Category Archives: News & Announcements

Is Vevo Set To Become The One-Stop For Online Music Videos?

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Vevo (a joint venture among Google and Universal, Sony and investor Abu Dhabi Media Company) launched in December 2009 as a way to bridge the distance that was still left between online music videos and “traditional” videos. Most of all, it was conceived as a brand-new way to serve ads to viewers.

Both Sony and Universal feature their content from A to Z on the video portal, whereas Warner (a company that has always been labeled as square by musicians and fans alike) might start feeding its own content, too.

That comes as no surprise. In April 2010,Vevo managed to climb to No. 4 on comScore’s list of sites ranked by unique viewers. During that month, it was estimated that one out of four individuals watching an online video was doing so on Vevo.

Look at the stats:

Vevo Music Videos Stats

I have also read a study that says we watch approximately 2 minutes per video. According to these graphs, this means that each of us must have watched roughly 5 and a half hours of online videos during April.  That amounts to something like 11 minutes of videos per day.

I don’t know how accurate do these numbers sound to you. I can tell you as a fact that I have found myself landing a lot on Vevo recently when merely carrying Google searches – that didn’t happen with such a frequency before.

What do you think? Are these stats accurate? Do you spend more time watching videos at work than ever before? Or is Google’s Pacman the one and only thing you have to plead guilty to as far as your productivity went in the past months?

MTV Is Searching For Its Official Twitter DJ

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Do you remember MTV’s “Wanna Be A VJ” show? If you do, then I am sure you will find the latest tournament hosted by the network interesting. It revolves around the search of a DJ for its Twitter stream. This is going to be called as a TJ (“Twitter Jockey”) and 20 candidates are going to vie for the coveted prize.

The competition is obviously going to take place online, and the big finale will take the shape of a live show to be broadcast on August 8. The audience will pick the winner right there and then.

The TJ will then be online at all times, although he won’t have the same degree of exposition that VJs used to have. At any rate, the TJ will attend events and even receive a six-figure salary. Not bad for coming up with 140-word updates, wouldn’t you say?

Meet Steve Moore, The Mad Drummer (Video)

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A video that is going viral any minute now, this chap plays the drums as if there were no tomorrow. And he doesn’t miss a single beat. Amazing.

This chap goes by the name of Steve Moore, and he has already been dubbed “The Mad Drummer” for reasons that are obvious once you have seen him in action.

I bet this is his final gig with these yellow-jacketed fellows. And I am also sure we are going to see a lot more of him in the future.

Enjoy the video. The song is ZZ Top’s classic “Sharp Dressed Man”, by the way.

The Official “Quit Facebook Day” Gave Birth To A Music Parody By Rapper SeanieMic

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Facebook privacy this, Facebook privacy that… it looks like the whole world can’t find anything else to talk about. And while the topic at hand is a legit cause of concern, it seems not enough people are worried enough to change their ways and turn their backs on the site that experts claim will revolutionize the Internet like Google did in the ‘90s when it introduced AdSense.

Well, that is the impression I am left with after seeing the results of the official “Quit Facebook Day” that took just place on the 31st of May. Can you guess how many people quitted Facebook from the 400,000,000 users that the network has? A staggering 20,000. Hey, no, wait, that’s not it – 20,000 folks pledged to quit. The actual number of people who jumped ship must have been much lower. The word “flop” doesn’t get much more suitable than this.

So, did something good come out of the official “Quit Facebook Day”? Well, this music video is the closest thing I managed to find. It is a parody rap anthem by SeanieMic, and it is named… “I’m Quitting You Facebook”.

Pretty cool. If you liked it, give this previous post a try – it includes a metal hair anthem by Back Of The Class called “My Mom’s On Facebook”. Lots of fun too.

Month In Review – May 2010

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One of the most eclectic months since I started the blog, in May I covered many events like the passing of Lena Horne, the emergence of Greyson Chance and the latest instrument being developed by Roger Linn – all while providing coverage on artists I had already introduced you to. Albums reviewed included Tom Petty’s “Full Moon Fever” and “Into The Great Wide Open”, whereas I also reviewed “The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3” and Richard Thompson’s “Mirror Blue”.

What’s more, The Kinks were (finally!) added to the roll of artists featured on MusicKO

The startups I reviewed this month were SongVote, Radar Music Videos, G2, Lyreach and BuyWidget. And I managed to interview James Fontana from SongVote, and the two founders of a startup I had covered in April: Earwurm.

Finally, I am very pleased with the way the coverage of Uruguayan musicians has evolved. In addition to reviewing Sordromo’s “Salvando La Distancia” I posted a classic audio clip (Jorge Nasser beating some radio hosts that got too cheeky), and I covered a new unsigned artist: Retrocedonia. Best of all, one of the bands I collaborate with shot its first video. The band is RostbiF, and the song is “En Una Lágrima”.

The Fastest Violin Player On Earth (Video)

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This video just speaks for itself. It is from a German TV show, and the guy plays “Flight Of The Bumblebee” as if his life depended on it (it does to a certain extent, I guess).

I wish I knew what it is they say at the end, by the looks of it the guy broke a Guinness Record.  If some speaker of German can confirm/refute that, please do so by posting a comment below.

Create Music… By Drawing!

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In the same way that every avid player of video games longs to create his own game, every lover of music can’t think of anything better than creating his very own song. In both cases, the technicalities at play make these objectives something that can be realized by studying a lot only, and learning a writing language that is not within everybody’s reach.

Well, we are living at a time in which these things that were previously unattainable are losing all their mysticism. Just look at the many iPhone apps that let you play an instrument, for example. And now, the ones who already have an iPad will be able to use it to create music, regardless of how technically-minded they are. Actually, they can be utter neophytes – an app that is about to be released will suit them just perfectly.

It will go by the name of Artikulator, and it will let anybody compose a song by moving his fingers around the screen of the iPad. The demo that is pasted below puts it all into clearer perspective:

As you can see, many adjustments are yet to take place. That is, you are not coming up with a song to rival “Wonderwall” in terms of melody… yet. But just give this app some time. I frankly believe it will be more than a toy or a passing curiosity.

Roger Linn Is Working On A New Instrument – And It Is A Tablet

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I am uncertain how many of you are acquainted with the name of Roger Linn. But I know for sure everybody knows the musical instrument that he created and introduced in 1979: the first drum machine that could use samples of a real drum kit.

That instrument was named the LM-1 Drum Computer. Two more would follow: the LinnDrum and the Linn 9000, and whenever you listen to a prototypical 80s’ song you are listening to any of these in nine out of ten cases.

Born In 1925, Roger Linn Was To Create The Drum Machine That We All Associate With 80s' Songs

Born In 1925, Roger Linn Was To Create The Drum Machine That We All Associate With The Sound Of The 80s

Now, Roger Linn is bound to make headlines again as he is working hard on a new piece of hardware. Named The LinnStrument, it couldn’t come at a better time – Apple’s iPad has turned tablets and slates into the trendiest things around.

Here you can see for yourself what the hoopla is all about:

Watch Out Justin Bieber, Greyson Chance Is Here

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Greyson Michael Chance is the new viral sensation. His solo performance of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at a school festival has garnered more than ten million YouTube views in just two weeks.

This performance eventually resulted in Greyson being invited over to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he was to blow the audience away… again.

What’s next for this twelve-year old? Think it over while you watch his original viral performance.

Lena Horne Passes Away At 92

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Miss Lena Horne

Miss Lena Horne

Lena Horne, the timeless Afro-American jazz performer and actress passed away on May 9, 2010. She was 92 years of age.

Born in 1917, she was a renowned jazz singer, a Hollywood actress and one of the key figures in the Civil Rights Movement.

Miss Horne is survived by one grandson (Teddy Jones) and one granddaughter (Lena Jones). The cause of death has yet to be disclosed.

For those of you unfamiliar with her work, this is a performance of her signature song, “Stormy Weather” taken from the 1943 film that goes by the same name.