Kyle York (1Band1Brand) – Interview

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

I’ve had the pleasure to interview Kyle York from 1Band1Brand, a really great service that combines fashion and music in a way never seen before (original post here). Personally, I find it really interesting to hear the voice of people who are doing something entirely new in the industry. Thanks Kyle & Co. for your time!

Full Name: Kyle York
Age: 28
Startup: 1band 1brand
Position: Partner

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

ABOUT 1BAND 1BRAND
1band 1brand is a free, subscription-based digital platform that introduces emerging, independent musicians and fashion labels to influential young adults who want to stay connected by encouraging them to hear, wear and share. The group facilitates all kinds of innovative collaborations between emerging bands and brands. Learn more at: http://1band1brand.com.

Each one of us involved has a slightly different story. For me, it all started back in 2004 when my brother Travis and a crew of us threw the now infamous ‘Summer Shindy’ music party at his former home in Manchester, NH. In our opinion, it was the craziest party we’ve ever seen. With a few years of maturity and business experience under our belt in marketing, branding and technology we realized we were actually onto something that sunny Saturday back in 2004.

When Travis and his wife Danielle purchased their current home (where my Mom grew up and my grandparents lived for 50+ years) they decided to replace the galley kitchen and expand the home with an amazing room for entertaining. The 138 Listening Lounge, an invitation-only home concert series was born after Travis hosted a birthday party for Danielle with one of her favorite emerging bands as the entertainment.

After planning and hosting shows for over a year and getting involved in the positioning, packaging and promotion of several artists (Travis had managed artists for years), we decided that bi-monthly introductions to new bands just wasn’t enough. That, coupled with the fact that several brands were reaching out to get involved with the Listening Lounge, led us to create 1band 1brand, a concept that myself and a couple friends, Brady Sadler & Justin Griffin came up with at SXSW in 2010.

The simplicity and genuine nature of 1band 1brand seems to be something that subscribers, bands and brands alike have gravitated towards. We’re working hard to build up credibility and an engaged audience without over complicating things or rushing to evolve too fast.

How are bands/brands chosen?

Bands and brands are chosen through a thorough review process: discovery followed by due diligence. We search for a diverse set of genres of bands/brands first and pair them together second, presented individually, but with a semblance of relevance. They have to have an online following and digital distribution as well as an ability to offer music or clothing…with deals. They must be “emerging” and cannot have already made it on a big label. If they are on a label, it must be independent artist-focused. The five of us working on the project have a cross-section of taste in both music and fashion. We all approve each week well in advance (we don’t always agree!) – the actual bands/brands as well as the pairing. There is a standard we are in search of – we won’t settle. Believe it or not, we actually had a queue of 17 weeks lined up before our launch at SXSW in March 2011.

The discovery process is actually getting easier as more folks keep sending us bands and brands to feature, but the diligence process is harder in a way as not all of them sent are the caliber we are looking for. Continue reading →

“Judas”, The New Video By Lady Gaga Is Officially Released

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

"Judas" Is Taken From Lady Gaga's New Album, "Born This Way". The Album Is Hitting Stores On The 23rd Of May.

Lady Gaga’s new video was made officially available on VEVO, just a couple of hours after it had leaked.

The song in question (“Judas”) generated a lot of buzz, if only because a song which such a name seemed tailor-made for Gaga’s own concept of religion.

But now that the video has become available, it is fair to say that the clip breaks no new ground in any sense. It is just more of the usual raciness.

Fans of James Bond movies and spy flicks on the whole will love the lipstick gun, though.

Is Gaga’s star beginning to set? Mmmh…

Month In Review – April 2011

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

April was the month in which I began a feature that is going to run well into the coming months. Named “Musicians Around The World”, it is devoted to chronicling the lives of both Uruguayans who are traveling abroad, and foreign performers who come to Uruguay in order to promote (and develop) their art. The first artist I covered was Uruguayan singer/composer Florencia Cano, and you can read the full interview here.

And I wrote what I think was a pretty spiffy post on Casablancas, an independent Uruguayan band that is about to embark on a tour of Brazil as I am writing this. Way to go, guys!

October saw Roxette playing in Uruguay for the first time in 19 years, and I was lucky enough to be there. It was a night to remember – read my coverage of the show.

The music startups that I got to review in April were GigValley, Viral Music List, 1Band1Brand and LyricsGaps – all of them killer ideas, all of them sparkling with originality. And just yesterday I finished posting the conversation I had with Miguel Martín from LyricsGaps – take a look.

Miguel Martín (LyricsGaps) – Interview (Part 2)

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

This is the second (and final) part of the interview I conducted with Miguel Martín from LyricsGaps. Check out how the conversation started here!

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

I have been a music lover since I was a child, but I honestly can’t remember the first album I purchased. Nevertheless, I remember that I liked Aerosmith a lot, so maybe it was one of their albums.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

No, I don’t not have enough talent.

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

I am always listening to the radio, so generally I like all the knd of music that comes through it. These last days I have been listening more than usual to Carlos Jean’s new song, “Lead The Way”. Also to “Who´s That Chick” by David Guetta, and “On The Floor” by Jennifer Lopez. You can find all these tracks (and many others) in lyricsgaps.com. Continue reading →

Miguel Martín (LyricsGaps) – Interview (Part 1)

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

I’ve had the pleasure to interview Miguel Martín from LyricsGaps, a startup I reviewed two weeks ago, and which (as a non-native speaker of English) I found more than interesting.

Below you will find the first part of the interview. Part 2 (“Music & You”) can be read here.

Full Name: Miguel Martín
Age: 30
Startup: LyricsGaps.com
Position: CEO

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

I have been studying English since I was a child, and (in my case) the funniest and easiest way to learn the language was when teachers used songs. I think this is the best way of learning new vocabulary, as this allows you to practise your English everywhere.

What did the idea for LyricsGaps came to you?

It was a few months ago, when I was studying at the Official School of Languages in my city. I suddenly had the idea of mixing my two main interests, the music and the net.

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?

Well, nowadays it is really difficult to answer this question, but I can tell you that during this time we have been very well-accepted online, and the number of users of lyricsgaps.com has been increasing day by day.

What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?

We are always thinking about how we can improve our site, for instance nowadays we are thinking about increasing the number of supported languages. And we are also thinking about adding rankings …

These are just two examples of the things we have to work on in the months to come here at lyricsgaps.com. Continue reading →

Max Mathews Passes Away At 84

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Max Mathews (1926 - 2011).

The man who was unanimously regarded as the father of digital music passed away last week. Born in 1926, Max Mathews was a relentless innovator in the world of computer-generated music.

Employed at Bell Laboratories, he both created devices and wrote software applications of which the most popular was probably “Music” (1957). That software basically allowed an IBM 704 mainframe computer to play short jams.

Mathews passed away at his home in San Francisco on the morning of April the 21st. I have embedded a short video below in which he talks about the future of musical instruments. This video was actually shot last year at SF MusicTech Summit – it is one of his final major public appearances.

1Band1Brand – New Bands & Fashion Brands

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: 1Band1Brand
URL: http://www.1band1brand.com

This is one for the music lovers among you who are also style-minded. 1Band1Brand is quite a unique site in which both emerging bands and fashion brands get a chance to become more widespread.

In essence, this site introduces people to one band and one fashion brand per week. The band sells a sampler (whose price is actually determined by each buyer), and the fashion brand offers a bargain.

And the means are provided for promoting anything that is bought through the site all over the Social Web – Facebook and Twitter are extensively supported, so that band (and brand) advocacy is radically simplified. Which is the aim of the site, really – making early adopters set the scene for a much larger audience.

Barenaked Ladies’ “What A Good Boy” (Video)

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

I have begun writing the final book in the trilogy I started in 2009 with “Once”, and that saw the release of “Ten” just last year.

This time around, it is a book of short stories.

I am blogging about this new book extensively in the months to come (it is being published on the 2nd of December – the day I’m becoming 32).

What I want to share with you today is the song that is firing me up to write the main story of the whole book. It is a song by Canadian linchpins Barenaked Ladies, and it is found on their debut album, “Gordon”. I’m also listening to Soul Asylum a lot – I’ve just got the band’s full discography.

Stay tuned for more updates…

Dream Theater Turns The Search Of A New Drummer Into A Whole Social Experience

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Dream Theater Has Managed To Turn The Departure Of Original Member Mike Portnoy Into A True Publicity Magnet.

Who could have guessed that Dream Theater would be able to turn the loss of a mainstay like drummer Mike Portnoy into something that could actually draw new fans in?

Because that is exactly what the epic metal band has done. It has engaged people on Facebook with a video page that prompts them to “Like” it in order to know how the search for Portnoy’s replacement has been going (the band has tested seven drummers so far).

And in an even cleverer move, fans who want to know the identity of the new drummer can submit their email addresses, and be notified the minute the decision has been taken by the band.

All in all, this is unarguably one of the cleverest uses of the “Like gate” method on Facebook yet seen. The band has been getting fans (and presumably email addresses) by the bucketload. Of course, this move has been so effective because Dream Theater is nothing short of a standard-bearer of excellence. People were bound to be interested in what they were offering. But the way in which the band is playing with intrigue is nothing short of ingenious.

MusicKO

We Built This City On Rock & Roll