DIY 360 Archive:

DIY 360 Friday, September 3rd

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Funkytown: The Twin Cities Music Scene

Past & Present this week at KIY 360 with Adam Levy

11:30am in Robinson Hall

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Review of DIY 360 interview with Michael Simon.

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

8/20 – IPR’s DIY 360 was honored to welcome Michael Simon, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs from Harry Fox Agency, on Friday afternoon. Michael opened up the session explaining the nuts and bolts of his position at Harry Fox, segueing into his thoughts on the current music industry. Students were privy to the happenings of Youtube, NSAI, and Michael’s musings on the Copyright Act and music licensing. Even after offering so much information, Michael claimed that he had only scratched the surface of the publishing industry at the end of DIY hour.

Michael Simon

Senior Vice President Business Affairs,

General Counsel and Chief Strategic Officer

Harry Fox Agency

Michael S. Simon is the Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, General Counsel and Chief Strategic Officer for the Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA). In this role, Simon oversees HFA’s business affairs, strategic development, legal, and communications activities. He reports to President and CEO Gary Churgin. Since joining HFA in late 2001, Simon has focused his efforts on creating new opportunities for the company and the over 46,000 publishers it represents while also improving HFA’s traditional mechanical licensing business. Initially, his role included oversight of the Licensing Department where he instituted new business processes to better manage the intake, processing and execution of the over 200,000 physical product license requests received and over 1.5 million digital licenses issued by HFA per year. He also supervised the development and implementation of new online licensing tools, including eMechanical®, the current version of Songfile®, and physical and digital product bulk licensing. These Licensing improvements support the new opportunities created by the Business Development team including groundbreaking licensing arrangements for online music services, ringtones, Express Live recordings, lyrics, guitar tablature, background music, digital jukeboxes, and other new media opportunities.

Simon assumed General Counsel responsibilities in 2006. In this area, he integrated the business and legal affairs disciplines to streamline the delivery of new licensing opportunities and strengthened HFA’s in-house transactional capabilities. In tandem with the Finance department, he increased the efficiency of the company’s royalty compliance examination practices, handling more in-house, reducing costs and speeding exam closure. He and his team also manage real property transactions, provide labor-related HR support, protect firm intellectual property, and manage litigation. He works closely with HFA’s parent organization, the NMPA, on mutual legal and legislative issues.

In 2009, as HFA developed a full suite of licensing and royalty Administration Services, Simon increased his focus on the company’s expansion beyond its traditional mechanical licensing business by leveraging the systems, processes and relationships that HFA has established in its over 80 years of operation. HFA now can provide customized, outsourced solutions for any company in the music distribution chain. This effort began with creating quarterly publisher airplay rankings with Nielsen for Billboard and licensing the online listening service for GRAMMY award voters, and now encompasses royalty administration for Napster and other activities for major music industry clients.

In addition, he developed HFA’s Communications discipline to improve the company’s internal and external communications. This has included proactive media outreach, website upgrades, and the publication of a regular newsletter, HFA Soundcheck. These efforts have increased the understanding of HFA’s business, improved the adoption of its new online tools, and created more transparent relationships between HFA and its affiliated publishers, licensees, and employees.

Before joining HFA, Simon was the Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for Razorfish, Inc. where he guided the company’s impressive growth from a small private company of 18 people to a public company of over 2,000 employees in five years. He oversaw the acquisition of 18 companies with an aggregate acquisition value of nearly one billion dollars. Prior to Razorfish, he founded Simon Ventures, an artist management and consulting company, whose roster included such major label acts as the Honeydogs and the Gigolo Aunts. Before that, Simon was Senior Director of Legal Affairs at Polygram Records. He also served as an associate in the entertainment and intellectual property law practice of Levine Thall Plotkin & Menin and the corporate, litigation and entertainment practice of Rubin Baum Levin Constant & Friedman.

Simon received his Juris Doctor from the Columbia University School of Law, and he graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College. He lives with his wife and three children in New York City

http:/www.harryfox.com/index.jsp

Local Pop Rock hero that wrote the new Twins song, GB Leighton, joins DIY 360 next week.

http://www.myspace.com/gbleighton

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19662&id=141427165889853&saved#!/pages/IPRs-DIY-360-with-Adam-Levy/141427165889853

DIY 360 Michael Simon 018.JPG

Michael Simon

Senior Vice President Business Affairs,

General Counsel and Chief Strategic Officer

Harry Fox Agency

Simon received his Juris Doctor from the Columbia University School of Law, and he graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College. He lives with his wife and three children in New York City

http:/www.harryfox.com/index.jsp

Local Pop Rock hero that wrote the new Twins song, GB Leighton, joins DIY 360 next week.

http://www.myspace.com/gbleighton

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Peter Wolf Crier

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

http://www.facebook.com/pages/IPRs-DIY-360-with-Adam-Levy/141427165889853

8/13 – IPR’s DIY 360 with Adam Levy was fortunate enough to welcome Indie rockers Peter Wolf Crier on Friday. Performing with only a guitar and drums, Peter Pisano and Brian Moen, more than make up for not having a full band, and as Adam puts it, “That’s a lot of racket for two guys.” The Minneapolis duo’s passion for music escapes in songs like “Hard as Nails,” and Peter and Brian finish off the set after answering questions with “Down Down Down.”

About Peter Wolf Crier and the debut album Inter-Be

Inter-Be is the debut album by Peter Wolf Crier, the Minneapolis-based duo of Peter Pisano and Brian Moen. The album was born on a single summer night when Pisano felt a torrent of creativity after what had felt, to him, like an interminably long dry spell. He shared the songs with Moen, and over the months that followed, at Moen’s home, these rough-hewed tunes became what they are now: a confident collection of songs, but deceptive in that their very guts still reflect the thoughts of a man in transition.

Pisano’s is not a new songwriting voice. He is best known for being part of the Wars of 1812, an ascendant Wisconsin-bred quartet. Their first album together, Status Quo Ante Bellum, was more than just an album. It was relocation and aspiration and Pisano’s lyrical Eden. As the Wars went on hiatus, Pisano continued to hone his craft, keeping his days full as a teacher at a small private school while fine-tuning, at night, the songs that would soon become Inter-Be. Feeling confident in the songs, Pisano approached Moen, a seasoned drummer and engineer best known for his involvement in Laarks and Amateur Love. After being asked to add some percussive elements, Moen added his thundering drum rolls and perfectly timed fills, but he also added something much more: a melodic soundscape that would complete the evolution of the songs. So was born the partnership that is called Peter Wolf Crier

Peter Wolf Crier will be on tour with Midlake and Rogue Wave starting September 18.

Next week, DIY 360 will be joined by Michael Simon, Vice President of Business Affairs for Harry Fox Agency, the largest agency collecting and distributing mechanical license fees on behalf of music publishers in the United States.

http://www.harryfox.com/index.jsp

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DIY with Adam Levy kicks off this Friday at 11:30am in Robinson Hall!

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Please join Adam Levy in Robinson Hall Fridays at 11:30 for DIY360, weekly performances from and conversations with musicians, label owners, critics, radio and club owners, producers, and lawyers about their careers, creating music, making a living, and the state of media arts in the 21^st Century. Guests this quarter range from internationally renowned avant garde electronica composers Tim Hecker and Ben Frost to 2 time Grammy winning rockabilly-jazz guitar legend Brian Setzer!!!!!!!

Bring your lunch and don’t miss this great opportunity to meet and hear great emerging artists and famous and accomplished stars.

THIS FRIDAY 8/6 we begin the series with a notable up-and-coming Americana songwriter, Ryan Traster. Here’s what Acclimate Music wrote about Ryan and his debut:

“Ryan Traster is a Minneapolis-bred singer/songwriter currently residing in Brooklyn, New York. His music weaves a rich narrative of place as a temporary construct as he explores the wide-open spaces of the Midwest, the suffocating streets of New York, and the streets, tracks, and flight paths that lie between them. Guided by his smooth tenor, strong sense of melody, and timeless arrangements, Ryan’s songs trace a lineage from the AM dial of the ‘70s to the iPod playlists of today.
Taking a classic approach to the process of making an album, Ryan was joined at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis by longtime friend Michael McGarthwaite on electric guitars, pedal steel, and banjo; Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks) on bass; Peter Anderson (The Honeydogs, Polara, Golden Smog) on drums and percussion; With producer Ed Ackerson at the helm, The Tourists EP finds Ryan in his element in the Americana genre, and serves as a document of reflection on his time in both his native and adoptive cities.”
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/ryantraster#ixzz0vg7OuG5s

We’ll see you Fridays in Robinson.

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This Friday DIY 360 will feature DIY’s very own Adam Levy!

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

IPR Students, Staff and Faculty,

Brian Setzer was supposed to join DIY360 this Friday but he has told me he needs to go in for some minor surgery. He feels bad and really wants to join us to talk with IPR students in the near future. Adam is not certain of the date yet but is hoping for a date next quarter.

Fellow student and Student Advisory Board member, Isaac Halvorson will interview ADAM for DIY360 this week. He will play a few tunes solo acoustic and discuss his musical journey with The Honeydogs and the 5 or so bands and projects he’s spearheading, songwriting, recording, and touring with Aimee Mann, Jon Bon Jovi, INXS, among other bands.

Saturday 5/8 The Honeydogs will be celebrating the release of a best of collection, a 14 year retrospective of the band, “Chasing the Sun: The Best of The Honeydogs”. Adam will give away free downloads of the 35 song collection as well as comp tickets for the 18+ show at First Ave to the first 15 students to sign up at DIY360.

Here’s a way to hear the collection streaming NOW!!!!

http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2010/05/the_honeydogs_s.php

Here’s the DIY360 schedule for the remainder of the Spring series:

5/14 Allison Scott—Kevin Bowe’s rock & soul muse, the uber-talented singer-songwriter Allison Scott will join us to discuss songwriting, building a career, the finer points of singing, and juggling life and music.

5/21 5 By Design—Fans of jazz won’t want to miss this interview with an internationally known jazz vocal ensemble sharing their observations about touring, managing, and producing stellar music.

5/28 Panel Discussion with Industry Professionals TBD

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Al Kooper at DIY 360 this Friday!

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Don’t miss Al Kooper at DIY 360 this Friday!

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Dan Wilson at DIY 360 this Friday!

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Dan Wilson at DIY 360 this Friday!

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Adam Levy’s DIY 360 is featuring some industry heavy weights this month and you don’t want to miss out!

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Adam Levy’s DIY 360 is featuring some major industry heavy weights this month and you don’t want to miss out!

This week 4/16: Panel of Students Who Were at SXSW—should be an interesting presentation and Q & A about student experiences and knowledge obtained at the most important music conference in the world of independent and commercial music!!!!!!!!!!!

4/23 Dan Wilson—multi-platinum Grammy winning songwriter Dan Wilson will discuss songwriting, co-writing with stars, winning 2 Grammy’s, production, and touring the world as a rock musician.

4/30 Al Kooper—Not Alice Cooper, Al Kooper. He was the consummate 60’s and 70’s sideman with Bob Dylan, The Stones, Hendrix, the Who, George Harrison, produced Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first two records (FREEBIRD!!!!!!!!!). He’s a great songwriter too. Listen to tales from the golden years of Rock-and-Roll. I will be joining Al as his band director , along with a great bunch of guests doing his songs, for a show at the Dakota 5/2.

These are going to be valuable experiences for students. Please spread the word!

In unrelated news: ROCK ENSEMBLE class has some openings. Contact me, Steve Hodge or Mary Jane Alm for an audition now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adam Levy