Chicago's First Annual Ruido Fest Music Schedule
Chicago adds yet another new outdoor music fest to their list this summer with the first annual Ruido Fest, held in Adams Park, just north of the Pilsen neighborhood on July 10-12, 2015. Collaborated with some of the most experienced event organizers in the country, the principals behind Ruido Fest are with strong ties to the Chicago Latino music industry and to local area communities. Pilsen being historically known for it's strong Mexican and Latino identity, there's really no better place to hold such an event.
Created for the Latino alternative music audience, the three-day outdoor music fest, which is the first of its kind in the country, is slated to bring some of the best in Latin Alternative music and culture, with headliners Café Tacvba, Zoe, Molotov, Nortec Collective and Enjambre. These are amongst more than forty acts scheduled to appear.
Just this week, the fest's official lineup was released creating quite a buzz. Find tickets here, and check out the lineup below.
Apple Won't Pay Royalties During Apple Music Trial Periods
It's been a few days since Apple officially entered the streaming service game with their announcement of Apple Music. Personally, I felt the announcement (and the service) was underwhelming - why would you want to pay for a service for the same selections of songs you can currently get for free on Spotify? Hell, I don't even really stream music that often, only opting to do so when my RAM acts up and essentially makes iTunes worthless. Nevertheless, Apple is doing what they can to not only pull ahead of Spotify, but to also ensure the value of their service doesn't go undetected by the common listener.
But what about the artists? In leaked contract documents, it's revealed that Apple is only paying independent musicians 58% of their revenue streams, which is a considerably lower rate than Spotify's purported rate of 70% across the board. However, this percentage has been put into question. More damning than the revenue rate is a pseudo-dark period in which Apple will not pay artists any royalties during free periods.
Since Apple is offering a free three-month trial period when Apple Music officially launches on June 30th, any albums released between June 30 and September 30 will not generate any revenue for artists through Apple Music. This basically handicaps many artists and their release plans - do they delay their albums to maximize their profits across the board, or do they hope their popularity on Apple Music will translate into revenue from other avenues?
You can read the leaked contract documents below.
[via Digital Music News]
North Coast Festival 2015 Lineup Updated
Summer is finally here, and although most Chicagoans don't want to talk about the end of Summer just yet, the 6th Annual North Coast Music Festival has much to be excited for. The fest will once again be held at Chicago’s Union Park over Labor Day Weekend, September 4-6, featuring an eclectic lineup.
Following up last month's initial lineup reveal featuring Widespread Panic, The Chemical Brothers, D'Angelo and the Vanguard, and The Roots is the announcement of a new wave of artists to round out the North Coast Music Festival. French producer Wax Tailor, New York producer Sweater Beats, and instrumental hip hop producer Little People are joining the lineup, with local Chicago favorites Porn and Chicken, SaveMoney's Leather Corduroys, and two-time Grammy-nominated producer Stefan Ponce round out the new list of recently-added artists.
Also returning this year is the festival's popular Silent Disco and "Living Gallery," presented by the Elder Tree graffiti area.
You don't want to miss out, so get your tickets here. Our team will definitely be there covering all that's great.
Apple Debuts New Streaming Service, Apple Music
It was just a year ago when we were all surprised and excited by Apple's purchase of Beats by Dre. As I speculated back then, the purchase wasn't exclusively for Beats by Dre's hardware, but the software within their streaming service, Beats Music. After a year of wondering, the curtain has finally been pulled back at this year's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco.
Simply known as Apple Music, Apple's streaming service is scheduled for a June 30th release on Apple devices in more than 100 countries with an Android release scheduled sometime in the fall. Price plans for the service come in $9.99/month and $14.99/month for six-person family plan. A three-month subscription is also offered for free for new subscribers. While Apple Music boasts more than 30 million songs on the service, much of this library can be found on Spotify on other services.
Apple is banking on exclusive releases (similar to Tidal's offerings) to justify the price tag. Other features Apple Music has over Spotify is full functionality with Siri, "Connect," a social network aspect of the service that allows artists to directly release songs and interact with fans, and Beats 1, a 24/7 radio station broadcast from London, New York, and Los Angeles that will be curated by various artists.
It'll be hard to justify a subscription price when Spotify has a free version. Or, you know, we can go back to the days of actually playing music from our iTunes libraries. Nevertheless, shots have been fired as Apple does everything in their power to monopolize every nook and cranny of the entertainment industry. Are you on board with Apple Music, or will your blood forever bleed Spotify green?
Akon's Solar Academy Could Bring Electricity to 600 Million People in Africa
Akon is taking some time off from "Smack(ing) That" to revolutionize the way in which Africans live. Last year, the singer/rapper launched the charity "Akon Lighting Africa" to bring solar-powered electricity to 11 countries throughout Africa. That feat alone is enough to marvel at, but the musician has his sights on a larger goal: bringing electricity to 600 million people in Africa.
To accomplish this, Akon has opened a Solar Academy in Bamako, Mali to train and educate engineers on how to utilize solar energy. Akon Lighting Africa co-founder Samba Baithily told Reuters, "We have the sun and innovative technologies to bring electricity to homes and communities. We now need to consolidate African expertise."
In a video released last month (which you can watch below), some of the benefits of solar lights in the aforementioned 11 countries were demonstrated, including providing lighting at night-time which curbs violence, allows merchants to extend their hours, gives children more time to study, and much, much more.
[youtube id="52nsrARA42g"]
[via The Independent]
Electric Beach is Coming to Chicago
The Electric Beach series has featured some of the top DJs and EDM artists in the past and is now ready to make its Chicago debut this Sunday, June 7th, at Roof on the Wit. Whiiite, a buzzy DJ from Los Angeles, will be headlining the party with support from DJ duo Love Taps. You can find more information about the party here. Take a listen to both Whiiite and Love Taps below, and say hello if you see us this Sunday!
Love Taps
Tom DeLonge and blink-182 Reaching Amicable Break-up
It's sad to see one of your childhood favorite bands publicly feud, yet that's what blink-182 fans have been dealing with since (former?) guitarist Tom DeLonge took an "indefinite hiatus" from the band this past January. Since then, DeLonge and the remaining blink-182 members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker have released contradictory statements defining DeLonge's role/membership within the band, with Hoppus and Barker explaining a letter sent to them by DeLonge's lawyer and manager while DeLonge himself stated he never "officially" left the band and was blindsided by the statements released.
Nevertheless, Hoppus and Barker recruited Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba to take over singing/guitar duties for their Musink Festival this past March. The reception was very positive, leading to speculation that Skiba would join the band permanently. In fact, he's expressed mutual interest in replacing DeLonge, telling Alternative Press:
I think that’s a great idea and it’s something we have discussed. It’s something I would be very excited to do and I’ve known the Blink guys for about 15 years, and we’ve become good friends. Playing songs I haven’t written with Mark and Travis is a blast, so to go in and create music with them would be amazing.
It appears the band is moving towards that possibility with news that DeLonge, Hoppus, and Barker are reaching an amicable decision about the band's future. Despite DeLonge's aforementioned "hiatus," he hasn't yet officially left the band, leaving Hoppus and Barker stuck in limbo in regards to recording and touring - pretty much any movement or growth for blink. Hoppus recently told Das Process that they "are right now going through what so far has been a friendly divorce with our former guitarist. Hopefully things clear up and it doesn’t get all manager-y and lawyer-y and all that and we can move forward.”
blink-182 as we know it is dead, but it sounds like their future is close to being theirs to determine once more.
[via Yahoo! Music]
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment: "Surf"
After numerous teases and releases, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's Surf has finally been released. We'll have a more comprehensive review of the album next week. For now, enjoy Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's debut release, Surf! You can also download the album (for free) on iTunes here.
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