Monthly Archives: February 2012

Motoi Konno (Mashroom.fm) – Interview (Part 2)

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The final part of the interview with Motoi Konno from Mashroom.fm is posted below. If you’ve read yesterday’s installment and enjoyed it, now you have a chance to know about the music Motoi-san has always been inspired by.  Just what you need to start the week in a motivated way, wouldn’t you say?

 

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

I think it was when I was 6years old. My mother taught me how to play the piano.
The first album that I purchased was probably a SPITZ’s single. (Japanese pop band)

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

Yes, I’ve been playing blues for the last 10 years and I am blues guitarist and singer in Japan. And this is my channel.

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

Blues, Soul, R&B, MOTOWN, STAX
I really admire many blues artists. Especially, Robert Cray, Lurrie Bell, and there are plenty of others. Continue reading →

Motoi Konno (Mashroom.fm) – Interview (Part 1)

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Motoi Konno, one of the founders of Mashrooom.fm (a web service for creating your own mashups using different YouTube videos) was kind-enough to answer all the questions I put his way about his startup, and also about the role music has in his life.

This is the first time that I interview someone from Japan, and it’s really refreshing to have the insight from people living in what’s unarguably one of the most technically-developed countries in the world.

You can read the original post on Mashroom.fm here. And if you wonder when you can read the other half of this interview (“Music & You”), then that’s just been posted.

Full Name: Motoi Konno
Age: 28
Startup: Mashroom.fm
Position: Music Manager/Marketer

 

PART I

THE STARTUP

 

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

1 years ago, I and co founder Makoto Watanabe watched the video of Playing For Change. There were a lot of professional musicians and street musicians playing together there, no matter how different were their lives and their languages. It really moved our hearts. And we simply thought “We want to make this happen on the web!” That was the start.

What was the original launch date?

It was 27 January 2012

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?  

So far, it hasn’t been so bad but we hope to have more active users per month.
Right now, our site is visited from 59 countries. Spain and USA are the most active ones.

What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?

We want to support musicians and artists all over the world. So, in the future we want Mashroom.fm to become a platform where they can sell and exchange their work. We want to change the fact of gifted musicians and artists not being able to earn enough money to support themselves. Continue reading →

Adele Becomes The First Artist Ever To Go Double Platinum on iTunes

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Adele At A Recent Performance

Artists who make it big at the Grammy Awards always see a hefty boost in sales, and Adele was to be no exception. After winning no less than 6 awards in one night (including “Album Of The Year” for “21” and “Song Of The Year” for “Rolling In The Deep”), “21” managed to reach double platinum status. What’s even more interesting, Adele has become the first artist to sell 2 million copies of one album on iTunes in the US.

Adele is also the second artist to win the “Big Four” Grammy Awards in the same ceremony. She joins Christopher Cross, who achieved that feat in 1981.

This artistic and commercial success comes after many expressed concerns about Adele’s future when she became sidelined by vocal chord hemorrhaging, and had to undergo microsurgery.

As of the time of writing this, the figures made public by Columbia Records show that “21” has sold 7 million copies in the U.S., and 18 million copies worldwide.

Mashroom.fm – Create Music Clips Using YouTube Videos

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Name: Mashroom.fm
URL: http://mashroom.fm

Mashing up online videos is the order of the day here. Mashroom.fm is a service that lets you take different clips as found on YouTube, and then have them mixed in order to create something unique. You can choose up to six different YouTube videos, and use them to create a single track. And you can also record yourself, and add sounds to what you’re mashing up.

The end result will obviously depend on how much time and effort you’ve put into the edition of what you’ve created, but even if you’re in a bit of a hurry you’ll still be able to come up with something to make your Facebook friends laugh a little. And in any case, there’s no 1000-page treatise defining what memes are made up of. You never know what might end up happening to a video you’ve created on a whim, just as a way to humor a good friend…

Mashroom.fm is a free service, and you can start using it just by authenticating who you are via Facebook. Once your mixes are ready, then they can be spread in all the usual ways – email, Twitter, Facebook, Megaupload…

Wait a mo…

Forget that last name.

(Sobs and sighs)

Music Streaming Services: An Overview

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Today I want to share with you a terrific infograph that I’ve found, and which covers all the music streaming services in existence. Well, all minus Google Music. For some reason, whoever compiled this decided to omit it. But other than that, everything’s been included – Spotify, Pandora, Last.fm, Turntable.fm… there’s even a corner explaining how Facebook might become a force to be reckoned with sooner than most people think.

And just in case you ever wonder how much musicians are paid whenever you stream a song of theirs, then just jump to the end of the infograph.

Struggle (Gino Tunessi) – Uruguayan Independent Artist

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"Struggle" by Gino Tunessi

 

You don’t need to.

You don’t need to listen to Josh Ritter singing with his eyes dancing on a horizon of fire and brimstone “inside this gilded cage a songbird always looks so plain” to have an idea of the entrapments an artist has to avoid as he goes his way. You don’t need to walk on the bare hum of a stage night after night to understand how anxiety can first paralyze a performer, and then bring out the best on him. And you don’t need to be a creator to understand that the most compelling works come from the greatest struggles – struggles that pitch a person both against himself, and against the very plateaus he is set to conquer. You don’t need to sample one such struggle in the flesh to know how that feels, and the eventual statures it can let you reach. You don’t need to.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

And if you’re going to do it, then this album by Uruguayan artist Gino Tunessi is ideal. Not perfect. Ideal. Because it’s pure zeitgeist. It isn’t named like it’s named for nothing. Through a very personal story, it ends up speaking of the difficulties performers aiming to break through to larger audiences have to face nowadays. Its every note rings with the contradictions that arise from having something like the Internet to make your work publicly available, and the feeling which comes from failing to get the support needed to promote your music right on your homeland. And that’s a common story for people all over the world, of course. It happens in Uruguay, and it happens everywhere there are artists that have something to communicate.

Recorded in 2009 and issued in 2010, “Struggle” was written in its entirety by Gino and produced by Álvaro Sánchez. Gino also co-produced the album, and all instruments were played by him and Álvaro.

Gino Tunessi

On the whole, the sound of “Struggle” is gentle but it doesn’t lack bite. Acoustic instruments take center stage, and polite nods to artists such as Beck abound, with sound effects that end up playing a truly melodic role. Continue reading →

Mike Bishop (Record Together) – Interview (Part 2)

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Find below the second part of the interview with Mike Bishop from RecordTogether.com. This is where we talk about the artists he likes and his musical background. To learn more about Record Together itself, read the first part of this interview and the original blog post.

 

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

The first album I purchased on my own was “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Consequently, it also became my favorite album.  It was so scratched from being played there were only a few songs left that didn’t skip.  The bass on that album was my biggest influence in learning how to play.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

I’ve been playing in bands around the Twin Cities, Minnesota area since I was 12.  I played in “Modern Day Supplement” for about 5 years, and then 6 years in a band called “Live From Heaven”.  Here’s a clip from a Live From Heaven show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3BtCdklVLQ

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

I’m partial to rock music, but really enjoy anything with a groove.  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rage Against the Machine, Garbage, Nine Inch Nails.  I can usually find at least one thing to appreciate in all music. Continue reading →

Mike Bishop (Record Together) – Interview (Part 1)

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Another great interview for you, this time with Mike Bishop from Record Together. As you probably remember (the site was reviewed last month on MusicKO), RecordTogether.com lets you crowdsource the recording of individual tracks for your own songs. The site is really ingenious, as it lets you ask people in other parts of the world to record their parts in exchange for a bounty.

The interview has got two parts. The first is about the site itself, and you can read it below. The second is about Mike’s musical background and his favorite artists, and you can read it here.

Full Name: Mike Bishop
Age: 23
Startup: Record Together
Position:  CEO

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

The idea came from some frustration I experienced trying to find studio musicians to collaborate with on recordings.  I felt like there had to be an easier way to find a talented violin or pedal guitar player.  That’s I think what makes it distinct, is that it’s the first free market on the internet for musical recording talent.

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?  

We have had 342 registered users since we launched in November of 2011 with over $100 paid out to musicians.  The response has been much better than I had expected, and I’ve had a lot of people tell me they have wanted the same thing for a long time.  Most of our traffic is coming from the United States and Canada.  The has also been a lot of participation in England, Germany, and The Netherlands – pretty much all over.

What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?

More social networking features and an easier to use interface.  There isn’t really anything that I have to model this off of, so I am always looking for ways to make this easier to use.  I would also like more in depth tutorials for getting high quality recording results.   Continue reading →

New Releases Now! – All The Latest Music Releases

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Name: New Releases Now!
URL: http://www.newreleasesnow.com

The Internet makes it dead easy to discover new music, right as it’s become available. And the way things stand right now, you don’t even need to subscribe to lots of different sites to stay on the loop. There’s services that can do all the hard work for you. New Releases Now! (NRN) is one of these.
Presented by Almighty Music Marketing (a company that’s been devoted to the promotion of music ever since 1995), NRN is constantly updated with the latest music releases, and every imaginable genre is covered. Rock, pop, metal, punk, country, synth pop, cajun/zydeco, neo soul… All in all, over sixty different genres are included. And you can find more than music through this site, as NRN also keeps track of comedy albums.

The site features the most recent releases on its homepage, and you can find both the newest albums and songs using a simple search tool. And you’re also given the option to browse entries by genre and by release date. If it’s a new release, you’ll find it. In all cases, titles come with iTunes and Amazon “Buy” buttons, and a “Find A Retailer” widget that lets you locate the nearest points of sale. Continue reading →

Mickey Richardson (Share My Guitar) – Interview (Part 2)

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This is the second half of the interview with Mickey Richardson from ShareMyGuitar.com, and if you liked the first part then I’m sure you’ll enjoy it from start to finish. Mickey gets to talk about the music he’s been inspired by, and all of his favorite artists.

It must be said that he’s got an excellent taste in music. Read on, I’m certain that if you check MusicKO regularly you’ll find he’s keen on the very same artists that you love.

 

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

 

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

I have been interested in music for as far back as I can remember. My parents had an old piano in the house. I gravitated to the piano and taught myself to play by ear. Then around 13 years of age I acquired a drum kit and messed around for a few years before migrating to the bass guitar. I played bass for many years and joined a bunch of bands that gigged all over Los Angeles and Orange County. Listening to music, playing and creating original music has always been very important to me. Funny enough it wasn’t until I started SMG that I really ever even tried playing guitar!

The first album I can remember purchasing was Van Halen’s “1984” on vinyl from a record store called “Best Records” in Simi Valley, California.  But before that, I would listen to my Dad’s old records. I remember listening to stuff like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John, various Beatles albums and all kinds of other 50s and 60s music. The music was great and it left a strong impression on me from a really young age.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

I’m not in a band currently. There are songs posted on my SMG profile from a previous band that I co-wrote and recorded on and I still enjoy listening to those songs. Hopefully I can find the time to play live again sometime soon.

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

My favorite music includes anything that sounds good to my ears. I used to rule out county and rap music when I was a kid. But I have heard some amazing country artists and some good rap too. I think it’s important to keep an open mind but if you checked my iPhone you would find music from Alice in Chains, Guns N Roses, The Beatles, AC/DC, Bad Religion, Ozzy, Queen, The Sex Pistols, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin… okay, this list gets pretty long, so I will leave it at that. Continue reading →