This Thursday, January 19th, GoldCoasttv brings you the 2012 Snow’d In Music Fest. Taking place at the Double Door in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, the fest will feature local electro-pop bands Gemini Club, Team Bayside High, GhostHouse and Boutros. Before the event – in the Double Door’s ‘Dirt Room’ – will be a tech meet-up (TechinMotion 4), featuring a presentation from SoundOff.fm and a panel of industry experts. Getting ready for this event, we decided to chat with James Kruml from GoldCoasttv. To learn a little more about the relationship between technology and the music industry, Chicago’s tech/music revolution, and how GoldCoasttv is just like a mullet, check out the full interview below!
FF: Why mix music with tech; what’s your mission for this event?
JK: I’m a big music fan. My Father influenced my love of the classics: Van Halen, ZZ Top, and Deep Purple. After my older brother started listening to artists like 2pac, OutKast and Nas, I became a huge Hip Hop head. Throughout my career at Columbia College, I immersed myself in the local HipHop scene by filming videos for GoldCoasttv. My musical horizons expanded even more after working closely with Josh from Boutros, who is playing at Snow’d In. Through working in the tech scene for the past four years, I’ve seen the many dramatic changes that technology has caused in the music market. I thought it would be a great idea to get a conversation going about how technology can help the major music market instead of hurting it, which I think a lot of people are beginning to see.
FF: Why do you think Chicago can be the center for a tech/music revolution?
JK: It’s all about initiative: being the first person with an idea and running with it. I think it’s pretty clear that Chicago is in the full swing of a huge technology movement. It’s been getting some major press and even recognition from Silicon Valley (the “Mecca of US Tech”). As for music, we have every style and sound you could think of. That’s the cool thing about Chicago – it’s the one place where you can get a little bit of everything.
FF: Traditionally, the music industry has been slow to embrace innovation and social/tech solutions. Do you think this is changing and why?
JK: The music industry has been slow to jump on social and tech trends because they are so new. Not to mention, the major labels know that social media will be the death of them. The majority of today’s up and coming artists don’t even feel like they need a major label deal. In addition to that, now that digital sales have surpassed physical album sales, they don’t need a distribution deal, either. In my opinion, social media is a both a good and a bad thing for music. It’s good because it gives people the opportunity to make their voices heard, which wasn’t the case even just five years ago. Unfortunately, that also means that there is virtually no barrier of entry, and there is now such a huge influx of content that discovering good content becomes much more difficult.
FF: What can we expect from TechMotion 4?
JK: TechinMotion IV should be great; we have an awesome panel of judges including Sony’s Director of Software Development and the COO of Music Dealers, a music licensing company. Both of who should be able to give some fantastic insight on the positive and negative effects that technology has had on the music industry. The presenting company, Soundoff.FM, has a very interesting approach to introducing its users to new music involving a format of unbiased voting. I am really looking forward to seeing how the panel challenges them and hearing the points they make. The last three TechinMotion events had great turnouts, and I’m expecting TechinMotion IV to yield and even greater one.
FF: Why did you want to partner up with FanFueled for this event?
JK: An artist’s stature lies in the power of their fans. The fact that FanFueled gives the fan the opportunity to express their love for these artists through promoting concerts, events and parties is really cool. Plus, FanFueled is a technology-based company. Put the two together, and you have ‘Tech ‘n Music”.
FF: What’s next for Gold Coast TV?
JK: Well, first off, we just launched a new brand called RoboToaster, which we are very excited about! We noticed a huge need for visual marketing tools in promoting the technology businesses and start-ups around us and we hope to fill that void. Our services will include video, photo, graphic design, and social media management. We are currently launching a ‘Tech ‘n Music’ blog, where we will cover stories and generate custom content for both industries. In time, we hope to build our own product, which is in “conception phase” as of right now. GoldCoasttv will still cover anything and everything entertainment-based; it’s kind of like a mullet, business in the front, party in the back. In addition to jumping into a new market and launching the blog, we will keep on organizing large-scale events that continue to push the initiative of ‘Tech ‘n Music’ once every quarter.
