Orlando, the uber-posh Fulham-lashed Gap Yah student from the hilarious ‘Gap Yah’ skit on YouTube, has bagged himself a record deal with Poker PR working on the online and social promotion for this banterous release!
iTunes rushed through the Gap Yah single to make it available for download just 24 hours after hearing it. The song, plus a dance remix, is due for release on all other platforms on 2nd August.
‘Gap Yah’ has been written and produced by internationally acclaimed writer / producer Adrian Zagoritis, who’s had over 300 releases worldwide on both major and dance labels, often working with writers for KyIie Minogue, Moby and Madonna.
It’s a Guetta-laced floor-filler interwoven with Orlando’s lines from the sketch. With Electro-spiked beats, this one is Benassi meets Banter in Burma, creating something you’re very unlikely to have ever heard before. And the chorus? Well, it just Chunders Everywah! Listen here
The ‘Gap Yah’ video, performed by actor Matt Lacey (aka Orlando) of The Unexpected Items comedy group, so far has an amazing 1.9m hits on YouTube.
Our latest piece in music promotion is a release called ‘I Believe In You’, which comes from the brilliantly talented, singer/songwriter Hannah.
Trance DJ / producer legend Paul van Dyk, spun‘I Believe In You’ as his set opener at Space during the WMC last month. Previously crowned the number 1 DJ in the World by DJmag, the German stalwart spun the Ali Wilson & Tristan Ingram mix with Hannah’s uplifting vocals and big beats. It went down a storm! Watch the reaction right here
And if that wasn’t enough, the same remix was played again later that night by another trance hero, Sander Van Doorn. What a night!
The dance remixes of Hannah’s latest single – due out 30th May – are vast and varied, with mixes working on dance floors from house to trance. ‘I Believe In You’ was made ‘Song Of The Day’ by the huge dance blog www.about.com where the single and its animated 3D video have been championed. You can read the post in full here
Our clients at Poker PR like to offer something a little special, so Hannah is giving away the Ali Wilson & Tristan Ingram mix of ‘I Believe In You’ for absolutely nothing! So here it is, just in time for the weekend: download
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.
YouTube have used SXSW to announce that they’re expanding their partner program to include independent musicians. Everyone is invited to submit videos although not all of them will be featured.
Independent musicians who are accepted by YouTube’s “Musicians Wanted” section will be able to make some money from the partner program if their music videos and live musical performances draw enough views. The artists will receive ‘a majority’ of the advertising revenue from the overlay, pre-roll, and text advertising.
The group of you YouTube employees who will select the artists that get accepted will be on the lookout for indie bands. Once the artists are accepted, they will be able to add links to buy their music, list their tour dates, and they will also have more control over the look of their YouTube channel. Artists will also make money when the videos are embedded into their own sites, blogs or social media pages.
Poker PR likes the idea of YouTube gathering all these artists into a browsable and searchable area that will feature only independent artists, meaning ultimately more money will be making its way to the artists.
There is one restriction in the new program – albeit a positive one – you must submit a video. What this means is you are not able to submit a MP3 over a selection of static images. This will be great news for all the up and coming videographers and animators out there, and we at Poker PR are look forward to seeing the results of this excellent program.
The UK based Spotify rival, We7 has launched a new music streaming mobile app, available as a free download from the iTunes store. The app appears to be working on the We7’s Premium account, although from the 1st March it will only work for those who sign up for the £9.99 a month Premium+ account.
We7’s product allows users to take advantage of an offline mode where in areas of little or no reception, they will still be able to listen to music that has been cached to the handset – a feature similar to that of the Spotify app.
There is a special offer on We7’s current Premium PC based service that is advert free and is available until the 1st May for £3.99 a month (normal price £4.99). The Premium+ service will feature ad free listening on both PC and mobile and will be available on both the iPhone and Android devices. We7 say they will be making the app available to Blackberry devices at some point.
Following Warner Music’s comment that steaming services were “clearly not positive for the industry”, Poker PR believes it will be the premium services that will be used to keep the record companies happy and provide the money to keep the music industry alive.
If you are not as lucky as me and are not going to Matter tonight to see Faithless, then don’t worry as they have been confirmed to headline this year’s Global Gathering. This year Global will be celebrating its 10th year so they will be pulling out all the stops.
Faithless and Global Gathering are giving away a free track to promote the band’s 6th studio album released later this year. To register for your download click here.
Dizzee Rascal will also be strutting his Brit winning stuff, along with 150 other DJs and acts still to be announced. Making a welcome return will be the Godskitchen’s Boombox, which as well as housing the booth for some of the world’s top DJ’s; it will also act as a screen for an awe inspiring visual display. Check out last year’s Boombox stage here.
The two day dance festival takes place in Stratford-upon-Avon on 30th – 31st July and early bird weekend tickets are on sale now priced at £126.50 with a deposit scheme available, which allows festival-goers to spread out the ticket payments. Go to the Global Gathering site for more info.
To celebrate the release of Azuli’s 10th Miami album, the long-running independent house label is offering a track from the forthcoming album, for absolutely nothing!
As always, the album predicts what the biggest tunes to come out of the Miami Winter Music Conference will be, and this free track is a taster of what’s in store.
Download your free MP3 of DONS remix of ‘Ghetto Star’ by MWSC now http://j.mp/Azuli-Free-Download and let us know what you think. This track is the opener on CD2 and sets the tone for the remainder of the album; upfront, underground, and very danceable.
Like what you hear? Pre-order your copy now http://j.mp/Album-Order-Amazon Release date: 1st March.
To keep up to date with all Azuli releases and events, become a fan on Facebook http://j.mp/Azuli_Facebook to get exclusive announcements as and when they happen.
So the debate about free music is buzzing again since Warner hinted yesterday that it may pull its catalogues from free music steaming sites such as Spotify, after declaring such services were “clearly not positive for the industry.”
Going back to a time before free streaming; the consumer purchased physical music that then became digital. And with that came the age old problem of piracy – a battle the music industry has fought ever since.
As an answer to illegal downloading, in recent years we’ve seen a soar in free music streaming services like Spotify and Last FM. Record labels have had to get involved due to this huge route to market. Adverts via these portals mean consumers can be targeted directly, but a premium paid for services means the listener gets to ignore the ads.
So along came the Subscription model. It’s not just music to be consumed through this model either, as ticket sales and merchandise generates revenue and exposure. But the issue here is that the supplier – the label – has to agree for its music to be made available, if they want their slice of the profit.
So what happens if the label decides to pull out and not to license its music to these streaming services like Warner has suggested it may do?
Warner’s label chief executive Edgar Bronfman has already said it “Is not the kind of approach to business that we will be supporting in future.”
This will not be a good move for Spotify, Last Fm, We7 etc., but maybe this is just the spin the industry needs.
It begs the question whether Spotify will continue to give the label a share of the existing subscriptions. After all, the seven million users Spotify has in six European countries are not to be sniffed at.
Does this mean the labels will stick to the iTunes model, but with a subscription service? Will all the major labels come together and decide to pull out of free streaming services all together?
There has been so much debate in recent years about how artists and everyone else in the music food chain will actually earn money in the industry. Maybe this is it. I feel another change coming on…
The weird and wacky, but exceptionally wonderful Hot Chip return to the UK this February with a new album and tour to boot.
The five piece band released their fourth studio album titled ‘One Life Stand’ on Monday 1st Feb and their UK tour will kick off on 12th Feb at o2 Academy, Glasgow.
I am a huge fan of this band. Collectively, they look like a loveable bunch of misfits, but their live events are raw, uplifting, and quite electrifying. The band has just announced on Twitter that they’ll be playing at this year’s Bestival. Hurrah!
To date, all three Hot Chip albums have produced both eclectic and chart-topping tracks, all firmly stamped with the trademark Hot Chip sound. Guardian.co.uk said they were “blown away” by the fourth album whilst dance site Datatransmission said it was an “absolute cracker.”
I cannot wait to hear the new album performed live, so I’ll be heading to the Leeds leg of their tour on 16th Feb. I’m Ready For The Floor – are you?!
Check www.hotchip.co.uk for the complete tour schedule.
With album sales dropping for the fifth year in a row in 2009, and free streaming sevices such as Spotify and Last FM (and Apples rumoured iTunes streaming service) the music industry must look at new ways to engage the customer and create revenue.
When we used to buy an album it was not just for one song but for the whole package, the cover, the other songs, that gave you more of an idea as to what the artist was about and the cover notes that where always a good read.
What can be done to create this type of satisfaction with a download? This is where the album app comes into play, with multiple covers, videos and links to websites and social media platforms all included in your download. Why stop there, remix and mash up culture is seen across all media now so why not allow you customers to remix the track and then make these remixes available for others to buy.
Facebook and i-phone apps will allow this new remix option with downloaded albums, and there are also standalone platforms like MXP4, at Poker we look forward to seeing what becomes of this new and exciting technology.
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