Category Archives: News
Eyes on Youtube: Musicians Seek Major Changes
Remember back in the day when musicians were banding together against services like Pandora and Spotify?
These days the music worlds attention is focused on Youtube, claiming the service doesn’t pay enough royalties. There is a demand to change the law that allows Youtube to operate this way, highlighting the need to track every dollar as listening habits transition to streaming vs. download.
Katy Perry, Billy Joel, Pharrell Williams Bon Jovi and many other big names in the industry have signed letters asking for copyright law modification. Prominent managers like Irving Azoff has also criticized Youtube in multiple instances.
Somehow, despite Youtube’s massive audience, they appear to produce less direct income for musicians than the likes of vinyl record sales – which is a relatively small market. And while Youtube does act as a mechanism to promote music, it is also an ‘easy way out’ – not providing a substantial source of revenue for anybody…but Youtube.
As we speak, major record labels are in the midst of renegotiating their contracts with Youtube. It will be an interesting story to follow. We all know the music industry is behind the times when it comes to keeping up with technology – maybe this is the start of that changing.
10 Must-See Concerts in Boston this month
Quite a few must-See concerts in Boston this month! A large variety of talent is making it’s way to town, are you going to see any of these shows?
1. The Cure – to perform over four decades worth of music you love! Catch them Thursday June 16th, 7:30 Agganis Arena ($17.50-$77.50)
2. Aesop Rock – June 17th, 8pm at the Paradise Rock Club ($20, 18+) – following the release of The Impossible Kid, Aesop Rock returns to Boston to perform with Rob Sonic and DJ Zone. Don’t miss it!
3. Brian Wilson – You won’t want to miss this Beach Boy’s icon performing with the Boston Pops! This chance doesn’t come around every day! Friday/Saturday performances – June 17/18th- 7pm at Symphony Hall
4. Deerhoof – In anticipation of the bands next album, The Magic (which comes out the same night of this show) – Deerhoof will be performing Friday, June 24th at Brighton Music Hall, 8pm ($16, 18+). Avid fans won’t want to miss out!
5. Bearstronaut *Local Gem!* – If you haven’t seen or heard of Bearstronaut, you should check them out! They’ll be celebrating the release of their new record Telecoast Friday June 10th at the Sinclair, 8pm ($12, 18+) 
6. Motion City Soundtrack– Two decades worth of loyal fans are sure to be present at the two shows (the first is sold out) at the Paradise. Tickets are still available for Monday, June 13th ($30). This So Long, Farewell Tour is in fact, their final tour. If you’ve been itching to catch a show before they’re gone this is your chance!
7. Ellie Goulding– Do you follow commercial pop music? If so you’ve definitely heard Ellie Goulding on multiple hit records recently. Check her out Wednesday, June 15th at TD Garden, 7:30pm ($25-55).
8. Beyonce – “Queen” Beyonce will be dancing her way to Gillette Stadium Friday, June 3rd at 8pm ($50-$310.. but we’re guessing this is sold out?). She’s had quite a controversial year, and will be rolling into town with her Formation World Tour in just a few days!
9. Ceelo Green– Soulful singer Ceelo will be performing many of his catchy hits at the Paradise Rock Club – Friday June 10th, 7pm ($25). This is a great venue to see such a huge talent!
10. Leann Rimes- A fixture on the music scene since her debut in 1996, Leann will be performing at the Wilbur Theatre on Thursday, June 9th (doors at 7pm). In light of her recent release, Spitfire- her set is expected to feature many new tunes as well as the classics you expect to hear.
Local artist White Hinterland sues Justin Bieber/Skrillex for Copyright Infringement
If you listen to mainstream radio, chances are you have heard Justin Bieber’s latest hit song, “Sorry”. The industry was shocked to learn last night that White Hinterland (a local artist from Scituate, MA) is suing Justin, Skrillex and his producers for infringement.
Casey Dienel (White Hinterland) claims a vocal riff from one of her most popular songs, “Ring the Bell”) was sampled without permission and used in the hit song. On Thursday evening, Dienel went public: “Like most artists that sample music, Bieber could have licensed my song for use in ‘Sorry’. But he chose not to contact me. After the release of ‘Sorry’ my lawyers sent Bieber a letter regarding the infringement, but Bieber’s team again chose to ignore me. I offered Bieber’s team an opportunity to have a private dialogue about the infringement, but they refused to even acknowledge my claim, despite the obviousness of the sample”.
Overnight the story went viral and fans across the world of both White Hinterland and Bieber picked which side they were on. However on Friday afternoon, Skrillex took to Twitter to claim his innocence. He posted a video featuring a raw track from singer named Julia Michaels and provided a short tutorial as to how he created the vocal riff in question.
Jamaica Plain Porchfest – Saturday, July 9th
Not to be confused with Somerville’s Annual Porchfest (which took place this past weekend) – in early July, Jamaica Plain will hold it’s third annual Porchfest.
In 2015, JP’s Porchfest featured well over 133 musicians (bands/solo performers) – and over 100 other acts featuring spoken word, dance, storytelling and even circus inspired routines. Nearly 70 porches were turned into stages, satisfying an audience of ~10,000 people!
These events are an amazing experience for the creative community- giving artists and musicians of all kinds a unique opportunity to share their passion with those who reside around them. However, with it’s growing popularity, it is safe to assume that it is becoming an event worth traveling to. Folks outside JP, even the city itself are making the trek to be immersed in a cultural experience hard to find elsewhere.
Join in on the fun! Even though registration for performing is all closed up for this year, be sure to head over to Jamaica Plain on July 9th (12pm-6pm) to enjoy the diverse talent! (Check out the “special arts porches” for Dance, Theater, Spoken word and Storytelling performances!)
RIP: Prince Passes Away at 57
The news just broke that legendary performer Prince has passed away at 57, according to TMZ.
Reports suggest he was briefly hospitalized last week for symptoms of the flu but was soon thereafter discharged. After news of a reported death at his Paisley Park estate in Minneapolis, it was later revealed that it was in fact, Prince who passed.
All of us at Bergsten are saddened by this news- as musicians such as himself inspire and energize our industry. It may not be widely known but in the past we had the pleasure of supplying gear to some of his local performances. He will be greatly missed and most certainly not forgotten.
Local Music News: Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory to Merge
Two of the best music schools in the country are soon to join forces. Berklee College of Music, founded in 1945 and Boston Conservatory, founded in 1967- announced last year that their programs would be merging. Only recently have we come to learn this will be effective in or around June 2016.
Conveniently, the two campuses are just a couple blocks away from each other near Fenway which will undoubtedly aid the students traveling back and forth. Berklee will retain its name and the Conservatory will become known as the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Separate admissions processes and financial aid will continue for now, but facilities, programs and faculty will be accessible to students from each institution. Students will also be able to transfer between programs and even pursue joint degrees.
Conservatory students will benefit from the new access to performance traditions of other cultures and genres as well as contemporary ‘digital infrastructure’. Currently, Berklee students don’t have access to a music theater program, or a classical music program. While the two schools were never in direct competition, they will be able to attract more musicians and offer a diversified experience to all those who enroll.
Without a doubt, this merger will create a “powerhouse” of sorts for Boston in terms of music, theater and dance.
Boston Calling – May 2016 Line Up
If you’re from Boston and are into music festivals, chances are you’ve already done your research on the upcoming Boston Calling Music Festival for May 2016. If you’re living under a rock (since tickets went on sale January 15th on BostonCalling.com) however- this post is for you.
The biannual festival is set to take place Memorial Day weekend May 27th-29th at City Hall Plaza. At first glance, the lineup appears to be stacked with big names including Australian Pop singer Sia, Swedish popstar Robyn and electronic duo Disclosure. Other notable highlights include Janelle Monáe, Sufjan Stevens, Courtney Barnett and sister trio Haim.
The full lineup:
Sia – Disclosure – Robyn- Odeza
Sufjan Stevens – Haim – Miike Snow
Janelle Monae – City and Colour – Courtney Barnett
Elle King – The Front Bottoms – Børns
Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaries – The Vaccines
Vince Staples – Battles – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Christine and the Queens – Lisa Hannigan and Aaron Dessner
Lizzo – Palehound – Michael Christmas
Starting off 2015…
The holiday season flew by here at Bergsten Music. Now, with 2015 underway, we’re taking care of some of the housekeeping we aren’t able to do in our busiest months.
Our warehouse manager, Bob-spent the first four days of 2015 building us a new and improved storage space for our guitars and keyboards!
Inventory- it’s quite a process. This is the part where we ensure all the gear on our shelves match what we have in our system. So far so good! It’s also the time to determine what needs to be be cleaned up or simply decommissioned.
Catch up– only in the winter will you see so many of our audio engineers together in one place. It’s the perfect time to look over the latest boards/consoles in our rental stock.
We’re ready for another great year!
Boston Music Awards 2014
We’re always excited to help out with this event! December 14th, the 27th annual Boston Music Awards will be taking place at the Revere Hotel in Boston. As always, the event will feature some of the area’s emerging as well as established performers within a wide spectrum of genres, ranging from Rock, Pop, Blues, Metal, Punk, Indie, Americana, International, Jazz and so much more.
For those who are unfamiliar, musicians, producers and industry professionals with strong ties to New England are nominated by a large musically diverse committee, who then allow the general public to help determine the winners of their respective category. The committee, 172 members – is composed of highly valued music industry professionals:
– 47 Music Editors/Journalists who have been published in hundreds of publications across the US
– 28 Promoters and Agents who have booked thousands of shows in local venues
– 19 Radio Programmers and DJs representing a diverse group of genres
– 15 Music Business Executives – Retail, Online, etc.
– 14 Music Promotions/Publicists
– 12 Artist Managers
– 11 Music Producers
– 8 Tour Managers
– 8 Music Attorneys
– 6 Label Executives
– 4 Professors of Music
Voting has closed, but we hope you will keep an eye out within the local music scene this coming year so you can help influence the results for 2015. This all-volunteer organization works year round to ensure the artists that create in Boston are recognized for their contributions to our community and is well worth supporting.
Learn more: http://www.BostonMusicAwards.com
