Earbender

Data Visualization for Music Taking Off

John Rosenfelder — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:20:09 +0000

Data visualization is an exploding field, with rock stars and conventions of its own, such as Yale’s Edward Tufte or the popular writer/blogger Nathan Yau (“Visualize This”). As data overwhelms us (more since 2002 than all the years of human history prior combined!), visualization of it continues to grow in influence, and we are seeing a growing use of it in news and economic reporting and even to describe music history.

My favorite topic is naturally data visualization as it pertains to music. As part of a thesis for Columbia University, I am working on a music search/recommendation tool that will enhance listeners’ interaction with their collections in old and new ways. Earbender 3.0 takes “files” and enables users to see them as graphics. The recommendation aspect of the algorithm supplements their listening history with social and real time data in order to generate more accurate and relevant results.

Click image to open interactive version (via Thomson Holidays).

Thompson, the travel publisher, released a graphic called “How Music Travels” that describes the development of various dance music movements geographically. While it is unknown how they derived the data, the visualization is entertaining and informative (to a point). A commenter accurately mentioned the glaring omission of Germany’s Kraftwerk, but if there was a source listed, it may have mitigated arguments. The fact that people are passionate about this graphic seems to me that a personalized version would be pleasing to many users.

What are some other genres that might have a map to tell their story? Personally, the story of the blues migration, as told in Robert Palmer’s “Deep Blues,” would be a great document of the impact of Muddy Waters music most specifically. And that’s why they started the Rolling Stones, isn’t it?

It’s fun to watch once or twice, but the dance music graphic would have been more interesting (and credible) if the mechanisms that instigated movement or influence were included. The graphic can’t really be used for exploration beyond genre names, so it really falls short of its potential. What if it had links to albums or songs to buy? Nevertheless, if travel companies are working on this sort of thing, the future is upon us.

Citibank to Sell EMI to UMG and Sony

John Rosenfelder — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:43:32 +0000

"Electric & Musical Industries Ltd"

After many years of speculation, one of the oldest music companies, EMI will finally be broken up in Citibank’s imminent sale of its recording and publishing businesses to Universal and Sony.

It is a sad day for the music business, as we know what happens when Universal takes over a company: Lew Wasserman made the template. They will take the superstars only and lose everything else unless it has a huge potential or pr liability. It’s a proven way to run a talent-oriented corporation, but my heart sinks thinking of the workers who will be cut as a result. And of course we are down to three majors from six in the 90s.

On the other hand, the merger with UMG also creates a possibility for a new sort of model. Just this week, music data firm The Echo Nest and EMI Records announced OpenEMI, which is a developer’s platform based on the label’s catalog. It’s the first time a company has allowed out all their data content, and it could create incredible apps and services that the company will own a piece of automatically.

As mentioned on the Echo Nest blog, “App developers can dream up all kinds of new ways to interact with music in a special EMI developer sandbox we built, using their own ingenuity and the wide array of The Echo Nest’s tools — dynamic playlist APIs, open source audio fingerprinting, personalization APIs, audio analysis, remix software, and much more.”

Yes it will be huge to have the Stones and Beatles under the same roof for many years to come. But it’s also possible that the really exciting part of the merger is that OpenEMI will have even more funding, improved philosophical alignment, bigger artists to work with and better access to marketing channels.

Remember what we learned in the Universal-PolyGram merger – it’s about squeezing the vendors. With OpenEMI, the company is setting itself up for the vendor and artist relationships of the future. Let’s “give it a minute” and see how things turn out.

Peter Gabriel Letterman Visit Aims at Web

John Rosenfelder — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:02:04 +0000

Is Peter Gabriel for the 1%?

Tonight on CBS.com, Peter Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra will perform at 9pm/6pm Pacific, and then later on Letterman’s regular television broadcast. As a Gabriel fan, this certainly catches my attention and I’m curious to see how it might influence future big-budget tours where a popular artist can’t make it around the whole country. The television/web component, along with the corporate sponsorship available by working with CBS must be appealing to Gabriel, and his performance should be typically compelling.

Judging by CBS Interactive Music Group’s Streetdate email and a post on the Last.fm blog, it appears they are making a case study of tonight’s Peter Gabriel performance on Live with Letterman. The limited exposure of the tour and great loyalty of the Gabriel audience could enable CBS IMG to reap measureable social interaction between its television, radio and social platforms, in an adult music context. Since wealth is concentrated with older folks, the show’s sponsor Citibank (also current owner of EMI looking to sell), is wise to target Peter Gabriel’s fans who are probably 40 at the very youngest.

Peter Gabriel’s live collaborations with the New Blood Orchestra was limited to a few big towns. Tonight’s performance on Live with Letterman is a great opportunity for the rest of the country to see him sing “Solsbury Hill,” his most popular song with the rock audience. The first volume “Scratch My Back” featured covers, so maybe a Radiohead song for the kids and the 8-minute-plus “In Your Eyes” will be part of a web segment.

Enjoy a listen to the New Blood version of “Solsbury Hill” after the jump!

The New Blood version of Solsbury Hill

What if there is a considerable bump in sharing and viewing of the clip? Will it spill over into Last.fm hits because of its high search ranking on Peter Gabriel’s non-hits featured on this album? Could it lead to sales of Peter Gabriel albums? Will more people sign up for Citibank accounts or have a more favorable view of the company that is measurable? It seems the CBS Interactive Music Group is on patrol to see some of these effects… this is more than just a tv show!

Now forget all that. Here’s some video from Peter Gabriel’s YouTube page, followed by CBS’s promo. Compare and contrast. They shouldn’t be that different, but they are.

Internet College Radio in The New York Times

John Rosenfelder — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:20:07 +0000

Clever contrast of WFUV's remaining vinyl and net servers

Today’s New York Times features a front-page story about the evolution of non-commercial radio, “College Radio Heads: Off the Dial.” It is a very encouraging article about how many members of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, the organization that guides the building of stations, are now online and reaching new audiences previously unavailable to them as low power FMs. Besides allowing many programs to continue, it also creates a possibility for students at schools where the FM signal is dedicated to a more restrictive (and profitable) format.

I don’t begrudge the extended life of Fredonia’s WDVL and WFUV’s Alternate Side, considering the demise of WRVU, KUSF and KTRU, and practical faculty advisors who warn their students (at Drexel’s WKDU) “You don’t want to end up another Vanderbilt.” Popularity or interaction from fans on the net should not be the goal of these stations. That’s for commercial media. At least the article mentions some real niche programming, like a cupcake or yoga show, that represent the old progressive FM mentality. Ironically, the article omitted that some of the most radical stations, WXYC, Chapel Hill; WFMU, Jersey City and KFJC, Los Altos Hills were some of the first radio stations to stream live online in the early 90s. Internet broadcasting in itself was an idea that developed in a non-commercial, experimental environment.

I believe “another Vanderbilt,” KUSF or KTRU are exactly what we need. The success of college broadcasting should not be having found a pop group like 3OH3 for Top 40 or having “clusters of listeners” around the world. It should be a creative or intellectual success enabled by technology, like WFMU’s annual broadcast of the Prima Vera Festival or the Free Music Archive — using the net to proliferate ideas that would not be exposed elsewhere. People have to be willing to take chances, and even 3OH3’s story shows that.

The charter of non-commercial radio has not changed even if the mode of communication has. The article doesn’t mention that Fordham and other schools maintain highly profitable “non-comm”/triple a stations on fm dials while shunting more progressive music onto the net stations. Does Southern California need another FM station to play Tom Petty or should the students of Cal State Northridge have a better learning opportunity? There are many gradations and arguments on all sides and that’s how it should stay.

As a longtime observer and participant in the college radio ecosystem, I feel its greatest value is as a training ground for ALL new ideas, not just music-related. College radio is about opportunity for all. As John Platt from WFUV said, the multimedia content provider model is where we are headed, so the growth of online is also organic and technology-based, not just economically or aesthetically-driven. The founders of Google are big fans of Burning Man, a boundary-free arts festival. College radio is a similar forum that should not be inhibited.

Survivability is a concern. Who would have thought that the ultra-radical WKDU would become part of a school program on how to run a record company? It’s happening everywhere, in all walks of life. We can only hope that the proliferation of progressive ideas continues below 92 or on a .org.

Occupy college radio (.org or FM)!

Bjork’s Biophilia Matches Visuals and Music

John Rosenfelder — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:23:28 +0000

Bjork is (briefly) limited to two dimensions on Biophilia's "cover" (Nonesuch)

As the convergence of the touch screen continues, futuristic music artist Bjork has created Biophilia, a new music album in the form of a series of iPad apps. In it, the music of Bjork is matched to various visual patterns that the user can manipulate to influence the compositions and sound itself. While I only downloaded the free version, it’s clear that by adding the additional tracks/apps that users can access a whole new experience in music, marketing and technology.

Bjork’s recent interview with NPR’s Bob Boilen described how the app/album was created and that it started out as a project to create a music house in Iceland. Music as a basis for interaction is a powerful tool and Bjork is once again taking the lead in innovation. It seems she backed off the larger plans and instead created an app to package the music and visuals together.

As a music fan and marketer, Biophilia is a predecessor like Edison’s cylinder recording of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Think about that experience versus cds or even the lp and I think it compares to what we will see in the future for visuals embedded with music. We know music is a powerful and international language, and we know technology has the ability to embed it in so many environments and situations, in particular the touchscreen.

Artists that delight the eyes as well as the ears are needed. The convergence of music, data, technology and creativity is upon us! Thanks to Bjork for pushing things further as usual.

Honey Comb Archie and Alpha Bits

John Rosenfelder — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:30:35 +0000

Cereal is still an occasional snack for me, but when I was a little kid, it was one of my major sources of nutrition. And among all foods items, it is one of the most lucrative, competitive and high margin areas. Cereals have added fiber, low calories and whole grains as a response to the health-food movement’s criticism (Childhood Obesity campaign, etc.).

One thing that has not gone out of style is the packaging – advertising – and the prize inside, music.

60s –
7 songs on 4 different boxes
45 singles/eps that could be played a few times
cut out of box and hopefully not warped or skipping
possibly no plastic liner to keep cereal in after cutting box
no upc code
preservatives, no fiber, real sugar, no calorie count but ingredients listed

Sixties Alpha-Bits and Honey Comb Archies Commercial

Chrysler Pitches Suburbanites with Jay-Z

John Rosenfelder — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:45:15 +0000

This excellent commercial just caught my eye but it’s probably been out for months. The announcer growls a spiel about the Chrysler 300 over an instrumental version of “Heart of the City,” one of the most sublime backing tracks ever, as the car makes its way from downtown out to the ‘burbs. Even if Jay-Z doesn’t appear in the ad, it’s hard to dissociate this music from him for us fans.

Damn, America sure has come a long way in terms of its music taste and sensitivity to inner city/suburban cultural and economic disparities. I just hope we can restore some love to downtown Detroit someday soon. “Pride you can notice from down the street” is what Chrysler promises. What if there is no street?

I love the tempo/chord changes that shift the mood of the song back and forth from an outspoken tone to a more reflective one. In the commercial, this is used to delineate between the urban grit and suburban sunshine. Well done!

Nirvana’s Nevermind Launched 20 Years Ago

John Rosenfelder — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:48:36 +0000

Thanks to Kevin Estrada for use of this picture! Note black and yellow DGC promo shirt at right

Twenty years ago this week, Nirvana was in the midst of making history even while preparing to unleash their single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the album Nevermind on the world. As college and metal radio promotion person for DGC Records, I had spent the week like any other: adds and rotations on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a marketing meeting and conference call with the field staff. Wednesday through Friday of this week would be spent with Nirvana in town to launch the promotion campaign around their DGC debut.

While the band and album had our total confidence internally, we didn’t anticipate the commercial success, and as the campaign commenced, we saw IMMEDIATE reaction and results. On Wednesday, August 12, we visited KXLU, where “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was debuted by dj Daniel Makagon off a 12″ test pressing. While on air, the band announced they would be shooting a video and recruited listeners to attend the taping on Friday. Back at the office, I assembled a Federal Express mailing for the single, along with the black and yellow (to distinguish it from previous white print) promo t shirt that said “Baby Kissing-Kitty Petting-Panty Sniffing-Corporate Rock Whores” (I hope I remembered that correctly!) addressed to the “R&R” panel.

The college radio mailing included a full advance cassette with the famous letter now enshrined at EMP where Mark Kates and I used a quote from Geffen president Eddie Rosenblatt. It famously (or fatuously) predicted that “we fully expect Nirvana to become one of the top bands of the 90s.” That week, besides shooting a video and visiting Los Angeles radio stations, they also played an earth-shattering showcase at the Roxy for the industry and Geffen’s somewhat skeptical sales team, led by Eddie Gilreath.

You couldn’t see that show and not feel the power of the band. It was really an incredible night. Mark Kates was shocked to see agent Neil Jacobson stage diving – typical even though it was really just the beginning. The show was on a Thursday night as I recall, and that Friday, all DGC decamped for a trip to Houston to execute an elaborate and ostentatious launch party for “alternative metal” artists The Galactic Cowboys. Despite costumes, unlimited Four Seasons charges, a great showcase and constant BBQ, it was the Nirvana cassette that made the biggest impact on attendees like FMQB’s Ray Koob and rock radio consultants Schuster and Snead. The band and their music would prove to be mostly irresistible.

Nirvana had just begun a mostly perfect ride to the top. KXLU helped assemble an enthusiastic group of fans, including rock photographer Kevin Estrada, to play the crowd at a “punk rock pep rally” in the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” filmed that Friday as we left for Houston. Today is sort of the anniversary of that event, and I think it was also when the single was played on KROQ for the first time, where it became most requested based ON A SINGLE PLAY. Soon it was everywhere, KMEL, a hit music dance station, WOZQ’s reggae show, Springsteen in the parking lot of Chalet Gourmet, everywhere.

By the way, a quick search shows the exact date as August 15, 1991. Kerrang! called it the greatest show of all time. The key part of the story is how Nirvana transformed music institutions like that, which had previously ignored indie music or punk-influenced bands to being their biggest advocates. And they fell quickly for the most part over the next few months, until the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, capitulated Billboard’s #1 slot during Christmas week.

In the coming weeks, I will try to remember more of these stories! Working with Nirvana is one of the defining moments of my life (so far) and there will certainly be good cause to blog about the music, my friends in and around the band, and the effect their success had on all of us.

Eno’s Latest Round of Interviews

John Rosenfelder — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:44:03 +0000

In a promotional push for his new album Drums Between the Bells with Rick Holland, Brian Eno has embarked on a great public relations swing that has brought a typically educational and thought-provoking set of ideas from One Brain. The interview on Al-Jazeera shown below, includes a great career overview too. Eno comments on the current state of the industry, his own history and the “recent resurgence in live music.”

“I always assumed I was going to be a painter, and I realized that what you could do with sound that were quite analogous to what a painter would do with color… so I started to form this idea of being a “sound painter,” and synthesizers of course played right into that. Synthesizers were instruments that really had no history, so it made perfect sense for a musician who couldn’t play anything. It was an instrument no one else could play them either.”

He discusses childhood listening to “martian music” his sister acquired for him at the US Army base near their home and his parents’ influence on his ability to sing and perform in public.

On his career ambitions in the 60s: “I always assumed I would become an art teacher. We never had any career advisors…” I’d say that assumption came true. Incredible to hear about his entry and descriptions of Roxy Music and his role in the band. As the interviewer mentions, “you like to shoot journalists who ask about Roxy Music.”

He goes on to discuss the origin of Ambient Music, his influences Phil Spector (music as product of studio), Steve Reich and the Velvet Underground (kinship with the band’s arty and non-musical background).

A few other lessons:

Eno Guest DJs on NPR with Bob Boilen
Eno in the LA Times by Randall Smith
Eno in the NY Times by Ben Sisario

Memories of Live Aid

John Rosenfelder — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:46:12 +0000

Live Aid was held on July 13, 1985

Today is the anniversary of Live Aid, the historic benefit concert for African famine relief that occurred in London and Philadelphia in 1985. I watched the whole thing, calling in sick to my job doing flower deliveries. The event was carried on broadcast television in addition to MTV, which is why I was able to see it, and was treated like a telethon as much as a festival. Casey Kasem, who was not usually an MTV veejay, served as host and reminded fans at every commercial break “Live Aid – we’re coming together.” With the live satellite broadcast and even one performer playing on both shows, it really felt like the world got smaller that day.

Live Aid was part of the momentum initiated by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s benefit single under the name Band Aid, “Do They Know It’s Christmas (Feed the World),” a very good song with the cream of British pop at the time. Artists like Sting, Bono and Annie Lennox were just getting their political identities going at this point, and their participation added poignancy to their own music. It was a well-made record too, despite coming together quickly. Not to be outdone, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie soon collaborated to write and record “We are the World.”

Once the concert was announced, tickets were gone. Led Zeppelin was to reunite in Philadelphia, and they could have sold out JFK themselves. As the show started in London, one of the first artists, U2, stole the show, proving their anthemic rock was ready for stadiums. Bono gave Freddy Mercury, David Bowie and other megas a kick in the ass that day. Phil Collins personally broke bottled water, previously considered a waste of money a big boost by appearing in every interview with a bottle of Evian (naive spelled backwards we said at the time).

It was a helluva a day for rock… Joan Baez opening up, telling the kids “this is your Woodstock,” before an unfortunate version of “Shout” by Tears for Fears. We all know how Bob Dylan, Ron Wood and Keith Richards closed the show with some patchy playing. Remember too that in that moment, Bob Dylan inspired Willie Nelson to start Farm Aid, which continues to this day. I wonder if the benefits or work of Live Aid are still being felt, especially in Africa.

George Harrison also deserves credit for Live Aid, having set up the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971. It was schlock, but Live Aid helped further music’s world-saving reputation. Now, we always turn to a grand concert to get a message out and raise money. Amnesty’s Conspiracy of Hope tour, the aforementioned Farm Aid, Concert for the Heroes, Telethon for America and many other benefits followed in these footsteps.

It’s also amusing to recall 50s icon Pat Boone’s comments about the show and its “obvious references to Satan, such as Mick Jagger’s highly erotic dance with Tina Turner (they had to do something to pump up “State of Shock,” his single with Michael Jackson). As the quotes from the Chicago Tribune show, he made an impression on me because I remember them so well:

“I heard Duran Duran talking about dancing into the fire,” Boone said, “and songs that were obviously hymns to the devil and satanic things, while you`re talking about feeding the hungry. I find a real inconsistency there.” If there was ever any question about this man’s abominable legacy in American music, this quote should solidify it.

Run-DMC was the only hip hop artist on the show. Remember, it was 1985.

Videos:

U2 “Bad”

Queen “One Vision”

Mick Jagger & Tina Turner “State of Shock”