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John
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The Nespresso le Cube in Titan Grey
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Le
Cube (left), offers utility + design. It uses the Nespresso capsule
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Le Cube in Titan Grey...perfect for home or studio. Cheers!
It's been said that
historical recording studios are temples of sound. For the most part,
a facility is as good as its music history and the special artists who
record there.
This month we invite you to enjoy the virtual tour of the legendary Sun
Studios in Memphis. This is where Elvis, Johny Cash, Roy Orbison,
Jerry Lee Lewis and many other recording greats walked in often for their
very first session!
Remember, wherever you are, look for that next kid who comes in the door
for his or her first session, often nervous, most likely short of delivering
their best performance. But, like Sam Phillips, open your ears and heart
and be ready to capture the unimaginable... May the force be with you!
Lot of good music and news from studioexpresso community to report. Plus,
many AES, San Francicso events for your calendar. Stay with us!
Please check back with studioexpresso calendar for upcoming mixers & music events
Ride On expresso10!Each month, new releases (in no particular order) are reviewed and posted with
expresso10 see home page
If
you're part of studioexpresso's production community
, email details
of completed projects with SE producers/mixers/engineers
or studios
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When singer/songwriter
and mega artist and producer Robi Draco Rosa needed a studio, studioexpresso got the grand tour by Draco himself who was then heading to perform at the 40th Annual Montreux Jazz Festival with the legendary Carlos Santana. Read more here..
Big Apple's Manhattan Center Studios Welcome Katie Melua, and Counting Crows More
recently The Counting Crows did their album release at The
Manhattan Center Studios with a live webcast and recording
artist Katie
Melua completed her latest release (Sept 06) "Whether it is a live album, a television show broadcast or a DVD, Manhattan Center does it all," says Peter Ross, President of Manhattan Center Studios. Check
out the facility located a short block away from Madison Square
Garden in New York with 2 television studios, 2 recording studios,
video post production suites, and 2 concert venues.
Rafa
Sardina (Stevie Wonder, Luis Miguel, Angie Stone) just delivered
several mixes for Grammy-winning Latin pop star Alejandro Sanz'
upcoming new album which includes collaborations with Shakira, Juanes
and Calle 13. Sardina used
the Audio-Technica
mics for recording Sanz’s new album, including the ever popular
AE2500, AE3000 and AT4050 extensively on drums, percussion, guitars
and vocals.
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Take
an express tour of Manhattan
Center Studios or
call OBie O'Brien, Studio Manager
visit After Hour Studios in Woodland Hills, CA here and contact studioexpresso at 818-990-3031 to book a tour or session. |
Drum Doctor
world's finest collection of drums & cures for common drum ailments
Universal artist, Matt Dusk Feb 2006 Capitol Sessions espresso
break
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2004 Edition of the
Recording Industry Sourcebook is out
Mr Bonzai
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Events Around
121st AES Convention Are Heating Up
Jack Joseph
Puig (No Doubt, Mary J. Blige, Black Eyed Peas, John Mayer),
recently appointed exec vp of Geffin/A&M records, will moderate
the Platinum Producer and Engineer Panels at the upcoming AES Convention.
Sun., Oct.
8, 4PM - 5:30 Friday, Oct.
6 2:30 - 4PM Moderated by
Clive Young, Pro Sound News Sr. Editor and author of CRANK IT UP:
Live Sound Secrets of the Top Tour Engineers to include: Sat, Oct.
7 Noon to 1:30 >>>Friday,
Oct. 6 Concert &
Silent Auction Invitation-only event with limited reserved seating offered to industry professionals who make donations MusiCares charity to benefit musicians affected by Katrina and other natural and personal disasters. For ticket information: www.thpro.com, or call 415-749-0779.
Saturday,
October 7th at 7:00p.m. Buffet served
from 6:00p.m. To 7:00p.m. Please stop by the Soundelux Booth #1319 at AES or call Brad Lunde at LVPA (702) 307-2700 for your invite or call Brad Lunde at LVPA or Phone (702) 307-2700 The Doors'
Ray Manzarek Joins Mr. Bonzai at AES
Rock legend
Ray Manzarek of The Doors will be joining author Mr.
Bonzai to sign copies of his book, FACES of MUSIC: 25 Years
of Lunching with Legends, at the Thomson Course Technology PTR publisher's
booth # 119 at 3 PM on Friday, October 6. Manzarek is one of 160
artists, producers, and engineers profiled in photos and interviews
in the hardcover edition of the book. The insightful and inspiring
anthology features over 400 photographs, many never-before published,
and 160 interviews with popular music artists, songwriters, producers,
and recording engineers including Jimmy Buffet, Ed Cherney, Leonard
Cohen, Devo, Geoff Emerick, Peter Gabriel, Herbie Hancock, Eddie
Kramer, k.d. lang, David Lynch, George Massenburg, George Martin,
Robert Moog, Willie Nelson, Phil Ramone, Carlos Santana, Red Hot
Chili Peppers, Al Schmitt, Bruce Swedien, Don Was, Brian Wilson,
Stevie Wonder, and Frank Zappa. For more info, visit http://www.mrbonzai.com For a Calendar of 121st AES Convention event dates, times and locations please visit www.aes.org
Don’t
Miss Pro Audio’s Big Nights!
Mix Foundation
will induct 15 innovations and products into the 2006
TECnology Hall of Fame (view list of nominees) on Friday, October
6, at the 121st Audio Engineering Society Convention at Moscone
Center in San Francisco. "The 2006 TECnology Hall of Fame inductees
exemplify major changes in the way audio has been recorded, reproduced
and perceived, from the first condenser microphone in 1916 to digital
restoration systems that were first made available 70 years later.
We’ll also be honoring some of the most important people in
acoustic research, including pioneers such as Fletcher/Munson, Neville
Thiele, Richard Small and the late Richard Heyser," says Mix
editorial director George Petersen. Copies of “130 Years of Audio History,” a just-released DVD highlighting the contributions of TECnology Hall of Fame Inductees to date, will be distributed at the reception, as well as from the TEC Awards AES Booth, #1625. Besides the new DVD, videos of past TEC Awards ceremonies will also be shown at the booth. For the first time, Broadjam features an industry awards ceremony such as The TEC Awards. Videos of Past and Upcoming October 7th Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards will be accessible on demand via Broadjam.com by the end of the month. The first ceremony presented will feature highlights from the 2005 TEC Awards, taped in New York City, including the TEC Hall of Fame induction of legendary producer Arif Mardin and the presentation of the Les Paul Award (by Les Paul himself) to artist David Byrne. The 2006 TEC Awards video webcast will begin 3 days after the event on Tuesday, October 10th, 2006. Besides numerous awards for Technical and Creative Achievement, the ceremony will include the presentation of the Les Paul Award to rock legend Steve Miller and the Hall of Fame induction of renowned remote recording engineer David Hewitt. The 3rd Annual
TEC Awards Music and Sound Auction, featuring audio hardware and
software and music memorabilia, will be held on eBay starting September
28. Please visit http://stores.ebay.com/tec-musicandsoundauction. |
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Interviews with Top producers from Legendary Studios |
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Michael Schenker's
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Soundfield
Takes Centerstage At World Cup
The new SoundField Digital DSF-2 broadcast microphone system was specified by Host Broadcast Company as the official World Cup surround sound microphone for live global 5.1 surround HDTV broadcasting. The system also provided simultaneous stereo audio delivery for SD (standard definition) broadcast. A single DSF-2 system was installed in each of the 12 stadium venues across Germany during the four-week event and provided HDTV/SDTV audio to an estimated viewing audience of more than 30 billion people during a total of 64 matches. Housed in a Rycote Windshield, the DSF-2 microphone was located centrally at each stadium high above the crowd, and as close to the main wide-shot camera position as each stadium would allow. The DSF-2 microphone was situated up to 250 meters from its DSF-2 control unit, which directly outputs the surround and stereo information digitally on AES-75 ohm outputs. These signals were then sent down up to one kilometer of coaxial cable enabling the OB trucks to be situated 1.25 kilometers away from the microphone if necessary. The DSF-2 stereo output was sent to the on-site OB truck for SD broadcast, while the digital SoundField B-Format signals were sent to the IBC (International Broadcast Centre) in Munich. There a SoundField SP451 surround processor was used to decode the B-Format to 5.1 surround for HDTV broadcast.
The DSF-2 broadcast microphone system has been specifically designed to provide both the surround and stereo soundscapes at large scale outside broadcast events, such as the World Cup. Its advantage over alternative methods is that the multi-channel audio it generates from a 'single point' source is completely phase coherent. This enables the broadcaster to collapse the surround to stereo or mono for TV and radio feeds without loss of information, frequency imbalance or any of the other phase problems associated with spaced microphones or 'dummy head' arrangements with spaced capsules. The DSF-2 outputs
stereo left/right (digital and analog), stereo M/S For more info on SoundField Digital DSF-2 broadcast microphone system contact Brad Lunde at LVPA or Phone (702) 307-2700
ATC
Showcases At Blackbird
Studios And During AES MSRP: $3,500/pair Co-owned by seasoned engineer John McBride and his country superstar wife Martina, Blackbird Studios in Nashville offer a total of six recording and production areas, plus several pre-production suites. All tracking and mix areas are equipped with ATC (Acoustic Transducer Co. UK) self-powered loudspeakers, a high-end brand specializing in recording, mastering and live sound throughout the world. "My goal has always been to offer the finest audio recording environment on the planet" confides John McBride. "We feel that the engineers, producers and artists are painting their individual pictures, and we want to offer all the colors on the palette. When the time came to outfit our newest room, Studio F, we turned once again to ATC, whose SCM300ASL and SCM150ASL Pro systems can be found in all our other rooms. Since this room was being designed specifically for use by Justin Niebanks, one of our city's most successful recording engineer/producers, we consulted with him and chose this system together. One of the requirements of the room was to be able to deliver a high SPL without distortion, because of the wide variety of musical projects that come into the studio." Having retained studio designer Mike Cronin to build Studio F, it was during a visit to Blackbird that ATC owner Billy Woodman and transducer/R&D engineer Ben Lilly finalized John's idea of a custom subwoofer. The new room is rectangular with a 750 square-foot floor control room area within a 30 x24 x 23 foot shell. "We soon realized," Lilly recalls, "that to achieve the performance to 20Hz in Blackbird's new room with high SPLs we needed to develop a custom subwoofer system. John [McBride] already knew he wanted our twin 15 ATC 300ASLs for the front left, center and right speakers and the single 15 version (150ASLs) for the rear surrounds. The room also required an esthetic solution, so we came up with a custom design that included a pair of left and right subwoofers that feature the same baffle dimension as the 300s. They are mounted in soffits, close to the floor, within the concrete-filled front monitor wall." A front-wall location was chosen so that the subwoofers would be equidistant from the mix position, in relation to the LCR mains, and to provide some room loading, therefore increasing low-frequency extension and efficiency. "We looked
at vertical and horizontal arrays," Lilly continues, "but
soon realized that for reasons of limited space and symmetry, a
horizontal configuration with three 15-inch drivers arranged in
a line would be the best solution." Each 15-inch ATC SL(r)
sub driver is housed in its own individual enclosure within the
overall sub cabinet and is driven by a dedicated ATC built monoblock
amplifier rated at 650 W into eight ohms. "The new 5.1 system sounds outstanding," McBride enthuses. "We have a very accurate, very smooth low-frequency response down below 20Hz and great accuracy up to 20K. The room sounds great and also translates extremely well to other listening environments. Justin has mixed a large variety of projects in this room with great success." "The room
measures down to 16Hz!" stresses Bob Hodas of Bob Hodas Acoustic
Analysis, the firm that regularly voices Blackbird's main production
areas. "We knew from our own experience that the SCM300s go low, but we needed 115-120dB levels at 20Hz," McBride recalls. "The new system delivers that for us. Bob Hodas added very little room EQ and mixes translate very well from the control room to the car to the house. We couldn't be happier with the results from this new ATC system." ATC drivers
are manufactured in-house to exacting tolerances and are legendary
for their many design innovations, such as the innovative SL magnet
system and the company's renowned Soft Dome mid-range driver, which
achieves exceptionally broad and even dispersion to produce a flat
response anywhere in the room. Situated in Aston Down in rural Gloucestershire,
England, ATC was established in London in 1974 by acoustics engineer
and musician Bill Woodman.
TransAudio Group's product lines include A-Designs (USA) AEA ribbon microphones (USA), ADT Toolkit, AEA, ATC Loudspeakers (UK), Brauner microphones(Germany), Drawmer (UK), Geoffrey Daking & Co. (USA), Enhanced Audio (Ireland), George Massenburg Labs (GML) (USA), Heil Sound (USA); Mercury Audio (USA) Mission Audio (UK) Phoenix Audio (UK), PAULY Superscreens(Germany), SABRA SOM(Brazil), Soundelux (USA), SoundField Microphones (UK), Z-Systems (USA) and Weiss Engineering (Switzerland) and Z Systems (USA). Congrats
to LVPA and Trans Audio Group for all four 2006 Tec Award Nominations
for The A Designs Pacifica, ATC SCM110ASL, Heil PR20 and Soundelux
E251C
A complete list of 7th Annual Latin Grammy Nominations can be found here. The nominations were announced this week at a press conference held in the Theater @ Madison Square Garden, New York City. The Latin Grammys will air live Nov. 2 from Madison Square on Univision.
"These
Days" It's Daking For Nashville's Neal Cappellino
A busy recording
engineer around Music City USA, Neal Cappellino likes his favorite
microphone preamps to be close at hand when he's on a tracking or
overdub session. For recent projects with Vince Gill, Joan Osborne
and Mindy Smith, Cappellino has relied heavily on the latest version
of the Mic-Pre/EQ from Geoffrey
Daking & Co. The Vince Gill project (which includes a duet
with Diana Krall) will be featured on Gill's forthcoming four-CD
box set of all-new material, "These Days," due on MCA
Records in October. "These Days" was produced by engineer,
Justin Niebank and keyboard player, John Hobbs. Osborne's album,
her first for Vanguard, will be released later this year or in early
2007. Aappellino's discography includes engineering for Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, and India.Arie album projects. He also engineered and mixed "The Company We Keep" by the Del McCoury Band, which won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Indeed, he shares, "I do my share of bluegrass and acoustic-based music in Nashville. The Daking Mic-Pre/EQ has a real clarity and responds well to transients, but also offers a robust low-end so it's great on everything from drums to mandolin to vocals. Really very versatile, and the EQ section is responsive and musical." An admirer of
legendary engineer and producer Ken Scott, Cappellino counts himself
among enthusiasts of the A Range sound. "I read an article
where Ken Scott talked about Trident Studios and the Trident console,
and what that meant to him in recording. What he had to say resonated
with me. It coincided with why I reach for a preamp like the Daking
- Class A, transformer-balanced, fast, high gain - that's all a
big part of it. I have been such a fan of Ken Scott's work, so it
was a moment of synchronicity." Mr Analog
Meet Mr SSL Geoff Daking
and Dave Thibodeau have created a new joint venture - DakingPlus
- that is producing the next generation of high-end recording equipment
through the application of digital control and automation to analog
tone and circuitry. DakingPlus will be initially available throughout
North America from LasVegasProAudio. The processing modules allow
true analog character to be introduced into the workstation workflow
in place of modeled representations. The initial product is the
DakingPlus EQ500, an adaptation of the famous four-band "A
Range" equalizer for which Daking is famous, that will be available
in versions to fit various manufacturers' rack-mount module frames.
Next will be a rack-mountable DakingPlus Stereo Compressor, which
will offer higher performance than the current Daking FET II mono
compressor by providing remote digital control of the analog circuitry.
Additional products, including microphone preamplifier and auxiliary
buss modules, are planned to follow. Noted Daking, "Dave came to me and said, 'Let's take your line of products and computer control them.' It appears that everybody is convinced that they have to have an SSL console for a great signal path, so why not start building a system that bridges the gap between analog processing and digital workstation plug-ins and offers the best of both worlds?" "I have always liked Geoff's designs and his approach to audio," said Thibodeau. "He has an excellent sense of what people want and he is very adept at producing good equipment for low costs. Soon after I met Geoff I remember sitting in his backyard having a barbecue and talking about gear design and realizing that we think in similar ways. It was quite a geek conversation. So I approached Geoff about designing gear together and the rest is history - or, should I say, WILL be history!" www.lasvegasproaudio.com
is a division of TransAudio
Group and is the exclusive U.S. source for Daking
products.
Founded by industry veteran Brad Lunde, TransAudio Group has quickly become the premier US importer/distributor and/or US sales and marketing representative for high-end audio. Success hinges on TransAudio providing dealers and end users with a higher standard of product expertise and support far beyond the norm. TransAudio Group's product lines include A-Designs (USA) AEA ribbon microphones (USA), ADT Toolkit, AEA, ATC Loudspeakers (UK), Brauner microphones(Germany), Drawmer (UK), Geoffrey Daking & Co. (USA), Enhanced Audio (Ireland), George Massenburg Labs (GML) (USA), Heil Sound (USA); Mercury Audio (USA) Mission Audio (UK) Phoenix Audio (UK), PAULY Superscreens(Germany), SABRA SOM(Brazil), Soundelux (USA), SoundField Microphones (UK), Z-Systems (USA) and Weiss Engineering (Switzerland) and Z Systems (USA)
Prairie Sun Studios Shows Off A Busy Summer & Cool Gear
For a fair portion of July, Prairie Sun's Studio A was occupied by Heavyweight Dub Champion, a mountain of both Prairie Sun and HDC gear, a web of cables, and somewhere in the middle our good friend, master mix engineer Oz Fritz. Hailing from Amsterdam, 16 Down came to record at Prairie Sun for the same reasons local artists often choose the studios - great rooms, excellent vintage gear and instruments, and of course on-site lodging in rural Sonoma County, CA. The hard-rockers tracked with staff engineer Jason D'Ottavio in studio B. After a day in Studio C tracking a live drummer, Oz and the HDC gang spread the mixes out across nearly every fader of the 80-channel SSL in Studio A for the upcoming Heavyweight Dub Champion release "Rise of the Champion Nation." Featuring contributions from KRS ONE, Killah Priest, Dr. Israel and Lady K, the new record will be available this fall. The Kehoe Nation
was mixing "Devil's Acre Overture" with Oz Fritz manning
the SSL. The record was inspired by the Barbary Coast era of San
Francisco, and was tracked entirely on analog tape in Studios B
and C. Preceding Kehoe in Studio A was rockabilly guitar-slinger
Jinx Jones with engineer Steve Counter taking full advantage of
our brand-new Fulltone Tube Tape Echo, on the studio's Ampex 1/4"
machine, and their classic EMT plate reverbs for a truly authentic
mix. Northern Cali's Prairie Sun proudly offers a collection of prized vintage (and some recent model) guitars and basses. Most of these instruments are available to artists in session. The folks at Prairie Sun have taken great care in selecting these instruments with the help of guitar guru Dan Alexander, luthier Michael Dolan, and luthier Frankie Montuoro. Also, construction of a new Iso booth was completed with the help of Jeff Fogerty and Gary "Doc" Shaffer. Last but not least, Mooka reports that Prairie Sun will soon offer an API 1604 sidecar! "All the key ingredients have already been purchased, and are being collected for reconditioning, rebuilding, and reassembly by Old School Audio. When the board makes its debut at Prairie Sun it will be outfitted with eight mic preamps and eight EQ units, with the necessary infrastructure to eventually deck it out a full 16 channels," says owner, Rennick. Sage & Sound Open With A New Studio A and Manager
Legendary Engineer Don Smith (Rolling Stones, U2) was recently in studio A at Sage & Sound with producer Billy Cassis mixing “Supernova” contestant Patrice Pike’s album. When people think of Sage & Sound Recording, it is the venerable Studio B that comes to mind. In close proximity to Ocean Way, it has been a tracking or overdub room for so many great artists since its inception in the 70s. More recently, Sage & Sound owners Marc and Steffan Fantini completed the construction of the studios new “A” room, and enlisted the services of recording industry veteran Michelle Moore, who has worked in the administration and management of several Hollywood studios over the past 15 years. For Booking, please call Michelle at 323.469.1527 Curb's $10
million Pledge to Northridge University Curb Records Chairman and former California Lt. Gov. Mike Curb has pledged $10 million to California State University, Northridge to endow his alma mater's nationally renowned arts college and provide a lead gift for the university's planned regional performing arts center that also will serve as a "learning laboratory" for students. Curb - an award-winning songwriter, music producer and record company owner - launched his 40-plus-year career as an 18-year-old student composing songs on the Northridge campus. Cal State Northridge President Jolene Koester, in announcing Curb's gift, said it is the university's largest single cash contribution and the largest gift by a Northridge alumnus. In recognition
of the gift, President Koester said she will ask the California
State University's Board of Trustees to rename Northridge's arts
college as the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication.
The trustees will meet September 19-20 in Long Beach. "I
was really moved when I walked through the music building where
I had launched my company," Curb recalled. Curb was as a freshman on the Northridge campus, working in the music building, that Curb wrote the breakthrough song that helped launch his career - "You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda (Go Little Honda)" - and founded his first record company, a predecessor to Curb Records, nation's largest and oldest independent record labels. His Nashville, Tenn.-based company has produced more than 250 No. 1 records and launched the careers of scores of stars, including LeAnn Rimes, Tim McGraw, Wynonna Judd, "American Idol" finalist Kimberley Locke, Hank Williams Jr. and the Osmonds. Curb himself
has written more than 400 songs and composed or supervised the music
for more than 50 motion picture soundtracks. Those have included
the hit "Wild Angels" staring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra,
the Billy Jack movie "The Born Losers," the Clint Eastwood
movie "Kelly's Heroes" and its theme "Burning Bridges,"
and other films featuring Frank Sinatra, George C. Scott, Bette
Davis, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mike Myers, among others. New TV Reality
Show Chronicles Pop/Rock Group Nemesis
The series, which is currently in production and set to premiere October 16 @ 10 PM ET/PT, chronicles the twins as they attempt to make it in the cutthroat music industry and, at the same time, come out publicly about their sexual orientation. After uprooting themselves from their country home in Montana to Los Angeles, the twins find themselves at a critical crossroads professionally and personally. They need a hit record or they face being dropped from their label. Breaking new ground in the pop music world, the twins will be marketed as openly gay artists necessitating their "coming out" to their family, friends and fans. Complementing the series will be significant digital, wireless and online features, including episode availability on download-to-own services and interviews, diaries and other behind-the-scenes videos at LOGOonline.com. In addition, the series' first episode will be made available via streaming video at LOGOonline.com at no cost. Providing Logo's audience with broad multi-platform content is part of MTV Networks' and Logo's strategy to give viewers access to entertainment wherever and whenever they want it. The production comes from Logo (nation's leading 24/7 channel and source of entertainment for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender audience) and STILETTO Television. The series isexecutive produced by Mark C. Grove, Garry C. Kief, and Troy P. Queen of STILETTO Television. Six Degrees
of Jakob Dylan Wallflowers leader Jakob Dylan joined Columbia Records (his father’s label) this month, and is busy recording tracks for use on the new J.J. Abrams-produced ABC drama "Six Degrees." Dylan's rendition of the show's theme, "Here Comes Now," was produced by Steve Lillywhite and debuted on Sept. 21 during the season premiere. Additional tracks will be utilized regularly on the show; Dylan has been recording material in Santa Monica, Calif., with such musicians as guitarist Lyle Workman, former Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg, keyboardist Patrick Warren and former Gigolo Aunts drummer Fred Eltringham. As for the Wallflowers, the group parted ways with longtime label Interscope last year but has yet to announce future plans. Dylan is also in discussions with T Bone Burnett, with whom he toured earlier this year, to reunite in the studio, although sources say details are still being worked out. Love &
Davis Team Up Sir John
Wants The Beats "I want
to work with Pharrell , Timbaland, Snoop, Kanye, Eminem and just
see what happens," Elton
John says. "It may be a disaster, it could be fantastic,
but you don't know until you try." The 59-year-old says he
is a fan of Blackstreet's "No Diggity" and Tupac Shakur's
"California Love." "I want to bring my songs and
melodies to hip-hop beats," John says. "I love these beats,
but I have no idea how to get them."
Free Music
From Universal Rival To iTunes Songs of artists like Eminem and Gwen Stefani, Elton John and Gloria Estefan, Count Basie and Hank Williams will be available to users free of cost. SpiralFrog will use the Windows Media format for the service. Robin Kent, who is SpiralFrog's chief executive and the former head of the Universal McCann advertising agency told The New York Times, "Offering young consumers an easy-to-use alternative to pirated music sites will be compelling... SpiralFrog will offer those consumers a better experience and environment than they can get from any pirate site." It's important to point out that it will take some 90 seconds to download a song from SpiralFrog; 15 to 20 seconds longer than iTunes. Additionally, there will be measures in the form of software to prevent copying the songs or sharing them with others, and there will be the question of device compatibility (ie: not possible to use the popular iPod). Confirming that it is in talks with SpiralFrog, EMI said it is experimenting with a number of different business models and that advertisement-supported model is one that it is certainly pioneering. Warner Music
Group confirmed it has held discussions with the firm but did not
give out details. At the core of the venture is the fact that young consumers are willing to "endure advertising as the price for their music. " Research shows that the young-adult group is receptive to the idea as long as the brands and products that were advertised were relevant to the audience. SpiralFrog has competition from Napster, the former file-sharing firm, which has already introduced a free music service supported by advertisements. Napster streams the songs to the users instead of allowing direct download. Possibly, at a later date, it may allow download. Then there is Kazaa, another digital file-sharing network, which is also coming out with a free music download service, again supported by advertisements. Others in the music download domain are retailers HMV and Virgin, which have such services. Music television channel MTV has recently opened its online shop Urge. Software major Microsoft too is launching its own music store and promoting Toshiba-made Zune music players. The new venture known as Spiral Frog is a move away from the 99-cent per-song business model popularized by Apple's iTunes store. Spiral Frog is set to begin in December.
Humphrey Bogart was married here. Legendary Yankee Babe Ruth liked to drink at its famous bar. Designed by Robert T. Lyons and built in 1925 by the famous developer brothers Bing and Bing, the Gramercy Park Hotel's Haute Bohemian heritage has been honored and renewed in the transformation by Ian Schrager. Its 1600 square
foot/148.6 square meter Penthouse sports a mahogany wood ceiling,
an original Stanford White fireplace and mantle, carefully chosen
antiques from around the world and a series of photographs curated
by artist, Julian Schnabel. The 185 guest rooms are generously scaled
and beautifully appointed. Each is different with its own unique
layout, vivid Renaissance color palette inspired by Raphael and
distinctive collection of art and objects. The Private Roof Club
and Landscaped Garden offers a more personal and intimate version
of the lobby as a new kind of gathering place as introduced by Ian
Schrager at the Royalton Hotel in 1988
The Record
At Capitol Hill
The Recording Academy®'s Producers & Engineers Wing (P&E Wing) presented "Making The Record," a highlight of the event, to an audience of over 200 people including members of Congress. The session, a demonstration of the recording process including the roles of the producer and engineer, took place in a temporary recording studio set up in the Cannon House Office Building Caucus Room. The studio was constructed with the help of companies including SSL, Los Angeles-based equipment rental firm Advanced Audio, and GC Pro, the professional audio division of Guitar Center. SSL (Booth #610
at AES) is recognized with four nominations at this year’s
TEC Awards, to be held Oct. 7 at the Hilton San Franciso for the
C300 Master Studio System; the E Signature Channel; the XLogic X-Rack;
and the LMC-1 Listen Mic Compressor Plug-In. co.
Warner Partners With YouTube
Partner or
Infinger? YouTube, which hosts more than 100 million videos viewed every day, and Warner Music, said that the deal would help Warner distribute music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews and original programming. WMG will have the opportunity to authorize the use of its content by the YouTube community. YouTube and WMG will share revenue from advertising on both WMG music videos and user uploaded videos that incorporate audio and audiovisual works from WMG’s catalog. Halleluliah! Happy attracting those coveted eyeballs! Think different Then think
again BMI's blanket license covers the right to stream all of the society's compositions for undisclosed percentages of certain defined revenue that YouTube generates. But until SESAC and ASCAP are onboard, YouTube technically doesn't have the right to stream roughly half of the available songs they represent -- sad news for our now less-happy wedding couple, because "Time of Your Life" is an ASCAP song. No small
task For the WMG/YouTube deal to really work, the label will have to establish a standardized rate for digital synch rights with all publishers. Good News,
Bad News Still, some say that some record companies are keen to avoid repeating the mistake they believe they made when Viacom Inc.’s MTV was set up 25 years ago — allowing their artists’ music to be aired for free. Morris in his remarks to investors said MTV “built a multibillion-dollar company on our (music) … for virtually nothing. We learned a hard lesson." What about the American soldiers who are filming amateur videos in Iraq and posting on YouTube? This creates more competition for major networks like CNN and Fox. I can understand the major network or label perspective of “copyright infringement” but it’s not realistic especially in the internet age. Legal action won't stop the basic laws of technology advancement and free competition -- freedom from physical force to produce for ones own profit. Just this week
Warner Music yanked it’s videos from Yahoo Music according
to the Wall Street Journal. According to reports Warner became concerned
that Yahoo was not promoting its videos heavily enough. Stay tuned! YouTube Leverages
New Technology Of Exit Strategies
Eight (8) finalists
will be selected to perform at the "Down Home Gospel Showcase"
hosted by Christie Taylor of 95.7 Hallelujah FM. The top finalist
of the showcase will win a recording session with Sutton. The Recording,
Mixing, and Mastering package is valued at $1,000.
Matt Scannell, songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist for Vertical Horizon, has purchased the new Telefunken | USA Ela M250 for the recording of the band's upcoming album. "It's the best mic I've ever sung through, and I've sung through original Telefunken microphones which can cost $30,000," says Scannell. Vertical Horizon, formed in 1992, achieved double-Platinum sales for their major label debut, 1999's "Everything You Want." The album spawned numerous hit singles, and was followed in 2003 with the equally impressive "Go." Matt Scannell recently set up his new LA recording studio, which houses a Pro Tools HD Accel system and a treasure trove of vintage guitars and guitar amplifiers. Visit AES Booth # 1433 www.telefunkenusa.com or call 860.882.5919 Friday, October
6th at 8pm, Telefunken | USA™ hosts a listening session at
Studio Paradiso in San Francisco, CA -- located just one block from
the Moscone Center Letters to
Editor "I like what you guys are doing, but I have a feeling some of us "indie folks" aren't feeling quite connected to most of the topics and the major label/major artist focus of the studio expresso newsletters. If you guys could balance it out with some more indie producers, engineers and bands and smaller studios doing good things, I think it would be a real boost. Thanks for listening. --Dylan Magierek,
President
Thank you for writing - we will keep your ideas in mind. Keep it coming!-- studioexpresso "They signed me just off my freestyling. Once again, there were no contracts, no demo, no lawyers, or any of that dumb shit. I got fucked in the long run, but it started out well." -- Will I Am (speaking of his experience with Ruthless Records in an interview with Nathan Rabin of AV club)
"I want to be heard and seen this way and I can do it right here and you guys can come here and see it." No one is going to stop you; no one is going to stop me. That kind of freedom is rare and worth fighting for nowadays. It has made me have a different appreciation for the internet and what it can do." -- Marilyn Manson
Happy
Rosh Hashanah!
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-- where you can find trusted names in music to work with COME TOGETHER! Your feedback is valued and welcomed - feel free to contact us via e-mail or phone Thank you! |
Shakira
Leads Latin Grammy Noms 
Despite
the rising success of iTunes, an International Federation of Phonographic
Industries report shows that approximately 40 illegal downloads
exist for every legal one with consumers queuing up for peer-to-peer
networks. Late August came the announcement from the world's largest
music company, Universal Music, who has agreed to support a new
venture enabling consumers to download songs free of charge; the
scheme will rely on advertising for its revenues. 
