The Music Meeting

A Trip In The Wayback Machine

2012-06-17T07:27:00.000-05:00

Not a lot to say about this, but it is an amazing video that will take you way back to those Fabulous Seventies. Enjoy!

Even Celine Dion Is Sick Of "Titanic"Song

2012-06-05T08:47:00.000-05:00

You know a song is "burned out" when the person who sung it and made about a zillion dollars from it is sick of it. The New York Post says Celine Dion is pretty much over the song.

Celine Dion has finally responded to Kate Winslet's admission that "My Heart Will Go On" makes her feel "like throwing up." While Dion, who had her biggest hit to date with the "Titanic" ballad, defends the song -- she also admits that there's one way in which it makes her "sick" too.

"'My Heart Will Go On' gave me the opportunity to be associated with a classic that will live forever," Dion said in an interview on "Today" this morning. "If I just count how many times I've sung it, maybe it'll get me sick. If she feels tired just hearing it, and like throwing up, I'm glad she was not the one singing it.

NEAR, FAR ... THAT SONG MAKES KATE WINSLET VOMIT

Dion was responding to comments that Winslet made while promoting the release of the movie "Titanic 3-D," fifteen years after the original arrived in theaters. When asked by MTV News about the ubiquitous tune, Winslet revealed that the song made her do "a massive internal eye roll" and furthered that it even turned her stomach.

In her interview this morning with Savannah Guthrie of "Today," Dion explained that she has been literally sick lately, with a virus that affected her vocal cords.

"[My voice] was just choppy a little bit," said Dion, explaining why she opted to cancel five weeks of her popular Las Vegas stage show.

"It's hard to do a show, but it's much harder to cancel the show," said Dion. "We disappointed a lot of people. It was hard."

Read more:http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/titanic_theme_song_even_makes_celine_ILI5MMieMDZhikarAYWtjN#ixzz1wvTDp12i

Now YOU may not be tired of the song, so here it is in all it's glory for your viewing and listening pleasure.

The First Summertime Music For Grown-Ups Playlist Is Here!

2012-05-29T09:28:00.000-05:00

Rebecca Ferguson (Photo credit: Yeliel82)

Cover of Kelly Clarkson

Summer is here, and that means great new music to listen to. We've compiled a special Spotify playlist of the latest and greatest music for grown ups, and you can find it just to the right of this post.

You can enjoy these new songs whether you have Spotify or not, just click on the playlist and you can listen to the new sounds of Summer 2012. You'll hear the latest from Maroon 5 (NOT Safe For Work), Kelly Clarkson, John Mayer, Neon Trees, Gavin DeGraw, and the incredibly talented Rebecca Ferguson among others.

Check out these great new songs, and come back for updates every couple of weeks. It's going to be a music filled summer, and you'll always hear the best music for grown-ups on the Music Meeting's playlist on Spotify!

Elton John Hospitalized With Severe Respiratory Infection-CNN

2012-05-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Elton John checked into a Los Angeles hospital Wednesday, where doctors diagnosed the 65-year-old singer with a serious respiratory infection, his publicist said Thursday.

John became ill while performing his "Million Dollar Piano" show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas last weekend, leading him to undergo testing at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

"Those tests resulted in the attending Cedars-Sinai physician recommending that Elton not perform any concerts for approximately seven days with complete rest and antibiotic treatment to cure his respiratory infection and prevent any damage," a statement from the publicist said.

His shows Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at The Colosseum have been canceled, the statement said.

"It feels strange not to be able to perform these 'Million Dollar Piano' concerts at The Colosseum," John said in the statement. "I love performing this show and I will be thrilled when we return to The Colosseum in October to complete the eleven concerts soon to be scheduled. All I can say to the fans is sorry I can't be with you."

Robin Gibb Dead At 62

2012-05-20T18:05:00.000-05:00

Robin Gibb 1949-2012

Another famous singer has lost his battle with cancer. Robin Gibb, one of the three Bee Gees, died Sunday at 62.

This statement came from a Gibb Family Spokesperson: "The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," reads the statement. "The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."

Robin, Barry, and Maurice Gibb

Robin is the third Gibb brother to pass away. His twin brother Maurice died in 2003 of complications from a twisted intestine. The youngest Gibb, Andy Gibb, who was not in the Bee Gees, died of a viral infection to the heart. The surviving member of the Bee Gees, and remaining Gibb Brother, is Barry Gibb.

Donna Summer Dead At 63

2012-05-17T11:12:00.000-05:00

Reports are coming in that the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, has lost her battle with cancer and died at the age of 63 in Florida.

Summer's first hit was the controversial 1976 song "Love To Love You Baby", which was alleged to contain 22 simulated orgasms during the 17 minute song. She later went on to have a string of top ten hits, win five Grammy Awards, and place a song in Billboard Magazine's Top 40 every year between 1976 and 1984.

Donna Summer is survived by two daughters.

Here are some of Donna Summer's greatest hits:

John Tesh Erases The Line Between Streaming Service And Radio Station

2012-05-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge believer that the future of music is mobile, whether it be listening in the car, on a smartphone, or on some kind of device that we haven't even thought of yet.

That being said, I'm very intrigued by a project John Tesh is working on in Los Angeles. His radio show was carried on an FM station there, but it got taken off. Rather than try to find another station, John decided to build his own "radio station" on the Internet, complete with streaming audio and mobile applications.

The highly regarded Internet industry newsletter RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter asked me to write about the K-TeshLA project, and here in one handy place are all three parts of the story.

What do you think? Would you listen to something that sounds like a radio station even though its only online? Your comments are welcome below!

RAIN Guest essay: John Tesh (of all people) erasing the line between streaming service and radio station

Mark Edwards is an award-winning radio programmer with experience at WLIT/Chicago, KOSI/Denver, KYKY, KEZK, and WVRV in St. Louis, and more. He's currently managing general partner of Mark Edwards Worldwide, his multi-disciplinary consulting practice.

There’s very little doubt that mobile and personalized content are the future of what is now radio, and in some cases that big tower in the corn field won’t even be part of a “radio station” in the not too distant future.

Multimedia content creator John Tesh may be among the first to see and act upon that future. He's put a radio station online that, in fact, isn’t a radio station or a streaming service; it’s both and neither at the same time. Last week, the entertainer launched K-TeshLA (see RAIN coverage here) a site that looks like a"best in class" local radio station site complete with a 24-hour streaming audio service as part of the package. The only difference between this site and most other Contemporary Christian radio stations is that there’s no traditional radio station connected to the site, just the stream.

(The site was launched the site after Tesh's syndicated radio show was dropped by Salem’s KFSH in Los Angeles. Heard daily on over 300 stations in the U.S. and Canada, Tesh wanted to make sure he was still reaching the important Los Angeles market, and so built what's ostensibly a complete online radio station.)

The K-TeshLA site is completely localized for the Los Angeles market, right down to showing the local time and weather, working with local charities and churches, and doing actual contests, giving away $100 a day and a grand prize of an iPad. The station is building its own database of listeners, and has wasted no expense in designing an engaging website and high quality streaming player. Both the site and player have deep integration with Facebook, something not found at many FM or AM radio stations.

While the station doesn’t have a mobile site or streaming app yet, K-TeshLA is available on the TuneIn Radio application, and it looks and feels just like any broadcast property on the roster of TuneIn’s stations. Having that parity with traditional broadcast outlets is certainly one of the first steps to leveling out the playing field between stations that have a transmitter and those who are going directly for online and mobile listeners.

Listening to K-TeshLA, one wouldn’t know that it wasn’t a regular FM station. The stream features lots of music, IDs, and Tesh’s “Intelligence For Your Life” content repurposed from his terrestrial radio show, not to mention both national and local advertising.

The big question is, will a localized Internet-only radio station succeed in the world of AM and FM broadcasters and their continuing consolidation into apps like iHeartRadio? We’ll look at that in the next part of this essay.

RAIN Guest essay pt. 2: Can KTeshLA (and other "local" Internet radio) succeed?

Mark Edwards is an award-winning radio programmer with experience at WLIT/Chicago, KOSI/Denver, KYKY, KEZK, and WVRV in St. Louis, and more. He's currently managing general partner of Mark Edwards Worldwide, his multi-disciplinary consulting practice. This is Part 2 of his guest essay; read Part 1 here.

In yesterday’s RAIN, we looked at John Tesh’s hyper-localKTeshLA website and streaming service. Today, let’s tackle the question of how stations like KTeshLA and other locally targeted online only sites can be successful going forward.

John Tesh already has a radio show on more than 300 stations (he launched KTeshLA after losing his Los Angeles affiliate). His show was one of the higher-rated dayparts on KFSH in Los Angeles, so there was already a dedicated local audience for his content, and he was already producing material for his national show. Given Tesh’s recording, touring, writing, and other activities, generating cash from the online venture may not have been as much of a concern as it might be for a standalone business. Staying in touch with a community -- especially without the benefit of a bone-crushing terrestrial signal -- can be costly.

One of the most significant differences between Tesh’s site and the sites of other people trying to “make it” as web radio stars is that Tesh’s site looks great. It's as good as any AM or FM radio station site on the Internet. If anything, the site takes too much from radio stations in an effort to looklike a radio station as opposed to what it is: something between a radio station and a streaming service. While the site carries banner ads, it isn’t plastered with them hodgepodge like some other “web radio” sites.

Taking the time and spending the money to design a world-class website should be the first part of the plan for any webcaster. Clearly, the TeshMedia team considered the visual appeal of their product along with the sound, something rare in the world of webcasting. (Some of the ugliest websites I’ve seen over the last 15 years have been for air personalities putting a show or podcast on the web. They’re littered with banner ads, bad photos, and unusable navigation links.)

A significant expense for the local webcaster is for the stream itself. Beyond royalties and bandwidth costs, some kind of automation system needs to push out the content if it is a full-time format, even if it’s a podcast or constantly repeating three or four hour show. There are ways to do the automation inexpensively, but streaming should not be a bargain basement decision. Great quality, constant uptime, and full-time support are needed for a successful stream, and that costs money. The good news is there are new technologies on the horizon that will significantly lower the cost of streaming, and add personalization and ad-targeting to the stream, helping to generate more revenue.

The world is racing to a mobile, personalized, on-demand model for entertainment, and the opportunity for locally-targeted Internet-based stations is here. If the stations are done right, they’ll generate traffic and response for local advertisers. It can be done, and now is the time to get started on hyper-targeted projects like KTeshLA.

We'll wrap this up with some comments from the people behind KTeshLA and see how their station is performing.

RAIN Guest essay pt. 3: KTeshLA starts "writing the playbook" for radio stations without transmitters

Previously in this series, I looked at the differences and similarities between the online-only KTeshLA.com “radio station” and its terrestrial counterparts. Make no mistake about it: everyone working on this project sees it as a radio station without a transmitter, not a streaming channel, a supplemental service of some kind, or anything else.

“John told me he wanted KTeshLA to be like a regular radio station,” said Chris Shannon, Program Director. “We’re adding more to it every day and treating it like a radio station.” That’s evident by listening, online or through mobile aggregator TuneIn. (The station recently launched its own mobile apps for iOS and Android, but I found the listening experience on TuneIn to be far superior to the Triton Digital-provided Android app.)

Clearly, KTeshLA is a work in progress; the streaming player lacks artist and title information, for example. But the concept of running a real “radio station” and doing it "direct-to-consumer" -- as in without a transmitter, corporate ownership, or the expense of all of that -- is incredibly attractive to content providers like John Tesh and his TeshMedia Group.

A direct-to-consumer, online- and mobile-optimized radio station could be used for a myriad of purposes: to target a single locale (like KTeshLA), to use technology to serve ads to mobile listenersbased on their location (whether they’re listening to a locally targeted station or a national service), or to serve specific niche audiences (once the dream of HD Radio).

KTeshLA has a direct format competitor in Southern California: Tesh’s former home, Salem’s KFSH-FM. This raises the question of if, and when, KTeshLA will begin a marketing effort to lure listeners away from their FM competition. Once that happens (and assuming Arbitron is encoding the streams of the online station), the real power of a local radio station without a transmitter might be seen for the first time.

Los Angeles, after all, has a significant number of Pandora listeners, and a huge amount of mobile listening. KTeshLA is poised to take advantage of Angelenos' comfort with listening to mobile "radio." Whether it takes months or years, the station could be among the first to be on par with traditional radio. Developments like the "connected dashboard," streaming aggregation applications, and the growing trend among consumers to perceive anything that makes noise on a computer or mobile device is "radio" may make acceptance and adoption of services like KTeshLA easy... perhaps even easier than launching a new format on FM.

While it may seem odd to call John Tesh a “trailblazer,” his project in Los Angeles may serve as one of the early instances of direct-to-listener "broadcasting."

Hear The New Beach Boys Song Now!

2012-04-25T10:54:00.001-05:00

via thebeachboys.com

The Beach Boys have released their first new song in over two decades, "That's Why God Made The Radio". Yesterday, we posted the video preview of the song, and today, we've got the entire song for your listening pleasure! Just click below and hear the sound that has endured for half a century.

Just click the player above to hear "That's Why God Made The Radio". The full CD of new Beach Boys songs comes out June 5th, and the band is on the road now. Check yesterday's post for the complete North American tour information.

BONUS:
I found a video of the late great Dick Clark interviewing the Beach Boys during their first appearance on American Bandstand in 1964. It really shows the innocence of the Beach Boys and the talent of Dick Clark. See it here:

The Beach Boys Kick Off 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour And Release New Single

2012-04-24T10:13:00.000-05:00

The Beach Boys are Back!

The reunited Beach Boys kick off their 50th Anniversary Tour tonight in Tuscon, Arizona tonight and have released a video for their first single from their first album in forever, which drops June 5th. Here's the video for the song "That's Why God Made The Radio".

They've certainly got the sound, but from my personal experience working with Brian Wilson, I can guess there was some "studio magic" involved in getting the harmonies just right.

If you don't have tickets to see The Beach Boys when they hit the road, here's their North American tour schedule:

4/24Tucson, AZAnselmo Valencia Ampitheater

4/26Grand Prairie, TXVerizon Theatre

4/27New Orleans, LANew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

4/28Atlanta, GAChastain Park Amphitheater

4/29Raleigh, NCRaleigh Amphitheater

5/2St Augustine, FLSt Augustine Amphitheater

5/4Hollywood, FLSeminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

5/5Tampa, FLStratz Center For The Performing Art

5/8New York, NYBeacon Theatre

5/9New York, NYBeacon Theatre

5/11Pittsburgh, PABenedum Hal
l

5/12Uncasville, CTMohegan Sun Arena

5/13Uncasville, CTMohegan Sun Arena

5/15White Plains, NYWestchester County Center

5/17Bethlehem, PASands Bethlehem Events Center

5/19Atlantic City, NJThe Borgata Hotel Casino

5/21Chicago, ILChicago Theatre

5/22Chicago, ILChicago Theatre

5/25Chula Vista, CACricket Wireless Amphitheater

5/26Indio, CAFantasy Springs Special Events Center

5/27Las Vegas, NVRed Rock Amphitheatre

5/28Santa Barbara, CASanta Barbara Bowl

6/1Berkeley, CAThe Greek Theatre

6/2Los Angeles, CAHollywood Bowl

6/3Irvine, CAVerizon Wireless Amphitheater

6/8Woodlands, TXCynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

6/10Manchester, TNBonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

6/12Cincinnati, OHRiverbend Music Center

6/13Cuyahoga Falls, OHBlossom Music Center

6/15Columbia, MDMerriweather Post Pavilion

6/16Camden, NJSusquahanna Bank Center

6/17Bethel, NYBethel Woods Center For The Arts

6/19Toronto, ONMolson Amphitheatre

6/20Montreal, QCBell Centre

6/22Bangor, MEWaterfront Park

6/23Saratoga Springs, NYSaratoga Performing Arts Center

6/24Wantagh, NYNikon at Jones Beach Theater

6/26Boston, MABank Of America Pavilion

6/27Holmdel, NJPNC Bank Arts Center

6/29Darien Lakes, NYDarien Lakes Performing Arts Center

6/30Clarkston, MIDTE Energy Music Theatre

7/1Milwaukee, WIMarcus Amphitheater

7/3Virginia Beach, VAFarm Bureau Live At Virginia Beach

7/4Provo, UTStadium Of Fire

7/10Morrison, CORed Rocks Amphitheatre

7/13Woodinville, WAChateau Ste. Michelle Winery

7/14Eugene, ORCuthbert Amphitheater

7/15Stateline, NVHarvey's Lake Tahoe Amphitheater

Dick Clark Remembered-Music Meeting Exclusive

2012-04-18T16:31:00.000-05:00

Visit americanradiotales.com

Today we lost a legend, the one and only Dick Clark. Perhaps the best story ever written about him was in a book called Turn It Up, American Radio Tales by Bob Shannon. If you have any interest in music and the history of radio, you will love this book, and it's available at the link above.

With the kind permission of the author, here is Bob Shannon's story about Dick Clark.

|Dick Clark: The Oldest Teenager

In 1949, after 18 years on the air, Fred Allen’s long running network radio show was canceled. Allen blamed television and was widely quoted at the time, when he said, "Television is a device that permits people who haven’t anything to do to watch people who can’t do anything.”

     Allen may have been too old to get it, but Dick Clark wasn't. By the summer of 1956, which is when Clark took over a local Philadelphia teen dance show, he'd already been around radio and television for ten years. "I was young, naïve and very innocent,” he says. “I didn’t know about politics or big business and didn’t know there was a concerted effort to kill the music.” What he did know was rock 'n' roll was wildly popular to the youth of America, even if he didn't realize that one day he’d have to fight for rock 'n' roll’s legitimacy before Congress, or that the music and its presentation on television would be the foundation for his career.
     On July 9, 1956, George Koehler, General Manager of WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, announced that Dick Clark would replace popular local DJ Bob Horn and become the new host of the station’s afternoon TV dance show, “Bandstand.” (Horn had originated the show in October of 1952, but after a DUI arrest in 1956, along with allegations involving statutory rape charges, he lost the show.) In his book, “Dick Clark’s American Bandstand,” Clark tells of being met outside the studio that day by picketers “furiously waving their signs.” He says he began to speak to them, by introducing himself and telling them about his new job. He wrote that the crowd stayed silent and, not knowing what to do, he simply said, “I’ve got to get to work now. If you want to come in, please do.”
     With only two minutes to airtime, the picketers caved and ran into the studio. Clark says relief swept over him. "I dreamed of doing the show,” he told me. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime.”
     What it was was a ticket to ride.
      "When I was 13,” Clark says, “I saw a radio show done by Garry Moore and Jimmy Durante and decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
     Utica, New York, is near Rome, about 250 miles northwest of New York City and today, among other things, it’s the home of the Boilermaker, the largest 15-kilometer road race in the nation. In 1946, when Dick Clark was 16, his uncle, the owner of a local newspaper, was in a race with time to get a new radio station, WRUN, on the air, and he needed help. He turned to Clark’s father.
     Dick Clark, the father - think the two George Bushes - had been in the cosmetic business for over a quarter of a century. But broadcasting appealed to him and, in fact, he remained in radio until he retired. (Interestingly enough, the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame’s bio on our Dick Clark says that he was WRUN’s Sales Manager, not his Dad. This mistake, particularly when I referenced it, almost derailed my interview with him. You may infer, as I did, that Clark is not amused about historical inaccuracies.) So, to set the record straight, Dick Clark didn’t break into radio as a sales executive; instead, he got his foot in the door by way of the mailroom. But, it wasn’t too long before he opened a mic. “I was 16,” he says, "and was on the FM station. Which, of course, nobody listened to in those days.”
     After high school, Clark raced west to Syracuse University. “I went to study radio, but they didn’t have a course in it.” So, and this won’t surprise you, he studied business administration, labeled radio an “extra curricular activity,” and found time to work at a local 250 watt station, WOLF. “Prior to the well known guys, McLendon and Storz,” says Clark, “there was a guy named Sherm Marshall who hired kids from the college at a dollar an hour.” Clark did a country show called “The WOLF Buckaroos” and hosted “The Sandman Serenade,” the all night Top 40 show.

     One day the phone rang at WRUN. Dick Clark, the elder, answered it. "WRUN."
     "Dick,” said the manager of WKTV Television, “I need a newscaster. Would you mind if I hire your son?” The younger Clark had graduated from college, returned home and agreed to work for his father. Still, he was ambitious and, fortunately, his father was supportive. Television, they both agreed, was the perfect next step and that WKTV was a good place to pay his dues.
     “So, I did the six and eleven 11 o’clock news and probably did it pretty well, because I started getting job offers,” says Clark. But, did he leave for greener pastures? No, not yet, because WKTV wouldn’t release him." The manager of the station,” says Clark, “would call the guy offering me a job and say, ‘You can’t take this kid away.'”
     So, Dick Clay (he used an air name early on, reasoning that his father was the Dick Clark everyone in Utica knew) stayed put at WKTV. But, he continued to send out tapes. “Like all disc jockeys do, although I was in TV, I said to myself, ‘You need to get into a bigger market.'” His tapes went out to Albany/Schenectady and to stations in Philadelphia. When nothing happened, his father made a phone call to the Station Manager at WFIL-TV. "I’ve got this kid. Would you have somebody look at him?"
    Now Clark had a shot, but he had to perform. “The way I won the audition was unique,” he says. “They gave me a ream of copy and said, ‘OK, we’re going to the control room and we’ll call you after you’ve had a chance to look it over. Just read into the camera.'" For most young auditioning performers hitting the copy cold would have caused a problem but it wasn't for Clark because, in Utica, he'd discovered a secret. “We recorded the copy onto audio tape and then fed the recording into my ear.That way I could spit it back at the camera.” And he could do it while looking into the camera. In other words – eye contact!
     They called down from the booth. “Are you ready?”
     “Yeah, I said,” remembers Clark. “Then I read it back to them, absolutely verbatim. They were flabbergasted because there wasn’t a teleprompter or cue cards. And, that’s how I got into television in Philly.”     Well, almost.
   In truth, WFIL TV thought he looked too young, so they gave him a radio show instead, and allowed him to do occasional TV fill in work. One of the shows he subbed on was called “Bandstand.”
      On August 5, 1957 “American Bandstand” went national.
     “ABC gave us a seven week trial,” says Clark. Within four weeks the show was the #1 daytime TV program in America. From a 21st Century perspective, Bandstand, particularly the shows from the '50s, seems very old school. But, at the time, it was cutting edge music television and over the years - 1957 to 1989 - acts that appeared on its stage include Frankie Avalon, Aerosmith, The Animals, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Bon Jovi, The Carpenters, Johnny Cash, The Doors, Van Morrison, Otis Redding, Run-D.M.C., Roy Rogers, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and even Rick Dees. In 1963, after six years of doing the show for five days a week, Clark turned it into a weekly show and a year later, he moved its production from Philadelphia to Hollywood.
     Once in California, Clark began to build a production empire that grew to include “Where The Action Is,” “Pyramid,” “TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes,” “The American Music Awards” and, perhaps most famously, “Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.” For radio, Clark developed “The Dick Clark National Music Survey” for the Mutual Broadcasting System (1981) and “Dick Clark's Rock, Roll and Remember” for his own company, United Stations (1982).
      On December 8, 2004, Dick Clark suffered a stroke.
     Initial reports called it "minor," but a week later his company announced that for the first time since 1972, Clark wouldn't be hosting his New Year's Eve television show. (He did return the next year and, in recent years, has been joined by Ryan Seacrest.) Behind the scenes Clark is still active, though not as much as he'd like, but his businesses, including restaurants licensed under Bandstand inspired names, continue to flourish.
     Over 50 years ago, when rock 'n' roll scared the hell out of adults (and almost anyone over 30) it was Dick Clark who stood up to promote and defend it. While it's true that “American Bandstand” brought him glory, wealth and fame, it's also true that he was blamed for perpetuating what many non-believers referred to as "raw, insidious music." In 1990 Dick Clark was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. This recognition - just one of dozens, if not hundreds, of awards and accolades he's received over the years - was well deserved.
     Dick Clark's legacy comes down to one thing and it's that he brought teens and music to television and, by doing so, redefined the entire culture at exactly the right time.
     If it weren’t for Dick Clark, things would be different.

My thanks to Bob Shannon for letting me share this great story. May Dick Clark's memory be a blessing and an inspiration.

RIP DIck Clark

2012-04-18T15:04:00.000-05:00

Dick Clark passed away today at the age of 82.

The Dick Clark you see pictured is the way I want to remember Dick Clark, not the way we've seen him the last few New Years' Eves after the stroke he suffered in 2004. To me , Dick Clark was a God, a man who was truly America's Oldest Living Teenager, and the person who brought the best music of the day into my home every day and then every Saturday on "American Bandstand".

I never met Dick Clark, but I did see him tape a few episodes of "The $10,000 Pyramid" back when I was in High School. I watched him on TV, I listened to him on the radio, and I read his book. And yes, I watched him all those New Years' Eves after his stroke with a combination of pity and respect that I could never really explain.

In tribute to Dick Clark, here's a video of the original "American Bandstand" theme and scenes from the show's early years.

Rest In Peace, Dick. You brought joy to untold millions as a host, producer, and living legend.

Madonna Sets A New Record, And Not A Good One

2012-04-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

Madonna is no stranger to setting records in the music world, but I'm not sure she'll he happy about this one.

Her latest CD, MDNA, was hyped in a way few projects have been hyped before, with a massive promotion around her Super Bowl Halftime show to drive the first single, Give Me All Your Luvin' up the charts, only to have it fall down like a piece of space junk the following week.

It looks like Madge is going to be doing the same with her full-length release, but in a bigger and more embarrassing way. Here's the scoop from Roger Friedman at Forbes.com:

Madonna‘s “MDNA” album had the biggest second week drop in chart history last week, I am told. When all the numbers are in on Tuesday night, “MDNA” will have fallen from number 1 by 88%–from 359,000 copies in its first week to roughly 46,000 the second week. Wow. The first week’s sales, as I revealed exclusively (and then the New York Post lifted it from us), most of Madonna’s first week sales were CDs that were included in the sale of concert tickets. That promotion artificially inflated Madonna’s numbers, putting her first before Lionel Richie and his “Tuskegee” album. In the second week, Richie fell only 47% and sold about 110,000 albums–which is normal. “Tuskegee” will now finish much higher than “MDNA.” I do think that all the people involved in the Madonna ticket-CD deal should apologize to Richie for denying him his rightful place at number 1, starting with Billboard and SoundScan. But Richie’s consolation is that he has a major hit, while “MDNA” is a total dud. So far, “MDNA” has not produced anything like a hit single either, no radio play or anything to provide organic promotion. But Madonna’s concert tour with Live Nation will be a big hit, so it’s not like we have to worry about her financial situation.

Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark. So the question is, was the CD that bad, does nobody care about Madonna, or what? And will you go see her when she comes to your town this summer? Please feel free to leave comments below.

Seal To Tour US This Summer

2012-04-03T13:16:00.000-05:00

Seal is currently on his way to Australia to kick off a world tour, and his US tour dates were just announced. He'd out supporting his new CD,Soul 2, which has a KILLER remake of Al Green's classic Let's Stay Together, among other gems.

Here are the tour dates Seal announced today:

Fri 07/13/12 Cohasset, MA South Shore Music Circus
Sat 07/14/12 Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Tent
Tue 07/17/12 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Wed 07/18/12 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Sat 07/21/12 Cleveland Heights, OH Cain Park
Sun 07/22/12 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival At Ravinia Park
Fri 07/27/12 Memphis, TN Memphis Botanic Garden
Sat 07/28/12 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre
Sun 07/29/12 Nashville, TN Tennessee Performing Arts Center
Tue 07/31/12 St. Louis, MO Fabulous Fox Theatre
Wed 08/01/12 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater
Fri 08/03/12 Tucson, AZ Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheatre
Sat 08/04/12 Las Vegas, NV Pearl Concert Theater
Mon 08/06/12 San Diego, CA Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay
Tue 08/07/12 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE
Thu 08/09/12 Santa Ynez, CA Chumash Casino
Sat 08/11/12 Santa Rosa, CA Wells Fargo Center For The Arts

And in case you've never seen or heard it, here's Seal performing "Let's Stay Together" live on the Ellen Show.

Newlyweds Rule The ACM Awards

2012-04-02T08:50:00.000-05:00

We don't talk a lot about straight-up Country music on this blog, but Country music IS music for grown-ups, and one of the Country industry's biggest nights of the year was Sunday, the ACM (Academy of Country Music) awards in Las Vegas.

Blake and Miranda

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, the latest Power Couple in Country Music, won three awards between them, including Blake (who co-hosted the show with Reba McEntire) taking home Best Male Vocalist and Miranda making bookends with Best Female Vocalist. She also won Album of the year for Four The Record.

Taylor Swift won the award for Entertainer Of The Year, and gave a very sweet shout out to the teenager with cancer who was supposed to be her date for the night, but couldn't because he was too sick to make it to the show.

Read more about the ACM awards in the stories below!

Madonna Is Not Having A Good Week

2012-03-31T08:29:00.000-05:00

The stories keep piling up about Madonna, maybe because her new CD MDNA is out, or maybe because they're true. I don't know, but here's a wild recap of her week from the people at Newser.com:

(NEWSER) – The latest to slam Madonna: electronic musician Paul van Dyk, who calls her "so stupid" in Billboard. "She made the biggest mistake of her career" when she apparently referenced drugs "in front of a crowd of 18-year-olds" at the Ultra Music Festival on Saturday, he says. Madonna, introducing festival headliner AVICII, asked, "How many people in this crowd have seen Molly?" Molly is a street name for MDMA, the active substance in ecstasy. Madonna was called out for the question by Deadmau5 earlier in the week, and she tweeted an explanation (complete with a picture of her in mouse ears) in response, but apparently van Dyk was not convinced: She says she was referring to "Have You Seen Molly," a song by her friend that is totally not about drugs.

That friend, Cedric Gervais, also insisted the song really is about a girl named Molly who just so happens to make him, you know, "want to dance." But TMZ doesn't seem convinced either, likening the song to Britney's "If U Seek Amy." Poor Madonna—who's been in the news quite a bit thanks to the release of her latest album MDNA—just can't catch a break this week:

Piers Morgan welcomed Madonna to Twitter Tuesday by informing her, "You're still banned from my show." He later extended the ban to both his US and his UK show, but so far he hasn't explained his beef with Madge. He did, however, tell TMZ yesterday that he wants her to apologize for the mystery slight "on bended knee."
YouTube declared Madonna's latest video, "Girl Gone Wild," too racy for younger viewers and put an age restriction on it, E! reports. And ABC isn't happy with her also-racy ad for new fragrance Truth or Dare, asking her to clean it up before it can air.
And as if all that was not enough, her 15-year-old daughter was caught smoking.

So, what do you think? Is this fair to Madge, or has she jumped the shark? I'd love to see your comments below.

Digital Music News - Sales of Vinyl 45s Grew 99.6 Percent In 2011...

2012-03-27T18:16:00.001-05:00

Digital Music News - Sales of Vinyl 45s Grew 99.6 Percent In 2011...

Like Us On Facebook and Twitter

2012-03-25T10:02:00.001-05:00

Did you know The Music Meeting is on Facebook and Twitter?

What kind of new media power player would we be if we weren't all over the Interwebz? If you like what you read here, please like us on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the services's names. You'll get taken right to our pages. You can also check out the "Subscribe" page just to the right for more places to find us, like Spotify.

We like having friends, and can't wait to connect with you those services, with more to come!

The "New" Hunger Games Theme Song

2012-03-23T06:58:00.000-05:00

I heard this on the Scott and Todd show on WPLJ in New York and had to share it. Thanks to the Great Scott Shannon for coming up with the "new" theme song to The Hunger Games.

HUNGER GAMES THEME SONG HUNGER GAMES THEME SONG by ScottandTodd IntheMorning
Is this song better than the music in the movie or soundtrack? Comments are welcome below!

Highlights From This Week's Music For Grown-Ups Spotify Playlist

2012-03-21T09:52:00.000-05:00

Image via CrunchBase

The Music Meeting maintains a playlist of the best new music for grown ups on Spotify, with a lucky 13 songs that you might not yet be familiar with but will probably love. Here are some of the songs on this week's Music For Grown-Ups playlist

If you read this blog, you know I love Eric Hutchinson. Here's his latest song,Watching You Watch Him

Seal is back with another CD of soul Classics called Soul 2 and the first song off the CD is a remake of the classic Al Green song Let's Stay Together

I think one of the true rising stars and undiscovered talents is Rebecca Ferguson. Her debut CD is already out in the U.K., but it comes out in the U.S. on May 29th. For now, we can enjoy her song Nothing's Real But Love

Those are just a few of the songs on the Music For Grown-Ups playlist on Spotify. Check it out for the songs you're going to be singing for years to come!

"The Hunger Games" Soundtrack-Let's Hope The Movie Is Better

2012-03-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

The soundtrack for "The Hunger Games" movie, The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond was released today, and the reviews are in, and decidedly mixed. The soundtrack features some songs from the movie, and many that help tell the story of "The Hunger Games".

Produced by 12-time Grammy winner T Bone Burnett, the album features 16 new by many of music's top artists who've drawn from themes embodied in The Hunger Games story to craft their songs.

The first single from the movie is "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars. Not a bad song, but kind of unremarkable. In my opinion, much like the entire soundtrack. If you haven't heard the song, here's the video.

There's no doubt that the movie will be a smash when it opens on March 23rd, but I'm not sure the soundtrack will pack the same punch as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the incredible music from the 2000 film and the closest soundtrack I can think of after listening to The Hunger Games CD.

You can preview all the songs on the soundtrack here.

Here's the Track List:
1. Abraham's Daughter by Arcade Fire
2. Tomorrow Will Be Kinder by The Secret Sisters
3. Nothing To Remember by Neko Case
4. Safe & Sound ft. The Civil Wars by Taylor Swift
5. The Ruler and The Killer by Kid Cudi
6. Dark Days by Punch Brothers
7. One Engine by The Decemberists
8. Daughter's Lament by The Carolina Chocolate Drops
9. Kingdom Come by The Civil Wars
10. Take The Heartland by Glen Hansard
11. Come Away To The Water by Maroon 5 ft. Rozzi Crane
12. Run Daddy Run ft. Pistol Annies by Miranda Lambert
13. Rules by Jayme Dee
14. Eyes Open by Taylor Swift
15. Lover Is Childlike by The Low Anthem
16. Just A Game by Birdy

Bigger, Better, Bluer!!

2012-03-20T06:30:00.000-05:00

So Pickles the web design intern got her hands on The Music Meeting blog and decided to spice it up a bit. We're certainly bluer (in color only) than before, and we're going to be able to offer you more music videos, special live recordings, and much more in our new deep blue world!

Fear not, all the posts and great music from the early days of The Music Meeting can be found right here and they'll be around for a good long time for your dining and dancing pleasure.

Check back often, subscribe to the e mail and RSS feeds, and follow us all over the Interwebz. You'll find out how to do that on the "Subscribe" page just to the right.

Now On Sporify-Music For Grown-Ups Playlist

2012-03-19T23:30:00.001-05:00

Image via CrunchBase

The Music Meeting, in conjunction with veteran Adult Music programmer Mark Edwards and Spotify, has launched a new playlist on the Spotify service. The playlist, "The Music Meeting Presents The Latest Music For Grown-Ups" will offer an opportunity to hear today's newest Adult music for free anytime.

The list will change often, but always feature a "Lucky 13" songs from artists you know, artists you're just getting to know, and artists who you don't know yet but are going to love. This week's list features new music from Eric Hutchinson, Seal, Cady Groves, Rebecca Ferguson, Train, Jason Mraz, and many more!

The special Music For Grown-Ups playlist can be found on the web here. If you already have Spotify, you can launch the playlist in the Spotify app on your computer or mobile device. If you don't have Spotify yet, you can sign up right from that page.

Enjoy the newest music hand picked just for you, and make sure you let us know what you think of the songs on the list!

Eric Hutchinson Is Headed Your Way

2012-03-19T23:09:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite live performers, Eric Hutchinson, is getting ready to hit the road in support of his single (see below) Watching You Watch Him and his CD Moving Up Living Down, which hits the shelves and Interwebz on April 17th.

This guy really is "the goods" and he does an incredible live show. He's funny, personable, and just seems to be having the time of his life playing for a live audience. If you can see him in your area, now is definitely time to plan on a great night out!

Here's the schedule for his tour. Something tells me more dates will be added, and I'll post them when I get them.

Sat 03/24/12 Uncasville, CT Wolf Den

Tue 04/17/12 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater

Wed 04/18/12 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room

Thu 04/19/12 Des Moines, IA Wooly's

Sat 04/21/12 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Cafe

Mon 04/23/12 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall

Tue 04/24/12 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre

Thu 04/26/12 Ferndale, MI The Magic Bag

Fri 04/27/12 Columbus, OH The Basement

Sat 04/28/12 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Mon 04/30/12 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE

Tue 05/01/12 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club

Wed 05/02/12 New York, NY HighLine Ballroom

Fri 05/04/12 Danbury, CT Heirloom Arts Theatre

Sat 05/05/12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

Sun 05/06/12 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live

Tue 05/08/12 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre

Wed 05/09/12 Charleston, SC The Pour House

Thu 05/10/12 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre

Fri 05/11/12 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley

Sat 05/12/12 Birmingham, AL Zydeco

Mon 05/14/12 Dallas, TX House Of Blues

Tue 05/15/12 Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amph.

Thu 05/17/12 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom

Fri 05/18/12 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House

Sat 05/19/12 West Hollywood, CA Troubadour

Sun 05/20/12 San Francisco, CA Slim's

Tue 05/22/12 Seattle, WA Chop Suey

Wed 05/23/12 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre

If you're not familiar with the song Watching You Watch Him, check it out. I LOVE the Old School kind of Buddy Holly sound and the way they incorporated that into the video. Very well done!

Eric has everything it takes to be a superstar, and I hope you get to see him live and in the flesh if he comes to your town!

The Music Meeting Has Moved!

2012-02-20T09:46:00.000-06:00

Well, not exactly MOVED, as in physically, just moved on the Interwebz.

You can find the latest in music news and info for grown-ups at musicmeeting.co. Hopefully a little easier to remember and tell your friends about. You can still sign up for e mails when new posts are unleashed on the world and get RSS feeds should you be into that kind of fun.

See you soon at musicmeeting.co!

Welcome To The Music Meeting!

2012-02-18T19:51:00.000-06:00

Welcome to another Mark Edwards blog, The Music Meeting.

To make a long story short, I've been a radio programmer for a very long time, and like many others in radio, found myself downsized out of my job in October of 2011. In some ways, that was a blessing. One of those ways is that I can now listen to music like a regular person, not a radio programmer worried about the length of the intro, if it has a "hook", a catchy thing listeners will remember, and if I can get the artist to do a concert for my radio station.

After leaving my last job, I've started a firm, Mark Edwards Worldwide, that helps businesses and artists use the internet and social media in ways they've never imagined. I've also started a news feed of the latest news in the online, social media, and marketing worlds here.

So I've been cleansed of all those toxins and am listening to music like a real person again. I'll share the things I find with you on this blog, give you some music news and background, and look for music that grown ups like to hear. Not the "thumpa thumpa" or auto-tune stuff the kids listen to, but real music by real artists. And I'll let you know when I don't like something as well. The opinions you read here are mine, and hopefully you'll let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with me.

So sit back, enjoy, subscribe to the posts, and enjoy The Music Meeting!

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