On my very first day at The Orchard almost three years ago, my boss took me around the office in typical Orchard tradition and introduced me to every single person sitting at his or her desk, from our accountants to our developers and everyone in between. Was anyone off limits? …
If you had the opportunity to get your music featured in more places, why wouldn’t you take it? And if those places were high-engagement areas, it’d really be a no brainer. Well listen up then, because our latest Marketplace partner, Klick Push, has just the thing for you. With access …
So you’ve got a new album coming out and you want to give fans a taste of what to expect. Try creating an album preview video and uploading it to your YouTube channel! We’ll walk you through how to set this up. Prepare Your Content We’re not going to go …
Between updating their subscription plans and experimenting with more visual profiles (still in early beta), SoundCloud has been on fire lately. ComScore even recently reported that their traffic increased by 26% in one month, making SoundCloud the 8th fastest growing site in the U.S. Though it’s certainly evolved since its launch in Berlin in …
It has been forty-five years since legendary Progressive-Rock group YES released their first studio album. They’re back at it this month with Heaven & Earth, eight tracks of sweeping orchestration and layered harmonies that will please fans old and new.
For a band that has been in the business for over forty years, and has sold almost 40 million records, creating an album is like riding a bike. YES know what they’re doing, and they continue to show that with the collaborations on this latest album. Produced by Grammy winner Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, Guns N’ Roses) and mixed by Billy Sherwood (Toto, Paul Rodgers), Heaven & Earth won’t disappoint.
Check out a sample of “Believe Again” below and experience the soaring vocals of new frontman Jon Davision. This preview will only get you more excited for Heaven & Earth, out July 22 on Frontiers Records.
YES will be on tour this summer, check out details below.
“Surfing is the king of sports,” says Juan Giriber of Cantabria, Spain. It is poignant discoveries like this one that make up The Old, The Young & The Sea, a documentary film out this week, as it chronicles the stories of sea lovers along the Atlantic coast of Europe. In it, director Mario Hainzl and producer Andreas Jaritz, plus a team of cinematographers and two Volkswagen buses, embark on a twenty-week European exhibition and share their findings of culture, diversity, and individuals willing to share their heartwarming stories.
Simply put by the film’s website, this is “a movie about the people who inhabit, visit, surf and protect the European shores.” With it, viewers will quickly realize that local accounts are the best kind, and that learning from the people actually spending their lives at or by the sea gives an honest, non-commercial view of surfing and coastal living. Unlike Australia or America, the Atlantic coast has maintained an innocence and privacy to its surfing culture, and this film captures that perfectly.
Winner of Best Movie and Viewers’ Choice Award at Cologne Surf Film Festival 2013, Audience Choice Award at Wavescape Surf Festival 2013, and Viewers’ Choice Award at Munich Surf Film Festival 2013, The Old, The Young & The Sea is a special kind of film any surfing lover simply has to see.
Catch The Old, The Young & The Sea now on your favorite digital video store, and check out the trailer below.
Introducing Mercedes Brown, Client Relations Coordinator, UK
Prior to joining the lovely team at The Orchard, I worked as a Marketing Assistant in the Priorities department at Universal Music Group International — despite primarily dealing with catalog I got to work some frontline releases too. Whilst I was there, I was lucky enough to work the In Utero 20 campaign which I saw landed itself in the music alleys campaign of the year — which is pretty cool! Before that, I worked and interned at various different companies in the industry such as Atlantic Records, Roadrunner Records, Trashed Management and Industry Music Group.
Music-wise my prime forte is Rock and Metal — my favourite band is Metallica, shortly followed by Slipknot, Cancer Bats and Machine Head. Though I have a massive place in my heart reserved for Pop and Dance!
A lot of my spare time is also taken up by music-related things. I write reviews for Glasswerk and I am an artist manager at SGR Artist Management (where I am Counting Days and Feed The Rhino‘s day-to-day manager). I go to a lot of gigs and love festivals and everything like that! If I ever have time around that I train in MMA and indulge in spa days.
Jonathan Sirlin
Operations Manager
Joined The Orchard in August 2012
What we know: You’re tall, you’ve got a great laugh and you’re super friendly. What we don’t know: what the #&@% you do. Go.
First of all, I’m flattered you think I’m tall, and, according to Wikipedia I do have a few inches on the average American male, but we work in an office of some pretty tall dudes, and I oftentimes feel like Frodo scuttling along in the Fellowship. I do concede, though, that my laugh is awesome, and I would go toe-to-toe with anyone in a laughing competition. I’ll go all day.
I started at The Orchard in the Compilations department. I spent the majority of my day figuring out different ways to package and sell very relaxing, soothing piano music. The majority of my hours were spent meditating, and I left the office every day a complete and total zen master. It was not uncommon for me to float cross-legged down Lafayette on my way to the 6 train. After a few months on the team I was given the opportunity to shift over to the Operations Department, where I handled day-to-day operations for distribution and top-tier clients. I proudly held that title until a month ago, when I moved within the department to store integrations. Whenever The Orchard signs a deal with a new store, I help ensure that they get set up from a technological standpoint. I also serve as a sort of “utility player” on the Ops team, handling various tasks as projects come up.
Ha! We hope you haven’t lost your Zen mojo on the Ops team!
Can you tell us more on what exactly getting a store set up entails?
Getting a new store set up requires a great deal of coordination from the Business Development, Tech, and Operations teams. A new store is like a new relationship; when you meet someone new, after you’ve done extensive background checks on them to make sure they’re not insolvent, you’ve got to make sure that you can communicate effectively and that there’s room for growth for your future. When Business Development signs on a new store, I reach out to say “Hello!” and set up their FTP (File Transfer Protocol) information in OA so that they can receive all the content we’re supposed to give them. When tech updates our XML specs to reflect new tags in our metadata, I write to the stores to make sure they’re aware of the changes and that it won’t cause any issues on their side. Each deal is different, and there’s no set amount of time that it takes from first contact to first delivery, but Operations is part of the process throughout.
Got it. On another note, you are the proud owner of two Orchardite fish and a heck of a fish tank. What can you tell us about how this came to be and your experience to date with Gerald and Chester?
In October of 2013, fellow Ops member Lauren Davidheiser received a bouquet of of flowers in a vase from her mother for her birthday. Weeks later, long after the plants died, I took the initiative to transform the abandoned vase into a fish tank. Gerald was introduced to The Orchard in early November, and he has since moved from that vase into a proper fish tank complete with a living plant, a plastic crab, and a sunken yellow submarine. Gerald is a slow, methodical and brilliant fish. His demeanor demands your attention, and his calm nature can soothe even the most frenzied of Orchardites. He is a blessing to all who see him, and his wisdom stretches far beyond his years.
Chester, a bottom-dwelling catfish, was purchased in late March of 2014. He was found dead on the morning of June 23rd, 2014. The cause of death is unknown.
Oh no! We’ll make sure to keep our pets away from you from now on. Thanks for making us laugh while telling us what the #&@$ you do, Jonathan!
number of instruments you play + which one you like best: I play six or seven instruments, but only one or two very well. I don’t like one the best, but I am most proficient on violin and guitar.
what you’d be doing if you weren’t working in music: Hopefully something way worse and more miserable, otherwise I’m wasting my time
favorite team to watch in the FIFA World Cup this year: Nothing will ever compare to the DPRK team from 2010. They are my all-time favorite.
random fact: I’m red-green colorblind, but what my eyes lack in rods/cones is more than made up for in clarity and distance; my vision is better than 20/20. I’m also ridiculously good at seeing stereogram images (Magic Eye).
As the month of June comes to a close, and the World Cup ramps up, it’s time to keep that summer energy going. Good news: we’ve got the best music and videos from this week to pump you up as we head into the weekend!
We’re starting strong with a bunch of tracks this week! The Black Angels are back with their classic Indie Rock fuzz, and this time it even has a psychedelic edge. Then, Catey Shaw croons on her new catchy Pop anthem about love conquering all. Go old-school with Souls of Mischief‘s latest track featuring Snoop Dogg and produced by Adrian Younge. It’s a Hip-Hop call to action about living in the present. Next, PS I Love You laments about leaving home through grainy guitars and crowd-led back-up vocals. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart lighten things up in typical Indie fashion with addictive hooks over cascading keys. Finally, things get intense on the latest from To The Wind. It’s a Hardcore apology, and you won’t be the one who’s sorry.
Now, for some eye candy, watch Singer-Songwriter Kina Grannis wander the forest at night in the brand new video for her dark, but ethereal lead single. Then, check out French Style Furs‘ new black and white music video. The song is “poetic punk urgency” and the video is as artsy as it gets. Amp Live muses on money’s eternal ability to change people in the video for his Oakland Hip-Hop take on the Biggie Smalls sentiment “mo’ money, mo’ problems.” Finally, go back to the 70′s with the new video for Animal Years‘ “jolt of musical serotonin.” You’ll be dancing right along with Bailey Noble (yes, she’s from True Blood) and wishing you too lived in 1972 Palm Springs, CA.
Well there you have it, Freeloaders! Enjoy your weekend!
The Black Angels: “Sunday Evening” track premiere via The Quietus
Clear Lake Forest out July 22 on Blue Horizon
Catey Shaw: “Revolution” track premiere via Refinery29
Revolution out now on Complex/Lefthook
Souls of Mischief: “There Is Only Now” track premiere via Sway’s Universe
There Is Only Now out now on Linear Labs
PS I Love You: “Friends Forever” track premiere via Noisey
For Those Who Stay out July 22 on Paper Bag Records
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: “Kelly (Winter Station Demo)” track premiere via NoiseTrade
Days of Abandon out now on Fierce Panda
To the Wind: “Hands of the Clock” track premiere via Alternative Press
Block Out the Sun & Sleep out July 22 on Pure Noise Records
Kina Grannis: “The Fire” music video premiere via The Frisky
Elements out now on One Haven
French Style Furs: “Turn Or Burn” music video premiere via BlackBook
Is Exotic Bait out July 8 on Frenchkiss Records
Amp Live: “Penny Nickel Dime (feat. Anya & Prof)” music video premiere via WSJ
Headphone Concerto out August 5 on Plug Research
Animal Years: “Forget What They’re Telling You” music video premiere via Team Coco
Sun Will Rise (Deluxe Edition) out now on Mike McFadden Music
