Right Now: TuneIn Radio, Spotify Discovery, Parting SF Shots, Dupri, Lowery vs. Zisk, Samsung, Zik, Deezer+MINI...

And the latest mega-funding round belongs to TuneIn Radio, which just grabbed a $25 million injection. The round was led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, and General Catalyst Partners.  TuneIn, no stranger to large financing levels, pointed to an expansion in technology and advertising revenue for broadcast partners.   

The industry obsesses about discovery, then obsesses about obsessing about discovery.  And that's all before 9 am... but do average music fans really care that much?  Enter Spotify, which is now spreading its 'Discovery' concept towards its web-based player.  Which means, all users will get a splash of new recommendations on the daily, plus all sorts of fresh catches from Pitchfork, Songkick, and Tunigo.  

Back in San Francisco, the techy funtime is now over at SF Musictech Summit, with a few lingering questions n' drama.  The event grabbed a number of interesting artist celebrities, including Jermaine Dupri, Jack Conte from Pomplamoose (and now, Patreon), not to mention Ben Folds and others.  

But one artist definitely not in attendance was David Lowery, thanks to what appears to be a complete relationship meltdown with Summit founder Brian Zisk.  Lowery suddenly has major concerns about this event, particularly giant sponsors like Google who he says are shutting him out.  Zisk notes that nothing of the sort is happening, and has even suggested a third-party review of the email storm between the two; anyway, that rabbit hole is over here.  

Meanwhile, Dupri was busy showing off his artist connectivity platform, while discussing all sorts of ideas related to artists and technology (mainly, 'embrace it').  This is an opinionated, educated, and centered producer with immense savvy and experience, not to mention musical prowess.  All of which raised a critical question among attendees: can artists afford to only focus on their art, to the exclusion of technology (and commerce)?  Or, does 'art' now have to thoroughly involve all aspects of creativity and delivery?

Back on the tech/business side, others were wondering why more than a dozen Samsung executives and employees apparently at this not-so-giant SF Musictech shindig, anyway.  Back in South Korea, one dialed-in executive shared tails of a severe hangover following the $50+ million purchase of mSpot, though maybe there's a serious tech jab in the works...

And, what about Jamendo?  This is a company that gets scant love stateside, but has been quietly building a Creative Commons-based, Long Tail-oriented service for nearly a decade.  And this company's showing healthy profits, with seven figure revenues nearly doubling year-over-year, according to Paris-based business development director Dan Aufhauser.  The Jamendo model's pretty darn simple: artists jump aboard, Jamendo seeks premium licenses in areas like film synchronization, then everyone shares the pot!

Which brings us to another French export, Parrot's Zik headphones.  Please, bury those earbuds: the Zik is not only Bluetooth-enabled (and it works), but it allows the user to change volume by swiping the side (yeah, like the iPad).  Take them off, and playback stops, with smart noise cancellation that responds to external noise levels.  Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is among the celeb-happy users across the pond, but let's see how they survive the DMN testing camp: much, much more ahead on these $400+ monsters...

Which brings us to yet another French export, Deezer.  On the heels of announcing its four-millionth subscriber, Deezer has just integrated its offering into MINI dashboards.  Which means svelte steering wheel, entertainment system, and mini-joystick control of over 25 million songs.  And they say texting-while-driving is unsafe...

More ahead...

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Please Don't Let Those Foreign-Owned Corporations Destroy Local Radio...

Want to win a complicated issue in Washington?  Then simplify, vilify, terrify, and make sure to take care of your supporters.  Which is exactly what the powerful National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is doing — not only in Washington, but places like Wyoming.      

That's the home state of Republican Senator John Barrasso, the latest to throw his weight behind the 'Local Radio Freedom Act'.  As a thank you, the NAB is now running this ad in the Casper Star Tribune.   The Act, if passed into law, would keep the status quo, and keep traditional radio royalty-free, at least as it relates to recordings.

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Olivia Newton-John: sweetheart, sex idol, rock chick, radio star

Actress Olivia Newton John (C) smiles as she poses with director Stephan Elliot (R) and actor Kris Marshall during a photocall of their movie ''A Few Best Men'' at the Rome Film Festival October 28, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON | Mon Mar 11, 2013 2:01pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - With a range spanning the cardigan-clad sweetheart in the hit musical "Grease" and the leotarded gym instructor in the raunchy single "Physical", no one could accuse Olivia Newton-John of playing it safe in 40 years of singing country, pop and rock.

The Australian, who was born in England and is touring there for the first time in 35 years, admits to being terrified at some of the choices she made in a career boasting four Grammy awards and a lead role in the biggest musical movie hit in U.S. history.

"I like a challenge," Newton-John, 64, told Reuters in an interview before starting a six-concert tour that ends on March 17 in Manchester.

"I was always afraid of these changes but I did them anyway, kind of 'face your fears' ... because I felt you also had to challenge yourself a little bit. But I was terrified."

The 1981 release of "Physical", a song from the album of the same name, was banned by some radio stations in the United States banned for raunchy lyrics such as "There's nothing left to talk about/Unless it's horizontally."

"I remember calling (manager) Roger Davies right after I'd finished it ... and going 'Oh, I'm not sure we should put this out, it's a little too risqué'. He said: 'It's too late, love, it's gone to radio'."

Adding to the controversy was the video, in which Newton-John played a gym instructor in a tight leotard surrounded by oiled body-builders portrayed as gay in a twist ending.

FROM NICE TO NAUGHTY

"I look back now and it's hilarious, because that was so naughty in its time," she recalled. "That was another challenge that worked, thank goodness. It was either going to be a big success or nothing. There was no in-between with that song.

"It was banned in Utah and I did my television special for the Physical Tour in Utah. I remember I was probably so terrified I got sick right before the shoot."

In fact, "Physical" proved to be the pinnacle of Newton-John's solo career, topping the U.S. pop charts and becoming one of the best-selling singles of the decade.

By then, Newton-John had already left her comfort zone more than once. She recalled pursuing a career as a performer despite resistance from her parents, who wanted her to finish school.

She comes from an academic background - her grandfather was Max Born, a German-British Nobel Prize-winning quantum physicist.

"My grandfather apparently used to play music with Einstein, they used to play chamber music together, so it (the musical gene) goes back," Newton-John said.

She left Australia for Britain in the 60s to make it as a pop star. By the early 70s, she had featured in the charts and on television before representing the United Kingdom at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fourth behind winners ABBA.

Then came a move to the United States, where Newton-John broke into the country music scene despite being considered an outsider. Her hit "Let Me Be There" won her a country vocal Grammy.

SANDY IN SPANDEX

The next gamble came with "Grease", the hit 1978 film adaptation of the Broadway musical that would turn her into a household name.

"Grease itself was a bold enough move - playing the second character in Grease, and for that to be so successful, I mean, who knew?"

Her character's transformation from clean-cut "Sandy 1" to spandex-clad "Sandy 2", out to snare John Travolta's Danny, was one that she took into real life, ditching the safety of soft pop and country for an edgier image and sound.

The name of her next album? "Totally Hot".

"The raunchy kind of image that Sandy 2 had, it gave an opportunity to change my direction a little bit and do something a little more fun," she said.

"I did country, and then it was pop, and then 'Grease' kind of went into rock and so I got to change a little bit. Everyone does it now, but then it probably wasn't so common."

Newton-John, now based on the west coast of the United States along with her family including daughter Chloe, said she would continue to record new music but may cut back on touring.

"I have so many ... other things I'm passionate about and involved in and I love singing and I love recording, but touring takes a toll and you're away from home a lot," she explained.

Newton-John, who survived breast cancer in 1992, has set up a cancer centre in Australia and has campaigned on issues including deforestation, dolphin culling and fracking.

Why does she take on so many issues outside music?

"I think it's really for my mum," she said. "My mum was always writing letters to the council about problems, and so I think I owe that to her."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Now That a Radio Guy Co-Owns the Mets, What Changes Might Be in Store?

by Gary Trust  |   March 22, 2012 11:15 EDT

News broke yesterday that Clear Channel Media and Entertainment CEO Bob Pittman is among the investors purchasing a minority stake in baseball's financially-troubled New York Mets.

With apologies to David Letterman - and with good-natured love to our friends at Clear Channel - here are the top five concerns now that a radio guy co-owns the Mets.

(Paul, drumroll please!)

5. When manager Terry Collins calls the bullpen, he'll now be greeted with a, "Sorry, you're caller No. 1, please try again …"

4. Now starting for the Mets in center field: John Fogerty

3. Pitching rotation tightened to the three top-testing starters, per fan research.

2. He'll hire his chatty DJ friends as stadium vendors. "Hot dogs here! … at 7:05, five past 7, 67 degrees ..."

And … the No. 1 concern now that a radio guy co-owns the Mets:

Only his radio stations will have hits!

(Applause out)

(... maybe ...)

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