A response to Pete Townshend’s inaugural BBC 6 Music John Peel lecture.

The listener’s approach to John Peel’s radio show was probably similar to the mind set of someone considering purchasing an album by ‘The Who’.

On one hand you can appreciate each artist’s professional brilliance and on the other you’re anticipating some tracks will be hard on the ear.

With this in mind it makes sense to have a living legend like Who guitarist Pete Townshend give the inaugural BBC 6 Music John Peel lecture. Nowadays most launches need a big name to force the story under the media spotlight and Mr Townshend has all the credentials.

With this opportunity to speak his mind and let loose his ‘inner artist’ on an unsuspecting audience it is great to see the famous guitarist has come out in support of musicians living “below celebrity”.

Townshend: iTunes should be like local radio

His main thrust is that the rise in online services has led to a steep decline in the nurturing that record companies traditionaly performed – areas such as: editorial guidance, financial support, creative nurture, manufacturing, publishing and marketing.

This, he says, has left the artist floundering as only the distribution and payment of royalties is in the hands of the Internet shop or software and the musician has to manage the rest.

One of Townshend’s solutions is for services like iTunes to expand and support new artists in the other areas mentioned above. Another idea is that iTunes should become more like a local radio station and help promote new music.

His ideas have prompted me to let loose my ‘inner presenter’ and shine a light on something that is already happening on Spotify with Playdio.com, with whom I have a show. They upload my links, as if they were music tracks, and then slot them between a playlist of songs. Playdio is in its early days, and yet to be promoted within the Spotify programme, but has the potential to be a great way of guiding people to new songs and artists.

Another service I’ve had the pleasure of working with is Amazing Radio, who only play unsigned music uploaded to AmazingTunes.com. Available nationally on DAB it has become an ideal refuge for those seeking new music. And it only takes a couple of days before a whole station of unfamiliar music steadily becomes a comfortable listen – an imprtant fact radio that music programmers should take note of.

But local radio stations doesn’t support local artists as much as Mr Townshend imagines. And they should: as on-air is one of the best places a band can generate support from its community, building the necessary following that will take them to higher places.

BBC Introducing is the best example of radio helping artists take one or two steps up the ladder: first there is nothing better for a musician than hearing how your recording sounds over the air and second receiving some much needed interview experience is essential. But it is only within these BBC Introducing shows that new music flourishes.

It is quite rare for unsigned and independent acts to be added to the much coveted daytime play-lists because their music is seen as being ‘unofficial’.

Its a conundrum that gets even odder when you compare it to the rest of a radio station’s output – imagine asking the news editor to drop local stories, he’d kick you out of the station; if you asked the mid-morning show producer not to take local callers he’d suggest a different career.

But suggest the music programmer adds local acts during the day and they’ll conclude you’ve taken leave of your senses and tell you more 80’s music is what the public want.

Local news and local callers are the life blood of any good station but musically the attitude is very lazy. There is an unrational fear that listeners will turn off if they hear something they don’t recognise. So when it comes to unsigned and independent artists this fear is magnified.

Add to that the lost ability to pick a good new song without relying on BBC Radio 2 or 1 to play it first and you begin to undersatnd why most musicians listen to talk radio and BBC 6 Muisc.

The one big question local and national radio should ask is: “why does radio only play music released by record companies?”

This symbiotic relationship is on its last legs. The music industry failed to grasp the significance of digital sales and distribution, leaving it to hang off the coattails of Amazon, iTunes, Spotify and its own back catalogue while fighting the music pirates with a rubber sword.

During that time the quality of ‘home’ recordings have increased ten-fold and most listeners would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between local and signed: record companies are no longer the key holders to the best studio techniques.

If you want new music to flourish, and the spirit of John Peel to endure, then radio stations need to find someone who has the ears to pick their region’s good independently produced music and trust them to add it to the daytime playlist. Let it stand head-to-head against the best of the past and not only give the listener some new favourites but acts they can actually go and see live in an nearby venue.

There is no harm in hearing our favourite songs from our youth but for how much longer will that be the main fodder of daytime programming? And weren’t those singles unfamiliar at one time? Pete Townshend says he thought The Proclaimers and Undertones were dangerous when he first heard them. How much of a shock is that?

As Pete rightly points out there are 100s of quality songs available, waiting to be discovered by a wider audience. So the next time you hear a presenter gushing about how great the 80’s were think about this: If the film ‘Back to the Future’ was re-made today, the quaint, old-fashioned year Marty McFly would return to would be 1981.

The difference between John Peel and UK radio in its current state, is that he didn’t mind if the listener switched off – in fact he seemed to challenge you at every track. Granted he was on a public service station so he didn’t have to reply on advertising for revenue, but he was talked about, much appreciated and remains fondly remembered: there is room in every station’s schedule for a Peeler. If not, the industry is just paying lip-service to his memory.

It is time to be brave and embrace the new musicians. Peely picked some duffers but also plenty of winners, in some cases whole genres of new music.

Former Who guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend has given the inaugural BBC 6 Music John Peel lecture at the Radio Festival in Salford.

While Elton John is telling the BBC “Songwriters today are pretty awful” it’s reassuring to hear that one Dorset composer is being hailed as “a very unique special talent.”

The praise comes from Clive Gregson, an Englishman making a living with music in Nashville – the home of song writing.

He’s recently produced Lou Brown’s second album ‘Calm the Rising Waters’ and, while adding some Tennessee sparkle to her latest collection of songs, Clive has brought forward a brand new British talent

The compliments for this Dorset star keep flowing: “really, excellent song writer, great singer, really good guitar player, she’s got the whole thing. She writes songs that mean something and has something to say.”

Clive was speaking after the very successful launch of Lou’s album at Mr Kyps in Poole, Dorset.

He also focused on another quality of Lou’s usually found lacking in the music industry: “The thing I like the best is she’s a lovely person,” and added, “I’ve never seen an audience not respond to Lou. People just like her. She comes on stage and they all think “Blimey what is she going to do?” and then she sings and plays and they love her. And that’s worth it’s weight in gold.

Lou Brown at Mr Kyps

Lou took to the stage six weeks after a very serious operation and was determined to join Clive and her band for a night of celebration in front of family, friends, fans and former work colleagues in social services.

Her time spent helping and advising people has given Lou a valuable insight into the way people tick, and when you add this to her enviable ability to pick serious moments from people’s lives and transform them into beautiful and poignant songs, you can see why Neil King, the editor of online country magazine Fatea, is so full of prise:

“One of things I love about Lou is the way that she relates her songs to the people that she knows, and the places that she’s been and there a very personal element to it. She’s worked in social services, she’s come across some really fantastic stories from there and she’s managed to turn them into five minute documentaries.”

This observational skill manifests itself in songs like “David’s Not Sleeping” in which a young man ends up in prison even though he’s been given enough guidance to turn from that path.

In other people’s hands the message would be delivered with cold hands but Lou’s warmth and maternal insights lead you to wish David had just listened.

Yet Lou was close to losing her own life and leaving the album as her epitaph. “I had Crones for a long time and I got progressively sicker and sicker with out really noticing how ill I’d become.”

Her partner and manger, Dom Kippin, persuaded Lou to seek help and surgery was quickly prescribed.

“It was a very frightening thing to go through but actually, now I’m at the other side of it, and I’m recovering, it is strangely a bit of a blessing… every moment I have now is so much better than before because I think ‘Wow! I’m here, it’s amazing!’”

Lou thinks Clive is one of the best songwriters and musicians “ever” and is also very grateful for the opportunity to work with him and, for the first time, work at a much higher level.

“Clive was so professional and so organised and when he came in to record the album. He led us all brilliantly with out being a dictator.”

One track Clive spotted as a brilliant way of opening the album was ‘11:23′. “When I heard the original recording of that, it was one of the ones that I thought was very unique, special. I think it’s very moving.”

He felt is was different enough to get some radio exposure and the reason for placing it first: “because most people never get past track one anyway. Most radio people don’t get past 30 seconds of track one.”

In fact the decline of radio’s importance in people’s lives is a natural concern for musicians like Clive Gregson.

“Not wishing to bite the hand that feeds, the reality is that radio, as much recorded music is, is somewhat meaningless these days, because you can get your music from almost any source on demand, how you want it, and you don’t have to put up with Steve Wright in the Afternoon (BBC Radio 1) being annoying.

And the other reality is, on the whole, apart from certain shows on Radio 2 in this country, it doesn’t sell any records, so it just fills time, as much music dissemination does these days. And that’s the same in the States.”

After the launch Lou Brown and the 'Makeshift Family Band' featuring Clive Gregson (far left)

This bleak out look doesn’t bode well for new songwriters like Lou Brown. Even when you have such talented assistance and glowing praise, what hope is there when radio won’t dip in unless you have a record deal.

However in the digital download age the music business is in decline; desperately trying to find a new model. It’s influence has waned, the companies can no longer afford to nurture new talent and, as with radio, relies heavily on the past to make money in the present.

In many ways the partnership between radio and record companies is like a marriage that has hit the rocks but the two parties still feel obliged to continue because splitting up can not be contemplated.

Radio’s possible solution is to find people confident in their abilities to source new music, while record companies need to find a new way of supporting new artists, outside the traditional record deal.

And Elton John should be sent a copy of Lou’s album as reassurance that there is some talent out there but maybe a question would be included in the sleeve notes: “How can you help talented new songwriters?” because from Clive Gregson’s point of view:

“As far as being successful in music business now you don’t have to be any good, you just have to be popular. And you can be popular for all kinds of reasons that are not necessarily musical.”

Playdio.com

This article features quotes from the Playdio show “Xan Phillips presents… Lou Brown” only available on Spotify

While shooting an avant-garde rock video, a south-coast production company that mixes art with business has unearthed an ironic difference between Southampton and Portsmouth.

Southampton based Still Moving has recently started employing painters and artists to create images and navigation for company web sites.

“It is very important for us to be ethical in our approach to business and using an illustrator not only gives websites a unique look and feel but also helps support an artist,” explained Still Moving’s co-founder Martin Davis. “Following the reaction of our clients we’re convinced the paintbrush is mightier than the mouse.”

Nova & Isabel Amber Ewen

Their latest collaboration is an entry to a competition to make the video for ‘Fires’ the next single by Southampton rock group Band of Skulls: the most recent south-coast act to gain major recognition in Europe and America.

vist and vote at: http://genero.tv/watch-video/10194/

“This challenge is an ideal way of introducing art into the ‘Moving’ aspect of our plan,” confirmed the other half of Still Moving, Isabel Amber Ewen,  “and although there are many great street artists in Southampton, once we saw Nova’s skull designs we knew who we wanted.”

Southampton street artist Nova uses stencils to spray multi-layered images on walls. Recently he was invited by the Portsmouth art collective P.A.M to add his creations to the alley-ways around Fratton Park.

“They have a much freer attitude towards street art in Portsmouth and they’ve opened up many walls,” he said “but the artists have to responsible and professional or this opportunity will disappear.”

Stencils and wall

The designs around the stadium have become so respected that Portsmouth football club is planning to invite P.A.M to create murals inside the ground.

With every creative aspect of this production based in and around Southampton the irony of shooting in Portsmouth is not lost on the video’s co-director Xan Phillips. “Although Southampton is famous for it’s walls, the city’s street artists have no where so public to express themselves.

Everyone who walked past Nova told him how good the art he and P.A.M have created. It definitely inspires rather than repels.”

Although the ‘Band of Skulls’ video competition has a £3000 cash prize and global exposure Isabel, who shot and edited the whole promo, is ambivalent about winning: “Every element of the project slotted into place so well that we’re already delighted with our achievement. The win would be very helpful but this video is already a great demonstration of how local art can work as a promotional device.”

NOTES

The video can be seen here http://genero.tv/watch-video/10194/

Closing date for public voting on the video – 11.59pm GMT, July 21

Winner announced: July 26, 2010

Example of a web site with local artist illustration: www.magpie-shop.co.uk

Nova can be found here: http://www.novaindustries.co.uk/

Still Moving: http://www.still-moving.co.uk/

Showcase UK: http://www.showcaseuk.tv/

P.A.M – the meaning of the acronym has not been released.

Band of Skulls www.bandofskulls.com

The single Fires will be released September 13th 2010 see http://www.nme.com/news/band-of-skulls/51147

Last year the unsigned UK pop duo Georgia Wonder tasted minor but traditional success through supporting Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall on his first solo tour.

This year an unconventional approach has seen their debut EP “Hello Stranger” downloaded over 30,000 times in four days by users of Frostwire, one of the file sharing programmes the music industry would prefer to shut down rather than harness.

For Georgia Wonder’s vocalist, Stephanie Grant, the opportunity was irresistible:

“What Frostwire helped us achieve is incredible. Their support has put our music into the hands of tens of thousands of potential fans in a matter of days.”

And all Frostwire did was add a link to the duo’s songs on the programme’s welcome page, their spokesperson Kademlia explained (via email) that Georgia Wonder was an act they believed in:

“When we first heard Georgia Wonder’s EP, we couldn’t stop humming ‘The Girl You Never Knew’ (see below). We knew there is something unique about them, because this doesn’t really happen within our team. Another interesting thing was that we immediately felt the need to share the word about them.”

Even though this altruistic attitude has given a massive boost to Georgia Wonder’s listener base, Frostwire’s software is also helping a vast amount of people share music that should have been purchased.

When you read the latest statistics you can’t blame record companies from gnashing their teeth over the huge sums of money they are potentially losing.

Figures recently published by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) showed that forty billion files were illegally shared in 2008.

As these statistics are based on results from only 16 countries the extent of their problem is potentially much bigger.

Sharing this many files has been made very easy thanks to the “BitTorrent protocol” which allows a computer programme to download a file from many sources instead of the traditional one point of contact.

For example: if you were using the BitTorrent protocol to buy a book in the physical world, individual pages would be sent to you by hundreds of people instead of the whole book delivered from just one shop.

This type of data transfer is known as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) with the “peers” being thousands of domestic computers running programmes like Frostwire.

If you visit the charts hosted at “The Pirate Bay” you’ll see what is currently popular in the BitTorrent universe.

Heading music’s Top 100 is Pink Floyd’s full discography – all 27 albums wrapped up in a file that is just under 4 gigabytes in size.

Also in the charts are established groups such as U2, Metallica, Coldplay and The Beatles as well as a host of present day artists.

Unbelievably, unsigned Georgia Wonder are rubbing shoulders with these giants and, during the period their EP was available on Frostwire, they broke into the Top 20 – which is a remarkable achievement.

It would take many months for Georgia Wonder to reach a similar number of listeners using networking sites such as MySpace, YouTube, ReverbNation and Facebook but at least with those places a firm relationship can be developed with the visitor.

However, as Frostwire only promote music they believe to be a worthy listen, they themselves will form a relationship with their users and that level of trust will mean many more digital artists knocking at Frostwire’s door.

As Kademlia points out: “Music just seems to be the natural thing to share and young and up-and-coming musicians seem to be first to understand and utilize the advantages of peer-to-peer distribution. After all, today’s new artists are the pioneers of the future music industry, one which will not be controlled by a hand full of record labels.”

With this type of success it won’t be long before the music industry embraces P2P trading and, with yearly downloads of 40 million; even fifty percent of that traffic would be a tidy sum.

For Kademlia the future is obvious: “P2P has been proven to be an effective media distribution technology. It’s been embraced by millions organically. Hopefully, the music industry will evolve and figure out way to use it, instead of fighting it.”