New Signings & Team Ups: July 19
SPLENDOUR IN THE BLENDER
This weekend’s Splendour In The Grass festival is working on two team-ups.
Green Music Australia (GMA) welcomed its steps to cut waste as part of its Plastic Free July push to get polluting single-use plastics out of the music scene.
GMA will also host a beach clean up, with local marine conservation organisation Positive Change for Marine Life, near Byron Bay during the festival, featuring some Splendour acts.
Splendour’s commitment this year includes:
- Banning the use of plastic straws in all bars and stalls;
- Encouraging punters to bring their own reusable bottles (lifting the ban on stainless steel water bottles to make it easier for patrons to BYO water bottle of any design)
- Providing high-quality reuse stations for artists and punters; and
- Committing to a 3-year goal to remove all single-use plastic water bottles.
Splendour in the Grass general manager, Elise Huntley, said, “Green initiatives have long been a part of Splendour in the Grass so we’re thrilled to work with Green Music Australia on this ongoing plan to remove single-use plastics from our event.”
Green Music Australia’s executive director, Tim Hollo, reiterated, “If we’re going to get polluting plastics out of the music scene – and we all know we have to – big youth festivals have to step up and take leadership.
“It’s fantastic to see Splendour taking these important steps down that road, and we look forward to continuing to work with them as we make a plastic-free music scene a reality.”
Ambassadors’ photos and quotes are being uploaded daily throughout July on the official Facebook and Instagram.
VAMPS GO GLOBAL WITH WARNER/ CHAPPELL
The Vamps have signed a global publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music.
The British band, which went to #1 in the UK last year with the Night Edition of their concept album Night & Day, toured Australia last year.
They said: “We’ve always written songs for our albums and we also love collaborating with other songwriters.
“Whenever we have downtime on the road, we start writing.
“We can’t wait to team up with songwriters and artists working in every type of genre from hip-hop to Nashville.
“It’s an exciting new chapter for the band.”
The band’s records are released on EMI/Universal through their own label, Steady Records.
PERFECT PITCH GETS HOOKED
Perth-based national publishing indie Perfect Pitch has signed Sydney band Apollo Hooks to a global deal.
The band’s debut album Whatever You Do, Don’t cracked iTunes on release, and first two singles Glass Of Gold and Chasing The Middle peaked in the upper ends of triple j’s Unearthed charts.
Anthemic new single Honey is a taster for an EP due this year.
Perfect Pitch Publishing managing director Clive Hodson told TMN, “We’re very excited about the global signing of Dylan (Frost, vocals), Jules (Wucherer, guitar), Theo (Henry, drums) and Jordan (Glass, bass).
“Their song writing talent is incredibly strong and continues to develop as the guys do as a band”. They have a classic style of writing which is showcased beautifully through their live performance and recordings.”
Just for a bit of trivia, Wucherer got kicked off a Grinspoon support tour, Frost’s dad Garry wrote the Moving Pictures/Shannon Noll hit What About Me and Henry is making a claim to being Australia’s tallest drummer.
LATEST CELEB ENDORSEMENTS
Reebok has brought in Ariana Grande, Gal Gadot, Gigi Hadid and Black Panther star Danai Gurira for its new campaign which stresses how powerful, strong-voiced women inspire others to act and drive change.
19-year-old Shawn Mendes is the face of Emporio Armani, and will model its new line of smartwatches, EA Connected.
GANG OF YOUTHS GUITAR AUCTIONED FOR CHARITY
Gang of Youth’s David Le’aupepe’s is auctioning the emerald green Guild Starfire IV ST 2000 he used to write the songs on their debut album Go Farther In Lightness. Proceeds go to Refugees & Immigrant Centre For Education & Legal Services (RAICES); a Texas-based non-profit that provides free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees.
“It has been part of me through the most significant period in my career and life,” Le’aupepe said.
“I hope it goes to someone who will use it and love it the way that I did. I hope it finds a loving home so that others in need can find a home in America after having to leave their own.”
To bid, head here before 11.59PM AEDT on July 25.
BETWEEN KINGS JOINS YOUNGCARE FOR DISABILITY HOUSING
Brisbane band Between Kings and national not-for-profit Youngcare teamed up to ask Australians to ‘buy a brick’ and help build a home for young people with high care needs living in institutional housing.
Youngcare estimates there are still 12,000 young Australians being left behind in institutional-style accommodation, such as aged care, hospitals and rehabilitation centres because there is simply nowhere else for them to go.
Youngcare is looking to build more purpose-built, fully accessible and age-appropriate living spaces for those aged between 18 and 65 in Queensland and New South Wales.
Between Kings songwriter and lead guitarist, Jordan Coyne, said they heard about the Youngcare campaign and realised they had to do something to help.
“To hear that young people can’t choose how they live, where they live and who they live with is shocking to us. It’s a freedom we all deserve,” he said.
He said their lastest single The Escape, “is a love letter to anyone who is struggling to let them know they are not alone.
“Looking back, it feels like the song was written for Youngcare and this campaign, with lyrics like ‘brick by brick I’ll build these walls, I’ll be your home’.
“It’s not just building physical homes for people but emotionally building them a home.”
After hosting a fund raising BBQ for the charity, at the band’s show at The Triffid in Brisbane tomorrow (July 20), Youngcare will be selling foam ‘bricks’ to raise money for the campaign and Between Kings will also be donating $5 from every merch item they sell at the gig to Youngcare.
The band will be filming a music video for their next single, World Of Our Own, on the night.
If you can’t make the show, you can buy a virtual brick for just $10 here.
MUSICNSW GRANTS FOR EMC
Musicians wanting to play at, and artist managers wanting to attend, the Electronic Music Conference in Sydney are reminded that MusicNSW has an Opportunity Development Grant just for such events.
It’s a one-off funding of $850 per member of the touring party, with a total limit of $5,950 per application (7 people maximum).
Applications close 5pm, August 1. More info can be found here.
EMC (Wednesday, November 14 and Thursday, November 15) also teased its new venue for 2018.
It is “in one of the most exciting precincts in Sydney” and “features a state of the art keynote theatre, multiple breakout and networking spaces delivering our 2018 program under one roof – making it easier for you to take in our conference program, connect and meet with our numerous guests and delegates from Australia and the world.”
The program is also fine-tuned in 2018, with a stacked keynote program teamed with four breakout spaces focussing on different streams of content – tech, artist management and development, events and touring and production workshops and masterclasses.
LIGHT MY FIRE
Melbourne Writers Festival has tapped a number of rock musicians, tying in with this year’s theme ‘A Matter of Life and Death’.
Paul Kelly is showcasing his favourite poems by setting them to music as part of Other People’s Words.
Jimmy Barnes will spin his favourite singles for Musical Memory.
US singer-songwriter Neko Case hosts a Book Club as well joins a ‘The Book That Made Me’ panel, Sally Seltmann and Myf Warhurst host a talk covering everything from love and the creative process to women in the arts.
There are also duets by Paul Dempsey & Julia Jacklin, Sarah Blasko & Ryan Downey, and Jen Cloher & Miss Blanks.
CHAPTER AND VERSE
Melbourne-based Chapter Music is curating a stage for Auckland’s Others Way festival on August 31 and features The Goon Sax, Gregor, label co-founder Guy Blackman and Laura Jean.
WARNER/ CHAPPELL STARTS THE ENGINE
Warner/Chappell signed London based Afro-fusion proponent Odunsi (The Engine) to a worldwide publishing deal.
Born Bowofoluwa Odunsi in Nigeria, he’s working on his debut album.
WANT TO WRITE MUSIC FOR VR GAMES?
Adelaide’s Music Development Office is offering SA musicians the chance to write music for VR games.
Successful applicants will be paired with reps from two of the hottest game developers in town: Novus Res, known for their acclaimed range of Virtual Reality (VR) games, and Mighty Kingdom, Australia’s largest independent game developers.
Matthew and Luke Wilson (Novus Res) have already collaborated with local artist Tim Whitt in a recent successful pilot project that saw them all create new music for the market ready VR game 26 Rob Play.
Morgan Read of Mighty Kingdom lends his artistic expertise to the creation of games for the likes of Lego and Disney,
Applications close 5pm, Monday August 6.
TEG/ GETS SPORT DATA FOR SEVEN
Seven West Media signed a new partnership with Ticketek owner TEG’s data division TEG Analytics to accelerate its digital audience insights and targeting advertising capability across its OTT platform 7Plus.