Session Buzz: Who’s Recording In & Around NYC — A Monthly Report

GREATER NYC AREA: It’s midsummer…the middle of a traditionally “slow season” for recording with so many bands out on the road. But this is the city that never sleeps, and slow is a relative term. The following is but a sampling of recent sessions, and works in progress…a snapshot of what’s going on around town:

Starting at Germano Studios downtown…50 Cent has been writing and recording new material with Araab Muzik producing and Ky Miller engineering, Ne-Yo was in writing and recording with Swizz Beatz producing and Moses Gallart engineering, and Justin Nozuka recorded basic tracks with Steve Jordan producing and Dave O’Donnell engineering – all in Studio 1.

In Studio 2, will.i.am continues to record new material which he’s self-producing and engineering, and Oriane recently recorded vocals with Walter Afanasieff producing and Jason Agel engineering.

Nearby at The Lodge, Mastering Engineers Emily Lazar, Joe LaPorta and Heba Kadry have been busy working on Björk‘s epic multimedia release, Biophilia, due out this Fall. The music for Biophilia – featuring a 10-song album and 10 musical iPad apps themed after each song’s scientific subject matter – was mastered at the Lodge in March by Lazar and LaPorta alongside Björk and her longtime engineer/producer Damian Taylor.

Other recent releases mastered at The Lodge include Chris Taylor’s CANT LP, Morgan Page’s new album, In The Air, Ronnie Vannuci’s (of the Killers) solo debut Big Talk – produced by Joe Chiccarelli and mixed by Alan Moulder – the new Boy & Bear album – also produced by Chiccarelli – and Large Professor’s latest for Fat Beats Records.

The Lodge also mastered Ronnie Spector’s tribute cover of Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black – produced by Richard Gottehrer – Surfer Blood’s cover of Nirvana’s “Territorial Pissings” for SPIN’s Nevermind compilation, new releases by Zechs Marquise (band formed by Marcel Rodriguez Lopez from the Mars Volta), and Junior Mance, and the new Wooden Ships album – produced by Phil Manley of Trans Am.

Over in the East Village at Flux Studios, Todd Whitelock mixed an upcoming album by jazz saxophonist and flautist Kenny Garrett in the Revolution Room. Garrett – who was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Miles Davis’ band – will release his upcoming album via Mack Avenue Records.

And down in SoHo, The Magic Shop has been going steady…Shooter Jennings tracked for his upcoming album with engineer Brandon Mason, assisted by Brian Thorn, Burning Spear tracked and mixed for their upcoming album with Thorn engineering, assisted by Kabir Hermon, and Tom Schick was in mixing for She and Him’s upcoming Merge album.

Other recent sessions in the Magic Shop’s unique Studio A include: The American Secrets tracking and mixing songs for upcoming freecreditscore.com commercials with producer Neil McClellan (The Lodge Music creative director) and engineers Ted Young and Colin Thibadeau; The Gaslight Anthem tracking an iTunes exclusive live session with producer Jason Marcucci, and engineers Ted Young and Mike Judeh; and tracking sessions for new albums by Elliot Sharp (producer Joe Mardin/ engineer Ted Young), Lee Feldman (engineer Ted Young), Ben Carroll (producer Adam Levy / engineer Brian Thorn), The Virgins (engineer Emery Dobyns) and The Universal Thump (engineer Kabir Hermon).

Meanwhile in the Magic Shop’s Blue Room, Warren Russell-Smith has been doing restoration work for the second season of Boardwalk Empire. Recent mastering sessions at the Magic Shop include albums for Rockstar Games, Anna Volgelzang, Warpaint, Nightplane (mastered by Russel-Smith) and Nâ Hawa Doumbia, Vic Varney and Pretty Good Dance Moves (mastered by Jessica Thompson).

At another studio down in SoHo – Serious Business Music – producer/engineer Travis Harrison has had a steady stream of bands in to appear on his BreakThru Radio show. In the last month, “Serious Business on BTR” has featured performances and interviews (by Harrison) with A Million Years, Fort Lean, Les Sans Culottes, El Jezel and Quiet Loudly.

Harrison has also been working on a number of album projects, including an album with a new band called The Cosmos – formed by Dougy Payne and Andy Dunlop from Travis, and Cinjun Tate from Remy Zero – a solo 7” with Doug Gillard from Guided By Voices, and a record with Rocketship Park for Serious Business Records.

In Park Slope at Seaside Lounge Recording, engineer/producer/musician Josh Clark mixed a record by Nashville native Luke Roberts, The Iron Gates at Throop and Newport, to be released by Thrill Jockey Records in 2012. Initial tracking sessions for the record went down at The Beach House in Nashville and Atlantic Sound in Brooklyn (with “Seaside Lounge” rounding out the coastal recording theme.)

On the West Side at Stratosphere, Japanese electro-rock band The Telephones tracked their new album in Studio A with producer/engineer Alex Newport, recording everything to tape on the studio’s Studer 2″.

Also at Stratosphere…Ice T booked an afternoon of vocals and filming for upcoming documentary Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap. Stratosphere’s own Adam Tilzer engineered. Aaron Neville returned to record vocals with producer Matthew Ferraro and engineer Geoff Sanoff.

Daniel Merriweather was back for sessions with Dave McCracken, Amanda Ghost and engineer Chris Shaw, Florence + the Machine was in with engineer Andros Rodriguez, and Nathan Larson (A Camp, Shudder To Think) tracked and mixed music for an upcoming film, Tiger Eyes, with Geoff Sanoff engineering.

Up at Carriage House Recording in Stamford, cellist Dave Eggar (Evanescense, Coldplay) and his band Deoro finished mixes for their upcoming record in Studio A with engineer/mixer Brendan Muldowney, and art-pop songstress Rachael Sage tracked basics for her upcoming release with engineer John Shyloski.

Back in town, at Sear Sound, NYC denizen Donald Fagen tracked in Studio A on the 8038 Neve with Michael Leonhart producing and Charlie Martinez engineering for Warner Bros. Records. eONE Music was in Studio C, reportedly “classisizing” Frank Zappa songs for a new release. In this process, Zappa’s original songs were rescored for classical orchestral instruments and tracked on Sear Sound’s custom Avalon/Sear console in sessions produced by Susan Del Giorno with GRAMMY-winning engineer Silas Brown.

Producer/engineer Gary Maurer also checked into Sear to track an ensemble of 22 musicians for his upcoming HEM album in Studio C. He will reportedly return to Sear Sound shortly to mix a 24 song double album.

Further west at Masterdisk, Scott Hull mastered Sting’s three-CD box set, Sting 25 Years, featuring remixes and a previously unreleased live concert DVD with 10 tracks recorded live in NYC, produced by Rob Mathes. Also at Masterdisk, Vlado Meller mastered a Julio Iglesias two-disc “Greatest Hits” set, with songs re-recorded and re-mixed by Alberto Sanchez, the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, I’m With You, and the Jane’s Addiction single “Irresistible Force,” and upcoming album, The Great Escape Artist.

Andy VanDette recently mastered the Spiderman Turn Off The Dark cast album and albums by Blessthefall, The Static Jacks and Barefoot Truth, and Ellen Fitton remastered Debbie Harry’s Koo Koo, and Jellybean’s Wotupski.

Premier Studios in Times Square hosted Demi Lovato working on a project for Disney Pictures – a song produced by Sandy Vee, with piano overdubs played by Mikkel Eriksen from Stargate. The session was engineered by Sam Giannelli. Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas produced tracks for Lil Wayne, working with engineer Mike Cadahia with Kevin Geigel assisting. DefJam artist Ace Hood, produced by DJ Khaled, was at Premier recording vocals and mixing an upcoming release with engineer Ben Diehl.

Atlantic artist Wiz Khalifa recorded vocals, with engineer Josiah Hendler, EMI Artist MoZella was in with producer Scyience, mixing with engineer Anthony Daniel, and Scyience was also in with Epic artist Alice Smith, mixing an upcoming release with an engineer by the name of Push Buttons.

Over at Avatar Studios, strings were recorded in Studio A for the upcoming Lou Reed/Metallica album with producer Hal Willner and engineer Greg Fidelman, assisted by Bob Mallory. NYC/Ireland rockers Suddyn recorded their single in Studio G on the SSL 4000G+ with producer David Kahne, engineer Roy Hendrickson and assistant Tyler Hartman. The Brooklyn Youth Chorus was in Studio A recording with producer Bryce Dessner, of The National and Clogs, and engineer Lawson White, assisted by Aki Nishimura.

Music for the upcoming film, A Late Quartet, was also recorded in Studio A with producer Alan Bise and engineer Bruce Egre. The cast albums for People in the Picture (producers Mike Stoller and Steven Epstein, engineer Todd Whitelock) and A Minister’s Wife (producer Tommy Krasker, engineer Bart Migal) were also recorded at Avatar.

And we know there’s so much more going on out there! If you’d like to be featured in “Session Buzz,” please submit your studio news to submissions@sonicscoop.com.

On Top Of The World: Jungle City Studios Shows NYC In A New Light

CHELSEA, MANHATTAN: NYC is quite literally the backdrop to Ann Mincieli’s brand-new Jungle City Studios. One step into the top-of-the-world Studio A, with panoramic views uptown along the High Line and west to the Hudson River, and you’re hitting the Alicia Keys chorus of Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind;” it’s a cinematic moment.

This is how Mincieli — Keys’ longtime engineer and studio coordinator — conceived of the deluxe studio facility, incorporating the best of everything she’s encountered in studios around the world to her own vision for a top-of-the-line and uniquely “New York” studio experience.

She’s quick to reference Hit Factory Studio 1 as her all-time favorite live room, but also mentions immersive destination studio experiences in France and Germany, as influential in her designs for Jungle City, located on W. 27^th Street.

“I wanted to find the ultimate location that really represented New York City with the views, the art and culture,” Mincieli shares. “This is such an up-and-coming neighborhood — you have the art galleries, the High Line, views of the Empire State building and the water. And there’s a luxury hotel [Hotel Americano] opening right next door which benefits us so much because people will stay there and work here.

Looking at the post-Hit Factory/Sony/Chung King/Clinton NYC studio landscape, Mincieli saw a void. “I wanted to bring something back to NYC, to the industry here, give people something they can be excited about. A real experience. Not just to bring back the clients from NYC, but from around the world.

On the day of our visit, in fact, the Japanese pop band Dreams Come True were recording in Studio A with Ed Tuton. Downstairs, Swizz Beatz had been working out of the Euphonix room, and Keys has been in working on a couple projects, including material for her next album. Like Keys’ Long Island recording studio complex, The Oven, Jungle City was devised by Mincieli with superstar artists in mind, and designed with signature features by John Storyk and Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG).

Jungle City Style, Sights, Sounds

Situated on the top two floors of a brand-new building, Jungle City’s three studios provide distinctly different environments, though all feature the custom Augspurger mains with Aura subs — an expensive custom system (painted at a car dealership for extra flash) but a necessary expense as Mincieli sees it.

“The Augspurgers sound incredible,” she notes. “They’re loud, the image on them is great. It’s a no-brainer. People come in and it’s psychological — they’re relieved to see them. You have to give the clients what they want.”

For that matter, Mincieli sourced what she determined was “the best of everything” for every aspect of this facility — that is three impeccably equipped studios, lounges, kitchens, bathrooms, the works. And though she knows her audience well, she did her homework.

“I co-designed the studio with a lot of research, input from artists, labels and producers on what they felt the industry was missing,” she explains. “I’d ask them, ‘What would you like to see in a studio in NYC?’ ‘We want light. We want it to feel like home.’” From the Louis Vuitton wallpaper and fabrics in the control rooms to the tastefully appointed lounges, to the unique acoustic treatments, the Jungle City interior design — coordinated by WSDG’s Beth Walters — lends that opulence of a high-end hotel, or home.

And then there’s the gear. Knowing what her network of top-tier artists and producer/engineers would expect, Mincieli handpicked all the gear with attention to every last detail for different users and workflows.

“There are so many ways to work now,” she notes. “Different mixers mix in different ways — some have migrated all in the box, some are half-in half-out, some are SSL, some are Euphonix. So I wanted to give people a few different flavors. The two mix/overdub/production rooms are very versatile with both the retro and cutting-edge technologies.”

And each has its own flavor of console: one with an Avid D-Control, and the other a Euphonix Fusion System 5. Both have Pro Tools HD3 rigs loaded up with plug-ins and corresponding iso booths. Along with the 32-input D-Control, the ICON room highlights include “the newest Avid HD IOs, Dangerous summing and the great [Antelope] OCX-V clocks.” Across the way, the Euphonix room offers a whole ‘nother experience.

“The integration between Avid and Euphonix is just incredible,” Mincieli says of the S5 Fusion.

“They’re taking advantage of the EUCON control so the features and plug-in channels that you see in Pro Tools show up on the desk. It’s a dual-purpose desk and control surface. I have 16 channels of Euphonix mic pre’s, and running at 96K, I can still get 64 channels of EQ and compression. And when you want to be all in the box, you can use the EQs, compressors, the bussing, and it’s all digital — it all converts via the new Avid Digi I/Os and Avid also made a new MADI converter specifically for this desk.”

Mincieli adds, “I love the way it sounds: the EQs, compression, the stereo bus. You can pull a compressor up in Pro Tools and control it without having to look at a monitor. And the 7.1 surround and film panning is insane — I can do a 12.2 mix in here. This is the wave of the future.

Upstairs in Studio A, Mincieli went retro-futuristic with the centerpiece 48-input SSL Duality analog console, Pro Tools HD3 and a rare 1968 EMI TGI 12345 Mark 3 console she’s completely restored. The EMI sits to the right of the SSL, side-car-style. “You can use it in a variety of ways,” Mincieli notes. “The EMI console can be used for mic pre’s, for the EQ/compressors, and it’s a fully patchable console.”

And of the sizeable control room, Mincieli shares, “I wanted one big old-school control room so we could accommodate artists who want to have their four guitar heads, or several keyboards in there with them.”

With the unique clear glass diffusion panels across the back wall windows, the clients are working inside a North and South facing top-floor studio.

On this, the studio’s ultimate wow factor, John Storyk describes, “To maximize the impact of the studios’ expansive North and South picture windows, we floated the custom Augspurger Dual 15 Vertical main speakers in an outsized glass speaker baffle. This is only the second time we have done this, creating a kind of transparent ‘wall of sound’ between the live and control rooms.

“This provides artists and engineers with the creative advantage of full visual connectivity plus, NYC’s ultimate eye candy, views ranging from The Empire State Building to the Hudson River. The audio sound field is extremely accurate throughout the full frequency range, particularly at the critical low end, necessary for many of Mincieli’s demanding urban music clients.”

Monitoring accuracy is paramount in these environments, as Mincieli points out more than once during our tour. Just prior to opening, in the first week of January, she worked closely with mastering engineer Dave Kutch and WSDG’s Dirk Noy to tune all three Jungle City studios over four days. For an inside look at Jungle City, check out this video documenting that tuning process:

Jungle City’s Studio A live room — with 14’ ceilings, inspiring views and glass-encased iso booth — is tempered by entirely custom acoustic treatments and programmable color LED mood lighting. “Drums sound great in the big room,” Mincieli assures. “And the shades are remote-controllable via the Crestron system. You can close the shades for 40% deadening.”

Clients on both floors can easily access a terrace, and if that’s not enough fresh air, they can hit the 2400-square-foot rooftop deck. Sweet!

Jungle City was an ambitious design/build carried out by an expert team. “Our project manager, Joshua Morris; systems designer Judy Elliot-Brown and studio builder Chris Harmaty of Technical Structures all fully embraced the complexity, and scope of this project,” Storyk notes. “The ultimate goal was to realize Ann’s dream of making Jungle City a significant addition to NY’s recording industry.”

The Future Is Now…

The Jungle City layout provides ample space for the modern artist doubling as producer a la Keys, Kanye West, Jay-Z, in that they can maximize production by running two rooms at once and jumping between projects. And the construction will continue.

When all is said and done, Mincieli reports, Jungle City will encompass five studios, including a second Studio A-style room. Inspired by Jungle City, Keys will build an Oven Manhattan location.

To continually tailor the studios to top-tier clientele, Mincieli draws insight from everyday experience with these artists while always looking ahead. “With a new studio, I’m looking to see what’s next,” she notes.

“What can I do? How can I be out front of everything that’s coming. The record labels didn’t do that, and it hurt everyone. We’re catching up now, but artists [at this level] need to have people in place with that foresight. And the artists and the labels need to be looking to the future.”

In this age of major releases leaking early and often, security is a huge concern, and protocols are in place at Jungle City.  “I don’t have any of my rooms networked together,” Mincieli points out.

“Artists bring in their own drives and I don’t have copies of anything when they leave. I will have the ability to store anything the labels need me to store (in a fireproof safe) but until then, I have these internal SATA drives on the computers. You can’t pull them out so you are forced to copy your stuff onto an external drive and take it with you when you leave. And then we’ll erase SATA drives. You don’t want to be the studio who leaks someone’s album.”

Leak-proof, airtight and on top of the game, Jungle City has arrived. Records are made to be broken, and elite studios are designed to be outdone. Just don’t be surprised if it takes the world a minute to surpass the new standard that’s been set on West 27^th Street.

To book Jungle City, visit www.junglecitystudios.com.

And for more on the Walters-Storyk Design Group, visit www.wsdg.com.

Recording Sweet Spot: KMA Music

Facility Name: KMA Music

Website: www.kmamusic.com

Location: The Brill Building, Midtown, Manhattan

Neighborhood Advantages: There are amazing views of Times Square here, a great selection of food, and our studio is located in a landmark building.

Date of Birth: 2007

Facility Focus: Tracking and mixing!

Mission Statement: “Bringing the music back to the Brill.”

Clients/Credits: 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Birdman, Black Thought, Bow Wow, Bravo TV, Britney Spears, Cash Money Records, Claude Kelly, Clipse, DJ Clue, DJ Khaled, DJ Swivel, David Cook, David Foster, Demi Lovato, Duro, Eric Hudson, Estelle, Eve, Fabolous, Fantasia, Flo Rida, G-Unit, G-Unit Records, Geffen Records, George Clinton, Ghostface Killah, Gloria Gaynor, Gym Class Heroes, Honor Society, Ice Cube, Interscope Geffen A&M, Island Def Jam Music Group, J Records, J-Cole, J-Lo, Jamie Foxx, Jay Sean, Jay-Z, Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, Jeremih, John Legend, Jonas Brothers, Jordin Sparks, Joss Stone, Justin Bieber, Kelly Rowland, Kristin Chenoweth, LMFAO, Little Steven, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Mos Def, Nas, Nelly, Nick Cannon, Paul Simon, Phil Ramone, Rihanna, Roc Nation, Sean Paul, Sesame Street, Shaggy, Snoop Dogg, Sony Music, Sting, Swizz Beatz, T.I., The Neptunes, Tiesto, Twista, Universal Motown, Universal Republic Records, Warner Bros. Records, Whitney Houston, Wyclef Jean, Yung Joc

Some of our recent credits include: Mixed: “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys from The Blueprint 3, “Do You Remember” by Jay Sean ft. Sean Paul & Lil Jon from All or Nothing,  “Throw It In The Bag” & “My Time” by Fabolous from Loso’s Way,”Baby” by Ghostface Killah from Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, “Bittersweet” by Fantasia, “Work Hard Play Hard” by DJ Tiesto, “Who Dat” by J. Cole, 12 out of 16 tracks on Fabolous’ Loso’s Ways, 11 out of 14 tracks on Jay Sean’s All or Nothing. Recorded and Produced “Worth It” by Whitney Houston from I Look To You.

Key Personnel: David “Roz” Rosner – Studio Manager , James M. Spano – Asst. Studio Manager, Casey R. Flynn – Chief of Operations

System Highlights: We have a lot on hand, including AKG C12 VR, API 3124, Avalon 737, Digidesign Control 24, Digidesign Icon, Focusrite Red 7, Griffin G 1.5, Griffin LFE 18”, Lexicon 960L, Logic Pro 9, Neumann U87, Pro Tools HD 8.0, SSL XLogic E Signature Channel, SSL XLogic SuperAnalogue, Sony C-800G, Tube-Tech MP-1A, Teletronix LA-2A,, Universal Audio 1176, Yamaha Disclavier 6 Grand Piano

Distinguishing Characteristics: We are a boutique studio with a vibe like no other.  Our entire facility has panoramic views of Times Square.  KMA was designed by famed studio designer, Fran Manzella (The Palms Studio, The Barber Shop Studios, Sterling Sound) who built our flagship A room around his very own Griffin monitors.  This is why clients such as Duro and DJ Swivel (Jay-Z, Jay Sean, Nas, Mariah Carey, Fabolous, Mary J. Blige, T.I., Britney Spears, The Neptunes, Ludacris, The Beastie Boys, Diddy, Ashanti and Will Smith, etc.) choose to record and mix their projects in our extremely quiet and sonically accurate rooms.

The building is on fire, you only have time to grab ONE thing to save, what is it? Our tech, Casey R Flynn haha… and the hard drives!

Rave Reviews: Our sound, our service, our staff, the views of Times Square, the vibe and the stripper pole (always a conversation piece!).

Most Memorable Session Ever: We’ve had many memorable sessions at KMA, but probably the most notable session was with the legendary Paul Simon and Phil Ramone while recording Paul’s single “Questions for the Angels.”

Session You’d Like to Forget: N/A!

Dream Session: We can’t narrow it down, so pick one for us: The Rat Pack, Michael Jackson,
Van Halen, U2, Johnny Cash. [SonicScoop selects ALL OF THE ABOVE laying down a slammin’ version of “We Want the Funk”.]

– David “Roz” Rosner, Studio Manager KMA Studios

The New Music Seminar 2010: “Advertising, Marketing and Media Need to Co-Exist”

In a world already teeming with new (often free) music options, where artists are struggling to make a living and where so many names get lost in the throngs of new artists each year, how does a new artist break through?

Earlier this week, the New Music Seminar convened to answer this multifaceted question through seminars and interviews with music marketing, technology, business and production professionals. The Seminar, overall, lived up to its name in its focus on fresh, unknown artists and bands that still have not gotten their ‘break,’ the “new music” we have yet to hear. What are the emerging tools, techniques and channels for getting this music out there? And what can we learn from past success stories and are these examples even relevant anymore?

New Music Seminar was spread over three days, between July 19th-21st, and a program which included Meet the Author sessions, 18-minute intensive presentations and panel discussions, or “Movements” that featured big personalities squaring off on these big-picture topics.

The first day’s Movements got off to a rough start as the mics were not working properly and the musicians in the room were yelling out advice instead of the other way round. However, talks finally got under way for The First Movement — ‘The New Music Business Unveiled’ — with players Michael Doernberg, co-founder of ReverbNation, Jay Frank, Sr. Vice President of Music Strategy at Country Music Television, Eric Garland, Founder and CEO of BigChampagne, and Gwen Lipsky, Chief Strategist at SoundThinking NY. The discussion was led by Ariel Hyatt, founder of Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR.

A number of different topics were raised but the discussion always seemed to wrap around the the theory of ‘1000 true fans.’ As Hyatt explained if an artist can accumulate 1,000 true fans, fans that not only buy music but also concert tickets and merchandise, and if each fan paid at least $100 a year then the artist or band should theoretically be able to support itself for that year. The conversation continued along the lines of obtaining “true fans” as Lipsky put it, although in the 20/80 marketing rule, where 20% of the consumers provide 80% of the revenue, she pointed out, “in music it’s less, it’s more like the 10/90 rule.”

Social media became a hot topic as Hyatt explained that Facebook, Twitter and MySpace were not enough. According to her pie chart (yes there were pie charts), e-mail (30%) and Google (14%) were in fact the best money-makers in terms of getting your name out there and selling music. The players preached regular communication with fans via newsletters or e-mail blasts to nurture a relationship with fans so that they became more than just a fan but rather a “true fan” or even a “superfan.”

Doernberg elaborated, mentioning artists who most of the room had never heard of yet who have been quite successful in financial terms due to their ability to “go deeper than a ‘friend’ relationship.” He said, “you don’t have to have tremendous reach to have high engagement.”

The seminar went on to discuss ‘Click to Content,’ and how artists should not only make their music available but also reduce the number of clicks it takes for a fan to download their music. Frank said, “People will give about 10 seconds to listen to a song,” therefore artists should find the fastest path to their fans even if that means going through different means of reaching different fans.”

Hyatt ended the discussion by answering a few questions from the audience. She added to her previous statement about reaching fans via e-mails saying “personalize the e-mails by splitting them into groups of fans,” but to only include “one call to action in each e-mail” because if there are too many, the fan is most likely to do nothing at all.

The Second Movement ‘The Future of Media’ led by Senior Editor of All Things Digital, Peter Kafka, included Alex Cameron, Senior VP of Market Manager Emmis NY, Courtney Holt, President of MySpace, Richard Yaffa, CEO and President of N. America Group M Entertainment, David Goodman, President of CBS Interactive Music Group, and Joe Kennedy CEO of Pandora.

Although this discussion was meant to focus on how the Internet changes who breaks and how, it seemed to veer into a debate between radio and Internet and which actually breaks artists and which leaves them lingering. When Cameron confessed that, “every medium has its place” and that, “new music is a major risk on radio,” the audience started to rustle and whispering filled the room. Kennedy came to her rescue claiming, “Radio is so essential to the discovery of music.”

The talk hit on some other points such as artist branding, bringing up names like Lady Gaga and her new venture with Polaroid and The Veronicas and their association with Yaz. Goodman explained that a lot of brands now want to affiliate themselves with new music as they earn credit for discovering new artists. In turn, this helps to build the brand’s reputation in the eyes of their consumers.

Cameron went on to say that “originally the currency was money and then time, but today’s currency is trust.” Trust amongst artists, labels and brands as well as fans. Goodman ended the talk on a positive note for all the new musicians in the audience, “stay true to the vision.”

On Day Two of the Seminar, a lively discussion broke out in the Movement titled, “The Creative Conundrum: Increasing Your Odds With Radical Differentiation.” Moderated by Bill Werde, with publicist/personality Kelly Cutrone, Little Steven, Just Blaze and Tom Jackson of OnStageSuccess.com, this panel spoke to the importance of finding one’s self as an artist, finding “your lane,” as Just Blaze put it, and putting 100% into being the best and brightest at that thing, whatever it is.

They all stressed the importance of the artist’s team, the production, presentation and management in honing and executing the artist’s vision. To the artists, producers and other creatives in the audience, Cutrone emphasized, “The team is really important but you have to believe in yourself. You have to live and breathe your brand.”

Swizz Beatz, Nile Rodgers, Little Steven & More Participate in This Week’s New Music Seminar

The New Music Seminar kicks off tonight with an opening night party and concert at conference HQ, Webster Hall.

Over the next two days, music and technology industry leaders will converge to speak out and share ideas during the conference, which will be presented in five “movements,” or focused discussions, 18-minute intensive talks, and mentoring sessions.

For the full New Music Seminar schedule, visit http://www.newmusicseminar.com/blog/event-details/schedule/.

Highlights include: Wednesday’s discussions on “The Breaks,” where artists will discuss the “mentors and miracles” involved in them first breaking through. Panelists will include Nile Rodgers, Swizz Beatz, Vinnie Brown (Naughty By Nature) and Alex Suarez (Cobra Starship). And “The Creative Conundrum — increasing your odds with radical differentiation” featuring Little Steven, Tom Jackson (OnStageSuccess.com) and Kelly Cutrone (People’s Revolution).

Tomorrow night will see the OurStage-powered “Artist on the Verge” Finals take place at Santo’s Party House, hosted by Matt Pinfield and Leslie Fram of 101.9 WRXP and John Clarke of Q104 FM. Performing finalists include Comic Book Heroes, Hotspur and Yonas. The Grand Prize Winner will receive the NMS Reflection Award Presented by Mountain Dew and Doritos, an award worth over $50,000 in prizes, at NMS on Wednesday, July 21.

For more information, visit www.newmusicseminar.com.