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Music & Tech Around The Web: Crowdfunding News, Cats vs. Dogs & More

Brenna Ehrlich — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:54:17 +0000

Happy Fridaze! Throw off the shackles of this week with some links!

* Inspiring fan outreach all around: Music Crowdfunding: Sam Tsui Kickstarts Debut, Songkick Detour Expands, JOBS Act For Labels

* Our Must-Follow on Twitter nominee has a commercial: Watch Carrie Brownstein’s American Express Commercial

* More info on Google’s new digs: Q/A: Google’s Music Chief on Differentiation, Collecting Music, iOS Violators

* Cats rule, dogs…: Dogs Try to Kill the Last Cat on Earth in a Music Video For Vena Cava’s Remix of ‘Don’t Let Go’ by S.A.F.

Meet Make A Band Famous Nominee: The So So Glos

Brenna Ehrlich — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:10:15 +0000

Hey there voters, blinking sleep outta your eyes as you click and click and click into yet another day: Have you heard of our brand-new Make A Band Famous category? Allow us to explicate: We have chosen 10 up-and-coming, awesome bands with thriving fanbases to face off in the ultimate competition. Five will be chosen — by fan vote — to play the O Music Awards on June 19 (those will be announced on May 31) and one of those five will get a HUGE opportunity: a once-in-a-lifetime shot to play VMA weekend in August, as well as the distinction of becoming MTV’s Artist to Watch, VH1’s You Oughta Know, or CMT’s Listen Up highlighted band. Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of those 10 acts, New York’s The So So Glos.

A band of brothers from Brooklyn (plus one from a different mother), The So So Glos make sing-a-long, kick-you-in-the-face punk rock, the catchiness of which belies the wryness that permeates every lyric. As is so aptly stated in their single “Son Of An American,” the guys are wholly down with rooting for the “losing team” –- as is evidenced by the name of their Brooklyn DIY venue, Shea Stadium (named after the home of the Mets).

We spoke with the band’s lead singer, Alex Levine, about musical memories and the cool things that fans make for them. Check out the interview below and vote for The So So Glos hereabouts.

What is your earliest musical memory?

I remember being unable to sleep one night in Bay Ridge, probably around three or four years old. I walked into the living room and my father was watching Chuck Berry performing on late night TV. It was a forever-inspiring few moments. It only takes a couple of minutes for a rock ‘n’ roll song to change your life. No sleep till…. (since).

Tell us a little bit about your songwriting process.

Its a cosmic conversation. We spend all of our energy throwing a boomerang into space and we hope it comes back in time.

Which of your songs do you think is the most representative of your music? Why? Tell us about it.

Our songs are true representations of ourselves and our surroundings as we see them. Some are told through characters, some are told throughout history. We’re trying to turn a mirror into our souls and personal experience and let them come out. Subtext is a big deal to me. ‘Son of an American’ is not necessarily made to be taken literally, but there are some truths that us as a culture are guilty of contained in that song. It was intended to be taken as a jab at American excess.

What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?

We’ve had some great handmade gifts given to us at shows by fans, such as: spray-painted So So Glos/Shea Stadium skateboard decks, homemade ‘So So Glo’ jackets, T-shirts, etc. It’s all about making it your own. It’s been amazing to see people getting into this D.I.Y. mentality and getting creative with it. It’s inspiring.

What’s running through your head when you’re performing live?

Hopefully nothing. In an ideal performance a feeling of complete euphoria is reached. We’re trying to get to that place every time and let it take over.

Which musicians inspire you and why?

Too many to mention. It’s inspiring to see people who get up every day and face their demons. We all have the ability to give in to our troubles and let them overtake us. The most inspiring ones smile in the face of adversity. Some of our favorite groups are the Ninja Turtles; The Three Stooges; Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer.

What do you hope people do when they listen to your tunes?

We hope people listen to our tunes,

We people hope to our tunes,

We listen to people hope to our tunes,

We people hope they do listen to tunes.

Do you have signature style? If so, what is it?

We write songs that are above our heads and we’re reaching to play them. As we’re reaching it gets hard on our arms and sometimes they give out and we drop what’s in our hands and make a mess. The whole process is usually fun to go through as long as no one gets hurt.

Kittens or puppies? Explain.

Neither. We prefer cats and dogs (provided we have a properly functioning umbrella, of course).

Why should we vote for you?

‘GOD SAVE THE SO SO GLOS.’ We’re the lesser in a world of evils. You can put your trust, hopes, wishes and dreams in our arms and as we’re reaching above our heads, we will try our best not to drop them. We may not be perfect, but we’ll always be ‘so so’ real. We will always be honest with you. (Was that enough propaganda to sway you, or what?)

Image courtesy of Boogie

Meet Make A Band Famous Nominee: Darling Parade

Brenna Ehrlich — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:52:16 +0000

Hey there voters, out in the ethers, clicking into the night: Have you heard of our brand-new Make A Band Famous category? Allow us to explicate: We have chosen 10 up-and-coming, awesome bands with thriving fanbases to face off in the ultimate competition. Five will be chosen — by fan vote — to play the O Music Awards on June 19 (those will be announced on May 31) and one of those five will get a HUGE opportunity: a once-in-a-lifetime shot to play VMA weekend in August, as well as the distinction of becoming MTV’s Artist to Watch, VH1’s You Oughta Know, or CMT’s Listen Up highlighted band. Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of those 10 bands, Nashville’s own Darling Parade.

This pop/rock band – fronted by vocal powerhouse Kristin Kearns — resides in Tennessee, but retreated to a remote location in Kentucky to pen their debut LP, Battle Scars And Broken Hearts. To fund the album – replete with crashing soon-to-be classics like “Ghost” – the band turned to Kickstarter, where they raised $16,000 from their eager fans.

We spoke with Kearns about the band’s process, as well as why you should vote for them. Read up below and then click “vote” here:

What is your earliest musical memory?

My dad taught me how to play guitar; my earliest memory is of him showing me how to play chords on my acoustic.

Tell us a little bit about your songwriting process.

It usually starts with the music, a couple people write the music and pass it on to the rest of the band to finish it with lyrics and melody. We all have our own special parts to bring to the table, I love writing lyrics and melody.

Which of your songs do you think is the most representative of your music? Why? Tell us about it.

I think for now that would have to be ‘When It’s Over.’ We spent a couple of months on that song and we were able to show a lot of feeling and emotion. The song has a lot of drive and character because we all have pretty different styles.

What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?

A girl asked me to autograph her forehead with a sharpie once. LOL!

What’s running through your head when you’re performing live?

I am pretty clumsy sometimes so trying not to fall or break something would probably be most of my thought on stage. I just try to relax and have a good time!

Which musicians inspire you and why?

I love Stevie Nicks because of her nostalgic style of singing. I think she hit the jackpot of being different and pulling it off well. I have a lot of respect for that.

What do you hope people do when they listen to your tunes?

I hope they can relate to them and that it helps them through the hard times to get to the good times

Do you have signature style? If so, what is it?

I have a very laidback style on stage — and as far as looks, I’ve been into skinny jeans as tight as they will fit. LOL!

Kittens or puppies? Explain.

Puppies. Cats run away when I pet them. I’ve never been good with cats.

Why should we vote for you?

We have put our whole hearts and our entire lives into making it in music. There has been a lot of sacrifice to stay in this tough game, this band has so much passion for what we do. We love playing for our fans and we want to be role models for future fans.

Music & Tech Around The Web: Google Launches Subscription Service, Beck To Perform “Song Reader” & More

Brenna Ehrlich — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:52:20 +0000

Voting has launched for the O Music Awards! Take a break from clicking and read up on some links.

* Watch out, Spotify: Google Launches “Google Play Music All Access” On-Demand $9.99 A Month Subscription Service

* Beyond the blog: Music Blogs Become New A&R, Run Niche Record Labels

* The future is now: ODB and Eazy-E Will Return as Holograms

* Our Analog Genius is putting on a show: Beck to perform Song Reader for the first time, alongside Jarvis Cocker and Franz Ferdinand

* She is better at life than you will ever be: Watch A 2 Year Old Girl Nail A Pearl Jam Song

Pros And Cons: Google Play Music All Access Subscription

Eliot Van Buskirk — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:47:06 +0000

I set out this morning to build a chart listing the various features of the major music subscription services: Rdio, Rhapsody, Spotify, and we assume the recently-launched Google Play Music All Access, although it remains to be seen whether it will succeed on the level of those standalone music services — or whether it will become an also-ran from a company whose main business is something else (like Microsoft XBox Live Music, Sony Music Unlimited, or “MOG by Beats“).

The pointlessness of that endeavor became apparent rather quickly. They’re all so similar, essentially offering the same music (Google has about 20 million songs right out of the gate, which is on par with the rest, and four million more than MOG says it has right now).

You can stream any of 20 million songs on Google Play Music Store, just like with Spotify. So why use it instead? We have a few reasons for and against.

All of their apps play music offline (i.e. locally, without streaming the music over WiFi or a cell data connection), which is great, because it’s an important feature — but not one that can be used to distinguish between these services. (In Google Play, offline playback is indicated with a Pin icon.) They also have radio features that can play music without you choosing every single song, although those vary in quality.

In terms of the big picture, the most important issue in music right now is how to collect music in these overwhelming times, when music comes at us from all angles. However, all four of the services mentioned at the top of this article are capable of grabbing the music you’ve collected on your hard drive and zapping it up to the cloud, from where you can listen to it on all your connected devices, so there’s no real difference there.

Spotify and Google do stand out in one important regard: Their mobile apps can play MP3s you’ve imported into the desktop client (in the case of Spotify) or uploaded to the cloud (in the case of Google) — a feature that’s missing from Rdio and Rhapsody.

All other things being equal, which they almost are, we’re just going to focus on specific reasons why you should or should not use the new Google Play Music All Access music subscription, rather than Spotify, Rdio, or Rhapsody.

Pro: It’s Cheaper (Right Now)

Music subscriptions typically cost $10 per month if you want the ability to carry music around on things that aren’t traditional computers. However, if you sign up for Google Play Music All Access before June 30, you’ll be locked in at a discounted rate of $8/month.

Pro: Downloading Actual Music Files from the Cloud

In the case of music in your Google Play account that you uploaded from a hard drive — as in, you own the actual MP3 somewhere — you can download those files from Google Play. (As we mentioned above, both Spotify and Google let you play those songs on your connected devices, but this is about downloading.) Because it’s also a locker service, only Google among the major music subscriptions lets you download those uploaded files. It only lets you do this to computers (i.e. not to Androids), but still, it’s a difference, and an important one to people who use lots of computers and/or still have a straight-up MP3 or CD player that doesn’t run apps.

Con: Credit Card Required

Google’s partying like it’s 2005 in this regard, requiring a valid credit card if you want to try the service for free for 30 days, at which point the charges will kick in automatically, unless you set yourself a reminder to unsubscribe after 29 days. Spotify, Rdio, and MOG switched to a freemium model after Spotify did it first, so that you can use those for free without entering a credit card. Google will save money here, but it’s a decidedly lamer way to try something out from a consumer perspective.

Con: No App Ecosystem

If you like the apps that run within Spotify for the desktop, you’ll need to stick with that, because nobody else has anything close.

Con: No iOS Version

There’s no native Google Play for iOS. You can entrust a third-party app with your precious Gmail credentials, however, in order to use it — but then that leaves the question of whether All Access files will play in those. James Clancey, the developer behind gMusic, says this:

The current app store version of gMusic does not support Google Play Music All Access. However, I did just send out a beta last night that allows you to play music from it. I am currently working on integrating the rest of the new features like radio stations. Also my search isn’t tied into it yet, but all of that is coming very soon.

As for user information, I am not totally sure. I do not track any user information at all. I don’t even have a server. I just keep to playing music. I do not even have the desire to look into getting personal information.

Your call on that front. It is possible, but it’s not the same as accessing Google’s music subscription on Android.

Con: No Scrobbling to Last.fm or Facebook

Evolver.fm has confirmed with Google spokeswoman Gina Weakley that Google Play Music All Access does not have Facebook integration, meaning that your Facebook friends can’t see what you’re playing there. If you like that feature, Google’s music subscription is not for you. Likewise, we are not seeing any Last.fm integration, so if you like to scrobble, you’re out of luck there too.

For some Android folks, Google’s option is going to make sense. Hopefully this article will help inform that decision.

Image courtesy of Flickr, joamm tall

And The O Music Awards Nominees Are…

Brenna Ehrlich — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:00:15 +0000

Get ready, mouth-frothing friends — it’s time to vote! The O Music Awards kick off TODAY, May 16, with a whole passel of new categories and nominees on OMusicAwards.com. Did your favorite band/app/whatever get a nod? Find out below!

The O Music Awards are slated to go down on June 19th at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT — complete with a 24-hour livestreamed party to celebrate and honor the artists, innovators and fans that are impacting music, technology and counter culture today. Until then, however, we’re fixing for a voting fervor.

The full list of nominees and categories is below, but here’s a teaser before you scroll: Leading the pack with two nominations each are Frank Ocean (Must Follow Artist on Twitter and Too Much Ass for TV) and Beck (Best Interactive Music Video and Analog Genius). Additional artist nominees include Justin Bieber (Fan Army FTW), Pussy Riot (Digital Genius), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Best Web-Born Artist), Miranda Lambert (Best Interactive Music Video), Ed Sheeran (Fan Army FTW), ?uestlove (Must Follow Artist on Twitter), Tyler, the Creator (Best Artist Instagram), Demi Lovato (Fan Army FTW) and David Bowie (Too Much Ass for TV).

You can log in to OMusicAwards.com via your Facebook or Twitter account and start voting for your favorite nominees now. A Super Fan profile page and unique link will be auto-generated when you cast your first vote. You’ll be limited to 50 votes per day across all categories, but you can increase this up to 1,000 votes per day by sharing your Super Fan Page link with friends and having them vote through your profile page on one of your top picks. Each of these votes counts towards the nominee pick as a double vote and gets the Super Fan page used double points towards increasing the Super Fan’s voting allotment.

Open nominations also kicked off today at 7 a.m. ET and will go through Tuesday, May 21st.

Additionally, we’d like to highlight our brand-new Make A Band Famous category, nominees for which were chosen via the Artist Platform and committee. Since May 1st, artists have been able to opt in via Viacom Music Group’s artist platform (Artists.MTV, Artists.VH1, Artists.CMT). Based on fan reaction and committee, 10 bands have been selected to advance to the semi-finals. Beginning today, you can check out and vote for your favorite. On Friday, May 31st, the five bands that receive the most votes will be announced, and will move on and play O Music Awards. During the live show, the band who scores the most votes will get a once-in-a-lifetime shot to play VMA weekend in August, as well as the distinction of becoming MTV’s Artist to Watch, VH1’s You Oughta Know, or CMT’s Listen Up highlighted band.

The awards will play out during the course of a 24-hour “Live Music Day,” which will feature live performances from around the country. More than 50 bands will be showcased during the 24-hour period. Following the live performances, select clips will be available to view via each performer’s Artists.MTV page.

O Music Awards will also feature The Roots band leader and amazing drummer ?uestlove kicking off a 24-hour-drum-a-thon that will serve as the heartbeat for “Live Music Day.” In the coming weeks, performing artists and venues, along with drummers will be announced.

Now, without further ado — the nominees!

Digital Genius Award

Psy
Yoko Ono
Will.i.am
Trent Reznor
Pussy Riot

Best Web-Born Artist

Kitty
Baauer
FIDLAR
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Angel Haze

Best Music App

Scape
Vjay
Timbre
CrowdSYNC
Jukely

Best Interactive Music Video

Linkin Park, “Lost in the Echo”
Beck & Chris Milk, “Sound and Vision”
Tanlines, “Not The Same”
Miranda Lambert, “Fastest Girl in Town”
Yung Jake, “e.m.-bed.de/d”

Fan Army FTW

Tokio Hotel’s “Aliens”
Adam Lambert’s “Glamberts”
Ed Sheeran’s “Sheerios”
Justin Bieber’s “Beliebers”
Beyonce’s “Beyhive”
Demi Lovato’s “Lovatics”
Thirty Seconds to Mars’ “Echelon”
Selena Gomez’s “Selenators”
All Time Low’s “Hustlers”
Lil B’s “Task Force”

Best Music Hack

Bonhamizer
Leap Orchestra
Maebe
Tweet Concrete
Boil the Frog

Must Follow Artist on Twitter

Bruno Mars
?uestlove
Frank Ocean
Andrew W.K.
Erykah Badu
Grimes
Carrie Brownstein
Solange
Ryan Adams
Richard Marx

Best Artist Instagram

Pictureplane
Tyler the Creator
Bon Iver
Mariah Carey
Riff Raff

Our Favorite Musical Cat

Lil Bub
Keyboard Cat
Skifcha The Hipster Dubstep Cat
Collective Soul Cat
CatCERTO

Too Much Ass for TV

David Bowie, “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)”
Sigur Ros, “Valtari”
DIIV, “Wait”
Frank Ocean, “Pyramids”
Robin Thicke, “Blurred Lines”

Make a Band Famous

The So So Glos
Chill Moody
Syd Arthur
Striking Matches
Tatiana Owens
John & Jacob
Shy Glizzy
Fallulah
The Future
Darling Parade

Next Big Scene

PostDubStep
CloudRap
Beats
#Seapunk
Vaporwave

Analog Genius Award

Jack White
Beck
Neil Young
Shone

Most Inspiring Fan Outreach

Dan Deacon
Avicii x You
Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir
Alicia Keys

The “Friday, Friday” Award

Harlem Shake
Flash Mobs
Goats yelling like humans in music videos
Twerking
Lip Dubs

O Music Awards Super Fan

The O Music Awards Super Fan Award will be the user that drives the most votes during the voting period. Votes either come from the fan’s own activity, or activity that he/she drives via his/her voting page. This fan will be announced during the show, spotlighted on the O Music Awards blog, and will receive a personalized cube award.

Open Nominations For The O Music Awards Kick Off Now Until May 21st

Brenna Ehrlich — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:00:03 +0000

Don’t see your favorite band/app/whatever on our nominee list? Do not fret. I repeat: Do not fret.

Open nominations for all categories — which the exception of Make A Band Famous — start TODAY and will go through Tuesday, May 21st. Users can suggest nominees they would like considered for addition using category hashtags via Twitter and Facebook.

Once reviewing the nominations, we will add nominees to a select group of categories. Hashtags can be found below. Now get voting/nominating!

OPEN NOMINATIONS

For the O Music Awards Open Nominations, users will be asked to “write in” their nominee + the specific category hashtag:

#OMADigitalGenius
#OMAWebBornArtist
#OMAMusicApp
#OMAInteractiveVideo
#OMAFanArmyFTW
#OMAMusicHack
#OMAMustFollowTwitter
#OMAArtistInstagram
#OMAMusicalCat
#OMATooMuchAss
#OMANextBigScene
#OMAAnalogGenius
#OMAFanOutreach
#OMAFridayFriday

Image courtesy of Flickr, david drexler

WTF Wednesday: Brass Bed Teaches Us To Cook

Brenna Ehrlich — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:42:47 +0000

Welcome to another edition of WTF Wednesday, in which bands tell us what the f**k they’re looking at online. This week, we caught up with Brass Bed, who taught us how to satiate our hunger.

Hankering for some nachos but don’t have the first idea how to make them? Well, Brass Bed can point you in the right direction — right toward Steven Reed and his microwave cooking show. (Disclaimer: Neither Brass Bed nor O Music Awards can vouch for the eat-ability of said nachos).

Check it out below!

Music & Tech Around The Web: Pandora’s Money Question, Spotify’s Formats & More

Brenna Ehrlich — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:07:22 +0000

Mondaze is here! Voting for the O Music Awards kicks off in mere DAYS. Calm yourself down with some links.

* Thoughts?: Can Pandora Find A Business Model That Works?

* Daft Punk or this?: 53 years of nuclear tests as electronic music

* Fun fact: Spotify Uses Different Audio Formats Depending on Platform

* The pain is palpable: A Facebook Update In Real Life

Astronaut’s Rendition of “Space Oddity” Is Outta This World — Literally

Brenna Ehrlich — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:26:30 +0000

Happy Monday, earthlings! Ready to get a deep-down tingle right in the middle ‘o your chest? Well, take a look at this: A stunning cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” executed by Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield — here’s the kicker — in space.

Hadfield has spent the last five months on the International Space Station, uploading videos of the experience all the while. To herald his return to Earth Monday — where he will trade off with Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov — Hadfield uploaded the video below, in which he performs Bowie’s cosmic tune while, literally, “floating in a tin can.” Hadfield even earned a tweet from the famously reclusive — although recently musically active — Bowie: “CHRIS HADFIELD SINGS SPACE ODDITY IN SPACE! ‘Hallo Spaceboy…’”

Although musicians like will.i.am and Thirty Second to Mars have premiered songs in space, this is apparently the first music video that was filmed in the final frontier.

Since David Bowie announced that he would be releasing his first studio album in a decade, March’s The Next Day, we’ve some interesting odes to The Man Who Fell To Earth, including Beck and director Chris Milk’s interactive music video for “Sound and Vision.” Hadfield’s contribution, however, is probably the most grab-you-in-the-heart.

You try to remain impassive while watching the astronaut croon “Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do” while floating past Planet Earth.

Impossible.