Big News X2 !!!!

[mysterd]

love from the UK

1)MR HUSSEIN'S BEEN CAUGHT!!

2)Dance-music fest is on the move; it'll arrive earlier

By EVELYN McDONNELL

emcdonnell@herald.com

Winter Music Conference founder Bill Kelly says the new dates permit more hotel availability. CHARLES TRAINOR JR./HERALD FILE

Winter Music Conference, Miami's annual dance music gathering, quietly announced its 2004 dates on its website last weekend, and the painstaking efforts of event planners around the world were instantly thrown into a tizzy.

The dance and electronic music industry's leading confab has taken place in late March for years. But in 2004, it will be March 6-10, headquartered at Miami Beach's Wyndham Resort.

Call it party pileup. For 10 days, Miami Beach will host a string of events. Red wine and Red Bull will be flowing simultaneously as the South Beach Wine and Food Festival (March 5-7) and the Winter Music Conference overlap. What's more, WMC will run into the gay fundraiser Winter Party Week (March 11-15).

Some foresee a crowded beach and community headaches.

''We always try to make sure every event has a signature weekend,'' says Dennis Leyva, the city of Miami Beach's entertainment liaison. ``It's better for the community; it doesn't tax city services and the hotel industry.''

But the promoters of all three predict one big soiree.

''We're excited it's before us,'' said Lily Pardo, event producer for Winter Party, which, like WMC, draws top-name DJs to spin at various club parties. ``We're going to do some cross-promotion. People who want to stay a couple extra days can come to our parties.''

Wine and Food Festival founder Lee Brian Schrager says he welcomes WMC delegates and is already receiving calls from record labels. ''They're in town, and all they do is entertain,'' Schrager said. ``For me it's been a blessing.

But the surprise date switch has the dance community spinning. ''Every DJ in the world is having to cancel gigs to make these dates work for them,'' said Ben Turner, creative director of the DanceStar awards, one of many unofficial ''satellite'' WMC events, set for March 9 at Lummus Park. ``A lot of people are surprised and upset. It's a testament to the Winter Music Conference that all the DJs still feel it's crucial to be here this week.''

Some industry insiders charge that the date change is a move to upset the schedules of would-be competitors, including DanceStar and a new summit called M3, booked at the Doubletree Surfcomber and Nash hotels for the same dates.

''They wanted to kick us and the DanceStar awards off the beach, so they scheduled it at the same time as Food and Wine,'' which takes place at Lummus Park, said Aleksandar Stojanovic, founder of Funkshion, a fashion show that last year was held at the park and this year is planned for the sand behind Nikki Beach Club in South Pointe. ``I don't think it's a coincidence.''

In 2004, Funkshion will share its tent with M3 (for Miami Music Multimedia). Featuring keynote speakers, panels and poolside parties, M3 seems to challenge directly the heart of WMC's programming. But the summit's founder, David Prince, thinks there is room for both events.

''M3 is not for beginners,'' Prince said. ``It will cater to professionals and help them think about new strategies to continue growing and surviving.''

WMC founder Bill Kelly, who says his festival has been hurt by the slump in the music industry, does not welcome the new summit.

''The music industry needs to mend itself with cohesiveness,'' he said. ``It's a bad climate to be trying to be an upstart of anything right now.''

But some say it's WMC's erratic schedule that's damaging.

''I, like many people in the music industry, am disappointed that it is early in the month of March,'' says M3's Prince. ``I am puzzled as to why those dates were chosen. It cuts two weeks off our production schedule.''

Whereas other music conferences, like South by Southwest, announce their schedules six months in advance, WMC waited unusually long for its 19th year, Kelly admits.

He says his belated announcement was based on his efforts to negotiate a hotel deal.

''It all hinges on picking dates in which we can utilize the most space,'' Kelly said. ``Later in March fewer rooms are available. And we wanted to move the hotel closer to South Beach.''

The Wyndham is at 4833 Collins Ave., about 20 blocks south of last year's headquarters hotel, the Radisson Deauville. WMC is mending fences with some past rivals. This year for the first time, it will team with the Ultra festival, traditionally the week's biggest event, which will kick off the conference March