What's Out Next

February 28, 2007

Cancer, Chemotherapy & Dreams

Joe Anderson and his Daughter Laurie Santell

The most important ship that you board in life is called a relationship. For over 21 years, my darling wife Laurie has been the wind beneath my sails. On February 23, 2005 I started happily blogging every day. Then we launched our pod cast "what's out next" that will have new episodes coming soon. As most of you know (our faithful readers) thank you very much.....I am building a new company in Auckland, New Zealand.

Laurie has now completed 4 rounds of Chemotherapy and it went so well that her Surgeon cannot feel the tumor, and it does not show up on Ultrasound! Her next steps are an MRI and a Sugery. The good news is that she gets to keep "her girls" up top. So we are good to go!

Yes, we will have a wholly owned subsidiary in the good old USA, but that is our plan. December 20th was the last post on this blog because my wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. It is with great excitement that I announce that starting today, What's Out Next is back in full swing with daily updates every single day about he state of both the Music and Movie business. We will as always share what we feel is that latest cutting edge technology.

There are many people we have to thank for showing up for us since December. First is my Mom, Rickie Santell who was of "emotional, spirtual and financial" help as we sought to get my wife the best medical care. Both my brother in law's Jefree Anderson and Dr. Kenneth Cheng, both of whom helped me more than words could ever describe. To my sister Lisa who was of great spirtual support and also sent an awe inspiring care package to help my wife through this process.

To Kathleen Hanlen Singer and Bruce Singer who carefully and lovingly took personal care of my wife during her Chemotherapy sessions. To Noel Ferguson, my dear partner in New Zealand who turned us on to a wonderful product called Ave and gave us a grand tour of New Zealand so we could set up the new company.

Mitch Santell and Allan Marston at
the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas,
Creating Miracles together!

To Allan Marston, who pushed me through the next steps in getting to New Zealand. Everything I have learned in life helped me over the past 4 months. As my father Richard Santell used to say, "If it's not your wife and it's not your life, it's not worth worrying about!" Thanks DAD for those kind words.

Everyone says now that you are past the chemotherapy, iit's time for a trip to Mexico!

Gorilla by Singer-Songwriter James Taylor was released in 1975
on Warner Brothers Records and Tapes.

Posted by mitchsantell at 11:02 AM

December 20, 2006

The Story of Warner Brothers Records!

Warner Brothers, as a company, goes back to 1918, when four brothers (Jack, Albert, Harry, and Samuel Warner) opened their first Warner Brothers studio. They incorporated as a production and distribution entity five years later under the name Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. In 1944, they purchased Leon Schlesinger's cartoon studio, Looney Tunes, and became the owners of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and the rest. The Warner Brothers animation division then churned out high quality cartoons, comic books, and shorts for decades, until it was closed in 1963. Meanwhile, Warner Brothers continued to be one of the big Hollywood players in the movie industry.

Following the lead of MGM, who started a record label in the late 1940s, and Paramount, who established ABC-Paramount in 1957, Warner Brothers formed its own Warner Brothers Records as a division of Warner Brothers Studios on March 19, 1958. The office was located above the film studio's machine shop at 3701 Warner Blvd. in Burbank, California. The President of the label was James B. Conklin. Directors of A&R were Harris Ashburn, George Avakian and Bob Prince. The Warner Brothers label initially recorded pop, jazz, classical, spoken word, folk and gospel.

Over the years, it had not bothered Warner Brothers too much that they didn't have a record company, but it was in early 1957, when Randy Wood's Dot Records signed Warners' movie star Tab Hunter to a recording contract, that the Warner Brothers brass started seeing red. Wood could sign Hunter because although his Warner Brothers contract was exclusive, Warners had no record label. In fact, the timing of when Warner Brothers started their record label was very much linked to their getting their star's recording contract away from Dot. Hunter, who by his own admission could barely sing at all, was coached by Wood to make a few passable records which were major hits in 1957, while Warners steamed. When Warner Brothers finally got their record label off the ground in 1958, they reclaimed Tab Hunter, who made several albums for the label and had a few singles in the mid-ranges of the charts, although nothing like the success he had had with Dot. In fact, Tab Hunter's "Jealous Heart" [WB 5008], which only made #62 on the charts, was the only chart record Warner Brothers had during its first year, 1958.

On the album side in 1960, comedian Bob Newhart scored a #1 album with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, the success of which started Warner Brothers to look around for other comedians to sign to record contracts. Eventually, Warner Brothers would become one of the most successful in the comedy album genre, with stars like Allan Sherman and Bill Cosby also becoming household names by 1965.

The early 1970s saw the Warner Brothers label grow to the major label it had always aspired to become. New artists included rockers Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Grateful Dead, Ides of March, Alice Cooper, and the Faces. On the more acoustic side, there was James Taylor, Seals and Crofts, Dion, and America. Also added were soul bands Tower of Power and Malo as well as pop/soul singer Dionne Warwick. By 1973, Warner Brothers was firmly ensconced in a leadership position in the music industry, and that is where they remain today.

As we continue to educate you all on some of the history behind the music biz, we want to thank Mike Callahan who wrote the original WB Records Story. Of course at What's Out Next we say it may all be a Spinning Wheel!!

Posted by mitchsantell at 05:41 PM

December 19, 2006

The Grammy Vs. The RIAA

Written by Mitch Santell

It always amazes me how one organization can have a positive reputation and the other a negative reputation. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) is committed to building the music business through their non-profit educational foundation. In fact their mission statement from their web site states: "The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1989 to cultivate an awareness, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of
recorded music American culture – from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of the future generations of the music professionals. The GRAMMY Foundation works in partnership with its founder, the Recording Academy, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural legacy."

Now, if you look at our friends at the RIAA, their web site states: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and
financial vitality. Its members are the record companies that comprise the most vibrant national music industry in the world. RIAA members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States.

For those of you aggressively tracking royalties right now both songwriters and publishers including the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) are pushing for an increase in "mechanical royalties ," which is currently at 9.1 cents. This
makes sense to me.

On the other hand you have the RIAA who when not harassing consumers who purchase music by suing small kids, is pushing for a decrease.

Hmmm , maybe the Grammy people should become the PR firm for the RIAA and fire all of them. Just a thought!

Posted by mitchsantell at 09:44 AM

December 18, 2006

CBS Records Relaunches!

Written by Mitch Santell
For us baby boomers who remember Simon and Garfunkel, Santana, Blood Sweet and Tears, Janice Joplin, the news of the re-birth of CBS Records brings back great memories. The company started up today with a brand new web site and with 3 artists. The story is CBS Records was sold to Sony for about 2 Billion Dollars. Slowly over the years at Sony the label was absorbed and never heard from again.

Unlike the old CBS Records run by Clive Davis, the new CBS will focus on Digital Distribution starting off with the Apple iTunes Music Story. Over the past two years most of the major labels have dumped a lot of their artists. Now here comes CBS Records. If you are a struggling or new artist the question is: "Should I sign with CBS Records?" Well, my dear friends, the answer is most likely yes because CBS will help by placing artist music into CBS branded television shows.

Posted by mitchsantell at 04:55 PM

December 17, 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 you may be barely breathing....but I say keep those LP's in your garage in good shape, its your retirement!

Posted by mitchsantell at 02:29 PM

December 05, 2006

It's All About Who You Know !

Within the music buisness it is very important that you build your database of contacts. I can openly state that while my family has been in the film business for many years, I have found more cheerleading and support from music people.

If you are like I am and you have used MySpace.com, you probably have a "love-hate" relationship with their site. MySpace.com and to some extent, even YouTube.com is trying to create a "CLEARING GROUND" for new talent.

NextCat.com is much better. Why? It brings both established and new artists, composers, producers and service providers an amazing place to network, share ideas, music and to build their team. If you go to the Nextcat.com about page, you will read the following:

At Nextcat, we’re hoping to create the first global online networking community for all things relating to the entertainment industry. We’re 100% independent, and not beholden to any large corporation. With Nextcat.com, we hope to provide a marketplace of ideas and opportunities for both established and emerging talent, as well as a forum and meeting place for fans and enthusiasts.

Nextcat’s founders recognize that the traditional way the entertainment industry has operated for the last half-century is getting turned upside-down --at light speed. We firmly believe that from all of this disruption can come refreshing new opportunities -- and we’d like to become a catalyst in this process, by providing artists and musicians (like ourselves) with a broad platform to freely exchange ideas, job opportunities, and much more.

Let us know how we can better help you to accomplish your dreams and goals --we’re on your side and we’re listening!

Man, I wish I would have had this when I started back in 1975, it makes me
Reminisce!

Originally Released on Capitol Records, Catalog#: 4605, 4605
Format: Vinyl, 7"
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Rock
Style: Classic Rock
Credits: Producer - John Boylan , Little River Band
Notes: Produced in Australia by John Boylan & Little River Band.

Posted by mitchsantell at 10:32 PM

November 27, 2006

In The Zone, Simone & Garfunkel!

Simon & Garfunkel, Bookends, Released in 1968

Did you know when a record is considered an oldie? According to my DAD when he owned Marty's Music, it was after 6 months. Make sure that you email me at: msantell@mac.com and tell me what you think! Well, in the grand scheme of things, I think there is a magical time that each artist has where they are at the peak of their talent. Now, I am not saying that S&G have not produced some amazing work since Bookends. What I am saying is that from 1967 to 1968 S&G were at the forefront of everything that was happening. I call it being in the zone. For Simon and Garfunkel their "zone" was the Soundtrack from The Graduate and Bookends. Of course everytime I think about this I have a
dilemma!

Posted by mitchsantell at 11:49 PM

November 22, 2006

First, There is A Moutain!

In 1969 at the ripe of 12 years of age, I remember my Dad bringing this record into Marty's Music. Donavan: the man, the legend! This guy sounds as cool in 2005 as in did in 1965. The guy is a legend and according to John Lennon, "Donovan is as important and influential as Bob Dylan and we are ... listen, the man's a poet."

With all the changes going on the music business, all I can say is that first there is a business model and then there isn't! Everyone is scrambling for the final answer. Who will win? I think the consumer....because when we want our music we want it now and we won't wait! For us at What's Out Next our take is There is a mountain!

Posted by mitchsantell at 05:39 PM

November 14, 2006

THE LADYBUGS Are Here!

Aaron Strebs, Joel Hirsch & Dave Feld of the Hip, Rhythmic Group: THE LADYBUGS!

Each and every day at What's Out Next we receive CD's from local, regional and national artists. Recently I had the good fortune to listen to an amazing band called The LadyBugs! While I am still recovering from my jet lag from New Zealand (more on that later) I had to share this new group I found.

Formed in 2003 by Aaron Strebs, Joel Hirsch and Dave Feld, the group has a very clean sound with expert production at Mother West Studios, the team has an amazing sound. Since the birth of the group, they have released three albums already.

At the end of the day, since I am barely off the plane from New Zealand, I am still waking up!!

LADYBUGS was the first album released back in 2003, nicely followed up by Electric LADYBUGS in 2004 and The Puzzle in 2005.

Make sure to visit their web site at: http://www.electricladybugs.com/

Posted by mitchsantell at 01:07 PM

October 31, 2006

Building The Bridge In New Zealand for Music!

For those of you who are kind enough to read What's Out Next! on a regular basis you know my personal passion for the music business. It is with great pride that I announce that I made it to Auckland, New Zealand this week. (By the way, I do predict it will become a major music hub the way Los Angeles did in the 1950's and 1960's.

We are having an amazing time and if you wish to visit what many in the entertainment business are calling "The New California," you must come to New Zealand.

While my darling wife Laurie of 21+ years is happily joining me on this trip, I am meeting with my partner Noel Ferguson (pictured above), meeting with my banking and legal team and of course the "official Kiwi Immigration" Department.

Movie Capital Limited is now building the bridge to complete it's official launch before June of 2007, so watch out! (Maybe I should see, take a listen)!

This past year has been a year of living in faith and while the challenges have been many. . . each and every time, the end result has been so much better than I could ever have thought!

At the end of the day, you just have to roll with it baby!

Posted by mitchsantell at 09:57 AM