Blog: Kings of A&R

Artists believe that Facebook 'Likes' hold more value than email signups, Youtube subscribers, and twitter followers according to a survey conducted by ReverbNation and Digital Music News .

1) Super Happy Fun Club - My Life's A Mess 2) Mike and Cody - I'm Gonna Steal Your Date 3) PK - Berelain 4) Option//Control - Falling Star 5) Final Thought - This Party 6) P.D.A - You're Still In Love With Her 7) The Relay Company - Hurricane 8 [...]

Buzz Track: Fairytale Seeking Empire is a San Francisco rock project and there debut album was produced by Paul Thomas, the bassist for Good Charlotte. They typically perform at The Bottom of the Hill in SF, California and were featured as Bay Area Band of the Week on Live 105 radio. Contact : JLW5884@gmail.com

Singer-songwriter Tim Halperin who we last featured has seen a lot of movement. He is performing the Mix96 San Antonio's Chrismas Concert with Jason Derulo and Taio Cruz, has guest appearances on Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, and his track 'Last Song' has been added to Q93 KNIN Wichita Falls. Buzz Track: The Last Song If you haven't heard of singer-songwriter Tim Halperin, he has the #1 album on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts. Halperin also landed in the top 24 in last years American Idol and has [...]

Madonna signed a three album deal with Interscope at a base of $1 million per album, after performing 5 years without a record deal. In 2007, she signed a multi-million deal with Live nation that handles her merchandise and touring. "It's just about keeping relevance so that she can tour," a source said, adding, "She is still in the demo phase, but the idea is to get the first album out early next year."

Buzz Track: I'm Gonna Steal Your Date Two college students self-released and produced an EP that was released in October. Currently #1 most popular out of 12,000 Washington D.C. artists on Bandcamp, as well as #36 on the pop charts. Influenced by Daft Punk, Gavin Degraw, etc. Contact: Cody.Hochheiser@tufts.edu

Buzz Track: Closer To Love Lizzie Sider is an upcoming singer-songwriter who has spent time in Nashville writing with Nashville's elite. She was a finalist in the Florida Future Stars competition in 2010 and sang on the stage with country star Jamie O'neal singing the popular song "When I Think About Angels" which can he heard on her Facebook. Contact: dsider@siderlaw.com

According to a new survey 93% of Americans (over the age of 12) listen to broadcast radio at least once a week. One would think that traditional radio would have taken a serious blow from new technology including the iPod, satellite radio, and music streaming sites like Spotify. In fact, broadcast radio listenership has increased since last year. Rather than discussing theories why Americans still choose broadcast radio, let's look at the beneficiaries which are the major music labels. Regular radio rotation remains massive for artists and this gives major labels a huge promotional advantage. [...]

Adele made Billboard history becoming the first female singer to be names top artist, have the top album, and a top single "Rolling in the Deep", all in one year. Tye Comer, editor of Billboard.com, attributed Adele's success to her being a "breath of fresh air" in a market saturated with pop artists cut from a "certain cloth," like Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. "Her success is really inspiring because it shows that there is still room in the music industry for an artist to make it with true, raw talent," Comer told Reuters. [...]

Buzz Track: A Thousand Blind Windows Dublin's indie band Autumn Owls is currently working on a new album which is a follow from the self released EPs in 2008. They've played SXSW and CMJ and have also toured Canada and Europe. Contact: brian@crooked-house.net

Buzz Track: Berelain Indie act PK who takes cues from The Killers and Vampire Weekend has become a Kings favorite. They just teamed up with PacSun and will release a new song as a featured artist. You can check them out on December 10th at Art Boutiki in San Jose, California. Contact: wearepk@gmail.com

Buzz Track: Back To Me Option//Control is a pop/rock/hip-hop outfit hailing from Saint Louis, Missouri. The band was invited to play KPNT's Pointfest Festival and were selected as a winner of Metromix.com's "Hot 5" leading to television performance on NBC. Also won Ernie Ball's Battle of the Bands and played the St. Louis stop at Warped Tour. Contact: danielrfriedman@aol.com

An article " 12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music " posted by bloggers and Facebook users has become a popular read in the last few days. It's a nice sound byte but holds no merit when one digs beneath the surface. The article states blurbs such as Ke$ha's "Tik-Tok" sold more copies than ANY Beatles single and Katy Perry holds the same record as Michael Jackson for most number one singles from an album. First the landscape has changed, therefore the variables change. When comparing the 19602s to the year 2011, [...]

Buzz Track: Time Means Anything Inspired by Kanye West, John Legend and Outkast, Rubix has been a fixture at the studio creating his own brand of catchy pop tracks. Although relatively new to the scene, you will hear more about Rubix. Contact: danielrfriedman@aol.com

Buzz Track: I Have A Black Belt In Awesome The Monster Goes Rawrr just released their music video for "I Have A Black Belt In Awesome" and it has already received 2,200 views. Sounds like this throwback emo band took some cues from Ke$ha. Contact: fivealivemgmt@gmail.com

Buzz Track: I'm Coming Indie rock band The Good Rebels will self release a new EP in January and has generated a considerate amount of buzz from their latest EP "Ladies and Gentelmen...Meet The Good Rebels" , including dates with Five For Fighting, a residency at Casey's Irish Pub in Los Angeles, and airplay on WBSD FM in Wisconsin. For fans of Vampire Weekend, MGMT, ect. Contact: cooperbrettm@gmail.com

Buzz Track: Dangerous Kings favorite Rob A! just released his debut pop-crossover single "Dangerous". He got his break collaborating with Chris Brown which shot him to a multi-platinum songwriter with two #1 records. He signed a co-publishing deal with Sony/ATV and has worked with R. Kelly, Usher, Kelli Rowland, and Toni Braxton. Contact: info@phillybassdrecords.com

Buzz Track: My Life's A Mess 15 years of friendship, gigs and parties have culminated in ' The Super Happy Fun Club ' and their infectious, triumphant new record 'Go Fun Yourself'. In November, the band hit the road with Madina Lake and My Passion for a full tour of Europe including Germany and Belgium and have instantly won over the press. They will perform a sold out show with The Rocket Summer at Subterranean in Chicago, IL on December 16th. Contact : stubhy@me.com

Buzz Track: View From The Top The Wrecking a 4 piece pop/rock act from Portland just released an animated video for the track View From The Top. The band follows in path of Switchfoot and Lifehouse stretching the boundaries of Christian Rock. They have toured with Jeremy Camp and plan to release new material in 2012. Contact: darrene@chosenrecords.com

Buzz Track: 2,000 Miles Away Singer-songwriter Mikey Sabatella began his music career in South Pasadena opening up for bands such as Save Ferris and Something Corporate. He just released a solo record drawing influences from Eddie Vedder, Link Wray, Ben Harper and Andrew Bird. He will perform on December 3rd, at The Blue Moon Lounge (Montrose, Ca) in preparation for his new EP "A New Horizon" out December 13th, 2011 on Authentik Artists. Contact: Bob@AuthentikArtists.com