Mnemonic Records Releases "The Wilted" on Apple iTunes
HellRazor - Pure Rock and Roll
You will often hear musical artist say that they do not want to be placed in a 'box' and limited by any genre. Rock Artists can be found on the Country Charts and Country Artists might slide into the Alternative field. Not only can todays music cross over from one genre to another but each genre is often split into sub-genre. Rock can be hard, metal, pop. Alternative can be punk and
rock. The catagories are endless. It's a rare occation when a artist fits into one, and only one genre.
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Sierralta Entertainment - Pablo Escobar: Angel or Demon
An impressive and controversial testimony of the ex-collaborator of the DEA Baruch Vega, has been incorporated to the final version of the film "Pablo Escobar: Angel or Demon "
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Smokey Joe Show Impresses at Country Showcase
The Smokey Joe Show won the Charlotte Music Awards’ Country Showcase. The event, which also included the fine talents of David Cody, Greg Griffin and David Lambert and the Carolina Rails, was held on Nov. 29 at Puckett’s Farm Equipment in the Derita community of Charlotte.
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Reverend Zen Named Artist of the Year at 17th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards
Reverend Zen moves into 2008 with Artist of the Year honors from the Los Angeles Music Awards.
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Information about Barcodes for CDs and DVDs
This article is provided by CDDVD Now! and Indie Artists Alliance.
Why do I need a barcode?
If you are going to sell your CD in stores, through CD Baby, want it to look "Retail Ready" or want it tracked by Nielsen SoundScan, you need a barcode. If you are sending out promo CDs or are just selling your CD at shows, you don't
really need one.
What is a barcode?
According to Wikipedia (Open Source Encyclopedia - used by permission) the definition of a barcode is:
a machine-readable (uses dark ink on white substrate to create high and low reflectance which is converted to 1's and 0's) representation of information in a visual format on a surface. Originally barcodes stored data in the widths and spacings of printed parallel lines, but today they also come in patterns of dots, concentric circles, and hidden within images. Barcodes can be read by
optical scanners called barcode readers or scanned from an image by special software. Barcodes are widely used to implement Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC) systems that improve the speed and accuracy of computer data entry. http://www.wikipedia.com
Where can I get one?
GS1 (formerly The Uniform Code Council) dispenses all UPC bar codes.
http://www.gs1.org/
Indie Artists Alliance: http://www.indieartistsalliance.com/barcode/barcode.htm
CDDVD Now (when you produce your CD) http://www.cddvdnow.com How much do they cost?
If you subscribe directly to the GS1, the base cost is $750.00 plus a yearly renewal fee.
If you register with Indie Artists Alliance, you can register your project for $9.95 and receive your UPC barcode via e-mail (www.indieartistsalliance.com)
If you have CDDVD Now produce your CD/DVD, they provide a barcode for free.
What is Soundscan?
http://www.nielsenrei.com/
Nielsen SoundScan is an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales data from point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, etc.) outlets. Weekly data is compiled and made available every Wednesday. Nielsen SoundScan is the
sales source for the Billboard music charts.
SoundScan is only able to track those CDs that have a UPC bar code.
Because of CDDVD Now's affiliation with Independent Artists Alliance, CDDVD Now's customers get a free UPC code when they produce their CD with us. This is potentially a savings of $750.00.
Registering your CD
Once you get your barcode from CDDVD Now/Indie Artists Alliance or directly from GS1(formerly the Uniform Code Council), you will need to register your product SoundScan. Download and fill out the SoundScan Title Addition Sheet:
Download U.S. Word version
Download U.S. pdf version
Download Canada Word version
Download Canada pdf version
The Title Addition Sheet can be submitted to the Soundscan Database Department by email at dbase@soundscan.com Once a title is submitted to SoundScan, it can take up to 10-15 business days for it to be entered into the system. Once entered, the title has the ability to be tracked by SoundScan. Note: In
order to find out if a title is already registered with SoundScan, you may contact Client Services by email at clientservices@soundscan.com (If emailed please include the full UPC code), or call us at (914) 684-5525.For further questions visit the SounScan website at http://www.soundscan.com
What is BDS?
http://www.nielsenrei.com/
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems is the world's leading provider of airplay tracking for the entertainment industry. Employing a patented digital pattern recognition technology, Nielsen BDS captures in excess of 100 million song detections annually on more than 1,600 radio stations, satellite radio and cable music channels in over 140 markets in the U.S. (including Puerto
Rico) and 30 Canadian markets.
Radio formats monitored include Adult Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Album Rock, Classic Rock, Contemporary Christian, Country, Modern Rock, Oldies, R&B (including Rap and Hip Hop), Spanish (including Latin Contemporary, Regional Mexican and Tropical Salsa), and Top 40. Additionally, Nielsen BDS monitors 12 U.S. Music Video Channels and 9 Canadian Video Channels. Executives from
all facets of record companies, radio stations, publishing firms, performance rights organizations, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV, and artist management are among those who query more than 10,000 reports daily from Nielsen BDS products - ENcore, BDSRadio.com, BDSexpress.com and BDS RealTime. Nielsen BDS information is utilized exclusively by Billboard, R&R
(Radio & Records) and the Canadian Music Network in determining their radio airplay music charts. Nielsen BDS announces Virtual Encode! Now you can submit your CD's and MP3's, free of charge, electronically through our secure Virtual Encode website. To submit your music via Virtual Encode:
Send an email with "Virtual Encode" as the subject to our Client Services Department at clientservices@bdsonline.com for a username and password. When submitting your request, PLEASE include the following information in the body of your email: Your Full Name
Company or Label Name
Contact Number
Primary Email Address
Any Additional Contact Information
You will receive login information and instructions for the Virtual Encode website, via e-mail..
To submit your music by mail
visit http://www.bdsonline.com/submit.html
VideoScan
VideoScan and ACNielsen (a partnership since January 2000, and sister companies under the VNU banner since 2001) seamlessly integrate point-of-sale (POS) data collected by both companies to provide a comprehensive view of the VHS and DVD sell-through business. VideoScan, a leader in video market research since 1993, manages the business on behalf of the partnership. With its strong
history and relationships with studios and electronic/specialty retailers, VideoScan provides industry-wide expertise and perspective. ACNielsen, the leader in data services to the consumer packaged goods industry, brings its powerful analytic capabilities and broad coverage of the discount mass, grocery and drug retailers to the partnership. Together, VideoScan and ACNielsen are the
acknowledged leader in consumer research for the VHS and DVD sell-through industry. The partnership between VideoScan and ACNielsen is known as Nielsen VideoScan. Sell-through POS (consumer purchase) sales data are collected weekly from traditional channels of video distribution including mass merchants, audio/video and video specialty retailers, electronics outlets, grocery stores,
drug stores, and some Internet sites. Nielsen VideoScan maintains this weekly POS data in one of the largest databases of VHS and DVD products in the country. Data is collected on more than 40,000 VHS items and 12,000 DVD items. Virtually every UPC code in sell-through release since 1993 can be found in our extensive database. Complete sales data in all retail channels are available as
far back as January 1999 (however Wal*Mart data is included only through 7/28/01). Prior to January 1999, limited information is available in most channels going back to 1993. Nielsen VideoScan's VHS and DVD sell-through data are made available through the Nielsen VideoScan web site and the ACNielsen NITRO data delivery system. Some of the types of reports we have available: Title
Reports with sales for each title categorized nationally, regionally (by DMA) and by retail channel.
Sales History Reports providing week-by-week title sales since 1999 or release date (if later).
Summary Reports providing industry overviews comparing sales from previous years as well as weekly comparisons to the prior year.
Market Share Reports giving annual and weekly market shares by distributor/label.
Top 100 Charts for numerous categories rank the top titles by unit sales. Charts are available for the current week's sales or for cumulative year-to-date sales. Prior year-end charts are also available. Chart categories include distributors and selected genres.
While most of their clients choose annual subscriptions, they also work with customers on a project-by-project basis. They can handle everything from sophisticated marketing and sales research and planning to simple one title sales ad-hoc requests. Nielsen VideoScan's VHS and DVD sales charts are currently published in Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Video Store Magazine, The Los
Angeles Times, The New York Times and others.
For more information contact: http://www.videoscan.com/contact.html
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Come See My Show Website
Artists and performers are promoting their shows on a new -- and fast-growing -- website that is exclusively for creative arts. http://www.ComeSeeMyShow.com hosts free ads for their music gigs, theatrical plays, art exhibits, dance performances, comedy acts, book signings ... even children's puppet shows. Anyone can quickly create free, color ads and invite their
"FFF's" (that's Fans, Friends and Family, for those in the know).
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CDDVD Now! and Indie Artists Alliance partner with Fanbridge
"As a provider of services for musicians and business, we know the advantages of staying connected with customers through e-mail while developing our brand and community" states CDDVD Now!/Indie Artists Alliance founder Phil Peretz. "Offering the FanBridge service to our clients will allow artists to effectively stay connected and to manage their lists easily and
affordably."
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CDDVD Now! lowers prices on retail ready CD Production.
December 30 2007 – Castro Valley, CA
Through January 2008, independent musicians and labels can save money on the production of their Retail Ready CDs as CDDVD Now! lowers prices to $888 for 1000 CDs.
“We know that independent musicians don’t have a lot of money to spend on the production of their CDs and we are dong our part to help” says CDDVD Now’s President/Founder Phil Peretz. “We also know that many independent musicians and indie labels also need marketing help so we are including our Center Stage Package at no additional charge. We want to
make sure that these independent artists have all of the tools needed to succeed.”
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New Nectarphonic Video!!
Fusing a hybrid of trip-hop, hip-hop, rock and pop, Nectarphonic has been compared to the likes of Portishead, The Cocteau Twins, Zero 7 and Radiohead. With their atmospheric groove rock approach, the band has released it's first video.
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Confessions of a No-Frills Indie Songwriter
I'm really a fan as much as a songwriter, but a lot of songwriters say that. Elvis Costello, Elton John. They were fans first. But I was a serious fan, probably like most people who listen to "dark" music. Great songs got me through my adolescence. They got me through breakups. They kept me company.
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