IMC MUSIC WORLD NEWS  
  The weekly music news bulletin of the International Music Council
Produced by the International Music Council with the collaboration of the Music Council of Australia  Published with the support of the UNESCO Culture sector
Issue 22/2009  1 July 2009
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CONTENTS. Music World News is divided into these sections. Scroll through or, if you wish, click on one of the sections to be taken straight to those stories.

Music the artform and artists
Music the industry
Policy, research and politics
Music education
Technologies and media
The rest

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
A world in step as it mourns Michael Jackson
A Bahraini royal mourned him publicly, young Lebanese held a candlelight tribute, Filipino prisoners followed his dance steps.
Source: The Age

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
And it makes us wonder
It's time once again to ask: What is the greatest song? Radio stations, magazines and websites have polled their listeners and readers on that, but the answer was simpler in the 1980s. Whether you were listening to the teen-friendly network show Take 40 Australia or an adult-oriented rock station, Led Zeppelin's 1971 epic Stairway to Heaven was commonly voted the greatest song of all time.
Source: The Australian

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Musicians support Iran protesters
They wouldn't be allowed to perform in Iran, but singers Joan Baez and Jon Bon Jovi are showing their support for protesters.
Source: Brisbane Times (Australia)

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
‘Musicians are in panic’, says popular singer (Pakistan)
“Colleagues, including musicians, singers, and other art performers, are in panic. We are all at risk,” ‘Zeek’ Afridi, an up-and-coming singer from Pakistan’s embattled city of Peshawar, told correspondents of Radio Liberty.
Source: Freemuse

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Understanding the Taliban’s campaign against music
The Taliban justifies their crackdown on artists by quoting an obscure line from the Koran, but British ethnomusicologist John Baily thinks the ban on musical instruments and public performance points to “a competition between different kinds of music.”
Source: Freemuse

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Iran : Musicians respond to the crisis
Despite a general ban on most forms of popular music by the Islamic government in Iran, rock music has become one of the most vibrant forces for critiquing the various ills of Iranian society, writes music researcher Mark Levine.
Source: Freemuse

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Symphony of the city
On June 21st "New York joined more than three hundred cities--including Montevideo, Djibouti, Kabul, Hanoi, and Sydney--in celebrating Make Music, a global sonic bacchanal that takes place each year on the summer solstice.
Source: The New Yorker

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Don't look back
As veteran musicians headline Glastonbury this weekend, does the best writing about rock music also hail from a different era? Is anybody today as good as Greil Marcus or Lester Bangs? Having spent 20 years as a pop journalist, John Harris asks whether music writing has lost its way
Source: The Guardian (UK)

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Black Music Month celebrated in June in the United States
Spurred by the songwriter and record producer Kenny Gamble, President Jimmy Carter in 1979 designated June as Black Music Month. A quarter century later, President Bush continues to issue an annual Black Music Month proclamation.
Source: America.gov

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Obituary: Ali Akbar Khan
Sarod virtuoso who brought Indian classical music to an international audience.
Source: The Guardian (UK)

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the artform and artists
What the heck is that? Odd instruments in jazz
Jazz is strange enough for some listeners. Dig a little deeper and it gets ever so bizarre. Throughout the music's history, particular instruments have risen to challenge of playing improvised music.
Source: NPR

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the artform and artists
Conductor Lee to bring Korean musicality to London
Korea's rising young conductor Lee Young-chil, 39, who already holds several positions with major European orchestras, debuts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, London.
Source: The Korea Times

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the artform and artists
China captures music world's ear
Once banned, Western classical music explodes in popularity among Chinese.
Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the artform and artists
Quincy Jones, the man who made the king of pop
Source: Le Figaro

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the artform and artists
BBC Proms: under the trance of Stravinsky
In this year’s BBC Proms, all 11 of the Russian composer’s ballets are being performed. Why do they still cast such a spell?
Source: The Telegraph (UK)

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the artform and artists
The Festival de Ortigueira back to its roots
Source: Yahoo (EFE)

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the artform and artists
Angola: Singer Kristo underlines the evolution of Angolan music
Source: Angola Press

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the artform and artists
Young rappers in Algeria
Source: La Tribune (Algiers)

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the artform and artists
The Senegalese audience charmed by Spanish rhythms
Source: Le Soleil

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the industry
Virgin Media and Universal Music to launch worlds first unlimited music download subscription service
Virgin Media and Universal Music unveiled plans for a ground-breaking digital music service designed to bring about a rapid and permanent change in the way UK consumers buy and listen to music.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the industry
IFPI welcomes groundbreaking Virgin Media/Universal Music digital music service
IFPI welcomed a groundbreaking new digital music service to be launched in the UK by Universal Music and the ISP Virgin Media.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the industry
Music China - International trade fair for musical instruments and services
Music China, Asia Pacific's largest and most important musical instrument show will take place at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), Shanghai, China. It brings together hundreds of music product suppliers with a broad mix of products including musical instruments, sheet music and accessories from around the world.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music the industry
Introducing Cal's Creative Industries' Career Fund
CAL's Creative Industries' Career Fund offers individual creators and people involved in the publishing and visual arts industries a maximum of $5,000 to undertake training, travel or other activities that will develop their skills and contribute to their careers.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the industry
Spotify - what the Daniel Ek's going on?
I was in the audience at a revealing talk by Daniel Ek, the Swedish, 26-year-old founder of Spotify, at a Music Publishers Association event in London last week. I've never understood how Spotify, that Alexandrian library of free music streaming on the net, can make money.
Source: The Guardian (UK)

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the industry
INIRA - The international network of independent recording artists opens its doors
A new company out of Vancouver opened its doors and invited the independent artists, bands and fans, to virtually walk through their doors. INIRA – The International Network of Independent Recording Artists will offer the independent artists a full range of services all under one roof.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the industry
Streaming movies, TV, and music industry will generate $78 billion over six years
Streaming video and music distributed across the Internet, an IP TV network, or a mobile handset will generate more than $78 billion in network-derived and content-derived revenue into the US markets over the next six years, according to a new market research study from The Insight Research Corporation.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the industry
Reggaeton fever shakes up Cuba's culture
To record his next hit El Micha, one of the rising stars of Cuba's reggaeton music blending reggae, Latin and electronic rhythms, just has to knock on his neighbor's door. A microphone plugged into an old computer in an apartment in Havana's working-class suburb of Reparto Electrico serves as the studio where some of Cuba's most successful reggaeton songs are recorded.
Source: Reuters

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the industry
‘You should have been there!'
Remember the death of live concerts? Portable music players were going to kill them off, because no one would pay to sit or stand in a crowded place and listen to an inferior live version of music they could already hear anywhere, any time. That was about 10 years ago, and since then those little players have become ever more widespread and omnivorous. But the live concert didn't die; in fact it has emerged as the most durable part of the music business.
Source: The Globe & Mail (Canada)

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the industry
Who pays the price of a free-for-all?
Chris Anderson is a guru of the information age. Under his editorship, Wired, the voice of the digital world, has won zillions of prizes. His speeches on the economics of the internet command vast sums. He's a brilliant journalist; I know that, having worked with him before he was a big shot.
Source: The Guardian (UK)

 Posted: 30-06-2009Music the industry
Free is best way to make music piracy redundant
Two in three (64%) Brits are illegally listening to and sharing music online because they do not know how to do so legally, according to research by British online jukebox We7.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the industry
SaskMusic releases economic impact assessment
SaskMusic is pleased to release the Economic Impact Assessment of the Saskatchewan Music Industry. It has always been known that the Saskatchewan music industry contributes to the economic health of our province; this new study quantifies and qualifies this contribution, and illustrates exactly what goes on in the basements, recording studios and venues of our province.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the industry
Vibe closes down
Vibe magazine founder Quincy Jones is distraught over the news that the famous hip-hop publication shuttered its doors today. Though no longer the owner, he did not anticipate this sudden demise, and he says he’s going to bring it back to life – albeit in a slightly different way.
Source: Ebony magazine

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the industry
Kennedy Center offers help to strapped arts groups
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced plans to expand its crisis consulting for arts organizations that are struggling to survive the recession, an effort championed by first lady Michelle Obama and congressional leaders.
Source: Associated Press

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the industry
Simple changes will ensure record stores' survival
Simon Coates, Product Director for Digital Stores - the leading online D2C retail provider - has released a short guide for music retailers on the high street and online to help improve their turnover.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the industry
ReverbNation adds website creation and hosting for bands
Leading DIY music marketing and promotion platform offers indie artists another tool for managing and leveraging direct-to-fan relationships
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the industry
Man arrested as part of pre-release music uploading investigation
A 33 year-old man believed to have links with a group leaking pre-release music on to file-sharing networks was arrested in Portsmouth on Tuesday, June 16, following a joint enquiry by BPI and IFPI, representing the recording industry in the UK and internationally, in conjunction with the City of London Police and the Intellectual Property Office.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music the industry
Music Intelligence Solutions, Inc. partners with The Orchard in global licensing pact
Music Intelligence Solutions' uPlaya service, the leader in the field of digital music and media discovery, announced a multi-tiered strategic partnership with The Orchard. The Orchard, an entertainment services company, will exclusively distribute filtered, high-quality content sourced by Music Intelligence Solutions' patented Hit Song Science and its hit prediction technology and Music Universe discovery solutions.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 30-06-2009Policy, Research and Politics
Frédéric Mitterrand adds colour to Nicolas Sarkozy rainbow cabinet
He's a TV personality with a trademark booming voice, a writer, film-maker and gay activist who is not only an expert on world monarchy but part of the closest thing the French republic has to a royal family: the Mitterrand clan.
Source: The Guardian (UK)

 Posted: 01-07-2009Policy, Research and Politics
Musicians stand up for Iran, President Obama still holding back
Some prominent musicians are standing up for Iran, and some others are having their revolutionary music used in conjunction with images from the Iranian protests, now in their 18th day.
Source: The Examiner

 Posted: 01-07-2009Policy, Research and Politics
An intimate look at hip-hop’s jihad
‘New Muslim Cool,’ a new PBS documentary, shows how young Muslim Americans in the post-9/11 era are deepening ties between hip-hop and Islam.
Source: The Root

 Posted: 29-06-2009Music education
Archive partners with Columbia University
Columbia University has joined in a cooperative agreement with the ARChive of Contemporary Music, the largest collection of popular music in the world, to integrate the resources of the archive into arts programming at the university and other educational and scholarly activities.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music education
Kenya: Schools music fete kicks off in coast
Makande primary school from Mombasa district onn Tuesday morning took on stage a western style song as Coast Province nursery, primary and secondary schools music festival kicked off at Mombasa Polytechnic hall. Schools are expected to show case their music talents in the three days competition with two new music categories: rap music and taarabu being introduced for the first time on stage by the Kenya Music festivals.
Source: Daily Nation

 Posted: 01-07-2009Music education
Madagascar: An active guitar school
Source: L'Express de Madagascar

 Posted: 29-06-2009Technologies and media
Stick it out
After six months of "test marketing", the Australian entrepreneur behind a new music format believes his invention may have found a niche market
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

 Posted: 01-07-2009Technologies and media
New media player auto re-mixes MP3s and adds video for free
These interactive music tracks will be produced using the TronMe software from 3D Solar UK Ltd and will release the potential for millions of new remixes of each song.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Technologies and media
The Echo Nest launches fanalytics - semantic web analytics for the music industry
The Echo Nest, a music intelligence platform providing data-driven solutions to the digital music industry, announced the launch of its Fanalytics platform. Fanalytics applies patented web crawling, machine learning and semantic web technology to help artists and labels better understand, locate and build their online fan base.
Source: Mi2n

 Posted: 01-07-2009Technologies and media
Talk to me about Dilettante
Sometimes it's hard being Amanda. For example, when I think of lots of cool people to interview for (le) blog, and they say yes, and then I don't have time to write the questions? Yes, at times like that it's hard. But at long last, this week we have Juliana Farha and Chris Gruits from the recently re-launched classical music networking hub Dilettante.
Source: The Arts Journal

 Posted: 30-06-2009The rest
Flutes offer clues to Stone-Age music
At least 35,000 years ago, in the depths of the last ice age, the sound of music filled a cave in what is now southwestern Germany, the same place and time early Homo sapiens were also carving the oldest known examples of figurative art in the world.
Source: The New York Times

 Posted: 01-07-2009The rest
Expert claims to solve riddle of Beethoven's 'Elise'
Alongside the opening bars of his Fifth Symphony, "Fuer Elise" is one of Beethoven's best-known melodies, prompting scholars down the years to puzzle over her real identity.
Source: AFP

 Posted: 01-07-2009The rest
Rockers go green at Denmark's Roskilde festival
Music and partying are the main ingredients to a good rock festival, but Denmark's Roskilde Festival also aims to encourage guests to save the planet.
Source: Reuters

 Posted: 01-07-2009The rest
Music and environment highlighted at Folk Festival in Senegal
Source: Le Soleil

 Posted: 01-07-2009The rest
Cameroon: SOCAM celebrates its anniversary by creating its reflexion college
Source: Cameroon Tribune