Dub dot dash

I can see the music
The New York Times profiles the New Ambassadors... (also read here if NYT link has disappeared behind their paywall) - bands touring the US, funded by their governments.
The article talks to bands and reps from Denmark, Canada and New Zealand... including Die Die Die, Sam Scott, Mikee Tucker and Gary Fortune.

"Is the endgame selling a lot of records in America,” asks Adam Shore of Vice Recordings, “or is the endgame exposing America to their culture and their kind of people?”

... New Zealand has for several years helped cover recording costs, and recently created subsidies, overseen by music and broadcasting professionals, for artists and labels aiming to sell overseas. One recent grant went to Michael Tucker, who wanted to open a United States office for his independent label and marketing company, Loop Recordings. A fast-talking former hairdresser and fashion photographer, Mr. Tucker recently oversaw a show by one of his bands, the funk-reggae outfit the Black Seeds, at a swanky Los Angeles lounge. But not long ago he found himself at a government function hobnobbing with his government’s top ministers. “I can shave,” he laughed. “I can play that game.”


Also, via Dubbers New Music Strategies... Major labels to abandon DRM.

No, really.