After years sitting on the sidelines, search giant Google yesterday unveiled their much anticipated music service - Google Music. Armed with their own social networking service Google + and the Android marketplace (where they will offer millions of tracks for purchase) Google Music aims to go head to head with major music services currently on the market.

One exciting aspect of Google Music is the Artist Hub - which (similar to iTunes Ping) will give artist and bands the possibility to create their own artist page  though with one major difference - here artists will be able to and sell their music directly to fans via the Android Marketplace.

With the service being launched just yesterday it is early days but rest assured we have plans to be to distribute your music to Google Music in the near future.

We often get questions about how the “Related artists” feature on Spotify actually works. A post on the Spotify blog gives a clear explanation if this feature - we will summarize it here.

Whereas Spotify first used tagging and genre matching from the All Music Guide they a while ago moved over to a more dynamic solution to power the related artists feature.  The current solution incorporates user listening data to power the feature. In practice, if there is data showing that people listening to your music are also listening to “Foster The People” then this band will be one of those in the list of the related artists.

For you as indie artist, knowing what other artists your fans are listening can be valuable information. One example would be when trying to introduce your music to new listeners - if you know your fans are listening to “Foster The People” then there is a high chance that other fans of “Foster The People” will also like your music.

You can then direct marketing efforts towards these fans - such as via music forums/blogs they frequent and other online hangouts. Now, this is pretty grass routes promotion but it is just one illustration how how this knowledge can be used to your advantage. Remember, one new fan who shares music with friends can mean many more.

Dear friends. Record Union has been asked to be one of those to partake in the first industry wide survey of digital distribution services. Its being conducted by Moses Avalon - an industry veteran and author of many books about the music industry - and being run from his website Moses Supposes.

All who have used digital distribution services previously are welcomed to take part in the survey, which will give them chance to rate and give feedback about their experiences using them. The results will be used to put together a larger comparison between the different services which will serve as a guide for artists and labels seeking digital distribution.

Those who do participate in the survey will also be entered for a chance to win a Free Music Business Consultation, be emailed Moses Avalon´s “Secrets of 360 Deals” Podcast and have free access to a more detailed results page.

The survey is only 10 questions and is anonymous - click here if you would like to take part.

We are proud to announce that we have now added Rdio to our list of distribution partners. We are really excited to add another super cool streaming service to our list of partners, and hope this will create more opportunities for you to reach out to fans and listeners.

About Rdio: Rdio is an unlimited, on-demand social music service created by the founders of Skype. With Rdio, users can listen to as many songs as they want, anytime, anywhere, and discover and share new music with friends and influencers. Rdio is available on a variety of platforms including web, Mac or PC desktop client, mobile devices such as iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile 7,  and in-home devices like Sonos and Roku. Rdio launched in August 2010 and is currently available in the US & Canada.

Record Union will deliver our entire catalog to Rdio on Monday next week - if you for some reason would not like your music available on Rdio please get in touch with content(at)recordunion.com. Happy time!

We are pleased to inform you that we have just added some new features to the Record Union website. These are a few of many features that we have in mind to improve the Record Union experience which we will be adding in the near future. So, what is contained in this update?

Add links to your releases! - You can now add links which direct visitors to where your music is currently available for purchase/streaming online. These then show up on a brand new “Find music on…” menu under each release. These links can be added on “Manage content” page. Here´s one we made earlier.

Link to Twitter and YouTube - You can now add links to Twitter and YouTube on your profile.

Manage content -As requested it is now possible to see exactly what information you added to published tracks. This info will be displayed when you click on a published track on the “Submit Content” page.

These new links are another step towards making Record Union a useful place to direct fans and those interested in your music. Not satisfied with song previews, they can now select to find your music on their favourite stores and services, head over to YouTube to check your videos and Twitter to keep updated.

We always like to hear input from people using Record Union, so if you would like to suggest new features and functionality for us to look at, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Manon Dave is an artist (producer/composer) on Record Union as well as a member of our A&R network. With the success of his releases so far he is currently in the process of producing an EP and album which will consists of his own instrumentals and feature vocals from various artists.

Some major names have already contributed to the album, including Pras (The Fugees), PJ Morton (India Arie, Musiq, Soulchild), A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) with more big names to follow. Manon sees a great opportunity to include one or more Record Union artists in this release as a way to demonstrate how the Internet can bring together established names and upcoming independent artists to appear on one great album.

If any of you would like to be involved in this project please to respond to this post with links to music, otherwise drop Manon an email here: manondave(at)gmail.com).

Nomy is the name of the Swedish artist releasing on Record Union who has collected over 8 million plays on Spotify to date. This is a phenomenal achievement. Creating his music from his modest home recording studio, Nomy is proof that DIY can mean success, and that one can succeed online without the help of industry professionals.

“Like most artists, I wanted others to bond with my music. But I wanted to do it my own way and in my own pace. I discovered early on how music had the opportunity to grow on the Internet and vice versa. With my modest home recording set up I create everything by myself. When Guitar, drums, bass, vocals and song are fed into my computer it becomes my music, my sound, shaped in my way” says Nomy.

So, how did he do it? Well, he met initial met success when he sent up his hit “Cocaine” to various music websites for free streaming and download. Word got out, listeners began sharing and the amount of downloads steadily increased while fans gathered at his official website. He also saw increased traffic elsewhere, such as on his MySpace, YouTube and Facebook. When his music got up on Spotify and other online services via Record Union, the response was quite simply nuts.

Nomy was quickly placed on top lists, both small and more established. For example, “Cocaine” played almost 2 million times on YouTube and he dominated the chart on www.allears.se with 10 different songs. Most notable to date is the placing of ”Song or Suicide” as the 50th most played album on Spotify, where since July 2009 has along with all his other songs collected over 8 million plays.

New Album “Disconnected” available now on Spotify Premium

Today his much anticipated new album titled “Disconnected” is available on Spotify premium. Nomy´s melodic influences spring from Skate, Metal and bands like Bad Religion, Danko Jones, In Flames and HIM among others. “Disconnected” contains songs with an acoustic feel and strong influences from country. It is an album with depth, power and striving.

Today we are today excited to announce another new partner. WaWaWa is the largest legitimate independent download store in China. Created exclusively for mainland Chinese consumers, the store delivers DRM-free mp3’s via a monthly subscription plan. The service also allows subscribers to stream their downloads from any location providing access for the 40% of Chinese users who access the web from Internet cafes.

A recent survey by Beijing-based research group Music 2.0 found that a third Chinese music consumers are willing to pay for downloads. In the study, listeners cited their current inability to find non-mainstream music and desire for better niche and foreign music discovery tools as chief among the reasons for this. Previously non-mainstream music was mainly available through unauthorized services. So as you can see, Wawawa is in many ways a landmark music service directly tailored to the needs of Chinese listeners.

We hope that by providing music to this platform Record Union will open the doors to the Chinese market for independent and unsigned bands from around the world, and help satiate the hunger that Chinese music lovers have for niche foreign music.

We will send our entire catalog to Wawawa in the coming week. As always, if you would for some reason not like your music featured in this store please contact content(at)recordunion.com before Wednesday 10th March, 16:00.

The Basepoint Media digital platform provides content to a large range of stores and services located in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and a number of other European countries. Their platform comprises a flexible solution which allows any label, retailer, brand or service to offer digital music and film purchases from their website. Record Union are pleased to have just finalised a deal which will enables us to provide music to Basepoint and all their affiliates. Click here to see a list of Basepoint Media´s existing clients. Record Union are very pleased to add yet another great partner to the list of services we deliver music to.

We will send out entire catalog to Basepoint Media next week. If you would for some reason not like your music featured in their catalog, please contact content(at)recordunion.com before Sunday 7th March, 16:00.

Drum roll, please! Record Union are proud to present our very first video. It is intended to introduce new people to the service, and communicate what Record Union are all about. We would like to thank Jeremy Irons & The Ratgang Malibus for letting us use their music for the video. Enjoy!