NEWS BLAST #18 [4/6/12]

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the first of two back-to-back Bank Holidays than with the mix of music news known throughout the kingdom as NEWS BLAST #18.

• 56 UP-DATE – It’s amazing what a few minutes on national TV can do for a band’s profile. Following The Good Intentions’ appearance on the ITV documentary 56 Up (see our piece here), the band has been inundated with emails and album requests. If you didn’t see the original TV transmission you can catch Peter Davies’ section on youtube. And don’t forget, The (award winning) Good Intentions will be playing support for (Grammy nominated) US duo Eric Brace and Peter Cooper at next month’s Liverpool Acoustic Live on Friday 20th July – tickets here.

• WHY OH WHY – As a musician do you often wonder why some indie artists are successful and some aren’t? Those not in the know often think there’s some sort of ancient, mystical secret, but we’re here to tell you that’s not the case. The formula for making it in the music industry is surprisingly simple, although it does take a lot of hard work and needs the right people in the right jobs. If that’s all a little too vague for you then check out Indie Connect Magazine’s article 15 Reasons Why Some Indie Artists Fail And Others Succeed.

• TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR APPEARANCE – How would you like to perform on the main stage at this year’s Liverpool Pride on Saturday 4th August? Karl Connor from Fierce Management is asking, is all. You can email him at enquiries@fiercemanagement.co.uk

• FAIR’S FAIR – You’re a local musician, right? Which means you’re also a member of the Musician’s Union, right? In that case you won’t need me to tell you about The Fair Play Guide which helps give musicians a greater awareness of what to expect when negotiating deals with promoters and what they consider to be a fair arrangement. You also won’t need me to give you this link HERE to the page on the Musicians’ Union website where you can download the guide for free. Glad we got that sorted!

• TAKING IT TO THE MAX – That’s what Darren Caine (of Sounds of Liverpool/Liver Radio fame) is doing over the August Bank Holiday weekend. He’s putting on music at Cumberland Street’s Lomax venue all day from 12.00pm on 25th, 26th and 27th August, and has 25 band slots and 40 acoustic slots to fill. If you’re interested email darren@lomaxliverpool.com

• ON THE BRINK OF ADULTHOOD – Darren Caine also told us he’s going to be starting a brand new monthly event at The Brink on Parr Street for bands and musicians aged 14 to 17, so if you’re in that bracket and want a gig where you don’t have to sell 50 tickets in advance then get in touch. darren@lomaxliverpool.com

• JUNE MAKOVER – To mark the change from Mako Records to Mako Music the Widnes-based outfit are offering a special deal for the month of June. Any band or musician who books one or more days of recording studio time gets to choose between a free video interview or a behind the scenes video. Full details from makomusic.co.uk/free-video

• OUT OF THIS WORLD – Astral Coast is a new music festival taking place in Wirral next month. To apply to take part your band must have at least two members 18 or under and who live in Wirral. Oh, and you must be free  on Saturday 21st July! If you meet the criteria visit astralcoast.co.uk and click ‘Apply To Play’.

• COME ROUND TO OUR HOUSE – London’s Roundhouse venue runs the successful Roundhouse Rising Festival each February. They’re now expanding with the introduction of the regular Rising Presents event, and are looking for programmers and artists to get involved. If you fancy working with them to put together a kick-ass music night, or you’re a musician and would like to play at one, then all the details you need are here.

• FRED’S ON THE FIDDLE – Grateful Fred, the houseband at the Grateful Fred Roots and Acoustic Nights, is looking for a fiddle player to join their five piece combo. If that’s you and you fancy fiddling with them once a month then get in touch here.

• EDWARD WOODWARD WOULD – Yes, if dear old Edward Woodward wasn’t dead it’s a dead cert that he’d be going along to Dom Newton’s next musical comedy/horror event The Wickerchair. It’s taking place on Saturday 7th July from 8pm, with a pagan dress code (think druids, the green man, or woad-covered warriors). Places are limited, so if you want to join in then contact Dom through his facebook page, and check out the suitably silly trailer on youtube.

• RADIO GOLD – Here in Liverpool we’ve know for a long time that we’ve got some of the best radio stations on the airwaves. And now it’s official! In the recent Sony Radio Academy Awards 2012 the Gold Award for Station of the Year (300,000 – 1 million) went to 107.6 Juice FM with the judges saying “This station is pacey and relevant and totally in tune with its audience and community. Fresh, fast and exciting, it engages with its listeners and makes them want to listen. An upbeat breath of fresh air on the radio landscape.” As if that wasn’t fantastic enough, the Gold Award for Station of the Year (1 million plus) was won by Radio City 96.7, with the judges saying “A local radio station showing real depth, knowledge and understanding as to how best to engage its audience. Radio City is a station with the talent, energy and confidence to not only reflect a huge range of issues but drive Liverpool’s agenda with a sparkling all-round performance. This station continues to deliver one of the most comprehensive local radio packages in the UK.”

• POWER TO THE PEOPLE – Although it didn’t pick up a Sony award this year, BBC Radio Merseyside is still the most listened to BBC local radio station outside of London and has seen listener figures continue to rise year on year, and there’s even more good news to announce. You may remember last year we told you that the big bad BBC bosses in their comfy offices down in old London Town were planning to decimate BBC Local Radio with massive budget cuts and job losses, and decreased output leading to the loss of many programmes (read our piece here). Well it seems that the general public (that’s us!) kicked up such a fuss during the consultation that the BBC Trust has told the Director-General to scale back the cuts. What this means for BBC Radio Merseyside is that there will be five job losses instead of fifteen, and the only major loss of output will be from 7pm to 10pm every weekday when the station will broadcast an ‘all-England local radio show’ (not very local, eh?), with the ability to opt out to cover football and rugby. All (yes, ALL!) the specialist programmes will be saved, and will be fitted into a re-jigged weekend schedule, thereby securing the future of Folkscene and On The Beat. We call that a result for people power! We’d also like to send out best wishes to outgoing Managing Editor Mick Ord who moves on to a new job in the BBC, and welcome Sue Owens into the hot seat.

• A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM – We’re not talking ancient Rome, but the Music Managers’ Forum (MMF) set up to support… er… music managers. If you’re a manager and are feeling isolated then the MMF can provide lots of help and advice. Also, if you’re a solo musician or in a band and are wondering whether or not to get a manager then the MMF can help answer your questions. You can read all about it here.

• X MARKS THE SPOT – Xarnia is the newest music distribution service on the block, and was created by musicians and former record label owners with the interests of the artists at the centre of what they do. They offer free barcodes and ISRC codes, plus distribution to the likes of iTunes, Amazon, HMV, and Spotify, and a premium package available for distribution to 250+ more stores and mobile phone networks. Find out more on the Unsigned Guide’s website here.

• HAVE YOU GOT OPTIM EYES? – Hands up those of you who’ve never heard of SEO. So that’s lots of you then. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. Still think we’re talking a foreign language? Well if you’re a musician or band and you’ve got your own website then SEO is a language that you really should be learning, because without it you won’t know how to get your band ranking highly on Google and other search engines. Adam Veitch from digital marketing agency Brandshank will help you make sense of it all with his two articles SEO For Musicians – part 1, and the inventively named SEO For Musicians – part 2.

• HAVE YOU GOT MERCHAND EYES? – Merchandise can be so bewildering – with mugs, t-shirts, badges, stickers, posters, and pens – that it’s often difficult to know where to start. Fortunately the guys over at Blinky Media have lots of experience that they’re willing to share with you in the form of a blog post that you can read here.

• HAVE YOU GOT VIZ EARS? – Vizea Sound is a new music production and songwriting company based in Liverpool. They’re currently running a competition in which one lucky band or musician will win an intimate gig along with a recording of it. You can enter the draw by clicking the link here and nominating your favourite unsigned artist or band. Whoever gets the most nominations by 16th July will win.

• NEW BLOOD: DONORS REQUIRED –  Artrocker Magazine’s New Blood division specialises in finding the best new and emerging bands out there, and are currently on the hunt for the New Blood 2012 competition winner. The winning band receives two festival bookings, new clothes, an Olympus LS-20M digital audio (and video) recorder, a London recording session (plus filming thereof, and interview), airtime on Artrocker Radio, and a main feature article in the magazine. Not bad, eh? And the very best thing about it is there are no hoops to jump through or campaigns where your fans have to vote, just an email with your band details and a link to where you can be heard online. Full details can be found at artrocker.tv/news/article/new-blood-unsigned-the-competition