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Britain's Got (pop) Talent

2008-07-11T14:14:00Z

As we move towards the back end 2008 – a year that some have hailed as the new 2007 – we’ve been met with the rather pleasant news that Britain can claim responsibility for 4 of the 5 biggest selling albums of the year to date. Is this the reemergence of a Brit invasion, or just a slow 6 months for state-side pop?

Here’s the low down:

1> Amy Winehouse – Back to Black—3.67m (9.78m total)

2> Coldplay – Viva la Vida—2.6m

3> Leona Lewis – Spirit—2.4m

4> Jack Johnson – Sleep through the Static—2.4m

5> Duffy – Rockferry—2.25m

Sound Bites

2008-07-03T14:29:00Z

Independents Day – Tomorrow, the 4th July, will mark the first of what will hopefully become a well held tradition in raising a glass to the independent labels worldwide. The occasion, aimed at celebrating the big job undertaken by the little guys working in the thousands of independent labels, is a chance for the industry to recognise the industrious folk whose work keeps the music coming.

Shakira joins Live Nation – The Daily Star has reported that Shakira has signed a deal worth around £35 million to join a growing A-list at the events and promotion company Live Nation. Now neighboring the likes of Madonna and Jay-Z, Shakira has signed a 360-degree deal meaning Live Nation will be involved in her future tours, recordings, sponsorship and merchandise.

A great blog at the blogs.guardian.co.uk this week looks into the endorsements from big companies and their possibly detrimental effect to the creative side of the industry, against the obvious monetary benefits. Bebo are promoting their next online drama following the “real-life workings of Universal Music UK’s west London headquarters”, ran in conjunction with a mobile phone sponsor. A new income stream or a tightening strangle-hold?

...amazingtunes.com

Hot time, summer in the city...

2008-07-03T12:10:00Z

Sarah Russell

With simple but effective guitar lines complimenting a perfectly pure voice, Sarah’s soft, melancholic stroll through this introspective acoustic piece is a thoroughly enjoyable listen. This is certainly one for fans of Katie Melua or Norah Jones.

Drunk Dead Gorgeous – Cherries

This is a unique track on amazingtunes for the strong, but not outdated feel of the 80s it successfully conveys throughout. Airy, synthesized pads sit behind clean, strong guitars and a straight-ahead beat while the lead vocal style shifts between Robert Smith of The Cure and the great Jeff Buckley; a brilliant likening in any act.

Don’t Leave Me Hangin’ – The Roots

It could be an album track by The Coral, but it’s not. Instead it’s a rather decent turn by Scottish janglemeisters The Roots. What’s the song about, lads? What’s the hidden message? “It about about the girls that ‘left us hanging on’. It’s self explanatory as a song.” Oh. Well now you know.

Some tunes for your leisure

2008-06-25T10:49:00Z

End Of Time – Candy Apple

If DCI Gene Hunt ever busts some heads in a 1960s prequel to Life On Mars, then End Of Time will make a fitting soundtrack. It’s a raw guitar-propelled rock that throws you back 40 years in time. Like The Animals, only handier in a fight.

Lover, Killer – The Foxes

More guitar shenanigans, this time with a poppy indie lilt. Praised to high heaven by the likes of NME, London band The Foxes present Lover, Killer for your entertainment. It fits snugly into the current indie scene and wouldn’t sound out of place at this summer’s festivals.

When You Grow Old – Smoke Faries

Two girls from London who have toured the strange, grand and crumbling theatres of the UK at the personal request of Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry. Haunting and beautiful. £10 to the first person who can pigeon hole their music*.

Not really, as it’s a near impossibility that you’d manage to do so. It’s what is universally known in gambling circles as “a safe bet”.

What's new with amazingtunes?

2008-06-24T15:39:00Z

We’ve tweaked the site to make it even easier to discover and share new music. For example, click on an artist name or song title and you’ll now find a series of tabs for leaving comments, as well as letting you share songs more easily with your friends.

Click on a song title and you’ll find a new feature called “Similar” that searches all the music on amazingtunes to find similar songs. It’s another great way to discover music you’ll love.

As ever, if you have any feedback we’d love to hear it - info@amazingtunes.com.

Sound Bites

2008-06-24T15:28:00Z

The two companies behind computer games Rock Band and Guitar Hero (MTV Games and Acti-vision respectively) are in a battle to win the license to make the official Beatles game. The Financial Times reports that representatives from the Apple Corp. are in talks with the two companies in a move aimed at pushing the Fab Four into new media streams.

Mark Ronson, the producer and musician, was paid a handsome £1,000,000 to perform at the 21st Birthday bash of British heiress Freya Dawson. The comfortable earner saw him net over £370 a second. “Nice work if you can get it,” as Gershwin so aptly put it.

The Lancashire police are in trouble with the rather unforgiving PRS for playing music within the workplace without paying for the correct licenses. Steve Finnigan, Lancashire police’s Chief Constable, is accused of infringing copyright by allowing music to be played in stations nationwide, while 11 police forces have failed, or refused, to obtain licenses for music. Should the case go to court it could create a PR nightmare for the royalties collections agency as other organisations and businesses could follow suit and find cause to refuse. You can read the whole story here

An eclectic listen

2008-06-19T15:06:00Z

Here are some tunes that have been keeping us right in the office from the start of June:

DetroitSocialClub – Sunshine People

This band crossed our path, stopped us in our tracks, nailed us to the floor, slapped our face and left us begging for more. Filled to bursting point with raw passion and soul we are certain this young act will go far.

Sniffa Dog Productions – Glass Pipes

This spacious electronica track, reminiscent of Boards of Canada or Plaid in its progressive but bold constructions and eerie soundscapes is a must listen for any electronica fan. With great production and a powerful but articulated beat it comes highly recommended.

Penfold Gate – Bowler Hat

These indie boys from Loughborough certainly have something good going on. With creative lyrics full of imagery and humour alongside a Cure-meets-Mates of State sound that has us well and truly impressed, we would hazard that their success to date - Futureheads support, a Channel 4 appearance – is just the beginning.

Sound Bites

2008-06-16T15:27:00Z

The largest survey to date of music consumption and music piracy in the UK has unveiled some startling figures. Undertaken by the University of Hertfordshire, for British Music Rights, the findings suggest that, of those surveyed, a whopping 63% admitted downloading music illegally and a further 42% admitted to uploading music for others to share.
Age is apparently a key factor with the main offenders across all areas predominantly being under the age 25.
Some other startling results were that 95% percent of those questioned copied music in some form, whether it be CD to computer or CD/mp3 duplication, and in the average mp3 collection (of 1771 tracks) around 48% (or 842 tracks) have not been paid for. That’s £665 in iTunes language.
See the results here

Rolling Stones are about to end their 31-year-short relationship with EMI as the band have been rumored to be courting with Live Nation. The events promotions company turned all-encompasing, omnipresent music monolith looks set to capitalise on the lucrative touring potential of the Stones should a deal go through. It is fairly well known that the Rolling Stones don’t do too well with record sales, their success (and money) being mainly in live gigs and merchandise (suiting far more the structures in place at Live Nation) however the loss of another big name from EMIs roster may leave a sour taste in Guy Hands’ mouth.

Sentric a web-based company from Liverpool is working to help small bands claim the money they should be owed from live performances and broadcasting. By helping bands to claim the money that they’re due from the PRS the company aims to help unsigned acts see some of the £60 million going unclaimed that the PRS holds onto every year. Visit their website or go here to learn more.

...amazingtunes.com

Sound Bites

2008-06-12T15:51:00Z

Orange, the global communications service provider, have launched a new service in France that allows subscribers to freely download up to 500 tracks a month for PC and phone. With all four major labels on board (offering over 1 million tracks) the €12 a month service is considered relatively unique and novel service in that you get to keep the tracks for life, moving forward the recorded music upheaval.

In a move that will spark interest amongst the tech’ communities, EMI – home to bands like Coldplay and Robbie Williams – have looked to bolster their internet presence with the acquisition of Cory Ondrejka. For the non-techie folk Cory Ondrejka is a co-founder of the incredibly successful online community Second Life – a virtual world that now floats its own economy with the Linden Dollar. This comes not long after Guy Hands (owner of EMI) hired Douglas Merrill who was previously one of Googles most senior executives.

It’s difficult not to know, but for those of you that have managed to spare yourself from the media barrage, Coldplays new album Viva la Vida was released today. Predictably going straight to the top of the iTunes album charts the LP has caused a stir in the retail world as Woolworths’ download store is offering it for less than £5 – £3.02 cheaper in fact that iTunes. It’s your choice where to get it if you feel so inclined, but either way prepare yourself for the impending Coldplay fanaticism.

Amazingtunes Rock Nessie

2008-06-11T09:53:00Z

As this summer’s festival season moves into full swing amazingtunes found itself in amongst the sun-kissed masses last weekend, donning the shades and dancing it up at the Rockness festival following Spokes as they looked to impress the reveling crowds.

As part of our Sound08 competition held in March of this year we gave one lucky act the chance to get played on XFM and perform live at the Rockness Festival. The eventual winners Spokes last weekend took to the stage in Dores, on the shores of Loch Ness, with a point to prove. The heavily dance orientated line-up at this years event was a motion away from the more subtle and emotional guitar driven melodies of Spokes, however their departure from the intensities of the surrounding stages made them, for me, something of a stand out act.

Opening with the instrumental track ‘We Like to Dance and Steal Things’ the band built a strong foundation from which to develop, moving into tracks like ‘Sleep it off’ and ‘Young People! All Together’ with a great enthusiasm. While the quieter moments were unfortunately often offset by the traveling bass from the other stages, Spokes’ ability to command a wall of sound made the large majority of the performance a powerful experience, with strong progressions and well weighted climaxes keeping the audience enthused throughout.

While having to compete against a line-up clash that saw the band scheduled to play at the same time as DJ Yoda and the Editors, the lads and lady from Manchester held their audience with great confidence and it certainly left myself with a smile on my face. Speaking with Matthew Baty, the drummer of Spokes, after the performance he said “It was a superb experience. Playing at the same event as so many great acts was a bit of a surreal experience, but really enjoyable. After it was over we decided to make sure that next year we’ll do what it takes to be playing at plenty more festivals.” And with lots of smiles after their performance from both on and off the stage I’m sure they won’t be disappointed.

The festival itself was a great show set in some of the most idyllic scenery north of the border, and with such great weather there was always going to be enjoyment to be had. Fatboy Slim called in the Saturday night, entertaining a massive crowd in front of the main-stage with a brilliantly thought-out set after Soulwax had stunned their patient fans with a live show in the Soulwax Arena, a show that was packed full of energy – and nothing short of amazing. Mylo, donning a vintage Scotland shirt, fed the crowd with healthy doses of bass and the Mystery Jets went down with great aplomb, their single ‘Two Doors Down’ getting an excited response. Underworld reminded us of why they were so successful all those years back, whipping the audience up into a frenzy with an extended version of Born Slippy, and then, of course, there was Spokes. While obviously not commanding quite the same level of interest as Johnny Burrell et al, this relatively new act, here to prove a point and reach new ears, stood tall and left their audience with something a little different to take home with them.

...amazingtunes

Dancin' away with a number 1

2008-06-05T14:30:00Z

Around 13million people tuned in to watch the final of Britain’s Got Talent last weekend – the largest viewing figures of 2008 to date no less – as George Sampson danced his way to success.

I must admit, I didn’t watch the final, nor have I really been following the series at all. I am relatively opposed to the spiraling number of talent show come phone-in schemes from ITV, seemingly targeted at further lining Simon Cowell’s pockets. However I was intrigued by the aftershock of the event which has seen the song that George danced to, Dancin’ in the Rain by Mint Royale, fly to the top in the midweek charts with some reports claiming it is outselling it’s nearest rival 2 to 1. What got me interested though was the fact that I know this song has been about for some time, 3 years in fact, and to date it has never really achieved any great amount of chart success until its accompaniment to the Britain’s Got Talent winning act. The key to it’s success however lies in iTunes, and it presently resides atop of the iTunes music download chart displaying the convenience for the consumer of iTunes’ presence within every broadband owning home – and what’s, more the willingness the consumer now seems to have in utilising this convenience. The rise of the song that had seemingly long since been put to the side is going to show what kind of impact the digital downloads market can have, and at what point will they start stating within the advert what song has been used in that advert so that a subsequent iTunes purchase can be made? I for one believe that tapping into this ‘whim purchase’ model of selling, through digital outlets – namely iTunes – could soon become a very possible means of generating recording sales for the industry, with cult tracks quickly reflecting their television presence through download sales. Though I do feel concerned this may herald a period of regurgitation of yesterdays tracks repositioned amongst suitable accompaniment.

Before I sign off I’d like to make mention that amazingtunes.com wish all the best to Spokes, the Sound08 winners who go out this Saturday at Rockness to play to the masses in their winners slot.

...amazingtunes.com

A lack of vision

2008-05-29T10:26:00Z

It comes as a disappointing (though somewhat unfortunately expected) occurrence that Britain has yet again failed to achieve even a glint of appraise in another unfruitful Eurovsion Song Contest. Alongside one more woeful, outdated pop entry from Britain there rings the ever increasingly cries that this event is marred by some sort of unfortunate political exercise in which eastern European countries contrive to further their political communications via the pretense of voting for over-produced, nauseous pop music.

Don’t get me wrong, while I find the music fairly terrible at times, the concept could certainly redeem itself as a platform for serious artists and producers, and as a unifying event that could help join musical cultures – essentially what it should be anyhow. But the event has spiralled towards a kitsch wash of cheesy bedazzlement and sensationalized performances so lacking in genuine emotion that I feel I could find more honesty in an Eastenders omnibus.

It is fair to say that thanks to Bush and Blair’s Middle East endeavours we’re not so popular amongst our European counter-parts. That’s something of a given. However I was left wondering just how much of our poor result this year was due to our military coup and unfavourable European image, as our Wogan would have you believe, and how much was down to the fact that we entered a piece of music so dated and out-of-touch with the competition that the Butlins Redcoats would rather sing another rendition of Angels than hark Andy Abraham’s middle-of-the- road drone Even If.

By all means Wogan, leave the scene if you feel so inclined, even if it will be to the detriment of the spectatorship (which it indubitably will) but I cannot agree that our lack of success falls upon tactical voting. When Aphex Twin, early Streets or Gorrilaz enters and finishes bottom of the pile maybe then we can cry to Points of View.

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Simon Fuller Success

2008-05-21T15:57:00Z

Congratulations is due for Simon Fuller who, after collecting the Peter Grant Award for music management last week was named on monday as Britain’s most successful music manager. His career to date has seen the worldwide notoriety of the Spice Girls, a number of pop sensations like S Club 7 and Amy Winehouse and the creation of the global phenomenon that is Pop Idol – that now has over 100 different versions.

While I personally find the commercial world of music he has excelled in slightly nauseous it is certainly a commendable accolade to have such a successful history. To date he has sold more tracks that Brits Brian Epstein and Peter Grant – managers of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin respectively – and his tally of 116 million records sold puts him third in the all-time chart for managers. This figure is still 32 million off Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker who tops the lot at 148 million records sold.

And lest you not forget, I will leave you with a little reminder that it’s the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final this evening so don’t forget to tune in and remind yourself of the wonderful and glorified karaoke occasion that isn’t Pop Idol before Saturdays finals…

...amazingtunes

EMI in poor States

2008-05-19T14:48:00Z

It’s tentative times for Guy Hands as figures show EMI to be holding its lowest share in the US market for at least half a decade. EMI have a roster of high earning artists from the likes of Kylie and Coldplay to the Kooks, though recent times have been rather rough. Alongside suffering the desertion of Radiohead – just before their massive success that was In Rainbows – Rolling Stones have been rumoured to be turning their back on EMI, releasing their next album with Universal Music Group plaguing the recorded music division with difficult questions. The company has been marred recently by news that up to 2,000 jobs may be cut at the label in a shake-up designed to streamline the companies outgoings and improve profit margins, however there seems to be a downward slope that is taking a hold at EMI.

All may not be lost however as EMI’s recorded music division is placing much of its hopes in the hands of trump card Coldplay who are about to release Viva la Vida in Britain and the States on the 12th and 17th of June respectively. The British soft-rockers are EMI’s bestselling act globally and could help revive the current low figures that are plaguing the recorded music division.

The news of EMIs shortcomings in the US market is ultimately untimely though with the recorded music division of the label heading towards a difficult review point in September. Guy Hands’ Terra Firma are expected to meet financial targets as part of the clause of their loan from Citigroup – who lent £2.5bn to Terra Firma for the £4bn needed to buy out EMI – and they [EMI] are expected by Citigroup to meet earnings of £180m by september. Sources from within the company hint however that the label will be short of this figure come crunch time.

A Bottle o' Winehouse

2008-05-15T13:47:00Z

It has come about, through what I can only imagine was an interesting period of research, that music can enhance the taste of wine. The claims are so strong that they could lead drinks manufacturers to placing musical recommendations on particular bottles to improve the drinking experience.

Apparently, cabernet sauvignon goes down well with the heavy music – that’s Hendrix or Stones “heavy”, not Meshuggah or Slayer – while Merlot can be washed down with some Otis Redding (Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay).

The study, undertaken by the Heriot Watt University on behalf of Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes, may not be quite so conclusive when considering that the research employed the wine tasting skills of 250 students – whose payment for this research was a free glass of wine. That said, it at least provides me the opportunity to go home and second the research with my own wine tasting session…

...amazingtunes.com