Hard News by Russell Brown

I would just like to say that my promise to bring the Great Blend to Christchurch some time ago weighs heavily on me.

As you may recall, we had to scratch the original plan after the Feb 22 earthquake, and a couple of proposals haven't been able to proceed since then. I have not forgotten you, people of Christchurch.

The talking part of the evening will be a racy debate

This wasn't how it was pitched :-)

WOOHOO, about time!
RSVP sent. :-)

The talking part of the evening will be a racy debate

This wasn’t how it was pitched :-)

Did I say "racy"? I meant "constitutional".

I have not forgotten you, people of Christchurch.

It probably is about time we got together though. Anyone else interested?

OooOOH this is most exciting. However I am disappointed there won't be bowls like last time. Unless I bring my own set...

I have not forgotten you, people of Christchurch.

Well, good, because we’re being so damn resilient down here! ;-)

And yes, Stephen, count me in.

A very welcome return of a venerable tradition.

It probably is about time we got together though. Anyone else interested?

Yes, very. I have been making these vague noises this very day.

...a racy debate on the moot
“Things were better in the old days,”

Getting Winston Peters must've been a coup!
Oh, he's not on...
...oh well
;- )

See you there.

“Things were better in the old days,”

If it were Winnie turning up it would be:"“Things were bitter in the old days,”

...a racy debate on the moot
“Things were better in the old days,”

Getting Winston Peters must've been a coup!

Guffaw!

Late to this but So Much Yes to Chch drinks.

I'm in. Are you organising, Stephen?

Perhaps we could have a chat about putting together our own Great Blend style event instead of sitting on our arses waiting for Russell.

BTW, if there's Great Blend in Christchurch, I will go to it.

Are you organising, Stephen?

Hands full this week. If no one else has stepped up by next week, it'll be on my to do list.

Hi all. Just needed somewhere to put a description of my "Music and the Internet" panel tomorrow, 11.30am in the main room at NetHui.:

'The Song Remains the Same? What's really going on with music and the internet'

However often it's pilloried, here's the thing about the music industry: it's probably further through the prodigious change brought by the internet than any other established media sector.

While some revenue streams have withered, others have grown, and artists and music and publishing companies are learning to harness the power of the network and deal with some of the disruption it creates.

This session, chaired by Russell Brown, will be less discursive than most NetHui forums, and more of an info-dump from the panel to the audience. The panel is:

Samuel Flynn Scott, The Phoenix Foundation:

As Sam put it to Kim Hill, "this band sustains itself" -- and that doesn't happen by accident. Sam will talk about how the band uses social media, giveaways as marketing, cultivating a fan base and how record labels and Bandcamp can live together.

Adam Holt, CEO, Universal Music NZ:

Part of a generation of local major-label managers who were themselves in bands or from student radio, Adam has this year seen Universal NZ signing 16 year-old Lorde become the year's biggest entry to US radio and the toast of the hype sites. She has two New Zealand number one singles -- after giving away a remarkable 60,000 copies of her debut EP via Soundcloud. He'll talk about that project, about the nature of modern record deals and about embracing some of the grey areas of the internet.

Chris Hocquard, Dominion Law/Amplifier/DRM/TheAudience:

Chris founded New Zealand's first online music retail, mp3.net.nz (now Amplifier) in 1999 went on the found the leading New Zealand aggregator for digital music services, DRM. For the past year, he's been behind TheAudience, the NZ On Air-funded music discovery website, which aims to recognise the way that music discovery has moved from radio towards the internet. He's also one of the country's leading entertainment lawyers. Let's just say he knows where the money goes.

Just needed somewhere to put a description of my “Music and the Internet” panel tomorrow, 11.30am in the main room at NetHui.

I watched it streaming online - and I listened too, once the audio feed kicked in! It was a good discussion. The one point that really stuck out for me, being relevant to my interests, was that NZ On Air no longer looks to television play as a measure of success for music videos. Now it's all about online plays, and that makes complete sense. The question now is - as iTunes thumbnails have changed album cover design, has YouTube changed the look of music videos?

Well, good, because we’re being so damn resilient down here! ;-)

Count me in. Again. ;-)

ETA: I mean for the next #OGB #ChCh. Won't make it in the next few weeks, unfortunately.

Give us a date & a time & this slug will endeavour to ooze over the hill to Otautahi…