tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306308302024-03-07T17:26:59.195-07:00{noise:floor}<a href="http://www.noisefloor.tv">{noise:floor}</a> is a television and multi-platform series devoted to highlighting local music scenes around the country.
The purpose of this blog is to share information among people interested in promoting local music in their own communities. You'll find news, tips, how-tos and other resources. Vibrant music scenes entertain local residents, attract tourists, drive economic development, and facilitate location-based branding.Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.comBlogger451125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-23899114391247871102007-08-10T14:25:00.000-06:002007-08-10T14:28:15.963-06:00Nashville's indie showcaseMore and more local communities are developing mini-SXSW's. Here's Nashville's.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nextbignashville.net/index.php?page=about">Next Big Nashville</a>: "Q&A with NBN creator and producer Jason Moon Wilkins: Q: What is the purpose of the event? A: 'The inaugural NBN was conceived and executed in three and a half weeks in 2006 as a way to celebrate what was a banner year for Nashville's rock/pop/indie community. It was originally meant to be just a one-night party, but it quickly grew into a three-day festival that drew nearly three thousand people. Obviously, this year has expanded exponentially, which is a reflection of how dynamic Nashville's music scene is at the moment. The basic reasoning behind it was that it seemed like we needed an event like this and the artists, the industry and the city as a whole have overwhelmingly agreed with that assessment. It's a truly exciting time to be a part of the music community in Nashville and to be living in such a vibrant and growing city. More than anything else, I wanted to build an event that echoed that excitement. Nashville is evolving and expanding beyond its former image into something more cosmopolitan and eclectic but still decidedly southern and I wanted to create a musical reflection of that.'<br /><br />Is this a showcase/industry event or a public festival?<br />A: "It's both. It's an easy 'one stop shop' for any out-of-town or in-town industry professional interested in what is happening in Nashville's music scene at the moment. It's also a chance to showcase the growing community of industry professionals who work outside the Music Row mainstream but whose work helps tie Nashville to the international arena. And it's an opportunity for Nashville music fans to see their favorite acts play together in a festive and communal atmosphere and hopefully to be introduced to their new favorite band along the way.""Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-79741317442076765902007-07-26T12:01:00.000-06:002007-07-26T12:02:17.457-06:00Is this a good scene?Here is a review of an underground music festival in Baltimore. I'm not really sure if it is meant to be a good review or not. You decide.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/44380-live-whartscape-music-festival">Pitchfork Feature: Live: Whartscape Music Festival</a>: "But enthusiasm is one of the only real unifying factors at Whartscape: Performers ranged from the folk and lo-fi beats of Lizz King (who hopped around on a sprained ankle as big as an orange) to the shoegaze synth-punk of Videohippos (who played in front of three projection screens) to West Coast spazz legends xbxrx to, well, a band like Santa Dads, who wallowed in a 20-minute prog-folk number with a whole faux-liturgy to go along with it; it was like a nursery school doing a rock opera. Dig a stroke deeper though, and the connections are clear: Baltimore's foreboding landscape and rotted-out, no-bubble depression is just the place for a bunch of wayward kids in neon avoiding the bodice of career, pulling shifts at Whole Foods between their self-directed studies in the occult. The filmmaker Jimmy Joe Roche, who screened videos on Friday night, told the Baltimore blog Butter Team, 'The wizards of Baltimore and Wham City deal powerful magic, we'll need it soon, the dawn of this post-postmodern age is upon us.'<br /><br />There's no sense of cool, there's no spiritual sobriety. There are a lot of very bright colors. There are machines modified to blare industrial light at changes in synthesizer frequency. "Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-19190799041088925082007-07-24T12:24:00.001-06:002008-10-07T11:58:26.030-06:00The economics of a folk festival<a href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=6a1d0e3a-6803-43e9-b069-9eff3788c585&k=60336">Folk festivals spin off profit for both artists and venues -- Vancouver Sun, 7/13/07</a>: "Though Canadian folk festivals are grassroots affairs where lots of patrons reflect the ideals of the 1960s, they nevertheless generate big dollars.<br /><br />The Edmonton Folk Festival, largest in Western Canada, attracts 85,000 people for a box office of $1.4 million. It has sold out all its tickets in 11 of the last 13 years. The smaller Winnipeg Folk Festival draws 60,000, but 40 per cent of the audience comes from the United States, resulting in an economic spinoff to the area of about $20 million.<br /><br />The three-day Vancouver Folk Music Festival, which begins today, attracts people from all over B.C. and the U.S. (Americans make up 30 per cent of the audience), and even some from Europe and Australia. Smaller than events in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary, last year's Vancouver festival operated on a budget of $1.2 million, attracted 30,000 people and took in $551,000 at the box office.<br />Dancing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival<br />Dancing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival<br />Peter Battistoni/Vancouver Sun<br /><br />One lucrative side business at folk festivals is on-site CD sales. Festival patrons prefer buying recordings directly from the artist or the artist's label on-site because more of their money goes to the music's creator. These sales won't show up on SoundScan or Billboard, but they nevertheless add up. At last summer's 17 western Canadian folk festivals -- which include events in Vancouver, Victoria, Salmon Arm, Duncan, Comox, Mission and Harrison Hot Springs -- CD sales amounted to $754,594.<br /><br />At the 2001 Edmonton festival, the Waifs from Australia sold 1,000 CDs in a single weekend, a figure matched by Xavier Rudd one year at the Calgary Folk Festival.<br /><br />CD sales at last year's Vancouver Folk Festival totalled about 15,000. A top artist can sell as many as 700 CDs in a single weekend at the Vancouver festival....<br /><br />VANCOUVER FOLK FESTIVAL<br /><br />Attendance: 30,000<br /><br />Box office: $551,000<br /><br />CALGARY FOLK FESTIVAL<br /><br />Attendance: 48,000<br /><br />Box office: just under $1 million<br /><br />EDMONTON FOLK FESTIVAL<br /><br />Attendance: 85,000<br /><br />Box office: $1.4 million<br /><br />Winnipeg Folk Festival<br /><br />Attendance: 60,000<br /><br />Box office: $1.3 millionSuzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-77576119604054830412007-07-24T11:27:00.000-06:002007-07-24T11:28:44.212-06:00All-ages venues doing well in SeattleThis article reviews a number of all age-venues in Seattle.<br /><br /><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2003796999_allages20.html">Entertainment | All-ages venues popping up all over | Seattle Times, 7/20/07</a>: "The number of youth-friendly shows in Seattle has steadily increased since the demise of Seattle's restrictive Teen Dance Ordinance in 2002. The rules governing such shows became less severe with the current All-Ages Dance Ordinance, and a plethora of new venues are reinvigorating the scene.<br /><br />While it is dominated by indie-rock and punk, kids can also get live doses of metal, hip-hop, ska, alternative, rap, jazz and open-mic nights.<br /><br />There's also a thriving underground, do-it-yourself movement, including popular house venues like Camp Nowhere in the U District. Even bars that are normally off-limits for under-agers — like Chop Suey and Neumos — are hosting some all-ages shows. Nectar Lounge plans to start an all-ages lineup beginning in late August."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-91304475340776504552007-07-24T11:21:00.000-06:002007-07-24T11:23:18.443-06:00Live music in a small Texas townA small town in Texas Hill Country, about 30 miles from San Antonio, is seeing an expansion of venues, which might make it a significant stop for Texas music lovers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/music/stories/MYSA072207.1P.bandera.2073eb8.html">'Cowboy Capital' could be a new Branson -- San Antonio Express-News, July 22, 2007</a>: "... the self-proclaimed 'Cowboy Capital of the World,' long known for live country music in rustic venues and a picker's paradise for its come-one-come-all jam-session attitude, is busting out all over....<br /><br />While Bandera County is one of the fastest growing in Texas, the farm and ranch community's official population is 957 ..."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-69276420420173605652007-07-19T18:19:00.000-06:002007-07-19T18:21:37.826-06:00Where did rock start?<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/nyregion/10rock.html?ex=1184990400&en=3a5c145d1c159f24&ei=5070">Cradle of Rock? Two Towns Stake Their Claims - New York Times, 7/10/07</a>: "... officials and residents in Wildwood, which in recent years has put a high polish and a healthy dose of kitsch on its 1950s- and ’60s-era motels to promote tourism, are saying that their town near the southern tip of New Jersey in Cape May County is the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll.<br /><br />After all, for a few summers Dick Clark held record hops in Wildwood while he was the host of “American Bandstand.” And there are plaques where the HofBrau once stood, as well as the site of the former Rainbow Club (now a nightclub called Kahuna’s), where Chubby Checker first performed “The Twist.”<br /><br />But Gloucester City, another New Jersey town, about an 80-mile drive northwest of Wildwood, wants to cut in right there. And on Saturday, Mr. Richards and other Comets plan to headline a show in Gloucester City, in Camden County along the Delaware River, to commemorate an 18-month span in the early 1950s when Mr. Haley led the house band at the Twin Bar."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-77854275882017604642007-07-19T11:50:00.000-06:002007-07-19T11:52:13.913-06:00The piano bar as neighborhood hangoutThis venue is closing, a victim of rising real estate and fewer people stopping in, but places like this are still needed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/nyregion/19rose.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">Singing a Sad Song for Their Piano Bar - New York Times, 7/19/07</a>:There was the story, for example, from about 10 years ago, where a glassy-eyed gentleman wandered in, steadied himself against the bar and with little ceremony unburdened himself with the force of a racehorse.<br /><br />Kristine Zbornik, a professional singer and actress, was at the microphone at the time. When the gentleman’s stream advanced toward her, she raised her left foot and switched songs midway through and started belting out, “Cry Me a River.”<br /><br />When news of the closing of Rose’s Turn spread last weekend among the bar’s longtime patrons, many say they felt devastated. Susan Finkelstein McElroy, 50, a regular patron who lives in North Babylon, on Long Island, received a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2004. She credits song-filled nights at Rose’s Turn with helping her endure the rigors of chemotherapy.<br /><br />When she read the bad news in an e-mail message on Saturday, Ms. Finkelstein McElroy wept.<br /><br />For 56 years, since it opened during the Truman administration, 55 Grove Street in the West Village has been a piano bar, cabaret and comedy club for the quick-witted and full-throated. First it was Upstairs/Downstairs, then the Duplex (which remains open at another location), and finally it became Rose’s Turn."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-83111956862990110312007-07-07T16:02:00.000-06:002007-07-07T16:08:10.155-06:00Travel lightly or not at allThis article criticizes Live Earth, and particularly the stars appearing in it, for by hypocritical by wasting so much energy to get to these events. It does mention what some of the venues are doing to offset the carbon emissions and trash, but overall it does not consider this event to be environmentally friendly.<br /><br />There's something to be said for keeping live music local -- going to see local bands who don't tour, and using public transportation, to see them. Now we just have to get the local music press and the fans on board to give props to bands that refuse to tour.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=466775&in_page_id=1879&ICO=FEMAIL&ICL=TOPART">Live Earth is promoting green to save the planet - what planet are they on? | the Daily Mail, 7/07/07</a>: "A Daily Mail investigation has revealed that far from saving the planet, the extravaganza will generate a huge fuel bill, acres of garbage, thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions, and a mileage total equal to the movement of an army.<br /><br />The most conservative assessment of the flights being taken by its superstars is that they are flying an extraordinary 222,623.63 miles between them to get to the various concerts - nearly nine times the circumference of the world. The true environmental cost, as they transport their technicians, dancers and support staff, is likely to be far higher.<br /><br />The total carbon footprint of the event, taking into account the artists' and spectators' travel to the concert, and the energy consumption on the day, is likely to be at least 31,500 tonnes of carbon emissions, according to John Buckley of Carbonfootprint.com, who specialises in such calculations."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-31775504426887822432007-07-05T16:18:00.000-06:002007-07-05T16:19:38.324-06:00A film about classical music in unusual venues<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/arts/music/04end.html?ref=music">The End of New Music - Free Speech Zone - Music - Column - New York Times, 7/04/07</a>: "The film ['The End of New Music] documents a 2005 tour of rock clubs and alternative spaces by Free Speech Zone, a collective founded by Mr. Greenstein, David T. Little and Missy Mazzoli. In it, these three busy, highly regarded composers, whose boisterous, attractive music is influenced by neo-Romanticism, Minimalism and rock, forcefully reject the standard conventions of concert halls and academia....<br /><br />“The main thing is understanding that you can actually take control over the way that your music is heard,” Mr. Greenstein said. 'Once you see that you had that power all along, then it suddenly doesn’t become ‘you versus the system’ anymore. It’s just you behaving as an adult, going out and making decisions in the world.'"Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-81307190353682240702007-07-03T12:00:00.000-06:002007-07-03T12:01:46.053-06:00San Francisco's Music Scene in the 1960s<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15255158/san_francisco_the_start_of_the_revolution">Rolling Stone : San Francisco: The Start of the Revolution</a>: "In San Francisco in October 1965, some Red Dog veterans, now calling themselves the Family Dog, staged an evening of bands and dancing at the Longshoremen's Hall; billed as 'A Tribute to Dr. Strange,' it featured the Charlatans, Jefferson Airplane and the Great Society. The event spontaneously fused the lenient spirit of the Acid Tests with the Red Dog's focus on dancing and proved a pivotal occasion in the psychedelic scene's history. Over the next two years, San Francisco dance ballrooms--primarily the Avalon and the Fillmore--became not merely a central metaphor for Haight-Ashbury's reinvention of community but also a fundamental enactment of it.<br /><br />The bands that emerged in this setting were made up largely of musicians who had come up playing in the Bay Area's folk-music venues. The folk crowd had been notoriously dismissive of rock & roll; they saw it as unserious and decadent, not at all committed to social or political concerns. But after the arrival of the Beatles in 1964 and Bob Dylan's transition to electric music in 1965, Bay Area folk musicians began to see how electric music could incorporate substantive themes and poetic language."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-36117023983526639852007-07-03T11:35:00.000-06:002007-07-03T11:39:59.323-06:00Huge arenas no longer is demand as music venues<a href="http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070701/ENT/707010320/1025">7/01/07 - The Enquirer - Huge venues are vanishing</a>: "Live Nation, which posted more than $3.5 billion in revenues last year, bills itself as 'the world's largest live music company.' It owns or operates 131 venues. Increasingly, amphitheaters sitting mainly on interstate exits and beltways outside of cities, find themselves in areas that have become prime real estate. Live Nation is selling off amphitheaters where established stars such as Buffett and Chesney may be the only guaranteed sellouts.<br /><br />Just last week, Live Nation ended a management deal with the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater near Kansas City, Mo., plunging that outdoor venue's future into uncertainty.<br /><br />While it divests of amphitheaters and other aspects of its business - including its Broadway Across America series that comes to the Aronoff Center for the Arts - Live Nation is beefing up its live music promotion and focusing on smaller venues. The company recently acquired the House of Blues chain of 10 clubs for $350 million.<br /><br />Smaller performing venues are more attractive to artists as well as presenters, says [Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of the concert trade magazine Pollstar], because all seats are reserved. In 1994, touring groups including the Rolling Stones shifted to 'tiered pricing,' charging a premium for the best seats. But in the amphitheater world, the largest capacity is the lawn, which are the cheapest tickets.<br /><br />'The artists will tend to demand that the presenters pay them a lot for that lawn capacity, whether they sell it or not,' Bongiovanni says. 'But if you only have 6,000 reserved seats, it's a safer bet. And artists generally like to play venues they can fill. No one likes to play to an empty or half-empty facility.'"Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-40004135431733386572007-07-03T11:11:00.000-06:002007-07-03T11:14:08.599-06:00Do free concerts hurt clubs or build audiences?This article suggests that while the free jazz concerts in Chicago increase the popularity of jazz, they hurt small club discouraging fans from going to them and by driving up prices for artists.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0701_concertsjul01,1,2467730,print.story?coll=chi-entertainmentfront-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true">Chicago Tribune news, 7/01/07: Scatting from clubs to larger concert venues</a>: "Perhaps no one did more to affect that change than Lois Weisberg, commissioner of the city's Department of Cultural Affairs under Mayor Richard M. Daley and a cultural advocate in previous administrations. By steadily expanding free concerts in Grant Park and helping to transform the old Chicago Public Library building into the bursting-with-music Chicago Cultural Center, Weisberg put the city's muscle and money behind music.<br /><br />'There's no other city in the country that does so much free music,' says Weisberg, noting that the city now spends about $2 million a year on various music events, much of it jazz.<br /><br />Furthermore, by joining forces with organizations such as the Chicago Jazz Partnership -- a collection of blue-chip corporate foundations that committed $1.5 million to Millennium Park's 'Made in Chicago' jazz series and other jazz events -- the city has leveraged additional resources to jazz concert-going."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-56374255691683868672007-07-03T10:56:00.000-06:002007-07-03T10:57:28.375-06:00More on environmentally friendly eventsI'm a bit skeptical that the event industry is the second-largest contributor to carbon emissions in the world, but it's still a good thing to be environmentally friendly.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/stories/2007/07/0701greenrock.html">7/1/07 --Rock bands find new ways to go green</a>: "'The event industry is the second-largest contributor to carbon emissions in the world, next to construction,' said Joseph Malki, vice president of business development for green events consultant Seven-Star Inc., which will be overseeing the environmental efforts of four of the Live Earth concerts taking place around the world July 7.<br /><br />Adam Gardner, guitarist-vocalist for the Boston-spawned band Guster, became so interested in finding ways to reduce his band's carbon footprint that he and his wife, Lauren Sullivan, both Tufts University graduates, began Reverb, a nonprofit green tour-consulting organization, in 2004.<br /><br />Reverb does everything from offering suggestions to providing full-service consultants who will coordinate backstage recycling and biodiesel refueling for trucks and buses, set up 'ecovillages' at venues, and more. The group has assisted the Chili Peppers, Lavigne and Jones in the past, and is working with the Fray and Mayer this summer."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-57214553544864284682007-07-02T21:25:00.000-06:002007-07-02T21:26:55.107-06:00Boulder Music HistoryHere's a good article, from 2002, about the history of music in Boulder dating from the 1960s.<br /><br /><a href="http://nikkeiview.com/nv/clips/bouldermusic0602.htm">Boulder Musicians Make Music and History</a>: "For years, Boulderites have bemoaned the fact that the town, nestled against the Flatirons, never developed the music scene they expected. But the truth is, Boulder has had an impact on the national music industry ever since the Astronauts launched their career from Tulagi on the Hill in the mid-1960s, and Boulder's local recording and live music scene has been a thriving, vital cultural force despite the moaning and groaning."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-74352176768004322412007-06-24T23:09:00.000-06:002007-06-24T23:10:12.373-06:00Athens GA still a big music town<a href="http://www.macon.com/145/story/69374.html">Macon.com | 06/19/2007 | Years after R.E.M., Athens music scene still hot</a>: "In a town of roughly 100,000 people, Athens - home of the University of Georgia and just south of the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains - has an estimated 500-plus music groups. At that ratio, metro Atlanta would have about 20,000 rock bands and New York City would have more than 40,000....<br /><br />'In Georgia, probably most of the artistic and eccentric and creative and interesting people gravitate to UGA,' said Fred Schneider of The B-52s, whose group returned to its roots in Athens last month to record their first album in 15 years. 'It's an easy place to live, prices are reasonable and there's a lot to do and see.'"Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-74878213635713838352007-06-24T23:05:00.000-06:002007-06-24T23:06:05.660-06:00When your music scene is miles from anywhereHere in Colorado bands complain about how hard it can be to tour since it's usually a day's drive to get to venues in other states.<br /><br />But it is a minor problem compared to what Alaskan musicians have to deal with.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3332/9126/">Willamette Week Online | Music | A Great Place To Leave • Alaska to Portland may be the great music migration. | Sunday June 24th, 2007</a>: "For musicians in most states, relocating to a bigger city may be a good career move, but it's hardly vital—after all, a band can always tour. But if you're a band from Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, the nearest major American city is 2,350 miles away—about the same distance from Portland to Detroit! And Alaska's music scene isn't just isolated: A serious shortage of venues and the absence of label scouts mean one of the largest Alaskan music communities isn't in Alaska at all. It's here in Portland.<br /><br />In the past year and a half, there have been at least 10 transplanted Alaskan bands based in PDX (though three broke up in 2006). There are also several Alaskan solo artists, a couple of predominantly AK bands (the late Konami Defense System was half Alaskan, as is Day of Lions), and a handful of bands with members from the 49th state, including the Joggers. Even here in the City of Transplanted Roses, that's a lot of musicians from one state—especially a state that has only about 100,000 more people in it than Portland itself.<br /><br />For many Alaskans, Seattle comes off as an impersonal monolith, and between the landscape and the cultural differences, California might as well be another planet. But the greenery, temperate climate and laid-back populace of Portland seem just right. Since 1996 (when 36 Crazyfists moved to PDX after a fruitless year in Seattle), Portland has become the primary destination for young Alaskan musicians. This history provides a ready-made (if modest) fan base for new expat bands, and an existing social network, too."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-41038809036985649132007-06-24T21:03:00.000-06:002007-06-24T21:03:41.812-06:00Turning a barn into a venueA family of torning bluegrass musicians decided to lease a barn (which already had seating from its previous life as a melodrama theater) in Kansas and turn it into a music venue.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lawrence.com/news/2007/jun/24/born_barn/">Born in a barn | lawrence.com, 6/24/07</a>: "He lists the things the Bluegrass Barn Theater has going for it:<br /><br />• There are 1,000 campsites at Perry Lake, with no other entertainment options.<br /><br />• Topeka and Lawrence are only a half-hour away, with other smaller towns even closer.<br /><br />• Bluegrass fans traditionally travel a long way for festivals. With gasoline prices increasing, they might look for options closer to home."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-23612050256174344062007-06-24T19:59:00.000-06:002007-06-24T20:06:14.579-06:00Music festival sponsorshipA discussion of how sponsors are maximizing their sponsorship London's Wireless Festival.<br /><br />I find far more articles about sponsorship in the British press than in the American press, which has been the case for quite awhile. For as much sponsorship as you see in the US. there still seems to be more focus on sponsorship there than here.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6765355.stm">BBC NEWS, 6/21/07| Why just a logo is now a no-no</a>: "Existing users could receive a barcode by text message, allowing them access to a VIP area with a bar and music.<br /><br />Other offers included text messages containing news and gossip from backstage, while onstage performances were recorded and have been made available via mobile on the network's Wap site, advertised under the banner, 'Relive it'.<br /><br />'It has gone beyond mere badging an event with our logo. We want to drive an emotional connection with our customers,' said the network's head of sponsorship, Amanda Jennings.<br /><br />'I hope that everyone had a good time at Wireless, but that if you were an O2 customer, that you had an extra good time.'...<br /><br />Digital consultant Ben Carter says that a brand can only bring its sponsorship to life by encouraging the customer to engage with it.<br /><br />'Having exclusive content is a must-have,' he says.<br /><br />'Signing up to sponsor a festival, concert or act is a very good way of securing the content that your customers want.'<br /><br />Creating such 'exciting, original' content is a priority for broadband provider Tiscali UK, says its head of entertainment Rob Andrews.<br /><br />It broadcast sets from the main stage at the Wireless Festival live on its website, which was viewed by 'thousands'.<br /><br />And it also held 15 backstage gigs, each for less than 100 people, with acts including Badly Drawn Boy, newcomers Scouting for Girls and a rare acoustic set by Faithless.<br /><br />The performances will be made available on the web and, eventually, television.Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-59273064590292595192007-06-24T19:39:00.000-06:002007-06-24T19:41:02.441-06:00Arts as a way to attract touristsThis article mentions a number of ways Vancouver artists groups are trying to boost the city's arts visibility among tourists.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.straight.com/article-96107/artists-court-tourist-dollars">Arts Features | Artists court tourist dollars | Straight.com Vancouver, 6/21/07</a>: Sarah Kirby Yung, director of marketing and corporate sponsorship with Tourism Vancouver, insists that's happening. "It [culture] is a very important part of selling the destination," she says. For the past five years, she notes, Tourism Vancouver has operated Tickets Tonight, a community box office that offers half-price, day-of tickets. The agency also offers a variety of packages to visitors that can include discount tickets to cultural events in the city. Organizations have to sign on to be involved in those promotions, and a Tourism Vancouver membership is required to get in on the agency's direct-to-consumer marketing. That involves a fee, but Kirby Yung says the agency does not publicize its membership rates....<br /><br />With his limited marketing budget, [Howard Jang, general manager of the Arts Club Theatre] has had to be resourceful in attracting visitors. For example, the Arts Club operates a concierge program with 78 local hotels: in exchange for directing visitors to performances at the theatre, concierges pick up a small commission and are invited to attend shows for free. It's a tactic borrowed from the local restaurant industry–which, incidentally, is enjoying a worldwide reputation."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-11342446214614605172007-06-21T22:09:00.000-06:002007-06-21T22:14:52.213-06:00Where to put some music venuesI've started to do a bit of research for a project I am working on. And I just discovered this. It's a good place to find info on what Denver urban areas are being redeveloped.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.denverinfill.com/index.htm">DenverInfill.com: Downtown Denver and Its Urban Infill and Redevelopment Projects</a>Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-75302631426892835392007-06-21T11:53:00.000-06:002007-06-21T22:12:45.804-06:00Why have a festivalFor all of those musicians who have wondered if SXSW, MOBfest, and similar festivals are good career moves, here's an opinion.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.chicagoist.com/2007/06/21/mobfest_blahfes.php">Chicagoist: MOBfest ... BLAHfest.</a>: "Their mission statement, according to the MOBfest website, is: 'We are a three-day music business seminar focused on building a buzz, aiding in awareness, and peaking the interest of the music business community ... Networking, schmoozing and simply attending the panels can be a great way to make new contacts, secure current connections and start new relationships.'<br /><br />... none of the above really happens. Instead we get the usual suspects within the local scene congratulating each other, attending shows at only the largest venues, and largely ignoring the majority of the schedule. And why wouldn't they? Even we, who are neck deep in the local scene, are hard pressed to recognize more than a smattering of bands on their schedule....<br /><br />In the end we are withdrawing our support for MOBfest because we honestly can't see how the whole thing is helping anyone out, except for possibly the bands being managed by the folks at the top of the MOBfest food chain, and even most of them can't seem to get signed to any sort of sustainable career .... It's not as egregious as, say, Emergenza, when it comes to taking advantage of the naivety of hopeful bands, but they have no problem spreading the belief that by associating yourself with MOBfest you still have a chance a label will walk into their show and sign them on the spot."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-70397584081445751752007-06-18T23:43:00.000-06:002007-06-18T23:56:52.198-06:00The importance of critics to the arts communityEach Friday and Sunday, as I sit down with the Denver Post, I am grateful for all the arts coverage: the theater reviews, the art show reviews, the architecture discussions. I also like thumbing through the arts section in Westword. <br /><br />I am much more likely to go to a music show than a play, but it makes me feel good that local media covers all aspects of the local arts community because it gives me a sense of being in an exciting place.<br /><br />Below is an excerpt of an article written a Minneapolis actor who talks about how important critics were to his career and how they aren't covering the smaller venues these days.<br /><br />I suppose that if art criticism in print declines or disappears, the Internet will take up the slack. Lots of bloggers are happy to offer their opinions. But still, there is something rewarding in seeing local papers devote space to the arts. Plus by being in the paper, these events are visible to people who are casually thumbing through the pages, whereas they might not see them in niche online sites.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.startribune.com/562/story/1249167.html">Michael Kennedy: The fading away of the critics is a blow to us all - Minneapolis Star Tribune 6/18/07</a>: "These days, all we seem to hear about is the Guthrie, recently so overpriced that nobody can afford to go. The Fitzgerald may as well be the only arts organization in this city -- if you listen to MPR. As far as art goes, we have the Walker and Minneapolis Institute of Arts. When the folks in the media want to get funky, they mention Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the Children's Theatre Company or the Weisman.<br /><br />Yes, we have the smaller venues, but do you hear about them very much? Not really. We hear more about television shows, movies, traveling Broadway shows and what to wear to a nightclub than we do about the fine arts in the Twin Cities.<br /><br />This city is in a quiet artistic crisis. With all of our small theaters, small galleries, music groups, dance companies and literary venues, we should be getting clear, serious criticism. We should have people working full time covering all of the theaters they can seven nights a week. There are tons of art galleries that most people have never heard of. Musical groups are everywhere.<br /><br />We need the critics. Their opinions are one thing, but the fact that they can go into these small places, consider these artists and watch these performances says that the arts are a serious part of this community."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-43629283287892418502007-06-17T20:55:00.000-06:002007-06-17T20:56:38.366-06:00Environmentally friendly festivals<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN1628945620070617">Summer of Love's spirit blossoming in green movement | Reuters/Billboard, 6/16/07</a>: "Willie Nelson's biodiesel company (we predict) will influence virtually every tour to travel green within five years.<br /><br />MusicMatters introduced 'carbon offsetting,' planting trees and supporting alternative sustainable energy sources equal to your sins of emission.<br /><br />The Vans Warped tour is using solar-powered sound. Bonnaroo, Coachella and Lollapalooza give prizes for recycling. The Hove Festival in Norway has pledged 100 percent carbon neutrality. The Wakarusa Festival will include a sustainability symposium. And on it goes."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-68978788622076341302007-06-15T22:09:00.000-06:002007-07-03T10:35:26.793-06:00Events and music in VailEvents and music have been used to draw visitors to Vail and Summit County during non-skiing months.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070611/BUSINESSREVIEW/70611006">Summit Daily News -- High Country Business Review, 6/11/07 High Country summer keeps sizzlin’- </a>"In Vail, the Ford Amphitheatre acted as a marketing tool as well, when it opened in 1987 with 12 shows. This year, it hosts 74. The BRAVO! music festival also began in 1987, and the Vail International Dance Festival followed a year later.<br /><br />'Those three things have been an unbelievable influx of changing how the summer guest looks at Vail,' said Ceil Folz, president of the Vail Valley Foundation. 'It really just became a concentrated effort in the late ‘80s and reached a high point (of focus) between 1988 and 1993.'<br /><br />In 1999, voters passed a 1.4 percent lodging tax to market Vail between May and October. Since then, revenue has increased at a steady pace, to $1.9 million, said Kelli McDonald, economic development manager for the town of Vail.<br /><br />'We’ve seen more businesses remaining open in between seasons. There’s more business coming in May. Prior to marketing, we didn’t see it,' McDonald said, adding that the effort focuses not only on drawing individuals, but also groups.<br /><br />The town has a separate budget of $750,000 for event seed money, from the Teva Mountain Games to the Fourth of July parade and Oktoberfest."Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630830.post-43824338545840773732007-06-15T02:15:00.000-06:002007-06-15T02:19:43.391-06:00AEG's Plans for DenverThis article is about promoter Chuch Morris becoming the head of AEG Live's Rocky Mountain office. He left Live Nation to do this and brought several others with him. And before that, he ran his own promotion company. <br /><br />One of the big local stories has been the venues that Live Nation and AEG have been booking. And the fact that AEG wants to put in yet another venue. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5586584,00.html">Rocky Mountain News - Denver and Colorado's reliable source for breaking news, sports and entertainment: Other Business</a>: "With a changing concert demographic that is skewing to midsize venues, AEG looks to build a 6,000-seat amphitheater with a retractable roof for year-round use.<br /><br />'What they're doing is the future of our business,' Morris said. 'We'll only build a building that is mind-blowing and makes sense economically. If that doesn't happen, we won't be building. That's going to be one of my many challenges.'<br /><br />AEG has built buildings and entertainment districts around the world, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles to the new Wembley Stadium in England.<br /><br />'If the right location happens and the right finances happen,' Denver will get a new venue, Morris said. 'If I can't create something that's never been done before, we're not going to do it. If I can, I'd love to be part of it.'"Suzanne Lainsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15483602086100616975noreply@blogger.com0