Month: January 2018

The regular deadline for entrants into the Unsigned Only Music Competition is January 24, 2018.

WHAT IS UNSIGNED ONLY? 

Unsigned Only is the premier music competition in the world for indie and unsigned artists (including solo artists, bands, and singers) who are unsigned to a major record label. Why does Unsigned Only include only unsigned artists? It’s simple. Limiting the competition to unsigned artists levels the playing field for entrants because they are not competing with well-known artists, Grammy winners, or artists with a major label machine behind them. The goal is to give indie artists exposure, recognition, and validation for their artistry.

• $150,000 in Cash and Prizes shared among 28 winners
• Prizes include a Grand Prize of $20,000 cash plus one-on-one mentoring by record label executives, top industry managers, major booking agencies and more
• No physical event to attend (artists simply enter online, and either upload songs or provide streaming links (such as Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc.) to their song

JUDGES INCLUDE:

CELEBRITY ARTISTS: Aimee Mann • Grouplove • KT Tunstall • Jack Ingram • Lucero • David Crowder • Melanie Fiona • Lydia Loveless • Frank Foster • and more

PLUS MUSIC JOURNALISTS FROM: Rolling Stone • Yahoo Music • Chicago Sun-Times • Elmore Magazine • American Songwriter • Paste Magazine • NY Post • Guitar Player • and more

PLUS ARTIST MANAGERS FOR: Brad Paisley • Vince Gill • Alanis Morissette • Stevie Nicks • Sara Evans • Colbie Caillet • Chris Young • and more

PLUS TALENT BUYERS FROM: Summerfest • Live Nation • C3 Presents (Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Shaky Knees) • Superfly (Bonnaroo, Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival) • and more

CATEGORIES TO ENTER: AAA (Adult Album Alternative), AC (Adult Contemporary), Americana, Christian, Country, EDM, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop/Top 40, Screen Shot (songs suitable for placement in Film/TV/Advertising/Gaming), Teen (artists 18 years old or younger) and Vocal Performance. Unsigned Only accepts original and cover songs in all categories except Screen Shot which requires original music.

To enter your songs or to learn more, please visit https://unsignedonly.com

State Lights have announced their new single, ‘Peace Will Come’, set for release on 8th February.

Singer Shobsy, guitarist Joe Regan, drummer Paul Ridgeway and bassist Noel Perry all met at BIMM Music College in Dublin. Bonding over a shared interest in classic 80’s music and a common desire to write big stadium sized songs the guys decided to work on a music project. This early incarnation lead to the formation of State Lights in 2015.

Considered Rising Stars for 2018, State Lights new single, “Peace Will Come” which was mixed by Mark Needham (The Killers, Imagine Dragons) is accompanied by an incredibly powerful video, it features images of the current political discourse in the world. Famous faces such as Martin Luther King, David Bowie and Bono feature as examples of figures who have paved the way for peace and understanding in a world that is constantly overcoming prejudices and challenges, both socially and politically. The video concludes with images of people holding their own banner saying, “PEACE WILL COME” with their name signed, creating a message of unity, hope and faith that we will see peace. Some of the featured faces include Liam Cunningham (actor) Patrick Bergin (actor), Gary Ringrose (rugby player), Guggi (Artist), Kevin Thornton (Celebrity Chef), Craig Fitzgerald (The Academic)

https://www.facebook.com/statelightsmusic/

Output Belfast – the largest one-day music conference in Ireland announces closing keynote speakers.

The closing keynote Q and A will feature a panel discussion around scoring for horror and thriller films and television shows.

Included in the panel are

• Rich Vreeland (Disasterpiece) From Los Angeles, Rich scored one of the most compelling and original horror films of the last decade-2014’s ‘It Follows’, with the music being described “as a masterpiece of both musical technique and dramatic storytelling – and one of the most remarkable scores of the year”.
• Stuart Braithwaite. The driving creative force and founder behind the iconic band ‘Mogwai’ Stuart is one of the globe’s most forward-thinking and compelling composers. The band’s music have been used to score everything from award winning television series (Les Revenants) to feature-documentaries (most notably ‘Zidane’ and ‘Atomic’, the Mark Cousins film).
• Carly Paradis. Carly is the composer for Line Of Duty – one of the most talked-about BBC dramas of the last decade. Carly has also composed for horror films, drama and has had a longstanding creative relationship with Clint Mansell for whom she plays piano.
• Rory Friers. From Northern Irish band And So I Watch You From Afar, Rory in 2017 completed the score to the zombie film The Cured starring Ellen Page (Juno/Inception)

The panel will be moderated by director and Belfast Film Festival co-founder Brian Henry Martin with Score Draw Music’s Mark Gordon.

They join an unmissable day of keynotes, panels, sessions and Q and As that include Jeremy Pritchard from Everything Everything discussing music and streaming, Head of Music Licensing for BBC Nicky Bignell and Head of Music for Sky Peter Bradbury talking about placing music in television, Nadia Khan (manager Lethal Bizzle) and Sean Adams (Drowned in Sound/BBC 6 Music) on the anatomy of a successful music video premier, Coldplay album producer Danton Supple discussing producing a-list hit records, The 1975 and Kendrick Lamar videographer Christian Tierney on work behind the lens, Phil Taggart (BBC Radio 1) and more discussing how to break open Ireland as a territory, Niall Horan’s touring drummer Gerry Morgan and Alana Henderson (Cellist, Hozier) on working as a session musician, Metal Hammer’s Adam Rees on PR in rock and metal, and many many other sessions including talks by IMRO, PRS for Music, CMU, Oh Yeah Centre and the Association for Independent Festivals.

Delegation is free to attend but requires sign-up. Please visit outputbelfast.com to sign up to the day’s events.

Organised by Belfast City Council in partnership with the Music Business Support Programme and Invest NI, Output Belfast is a music and showcasing conference event that features panel discussions, music sessions, workshops and speed networking events as well as keynote speeches from award-winning musicians and managers of globally recognised talent.

An artist showcase takes place from 8pm-12 midnight on Thursday 8 Feb across a wide range of venues and full details of who is playing can be found here; outputbelfast.com

Some highlights from the daytime event include:

Festival trends in 2018

Goc O’Callaghan (Vice Chair-Association for Independent Festivals)

What now, recorded music?

A discussion on physical, streaming and everything in between

Jeremy Pritchard (Everything Everything)

11.30am-12.30pm 

CMU Present – The Digital Dollar Deals Guide

The ten kinds of distribution/label deals now available to artists and the pros and cons of each.

Chris Cooke (CMU)

Annabella Coldrick (Music Managers Forum)

Will Priestley (Harbottle Lewis)

Trailer Talk

An essential briefing on placing music and songs in film trailers

Connie Farr (Music supervisor)

Mark Cornell (Ignition – trailers for Jumanji, Spiderman, Dunkirk, Cars and more)

Mark Gordon (Moderator)

20 Feet from Stardom

How to make a career as a session musician

Alana Henderson (Cellist, Hozier)

Si Francis (Bass, Ellie Goulding)

Gerry Morgan (Drummer, Niall Horan)

Andy Cortes (Guitarist James Bay)

Phil Taggart (Moderator)

Meet the funders

Your chance for one-on-one meetings with funding organizations and business start-up mentors

Elizabeth Sills (PRS Foundation)

Marcus McGuigan (Invest NI)

Keith Millar (Help Musicians NI)

Caroline Sewell (Musicians Union)

Go For It! Representative

Sing when you’re winning

Tips and techniques on how to improve and look after your voice

Shelley Bukspan  (BIMM Dublin Vocal Coach)

Cormac Neeson (The Answer)

Playing live in the USA – Visas and how to get one

Tamizdat are the company who facilitate US visa applications for UK and Irish bands

Matthew Covey (Tamizdat)

The Sound of Success

When your passion becomes your profession – Behind the lens with a millennial auteur

Christian Tierney (21 year old videographer who has worked with The Weekend, The 1975 and Kendrick Lamar)

Thomas Camblin (Rally – Moderator)

1.30pm-2.30pm

Topliners – how to write hooks

PRS For Music present a session on earworms – melodies that stick

Stuart Fleming (PRS for Music)

Flash Taylor (Bucks Music Publishing)

Marli Harwood (Topliner)

Callum Stewart (Topliner/lyricist)

Jason Sharpe (Tileyard Music)

Patrick Cloherty (Sentric Music – Moderator)

Ready Player One – making the music that makes the game

From composing to placing music in games and games trailers – the complete overview

Dan Byrne-Mccullough (Hyperduck SoundWorks)

Chris Geehan (Hyperduck SoundWorks)

Ben Sumner (Feel For Music)

Janesta Bourdeau (gaming supervisor and sync focused catalogue owner)

Mark Gordon (Score Draw Music – Moderator)

How to crack Ireland

From press to live – the roadmap to the territory

Niall Byrne (Nialler9)

Sarah Casey (agent at LPO – clients include Beoga)

Ed Smith (Producer – Today FM)

Shane Dunne (Music Cork / tour manager)

William Ryan (Barrister)

Mick Roe (Faction Mgmt – James Vincent McMorrow/Jape)

Phil Taggart (BBC Radio 1 – Moderator)

Meet the Performance Rights Organisations

Speed meetings with the main UK and Ireland PROs

Stuart Fleming (PRS for Music)

Duncan McCrone (MCPS)

Keith Johnson (IMRO)

Dan Millington (PPL)

CMU Insights Speed Briefing: The Value Gap

Why does the music industry keep shouting about the copyright safe harbour and the so called ‘value gap’? And how did YouTube become the music industry’s enemy number one?

Chris Cooke (CMU)

Breaking the rock

Making press and PR work for you in metal and heavy rock

Remfry Dedman (rock and metal critic – The Independent)

Simon Glacken (I Like Press)

Adam Rees (Metal Hammer / Guitarist Magazine writer)

Becky Laverty (Pioneer PR / festival booker)

Eamonn Forde (Moderator)

Masters of the universe

A step by step guide to making the most of bedroom mastering techniques

John Davis (Metropolis – mastering engineer for U2, Lana Del Rey and more)

Rocky O’Reilly (Start Together Studios – Moderator)

2.45pm-3.45pm

Anatomy of a successful video premiere

From creation to release – a step by step guide

Caroline Bottomley (Radar Music Videos)

Nadia Khan (Manager of Lethal Bizzle and more)

Sean Adams (Drowned in Sound / BBC 6 Music)

Karim Khan (Lucid PR – clients include Sony, Island Records, Universal, Virgin)

Eamonn Forde (Moderator)

Placing music in UK and US Television

Heads of music from Sky and BBC open up on the pathways to music placement

Peter Bradbury (Head of Music – Sky)

Nicky Bignell (Head of music licensing – BBC)

Teri Nelson Carpenter (CEO Reel Muzik Werks – former US independent publisher of the year)

Mark Gordon (Score Draw Music – Moderator)

The Talent Development Toolkit

Oh Yeah Centre presents the comprehensive guide

Charlene Hegarty (Oh Yeah Talent Development Manager)

Tom Packer (Motive Unknown)

Joel Borquaye (AWAL)

Ryan Vail (Artist)

Elizabeth Sills (PRS Foundation)

Meet the Irish Festivals

Your chance to pitch to festivals and music showcases

Cillian Stewart (Castlepalooza)

Ross Parkhill (Stendhal Festival)

Andrew Marsden (Moira Calling)

Angela Dorgan (Hard Working Class Heroes)

Sarah Kiely (Open House Festival)

Paul Brown (Earagail Arts Festival)

CMU Insights Speed Briefing: Top 5 Streaming Challenges

Five key challenges that must be met by the wider streaming music business – including artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, collecting societies and the streaming platforms themselves.

Chris Cooke (CMU)

Talk about pop music (production)

How to carve out a career producing a-list hits

Danton Supple (Producer – Coldplay X&Y and A Rush of Blood to the Head)

Paul Whalley (Producer and collaborator with Mumford and Sons, Ellie Goulding, Little Mix)

Pip Newby (Producer manager)

Stefan Abingdon (Selena Gomez / Jess Glynne)

Rocky O’Reilly (Start Together Studios – Moderator)

4pm-5pm

Closing keynote 

You want it darker?

Scoring thriller and horror films

With

Stuart Braithwaite  (Mogwai)

Soundtracks for Les Revenants and many more

Rory Friers (ASIWYFA)

Soundtrack for The Cured featuring Ellen Page (Juno/Inception)

Carly Paradis

Composer-Line of Duty / Pianist for Clint Mansell

Moderators

Brian Henry Martin (Director/Journalist)

Mark Gordon (Score Draw Music)

http://www.outputbelfast.com/

Dublin Alt Rocker The Stoles are thrilled to announce the release of their highly anticipated debut album titled “Age Of Deception”.

The album will be out on iTunes, Spotify and other major digital stores on Friday February 9^th 2018 on US largest indie label Spectra Music Group.

The album was written by The Stoles and recorded at Red Lake recording studio, produced  & mixed by Modest Prophet and mastered by Masterlab; Artwork by Massimiliano Veltri.

After a phenomenal 12 months with 3 singles released, 2 tours across Ireland’s best venues and getting playlisted on numerous Irish and European radio stations, The Stoles finally release their highly anticipated debut album “Age Of Deception” in the grand social on Friday February 9th 2018.

Come join them for an unforgettable night of some of the best rock coming out of the Ireland!

Support on the night comes from Sarah Deegan, Key & Pearl / Doors 8 pm / Adm €10 (students €6) Strictly over 18s

Every ticket purchased online will include a physical copy of the group’s forthcoming album.

Get your tickets/free CDhere: https://goo.gl/txxoPK

Soundcloud:  www.soundcloud.com/thestoles

Website:        www.thestoles.com

Facebook:       www.facebook.com/thestoles

Twitter:             www.twitter.com/thestoles

Multi-platinum international music sensation, Celtic Woman returns with their brand new live CD and DVD: ‘Homecoming – Live From Ireland’.

Recorded live at a stunning show in Dublin, Ireland in September 2017, Homecoming features the angelic voices of Susan McFadden, Mairéad Carlin, Éabha McMahon and the breathtaking new violinist Tara McNeill.

Since its debut, global musical sensation Celtic Woman’s concerts continue to touch the hearts of a huge audience that spans the globe.

Both an accomplished recording ensemble and a world-class performing collective, Celtic Woman celebrates Ireland’s rich musical and cultural heritage, while continuing its remarkable legacy of introducing some of Ireland’s most talented singers and musicians onto the world stage. It’s a universal celebration of life. It’s both traditional and contemporary.

Following its debut on PBS in 2005, the group has achieved massive success encompassing twelve chart-topping albums, eight DVDs and nine public television specials leading to sales of over ten million albums, with platinum success in nine countries. Each of its CDs – including 2016’s Destiny which was also nominated for a Grammy – has debuted at #1 on Billboard’s World Albums chart. The group has been named Billboard Magazine’s #1 World Albums Artist six times.

Celtic Woman continues to transcend national and cultural boundaries to celebrate the timeless emotion of Ireland’s centuries-old heritage. A one-of-a-kind live act, Celtic Woman combines the country’s finest musical talents with epic stage production to present a uniquely inspiring live experience. As a touring powerhouse, the group has performed for over four million fans across 23 countries and six continents, with an especially devoted following in America. The show is renowned for its high-quality entertainment, exceptional musical performances and stunning visual productions, enthralling audiences of all ages.

‘Homecoming – Live From Ireland’ captures this chapter of their extraordinary musical journey in this stunning live CD and DVD.

Tracklisting:

STANDARD CD

Homecoming Lament
Mo Ghile Mear (My Gallant Star)
My Heart Will Go On
Walk Beside Me
Dúlaman
Danny Boy
For the Love of a Princess
Fields of Gold
Westering Home
Water Under the Bridge
The Voice
Sean Nós Songs: Ard Ui Chuain / Sadhbh Ni Bhruinneallaigh
You Raise Me Up
The Kesh Inn
Téir Abhaile Riú
The Parting Glass

DVD

Homecoming Lament
Mo Ghile Mear (My Gallant Star)
My Heart Will Go On
Across the World
Walk Beside Me
Dúlaman
She Moved Through the Fair
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
Danny Boy
Fields of Gold
Westering Home
Amazing Grace
For the Love of a Princess
Ave Maria
Floorplay
Sean Nós Songs: Ard Ui Chuain / Sadhbh Ni Bhruinneallaigh
The Voice
Time to Say Goodbye
You Raise Me Up
The Kesh Inn
Téir Abhaile Riú
The Parting Glass

www.CelticWoman.com Facebook.com/Celticwoman Twitter.com/Celtic_Woman

Wyvern Lingo continue to fan the flames of anticipation as the release of their debut album grows ever closer. Following the success of ‘I Love You, Sadie’, which was Nialler9’s 2017 song of the year on his website, the Bray trio open their 2018 account with the smouldering R’N’B ballad ‘Maybe It’s My Nature’.

Featured vocalist Karen Cowley says of the song: “Maybe It’s My Nature is about having a wandering eye, and the feelings of guilt that come with that. The song addresses three different people: a partner, a dead poet, and myself.” She adds – “I find that female characters in a lot of popular media still seem to lack sexual agency or fall into age old stereotypes. I wrote this song at a time when I was particularly fed up of hearing and seeing the same depictions that don’t resonate with how I feel.”

Wyvern Lingo’s long-awaited, self-titled debut album is out Friday 23rd February on vinyl, CD and download on Rubyworks. The band will be on tour in Ireland, the UK and Europe in support of the album release.

Tour dates:

23rd Feb, The Button Factory, Dublin
24th Feb, Glor, Ennis
25th Feb, Connolly’s of Leap, Cork
1st March, McHugh’s, Belfast
2nd March, Dolan’s, Limerick
3rd March, St Luke’s Church, Cork
8th March, Mike The Pies, Listowel
9th March, Roisin Dubh, Galway
10th March, Source Arts Centre, Thurles
11th March, Spirit Store, Dundalk
14th March, Sound, Liverpool
15th March, The Mash House, Edinburgh
16th March, Stereo, Glasgow
17th March, Think Tank Underground, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
18th March, The Castle Hotel, Manchester
20th March, Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
21st March, Louisiana, Bristol
24th March, Prinzenbar, Hamburg
26th March, Privatclub, Berlin
27th March, Studio 672, Cologne
28th March, Upstairs at The Paradiso, Amsterdam

http://www.wyvernlingo.com/

IMRO would like to extend their condolences to the family, friends and band mates of Dolores O’Riordan, who passed away suddenly yesterday, 15th January, while recording in London.

Limerick born O’Riordan rose to international fame as lead singer of The Cranberries with their 1993 debut album ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?’. The band went on to sell over 40 million records worldwide and were responsible for hits such as ‘Dreams’, ‘Linger’ and ‘Zombie’, instantly recognisable thanks to Dolores’ unique haunting vocals. After releasing five original albums, the band took a break in 2003. During this time O’Riordan released two solo albums before reforming with the band in 2009. The Cranberries released a new album entitled ‘Something Else’ in April of last year, featuring acoustic versions of their hits along with three new songs.

A statement on the band’s social media read:

“We are devastated on the passing of our friend Dolores. She was an extraordinary talent and we feel very privileged to have been part of her life from 1989 when we started the Cranberries. The world has lost a true artist today.
Noel, Mike and Fergal”

 

A. Smyth has just released his debut single. ‘Into The Darkness’.

Sometimes you just need to tear it down in order to build it back up again. A. Smyth reached that point 18 months ago. He needed to rip up his past in order to put some imprint on his future.

That’s where this song comes from, sacrificing the past and present in order to carve out some future hope. Instant gratification, transient fame, rolling news cycles, instability, fast-paced lifestyles, social competition, high stakes and even higher expectations perforate the soaring collection of songs that make up A. Smyth’s forthcoming debut album. ‘Into the Darkness’, a kaleidoscope of a release, is the first cut. Propelled by the drums of Dennis Cassidy (Selk) and the bass of Dara Higgins (The Jimmy Cake), the debut single sees A. Smyth mine his love of classic guitar-based songwriting, as he tears down soaring, infectious melodies and meshes under the watchful eyes of producer Darragh Nolan (Asta Kalapa).

Smyth has been writing and performing music under different guises for more than a decade. His last band, Vann Music, achieved notable success, appearing at Ireland’s biggest music festivals (Electric Picnic, Longitude), scoring a commercial radio hit (‘Tina’), featuring on prestigious TV shows (Other Voices) and working with some of the biggest names in the music industry (Stephen Hague, producer – Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Robbie Williams). Smyth wanted to explore the impact these pressures were having on both him and his relationships with those around him, rather than feed these experiences as he had done through Vann Music’s often high-octane and hedonistic music. As a result, his new songs delve into a shared experience – a sort of millennial burnout.

His debut release was recorded in Dublin and Wexford with drummer Dennis Cassidy (Selk), bassist Dara Higgins (The Jimmy Cake) and producer Darragh Nolan (Asta Kalapa)

www.asmythmusic.com
www.facebook.com/asmythofficial
www.twitter.com/asmythmusic
www.instagram.com/asmythmusic