AIKEN NEWS NETWORK AUGUST 11

[clayharmony]

Happiness Is Great Clay News!! These sites welcome your comments.    Enjoy:

Clay Aiken signs with Decca Universal

Posted by Donna Reynolds August 10, 2009 9:24PM
If you've wondering where Clay Aiken has been lately, there's some news. According to his official Web site, Clay Aiken has signed a record deal with Universal Music's Decca Records and will release some new music in 2010...

Read more here:
http://blog.syracuse.com/idolthoughts/2009/08/clay_aiken_signs_with_decca_un.html

[clayharmony]

Music Is The Heart Of Our Soul: Clay Aiken Has A New Record Deal

2 hours ago by musicgirl 
American Idol season 2 runner up Clay Aiken has a new record deal with Universal Music's Decca Records after being dropped by RCA for low record sales earlier this year. The fans should expect new music from him in the first half of ...

Music Is The Heart Of Our Soul - http://www.musicistheheartofoursoul.com/

[clayharmony]

The Life and Times (past, present and future) of a Clay Aiken Fan ...

8 hours ago by SueReu 
Clay Aiken announced today at his Official Fan Site that he has signed with Universal's Decca Records. Clay's in good company, Universal Music Group the largest family of record labels in the recording industry and is one of the "big ...
The Life and Times (past, present and future)... - http://clayaikenjourney.blogspot.com/

[clayharmony]

Detailed information about Clay's new label:

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world’s leading music company and is comprised of two core businesses: recorded music and music publishing.

The company discovers, develops, markets and distributes recorded music through a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees in 77 countries, representing 98% of the music market. UMG also sells and distributes music video and DVD products, and licenses recordings, encouraging the legal distribution of music online and over cellular, cable and satellite networks.  UMG includes Universal Music Latin Entertainment, the world’s leading Latin music company.  UMG's music publishing company, Universal Music Publishing Group, is the world's leading publishing business; it owns and acquires rights to musical compositions and licenses them for use in recordings and related uses, such as films and advertisements. UMG also includes Bravado, its merchandising company, and Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division; and Helter Skelter, its live music agency.

Universal Music Group International is the division that manages UMG's businesses in countries outside of North America. ...

Read more here:

http://new.umusic.com/Overview.aspx

[clayharmony]

History of Decca - Part 1:

Link: www.deccaclassics.com/history/DECCA-at-75.doc -

DECCA at 75
Past · Present · Future

2004 marks the 75th anniversary of DECCA as a recording company

The Decca Record Company was born in 1929 with the release of the first Decca recordings. One year earlier, in 1928, The Decca Gramophone Company Ltd had been founded by Edward Lewis, who would steer the company through the next five decades. Lewis had bought shares in the  company which had already achieved success in the development of the portable gramophone.

From the outset DECCA recorded a broad range of music. The first releases, in July 1929, featured light music from Ambrose & The Mayfair Hotel Orchestra, Billy Cotton and his dance band, and more serious fare involving a full-size symphony orchestra with chorus and baritone Roy Henderson, in what was still at that time a “new” work by one of England’s greatest composers, Sea Drift by Delius. Other hugely popular artists who were signed to DECCA in the early years included the dance- band leaders Jack Hylton and Mantovani and the young singer Vera Lynn.

1932 witnessed another example of Lewis’ vision when he acquired The Warner Brunswick Company — a company which had major names on its roster including Bing Crosby and Duke Ellington.

In 1937 DECCA purchased the Crystalate Company of Tonbridge, Kent, including its recording studios in West Hampstead, North London, and facilities which included the services of recording engineers who would play a major role in the development of recording technology and establish DECCA as a world leader in the recording field. The West Hampstead studios would be home to numerous recording artists involved in solo recordings, chamber music, and works which did not require large venues; the studios would remain in active use until the beginning of the 1980s.

Two of the great legends in recording engineering from these days were Arthur Haddy and Kenneth Wilkinson — known as “Wilkie”. Haddy (1906-89) would eventually become DECCA’s Technical Director while Wilkinson (1912-2004) was one of the most widely-respected recording engineers in the business. Haddy and his colleagues were involved in research on behalf of the government to record the sounds of submarines in order to help with identification of different types of vessels. This involved recording over a greater range of frequencies than had previously been possible. It was then inevitable that these developments would be applied to recording music and in 1945 “ffrr” or Full Frequency Range Recording was created, a development that gained DECCA even greater prestige as a recording company.

[clayharmony]

History of Decca - Part 2

Other company developments that took place during or after the war included DECCA’s Dutch division being taken over by Philips Electronics (which created Decca’s future sister label Philips Classics in 1951); the US branch, Decca Records Inc., was later taken over by MCA and a new company was formed to market and distribute DECCA recordings in the US. This was London Records, a name that became particularly linked with recordings of popular music; it was also one of the first companies to issue the new vinyl LP in the US in 1949.

In 1950 DECCA joined forces with the German company Telefunken which had been in existence for some twenty years and a new company called Teldec was formed. This association lasted over 30 years until the companies sold their respective shares to a Swiss holding company and in 1988 the Warner Music Group acquired Teldec.

With the technological advances the company continued to make in recording techniques and DECCA’s launch of the LP in 1950 the company was at the forefront of the industry and quickly won the admiration and support of hi-fi enthusiasts; DECCA’s LPs were often regarded as demonstration-class quality. Conductor Ernest Ansermet’s recording of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Rossini’s La Boutique fantastique were just two of the earliest DECCA LPs that were received with awe and wonderment.

In 1953 DECCA acquired distribution rights of the Editions de L’Oiseau-Lyre which recorded mainly French baroque music. Later, in 1970, DECCA had the opportunity to buy this label and its focus was changed to embrace early music and groups performing on period instruments. The Medieval Ensemble of London, the Consorte of Musicke and the Academy of Ancient Music and Christopher Hogwood were among the key ensembles associated with the label.

Other important company acquisitions included the ARGO label in 1957 — a label that focussed on English music of all styles and periods and which was home to such distinguished artists as Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields as well as the choirs of King’s College, Cambridge, and St John’s College, Oxford. Both the ARGO and L’Oiseau-lyre labels would be integrated into DECCA in the 1990s.       

DECCA had been recording in mono since the advent of the LP, and from 1954 recorded in parallel in stereo. This meant that when stereo was launched in 1958 DECCA was once more well-prepared with a substantial catalogue of recordings that could be released to a public that would gain even more listening pleasure. It was with the launch of stereo recordings that an updated version of the “ffrr” slogan appeared when “ffss” or Full Frequency Stereophonic Sound went public.

[clayharmony]

History of Decca - Part 3

Stereo played an important role in creating a sense of theatre in opera recordings; home listeners could now get a far greater sense of the characters interacting with one another in a real dramatic situation. DECCA’s catalogue of opera recordings under such great conductors as Sir Georg Solti, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zubin Mehta and Herbert von Karajan is truly outstanding.

One of the landmark recordings in the entire history of recorded music would be one of the first to benefit from this new stereo technology: the first ever complete studio recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Georg Solti, and produced by John Culshaw, a project that started in September 1958 with Das Rheingold and which reached completion in 1965 with Die Walküre and to this day is considered by many as THE definitive recording of Wagner’s “Ring”.

As stereo continued to develop, once more DECCA was at the forefront of new uses of the medium when PHASE FOUR was launched in 1962. These recordings gave an unprecedented degree of clarity and proved especially popular in the United States.

After World War 2 there was a drive to build a stronger artist roster — and engage more “international” names. In 1947 Georg Solti was signed to DECCA — initially as a pianist — but by 1948 he was starting to make orchestral records and he would remain an exclusive DECCA artist until his death fifty years later, in 1997. Italian soprano Renata Tebaldi was a rising star and first recorded for Decca in 1949, the beginning of an association that would last until her retirement in the 1970s. Kathleen Ferrier’s short but meteoric rise to fame and popularity before her untimely death from cancer in 1953 would be captured on record by DECCA. Benjamin Britten had started making recordings of his own music for the label and this would result in one of the greatest recorded legacies of a composer performing and conducting his own works. Other instrumentalists who appeared on DECCA and whose names are now part of legend include Wilhelm Backhaus, Clifford Curzon and Julius Katchen.

Joan Sutherland began her association with DECCA in 1959 — an exclusive association that would last until her retirement at the end of the 1980s. Vladimir Ashkenazy signed with DECCA and made his first recordings as a pianist for the label in March 1963 and continues to do so. And in 1964 an Italian tenor called Luciano Pavarotti recorded a selection of popular Italian arias for the label — few would have imagined at that time the global fame that he would later achieve. The list of great classical names linked with DECCA is endless and in the 1980s conductors such as Riccardo Chailly and Charles Dutoit joined the label.

[clayharmony]

History of Decca - Part 4

Pop music was as important a part of the activities of DECCA during the 1950s and through to the 1970s as recording classical repertory — whether DECCA-originated recordings or via distribution deals. The list of names of pop or light music artists associated with DECCA includes Mantovani, Frank Chacksfield, Stanley Black, Kenneth McKellar, Ronnie Aldrich, Lonnie Donegan, Tommy Steele, Billy Fury, Kathy Kirby, Marianne Faithfull, The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, Engelbert Humperdinck, David Bowie, Lulu and Tom Jones to name but a few. Among those artists that DECCA distributed are such names as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, and Brenda Lee.

Sir Edward Lewis died in 1980 and the Decca Record Company was sold to PolyGram, a division of the Dutch electronics giant, Philips. DECCA was now one of the three classical label which came under the PolyGram umbrella — Deutsche Grammophon and Philips Classics being the other partners. Such a major change in the company inevitably resulted in a redefining of the artist roster and at the same time pop music was no longer an ongoing part of the new company.

DECCA entered the new domain of digital recording and the first digital LP release was the 1979 New Year’s Day concert from Vienna. The next technological development was already on the horizon when 1982 saw the launch of the compact disc. This boosted sales with the release of new recordings in the new format — as well as a plethora of reissues of legendary recordings from the LP catalogue  — giving the public another opportunity to revisit favourite old recordings with an even greater degree of clarity and dynamic range, and free from the clicks and distortions which could afflict LPs.

In 1990 an event took place, the impact of which nobody could have truly predicted. On the eve of the World Cup in July of that year José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti appeared with Zubin Mehta as The Three Tenors in Concert. A global audience of 800 million viewers saw the concert, and the live recording of the event was rush-released by DECCA a few weeks later to become the fastest-selling classical record of all time, and a recording which has sold in excess of 13 million copies. Subsequent concerts also attracted massive audiences and generated very substantial sales of the recordings as well as making Luciano Pavarotti a household name throughout the world.

Since 1998 Decca has been part of the Universal Music Group. It was during this time that what had seemed like unmovable divisions between pop and classical music began to dissolve with recordings of music which embraced elements of both – music which came to be known as “crossover”.

[clayharmony]

History of Decca - Part 5 (Conclusion):

At the same time film soundtracks by such composers as Michael Kamen, Michael Nyman, James Horner and John Barry have reached out to new audiences. New interpretations and arrangements of classical pieces are finding a new audience, and the whole presentation of music is becoming more populist. 
 
DECCA is actively involved in pioneering a new generation of high-resolution and multi-channel recordings, introducing a new concept of listening to music. SACDs “Super Audio Compact Disc” and DVD-As “Digital Versatile Disc” for audio are the latest in these digital audio formats. Decca is now routinely mastering new recordings in both SACD and DVD-A format.

As for DVD-Video, Decca has already released some of the best-selling and most important video catalogue items of the past which have been remastered for DVD format such as the first ever classical DVD of The Original Three Tenors Concert, Cecilia Bartoli Live in Italy and the late Sir Georg Solti’s recording of Verdi’s La Traviata. The company is also investing in the development of new DVD product in order to utilise all the compelling additional features that the format offers such as Bond “Live”.  Indeed, this is a very important development for the company to introduce a new culture to the next consumer generation, where visuals come hand in hand with classical music, as they already do with pop music.

The new generation of Decca classical stars is represented by the likes of Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Andreas Scholl, and Juan Diego Flórez — artists who have already attracted massive followings and who will ensure the future of classical repertory. Other more recent signings to DECCA include the young Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, and the young Dutch violinist Janine Jansen, Japanese guitar star Kaori Muraji and the delightful French soprano Patricia Petibon.  Manchester-born “people’s tenor” Russell Watson appeals to a wide audience, while the all-girl string quartet sensation Bond has already established a huge worldwide following with their flamboyant and energetic performances of music, ranging from Vivaldi through to new pieces and arrangements made especially for them.

In 1999 Philips Classics merged with DECCA in London and the company was renamed Decca Music Group. Major artists who continue to record for the Philips label include superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli, iconic pianists Alfred Brendel and Mitsuko Uchida, and the charismatic Russian conductor Valery Gergiev – director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.

In 2004 New Zealand teenager Hayley Westenra is capturing the hearts of millions of listeners around the world with her debut album Pure – suggesting that Decca’s ongoing commitment to excellence in both classical and popular fields will ensure a healthy future – 75 years after the first Decca recordings were issued.

[clayharmony]

Read Clay's updated Wikipedia entry:

Click on the link to view it in its entirety - its quite extensive...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Aiken

Clay Aiken
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Clay Aiken during the Jukebox Tour in Merrillville, IN, August 23, 2005
Background information
Birth name    Clayton Holmes Grissom
Born    November 30, 1978 (1978-11-30) (age 30)
Raleigh, North Carolina
United States
Genre(s)    Pop
Pop rock
Occupation(s)    Singer, actor
Voice type(s)    Tenor[1][2]
Years active    2003—present
Label(s)    RCA (2003–2008)
Decca (2009-present)
Website    clayonline.com

Clay Aiken (born Clayton Holmes Grissom on November 30, 1978) is an American pop singer who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released in October 2003. He released four more albums on the RCA label: Merry Christmas with Love, A Thousand Different Ways, and the Christmas EP, All is Well. [3][4] His fourth studio album (the first album of original material since 2003's Measure of a Man), On My Way Here was released on May 6, 2008.[5]

In the years following his American Idol appearance, Aiken has launched eight tours, authored a New York Times best-selling book Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life with Allison Glock, and was the executive producer for a 2004 televised Christmas special, A Clay Aiken Christmas. He has been a frequent talk show guest, particularly on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He appeared as a guest star on Scrubs and participated in comedy skits on Kimmel, Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock.

Aiken created the National Inclusion Project (formerly the Bubel/Aiken Foundation) in 2003, [6] accepted a UNICEF ambassadorship in 2004,[7] and in 2006 was appointed for a two-year term to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.[8]

Aiken made his Broadway debut playing the role of Sir Robin in Monty Python's Spamalot in January 2008.[9] His run ended in May but he rejoined the cast as Sir Robin in September and remained through January 4, 2009.[10]

[fhmmany2]

 

Good Morning! I was talking to Shirl (ClayObsessed) last night, and she mentioned this Poll - she is upset that Clay is losing - if you have the time, cast a vote!

A recent article about three American Idols performing together and news of the winners of tonight's Teen Choice Awards 2009 have made the West Palm Beach Television Examiner curious: who is your favorite American Idol runner up, Adam Lambert, David Archuleta, or Clay Aiken?

Once again, this is all for curiosity's sake, not an attempt to pin the idols against each other. Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are reportedly good friends, and the same is supposed to be the case with David Archuleta and David Cook, and Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard. After all, none of these runners up really lost, did they?

So, who do you think is the cutest, funnest, most talented of them? Is it Clay Aiken, who has not only made a music career for himself but also written a book, made several television appearances and become a succesful Broadway star? Or maybe you prefer David Archuleta, teenage heartthrob and recent Teen Choice Award winner who toured the United States with Disney Channel's Demi Lovato? Or is your favorite Adam Lambert, newest AI sensation who has fans desperate to see him perform at every stop of the American Idol 2009 Summer Tour and whose cover of "Mad World" is currently in the commercial for a new TV show?

Vote here!


Who is your favorite AI runner up: Clay Aiken, David Archuleta, or Adam Lambert?
Clay Aiken

David Archuleta

Adam Lambert

Can't choose, love them all!

Neither

Vote

EXAMINER.COM

[clayharmony]

Clay Aiken - The Fit Is Right

By musicfan123


All of the Clay Nation has been celebrating the announcement that Clay Aiken has signed with Universal Music’s Decca Recordings. According to their site, the Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company and has operations in 77 countries throughout the world.  This is where Clay Aiken belongs.

If you are interested in reading an overview of the company or learn more about its history, you can read at the Home page for Universal Music Group or visit Clay, the Man.  I am more interested in the future and what Decca will do to help Clay Aiken.

One of the biggest problems for all the major Music groups has to do with digital music distribution.  In the past few years, the sale of CD’s has dropped significantly because people are downloading songs from the internet.  Some still go to illegal sites to download for free, but most visit sites like I-Tunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, and Wal Mart to download their favorite songs.  This practice has eaten into the profits of the music labels and they have been struggling to find a solution ...

Read more here:

http://www.claynewsnetwork.com/2009/08/11/clay-aiken-the-fit-is-right/

[clayharmony]

Don't Look Back

There comes a moment in everyone’s life when you know that it’s time for a fresh start. Maybe it’s work, maybe it’s a relationship, maybe it’s even just where you live. I know the time I decided to leave my first real employer, not high school job or the college summers job but my first honest to goodness adult job. I was grateful for the initial opportunity; they took a chance on me when all I had was my diploma and a smile.

But I started to feel that they were using my talents and skills and in return I got more work with more headaches. There was just a day that something in my head clicked. This employer was doing more harm than good for my career. Yes, my customers liked me. Most of my colleagues were good people with the exception of the one or two who lied just to make themselves look better at anyone’s expense. But my career had plateaued there and the only way up was out. It was funny but literally the day I heard that click in my head, I received a call from a headhunter who had a new employer who had heard of my work and wanted me. As it turns out, leaving that job was the best thing I could have ever done. ...

Read more here:

http://conclayve.blogspot.com/

[GWENN]

MJ'S BLOG.  VERY NICE.

http://mjsbigidolblog.com/?p=4401

GWENN

[GWENN]

ALSO VERY NICE.

Playbill


"American Idol" finalist Clay Aiken, who made his Broadway debut in Monty Python's Spamalot, has signed with Universal Music's Decca Records.

According to the singer's official website, he will release a new CD in the first half of 2010. No other details have been announced.

Aiken — who was bested by Ruben Studdard during the second season of "American Idol" — has gone on to sell more than six million albums, co-author a best selling book ("Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life") and play six sold-out concert tours. He was a focus of the short-lived Off-Broadway musical Idol: The Musical and has appeared on "Ed," "Saturday Night Live" and "Scrubs."

Aiken released his fourth album, "On My Way Here," last spring.

GWENN