Boiler Room (music broadcaster) explained

Boiler Room
Founder:Blaise Bellville
Thristian Richards[1]
Key People:Blaise Bellville (CEO)
Thristian Richards (host)[2]
Area Served:Worldwide
Industry:Music & Entertainment
Foundation:March 2010
Parent:DICE
Location:London, England

Boiler Room is an online music broadcaster and club promoter based in London, United Kingdom. It hosts predominantly dance music events, focusing on underground genres, in locations internationally, and broadcasts the shows live over the internet.

It has regular operations in London, Amsterdam, New York City, Berlin, Lisbon, São Paulo, Mexico City, Tokyo, Sydney, Lima, and Los Angeles and produces about 30 to 35 new shows each month.[3] [4] By 2016, Boiler Room had hosted shows in around 100 cities worldwide.[5] [6] Its music programming originally focused on dance music such as garage, house, techno, dub but eventually expanded to include grime, hip hop, classical, and jazz.[7] [8] [9]

History

Conception & birth

In March 2010 Blaise Bellville asked Thristian "Thris Tian" Richards and Femi Adeyemi, the founder of NTS Radio, to record a mixtape for his online magazine platform. This led to the creation of Boiler Room.[10] [11] [12] The name 'Boiler Room' and initial idea came about from an overheard conversation in a bar in Hoxton Square. The first Boiler Room session was recorded using a webcam duct taped to the wall of a disused boiler room, and the session was broadcast live online on Ustream.[13] [14]

During this period, Boiler Room developed their format of filming a DJ facing the camera, a projected visual backdrop of the Boiler Room logo overlaid on old rave video footage, with Time Out noting: "the artists are, after all, the sole attraction at Boiler Room: attendees are positioned behind the decks in a bedroom DJ style set-up so that the selector is always the main figure in view."[15]

2010–11: Expansion

Boiler Room's first session in March 2010 turned into a weekly show, becoming a Ustream "Supported Channel" and getting widespread press recognition, with coverage from the BBC, Fader, Time Out, Hypetrak, and Dummy Magazine, who noted that "from a small room in Dalston to a globe-spanning brand, in just over a year Boiler Room has emerged as one of the most important broadcasters in underground music."[16] [17] [18] [19]

In its first year in 2010, Boiler Room featured performances from mostly electronic musicians and DJs including Theo Parrish, Jamie xx, SBTRKT, Hudson Mohawke, Jamie Woon, Mount Kimbie, Falty DL, James Blake, and Ben UFO.[20] [21] [22] [23] [24] London based record labels Young Turks and Hessle Audio, as well as hip-hop collective Livin' Proof, hosted Boiler Room takeovers in 2010.[25] Radiohead hosted a Boiler Room takeover in October 2011, featuring sets by Thom Yorke, Jamie xx, Caribou, Lone, and Illum Sphere.[26]

Boiler Room first began international shows in August 2011 with a run hosted in Germany by Michail Stangl, a Russian-born music curator and DJ.[27] [28] [29] [30] Shortly thereafter, Boiler Room expanded in the United States, starting with broadcasts in Los Angeles headed up by Sofie Fatouretchi Royer,[31] [32] [33] [34] an Austro-Iranian artist and musician.

Present day

The early focus on the underground music scene and electronic music in London has broadened. It has hip hop, jazz, experimental, classical, world music and talk-based podcast formats.[35] [36]

2014 was defined by a push into classical music, launched with German prepared pianist Hauschka,[37] and followed by broadcasts from St. John's Church in Hackney featured Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and Julia Holter.[38] A broadcast within the Pula Arena in Croatia[39] saw Nils Frahm perform.[40]

Boiler Room has partnered with music festivals including SXSW, Sónar, Dimensions, Dekmantel and Nuits Sonores.[41] [42] [43]

Boiler Room launched in China with a show in Beijing in April 2016 followed by a show in Shanghai with Disclosure in May 2016.[44]

Boiler Room's first full-length documentary, on Atlanta based collective Awful Records, launched in June 2016.[45] Boiler Room has since continued producing TV shows and documentaries aimed at telling stories tied to the people, artists and culture.[46] This includes shows like Gasworks, a 20-minute, grime-focused talk show starring Alhan Gençay & Poet.[46]

In 2018, Boiler Room launched '4:3', a platform for film, documentary and music videos, with Amar Ediriwira as its creative director. In 2019, the first 'Boiler Room Festival' was announced in Peckham, London. [47] The event showcased a different underground scene each day, across contemporary jazz, rap, and dance genres.[48]

Despite posting a net operating loss of £6,633,752 in 2018 and a loss of £1,299,656 in 2019,[49] Boiler Room received £791,652 from Arts Council England via the Culture Recovery Fund scheme in October, 2020.[50]

In 2021, ticketing platform DICE bought Boiler Room for an undisclosed sum, after raising $122 million.[51] [52]

Awards

In 2018, Boiler Room received a number of award wins and nominations:

4:3

System and Migrant Sound

Contemporary Scenes

Individual and team awards

Notable events

A number of notable musicians and cultural organisations have worked with Boiler Room to celebrate key releases and other one-off events.

Boiler Room broadcast Run the Jewels live in 360° format December 2015 before the technology was widely available.

DJ EZ's 24-hour DJ set on the 27 and 28 February 2016 which raised over £60,000 on behalf of Cancer Research UK was also broadcast live on Boiler Room.[63] [64] [65] [66]

Skepta celebrated the release of album Konnichiwa with an album launch party arranged with and streamed by Boiler Room live from Tokyo in May 2016.[67] [68] [69] [70]

Notting Hill Carnival's Rampage, Deviation, Aba Shanti-I, Channel One, Nasty Love, Saxon Sound, King Tubbys, Gladdy Wax and Disya Jeneration soundsystems were broadcast live by Boiler Room in August 2016, totalling 42 hours video coverage. Part of the live coverage was also broadcast by partners The Guardian, Time Out, Noisey, Thump, SB.TV, NTS Radio, and the Deviation and Rampage soundsystems.[71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80]

In January 2024 Boiler Room held their first event in the Pacific with a show in Rarotonga - organised in collaboration with DJ Lady Shaka and her Pacific music collective Pulotu Underworld. Boiler Room has stated that this event is the first in a series of events based in the Pacific.[81]

Charli XCX's February 2024 Boiler Room performance, titled "PARTYGIRL", held in Brooklyn, New York, received approximately 37,000 RSVPs[82] the largest in Boiler Room's history, although the venue only allowed 400 people in. The set featured guest DJs A.G. Cook, Doss, Easyfun, George Daniel of The 1975, and was attended by celebrities such as Julia Fox, Dasha Nekrasova, Aquaria and Addison Rae among others. The event was covered in publications Paper, V, NME and GQ.[83] [84] [85] [86]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thris Tian - I like to take the people on a journey . The Guardian. 17 June 2020. 6 January 2017.
  2. Web site: Boiler Room Company Profile: Valuation & Investors PitchBook. pitchbook.com.
  3. Web site: building a music empire with boiler room's blaise and sofie read i-D. i-D. 12 February 2015. 24 May 2016. 28 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160828204546/https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/building-a-music-empire-with-boiler-rooms-blaise-and-sofie. dead.
  4. How Boiler Room streams live gigs to more than a million fans worldwide using a webcam (Wired UK). Wired UK. 25 May 2016.
  5. Web site: Cities Archive . 10 December 2014 . Boiler Room.
  6. Web site: Boiler Room Is Going to China for the First Time Thump . 24 May 2016 . Thump . 27 April 2016 . en-CA.
  7. Web site: Sergei Prokofiev 'would support classical music and younger audiences'. 16 October 2015. London Evening Standard. en-GB. 24 May 2016.
  8. Web site: Classical music breaks out and joins the youth underground. Reidy. Tess. 4 October 2014. The Guardian. 24 May 2016.
  9. Web site: jazz plus picks 02.03.16 – jazz plus. jazzplus.org. 24 May 2016.
  10. Web site: BNTL – Inside Boiler Room. Vimeo. 10 December 2014.
  11. Thristian Richards and Blaise Bellville, Boiler Room. Rolling Stone. 17 March 2014. 10 December 2014.
  12. Web site: The rise and rise of NTS Radio. Ruth Saxelby. Dummymag.com. 10 December 2014.
  13. Web site: com/2016/01/london-music-logos-explained Red Bull Music Academy. daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. 24 May 2016.
  14. Web site: Stream team: how Boiler Room changed the face of live music. McQuaid. Ian. 30 November 2015. The Guardian. 25 May 2016.
  15. Web site: Welcome to the Boiler Room – Clubs. Time Out London. 25 May 2016. 1 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160601221055/http://www.timeout.com/london/clubs/welcome-to-the-boiler-room. dead.
  16. Web site: Dollars to Pounds: Boiler Room. Scott Wright. The Fader. 10 December 2014.
  17. Web site: Welcome to the Boiler Room. Time Out London. 10 December 2014. 21 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141221035917/http://www.timeout.com/london/clubs/welcome-to-the-boiler-room. dead.
  18. Web site: Music businesses of the year. Dummymag.com. Charlie Jones. 10 December 2014.
  19. Web site: Jamie XX Live at Boiler Room. HYPETRAK. 25 May 2016.
  20. Web site: Boiler Room No. 21 Livin' Proof Takeover w/ Hudson Mohawke. SoundCloud. 25 May 2016.
  21. Web site: Theo Parrish's 45 min mix – BOILER ROOM. BOILER ROOM. en-US. 25 May 2016.
  22. Web site: Frank and Tony Boiler Room NYC DJ Set. SoundCloud. 25 May 2016.
  23. Web site: Boiler Room No. 25 Hessle Audio Takeover w/ James Blake, Untold, Elgato & Ben UFO.. SoundCloud. 25 May 2016.
  24. Web site: Boiler Room – Jamie xx Mix. 10 December 2010. LivingEars. en-US. 25 May 2016. 16 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160616155409/http://livingears.com/2010/12/boiler-room-jamie-xx-mix/. dead.
  25. Web site: Boiler Room No. 18 Young Turks Takeover. SoundCloud. 25 May 2016.
  26. Web site: Thom Yorke 30 Min Mix – BOILER ROOM. BOILER ROOM. en-US. 25 May 2016.
  27. Web site: Boiler Room Berlin 001/ Redshape, Kassem Mosse, Jimmy Edgar & Objekt. Boiler Room. 10 December 2014.
  28. Web site: EX.161 Michail Stangl. Resident Advisor. 25 May 2016.
  29. Web site: CTM Festival: MICHAIL STANGL. CTM. club transmediale. archive.ctm-festival.de. 25 May 2016.
  30. Web site: Michail Stangl hat zusammen mit Boiler Room Kultstatus erreicht—sogar als Meme Thump. Thump. 26 October 2015 . de-DE. 25 May 2016.
  31. Web site: Building a music empire with boiler room's blaise and sofie. 12 February 2015.
  32. Web site: Boiler Room is at the Forefront of Underground Electronic Music. 15 September 2015 .
  33. Web site: Sofie's Mailout 001. 25 August 2015.
  34. Web site: Crate Diggers: Sofie Fatouretchi. 3 March 2017.
  35. Web site: Classical music breaks out and joins the youth underground. Tess Reidy. The Guardian. 4 October 2014. 10 December 2014.
  36. Web site: In Stereo: Gnawa Special. Boiler Room. 10 December 2014.
  37. Web site: Hauschka Discusses Prepared Piano Techniques in New Videos. XLR8R. 10 December 2014. 12 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141112150244/http://www.xlr8r.com/gear/2014/07/hauschka-discusses-prepared-pian. dead.
  38. Web site: The Quietus – News – TONIGHT: Julia Holter & More At St John. The Quietus. 21 July 2014 . 10 December 2014.
  39. Web site: Boiler Room to broadcast Caribou, Nils Frahm & Kwabs sets from Dimensions Festival. 26 August 2014. Luke Morgan Britton. The Line of Best Fit. 10 December 2014.
  40. Web site: Boiler Room vs. Dimensions Festival. Nilsfrahm.com. 10 December 2014.
  41. Web site: Ray-Ban SXSW Performances . Boiler Room . 10 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141112141356/http://boilerroom.tv/ray-ban/performances/ . 12 November 2014.
  42. Web site: Sonar and RBMA join forces with Boiler Room for the online videocast of SonarDôme stage . 4 February 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141112150730/http://2011.sonar.es/en/noticies.php?id=181 . 12 November 2014.
  43. Web site: 10 Reasons We Loved the Dekmantel Festival . XLR8R . 10 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141024000930/http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2013/08/10-reasons-we-loved-dekmantel-fe . 24 October 2014 . dead . dmy-all.
  44. Web site: Disclosure Boiler Room Shanghai DJ Set . youtube . eu-US . 18 May 2023 .
  45. Web site: Watch Boiler Room's "Awful Days" Documentary KALTBLUT Magazine . KALTBLUT Magazine . en-US . 21 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160919075845/http://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/watch-boiler-rooms-awful-days-documentary/ . 19 September 2016 . dead.
  46. Web site: Boiler Room expands beyond music streaming to culture and politics with new video push . Lucinda . Southern . 6 August 2018.
  47. Web site: Boiler Room Festival 2019 . Boiler Room Festival 2019.
  48. Web site: Boiler Room has announced its first ever music festival . 31 May 2019 . Evening Standard.
  49. Web site: BOILER ROOM (UK) LIMITED UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 . 15 October 2021 . Companies House.
  50. Web site: Boiler Room has been awarded a grant as part of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund . 19 October 2020 . Twitter.
  51. Web site: 2021-10-04 . After raising $122m, DICE buys livestreaming platform Boiler Room . 2022-09-07 . Music Business Worldwide . en-US.
  52. Bain . Katie . 2021-10-01 . Electronic Livestream Mainstay Boiler Room Acquired by Ticketing Platform Dice . Billboard . en-US . 2022-09-07.
  53. Web site: The Lovie Awards Winners Gallery . The Lovie Awards. 21 February 2023 .
  54. Web site: Hearst UK and Jungle Creations lead the Digiday Media Awards nominations . Melissa . Hayes . 21 March 2019.
  55. Web site: DADI 2018 . 29 March 2018 . The Drum Awards.
  56. Web site: NEW Webby Gallery + Index . NEW Webby Gallery + Index.
  57. Web site: NEW Webby Gallery + Index . NEW Webby Gallery + Index.
  58. Web site: Content Awards 2018 The Drum Content Awards.
  59. Web site: Marketing Awards 2019. 13 November 2018 . The Drum Awards.
  60. Web site: The Drum Digerati 2018: introducing the top talent in media and platforms . The Drum.
  61. Web site: Power 100 2019: Stephen Mai . www.campaignlive.co.uk.
  62. Web site: Alt List 2019 Nominations . shesaid.so.
  63. Web site: DJ EZ scoops nearly £60k for Cancer Research after 24-hour marathon set . Mixmag . 24 May 2016.
  64. Web site: Read DJ's story . JustGiving . justgiving.com . 24 May 2016.
  65. Web site: Live stream: DJ EZ's 24 hour charity DJ set . stagedoor . 27 February 2016. Stagedoor FM . 24 May 2016.
  66. Web site: DJ EZ Played For 24 Hours Straight This Weekend and Raised Over $80,000 for Charity Along the Way Thump . Thump . 29 February 2016 . en-US . 24 May 2016.
  67. News: One Last Rave . Hsu . Hua . 11 May 2015 . The New Yorker . 0028-792X . 24 May 2016.
  68. Web site: Stream Skepta's Konnichiwa Launch Party, Live From Tokyo . The FADER . 24 May 2016.
  69. Web site: Skepta Just Launched His New Album with a Lively Live-Streamed Show in Tokyo – Here's What We Learned NME.COM . NME.COM . NME . 5 May 2016 . en-GB . 24 May 2016.
  70. Web site: Listen to Skepta's new album Konnichiwa now . 6 May 2016 . Crack Magazine . en-US . 24 May 2016.
  71. Web site: Boiler Room to broadcast Notting Hill Carnival livestream Complete Music Update . www.completemusicupdate.com . 1 September 2016.
  72. Web site: This Is How You Can Stream Notting Hill Carnival Around The World . The FADER . 1 September 2016.
  73. Web site: Notting Hill Carnival 2016: Your guide to the sound systems . Ch . Abigail . Metro.co.uk . ler for . 18 August 2016 . Metro . 1 September 2016.
  74. News: No mud but all the music: fans flock to watch festivals online . Reidy . Tess . 13 August 2016 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077 . 1 September 2016.
  75. Web site: We've Teamed Up with Boiler Room and Deviation to Give You a Taste of Notting Hill Carnival Thump . 26 August 2016 . en-UK. 1 September 2016.
  76. Web site: SBTV Partners with Boiler Room for Notting Hill Carnival broadcast – SBTV . SBTV . 26 August 2016 . en-US . 1 September 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160901051233/http://www.sbtv.co.uk/read/latest-news/sbtv-partners-with-boiler-room-for-notting-hill-carnival-broadcast/ . 1 September 2016 . dead . dmy-all.
  77. Web site: Boiler Room streams live from Notting Hill Carnival . Resident Advisor . 1 September 2016.
  78. Web site: NEWS: BOILER ROOM ARE LIVESTREAMING ALL OF NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL – NOTION Magazine . 16 August 2016 . en-GB . 1 September 2016.
  79. Web site: Live Stream Boiler Room from Notting Hill Carnival . 29 August 2016 . en-US . 1 September 2016.
  80. Web site: Boiler Room at Carnival: stream if you wanna go harder . 22 August 2016 . 1 September 2016.
  81. Web site: Boiler Room Pacific Islands: Rarotonga . 28 February 2024 . Boiler Room.
  82. Web site: Boiler Room . 25 February 2024 . Instagram . 28 February 2024 . Instagram.
  83. News: Moran . Justin . 23 February 2024 . Charli XCX Throws the Best Parties . 28 February 2024 . Paper.
  84. News: Cox . Alyson . 25 February 2024 . Here's What Happened at Charli XCX's Viral Boiler Room Set . V.
  85. News: Aubrey . Elizabeth . 24 February 2024 . Charli XCX hints that new album is a dance record following Boiler Room appearance . NME.
  86. News: Rips . Nicolaia . February 23, 2024 . 25,000 People RSVP'd For Charli XCX's Boiler Room DJ Set. 400 People Got In. Here's What It Was Like Inside .

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