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MUSIC INDUSTRY SEMINAR
Music Therapy 101 a recurring national music industry seminar presents Rules of the Game, Saturday, August 17, 2002 in Atlanta, GA at the Double Tree Hotel, 3342 Peachtree St., NE. There will be panels on How to get a Record Deal, Music Publishing, Distribution and Networking Activities.
Panelist include Willie Hunter-Music Entertainment Editor, Netoba Watson-VP of Operations/Music Therapy 101, DJ Jelly-Big Oomp Records, Ty Young-Music Business Consultants, Jay-Dog Select-O-Hits Distribution, Arlinda Garrett-AtoZ Records, Jeffrey Omari, Esq.-Former DARP Publishing Administrator, Frank Nitty, Steve Gordon-Music Attorney (10 years experience at Sony Music), Calvin Thorbourne-Universal Music Group, Phillip Rodgers-Sunset Blvd. Entertainment Publishing Company and more.
SAVE 30% by registering online with a credit card or Paypal by July 27 at www.mt101.com. Seating is limited; register now at www.mt101.com Sponsored by BET, Kemetic Records, High Profile Music, Atlanta Voice and MAE & Associates. Audio/DJ Services provided by DNA Productions. Contact information info@... 800-963-0949. Receive periodic updates join the email list at http://www.mt101.com
Entertainment:
Eminem, the gift and the Curse
-- Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Sway Calloway, Mtv News
"My insecurities? I'm dumb, I'm stupid, I'm white, I'm ugly, I smell, I'm stupid and I'm white," Eminem says in the middle of his interview atop the Peninsula Hotel in New York City. "I have freckles ... um ... I'm short, I'm white, I'm not very smart, I wanna kill myself. ... My nose is crooked. Um ... my penis is small.
"I'm f---ed," he concludes, walking over to the ledge of the roof as if he's about to jump.
Will he or won't he? Is he or isn't he? Everybody wants to know. Has Hailie's dad really gone crazy? When the mic is turned off and he's out of the spotlight, is he really the guy who, on wax, joked about stealing Christopher Reeve's legs, threatened to rape his own mother and killed his cheating mate?
Of course he's not, Em says with a wink.
"As an artist, you wanna keep a certain mystique," he says. "I don't ever want everybody to know everything that I'm joking about and serious about. That's the fun with creating and doing music — leaving that mystique for people's imaginations so they can get what they wanna get out of it. I guess."
When fellow lyrical illuminator Nas brought fans' fascination with gloom to light by rapping, "You love to hear the stories of how the thugs live in worry," his words couldn't have been more truthful. Nothing surpasses the allure of when floetry greats such as Nasir Jones, Tupac Shakur, Christopher Wallace and Shawn Carter shed the invincibility of their indomitable stage personas and stand before the world butt-naked, engrossing us with their soul-bearing tales of torment such as "Life's a Bitch," "So Many Tears," "Everyday Struggle" or "You Must Love Me."
Eminem is also unafraid to come from behind the curtain and expose himself as Marshall Mathers, the man who admits to feeling like he can get "eaten alive" by his insecurities. Sure, he became the music industry's centerpiece of controversy with rebellion anthems such as "The Real Slim Shady" "Kill You" and "Criminal," where he flagrantly uses the "F" word (f---, f----t, FCC) as Slim Shady.
Beneath the potty-mouth posturing, it's just plain ol' double M. Marshall Mathers, product of a broken home who was, in his own words, "made to believe I was sick when I wasn't." Marshall Mathers, a 28-year-old divorced single father whose life seemingly revolves around the two biggest loves of his life (his daughter, Hailie, and hip-hop) and the two people he says have scarred him for life (his mother, Debbie, and ex-wife, Kim). Marshall Mathers, the "white Pac" and "spiteful, delightful new Ice Cube," the biggest — albeit most reluctant — pop star in the world who just wants his props as an MC.
Just how controversial is Eminem, really? Nas rhymed that he went to hell when he was 12 for punching out Jesus Christ. If Tupac carried out some of the threats he made on records, practically half of the hip-hop community would have caught severe beatdowns. Biggie once rapped about sticking up pregnant women. Even the Jiggaman has soiled his manicured hands, narrating how he's sold more cocaine and busted more rounds of ammo than Al Pacino's heralded Scarface character. Yet none have come under more fire for their records than Eminem.
"I don't feel like I've said anything different from any other rapper in the history of hip-hop," Eminem vents. "I just believe that there's a spotlight on me because I connected with those kids in those suburban homes, because I look like them and they could relate to me. I connected with those kids, and those parents got mad."
"Ol' boy sh--s like us, wipes his ass like us — he's not no different," agrees Baby, Cash Money Millionaire and Big Tymer. "He's just a human that's got talent and is a good artist that's successful. Big up to him. I just like to hear him do what he do. I think he's a talented individual. As far as the controversy, I ain't really into that."
"I caught more flack than any rapper I've ever seen," Eminem scoffs, while 50 floors beneath him, honking horns signal that rush-hour traffic has begun to set in. "At first I used to get mad. Why, in every article that I read, was something about controversy, something about lyrical content? I always felt like, 'Why can't I be recognized for my talent first? When are people gonna see how crafted the music is and how much time I spend on making the music?' I used to get mad, but then I sat back like, 'You know what? F--- it.' Maybe these people are right. Maybe I am terrible."
While a lot of folks don't seem to get it, P. Diddy does. "I believe that a lot of these ill thoughts go through kid's minds, and I think he's made it so clear that a lot of his stuff is tongue-in-cheek," Diddy says. "It's like he's speaking what's on people's minds, what's on his mind and whatever crazy state it's in. He's saying it in a lyrical form, expressing himself, and he's not wishing any malice."
Fortunately for Eminem, Oakland County (Michigan) Circuit Court Judge Denise Langford Morris didn't think he was that bad of a guy either. Last June, she sentenced him to probation after he pleaded no contest to charges that he carried a concealed weapon and brandished a firearm in public during an altercation. Em also pleaded no contest and received probation last April for pistol-whipping John Guerra, a man he caught kissing his wife outside a bar in June 2000. ("The Kiss," a skit on The Eminem Show, addresses the incident.)
"I'm not gonna front. I thought I was gone for a minute," Eminem says of his trips to court. "I didn't know how long, but I thought I was gone. Every day it was something. It was hanging over my head. I'm glad that it's over with, but I think that I got a lot from it and it ended up being a plus in my book.
"It was a reality check," he continued. "It straightened me up and started making me realize, A, to calm down, and B, that this sh-- could all end tomorrow. My worst fear was, 'How am I gonna explain this to Hailie? What am I gonna say if I'm found guilty and I gotta do a prison sentence?' "
The MC, who still has four court cases pending, was also torn to pieces with anxiety about becoming musically irrelevant. Sure, he beats his chest and taunts everyone about how the world would be a worse place sans Eminem on his current single, "Without Me," but he says the separation actually would have hurt him the most.
"I thought I was gonna go away and people was gonna forget," he continues. "Some artists that go to jail, people forget about them. Their name ain't out there. Everything that you've worked for ... I thought everything that I worked for could crumble, like, any day, you know? So that was nerve-racking. I'm glad to not have it hanging over my head anymore. I wash my hands of it."
"I have to see after this album comes out," says Em, who raps about getting overlooked as one of the elite mic slayers on " 'Till I Collapse." "I'll have to see what happens as far as the respect level. Yeah, I feel like I've got credit. I obviously sold records. But the things that I feel are the greatest, the rhymes that I've actually sat there and worked on for hours — I don't get recognized for them.
"A lot of the rhymes that I've penned in 10 minutes will get recognized, and I always sit back, like, 'That's not my favorite sh-- I've said,' " he explains. "A lot of the stuff, it seems it does get slept on."
"Lyrically, he's up there with the best of them," vouches Diddy, who has produced records for Big, Nas and Jay-Z. "He gets that respect. Who could say he ain't hot? I don't think anybody really wants to spar with that cat on just making a record. He has a unique style. I think he's valuable in the game."
"The average listener, I don't know if they actually see what it is or hear the patterns and syllable rhyming and stuff like that," Eminem explains. "I don't know if they really catch that. I think they just listen and appreciate it for the beat or what it's saying.
"But it's a certain way that I said [those things]. [A certain way] that I write, that Jay-Z writes, Nas ... they crafted rhymes to the very last detail," he continues. "I don't know, they make it look easy so the average listener may think it's easy. But the truth is that everybody would be doing that if it was so easy."
Sex, Violence, Cursing: Explicit Lyrics Stickers Get Explicit
Ever since "explicit lyrics" warning stickers were introduced in 1985, artists have been only too happy to have their albums labeled, figuring kids who want graphic material will see the sticker as incentive to buy the disc.
Following that reasoning, surely they'll welcome the latest move from the BMG Music Group, which is getting explicit with the explicit lyrics stickers.
Starting July 31, discs on the group's BMG, RCA, J and Arista imprints will, when necessary, include "parental advisory" stickers updated with additional warnings about strong language, violent content or sexual content.
The first disc to contain the new labels will be Lady May's May Day, which comes out July 31 on Arista and will include warnings of strong language and sexual content.
In addition to upcoming releases, previously issued albums will be affixed with updated advisories when new pressings are made, a BMG spokesman said.
Pressured by lawmakers' condemnation of sex and violence in the media, BMG had been engaged in internal discussions regarding warning label updates for some time. Two years ago, then-BMG Entertainment President Strauss Zelnick encouraged additional industry policing of its products in order to provide parents more information about the music their kids are listening to.
The company's chairman and CEO, Rolf Schmidt-Holz, announced BMG's expanded parental advisory policy on Monday (June 3) and emphasized that the move will be beneficial both to artists under fire for creating explicit music and to consumers.
"BMG recognizes our dual responsibility to help parents make informed decisions about the entertainment their children consume and to protect the right of our artists to express themselves freely," he said in a statement. "Our labeling initiative will offer parents additional tools to help them decide what is appropriate for them and their families."
Spokespeople at Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group have said they're satisfied with the current parental advisory labels. Spokespeople at EMI Music Group and Universal Music Group were not available for comment.
A source at the Recording Industry Association of America, which drafted the original warning label system, said the organization wants to preserve the existing program. RIAA President Hilary Rosen has asserted that lyrics are open to interpretation, and what one person views as sexual or violent might mean something completely different to someone else.
The battle for record labeling began in 1984 when a group called the Parents Music Resource Center, headed by Tipper Gore, wife of former Vice President Al Gore, expressed outrage at explicit content on albums by artists like Twisted Sister, 2 Live Crew and Frank Zappa. At the conclusion of heated Senate hearings on the issue, the RIAA adopted the current "parental advisory" label.
In recent years, Vice President Dick Cheney's wife, Lynne Cheney, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and others have re-administered explicit-content thumbscrews, citing acts like Eminem and Cannibal Corpse as heinous corrupters of today's youth.
—Jon Wiederhorn, Mtv News
From Ja Rule To Cam'ron, MCs Blaze Airwaves With Unauthorized Remixes
Nowadays, it seems like the only way to tell if a rap remix is "official" is if it shows up on a remix album.
Many MCs are no longer screaming "Gimme that beat, fool," and jacking musical backdrops to freestyle over. It's now en vogue to take somebody's whole song and do your own remix without asking for the artist's approval.
Pick up any mixtape and you'll hear strange affiliations like Big Noyd rapping on Tweet's "Call Me." Last summer saw Jadakiss hopping on Sunshine Anderson's "Heard It All Before," not only adding to the buzz for his solo album, but keeping Anderson's song alive after it had reached its peak.
Cam'ron has been one of the latest guys to set airwaves and mixtapes ablaze with unofficial, unauthorized remixes. He just injected himself on Amerie's "Why Don't We Fall in Love," and his verse on the end of Ja Rule's "Dial M for Murder" made the song an instant street gem.
"No disrespect to Ja, but they weren't playing that song on the radio 'til I did the remix," Cam'ron said. "Sometimes it's the right verse. Not saying Ja doesn't have three or four other songs on the radio. Not dissing at all, that man is doing his thing, but that was a street joint. N---as start playing it, like, boom. Before, it was just an album cut."
Cam, who hasn't been hurting for hits with his own original recordings, said that if he feels strongly about a song, he sees no harm in putting himself on it.
"I was in my car [listening to 'Dial M for Murder' and thought] the beat was too crazy," he recalled. " 'I feel I need a verse on there.' Instead of just freestyling, I'll make it seem like a remix — kick a verse on there and keep Ja's verses on there so people will pay more attention to it.
"If you just freestyle, everybody is gonna go, 'Freestyle,' " Cam'ron explained. "When the artist just goes in and [lays it down, like] boom, boom, boom, it be hot, instead of [going through] all that negotiating and it [ends up] wack. Sometimes you just gotta feel it and go do it — whatever happens, work that out later. It ain't like I did it and Ja's mad, like, 'What the f--- are you doing?' I said some descent sh-- there. When [Murder Inc.] heard it, they were all good with it anyway."
"I don't mind," Ja Rule said. "I've done it in the past. 'Pain' [was] an unofficial remix, and now it's on my album. You never know what can happen with an unofficial remix. I did it for Pac, just to have a tribute record for Pac. I'm not mad at the remix records, because it shows a n---a's got talent. Sometimes people get deals like that."
Aptly named lyricist Skillz, who's dropping an album this summer on Rawkus, can co-sign to Rule's testament. He and his crew, the Supafriendz, gained more exposure than they could have ever imagined years ago by rapping on probably the biggest unauthorized remix yet, Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?"
Originally one third of the trio, Danja Mowf, rapped over the Timbaland-produced beat for a mixtape. The mixtape DJ then added the verse to Aaliyah's song. Skillz and Lonnie B. later put rhymes on when Richmond, Virginia, radio station Power 92 agreed to play the record. Things took off from there.
"I gave it to [my friend] Timbaland, like, 'Yo, check this out,' " Skillz recalled. "It wasn't like, 'We're burning your sh--,' it was like, 'Yo, check out my people.' Next thing I knew, it was on the radio. You know how DJs are, they trade and swap. I think that's how it jumped off in different parts of the country.
"Being that I had the affiliation with Timbaland, it was more or less taken seriously," he continued. "They ran with it. Next thing I knew, we were getting invited to perform with Aaliyah. We got platinum plaques for that."
"I think it's another way for artists to show their versatility without their albums being out," said newcomer Joe Buddens, who refers to himself as "the King of Unauthorized Joints." Buddens has inserted himself into such tracks as Brandy's "What About Us," Case's "Missing You" and Usher's "U Got It Bad," U Remind Me" and "U Don't Have to Call."
"Any artist can get on a tape and spit a couple of bars and make it a freestyle, but sometimes you want to hear somebody do something different," Buddens said. "Somebody wants to hear what else you do. So when I hop on them, it's like, "OK, he's not just one of those dudes who can just rhyme.' "
While Buddens said no one has stepped to him with any grievances of his practice, DJ Enuff, who spins for New York's Hot 97, said the unsolicited remixes are not always welcomed.
"Sometimes it can take the record to the next level," Enuff said. "There are a lot of imitations being done right now that are real cheap, and you're like, 'Yo, dog, no way in a million years you would ever pair up with this person.' People are hip on it now.
"I may get away with playing [an unauthorized mix] for like two or three weeks now, then I get a letter from a label rep like, 'You've gotta cease that record, or a lawyer will call and make it a big stink,' " he continued. "That phone call comes in once in a while.
"This one joint I'm playing now with Cam'ron and Amerie, I had to put a cease on it early this week because Nas is scheduled to do an [official] remix to it," Enuff said. "It happens. From a record label's aspect, some of the unofficial remixes can hurt the excitement of an official remix when it does come. The other problem is, what if a made-up joint is hotter than the remix the label wanted to put out? But if it's done right and it makes sense and it's not hurting the project, why not?"
—Shaheem Reid, Mtv News
Digital Tidbits:
Courtesy of Ice Magazine
Weezer is already posting demos for its follow-up to Maladroit on its Web site. Wells Stringham of London, England e-mails to say that "Living Without You" sounds great and is available for free at Weezer.com.
A Dave Edmunds CD entitled Hand-Picked Musical Fantasies is available exclusively at DaveEdmunds.com on the merchandise page. The disc includes versions of "Return to Sender" and "The Sheik of Araby" to an acoustic arrangement of Mozart’s 4th symphony in G minor. Edmunds tells war stories elsewhere on the site, including one about a meeting with Beatle Paul and Beatle George.
Slash
SlashOnline.com is the official Internet address of the Guns N’ Roses axeman and has free MP3s of tunes by Slash’s Snakepit ("Been There Lately," "Back to the Moment," "Ain’t Life Grand" and others), downloadable video of Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary celebration (at which Slash performed) and even the full-length MTV cartoon "Celebrity Deathmatch" in which Slash roundly beats former bandmate Axl Rose.
Funk Show Available
Fans of Bernie Worrell can choose when to hear a monthly online radio show that features a remarkable expanse of work by the original Parliament-Funkadelic member. The program is WUUU Radio and it’s accessible 24 hours a day from Worrell’s TheBigWu.com or the Digital Club Network (DCN.com). The first of every month, Big Wu archivist Pastor Tim programs a new WUUU Radio show featuring news and live music.
Another R. Kelly Sex Suit Emerges
Montina "Tina" Woods joined the list of women who have filed suits against R&B singer-songwriter/producer R. Kelly. Woods filed a civil suit against Kelly May 24 in Chicago's Cook County Circuit Court, a spokesperson for the courts confirmed.
The circuit court spokesperson was unable to confirm Woods's charges at press time, but according to published reports, the suit accuses Kelly of taping himself and Woods having sex. Woods claims that she is one of the women featured having sex with Kelly in the alleged R. Kelly sex tape, R. Kelly Triple-X.
Woods seeks $50,000 in damages, according to one report.
Woods's counsel argues that she "had a right to prevent her personal image from being recorded for the purpose of his personal gratification and possible dissemination to the public," according to an excerpt of the suit, printed in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The suit makes Woods the fourth woman to sue Kelly over a sexually related matter.
R. Kelly's attorney, Allan Meyer, did not respond to LAUNCH by press time.
R. Kelly has maintained his innocence regarding allegations that he had a sexual relationship with minors in recent interviews with BET and MTV.
-- Billy Johnson Jr., Los Angeles, Launch.com
POLL – The Top MC of all time
Top 10 films:
| 1. | The Sum of All Fears |
| 2. | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones |
| 3. | Spider-Man |
| 4. | Undercover Brother |
| 5. | Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron |
| 6. | Insomnia |
| 7. | Enough |
| 8. | About a Boy |
| 9. | Unfaithful |
| 10. | The New Guy |
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New Music Releases –Upcoming
Arlo Stab the Unstoppable Hero (Sub Pop)
Atreyu Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses (Death by Stereo’s Efrem Schulz guests) (Victory)
Audiovent Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris (Atlantic)
Beachwood Sparks Make the Cowboy Robots Cry (EP) (Sub Pop)
The Bevis Frond What Did for the Dinosaurs (Rubric)
Yume Bitsu The Golden Vessyl of Sound (K)
Black Dog Unsavory Products (K7)
Bloodlet Three Humid Nights in the Cypress Trees (produced by Steve Albini) (Victory)
Boom Box 2000 Boom Box 2000 (Orange Twin)
Chris Brokaw Red Cities (Atavistic)
Peter Brotzmann Group For Adolphe Sax (Atavistic)
Pieta Brown Pieta Brown (Rubric)
Ward Churchill In a Pig’s Eye (two CDs) (Alternative Tentacles)
Cordelia’s Dad What It Is (engineered by Steve Albini and Mark Alan Miller) (Kimchee)
Danzig 777: I Luciferi (Spitfire)
Dead Poetic Four Wall Blackmail (Solid State)
Deadly Avenger Fabric Live 04 (Fabric)
Deer Hoof Reveille (Kill Rock Stars/5 Rue Christine)
Demons Stockholm Slump (Gearhead)
Dillinger 4 Situationist Comedy (Fat Wreck Chords)
DJ Irene Phonosynthesis (Surge)
DJ Quik Under tha Influence (Dr. Dre guests) (Bungalo)
DJ Shadow The Private Press (clean, explicit and two-CD versions) (MCA)
DJ Spooky Modern Mantra (two CDs) (Shadow)
Doleful Lions Out Like a Lamb (Parasol)
Doves The Last Broadcast (Capitol)
Duraluxe The Suitcase (Hidden Agenda)
Dyshon & Squabble Half & Half (Romeo)
E.S.T. Strange Place for Snow (Columbia)
Eminem The Eminem Show (clean and explicit versions) (Aftermath/
Interscope)
Enon High Society (Touch and Go)
The Fartz Injustice (Alternative Tentacles)
Full Cycle Live @ Level (K7)
Glory Fountain The Beauty of 23 (LaJoy)
Sherry Goffin Kondor Mellow My Baby: Soothing Songs (co-written w/mother Carole King) (Sugar Beats/Rounder)
Alex Gopher & Demon Wuz (Solid)
Great Lakes The Difference Between (Orange Twin)
Green Pajamas If She Only Knew (EP) (Recordhead/Mr. Whiggs)
Greenwheel Soma Holiday (Island)
High Contrast True Colours (Breakbeat Science)
Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen Way Out West (Back Porch)
Hometown News Wheels (VFR)
Jack Ingram Electric (Patty Griffin guests) (Sony/Lucky Dog)
Interpol Interpol (EP) (Matador)
J-200 A Trip from Grace (Loose Booty)
David Jacobs-Strain Stuck on the Way Back (NorthernBlues)
Donell Jones Life Goes On (Arista)
JW-Jones Blues Band Bogart’s Bounce (NorthernBlues)
Tommy Keene The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (Wilco’s Jay Bennett guests) (spinART)
Willie Kennedy Cape Breton Violin (Rounder)
The Kennedys Get It Right (Nanci Griffith guests) (Jiffyjam)
King of Woolworths Ming Star (Mantra/Beggars Banquet)
Avril Lavigne Let Go (Arista)
Shannon Lawson Chase the Sun (MCA Nashville)
LMNT All Sides (Purple Leopard/Atlantic)
Lollipop Lust Kill My So Called Knife (w/cover of Depeche Mode’s "Personal Jesus") (Artemis)
Looper The Snare (Mute)
Los Lobos Good Morning Aztlán (produced by John Leckie) (Mammoth)
Luce Luce (Nettwerk)
Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams (SACD) (Sony Classical)
Marlee MacLeod Like Hollywood (Catamount)
Natalie MacMaster Live (two CDs) (Rounder)
Matthew Everybody Down (Rykodisc)
Medication Prince Valium (Locomotive)
Tift Merritt Bramble Rose (Lost Highway)
The Model Rockets Tell the Kids (The Cops Are Here) (Young Fresh Fellows’ Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch guest) (Not Lame)
Coco Montoya Can’t Look Back (Alligator)
Mystik Journeymen Magic (Meshell Ndegéocello plays guitar on "Jambalaya") (Outhouse)
Meshell Ndegéocello Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (Maverick)
Billy Novick A Rose in the Desert (Rounder)
Organic Grooves 4 (Codek)
The Paybacks Knock Loud (Get Hip)
Pinetop Perkins Pinetop Is Just Top (Black & Blue)
Pitchshifter Ununited Kingdom (EP) (Alternative Tentacles)
The Polyphonic Spree The Beginning Stages of... (Good)
The Possibilities Way Out! (Parasol)
Flora Purim Sings Milton Nascimento (Narada Jazz)
Railer Frame of Mind (Resolute)
Railroad Earth Bird in a House (Sugar Hill)
Rearview Mirror All Lights Off (Palm Pictures)
Jason Ringenberg (ex-Jason & the Scorchers) All Over Creation (Yep Roc)
Jackie Ryan Passion Flower (OpenArt)
Willy Schwartz Metamorphoses (music for the Broadway show of the same name) (Knitting Factory)
Scratch The Embodiment of Instrumentation (Ropeadope/Atlantic)
Dave Seaman Global Underground Melbourne (two CDs) (Global Underground)
Sev All These Dreams (Geffen)
Rick Shea & Brantley Kearns Trouble and Me (Dave Alvin guests) (Tres Pescadores)
Side Walk Slam Give Back (Tooth and Nail)
Silkworm Italian Platinum (Touch and Go)
Spaceheads Low Pressure (Merge)
Speedealer Second Sight (produced by Jason Newsted) (Palm Pictures)
Speedy J Loudboxer (NovaMute)
Tobin Sprout Sentimental Stations (EP) (Recordhead/Wigwam)
Starbelly Everyday and Then Some (Not Lame)
Swearing at Motorists This Flag Signals Goodbye (Secretly Canadian)
The Takers If the Blues Were Red (Rubric)
Thuunderboy! Thuunderboy! (Table of the Elements)
Vader Revelations (Metal Blade)
Vehemence God Was Created (Metal Blade)
Yid Vicious Forverts! (JAM/Knitting Factory)
Roger Wallace The Lowdown (Toni Price duets on "Blow Wind Blow") (Lone Star)
Anna Waronker Anna (guests Redd Kross’s Steve McDonald) (Five Foot Two/Oglio)
yaya3 yaya3 (Loma)
The Young Dubliners Absolutely (Omtown/Higher Octave)
Young People Young People (5 Rue Christine)
VA Bliss:01 (Bliss)
VA Chilled Grooves (Water Music)
VA If the 21st Century Didn’t Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent It (5 Rue Christine)
VA Soundbombing III (Rawkus)
OST Bad Company (w/new Gorillaz/D12, Blu Cantrell and others) (Hollywood)
OST Blade II (score by Marco Beltrami) (Varèse Sarabande)
OST Enough (score by David Arnold) (Varèse Sarabande)
OST Getting There (new Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen film) (Trauma)
OST Love and a Bullet (stars Naughty by Nature’s Treach) (TVT Soundtrax)
OST Queen of the Damned (score) (Warner Bros.)
OST Scooby-Doo (w/Outkast, MxPx, Shaggy and others) (Lava/Atlantic)
OST Spider-Man (score) (Columbia)
OST Storytelling (score by Belle and Sebastian) (Matador)
OST Sum of All Fears (score by Jerry Goldsmith w/ new Yolanda Adams track, "If We Could Remember") (Elektra)
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High Quality RnB, Hiphop, Dance, and Reggae production for your next project:
http://www.wholeteam.com/openeyeconcepts.htm
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Atlanta Events courtesy of Larry Luv of the Lowdown Newsletter:
http://www.wholeteam.com/atl_events.htm
Food and Health
Cookout Time!!!!
Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings
From Food Network Kitchens
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Vegetable oil for frying
2 pounds chicken wings, split at the joint, wingtips removed and discarded
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup hot sauce, or to taste
Blue Cheese Dressing, recipe follows
Celery sticks
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cayenne.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, pour in the oil to a depth of 2 inches. Place over medium heat and heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 375 degrees F. Working in 3 batches, dredge the wings in the flour mixture and fry until lightly browned, about 10 to 12 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wings to a paper towel-lined plate. (Make sure the oil returns to the proper temperature before frying each batch.)
In a large bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Toss the fried wings in the hot sauce mixture. Transfer the wings, with the sauce, to a large foil-lined baking sheet, or 2 small ones, and bake, turning the wings occasionally, until crispy and they have absorbed most of the sauce, about 35 minutes.
Transfer the wings to a serving platter and serve with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
Blue Cheese Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup crumbled Maytag blue cheese (about 3 ounces), divided
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of the blue cheese, half-and-half, sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and salt, until smooth. Gently stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of blue cheese and season with pepper, to taste. Use now or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Yield: 2 1/4 cups
Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved
Yield: about 4 appetizer servings.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Barbecue Pork Burgers with Coleslaw
Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine
For the barbecue sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup minced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
For the burgers:
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
3 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for brushing the burgers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the coleslaw:
2 cups thinly shredded cabbage
1/4 cup coarsely grated carrot
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons mayonnaise, or to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 sesame hamburger buns, split and toasted
Make the barbecue sauce: Heat the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, chili powder, and hot pepper sauce, and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and let it cool. The barbecue sauce may be made 4 days in advance and kept covered and chilled.
Make the burgers: In a bowl combine well the pork, the bread crumbs, and 1/3 cup of the barbecue sauce and form the mixture into 4 (1-inch-thick) patties. Lightly brush the burgers with oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a well-seasoned grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the burgers, turning once, until just cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Baste the burgers with some of the barbecue sauce and continue to grill, turning and basting occasionally, for 2 minutes more
While the burgers are grilling, make the coleslaw: In a bowl combine the cabbage, carrot, onion, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer the burgers to the buns and top them with the coleslaw. Serve the remaining barbecue sauce separately.
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Sports
Next task for Lakers: four more wins
By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer
June 4, 2002
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- This might be a tough encore for the Los Angeles Lakers.
After winning one of the most riveting series in playoff history, they still need four wins over the New Jersey Nets to earn their third straight title and a spot in the record books for their coach.
But if ever the NBA Finals could possibly be considered an afterthought, it's now.
After all, the Lakers are 9-1 favorites over the upstart Nets after beating the Sacramento Kings in a series many believe determined the championship.
One problem could be a letdown, at least early in the best-of-seven series. The Lakers were indeed tested by the Kings in the Western Conference finals and were left with little time to gear up for the Nets.
``Deep, deeper than we've ever dug before,'' Derek Fisher said after his team's 112-106 overtime victory in Game 7 at Sacramento.
``I would say that it was grueling,'' Shaquille O'Neal said.
The Lakers, who took Monday off to rest, were to practice Tuesday in nearby El Segundo.
Game 1 is Wednesday night at Staples Center. Game 2 also will be in Los Angeles on Friday before the series shifts to New Jersey for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5.
The Lakers are making their 21st appearance in the NBA Finals and will be shooting for their 14th championship, including five in Minneapolis before moving to Los Angeles in 1960.
The Nets, in the playoffs for the first time since 1998, will be playing in the finals for the first time. Their 10 playoff wins this spring are one more than their total since joining the NBA in 1976.
``They have a nice little team,'' Robert Horry said.
``They play with a lot of emotion, they play with a lot of moxie,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``We felt confident that the winner of this conference would win the series and we still believe it.''
Confidence is never a problem for the Lakers. Even when they trailed the Kings 3-2 they were upbeat -- from Jackson to the end of the bench.
The Lakers' fans even include some Nets.
``I was rooting for the Lakers to pull it out because I wanted to go home and play them,'' said Lucious Harris, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended Long Beach State. ``It's unbelievable to be going home and playing the champions.''
Keith Van Horn, from nearby Diamond Bar, spent his childhood rooting for the Lakers.
``First we beat Boston in Boston, now I'm going home to play LA in the NBA Finals,'' he said. ``I couldn't have scripted it better.''
The Lakers have appeared vulnerable at times during the playoffs, but now they are playing their best basketball of the postseason.
``We still have the heart of a champion,'' forward Rick Fox said.
One of the main reasons the Lakers beat the Kings was O'Neal's ability to ignore the pain from his arthritic right big toe and produce dominating efforts in Games 6 and 7.
He had 41 points and 17 rebounds Friday night in a 106-102 victory and 35 points and 13 rebounds less than 48 hours later in Game 7.
And he made free throws: 13-of-17 and 11-of-15 in the last two games. That's 24-of-32 and 75 percent -- far above his typical output.
``Over the last couple of years now, when I've needed to hit them, I've hit them,'' he said.
Jackson has won a record 23 straight playoff series. If he makes it 24, he will have nine championships as a coach to tie Red Auerbach's record and 156 postseason victories, one more than leader Pat Riley.
New Jersey's Byron Scott, meanwhile, is in his second year as an NBA head coach -- both with the Nets, who were 26-56 in his first season.
Scott played 11 of his 14 NBA seasons with the Lakers and was a starter on three of their five championship teams in the 1980s.
``It's one of the greatest organizations in all of sports,'' he said. ``I loved being there, playing there and now going back there as a coach.
``I love this challenge. I'm going back to LA to coach in the NBA Finals. It's a dream come true for me.''
Williamses power into semis
Venus and Serena WIlliams' games might not seem suited for clay, but unlike Pete Sampras, they are on track for a meeting in the French Open final. Venus Williams reached the semis for the first time by beating Monica Seles, and Serena Williams dropped just two games in her semi against former champ Mary Pierce. Venus will next play the first unseeded semifinalist in 12 years, Clarissa Fernandez. Serena awaits the winner of the Jennifer Capriati-Jelena Dokic match.
Music
How Do I Get My Label Distributed?
by Peter Spellman
from Music Business Solutions
at http://www.mbsolutions.com
Peter Spellman is author of "The Self-Promoting Musician: Strategies for Independent Music Success" (Berklee Press) and Director of Music Business Solutions, an educational consultancy that includes a variety of seminars, publications, as well as one-on-one career counseling and business development. Its whole focus is on empowering musicians with cutting-edge information and strategies for penetrating today's music market. Six months after starting Music Business Solutions, Peter received a call from Berklee College of Music to become its Director of Career Development. His job there is to interface with the global music industry towards helping students discover their most appropriate career paths as composers, songwriters, performers, educators, film scorers, arrangers, business people, producers or engineers. Peter can be reached at 781/639-1971, and has more information at the Music Business Solutions web site.
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1. What's the first step?
Send us a sample of your product. Most distributors accept finished product for consideration only. CD's are the format of choice. Most distributors rarely consider cassette only releases for distribution, and they no longer deal with vinyl, At the moment, Most distributors are strictly a distributors and not a label (i.e. they do not manufacture finished CD's from your master)
The music should be professionally recorded, and the artwork should be appropriate for the genre.
If you are pressing your own CD s and selling them, in distributor's eyes you are a label. A label must have its own name, catalog numbers, and Universal Product Code. We recommend a trademark search when naming your company. When designing the packaging, the catalog number (preferably consisting of a three letter label abbreviation followed by the number, [or instance ARC 1001) should be clearly visible on the spines, The catalog number should be the same for CD and Cassette. The UPC Code Bar Code) must be on the back cover of the CD and Cassette. Most distributors cannot distribute any product that is not bar coded, All of their important accounts currently insist on bar codes to track product. If you already have salable product manufactured without bar codes, this can be remedied by having decals printed with the appropriate codes.
For information on obtaining our own UPC code, Contact The Uniform Code Council, Inc. 8163 Old Yankee Road, Suite J, Dayton, 0H 45456 (513) 435 3870
2. How do distributors decide what to pick up for distribution?
The most important thing to remember is that the distributor is your customer. They purchase pre recorded music that they believe they can sell to stores, who then sell to the consumer. There are a great number of factors that weigh upon their decision to distribute a particular recording or catalog. Some of the most important questions they ask upon presentation of finished product are:
Is the artist well known with an established following?
Does the artist have a sales track record in the mainstream record trade?
Is there independent radio and/or retail promotion?
Is there a co-op ad budget? (see #10 below)
If this is a new artist, what sort of promotion can they expect from the label or the artist that will help sell records?
Is the artist actively performing or touring in their area?
Is there any current radio activity on this title?
Are there any well known guest musicians?
Does the label have the resources to press enough product if the demand becomes great?
What are the label's upcoming releases, and when can they expect them?
Does the label have a salable back catalog?
Does the label also sell to competing distributors in their territory?
How much of the catalog is already on store shelves?
Does the quality of the recording, and the artwork measure up to the standards of its genre?
All of these concerns will have a bearing on the distributor's decision to pick up a label for distribution. Unfortunately, it takes a lot more than just the inherent quality of the music to sell records.
3. Suppose the distributor has decided to distribute your label-what next?
The distributor will place an initial purchase order for goods to be shipped to the distributor's warehouse.
The distributor may need a letter from the label authorizing our exclusivity for certain accounts in their territory.
Some distributors ask that new labels advertise a page in their monthly new release mailing which goes out to all their nearly accounts. The distributor will charge back the cost of this advertising against our account with you.
In order for them to effectively solicit your product, most distributors ask that you provide them with a suitable quantity of "One Sheets" and promotional goods with your initial shipment.
The "One Sheet" is a single 8 1/2" x 11" page describing your release in the terms that you feel will present your product in the most favorable light to the store buyer. This can include descriptions of the music, a list of the musicians, a reproduction of the cover, reviews, etc. The most important function of the "One Sheet" Is for data entry, so it MUST include the catalog number and UPC code (either the numbers or a reproduction of the bar code will suffice). Most distributors will be happy to provide you with examples of effective "OneSheets" if you are interested.
Distributors prefer at least a box of promotional CDs (Also known as DJ's). The artwork should be clipped, punched, drilled or otherwise marked to discourage stores from returning promotional goods for credit. In store play is a great way to sell CD's. A lot of stores try a new CD only if the distributor can furnish them with an in store promo copy. In the long term it is not practical try to save a few dollars by not sending promos. No one will buy your music without an idea of what it sounds like.
4. What about your price to the distributor?
As a general rule of thumb, labels sell to the distributor at 50% of the list price. The most common price points for front line new releases are:
For a $14.98 list CD, the distributor pays $7.50, and for an $8.98 list cassette, they pay $4.50. Most distributors will tell you have that lower price points will stimulate sales on new artists and catalogue re-issues. If you sell CD's by mail order, the distributor will want you to charge list price plus a handling charge, in order to provide consumers the incentive to purchase your product through record stores.
5. How does your label get paid?
Some distributor's terms for labels who have established themselves by releasing product which consistently sells through at retail and is not returned by the distributor's customers pay on a 2% 60 days/end of month. That is, if the distributor receives your invoice on January 10, the invoice will be paid, with a 2% prompt payment discount taken on March 31.
Labels just getting started, or labels coming into a distributor's system for the first time can expect to be paid down to the distributor's floor inventory level plus an allowance for product still on store shelves on the above explained 60 day end of month basis. Let's say, for example, a label has billed a distributor for a total of $5,000 worth of product. let's then assume that $1,500 worth of this product remains in the distributor's warehouse at the end of the first billing cycle. This means that the distributor has "placed" $3,500 worth of product at retail, some of which still remains on the stores' shelves unsold. The distributor is responsible for paying for the $3,500 worth of product placed less a reserve of 15% to 20% for the label's product which .may be returned to the distributor by the stores. The label should look for a check for about $2,800 to $3,000.
Payment for Christmas product is generally made at the end of March, after all returns have been taken from the stores and all excess product has been returned by the distributor to the label.
6. Returns?
One of the unique and unfortunate aspects of the American record business is the industry-wide returns policy. All goods must be 100% guaranteed against defects and overstocks, returnable for full credit for any reason. All the independent distributors, must extend a 100% guarantee against defectives and overstocks to all of our customers. We regularly accept returns from our customers, issuing full credit for all acceptable product returned. If the distributor deletes a label from their roster, it will take them from 6 to 12 months to receive all the returns. Additionally, some of the larger chains currently practice withholding up to 20% of their payables to distributors as a reserve against returns.
From time to time, the distributor will return defective and overstocked product to their labels for full credit. Distributors hate returns, so they should try to order conservatively and often.
7. Shipping and Invoices?
For all shipments to the distributors, you should enclose a packing slip detailing what was ordered, what has been shipped, the number of cartons in the shipment, and the Distributor Purchase Order number. CDs and cassettes should be shrink wrapped and in salable condition. CD's should be sent jewel box only. Product sent in blister packs or longbox will often be subject to a repackaging charge. Invoices should be sent separately, under separate cover, to the distributor's Accounts Payable. The invoice should include an invoice number, invoice date, a detail of what was shipped, a ship date, unit prices, the distributor's Purchase Order number, and the total amount due. Each shipment should have its own invoice; do not bill separate shipments on the same invoice. Often times this is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for any payment to be made. The distributor warehouse guys don't usually write checks from your packing slips; it is imperative. that they have the proper documentation to process payment.
8. Who is responsible for promotion?
Generally, distributors look to the labels to provide most of the promotion directed toward the consumer. This includes getting the records on radio, national advertising, publicity to print and other media. The object is to get people to go to their local record store looking to buy titles on your label.
9. What can I expect from the distributor?
The distributor's responsibility is to make the buyers in their territory aware of your releases, using their sales tools, promos, one sheets, airplay reports, touring information, etc., to convince the buyers that they should stock your product. The distributor can provide a flow of information to the retailers so t
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