DubMC

Pro.File Vol. 4: Professional Profile of Fabian Alsultany, GlobeSonic DJ and World Music Tour Producer

This Q & A  with Founder/CEO of GlobeSonic Entertainment and former Head of A&R at Palm Pictures Fabian Alsultany continues a periodic DubMC series called Pro.File in which we engage a professional within the music field about where they fit into the world music network, what they do, and insights they can offer colleagues in the field. Here Alsultany talks about the history of thematic world music tours in the U.S.A., strategies for getting major funding for these tours, and the future of the music business.

A Day in the Life of a Band Going to WOMEX: How A Moving Sound Prepared for a Music Industry Conference

In this Q&A, DubMC interviewed Scott Prairie of A Moving Sound, a band based out of Taiwan. Prairie shares his strategies for making the most out of attending and showcasing at the annual world music industry conference, WOMEX.

1. Why did you decide to attend WOMEX?

It’s part of the relentless quest for exposure, at least for an emerging group like us. Something like a salmon swimming upstream, trying to find that connection to resources that will help the music art to live, grow and keep going. Also it’s a chance to meet all the people I have been talking to by e-mail.

2. What are your goals while you are there?

The DubMC WOMEX Schedule Organizer Has Been Updated

Please note that if you downloaded the WOMEX Schedule Organizer we posted earlier this month, we have now updated the schedule to reflect changes sent to DubMC from the WOMEX office. The biggest change is that the Awards ceremony will take place on Friday at 9-9:45 pm, not on Sunday. For the most part the other changes are small and should not affect most daytime plans you have. We still encourage you to check your Organizer against the Conference Guide Book and official conference update documents upon check in at WOMEX. Also make sure to check the updated conference schedule PDF and updated showcase PDF as there have been some updates made by WOMEX there as well.

DubMC.com is the brainchild of Dmitri Vietze and is sponsored by rock paper scissors, inc., world music publicity firm.

The Death of the CD and the North American Retail Crisis: New WOMEX Meeting Added, Saturday, Oct. 28, 4 pm, Mezquita Room

Spurred on by USA world music record labels and distributors still reeling from the closure of Tower Records and compression of brick-and-mortar CD retailers, rock paper scissors, inc.'s Dmitri Vietze will facilitate a just-announced WOMEX meeting of record labels and other world music professionals titled: "The Death of the CD and the North American Retail Crisis: What Happens to World Music in the Switch from Physical Product to Digital?" World music retail is in turmoil. Downloads and increased access to "the long tail" are changing the landscape. Tower is closing while Virgin and Border's are decreasing world music significantly. What can labels/artists do before online sales fill the hole? Labels and all players at retail attending WOMEX are encouraged to join this open discussion on Saturday, October 28 from 4-5:30 pm in the Mezquita Room.

DubMC.com and rock paper scissors, inc. also invite North American world music professionals to attend WOMEX's North American Networking session, Friday, October 27, 12:30-2 pm in the Ronda Room; and to have some fun watching Songlines magazine's Simon Broughton and other contestants go up against reigning champion Jacob Edgar of Putumayo and Cumbancha in the Second Annual WOMEX Trivia Game Show, Friday, October 27, 5-6 pm in the Mezquita Room.

Pro.File Vol. 3: A National World Music Video Outlet; Q & A with Steve Lawrence and Michal Shapiro of Link TV

More and more people are finding out that there is a national TV channel with several hours of world music videos and documentaries on every week. This Q & A  with Steve Lawrence and Michal Shapiro of Link TV continues a periodic DubMC series called Pro.File in which we engage professionals within the music field about where they fit into the world music network, what they do, and insights they can offer colleagues in the field. Here Lawrence and Shapiro present their top world music videos of 2006, tips for making a video on a budget, and collaboration ideas for festivals and record labels.

Pro.File Vol. 2: Q & A with Festival International de Louisiane's Lisa Stafford

This Q & A  with Lisa Stafford -- of Festival International de Louisiane and now with Eye for Talent -- continues a periodic DubMC series called Pro.File in which we engage a professional within the music field about where they fit into the world music network, what they do, and insights they can offer colleagues in the field. Find out Stafford's suggestions for new festival programmers, and for artists looking to improve their stage performances, and her hopes for the world music field.

Liquidation of Tower Records Begins

Yesterday, Great American Group--a company that specializes in liquidations, auctions, and appraisals--won the auction for the assets of Tower Records. They have announced that going-out-of-business sales begin today. Hundreds of thousands of CDs and DVDs and equipment at all 89 Tower Record stores in 20 USA states will be for sale. Great American, which is heading up a consortium of several entities that were vying for various aspects of the Tower enterprise, is paying $134.4 million. Trans World Entertainment, which operates such music retail stores as F.Y.E., Coconuts, and Wherehouse, lost the auction by $500,000. Some speculate that Trans World would have been better for some of the 2700+ Tower employees since they had planned to keep some of the stores open.

WOMEX Schedule Organizer Now Available for WOMEX Attendees

DubMC sponsor rock paper scissors, inc. has created a free WOMEX Schedule Organizer to help conference attendees organize their plans for meetings, panels, films, showcases, etc. Download the free WOMEX Schedule Organizer (MS Word document) and save it to your hard drive to customize your schedule and hit the ground running in Sevilla later this month. The WOMEX Schedule Organizer includes basic conference events and an hourly calendar for you to fill in with your plans for each day. Have a look to see how it can help you get the most out of WOMEX.

Download WOMEX's PDF of the Day Time Schedule here (panels/films/daycases).

Download WOMEX's PDF of the night time Showcase Schedule here.

NEW! Download WOMEX's PDF of the Trade Fair Map here.

WOMEX is THE world music industry conference of the year with hundreds of stands in the trade fair, dozens of showcases day and night, and lots of world music connections waiting to happen for artists, managers, agents, concert presenters, record labels, distributors, and more.

DubMC.com is the brainchild of Dmitri Vietze and is sponsored by rock paper scissors, inc., world music publicity firm.

The Changing Landscape of World Music at EMI (Narada/Real World/Blue Note)

Cheryl McEnaney, U.S. Label Manager for Real World Records (c/o EMI Music), sent in this clarification to our recent post about Palm Pictures downsizing in which we wrote: "This follows on the heels of Triloka Records getting absorbed by Artemis and Narada getting fully absorbed by its parent company Virgin/EMI, with neither label continuing to release product under their world music imprints, and neither of Triloka's and Narada's founders still with the companies." Here McEnaney offers an update on the status of world music at Real World/Narada/Blue Note/EMI.