NEW YORK VENUES PERMITTED TO REOPEN AT FULL-CAPACITY FOR FULLY VACCINATED AUDIENCES
Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden are among the addresses now focusing on immunized crowds
New York venues will be permitted to reopen at full-capacity, provided they are hosting a fully vaccinated audience, according to an announcement by New York City governor Andrew Cuomo.
Large venues including Madison Square Garden have confirmed reopening plans will offer tickets only to those who have received full vaccinations. This currently accounts for 44.6% of all those living in the city. Radio City Music Hall, with a capacity of more than 6,000, intends on doing the same when it reopens on 19th June.
“Having Radio City back at 100%, without masks, with people enjoying New York, and the New York arts, is going to be not only symbolic and metaphoric; but I think it’s going to go a long way toward bringing back this state,” said Cuomo.
The process of entry under these new rules has not been confirmed, but a report on IQ Magazine suggests the free Excelsior Pass could be used to determine vaccination status. The app was launched by New York State, and uses QR codes to verify proof of either vaccination or negative COVID-19 tests with art and entertainment venues. It was trialled at a Brooklyn Nets basketball game on 27th February, and again at a New York Rangers hockey game on 2nd March.
New York's largest indoor gathering since the start of the pandemic took place on Sunday 23rd May, when 15,000 hit Madison Square Garden for the first round of the NBA Playoffs. According to James Dolan, executive chairman of the parent company, 90% of the crowd were vaccinated and no social distancing or mask wearing was required. "I hope everyone in sports and entertainment is listening because the public has spoken – they are fine with getting vaccinated and want to get back to the experiences they love,” he said.
Currently, venues in New York are subject to strict limits on capacity. Large indoor venues can only operate at 30 per cent, an increase from the 10 per cent maximum in place until 19th May. For outdoor events, capacities are set at 33 per cent.
10,000 CAPACITY COVID PILOT FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE IN JUNE
"Moshing is allowed"
A 10,000 capacity COVID pilot festival will take place in the UK next month as part of the government's Events Research Programme.
Last week, it was reported that Melvin Benn, MD of Festival Republic — the giant behind major gatherings including Leeds and Reading, Latitude and Electric Daisy Carnival in the UK — had announced plans to host a camping festival trial, and organisers have now confirmed the plan will go ahead at Donington Park from 18th to 20th June 2021, and "moshing is allowed".
Passes go on sale Tuesday 1st June for Download ticketholders, with the celebrated rock and metal festival hosting the event. General sale then begins on 3rd June, and Friday 28th May will see the lineup announced.
"Following the huge success of our Sefton Park event, we are delighted to contribute to Phase II of the Government's Events Research Programme with the creation of the first three-day camping festival," said Melvin Benn of Festival Republic, which runs Download.
"This massive next step will help us understand and study the safe return of large-scale festivals with no social distancing or face masks over a full weekend," he added. "[It's] the return of the full festival experience we have all been waiting for and a much needed return to work for musicians, backstage crew, caterers and many more that form part of the UK’s exemplary live music industry."
So far, the UK Government's Events Research Programme has seen a total of 58,000 people attend events ranging from the BRIT Awards and two large club events in Liverpool. As of 21st May 2021, just 15 COVID-19 cases had been detected from the trials.
However, it is worth noting not all attendees returned a PCR test five days after the event as requested, and many scientists are still warning the planned final stage of lockdown easing on 21st June may not go agead due to rising infections driven by the B.1.617.2 variant. And, even if the timeline goes as planned, music and nightlife industry representatives have voiced major concerns over a lack of government-backed event insurance for this summer, leaving many festivals vulnerable to unexpected local or national lockdowns, should they be reinforced.
NEW VIRTUALDJ ADDS CDJ EXPORT, INCLUDING PLAYLISTS AND STEMS
Users can export straight to USB stick without rekordbox
VirtualDJ has announced a new Summer 2021 version, that includes the ability to export both Playlists and individual stems from any song straight to USB to work with any CDJ or XDJ hardware. Last year, VirtualDJ introduced an AI stem separation feature that let users ‘mix’ individual parts of any song, such as isolating the acapella from a mixed stereo file.
The Summer 2021 version introduces the ability to add FX to individual stems, such as reverb to just the vocal within a mixed track. You can also scratch only the vocal while the rest of the track continues to play.
The new version also lets users export straight to USB stick that is then useable with any CDJ model and will include all of your analysis and cue points. Users can choose to export only individual stems from certain tracks such as just the drums from one and just the bassline from another. These stems can then be played back directly on the CDJ or XDJ.
Summer 2021 also introduces a new hashtags feature that lets users group tracks based on tags like #groovy, #deep etc. Find out more about VirtualDJ Summer 2021 here. Watch our video below to learn more about how stem separation works.
Talks with PTT feat. Landis
Would you like to start by giving a brief introduction of yourself?
Hey my name is Landis. I am a music producer/DJ born and raised in South Florida (an hour from miami). People describe my music as feel good house with a twist. I also run the record label Fresh Squeeze with Hexagon as well as a music and DJ Acadamey “Wired Sound Academy”!
Leading up to this place in your life and career, what would you say were some of the most important events that got you here?
Theres never been a defined moment but some of my favorites have been playing EDC Vegas/Orlando, charting on Billboard, landing my song in a major T-Mobile commercial and traveling to play shows in Europe! My career has been a series of people (record labels/managers etc.) hearing my music from other people than hitting me up about the music Im making to see if we can work together.
What is your approach to creating original music? What DAW do you use?
I am on Ableton. Music for me is more about piecing together a puzzle than raw creation. I usually discover a sound or hear a vocal that gets my ear. Than I go down a rabbit hole of how to bring that sound/vocal to the forefront of the record & make the listener pay attention to what I want them to pay attention to while keeping a certain vibe/tone in the record.
Can you tell us little more about your new record label Fresh Squeeze? What type of music can people expect?
So FS (fresh squeeze) is my new imprint with Don Diablo’s label Hexagon. It has always been my goal to create a community around my music and discover new artists along the way. With Fresh Squeeze I try and release only music I would play out & keep it feel good/high energy like my DJ sets. Alot of the music has a traditional house feel to it because it is a sound I just cant get enough of.
You are also a co-founder of DJ/production school Wired Sound Academy, what type of courses do you offer?
Yes Wired is based in South Florida and we have been up and running for about a year. It really is more than an academy the goal is to bring the SOFLO music industry together and build up a community of artists. We are always doing meetups/events for industry people to network. We offer courses on DJ’ing, Remixing/Editing Audio, Music Production, Mixing & Mastering and each course has marketing/music business advice tied in. We also are working with local venues to get our DJ’s booked once they graduate!
If you could pick one venue in the world to play, where would it be?
Probably Tomorrowland in Belgium, just feel like there are fans out there that I have never met that I would love to vibe with and also Belgium just looks unreal.
Do you have a promo email where artists can send you music?
Yes freshsqueezehq@gmail.com ;)
Check out the latest track from Landis "Wasting Time" out now on Fresh Squeeze.
soundcloud.com/landisofficial
facebook.com/landisofficial
instagram.com/landisofficial
twitter.com/landisofficial
Pitch The Tempo Mix Series Live 5/22
This Saturday, May 22nd come join us as we team up with the Pitch the Tempo Record Pool for one of their Mix Series Live!
Featuring:
Katrella from Revolution 93.5
DCAL from LvL Up Events
and the Pitch the Tempo Founder Romi Lux!
This is a free event taking place at the Sistrunk Marketplace, Home of Wired Sound Academy!
DJs and Producers come out and get access to a month of Pitch the Tempo's record pool for free!
Landis, one of the Founders of Wired Sound Academy will also be there for anyone interested in taking their music skills to the next level!
https://www.facebook.com/events/350308676441995
APPLE SAYS “MUSIC IS ABOUT TO CHANGE FOREVER” IN NEW TEASER
Apple has made the bold statement “music is about the change forever” in a new teaser first uncovered by MacRumours.com. The cryptic message is displayed alongside a video of a spinning Apple Music logo, implying the new update will be centred around Apple’s Spatial Audio feature found in their AirPod Pros and AirPod Max headphones.
There have also been rumours circulating around a lossless audio alternative subscription for Apple Music that would see the whole catalogue upgraded to a high-end listening experience via a ‘lossless’ and a ‘hi-res lossless’ mode. The Verge reports: “According to code in the Android app, the lossless tier will support music streaming at 24-bit/48Hz (a small step up from regular CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz), while the hi-res lossless tier will stream at 24-bit/192 kHz”.
No official announcement has been scheduled but some rumours suggest an announcement could be made by Tuesday May 18th.
FATBOY SLIM AND BOOTSY COLLINS RELEASE 4K REMASTER OF CHRISTOPHER WALKEN-LED VIDEO FOR "WEAPON OF CHOICE
Twenty years ago, when most of the people reading this article were in grade school or still in the womb, Fatboy Slim and the funk legend Bootsy Collins released the Grammy Award-winning single "Weapon of Choice." While the song itself is iconic enough, many people have distinct memories of its unforgettable music video. Now, in honor of the track's 20th anniversary, they've released a 4K remastered version of the video.
The video was directed by the highly-acclaimed filmmaker, Spike Jonze, known for his work on Being John Malkovich, Her, and the Jackass series. For the musical accompaniment, Christopher Walken was recruited to star in the video. Delightfully bizarre like much of Jonze's work, the video simply features Walken extravagantly dancing throughout a hotel before jumping off a ledge and floating through the lobby. All set to the funk fusion produced by the two artists, the star-powered video took the already-addicting single to the next level and persevered its legacy for decades to come.
You can relive Fatboy Slim and Bootsy Collins' iconic music video for "Weapon of Choice" below.
FOLLOW FATBOY SLIM:
Facebook: facebook.com/fatboyslim
Twitter: twitter.com/fatboyslim
Instagram: instagram.com/officialfatboyslim
Spotify: spoti.fi/3edLuSR
FOLLOW BOOTSY COLLINS:
Facebook: facebook.com/BootsyCollins
Twitter: twitter.com/Bootsy_Collins
Instagram: instagram.com/bootsy_collins
Spotify: spoti.fi/3nKzdbt