Yesterday was the eMi Canada Dessert Evening . . . formerly know as the eMi Christmas Open House.  With renovations being what they are, we didn’t dare to have our regular “come & go” Open House at the office this year . . . we weren’t sure we’d have walls, let alone nicely painted ones .   And, while our renovations ARE almost complete now, it was nice not to have the pressure to have everything perfectly in its place by last night . . . there’s still some electrical work to be done, and with shifting desks and offices, we’re definitely not all moved in.

So, a couple months ago we started talking about what we were going to do instead of our annual open house . . . and decided that perhaps it was time for our “get to know you” time to become more of a formal event.  One of our board members offered us some space at Ambrose, and the planning began.

We’d eventually like to have a “Dessert Gala” . . . perhaps with silent auction items from around the globe . . . but this year we started with a “Dessert Evening” . . . a little bit less pressure .  We had four clients of eMi Canada come to present what our work meant to their organization, and our interns talked about their recent project trips and what they learned.

The evening went really well; we had lots of comments on how well put together it was . . . and even though the presentations went a bit longer than anticipated (like always!), people were still happy to stick around and chat a bit afterwards.

The only downside . . . we didn’t get home until well after 10 . . . which means the kids didn’t get to sleep until almost 11!  They were pretty tired this morning, and I’m expecting them to be a bit on the crabby side this afternoon . . .

Date: February 3rd, 2007

3nity at Produa FM, Bandung

What can I say? Tgl.3 Februari kemarin adalah hari yang paling membahagiakan di tahun 2007.
Yep2.. karena akhirnya gue bisa ketemu 3nity sejak mengetahui tentang mereka dari taun lalu. 3nity adalah band asal Perancis yang personelnya kembar tiga, Romain, Sylvain, Vincent, dan mereka berdarah campuran Perancis-Bali. Mereka biasanya menyanyikan lagu2 dlm bahasa Inggris dan beberapanya bahasa Indonesia. Tapi mereka dateng ke Indonesia buat launching album baru mereka yang berisi 10 lagu Indonesia dan 1 lagu Inggris, sekaligus buat promo, termasuk interview2, bikin video klip, syuting iklan, foto2 majalah, dll. Selain Jakarta, salah satu kota yang mereka datangi adalah Bandung.
Dan kemarin ini, mereka perform di acara Hip Hip Hura SCTV.

Dan beginilah cerita gue dimulai. Apa siihhh?? gak penting..
Supaya gue gak lupa ama kejadian kmrn, krn gue suka lupaan.

Btw, waktu pertama kali dikasih tau orang EMI Music Indonesia, katanya performance mereka di Hip Hip Hura in akan diadakan di TBC, Bandung. Gue sempet bingung dan gak yakin apa ada mall bernama TBC di Bdg. Atau informasinya yg salah, seharusnya BTC. Tapi akhirnya gue dikasih tau lagi kalo mereka ternyata perform-nya di Ciwalk jam 4. Alhasil gue dateng ke Ciwalk kmrn dan tiba di Ciwalk jam 2.30 (krn jadwal pertama mereka tertulis 2.30. Jam 4 baru diganti kemudian). Gue memang berharap kalo bisa, ketemu 3nity. Tapi kalo ternyata gak bisa, ya udah. Mungkin hari laen. Tadinya gue mau ngajak temen2 yg setau gue mungkin mau pergi. Tapi gue sendiri gak yakin bisa ketemu mereka. Jd gue gak mau memberi harapan palsu ato cerita ngumbar2 ada 3nity, tp ternyata tidak ada. Sebetulnya ada sih temen gue yang udah dikasih tau, tapi dia gak ngasih kabar pas hari H-nya. Kirain gak mau ikut. Mungkin sibuk atau apa.

Dan hal ini kejadian pas gue nyampe disana. Gue sempet kaget krn ternyata acara Hip Hip Hura-nya kok udah mulai?? Pdhl katanya jam 4. Terus akhirnya gue liat Darius ama Raffi. Yah.. sudahlah.. drpd 3nity gak ada, ketemu mereka gak ada salahnya. Hahahaha… So, akhirnya gue menghampiri seorang bapak2 (entah security/bodyguard/penjaga) yang bertugas di antara mereka, lalu nanya apa boleh gue foto2 ama mereka. Lalu dia ngizinin dan bilang kalo sekarang sih bisa. Dan berfotolah gue dengan mereka. Yang setelahnya gue tau ternyata maksud “kalo sekarang sih bisa” karena mereka itu pembawa acara Hip Hip Hura. Kirain mereka cuma lagi jalan2 di Ciwalk aja dan lagi ngumpul2 di antara kru SCTV tersebut. Hahaha.. ketahuan deh gue gak pernah nonton acara ini sebelumnya.

Setelah keduanya pergi bawain acara, gue nanya ke kru yang bawa kertas2 jadwal, kapan 3nity perform? Dan dia bilang mereka sudah perform pas pertama. o.O Gue lgs cengong. hahaha… Lalu gue nanya lagi,”bukannya jam 4, Pak?” Lalu dia mengecek kertasnya dan bilang tidak ada. 3nity udah perform tadi. *tambah cengong*. Lalu gue nanya lagi mereka nyanyi berapa lagu. Dan dia jawab,tadi sudah nyanyi 4-5 lagu. *cengong yang ke-3* >> oke sebetulnya tidak benar2 cengong. Hanya utk mendramatisir, hehe…

Dia melihat2 kertasnya lagi, lalu memperbaiki kata2nya, katanya 3nity ada lagi nanti jam 4, tp nyanyinya 1 lagu. Karena bingung, gue akhirnya mengucapkan terima kasih lalu pergi. Gue gak tau jadwal mana yang bener. Masa iya sih kru yang bawa2 kertas jadwal bisa salah.. Ato gue salah dpt jadwal? Akhirnya gue gak yakin… So, gak yakin juga mo ngajak temen2 gue.. Yah.. seperti yang gue katakan sebelumnya. Kalo2 ternyata 3nity-nya memang sudah perform dan mereka sudah pulang ato gimana.

Lalu akhirnya gue jalan2 aja, sementara acara Hip Hip Hura-nya masih berlangsung. Setelah jalan2 keliling Ciwalk, gue balik lagi ke tempat syuting acara Hip Hip Hura dan mendapati banyak orang yang sedang minta tanda tangan dan foto2 dengan Darius dan Raffi yang kali ini udah pake rambut palsu kribo. Dan gue melihat bapak2 tadi lagi (yang entah security/bodyguard/penjaga). Dan entah apa yang mendorongku, tiba2 saja gue menghampiri dia lagi dan bertanya apa boleh gue bertemu 3nity. Pertamanya dia keliatan enggan. Tp gue cuma bilang bentar dan foto2 doang. Akhirnya dia mengizinkan dan memberi tau tempatnya. Tapi gak jelas. Pertamanya terdengar seperti Revada. Gue belum pernah denger ada tempat namanya Revada di Ciwalk. Lalu dia menjelaskan bagaimana caranya kesana dengan 2 versi karena gue gak ngerti2. *lemot mode:ON* Akhirnya gue pura2 ngerti dan jalan sesuai petunjuknya yg terdengar seperti ruang rias, dan gue gak tau kalo ada ruang rias di Ciwalk. Tp tetep aja setelah gue jalan, gue tetep gak kebayang dimana tempatnya. Akhirnya pake last hit deh (istilah yang digunakan Lisa, e-palku) sebagai one last try) utk mendapatkan petunjuk yang lbh jelas lagi. Akhirnya dia mengatakan dengan lbh jelas sekarang. Makasih, Pak. Ahh… gue lucky…ternyata one last try-nya bekerja.

So, gue naek tangga, masuk ke dalam Ciwalk, dan sedikit bingung karena tidak melihat ada ruang rias. Lalu gue iseng2 melihat ke dalam Starbucks dan melihat 3NITY ada di dalamnya lagi duduk2 dan cakep2. Hahahahaha… ^^ Gue sempet bingung masuknya dr mana. Karena keliatannya pintunya dijaga orang. Tp another second “one last try”, gue nanya apa gue boleh masuk, dan ternyata orang itu bilang,”silakan2″.

Begitu gue masuk dan menyapa “Hii…”, mereka semua langsung berdiri dan yang paling bikin gue kaget adalah waktu Romain langsung nyapa,”Hi, Vina..” dan memeluk gue, lalu cupika cupiki. ^^ Ya ampunnn…. dia inget gue dr FS & MySpace. Terlebih lagi dia tau muka gue, pdhl gue pake kacamata dan gue gak pernah naro foto2 gue pake kacamata di internet. Ga nyangka banget… Dan ternyata Sylvain dan Vincent juga inget dan langsung ikut memeluk dan cupika cupiki. Woaahh.. hepii.. (hihi.. garing amat ya). Yang gak inget justru Stephane, kakaknya 3nity, yang nanya siapa nama gue. Tp akhirnya dia inget setelah gue nyebutin nama gue dan menyebutkan o ya.. yg di MySpace itu.

Setelah itu gue nanya apa mereka sudah perform, dan mereka bilang belum. (Aahhh.. itu kru booonggg…) Dan gue cerita klo tadi ada yg bilang mereka sudah perform dan Steph menjelaskan kalo nyanyi 4-5 lagu itu hanya sekedar latihan/pemanasan..

Lalu gue nanya yang mana Romain/Sylvain/Vincent. Krn serius deh, setelah ketemu yg aslinya, mereka 100% mirip dan gue gak bisa ngebedain ama sekali. Lalu Sylvain menyebutkan nama2nya yg ternyata di Perancis, susah bener lafalnya. Gue butuh ngedenger Sylvain berkali2 ampe ngeh ternyata Sylvain tetep dibaca Sylvain. Vincent, ampe sekarang gue gak bisa krn terdengar seperti Cinvent. Serius deh, gue ampe nanya berkali2 ke Sylvain. Lalu Romain, terdengar seperti Roma ato Roman. Gak jelas. Pusing deh..

Setelah itu.. foto2… Ya ampunn.. Gue nervous banget.. Udah mah nervous, yang ngambil fotonya Steph lagi.. Alhasil.. hasilnya ohh..tidak… T.T Gak kebayang kalo yg ngambil fotonya itu salah satu dr mereka bertiga. Mungkin tampang gue udah kayak setan. Well, sebetulnya memang betul, mengingat foto gue ama Steph yang diambil salah satu dr mereka bertiga (gue lupa, Vincent apa Romain). Huaa… ngeri ngeliat tampang guenya. Udah kayak mau nerkam. T.T

Udah gitu gue nanya apa boleh ngobrol2.. dan Romain bilang gpp. So kita ngobrol2 deh. Pertamanya ama Romain, ngobrol lumayan banyak. Salah satunya The Alchemist (yg setelahnya gue sadar, seharusnya gue gak ngomong ttg ini. Tdnya mo nanya ttg salah satu cerita di dlmnya yg gue gak ngerti, tp stlh ketemu dia, malah lupa), dll. Tapi surprise dan thank God gue bisa ngerti apa yg dia omongin, mungkin krn logat orang Perancis gak sesusah logat British. Lalu minta tanda tangan. Dan Romain mengucapkan sesuatu ttg Friendster yang gue gak ngerti. Tp kadang2 kalo ngomong, Romain suka menyelipkan 1 ato 2 kata dlm bahasa Indonesia. Gue jadi bertanya2, apa dia sekarang udah bisa bahasa Indonesia ya? Setelah Vincent ngasih ttd-nya jg, dia berbicara dengan manajer di Indo.. entahlah siapa.Tadinya mau ngomong ama Romain terus, tp rasanya gak enak kalo yang dua laennya diterlantarkan. Akhirnya gue ngajak Sylvain ngomong juga. Gue kira Romain bakal join, tp ternyata enggak. Alhasil gue cuma ngomong berdua.

Well, kalo boleh dibilang, meski kembar 3, karakter mereka beda2, sesuai interview di majalah Gadis. Sylvain adalah cowok yang paling talkative dan murah senyum. Kalo dia udah ngomong, gak bakalan berenti, ampe kadang2 gue suka gak nangkep apa yg dia omongin krn saking cepetnya bicara dan panjang banget. Tp dia suka bercanda juga. Apalagi pas memperagakan gaya tidurnya waktu dalam perjalanan ke Bandung yg katanya ujan dan gak lewat tol krn banjir. Lucu bangettt… ^^ Romain suka ngomong, tp gak sebanyak Sylvain. Tapi yg paling pendiem gue bilang Vincent krn dia yang paling terlihat jarang bicara. Tdnya mau ngajak dia ngomong juga, tp gue jadi bingung mau ngomong apa ama dia.

Setelah itu Sylvain undur diri krn ada briefing dan gabung ama Vincent dan Romain. Sempet ngobrol2 ama Steph bentar, tp keliatannya briefing-nya privat, so gue harus keluar. Tp gue surprise meski mereka lagi briefing, pas gue keluar pintu, sempet2nya mereka manggil lagi cuma buat bilang sampai ketemu dlm bahasa Indonesia.

Abis keluar, gue langsung SMS temen2 gue, ngajak mereka ke Ciwalk. Sayang, gak ada yang bisa dateng sebelum jam 6. Akhirnya gue nunggu ampe jam 4, ampe acara live Hip Hip Hura dimulai. Ternyata td itu utk setting2 buat minggu depan dr yg gue tangkep. Dr sini gue belajar, ternyata syuting acara musik kayak gitu gak semudah yg gue kira. Harus ‘take’ berkali2, ngasih tau penonton kapan harus bersorak, dll. Termasuk pas mau jam 4, acara live-nya.

Setelah menunggu, akhirnya tiba juga jam 4. Waktu itu, meski banyak orang yang sudah duduk dan berdiri dr tadi, tp belum begitu padat. Orang2 mulai padat waktu Irwansyah keluar. Bussettt…….. tp dia memang lbh cakep dibandingin di TV dan luar biasa pede alias lumayan narcis. Dia yg paling banyak disorakin. Acha juga wkt nyanyi Sampai Menutup Mata. Setelahnya 3nity. Boleh juga tuh disorakin, mengingat belum banyak orang yg tau mereka krn di sebelah2 gue pd bergumam,”itu siapa?” dan ada yg nyeletuk,”Kok bisa ya muka mereka sama semua??” Gue cuma bisa bilang dlm hati,”wajar aja, karena mereka kembar 3.” Yang mereka nyanyikan Madu dan Racun. Lagu ini dibuat masa kini dan ada unsur2 R&Bnya, jd bagus, gak terkesan oldies. Dan mereka nge-dance. Tp yg paling gue kagum dance-nya itu Romain, udah ampe kayak break dance segala. Ampe di sebelah gue ada yg nyeletuk,”wow.. gimana caranya dia melakukan itu?”

Selesai liat performance 3nity, gue langsung keluar dan mau pulang karena harus menghadiri acara pernikahan. Tdnya mau langsung pulang, tp entah apa yg mendorong gue kembali ke Starbucks. Ternyata disana mulai banyak yg minta foto2.. Gue liat Steph lagi ngerekam dengan handycam-nya. Jadi inget Shane, tur manajernya Same Same. Kemana2 juga bawa handycam buat ngeliput kegiatan Same Same di Indonesia.

Lalu gue datang menghampiri Sylvain dan menyelamati performance mereka yang bagus. Dan mulailah cerita2 lagi… Kali ini ngomongnya lbh cepat dr sebelumnya, ampe yg gue tangkep cuma dikit banget, kayak minta maaf krn gak bisa bales msg krn gak bisa ngecek internet di Indo. Klo bisa juga cuma bentar. Lalu ngomong2 ttg kemungkinan kedatangan mereka lagi akhir bulan utk show, dan yg tertangkap hanya Ciwalk, Gadis, dan Marina. Maunya sih minta dia ngulang lagi, tp gak enak kalo dia harus mengulang lagi sepanjang itu. Lagipula banyak yg ngantri minta foto2… Setelah itu gue bilang, gue akan pulang. Lalu gue ketemu Romain lagi dan nyelamatin ttg dance-nya yg bagus. Tp gak bisa ngobrol banyak krn dia mau foto2 ama yang minta foto2. Wkt mau pulang, gue baru inget klo gue belum foto ama mereka bertiga semua, jd gue manggil Sylvain lagi. Lalu dia manggil Vincent yg lagi istirahat dr foto2 dan lagi berdiri2 di sebelah manajer Indo itu dan Steph. Setelahnya nunggu Romain yg masih asyik foto2, dan setelahnya dipanggil Sylvain. *jepret* Selesai sudah…

Tp kayaknya krn gue, Vincent jd kembali dimintai foto2 ama yg laen. Aww.. maapkan gue.. (mengingat tadi dia sedang istirahat dr foto2).

Udah gitu, rasanya gak enak klo pamitan ke Sylvain, tp ke Romain dan Vincent enggak. (busseet.. bahasanya.. pamitan..)
jadi gue nunggu ampe mereka rada ada waktu luang sedikit. Lalu gue manggil Romain dan say gudbye. Lalu dia bilang sampai ketemu lagi dalam bahasa Indonesia. Hal yang sama dilakukan Vincent. Setelah itu say gudbye jg ke manajer Indo itu dan Steph.

Dan pulanglah gue…. Seneng rasanya…. 3nity adalah band yang bagus, dengan personil2nya yang baik, cukup sopan, dan ramah2. “Thank you for coming.” Itulah kata2 yang gue inget terakhir. Thank you for being so nice and friendly too ^^
I also want to thank God for the opportunity He’s given to me.

NB : Wahh.. blog yg panjang…

I really dont feel sorry for these guys, especially after the spew of music they promote which is just inane…

warner brothers are in the red, but their digital and consumer spend is actually up. In fact, in sweden they are claiming its becuase of new pircay laws, which i greatly doubt. Its probably because its so much easier to buy music now and so convenient that people are buying. The shopping experience has always been critical, it was the start of the Virgin empire. first a mail order business and then the virgin stores and megastores – they did well because they focused on giving people a good experience – the digital version is itunes, spotify etc.

a key Warner brothers music group whinge is that they arent seeing the licensing they would like for music games (guitar hero etc) yet. I think they have a good point here, but rather than try to charge per song or a flat once off fee, charge a premium for monthly song updates. Learn from World of Warcraft that subscriptions are your friend and that people would love to pay a monthly fee to have the latest songs available.

a summary of the WBMG financials are below

mid WMG’s general weakness in Q3, digital revenues continued to rise. The segment’s revenue was $184 million, a 10 percent gain year-over-year. Digital comprised 21 percent of total sales in the quarter – up five percent from the previous quarter. Over the full year, WMG has now made $703 million from digital, also 10 percent up from last year.

—Recorded music: Just as EMI Group has found, consumer music sales are actually up 0.3 percent – but that’s thanks to an offset from 16 percent overseas growth (especially Europe and Asia); domestic U.S. sales were down four percent. Digital made up 24 percent of this (£171 million), over a third of which ($105 million) is from U.S.

—Music publishing: A 3.8 percent increase to $162 million, with digital growing even faster, by 46 percent to $16 million—likely the result of increased licensing by online services and other users of music.

Further to my previous report below ‘tradigital – battle of the music and film networks’ about increasing competion between online music and tv channels; as new music platform entrants continue to explore alternative revenue models, pumping valuable lifeblood back in to the music industry, today sees the launch of a campaign by Sky to promote the Beta version of its new music portal Sky Songs.

Sky Songs currently offers two subscription packages. £6.49 enables unlimited streaming of of 4 million songs high quality (!) mp3’s and either 1 album, or 10 songs of chopise per month.

£7.99 buys users unlimited streaming of 4 million songs plus 1 album 0r 15 songs.

Tracks are avalable through partner  EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner, and the music is all unlocked and compatible with most players including Apple platforms and devices.

This is competetive subscription pricing offering a better deal than Spotify but it also limits users initial access and trial of music as this is only accesible on subscription, something Spotify offers free of charge. That said, I do not belive Spotify will be able to convert free users to subscribers with their current approach – there simply is not enough value or enhancement in the offer.

If you’re in the Calgary area, we’d love it if you could join us at the Engineering Ministries International Dessert Evening tomorrow (that’s Thursday) night.   There will be displays about various projects eMi has done, as well as a few presentations – the interns will be talking about our recent El Salvador trip.  Click on the image below for more details . . .

For those of you who are too far away to come, please pray for a good turn out, and that we’d be able to share our excitement about what God is doing around the world.  Pray that people would be led to be involved in whatever way God is calling them.

EMI Label Services/Caroline Distribution are working hand in hand with independent record stores to invoke a great rock tradition: a BATTLE OF THE BANDS amongst local high-school groups across the nation.

The “winning” band as chosen by each local store will have the chance to have a song included on a compilation that will be released on Record Store Day (April 17, 2010).

As stated by Dominic Pandiscia, SVP/GM EMI Label Services and Caroline Distribution, “The Battle of the Bands campaign reinforces the record store as a key hub of activity for students. We’re incredibly excited to work with all associated partners to nurture local music talent, while creating exciting events at local independent stores.”

Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day, a celebration of independent record stores, saw this as a great opportunity to get the local community involved.

The compilation of winners will be released on Record Store Day and the winning band from each market will be invited to perform in-store

The winning band, to be selected by Merovingian Music President Jack Ponti and Fender Director of Entertainment Marketing Del Breckenfeld, will be outfitted with Fender equipment, including a Fender Road Worn‚ ’50s Strat , a Fender Road Worn ’50s Precision Bass, a Fender California Series Kingman‚ SCE Electric Acoustic Fender Super-Sonic‚ Amp; a Fender Bassman Fifteen Bass Amp; a Gretsch Blackhawk‚ Drum Kit, Sabian Cymbals and Gibraltar Drum Hardware.

The winning band will also have studio time with legendary producer/musician/manager/ songwriter Jack Ponti (Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, India.Arie, Aiden, Boyz II Men).

Url: http://www.recordstoreday.com

Новое необычное видео американских альтернативщиков из группы 30 Seconds To Mars на первый сингл из еще не вышедшего альбома This Is War. Выход альбома запланирован на 7 декабря. Само видео, больше похожее на короткометражку, длиться почти 9 минут включая титры и бонусные кадры. В ожидании релиза альбома смотрим новое видео и скачиваем, пока что в FLV формате.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

• Kings And Queens
• by 30 Seconds To Mars
• from the albom This Is War
• directed by Bartholomew Cubbins
• © 2009 EMI/Virgin

 

• Качество: WebRip
• Формат: FLV
• Видео кодек: On2 VP6
• Аудио кодек: MPEG2 Audio
• Видео: 640×360 at 23.976 fps ~ 469 Kbps
• Аудио: 22050Hz 2ch 96Kbps
• Размер: 29.8 Mb

Joss Stone con tan solo 22 años ha conseguido ser clasificada como la cantante de soul más importante de la década. Sin embargo, no es oro todo lo que reluce; bajo una fachada impresionante y una voz poderosa se esconde una mujer cansada, cansada de lidiar con la discográfica EMI.

En 2006, la cantante británica recibió 7,5 millones de libras como adelanto de un contrato por cuatro álbumes, algo que asegura el trabajo en estos tiempos, pero que puede llegar a convertirse en una pesadilla cuando observas que ese contrato que debería llenarte de ilusiones acaba asfixiando tu carrera musical.

Joss Stone tiene que estar harta para querer devolver 1,2 millones de libras de ese adelanto y 800.000 libras más de las futuras ganancias de “Colour Me Free” (su último trabajo cuyo primer single ‘ilustra’ este post), para que así EMI le facilite la carta de libertad y poder hacer carrera por su cuenta.

Lo cierto es que ya hubo polémica con este álbum puesto que EMI amenazaba con emprender acciones legales contra la cantante, acusándola de no haber entregado el máster del nuevo trabajo a fecha de 31 de Diciembre, cuando estaba estipulado por contrato. Ella, evidentemente puesto que sino no habría habido polémica, aseguraba que entregó el trabajo a tiempo.

Stone dice que necesita libertad para componer, de hecho, “Colour Me Free” fue grabado en el estudio de su madre, en el más absoluto secreto para evitar que la discográfica interfiriera en su trabajo.

La segunda gota que dejaba rebosar el vaso llegó cuando se anunció la salida del álbum para abril de este año. Al final se anunció para Julio, pero no ha podido salir a la venta hasta este mes. De hecho, la difusión que está teniendo este cuarto disco de la cantante comienza siendo bastante escasa y en EE. UU. se ha visto reducida a una sola cadena de tiendas.

El álbum es muy interesante dentro de su género, a la voz de Stone se unen Jeff Beck, Sheila E., Raphael Saadig, el rapero Nas y el saxofonista David Sanborn.

Imagen de Music Blog

Desde hace bastante tiempo, venimos insistiendo en que se hace necesario experimentar en nuevos modelos de negocio para intentar solventar la crisis musical que vive la industria musical en nuestros días.

Nunca dimos ninguna solución porque no estábamos en condiciones de hacerlo. Sin embargo, EMI ha conseguido su particular respuesta para experimentar en la adaptación a los tiempos que corren.

Se trata de ofrecer a los asistentes de los conciertos un recuerdo inolvidable: la grabación del concierto, es decir, ofrecerán una grabación sonora del espectáculo que el público acaba de vivir en tres posibles formatos: CD, DVD o pendrive.

El proyecto ha sido bautizado como Abbey Road Live, nada que ver con los Beatles al parecer, se trata, dicen, de usar el nombre de sus estudios de grabación para indicar que las grabaciones tendrán una calidad profesional, a pesar de estar mezcladas in situ.

EMI no se la juega y cuenta con varios antecedentes para aprender de su ewxperiencia. La compañía Mute Records, muy ligada a EMI, ya lo hizo en 2004 y el músico de country Willie Nelson repartió lápices de memoria cargados con sus canciones en directo.
También cuenta con algunas experiencias que la han llevado a pensar que este evento puede salir rentable. Por ejemplo, el 10% de asistentes a un concierto de Blur descargó el concierto a través de Internet, o eso es lo que dice EMI (claro que no creo que fuera pidiendo las entradas a todos los que se lo descargaron).

La idea es que el fan pueda comprar el vídeo del evento antes de salir por la puerta o que, si más tarde se lo piensa mejor (o no pudo acudir y no quiere perdérselo), pueda descargarlo en el ordenador de su casa.

Artiste américain / Ballades Pop – Crooner rock /  EMI

Si certains membres des Stooges se font à présent dévorer par la riche biodiversité de dessous-terre et que l’Iguane s’est calmé côté consommation de stupéfiants, Iggy Pop n’a pas pris sa retraite pour autant et signe avec Préliminaires un album touchant. Premier disque d’un nouveau virage musical.

Douze titres doux et très bien choisis qui semblent conçus comme un hommage à la culture française et à l’Amérique profonde. L’opus s’ouvre et s’achève sur une reprise des Feuilles Mortes de Jacques Prévert faite d’accords de guitare et saxophone très jazzy sur lesquels s’impose une voix charmeuse qu’on a du mal à associer à Iggy Pop tant elle est calme. Je sais que tu sais fait directement appel à Gainsbourg et ses duos sensuels. On retrouve le Iggy rock n’ roll dans Nice to be Dead ou She’s a business mais ces titres restent moins nerveux que l’ensemble de ses trente années de carrière punk. Le reste du disque oscille entre piano-voix mélancolique (I wanna go to the beach ou How insensitive) ballades reposantes (Spanish Coast, He’s Dead / She’s Alive) qui pourrait servir à traverser les USA à cheval, un clopo au coin du bec, ou évoquent un univers cabaret foutraque (King of the Dogs et Party time).

Le Iggy aux grosses lunettes de vue qui en 2008 (à la Garden Nef Party d’Angoulême) nous avait expliqué qu’il ne buvait plus que du lait chaud semble s’être assagi et avoir simplement accepté une chose simple de la vie : il vieillit. Il n’y a pas d’âge pour devenir mature, Préliminaires est peut-être le départ d’une nouvelle carrière ?

Note : 8/10

For those of you that aren’t aware, there have been a couple of hot art blogs hitting the community that has a focus of helping fellow artists market themselves – INK and Earthmonster illustrated. I had a conversation withEarthmonster, the man behind the blogs, to get some insight on his efforts and marketing philosophy for artists.

Your avatar is becoming quite a familiar place on redbubble. Your flagship blog, Earthmonster Illustrated, is becoming increasingly popular in the art community. Can you give me an idea what inspired you to start the ezine?
The popularity aspect really surprised me, I honestly never thought it would become what it is. A little over a year ago I noticed that most art sites like Redbubble and CafePress were not really marketing the artists themselves. They were marketing their products, which is fine, but it did nothing for the artists. There was very little exposure for anyone. I took it upon myself to start working on that and here we are today.

How would you describe EMI to someone that hasn’t read it before?
EMI is by the artist, for the artist – first and foremost. I have tried to keep it more about featured artists rather than myself. The magazines tagline is “Celebrate Your Creativity” and we think that says it all.

So what are your future goals for EMI?
I hope that the numbers of visitors continue to grow. We are doing everything we can to make that happen. We have instituted a press release program to help artists gain attention in their areas, as well as our Christmas Gift Center which helps feature our EMI Group members. We have brought in the VoteForArt company to allow our members to be involved in earning money for designs, but the group has yet to really make use of that. It amazes me that people will do art for shirts in an attempt to earn $5 but not latch on to a program offering earnings of $500 plus sales with Vote For Art. We will continue to pursue other options for our members. We have also infiltrated ArtWanted as of late and we are so happy the users there are really taking to it.

Tell me a little about your own background.
I started my career as a graphic designer in the advertising business, moved up in the company to a creative director position. 25 years ago a client approached me to open my own business and that became a mainstay for me. I dealt mostly in entertainment and destination marketing handling The Osmond Brothers, Andy Williams, Eddie Rabbitt, Tony Orlando, Mel Tillis and so on. I sold the business to a partner who still has it open.
Check out a sampling of EMs own portfolio, it’s hella cool.

You have now started a new blog called “INK”. Why two blogs, and what is the difference between them?
EMI is a monthly e-zine and ink is a daily updated blog. Both deal mainly with EMI group members and our affiliates like the MIA , Halloween Group, Grindhouse a GoGo, and Horror Groups. It’s continuing to grow and we will always welcome new partners. Ink has been a fun venture for me, it’s short and snappy commentary on featured works or ideas.

What is the most exciting thing about both EMI and INK?
I get a kick out of the finished products; mostly I enjoy the people.

What are your goals for both blogs?
I would like to see both blogs succeed to the point we have some corporate interest which will greatly benefit our members and bring to them a new level of opportunity for exposure.

On RedBubble, you host two groups that feeds into EMI. Would you like to talk about them a little?
EMI-The Group is less about challenges and more about people and quality work. As far as work I think we have the finest artists on Redbubble in our groups and truthfully the members track records prove that. If you want high quality we can provide that in EMI.

The EMI Video Group is a bit of a challenge in getting participation due to some changes that happened on RB just after we launched it. The IT at RB I suppose had gotten requests to limit our abilities to use a certain feature within posting videos and they killed that ability outright. Which says alot about what we were doing progressively speaking. I like to think we swamped the system.

Would you like to tell us a little about your co-hosts and contributing writers that help you keep things moving with everything on your plate?
I would be lost if it weren’t for TK Rosevear. TK handles most of the copy and writing that I am involved with and makes sure we have limited as many mistakes as possible. She is the best creative writer as I have seen and frankly I would not be where I am with either publication without her. Victoria Antoine takes car of Earthmonster Facebook and keep the outside world churning with all things EMI. Last month she overtook Redbubble numbers in counts of unique visitors with our Facebook account. That was a tall order, so I think she gets all the credit for her work and rightfully so. She is an invaluable asset. Mindy McGregor fills in with featuring photography works in the group which takes a tremendous load off us and we think she knows a little about photos And last but not least is you Patty Jo. We are just starting out on our journey together and I am expecting great things. I believe you will be the deciding factor in our growth. I am looking forward to getting started.

You sure do have a lot of things going on – how do you stay motivated? What inspires you?
Last time I looked I am holding almost 40 blogs, I am continuously trying to move the brand into the search engine elite. I think we will dominate if I can sustain this pace but I have no idea how I handle it. Then take a look at our artists, if that’s not enough to motivate and inspire you nothing will. Every time I moderate I get inspired by someone in our group. I also have long talks with TK regarding strategic planning for EMI and that gets me going.

I do think there are big things on the horizon for our group and myself…I’m hanging on for the ride.

I am hanging on for the ride too, my friend.

For those of you that haven’t already joined the EMI RedBubble groups I encourage you to do so. Once you are a member your work may then be considered for features on any number of our blogs. Remember – EMI is for the artist by the artist. If you are looking for more exposure for your work, or if you are simply wanting a supportive and synergistic community to be a part of, I encourage you to join.

Also, please follow Earthmonster Illustrated and INK for motivational art write ups, contests, and other important information to the art community. It’s well worth the time.

The digital race is on and consumers are benefiting big time! YouTube is about to offer the ability to watch 1080p HD videos in full resolution. In addition, the video channel has recently rolled out YouTube Direct, a new tool that allows media organizations to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube. Meanwhile, Hulu just announced a major partnership with EMI to showcase music video and concert footage.  According to Cynopsis Digital, one of my favorite places to go for… well… all things digital… as an example of what to expect from the Hulu/EMI merger,” a mini-site devoted to Norah Jones has been created, featuring video clips and excerpts from live performances. Hulu will also utilize such music pages to drive viewers to music-themed TV episodes and movies, such as this documentary on the Flaming Lips. Meanwhile the highly anticipated Vevo music video site, a joint venture between Sony, Universal and YouTube, has set a launch date of Dec. 8″.

Meanwhile, e-Publishing is taking off as well.  Not to be outdone by Amazon and their new Kindle 3G wireless reading devise, Barnes & Noble has gotten into the eBook game.  Dubbing it as “The World’s Most Advanced eBook Reader”, the nook” promises over one million bestsellers along with your favorite eNewspapers and eMagazines all delivered fast and free via 3G wireless or Wi-Fi. Browse the vast Barnes & Noble eBookstore.

The digital age… you gotta love it!  See you on line!

Hulu has joined forces with EMI and will add music videos to the mix. Hulu, currently a joint venture with ABC, CBS, & NBC, shows free tv shows and movies.The deal with EMI will allow Hulu to create a channel dedicated to Norah Jones that will feature her videos, concerts and documentaries as well as new content as it becomes available. Eventually Hulu plans on adding more EMI artist as well as other labels to the site as deals get ironed out.

How many of you check out Hulu on the regular? 

(New York Times)

Always been a fan of Emi’s Leader. Spotted here.

Lykke li has been around for a while, but I have not gotten tired of this girl.

Joss Stone has grown up, to the extent that she’s reportedly willing to forfeit on £2million to leave record label, EMI, who appear to be annoyed that Stone, now 22, isn’t doing as she’s told as she did when she broke through as a 16-year-old wonder kid on The Soul Sessions. EMI even called the artwork for Colour Me Free! “offensive” and changed it in the US. The two years-plus leading up to this album have hardly been smooth. Stone’s third, R&B-style album, Introducing Joss Stone, got mixed responses and there was the backlash following Stone’s peculiar speech at the 2007 Brit Awards.

It’s difficult to say Stone’s cultural currency has fallen when she can call upon Jeff Beck, Nas and retro soul maestro Raphael Saadiq, even if the performances of the former two aren’t the finest. Beck draws out a flimsy funk like and generic classic rock solo on ‘Parallel Lines’, while Nas’ verses on ‘Governmentalist’ sound phoned in (although, he’s one of the few rappers to rhyme “dude” with “genetically modified food”).

‘Governmentalist’, a deep funk number with nods to Stone’s namesake Sly, is a stick out track rather than standout one, with explicit anti-war lyrics rather than Stone’s typical words about boyfriends being great/rubbish and peace-and-love hippyology. Trouble is, the message is lost among vocal acrobatics and the “thou shall not kill” line clangs.

It’s on the summery funk of ‘Free Me’ and ‘Incredible’ when she’s not being an X Factor-style, note-perfect diva that Stone has the most attitude and clarity in her voice. While on ‘4 And 20′, her huskiness complements the dreamy, lounge bar swing perfectly. Unfortunately, there are too many dull moments: an unadventurous cover of Ray Charles’ ‘I Believe It To My Soul’ (the nu-gospel reworking of ‘You Got The Love’ is great though); a break-up song devoid of any angst on ‘Could Have Been You’; and a 14-minute jam called ‘Mr Wankerman’, which makes Eamon’s ‘Fuck It (I Don’t Want You Back)’ appear a subtle put-down.

Stone’s voice, though, is always her own. She never tries to ape Dusty or Amy, as those who have followed her and Winehouse’s success have done. It’s just a shame the feistiness she’s shown in standing up to EMI and after the accent debacle at the Brits doesn’t appear on record. Originally posted at Daily Music Guide

Out: now, Label: EMI

Joss Stone – ‘Free Me’ (on Jimmy Kimmel Live!)