Umami–The Fifth Taste Sensation 
  
January 3rd, 2008

Umami is a flavor additive that has been well known and used in parts of Asia for nearly 100 years.

Umami adds the savorful taste, aside from the four basic sweet, salty, sour and bitter that we so commonly focus on.

Umami is being used by top chefs all around the world, and yes now in the states for its explosive taste.

Packaged food companies such as Nestle, Frito-Lay and Campbell's soup are trying to ramp up the umami taste in foods like low-sodium soup to make them tast better.

So what is Umami and what is the secret?

MSG, or monosodium glutamate. MSG is a darling of the food industry and is insidiously hidden even on the label by terms such as "natural flavors." This "natural flavor" tag can go for nutritional supplements as well, so beware.

Why would they want to hide such a thing?

MSG is a proven excitotoxin which means it can excite cell death at a faster rate. Complaints have been raised such as headaches, weight gain and even seizures.

Dr Russell Blaylock, author of Excitotoxins, The Tast that Kills was even told by a food industry expert that MSG will always be in our packaged foods, no matter the opposition.

What can we do? Eat as less packaged foods as possible. Read the labels, if it seems suspicious avoid it, and if you are seeing Umami being promoted, you might just want to go the other way. 

Hidden Names for MSG
  

January 4th, 2008

In the last posting I mentioned how MSG can be hidden under terms such as "natural flavors".

What we would like to give you a list of names in which MSG may be concealed.

Natural Flavors, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Ajinomoto, Hydrolyzed milk protein, Autolyzed Yeast, Natural beef flavoring, Kombu extract, Bouillon, Natural Pork flavoring, Mei-Jing/Wei-Jing, Barley malt, Natural Chicken flavoring, RL-50, Broth, Natural seasonings, Textured protein, Calcium caseinate, Gourmet powder, Seasongings, Sodium caseinate, Glutaveve, Sube, Flavorings, Glutacyl, Malt extract, Hydrolyzed oat flour, Tamari, Malt flavoring, Hydrolyzed plant protein, Zest


http://www.healthwarriorblog.com/

360's aka Blind Ambition

Listen to/Watch entire show:  http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ob/ob071114360s_aka_blind_ambit

Last Sunday, Jeff Leeds of the New York Times outlined 360 contract deals -- the major labels' latest attempt for a better financial relationship with recording artists. To understand these new deals, you need to know how the business used to operate. In the past, artists signed contracts that would allow that label the exclusive right to represent the artist's music. Representation included selling music at retail, as well as generating income from song placement in movies, TV shows and advertising. That was it. Seven album cycles were the standard time frame for these deals, leaving most artists contractually obligated to a particular record label for their entire career.

In exchange for exclusivity, artists were given additional benefits. Often, a significant signing bonus, monies to record their music and tour support were extended. These monies were recoupable against future income. Once records began to sell, the artist would earn a fraction of the income generated, but have a team of executives dedicated to their career development. And of course, they'd have the prestige of knowing they were signed to a star-making machine.

That was how it used to work. But the entire business landscape has shifted and this contractual model is no longer relevant for most new artists. Record sales, even digital sales are a fraction of what they once were, and financial remuneration for placements on TV, film or in advertising has declined substantially. There's not enough money generated for labels to risk their investment in new talent.

So what have the majors done? They've built more complex, more restrictive contracts called "360 deals" for many of their new signings. In a 360 deal, labels finance and commission areas outside the traditional recording contract. For instance, the label might finance a publishing deal of the artist's songs, pay the costs of launching a clothing line, finance infrastructure and staff. In 360 deals, labels invest anywhere they think they can recoup with profit.

The most controversial part of the deal is that labels commission touring income from bands. This one area was a musician's life-saver to survive in the lean years between hit records.

So why would a recording artist sign one of these new 360 deals? There are very few good reasons. Only two specific genres of music benefit from these kind of contractual arrangements in the long term. If you're a recording artist whose best shot at success is through pop commercial radio airplay, a 360 deal might give you the artist development visibility you need to earn radio programmers trust. And a new rap artist might benefit from a 360 deal, simply because the cost of building credibility on the street is too prohibitive for most to successfully launch campaigns independently. A 360 deal gives rap artists the needed tools to get a real shot, if done correctly.

But Buyer beware. These deals are long term, so read the fine print carefully. Trust no one. Ask questions. And be sure before you sign.

This is Celia Hirschman for On the Beat on KCRW.

Well.... it's a start...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Radio listeners weary of hearing the same songs over and over may have something to cheer about: Broadcasters have tentatively agreed to anti-payola settlements that could shake up music playlists at some of the nation's largest radio chains.

Four major broadcast companies would pay the government $12.5 million and provide 8,400 half-hour segments of free airtime for independent record labels and local artists, The Associated Press has learned.

The agreement is aimed at curbing payola - generally defined as radio stations accepting cash or other consideration from record companies in exchange for airplay. The practice has been around as long as the radio industry and was made illegal after scandals in the late 1950s.

The settlement was reached at the same time as a separate deal designed to lead to more airtime for smaller record companies and their lesser-known artists as well as local musicians.

The American Association of Independent Music, a group of independent record labels, has received a commitment from the same four broadcasters for the free airtime, the officials said.

The free airtime would be granted to companies not owned or controlled by the nation's four dominant music labels - Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and EMI Group.

In a statement Monday, Commissioner Michael Copps said pay-for-play "cheats radio listeners and will not be tolerated." Radio, he said, is "supposed to be our pipeline to exciting, local undiscovered acts - not more nationalized pablum from big media companies."

Full article in Encore Magazine here: Encore article

FAIR PLAY: Ron Fair gets the star treatment in the Business section of this mornings L.A. Times. The basic question posed by Charles Duhigg in the piece is whether a music person or a business person is better suited to running a record company. Not surprisingly, Jimmy Iovine, who named Fair Chairman of Geffen Records earlier this year, has an unambiguous opinion. "I'd always rather teach a music guy how to sell a record than try to teach a business guy how to make one," said the IGA leader. "Ron knows what a star looks like, and he knows how to produce a hit. The rest of the business is easy compared to that." (8/14a)

LAWYERS, GUNS & MONEY: In researching the Fair story, Duhigg was pointed in the right direction in terms of knowledgeable and quotable observers. Manager Andy Gould came up with a good take, and so did outspoken barrister Peter Paterno, who offered: "The corporate bosses used to buy a music company and then make the lawyer the CEO because he was the only one who spoke Wall Street's language. But those are the guys who destroyed the industry." Paterno, you'll recall, was the first head of Hollywood Records back in those optimistic days of the early 90's. (8/14a) (source: Hits)

I'm loving it....

I've gotta say, my respect for Peter Paterno just jumped 10 points. It takes a proper gentleman to say such a thing, given his career history. Bravo indeed.  

Also known as Phishing. What these hackers do is send you a link in your message on Myspace or email, like check this out or click "here" or anything thats linkable. You click on it, and get disconnected "booted" off Myspace.com, So you log back on, BUT what you are logging back on to is "FAKE" HACKERS Myspace Page. That looks "exactly" like Myspace's log in page. You re-type your email and password, not knowing this is a "fake" MySpace Page. Then the hacker now has your email and password, since you just typed it on to his "fake" Myspace page. He gets the information and changes your password. This could happen to your Bank, amazon, ebay, paypal, your email sites too.


How do you prevent this? Anytime you get disconnected or booted of any website. Think about why this happened or what you have just clicked on too. They will hack into your real friends account, and message you, doing the same phishing trick. So anyones messages or mail you have to be careful.
Look carefully at the website address, When you retype your email and password. Are you really signing on to Myspace or some weird url http.fakeaccount.com. or www.rnyspace.com (notice the r n in myspace making it look like myspace but really it's r nyspace"rnyspace")

Remember if you get disconnected, just be careful, when you log back in. Double check the website address, that its the same you originally signed in on. Thought I would share this, Hope it helps some of you.

(courtesy of Richard Wright)

Top Ten A&R Wish List:
High Chasability Factor

1. Hits
2. Busy Bands -- with Gigs, music placements
3. A "Story" or "Angle"
4. Fresh Recordings - Best New Songs
5. Fan Base
6. Simple Packages with A Live Video
7. A Little Mystery
8. People They Know Introducing You
9. Artists with Buzz
10. Artists with good Web Presence and Photos

Top 10 list courtesy of Studio Expresso

I would add - a good live show.  

Now is an exciting time for artists. It is good to have a supportive label, but they are no longer mandatory in order to build a fanbase for those who know how to utilize new marketing frontiers.

Part of this new paradigm is an increase in "battle of the band" type contests. Beware! Read the terms very carefully before you enter. Some of them are OK and have mutually beneficial intentions. But with others, you could give up more than you bargained for - ranging from creative control to the rights to your masters, songs (publishing), merchandising, logo, name and likeness - forever. 

If there is a label deal involved, what does it entail?  If it's not clear, you are signing a blank piece of paper that can be filled with *anything* later. Sometimes, these terms apply not only to the winners, but to all who enter. Often times, the terms are vague, restrictive and controlling - basically stating that the contest owns everything and can do what they want with it - which includes doing nothing. So you may have a cash prize in your pocket, but you could have just forfeited your career, at least for the next few years.

I recently saw one that stipulated if a manager, agent or lawyer was involved prior to entering the contest and/or signing the deal, the deal was off. In other words, if the artist sought professional advice, they were in breach of contract. Now what could be so wrong with that picture that they wouldnt want industry professionals to see?

7. Beware new paradigm predators.

May not be republished without prior written permission.

It's all about the music, but it's equally a visual world. MTV, the internet, television appearances etc. make it necessary to stand out musically and visually. This goes for artwork too. Develop a relevant style that pops. Remember that you affect others. What message are you trying to convey?

(recommended study: No Doubt, 8mm,  Led Zeppelin, Garbage, Bjork, Eminem, Tool, The Beatles, New World Revolution, Missy Elliot, David Bowie, Pink, Beastie Boys)

May not be republished withour prior written permission.

The U.S. is an enormous market to break, nevermind the globe. One of the biggest mistakes I see artists make is to try and launch themselves too big too early - or distribute parts piece-meal without a plan when it would have had more impact to distribute numerous parts at once. It is better to form a long term strategy and gather as much ammunition as possible in order maximize the chance of getting attention. Strategy, readiness and timing are crucial.

5. Patience and planning pay.

(recommended study: U2)

May not be republished withour prior written permission.

Some of you will be lucky enough to find a bonified muse.  The genuine ones are few and far between. They will strengthen and elevate you beyond your own knowing. They will usually be held in high regard and will go elsewhere if you are unable to appreciate them.

4. Mess with the muse and you mess with yourself.

(Recommended viewing: "The Muse" starring Albert Brooks and Sharon Stone)

Lessons From The Frontline may not be republished withour prior written permission.