Grammy Nomination Congrats to Gregory Porter
GFM wanted send a special congratulatory shout out to Jazz Vocalist Gregory Porter, who has been featured here for his great work on the album Water . One only has to take a quick listen to "Illusion" above to understand why this artist is deserving of this type of recognition from his peers.
The Foreign Exchange - Authenticity
Listen to the full album here
And let us know what you think
"Authenticity" is the 3rd full-length from indie-soul duo The Foreign Exchange.
Picking up where their 2008 Grammy-nominated "Leave It All Behind" set left off, "Authenticity" is the group's most diverse work to date, with a tight, 11-track song cycle spanning the duo's trademark brand of lush electronic soul, to stripped down acoustic pieces that recall the heyday of 70's singer-songwriter driven folk.
Lead single "Maybe She'll Dream Of Me" is a playful, synth-driven hip-hop groove featuring a rapped verse from Phonte that evokes the band's "Connected" era, while the epic opener "The Last Fall" finds Phonte singing some of his most cynical lyrics to date ("Love is at worst an excuse/at best it's a truce...") over a frenzied Nicolay production jammed with layers of strings, guitars, and dense choral harmonies.
"I think every band reaches that point when they come into their own and find a sound that is distinctively theirs," says Phonte in reference to the album's title. "The title refers to me and Nic's journey to find our own unique space within this vast musical landscape. The biggest challenge as a musician is to find that 'thing' that makes you who you are. But I think we're getting there, and we're finding our way more and more with each record."
Featuring guest appearances from longtime contributors YahZarah, Darien Brockington, Zo! and Median, and also relative newcomers Chantae Cann and Jesse Boykins III.
135th Street Hits Essence Magazine!!!
We would like to give a big congratulations to the 135th Street Agency on their five years of business success and in being named one of 21 "visionaries" under 40 in the October 2010 Essence Magazine "Leaders of the New School" feature. That is a great look, Saptosa! Many congrats and much continued success in your future endeavors!
Future of Music Coalition-Celebrating Ten Years of Fighting for Musicians!
Wanted to spread the word about an organization that is doing its part to insure that the future of music is a landscape where artists are fairly compensated for their work and fans can connect with the music and musicians that they seek.Read more
Tips To Building Your Music Brand and PR!!!!
What is your brand saying?!?! If you don't know, The Garner Circle can definitely tell you! Over the weekend, I had the great opportunity to hang out with The Garner Circle at their 2nd Annual "F.A.M.E. PR 101" Workshop. From the scope of fashion, art, music and entertainment, participants got an opportunity to learn the skills to enter the world of publicity, execute campaigns and launch promotional parties. Here are a couple of clips from the "Music" segment of the workshop. Indie artists, listen up because you'll find some golden nuggets in these clips!!
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Baseline Studios Farewell
Video taken last evening at an intimate celebration for the closing of Baseline Studios which has been the home of producer Just Blaze for the past decade. For more info on the celebration you can check out this article here. We'd like to know from you how do you view this closing in terms of everything else that is going on in the music industry? Is this a sign of the times?
Celebrate Black Music Month with Singersroom
Singersroom celebrates Black Music Month with a month-long tribute examining major genres in black American music with a critique of today's rhythm and blues. Each week in June will feature specials on Singersroom.com, such as:
"Icons Speak" - Conversations with Teena Marie, Nona Hendrix of Labelle, Bryan Michael Cox among others on the influence and growth of black music, and the future of black music.
"One Album, One Legacy" - Editorial focus on the significance of the artists' albums that capture an experience and emotion of a time period (featured artists Bilal, City High).
The Apollo Theater 75th Anniversary - Artists (Trey Songz, Ginuwine, Chanj) remember their first time performing at the Apollo Theater.
Photo Galleries - Free Your Mind: R&B's Top Socially Charged Hits and Amateur Mic: Apollo Certified R&B Icons
In celebrating Black Music, R&B artist Trey Songz describes his relationship with music saying, "Music shows you the ups and downs of love. Music teaches you, music can be cruel; it shows you the joyous side of love and I think that is the most beautiful thing about music."
Black music is, has and is currently inspiring the lives of fans across the world because it taps into a wide array of emotions. "Black music has been a resource for entertainment and culture that effected individuals lives beyond ethnic barriers, says Gary Gentles, CEO of Singersroom. "Singersroom is highlighting a piece of music that has become our soundtrack to life."
To read, watch and listen to special features on Black Music Month, visit Singersroom.
Dupri Out as Head of Island Def Jam Urban
AllHipHop.com is reporting that Jermaine Dupri has been dropped from his position as head of the Island Def Jam Urban Division, a post he's been in since February of last year. While it's unknown about the specifics of his termination (though an official announcement is expected soon), the hip hop industry had taken a big hit this past year despite the huge successes of artists like T.I. and Lil Wayne. What's more interesting, though, is what this means for Dupri's Tag Records, the partnership announced last year between Island Def Jam and the men's deodorant line.
Record Sales Up in 2008 (And We Don't Mean CDs)
This is news we like to hear at GFM. Computer World reports that vinyl record sales were the highest in 2008 since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan started measuring music sales. Nearly 2 million (1.88 million to be precise) records were sold in the states this year, and the number is expected to keep on growing in 2009.
A lot of that is thanks to the Internet, where online record sales have more than doubled; vinyls are gaining more market share as CD sales continue plummet. Who'd have thunk?!
"There's nothing like a vinyl record. It's analog. It sounds as close as you're going to get to the artist." - Steven Sheldon, president of Rainbo Records
Atlantic Records Hits Milestone: Digital Sales Top Physical
Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 26, 2008 - 7:35am.
New York - Major label Warner Music Group's (NYSE: WMG) Atlantic Records achieved has achieved a milestone, in that it can now claim that more than half of its U.S. music sales are now digital, The New York Times reports. "We're like a college basketball team on an 18-2 run," Atlantic chairman and CEO Craig Kallman told The Times.
The company also said that its digital success occurred without a complementary decline in CD sales as steep as those seen by its competitors.
Overall, digital sales accounted for 27% of Warner Music Group's revenue during the fourth quarter; the company's digital revenue for its full fiscal year was up 39% from the previous year, to $639 million.
"I think we've figured it out," Julie Greenwald, president of Atlantic Records, told The Times.
"It used to be that you could connect five dots and sell a million records. Now there are 20 dots you can connect to sell a million records."
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