The World’s First “Acoustically Perfect” Concert Hall Opens in Germany

Photo by Iwan Baan

The newly opened Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, Germany is a visually stunning structure from a design perspective, with its gorgeous wave-shaped facade, curved elevators, and its seemingly endless stairs. However, the focal point of the $843 million building is its one of a kind central auditorium designed specifically for a balanced sound throughout the concert hall.

As reported by Wired, Swiss architectural firm Herzog and De Meuron worked alongside One to One studio to painstakingly build the coral reef-like structure from 10,000 unique acoustic panels lining the ceiling, walls, and balustrades.

Tattooed Babies And Tortured Teens: ‘The Kid’ Turns Youthful Angst Into Art

How to escape the chains that bind us from birth – that’s one of the questions The Kid is trying to answer. At 25, the contemporary artist’s young age has no bearing on his work, except for the fact that his pieces address the social determinism that weighs upon the younger generation these days.

The Kid in front of his painting I go alone, oil on canvas, 2016. (Source: The Kid/Facebook)

A self-taught artist, he is still using the same media (charcoal and ink pens) he started out with in the first pieces he exhibited. But he also excels at oil painting and silicone sculpture, as we can see in Too Young To Die? and As A Flower Chooses Its Color (be warned, this one might be hard to look at).
Today in Paris and Amsterdam, where he’s preparing his next exhibit, The Kid took some time between catching trains and painting to answer a few questions.

Third Man Records Slated to Finally Open Vinyl Pressing Plant in Detroit

Another giant leap for vinyl, courtesy of Jack White.

Back in November 2015, word went out that Third Man Records would open a vinyl pressing plant in label boss Jack White’s adopted hometown of Detroit. Just over a year later, the label has released a video teasing its imminent opening.

Vinyl Sales Aren't Dead: The 'New' Billion Dollar Music Business

Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg

Vinyl records are projected to sell 40 million units in 2017. This will bring the past seven years’ collective sales to the $1 billion benchmark for the first time this millennium. This impressive milestone has been untouched since the peak of the industry in the 1980s. While explosive by today’s standards, according to Deloitte, in its heyday (‘81), total vinyl album sales topped $1 billion in just that year alone.

The record industry’s hunters and gatherers have been busy collecting. According to Deloitte, new vinyl records and revenue will enjoy a seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2017. But the slice of the pie is still a very small one - with broader music industry revenues projected to be approximately $15 billion this year, vinyl will account for only 6%.

I spoke with Toddrick Spalding, the Director of Music at the trailer production agency Mob Scene – a music expert by trade, and avid record collector in Los Angeles. At 37 years old, Spalding listens to vinyl daily. His “modest” collection is a very highly-curated mix of 2,000 albums, both old and new. Other collectors have over 10,000 albums, completing discographies and aggregating every album from a specific record label, so he feels his is relatively small. Anytime he travels somewhere new, Spalding takes a dedicated day to find the record store and add to his collection.

In Just 7 Years, Vinyl Records Have Gone from ‘Fad’ to ‘Billion Dollar Industry’

 

That’s right: vinyl records are about to become a billion dollar industry.  That’s the latest prediction from Deloitte, who exclusively shared their data with Digital Music News.

Looks like those beard-growing, wine-sipping hipsters were on to something.  That is, a billion dollars worth of something.   According to a game-smashing prediction released this morning, sales of vinyl records are set to become a billion dollar industry.  That is, in 2017 after just seven years.
Specifically, sales of records themselves will reach the $800-900 million-mark, with turntables and other accessories likely throwing things into 9-figures.

+ Still a Fad? Vinyl Records Return to 1991 Sales Levels

After that, who knows how big this can go.  The prediction was outlined in Deloitte’s just-issued ‘TMT Predictions’ report.  “Music industry vinyl is expected to continue its remarkable resurgence, approaching US $1 billion globally in revenues for the first time this millennium,” the report declares.

“New vinyl revenues and units are likely to enjoy a seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2017.”

+ 12 Things That Won’t Happen In 2017 (My Music Industry Anti-Predictions)

Actually, music industry groups like the IFPI have been counting ten straight years of growth.  But hey, let’s not squabble: this is a growth spurt that keeps going, and bringing new users into the mix.

And reshaping an entire music industry in the process.

Buzzov-en 2017 News!

Buzzov-en is launching their own label! More about that will be revealed soon.


Later this month, be on the look out for two, digital, full- length albums, on Rusty Knuckles!

Also over the next few months, Buzzov-en will be going into the studio, to record three new songs, for a 7" on Rusty Knuckles; and a split on Patac Records!

Independent Labels Claimed 35% Market Share In The US Last Year… By Ownership

Last year, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) issued a report suggesting that independent labels claimed a 37.6% market share in 2015.

The WINTEL write-up, co-authored by respected analyst Mark Mulligan, discovered that independent labels generated $5.6 billion in revenue in the year.

Unlike traditional market share metrics, which judge the industry on distribution power, the WIN report instead measured money generated by rights ownership.

Why that’s important: a big chunk of the major labels’ global market share is typically based on the revenue they accrue through their ability to distribute releases from independent label partners.
Much of this revenue, however, is subsequently paid through to the majors’ independent partners.
In the case of UMG, for instance, that includes Big Machine (Taylor Swift), Concord (Iggy Pop, Paul McCartney) and Glassnote (Mumford & Sons, Childish Gambino – pictured).

WIN argues that it’s the rights ownership figure, rather than the distribution figure, which is most important.

YouTube Loses US Music Streaming Dominance As Subscription Plays Jump 124%

People paying for the likes of Spotify and Apple Music played more music streams in the US last year than users of YouTube – in a dramatic market reversal.

That’s according to the latest data from trusted market monitor BuzzAngle – whose stats show that digital video music streams grew by just 7.5% in the year.

By contrast, audio on-demand services saw streams on their platforms grow by a whopping 82.6% – from 137.29bn in 2015 to 250.73bn in 2016.

That was enough to comfortably overtake digital video, which attracted 181.31bn music streams in 2015, up 7.5% on 168.59bn in 2015.

(Obviously, two related players completely dominate this field. So for ‘digital video’ you can largely read ‘YouTube and Vevo’. And before you ask… BuzzAngle’s tally includes both premium content and identified tracks attached to YouTube user-generated-content.)

Husky Burnette Tour Dates!

Husky Burnette  is getting ready to hit the road for Spring 2017! Check them out in your town soon!

Husky Burnette's Spring Fling Detour 2017 

4/13 Gillie's Bar, Kearney NE

4/14 Barleycorn's, Wichita KS

4/15 Lost Highway, Oklahoma City OK

4/20 The Salty Goat, Panama City FL

4/21 The Salty Goat, Panama City FL

4/22 The Salty Goat, Panama City FL

4/23 Tattanooga Tattoo Expo, Chattanooga TN

4/27 Coffee Pot Roadhouse, Roanoke VA

4/28 Melody's, Beckley VA

4/29 McGarvey's, Altoona PA

5/05 PJ's Lager House, Detroit MI

5/06 Moonrunners Festival, Chicago IL

5/12  Crooked Smile Festival, Winchester IN

5/19 Highlands Tap Room, Louisville KY

5/20 Southgate House Revival, Newport KY

5/27 Kings, Conway AR

6/03 Goat Fest IV, Clarksdale MS

6/04 Goat Fest IV Hangover Party @Levon's, Clarksdale MS

6/08 Melody's, Beckley VA

6/09 Scooter's, Lititz Pa

6/10 The Tusk, Philadelphia PA

6/11 Brigantine Blues And Brews Festival, Brigantine NJ

6/14 10th Ave Burrito, Belmar NJ

6/16 Brew and Cue, Chattanooga TN

6/22 Davey's Uptown, Kansas City MO

6/23 Barleycorn's, Wichita KS

ANTiSEEN, "We're Number One" Album Review

Scumfeast Metal 666, recently reviewed ANTiSEEN's latest album, "We're Number One." 

Check out what they had to say below!

"What can You say?  Mighty Joe Young is gone.  It was devastating to the bands, his friends family & fans and most including myself. I could not imagine ANTiSEEN without Joe. At the same time after all these years I certainly could not imagine a world without ANTiSEEN. Joe was as unique as they come in rock n roll. His sound was as important to ANTiSEEN as Jeff Clayton's vocals. The two things that stayed consistent for 30 plus years as a band.  He was loved by the fans and a lot of other people.  RIP Joe. You are still missed. But Ya know. One of the things that makes ANTiSEEN who they are. They don't stop. they don't quit or give up. They continue doing what they do."

Nightmarish Sculptures of H.P. Lovecraft’s Terrifying Cosmic Entities

‘Lovecraft Tormented’ wall sculpture

Like many of you oh-so-cool Dangerous Minds readers I am a collector of a great many THINGS. From records to books and a slew of action figures, my house is a mini-museum full of cool THINGS. I also happen to know that a number of our regular visitors to DM seem to have a thing for anything that associated with the great American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Which leads me to my post for today which features a number of intricate sculptures depicting some of Lovecraft’s eldritch entities such as “Dagon,” a creature that first made its appearance in Lovecraft’s short story of the same name from 1917; everyone’s favorite octopus-headed cosmic being, “Cthulhu”; Pickman’s model, and the nutty Nyarlathotep among others. I’m just aching to bring a few of these critters into my own menagerie of mayhem…

Some of the sculptures in this post are available for purchase. That said they are not cheap—specifically that magnificent wall sculpture “Lovecraft Tormented” (pictured at the top of this post). That puppy will run you a cool $1288. Several toy companies have released sets of Lovecraft’s monstrous nightmares and when they do, they sell out pretty fast, so if you see something in this post that strikes your fancy, get it now before it’s sold out and selling on eBay for bigs bucks. I’ve included some handy links for you to do just that under each available piece below.

Billboard Buys Spin, Vibe And Stereogum

In an effort to “own the topic of music online,” the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group has acquired SpinMedia, whose assets include Spin, Vibe and Stereogum. This means that the company is now the world’s largest online music brand and its sites will see traffic of about 45 million per month as a result. It will now reach 1 out of every 3 millennials, a powerful benefit for advertisers. The Media Group has also partnered with Facebook to create custom content for the recently launched Facebook Live.
While this sounds like a great business move on Billboard’s part, since millennials don’t read Billboard or the Hollywood Reporter (unless they happen to be in the entertainment industry), it’s probably not so good for Spin, Vibe and Stereogum in the long run. Those sites were vibrant when run by the founders (except for Spin, which was acquired by BuzzMedia, which then rebranded as SpinMedia in 2012), but much of that street knowledge and connection is diminished once the corporate suits get involved.
While it’s not impossible for a news website to maintain its audience once it’s acquired, it does start to lose its edge and it’s only a matter of time until something newer and edgier comes along.  That won’t happen overnight though, so if you’re a regular visitor to those sites, you probably won’t see an immediate change. That said, it should be interesting to see how things evolve over time as the suits get more involved.

Owsinski, Bobby. "Billboard Buys Spin, Vibe And Stereogum." Music 3.0 Music Industry Blog. December 25, 2016. Accessed January 04, 2017. http://music3point0.com/2016/12/26/billboard-buys-spin-vibe-stereogum/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2BMusic30%2B%28Music%2B3.0%29.

Husky Burnette...Guitar Lessons!

It's a new year! Time to do something new for you...like play a guitar! Who else better to learn guitar from, than Husky Burnette!

Hard, Harsh & Heavy Shows in North Carolina

This is a list of all heavy shows, and events, across North Carolina. The list spans from Wilmington to Asheville, and includes music ranging from punk to hardcore, metal to metalcore, grind to doom and goth to industrial.

We're hoping to bring more awareness to the scene, and share the events that are taking place across  the  our great state of North Carolina!

Please feel free to share and spread the word!

Jan 05 - Crank It Loud presents: Jesus Piece, Absolute Suffering, Vein / The DHP, Fayetteville

Jan 06 - Blind Path Booking presents: Polarity, To Live As Wolves, Vices & Vessels, Our Savior Remains, See Obsidian / The DHP, Fayetteville

Jan 07 - Primitive Ways presents: Chateau, Necroscythe, Bumfeeder, Basura / Slim’s Downtown, Raleigh

           - Winter Metalfest: Bone Shelter, Widow, Kinghitter, Elusory, Hayvyn / Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh

           - Wretched, Auxilia, SkinKage, Kairos, Gruzer, Black Ritual, Shadows Of Deceit / Amos’ Southend, Charlotte

           - Kiss the Curse, Take Heart, Break the Skyline, Through All This / The Maywood, Raleigh

Jan 09 - Blind Path Booking presents: Second Death, Landfall, Broadmoor, Neglected, TBA / The DHP, Fayetteville

Jan 10 - The Toasters, Whimpy Rutherford & The Cryptics / The Pour House, Raleigh

Jan 13 - Johnny ‘Cutt Promotions presents: Saint Diablo, Fall River Massacre, Attracting the Fall, TBA / The DHP, Fayetteville
           - Alter Blood, Baasthyrian, Rotten Obscene, KRVSADE / The Milstone, Charlotte

Jan 14 - Suppressive Fire (CD release show), Deathcrown, Dreaded, Noctomb / The Maywood, Raleigh
           - Johnny ‘Cutt Promotions presents: Kiss the Curse, Sixlight, Five Mile Radius / The DHP, Fayetteville

            - 5&10 Entertainment presents: Saint Diablo, TBA / The Wizard Saloon, Hickory

Jan 15 -Koffin Kats, Motorbilly / The Maywood, Raleigh

Jan 16 - Blind Path Booking presents: NIHIL, Shrine, Bloodforce, TBA / The DHP, Fayetteville

Jan 18 - Blind Path Booking presents: Earth Groans, Blight On Society, TBA / The DHP, Fayetteville

Jan 20 - Knightmare, Children of the Reptile, Avalon Steel / The Maywood, Raleigh

           - Johnny ‘Cutt Promotions presents ‘The Deformity Constellation’ tour: Cognitive, Artificial Brain, Death Of Uriah, TBA / The DHP, Fayetteville

           -Suppressive Fire, Nemesis, Dire Hatred, Greevace / The Station, Charlotte

Jan 21 - Jackyl (their last show at Amos), TBA / Amos Southend, Charlotte

           - The Fill Ins, The Body Bags, The Big Fandamily Band, Old Scratch / The Milstone, Charlotte

Jan 25 - Blind Path Booking presents: Regions, Lowpoints, Desolute, From Wrath To Ruins, Neglected / The DHP, Fayetteville

Jan 27 - Primitive Ways presents: Demon Eye, Toke, Bedowyn / Slims Downtown, Raleigh

            - Cat’s Cradle presents: Cold Cave, Drab Majasty / Motorco, Durham

            - Jucifer, Violent Life Violent Death, AuxilliA, Born Hollow / The Milstone, Charlotte

Jan 28 - Snake & The Plisskens, No Anger Control, Poison Anthem, Karbuncle / Kings Barcade, Raleigh

           - Primitive Ways presents: Rites To Sedition, Shrine, Valle Crucis, Arghast / Maywood, Raleigh

           - Solar Halos, S.E. Ward, GOWN / Local 506, Chapel Hill / Carrboro

           - Johnny ‘Cutt Promotions presents: Seasons After, Nowhere’s Home, Chaos By Candlelight, Solace Betrayal / The DHP, Fayetteville

Jan 29 - Deathcrown, Nemesis, KAVSADE, Violent Gods / The Milestone, Charlotte

Jan 30 - Regan Youth, Pleasures of the Ultraviolet, Dirty South Revolutionaries, No Anger Control / The Milestone, Charlotte

These Photographers Captured Blondie, Joan Jett, and the Women of Punk

Brad Elterman, Joan Jett, Milk Gallery, 1978

With the coolly delivered words “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine,” Patti Smith burst onto the music scene, shattering any pretense that she was just another “girl in a band.” This declaration, the opening line to her 1975 debut album, Horses, epitomized the subversive power that came to define punk rock. Though the tough punk-rocker stereotype may bring to mind male artists like Johnny Rotten and Joey Ramone, women like Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, and Siouxsie Sioux stood at the helm of the movement, holding their own against their male counterparts. Aside from the musicians, female fans also found that punk’s freedom of expression extended beyond the stage, providing them with a platform to let their own voices be heard.

But more than just a sound, punk rock had a look. In the punk scene of the 1970s and ’80s, both onstage and off, style was just as important as which bands you went to see. Attitude was the greatest accessory. Amid the sea of leather jackets and tight pants, the punk aesthetic was captured by daring photographers along for the ride. Here are a few who saw it all.

LG Levitating Speaker Makes Your Music Fly

You've heard of soaring music, but this is ridiculous. LG has created a speaker that actually flies.
Sort of, anyway. The LG Levitating Wireless Speaker, also known as the PJ9, hovers above its catchily-named Levitation Station base to play music with no wires, as if by magic.

The hovering speaker connects to two devices at a time over Bluetooth and kicks out 360-degree sound. When the battery runs low -- after 10 hours, according to LG -- the flying speaker sinks gently back into the dock. It's no floating Death Star speaker, but then what is?

The Levitating Speaker will be shown off for the first time at CES, the annual gadget extravaganza taking place in Las Vegas in the new year.