Scottish rockers Model Aeroplanes sign to Island Records
PRESS RELEASE:
Island Records has announcedthe signing of Scottish rock quartet Model Aeroplanes.
Over the last two years Ben Buist, Grant Irvine, Kieran Smith and Rory Fleming-Stewart have become familiar fixtures and much sought after crowd pleasers at festivals across the UK on a rollercoaster ride of tours and gigs and self-released music. They have put out four singles, Crazy, Innocent Love, Club Low and Deep in the Pool themselves and performed storming sets at the likes of The Great Escape, Live at Leeds, Dot-to-Dot and T In The Park where they were hand-picked to play two summers ago in 2013 after only playing eight gigs together as a band.
Hailing from Dundee, Model Aeroplanes are the first UK act to have signed a record deal after using Spinnup which led to them working with Spinnup Scout Yvonne McLellan.
Spinnup gives up and coming artists access to all major digital music services, delivering them instant worldwide distribution for their music. But Spinnup means much more to unsigned artists than just distribution. Uniquely Spinnup has a network of experienced and well-connected Scouts such as Yvonne, whose own background includes working with labels such as V2, Rawkus and Ultimate Dilemma as well as Island Records, to help ambitious artists grow, develop and hopefully, like Model Aeroplanes, sign a record deal.
In Sweden, where Spinnup first launched in 2013, nine artists have now been signed by Universal Music, Spinnup’s parent company, and have gone on to release multi-platinum selling and chart topping hits after being spotted and coached by Spinnup’s dedicated Scouts.
In the UK Island Records is Spinnup’s label partner.
“We are really excited to be one of the first UK acts to have the opportunity to utilise the new Spinnup platform,” say the band. “Spinnup gave us the chance to be recognised by Island Records’ great A&R team and eventually led to us finding our new home within the label.”
“I first came across the boys in Model Aeroplanes a few years ago,” says Yvonne McLellan. “We kept in touch and I would go to their shows every now and then just to see how things were developing. I remember the moment when I went to see them and I thought: ‘Oh my, they’ve cracked it!’
“They had grown confident with a real ease on stage. They had mastered their set perfectly with the songs drawing you in and taking it to another level. When discussing the way forward I suggested that for their next single they should think about Spinnup. They got on board and I scouted them. It’s such a pleasure to be around them and I can only see them going from strength to strength.”
Louis Bloom, Head of A&R at Island Records, said: “A&R is the lifeblood of what we do at Island Records which is why Spinnup as a platform is so important in our discovery strategy going forward. The growing success of Model Aeroplanes is a testament to our commitment to nurturing new talent and we’re really excited to have them join us at Island.”
As the band say: “We feel that Spinnup is going to give acts a chance to reach out to contacts in the industry that they may not have the opportunity to otherwise. We’re really happy to have been a part of Spinnup and work with such a great team.”
Photo: L-R Front Row: Jon Turner (Managing Director, Island Records), Grant Irvine, Kieran Smith, Rory Fleming-Stewart, Ben Buist (Model Aeroplanes)
Back Row: Louis Brown (Project Manager, Island Records), Annie Christensen (Senior A&R Manager, Island Records), Yvonne McClellan (Spinnup Scout), Glenn Cooper (Senior Marketing Director, Island Records), Paul Grieve (Manager, Model Aeroplanes), Niklas Twetman (Director, Commercial Affairs, Universal Music Group International)