Music
Mason Jennings at Borderline
By Harry Bedford On a warm summer evening in the centre of London, just a stone’s throw from Covent Garden, you could be forgiven for not wanting to enter the underground cave that is Borderline, but you'd be making a big mistake. Mason Jennings, all the way from Bob Dylan’s home state of Minnesota, is due on stage at 9pm promoting the album Always Been that was released back in December. It had been seven years since he played on...
Gerry Goffin: An Obituary
By Harry Bedford Today we have lost not only one of the greatest pop songwriters, but also one of the most important. Gerry Goffin was the man who put the words to the music of two of the finest melody writers in pop history, his then wife Carole King and Michael Masser. His career began with his teenage wife in the early sixties. Their first stroke of genius came in the form of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, performed...
Cost of booking your favourite band
From Neon Nettle Have you ever wondered what a private party with 50 Cent might cost, or perhaps a bash with Bruce Springsteen? A leaked list from a popular booking agency has revealed artist rates suggested by agents per-show, with acts from $1,000 to over $1 million a gig exposed. The prices are not carved in stone of course and are very much dependent on how high profile a gig is and the type of venue being used, but it gives a good indication...
Lake Street Dive at Bush Hall
By Harry Bedford These days beats are generated on computers, voices are manipulated out of recognition and records end up sounding somewhat mundane. So I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to walk into Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush on a warm Thursday evening in May to hear Lake Street Dive perform. Lake Street Dive, LSD if you will, are a four piece jazz-soul-pop band from the east coast of America. Self-described as 'Motown and Beatles having a party',...
The Future for Digital Music
Phil Smith Founder http://www.soundtracktoyour.com It’s remarkable to consider what has happened to the business of music. From Apple reportedly buying Superstar Rapper, Dr Dre’s Beats, Headphone Company for $3.2Bn, to Lily Allen making mention of earning a very modest £8,000 for the John Lewis single ‘Somewhere Only We Know’. To news that artists like Rihanna earn huge sums of money for personal appearances and endorsements, - it’s rumoured that to get the divine Bajan chanteuse to appear at a fashion...