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.

Want to show you are part of the Record Union? Add one of these fine images to your website, myspace or blog! Click here to see the full selection and to get your embeddable code.

Once you have done so, send an email to dogblog(at)recordunion.com with the URL to your page for a chance to get one of three super cool limited edition Record Union t-shirt´s. Opportunity expires 21st April!

Incredible news! Homegrown DIY success Nomy has now climbed to number 10 on the Spotify world toplist, making his album “Song or Suicide“ one of the most played albums on Spotify right now. And all of this for an unsigned artist who creates his music from his home recording Studio in Jönköping, Sweden. This is not just a success for Nomy, but for all of us who believe in what the the internet and digital music has to offer. For if anything demonstrates the hopes and possibilities of the digital music “revolution”, this surely does.

Nomy is history in the making, and Record Union are proud to be able to be a part of it.  We would like to congratulate Nomy on his phenomenal achievement, and hope that it will inspire more grass roots artists to spring forth and conquer!

“When you reach a certain point with your music which you never could imagine, Its hard to find words to say anything at all. I am overwhelmed. My Listeners and I have proven once and for all that we dont just want to be fed by major record labels. This is the payback for over 15 years of hard work. Its my biggest confirmation” - Nomy

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!

Peoples Music Store offer a unique way for listeners to purchase and explore music, and because of this provides some great promotion opportunities for artists. Today we will have a look at a few of them.

Unlike other stores, everyone can become a shopkeeper on Peoples Music Store - it is truly democratic. As a label, promoter, manager or just plain old music enthusiast you can (free of charge) create and design your own storefront and stock music existing on the service. If you have distributed music with Record Union, your music will be available in the stockroom. When people buy music from your store, you earn points which you can use towards buying more music.

As an artist, the trick is to find storekeepers who would be interested in stocking and even promoting your music. This shouldn’t be too difficult, as the store search function enables you to sort stores by genre and the diversity of stores is impressive. Most members of the storekeeper community are also passionate about music and generally open to listening to and adding new music to their store. Once you have contacted the store owner and introduced yourself, they may even write a review of your music or list it as a featured release. Like with bloggers, podcasts etc. its all about building relationships.

If you run your own label, you have the opportunity to build your own storefront and attract buyers to check out artists you are releasing. Directing fans from individual artists to your store is a good tactic, because there is every chance they will check music from other artists you have in your stockroom.

The truly wonderful thing about Peoples Music Store is that one quickly notices that it has a strong community behind it and really is effective in introducing listeners to new music, while also providing music enthusiasts an output for their passion. Listeners flock to stores they trust to find new sounds, and the storekeepers are eager to list the best music within their genre which may just as well be from indie/unsigned artists.

If Peoples Music Store is new to you then you should have a closer look. Whether an artist or label, we think it is definitely a channel you should consider utilizing in your promotion campaign. Peoples Music Store also have a number of social networking tools to increase the viral effectiveness of your efforts.

There is no doubt that 2009 it has been an exciting year for Record Union. In May Record Union set out with the bold ambition: to democratize the access to digital distribution. By putting comprehensive digital distribution within the reach of all artists, our aim was to set out to strengthen independent music all around the world. The overwhelming enthusiasm and support we have received is making this ambition a reality, and we look towards 2010 with the same eagerness and ambition with which we set out.

The launch of a music service is never without its challenges, but thanks to the feedback, constructive criticism, and above all, the patience of our users we were able to overcome many of these. We promise that we will work even harder in 2010 to build and improve our service.We have some great new partnerships lined up, and will be adding new functionality to the website which we are certain you will all appreciate.

We would like to thank all those who support our vision and are part of Record Union; all the artists, the A&Rs, our trusted partners and of course all of those who love music as much as we do. Without you, we would not have made it this far.

We wish you a great end of 2009, and the best of luck in the year to come.

Liberate the music.

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?