. But until the artist takes the camera off the mount and
starts going on tour with their cybercasting and sound and lighting
person, I don't think we're going to push the envelope very much."
Until that envelope is pushed, licked and mailed, consumers will have
to settle for broadcasts that function as audio and video postcards
from the cities and the venues they wish they could visit. It's not
quite as good as being there, but we may be getting nearer to the
point where it comes mighty close.
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NET NOISE:
~~~~~~~~~~
This week's review: Soundbreak.com
What's the future of the Web? It just may be recently launched
Soundbreak.com. Ignore the hype that trumpets its demographic as
"Generation I," smugly called "the first generation of Internet
users." Look past the recent announcement that Soundbreak raised $19
million in private equity financing. Bypass the usual blitz of
buzzwords and cut to the chase: innovative music, entertaining DJs and
a rapidly growing community of music fans. A recent visit during DJ
Marnie Castor's set found her playing bombastic punker Henry Rollins
followed by thoughtful singer/songwriter Richard Buckner segueing into
a track by Holly Golightly, former vocalist for the garage girl group
Thee Headcoats. Streaming video lets you gawk at the DJs who
participate in online chat with gusto. My own foray there led to the
surreal experience of having my computer address me by name. It seems
Marnie got impatient with her keyboard and started speaking directly
to me: "I get to play radical, amazing music here," she said, staring
intently into the digital camera. "There's an art to music
programming, and I weave it like a tapestry." She added, a bit
sinisterly, "The populous is numb, and nobody is able to think for
themselves. So now I get to think for people. Boy are they in for a
ride."
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UPBEAT:
~~~~~~~
The Artist Currently Known as Cranky
Prince turns purple over label's inability to make his singles into
hits
It's worth digging around Unpronounceable Symbol's recently launched
Web site (www.NPGonlineLTD.com) to check out his manifesto against
Arista President Clive Davis. There's quite a snit brewing, and
he-whose-name-we-dare-not-speak has "decided 2 postpone ... release of
'Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic' (limited edition) ... (to) give Mr. Davis
time 2 make good on his promise 2 deliver a couple of REAL hit singles
2 'the top of the charts.'" Furthermore, what's-his-name says he won't
make a video until he gets his way, because his "heart and soul went
in2 the making of this record, and his xpectation is that Mr. Davis
and Arista will honor their agreement with him. Videos r xpensive and
without firm commitments from all parties, the money could b better
spent elsewhere." Can't help but wonder what the next step will be.
Perhaps the artist will stamp his tiny foot and hold his breath until
he turns purple?
We Will, We Will Own You
MTVi acquires Mischief New Media
Shiny happy people populated last week's announcement that MTVi has
gobbled up Mischief New Media's MusicStation Network, which includes
RockOnTV, MusicNewswire, ShowBizWire and the CD Club Web Server. The
sites will be folded into SonicNet.com and other MTVi sites, and
everyone is just tickled pink about it. MTVi Group President and CEO
Nicolas Butterworth is "very excited," while Mischief Media founder
Jason Hirschhorn is "delighted" by his new gig as VP of product
development for SonicNet.com. Hirschhorn goes on to describe what an
"honor" it is to become part of the MTVi family. Warm and fuzzies for
everyone! Oh yes, and hopefully a big truckload of money, stock
options and a corner office.
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SOUND OFF:
~~~~~~~~~~
Last Week's Question: What are the pros and cons of letting a Web site
know all about your musical tastes?
"For me, the best pro of knowledge of Web customers' musical tastes is
that it could be used to commercialize obscure music. Music is an art
form, and art thrives on the re-discovery and emulation of past
conventions and tastes. Music is also currently dependent upon
technology for convenient reproduction. I envision a Web site in the
near future that stores all recordings since 1877, the year Edison
invented the phonograph. However, the reality is that only
economically viable recordings will be stored, at least at first.
Using preference information to introduce listeners to different
genres could improve the viability of 'mining the vaults,' and keep
the cycle of invention and rediscovery alive for future artists."
-Stu Salmon Bassist, Electric Woodshed
This Week's Question: If the only way to get the music you want
digitally is to resort to criminal behavior, would you do it? Why or
why not?
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder. Send newstips and press releases to
julene@well.com.
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