Here in the Product department, we’re always busy building cool stuff to make life (and business) easier for our clients. This time, we’re very pleased to announce the launch of a brand new Accounting section. Please, everyone, calm down. Excuse me, sir, can you put your shirt back on? This …
Videos are by far the most engaging form of social content. This isn’t exactly a new discovery, but there’s a lot of missed potential by bands that claim to have a YouTube presence. The common misconception is that your music videos go up on YouTube and you’re done. Although MTV …
Plugging — it’s a word we often hear in relation to promoting something, recommending it, giving it your stamp of approval. iPluggers does just that for your music, and it does it all around the world. With a 100% airplay guarantee (or your money back), iPluggers provides the platform for …
Meet our latest partner: Conduit Mobile. The mobile app creator is getting all kinds of press these days, and it’s not without good reason. Their sexy app offers every function you could dream of with the ease of use you’ve always wanted. What’s more, they’re compatible with all major mobile …
On Thursday, April 25, from 6:30 to 10:00PM at Harvard Club of NYC, The Orchard will partner once again with World Savvy to celebrate the organization’s 11th anniversary at the New York City World Savvy Gala.
The evening will consist of delicious cuisine from all around the world, a beer and wine bar, live entertainment, interactive media stations created by World Savvy students, as well as exclusive live and silent auction items. Some of the top-tier live auction items include a day at Gardiner’s Bay, “A Capitol Weekend” in the nation’s capitol, a weeklong trip to Supetar, Croatia, and much more.
World Savvy is an organization that promotes systematic change in education for students in grades K-12. They hope to provide opportunities for these students that will give them the knowledge, skills, attitude and behavior to become the future leaders and decision makers within each of their local and global communities.
For more information and to find out how to purchase tickets for the New York City World Savvy Gala, please visit this event page. All of us at The Orchard hope to see you at this wonderful event for a great cause.
To conclude, here’s a throwback to 2010, when we helped put together the first ever World Savvy student album:
The concept of episodes has been generally associated with traditional cable television only. However, as the line between TV and internet continues to blur, more viewers are looking to internet streaming for their daily fix. It’s clearly apparent that video streaming services like YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix are all vying to compete directly with cable television giants. But what does that mean for musicians and labels? Time to adapt.
For musicians, YouTube has historically been viewed as a vault to hold music in a video format. A catalogue of MTV-style music videos is uploaded, maybe a live performance or two, and those videos sit until the next album or tour. That’s great if you’re able to bombard your fans with email updates each time you sporadically upload a video. But that’s not nice. It’s also not beneficial to your brand or your YouTube presence. Think pull, not push.
Instead of hoping viewers come back to your channel after a long break between albums and video uploads, make sure you give them something they can expect regularly. Enter “episodes.” If you can commit to a regular schedule with a new video update each week or so, your chances of engaging an audience are instantly improved. As YouTube predicted, its viewers are watching on a more regular, predictable basis (much like TV). This is a huge opportunity for musicians and labels to connect on a level that was much less available until now.
So how do you get started? Often, the toughest part for music companies and bands is coming up with content that is consistent. This is the time to get creative. Your episodes don’t have to be long. They don’t even have to be the best quality. The most important thing is consistency and creativity. Give your viewers something they can’t get from buying your album or going to a show. This can be as simple as an intimate performance of songs in a setting they’re not used to (Tiny Desk, La Blogotheque). If you’ve exhausted all of your material, a simple video blog or interview will suffice. Plus, these allow your viewers to get to know you on a more personal level. Some channels even go as far as writing and producing completely original web series.
The fact that YouTube and its counterparts are competing with TV isn’t necessarily news. The point is that users will have to adapt to take full advantage of the opportunities that this shift could bring. This is a bit more difficult for musicians and labels to grasp, but if you can pull it off, the potential is huge. Get started by checking out the YouTube Creator Playbook.
Already running one of the baddest Metal labels on the scene in the form of Basick Records, the folks at Invictus Music & Media have just announced the launch of new Rock and Metal imprint DESTROY EVERYTHING. Not ones to take things slowly, they’ve confirmed six new signings already, namely The First, Azriel, Black Dogs, We Are Fiction, I Divide and The Colour Line.
Nathan Barley Phillips, A&R Director for Invictus says he’s “absolutely delighted to be launching DESTROY EVERYTHING and signing so many exciting bands immediately to the roster. The underground Rock and Metal scene has an incredible amount of talent pushing through to the mainstream right now; by partnering up with The Orchard we expand our reach and capabilities, so I’m thrilled to be able to develop and support all of our new and existing acts and play a major part in their early careers.”
What can you expect from DESTROY EVERYTHING? A whole load of awesomeness, mainly. Either see for yourself at the launch party this evening in London (flyer after the jump), or have a listen to The First below:
A catchy Indie Pop storm was brewing around Syracuse University in 2006 — and that storm turned out to be Ra Ra Riot. Since those academic beginnings, the Indie rockers have gone on to release three full-length albums, culminating with 2013′s Beta Love (via Barsuk Records). And now, in support of their new record, the frenetic foursome will be setting off across the States with not one, but two legendary Indie bands: The Shins and The Postal Service, who Ra Ra Riot will be joining for part of the Give Up tenth anniversary tour.
This epic Spring/Summer tour will take Ra Ra Riot across North America, and each stop is sure to be a packed event, so make sure to grab your tickets fast. But that’s not all: The Lighthouse and the Whaler, Speak, and a smattering of other raucous live acts will be performing with Ra Ra Riot during their extensive summer schedule. Consider your Indie concert calendar officially booked.
To catch you up to speed on the new record, Beta Love is the first recording for the group as a four-piece – Wes Miles on vocals, Milo Bonacci on guitar, Mathieu Santos on bass, and Rebecca Zeller on violin — and it’s a dynamic aural adventure. Equally melodic as it is infectious, epic as it is dance-inducing, Beta Love can be the soundtrack to your next dance party or just as easily, your leisurely weekend drive. The band stated that the new album’s songs were informed by cyberpunk novelist William Gibson and futurist Ray Kurzweil, and it makes sense, as Beta Love shows the band heading towards a more Synthpop, futuristic sound.
If you already have a copy of the new record and are looking for more Ra Ra Riot music, you’re in luck: the group is releasing Binary Mind as a special Record Store Day 10-inch vinyl. The special release includes both the title track as well as the unreleased song “All I Fear,” and for you die-hard B-side lovers, demo versions of “Binary Mind,” “Wilderness” and “I Shut Off,” all from the Beta Love sessions. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the vinyl though, as the release is limited to 1,000 copies.
But wait, there’s more. The group will also be playing the Boston Calling Music Festival, sharing the stage with acts like The National, Of Monsters and Men, Matt & Kim, and more. Check out Ra Ra Riot‘s full tour schedule after the jump.
Introducing Timothy Vargas, Video Engineer
I’m very excited to be a part of The Orchard team! I am 26 years old, born and raised in Queens, NY, but have called Stamford, CT my home for the last year. I worked for the WWE for the last 3 years in CT doing broadcast operations and for the Sound Lounge in NY before that, doing audio post production for commercials. I went to Brooklyn College for Film Production, transferred, and finished my degree in Audio Recording at Five Towns College out on Long Island.
I like Quentin Tarantino films, “Breaking Bad”, “Seinfeld” re-runs, and “Girls” on HBO. My music tastes vary from growing up on Blink 182 and Gorilla Biscuits, to Between the Buried and Me and Saves the Day, and recently Of Monsters and Men and The XX. I’ve been in a couple of bands, love local shows, and love listening to and seeing new things.
Getting a job at The Orchard is incredibly exciting. I look forward to meeting everyone, making new friends, contributing to the company, and being a part of something I truly believe in.
