Category Archives: Music

Christmas, Events, Music, News

As Firms Bring Back the Christmas Parties, New Poll Reveals the Acts In Hottest Demand

A NEW poll has revealed the bands, entertainers and tribute-acts in hottest demand for corporate Christmas events this year.

Vocalists The Overtones came out on top in the survey which comes as businesses race to bring back events following years of cancelled parties due to Covid.

Experts say the resurgence is being driven by remote and hybrid working and a demand for bosses to bring teams together for a big celebration once a year.

And according to the poll carried out by Musician Bands it’s The Overtones – who were discovered while singing on their tea-break – that are most in demand for events.

The findings were based on data linked to 2022 bookings and feedback from events that took place last year.

Other acts in the top 15 compiled were BoyzLife, Slade and Nearly Buble.

Jack Hayes, Director of Champions Music and Entertainment and founder of Musician Bands, said: “After years of canceled parties and concerns about Covid, Christmas is back this year in a massive way.

“Despite the financial pressures in the economy, many companies are shrugging things off to try and give their employees a much needed boost.

“The rise of remote working means the Christmas party is also now one of the few times of the year when whole teams are brought together.

“That may explain why many companies are looking to book high quality entertainment to reward staff for their efforts throughout the year.

“It’s created a huge market for bands and tribute acts – and the Overtones are benefiting from it more than most. It’s the latest chapter in their remarkable rise to fame.”

Christmas parties surged back in popularity last year – and the trend is tipped to continue this year too.  Some companies are reporting seeing four times the level of demand this year compared to 2019.

The most popular Christmas party dates are 8 December and 15 December.

Many businesses also earmarked a significant increase in the average size and cost per head for Christmas parties in 2022. Overall budgets were up by around 50% according to a report earlier this year.

Mr Hayes added: “The days of clocking off at 3pm, turning the office into a disco and putting out some mince pies are long gone. Companies are now pulling out all the stops to put on a great event which has created a huge market for those in the entertainment industry.”

 

TO READ MORE VISIT: https://musicandbands.co.uk/news/trending-christmas-party-bands

 

TOP 15:

  1. The Overtones
  2. Boyzlife
  3. Coyote
  4. The Talent
  5. Rewind 80s
  6. Slade
  7. The RPJ Band
  8. Madhen
  9. Singing Waiters
  10. Urban Intro
  11. American Four Tops
  12. MIB Band
  13. Nearly Bublé
  14. The Funtime Frankies
  15. The Edge
Music

The Legacy of The Ramones

Whether or not you’ve listened to The Ramones before there is a good chance that you have heard of them. This can be attributed in part due to their logo being replicated on clothing items sold at high street shops and bought for its perceived coolness factor by many people who may not necessarily know much about the band itself.

However despite this phenomenon, those familiar with The Ramones are deserving of their fame and legacy because they were an incredibly powerful musical force – especially live – whose influence continues even today long after they stopped performing and recording new material.  Their impact has been felt across countless other bands since then making it clear why so many continue to hold them in such high regard. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of experiencing what makes them truly great do yourself a favour and give some of their music a listen! You won’t regret it.

The task of capturing the raw vitality that defined The Ramones’ live performances on record was no easy feat according to Paul Miles from Select Recording Studios. Attending any one of their shows during peak performance periods would have been an unforgettable experience for those lucky enough to be there – such is the legendary status surrounding these hallowed dates in music history!

The London Roundhouse hosted an unforgettable date on July 4th, 1976 that marked a turning point for punk music in England. This event is widely regarded as the moment when punk burst out of obscurity and into mainstream consciousness across London’s capital city. It remains one of the most significant moments in rock history.

The Ramones, hailing from Queens in New York City released their self titled album with an opening track that would become iconic – Blitzkrieg Bop. The song was accompanied by the exhilarating “Hey ho! Lets go!” line which set off a chain reaction of excitement among listeners worldwide upon its release on May 1976. It is no overstatement to say that this record changed the face of music forever; paving way for other punk bands who adopted similar styles and approaches towards creating music. focusing solely on energy rather than technical prowess or complexity. This minimalist approach resulted in some truly memorable tracks like those produced by The Ramones themselves whose talent lay not only in paring down but also in making it sound so good!

The Ramones are often associated with the punk movement but they were much more than just another band in that genre. They had a unique sound that drew inspiration from various sources including MC5, Sabbath and The Stooges – this gave them an edge over other acts at the time who only focused on replicating what was already popular within their scene. Their music resonated beyond any label or classification; it transcended boundaries and continues to be celebrated today as timeless rock n roll classics.

The Ramones were a game changing force in the world of music. Hailing from Forest Hills, Queens these young men left an indelible mark on so many important bands that followed them. Without their influence its hard to imagine what rock and punk would look like today – or even if those genres would exist at all! From Nirvana’s grunge sound to Poison Ideas hardcore approach The Clashes politically charged anthems and beyond- theres no denying how much they influenced others with their unique style and attitude. songwriting prowess and stage presence.

And let us not forget The Beastie Boys who sampled The Ramones on “High Plains Drifter” as just one example of how far reaching this groups impact truly was. Their legacy is undeniable: without them modern music might be vastly different than it currently stands today. That kind of power speaks volumes about their importance within popular culture history.

 

Image:

Concert by the touring Ramones, at the New Yorker Theater, by Pilsmo, CC BY-SA 3.0

AI, International News, Music, Tech, Technology

Cyanite launches Cyanite for Innovators to foster unique innovations in music and AI

Cyanite, one of the world’s leading AI companies for music analysis and recommendation has launched Cyanite for Innovators, a partnership initiative aimed at fuelling creativity and innovation in the fields of music, AI, and the creative arts.

Through this programme, Cyanite aims to make a positive impact on the worlds of music and technology, by supporting passionate innovators.

Cyanite for Innovators will support individuals and teams from diverse sectors, including NGOs, the arts, research institutions, not-for-profit organisations, grassroots movements, and creative coding communities.

Successful applicants to Cyanite for Innovators will gain access to  Cyanite’s API and technology, early access to prototypes, and the team’s expertise providing them with a unique opportunity to bring their music and technology ideas and projects to life.

The Cyanite for Innovators program has no maximum numbers of participants, and projects will be supported for at least 12 months.

 

Markus Schwarzer, CEO of Cyanite, said:

“I am happy that we are launching Cyanite for Innovators. In the past four years we have seen many incredible projects coming to life based on the free access to the Cyanite API. There are countless ground-breaking innovations in the music industry and with the help of our AI technology we can help emerging talent push the envelope of what is possible. This programme is our commitment to supporting the visionaries who seek to shape the future of our industry.

“We hope to continue empowering innovators by providing them with access to our AI technology, and ultimately create a positive ripple effect across our industry and beyond.”

 

The latest project to be supported by Cyanite and launched at the end of the year is TBC Radio, an independent community radio station from New Zealand.

One of their founders James McGregor-MacDonald says: “Cyanite’s cutting-edge music tagging and analysis tools have been a game-changer for us at TBC, a small independent radio station. Their generous support has empowered us to curate music on a scale we never thought possible, truly democratizing access to world-class tools.”

 

Cyanite for Innovators builds on Cyanite’s existing support for a diverse range of projects focused on innovation and creativity:

  • Kaloyan Madzhunov – Graduation project for ICT & Media Design at Fontys in Eindhoven. An innovative AI film music discovery tool supporting filmmakers finding perfect music for their projects (2023)
  • Josefa Rackl – “Synergy”, a generative design system for music visualizations using AI. A Master’s project on the subject of Interactive Media Systems at Technical University Augsburg, Germany. (2022)
  • vi · son – Mixing Senses, 2021, a digital exhibition that explores multisensory perception of music in the digital age. (2021)
  • Rehaan Mazid – An AI-powered music discovery app named Songified by Developers Student Club at Vellore Institute of Technology, India. (2021)

 

Interested participants may submit a detailed proposal via this link outlining their project objectives, timeline, and expected outcomes. Once you have successfully handed in your application, please confirm it via innovators@cyanite.ai. Please allow Cyanite four to eight weeks to screen your application and get back to you.

 

Applicant requirements and expectations

  1. Eligibility: Open to individuals and teams from NGOs, research institutions, arts, not-for-profit organizations, grassroot movements, and creative coding communities, worldwide.
  2. Project Focus: Projects should involve the innovative use of AI technology in the music and audio domain, such as music tagging, content analysis, recommendation systems, or creative applications.
  3. Impact and Purpose: Applicants must demonstrate that their projects would provide a clear and positive impact to the music industry, society, arts and culture, or related fields.
  4. Diversity and Inclusion: Our aim is to represent a wide diversity of people and projects, so we keenly encourage those from diverse backgrounds, members of LGBTQ+ communities, and those from minority backgrounds, to apply.

 

AI, Music, News, Tech, Technology

Masterchannel launches SpatialAI – the world’s first spatial AI mastering solution for artists and producers

Masterchannel, the AI mastering company, has launched SpatialAI, the first solution on the market that streamlines the creation and technical compliance of spatial audio releases, preparing them for distribution in minutes.

SpatialAI is aimed at opening up the opportunities for all artists and producers to deliver tracks in Spatial Audio, changing it from an “elite technology” that is prohibitively expensive and complex for many, to something which is accessible for all.

Everyone from bedroom artists to signed musicians can use its high-speed and affordable subscription service to ensure that their tracks meet platform requirements and market standards for spatial audio. The need for artists to ensure they can fulfil these requirements is expected to grow as more streaming platforms start to offer spatial distribution.

 

The news comes as spatial audio grows as a preference for streaming subscribers. Apple Music has revealed that in just over a year since its launch, more than 80% of its worldwide subscribers had enjoyed the feature, and monthly plays in the format have grown by over 1,000% in 2022.

A track prepared with SpatialAI will sound professional in any environment: on wireless earbuds, spatial headphones, a spatial cinema’s speaker system, or on a regular stereo system.

 

SpatialAI is aimed at producers that are starting to switch to a spatial audio workflow, but who may be uncertain if their productions meet all the requirements of spatial audio deliveries or who might not produce music in perfectly optimized listening environments. SpatialAI also provides an alternative for more established artists who may have needed to employ two engineers for stereo and spatial versions.

Once an artist has created an initial track, they can upload an ADM BWF file for free to Masterchannel. After a very short period of time, Masterchannel will deliver back a sonically and technically optimized version of the track for streaming platforms, alongside a rendered and individually optimized stereo version of the spatial file for traditional distribution.

 

Masterchannel’s AI uses reinforcement learning to work like a real engineer, making original decisions as it proceeds through a track based on its previous experience. It continuously tweaks the track to remove technical errors or anything that is an obstacle to the perfect spatial musical listening experience.

SpatialAI builds on Masterchannel’s existing stereo service that ensures that tracks sound professional across all listening environments, speakers and platforms.

 

Masterchannel CTO Simon Hestermann, spatial mastering patent owner and former spatial audio researcher at Fraunhofer IDMT, said:

“There’s a growing urgency for artists to deliver tracks in spatial audio, with the format being prioritized for streaming playlists. However, until now it has been an elite technology. Producers have needed expensive equipment and add-ons to trust it, and engineers and their studios needed to be certified to attract business, making it prohibitively expensive and complex for many.”

“That’s why we launched SpatialAI, to democratise access to spatial audio. Now DIY artists have the opportunity to compete with major signed artists for listener attention. Our aim is to streamline the switch to spatial audio for artists of all kinds.”

To find out more about the new service, please click here.

 

About Masterchannel

Masterchannel is using Artificial Intelligence to democratize professional-sounding music, giving bedroom producers the opportunity to compete with major signed artists for listener attention.

Based in Oslo, Norway, Masterchannel launched in 2022, and its subscription model launched in August of that year. Since then, Grammy-winning producers and people with strong credits have become Masterchannel converts, such as JT Roach and Skinny Days.

While some areas of music creation are arguably best handled by humans, mastering can be automated, to make it easier for artists to focus on what matters – making great music.

Using an AI concept called reinforcement learning instead of training data, Masterchannel lets the AI follow its own purpose as it works on a track, rewarding it if it does something well. Masterchannel has perfected what makes a well-engineered track and has learnt how to mathematically encode that into technical criteria for the system.

Masterchannel partners with distribution platforms and other service providers such as amuse, integrating the service to make it as easy as possible to access. The aim is to make audio engineering technicalities obsolete for music producers.

Website: https://masterchannel.ai/

Entertainment, Music, News

Green Man Festival 17th – 20th August 2023 – Early Bird & all general tickets on sale now

Tickets & info: www.greenman.net

 “No matter what lies beyond, while you are at Green Man festival, everything is briefly wonderful” – The Guardian, 5*

“This festival is that rare thing: one that leaves you more replenished and energised than when you arrived.” – The Independent, 5*

“Winding through the patchwork fields of independent festival stalwart Green Man, there’s a choose-your-own-adventure element to the site that allows you to explore unearthed treasures all over” – NME 5*

“This was a Green Man for the history books” – The Times, 4*

“This year’s event was another that proved it’s among the best festivals in the country.” – Rolling Stone UK, 4*

“Green Man’s all-inclusive spirit of embracing the unconventional remains stronger than ever” – The Quietus, 5*

 

Green Man Festival, Wales’ largest music, science and arts festival, today puts tickets on sale for next year’s edition, taking place from 17th-20st August 2023 in the epic surroundings of the Black Mountains, deep in the heart of the Brecon Beacons. Details of the full line-up will be announced in early 2023.

This August’s 20th anniversary edition was the perfect encapsulation of why Green Man has been one of the most beloved festivals in the UK for the past two decades, and 2023 will see the festival return for an incredibly special weekend packed with celebration and surprises.

All tickets for Green Man 2023 are on sale now; there are a very limited number of early bird tickets available for the weekend, and once these are gone, general sale tickets will become available, so keep a watchful eye out! There will not be another ticket release for Green Man 2023, so this is the only chance to buy a ticket for the event.

For those looking for the full Green Man experience, the Settlers Pass turns the festival into a week-long holiday, allowing early access to the site from Monday 14th August, and includes workshops, music, discounts on local heritage sites, galleries, castles and more.

Buy tickets for Green Man 2023 here

 

Green Man 2023 Ticket Prices

 

Early Bird Weekend Tickets

Adult – £205

Student – £179

Accompanied Teen – £137

Little Folk 6-12 – £32

Little Folk 3-5 – £20

Infant 0-2 – £0

 

Early Bird Settlers Pass

Adult Settlers Pass – £258

Student Settlers Pass – £231

Accompanied Teen Settlers Pass – £179

Little Folk Settlers Pass 6-12 – £43

Little Folk Settlers Pass 3-5 – £30

Infant Settlers Pass – £0

 

General Weekend

Adult – £235

Student            – £210

Accompanied Teen – £160

Little Folk 6-12 – £37

Little Folk 3-5 – £25

Infant 0-2 – £0

 

General Settlers Pass

Adult Settlers Pass – £300

Student Settlers Pass – £270

Accompanied Teen Settlers Pass – £210

Little Folk Settlers Pass 6-12 – £49

Little Folk Settlers Pass 3-5 – £35

Infant Settlers Pass – £0

 

Car Parks

Orange Car Park – £24

Park and Ride – £10

Settlers Pass Car Park – £35

 

Live In Vehicles

Campervan – £171

Motorhome – £229

Settlers Campervan – £229

Settlers Motorhome – £286

 

Green Man 2022 was a fantastic 20th anniversary celebration of Wales’ largest music, science and arts festival. During its 20th birthday weekend, the festival saw stellar headline performances from Kraftwerk, Metronomy, Beach House and Michael Kiwanuka, as well as brilliant sets from fan favourites including Kae Tempest, Yves Tumor, Alex G, Bicep, Arooj Aftab, Parquet Courts, Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler and an array of Welsh talent including Gruff Rhys, Cate Le Bon, Melin Melyn, Adwaith and more.

Alongside the brilliant music, there were stimulating talks across the Babbling Tongues area from the likes of Travis Alabanza and Ash Kenazi, comedy from the rib-tickling Lolly Adefope, Shaparak Khorsandi, Mark Steel and more. The first pride parade to take place at a Welsh festival also attracted a huge crowd on Saturday afternoon, marching through the site in glorious colour to mark 50 years of Pride.

There was groundbreaking science taking place in Einstein’s Garden, including a collaboration with King’s College London on their new Weather The Weather climate change installation, and the Little Folk children’s area continued to pioneer family-centric fun at UK festivals with a broad programme of entertainment and interactive exhibitions; this year’s theme was ‘Minibeasts’.

Photo credit: Patrick Gunning

Music, News, Tech

Cyanite signs up BMG to use AI tagging across entire catalog

AI-powered music tagging and search firm Cyanite will categorise BMG’s catalog of three million tracks to unlock new value for Synch

Cyanite, a tech company with various solutions in AI-powered music tagging and search, has signed a global deal with music giant BMG to unlock new value from its three-million-track catalogue.

Bertelsmann-owned BMG, the world’s largest music company outside the three ‘majors’, has appointed Cyanite with the aim of making its entire repertoire more searchable and accessible for Synch – i.e. placing music in movies and advertising. Cyanite’s automatic tagging will support BMG’s internal and external creatives to identify “hidden gems” in the search for the perfect song for film, TV, games and advertising usages. Before deciding on Cyanite, BMG tested all available technologies extensively.

BMG’s catalogue has grown exponentially through acquisitions and organic growth since its formation in 2008. Cyanite’s tech will allow BMG to easily integrate newly acquired catalogues such as that of Telamo, the largest independent record label in Germany.

Cyanite’s technology is being integrated into BMG’s internal content management system BMG Songs, the market-leading repertoire, creative and licensing platform used by BMG’s synch teams around the world. BMG’s tagging team can now focus their efforts away from manual tagging, while the company gets on with exploiting its entire catalogue.

The BMG development team is currently overseeing the integration of Cyanite’s Application Programming Interface (API), which will enable employees to leverage Cyanite’s creative metadata. Once integrated, BMG’s repertoire will be processed by Cyanite’s AI technology and the results delivered back via the API to BMG’s software.

 

BMG VP Group Technology Gaurav Mittal said, “BMG is committed to using AI technologies to optimize our revenues so we can speed the flow of royalties to artists and songwriters. We are delighted to be working with Cyanite to enhance our Synch services.”

 

BMG SVP Global Synch Licensing Allegra Willis Knerr said: “In a world in which there are literally tens of millions of tracks available to Synch, AI offers the ability to simultaneously improve the accuracy of pitches and level the playing field for artists and songwriters. AIready, wherever the brief allows it, BMG has abandoned the distinction between ‘frontline’ and ‘catalogue’. Our objective with Cyanite is to maximise the chances for every single song in our repertoire to be licensed.”

Cyanite CEO, Markus Schwarzer (image copyright Maxim Abrossimow)

Markus Schwarzer, CEO, Cyanite, said: “We are very proud to announce this deal with BMG, a company which shares our vision of a universal intelligence that understands, indexes and recommends the world’s music. Working together, BMG and Cyanite will uncover the potential of every single track in the catalogue.”

 

The news comes after Cyanite announced in August that it has closed an €800,000 seed investment round to further expand its AI-based solution for the music industry. This investment was led by former finetunes founders Oke Göttlich and Henning Thieß. The goal is to sustain the company’s vision of universal music intelligence to revolutionise how music is selected in entertainment and advertising.

 

BMG is the second division of Bertelsmann to sign a deal with Cyanite, following RTL Group, the Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate.

Music, News, North of England, South East

Music College WaterBear Hits the High Note with Second Campus Launch Event

The pioneering college of music WaterBear, is celebrating a highly successful launch event to mark the upcoming opening of its second college campus. WaterBear Sheffield will welcome independent artists and musician students from September 2023, following the exceptional success of its inaugural college in Brighton and with an unrivalled reputation for specialist music education.

Embracing WaterBear’s ethos of supporting independent, DIY artists to build long-term, sustainable careers in the music industry, WaterBear Sheffield will offer a rich programme of BA (Hons) Degrees and MA courses.

The anticipated launch event, presided over by WaterBear’s Chairman Terry Sweeney, was held at The Network Sheffield, a live music venue located in the heart of the city. Budding artists and prospective students, educational providers, members of the media and established industry contacts travelled from across the UK to attend.

Opening the event and highlighting the college’s passion for developing young artists was a performance from the locally-based four-piece indie rock band, BLOOM. Following an introduction from the college’s founders and music education pioneers Adam Bushell and Bruce John Dickinson, special live performances also came from local artists and bands including headline act and rapper Coco, Harri Larkin, DJ Lamour, English rock band Bang Bang Romeo and WaterBear alumni Lily Knott and Go For It Tribe.

Throughout the evening, guests gained a valuable insight into the courses and curriculum, the WaterBear student experience, student career opportunities and artist development, and accommodation and finance. Attendees also had the opportunity to visit the new Sheffield campus currently under construction, located on the site of the iconic Gatecrasher nightclub building.

WaterBear’s Chairman, Terry Sweeney, commented “It was a privilege to join Adam, Bruce and the WaterBear family on what has been a monumental evening to celebrate the launch of WaterBear Sheffield. 

“WaterBear has been on an incredible journey to date with four successful years providing first-class music education, enabling students to achieve a solid foundation for a sustainable career in the music industry. We are now immensely looking forward to the next stage of our evolution in growing the WaterBear brand.” 

Speaking of WaterBear’s journey at the event Co-founder Adam Bushell said, “We’ve seen a change in the music industry over the last twenty years, huge changes, but we felt strongly that music education just wasn’t keeping up and it wasn’t geared for the realities of how the music industry has changed. So, we got together and thought we have to do another music college, and we have to make it about how things have changed, more about the independent, self-reliant, self-motivated DIY artist so, we started WaterBear in Brighton and four years later, here we are.

“Brighton is going really well, we have around 500 students for this September so, it was the perfect time for us to branch out and look for another place, and I’m so amazingly happy that we’ve stuck a pin in Sheffield. Today marks the starting gun and the countdown to when the college opens in September 2023.”

Co-Founder Bruce John Dickinson added, “This one is a bit special. It feels to me, and I don’t know if this is because I’m from Scarborough, but it feels like music education is coming home. There’s a vibe in the city that you notice immediately when you come into the town, it feels like everything is coming together, it feels like a culture of relations – that’s already happening and we want to be a part of it. We want to do our bit to pull things together and do cool stuff – it’s about two things, new music and creating new jobs in a great sector. So, if you put that together with the talent in this city, we believe the sky is the limit so we are super excited about being here.”

 Students wishing to find out more about the courses on offer at WaterBear Sheffield or Brighton, or to enrol can visit:-

WaterBear Sheffield https://waterbear.org.uk/sheffield/

WaterBear Brighton https://waterbear.org.uk/brighton/

Food & Drink, Music, News

Still time to celebrate the Commonwealth with free cooking and culture events

The Commonwealth Games may be over but there is still a chance to sample the culture and cuisine of its member countries with two free community events in Birmingham.

This Saturday, August 20, visitors to the Aston Park Community Games will be able to try some tasty treats from Bangladesh as chef Abdul Quddus hosts a cooking demonstration.

He will be accompanied by musicians Mendi Singh and Eleanor Turner, a tabla player and harpist that make up the group Tala Tarang.

The following Saturday, August 27, will see a focus on of the food of Pakistan at a demonstration at the Lozells Outdoor Cinema night in Georges Park, Wills Street.

The events are the final two of 10 organised by Communities Engage and Thrive, a community interest company based in Birmingham, and supported by Birmingham City Council. Each one celebrates the food, music and culture of a different Commonwealth country.

Organiser Parveen Talwar, from CET, said: “These final two events promise once again to offer brilliant, healthy food for visitors to taste and entertainment as well. The cinema night in particular will be a grand finale not to be missed!”

The community games are being held at Aston Hall, in Trinity Road, Birmingham from 11am to 4pm and the cooking demonstrations will take place between 12 noon and 3pm.

The Pakistan-themed event will run from 4pm to 8.30pm at the cinema night, when Space Jam 1 will be shown. Tickets for the film can be booked at www.georgespark.org.uk but the cooking demo is free to attend and open to all.

At each community cooking demonstration, organisers are giving away recipe cards and samples of herbs and spices so that visitors can go away and recreate the healthy dishes at home.

Parveen aded: “We have had a fantastic turnout for each of our events over the past few weeks and lots of people have taken away lots of herbs and recipe cards, so we’re sure there are some wonderful healthy dishes being cooked up in homes across Birmingham.”

The events are linked with the council’s Cook the Commonwealth project, which is asking for people to submit recipes from around the Commonwealth. (https://www.bvsc.org/blog/cook-the-commonwealth-recipes-needed)

All the CET events are free to attend. For more details, visit www.cetcommunity.co.uk

 

Music, News

IndiMusic TV Announces Global Strategic Partnership with Castify.ai

Working together, IndiMusic will be able to share their on-demand services across more devices and reach a wider audience. “We are honored to work with Chris Pati to deliver an enhanced IndiMusic TV experience to all of their viewers,” said Gal Turjeman, CEO of Castify.ai.

IndiMusic TV, the #1 World Wide Independent Music Video TV Channel, announced a global strategic partnership with Castify.ai, allowing them to reach their worldwide audience with a unified cross-platform experience. Castify.ai is an omnichannel content distribution technology that enables video content owners to seamlessly create their own branded OTT applications and channels across multiple smart TV and streaming services.

Today’s streaming experience is scattered across mobile, PC, and a multitude of smart TV providers. Each requires the knowledge of an exclusive coding language, meaning companies need to hire multiple engineers to develop and maintain a single user experience across various platforms with varying backend demands. This makes it a struggle to deliver and manage a streamlined experience across all delivery channels. Without Castify.ai’s single cross-device technology, companies must handpick which distribution channels they will invest resources in, forcing them to miss out on other potentially advantageous delivery channels.

IndiMusic TV CEO and Founder, Chris Pati, a 40+ year music business veteran, was one of the music industry’s first executives to realize that technology plays an integral role in all aspects of a leading entertainment company. This led him to be one of the first music industry executives to utilize proprietary cutting edge technology best to deliver his TV network to the global audience. Today, this translates into utilizing Castify.ai’s unified platform, increasing potential household reach to 50 million OTT and connected TV in the US alone, all with lower operational costs.

“We are honored to work with Chris Pati to deliver an enhanced IndiMusic TV experience to all of their viewers,” said Gal Turjeman, CEO of Castify.ai.“ Helping IndiMusic to expand across a greater number of on-demand platforms, with a premium viewing experience, will help their organization and the musicians they support to reach an even wider audience.”

IndiMusic TV is a 24/7 global Music Broadcast Network and an active independent social community with millions of subscribers across 260 countries. Currently, its multi-platform network welcomes over one million daily visits. “2022 is the 10th anniversary of IndiMusic TV, and in celebration, we will be announcing some exciting initiatives,” said Pati. “Expanding our reach will allow us to further maximize our resources to connect our exciting new initiatives, independent artists, and audiences to further bolster our growing community.”

Music, News

Founder of music platform Shodement on disrupting the music industry as we know it

Jay Lamusica, Founder of Shodement, the on-demand artist development platform, has come a long way since the inception of the business in 2012. Launching an AI-Powered app to boost independent artists’ careers, raising a $13m advance facility  for UK music creators or self-funding a sold-out festival in London with headline acts going double platinum-selling, are just a few examples behind the successful entrepreneur disrupting the music industry as we know it.

With global living experience of music, this Italian-born entrepreneur, with Nigerian roots and now a Londoner, understands music from the view of different perspectives and cultures. His idea for  Shodement was built in college after Jay’s friends were rejected by a local record label, leading him to the decision to build the label of the next generation instead himself.

The first years in business were an uphill battle with humble beginnings and many failed projects. However, after the initial hurdles, the business gained momentum and received its initial investment from Axial Capital Partners, after discovering Jay when he was producing shows for artists in London at the age of 19. Shortly after, Jay connected with Crowd Emotion’s CFO, Chris Wallis at a London Business conference, who offered him mentorship in business.

In the fifth year, the business reached its second breakthrough with the signing of Colombian star, Angelica Lopez who went on to win Lukas Awards Artist of the Year. This breakthrough led to Shodement building up its client base with projects for brands including Oxfam and Content Capital, launching festivals, discovering double platinum-selling records, and promoting artists around the world.

In 2020 everything changed for Shodement. The Covid-19 lockdown forced musicians to operate with teams on-demand and Jay was already an established music industry executive pioneering this trend already. The team took the decision to time this market shift with the launch of the technology division of the business and make their resources available to the whole music industry on demand.

The market shift was pioneered by Merck Mercuriadis, founder of Hipgnosis as one of the leaders in that area, and he was able to translate the potential of music content to the finance world. The technology was launched around the same time and thanks to music becoming a popular asset created by its artists, the value is now understood by leading private equity firms.

In the first 10 months of the app launch, the business attracted an M&A offer from a Global conglomerate, which Shodement later turned down in order to maintain customer focus.  “The reality is, I do think when you are part of a bigger organisation you tend to focus a bit less on the customers and it becomes more difficult to execute. From my view we are just getting started and we prefer to stay independent”, said Jay following the rejection of the offer.

In 2021, the business expanded the offering with a £10m ($13.5m) advance facility which came through thanks to the massive shift in the market and the boom of streaming. The concept is built around giving creators unlimited capital and teams on demand, so they can scale worldwide without losing ownership of the music rights. The Shodement team works closely with the artists and build them from zero to a “Music style IPO” to build Superstars of the next generation.

The company is now valued at over £3 million in 2022 with new investors confirmed to join their new financing round after scoring the fifth consecutive year with a breakthrough artist, making this 28-year-old Award-winning music executive one of the most promising music entrepreneurs in the industry. Shodement recently announced that the company is officially starting to sign new acts from this quarter, whilst the business continues its mission to build the future of the music industry and using its success to fund social responsibility projects like their youth-led yearly festivals such as Global 12, providing hundreds of jobs for young diverse creatives in London.