Usually, I avoid blogging about subjects beyond the scope of what I intended this blog to be, which is generally all positive dance music, general pop culture and web technology stuff. But this week, I asked my friend Dave Jurman what he thought if I started opening up the subject matter to more important issues. He said it was a great idea, seeing that a blog can be pretty much whatever it wants to be, and that if I thought something was that important to address, then I should go for it.
Author: Tony Zeoli
Tony Zeoli is Founder and CEO of Netmix.com and Radio Station by netmix.® Originally launched in 1995, Netmix was was considered by Billboard Magazine to be the "innovation and advancement of dance music on the Internet." Tony had launched the world's first Internet mix show website featuring the most influential DJs from around the globe. After two-and-a-half decades, Netmix has since evolved into an online station directory and powerful WordPress plugin, Radio Station, for broadcasters and webcasters to manage their statioon's show schedule in WordPress. Tony has been an innovator at the intersection of music and the Internet for the past thirty years in project management, product development, and digital strategy,. He is also the founder and CEO of Digital Strategy Works, a WordPress web design and digital marketing agency. And, Executive Producer of the Asheville House Music Society, an online House Music mix show. Tony is located in Asheville, NC where he loves to mountain bike, hike, and play golf with his son.
Rewind: Kanye West and Daft Punk work it at the Grammys
Check out this rewind performance of Kanye West with a surprise appearance by Daft Punk on “Stronger,” which heavily samples the French duo. The performance ends with Kanye’s “Mama” tribute to his mom, who recently passed away from post-surgery complications related to her overall possible poor health.
Rewind: Chemical Brothers "Do It Again"
Just in case you didn’t see if before, here’s a rewind of the Chemical Brothers single “Do It Again,” from the Grammy winning album, We Are The Night.
Mega Media Group Launches Pulse 87 in New York
NEW YORK, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Pulse 87.7 FM, the rhythmic top 40 station will be launched by Mega Media Group (OTC Bulletin Board: MMDA) (www.megamediagroup.com), on February 11th at 6am, the station will feature the Highly popular Star & Buc Wild Morning Show which will debut on February 18th weekdays from 6 to 10am and today’s top music hits. Joel Salkowitz will become the station’s program director.
Industry Veteran Joel Salkowitz To Lead Station
Salkowitz is a veteran major market programming and operations executive, who recently served as Vice President of Music Programming and Content at Sirius Satellite Radio. Prior to joining Sirius, Salkowitz was with Clear Channel Communications as a Format Director and Brand Manager overseeing the launch and programming for 10 major market stations, as well as serving as Program Director for JAMMIN 105 — New York (WTJM-FM). His past experience also includes management, production and programming positions at Fox Television, E.M.I. Records, Westwood One, ABC Radio, NBC Radio and Emmis Communications. As Regional VP of Programming at Emmis’ HOT97 (WQHT) in New York, he helped develop the Rhythm Top 40 format that dominated contemporary radio during the late 1980s and early 1990s and was also responsible for overseeing programming at Emmis’ WAVA (Washington DC) and WLOL (Minneapolis).
Commenting on the announcement, Mega Media Group CEO, Alex Shvarts stated “I am pleased that Joel is leading our radio team. His wealth of experience with building stations and managing major market radio personnel will prove invaluable to the launch of Pulse 87.”
Also commenting on the announcement, Salkowitz said, “I am excited to be a part of a new, independent radio business that I can help to grow from its very inception. It will be especially gratifying to work with Star who is one of the top morning talents in the country and who was able to have such a huge impact on not one, but two radio stations in New York. He’s a one-of-a-kind personality and together with a unique music format, we’re going to give New York something to get excited about on the radio again.”
2007 Grammy Awards: Dance and Remix Winners and Nominees
Every year, the day after the Grammys, I post the winners and nominees in the three Dance music categories: Category 12 - Best Dance Recording, which is the award for the best single of the year; Category 13 - Best Electronic/Dance Album, which is self-explanatory; and Category 94 - Best Remixed Recording, Non-classical, which is the Grammy for Remixer of the Year.
Blog Chatter Can Triple Future Sales Of Music Albums
According to a recently published research paper, "Does Chatter Matter," NYU Stern Professor Vasan Dhar along with his former student Elaine Chang, discovered there is a direct correlation between the number of blog posts on the Web and subsequent sales of albums being discussed. In a sampling of 108 album releases from January and February of last year, Dhar and Chang found sales were three times the average if "legitimate blog posts reached a threshold of 40."
Pacemaker Demo Video
I found this recent Pacemaker demo video from Future Music on YouTube. The speaker walks you through the process of setting up your mixes, EQ, crossfade and how to cue up your tracks.
New label launch – Quarterlife Records at Cielo on January 29th; mark your calendars!
I got an email tonight from Quarterlife Records founder, Alex Pearce, to let me know that he and his partner, DJ Ebar, are throwing the label a launch party on January 29 at New York's reigning house music mecca, Cielo. I jumped over to their MySpace page located at http://www.myspace.com/quarterlifenyc to listen to the label's first release--the self titled "Indicant" by Indicant. Funky and raw, it reminds me of DJ Sneak's early techno inspired releases on Chicago's Relief Records. The "Hub Mix" of "Indicant" borrows a tiny bit from speed garage tracks of the late 90's, while staying true to its electro roots with staccato vocal samples and bright synths interspersed over the tracks breakdowns. If a DJ like Todd Terry was into electro, I could see this fitting into his repertoire.
Karmaloop's exclusive RBK Pump Fury
Working at StarStyle for the past two-years has had an influence on me. Although the site is going the way of the dinosaur and I am no longer with the company (yep, that's right), I thought I might as well carry on some a little of the traditions we built up by adding some fashion to mix. We all love fashion, right? So, in the interest of trying to make a few bucks here while shilling for the man (in this case, Reebok), I thought I'd drop these new kicks from Karmaloop (disclaimer: I get a rev share if you buy these) on the blog tonight. At $139 U.S., they're a little pricey. Since there are only 60 pairs in the U.S., you know why.
MAFIAA Blames Music Piracy on ISPs
From PaidContent.org - "Some estimates say 80 per cent of all internet traffic comprises copyright-infringing files on P2P networks. ISPs have largely stood by, allowing a massive devaluation of copyrighted music. This ... has prompted a crisis in recorded music."