So they’ve re-done the massive hit “We are the world.” However, this new version has been met with much acclaim as well as criticism.

2010

1985

25 years after the original, the new version has attracted millions upon millions of views online, and 121,000 comments and counting. The song premiered during the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Olympics.

Beyonce and Jay-Z were invited to take part in the new version of the song, but declined. Jay-Z told MTV that the original version was too sacred to him. “I think ‘We Are the World’ is like [Michael Jackson's] ‘Thriller’ to me. I don’t ever wanna see it touched.” He added, “Some things are just untouchable. It was a valiant effort, but for me, it’s gonna be untouchable.”

Jay-Z’s point of view is easily understandable, and I’m sure many of the critics of the new version feel something similar. Others have also pointed out that there aren’t enough high-profile or A-list singers involved. And that the original was distinct while blending the voices involved. You knew exactly what artist was singing when.

Lionel Richie responded to the idea that this classic song should never have been messed with by saying: “What’s a classic? To the next generation, it’s just an old song,” he told USA Today. “Why not bring in Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers and let them address the issues? We can pass the baton and empower the next generation to take up arms and have a legacy with this.”

I understand and yet wholly disagree with Lionel on this point. I realize that with time things are often developed and improved upon. However, this song is truly a classic, associated with a particular place in time and history. It transcends generations and is truly a part of America’s music history. Lionel has taken the seemingly capitalist standpoint, and it seems greedy and a bit tawdry for such a poignant song to be highlighted by the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and the auto tuning of Lil Wayne, and other rappers. Not to mention Lil Wayne is now in jail…

All in all, I think they should have left well enough alone, but that’s just my opinion. Check out both versions and let us know which you like better.

T. Lynn

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Last year I attended the University of Chicago MET Summit, and enjoyed not only the music panels, but all the technology discussions. Learning about other industries fuels your ideas for the music business, and crossover opportunities are everywhere in modern media. Technology has ignited, developed, bombarded and slaughtered the music industry several times over, and the current state is an exciting time to be involved in. You only have to look at the discussions happening at MIDEM to know that mobile device apps and video games are as much a part of the business as record sales and drainpipe jeans.

And so, this year I’m heading to Techvision 2010 at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Hyde Park, Chicago. Friday 26th February seeks to “drive home the game changing impact of technology to business minds across the industry and functional focus areas”. With panels such as Cloud Computing and Mobile Technology, not to mention a keynote from Senior VP at Warner Bros. Janet Pucino, appealing most to a music tech / music industry bod, I expect to hear and share ideas expecting to impact our work and passions over the next year. I know that UofC will provide a great forward-thinking entrepreneur aspect on top of the usual techy geekdom, and networking with some bright minds is always appealing.

If you are interested in attending also, registration details can be found here.

Lee Jarvis.

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Oh those Superbowl Ads…

There was quite an eclectic group of musicians and songs appearing throughout the Superbowl ads this past Sunday.  Looking back on it I was really shocked to find out just how many high profile artists and their songs were featured. In this BillBoard article you can see all of the commercials again that we’re about to talk about, as well as the full article.

“In between the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl and the Who rocking the big halftime show, a few good commercials featured quality music or cameos by our favorite artists. Check out some of the best ads below, and visit Adweek for the full Super Bowl commercial lineup, quarter by quarter.”

I had a few personal favorites of course… Being a Chicagoan and remembering as a child (barely), the Chicago Bears winning the Superbowl in 1986 – the Boostmobile ad featuring some of the original members of that winning Bears crew, and a new twist on the original Superbowl Shuffle was quite funny.  Hey – I’ve still got the original on VHS…

Back to the major artists featured: There was Kiss featuring Mini-Kiss.  It was awesome to see Mini-Kiss with their counterparts while singing “Calling Dr. Love” was pretty ingenious.  How many tribute bands get to rock with the originals, and in such a high profile manner.  Mini-Kiss just got some serious exposure. The VW commercial was quite catchy too, and at the end when Stevie Wonder also spots a red VW as it drives by and gives Tracy Morgan a punch is priceless.  Go VW – I kinda wanna drive one now.

The car theme continues with Kia as they used Heavy’s “How You Like Me Now” showcasing the Sorento with Yo Gabba Gabba characters’ party trip.  Honda featured Kool & the Gang’s “Funky Stuff” while advertising the Honda Accord Crosstour. Audi, not to be outdone, joined the ranks and featured a revised version of Cheap Trick’s “Dream Police” as “Green Police;” to introduce the eco-friendly Audi A3 TDI.

Beyonce even joined in the fun on a commercial for Vizio. I really enjoy seeing all the artists or their music being reinvigorated through these ads.  The ads are a ton of fun themselves, and are primarily why I watch the Superbowl, but seeing so much of the music included in these ads this year, really made me stop and think.  It’s interesting that this idea of placing your music in advertising outlets or on TV shows used to be taboo – you were a sell out.  Now it’s readily acceptable as a means to get your music heard and/or as a way of creating another revenue stream for the business side of your art.  I’d much rather see these originals come back out than cruddy library tracks that don’t really make the connection or keep your attention like these tracks do.

All in all, I thought these were all great. Which ad was your favorite?

T.Lynn

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I’m a fan of Berkleemusic, the online school of the esteemed Berklee College of Music, and often read many of the great blogs from David Kusek, Mike King and co.

Berklee recently launched their Winter 2010 term with two new music marketing courses available; Online Music Marketing with Topspin (co-authored by King and Topspin’s Shamal Ranasinghe), and Online Music Marketing: Campaign Strategies, Social Media, and Digital Distribution.

Having studied several of their courses, I know that the Berkleemusic system is a good one, and these new courses have inspired me to sign up again next term.

In the fast-moving, ever-evolving new music industry, I see digital marketing strategies being of huge importance. Artists need to do as much groundwork as possible themselves, and when they cannot, know the correct people and resources to help. Being efficient at selling your music online, and building your fan base with social networking communities is critical for bands and musicians looking to make a living from their music and music-related activities.

Here, Mike King explains some of the Online Music Marketing course details and how you can use analytics to drive your career decisions.

Also worth mentioning is the course textbook, which is a great read even if you aren’t studying at Berkleemusic. Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail is also written by King, and you can sample a free chapter here…

If anyone is taking the course this term, please let me know how you are getting on. If you are signed up for Spring 2010, I may well see you there!

Lee Jarvis

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Hey everyone,

We at US Music Jobs are excited to reintroduce our blog promotion. If you are an unpaid registered member of Music Jobs and own a blog or website, you can get one month of paid membership for FREE. Don’t have an account yet? Sign up, and get your profile running for free, here!

How does it work?

If you are a registered US Music Jobs member and you have a personal blog or website, this will be quite easy for you. Simply write in your blog about US Music Jobs and include a link to our site. A couple of possible blog post ideas include a short or detailed description of the site, how Music Jobs has helped you in your job hunt, an informative wiki-like profile of our site, or you can write a review about US Music Jobs.

If you don’t have a blog yet, there are plenty of free blog providers that you can join, including Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, LiveJournal, and many more.

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You can link to the US Music Jobs Homepage (us.music-jobs.com) , but it may be more useful for your readers if you linked to the jobs board page at http://us.music-jobs.com/jobsboard.php. But, if you feel we have a page on our site more relevant to your readers, feel free to link back to that page instead (ie, the “About Us page“). (Remember, the link has to be clickable. To do this on most blogging platforms, highlight the text you want to make a link, click the icon that looks like a globe with a chain link in front of it, then press OK or DONE).

Once you have your blog post up, send us the following to usmj_promo@music-jobs.com:

1. Your Name and US Music Jobs username (click here to sign up for free)
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Also, if you know any artists or anyone in the music industry that is not with Music Jobs currently, why not tell them about this promotion? It’s a great opportunity for non members to try out our service at no cost. Just have them sign up for a free account at the freelancer registration page to get started!

This promotion will last from today, February 8, 2010 until , March 6, 2010. Members who qualify for the free one month’s subscription will be contacted by email.

Thanks, everyone!
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The current state of Haiti is horrible. Millions of people, terrible conditions, and much needed long-term help. As a result, MTV put together a telethon packed with celebrities and musicians in order to help raise money for relief efforts in Haiti. Several major broadcast networks and cable channels aired MTV Networks’ “Hope for Haiti“, an all-star telethon for Haitian earthquake relief, on Jan. 22.

The telethon was presented by different hosts in different cities – Wyclef Jean (Haiti native) in New York, George Clooney in Los Angeles, and Anderson Cooper directly from Haiti. All proceeds from the show go to Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation, as well as UNICEF, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, and the Red Cross.

Some people tend to get annoyed by the “Bono” type musicians trying to save this and save that, but I disagree with those people. Musicians and celebrities have gained stardom, and with that stardom the attention of millions of people. They are creating awareness about topics, places, and efforts that need our attention. They are actually doing some real good and attempting to help make this world a better place. What’s wrong with that? If more people sought out those opportunities or made helping others a part of their lives, this world would be a much better place – for everyone.

I applaud these celebrities and musicians who are taking part in this telethon, for finding a positive way they can contribute to the relief fund in Haiti.

Check out a video from the event, of Bono and Jay-Z’s Haiti Single “Stranded”…

To review on the “Hope For Haiti” telethon, which aired last week – it was a phenomenal success. The music choices were pretty cool – I got to see a good portion of the performances. I also found it quite impressive that the stars of the telethon were also on the phones. I was not expecting that. I thought that it was a great idea and an additional incentive to get people to call in and donate. Call and speak with Steven Spielberg, Stevie Wonder, or Taylor Swift – heck yeah, where’s the number! I applaud the stars for getting in the trenches a bit more, in addition to their performances. I started watching it with Madonna singing “Like A Prayer” (a personal favorite). In a few of the blogs that I subscribe to, they have had quite the discussion about whether her performance was lip synched or not.

The collaboration between Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono, etc. – was jam packed with stars. Their performance is currently the most downloaded song from the event on iTunes. I also thoroughly enjoyed Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris’ rendition of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. Beautiful song, beautiful performance, and so fitting.

Overall, the telethon was entertaining and it raised a lot of help for Haiti.

According to Rolling Stone, the event raised over $61 million dollars to help the destruction and devastation that has occurred throughout Haiti. Also, the organizers of the telethon will continue to collect donations for the next 6 months!

In addition, you can also download the entire live performance on iTunes, as well as purchase the album of all of the live performances from the telethon. Check out http://www.cmt.com/haiti for links to all available music and videos, and a variety of online stores to purchase from. Again, all of the proceeds, that’s 100%, go to relief efforts in Haiti. Hopefully over the next 6 months a lot more donations keep coming in.

Which was your favorite performance of the night?

T. Lynn

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