LIFELINES
INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
with Christie Eliezer * Stuff for this column to be emailed to <celiezer@netspace.net.au> by Friday 5pm FEMALES DOMINATE UNDER-30 RICH LIST
Tour promoter KillRockStar Big Dog Entertainment has opened an office in Los Angeles. It will be run by Derek Johnson, who worked with Media Talent Group, Creative Artists Agency and Live Nation. In Oz, it’s brought Michael Panetta (Melodic Music Management) aboard as business development manager. Acts they toured recently included Sublime, Aqua, Showtek, Unwritten Law, Dead Kennedys, HED(pe) and Mickey Avalon.
* Michael Jackson was in debt of $500 million when he died, but his estate has almost paid them off by making $475 million since then. * Oz hip hop scene veterans Def Wish Cast warned on triple j that a rising breed of “Australian hip hop” acts see their music only for white fans. * Hollywood actor and singer Rick Springfield did an impromptu performance in a Boronia restaurant two weeks ago as a promise to its owner, the Knox Leader revealed. Apparently Springfield ate at the Cove Steakhouse Wine Bar And Grill at Alchester Village in January and told owner Jay Harrison he’d play there next time he was in town. Turned out he was back in Melbourne to see former Zoot colleague Darryl Cotton who is battling liver cancer. He got up and did Twist & Shout, Them’s Gloria and his own Jessie’s Girl. * Rai Thistlethwayte of Thirsty Merc relocated to LA some months back. * James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem has said that he still isn’t sure if breaking up the band last year was a ‘good decision’ but one that had to be done. * The mayor of Claremont, Perth, intends to take legal action against Big Day Out and Soundwave returning to the Showgrounds because they’ve previously disregarded noise levels.
DAVID JONES ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE AT COLLARTS
CASTLEMAINE MUSIC COMMUNITY BATTLES POKIES VENUE
Master drummer David Jones is appointed the inaugural artist-in-residence at Collarts. Apart from playing with John Farnham, Dragon, James Morrison, Tommy Emmanuel and Don Burrows, he leads orchestras in Australia and overseas. In his new role, he assists the development of advanced students, undertakes masterclasses, and runs workshops across a wide range of instruments and styles. Collarts has also introduced scholarships for music performance and music business. See collarts.edu.au/contactus. Collarts also has an Open Day on 25 August, 10am-2pm.
Castlemaine’s music venue operators and music community are battling against a proposal to introduce an 800-capacity entertainment venue for the centre of Castlemaine. It is funded by regional Victorian pokies operator The Maryborough Highland Society. They are challenging this at VCAT in August, arguing that it is a threat to original live music and touring in regional Victoria. David Stretch from Theatre Royal warns, “While I cannot imagine many (if any) of the artists we book at our venue would ever consider playing at this proposed pokies barn, this new venue will undoubtedly suck millions out of the local economy and seriously compromise the viability of not only our business but many businesses involved in an already challenging local hospitality and entertainment sector.” It’s not a case of being worried about competition either, Stretch emphasises, citing how the newly opened Bridge Hotel is doing wonders for the live music scene. Brendan Noonan from the Bridge Hotel agrees he welcomes competition but points out, “The proliferation of music and the arts enrich a community and strengthen the cultural fabric of a town. Poker machines on the other hand achieve exactly the opposite.” If you are a performer, promoter, manager or agent and won’t play the pokies in Castlemaine, email your support to davidstretch@ me.com.
Five of the Top 10 of Forbes’ Under 30 Rich List are female musicians. The list is topped by Taylor Swift, 22, whose fortune of US$57 million comes from sales of four per album, a $1 million price tag for each show and a range of endorsements. #2 was Justin Bieber whose $55 million fortune also swelled from his investments in start-up companies such as Stamped, Tinychat and Spotify. The rest of the list were Rihanna ($53m), Lady Gaga ($52m), Katy Perry ($45m), Adele ($35m), Kristen Stewart ($34.5m), Lil Wayne ($27m), Taylor Lautner ($26.5m) and Robert Pattinson ($26.5m).
KILLROCKSTAR BIG DOG OPENS U.S. OFFICE
MELBOURNE NAMES IN UNSIGNED ONLY Melbourne names Skipping Girl Vinegar, Kate Vigo, Hunting Grounds and Jacob Butler were among finalists in the global Unsigned Only competition. Butler’s Mind Waltz and Skipping Girl’s You Can were in the AAA section, Vigo’s Wanna Run in adult contemporary and Hunting Ground’s In Colour in the rock category.
WANNA PLAY SCoRCHeR FeST? SCoRCHeR FeST showcases 40 bands over three stages, with 80% of the bill made up of local bands and the rest of touring acts. Acts can make up to $25 per ticket from the ticket promotion package which they purchase. Go to scorcherfest.com.au. The festival, now in its tenth year, hits Melbourne on Sunday December 9 at Noise Bar, Brunswick.
FUNDRAISER FOR GREEN LINE FOUNDATION Tex Perkins is headlining a fundraiser this week for the Thin Green Line Foundation – which he recently became ambassador for. The Melbourne charity (thingreenline.org. au) protects wildlife rangers and their families in the world’s conflict zones; over 1,000 died in the past ten years. Perkins was inspired to become involved with the Foundation after meeting Ugandan wildlife ranger John Makombo and showing him his gorilla tattoo. The fundraiser is on Friday July 27 at Fitzroy Town Hall with Nick Barker and 3RRR’s Max Crawdaddy. Raffle prizes include a backstage concert experience with Gotye, and a handcrafted guitar painted by indigenous artist Colin Wright and signed by Gotye, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Crosby Stills And Nash, Wolfmother, Earth Wind & Fire, Trombone Shorty, Sublime With Rome and John Butler.
THINGS WE HEAR * Nicki Minaj tweeted she’s here in October … Coast FM in WA was so pissed off that Madonna decided not to extend her world tour to Australia in January (didn’t think she’d sell enough tickets) that it yanked her records off its playlist … we might still see drummer Travis Barker here with Blink 182 in February. He’s forcing himself to get over his fear of flying, and insists on using Qantas because it’s never crashed. * Three months after singer Tom Hartney quit, bass player Quang Dinh is also departing Little Red to focus on his new band Naked Bodies. * Country singer songwriter Beccy Cole announced on ABC TV’s Australian Story this week that she is gay. Cole, who has a 13-year-old son, realised it in 1999 when her marriage broke down.
Beat Magazine Page 38
BRANSON TO BUY BACK VIRGIN? Richard Branson put his hand up to buy back Virgin Records, which he sold to EMI in 1992. There was much speculation that to calm European regulators that Universal’s US$1.9 billion buy-out of EMI merger will make it too powerful, Universal will shed some labels, including Virgin. Branson has picked Patrick Zelnik, head of French indie Naïve, to run it. Zelnik, co-president of Euro indie association IMPALA, stunned some in the indie sector by saying he approved of the Universal/EMI deal. But unsubstantiated reports late last week suggested that Universal had offered to shed other indies as Chrysalis, Ensign and Sanctuary and help other indies pay to buy them.
FINALISTS FOR INDIGENOUS AWARDS Fast rising NE Arnhem Land band East Journey, Queensland’s The Medics, Troy Cassar-Daley and Busby Marou, NSW’s Last Kinection, NT’s Gurrumul Yunupingu and Shellie Morris, Melbourne’s The Black Arm Band and Darwin-born Sydney-based pop singer Jessica Mauboy are among the finalists in the National Indigenous Music Awards. These are held in Darwin next month. See nima. musicnt.com.au/ for full list.
SEMINAR #1: SETTING UP YOUR BUSINESS Woodside Better Business runs a seminar for artists and artist companies on how to set up your business. Juanita Pope and Rebecca Laubi will touch on sole traders vs. an incorporated entity, types of incorporated entities for profits and non-profits; Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), Taxable Concession Charities (TCC) and other tax issues; and Case study examples of various structures for artists and arts organisations. It costs $20, is held on Friday July 27 at The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale Street, city (9.30am-11am). See writersvictoria.org.au for more info and to register.
SEMINAR #2: ACF ON DONATIONS AND TAX DEDUCTIBILITY The Australia Cultural Fund holds a free information session on Friday August 3. Eric Lilja, director of AbaF Victoria, will talk on tax deductibility and its implications, how to register to use the ACF, and tips for generating donations from individuals within existing networks. See abaf.org.au, seminar runs 2pm-4pm at Seminar Room 1, State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street.
FUNDING BOOST FOR FILM FESTIVAL The state government announced an additional $150,000 in funding for the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) to ensure it has “programming flexibility to show films in different formats across different venues,” said Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business Louise Asher. The 2012 MIFF has also received $17,500 from the Coalition Government through Tourism Victoria’s Events Program to attract more visitors and showcase Melbourne as a leading screen culture and film capital. MIFF chair Claire Dobbin said as a direct consequence, this year’s festival line-up will feature over 35 films from Cannes, a significant increase on previous years. The festival runs from August 2-19, opening with the Australian premiere of The Sapphires which recently debuted at Cannes. The Sapphires tells the story of four female singers from a remote Aboriginal mission in Victoria who are offered their first real gig entertaining American troops in Vietnam.
UNFD SNARE IN HEARTS WAKE UNFD signed Byron Bay metalcore merchants In Hearts Wake and release their debut album Divination on August
60 SECONDS WITH ...
CROWDFUNDING: HOW TO WORK THE CROWD More music and arts folk are turning to crowdfunding platforms as a quick cost-effective way to fund their projects. Last year, almost $1.5 billion was pledged on platforms around the world. The Australia Council commissioned a pilot program and research on it. Caroline Vu of the Council’s philanthropy arm Artsupport and its digital content officer Elliott Bledsoe host a forum on how to run successful campaigns (target, pitching) and what to do if it goes wrong and findings of research by Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries. It’s on Wednesday August 1, State Library of Victoria, 5.307.30pm, register at crowdfunding-mel.eventbrite.com/
Thursday July 26 and Friday 27 with The Living Eyes and The Murlocs consecutively. What do you think a band has to do these days to succeed? If we knew the answer to that question we would be a lot more successful.
Now in its tenth year, Telstra’s Road To Discovery travels Australia from mid-August to October looking for unsigned acts. Years back it uncovered a shy 14-year-old from Darwin who won and went on to great success – Jessica Mauboy. Entries are for performers and songwriters (and a special one for acts who don’t travel). Full details: telstra.com/trtd.
Consumer watchdog Choice says that Australians pay 52% more than Americans for downloaded music and games, as well as computer software and hardware. Choice was making a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into IT Pricing and calling for fairer pricing. It says it discriminates against regional and low-income households. Choice dismisses arguments from retailers that local factors such as wages, rent and transport causes prices to go up: Choice sniffs that with iTunes, local companies have no overhead.
31. Recorded in Michigan, USA by Josh Schroeder, it features guest vocalists, it comes with a DVD featuring the Divination Diaries, the clip for their first single Traveller (The Fool), and a Making Of feature which vocalist Jake Taylor wrote, directed and produced.
THE FROWNING CLOUDS
ENTRIES OPEN FOR TELSTRA ROAD TO DISCOVERY
CHOICE SURVEY: AUSSIES PAY 52% MORE FOR DOWNLOADS
Split: Black Eyed Peas’ DJ Poet and Melbourne model Lucy McIntosh after they got engaged two years ago. Marrying: Arctic Monkeys guitarist Jamie Cook and glamour model Katie Downes after he proposed. They met in 2006 at a party in Liverpool. Married: Robert Plant admitted he and U.S. country music singer Patty Griffin eloped to Texas last year. Hospitalised: DMX with concussion after losing control of a four wheeler riding down a hill outside his home in South Carolina. Ill: Bertie Blackman contracted tonsillitis, forcing the postponement of the launch of her album Pope Innocent X. Recovering: Passion Pit singer Michael Angelakos, who has bipolar disorder, forced the band to go off the road for a time to minimise ‘further disruptions’. Suing: Florida DJ Aubrey Davis – known as DJ Mixx — claims Usher took his half finished track Let’s Go, added lyrics and made it Hey Daddy off the Raymond V. Raymond album. Sued: Live singer Ed Kowalczyk by the rest of the band (or rather, the band’s company which holds their trademark) for using the name Live when he tours. In Court: an appeals court has questioned the death penalty of body builder John Riccardi who, 30 years ago, killed guitarist Dave Navarro’s mother, his girlfriend, in a jealous rage. In Court: New York clothing designer Dwayne Walker wants $7 million from Jay-Z in unpaid royalties for designing their Roc-A-Fella label logo. Died: Motown studio musician and Funk Bros bassist Bob Babbitt, brain cancer. He played on bass on Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered, The Temptations’ Ball Of Confusion, Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye and Edwin Starr’s War among many others. Died: U.S. pioneering female country singer Kitty Wells, 92. Died: Kyle Glover, 11, stepson of singer Usher, from injuries received in a jetski accident. His mother Tameka Foster was married to Usher.
Describe the best gig you have ever played. In Cologne Germany, the party was pumpin’ and the owner kept pouring vodka down our throats. Just fun being well-received in another land. Define your genre in five words or less: ROCK AND AND AND ROLL. What do you hate about the music industry? Mostly the music and all sketchy business men. If you could assassinate one person or band from popular music, who would it and why? Paul McCartney for his part in Day In The Life. When’s the gig and with who? Our new single launch is at The Grace Darling on
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES..... WWW.BEAT.COM.AU/TV
If someone made a movie about your life, who would play you? Jake: Vincent Schiavelli Daff: Rowan Atkinson Wishy: Tom Cruise Nick: Corey Feldman Zak: Owen Wilson What advice would you give to bands that are new on the Melbourne music scene? Life Stinks. Try The Kinks.