Details on Halcali's Cannes gig
The Houchi Shinbun article (scroll down a bit) stated Halcali would be playing in Cannes and Paris; their official site only mentioned Paris.
The reason for this is their Cannes gig is at the music industry-only event Midem which is closed to the public. It's a kind of showcase for acts looking to get distribution in Europe or worldwide. Or, to put it another, official site way:
The thriving live music sector is the industry’s lifeblood. MIDEM’s exclusive concerts give hundreds of new and confirmed artists from the world over the chance to find the right partners to further their careers; and promoters, concert organisers and A&R executives the opportunity to make new discoveries.
Halcali's 'opportunity' ('gig' seems the wrong word in this context) will come on January 28th in the MPA Japan segement at 7:10pm.
Here's the information from Halcali's page:
Halcali
Record company: Epic Records
Country: JAPANCountry of record company: JAPAN
Distribution: No
Publishing: No
Legal representation: No
Licensing: No
Management: No
Booking: Looking for worldwide
Time artist: 19h10
I like that they're "looking for worldwide", but I'm surprised by the amount of "no"'s on that list. No distribution or publishing? I had just assumed that Sony International etc. would be handling that. Who will be releasing Cyborg in Europe and America?
At any rate, I'm sure they can't be looking forward to this gig- playing infront of a bunch of industry execs while thinking that their artistic future outside of Japan (perhaps inside to, judging by their poor record sales recently) depends at least in part on this going well doesn't sound like a recipe for fun. Worse, someone chose one of those unflattering early Epic promo pictures to put on their page, and the mp3 promo is, yes, Tip Taps Tip.
Here's a PDF of the artists that will be performing at the show.
Thanks to amj!
posted by jariten at 3:14 AM
7 Comments:
Hmmm yeah that list is certainly a little depressing... It seems to me that Sony keeps epic failing on the Halcali promotion. Don't they WANT them to sell anything?!
But the Halcali going global thing is a nice bit of news at least. I hope they seem to be achieving that goal right now at least!
10:57 AM
The truth is that Sony doesn't really want Halcali to get any real exposure and become popular apart from Japan -- which would horn in on Sony's European and US properties. Sony has done the same to Morning Musume and Hello Project for years.
radicalpatriot.vox.com
7:58 AM
I interpret 'No' to simply mean they are not looking for any of that stuff (since they already have it).
jariten, wrote:
Who will be releasing Cyborg in Europe and America?
That's the question that is exercising my mind. Ever since this story broke I've been typing 'HALCALI' into the FNAC search box every day looking to see if ...
FNAC is France's biggest CD retailer. By now there ought to be a tiny pic of HALCALI on their site and an 'ajouter au panier' button. To date I've found no reference to a French release on any French retail site.
The idea of a French release is believable. France seems to be more open to Japanese music than any other west European country - but where is the confirmation?
12:46 PM
OK, that makes the "no"'s make a bit more sense, but to be honest I'm still in the dark as to why Sony have put Halcali in this bizarre AOR circus to begin with. Why aren't Sony taking care of everything?
Radicalipton- How would Halcali getting popular elsewhere hone in on Sony's other properties? If they don't want them to get popular abroad they seem to be going about it in a strange way!
That's odd about FNAC too. The official site did say it would be getting released though.
9:15 AM
Kuchiroro feat Halcali - Cosmic dance (live) on youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=X63pfDj2REo
1:09 PM
I know a little bit about the US release stuff, but... I can't say anything. Sorry!
In answer to your questions, though, bear in mind that Sony in Japan, Sony in Europe and Sony in the US are effectively different companies. It's really very difficult for the Japanese label to release in Europe or the US unless the local label actually wants to release it, which is almost never the case. And there are all sorts of hoops to jump through if they want to release through other labels, too.
The best way for Japanese artists to get their music heard in other countries is to simply go there and play. These trade shows are essential for that.
I'm gutted that the French and the Yanks are getting their HalCali action before the Brits (my tour agency almost got in there with a UK show a month before the first France show, but for a minor schedule clash), but I'm thrilled that HalCali are making a move abroad. Have a little faith, because after all, Sony are pretty much the only Japanese major to even bother sending its acts abroad in the first place, and they really do work hard.
8:37 AM
While there's no doubt that getting Halcali into events like this trade show and the other Paris gig (not to mention the Expo they attended) must have required a fair amount of work on Sony's part, I don't understand why they didn't expend similar efforts with them right here in Japan.
Still, it'd be great if they made a mark abroad.
Good points about Sony. It never struck me that the different 'Sonys' would be so at odds with each other.
10:18 AM
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