Get Ready to Rock. Get Ready to Roll. Get Ready for Ricki. Watch and share the brand new trailer for Ricki And the Flash which rolls into theaters on August 7th. Jonathan Demme (Something Wild, Rachel Getting Married) directs, and it’s written by Diablo Cody. Meryl Streep is starring as a rocker in a band called The Flash. Let me repeat that. Meryl Streep is starring as a rocker in a band called The Flash. Awesome.
Awee
Get Ready to Rock. Get Ready to Roll. Get Ready For Meryl Streep.
Almost half of you spend half a concert or longer on your cell phones
Tiny screens—and some not so tiny—have made their way into just about every corner of our lives, and live events are no exception. Like a band that’s blowing up the charts, smartphones are popping up at nearly every venue and live event out there.
It’s clear that mobile is permeating fans’ event-going experience before they even enter a venue or walk through the gates of a festival: Today, 35 percent of tickets sold by Ticketfly are purchased on mobile devices – a 40 percent increase from 2013 to 2014 – and 45 percent of Ticketfly’s traffic comes from smartphones.
But what happens once fans come through the doors? And how would event-goers use their phones if they could? Ticketfly commissioned Harris Poll to field a survey online among U.S. adults who have a smartphone and attend live events to determine how – and how much – they are using their phones during live events, and shed some light on what they will be doing in the future. Here’s what we found:
TOP FINDINGS
- Thirty-one percent of 18-34 year olds are using their phones during half of an event or longer.
- Forty percent of female smartphone owners 18-34 that attend live events say they use their phones to take pictures at events, compared to only 24 percent of males their age.
- Females in the 18-34 age range are also more likely than their male counterparts to share their experiences via social media apps during the event (35 percent vs. 22 percent, respectively).
- Seventy percent of smartphone owners age 18-34 who attend live events are interested in using their phone as their ticket to enter an event.
- Two thirds (66 percent) of smartphone owners age 18-34 who attend live events are interested in using their phone to pay for food, beverages and merchandise.
Via Ticketfly
The “Footloose” warehouse scene without music is pretty great
Kevin Bacon delivers one of the most memorable dance scenes in movie history in the classic film Footloose. But take out the music and noise, you’re left with confusion, hunger and brilliance.
THIS is how you can be creative with a music video, animated with pins and thread
I just finished doing a panel at Canadian Music Week on how labels and music streaming sites can work better together, and the panelists kept coming back to the same idea – you need to be creative with your playlists and promotions. Easier said than done, I know. But watch this to perhaps get a spark. The Made Shop created this music video for the song “Change Is Everything” by Son Lux. It’s an impressive work of stop-motion animation, and really good song, too.
“Live…For One Night Only…George Carlin and Richard Pryor” Might Soon Be Heard In Comedy Clubs
If you missed the chance to watch some of comedy’s greatest performers in their prime — whether because of scheduling conflicts, scarce tickets or the fact that you weren’t born yet — a new attraction in upstate New York wants to give you another chance to see them, at least in hologram form.
The National Comedy Center, which is scheduled to open next year in Jamestown, N.Y., is to unveil plans for a comedy club that will feature holograms of stand-ups and comic actors from various eras.
Tom Benson, the chairman of the National Comedy Center, described the project in a telephone interview as “a comedy club where folks can go back in time and witness a classic routine in a setting – God knows where it might have been – and experience that as if they were really there.”
The virtual comedians will be created by Hologram USA, the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company that has also made or is working on similar representations of Buddy Holly, Liberace, Julian Assange and Jimmy Kimmel.
The club is hoping to spotlight comedians like Milton Berle, Bob Hope, George Carlin and Rodney Dangerfield, although Mr. Benson said deals with these artists’ families and estates were not set and an inaugural lineup could still change.
Canadian Music Week Congratulates the 2015 Canadian Radio Music Award Winners
Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce the winners of the 18th annual Canadian Radio Music Awards. Among those honoured were up and coming talents Kiesza and MAGIC!, and Canadian rock radio favourites Hedley. This year’s award show took place earlier this evening at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Sponsored by Bell Media, the Canadian Radio Music Awards celebrated first-time charted artists and recognized the performers who have released some of the most-played songs on Canadian radio in the past year.
Tonight’s show featured performances by MAGIC!, Kiesza, Dear Rouge, Andee, Virginia to Vegas and Jess Moskaluke.
This year’s award categories included: AC, Rock, CHR, and Country as well as SOCAN Song of the Year and Fans’ Choice.
Nominees included artists who hit the Canadian charts for the first time and achieved top airplay in different formats based on radio “spins”, as recorded by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) in 2014. Votes cast by program directors, music directors, and on-air personalities determined the winners. Radio listeners from across the country also voted online for the Fans’ Choice Award at www.cmw.net.
Three additional non-voting awards were also presented at this year’s ceremony: The FACTOR Breakthrough Award, for top airplay for new FACTOR-supported artists, went to Virginia to Vegas; the Sennheiser Chart Topper Award for top overall airplay was awarded to Hedley, and the Heatseeker award was presented to Toronto native Francesco Yates. See the full list of winners below.
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: AC
MAGIC! – RUDE
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: CHR
KIESZA – HIDEAWAY
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: ROCK
DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 – TRAINWRECK 1979
BEST NEW GROUP OR SOLO ARTIST: COUNTRY
JESS MOSKALUKE – CHEAP WINE & CIGARETTES
SOCAN SONG OF THE YEAR
MAGIC! – RUDE (written by M. Pellizzer, A. Messinger, N. Atweh, B. Spivak, A. Tanas)
FANS CHOICE
MAGIC!
Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining three information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival; a comedy festival; four awards shows and the nation’s largest new music festival, CMW spans a ten-day period from May 1 to May 10, 2015 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel and over 60 downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.net.
How Many ’80s Teen Flicks Can You Name In This Supercut Soundtracked To ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’
Cy Curnin from The Fixx, Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol to record the song, but all three declined; Idol later performed a cover of it on his 2001 compilation album Greatest Hits. Schiff then suggested Forsey ask Simple Minds who, after refusing as well, agreed under the encouragement of their label, A&M. According to one account, the band”rearranged and recorded ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ in three hours in a north London studio and promptly forgot about it.
Classic song then and now. See you can name all the teen flicks in this supercut.
https://youtu.be/kYJgCp_9h48
The Breakfast Club
16 Candles
Adventures in Babysitting
An American Werewolf in London
Back to School
Back to the Future
Better off Dead
Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure
Dirty Dancing
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Flashdance
Footloose (1984)
Heathers
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Lost Boys
One Crazy Summer
Pretty in Pink
Real Genius
Revenge of the Nerds
Risky Business
Say Anything
Some Kind of Wonderful
Stand by Me
Summer School
Teen Wolf
The Goonies
Weird Science
The Best 43 ABBA Album Covers And The Reason For Their Wild Clothes – Revealed!
ABBA were a massive Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, comprising Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ABBA is an acronym of the first letters of the band members’ first names and is sometimes stylized as the registered trademark ᗅᗺᗷᗅ. The band became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1975 to 1982. They also won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 at the Dome in Brighton, UK, giving Sweden its first triumph in the history of the contest and being the most successful group ever to take part in the competition. Ulvaeus and Andersson are also known for writing the Broadway musical “Chess” in 1980.
ABBA has sold over 380 million albums and singles worldwide, which makes them one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and the second best-selling music group of all time. ABBA was the first group to come from a non-English-speaking country that enjoyed consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
After ABBA broke up in late 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus achieved success writing music for the stage while Lyngstad and Fältskog pursued solo careers with mixed success. ABBA’s music declined in popularity until several films, notably Muriel’s Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, revived interest in the group and the spawning of several tribute bands. In 1999, ABBA’s music was adapted into the successful musical Mamma Mia! that toured worldwide. A film of the same name, released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 15 March 2010.
ABBA was widely noted for the colourful and trend-setting costumes its members wore. The reason for the wild costumes was Swedish tax law – The clothes could be deductible only if they could not be worn other than for performances.[
Unison Benevolent Fund Celebrates $1 Million Milestone To Launch New Financial Aid Program
Last night, The Phoenix Concert Theatre hosted a night of music, with dozens of celebrated Canadian artists combining forces in support of the Unison Benevolent Fund. The first of its kind in this country, the non-profit charity provides counselling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music community, assisting professional music makers in times of hardship, illness or economic difficulties. Kicking off Canadian Music Week, the event, which featured live performances by 2011 initial Unison launch host, Tom Wilson, as well as Finger Eleven, Matthew Good, I Mother Earth, Kim Mitchell, K-OS, Madison Violet, Jason McCoy, Tomi Swick, The Trews, and DJ Soul Proprietor (Eon Sinclair), was a celebration of Unison reaching a monumental financial milestone of $1 million. This achievement, made possible through donations, enables Unison to launch a new program that will provide financial support to Canadian music makers in times of crisis.
The new financial assistance program, set to start immediately, is designed to provide discreet relief to music industry professionals in times of crisis. Created and administered by the music community, for the music community, the program will provide emergency financial support to Canadian music makers affected by severe economic or personal hardship as a result of an illness, injury or other circumstances that result in an inability to work in their field. The Unison Benevolent Fund provides a short-term lifeline in these times of crisis, and is there to ensure the health of colleagues and collaborators within the music community.
Over 150 artists have lent their voices, time and support to the fundraising initiatives. East Coast artist, Alan Doyle, was one of the first artists to come on board to support a fund raising event in 2012. “As a musician who started out in what was a small, East Coast band, I understand the risks those of us in the industry have taken to follow our dreams,” says Doyle. “Without a support system like the Unison Benevolent Fund, many of us would be forced to stall or potentially end our careers to make ends meet.”
Founding patrons, Slaight Music and Music Canada, who supported the efforts to launch the fund with donations of $250,000 each, and have continuously encouraged others to support the vision, were on hand for the event. “The music community is built on everyone supporting each other,” commented Slaight Music president, Gary Slaight. “In order to make a stronger community, people need to know that they can reach out in times of need.” Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada remarked, “Music Canada and its members, Universal, Sony and Warner were believers from the start. Not only did we commit capital funding in the amount of $250,000, but we also provided critical operational funding of $160,000. We wanted to give Unison the runway it needed to attract a critical mass of donors and launch into flight. This it has done brilliantly thanks to a dedicated staff and core of volunteers. The Canadian music community has been under great stress for many years now. Unison is expressly designed to relieve some of that stress and to extend a helping hand to those in our community who are most at risk. Our support for Unison has never flagged and it will never waver.”
National and provincial music associations have been integral to spreading the word and awareness. Among the various organizations: CONNECT Music Licensing, the Canadian Music Publishers Association, SOCAN, Canada’s Walk of Fame, Canadian Music Week, Canadian Country Music Association and the Canadian Independent Music Association have all shown a tremendous amount of support to Unison’s fundraising efforts. From the Golf4Good Tournament, the Manitoba Music Bonspiel, and the Remembering Jay Smith events, to exposure at conferences, the music community has been, and continues to lend its support through awareness building campaigns and unique ways to generate donations.
Since its inception in 2011, the Unison Fund has worked to put systems of assistance in place in order to prepare for its full launch. In the meantime, the organization has offered counselling and health solutions in a confidential manner to eligible Canadian music makers and their immediate family members dealing with health, legal, relationship and work-related concerns. The services are available in English and French on a countrywide level. There are no membership fees or dues to access any of the assistance programs offered. The fund is created and funded by individuals and industry organizations.
Unison co-founder Catharine Saxberg spoke about the fund’s new program, “We are finally able to see our original dream for Unison come to fruition as we now make emergency funds available to members of our community in need, in addition to the counselling support we already provide. We’ve reached this point thanks to the efforts, donations and support of many, but today we are particularly grateful to the folks at Music Canada, and Slaight Music, along with Cassels Brock and Shalinsky & Company, all of whom believed in the goals of Unison from its first steps. On behalf of the members of our community who will benefit from their generosity, Unison thanks you.”