Crains New York - August 12, 2013 - (Page 37)

INSIDE HELLUVA TOWN Source Lunch How to market on the new health care exchange PAGE 38 Out and About Romeo and Juliet comes to Broadway PAGE 39 The end of an era On the second-to-last page of her new book of photos, Hotel Chelsea, is Victoria Cohen’s favorite shot. Light pours through the large window into a shadowy room, white paint peeling, drapes frayed. Beyond are brick tenements; on the horizon, shiny new condos. “It’s so intimate and protected,” Ms. Cohen said. “The city is there for the taking, or you can hide from it. That’s why people came to the Chelsea, to celebrate or start their life, or just to disappear.” That room has since disappeared, as the Chelsea, which was recently sold, undergoes a dramatic renovation into a boutique hotel. The book stands as a testament to what has been lost. Ms. Cohen has been a devotee of the hotel, former home to artists like Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, since her childhood. She made her first visit 20 years ago as a teenager. To her surprise, management gave her free rein when she started her project. She would get keys to rooms in between guests and spend hours shooting. “I began just documenting the rooms, but it quickly turned into an artistic and emotional experience,” Ms. Cohen said. The resulting book will be on display at a show opening Sept. 17 at SoHo’s Third Streaming gallery at 10 Greene St. —matt chaban GILL OF HIS DREAMS: Manhattan Fly’s Chris Hessert, a former Wall Streeter, now runs up to 90 charters a season. Techno is tops Once popular with club denizens, electronic dance music has become a billion-dollar industry. The genre’s growth came as mainstream artists such as Lady Gaga (below) partnered with EDM producers like Zedd, and festivals such as Electric Zoo introduced the masses to the music, according to Gary Salzman, co-founder of Big Management, who spoke at a recent panel held by Broadcast Music Inc. Now artists like Daft Punk, David Guetta and Skrillex are dominating the charts. According to Soundscan.com’s 2013 midyear report, track sales have jumped 65.2%, to 46.6 million units from 28.2 million in 2011. Some old-school players, including Naked Music label owner Jay Denes, are not so enthused about the surge. He complained that the music business has become too commercialized. “It is becoming more and more difficult for actual artists and talented people to survive,” he said. Mr. Denes blamed low production and distribution costs, thanks to inexpensive music software and social media, for the shift. “Technology is the gamechanging thing,” he said. “For the first time, everyone has a voice, and the downside is, that’s a lot of voices.” —shannon mcmahon Nix that Knicks game: Fishing trips are luring corporate types as a more relaxed way to socialize HOOKED BY JEN GELLER edge-fund manager Michael Prober has enjoyed fishing ever since he was a kid growing up on Long Island, catching fish in the Sound and off the coast of Montauk with his dad. As he got older, he fished in Florida and out west, often with his own three boys in tow. ¶ But it wasn’t until about a year ago, through a fundraising auction at his child’s school, that he learned about charter fishing boats in and around New York City, some that cater directly to the Wall Street crowd. It has become his new favored pastime, and his preferred way of socializing for business. ¶ Forget Citi Field or Knicks games: Mr. Prober said fishing is the more civilized way to make a deal. “For people who want my business and want to take me out, I tell them, ‘Let’s go fishing,’ ” he said. “With fishing, we’re on a boat, it’s relaxed, we can talk, and we don’t even have to go far to get there.” ¶ Fishing in New York may conjure up images of pulling up an old shoe off a pier, but the city has more than 500 miles of shoreline and has made major strides in improving its waterways. Although fish found in the See FISHING on Page 38 freshwaters of New York Harbor or the East River aren’t usually safe to eat, ne 4.2M NUMBER of recreational angler fishing trips in NY state in 2011 $212M ECONOMIC IMPACT of recreational fishing in the state in 2011 istock H buck ennis Reeling in business August 12, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 37 ws co m

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - August 12, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
SMALL BUSINESS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
STEVE HINDY
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: SPORTS BUSINESS
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - August 12, 2013