Author Archive for SandraPage 9 of 30

SanFran MusicTech Summit 4: Singalongs, Video Interviews, and Twitter Gossip

published
on June 10, 2009
by
Sandra
in collaboration, culture, dance, DIY, future of music, interview, music, music business, technology, video, and web 2.0
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

What started out as a seemingly humble local gathering of music and tech geeks has – thanks to its visionary founder, Brian Zisk, gained momentum and recognition and is now the premier event of its kind. For more on speakers/panels from the last three SanFran MusicTech summits, click here. To read my review of any of those three, see below:

SanFran MusicTech Summit 1: Rockstars, Lawyers, Nerds and Me
SanFran MusicTech Summit 2: Guestlist Wish, Artist Activism, and Label Survival
SanFran MusicTech Summit 3: Albums Die, Social Media Kicks Ass, and Songs Find a Home

Now, on to summit #4.

In the second review above, I put in a request for some sort of attendee list (using the Web 2.0 Expo’s use of crowdvine as an example), thinking that this would facilitate more effective networking. Let’s be honest, tech people aren’t always the best networkers. Well thank you Brian for listening to the suggestion! This event saw the introduction of SFMT’s very own crowdvine page! I’m curious to know whether people found it useful?

Speaking of suggestions, musician Chris Stroffolino (also featured in the video below) thinks there is room for a panel on the “fostering of connections between the already established live music scenes in the Bay Area, and the major labels and web-distribution networks.” Perhaps we’ll see this topic discussed further in the future.

Like a nice red wine, this conference is clearly getting better with age. With its shiny new reputation and rapt audience, SFMT attracts a pleasing blend of big names in the music industry, Silicon Valley thought leaders, social media celebrities, and starving musicians. Although, as attendee Kwan Booth points out, the conference overall was noticeably “light skinned and testosterone heavy.” I’m not sure how the demographic breakdown compared to past SFMTs, but it is certainly a good point.

Let’s make a collective effort to change that, shall we? All you minority and female music tech geeks out there: get on it! Next time we want to see you there.

Early in the day, the tone was set when musician Matt Morris, the first artist off of Justin Timberlake’s label, Tennman Records, asked the audience to stop twittering, put down their iPhones and close their laptops. And then proceeded to lead an audience singalong, which he promised to record and post on YouTube. Ah, music 2.0… Here it is:

That whole episode got me thinking about how busy we all are engaging with each other through technology all the time. So much so that we forget to engage with each other in real life. There we were, a room full of music fanatics watching a powerful new voice perform, and some of us were so busy writing witty tweets about the performance or sharing interesting facts about the performer, that we had to be reminded by the performer himself to pay attention!

Matt Morris also got some good face time in the NBC coverage of the event.

Whereas last time I focused on capturing the look and feel of the event through pictures, this time I went with video. All of the following footage was captured using one of those ghetto-fabulous flip minos and edited in iMovie.

Intead of reviewing topics covered, panelist cat fights, and the like, I want to provide a more haphazard organic insight into the experience. Here are a handful of tweets (search #sfmusictech on Twitter Search for more) that tell the story.

donald: Just posted my favorite takeaways from #sfmusictech http://is.gd/BxPF 8:41 PM May 19th

MattMorris: My SanFran trip: met some cool techies (#sfmusictech), ate some good chowder, & had a Twitter name-change (@MattMorrisFeed to @MattMorris). 7:44 AM May 20th

SoulMajestic: Attended #sfmusictech conference in San Francisco. Digital is ruling. Must dig our music into the social networks. 10:46 AM May 20th

hansveld: If you’re in a band or in artist management you really need to check out bandize.com and bandmetrics.com. Very useful services. #sfmusictech 10:24 PM May 18th

KISSmyBLAKarts: Is this why Spears signed to Pepsi @Boothism tip:coke does background checks on every member of every band before they license. #sfmusictech 5:45 PM May 18th

denverdan4life: The gloves are coming out. I hope we see a fist fight over the fact that labels slept at the wheel for almost 10 yrs. #sfmusictech 5:16 PM May 18th

Boothism: true story: preparation H wanted to license “Ring of Fire” for commercial. Fail. #sfmusictech 5:11 PM May 18th

SocialSound1982: “The music industry is the world’s biggest law firm” – Jim Griffin #sfmusictech 4:59 PM May 18th

Thanks to Brian and Shoshana for another great event and I look forward to seeing you all at the next one!

Music, Sports, Respect

published
on June 3, 2009
by
Sandra
in culture, music, and video
. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

While sports have always had a natural relationship to music (the organ playing during baseball games, the heart-pumping dance music in aerobics class, the Rocky theme song…), there seems to be a new trend emerging of combining music and athletic events. For example, there’s the Wanderlust Festival, coming up in July, which combines Rock ‘n’ Roll and yoga. This past weekend was the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Somehow, fitness and music just go hand in hand. They both promote well-being and community. They bring us together to celebrate the human condition.

Today, thanks to lots of Twitter buzz, you may have noticed that it’s National Running Day… And, incidentally, National Fist Bump Day, which is all about “knockin’ knuckles for knchange.” It might just be the next great American holiday. Wondering about the origin of the First Bump? See below:

We can still give Obama most of the credit though…

In honor of National Running Day, get out there and go for a run today (even a jog around the block) to show your support for building a healthier, happier world. A world filled with music, sports, and respect.

Regular running too boring for you? Ever heard of free running? Here’s a good example:

Respek! (Thanks, Ali G.)

American Idol's (Lowest Rated Ever) Results Show

published
on May 22, 2009
by
Sandra
in culture, future of music, genres, and music
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Unless you live under a seriously big heavy rock or have been too busy circumnavigating the new Facebook phishing scam, areps.at [Author’s note: Seriously guys? You don’t have anything better to do than proliferate that destructive crap? C’mon. wtf?] or reading up on the NFL love triangle murder cold case [also….wtf?] or, I dunno, participating in real life or something, then you MAY have noticed that Wednesday night was the American Idol finale show! Oooooohhhhh.

Ok so, for the sake of transparency I’ll admit that I am not nearly as anti-AI as many of my cohorts. I can sit totally riveted through an entire two hour show no problem. (Just as easily as I can sit through Dancing With The Stars or So You Think You Can Dance or pretty much any other performance-related competition). But alas, I did not. So I dare not speak with any sort of authority on the matter. Nor have I watched the show this season, other than a clip here and there.

That said, let’s examine some of the facts.

The (gasp!) underdog wins and jaws drop around the world. Who knew? Despite the runner up’s consistent praise from the judges, his ambiguous androgynous glam rock sex pot appeal, his made-for-stardom stage presence, and his exceedingly obvious popularity, when it came down to it the voters went with the safe, boy-next-door, I am Jack Johnson/John Mayer/[insert any saccharine-laden male pop artist here], humble country boy. What does that say about television? About America (at least as represented by AI voters)? About the state of pop music today? About the ability of our nation to embrace a sassy, androgynous individualist?

Well, regardless of what it says about the political/musical/social/moral climate of the country, the climate of American Idol viewership is, in no uncertain terms, cooling. Wednesday night’s episode was the lowest results show rating ever apparently. Perhaps AI has passed its prime. Shall it go out on a still fairly high high note? Or should it keep on truckin as long as there are enough viewers watching to keep the money-making machine and all its sponsors in business?

For those of you reading this who also, somewhere along the line, became fans of runner-up Adam Lambert, we naturally have to wonder what is next in store for him? I doubt he’d have any trouble shimmying off the Idol stage and right into the arms of a record label ready to lap up his every ripple of stardom (all the while molding him into what they think will sell). Or maybe he’ll do something really unique and different? (Afterall, he is an individualist…) Personally I’m picturing some kind of cross between Scissor Sisters, KISS, Lady Gaga, Billy Idol and David Bowie…

Remix Mojo Morgan

published
on May 15, 2009
by
Sandra
in music, remix promotions, remixing, and technology
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , .

MojoContest

Reggae rock artist, Mojo Morgan, son of the legendary reggae artist Denroy Morgan, and member of Morgan Heritage, recently released his debut solo album, “got Mojo?“, on Gedion Soldiers/Keynote Records. Dub and Reggae calls it an “alternative rasta rock album infused with heavy reggae, hip hop, and R&B flavors” but also notes a “heavy dose of rock and soul to keep audiences grooving”. A big thank you to Giant Step for introducing us to this dynamic artist!

[N.B. If you google Mojo Morgan, you may notice that he could be easily confused with Tony “Mojo” Morgan, also referred to as The Hoochie Coochie Man. NOT the same dude.]

Among other accolades, Mojo was a featured artist for the Nike Women promo campaign. They used his track, “Tonight.”

Like it? Well, guess what? You can now remix that very track, “Tonight,” here! (Or look for the Remix Wizard on his MySpace page.) For remixing, you have two options: you can either download the stems for free and make a mix on your music software of choice, or you can make a mix online using the MixMaker. Either way, be sure to publish your remix to the widget for others to listen to, vote on, and share. Submit your remix by June 15, 2009 and you’re in the running to get an all expense paid trip to meet and hang out with Mojo Morgan at his next concert, and to have your remix featured on Mojo’s Myspace page and other site.

Here’s a little more Mojo to get your creative juices flowing:

Are you a fan yet? Why not make it official? Become a fan of Mojo Morgan on Facebook.

Lonely Island's "I'm On A Boat" (ft. T-Pain) = Stress Relief

published
on April 29, 2009
by
Sandra
in music, nerd, and video
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Man, people are really freaking out right now. Recession, swine flu… Yes, there is a lot going on right now that you can get stressed out about. But do yourself a favor and take a deep breath. Now, exhale (just not on me).

Sometimes we need to remember to relax and not take everything so seriously. Sometimes it helps to watch a Lonely Island music video. Especially “I’m on a Boat”. Now take a walk down that big blue watery road and chill the #*$& out.