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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Music calling: Mayor spotlights local artist online -- and on the line
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2/13/2006 3:30:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathy Hsieh, 206.733.9926
Alex Fryer (206) 684-8358
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Music calling: Mayor spotlights local artist online -- and on the line
City using telephones, web site, pod casts to connect listeners to Seattle musicians
SEATTLE - Looking for great Seattle music? Just call City Hall.
Mayor Greg Nickels introduced an innovative program today that will use the city's web site and telephone system to spotlight local artists and promote Seattle's vibrant and varied music scene.
Dubbed OnHold, the program will treat people calling City of Seattle offices to a broad selection of local music if they are placed on hold. Listeners can then link to the Seattle musicians they hear through the city's web site (www.seattle.gov/onhold), where they can buy music, check out the featured artists' web sites and concert calendars, and subscribe to a podcast of the OnHold mix.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Seattle's amazing array of musical talent in a way that is both innovative and fun," Nickels said. "The program is a great way to support local artists and expose more people to the incredible diversity of music this city has to offer."
OnHold will feature the sounds of local musicians such as Dave Peck, Seattle Pro Musica, Wayne Horvitz, Northwest Chamber Chorus, Aono Jikken and many more. The city has agreements with online retailers CD Baby and Amazon, and a portion of web sales revenue goes to city arts education efforts while the musician's revenue remains untouched.
"I'm the person and the player I am because of the community I have here in Seattle," said jazz pianist and long-time Seattle resident Dave Peck, whose music is included in the initial OnHold program. "Seattle has always been on the technological forefront, and in the changing world of music delivery I think the city has a great idea with OnHold. This program is a wonderful way to introduce Seattle musicians in a new way to new listeners." Peck is winner of the NW Recording of the Year and NW Acoustic Jazz Group for the 2005 Golden Ear Awards hosted by Earshot Jazz last week.
Seattle's vibrant music industry supports nearly 8,700 jobs and generates nearly $650 million in direct economic contributions from core industries in the music cluster and over $1.3 billion in revenues from both core and supporting industries. The recently announced Creative Vitality Index, which measures the health of the creative economy, gave Seattle high marks over five times the national average.
The current OnHold mix includes:
Artist Name - Song Title
1 - Wayne Horvitz - In The Ballroom
2 - Northwest Chamber Chorus - Shenandoah
3 - Dan Carollo - Thinking Time
4 - Bogey Vujkov - Atlantis II
5 - Seattle Pro Musica - To Mistress Margaret Hussey
6 - Aono Jikken - Morning Breaks
7 - Murl Allen Sanders - Sunny Ravenna
8 - Wu Ziying - The Drunkard
9 - Carlos Cascante y su Tumbao - Mi Tumbao
10 - Dave Peck - Little Fin
11 - Kane Mathis & Rusty Knorr - Konkoba
OnHold music will be rotated regularly, and the city invites individuals or organizations to submit recordings for consideration. All genres are encouraged and original compositions by artists or organizations that control their own licensing are preferred. Because the phone system is used so widely, hard-edged or aggressive music is less suited to the program, but all submissions will be carefully considered. Please note that only artists who work in or have substantial ties to the greater Seattle area will be considered for the program. More information is available at www.seattle.gov/onhold.
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