Amazon have recently launched a new service called Artist Central which is designed to help artists and labels promote their music on the Amazon store. As an artist or label you are now able to add extra content to your artist page(s), such as a biography, pictures and even upload MP3s to offer as free downloads and full length streaming. Other cool features include customizable store banners, a twitter feed and a space to embed your videos. Check the profile for Band of Horses for to see these in action.

Getting set up is pretty straightforward. It just a matter of claiming your profile, which you can do by signing in to Artist Central with your Amazon account. If you don’t already have an Amazon account, you can go ahead and create one for free. Claims are usually approved within a matter of days. Once the claim has gone through you can go ahead and use these new features to jazz up your profile. All in all, we think Amazon have provided a valuable set of tools which help you connect to listeners in a more dimensional way, ultimately helping you increase your sales and exposure via the Amazon Store. We wish you the best of luck.

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).

You may recognize Manon Dave from his acclaimed remixes of hit songs such as Carry Out, Say it Right and Break the Ice. Now Manon has taken an altogether different direction with the release of “Streets were raining”, a brand new single which incorporates some classic Manonesque beats into the somber sound of US alternative outfit Pyramid.

This beautifull song made an impression even before it was out, topping the pre order charts on Play.com and recieving positive responses from fans and media alike. The reviewers over at Limewire call this single an “instant summertime classic” and with the single being scheduled to air on BBC Radio 1 in the coming weeks this is one to keep an eye on. The single is produced and released by Manon on his own label Parapsych Records. Check out the video below, or give it a whirl on Spotify.

Björn Rosenström has been entertaining Swedes with his witty folk ballads since his first album “Låtar som är sådär” took Sweden by storm back in 1996. Since then he has become something of a folk legend, bringing his entertaining folk-pop to venues and festivals all over the country.

We are pleased to announce that Björn is now back with a brand new album called “Swingersklubb in the radhuslänga” which features 10 previously unheard tracks. The new album was released by his own Record Union via Record union first on Spotify Premium, but is now racking up plays on Spotify free and available on stores and services all over the world.

The Next Big Thing competition is now in full swing! With lots of new artists and jury members joining each day, things are starting to heat up.

Recently announced was more info about the much anticipated Spotify Award. This award is given to artists/bands when they reach 3000 points in the competition. One part of this prize involves a chance to get your music up on Spotify via Record Union for free, but the Next Big Thing are also working closely with Spotify and other partners to provide some unique promotional opportunities for those who receive the award. The details of these will be announced soon.

As everyone knows, Spotify is a powerfull promotion channel and it will be exciting to see the exposure which can be generated for independent artists partaking in The Next Big Thing. However, you got to be in it to win it! Find out more about The Next Big Thing and how to enter here.

Promoting your own music through playlists can be very effective - it is also quite fun. The trick is to create a top notch playlist featuring other (perhaps more established) artists/bands and then to whack a few of your own tunes in there. The other artists/bands featured in the playlist may be the primary draw, but your own songs will also be introduced to listeners. You don’t of course need to limit your playlist to music of a similar genre, you can be creative with the theme and name of your playlist.

There are many platforms to then share and spread them. If we are talking Spotify playlists then there is Sharemyplaylist.com, Spotify Playlists, Spotylist.com, Spotifyfriends.com to name just a few. Deezer, Lala and other on demand streaming services have their own communities built up around this. Beyond specific websites, playlist can be readily transferred over social networking mediums. Share the link with your friends and if it cuts the cream, your playlist should be passed around the social media bubble. To be honest, you can post the link to your playlist on pretty much any online medium, such as blogs, forums etc.

For extra exposure, why not enter your playlist in a competition? This, as artist/DJ Dr.Sounds (a.k.a Bodysurf) will no doubt tell you can be very effective. Dr Sounds entered his playlist in the Spread the joy competition and came second place, not only generating exposure for his own music but also winning a rather cool new smart phone. Nice work.

We are happy to feature playlists here on the blog, so if you have one you are particularly fond of, shoot it over to us and we will post it.

Summer has arrived and it soon time to head to a grassy field somewhere, jump around and listen to loud live music. That’s right, the festival season has arrived. This years lineups are looking as good as ever with many many big names are hitting the stage at festivals around the world - but also some rising ones.

One of these is the band Last View, who have recently been receiving serious hype from media in and around Sweden. Recruited to Record Union by A&R Hans Selander last year, they have been named “Almost Famous”in Sweden Rock Magazine, dubbed “Best in Sweden” in issue 113 of Close-Up magazine while also having a demo of the month at P3 Rockster radio.

This year they will be taking their adrenaline filled slap-in-the-face metalcore to Hulstredsfestivalen and are sure to tear the stage apart (hopefully, not literally). If you are going to Hulstfred this year this is a must see. Otherwise keep your eye on this band at other festivals/venues as in this case the hype is deserved. Check em on Spotify here.

Dear friends. 1 year ago the first track was published on Recordunion.com. Since then, tens of thousands of tracks and many thousands of releases have been published. We have sent artists to play at the Peace and Love festival; we have distributed albums which have reach the top 10 in the Spotify world toplist; we haveseen artists migrate to major labels and our A&R network, now many hundred strong; continue to bring in talent from all corners of the world. We are overjoyed that Record Union is now often spoken about in high regard as an alternative to the more established services out there - especially as there is so much more to come from us.

This rollercoaster foray into the realm digital distribution has not been without it´s challenges. On more than one occasion we have tested the patience of users, but these instances have mostly been met with an understanding of the challenges faced by new start up companies such as ours. We would like to thank all of you, all the artists, the A&Rs, our partners and all those who buy and listen to music on the internet. We have big plans for the coming year and hope you will all join us as we take Record Union to the next level. Liberate the music.

The “Next Big Thing” is gearing up to to be one of the biggest music competitions to hit Sweden in modern times. A music competition…with a twist. See, the Next Big Thing will not have a panel of “expert” music judges from the established music industry deciding who are the winners and losers. No no. In the Next Big Thing it is the fans and music fanatics who become the jury, and both fans and artists will have the chance to win some sweet sweet prizes. Even better is that this massive competition is targeted at unsigned artists.

Record Union have been selected as the official digital distributor of the competition and are firmly behind the concept. Not only does it offer aspiring artists and bands in Sweden a superb platform to increase their fanbase and promote their music to a new audience, but by putting the listeners at the forefront, it empowers fans and artists to a new level. Empowering artists and fans is what we are all about, too.

There are a crazy amounts of prizes on offer, festivals to play and cities to tour. If you are an independent and unsigned band in Sweden the Next Big Thing is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. Head over their website for more info on how to enter.

Tomorrow, the competition begins!