Live Music Exchange Digest – w/c 27/08/2012
Welcome to our weekly digest of live music news and events in industry, academia and more.
This week’s Live Music Exchange blog post:
Wristband Revolution – Craig Franks
Today’s guest post, by Craig Franks, looks at the ways in which wristbands are put to use beyond simply serving as a token of entry to a concert. The focus of nostalgia, and collectors items in a burgeoning marketplace, their applications outlast the event itself and he gives some insights into the resale market as well as looking to the future and the growing use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tagged bands.
Live music and the live music industries in the news:
Weather causes more problems for UK festivals as Creamfields is cancelled as the site floods with Swansea’s Tawe Fest also cancelling its last day whilst the Journey into Steampunk festival is pulled two days before its scheduled start.
Reports are that Edinburgh Fringe ticket sales are down 1%, thought to be caused by the clash with the London Olympics.
Festival organisers hope to bounce back in 2013 but 2012 looks to be the last year for some, as the Wimborne Folk Festival announces closure after thirty-two years.
Reading and Leeds weather the storm with high-profile closing sets from the Foo Fighters and Kasabian, days after the Foo Fighters’ set at the Tennents Vital Festival in Belfast reportedly drew over 100 noise complaints from up to 12 miles away.
Crime levels at Reading Festival down on last year, although both Reading and Leeds Festival organisers issue warnings about contaminated ketamine.
Post-mortem shows that Global Gathering man Craig Dearie died of natural causes.
4Music launches Dance Party Weekend with LMFAO and David Guetta.
Coldplay Xylobands light up Devon company’s profits as the band’s hit Viva La Vida is played by musicians across the UK as part of the London 2012 Festival finale.
Live music continues to make inroads into movie theatres as Fatboy Slim’s ‘Big Beach Bootique’ is booked for hundreds of screens worldwide for one night on August 31st and the Last Night of the Proms is scheduled to be shown live and in 3D in cinemas on September 8th.
The fallout from the Pussy Riot sentencing continues as two members of the group who escaped arrest have fled Russia after a police hunt, the convicted women’s lawyers warn that they face the threat of violence in prison and hackers attack the website of the court where they were tried.
Afghanistan music festival organisers hope for repeat of last year’s success in Kabul but the Taliban kill 17 civilians in an attack in Helmand the cause of which some conflicting reports cite as punishment for attending a mixed-sex party with music and dancing.
Madonna drops Marine Le Pen swastika image from MDNA tour and apologies to Australian fans for skipping the country on her tour’s schedule.
Australia’s Touring Biz: Attendance Up, Revenues, Ticket Prices Slip
Columbo Group acquires London’s XOYO
Arts Council England gives out £1million touring cash
Arts Council backs ‘fairer’ placements after success of pilot scheme led by the Royal Opera House
Battersea Arts Centre to forge links among Europe’s independent artists.
Oxford U-turn on £400 leaflet charge expected
Beatles musical launches in London after auditions of 2,500 people as PRS for Music sponsors John Lennon Tribute concert in Bermuda.
Selected features and comment:
Mosh pits and lessons for life: Joe Dunthorne on the BBC website looks at the value of applying the psychology of the moshpit to everyday life.
‘My love affair with classical music’s moshpit’: Tom Service compares acoustics to atmosphere and sings the praises of the Royal Albert Hall.
We should be protecting Soho’s musical hotspots, not bringing in the bulldozers: As Tube developments bulldoze through Soho’s musical hotspots, The Independent‘s Phil Strongman argues the case for protecting London’s heritage.
The Wrong Reasons to Back Pussy Riot: Russia analyst Vadim Nikitin takes a hard look at the outpouring of support for the band.
Events:
Generator 2012: DIY: Selling Direct to Fans, Museum & Winter Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, Wednesday 12th September 2012, 10.15am – 4.30pm.
This seminar will look at the main revenue streams for artists (Records / Publishing / Synchronisation / Live / Merchandise) and cover the following areas…
- Overall Strategy & Goals – getting a plan together
- Revenue streams – how do you turn your ideas/plan into cash? or how do you achieve your goals if money isn’t the main aim?
- Sales & Distribution – how to get your music/brand out there
- Marketing, Promotion, Social Media ongoing engagement of fans once you have some
Thinking With Jazz: A One Day Symposium. LICA Building, Lancaster University, Friday 21st September, 10am – 5pm.
This is a one-day symposium in which well-known jazz journalists, practitioners, and academics engage with issues of nationalism in jazz, the cultural politics of jazz, and the meaning of improvisation. This free event is informal and open to the public. Speakers include Alyn Shipton (BBC Radio 3 and author of A New History of Jazz), Professor George McKay (author of Circular Breathing: the Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain), Dr. Catherine Tackley (author of The Evolution of Jazz in Britain), Professor Alan Rice (author of Creating Memorials, Building Identities: The Politics of Memory in the Black Atlantic), and Professor Tony Whyton (author of Jazz Icons), Adam Fairhall (Imaginary Delta), Kathy Dyson (Emily Remembered), Christophe de Bezenac (Trio VD), Professor Walter van der Leur (author of Something to Live For: A Life Billy Strayhorn), Professor Tim Wall (author of Studying Popular Music Culture).
UK National Drum Fair 2012, Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre, Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham, Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th September
This year will be the 10th Anniversary and to celebrate there is a very special programme of events which includes 50+ stalls of custom and vintage drums, cymbals and accessories with displays from the NDF own Vintage Vault. On the Saturday at 1pm there will also be a lunchtime concert presented by the Fat Chops Big Band with guest drummers Pete Cater, Neil Bullock, Malcolm Garrett, Sticky Wicket and Garry Allcock.
On the Sunday, from 12pm, there will be performances from the winner of this year’s ‘Young Drummer of the Year’, Calum Blair and finalist Charlie Vasiliou.
—
Feel free to forward – or to unsubscribe contact@livemusicexchange.org
Get the latest blog posts straight away from our Facebook page
Join LMExchange on Twitter to get live music news