THE DN VOL. CXVII, ISSUE 2 SEPTEMBER 2017
FINDING THEIR CALLING
THE DN
CONTENTS
VOL. CXVII, ISSUE 2 SEPTEMBER 2017
4
EDITOR’S LETTER
6
MONTHLY EVENTS
10 14
SETH KORTE: MIXING MUSIC WITH PEOPLE Q&A WITH PLACK BLAGUE
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PLAYLIST OF THE MONTH: LINCOLN CALLING
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THE WAY OUT FINDS THEIR WAY IN
22 24
COMEDY AT LINCOLN CALLING OPINION: IS SPOTIFY GOOD FOR ARTISTS?
DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
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EDITOR’S LETTER
ISSUE N° 2
STAFF
Hi, friends.
I developed the story ideas and assigned this magazine to my staff at The DN. I learned how to create a 32-page magazine about my favorite time of the year.
I’m writing to you from the passenger seat of my mom’s car. She’s driving me back for my final year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Through four years of covering Lincoln Calling, I’ve made friends and definitely a few enemies. I’ve learned how community unites through music.
When I think about my college experience, and I’ve said this 1,000 times, I’ll always think of The Daily Nebraskan. Countless hours and assignments later, I have plenty of clips and experience to add to my portfolio.
With amazing headliners like Charlie XCX and Angel Olsen, I can’t wait to see what this year will teach us all.
But there’s one common denominator that appears through my years as a reporter, editor and manager.
In the meantime, please enjoy the rest of this year’s Lincoln Calling preview. Somehow this magazine feels like an extended metaphor for my college career.
It’s a tiny, local music festival that I’ve watched grow into something beyond its wildest dreams—Lincoln Calling.
editor - in - chief
AIDAN CONNOLLY managing editor
STEPHANIE CAVAZOS senior news editor
JESSICA LARKINS assistant news editors
NOAH JOHNSON COLLIN SPILINEK senior sports editor
GRACE HARMON assistant sports editors
ANNA GLEASON ZACH MARKON senior arts & entertainment editor
ELLIS CLOPTON assistant arts & entertainment editors
SAM CRISLER JOE JOHN
Best,
My first assignment as a naive, fresh-out-the-gates, freshman reporter was to write a preview for the 2014 Lincoln Calling music festival. Please don’t try to find that, it’s not my finest work.
senior opinion editor
MATT SERVER assistant opinion editor
BEN LARSEN
The preview taught me how to interview strangers, take criticism from editors and basic AP style.
Stephanie Cavazos Managing Editor
senior copy editor
NICOLE HILDER senior print design editor
SAMANTHA EVANS
In 2015, I wrote my “picks” for the festival alongside my editors. I included local band Mesonjixx and a favorite comedian of mine, Drew Bohlke.
senior photo / video editor
JULIAN TIRTADJAJA assistant photo / video editors
HANNAH DEPRIEST ELSIE STORMBERG KARISSA SCHMIDT
This taught me how to write on a five-minute deadline while my editors looked over my shoulder as I typed.
senior art editor
Come September 2016, as the senior arts and entertainment editor, I assigned a 15-part Lincoln Calling pre-festival package to my writers.
MICHAEL JOHNSON assistant art editor
HALEY HEESACKER senior engagement editor
Around 1 a.m. the morning it published, after editing every story three or four times, I thought at least one copy editor was going to try to kill me. I learned
DAKOTA ANDERSON staff writers
BRINA MILLER JESSICA MOORE LAUREN OSBORNE WILL ROPER
patience is a virtue. Now, as we approach Lincoln Calling 2017, you’re holding this year’s project.
staff copy editors
HALEY DAHLGAARD CLARA EDWARDS ALLI LORENSEN general manager
DAN SHATTIL director of sales
THE DN VOL. CXVII, ISSUE 2 SEPTEMBER 2017
DAVID THIEMANN
organization with content written, edited and produced entirely by UNL students. The Daily Nebraskan is
professional adviser
published by the UNL Publications Board, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0448. The board
DON WALTON
holds public meetings monthly. contact
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 563–320–9492 NEWS DESK 402–472–1763
BUSINESS OFFICE 402–472–1769 ADVERTISING 402–472–2589
PUBLICATIONS BOARD 402–472–2588
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN SEPTEMBER 2017 VOL. CXVII, ISSUE 2 FINDING THEIR CALLING
COVER ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL JOHNSON WITH LINCOLN CALLING AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, THE DAILY NEBRASKAN FOCUSED ON LOCAL ARTISTS AND COMEDIANS FOR THE SECOND ISSUE.
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SEPTEMBER 2017
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EVENTS
LOCAL FESTIVITIES SEPT. 5 SZA
Bourbon Theatre
SEPT. 7 Glenn Korff Day — Various faculty members and students will be performing in remembrance to Glenn Korff, the namesake for UNL’s Glenn Korff School of Music. Kimball Recital Hall
SEPT. 8 Emo Night
Bourbon Theatre
SEPT. 9 GhettoBlaster “Old Skool Hip-Hop”
Vega
SEPT. 11 Beginner Tennis Lessons
Campus Rec
SEPT. 12 Beginner Golf Lessons
Campus Rec
SEPT. 14 Fiesta on the Green — A celebration of Hispanic culture on the green space. Along with activities, food and refreshments will be served. Nebraska Union Green Space
SEPT. 16 Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois
Memorial Stadium
SEPT. 22 St. Baldrick’s Shave-A-Life — The Railyard is encouraging the public to come out and shave their heads for children’s cancer research. Railyard
SEPT. 23 Nebraska vs. Rutgers Homecoming Game
Memorial Stadium
SEPT. 27 The Weeknd
Pinnacle Bank Arena
SEPT. 29 Nebraska @ Illinois Watch Party Photo courtesy, clockwise left to right – Angel Olsen — Pitch Perfect Records, Best Coast — Presskit.to, Charli XCX — Atlantic Records
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SEPTEMBER 2017
Memorial Stadium
SEPT. 5 – OCT. 1
LINCOLN CALLING This year, Lincoln Calling will entail not only a great line up of artists but also a three-day skateboarding competition from Sept. 28-30, held at The BAY and the Lincoln Calling Night Market, an expansive outdoor market/bazaar. Musical performances will take place in multiple indoor and outdoor venues across downtown Lincoln, including Bodega’s Alley, Zoo Bar, Duffy’s Tavern, Duffy’s Back Lot, The BAY, Bourbon Theatre and 1867 Bar.
SEPT. 28 Best Coast
Navy Gangs
M Shah
Frankie Cosmos
Matt Stansberry & The Romance
Sean Pratt and the Sweats
Malcolm London
JAGAJA
Salt Creek
Cult Play
McCarthy Trenching
Crease
Street Sects
Stathi
R.O.E.
Karmen DeLancey
Thick Paint
The Artichoke Hearts
Mad Dog & the 20/20s
Karaoke Underground
Palehound Wand Cayetanac Post Animal IAN SWEET Mount Moriah Twinsmith Acid Dad
HAKIM
SEPT. 29 Angel Olsen Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
Gerardo Meza & Friends Eu1ogy
El Ten Eleven
Sego
Julie Byrne
I Forgot To Love My Father
Kemba Cakes Da Killa Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal Future Punx Umm
Kait Berreckman CBN Ria Mae The Way Out Ashley Buck
Those Far Out Arrows
Jewels and Thalia
Evan Bartels and the Stoney Lonesomes
Screaming Plastic Edem Soul Music
Bogusman
Karaoke Underground
Once A Pawn Pleiades & the Bear
The Artichoke Hearts
Charli XCX
Digital Leather
Andrea von Kampen
(Sandy) Alex G
David Nance Band
Brad Hoshaw
John Moreland
Ghost Foot
JAGAJA
CupcakKe
AZP
Flint Eastwood
Mesonjixx
Saint Christopher Webster
Pile
See Through Dresses
Universe Contest
Karaoke Underground
SEPT. 30
Hovvdy Plack Blague
The Boner Killerz Uh Oh
Crumb
AllSortsOfGood
Yana
Karaoke Underground
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MIXING MUSIC WITH PEOPLE BRINA MILLER STAFF WRITER After a stress fracture in his lower leg cut short a track and field scholarship at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota, Seth Korte returned home to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study broadcast journalism. He has since built a significant following in the Lincoln community for his business, Esskay Entertainment, the name of which is an homage to his initials. Korte’s interest in deejaying began in 2012, the summer before his junior year of high school. Drawing Photo – Hannah DePriest
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inspiration from his mother who sang in choir and brother who played guitar, he said he was intrigued by the concept when musical trends started going digital. “[I] kind of wanted to use it as a hobby,” he said “I was never expecting to actually deejay anywhere.” Korte attended a private high school that didn’t host any school dances, and after saving up money for equipment, he got the idea to host dances at people’s houses. He charged a cover to make some extra money.
Korte said the first taste of his deejaying potential happened during a pool party he and his friends hosted. After inviting everyone they could think of, over 200 people attended the party.
“They are incredibly caring and hard-working people who have really instilled in me the value of being personal with people,” he said.
“I remember vividly, as a 16-year-old, walking out of there with over $1,000 in one night,” he said. “It made it an easy choice to stay with it.“
Korte said his biggest challenge has been selling himself to people, because it is hard to describe to his clientele what makes him the right DJ for a gig without being able demonstrate his ability.
Despite the success of his first event, he didn’t have many large shows and mixed music in his free time. Once at college, however, more people he knew started getting married and needed a DJ for their receptions. He became an obvious choice for many of them. Since his first wedding gig during the summer of his freshman year of college, Korte has deejayed over 75 different gigs and continues to develop his business. Korte said building a professional brand and getting it to the public was a challenging process, and the majority of his advertising comes through Facebook and word-of-mouth. “It was initially a big investment to get a logo design, website and brand name, but it’s paid off big time,” Korte said. UNL broadcasting professor Barney McCoy said he recognized Korte’s talent, persistence and passion when he had Korte as a student in his advanced television news reporting class. McCoy said Korte was always flexible and ready for a challenge — two traits he thinks are important for anyone working in the entertainment industry. “Wherever you go in your life, you need passion,” McCoy said. “It takes energy; not every day is going to be a good day. If you really care about something, you stick through it, and I think [Korte] has that capability.” In a professional capacity, Korte said he learned how to craft his own unique persona from Matt McKay, one of the radio hosts at Lincoln-based radio station, KFRX. “[McKay] taught me to just be myself and to be more comfortable on a microphone,” Korte said. Korte said his success can also be partly attributed to the encouragement and support from his parents.
According to Korte, there’s more to deejaying than just picking the right music — there’s also an important personal aspect to the business. He said he strives to create friendships instead of just having clients. He said he does this by planning at least two faceto-face meetings before the event with whoever hires him to develop a personal relationship with them and to ensure he meets their needs. “Everyone in this world wants people to care about them, and rightfully so,” Korte said. “When it comes to hiring me, I think it’s so much more than just paying me money to do my thing and then leave.” Haley Chicoine, an event photographer and high school friend of Korte’s, hired him to deejay her own wedding last summer. She works with him on occasion and recognizes how Korte’s passion drives him to continually grow as an artist. “I’ve shot a lot of weddings, and even though I’m biased, our party was the best one because of him,” Chicoine said. “Now shooting weddings this fall with him, it’s unreal how much he’s progressed.” Korte said he encourages new DJs and entrepreneurs not to be afraid to try new things, and to reach out and connect with people willing to help them learn. Jordan Brus, who worked with Korte in the Iron N as a football director, described him as the same person in and out of his work. He said Korte always brings a positive attitude everywhere he goes, and his charisma rubs off on people. Brus said he predicts that if Korte pursues deejaying in the distant future, he will continue to be successful and build recognition. “I could see his company, Esskay Entertainment, really blowing up big time,” he said. “I think, before too long, he will be deejaying big-time public events, rather than just weddings and parties.”
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SEPTEMBER 2017
Q&A with Plack Blague
WILL ROPER STAFF WRITER On Halloween 2001, Zero Street Records — now Gomez Art Supply — housed the first gig of two leather-clad musical misfits. Raws T. Trombone and Sexma Sheen performed their set in the window display of the old record store, watching the reactions of passersby for more than four hours.
While still focusing on keeping the project fun and lighthearted, Schlesinger decided to make Plack Blague a full-time band. He recorded new records, played more shows and updated his stage presence by treating his shows as a solo performance art, rather than falling over and jumping on people.
Their sound focused on noise, mixing experimental dance beats with a provocative performance style that was guaranteed to leave an impression on any audience. They never took themselves too seriously, using sparse shows as an opportunity to engage, dance with and jump on shocked listeners under the playful moniker of Plack Blague.
Plack Blague’s newest album, “Night Trax,” explores the theme of homoerotic, anonymous sex: cruising the midnight streets in all leather “lusting for sin.” Tracks on the album include “Just Another Man on the Street,” “Leather Life” and “Man on Man,” titles by themselves that seemingly provide a good introduction to one of Lincoln’s more eccentric solo performers ahead of his opening show at Lincoln Calling for one of the largest headliners in the event’s history — Charli XCX.
In 2011, co-founder and DJ of Plack Blague Jeff Sayers, better known in the music scene as Sexma Sheen and Jeffmetal, died. The future of the band was left in the hands of the other co-founder, Ross Schlesinger, otherwise known as Raws T. Trombone. Photo – Julian Tirtadjaja
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The Daily Nebraskan sat down with Plack Blague’s Schlesinger to talk about his music, his stage presence and his upcoming Lincoln Calling show.
DN: As you’ve discussed in previous articles, the word ‘blague’ is French for ‘joke.’ How much of Plack Blague do you feel is a joke, and how much is serious?
DN: You’ve put out quite a few mixtapes and albums over the years, with your most recent album “Night Trax” released earlier this year. How do you continue to keep your music fresh and interesting?
Plack Blague (PB): It’s 100 percent joke; it’s 100 percent serious. At first it was a total joke and just super fun, but I’ve always had this tongue-in-cheek sense of humor where I was kind of poking fun at people that don’t get it. It was always, “The joke’s on you if you don’t get it.” I always thought it was funny because [Plack Blague] always has this connotation of being funny and weird. It’s a play on words that actually references the word ‘joke’ in French. I don’t want to be totally serious, and I want to have some fun with it, so that’s a good reminder to keep it fun.
PB: As I keep writing music and material, I feel like the songs get more pop-y and dance-y. When [Plack Blague] started, it wasn’t that whatsoever. I’ve evolved into doing more rhythmic music, sometimes even noisier and aggressive music. I wanted “Night Trax” to be a nighttime, party album, like a cruising, sexual fantasy world that’s sort of naughty yet fun. [My music] has kind of progressed into that for right now. I wanted to have a more serious approach on this record, and make my songs more conceptual to each other. I just figured they all work together to be more pop-y than what I was normally doing, where it used to be really aggressive screaming and cutting-noise music with rhythms and stuff like that. I just wanted to write better songs, and the more I push myself to write better songs, the more it evolves itself.
DN: How would you define your genre of live music? PB: It’s like electronic, industrial dance music. I used to call it “anti-dance” music because when it first originated, it was beats that didn’t have any rhythm, and we intentionally made it hard to dance to. And that was the whole point, to make it as noisy and non-rhythmic as possible. A lot of people would call us EBM: Electronic Body Music. I like to joke that the name is Electronic Blague Music, just because it’s referencing EBM but also making fun of it. Sometimes EBM can be super serious, but yet it’s dancy. I like to focus on the industrial aspect of it, the noise aspect, and I even include some pop formats. DN: Many local music-goers have proclaimed you to be Lincoln’s “leather daddy.” How do you incorporate this leather culture into your music? PB: Well, I would say I’m Lincoln’s only leather daddy that plays music, because that’s just been my attire ever since I started this project -— to be head-to-toe leather, extremely homoerotic, extremely leather-sexual influenced. It’s the whole underground leather aspect of the queer/gay community. It’s not a costume; it’s just something that developed as a stage presence. It’s also about keeping this identity of myself as one thing. While my image does change a little bit, I don’t really have an identity. My new album has the song “Destroy the Identity,” where I might not know who I am, but you know what that is. It sort of separates myself from reality and being on stage. I’m just really into the leather scene, the leather community and just the way it looks. It smells sometimes really bad, sometimes really good. I feel like I’m one of the few, maybe, doing strictly headto-toe full-on leather performance. DN: What would you say are the similarities and differences between this character of Plack Blague and Ross Schlesinger? PB: Some people like to say I’m pretty quiet in person, and they say, “You don’t seem like you’re like that when you’re on stage,” because when I’m on stage, I’m crazy and chaotic and moving all over and dancing and screaming. It’s one of those things where once I get on stage, I get so much of an adrenaline rush, and I just like it so much, that that’s just my personality for right now. I don’t really feel it’s a whole lot different [from myself], because it’s not like I’m changing my personality. I feel like I’m pretty much just the same person, but being on stage just gives me that ability to let loose even more. I just like that aspect of it, and I just really enjoy dressing up on stage and giving you something to look it. I like to focus on imagery through performance.
DN: You performed your first showcase at Lincoln Calling last year. How was that experience? PB: It was really cool. I feel like that was the first time Lincoln Calling was really trying to expand to new audiences since Hear Nebraska took over. They had approached me about doing a showcase, and I basically just hired everyone that I really like right now, which was HIDE from Chicago, Cult Play, a local electronics techno-artist, and this band Echo Beds from Denver. What I wanted to do was bring only out-of-state bands to Lincoln Calling for my showcase. Because they were giving me a budget to work with, I tried to reach out as much as I could to the more interesting, yet fairly close, people that could make the drive in a night. It was just a new approach to bring a different audience [to Lincoln Calling], and I felt that people wanted that. It was really successful in that aspect. It was a newer, darker aspect of music that I wanted to bring to Lincoln, because I’ve been doing that since the ‘90s. DN: With Lincoln Calling being so large this year, for Plack Blague, how will your performance on Sept. 30 stack up to past performances? PB: The last year and a half of Plack Blague has seen my shows getting really big. I feel like [Lincoln Calling] is a definite big show that’ll happen, but it’s also one of those things where, since it is a festival and there are so many bands playing at the same time, it’s hard to say whether my set is going to be huge with a thousand people. I think it’s just going to be kind of funny. Going back to the name Plack Blague being a joke reference, I feel like this is going to be that perfect show where people are going to be mouths-open, “Oh my god”-shocked. It’s going to be, not in a bad way, a sort of teenybopper show, because it’s a really teen-influenced musical artist [in Charli XCX]. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I feel like my show will definitely be an eye-opening experience, which can be good and can be bad. I just hope people look at it as, “Wow, that was cool.” That’s really all I’m looking for out of it. I love the shock value of [my performance]; I love that whole aspect of people having no idea what [Plack Blague] is. That’s what I’m going for in a lot of ways, and I’m just happy to be part of [Lincoln Calling] and to be part of such a big festival. I’m just ready to go and ready to do it. I’m not scared of it, that’s for sure. It’s just a next level for me, and that’s really what I want and what I’m working for.
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Search
Browse Radio YOUR LI BRARY
PLAY LI ST
The Daily Nebraskan’s Lincoln Calling 2017 playlist
Recently Played
This year, Lincoln Calling will feature several high-profile artists and rising, local acts. With a wide range of musicians like Charli XCX, Best Coast and Angel Olsen, here are some hits from our favorite artists before the festival begins.
Songs
Created by: dailynebraskanarts
Your Daily Mix
Albums Artists Stations Local Files Videos Podcasts PLAYLI STS
Back to School
PL AY
F O LLOW I N G
...
T I T LE
A RT I ST
ALBUM
Rulo
Salt Creek
Where Strangers Go
Try to Stay on My Side
Uh Oh
You’re Not Dead
NVM
The Way Out
Good Grief
Title Clap Boom
Artist Charli XCX
Album SUCKER
Sleep In The Heat
PUP
The Dream Is Over
October 2017
Boyfriend
Best Coast
Crazy For You
November 2017
Boys
Charli XCX
Boys
January 2018
World
Cayetana
New Kind of Normal
Deepthroat
cupcakKe
Cum Cake
Mary
(Sandy) Alex G
Trick
DVP
PUP
The Dream Is Over
Feeling Ok
Best Coast
California Nights
Shut Up Kiss Me
Angel Olsen
MY WOMAN
You Get Sick Again
See Through Dresses
See Through Dresses
Queen
Flint Eastwood
Broke Royalty
Break The Rules
Charli XCX
Break The Rules
Our Deal
Best Coast
Crazy For You
Lgbt
cupcakKe
Audacious
Glitches
Flint Eastwood
Small Victories
The World (Is Going Up In Flames)
Charles Bradley, Menahan...
No Time For Dreaming
Lincoln Calling
February 2018 March 2018 April 2018
New Playlist
Boom Clap Charli XCX 16
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The Way Out finds their way in LAUREN OSBORNE STAFF WRITER Creating music is a dream for many that becomes a reality for few. Four promising college students are part of the latter group. The Way Out, a band based out of Ashland, Nebraska, describes itself on its website as “dreamy, crunchy, loud indie rock.” Formed in 2013 by members Mari Crisler, Reed Tiwald and Levi Hagen, and Nick Ulrich (who joined in 2015), the band has been performing together since November 2015. Last year, they played at Lincoln Calling and will be returning to the festival at the end of September. Crisler, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a former DN employee, is the band’s lead vocalist, but also plays the bass and guitar when needed. Tiwald, a junior psychology major, generally plays the guitar. Hagen, a freshman computer science major, plays the guitar, drums and sometimes does vocals. Ulrich, a writing major at Wayne State College, plays drum and bass and is the only member not attending UNL. “Having Nick in Wayne makes being in a band significantly more difficult,” Crisler said in an email. Due to the distance, the band played fewer shows than it wanted this last year. They said it’s also challenging to schedule practices and write music together. Despite the distance between the band members, Crisler said everyone works together to create music. “When we write songs, one of us often brings in a skeleton of a song that we have been working on alone, and from there the process is entirely collaborative, [with] each of us introducing our own style and element into the song,” Crisler said.
same night as many artists they look up to, such as Anna McClellan and White Mystery. “Everyone there was extremely welcoming and supportive … I’m really grateful for that experience and to have the opportunity to play at Lincoln Calling again,” she said. Lincoln Calling is a cultural festival that has been managed by Hear Nebraska since 2016, according to the Lincoln Calling website. The festival features music and art from across the country, and in some instances, the world. New additions for this year include a skateboarding competition held for the duration of the festival by The BAY, and a Night Market, according to the festival’s website. The website said in 2016, the festival “featured 120 bands and comedians … across eight venues, drawing more than 6,000 music lovers to Lincoln.” A press release from the festival showed that there are over 70 musical acts lined up for Lincoln Calling this year. “It’s about music; it’s about innovation and education,” Andrew Norman, executive director of Hear Nebraska, said. Norman said the festival is a great opportunity for many to see what Lincoln has to offer. While bands can no longer register to perform, Norman said the festival is still accepting applications for volunteers.
Living in the residence halls can also hinder the band’s ability to practice music, but the struggle is worth it.
Even though her major isn’t musically centered, Crisler knew music would be a large part of her life because of the way it can be applied to anything she may come across. She quickly found out Lincoln and Omaha are very welcoming environments for new musicians.
“[Music] is definitely more of a stress reliever than anything else,” Crisler said.
“By asking for help, it is easy to get started in a scene so welcoming,” Crisler said.
Looking back at its 2016 Lincoln Calling performance, Crisler said the band had a very positive experience. She said they were honored to play the
The Way Out will perform at Lincoln Calling on Friday, Sept. 29.
File photo – Ann Milroy
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SEPTEMBER 2017
D R E A M Y, C RU N C H Y, L O U D I N D I E RO C K
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a a h h a a h a h a a h h a a h a h h a a h h a a h h a a h h a a h a h h a h a h a h a a h h a a h h a h a h a a h h Photos – Julian Tirtadjaja
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SEPTEMBER 2017
a not just song � a and dance a h a h � a h a h a � a h a � a h JESSICA MOORE STAFF WRITER
Despite a new partnership with Hear Nebraska, Lincoln Calling will still provide a space for comedians to perform. While the festival’s main focus is music, Nebraska-native comedian Brad Stewart feels comedy is important to balancing out the festival.
Aaron Markley, Hear Nebraska’s programming manager, said budgeting for Lincoln Calling is one of the more difficult aspects of organizing the festival. He said his team has to see which performers are able to attend the event and forecast who will be most relevant when the festival arrives.
“Hopefully the comedy continues to get more popular and we can bring in bigger headliners,” Stewart said.
“Who we can get is dependent on who’s available at the right time, and for the right price,” Markley said. “It is a negotiation.”
Stewart began his career in comedy after moving to Los Angeles in 1995. He opened for comedy legends Joan Rivers, Rob Schneider and singer Barry Manilow. Now, Stewart hosts and often performs weekly at The Zoo Bar in downtown Lincoln.
Headliners for this years festival include Charli XCX, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Angel Olsen and Best Coast. Markley said on top of that, they also have about 95 other performances.
According to Stewart, the way the comedy section at Lincoln Calling was organized shifted last year when another promoter was brought in to book part of the comedy. Stewart was responsible for reaching out to the local talent. “This year, they’re just going to have mostly a local showcase,” Stewart said. “There are really talented comedians right here in Lincoln, and it’s been an uphill battle making people aware that there is professional comedy here.”
Stewart said because Hear Nebraska took over some of Buckley’s bigger responsibilities, the festival has gotten bigger and better.
“Jeremy [Buckley] had taken on so much on his own for so many years,” Stewart said “He needed help, and Hear Nebraska was able to do that. I think it’s really impressive to see what they’re doing, and it makes me proud to be from Lincoln.”
Stewart said he hopes that in the future, more of the Lincoln Calling budget is allocated toward the comedy section of the festival to increase a diverse lineup. “This year they had great musical acts which is fantastic, but they didn’t have much left over money for the comedy,” he said.
As far as comedy goes, Markley is unsure of how it will differ from last year. He said it’s an element they are still working on incorporating into the festival, and one they hope to make successful. “It’s something that we definitely think is a component of the Nebraska performing arts scene that adds great value, and we’d love to showcase [it] at the festival,” Markley said.
Markley said Buckley approached Hear Nebraska in order to move it in a bigger direction away from just local talent. “You know there already is a festival that showcases local talent—Lincoln Exposed,” Markley said. “This has been a direction that Buckley had been wanting and working on taking the festival.”
Lincoln Exposed is another city-wide music festival which happens in February. Lincoln Exposed, similar to Lincoln Calling’s previous setup, consists of all local talent. Markley said Hear Nebraska’s hopes Lincoln Calling continually grows as a community event, gaining more participation from community members and organizations.
“I think at the heart of it, we want to create a really wonderful experience for a wide variety of people,” Markley said.
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DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
23
OPINION
Whether it’s pumping up with some AC/DC before a test or breaking out the homework playlist for your next 10-page paper, Spotify has become a staple of collegiate life. There’s no denying the convenience of the famous streaming service, but are there drawbacks, especially for the artists whose music it streams? Is, perhaps, Spotify a little too good to be true as currently designed? Staff columnists Greg Tracey and Emily Strassburger debate whether Spotify is a net benefit for artists or if it takes advantage of a tough music industry. 24
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Spotify is bad for artists THE OPINION OF EMILY STRASSBURGER STAFF COLUMNIST Spotify has undoubtedly become the primary internet tool for, in its words, offering “music for everyone.” The streaming platform grants its users the ultimate freedom: downloading free music at their leisure. Consumers can access almost any song they want, and even full albums, so long as they have an account. Although this sounds like a flawless platform, it has garnered considerable controversy since its U.S. launch in 2011. The flak from artists has been especially withering. Musicians from Garth Brooks to Dr. Dre have spoken out against online streaming sites, while Radiohead has targeted their fire specifically at Spotify. The growing company may be a boon to music connoisseurs, but it ultimately leaves performers out in the cold. It also disproportionately hurts fledgling artists. For starters, Spotify ruins an artist’s sales. Musicians make their money through a variety of means, but one of their main revenue streams comes from selling individual songs and albums, whether they’re in a physical or digital format. With Spotify, users have no real reason to go out and buy a song, let alone an entire album. Instead, they can simply download the music for free on their smartphone. Compared to the cost of a one month’s premium Spotify subscription, even a single album available on iTunes seems excessive. Although Spotify is an extremely beneficial app for music junkies, the artists creating the music are at a complete loss. Spotify boastfully claims it divvies out 70 percent of its revenue to the music industry, but artists are still feeling underpaid. For every play of a song on Spotify, the artist only receives between $0.001 and $0.006. The payout is dependent on whether the music was played on a free or paid subscription account, as well as the artist’s contract with their music label. Depending on the contract, some musicians may only receive 15-20 percent of all the revenue generated from their music. Artists have repeatedly vocalized their concerns with Spotify. In one of the most famous fiascos, Taylor Swift pulled her full library from their catalog in 2014. She claimed the very foundation of Spotify goes against the idea of music as an art form. Swift’s logic is that music is art, art is valuable, therefore, valuable things should be paid for. Ultimately, Swift does not believe music should be free, running contrary to Spotify’s premise. Both
Jay-Z and Adele have also pulled their music from the streaming service for similar reasons. In this instance, these artists hit the nail on the head. Songs are completely exclusive to the musician who made them. It’s their intellectual property, and thus should have more control over how they rake in revenue. Artists require millions of music streams in order to get a decent payout. Some of the biggest names in music still don’t think it’s enough. This, in turn, also hurts up-and-coming artists. If the titans are struggling to earn money, emerging artists will be hurt even more. Many will most likely fail to even get off the ground. With music as accessible as it is in the Information Age, people simply don’t want to pay for songs. Instead, they’ll always seek out ways to listen to their jams for free. Spotify presents such an avenue. In order for artists to want to have their music streamed, Spotify and similar platforms will need to ensure that musicians are being fairly compensated. At the very least, allowing artists to have more influence over how their product is being used would be less detrimental to those who made the product in the first place. Swift, for example, eventually buried the hatchet with the service and requested that her albums not be shown to unpaid subscribers two weeks following their release. Gwen Stefani experimented with a “windowed” release of her latest album, for which it became initially available physically and digitally through some outlets, but not Spotify. If Spotify were to initiate further reforms and make the differences between paying and non-paying subscribers more stark, artists and the platform may have a more cordial relationship. As of right now, the biggest difference between Spotify Free and Spotify Premium is the use of advertisements between songs. There are some other limitations with the free version, such as not having the ability to skip more than six songs per hour on mobile. However, the music accessibility is all the same, and that is where the problem lies. Spotify, as a matter of fairness to performers, should restrict the library available to non-paying users. It’s undeniable that music streaming platforms have transformed the music industry. Because of the disruptive role they play, it’s even more crucial that artists and Spotify are able to find a middle ground that more fairly compensates the artists for their work.
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DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
25
OPINION
Spotify is good for artists THE OPINION OF GREG TRACEY STAFF COLUMNIST In recent years, we’ve heard that the music industry is facing unprecedented persecution from a nefarious agent: Spotify. Supposedly, the service is unfair to artists. Two main points are made to this effect: Spotify hurts up-and-coming artists and makes established stars lose money. Perhaps the most widely known artist to complain about the latter is Taylor Swift. I contend that these assertions are nonsense. Music is a difficult business, no matter what medium the content is being sold on. Furthermore, streaming doesn’t compare all that unfavorably to other methods of selling music, such as CDs and downloadable content. Spotify is a streaming service for music. A glance at its website reveals a stated desire to make it “easy to find the right music for every moment — on your phone, your computer, your tablet and more.” For the typical consumer of music, this is a vastly useful service. No longer are people obligated to buy songs if they want them. With Spotify, and streaming services like it, thousands of songs are available at no cost or a monthly fee if you prefer ad-free listening. One could argue that streaming services offer a middle ground of sorts. Whether it’s a moral position or not, many people don’t want to pay money for CDs or iTunes downloads. Streaming services enable artists to still make money on their songs, instead of having people turn toward an illegal avenue to download their music. A similar effect has been seen with the prevalence of Netflix reducing piracy of TV shows. Spotify’s haters might bring up the “fact” that streaming hurts smaller artists. This seems to make some sense at first glance. For a musician, Spotify creates around $0.00437 in revenue per stream. This is an infinitesimal amount, to be sure, and one that gives a huge advantage to established artists who already have the popularity required to make significant amounts of money through heavy streaming traffic. What this ignores, however, is that music is a notori-
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ously difficult industry to “make it” in, and it’s nearly impossible to make money. Just consider Andy Dywer in “Parks and Recreation.” Despite being the talented frontman of his own band, he was never popular until gaining fame as Johnny Karate, the titular character in a children’s TV show. Such are the quirks of life. It doesn’t help that the industry in question is notoriously cutthroat and everyone wants to be a star. In the hubbub about low royalties from streaming services like Spotify, some other essential truths are ignored. Artists don’t actually make that much money from selling a CD or legal downloads on iTunes or Google Play. Consider CDs. Artists can expect to see approximately 13 percent of the revenue generated from selling one disc in the United Kingdom. Accounting for exchange rates, that comes to about $1.34 per CD — hardly a killing. Is it a bit more than streaming revenue? Yes, but in all honesty, how many people really buy CDs anymore? The data isn’t encouraging for purveyors of the medium. Digital downloads from services like iTunes and Google Play are not much more profitable for artists. On iTunes, artists can expect $0.11 per song on a signed deal, or $1.11 per album. Again, better than streaming, but quickly losing relevance to its competitor. The takeaways from all of this are threefold. First, music is a Hobbesian business to be in — poor, nasty, brutish and short. It’s hard to make money unless you are already popular. Second, the industry is tending toward streaming, rather than digital downloads or CDs. We could try to kill streaming services and turn back the clock, but standing in the way of progress usually turns out worst for those doing the standing. Third, we shouldn’t be too worried about whether millionaires like Taylor Swift have enough money. So go ahead, open Spotify and listen to some music. The world won’t end.
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Notice to Students All students are eligible to apply for a refund of the “A” portion of their student fees through September 22, 2017. Students claiming and receiving a refund will lose benefits provided by Fund “A” users during the fall semester, 2017-2018. (See box at right.) Application forms are available at the Student Organization Financial Services office (200 Nebraska Union), the ASUN office (136 Nebraska Union) and the East Union Student Organization Financial Services office (314 Nebraska East Union). Applicants should return the form in person to 200 Nebraska Union or 314 Nebraska East Union. Students must bring their UNL student ID cards when returning their application. Students who are unable to return their application in person to one of the offices in bold lettering above should contact Jim Brox, 200 Nebraska Union, 402-
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472-0003, before September 22, 2017, to make other arrangements. Students who complete a refund application and return it before the deadline will receive a refund for the amount of the refund requested. Refunds will be mailed the first two weeks of October 2017.
Fund “A” refund amounts: ASUN ............................... $ 11.63 Daily Nebraskan .................. 3.03 Dailyer Nebraskan ................ .14 UPC Programming ............... 6.09 Lied Center Discounts ......... 4.08
Total Refund .............. $24.97 Students claiming a refund will lose certain benefits provided by the above Fund “A” users. For details on the specific benefits that will be lost, please refer to the cover sheet on the refund application.
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