Thursday, March 26, 2009
MIAMI BEACH – Winter Music Conference 2009 has officially begun, and the Scion party at the Gansevoort Hotel on 24th and Collins is the first event I’ve RSVP’d for…I’m a bit late… hoping I haven’t missed the entire party…I walk in as DJ Erol Aitken is winding up video game beats. The sound is good, but I want it to be louder, as this is not a residential district, but hey, there’s free food and drinks, so who am I to complain?
It seems a laid back turn out but good for a beach afternoon. Party organizer Adam Shore suggests a larger crowd is likely tomorrow as the line up is curated by Radio 1’s party girl Annie Mac and includes the likes of Toddla T, A Trak and Medhi, who are likely to attract a raving crew.
Friday, March 27, 2009
MIAMI BEACH – Adam Shore was right. Today is packed. There is an absence of spring breakers and the stylish crowd are there to dance. I fall in love with an androgynous black nerd person with big black-framed glasses, backpack, white cropped pants and a dancing style like he/she just doesn’t care…
There is some kind of dancefloor unity of discombobulated dance moves that match up with Annie Mac’s mish mash of beats. Good encouragement for Miss Mac to keep spinning with confidence as her star is on the sunrise. According to party curator Adam Shore, Scion’s objective is to patronise emerging artists rather than endorse their brand with big names, supporting progression and the future rather than endorsing “done deals” as it were, of the musical universe.
“So will a party like this make one of these kids go out and buy a Scion?” I wonder out loud. The marketing objective behind these parties must be to implant the brand into the minds of the next gen of car buyers as a cool hip credible car to buy.
But for the short term, as Adam explains, supporting the arts is the main mission for the company and at a point where the music industry is in all kinds of financial strife, who can argue – it is a point of positivity for new artists that a company with money to spend is happy to spend it in their direction. The only other corporation doing anything remotely similar is Red Bull, whose academy has become famous among artist circles for the platform it provides.