The Who and Live Music

The Who are stating that playing live is going to be the future of music:

Call them old fashioned, but the founding members of The Who don't think the Internet is the future of rock, are unhappy about radio's narrow musical focus, and convinced live music is what it is all about.

Announcing their 2007 European Tour on Thursday, including a headlining slot at Britain's Glastonbury festival in June, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend said playing big venues remained the best way of showcasing their music to the world.

"The Internet promises a lot of things - some it delivers, some it doesn't," Townshend, 61, told a news conference, adding one thing it does offer is the ability to sell tickets.

"It is probably the most powerful informational, promotional tool today. It's a very effective, focused machine for promotion. I look forward to using it for live events, there's a big scope for live music and live events."

But Townshend said live music is what it is all about today, with the British rock band that dates back to the 1960s embarking on a 29-date tour starting on May 16 in Lisbon.

It might indeed be the future of music but it's also its past: recording is only just over a century old, after all.

 

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Night at the Museum

These cinemas are on to a loser here:

Some of Britain's biggest cinema chains have pulled hit comedy "Night at the Museum" from their screens in protest against Hollywood studio Twentieth Century Fox's plans to rush out the DVD version.

The move is the latest in a tussle between film theatres and studios over the shrinking time gap between the cinema and DVD release, which theatres fear will discourage the public from paying at the box office.

According to specialist film publications, the UK decision follows a similar standoff last week in Germany, where leading cinema chains forced Fox into concessions over the DVD release of "Eragon" by pulling other movies made by the studio, including "Museum," whose box office receipts plummeted as a result.

"As of today (Friday) we are no longer going to be showing the film on our screens," said a spokeswoman for Odeon, Britain's largest cinema chain with more than 840 screens.

The DVD market is worth vastly more to the studios that the cinema releases are. Offered a choice they'll go for the DVD's and bugger Odeon.

 

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