Discovering New Music At Atlantis 2008

Whoa! What an incredible week it's been! I spent most of the week in Atlanta, GA attending Atlantis Music Conference and Festival, which is one of the top music conferences in the nation. By day, I was able to attend amazing music business panels, meet and build relationships with peers and business executives and meet the people who wrote some of my favorite songs. But by night, I felt like an A&R discovering new bands and musical artists with a beer in hand, traveling all over Atlanta to different venues like the Masquerade and Smith's Olde Bar. With over 200 bands and artists performing at the conference, it was impossible to catch all the awesome acts. Here's just a few that I was able to make it too, in no kind order (check out their myspace!):

Death on Two Wheels

This Atlanta band was a blast to see live! It was indie rock mixed with fun with a dash of southern rock making a rocking night at Smith's.

Ponderosa

Headlining thursday night a Smith's, Ponderosa put on an impressive show. This Athens native band features a mix of classic rock, psychedellic, and soul.

Jackmove

Man, it's been awhile since I've heard a really good ska band, so Jackmove was like chillin with an old friend. Jackmove takes influences from ska, punk, and reggae, which will make everyone's head bopping and going crazy in the pit. 

Greedy White Citizens

GWC, from Atlanta, knows how to work a crowd! The grunge rock band had a great balls to the wall, in your face sound. Had my head banging to the max! The lead guitarist was shredding some crazy shit! He was awesome!

Jennings

What a breath of fresh air. Mary Jennings's voice is so soothing to listen to, you'll forget where you are. Her music is a cool mix of soulful pop and electronica. "If Moby and Alicia Keys had a child, I believe it would be [Jennings]." - Chris Watson 

Emily Kate Boyd

This singer/songer-writer offered a nice and chill sound, influenced by folk, country and jazz. Made we want to grab some coffee and listen.

Gareth Asher

Man, this guy's voice is amazing. Gareth was probably my personal surprise hit of the week, since I don't think he was scheduled and was just playing for fun with the Vagabonds. His acoustic sound has some soul, some funk, rock, and pop, making it fun to listen to. This guy is a musical genius live, hope he can make it to Athens sometime. 

The Amend

So I didn't get a chance to see these guys live, but I did get a chance to listen to them online and I had to give them a shout out. This alternative rock band sounds awesome and I regret not being able to catch them. They aren't signed yet, but I think it's only a matter of time. Check them out before they get huge!

It was such an awesome weekend that starting this week is going to be hard and very boring compared to the week I just had. I'll make due and go see more bands downtown this week. Anyway, give these guys a listen because they were all pretty awesome.

Facebook More Popular Than Porn?

In a twist more shocking than anything M. Night Shyamalan has thought of, internet analyst Bill Tancer has reported that people visit social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace more than pornographic sites on the internet. 

Shocking, ain't it?

"As social networking traffic has increased, visits to porn sites have decreased," said Tancer, who also indicated that the 18-24 year old group particularly was searching less for porn. "My theory is that young users spend so much time on social networks that they don't have time to look at adult sites."

I remember when these social networks first came out and how many people thought it was a simple fad that would fade away in time. Now look at the affect it's having on young people! Less time on porn sites and more time socially interacting with one another and networking. How much more will Facebook and Myspace influence us?

I did not see this coming by a long shot. (get your mind out of the gutter.)

Marketing Boost or Selling Out?

1990's: "Is that MC Hammer on a Pepsi commercial? Man, what a sell out."

Flash forward to 2007: "BlackBerry is the official sponsor for John Mayer's Summer Tour? I HEART JOHN MAYER!!"

The music industry is changing so much each week, it can be hard to keep up. What was once thought to be "selling out" to be associated with corporate brands is now becoming an industry standard. Or is it? This past summer, many brands like Bud Light Lime, Converse, and Caress incorporated musical promotions on their websites with exclusives downloads from artists to push their products. Who's next to follow the trend? You favorite sugar-maxed greeninator, Mountain Dew. They seem to be taking a slightly different, yet interesting, approach though.

Mountain Dew recently launched its singles-only label called Green Label Sound, with the first act being Chicago-based rappers The Cool Kids and their single, "Delivery Man." As stated in a Billboard article, Green Label Sound's goal is to take emerging artist artists and plug them into [their] system to help them break through, according to Frank Cooper, Pepsi-Cola North America VP of portfolio brands. "We are not trying to compete with or replicate the models of the traditional labels."

Really? Pepsi owns Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew owns Green Label Sound. I think it's fairly obvious that Pepsi's main focus is to push their product and rake in revenue. That's what they're in the business for! To sell for soft drinks. Anything they say otherwise can't be the whole truth. But with that aside, I do have to say, Mountain Dew is taking steps in the right direction to help emerging artist make it in a struggling industry. 

The Cool Kids are in a really good situation! Although Green Label Sound has exclusive licensing rights for a period of time for "Delivery Man," The Cool Kids, and all artists on the label, will retain their ownership. Also, even though songs are written for Green Label Sound, they are not about Mountain Dew at all. The coolest bit of incentive is that Green Label Sound artists have access to to Mountain Dew's extensive promotion network, according to Billboard, like street teams, MTV2 time and radio ad time. 

I think Pepsi can see that the only way to attract new artists to become part of a legit brand promotion contract is to actually cater to the artist. In the past, contracts like this may have screwed over artists in favor to boost sales for the brand. What am I saying? It still happens to this day. But Mountain Dew's new Green Label Sound seems to be more legit to indie artists and I think it will definitely help start up some really cool acts in the future. 

So, are they selling out? Nah, I don't think so. In today's industry, to be successful, you have to create new ways to ways to get your music to people's ears, whether it be Youtube, radio, or Mountain Dew commercials. There's a difference between finding new ways to get your music out there and changing your message because someone else owns you. 

Authenticity is becoming the new business model. 

The Whigs Hometown Show in Athens!

Local Athens band, The Whigs, are coming back home to play an awesome show at the 40 Watt with Tokyo Police Club this Wednesday, September 10th!

The Whigs recently got back to the States after a month long European tour, spreading Athens Rock across the world! Their sophomore album, Mission Control, was released this past January under ATO Records and they have been on the road/in the air touring since, promoting the new album. Also since then, they've been featured on Late Night with Dave Letterman, The Conan 'O Brien Show, and various publications like Modern Drummer and Esquire Magazine.

While they were still college students, The Whigs independently recorded and released their catchy, hit debut album Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip in 2005. Their manager, Josh Rifkind, insisted that the guys tour relentlessly to promote the album and promote they did. Sometimes, they would have to drive to a show in New York City for the weekend and drive back to Athens for an exam on Monday. Intense! The were recognized for their hard work by Rolling Stone Magazine naming them one of their "Top 10 Artists to Watch" and also calling them one of the best unsigned bands in America. Their relentlessness payed off when they signed on Dave Matthew's record label, ATO Records in 2006, who re-released their first album under the label.

The Whigs first single off Mission Control, Right Hand On My Heart, has been featured on MTVU.com and Youtube. It's pretty kick-ass, check it out. Their second single, Like a Vibration, will be released very soon. It's catchy as hell and will no doubt be a hit!

If you're going to be in Athens on September 10th, you have no excuse to miss this show! Tickets are available at Schoolkids Records, but hurry! The show is expected to be sold out, if not close to capacity.

See you there!