Music - Editorals Our Editorials are about the music scene in general in Minneapolis/St.Paul Top 10 | Editorials | Music Reviews | RadioTCNC Back to Music "Kill Tha Dj" Archives by Dj John Kill Article Index: News from World of Dance. pt. 1 | Apple's iTunes | Why Dance Music Doesn’t Get Played On the Radio | Are You Ready For Sean Jean Glowsticks? | 2002 – A Look Back | John Kill iTunes’ Success Foretells Epic Changes In Music Biz From FOX News 7/1/2003 By Marla Lehner Edited by John Kill for TwinCitiesNightclubs.com NEW YORK — Video didn't kill the radio star, but downloading could very well spell the end of the album. With the monster success of Apple's iTunes, in which 5 million songs were legally downloaded in eight weeks, the big question in the music industry is, will full 10- to 15- song albums become extinct? Mark Coleman, a former music reviewer for Rolling Stone said the downloading revolution has only hastened a trend that was already happening. He cited high prices and low quality as the main culprit in the demise of the album. "Albums are too long. There are too many mediocre songs and they’re too expensive,” he said. “When I was reviewing records in the early ‘90s, we noticed the best songs were at the beginning of a CD and then it would drop off." Ian Rogers, former president of new media for the Beastie Boys' company Grand Royal, agreed that one-hit-wonders might stop producing 10-song albums. How many times have you bought a pop music record to find there are maybe two, maybe three songs you really like?” he said. "People don’t want to pay $18 for one song." After years of unsuccessful ventures trying to get fans to pay for downloads, Apple struck gold. "Everyone's been trying to figure this out for five years," said Rogers. Now, getting people to pay for music online "doesn’t seem so far off," he added. "But five months ago it did." But the good news is, music fans aren’t going anywhere, said Coleman. If anything, they are more insatiable than ever, which means consumers will want hit singles -- and whole albums from their favorite bands. "That’s why downloading’s become so popular. You can hear every little thing by The Eagles or U2," he said. “The whole thing is about selection." In fact, more than 46 percent of the songs downloaded on iTunes have been purchased as albums, according to a press release from Apple. And iTunes is just the first step for making downloading a viable, legit business. Only a small percentage of Americans use Macs compared to PCs – and an even smaller number have the operating system necessary to run iTunes. Experts say music companies have to face the fact that their business is changed forever, but are right to feel anxious. “The reason record companies are so resistant is that the record industry doesn’t have anything special anymore,” said Rogers. “They used to be creative powerhouses. Now they are marketing and distribution powerhouses.” At least some musicians welcome the new era when fans can access their music without having to be under the thumb of major labels. "It helps musicians immensely," said Mike Errico, a musician who's made albums both with mainstream and indie labels. "The huge carrot that’s put over the heads of artists is distribution and availability of their work. There's very little else a record label actually guarantees." And Errico isn't worried that some of his songs, even if they aren't major hits, will get lost in the mix as people gravitate towards downloading individual songs. "Regardless of how music is sold, there are ‘album artists’ and there are artists who are ‘single artists.’ For 'album artists' it’s another way to get their music out," he said. "There are other ways to get those songs heard, like live playing." “Albums for people like Britney Spears are over, but for other people it means more opportunities,” said Rogers. Each person interviewed said the future of downloading is still unpredictable, but each agreed the industry is on the cusp of a new era that will benefit at least one group -- music fans. "In the end, it's making people consume more music,” said Coleman. "It's just a different means of consuming it." TCNC Music Editor’s Note: The ever-expanding horizons of digital music – and digital distribution – seem to be a juggernaut that will reshape the entire music industry from top to bottom. Highly diversified and segmented digital satellite radio, portable MP3 players, and file sharing could have enormous impact on many music industry institutions. Record labels, record stores, traditional radio, and electronics manufacturers should all be on notice that the consumer is now king. The days of sitting in lofty towers and dictating to the masses what is hip are gone. The music consumer now dictates what they will consume (and when) and only those that can provide it cheapest and fastest will survive. The record labels are already having much-publicized profit hemorrhages as they struggle to pull their heads out of the sand and adapt. Radio is running in circles by playing the “hottest hits” at ever-shrinking intervals, trying to compete with on-demand options like MP3 players. Retailers are slow to react so far, but many Mom and Pop stores are doomed. So far, the big winners are the electronics manufacturers that are designing the weapons in this revolution. Sony, Apple, Palm, Motorola, Bluetooth and others are on the brink of a technological convergence that will be as significant as the invention of the telephone itself. These next generation devices will be the Swiss Army knives of electronics. Imagine walking down the street wearing your ultra lightweight palm pilot/cell phone/satellite radio receiver/digital media player/gps receiver/digital camcorder on your belt. You are talking to your friend on the phone via your wireless headset, downloading MP3s from the Internet, and checking your email – all simultaneously. Or maybe you are walking down the street listing to XM Satellite radio on your device; downloading the song you are hearing right now and automatically sending a copy to your hard drive at home for permanent storage. This is, at most, a little under 10 years away. At best this could come about in less than five. Most of the technology already exists – it is just a matter of working out the kinks in combining it all. How can the traditional institutions compete with that? For starters they will start suing everyone in sight, only to prolong the inevitable. In the end, traditional radio will become much more personality based and may even become a talk-only medium. The record labels will have opportunities to adapt and profit. They will move more and more towards digital distribution until CDs become as rare as vinyl. They will have drastically shrinking margins and will see profits only from distribution volume. But with almost no overhead in virtual stores and digital distribution there should still be plenty of room for everyone to make a profit, even at rates as low as $.99 per song. Tracking and verifying download volume will be the primary challenge for both retailers and artists. Massive royalty lawsuits will come from all of this as ASCAP and BMI struggle to find ways of protecting the artists in this new era that poses enormous potential for fraud. Music retailers will have to face the changing paradigm as well. Best Buy and the others will move away from physical inventories of CDs and begin setting up kiosks in their stores and expanding their websites for purchasing MP3 music. No more picking a shrink-wrapped CD off the shelf, paying for it, and popping it in your car stereo – only to find out there is only one hit on it. Instead you will go to the website or bring your personal MP3 device to the store kiosk, search the network for songs, preview them, swipe your Debit card, download the songs and off you go – with exactly what you want and no filler crap. How many people remember the short-lived Outernet music store in Apple Valley? They tried a similar digital kiosk concept three years ago but ultimately failed because the labels resisted making their music available for purchase in such a manner. Well, looks like they were just a bit ahead of their time. iTunes has shattered the illusion that downloading and digital distribution cannot be viable or legitimate. More services like iTunes will pop up all over. Once windows-compatible services emerge they will quickly compete with brick and mortar record stores for consumer music dollars. And while the megalithic music industry crumbles and struggles to transform itself, we, the consumers, will bask in the glory of finally being able to get what we want, when we want it. Why Dance Music Doesn’t Get Played On the Radio By Twiloboss Edited by Kill tha DJ 5/17/03 From Twilo.com Electronica (and it’s many offspring) has been on the turntables in clubs all over the world since the late 80’s, which, by dance music standards, makes it ready to be out of fashion. But not only is it not out of fashion, it is even not widely in fashion yet and by all estimates will probably never be, at least not as that phrase is ordinarily used. It is “cool”; it is played in every dance club in every major metropolitan area on earth but still cannot crack the glass barrier surrounding the pop charts. Here’s why… No. 1 No recognizable performer The popular music industry in (America) is driven by the cult of personality. Only in America could a producer create a pop group like the Backstreet Boys or N’Sync from an ad in the paper and make that group a household word; group members with nothing in common either as to background, talent or anything else other than a craving for fame and bucks. Don’t even get me started on “American Idol”. Electronica dj’s do not “perform”; they create either by manufacturing their own music and/or taking the electronic music of others and mixing it into something new and different. DJs such as Moby or the Chemical Brothers, in an effort to become “personalities”, have given in to the music industry establishment and have attempted to turn their craft into an act. So every time we see Moby, for example, he is compelled for reasons either foolish or unknown, to be photographed mid-leap. Why? No one knows. Moby, an electronic musician, is now a jumping circus act. Howard Stern, the pundit of all things goofy and great on radio, made the intelligent observation that when he attended a Fatboy Slim “concert” on Long Island, he was “amazed to see everyone standing around watching some guy spin records.” Not exactly like watching the now faded Michael Jackson doing the “moon walk”. No 2. No way to do a tour For obvious reasons, without a recognizable performer no record company can organize a tour. Tours drive record sales by presenting the performer as a personality. Believe me, if no one knew what KISS looked like they would have sold fewer records than the Tulsa Tuba Band. Americans love visuals. They love the melodrama of the rock concert whether it’s Madonna with cone-shaped tit covers or the idiotic pyrotechnics of Aerosmith. The music is never enough by itself it seems. Everyone can remember either stupid concert productions or even more stupid music videos, the bastard child of concert tours. I am not proud to say I actually paid money to see Milli Vanilli once upon a time… No. 3 A media generated connection to drug culture 60 Minutes II, did a pience on the usage of ecstasy and its connection to raves and therefore its connection to electronica. They stated with considerable fear and panic that “40 people have died from E overdoses in the past 5 years.” I would venture to say that more people OD on aspirin or alcohol than on ecstasy. All drug use is bad and unhealthy and certainly dangerous. I’m certainly not advocating or making light of drug use. But to single out ecstasy as if it is some new communist plot is absurd. Ever hear of anyone killing a family while driving under the influence of E? Or breaking and entering to support an E habit? Alcohol ruins more lives in a single weekend than ecstasy did in its whole five-year 60 Minutes run. And if you want to see some real drug/alcohol abuse, check out any rock or rap concert. The media periodically go through their file cabinets to stir up some old story that they can dress up in new clothes. Remember saccharine and how the media had everyone dying from cancer by drinking Tab? Guess what? It was all pretend. The unfortunate by-product of the perceived connection between the drugs and the music is the fear that the thought-police will be monitoring every electronica event, enough of a wet blanket to dowse any firestorm of interest that popular music might develop. Raves do not help matters either. Greedy promoters invite 14 year olds to attend events notorious for drug use. Now children are dragged into the media net. Recent developments in New Orleans where rave promoters were indicted under federal “crackhouse” laws are a natural and expected result whenever children enter the scene. The RAVE act is another manifestation of this reactionary attitude toward electronic music. No 4. Songs are too musically complex. Anyone who actually LISTENS to electronica and has any musical savvy recognizes how complex the music actually is. This music is much more akin to classical chamber music and its layering of rhythms and tempo than any other pop antecedent. While electronica may be dance music, it owes only a little to disco or dance rock. In fact, its roots lie in the electronic “classical” music of the 1960’s. This complexity (like that of chamber music) unfortunately works against its popularity. Complexity tends to mystify and turn off the masses, not intrigue them. Analyze the lyrics of country music, virtually all of which focuses on lost loves and/or lost fortunes; or examine rap lyrics which mysteriously mirror country and focus on gaining “love” (booty) and gaining or flaunting fortunes. These mundane, unoriginal and repetitive lyrics echo unoriginal and simplistic chord structures within the music. Popular music, most of which is remarkably derivative only of itself, is the lowest common denominator of musical taste, craftily structured to appeal to the most likely record-buying people. It is business disguised as art. Electronica swims against the current of long established record industry rules and by doing so condemns itself to be forever out of the mainstream. No 5. The songs are too long. For the reasons stated above, the complexity of electronica requires time for the musical themes to be adequately developed. Long ago, record companies made the determination that the American public’s attention span cannot exceed three minutes. (Similarly, movies tread on thin ice if they exceed 2 hours in length, sitcoms, 30 minutes.) Thus all popular music (with some very few exceptions) is encumbered with this unwritten but nonetheless ironclad boundary. Electronica simply does not lend itself to this sort of artificial compression any more than a Mozart concerto would. In short, any of the great classicists like Beethoven, Brahms, or Bach writing and composing today would be selling about as many records as Deep Dish, a lot for electronica but a drop compared to the ocean of Justin Timberlake or Christina Aguilera… Electronica will always be a fringe musical phenomenon until the public becomes educated in its qualities and enlightened as to the facts surrounding it. And educating the public has never been any easy task. Are You Ready For Sean Jean Glowsticks? by John Kill - 4/14/03 It seems that P. Diddy, the icon of hip-hop culture, the kingpin of the hip-hop music industry, and the marketing genius behind Sean Jean athletic wear, has discovered dance music. I’ve always contended that people who dislike "hate" music simply don’t understand dance music. Give me a weekend in Miami with any hard-core hip-hop head and I’ll convert them. While visiting Ibiza, Spain, last summer, the Puffy One had a jaw-dropping, eye-popping, light bulb-blinking-on-in-the-skull, epiphany. He was reportedly blown away by the atmosphere and sensory stimuli that dance music and its culture provide. Welcome to the massive, P. Diddy! So smitten with dance beats is Puffy that he is on a mission to do an album project with Felix Da Housecat and Deep Dish. As it turns out P. Diddy was spotted at Winter Music Conference in Miami last month. He strolled into Space nightclub to see Danny Tenaglia spin his annual 7-hour marathon set for 7,000 sweaty, fist-pumping fans (something you never see in the hip-hop industry). Never one to show up empty-handed, Puffy handed Tenaglia a brand new track called “Let’s Get Ill” by Deep Dish vs. P. Diddy. Tenaglia turned, handed him the headphones and said, “Hey you play it.” He did and the crowd ate it up. The rumors are that P. Diddy will launch Bad Boy Dance Music this year. If that happens, you can be sure that dance music will get a lot more attention. Puffy’s marketing savvy and industry clout will no doubt get his releases to break out on MTV and radio. Which is just what we've needed for a long time. Thanks to Oscar Poche for a large contribution to this article. 2002 – A Look Back by John Kill - 2/14/03 January is behind us and we’ve put a little distance on the year that was 2002. Now is a good time to take a look back. 2002 was a year that saw dance music finally taking baby steps back onto the charts but also saw the major labels abandoning the genre as they retreated in the face of staggering losses from MP3 sharing. On a positive note, the kiddie-pop of the Britney Spears and Nsync ilk imploded under the weight of their own phony personas. Justin and Christina abandoned their puritan ways and emerged as, well, themselves. Gone are Britney, the Backstreet Boys and their cookie cutter, pre-fab simpleton ditties. Left standing are those with actual musical talent: Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne. While they may not exactly be musicians in the same sense as The Beatles or Billy Joel, at least we don’t have to deal with another “Slave For U”. Dance music made significant inroads to the Top 40 charts in 2002. The europop/trance vibe was the biggest gainer in the clubs and on radio. Artists like DJ Encore, Iio, Kylie Minogue, and DJ Sammy held strong positions on the charts for most of the year. Retro flavors were also very popular in dance music last year. The 80’s are back in a big way lead by remakes like DJ Sammy “Heaven” and “Boys of Summer”, Mad’house “Like A Prayer”, and Eyra Gail “The Flame”. So strongly are the 80’s now influencing club music that a new buzzword developed to describe the new 80’s retro-hybrid sound: Electroklash. Elektroklash is different things to different people, but it is generally rooted in the old skool electro and synth pop of 20 years ago. The strongest sign of dance music’s progress into mainstream culture is the thrilling barrage of electronic music being licensed for commercials by some of the biggest companies in the world. Mitsubishi was way out front by licensing Dirty Vegas “Days Go By” and Telepopmusik “Breathe”. Basement Jaxx and Moby seemed to turn up everywhere. If you listened closely you also heard Timo Maas, Brainbug, Sasha, and Oakenfold being piped into your living room via television ads. Generally speaking, 2002 was a good year for dance music, but it was a very bad year for the music industry. The music industry had a dismal 2001 and 2002 started with the feeling that things couldn’t get any worse. They did. File sharing sites inspired by Napster such as WinMX and Kazaa have devastated the record industry. The labels have committed a form of institutional Hara-Kiri by refusing to adapt to the new reality: MP3 sharing is not going away. The music consumers of the world have spoken loud and clear – “We will not pay your greedy prices for a CD with one hit and a bunch of crap.” Now, after three-plus years of expensive and fruitless litigation, failed attempts at copy-protection and ever declining sales, they are finally looking at ways to embrace this technology and make it work for them instead of against them. For many of them it is already too late. The majors (BMG, EMI, Sony, Universal, Warner) have been laying-off hundreds and hundreds of people. Where there used to be a whole dance division there is now nothing left. Subsidiary dance labels are being sold off or shut down. Strictly Rhythm, one of the most glorious dance labels of all time, met a horrible death last year when it was gutted and closed due to budget cuts. This hurts. Terrible management decisions and misdirected focus have dug a very deep hole for many record labels. In the end, only a few will survive. From the wreckage will emerge a new crop of smart, savvy, lean, and focused labels that will use the technology to their benefit and win back the trust of the consuming public. Generally speaking I don’t have a whole lot of pity for record labels and their arrogance. I feel bad for my many friends in the business that lost jobs, but they will land on their feet and be driving the bus when the dust settles. Harry Towers, a wise friend of mine in the biz, puts it best: With fewer players is less bullshit. Those of us that are left standing after the clean up of last year now find ourselves in an interesting position of historic significance. Twenty years ago… dance music was in the same position. Everyone had proclaimed that disco had died, the majors bailed and (in) 1982… a few savvy independent labels along with the DJ-catering retailers all got together and formed the basis of a new dance music industry. They rewrote the rules of the game… Now it’s 2003 and once again we’re at the same signpost. What we do this year will determine whether (or not) people remember our efforts and celebrate them ten years from now. It’s up to us to once again to change the game. We can and will win again only if we cut the bullshit out. This is a time for the most creative members of our industry to start experimenting. So, those of us that appreciate dance music have some work to do in 2003. By supporting the scene and carefully choosing where you spend your money you cast your vote. Don’t accept lousy music at clubs. Don’t accept lousy music on the radio. Voice your opinion. Keep the vibe alive. Kill tha DJ by John Kill My name is John Kill aka Kill tha DJ. I have been a DJ in Minneapolis/St. Paul for almost 14 years now. I have worked at almost every influential club in town at one time or another and have observed the good, the bad, and the ugly firsthand. I currently DJ Thursdays at The Bird, Saturdays at Stargate and Sundays at South Beach. I report to DMA Magazine and to FMQB. I have also had the privilege of mixing the Saturday PartyZone for KDWB for several years now. My tenure as a DJ and my position with KDWB have afforded me opportunities to meet many of the people who make, release, promote, and play the club music we all love so much. Because of my unique point of reference Chris Castle has graciously offered me this space to share my observations and opinions with you. What an honor to be asked to contribute to a website that is rapidly becoming an integral part of the Twin Cities’ re-burgeoning Nightclubbing experience. Minneapolis and St. Paul have a long and storied history surrounding their nightlife. From the days when Al Capone used to escape to the caves along the St. Paul riverfront for a little R&R to the days when Prince and The Time started a musical “revolution” of sorts from the stage at First Avenue. From the days of disco at The Oz to the glamorous eighties at Rush’s and Graffiti’s to the high tide of Techno at, of all places, a club called Cowboy. It seems like an eternity since something truly exciting existed in Twin Cities nightlife. A variety of factors have combined to create a very bland club scene over the past ten years. Change is slow here. Nightclubs have had difficulty developing identities and creating compelling atmospheres. Most have focused too heavily on drink prices and neglected what really matters – the atmosphere. The distinction between Bars and Clubs has become blurred. It is just recently that some clubs have begun to exploit the differences between Nightclubs and Bars. What is a Nightclub, really? A club is a group of people who come together to share in some common exercise or interest. So a Nightclub really is not the building or the establishment. The Club is the people, you and I, that come together to share in the experience of the atmosphere. Another way to look at it is in terms of product. Simply put, a Bar sells booze while a Nightclub sells atmosphere. That special combination of music, sound, lights, visuals, people and service are what Nightclubs sell. Liquor is merely an accessory – a party favor. Too few “clubs” understand this and fall into the trap of running their Club like a Bar. Momentum is shifting, however. This generation of clubbers is restless and searching for new and exciting experiences. The next generation of nightclubs is just around the corner. There are “concept” clubs that are in the works that will redefine standards and dramatically elevate the scene. Within the next 12-24 months our scene will be profoundly impacted and TCNC will be here to keep you informed. About  | Clubs  | Fashion  | Music Editorials  | Photos  | Message Board  | Employment Become a TCNC Editor! The Posts, Reviews, Opinions and/or Comments on this Message board, forum, or associated links are not necessarily the views of TwinCitiesNightClubs.com, Chris Castle, Inc or staff and are not liable. By using this website you agree to the Terms of Use (Updated).