Gorillaz Don't Just Ask Fans To Remix, But Offer Them A Full Specialized Synth App Too

from the a-step-up dept

Tons of artists now release stems of their music for fans to remix. It's pretty common to see "remix" contests as well. Still, it's pretty interesting to see how some bands are taking it even further. Eliot Van Buskirk alerts us to the news that Damon Albarn's "virtual band" project, The Gorillaz, have teamed up with Korg to offer a special KORG iElectribe Gorillaz Edition for the iPad. The regular iElectribe is just an iPad synthesizer, which people seem to like. But the Gorillaz edition has a different (more fun, more Gorillaz-style) user interface design (making it look like it's been around the block and run over by a truck or two along the way), along with a ton of presets using music from The Gorillaz' latest album. So, instead of just giving people stems and telling them to remix, this is almost like an album bundled with its own synth tool in one package. I expect we'll start seeing things a lot more advanced than this. Why release just a plain old album when you can start to enable your fans to do much more with your music?

Filed Under: gorillaz, ipad, music, remix, synth

Eddy Grant Accuses Gorillaz Of Copying After Gorillaz Manager Threatens People For Copying...

from the where-to-start dept

So, the music press has been busy talking about the accusations from Eddy Grant that the band Gorillaz copied his old tune with one of their recent hits. You can compare the two songs here. There appear to be some similarities, but they're pretty different songs: The timing on this is a bit interesting. Gorillaz is a band from Damon Albarn, and just a couple months ago, the manager of Albarn's musical acts (Blur, Gorillaz) was screaming about how he wanted to give "pirates" who leaked the Gorillaz album a "good kicking." Perhaps he ought to stay away from Eddy Grant for a bit.

Of course, it's a bit silly for Grant to be upset too. He wrote a song that was popular years ago, and now he wants free cash because some other band made a song that has some vague similarities?

Filed Under: copying, eddy grant, gorillaz, music

Still Some In The Music Business Who Believe The Impossible: Blur Manager Says 'Piracy' Can Be Stopped

from the good-luck dept

I had just been thinking that one of the nicer things about the Midem conference this year was that no one really seemed to still be complaining about "piracy" as a problem, and really seemed focused on more positive opportunities for going forward (more on that later). However, not everyone got the message, apparently. In a discussion on the "manager's role" in developing an artist in the digital era, Chris Morrison -- who manages Blur and the Gorillaz, among others -- waited until the end to start trashing "pirates." What was odd was that earlier in the panel he was talking about how much attention and free publicity the Gorillaz got when their latest single showed up on file sharing sites last week. He even seemed proud of all that free publicity, but then later in the panel, he declared that if he could find out who had put the file up first, he'd bring him into his office and have all of his colleagues "give him a good kicking." Then he went on the typical anti-unauthorized file sharing rant, saying, "I believe that piracy can be stopped and should be stopped."

Back on the first day of the event, legendary producer/musician Pharrell Williams had noted that file sharing is "like taste testing," in explaining that he wasn't worrying about it, noting that if people liked the "taste" they could then find something worth buying. But Morrison was having none of it: "It's not a taste. It's like giving them the whole bloody meal!" That's an interesting viewpoint for a manager to have, and one that makes me wonder. I can see how a record label -- who tends to really only own the recording -- could see things that way, but as a manager, he must realize that there's a lot more to sell out there than just the music itself. So, no, it's not the whole meal (bloody or not), but a taste of what the band itself has to offer. And many of the things bands have to offer are not easily copied and shared -- and any manager who wants to cope with today's digital market needs to understand that.

Filed Under: blur, chris morrison, file sharing, gorillaz, piracy, promotion