Dear friends. We pleased to inform you that Spotify updated their catalogue again yesterday with 184,795 tracks. This time 124 Record Union releases were added to the Spotify catalogue, a total of 962 tracks! We had reports that some releases were missing from in Spotify´s official list of Saturdays releases, and we think that these are now included todays delivery. You will find all the new releases in the following spreadsheet! Again, we have delivered more music than any other European independent digital distributor! Happy time!
As we mentioned last week, Spotify has added another whopping 24,907 albums to their catalogue - thats 229,221 tracks! Within this upload were 87 Record Union releases, which means we contributed 660 tracks to this particular upload, giving us a grand total of over nearly 2000 tracks on the service! We also seem to be the most popular upload-based distributor in Europe delivering to Spotify, with far more releases than competing services. You can now see a full list of the new releases by checking out this spreadsheet. Otherwise please see below to see a list of the artists whose music was included in this release!
Record Union is proud to announce that a BETA version has now been launched! Yes, that´s right, we are now LIVE! We welcome all artists who wish to digitally distribute their music to visit www.recordunion.com, create a profile and upload their tracks! And for all you music enthusiasts, we welcome you to go and sign up for the A&R role!
This is a pinnacle moment for Record Union, and the beginning of our mission to democratize the access to digital distribution. We hope that our offer to artists, with no start up fee or maintenance costs, will encourage all aspiring artists to take advantage of the distribution possibilities the Internet offers. We believe that this will not only benefit artists, but also listeners. By giving the opportunity to all artists to distribute their music globally, listeners will have the chance to discover and appreciate music which has been hitherto unheard!
We have done our utmost to make sure the site is functioning smoothly, but if you encounter any problems please contact us on beta@recordunion.com and we will do our best to fix it as soon as possible. Please bear in mind that this is a BETA version, and that over the next few weeks we will be making adjustments to the website. If you have any other feedback or suggestions for how to improve the website, we would be glad to hear from you!
Hello everyone! You may have seen a slight lapse in the amount of entries on the Dog Blog recently. This is not because we are fed up and want to stop communicating with our lovely readers. Not at all! the reason is that we have been really busy! But with what? you may ask.
Our main focus over the past weeks has been testing the new website (to launch soon) which will feature our distribution service. We have have been going through every aspect of the new website on a collection of different operating systems and web browsers searching for bugs which may effect its user friendliness and general functioning. This, for those who have been involved with BETA testing before will appreciate, is quite a job! Beyond this, since we circulated the news about our collaboration with Peace and Love this year, we have received a sea emails from bands and artists wishing to perform at the festival, which is great! We have been eagerly listening to all the music we have received, reading press releases, band biographies and sending out replies to all the artists who have contacted us.
When we launch the distribution function you will see the Dog Blog take on a new life. In correspondence with our A&R network, we will update the Dog Blog daily with the best new music being released by artists on Record Union. We have some superb artists lined up and look forward to giving listeners the lowdown on great new independent music from all over the world!
We dont want you to start thinking we worship Stebe Albini, no no. But browsing a few of the clips of him on You Tube we found this one, and we thought it was well worth posting. In it, he advises artists and bands to handle and manage as much to do with their band as possible, as this leaves you in control to make the decisions which will have a large effect on how you develop your music. The “system”, by which he means the industry built up around providing services to bands (booking agents, tour managers, publicity people) is designed largely to support itself. A provocative clip, to be sure, and a somewhat prophetic one. 5 years ago maintaining control over your music through “DIY” management would be a harder feat that it is today. With all the new services popping daily to help artists and bands with not only managing their band (Bandize), but marketing it (social networking sites, music sharing platforms, reverbnation) and distributing their music, the tools and support for artists who which to “go it alone” have never been more available.
The BBC technology page wrote an interesting article recently entitled “the net helps music sing new songs”. It is a great article outlining the many ways which the internet is changing music, and how musicians are utilizing the internet to empower themselves. Discussing the continuing role of major labels, the article points out that “Some would argue that with an international reach and incredibly low entry costs, that the internet itself is the newest “major” label”. This arguement is in fact quite strong, for the many of the key roles that a major record label performs (recording, distribution and marketing) the internet also performs, and with a greater volume of music. Technological developments within music recording and production, coupled with the international reach of the internet has made it easier for musicians to record and “release” their music globally. The internet can be seen as the new “major label” for it enables far more music than ever before to be shared on a global platform, while simultaneously putting this music in a close proximity to listeners who can discover and enjoy it.
Hello people! Two and a half weeks after our “trial run” we are happy to say that you can now purchase the music of Motherpearl on iTunes, Amazon, Peoples Music Store, Rhapsody and soon many others. The Gothenberg based band are, as you can imagine, really happy about the news, as is Record Union. Time for champagne perhaps? Not QUITE yet…there is still much to be done! We are eagerly awating the beta launch of our distribution platform, which will be up and running shortly. However, this news is still a call for celebration!
The term “unsigned” has historically been used by the music business as an almost derogatory remark to denote artists and bands who haven’t yet signed to a label, be the label independent or major. Almost as if to say that the band isn’t “good enough” to be offered a record deal or that since they haven’t signed a deal, they have not yet reached “success”. There are a number of things wrong with this.
Firstly, there are many great bands and artists without record deals playing superb music on local scenes and circuits around the world. Playing smaller and more intimate gigs, they are the lifeblood of local scenes and perform a important cultural role. Moreover, the internet has served to make a lot more music open to discover by a lot more people, and we realise there is a wealth of talent out there untapped by record labels. Being signed to a label is by no means a necessary measure of an artist’s talent or their capacity to create great music.
Secondly, there are a number significant benefits to the independence associated with being unsigned, and it is possible to enjoy a successful career in music without signing to a Record Label.
So, what has Record Union been up these past weeks? Well, we are happy to say that we have secured some great new contracts with international Digital Service Providers. This has put some extra clout in the reach of our distribution, which we now estimate is around 95% of the global download market. Not bad eh? Other than this, we have eagerly been recruiting A&Rs around the world, and now have Record Union ambassadors representing us internationally. We have had great feedback from our A&Rs concerning our offer, and are sure that the A&R network will continue to flourish. We have had a great response from artists too, who seem to really like the details of our offer. Other than this, we have been working like only possessed human beings can to get our service up and running. As we get closer to launching, members of the Record Union team have been discussing the phenomenon of the infinitely expanding “to do” list. You may have encountered this tendency yourself – what seems at first to be a simple “to do” on the list, on closer examination, becomes several “to dos” which in turn multiply exponentially, until the list takes on a life of its own. But after some things taking longer than anticipated, and new contracts to integrate into the platform, we are glad to say that the final hurdle is in sight. The website is looking great and it definitely won´t disappoint! Hefner, at least, is pleased with it. To keep updated with the latest news, feel free to subscribe to our newsletter or join our facebook group.
Record Union´s expedition to the MIDEM music conference was a huge success! Everyone we spoke to were enthusiastic about our concept and especially our business model, which guarantees no upfront costs for artist wishing to distribute their music. This enthusiasm reinforced our belief that having no upfront costs will make our offer more attractive to artist, who realise that engaging in a digital distribution agreement with Record Union caries little risk and has the potential for great rewards. We put faith in our artists that their music will sell, and do not want to bog them down with payments before they have tasted the benefits of digital distribution.
During the conference, we secured oral agreements with half a dozen powerful music stores, which now puts the reach of our distribution to well over 95% of the global download market. This is a great achievement; for now we can confidently say we are one of the most, if not the most, powerful digital distributer on the market!
With approximately 8000 visitors at the conference, there was networking going on by the plenty. And as you can imagine, a mass exchange of business cards. What was particularly popular were the Record Union pens, which, whether taken for practical purposes or a reflecting a genuine interest in Record Union, now require a new order! What is especially encouraging for us of the new music generation is that online services dominated the conference, and there were many great ideas being developed by entrepreneurs all over the world. There was a shared feeling that the music industry is uncertain of where it is heading, which presents itself as a great opportunity to forge new ideas. One thing is certain, however, and this is that online services will play very important role in the new music environment.
Other than this, there were great live performances from a diverse range of artists showcasing their talent, and it was quite the party!
Dear friends. We pleased to inform you that Spotify updated their catalogue again yesterday with 184,795 tracks. This time 124 Record Union releases were added to the Spotify catalogue, a total of 962 tracks! We had reports that some releases were missing from in Spotify´s official list of Saturdays releases, and we think that these are now included todays delivery. You will find all the new releases in the following spreadsheet! Again, we have delivered more music than any other European independent digital distributor! Happy time!
