Via — Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY
“The outlook for music retailers not named Apple has been cloudy at best. Amazon.com hopes to brighten the forecast today with the introduction of new digital services the online retail giant hopes will bolster market share it concedes is “insignificant” compared with Apple.

Amazon launches Amazon Cloud Drive, an external hard drive in the sky you can use to store music — or for that matter, pictures, videos and documents — that you can access from any Web browser on a computer. Amazon claims it is secure.

Gary Calamar hails from the Bronx, NY, and grew up a constant presence in local record stores. When he moved to LA in the early 80s, he got himself behind the counter, managing stores and nourishing the flourishing culture of the record store. In April 2010, he released the book “Record Store Days,” inspired by both his life and tastes as a consumer and connoisseur of vinyl.

Calamar is of course much more than a consumer and author. A KCRW volunteer and DJ since the mid ‘90s, Gary hosts a Sunday night show (9p-12m) on the station that not only showcases emerging music, but looks deeply into the roots of Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues, and Soul.

In 1998, Calamar got his break into the world of music supervision, placing music with Marq Roswell for the movie, Slums of Beverly Hills and in 1999, again with Roswell, for Varsity Blues; this latter soundtrack earned him a gold record. His work with partner Thomas Golubic on Six Feet Under (HBO) became strongly influential, making a case for placing indie music in television. Gary went on to found Go Music with Alyson Vidoli. He currently places music on True Blood (HBO), House (Fox), and Dexter (Showtime), and was recently nominated for a Grammy for the True Blood II Soundtrack.

In all aspects of the music business, Gary Calamar’s focus is broad and considerate; he remains abreast of all new movements and grounded in the history that makes them compelling, meaningful, and fun.

Most music supervisors pay their dues working for record labels or publishing companies, or interning for established supervisors. It also doesn’t hurt to work for KCRW. Although he did work previously as an exec at MTV in New York, Scott Vener skipped most of the conventional rungs of the ladder and landed a job without any previous experience as a supervisor on Entourage, one of coolest shows on television. Scott’s music selections play a major role in the success of the program, especially his unique skill for finding the perfect song for the end credits of each episode.

One of the most exciting things about the music that airs on Entourage is that Scott consistently breaks tracks before they’re released anywhere else. That’s included Tame Impala’s “Half Full Glass Of Wine”, Jamie T’s “Salvador”, Gnarls Barkley’s “Gone Daddy Gone” and many other mainstream songs that have gone on to become very big. An LA native, Scott Vener (aka Broke Mogul) is now the music supervisor on How to Make it in America and on Beverly Hills 90210. He’s the first to admit that he’s got a great job and a great life.

[Via – DMN]
Is this strategy screaming for change? We just took a look at the top 100 singles on the iTunes Store (for Friday afternoon), and found that 95 of them were priced at $1.29. The remaining 5 were $0.99, and none were $0.69. Meanwhile, paid downloads are flattening (up just 1% in the US in 2010 last year according to Nielsen Soundscan).

The results of our deeper dive are ahead. (Continue Reading)

We are excited to announce a new monthly feature on Rollo & Grady in which we interview the biggest and brightest music supervisors in the film and television business.

This month we spoke with Thomas Golubic, supervisor for The Walking Dead, Rubicon, and my personal favorite: Breaking Bad. Golubic, along with his business partner at the time, Gary Calamar (True Blood), revolutionized the use of indie music in television through his and Calamar’s work on the HBO drama, Six Feet Under. The duo, both DJs at KCRW, placed songs on the show by Thievery Corporation, Wilco, Quantic, Ryan Adams, PJ Harvey, Bob Mould, and Interpol, to name a few.

Thomas next parlayed his talents to work on one of the most exciting dramas on television: Breaking Bad. He continued his streak of quality placements using TV On The Radio, Timber Timbre, Beastie Boys, The Walkmen, Gnarls Barkley, Calexico, and Darondo.

During our conversation, Thomas spoke openly about the challenges music supervisors face today. He also offered excellent advice on how to break into the business. Lastly, he discussed the importance of music blogs and the Hype Machine as key resources for finding new music.

Thank you for visiting Rollo & Grady. We’re an online music publication and music supervision, licensing, management, and production company based in Los Angeles. Our goal is to provide a convenient and efficient way to discover and rediscover quality music. We’re excited to share the music that we listen to. At Rollo & Grady, you’ll find tracks from the past, the present, and everywhere in between, as well as local and national music news, reviews, music videos, and interviews.

Rollo & Grady Productions focuses on placing up-and-coming indie artists in film, television, commercials, and the internet. We’ve served as music consultants for both film and television, working with Mike Barker, Matt Weitzman, and Seth Macfarlane on Season 5, 6, and currently on season 7 of the Fox program American Dad and with Fox Searchlight on the film Cedar Rapids, starring Ed Helms and John C. Reilly, directed by Miguel Arteta (Youth In Revolt, The Good Girl) and produced by Jim Burke and Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways). Rollo & Grady have recently been hired to consult for the war film, Love And Honor, starring Liam Hemsworth and Teresa Palmer.

In addition to consulting, Rollo & Grady Productions handled music supervision duties on the documentary Sing, a film about the 2008 Hotel Cafe tour and the indie comedy, Last Call starring Christopher Lloyd and Tom Arnold, executive produced by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers).

We currently supervise music on Cessna Aircraft’s online commercials for the Mandala Agency and consulting on a Toyota commercial for the Intermark Group.

Rollo & Grady has been featured or linked in the following online publications:

Los Angeles Times, Wired Magazine, The Guardian (UK), New York Times Magazine, Under The Radar Magazine, MTV, NME, Paste, Rolling Stone, Hipster Runoff, Filter, LAist, Village Voice, Current TV, Daily Swarm, Relix Magazine, USA Today, The Daily Chord, Flavorwire, JamBase, Dallas Observer, KXLU 88.9 FM, WXPN.com, Hypebot, and Seth Godin’s Blog.

You can catch Rollo & Grady from time to time DJ’ing on LA radio station KXLU 88.9 FM.

If you are a filmmaker looking for a music supervisor, or an artist looking for song placement in film and television please contact us at rollogradyproductions@gmail.com.

Follow Rollo & Grady on Twitter (Click Here)

[Via – Bob Lefsetz – Lefsetz Letter, July 10th]

“This is an utterly fascinating story that should be read by bands and concert promoters alike.

This is the Phish phenomenon, absent social media/the Internet which can spread the word so much quicker than in the days of yore. Stop telling me you need development money, you need to get on the radio, on television. Phish had none of that and they can do better live business than today’s Top Forty wonders. Focus on music and culture, not marketing.”

Related Posts:
Rollo & Grady interview with Bob Lefsetz (Click Here)

‘Manager Spotlight’ is a recurring feature on Rollo & Grady in which we speak with rising
stars in the music management business. This week we caught up with Holland Nix of Anger Management in Nashville, Tennessee. Her clients include JEFF the Brotherhood and Heavy Cream. In addition to running Anger Management, Holland is also a partner in Infinity Cat Recordings.

JEFF the Brotherhood

R&G: How did you get your start in the music business?

Holland: I had a very mid-90’s intro into the music biz. I moved to Nashville a few years after college without knowing it was “music city.” I needed to find a job immediately, so I interviewed and was hired at the Hard Rock Café. I met many people wanting to break into the biz while working at HRC. That’s when I learned about all the music companies in this town. I went home one night and pulled out my CD collection. After reading every booklet in the stash, I wrote down every studio, management company, record label, booking agency and PR firm that was based in Nashville. I whipped out the phone book and wrote down all the addresses I could find. Then, on my days off from the HRC, I would pound the pavement with good ol’ fashioned typewriter resumes. My last day of footwork and the last company on my list was Vector Management. It so happened that the receptionist had just given his notice and I arrived at the right time. He got Kathi Whitley to come and speak to me and then she handed me over to Ken Levitan. All went well and it looked like I had a job, but the receptionist decided not to leave so I didn’t in the end. Kathi asked me to keep in touch with her just in case something else popped up, so about once a month I’d call her and we’d chat. It took ten months, but eventually that receptionist was promoted. I got the phone call to come on over, and the journey began.

R&G: What advice would you give to aspiring managers?

Holland: That’s a tough one because the landscape of the music industry changes every three minutes. I would have to say: do your homework, learn as much as you can about the things that don’t initially spark your interest, and build your knowledge base beyond what you feel is your capacity. (I’m assuming you’re already obsessed with your passions or you would not be in this crazy industry.) I was a day-to-day manager for seven years before I started my own management company; I learned new things every day, and I still am. What you should not do is assume you know all that you need to in order to manage an Artist. Also focus on building your team; no one can do it alone. It’s amazing what can come together when you have the right people around you. Finally, I’ve had some great mentors who have taught me everything from business philosophy to how to properly bang my head at a live show. To these people I owe everything!

R&G: If I had known then, what I know now, I would….

Holland: …have gotten into management a lot sooner. I started at a management company, but then hopped around to many different types of companies in the music industry. Once I really focused on management I was hooked. I don’t have any regrets, as I learned so much working in all facets of the biz, so perhaps I shouldn’t list this as the answer to your question. How about this: I would have gotten earplugs a lot earlier in my career. Although listening to live shows in front of the “stacks” is quite righteous, the long-term affects far outweigh the short-term buzz.

R&G: How important are social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and music blogs in promoting your acts?

Holland: Extremely important. What the fans want most is direct access to Artists. It’s important for the fan to stay engaged and the best way to do this is via Twitter. When bands communicate with their fans, it’s instant gratification. It’s the timeliest medium we have today. I mean, who doesn’t want to know what MC Hammer is doing right now? Facebook is still a very clean tool that not only serves as a direct connect with your favorite Artists, but with your friends as well. Total viral lovin’! MySpace is like the 8-track tape player my grandmother had in her car: it looked cool and had been cutting edge at one time, but was no longer the most efficient way to blast tunes in her ride. I don’t mean to say MySpace is irrelevant; it’s simply no longer the shiny new toy. Music blogs are my favorite reads. There’s no greater way to get the fans’ perspective than through the various blogs. What’s posted isn’t always positive but the bad comes with the good. I learn so much about new Artists, new technologies, and the latest hype reading music blogs. Slightly addicted, party of one!

R&G: Most interesting or humorous situation you’ve dealt with as a manager?

Holland: This is hard for me to narrow down from fifteen years of being in the industry, so I’m going to go with something recent. SXSW 2010 at one of the epic JEFF The Brotherhood showcases: There was a guy talking and eating pizza during the JtB set, so Jake walked over to his table, propped his foot on the edge, and played the entire solo in this guy’s face. It was totally rad. Jake and Jamin really know how to grab the attention of the unsuspecting live show attendee. The best part is, that dude bought a CD at the end of the show. Mission accomplished!

R&G: Blackberry or iPhone?

Holland: Blackberry. Thank you Verizon for not jumping on the iPhone bandwagon and therefore allowing my “wheelie ball” callus to grow and grow.

MP3: Jeff The Brotherhood – U Got The Look
MP3: Jeff The Brotherhood – Bone Jam