SONG CONTEST BLOG

Geffen Records has opened its doors for online submissions for the soundtrack of the upcoming film, Bratz. The major motion picture, a co-venture between MGA Entrertainment, Avi Arad Productions and Crystal Sky Pictures, is expected to hit the box office across the US on August 10th via Lionsgate. The music supervisors are accepting and reviewing submissions until May 15th.

Details: www.bratzsoundtrack.com

SonyBMG UK introduced a blogging initiative in an effort to dispose of unsolicited physical material being sent to their labels. In partnership with social network destination,Vox.com, the second largest music company in the world is set to jump on the massive blogging trend and encourage fledgling artists to submit their material digitally in a free and open networking environment.

Chairman of Sony BMG UK, Ged Doherty, assures the musical public that online interaction between artists and A&R will be the order of the day and will diminish the likelihood of great acts being missed as a result of postal administration.

For those of you who know how hard it is to get your foot in the door of any label, let alone a major, this could be wonderful way to learn about label staff and get them to hear you. Due to the nature of this system, staff will be able to decipher between the good and the bad through public feedback and in an inter-personal environment. I can only imagine that every artist will want to be a part of this and the limited A&R staff will have their work cut out for them.

Is there an ulterior motive here? Well, perhaps this opportunity of being heard by the industry leaders is more of a hook to market existing acts on the label as opposed to discovering new ones. As the blog network ( www.rcademos.co.uk , www.colombiademos.co.uk and www.gedblog.vox.com ) is open to all, and the subscribing artists are unsigned, Ged and his team may not necessarily be the ones signing and, in turn, profiting from their discoveries. Either that, or they will need to act very quickly – not a trait generally associated with large corporations.

For any online music platform, getting a major label on board is big beans. Most musicians have websites, MySpace profiles, EPKs etc. in the hope that an A&R person will notice. Many online destinations promise to bridge the gap between artists and labels. Now, the initiative is coming from the labels themselves and exclusively to Vox – wow!

If the other major labels do not sensationalise their own online profiles and A&R prospects, and Ged and his staff discover and develop a star through this, we may find ourselves with the most popular music blog of the decade.. but I doubt it. There is a certain lack of charisma about the whole thing. See for yourself:

Ged Doherty for Sony BMG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LreqFrCws3U

Mike Smith for Columbia Records

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiUK3SEfYbA&NR=1

[i]by Lior Shamir[/i]

In a recent move to expand our operations in the US, we have hired a music attorney based in New York to liaise with label executives and music supervisors on behalf of up to five artists scheduled for a “shopping deal” this year. This initiative is the first exclusive signing of artists to the We Are Listening group and in effect of our efforts to discover new talent through [b][link=http://www.wearelistening.org/singer.php]The Singer/Songwriter Awards[/link][/b] and [b][link=http://www.wearelistening.org/about_nmva.php]New Music Video Awards[/link][/b]. Unlike traditional management, publishing and recording agreements, this “shopping deal” is a short term contract for the specific purpose of referring developing artists to established labels, music attorneys, artist managers and content licensors. Although this service is limited to a handful of artists, it is one of several due to roll out this year for artists participating in our events. We shall keep you posted with more.

I bet you know at least one person in the music business that may, one day, contribute to your success. I will assume that you have played your music to this person at least once, perhaps work with this person from time to time, and think of this person when you have great new material. Whether you know a tour manager, label executive, music publicist or experienced producer, I am sure you hold such a contact dear. It is safe to say that anyone working in the music business knows others in the business and boy would you like to get your music in their hands, right? Networking.

If only for a reaction and a little word-of-mouth, we want to be heard by as many people as possible, industry or not. Savvy musicians are already doing this by entering song contests, attending conferences, showcasing at festivals, chatting in forums etc. I propose that co-writing should be part of this mix.

When you write with another artist, you are automatically giving this person an incentive to talk about you. Consider that this artist has similar aspirations, wants and needs – more or less the same number of contacts – as you and will solicit his/her contacts to promote the song you collaborated on. Now there are TWO of you on the team hassling whoever it is that you know, be it your uncle

It

Dopetracks is a virtual online recording studio and community where singers and producers collaborate and share their talents with the whole world. Pick an original instrumental, hook up your mic, record a track, drop it on your myspace profile. It’s that easy! Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na has partnered with Dopetracks in an effort to reach across the musical spectrum from Hip Hop to Reggae to Rock to Punk and Electronica. Chali is also an active user of the site and has recorded helpful tutorials to get you started.

www.dopetracks.com

Nafsica, the very gorgeous, young and charismatic Greek talent, finally secured representation with New York management firm, Stars Cast, after a year of talks. We Are Listening introduced Nafsica to Stars Cast

In today’s media-saturated world, it is refreshing to know that a viral campaign spurred by bloggers and podcasters can have such a ripple effect. This unique campaign launched a formerly unknown song to #11 on the U.S. rock charts. Recently podcasters and bloggers all over the world asked internet users to purchase one song, “Mine Again

Less than two weeks after minting its Hear Music record label, Starbucks has now officially signed Paul McCartney. The label, a collaborative arrangement between Starbucks Entertainment and the Concord Music Group, will release McCartney’s first studio album in two years. The album will contain all new and original material, according to information disseminated by Starbucks at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Seattle. McCartney, who will release the album this summer, crashed the shareholder party via satellite link. “For me, the great thing is the commitment and the passion and the love of music, which as an artist is good to see,” the artist said. “It’s a new world now and people are thinking of new ways to reach the people and for me that’s always been my aim.” The announcement was largely expected, and mostly a formality.

Most of us are a little past playing with our mobile hand sets, uploading ringtones, converting them into polyphonics, creating wallpapers and tracking our position with GPS. Or am I as a cool as a Samsung?

With exception to GPS, all of the aforementioned are rather good tools to get your name and music to your fans. I estimate that if you’re giving away some of your music for free as a promotional strategy – and a good one it is – throwing in a ringtone and a wallpaper may really tip the scale in your favour.

Myxer provides this service to you for free.

Hands up all those who still have the Nokia theme tune.. sheesh!

www.myxer.com