Page 2986 – That Eric Alper

How Pixar made its first blockbuster, Toy Story

Music

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Mar 21, 2015

How Pixar made its first blockbuster, Toy Story

Pete Docter was a writer on that film and a key part of Pixar’s original brain trust: a core group of writers, animators, and directors that steered the company’s creative direction. He went on to direct Monsters, Inc. and Up and told the audience that he just finished his latest film — the surreal mindtrip Inside Out — last Friday.

Pixar’s first run of films were nearly universally acclaimed for their attention to story and character — so much so that the studio has endured some warranted criticism in the last few years for a decline in quality. (Catmull and Lasseter began splitting their time between Pixar and Disney Animation Studios in 2006, and subsequent projects like Cars 2, Monsters University, and Brave haven’t been held in the same high regard.) But as Docter told it, the now-lauded writing instincts of the original team nearly led to Toy Story being cancelled outright.

During the writing and storyboarding process, Disney executives were concerned that the characters were too wholesome, leading to a reimagining that made the Woody character “a bit of a jerk.” After a disastrous storyboard reel screening, Disney executives wanted to call the movie off and move the Pixar team to LA.

“Somebody said, ‘Give us three months and we’re just gonna go for broke,'” Docter recalled. “‘If we’re gonna go down, let’s at least go down doing what we believe in.’ And so we took three months and boarded like the wind. I don’t think we actually finished the whole film, but we did re-board it to [the point] that they saw a little potential there and didn’t shut down the project.”

As we all know now, the movie did move forward, and got a boost with the addition of A-list actors like Tom Hanks voicing the characters. (“He basically got the job because of Turner & Hooch, where [he freaks out about the dog eating the car],” Docter said. “We were like, ‘Okay, that’s the guy.’”) Clearly bullish on the long-term prospects of computer-animated films, CEO Steve Jobs took Pixar public one week after the movie’s release, and Toy Story ended up making over $191 million in the US alone.

One Night Only: Led Zeppelin on the movie screens

Music

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Mar 21, 2015

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One Night Only: Led Zeppelin on the movie screens

The greatest band in rock ‘n roll history will be back on the big screen for an incredible one-night event on Monday, March 30. The second in the Fathom Events Classic Music Series, Led Zeppelin spans the entire live concert career and captures the sound and fury of the band on stage. This exclusive cinema event will give fans a larger-than-life concert experience featuring legendary live performances from London’s Royal Albert Hall in January 1970, their historic dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden in July 1973, their triumphant five-night run at London’s Earl’s Court in May 1975, and their record-breaking shows at England’s Knebworth Festival in August 1979.

Led Zeppelin continues to be honored for its pivotal role in music history. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and a year later was awarded with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm. Founding members Jones, Page and Plant – along with Jason Bonham, the son of John Bonham – took the stage at London’s O2 Arena in 2007 to headline a tribute concert for Ahmet Ertegun, a dear friend and Atlantic Records’ founder. The band was honored for its lifetime contribution to American culture at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012. In January of 2014, the band won their first ever Grammy award as Celebration Day, which captured their live performance at the Ertegun tribute concert, was named Best Rock Album.

Click here to buy tickets.

Streaming Income Overtakes CDs in the US

Music

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Mar 21, 2015

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From Music Business Worldwide:

According to new RIAA stats, the retail value of the US industry fell under $7bn in the year, to $6.97bn. Although essentially flat, that’s less than half the pre-Napster industry high of $14.6 billion in 1999.

Interestingly, streaming income, which rose 3.2% to $1.87bn, overtook CD income for the first time – which fell 12.7% to $1.85bn.

Paid subscription was up 25% to $799.1m, while ad-supported ‘freemium’ revenues – including YouTube – increased 34% to $294.8m.

SoundExchange collections from streaming personalised radio services such as Sirius XM and Pandora, were up 31% to $773.4m.

The dominant format in the US continues to be downloads. In 2014, combined downloads of singles and albums took around $2.6 billion, down 8.5% on 2013.

Vinyl albums shot up 49.4% to $314.9m.

Music Business Worldwide

The amazing indie short that Pixels is based on

Music

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Mar 21, 2015

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This summer, it’s game on or game over! When aliens misinterpret video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, they attack the Earth in the form of the video games. Below is the trailer for the forthcoming Hollywood film Pixels, starring Pac-Man, Adam Sandler, and Donkey Kong.

…and here’s Patrick Jean’s 2010 indie animated film that it’s based on.

‘And the Hundred Dollar Sandwich’ Has Won Best Album Packaging Of The Year – And It’s Only March

Music

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Mar 21, 2015

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‘And the Hundred Dollar Sandwich’ Has Won Best Album Packaging Of The Year – And It’s Only March

THIS is how you can be creative in the CD format. And the Hundred Dollar Sandwich is a new album by Brooklyn-based hip-hop duo Junk Science that is built like a sandwich. Designed by Queens-based rapper Cool Calm Pete, the album’s two CDs serve as the bread while the lyrics sheets and other liner notes make up the filling.

BY the way, track 7? A cover of Oh, Canada! written by Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper.

The band writes on their Bandcamp page, “The whole ‘sandwich’ comes inside a gorgeous, custom-printed freezer-safe bag (in case you keep your music in the freezer).”

Paul McCartney Will Induct Ringo Star Into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Music

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Mar 21, 2015

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Paul McCartney Will Induct Ringo Star Into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Paul McCartney will induct former Beatle-mate Ringo Starr into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo act this coming April. Starr is already in the Rock Hall, as part of The Beatles.

Patti Smith will handle the duties of posthumously welcoming Lou Reed into the institution for his solo career. Reed was already inducted as part of punk group The Velvet Underground.

Stevie Wonder will induct R&B singer and songwriter Bill Withers at the ceremony. J. Geils Band singer Peter Wolf will introduce the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Fall Out Boy will pay tribute to Green Day. John Mayer will induct Stevie Ray Vaughan and Steve Cropper, of Booker T. & the MG’s, will induct 1950s doo-wop group the 5 Royales.

It has not been announced yet who will induct Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

Performers at this year’s event include Beck, Dave Grohl, Joe Walsh, Tom Morello, John Legend and Jimmie Vaughan. Additional performers will be announced in coming weeks.

The ceremony will be held April 18th in Cleveland. The event will be filmed and highlights will be aired later as an HBO special on May 30.

Middle Eastern Album Covers Photoshopped For Modesty

Music

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Mar 20, 2015

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Eventbrite Launches “United States of Events” and Ranks America’s Most Event-Going Cities

Music

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Mar 20, 2015

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Eventbrite Launches “United States of Events” and Ranks America’s Most Event-Going Cities

Eventbrite, the global marketplace of live experiences, today released a list of America’s most event-going cities and the United States of Events, a visualization of the event-going trends across America’s largest 25 cities. The company leveraged its platform of millions of events to zoom in on attendance themes across popular categories including food and drink, live music, art and fitness. Browse the United States of Events interactive to explore each city’s surprising interests, from yoga classes in San Diego to art shows in Houston to bacon events in New York City.

Overall Music Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Chicago
11. Denver
12. San Antonio
13. Boston
14. San Diego
15. Portland
16. Washington
17. San Jose
18. Seattle
19. Columbus
20. Phoenix
21. Baltimore
22. Detroit
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth

EDM Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Chicago
10. Boston
11. San Antonio
12. San Diego
13. Nashville
14. Denver
15. Portland
16. San Jose
17. Washington
18. Seattle
19. Columbus
20. Phoenix
21. Detroit
22. Indianapolis
23. Baltimore
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth

Rock n’ Roll Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Denver
11. Chicago
12. San Antonio
13. San Diego
14. Boston
15. Baltimore
16. Portland
17. Washington
18. San Jose
19. Phoenix
20. Seattle
21. Columbus
22. Detroit
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth

Hip Hop Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Dallas
6. Charlotte
7. Los Angeles
8. Philadelphia
9. Chicago
10. Nashville
11. San Antonio
12. Denver
13. Boston
14. San Diego
15. Washington
16. San Jose
17. Portland
18. Seattle
19. Phoenix
20. Baltimore
21. Columbus
22. Detroit
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth

Jazz Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Denver
11. Chicago
12. San Antonio
13. Boston
14. Portland
15. San Diego
16. Washington
17. San Jose
18. Seattle
19. Columbus
20. Detroit
21. Phoenix
22. Baltimore
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth

Country Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Denver
11. Chicago
12. San Antonio
13. Portland
14. Boston
15. San Diego
16. San Jose
17. Washington
18. Indianapolis
19. Columbus
20. Seattle
21. Detroit
22. Phoenix
23. Baltimore
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth

Most Event-Going Cities in US:
1. New York City, NY
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Austin, TX
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. Chicago, IL
6. Houston, TX
7. Boston, MA
8. Dallas, TX
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. San Diego, CA

Eventbrite’s dataset reveals surprising insights that point towards the types of events that each city loves the most.

New Yorkers attended fashion shows, plays, comedy acts, and art shows two times more than the next most artsy city, Los Angeles.
Everything is big in Texas, including their appetite for live music events. Houston, Dallas and Austin all rank in the top eight cities for live music show attendance. From Rock to EDM, and even Jazz and Country, Austin’s music reputation stands true by ranking number one across the board in live music.
Californians win the race when it comes to health and fitness experiences. San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego all made the top ten cities for health and fitness attendance.
Bostonians come in strong for attendance to food and drink events, ranking fifth across the US, proving weather won’t stop Boston from indulging in a tasty time.
Chicagoans are all about the hops and hot dogs, winning out at attendance to beer festivals and tasting, and ranking fifth in stand-up comedy show attendance, busting up with laughter no matter how blustery the weather.

Recent university research indicates that experiential purchases make people happier than things, and Americans today spend on and attend more live experiences than in previous decades. Since 1987, the share of consumer spending on live experiences and events relative to total U.S. consumer spending increased 70% (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis).

As America’s largest generation, millennials are driving the experiences boom: 3 in 4 millennials (78%) would choose to spend money on a desirable experience or event over buying something desirable, and 55% of millennials say they’re spending more on events and live experiences than ever before.

Millennials interest in live experiences and their increasing ability to spend is driving the growth of the Experience Economy. See Eventbrite’s Millennials: Fueling the Experience Economy report for more information.

“Less than a decade ago, the world had never seen a mud run before, let alone a color run or zombie run. New events of all kinds are rapidly entering the scene because people want to experience more, and technology is a major driver of this growth,” said Julia Hartz, co-founder and president of Eventbrite. “The growing appetite for unique experiences presents a huge business opportunity for people to create new and exciting live events.”

Sales Soar In Front Of The Juno Awards

Music

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Mar 20, 2015

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From FYI Music:

Nielsen Entertainment data for the week ending Sunday, March 15 unequivocally show that the intense media glare in front of the CTV telecast spurred unprecedented sales gains and online interest for the performers and Juno Award winners.

No breakout information on the four-hour aftermath before the calendar day change is available; however, a full week accounting following the Sunday broadcast will be available to SoundScan subscribers early next week, and to media outlets late Wednesday night.

Here’s what happened in the week ending Sunday:

Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know” – +142% downloads, +26% streaming
Alanis Morrisette – Jagged Little Pill album +130%JU
Arkells – “Come To Light” – +89% downloads
Bobby Bazini – “Bubblegum” – +123% downloads
Deadmau5 – “Seeya” – +64% downloads, +13% streaming
Hedley – “Anything” – +39% downloads, +13% streaming
Hedley – “Crazy For You” – +109% downloads
Kiesza – “Hideaway” – +113% downloads, +24% streaming
Lights – “Up We Go” – +17% downloads
Magic! – “Rude” – +89% downloads
Sam Roberts Band – “We’re All In This Together” – +184% downloads
Shawn Mendes – “Life Of The Party” – +11% downloads, +48% streaming
The Weeknd –” Earned It” – +23% downloads, +7% streaming
Dallas Smith – “Wastin’ Gas” – +120% downloads
Leonard Cohen – Popular Problems album +25%

What’s in Prince’s secret vault? Enough music for our entire lives

Music

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Mar 20, 2015

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What’s in Prince’s secret vault? Enough music for our entire lives

From The Guardian:

Prince puts out in a decade what most musicians couldn’t put out in a lifetime. Prince may not want to talk about the vault, but there’s a whole bunch of Purple people who do.

Susan Rogers, Prince’s former sound engineer, tells me the vault predates the superstar status Prince attained with the movie Purple Rain in 1984. “I started the vault!” she says. “I joined Prince in 1983 when he was preparing to do Purple Rain. I realised it would be smart for me to get his tapes together in one place. I was aware there were a lot of pieces missing. It became an obsession. I wanted us to have everything he’d ever recorded. I called up the studios he’d been using and said: ‘Have you got any Prince tapes’? This is his legacy. We need to protect these things. It’s an actual bank vault, with a thick door. It’s in the basement of Paisley Park. When I left in 87, it was nearly full. Row after row of everything we’d done. I can’t imagine what they’ve done since then.”

The pattern of consigning songs – and sometimes entire albums – to the vault swiftly became a staple of Prince’s working method. Brent Fischer is a composer who has helped add orchestration to Prince’s work for 30 years, beginning with 1985’s Parade album; his studio heaves with reams and reams of sheet music for his work with Prince. I recognise some of the titles, but others look like songs that must be sitting in the vault – The Streets of Panama and The Fat Lady Sings. “I think over 70% of the music we’ve worked on for Prince is yet to come out,” Fischer says. “There are a lot of songs that were sent to us clearly with the idea that they would never be released. They were almost comical songs that he would work out with his horn players. There was lot of wild horn parts and experimentation with samples. I’d like to see All My Dreams come out. We enjoyed that song so much. I think it’s nine-and-a-half minutes. It’s this epic journey.”