Mercury Prize – The Nominees
So I woke up and I am supposed to go and check out the nominees for the Mercury Prize, at The Hospital Club, at 11am..do music industry people even wake up before 11am? Kasabian played live right in front of me, while I was still trying to have my morning dose of caffeine, then comes...
The sound of the IAA UK chapter is so 80s…
When we say that we help brands and organisations with their sonic brand identity, we cover everything…even parties! Those lovely people at the IAA UK chapter (and Michael ‘Prince fan’ Toedman particularly) asked us to deliver some great music for the 80s themed Summer Ball. We had Nelly, Nuno and our very own citizen Paul...
The Sound of The Summer
This month we’ve got 18 tracks of fantastic summer tunes for you to listen to with our latest citizensound “It All Ads Up” podcast. This is the first time we’ve used the rather excellent SoundCloud service to provide you with our regular podcast of our favourite tunes for all of you in advertising and brand...
Meltdown: Ornette Coleman surprises Bobby McFerrin
Saw Bobby McFerrin tonight at South Bank, London as part of Ornette Coleman’s Meltdown. I have seen him perform a number of times, the first time going back to the mid-80s when his first album came out. Whilst not a fan of his dabblings with poppy songs and a sometimes throwaway approach to some beautiful...
seetickets. Can anyone see the point?
Ahh the anticipation. Your favourite band is in town. You are ready to part with your precious money (note to promoters, it is very precious, so cherish our custom), but no matter how quick you are in booking tickets online, some company gets hold of them first. So you end up booking tickets which might...
Describing Your consumers/fanbase: Baaba Maal
So brands are having to be focused more than ever on understanding who their consumers are/could be, along with what they really want. The days of conveying to consumers what brands think the consumers should have is moving aside. As for musicians, their managers and their labels, they also are realising the importance of knowing...
communalCulture: / Discover Music: / music salon / The kind of stuff citizensound does: / Uncategorized
The return of the music salon and the new shoots of communalCulture
Music these days is seen as highly personal, focused on the individual: my iPod, my selection, my taste, my choice in my time. Yet, at it’s best, music is a communal experience – the live show, sharing favourite songs, artist and fan getting closer together. In my view, there is a clear return to the...
Surge of complaints for emusic and Sony raises the question: What is the value of music?
It looks like I spoke too soon about the benefits of emusic’s deal with Sony Music for the users. What wasn’t immediately clear was the impact on the price that users would have to pay for their downloads. Some of the most loyal users have seen a 40-50%Â increase in the price they are paying....
Song for the week-end: Carry Go Bring Home
On my way back from a meeting in town, I dropped into the wonderful Supertone Records on Acre Lane for a bit of ‘business research’. Ended up swapping cash for some righteous tunes from Jah Shaka, Scientist plus a little bit of Lone Ranger. But I also came away with this. An old classic that...
What do your fans want from you? (Part 3)
Artists are increasingly embracing Twitter as a great way to connect with their fans. But its not just its simplicity as a communication tool that is attracting ‘celebrity’ users, it can also be a useful tool in helping you grow your fanbase. US indie band Jimmy Eat World accumulated some 200,000 new Twitter followers in...
When a brand jingle became a big hit
Probably the best known example of the music to an ad being turned into big hit is the Coca Cola ‘Hilltop’ ad of 1971. The jingle ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’ became the global hit ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’. However, one I came across recently is this. Is...
Notwork 2 was fun…
Well, big thanks to The Hospital for letting us put on NOTWORK 2 there. Great turnout for the night. Notty Culture were up first, turning in a perfect start to the night. Three songs, great soulful voice. Lovely. Short break then on to Fanfarlo. I had heard them in soundcheck, and I knew we were...