Five years ago, any music industry conference would feature hours of discussion about how to get your compact disc into the hands of DJs on FM radio, or tips on how to press and package a CD that wouldn’t get buried on the desk of an A&R executive at some major label. A lot has happened in five years. On Saturday, June 13 and 14, Hillsborough Community College and The Artist and Writers Group hosted the Second Annual Homemade Music Symposium in Ybor City, and in the combined 18-plus hours of discussion, commercial FM radio was not mentioned one time.

Instead, Saturday’s daytime programming included panels and workshops like “Alternative Media Promotion,” “Marketing, Touring and Band Management” and “How to Get the Most Out of a Studio Session.” Panelists included bloggers (Bryan Childs, Ninebullets.net), social networking specialists (Julia Gorzka, Brand Tampa) and local media (Lee Courtney, WMNF; Curtis Ross, Tampa Tribune; Julie Garisto, St. Pete Times as well as Creative Loafing’s Leilani Polk). Mr. Courtney was the only radio personality in attendance. (Tampa’s 88.5 FM is a community station that still allows their DJs to play CDs – they even sometimes play records.).

The Homemade Music Symposium’s goal is to educate nascent and struggling musicians in the ways and means of the music business and industry trends. It also included out-of-town industry folk and special keynote speakers – this year, it was Tunecore’s Peter Wells and Tony Michaelides, a local author from Manchester, UK, who’s colleagues and contemporaries include Factory Records’ Tony Wilson, David Bowie, U2 and The Stone Roses.

Conference attendees were mostly solo singer-songwriter types, with a sprinkling of MCs, publishers and managers as well as other local bloggers and marketers looking to get involved in the music scene or learn about new media. There was a lot of talk (maybe too much) about Twitter and Facebook, and of course the familiar geographical gripe of how Florida is difficult to tour/break out of, because there are no surrounding states (The closest top 10 market is Atlanta). A good portion of the crowd was visibly older, some dressed in flowery shirts and flip flops, and plenty of eyes glazed over when the topics inevitably circled back to “Tweeting” and social networks.

Sorely missing from the panel of experts, especially on the panel labeled “Area Record Labels and Artist Managers,” were representatives from the handful of local Tampa imprints, namely ADD, New Granada and 24 Hour Service Station (Geri X, Win Win Winter and The Beauvilles). 24 Hour owner Marshall Dickson stated that he would definitely be involved next year, but that this time around he just had “too much on his plate.” The only current label owner in attendance was Ivan Pena, who runs Mohawk Bomb Records (Soulfound, Ascending to Avalon and Rise of Saturn). Pena seemed optimistic about the Tampa Bay music scene, and about the fast-changing online industry, but insisted that artists need to tour incessantly and start treating their band like a business or risk failure.

The “Music Critics” panel, unfortunately the last session of the day, seemed to be the most pessimistic. One girl in the crowd asked for suggestions on how to become a music writer. The entire panel discouraged her. It may be in fashion for music writers to be moody and begrudging, but one would think their passion for music could somehow keep their chins up, not to mention grateful that they still have jobs in the age of Rotten Tomatoes and aggregated, user-generated reviews at Amazon.com.

As with any conference, the nighttime showcases are the payoff – a chance for attendees to party and an opportunity for the out of town industry folks to see what musical talent the surrounding area has to offer.

On Saturday night, Tampa’s New World Brewery featured performances from Rebekah Pulley, Lorna Bracewell, The Skull and Bone Band and 10th Concession. Crowbar hosted a Mohawk Bomb showcase and The Roosevelt had planned a “green” concert featuring some area hip-hop favorites like Dynasty and powered by a generator that ran on vegetable oil. Early Saturday, word had gotten out that the generator had broken during a run-through and that the Roosevelt showcase was cancelled.

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Sunday’s activities were mainly centered around The Bunker in Ybor City, which is home to the Tre Amici coffeeshop, REAX Space, a few art galleries and the neighboring Ybor City Museum.

Some of Sunday’s workshops included “DIY Sound Recording Techniques” at REAX Space as well as “Tips on Promotional Photography” (hint: no brick walls or train tracks) and “The State of The Scene” discussion at Tre Amici.

This talk was moderated by event organizer T. Hampton Dohrman and featured Courtney, Joel Cook (REAX) and yours truly. It began as a polite enough re-cap of the weekend and what could be done differently in years to come and escalated into a microphone free-for-all on how Tampa needs to publicize itself to become the next Austin or Seattle.

Singer-songwriter Emily Roff planted herself in front of the microphone and made a case for a large music festival that would draw thousands of people from all over the world. When some crowd members yelled, “What about [Tropical] Heatwave?” (referencing the annual music fest hosted by WMNF that typically features performers from the blues, folk, Americana and world beat genres), Roff shrugged. She’d never heard of it.

Beauvilles frontman Shawn Kyle made a spirited appearance at the discussion, only half-jokingly announcing his 2012 bid for city council and bemoaning the lack of attention the local media and concert promoters give to area college campuses (USF, UT, Eckerd, SPC, etc.).

What did come from the heated discussion was a summation of points that included the following:

1. The internet has replaced FM radio as a highly-coveted media outlet.

2. Musicians must treat their music as a business.

3. Musicians should treat Tampa and St. Petersburg as two separate markets to avoid saturation. (This point was argued)

4. Even though recording and distribution has become decentralized, quality recordings and the packaging and presentation of materials is still very important (maybe even more so).

5. Bands must tour out of market (once they have established themselves regionally).

6. With the decline in the sale of actual recorded music, musicians must learn to diversify their content/revenue streams to include audio, video, performances, merchandise, ringtones et. al. and utilize networks and messaging to stay in touch with fans and followers. (See the content model here).

7. Music criticism is dead. (This point was not argued).

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Here are some photos from the weekend:
Photos by Kelly Hickman | Photos by Denis Baldwin

I’ve come to terms recently that I like to be rushed when I write. I usually wait till the very last moment to start doing all my writing. Drafts? Pfft. Who needs those? I shoot from the hip. When my iPod plays the five songs that are to be used for an issue I immediately try to tie them all together in some kind of basic theme or idea.

Something to make it interesting and make you, the reader, keep reading. For this issue however, a lightning storm went off over my head. I guess it was only a matter of time considering the incessant rain we’ve been getting here in ol’ sunny Florida. Sunshine State my ass.

A few evenings ago I was stuck driving a car that was not my own. No iPod hookup which meant no way to play my pocket-sized digital jukebox which provides limitless comfort in even the most harrowing of situations. No, nothing but Lorenna McKinnet CDs and a mix CD that my brother made.

I wasn’t in the mood for Celtic croons or emo-punk balladry. My only option was to then swallow my pride and turn the radio on to find a station. It was a big deal for me considering that I had swore off the medium nearly a decade ago. The only, and I do mean ONLY, time I will turn the radio on is if I don’t have my iPod or any CDs to play at my disposal, and even then I only listen to talk radio.

And then it came to me. Why don’t I do a 5SIAR with five random songs being played on the radio? One right after another, each time from a different station. Just then a bolt of lightning came down about 20 feet away from the road I was driving on. Coincidence?

I immediately dreaded the usual garbage that exists on the airwaves. I was begging the gods that be to not give me Nickelback, Disturbed, or everyone’s radio favorite Third Eye Blind. My silent prayers were answered when the first song that was played was none other than the ever classic head-bobbing, rock/soul/blues anthem dedicated to inter-racial sex, sadomasochism, and heroin use: The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar.”

So as the heavens poured down the rain in buckets I cranked the volume and jammed out to Mick, Keith, and the boys. I had been worried only a few minutes prior that I wasn’t going to find anything good to listen to. I’ve always equated the radio with music television stations like MTV and VH1. Yeah, they used to play videos, but now all their programming consists of reality shows. I view radio in the same light. Nothing but overplayed, top 40, run of the mill standards that are meant to be played over and over till you get sick and just can’t wait for that needless station to change their format. It’s recycled garbage, and not the good kind either.

Yet on the other side of the coin, radio does have it’s brighter moments peaking through the dark cloud of mediocrity. Every once in a while (like this one) you come across something you either A: haven’t heard in a long time and suddenly hear it on the radio and immediately become nostalgic or B: have never heard the song that is playing in your life and you suddenly discover something new. It may be something you like or dislike, but the point is that you’re experiencing something new. I used to think radio wasn’t good for something like that anymore, but shame on me for being my usual judgmental self.

To read more on my special 5 radio songs in a row edition visit www.5songsinarow.com.

Here’s the brand new video for Now We Can See by threesome the Thermals. According to the band’s Web site, the track is #1 on commercial specialty radio, tied with Silversun Pickups‘ Panic Switch. Fancy…

Video below the jump:

In the hip-hop community, no one really wants to be labeled a hater. While I don’t hate Lil Wayne, I am far from a fan. I respect the fact that he has put out more music than any other major hip-hop artist in the last five years and probably has the best work ethic of any rapper not named Tupac Shakur. But is doing your job really worth the iconic status he seems to have achieved? I’m going to have to say no. So at the risk of earning the not-so-superlative hater label, I present to you my Top 3 reasons why a dead Biggie Smalls is better than a living Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne has been successful but is he really a worthy successor?

Coattails

Sean Combs might be the owner, but Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., is responsible for the Bad Boy Entertainment empire. The considerable wealth Combs amassed thanks to Mr. Wallace’s efforts funded his Sean John clothing line and propelled Puff Daddy to stardom. Diddy got a Grammy for his No Way Out album that featured Biggie on five songs. He also gave Lil Kim, the most popular female rapper of her time, her start.

Lil Wayne started as the youngest member of the Hot Boys on Cash Money Records. He started his own label, Young Money Entertainment, but to my knowledge, his most notable artist is Jae Millz. There are reports that he has been collaborating with and may have signed Drake, a talented young Canadian rapper.

Neither Cash Money Records, nor Jae Millz has matched the success of Bad Boy or Lil Kim respectively.

Diction: Ashy to Classy VS Bling Bling

“Ashy to classy” is the hip-hop version of the phrase “rags to riches” that Notorious B.I.G. popularized on the intro to “Sky’s The Limit,” one of his collaborations with the R&B group 112. “Bling Bling” is Ebonics for diamonds or other shiny jewelry. Ashy to classy is still cool to say after almost 12 years in rotation. Bling bling immediately makes you sound like those elderly baby boomers on the Boost Mobile commercials.

Music

The final and most important factor is the music. Despite recording just two albums (Ready To Die and Life After Death) before being murdered on March 9, 1997, Notorious B.I.G. solidified himself as the King of NY and by extension, hip-hop culture as a whole. Tupac Shakur, also now deceased, was the only comparable hip-hop artist at the time.

Conversely, Lil Wayne has made six studio albums and achieved considerable commercial success, yet still fails to hold any crowns other than Louisiana’s best. Many consider T.I. to be the King of the South and while that is highly debatable considering the fact that Ludacris is more accomplished and more popular in their shared hometown of Atlanta, it is definitely up for discussion as to whether little Wayne deserves to even be mentioned with Jay-Z, Biggie’s successor to the title of best alive.

These were only my Top 3 reasons why I think B.I.G. still reigns supreme. Trust me when I say there are many more (like voice and Wayne’s Auto Tune usage). You can say I’m holding onto the past or I have an East Coast bias. You can even call me hater but I’ll still take a dead Biggie over a living Lil Wayne any day.

How’s that for action photography?

It’s Blitz!, due April 14, will be the third album from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The trio recorded with producers David Sitek (TV on the Radio) and Nick Launay.

According to a press release, the band began the writing process “in the middle of a snowstorm, in a hundred-year-old barn in rural Massachusetts.”

SMAsh Radio, your favorite local-music-Web-radio-show, turns 3 YEARS OLD! with Episode 29. Joran and Stephen talk about the scene, play some music and even take your phone calls! This month features tracks from Geri X, Roppongi’s Ace, Sons of Hippies, Palantine, Daylight District and Ryan Wendell Bauer. Stay Up, Tampa Bay!

Next month: Shunda K (Yo Majesty), Acho Brother, Will Quinlan and more.

Subscribe here or via iTunes.
Play here.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is compiling a list of 49 Canadian-made songs to demonstrate to our new President-elect what Canada is all about.  That’s pretty neat. Here’s a re-post of what they aim to accomplish:

“Beginning Monday, January 5, CBC Radio 2 invites Canadians to help select the top ‘49 songs from north of the 49th parallel’ that would best define our country to the incoming U.S. President Barack Obama. His playlist could definitely benefit from some Canadian content, especially given the depth of our musical offerings – spanning a wide variety of genres and representing our culture from coast to coast.”

On the list, you can see selections from Arcade Fire, The Band, The Guess Who, k.d. lang, The Weakerthans, Crash Test Dummies and more. Rush makes an appearance with “Closer to the Heart” although I would’ve gone with “Spirit of the Radio” or “Subdivisions”. I am disappointed that Bryan Adams didn’t show on the list. Have we forgotten all the good times back in the Summer of ‘69?

Canadians are quite nationalistic when it comes to their radio. Under the Commercial Radio Policy, 35 per cent of all music aired each week on all AM and FM stations must be Canadian. To qualify as “Canadian content,” music must generally fulfill at least two of the following conditions (the MAPL system):

• M (music) – the music is composed entirely by a Canadian.
• A (artist) – the music and/or the lyrics are performed principally by a Canadian.
• P (production) – the musical selection consists of a live performance that is recorded wholly in Canada, or performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.
• L (lyrics) – the lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian.

Voting ends Friday, January 16 at 11 p.m. ET. So, what do you think are the most definitive 49 songs from North of the 49th parallel?

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/obamasplaylist/

I <3 Canada,
Ivan

About Ivan
Ivan Pena has an Advertising degree from UF, 8+ years in corporate and consumer marketing, 10+ years in graphic design and promotions. Ivan is also the leader of the group Soulfound and runs his own independent record label, Mohawk Bomb. In 2008, Ivan was named one of the Top 30 Under 30 by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Check Ivan out on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ivanpena