Poker PR has been at it again with Rockhopper in their quest to discover music talent across the UK.

Along with leading music school Access To Music and education in instrument recycling, Replay; Rockhopper set up studio in the Rockhopper 1960’s airstream caravan in the Kidz Field at Glastonbury where they recorded an awe-inspiring array of young bands and artists.

Each day, one group was chosen to make the short list of a fantastic competition and now these bands need your help to win some life changing prizes:

• A place to Access To Music Summer Band Factory
• ProTools Recording Software
• Pinnacle Studio HD Video Editing Software
• A Rockhopper Four Song EP Deal

All we’re asking is for you to vote for your favourite in the bespoke Facebook Application designed and developed by Poker PR. By doing this, you could help springboard the stars of tomorrow into dizzy new heights! The poll closes Monday at 9am, so click here to place your vote now!

By Nicola Freitas

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Poker PR is thrilled to have bagged the online music promotion for Phonetic Recording’s debut Ibiza compilation – Phonetic Ibiza 2010 mixed by Leigh Devlin and label boss, hit producer, award winning A&R man and DJ Rob Roar, respectively.

Despite Phonetic having more number 1 hit records in Ibiza than any other label, this is their first compilation.  Due for digital release on 26th July and physical release on 8th August the album boasts over 17 world exclusives and a sharp track selection from scene leaders Axwell, Deadmau5, Michael Gray, Paul Harris (Dirty Vegas), Dave Seaman, and Martijn ten Velden.

Phonetic Ibiza gets its own launch party on Sunday 8th August at Sands, Playa den Bossa, Ibiza – just opposite Space – where Rob Roar and a collection of superstar guests from the Phonetic  label will appear.

The two disc Night and Day Compilation is another feather in Phonetic’s already impressive cap.  That said, with someone as instrumental to the house scene as Rob Roar at the helm, it was never going to be anything else…

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Our official iPhone application for dj producers Riley & Durrant is finally live on the Apple App Store. It is available to download for FREE here and comes with an EXCLUSIVE 30 minute ‘Summer Mix’ which can only be listened to through their app!

The app boasts a wide range of features for fans to connect to their favourite DJ duo including:

• All their latest news, social media including Facebook and Twitter (both tweets & mentions)
• Photo gallery where you can view all the latest photos from Riley & Durrant’s nights
• Video gallery where you can watch videos of their releases as well as tips and tricks from the studio
• Music streaming where you can listen to some of their latest tracks and remixes with a direct link to buy them straight away from the iTunes store
• Catch up on their award winning radio shows from Galaxy FM
• Events listings so you can keep track of where they are playing next so you never miss a show.

“I’m over the moon with the App it’s gone way beyond our expectations and looks absolutely BRILLIANT.” Says

Andi Durrant

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Poker PR has re branded and we would like to introduce our brand spanking new Scribble: site.  A brief introduction from us is in order as you’re probably wondering, who is Scribble:?  Well we are a digital media agency based in Brighton.  We provide communication services to clients across the world within the music and entertainment industry. We specialise in mobile applications, digital media, social media as well as website design & development.

We are very happy to announce the launch of our brand new, exciting and innovative iPhone application, Scribble: App.  It has been in the pipeline for a while now but after a lot of effort and hard work it is ready and set to revolutionise the music industry.

The first app version is an interactive communication tool for music artists, DJs and bands.  With their very own branded Scribble: App artists, DJs and bands have the power to create a unique user experience and stronger connection with fans and followers. Through the app they can promote their music, videos, photos and events as well syndicate their social media activity ultimately increasing their exposure.

With over 3 billion Apps downloaded to 14 million iPhones, and 4.5 billion mobiles used worldwide, we believe that mobile technology will soon be the dominant delivery mechanism for content and entertainment.

We are very proud of Scribble: App and we hope you think it’s as exciting as we do.  For a full list of features follow the link.  http://www.scribbleuk.com/apps

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Get ready to change your privacy settings on Facebook again. Possibly in answer to the popularity of location based networks such as the rapidly growing Foursquare, Facebook has made some changes to the language in its privacy policy from “add a location to something you post” to “place” meaning you can refer to a page such as a local bar or restaurant.

Another change that is causing a lot of negative sentiment towards the site is the sharing of information with “carefully selected” partner sites, Facebook say that this will make these sites “offer a more personalized experience”, this will work using the Facebook Connect function, the partner site will then hold the information about you, this will include your photo, name, friend list and any other information you have not made private within your privacy settings.

It is the new policy on the sharing of information that has resulted in 678 mostly negative comments on Michael Richter’s, who is Facebook’s deputy general counsel, recent blog on the changes. The reason behind most of the negative comments is the fact that this service when launched will be an opt out service, people believe they should be opting into this service that basically gives the “carefully selected” partner sites access to you public information. If you do not opt out and then decide you do not want a site to have your info then, at present, it is down to you to contact the site and ask them to remove your details from its servers.

What do you think, do you want your details being shared by default or would you prefer to opt into this service? Let us know here.

By Justin Pywell

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We at Poker PR have been impressed this week by two Facebook campaigns, coming for Kellogg’s and Absolut, both use the Facebook Connect function in a very clever way.

First up we have Kellogg’s and its new cereal ‘Krave’, the campaign involves users bidding for prizes using ‘Chunks’ on an external site, the prizes are pretty damn good – current item up for bids ‘4 tickets to Benicassim’, the Spanish music festival.

How do you earn your chunks? When you sign up using the Facebook Connect function you are given chunks you then earn chunks by inviting Facebook friends and you are given even more if they also sign up. The current bid for the Benicassim tickets is 208540 chunks, meaning there is a lot of sharing going on.

The second social media campaign that caught our eye this week is in the form of a short film from Spike Jonze, this very subtly sponsored by Absolut vodka. Facebook Connect comes into play when you enter the box office to get your pass to watch the film, you can invite ten people to watch the film with you, your status is updated before during and after the film telling people about the film, and finally the pass you pick up features your profile picture, a simple yet pleasant touch.

We at Poker PR thoroughly enjoyed the film, which has limited daily seats, and would recommend you take a look at Jonze’s story of robot love, (not as bad as that sounds) ‘I’m Here‘.

Do you have an idea for a social media campaign for your company and need someone to run it for you or are you looking for that creative spark to get your brand in front of the ever expanding social audience? If so Poker PR is here to help… Get in touch here

By Justin Pywell

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Poker PR is pleased to announce that our M.D., David Mitchell, will be a panellist on the ‘Our Community Is Our Brand’ panel at the rapidly approaching International Music Summit (IMS) in Ibiza. The panel will discuss digital communities, how and why they have changed their business and what the future holds.

David will be drawing from his many years of experience to voice his opinions on social networks, digital media, and all the other avenues that are currently available to create a community around a brand.

Also sitting on the panel are:

Callum Negus Fancey, 20 year old promoter of  Lets Go Crazy, the events are aimed at 14 to 16 year olds and continue to go from strength to strength.

Denzyl Feigelson, founder of Artists Without A Label, bridging the gap between independent artists/labels and digital stores such as iTunes.

Jonas Tempel, CEO of Beatport, the largest and most popular digital dance music store.

Konrad Von Loehneysen, MD at Ministry of Sound Recordings Germany, the German division of the ever popular brand.

Susie Lucas, Head of Mobile, UK, at Universal Music, delivering music and entertainment to mobile devices. TBC.

This is the first year David will be speaking at the IMS and we know that with his enthusiasm and experience it will not be the last.

By Justin Pywell

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The US launch of the iPad is rapidly approaching. But we’re going to have to wait a bit longer in the UK, as I’m sure we’re all used to this with Apple by now. Apple are accepting apps for the iPad store as I type this and the store will be launched the same day as the US launch, 3^rd April.

Poker PR is wondering how many app developers will see the iPad for the great interface it could be for DJs (and VJs). Admittedly, DJ’s will not be able to run programs like Ableton or Traktor on the iPad as they are both processor heavy applications. We have seen some great OSC (Open Sound Control) interfaces on the iPhone such as TouchOSC although most of these interfaces are very hard to operate on the small iPhone screen.

The iPad offers a much larger screen and has multi touch capabilities; this means it would make a great addition to a laptop based DJ setup with the right app running. Will we see manufacturers like Native Instruments, Serato or Ableton rise to the challenge and be the first to produce an app to control one of their popular DJ software packages. Or will we see more generic controller apps produced by the likes of Hexler, who produce the brilliant TouchOSC.

Poker PR will be sitting and watching this closely. As with the iPhone it will take a while for the best apps to be developed. There is already an iPad DJ app out there and we have seen it – let’s just say it would be best to wait for some other solutions to become available.

By Justin Pywell

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We recently blogged on the launch of the new We7 iPhone app and since, there is now a new addition to the streaming music apps family – the Muziic app, which was launched on Friday and is a little different from the others.

For those of you not familiar with Muziic, it is the brainchild of a 16 year old called David Nelson. The streaming service was originally launched as a desktop program this time last year, and there is now a web based version, a Facebook app, as well as the newly launched iPhone app. Muziic works in a bit of a controversial manner as it uses YouTube API to stream videos and music. You can also listen to albums, create playlists, listen to a massive selection of internet radio stations, and share your choices across social media.

Unlike other streaming services such as Spotify, We7 etc., the Muziic service is free across all platforms and does not require a premium subscription for advert free music. One of the selling points of the Spotify and We7 apps is the ability to cache your music allowing you to play it when you have no internet connection. This function is missing from the Muziic app and would probably be a step too far for YouTube who are a little upset at this use of their API already.

Poker PR have been a fan of streaming services for some time but think this could be a step to far as it does not create a revenue to be reinvested into the music industry. What do you think of this free service? Let us know here.

By Justin Pywell

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Universal Music are to drop the price of CDs and other major labels will more than likely follow their lead. The hope is that this price drop will bolster CD sales, which have dropped year on year for the past five years.

The news of the price drops came within 24 hours after a report commissioned by GetJar – the second largest app store to Apple – was published. The report looks at the expanding app market and the key finding is that the app market will be worth a potential $17.5 billion by 2012. This would mean that the value of apps sold would be greater than the value of CDs sold in 2012, at a predicted $13.83bn.

We at Poker PR are always waxing lyrical about the potential of the ‘album app’ and can see that when the big record companies take this on board, they will finally realise that, as a format, the CD is dead. The possibilities of the album app are endless, allowing interaction with your fans on lots of different levels, connection to social media, offering exclusive (paid) content, and allowing user generated content (remix competitions etc.) to name only a few. A CD simply does not allow these capabilities.

If you are looking to produce an app and get on board with this rapidly expanding market we at Poker PR are here to help, contact us here.

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