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 …
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.
When you think of giving a presentation, does your heart start racing in excitement or fear? Do you rejoice at the thought of sharing your expertise in a subject you’re passionate about or do you freeze at the idea of speaking in public? Do you ooze confidence and charisma, or are you worried you’ll botch your point?
Chances are, if you’re not Steve Jobs — no introduction needed; Gary Vaynerchuk, social media pro and author of the best-stelling Crush It! and The Thank You Economy (about which I coincidentally wrote a post last year…); or Scott Harrison, Founder and CEO of charity: water; you could use some tips and tricks of the trade to improve your presentation skills.
Lucky for us, these three very different but equally poignant presenters have left us plenty of raw material to binge on and learn from. HubSpot even put together a very helpful deck of “10 Lessons From The World’s Most Captivating Presenters” to help you turn “yawn-inspiring” into “awe-inspiring.”
I highly recommend you check out the full article and deck, which I’ve embedded at the end of this post. To whet your appetite, here are my top 3 takeaways:
Use Plain English
In addition to being a marketer, I’m a writer; and as a writer, I love words. I love their power to convey ideas and stories; I love how you can make them sing by placing them just… like… that; and I love how this one word can totally blow that other one out of the water — if you can only find it.
But that doesn’t mean I like fluff.
Whether you’re introducing a new indie act, giving a year-in-review of your label/product/company, or participating in a panel discussion at a big (or small!) industry event, drop the jargon and let people focus on the idea behind your words rather than what the hell they mean.
We are excited to announce our involvement in this year’s 3rd annual AIM Independent Music Awards, held in London on September 3rd, 2013. As a member of the Association of Independent Music, The Orchard has always appreciated the goals and intentions of AIM to support and represent the independent music sector.
We look forward to this year’s awards ceremony which will recognize outstanding achievements and individuals from within our indie music family. After sponsoring the Independent Entrepreneur Of The Year award last year — proudly presented by our COO Colleen Theis — we’re excited to show our continued support this year by sponsoring the Pioneer Award, which will recognize a visionary indie label founder.
See below for a full list of this year’s categories, which include two new awards, Independent Track of The Year and Independent Video of The Year:
Thanks to AIM for advocating and lobbying for the indies! We look forward to another great ceremony with you this year.
To get more details on this year’s ceremony and read the official press release, head over to AIM’s website.
If you’re a music lover living in New York City, chances are that you’ve been to at least one show at Rockwood Music Hall in Lower East Side, Manhattan. Though the music venue has only been in existence for the past eight years, it seems as though it has already become one of the most prominent places in the city to see live music on any given night of the week. Notable past performers have included Lady Gaga, Mumford & Sons, Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Amos Lee, and many more. With all of the successes that Rockwood Music Hall has garnered in the past few years, club-owner, Ken Rockwood, has decided to take the logical next step for someone in his position and launch a namesake record label, distributed by yours truly.
Ken has always possessed a passion for watching artists progress and grow before his eyes, under his roof, and in the company of those who frequent the Hall. He has seen artists begin their careers performing on Stage 1, the smaller of the two stages, and watched them slowly build their unique sounds and develop dedicated fan bases. Eventually, many of these artists graduate and move on to performing on Stage 2, the main stage, in front of a larger crowd. Now, a handful of these artists may have their records released on Rockwood’s newfound label…
Speaking of which, Rockwood Music Hall Recordings released its first official record, Dumpster Hunter‘s Frustration in Time Travel, on April 2nd. In the following weeks, Rockwood and his label plans to release two more records. The next release, scheduled for April 23rd, will be by world-reknowned drummer Mark Guiliana and his amalgam of Rock, Electronic, and Jazz, and is entitled Beat Music. On May 3rd, the label will put out its third official release and first live album, Live at Rockwood Music Hall, by singer/songwriter, Robbie Gil.
With these upcoming releases and future projects in the works, Rockwood Music Hall Recordings has certainly hit the ground running, and we can’t wait to see what else they have in store.
