What's Out Next

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August 30, 2006

Missing Luther Vandross!

Back on July 1st last year the world lost what J Records Chairman Clive Davis described as "the best male R&B Singer in the world! In the world of contemporary music", there are just a handful of superstars whose first name alone brings instant recognition. Check Aretha, Whitney, Mariah, Diana and Dionne. But when it comes to male vocalists, the list is far shorter. One name towers above the rest in any discussion on black male singers whose impact and influence has been unparalleled. Say the name 'Luther' and record buyers the world over respond immediately. The fact is, Luther Vandross will remain even after his recent passing, the pre-eminent black male vocalist of our time. The five-time Grammy winner, whose cumulative global sales top over 25 million copies continues to set a standard that few can match.

Luther Vandross was one great artist with two personalities. There was the "fat Luther" and the "thin Luther." Throughout his 30 year career his weight moved up and down from 320 pounds to 190 pounds and back again! The Vandross family had been plagued by health problems. In addition to Luther losing his father at an early age, Luther's three other siblings died before he did.

His final album, Dance With My Father, in 2003, was his first to debut at Number One and earned four grammies. According to Smokey Robinson "there are vocalists and there's Luther!"

How did we know that when Luther released "Dance With My Father," it would not be his "next chapter," it would be his "last chapter." We miss you man!

Earlier today I saw the last picture taken of Luther Vandross at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey. Out of heartfelt consideration to his family and because of our respect for him as an artist we decided to not post it on the site. Instead, we decided to leave you with two of my favorite Luther tracks... Stop To Love and the See Me!

Some people make music and it changes people. Luther wrote, produced and sang music that forever changed the music business. The music buyers, the executives and other star talent. God bless you Luther, you are one smooth dude! We won't ever forget you!

Stop to Love and See Me are both from the 1986 release of Give Me a Reason!

Posted by mitchsantell at 11:16 PM

August 27, 2006

Today Feels Like 1977!

Do you remember what it felt like to be twenty years old? Well, in 1977 I was twenty years old and I remember the passion I felt for the music business. My Dad had closed his music store after 20+ successful years and my partner Bruce Singer and I had just met and launched LA Music Publishing (ASCAP).

Today, felt like 1977..... with stopwatch and microphone in hand, stepping into the studio with a radio legend: Lawrence Tanter. You can't imagine the feeling of excitement that someone I listened to back in 1977 was on the other side of the glass, not just reading copy .... performing copy, laughing and thinking about what it was like back in 1977. Back in those days .... Lawrence Tanter was on KJLH and then on KUTE with "The Quiet Storm."

In those days, no one knew where the best hits would come from and there was always something new. Man, Lawrence, you rock bro! Wait until you hear the magic of traditional broadcast on podcast .... we are less than a month a way and while I'd like to give you some more insider details. .... I'll be sharing and showing you What's Out Next! Why? Because Love Will Find A Way!

Posted by mitchsantell at 06:43 PM

August 22, 2006

Chic & Good Times!

(Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers and David Bowie in 1979)

What inspires us most at What's Out Next are those who came before us who made a real impact on the music business. The best bass player I ever heard was Bernard Edwards. There is no one finer. When you go back and listen to the magic that Nile, Bernard and Thompson made, it was pure magic. The sad thing is the passing of two of the three founding members. Now onto our history lesson!

Chic is an American band that was formed in 1975/76 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. They are best remembered for their disco songs, including "Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (1977), "Everybody Dance" (1977), "Le Freak" (1978), "I Want Your Love" (1978), "Good Times" (1979), and "My Forbidden Lover" (1979).

Bernard and Nile had former 'Labelle' and 'Ecstacy, Passion & Pain' drummer Tony Thompson join the band. And they performed as a trio doing covers at various gigs for awhile. But they needed a singer to front the band.

And that singer was Norma Jean Wright, who sang lead on their demotape and on all the songs on their first, selftitled, album (1977). Right after the sessions ended for their debut album Chic began to work on Norma Jean's selftitled debut solo album released in 1978. This album contained club hit 'Saturday.' To facilitate a separate but parallel (to Chic's) solo career for their lead singer Chic had agreed to sign her to a separate contract and label from the band. Unfortunately the legalities of this contract eventually forced Norma Jean to leave the band in mid (1978). But not before taking part in the sessions for Chic produced Sister Sledge album We Are Family.

But before that, the immediate success of their debut album and the hits "Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (1977) & "Everybody Dance" (1977), sent Chic out on the road. They performed as a quartet (Nile, Bernard, Tony & Norma Jean) up until February of (1978) but Nile & (Ber)Nard thought that their live performances would improve both in sound and visuals if they added another girl to front the band. Norma Jean suggested her friend Luci Martin and she became a member in late winter/early spring of 1978.

At the same time, Edwards and Rodgers composed, arranged, performed, and produced many influential disco and R&B records for both established artists and one-hit wonders, including Sister Sledge, Sheila and B. Devotion, Diana Ross, and Debbie Harry. Chic also helped introduce the world to a up-and-coming young vocalist named Luther Vandross, who sang on one of Chic's albums.

In the 1980s, the band struggled to obtain airplay and sales and eventually disbanded. Rodgers and Edwards separately produced records for a wide variety of artists. Rodgers was largely responsible for the breakthrough success of Madonna in 1985 with her Like a Virgin album. In the early 1990s, Rodgers and Edwards regrouped and worked on new material (Single Chic Mystique and subsequent album Chic-ism, both of which charted). Edwards died in 1996 in Japan, but Chic continued to tour with new musicians. Thompson passed away in 2003.

In addition to defining the disco sound, Chic helped to inspire other artists to forge their own sound. For example, The Sugarhill Gang used "Good Times" as the basis for their hit Rapper's Delight, which helped launch the Rap/Hip-hop music format as we know today. And the group Queen got the inspiration for their hit single "Another One Bites The Dust" from Chic's familiar bass guitar riffs.

It's all about Good Times!

Risque by Chic was the first track on their third album, Good Times released January 1, 1979.

Posted by mitchsantell at 09:23 PM

August 18, 2006

Dreaming Of Labels!

The music business is now reinventing itself! True or true? It all seems so simple in the past. Something about holding the LP in your hand. Not to dispair because recently I was in a small independent record store and I noticed that not only did this store have thousands of good old LP's, they also had new releases by established artists on LP.

The Long Playing Record reminds me so much of hearing something special. There is a sound and a feel to it. There is something about the fact that you can say you wore it out and had to buy a new one.

The 33rpm Vinyl Long Player, or LP as we know it today, began its life in 1948 as a replacement for the more fragile 78rpm shellac discs. The main benefits of the vinyl LP were improved durability and the capacity to record up to 30 minutes of music on each side. However, it wasn't until the mid-1950's, and the birth of Rock N Roll, that sales of vinyl LP's began to escalate.

Pressings from the UK have always been highly regarded amongst collectors. This is especially true of LP's manufactured during the 60's and early 70's. The superior quality of the heavyweight vinyl, along with the technical skills of the cutting engineer, meant that sound reproduction was always of the highest standard. Genuine UK deep-grooved first pressings, direct from the master tapes, can now achieve huge prices and are much in demand in Mint condition.

The first stereo LP's became available in 1958, however these did not become really popular in the UK until the mid-to-late 1960's, making early UK stereo pressings, and late UK mono pressings, very scarce today. Many albums in the 60's were issued in both mono and stereo versions. Opinion is divided about which is best, with both recordings offering a different listening experience.

Everyone says Let me go....but I say keep those LP's in your garage in good shape, its your retirement!

Posted by mitchsantell at 05:21 PM

August 16, 2006

Is YouTube The New MTV?

According the sources at Digital Music News and Billboard Magazine, YouTube, which sprung out of nowhere a year ago to now claim over 100 millions views a day, is negotiating for rights to post current and archive music videos on its site, and said any commercial model it decides on will offer the videos free.

"What we really want to do is in six to 12 months, maybe 18 months, to have every music video ever created up on YouTube," co-founder Steve Chen told Reuters. "We're trying to bring in as much of this content as we can on to the site."

He said YouTube intends to differentiate itself from pay-to-view or download services like Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL Music, or others like Yahoo Inc.'s Yahoo Music, which is supported by an advertising revenue share model with record labels.

San Mateo, California-based YouTube says its videos account for 60 percent of all videos watched online. The site specializes in short, homemade, comic clips created by users.

The start-up plans to integrate the record companies' videos into the community features of its site, allowing users to add the videos to their own profiles and post reviews like on Amazon.com and RealNetworks' Rhapsody.

Its business model is being developed in tandem with all the major record labels, YouTube said, but did not give any names. Warner Music Group Corp. and EMI confirmed to Reuters that they have been in discussions with YouTube.

"Yahoo Launch is almost an exact parallel of MTV but viewed through a web browser," Chen said. "We add the whole user community feel, with 100 million views every day and user-generated content."

Getting the record labels to agree to a business model is crucial as YouTube has run into trouble in the past when users posted copyrighted videos from television shows.

According to reports in both Billboard and Digital Music News, the San Mateo, California start-up was asked by television broadcaster NBC to remove clips of the popular "Lazy Sunday" hip-hop spoof, which was originally broadcast on "Saturday Night Live."

However, that order by NBC, whose parent NBC Universal is a unit of General Electric Co., was a precursor to a promotional partnership with YouTube a few months later in June. YouTube says its policy is to take down pirated content from the site as soon as it is aware of it.

At What's Out Next we see great potential. Why? The internet is the new TV!
At What's Out Next, we say "hey man, give this a go!" Who knows dear friends, YouTube may very well be the last DJ you'll ever need.

Posted by mitchsantell at 10:28 AM

Beasties Vs. Beatles, Mash It Up!

First there was the 78 RPM, then the 45 RPM (single) and 33 (LP), then came the 8 track, then the cassette, followed by the CD (Compact Disk) and now they have surround sound 5.1 DVD disks that everyone is buying.

So when does it stop? It doesn't! Technology has created a new way of looking at things. As I was searching the net for the latest word on What's Out Next, I came across an actual overview of how to do a mash up. For those of you who don't think it take work, we've attached a link here for you to check out! When you read through the process of how they mash stuff, I think you'll just say "Take it to the Limit" and let others do it! Good luck with your mash ups and if you email to us at What's Out Next, we'll post it! Why does this seem to work? Don't ask me, I can't tell you why most of the time, so just smile!

Posted by mitchsantell at 10:20 AM

August 01, 2006

Warner Brothers Vs. EMI Bid Over!

For those of you following the story, EMI has been trying to purchase Warner Brothers Records. Both companies are great and both companies have legendary artists.

The biggest challenge here is two fold, one is that the corporate culture of the two companies is substantially different. The second issue from my view is that Warner Brothers does a better job of discovering new talent and sticking with them.

While both companies are household names at our house, they don't hold the clout they used to so that is why many see the reason for the transaction.

Of course you can see why EMI wants them right? For those who aren't familiar with the company, Warner Music Group is one of the premier names in the business of recording and publishing music.

Under its Recorded Music segment (83% of revenue), the company records an artist's music, then licenses and sells it in physical format (mostly CDs and DVDs) or purely digital format through distributors to mass merchants, record stores and online retailers, which include digital distributors such as iTunes by Apple.

Its Music Publishing segment (17% of revenue) licenses and acquires rights to musical compositions from songwriters and composers and receives royalties and fees for their use.

Warner Music Group owns a large music catalog, including a roster of 38,000 artists and 27 of the top 100 U.S. best-selling albums of all time. Among the artists Warner Music has courted into its music empire are the Eagles, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac and Sean "P Diddy" Combs.

So now what? Well now EMI is talking about raising capital with investors to make the purchase.

What's our take at WHATSOUTNEXT? We say that hopefully most people will Listen to the Music of Warner Brothers, otherwise, we'll all end up moving to Mexico!

Posted by mitchsantell at 12:59 PM