The News Review:

- Asia’s maddening music business
- Sponsored concerts: Fans get great deal but is it a fad?
- The Gauntlet :: (hed)pe – Heavy Metal – News – (hed)pe Videos -…
- Diamonds in the dust

Asia’s maddening music business
ZDNet Asia – Jul 25, 2007
And then there is the vibrant array of musical acts to choose from everything from J-Pop acts in Tokyo to Vedic heavy-metal bands out of Mumbai and New Delhi. Yet much of Asia is nothing but trouble for the world’s biggest recording companies. They’re casting about for a business model that works in a region where pirated CDs and illicit music and file-sharing sites are ubiquitous. Universal Music International’s Asia-Pacific President Max Hole knows the short-term headaches and long-term potential better than most. He’s pushing the world’s biggest music recording company which controls such labels as Decca Geffen Island Def Jam and Mercury to cultivate more quality local talent in-house and via tie-ups with regional studios… Yet much of Asia is nothing but trouble for the world’s biggest recording companies. They’re casting about for a business model that works in a region where pirated CDs and illicit music and file-sharing sites are ubiquitous. Universal Music International’s Asia-Pacific President Max Hole knows the short-term headaches and long-term potential better than most. He’s pushing the world’s biggest music recording company which controls such labels as Decca Geffen Island Def Jam and Mercury to cultivate more quality local talent in-house and via tie-ups with regional studios. ‘Mando-Pop’ for the mainlandn July 16 Universal announced a deal to promote and distribute pop artists under contract with Taiwan’s Linfair Records which also distributes and sells in Hong Kong and Southeast Asian markets such as Malaysia and Thailand. Linfair boasts such artists as Angela Chang a Taiwanese singer and actress who is fluent in both Mandarin and English and was nominated for Best Female Singer at the 2007 Taiwan Golden Melody Awards. Universal is hoping that Chang and other Linfair content in Mandarin will click with music lovers on the mainland where “Mando-pop” is starting to gain traction.

Sponsored concerts: Fans get great deal but is it a fad?
Scripps News – Scripps News – Jul 25, 2007
music By MARK BRWNScripps Howard News Service Wednesday July 25 2007Make no mistake zzfest tickets may be free this year but it is hardly an act of charity. “I’m not trying to be the Mother Teresa of the music industry because I like money more than anybody else” Sharon sbourne said then let out a wicked laugh. Whether it’s the MTV show “The sbournes” the British reality show “The X Factor” that she co-hosts with Simon Cowell or her famous quote about dropping Smashing Pumpkins as a client for medical reasons (“Billy Corgan was making me sick”) sbourne has never had a problem attracting attention and profiting from it. At a concert industry symposium in February Sharon and zzy sbourne made the dramatic announcement that the struggling zzfest would be free this year supported instead by sponsorship. The nationwide tour kicked off the second week of July and continues through Aug… While 428000 free tickets blew out the doors the day they were made available zzfest 2007 may end up being more of an anomaly in the concert industry than the norm even if others have already jumped on the bandwagon. It’s made viable by a strong lineup of sponsors; a number of metal bands including Lamb of God and Hatebreed who already had strong ties to the tour and signed on immediately and because Live Nation owns every venue on the tour eliminating rent and taking in other revenue such as parking and concession sales. “You have to cover your overhead somehow. Concessions are not going to be free. Parking is not going to be free” said Gary Bongiovanni editor of Pollstar the concert-trade magazine. “The whole ‘zzfest free tickets’ is an experiment itself.

The Gauntlet :: (hed)pe – Heavy Metal – News – (hed)pe Videos -…
thegauntlet.com – Jul 25, 2007
has always been out in left field. Refusing to conform to any one particular style Jahred and his cohorts mix up metal punk funk rap ska reggae and damn near any other type of music you can think of sometimes in a single song. But “Insomnia” finds the band letting in a darker energy that’s in stark contrast to the group’s last effort the more upbeat and accessible “nly In Amerika. continue to remain relevant amongst an overcrowded music scene that contains more followers than leaders? Firstly it’s the unique personality and outlook Jahred brings to the table.

Diamonds in the dust
tonight.co.za – Jul 25, 2007
However the guitarist Ian Watson had guitar problems which meant that the crazy Mark Vas who was MC-ing that stage and clearly enjoying some Uncle Jack backstage had to entertain the crowd while the problem was fixed. He spotted me in the audience and announced to everyone that Miss wen has better numbies than Patricia Lewis. Brasse Vannie Kaap and Nine in 2000To witness 15 000 lovers of metal and hard music lap up hip-hop from the Cape Flats was inspiring. It started with a deep beat and two B-boys running on stage and somersaulting passed each other. That night Mr Fat became an overnight cult hero Ready D introduced a whole new generation to the turntable culture and when rockers Nine joined them for Cape Flats a new anthem was born.