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| Industry | Media |
|---|---|
| Founder | Steve Bernstein |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
Zenbu Media is a media company located in New York City, United States. It was founded by Steve Bernstein and is focused on the music industry. Its slogan is "we live for music".
Zenbu Media formerly published Relix magazine, Global Rhythm magazine, Metal Edge Magazine, and Metal Maniacs magazine.
Relix Magazine
Relix Magazine was founded in 1974 by Les Kippel as a newsletter focusing on The Grateful Dead. Originally the publication was called Dead Relix and was less than twenty pages thick with a hand-drawn black and white cover. By 1978 Dead Relix had dropped the word "Dead" from its title and expanded to include articles about the entire Bay Area psychedelic scene. From here the scope of Relix expanded to encompass musical genres such as reggae and heavy metal.
After the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995 Relix began to report on jambands and other genres of music not considered as mainstream. In 2000 the magazine was purchased by Steve Bernstein and in 2007 it entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Today, Relix covers a variety of jambands, indie rockers, singer-songwriters, and the live music scene in general. Each issue comes with a free CD sampling various up and coming bands. Bernstein sold "Relix" to Relix Media Group in 2009.
Metal Edge
Metal Edge was the longest-running metal magazine in America. It was first published by Sterling Publishing in 1985 and was closed in 2009. Its founding editor was Gerri Miller.
Metal Maniacs
Metal Maniacs covered heavy metal music and was founded in 1989 by Mike Greenhaus and Kathrine Ludwig. The magazine was focused on covering the underground metal with an emphasis on the black and death metal genres. It was published by Sterling until Zenbu Media purchased it. Metal Maniacs was published ten times annually and was closed in 2009.
Events
Zenbu Media is in charge of two major events: The Jammys and the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival.
The Jammy Awards
The Jammys is an award show geared towards jam bands but also including other live improvisational genres of music.
Green Apple Music Festival
The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival (GAMAF) is an Earth Day celebration. Founded by music producer and former Wetlands Preserve club owner Peter Shapiro and Relix Magazine, the annual event features musical performances in venues and rock clubs, as well as large-scale free public outdoor concerts. The festival combines live musical performances from various genres with educational outreach and cultural events, and is held around Earth Day, April 22.
Relix Records
Relix Records is a boutique record label. Current releases include: Jonah Smith, John Popper Project featuring DJ Logic and Phil Lesh & Friends.
Additionally, Relix Classics, and imprint of Relix Records digitally release the works of artists including Jorma Kaukonen, Hot Tuna, Flying Burrito Brothers and the New Riders of the Purple Sage.
As the owner of these recordings, Zenbu filed lawsuits in January 2015 against streaming-music companies such as Apple's Beats, Sony, Google, Rdio, Songza, and Slacker for streaming pre-1972 recordings without having licensed them. All of the lawsuits were quickly dismissed, except for the lawsuit against Sony.
References
- "Steve Bernstein". Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- Stableford, Dylan (May 3, 2009). "Relix Returns from the Dead". Folio Magazine. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- Bercovici, Jeff (February 11, 2002). "Relix, for lovers of jam music". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- Grow, Kory (January 23, 2015). "Apple, Sony, Google Named in Lawsuits for Playing Pre-1972 Music". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- Gardner, Eriq (January 23, 2015). "Sony, Google, Apple Hit With Lawsuits Over Pre-1972 Music". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 14, 2015.