Live Music Exchange Digest – w/c 3rd December 2012
Welcome to our weekly digest of live music news and events in industry, academia and more.
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This Week’s Blog Post
One from the Archives
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This Week’s Blog Post:
As the Stones roll into town for their anniversary shindig, with accompanying media hullaballoo, it seems timely to take a look at their place in the modern music environment. Following Martin Cloonan’s autobiographical celebration of their history and its place in his own life, Adam Behr makes the case for their continuing relevance to developments in how popular music is consumed, examining their role as an emblem for rock music in the context of current discussions about ticket prices.
One from the Archives:
To celebrate Billboard’s Women of the Year ceremony, this blog from the archives by Emma Webster identifies a number of factors as to why there are still fewer women working in the music industries than men.
The Festival Awards 2012 is being held today – Monday 3rd December – Live Nation’s John Probyn is to receive the Lifetime Achievement gong.
A recent report by YouGov, however, predicts that attendance at music festivals will decline in 2013 due to cost, weather and overcrowding.
Live Nation’s president and CEO, Michael Coppel, is perhaps understandably cautious about future festival involvement: ‘There’s so many festivals now and it seems the only way you get a (different) line-up is to pay more money than the other guy’, he explained. ‘That’s not a basis of doing a festival’.
Festivals obviously hoping to buck the trend include Reading and Leeds, which have announced the first acts and introduced a deposit scheme for 2013, and Bestival 2013, which has announced a nautical theme.
Meanwhile, in what is hopefully a sign that the festival industry is gradually cleaning up its act, Greener Festival presented awards to 13 more festivals – including Latitude and Leeds Festival – have been added to the list, bringing the total to 41.
The Great Escape 2013 names Poland as lead international partner: The event has teamed up with Poland’s Adam Mickiewicz Institute as its lead international partner for the 2013 festival in Brighton.
Another event worth checking out this week is the MusicTank seminar on ticketing. Arctic Monkeys manager McAndrew has been added to the list of speakers, which already include MP Sharon Hodgson and WeGotTickets’ Dave Newton. Worth reading in advance is MusicTank’s article on 2012 – Ticketing’s Annus Horribilis?
The row about cuts to the arts continues, with Nicholas Hytner claiming that ‘The arts are on a knife’s edge’ in The Guardian: ‘We really are facing the same situation as we endured between 1979 and 1992 when 25% of regional theatres closed down. That is what will happen’.
This follows Culture Secretary Maria Miller’s comments that the arts lobby’s statements are ‘close to pure fiction’, and the rejection by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey of claims of ‘alleged government indifference and a lack of public funding’.
Why won’t Maria Miller tell us who she’s met in the arts?: The refusal of the DCMS to come clean about who the culture secretary has met and what she’s done in the arts is baffling, according to The Guardian.
Elbow’s Guy Garvey: ‘Tory party are a bunch of bastards’: ‘This bunch of bastards are using the recession to get the Tory work done… It will take us a couple of decades to undo this bunch’s handiwork’.
Meanwhile, the arts in education debate rumbles on, where in Scotland, a detailed examination of instrumental music tuition in schools across the country has been announced.
Report on philanthropy in regional arts organisations published by government: A government report examining how to increase philanthropy in regional cultural organisations recommends that arts chief executives should lead the fundraising effort rather than delegating this task to other employees. The DCMS report says that ‘Philanthropy is not finite but infinite’.
Businesses urged to support North West arts and culture: Michael Oglesby, founder and chairman of Bruntwood, at Insider’s North West Arts, Culture & Business Forum 2012 said that ‘It’s essential businesses support arts and culture because a city without art and culture in its background has no life and no creativity and can’t function properly. It’s absolutely wrong we should expect the state to fill that gap on its own and business must play an active role’.
Major arts foundation shuts down after 50 years: The Peter Moores Foundation has given vast encouragement to British arts for half a century and subsidised dozens of important recordings that would otherwise have been unmade. Sadly, it is shutting down.
Southampton live music venue The Joiners in debt crisis: A Hampshire music venue, which hosted bands such as Oasis and Coldplay before they were famous, could be forced to close because of rising debts. However, Frank Turner has stepped in to help The Joiners pay the £30,000 bill.
Newcastle City Hall has ‘no long-term future’: An 85-year-old concert venue on Tyneside could close within three years, the leader of Newcastle Council has said.
Weymouth Pavilion Theatre may be demolished: The pavilion hosts a music venue, function rooms, cafe and theatre at the end of Weymouth beach.
Southbank Centre to host largest festival of 20th century music in 2013: The 250 events are inspired by Alex Ross’ book The Rest is Noise.
Finalists announced in PRS pub competition: PRS For Music has announced the finalists in its Music Makeover competition, the initiative where pubs can compete for a five grand grant to help them improve their live music facilities.
Lyric Hammersmith begins construction of £16.5m training facilities: The Lyric plans to become a ‘teaching theatre’ for the performing arts, and the new facility will have drama, dance and recording studios, a sensory space for children with disabilities, and storage areas for props and costumes by February 2014.
K2 Crawley Leisure centre improvement plan proposed: A scheme to improve a West Sussex sports centre so that it can also host concerts and other entertainment is being proposed.
Centre Square home for Middlesbrough Mela: A multicultural festival on Teesside has a new permanent home.
Folk East festival moves from Somerleyton to Glemham: A Suffolk music festival, which started this year, is to move from one stately home to another for 2013.
Sir Tim Rice supports Truro Cathedral’s choir: Sir Tim Rice is backing a fundraising campaign for Truro Cathedral’s choir which is celebrating its 125th birthday.
Changing tune as brass bands make a comeback: At one time there was talk of a “fragile” situation, but that has been turned around and the band sector is now flourishing. However, this week also sees the news that the Lothian and Borders Police pipe band is to disband after it was left with not enough members to compete.
Rolling Stones fined £200k after breaking gig curfew: The Rolling Stones were hit with a £200,000 fine after breaking curfew at their O2 Arena gig by 35 minutes on Sunday.
Fans got ‘no Satisfaction’ as they were prevented from finishing their concert with the signature song “(I can’t get No) Satisfaction” because of the strict curfew. To see what critics thought of the gigs, see here: Rolling Stones 50th anniversary tour: the world’s media and fans react.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to tour Europe in 2013: The Boss will not be returning to Hyde Park after this year’s fiasco – his London show is to be at Wembley Stadium.
Remembering the infamous Hyde Park gig earlier in the summer, Paul McCartney recalls ‘jobsworth’ who pulled plug on him and Bruce Springsteen.
Newly launched website UK Gigs Online aims to connect artists, promoters and venues in order to streamline the ecosystem of gig promotion and ticketing.
The 25 Greatest Gigs Ever: The Times has revealed its all time to 25 live shows, topped by The Who at Leeds University in 1970 followed by Queen at Live Aid in 1985, James Brown at the Apollo in New York in 1962, David Bowie at the Rainbow Theatre, London, in 1972 and Kate Bush at Hammersmith Odeon in 1979.
Superstar DJ Deadmau5 lights up London at secret street party gig: World-famous DJ and producer Deadmau5 turns a London square into a music and light show to the delight of hundreds of fans.
Radiohead fans shoot band’s entire New York concert: Musicians contributed professionally recorded audio from show.
Kaiser Chiefs to play launch of new Leeds Arena: Hometown gig is set for September 13, 2013
Bon Jovi to headline Sunday at Isle of Wight festival: After last week’s announcement of Friday’s headliners, The Stone Roses, the organisers of the Isle of Wight festival have revealed that Bon Jovi will head the the bill on Sunday.
Robbie Williams announces stadium tour for UK and Europe: His Take The Crown tour will begin with four dates at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium on 18, 19, 21 and 22 June and end in Estonia on 20 August.
Westfield and 4music promote Rihanna’s 2013 Tour in bespoke partnerships: The commercial and programming content is expected to reach an audience of 60 million Westfield visitors for 2013, informing them about concert ticket availability.
Led Zeppelin’s ‘Celebration Day’ live show to be aired on BBC2: Hour-long version of O2 concert to be aired on December 8
Bjork announces Parisian circus tent residency: The singer will bring her ‘Biophilia’ live show to Le Cirque En Chantier next year.
Muse cancel three European shows after front man Matt Bellamy broke two bones in his right foot.
The Who manager Chris Stamp dies: One of the original managers of The Who, has died of cancer at the age of 70.
Jake Bugg attacked by fan in Newcastle: Support act Findlay reveals how she took a punch aimed for Bugg.
Python sued over Spamalot profits: The surviving members of Monty Python are being sued by one of the producers of cult film Monty Python and the Holy Grail over royalty rights to Spamalot.
The O2 vows to expand theatre offering: London’s the O2 is looking to expand its programming beyond live music and establish itself as an entertainment destination similar to the Southbank Centre.
West End to benefit from more coach parking: Theatres in London’s West End are set to benefit from a new coach parking scheme introduced by Westminster City Council.
Ambassador Theatre Group appoints Really Useful Group’s McFarlane to lead expansion in Asia Pacific with the opening of a new office in Sydney.
Lionel Bart musical Quasimodo to receive world premiere at the King’s Head.
David Hasselhoff: West End musical in development: ‘I always wanted to do “David Hasselhoff the musical” based on my life and Baywatch and it looks like it’s going to happen now for the West End’.
War of the Worlds ‘re-imagined’: Jeff Wayne’s long-running The War of the Worlds musical is getting a re-vamp with a new cast including Liam Neeson and Jason Donovan.
Court in Russia bans video clips of Pussy Riot online: A Moscow court has ruled that websites must remove video clips of the Pussy Riot female punk band, two of whose members are in jail.
Stevie Wonder cancels Israel fundraiser concert: The soul legend has pulled out of a concert raising money for the Friends of the Israel Defence Forces. In a statement, Wonder said: “I am and have always been against war, any war, anywhere.” He said he would make contributions to charities that support Israeli and Palestinian children with disabilities.
Sir Elton John dedicates Beijing show to Ai Weiwei: At the concert on Sunday, the 65-year-old said the performance honoured Ai’s ‘spirit and talent’.
Man pleads not-guilty to murder after shooting teenager dead for playing loud music: Florida man says he opened fire on car full of unarmed teenagers in self-defence
Billboard’s Women in Music ceremony honoured Woman of the Year Katy Perry and Rising Star Carly Rae Jepsen and hear performances by Cher Lloyd and Hunter Hayes, but especially to recognize their colleagues and friends in our annual top female executives list, which was topped for the third consecutive year by Atlantic Records Group co-chairman/COO Julie Greenwald.
Berklee College of Music releases study detailing salary ranges for music industry positions: Covering the broad areas of performance, writing, business, audio technology, education, and music therapy, the report claims that the average music income in the US over the past five years was estimated at around $34,000.
Avery Fisher Hall to be renovated: Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic are planning a radical re-envisioning of Avery Fisher Hall that will require the orchestra to relocate for two seasons.
Musicians vote ‘no confidence’ in Minnesota Orchestra president: The musicians’ statement said that his removal ‘is key to resolving the current lockout’. As deficits worsened, the board worried about the impact of budget red ink on its fundraising.
San Antonio’s Symphony’s CEO resigns: ‘It was a personal decision. It’s time to move on to another direction’, Jack Fishman said. The Chairman, Dennert Ware, did not think the symphony’s shaky financial situation was a factor in Fishman’s resignation.
Sacked musician wins Malaysia case: Principal trumpet Jon Dante won his case for constructive dismissal against the Malaysia Philharmonic management and the chief conductor, Claus Peter Flor.
They’re not singing any more: Eurovision suffers …: Financial crisis leads Portugal, Poland, Cyprus and Greece to contemplate life without the continental song contest.
New scheme means music will play on for Greece’s ballet dancers: A new initiative launched by the Greek National Opera, called The Dancebox Project, hopes to give 11 young dancers the experience and exposure they need to secure jobs by letting them train at the opera house for free for two years. This is against a backdrop of Greek artists fighting back against austerity measures.
Japanese TV singing contest omits popular South Korean acts: In apparent snub over frictions with South Korea, popular New Year’s Eve singing competition will feature all-Japanese lineup.
Voice to get more blind auditions: In a bid to increase viewing figures, there will be more blind auditions and fewer live shows in the BBC’s new series of The Voice.
And finally
But I am the one and only! Chesney Hawkes insists he is famous enough to open a Christmas ice rink: Hastings locals launched a Go Away Chesney campaign after disappointment that he was the “mystery celebrity” coming to visit.
Justin Bieber booed at football halftime show in Canada.
Michael Eavis to switch on lights for ‘Christmas mad’ Somerset resident who has spent over £20,000 decorating his home with Christmas lights.
Desserting the arts? Why an ice cream factory is hoping arts cuts don’t bite as arts face battle to avoid funding ‘abyss’: Faced with savage budget cuts, Newcastle is the first city to plan to scrap council funding to theatres and other arts venues – and more cities may follow suit. Can arts subsidies be justified when vital services are being reduced?
How music lovers lose out from fan-to-fan ticket exchanges: This weekend a pair of Rolling Stones tickets were on sale via Seatwave for £25,000. What can be done to stop this?
Rolling Stones: Still making money after 50 years: The Stones operate like a corporation, with a complex financial operation that handles hundreds of millions of dollars. The last big Rolling Stones tour, called ‘A Bigger Bang’, sold 4.6 million tickets and earned $558m (£348m). This year’s outing is modest by comparison, comprising of just five gigs so far.
Rites of Spring and the summer that changed punk rock: Something was in the air in Washington DC in 1985 – a revolution that tried to rid punk of its machismo.
How we made: Michael Lang and Billy Cox on Woodstock: ‘Jimi Hendrix was meant to play at midnight: we didn’t get on until 8.30am. We shared a bottle of Blue Nun beforehand’.
Getting out of the classical music biz: Greg Sandow wants to offer a radical idea: that all of us in classical music should get out of the classical music business. This doesn’t mean we should stop doing classical music; it means we should think about it differently.
How to make symphony orchestras more relevant: Books explore music’s connections to society as a whole.
Spontaneity: Chloe Veltman asks how much this element is lacking from some types of music, notably western opera and classical concert music, today?
Can Brooklyn Bowl Be Exported To Las Vegas? ‘There’s room for another venue in Vegas, particularly one with the unique elements that Brooklyn Bowl offers: [bowling at] the lanes, watching the show – it fits the Vegas experience’.
Experience: Music gave me seizures: ‘Even my wedding was a quiet affair. No first dance for us, or evening disco’: A first-hand account of musicogenic epilepsy.
An education for Alt-J: University is a unique environment for fostering musical talent says Chloe Hamilton, as evidenced by this year’s Mercury Prize winners.
Festival Awards UK 2012 at the Roundhouse, London, on Monday 3rd December 2012.
MusicTank: Ticket To Ride: Getting Primary Tickets Back Into The Hands Of Fans on Wednesday 5th December, 17:30-21:00, at Fyvie Hall, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, W1B 2UW.
UMT Academy Masterclass #005: Training for DJs, Producers and Singers with special guest, Raj Panni (Coldcut)
Wednesday 19th December, 6 – 8pm, Loft Music Studios, 4th Floor, British India House, 15 Carliol Square (Above Metro Repro), NE1 6UF
Royal Musical Association Research Students’ Conference: Call for papers and works. Thursday 3rd to Saturday 5th January 2013, University of Southampton.
MIDEM: An international yearly event, dedicated to the opinion leaders and decision makers of the music industry.
Palais Des Festivals, Cannes, France. 26th – 29th January 2013
Rhythm Changes Jazz Research Seminar will be held on Friday 8th February, 4-6pm at the University of Salford.
The Tipping Point Masterclass Day: High profile music industry guests and associations come together to discuss music industry trends, the issues facing emerging artists and future models DIY artists should embrace to get ahead in 2013.
Tickets: £6. The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 . 11am – 5:30pm, Saturday 16th February 2013.
The Clore Leadership Programme – Emerging Leaders Course. Sunday 17th – Friday 22nd March 2013 at Craxton Wood Hotel, Chester.
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