Sammy Davis Jr. and Suntory
Now here’s a blast from the past. Check out this incredible Sammy Davis Jr. spot for Suntory Whiskey. Commercials don’t get much more awesome than this one. Thanks for the groovy mouth music, Sammy. Ha, ha, ha, ha, wait.
iVictrola – Vintage acoustic sound system for iPhone
The iVictrola combines cutting edge technology of the early 20th century and the 21st century. Concepted by NYC designer Matt Richmond, he took his love for vintage turntables one step further. To use – place the iPhone in the dock of the walnut base and turn on your favorite tunes. The sound is carried from a hole in the base, amplified by the metal Magnavox horn to fill the room. As seen on Design Within Reach’s DWR Limited 2009. Each vintage horn will be different from the next. Music is “Vacation Island” by ReRunner.
Robot Drum Circle
In other news, let’s check in on the ongoing effort to rid the world of patchouli…
Wiimote-Controlled Robot Drum Circle Makes Human Hippies Obsolete
Incredible New Arcade Fire Video – The Wilderness Downtown
The new Arcade Fire video for “We Used to Wait” is a triumph of high concept and great songwriting that attempts to tap into the emotional core of your childhood. Talk about ambitious. This one going to be all over the Internets in a heartbeat. It is probably one of the first of a new genre of music videos that will be personalized, interactive videos built around you –in this case a slice of your childhood.
Built in HTML 5, it’s a bit processor intensive, and you need the Google Chome browser to watch, but it’s totally worth it. Make sure you enter the address of the house you grew up in correctly because it plays into the video.
“We Used to Wait” is a gorgeous song too, one of the standouts from Arcade Fire’s new album, the Suburbs. Congrats to director Chris Milk and Arcade Fire! Jam the video here…
Afire Music
Afire Music New Artist Package
Afire Music is our soon-to-be-launched music library for production music. We are seeking composers on an exclusive basis. If you are interested in possibly working with us, please read below and then review and complete the attached New Artist Package. Thanks from Afire!
Thank you for your interest in working with Afire Music. Afire Music is an exclusive production music library, meaning songs we represent are unique to our catalog – no one else represents them.
Why Exclusivity: Exclusivity equals uniqueness, and a unique destination for superior quality tracks is invaluable for our busy, discerning clients. This value means better placements for our artists (and at times better sync fees). Better placements give us more leverage to push your music further than ever before. Artists get more chances at getting first rate placements.
Non-Traditional Exclusivity: We take a new approach to exclusivity. In a nutshell, we are not seeking to own your music or the exclusive right to 100% of your tracks, only the right to exclusively represent the music you wish to place with our catalog for the term of our standard artist agreement (currently eighteen months). If the deal is not working for you after a year, you can walk away and still retain full control and ownership of your music.
Again, we are not asking you to give up ownership or long-term control of your music, just allow us to pitch it exclusively. And though we’ll happily represent all your tracks, we are not seeking lock you down as exclusive writer, we simply would like exclusive rights to the tracks you submit to us.
Exclusivity vs. Non-Exclusivity: You want to earn a living through your music and we want to help you do that. We believe our catalog will be stronger and more valuable to our artists, as well as our clients, if it is one-of-a-kind.
Clients want a no-hassle, dependable licensing solution, and we have a proven track record of exclusive licensing with our clients who include: Discovery Communications, VH1, CMT, MTV, Fuel, Showtime, Rockstar, Playstation, Spike, NBC, Sy Fy, Pepsi, GM, History Channel, HBO, AT&T, Verizon, Time Warner, Fox Sports, Fuse, Sky TV, USA Networks, ABC, Food Channel, Travel Channel, NFL, Subaru, National Geographic.
Furthermore, difficulties with non-exclusivity have been well documented: multiple claimants on music aired, conflicting third-party deals, blackballing by film and TV clients, the same track being pitched by different companies, and limited income opportunities overseas.
Having the same track represented across multiple catalogs ultimately dilutes its value, and by extension your ability to earn a living licensing your music.
The Deal: You will have a dedicated sales and marketing team behind all of your music. The track that is right for the project will garner our full attention, no favors or favorites. We will monitor all the publishing and cues and handle all the administration for the PROs. The catalog will be promoted daily with aggressive and passionate sales and marketing. We will have a robust online operation, as well as offline pitching team, and will put ourselves out there so you can sit back and get paid.
In return, we ask for a 50/50 split all around. i.e. we split any upfront sync fees and will garner the publisher’s share of any performance royalties. We believe that a 50/50 split is fair since you are providing the music, and we are taking on the responsibilities that are traditionally that of a publisher, marketing firm, label and legal team.
And again, if after a year you decide that Afire Music isn’t working for you, pull out all your material and with it full rights to your music and all performance royalties.
We would love the opportunity to work with you and for you. Please review our attached standard artist agreement, which includes a one page overview of the deal for additional information.
True Colors – Killer stop motion vid.
If you like cool videos, here’s a great one for you. Nice job guys!
From the creators, Quintessenz Creation : “Turn the speakers on and watch the movie in HD Quality. Four month exhausting hard work in an abandoned area, no sun just artificial light. The final result, a stop motion movie with no digital effects at all, everything is handmade. About 5000 pictures are processed with an average by 15 pictures per second. The music is by Pretty Lights from Denver, Colorado.”
The Selmanaire’s on Pitchfork
Pitchfork.com’s Forkcast features a hot new track by Matchless Music’s the Selmanaires. We’ve got a ton of their new work available for licensing now, and it’s amazingly hypnotic stuff. Psychedelic yet poppy, hazy and full of melodic hooks, this is going to be a big year for the Selmanaires.
Experimental Music: Zebra Finches and Electric Guitars
Thanks to a loyal reader for pointing this very cool art instillation out to us…
French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot creates works by drawing on the rhythms of daily life to produce sound in unexpected ways.
For his installation in The Curve, Boursier-Mougenot creates a walk-though aviary for a flock of zebra finches, furnished with electric guitars and other musical instruments. As the birds go about their routine activities, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a captivating, live soundscape.
27 February 2010 – 23 May 2010
The Curve, Barbican, London
Grace Jones + Citroen CX = Stickiness Win
Grace Jones brings the music and acting weirdness to this Citroen CX ad from the 1980′s. Stickiness = Absolute. You won’t be able to get this ad out of your dreams/nightmares.
