Axwell produced this video postcard from WMC 2009. The audio sounds really nice! Love Axwell’s tracks, which you can check out on MySpace. He’s definitely come on the scene in a big way.

His most recent, “Leave The World Behind,” is blowing up worldwide. Sorry, no links yet avail from iTunes to purchase. You might want to check Beatport for this track.

Axwell’s upcoming gigs:

Apr 10 2009 8:00P Spin, San Diego, USA – San Diego
Apr 11 2009 8:00P Avalon, Los Angeles, USA – Los Angeles
Apr 12 2009 8:00P Bal en Blanc, Canada – Montreal
Apr 30 2009 8:00P Pacha ,Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt – Sharm el Sheikh
May 15 2009 8:00P INOX, France – Toulouse
May 22 2009 8:00P Catwalk, Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona
May 23 2009 8:00P Venue, Athens, Greece – Athens
May 31 2009 8:00P Paradise Bay Beach, Malta – Malta
Jun 4 2009 8:00P Skive Beach Party, Denmark – Skive
Jun 5 2009 8:00P Forum, Denmark – Copenhagen
Jul 4 2009 8:00P Stade de France, Paris, France – Paris
Jul 18 2009 8:00P Extrema Outdoor Festival, Holland – Best
Aug 12 2009 8:00P SHM@Greenbeat Festival, Croatia – Zagreb
Aug 21 2009 8:00P Catwalk, Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona

WMC 2009 Blogging, Podcasting and RSS Panelists

The Blogging, Podcasting and RSS panel at WMC 2009 focused on the various ways to get out the message through blogging, podcasting and RSS. Although BPM.FM and Play.FM are more streaming services than podcast outlests, the point was that Dance music radio has moved online and is where many people are accessing their favorite mix shows and artists.

The conversation turned to the new Flip video recorder, which is, for some, equivalent to the iPod for music. It’s a nifty $150 device ($200 for more storage) that has a built-in USB output, which means not having to worry about carrying around a USB cable. And, it syncs your video direct to YouTube for instant web channel publishing. The company was recently acquired by Cisco.

Flip Video (Photo courtesty of Pure Digital)

We also covered the power of Wordpress and it’s over 2,500 3rd party supported plug-ins, which enhances the power of the popular Open Source to a full blown CMS, if that’s what you need.

From left to right: panel moderator Laura Betterly (Yada Yada Marketing), Stuart Miller (Smart Move Music), Jamie Peterson (BPM.fm), Diego Sanchez (DMSR.com), Tony Zeoli (Netmix.com) and Thomas Buchstaetter (Play.fm).

An extraordinary discussion led by BT around the implications surrounding the mainstreaming and commercialization of dance music. One conference delegate questioned the push for greater exposure for electronic dance music and DJ culture, wondering why we seek greater exposure when our audience is perfectly content keeping the music for themselves.

There has always been a push for greater access to the mainstream by underground artists, but those artists may get co-opted in the process, leaving them without the recognition due for their genius and musicianship, while enriching others on the mainstreaming of their work.

BT says, “People knowing it, doesn’t make it bad.” But, he validated the delegate’s question with a very distinct viewpoint on the issue. “Why can we acknowledge that guy that made the record” right now?, before it’s “saturation” into the mainstream.

Sharam points out that it may be someone’s dream to win a Grammy for their work, so why not push for that type of accesibility in the same way others have in the past, with the realization that with mainstreaming comes a trade-off, and there is little control over music once it leaves an artist’s studio.

I really enjoyed this discussion and think it’s one of the finer moments in Winter Music Conference history.