DJ Count Effectz has been moving Sydney dancefloors with his eclectic dance/house productions since early 2008. Since then he has been releasing via labels in the US, the Netherlands and most recently founded his own Record Label Effectz Recordings. Spawned from backroom clubs his high powered sound provides a kaleidoscope journey through different (and sometimes quite bizarre) progressive sequences. This is a DJ exploring a range of different sounds, yet there is definitely a distinct style and approach to his music which many will find appealing. We caught up the the Count wanting to know more about his music.

If your music was a painting, what would it depict?
Picture a thousand different colours thrown at one canvas, no one can describe how good it is.

What have you tried to accomplish with your sound?
Something new, tasteful and most of all ‘EAR PLEASING’.

Who would you most like to headline a show with?
Definitely Afrojack or Deadmau5

What is the next step for you?
Aiming for my first tour and from what I have been producing, it is now time to show people my sound live in action.

Read more about Count Effectz and check out his many remixes on his blog. Otherwise, you can find his music on most online stores and services, including Spotify.

That’s right folks! You can now sign up for this years Peoples Music Awards. Last year proved to be bigger and better than ever, with thousands of artist participating in what is becoming an established competition within independent music.

The Peoples Music Awards are the worlds first and only unsigned music awards, and as an artist or band, the benefits are clear . Entering awards gives you an excellent platform to reach out to new fans around the world, with music hungry listeners flocking to the TPMA website to give their verdict on the artists who have entered. You will also receive valuable feedback on the songs you have submitted from an influential panel of industry experts. This combination of a jury panel and the peoples vote is what makes this competition unique.

For more information about the awards and enter into this years competition, head over to The Peoples Music Awards website.

Record Union love innovative online services, especially if they have anything to do with music. Audiotool is such a service and is truly impressive. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a DJ, or would like to set those creative juices flowing, this is definitely for you. Audiotool is an online mixing/production platform which enables you to create your own tracks.

Complete with your own virtual drum machine, synth, splitters, crossfaders, mergers and a whole host of effects pedals you can set up you own virtual music creation studio - online. With different licensing alternatives, you can even publish your best tracks. We have been having a lot of fun with this recently and assure you that you will to.

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 a great example of the awesome possibilities that digital distribution and new innovative online services create for independent artists. Recording from his home studio and releasing via Record Union, Nomy has taken the world, and Spotify, by storm. His album “Song or Suicide” was earlier this year the 10 most played albums on Spotify. In this interview, we talk to Nomy about himself, his music and his recent success.

Today Spotify prepare to roll out the next generation of their platform to users around the world. Some call it the most important Spotify update since their launch in 2008, many just call it plain awesome. In this new version Spotify have gone all out and added a range of features which will further revolutionize how their users can share and experience music. Of particular note here is a range of social networking features which many have been yearning for, culminating in the dynamic new fully editable Spotify profile. Spotify will now also evolve into a music management platform, enabling you to import and manage files from your computer to create that penultimate playlist. We wont go into too many details as the information is all there on their blog, but lets just say there is something for everyone. We are particularly excited about the increased promotional potential this Spotify update will give artists and bands who have their music on the platform, and will follow with an analysis of these soon.

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.

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!

The era of the mega hit is gone - niche is the new mainstream. Find your niche and rule it - or better, create one and own it. In this interesting discussion with Ariel Hyatt of Cyber PR, Derek Sivers talks about an important feature of the online music environment vital to understand if one is to make headway marketing music online.

A few members of the Record Union team were recently discussing some of the gigs they had been to the last few weeks, and an important marketing point came up which will serve as the basis of today’s advice. The point is that if you are playing live in front of an audience, make sure they leave knowing who they saw!

Here is the story. There was an open mic at one of the local rock bars here in Stockholm and a band were playing who were seriously good. The crowd was engaged, the lead singer was doing all the right moves and they were quite honestly tearing the place apart. They played a great set, said their thanks and left the stage. However, at no point did they give their name. When they arrived, they said hello, began their opening song - when they closed they left with not so much as a hint at what they were called -let alone where people could find them online. Not only is this a real shame, but quite frankly, it is bad marketing. In desperation fellow gig goers were consulted, and yet again, a dead end - they didn’t know their name either.

So, please, if you are playing live do not make this mistake yourself - introduce the name of your band clearly, as many times as possible. Make it stick. A band who is good at this is Allout (pictured above) whose members include Record Union´s head designer. During gigs, Peter will scream variants of “Allout, Allout, we are Allout, dont forget it, Allout, no spaces, just Allout” before the opening song, in between songs, and even during songs - amusing the crowd but also providing a few memorable moments. People  wont forget their name in a hurry.

Furthermore, if you are getting a good vibes from the audience, why not drop some more information? A MySpace address, a quick note that people can find you on certain popular streaming services. If you are feeling ambitious, you can even print some cheap flyers to hand out at the end of the gig.

People love to talk about “this amazing band they say the other night” but how can they market you if they don´t know your name?