Michael Jackson, King of Pop, Dead At 50 (August 29, 1958-June 25, 2009)

Michael Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Center today from his Bel Air home via ambulance in response to a 911 call from the singer’s residence. Paramedics who arrived on the scene at approximately 12:30 pm today report they were unable to revive him from an apparent cardiac arrest.  Jackson was pronounced dead at the hospital.
His sister LeToya Jackson was among the first of the family members to arrive at the hospital. His father Joe Jackson is enroute from Las Vegas while his mother Katherine Jackson was being rushed to the scene as well.
Jackson, who had been preparing for his upcoming 50-date sold out concert tour at the O2 in London, had recently pushed the start date back from July 8 to July 13 because of reported poor health. There was a lot riding on the AEG tour which Michael had consented to do, reportedly he said, mainly so his children could see him perform one last time and, as always, for his fans.
Jackson’s Visionary, the Video Singles box set, was recently released. The limited edition 20 dual discs—CD on one side and DVD on the other—were packaged in sleeves featuring an exact replica of his original 7“ and 12” artwork.
Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

Prophetically, Michael has posted on his website announcing his “This Is It” tour the following: “The time has come. It is now I see and feel that calling once again, to be a part of a music that will not just connect but, make all feel one, one in joy, one in pain, one in love, one in service and in consciousness.”

Hurricane Hits Atlanta

Veteran radio programmer and air personality David Glenn “Hurricane Dave” Smith will relocate to Atlanta from Dallas in July to take over the vacant spot at Radio One Atlanta operations for Urban WHTA-FM (Hot 107.9). Previously the executive producer for syndicated ABC Radio Networks—now Citadel Media– “The Ride with Doug and DeDe,” Hurricane Dave is currently already part of the Radio One team as Director of Operations for its Syndication One arm—a position he will resign.
Having programmed or served as OM for at least seven number one radio stations in various formats from hip hop to classic rock, Hurricane Dave has proven his versatility again and again. He oversaw the five station Cumulus Tallahassee group that included not only Hip Hop and R&B and Urban AC formats, but also Hot AC, ESPN Sports and Classic Rock.
He began his career and adopted his moniker of Hurricane Dave in Texas, where, as the winner of Service Broadcasting KKDA-FM (K104)’s nationwide best air-personality talent search, he won first place prize, which included a job at the Dallas station. Later at Radio One KMJQ-FM (Magic 102) in Houston, his moniker was born his first day on the air, which also marked the first day of the hurricane season.
Touting “I keep the mic hot!” Dave has proven to be successful no matter what daypart, region or format—even syndication—whether in the studio or boardroom.  The list of Hurricane hits includes: WOWI-FM, Norfolk (highest rankings in its history); Album Rock WOMP-FM, Bellair, Ohio; Top 40 WXGT-FM (92X) Columbus; KMJQ-FM, Houston, Texas; WBLK-FM, Buffalo, NY; WAMO-FM/WYJZ-FM; Radio One Cleveland cluster WIZF-FM/ WENZ-FM/WWLD-FM.
His website lists such accolades as “Best numbers in five years” from Pittsburgh’s two stations; best numbers in WOWI-FM history during which time WOWI became the #1 12+ 18-34 demo and #1 mornings demo 25-54 under then PD Dave; #1 highest 12+ shares ever reports WIZF-FM in Cincinnati; #1 for 3 1/2 years at Top 40 WXGT-FM in Columbus, Ohio; #1 highest shares ever at Album Rock WOMP-FM in Bellaire, Ohio; #1 highest nighttime shares at Urban KMJQ-FM in Houston; 11 up books out of 14 at WAMO-FM in Pittsburgh.
Also president of his own pre-paid bankcard company, the ECS-Financial Network, Dave is actively involved in supporting the urban communities. Just ask the ‘Canes Kids he rewarded for improving their grades in Cleveland when he was OM/PD/MD or view the video he participated in for the Texas Department of Education Student Job Search program available in every Texas high school.

HARNESSING THE WILD, WILD EAST THE MAKING OF A MUSIC INDUSTRY IN CHINA

Unlike the U.S., where copyright conundrums abound, China has a chance to create a music industry with a completely fresh approach to copyright consumption.
I was recently invited to join the American delegation attending the International Creative Industries Summit in Shanghai, China.  The intensive two-day summit, which occurred April 21-22, 2009, was   poised to be a historic event to witness.  For me, it was rife with irony and provided a fascinating contrast to the “established” western music industry.
For perspective, one only needs to study the rise of the Shanghai skyline to understand the marked difference between its humble past and burgeoning future.  As recent as the ‘90s, the Huang Po River, which dissects downtown Shanghai, wasn’t much more than the embankment of a shantytown; whereas today, Shanghai boasts skyscrapers that rival anything Manhattan has to offer.
Similarly, the would-be music industry we were there to help shape, could have the same kind of meteoric rise.  In fact, it could quickly become the largest music market in the world.  After all, it has nowhere to go but up, and China itself is the world’s largest start up.
I was among a handful of digital media and traditional music industry experts who came to listen to, and help steer, the first steps of a Chinese music industry where, despite infrastructure and a booming population, no music industry exists to date.  Massive piracy, however, is readily rampant.
This point was driven home by Mr. Xiaofeng Xu, Researcher, Peking University, Institute of Culture Industry, who made a forthright presentation entitled “The New Money-making Model within the Culture Industry.”  Poignantly, as his presentation began, he commented, “I am supposed to come here and speak with you about the new business models in the music industry here – but I am not even aware of an existing, old model.”
Having attended more conferences, summits, courtroom show downs, and symposiums on copyright in the digital realm than I could ever recount, it sometimes felt like a déjà vu hearing the same issues addressed repeatedly. I kept thinking, “Whatever you do here, don’t replicate the mess created in the western world” where copyright conglomerates have stymied innovation since digital music came onto the scene with the launch of MP3.com in 1998.
In an earlier column this year, I explored how at MIDEM in January there were many examples of how this is finally beginning to change – after a decade lost to mindless litigation and DRM dogma.
Moreover, as Jingming Qu, General Director of the Music Copyright Society of China pontificated, “Innovation is being driven here by a developing economy.” He illustrated the primary challenges to their agenda to build a music industry include piracy, a perceived lack of value for music despite mass consumption of it, and the potential for monopolies to be created that would ultimately be unfair to artists.
Mr. Qu argued that — without music — everything from discos and radio stations to search engines, wouldn’t exist, or would have significantly less value.
Thomas Reemer, CEO of CUGate, explored this point during his presentation where he demonstrated that Google’s recent digital music foray in China, in partnership with the major labels, is supposed to include a revenue share from the MP3 search activity at its search engine. One only needs to go experience it to realize his point that the experience is completely absent of any potential revenue sharing and, furthermore, there are no ads to click or albums to buy.  Google’s partnership with the major labels in China was widely dismissed as a misstep by most attendees, though some argued it was better than nothing.
Mr. Reemer added that studies show P2P users actually possess a high level of respect for copyrights, but not for the business models in place to date.
CUGate’s offering, he asserted, affords the “feels free” experience but still monetizes the frenetic energy associated with file sharing. CUGate shares the Chinese government’s inclination towards an ISP based solution to monetize the feel free model, which is finally gathering momentum in the Western world, if only philosophically.
At the recent hopping, San Fran Music Tech Summit, this topic was hotly debated on a panel aptly titled “Monetization - Idealism in Practice” where long time advocate Jim Griffin was pimping Choruss, a major label backed approach aimed at the college market initially and  - potentially - to ISPs, if successful.
Regardless of the rhetoric, what’s clear is that nearly 40% of Asian youth are listening to even more music than they were a year ago, according to Synovate Music Matters Survey, and there are more than 300 million broadband internet users in China – a 42% increase in only two years, as cited by China Internet Network Info Center.
In 2008, China Mobile reported US$2.4 billion in revenue from mobile music downloads and ringtones alone, according to JLM Pacific Epoch.
Hopefully, China will embrace the unique opportunity that it is faced with in a timelier and more progressive manner than the Western world did, especially since our futures seem inextricably tied.
The International Creative Industries Summit will occur again next year and this month, Music Matters will host a unique Asian forum for uniting the world’s creative and technology industries.
Just as the music industry in the West begins to intelligently grapple with digital in a meaningful way, the East is recognizing that the potential for an industry even exists.  It’s an astounding paradox and an amazing opportunity that I look forward to being actively involved in for years to come.

About the Author: Hal Bringman, founder of NVPR, is a communications strategist and digital media expert. Long before Steve Jobs ever figured out what an MP3 file was, the firm has been guiding the digital music revolution since launching MP3.com, Napster, and many other major digital media brands. The company has launched and built many of the biggest or most talked about brands in mobile entertainment and digital media. Based in Los Angeles and Buenos Aires, the team is actively dedicated to launch global PR/marketing campaigns, accelerate business development and revamp websites.  Reach Hal Bringman at hal@nvpr.com, or follow on Twitter @halbringman.