When Music, Beats, Technology & Chills Combine

We’ve written about it a lot, the music industry is about technology more than ever. Every day we move towards being more connected to music, with more options than ever to access our favourite artists, it’s no surprise tech companies like HP are seeking to be more integrated.

In mid-December, triplew.me was lucky enough to be invited to Saas Fee in Switzerland for the HP Winter Summit to see a range of their new lifestyle-inspired technology for 2012, while also seeing some of the Alps. Check out some of the images of the trip below.

This is Paul Kelly’s account of the trip up the mountains.

To the mountains!

Packing for the journey to the heart of a land I only know for its chocolate and fondue, a realisation set in after checking weather.com. Actually it was a series of realisations:

1. It’s winter in Europe.
2. It’s winter the Middle East.
3. The temperature difference between Dubai and Saas Fee was 25 degrees. That day it was 27 in Dubai. Hmmmm.
4. Living in Dubai for 8 years has meant I have very little in the way of winter clothing.

So, after attacking the depths of my closet, and discovering a retro (not intentional) Holiday Jumper from 1993, I figured I was set for a few days checking out the latest HP had to offer, while taking in a few deep breaths of mountain air.

Solving Problems in Geneva.

Arriving in Geneva I was lucky enough to share the three hour car trip to the Alps with DJ Monsieur Komplex, HP’s DJ. For a company with a direct collaboration with Monster Audio and Beats by Dre that must be a pretty sweet gig and I figured we’d at least get to the destination in one piece. Monsieur Komplex is one cool dude and it was indeed a pleasure heading up the Swiss Mountains with him.

After an initial night before the majority of the attendees came, I came across two new friends – Vlodimr from the Ukraine and Maxim from Russia. Now, how many jokes can you think of that start with “...an Australian, a Ukrainian and a Russian walk into an establishment in the Swiss Mountains...”.

Needless to say I was in bed by 11pm.

Perhaps Dubai has softened me. Although, according Vlodimr, Chicken Kiev is actually from Kiev and can be bought in its most tasty form (?) for around $5. The things you learn in the Swiss Alps.

It was the next morning, awaking to more snow, that it was time to get down to work. The excellent people at HP had arranged a great afternoon of activity with Sound CreatiON, actiON and another ON that involved HP’s fantastic lifestyle projects.

Sound CreatiON

Led by Monsieur Komplex, this session focused on the leaps and bounds HP has made into integrating sound and entertainment options into its collaboration with Monster Audio and Beats by Dre.  The new HP Pavilion dm4 Beats Edition is one tidy piece of kit (impressive too: it has an on-board subwoofer and has a nifty ‘b’ button to pump up the sound when you need...all in a fairly portable package) and will no doubt really push the buttons of those who not only like to listen to music, but are actively involved in creating it. After doing some remixing it was time learn some more.

We were also shown a new streaming service that will be standard on all HP devices called Rara.com, however this is unavailable in the Middle East. Hassle them if you want it – it does look nice n simple. In the meantime, pump grooveshark.com through your speakers.

actiON

This was a highlight of the ON sessions. Walking into the cavernous room we were confronted with a green screen, a huge 3D HP screen and a lot of camera equipment (and a dodgy looking small French fellow with a toy pistol).

All captured in 3D and able to be viewed on HP’s 3D devices (including the monster Envy 3D), which are becoming increasingly smarter. It’s also noteworthy that all the films were edited on-location in real time using HP computers running Adobe Premiere. Impressive pieces of kit.

As it transpired we weren’t there to watch someone else be in the action, we were about to become on-screen heroes as we played out a “beat the bad guy who attacks map readers in the middle of the Alps in a massive fight” moment.

Except, due to my exceptional size, and the diminutive Frenchman’s size, we decided to alter the script....should I be giving up my day job? (hint: my mid-sequence look of shock is because I actually, accidentally, punched the bad guy in the face instead of pretend-hit. Oops.).

So.........I’m a terrible actor.

illustratiON

This session’s name left little to the imagination. But instead of using a stylus, we used our hands to draw and assemble on the very cool TouchSmart range of PC’s. Using Adobe’s Illustrator and Photoshop we made some Holiday wrapping paper. Very cool, and very on-topic. The machines are actually fun to use...I had always thought a touch screen PC seemed pointless. Not so. At least for making Holiday paper!

Moving on, I found the coolest pieces of kit on the whole trip next. And the most nerdy. The HP Wireless Audio is a nifty little device that means your computer can stream your playlist across the whole house with each unit. AND THEN. There’s the catchily named HP Wireless TV Connect with WHDI that beams your laptop to your TV. Say no more. Portability.

But it wasn’t these pieces of home wireless frontier that pleased this correspondent. It was the even catchier named HP TopShot LaserJet Pro 200 M275nw. This beast can take a scan of a 3D image and boost it across to your computer.

ONtheplane

So, after a long 4 hours of tough work it was time to retire for the evening. After the fondue and a tour of a Swiss Superclub called Popcorn, myself and my new friends formed over dropping bits of bread in cheese, Musicbound and Elektronista, headed back to retire at the chalet for the evening.

And after a 6 or so hour flight I was back to 28 degrees and happy times at triplew.me and looking forward to what gadgets HP has in store for 2012.

Thanks HP!

Wheat, Chaff and Everything In-between

Listening to new music is a perk of the job, right? Especially getting loads of it every other week from musicians not only from the Middle East, but from all around the world and from the major international record labels. What could possibly be bad about that?

Too much of it, that’s what.

If you think about it, music in 2011 (or whenever you read this in the future...) is a different proposition to what it was even just 10 short years ago. It’s easier to make, distribute and develop.

The more we’ve become connected, the more digital we’ve evolved to be. And digital means one thing. Instant. There’s no crackle. No pop. Just now.

Up until recently, the response from international artists has generally be a lament of how things used to work. Damon Albarn, during triplew.me's interview in Damascus last year “I’d like it to be the way the old system worked, it was beneficial for some bands. Maybe it’s just a democratization of the industry and that’s evolution, maybe” (when quizzed about whether the music industry model has changed).

Then he went out and made a record on his own under the Gorillaz moniker completely on an iPad. Go figure.

We get bombarded by overwhelmingly positive press releases from local, regional and international labels (I guess I’ll give it to them that rarely a press release will be honest and say, for instance, “Nickelback: Back With More Mediocrity”) and then we have to sift through the music itself.

It gets hard to distinguish quality when there’s so much quantity.

Have you ever thought about this - will we ever see another Beatles, Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana or Creedence Clearwater Revival again? It’s a mixed bag, but the lasting legacy of all of them is indisputable. Is there another band that exists today that we can categorically sit back and be amazed at?

And as my name in this blog seems to be Mr Rhetoric Question, why is this a problem?

There’s no filtering anymore. Nothing. It gets harder and harder to stay objective about the music, and the quality of that music, when you’re bombarded with so much material; most of it overwhelmingly bad.

But is it bad, or is it more the likely scenario that Steve Jobs has forced me to be satiated immediately? I need the hook in 20 seconds, give me a 2 minute song. NOW!

Things get missed, things get passed, music doesn’t get played. We live in the skip generation. Like the song? Download it from a torrent from the 6,000 best songs of 2011. Pick out the one you like. Delete the rest. Repeat.

It then becomes harder for musicians to get noticed.

We’ve heard some amazing tracks on Makshoof Music this year – more often than not far superior to anything we’ve heard from an international label (standouts: Lazzy Lung, SimpleXity, Agent Whiskers, Neobyrd, Mashrou’ Leila, RaSh Radio).

When we take the time to smell the roses, the repeat buttons get pushed. We explore our sensory and subconscious and get taken away to another place. The place only music can take us.

Perhaps all of this is why there’s been a return to vinyl. I for one keep writing about it. Why? Because, more often than not, you have to listen to an entire album and recognize its quality. There’s a push-back to the now.

I was given an original pressing of Carol King’s Tapestry this week. Every track is so intricate, perfect pop music, which resonates still with amazing song writing and a beautiful performance (James Taylor on guitar!).

Oh, it was released in 1971.

In 40 years will Adele be looked at in the same way? Doubtful.

It’s My Music, So Where’s My Money?

I often wonder what’s up with investment in the Middle East music industry. Why are labels not signing the smaller acts? What's missing to push them forward? By the look of it, media and venues paying them might be a start. We live in strange times…

In most places on earth these days, record companies devise their income from a few main sources. Licensing of music is a big one, so too obviously is sales and the other is royalties and public performances.

To get the boring bit out of the way, royalties are usually paid in two lumps – the rights to the song and the rights to the sound recording.

The first is Mechanical Rights (the sound recording) – this is the ownership of the master of the recording (the physical final mix and masters of the recording).

The second are Performance Rights (the composition) – the sound composition on paper (and lyrics) of a track. This may be performed as a cover by anyone, but the credit (and cash) goes to the songwriter. This normally takes form of radio play, public performance fees (bars, clubs etc in most countries have to pay a fee to play music on their premises) and other broadcast type outlets (online radio etc).

There’s other stuff, like synchronisation rights for use in commercials and the like, but getting into that is all a bit of a dark art, and kind of off point for what we want to talk about.

All the above is great, right? It offers great protection for songwriters, lets other people cover the songs, covers the investment of a record company paying for the marketing and record, lets us play them in public and everyone gets a cut, however small it is. Perfect!

But (why is there always a but?) that’s not quite the case in the Middle East.

While it’s easy enough to collect money on the sales of music with an established retail system in place, it’s not so easy on the performance rights.

Why? Because of the lack of any official collection agency or body that can collect the royalties, that doesn’t happen here. And, at the end of the chain, it’s the unsigned and independent artists (in any genre) missing out.

Just whisk off to another reality for a second. Say that there is a single collection agency for the Middle East and TV, Radio, venues had to buy a licence or pay a royalty rate.S o, cruising in your Tercel, pumping the radio, Journey comes on. How the heck is Journey going to help a metal band from Bahrain?

Well, if record companies were collecting the royalties that were due to them, splitting them with the song-writers and performers, there would suddenly be a significant revenue stream that wasn’t there before.

More revenue means that there is less pressure on the bottom-line. Royalty collection that’s 100% legitimate will also attract the big players – iTunes, Pandora, Spotify- they all will have a level playing field and clearer negotiation terms.

Suddenly there’s more revenue – streaming and sales increase and there’s a flow-on effect. There are more opportunities for everyone to legally consume music.

And suddenly the artist toiling away gets not only access to these services, but also potentially record companies are more willing to take a risk.

While this may be a fanciful reality, it’s one that can only come with this region catching up with the rest of the world.

Royalty payments to artists are usually pretty minimal unless you’ve got a mega-hit on the cards, but it represents more than that.

It means we value the music as media, and we introduce more ways for the music industry in our region to be invested in.

And surely that’s something worth fighting for.

A Brave New Music World?

Since the early 2000's the music industry has gone through some drastic changes, leaving some behind while others had new opportunities to flourish.

In the digital revolution a lot of bands and artists lost their record deals, large established recording facilities closed their doors and record labels were dropping like flies. A flood of affordable computer based recording equipment hit the market allowing anyone with some spare cash - the opportunity of owning a home recording studio. Piracy was at an all-time high, file sharing became the norm amongst a large number of young music lovers and all of a sudden the music industry was at its knees with a choice to either evolve or implode.