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 …
Two years ago, the online video streaming services competed for volume of titles and over the same potential users. The dinner table discussion over “Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Amazon” focused on which service offered the most shows and best movies for the price point. This year, the conversation has changed as Netflix has publicly shifted the way they’re programming the service. Now with more subscribers than HBO and a successful $100 million original TV series, House of Cards, in their repertoire ($3.6 million per episode), the service has stated that their main competitor is now HBO, not iTunes, Hulu or other internet streaming services. Most recently Netflix allowed 1,800 titles to expire, telling Mashable that it is working towards licensing titles “on an exclusive basis” and that their goal is to be an “expert programmer” and not a “broad distributor.” This strategy paves the way for a future where Netflix can more easily co-exist with other subscription services.
Consumers were hoping an $8/mo subscription could replace their cable bill (just as a $10/month subscription provides them with access to virtually 100% of music available). Unfortunately for consumers, $8/month will always only give us a small subset of premium video content. The dust is starting to settle and each service is presenting its unique value to the viewer in the marketplace. Netflix will increasingly be the place to go for their exclusive series (next up this month: Arrested Development) and for recently released movies — the same value consumers see in HBO. Hulu (owned by the major networks) will be your go-to for network TV series, indie films, classics and documentaries (what Netflix used to be). I’d expect old seasons of TV series to fall off Netflix over time as Hulu increasingly takes over this role in the market. The sports leagues have their own subscription options and many others will enter the market and find their niche. Popular music subscription service, Spotify, will supposedly be entering the video streaming market. Amazon Prime has launched Amazon Studios to start producing original series for release through Amazon Prime.
So just how many of these services would you have to subscribe to in the future to replace your cable TV package? If you’re spending $120 on your cable bill, odds are $50 of that is for your internet and $70 is for your TV package. To replace your TV package you would have to subscribe to 7 or 8 services to match the current amount you spend on TV. If this is the future, then there is room in the market for Hulu to co-exist with Netflix and others, just as cable networks can co-exist and are not necessarily competing for the same viewer. If you’re looking to cut your monthly TV budget and you’re hoping (legal) internet streaming is the solution, then you’ll have to decide what types of movies and shows you’re willing to lose. It will become increasingly clear over the next year which services are right for you as they will inevitably follow the footsteps of TV networks and program their services for a selected viewer demographic rather than the masses.
Where did the week go? How about a better question, who cares? That’s right, everyone’s favorite day of the week is back, and with it, Freeloader Friday. We have loads of music to satiate your hunger for new tunes this week — so sit back, relax, grab a pair of your favorite headphones and treat your ears to some tasty new tracks.
To kick things off, Palms premiere the first single off their anticipated, eponymous new record over on Pitchfork. The track, aptly titled “Patagonia,” is a dreamy, groove-laden soundscape that will send you floating in the clouds above the southern Andes of South America — no travel guide needed.
The free music rolls on with Tripwires‘ track premiere of “Shimmer,” a Noise-Pop number with enough hooks to have you singing along in no time. In addition, Cassettes Won’t Listen bring the grimy, funk-infused Electronica and Dfalt channels 90′s Trip-Hop sounds (think DJ Shadow with a twist) with their respective song streams. There’s no excuse for you to not bust a move this weekend.
If you’re in the mood for a full album stream then you’re in luck, as AM & Shawn Lee have released all the tracks of their new record before its official drop next week. From dance-y vibes to atmospheric, syncopated rhythms — the album is sure to suit any weekend adventure you have planned. Happy Listening!
Palms: “Patagonia” via Pitchfork
Palms out June 25 on Ipecac Recordings
Tripwires: “Shimmer” track premiere via DIY
Spacehopper out June 18 on Frenchkiss Records
Cassettes Won’t Listen: “Transmission” track premiere via Vibe
Transmission – Single out now on Daylight Curfew
Dfalt: “Moon Milkshakes” free track via Okayfuture
Helsinki Beat Tape: Part 1 out June 11 on Daylight Curfew
AM & Shawn Lee: Full album stream via Soundcheck
La Musique Numerique out May 7 on Park The Van
Five years ago today, we launched this blog to share artist news as we grew our roster of Interactive Marketing campaigns. We quickly evolved The Daily Rind into a vital piece of our corporate content marketing strategy, focusing on client communication, Orchard news, tips for navigating the digital landscape, op-eds on industry topics, and yes, artist news. All of this through the eyes of my very talented co-workers, who we continuously pester for more posts.
In honor of our five year mark, here are some of our favorite Daily Rind moments :
2008
Sharon Jones on Austin City Limits, Grammy Consideration by Tonia Samman
2009
Getting Social: The Orchard is on Facebook! and Let’s Twitter! by James Volpe
2010
Streaming vs P2P (Round #543324): Why Does Spotify Feel So Much Faster? by Nathan Thompson
Honorable mention to a republished Billboard piece: Billboard Op-Ed by Scott Cohen (Our Co-Founder and VP): LESS BEGETS MORE by Scott Cohen
2011
SoundCloud: So…About Just Sending Out That MP3? by Robbie Mackey
Honorable mention for a catchy song and catchy topic: Ai Se Eu Te Pego: When Music + Soccer Collide by Celia Saez
2012
Indie Artist Makes a Killing from Streaming – Yep, You Heard Right. by Chris Duncan (this was reposted by Hypebot)
Honorable mention for being our sixth most read post of all time: The Most Valuable Thing You Don’t Know About YouTube’s Business Model by Doug Shineman
Thank you to all our writers, readers and sharers throughout the years. As always, let us know via comments if there are topics you’d like us to cover in the future.
Fans all over the world waited over 15 years for Guns N’ Roses to release Chinese Democracy. Similarly, fans of Hip-Hop have been waiting almost 14 years for Dr. Dre‘s Detox to hit the streets. For fans of the widely acclaimed 2004 Pure Intec compilation, the wait is over. The hugely successful Dance/Techno music series has just relaunched with the release of a new mix compilation, Pure Intec Two, out this week via Intec Digital.
With nine years since the release of Pure Intec, Intec Digital co-founder Carl Cox, and label manager Jon Rundell felt it was finally time to release the second compilation of the series. The label has been working hard to bring Intec to the forefront of the Techno world by signing a handful of talented DJs with a vast catalogue of great tracks. In Intec Digital’s mind, Pure Intec Two is the perfect outlet to showcase these brilliant artists.
The album is separated into two distinct parts. Part 1 — mixed by Carl Cox – consists of unreleased remixes from his acclaimed album All Roads Lead to The Dancefloor, which features both Intec artists as well as a few others from outside the label. These artists include Jim Rivers, Ben Sims, Yousef, Foamo, Tomy Declerque, Reso, Nicole Moudaber, Sharam, Layo & Bushwacka! and Loco Dice.
Part 2 is brought to you by Jon Rundell, marking his first compilation and featuring forthcoming tracks from Intec artists, compiled exclusively for the first time. These artists include The Junkies, Victor Vera, Nicole Moudaber, Daryl Stay, Dosem, Pirupa, Alex Sibley, Marco Bailey, Carlo Lio, Tomy DeClerque, Mark Reeve, Ben Sims and Jon himself with Digital Primate.
Pure Intec Two is full of Dance hits that will keep the party grooving into the night. Go get your hands on it now!
Introducing Dan Griffiths, Interactive Marketing Manager, UK
My path into the music industry was not a standard route! When I was a teenager, in the early days of the Internet and 56k dial-up modems, I decided I would set up a website to blag my way into shows and get a few free CDs. When reviewing shows for the website I would take my camera along and take pictures of the artists (to scan and upload to the website). As I began to get better at using the camera, one of my images got found and used by Marshall Amps and I later became one of their more regular London-based live photographers.
Close to that time I would also go to shows to take pictures of a friend’s band called Reuben. One of the pictures I took got used on the band’s first single to be released through London-based independent label Xtra Mile Recordings. I sent a CV into their sister company, Press Counsel PR, and was brought in to look after online press at the company. During my time there, I handled the online press for Latitude Festival (Festival Republic), New Order, Capdown, Reuben and many more!
After a few years, my role grew and I was brought over to work on developing Xtra Mile Recordings with the Managing Director. My role was very diverse but largely focused on overseeing all digital aspects of running a record label, be that digital marketing, social media, online press, copy for our distributors, D2C, etc. When I started at the label we only had two artists and our focus was purely U.K. based but fast-forward to today and it now has a large roster of artists from all over the world and distribution in all of the major territories you would expect an international label to have! In my time there, I worked with Frank Turner (who we also managed), Against Me! and was influential in helping sign many of the labels roster including The Swellers, My Vitriol, Sonic Boom Six, Future of the Left, Straight Lines, HalfNoise (ex-Paramore), Far and The Xcerts to name only a few.
I have always had a keen interest in all aspects of digital media and music, so when I started speaking to Mark Denby [The Orchard's Director, Video Network and Marketing] about The Orchard towards the end of last year, it was the perfect fit!
