hi, it’s Tim,

This is an email I hoped I would never have to send.

As you probably know, in July of 2007 we had to block usage of Pandora outside the U.S. because of the lack of a viable license structure for Internet radio streaming in other countries. It was a terrible day. We did however hold out some hope that a solution might exist for the UK, so we left it unblocked as we worked diligently with the rights organizations to negotiate an economically workable license fee. After over a year of trying, this has proved impossible. [...]

We have been told to sign these totally unworkable license rates or switch off, non-negotiable…so that is what we are doing. Streaming illegally is just not in our DNA, and we have to take the threats of legal action seriously. Lest you think this is solely an international problem, you should know that we are also fighting for our survival here in the US, in the face of a crushing increase in web radio royalty rates, which if left unchanged, would mean the end of Pandora.

We know what an epicenter of musical creativity and fan support the UK has always been, which makes the prospect of not being able to launch there and having to block our first listeners all the more upsetting for us. [...]

Pandora will stop streaming to the UK as of January 15th, 2008.

Again, on behalf of all of us at Pandora, I’m very, very sorry.

-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)

More info | SaveNetRadio

This will be our last lesson for the term! And we plan to make it special…

We will cover the mystic arts of scratching, and beat juggling; Jethro will demonstrate the awesome creative power of using a laptop in your mix; we will show you how Serato draws the best of both digital and vinyl worlds; we will finish our lessons in mixer Kung Fu – sounding like a professional; and of course we will be on hand to answer any question you can throw at us!

But if you’re not feeling advanced and god-like just yet, all our equipment and expertise will be available for you to improve your beatmatching skills with as per usual. Last week we had a proper setup playing to the room, this is excellent experience, and some of you took full advantage, we will continue this trend this week also.

Lastly a reminder that any of you who are feeling adventurous are more than welcome to come to the Week 8 Dusk social and tear up a real-life dance floor (rather than Goodricke seminar rooms).

This will be the last opportunity to pick the Breakz brains (and decks) on mixing technique this term, so come down! Otherwise we will be back next term to facilitate your life-lessons in DJing…

L Goodricke G/001 & G/002
D Thu 22 Nov 2007
T 2030 – 2300
£ 3.00 | 2.00 Breakz

People last week were really starting to progress, well done! This week we will have a complete DJing set up for you, so you can mix for real!

Special lesson tutorials still to come: Mixer manipulation – how to sound professional; Jethro will demonstrate the titanic power of laptop mixing (Ableton); Spoonfed will demonstrate tearing up a dancefloor through scratching; and if we’re really lucky, Andrew will show us up with his unique expert style of DnB raving!

Another social at Dusk is materialising in week 8 or 9, and Breakz is offering those of you who are interested the chance to play for real at a proper event!

So if you want to learn the black arts of beat matching, cross fading and scratching from the acclaimed Breakz resident DJs, come along on thursday at 2030 to G/001 & and G/002. Sessions are just £3 (and only £2 for Breakz members).

To give us some idea of numbers (and you didn’t come last week), it would be great if you could send an us email if you’re planning to attend.

L Goodricke G/001 & 002
D Wed 7 Nov 2007
T 2030 – 2300
£ 3.00 | 2.00 Breakz
C Breakz

Whether or not you were part of Breakz on Facebook before, please come and join us at our new home. We promise not to come round and ask to borrow the sugar.

We had a really popular session last week, so we’re bringing extra kit along this time to make sure you can all get as much practice time as possible. Don’t worry if you’ve never touched a pair of decks before; almost everyone who came last week was a beginner, so you’ll be in good company.

So if you want to learn the black arts of beat matching, cross fading and scratching from the acclaimed Breakz resident DJs, come along on Wednesday at 2030 to G/045A & B. Sessions are just £3 (and only £2 for Breakz members).

To give us some idea of numbers (and you didn’t come last week), it would be great if you could send an us email if you’re planning to attend.

L Goodricke G/045A & B
D Wed 7 Nov 2007 (Week 5)
T 2030 – 2300
£ 3.00 | 2.00 Breakz
C Breakz

The Breakz DJ lessons start again this Thursday. Whether you’re a vinyl virgin or a veritable scratch pervert, our resident DJs will be there to do everything from introducing you the decks to honing your double drops.*

We’ve had some great sessions over the past two years, and seen some quite amazing rates of progression – most people get pretty good at the basics in three to four weeks, so you could be mixing it up at your own party this Christmas!

A Bit More Info…

This year, we’re running a series of workshops to introduce you to the basics and some more advanced techniques too. We’ll be structuring the sessions and covering specific topics in each one, so we can make them as useful as possible for you and give you a comprehensive introduction to the art of DJing in a relatively short time.

We’ll be kicking things off with a little bit of musical theory (not too much!) to help you understand how to beat match and the other ingredients that go into a great set.

After that, the real fun starts as we move behind the decks to get you mixing up some tunes. We’ve got the room booked for a couple of hours, so everyone should have more than enough time to get as much out of the session as they can.

So if you want to learn the black arts of beat matching, cross fading and scratching from the acclaimed Breakz resident DJs, come along on Thursday at 2030 to G/045B.

Get in Touch

You’re welcome just to turn up, but to give us some idea of numbers it would be great if you could let us know if you’re planning to attend via djlessons@breakzdjs.com Also feel free to email if you have any questions. Don’t worry if you’ve never touched a pair of decks before; almost everyone who’s come before has been a beginner, so you’ll be in good company. The sessions are just £3 (and only £2 for Breakz members). Hope to see you there!

L Goodricke G/045B
D Thu 1 Nov 2007 (Week 4)
T 2030 – 2230
£ 3.00 | 2.00 Breakz
C Breakz

* Please note that we may not be able to teach you stuff if you are an actual Scratch Pervert.

Breakz is the society on campus devoted to promoting drum & bass, breaks and hip-hop, with some dubstep, ragga and jungle thrown in for good measure. If you came to Access All Areas, hopefully you caught us mixing up some serious tunage in Vanbrugh for your aural delectation. We were apparently the last people on campus to stop the music (at 2:40 am), so it looks like we’ve got a hardcore crew this year!

Keeping You Informed

Over the next year we’ll keep you up to date with our regular newsletter, [Now], detailing upcoming events (on campus and in York), music releases, information about the scene, and other news that interests us (and hopefully you as well).

The website (you’re looking at it :) contains even more information about our world, including past and future events (ours and others in York) and the Breakz forum.

We’re now able to offer RSS feeds to keep you up to date with everything that’s going on. If you’d like to take advantage, you can subscribe to the main site fee or the events feed.

Getting Involved

Want to get involved in running some of the best events staged in York? Breakz is run by a small team of people with little in the way of hierarchy, so you really can get stuck in, take decisions and make a difference from the start.

We need:

• DJs – the core of everything we do, really
• MCs – if you can spit out some tight lyrics over dnb, hip-hop or anything else, we want to hear from you.
• Organisers – booking acts, running events on the night, scouting for venues and opportunities, organising trips.
• Promoters – designing posters and flyers, working with printers, contacting media and other ents organisers, website, email campaigns, distribution.

If this sounds like your kinda thing then get in touch. Email us or come along to our weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 3:15 in Derwent bar.

Joining Breakz

Just signed up for the mailing list and not joined Breakz? If so, I’d like a moment of your time…

So what do you get out of it?

As well as helping us stage some of the finest events on campus and in York – we really can’t do it without you – and the warm (but unfortunately intangible) knowledge that you are part of Breakz, you will £1 off the ticket price at each Breakz and Herbal Mafia event (where we can offer a discount). That alone could have saved you £10-20 last year.

We’ll also give you a free double CD with four exclusive mixes by Breakz resident DJs and a shiny membership card. It’s just £4 to join, so please get in touch or grab us at an event if you’d like to become part of the team.

Finally…

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or anything else, just email info@breakzdjs.com.

A lot of events are posted in the Breakz forum, so check there for details, or have a look at York on DSI.

We’ll still be checking the email regularly over the summer, so if you want to talk to us about events, promotion, getting involved or anything else drop us a line.

Have a good one and see you all in October.

Another end. Another beginning.

It’s been a bit of a different year for us at Breakz. We’ve had fewer events of our own, but been part of a lot more collaborations. Over the past year, we’ve worked with the Herbal Mafia, RAG, James, Langwith, Derwent and many other societies and groups to bring you a much needed fix of drum and bass through some big bass bins. And we’ve already started working with YUSU Ents (and many others) on next term’s freshers’ week to ensure the music you love continues to be represented.

The scene in York

In town things have been pretty positive, with the arrival of the monthly Herbal Mafia and Tinnitus dnb nights at Cert 18 (the former unfortunately no longer running, though we are hopeful this may change soon). There have also been a number of other regular and one off nights at the Junction, Judge’s Lodgings and other venues offering a similar musical palette. The alternative music scene in York has long been underrepresented for a city of this size, so hopefully this will prove to be just the start for the developing scene in York.

Looking ahead

We’re already looking ahead to our next year in York, so if you have any thoughts, comments or want to get involved with Breakz then please do get in touch. And if you’re returning next year, no doubt we’ll see you at the front…

Free tonight?

If you’re still in York and fancy going out tonight, Tinnitus are hosting their monthly drum & bass night at Cert 18 for your listening and dancing pleasure. This time Generation Dub are headlining, with support from El Mundo, residents Brounsoundz and Bainbridge, and a brace of MCs. Should be a good one.

Check the forum for details.

The Day of Silence is in response to huge royalty rate increases that are likely to force many webcasters off the air. Smaller, ‘long tail’ stations – those playing the sort of music we care about – are likely to be the hardest hit, along with those offering innovative, potentially disruptive services such as Pandora and Live365, leaving only a few monoliths to play out the same Top 40 playlist-driven pop that is failing (in the US at least) to capture interest, enthusiasm, or audiences.

Some comment

A couple of interesting snippets from the SaveNetRadio blog.

OutboundMusic

It’s not really about proper and fair royalties. It’s about the major labels deciding who gets airplay on the Internet through the use of unreasonably high statutory royalties to force competition out of the market-many Internet Radio stations working with the majors will have sweetheart deals which reduce their commitment or exempt them completely from paying the fees. Sound familiar?

There is nothing illegal in what the majors are doing. […] It is a business strategy most MBAs would embrace for companies producing widgets. But it’s not good for the music industry. It’s bad for the fans, bad for the artists and bad for music diversity.

Ian Rogers from Yahoo! Music:

Compare the implications of this decision to terrestrial radio which pays NOTHING to SoundExchange, or even satellite radio which pays only 3-7% of their revenue to SoundExchange, and it’s hard not to be left scratching your head. The irony of all this, of course, is that this ruling will keep LAUNCHcast, Pandora, and the like out of your living room and push you toward FM, where the labels are paid zero. This decision cuts off a genuine future revenue stream before it has had a chance to grow.

It’s not just the Webcasters that will suffer. Higher costs, fewer Internet broadcasters and stations means less diversity overall, and less opportunity for the unlimited spectrum of Internet radio to become a discovery tool for curious listeners and a launching platform for smaller artists. Internet radio features thousands of channels in the narrowest of genres as well as personalized services (LAUNCHcast) and recommendation systems (Pandora), while FM radio (where it still plays music) plays the same songs over and over and the total number of satellite channels is less than five hundred. I am a satellite radio subscriber and can honestly say it doesn’t even come close to representing the diversity I get from my personal LAUNCHcast station. Listeners and artists ultimately lose if this infinite spectrum of music choice evaporates or even shrinks to just a few players. The implications for innovation in the space are catastrophic.

More info

• RAIN announcement
• More from RAIN and station list
• Pressrelease from SaveNetRadio (pdf)
• DI post