Listen More - Shuffle Less!

A great piece by the BBC last week alerted me to the presence of Islington’s Classic Album Sundays. At these events, held at Linton Street’s Hanbury Arms, music fans gather to listen to classic albums in full without any interruptions. The rules are strict.... No talking. No texting. You’re not even allowed a loo break!! The only decree is that you must listen to every song on the album without any distractions.


The idea was inspired by a blog post from DJ Greg Wilson who felt as though listening to music had become a passive activity. The great inventions of iPods and MP3 players have meant that we no longer sit down and appreciate whole albums, we tend now to listen to them as background music whilst at work, or on shuffle when out jogging in a park. In fact I honestly can’t remember the last time I listened to a whole album without any distraction. The only time I can think of when I’ve even been remotely close is the Great M4 Traffic Jam of 2008 when I was stuck in a queue for close to 4 hours. I don’t even remember if it was a good album I was listening too. I was probably too preoccupied by my fellow jam sufferers, staring at them for entertainment.


Anyways, a lady called Colleen Murphy, aka Cosmodelica, agreed with Greg’s views and so started “Classic Album Sundays: A Communal and Audiophile Listening Experience” at the end of last year. Everyone’s welcome and so far the group have listened through to The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’, Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’ and De La Soul’s ’3 Feet and Rising’.


Each event costs £5 and starts with pizza at 5pm, with the album on at 7pm. Mobile phones should be turned off, no entry will be allowed once the album has started, and the album will be played in full including any silences.


So if this sounds like a perfect Sunday afternoon activity for you (it certainly does to me!) then the next classic album to receive the 'Cosmodelica' treatment will be Stevie Wonder’s ‘Innervisions’ on Sunday, February 13. Full details can be found on the event’s facebook page


http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147502185303043


Be there! I’m pretty sure I will be!


KF

Who are we then?

I thought for this week's blog, I'd give a little more insight into the world of the Syllabus Agency. We're a young bunch of music and marketing folk, and we really know our stuff. However we will not be hiding behind our rather great campaigns any longer. 
It's time to unveil some key people that work here....


First off it's Gideon. Otherwise known as The Big Cheese, Granddaddy or just simply Boss Man. 

He's loves paying our large bar tabs. In fact, here it looks as if he doesn't think that the bill is expensive enough. We should try harder next time.


Then we have Katie. She's like Mum I suppose. Katie keeps us all in check, and shouts at us if we don't wash up. She looks after production for all our events, and makes sure that Beyonce and Jay-Z get fed. (The Syllabus goldfish...not the popstars. They probably have their own Katie to feed them).

Here she is with Milton (we'll come to him) sporting a rather fetching high-vis vest ready for a night on the tiles.


I suppose I should introduce myself now. I'm Jon. I'm head of music and also account manager on some projects. I'm also rather great. And modest. That's all you need to know... 

...Oh and I like to dance. I look very cool when I do. 

I mentioned Milton before. He's our "youf" expert. He looks after our student and youth networks. 

Milton loves the funk. So much so he changed his name by deed poll to Funky Milton Lawson.... 

...that's a lie. He didn't do that. I will be encouraging him to do so from now on though.


And lastly, but not leastly, is our intern David. 

He likes to eat out of the bin when he thinks no-one is watching. Strange lad. 

Songs of Life and Hope

On Sunday, a fantastically talented emerging artist released the fifth & last E.P of a series of five that he has been working on for a number of years now. 

His name is Ed Sheeran (http://www.edsheeran.com) -

Releasing these E.P's was part of a plan to generate enough hype and excitement around him that the Major Labels would take note where they had previously ignored him. 

1. You Need Me - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/you-need-me/id354891501

2. Loose Change - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/loose-change/id354878114

3. Songs I Wrote With Amy - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/songs-i-wrote-with-amy/id366461000

4. Live At The Bedford - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/ed-sheeran-live-at-the-bedford/id404452462

5. No.5 Collaborations Project -  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/no-5-collaborations-project/id413889474

Fortunately his management (http://www.rocketmusic.com) - Elton John's relatively new entertainment company supported him in this and let him follow his own path. For Ed, his journey so far has proved to be a very successful. Prior to the release of the fifth E.P Ed signed a record deal with a Atlantic Records and plans to release an album either this year or next.

What has amazed everyone, following the release of said E.P is the overnight success of it. As I type, it currently lies at #2 in the iTunes chart:

Neatly tucked behind Rihanna but ahead of Tinie Tempah, Kings of Leon & Plan B - one of the biggest selling albums of 2010.

This has of course been done before by an unsigned act, most recently Mumford and Sons - but what this proves is that in this digital age where artists often connect directly with fans via social networks such as Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EdSheeran) and Twitter (twitter.com/EdSheeran) - something Ed has done exceptionally well - it is more likely that thanks to loyalty, generated by hard working artists, their music is more likely to be paid for rather than downloaded for free (something Ed has stated he doesn't mind). For Ed this has paid of and he should be a role model to younger and even older unsigned acts trying to get noticed by the majors.

So as I leave you to ponder this amazing feat by a likeable, young, exciting new talent. I leave you with a video of him performing at our very own Station Sessions (http://www.stationsessions.com) courtesy of St. Pancras International who host it.

Please Enjoy!

DC

Don’t you love students…

They have such a hard life, constant partying, no real sense of responsibility, and a couple of lectures spread sporadically throughout their week. They do have bad tempers, demonstratedhere so probably best not to rub them up the wrong way…

The interesting thing about them is that they are extremely cynical, extraordinarily tech savvy, exceedingly trend aware and surprisingly susceptible to good quality communications.

We have recently embarked on a student focused online/experiential campaign and have the scars to prove it. We’ve discovered that as with most intelligible beings communication needs to be a give and take process. Given their characteristics, students require a particular effort, they aren’t difficult, they just need communication to be absolutely brilliant! (ie very pertinent, engaging and followed by free stuff!)

A few small golden nuggets for student focused campaigns:

•  Find a tone of voice that’s accessible, that you are comfortable with, and that you feel you can maintain.
• Be open minded about the things you decide are relevant, i.e. not just issues directly related to the campaign. Diversification keeps things fresh.
• Make communication open and engaging and invite response by remaining relevant not by asking people to respond, students don’t react well to being asked to do anything.
• Credibility is key, so positive brand associations, targeted exposure and maintaining reasonable marketing spend and are essential.
• Finally, choose your sites very carefully, and gain intimate knowledge of the university sites as universities differ considerably; what works in one is almost guaranteed not to work in another.

Students aren’t much different to you or I, except that they are very aware of themselves, and have slightly more time on their hands then we do. People generally want interesting content, and love something with a useful kickback. If you can make it interesting, engaging, useful it will fly!

ML

I think it’s time for a little ‘end of 2010’ rant…

I think it’s fair to say that it’s impossible to deny the innovation currently being seen within the music industry. With the rise of the digital lifestyle, and with it a new generation of music consumers, every music business should be thinking about new and different ways of making, distributing and promoting music to the masses…or so you would’ve thought.

I don’t want to take away from the great work being done by many in the music, media and marketing industries…a select few, forward thinking employees and entrepreneurs are making huge strides to recognise the changes and adjust accordingly however, this is definitely not the norm and more often then not, it’s simply the addition of a ‘digital’ tab to a company website.

I’ve been party to one particular instance in recent weeks that makes me, not only extremely pissed off, but also seriously question the hands that the UK Music industry’s currently in. 

I had a meeting with an extremely well known, ‘traditional’ music industry body (to remain nameless) about a music project we’re currently working on with one of our clients. After much discussion, one of the gentlemen leading the meeting began talking to us about another initiative his company were running out in 2011, the premise of which was to reward young people with incentives (gig tickets etc.) to buy music online, instead of illegally downloading it.

As he continued to lay out this carefully ‘thought’ out plan, with its ridiculously large budget, I began thinking WHEN WILL THESE GUYS UNDERSTAND!!!! Instead of wasting time, money and resource trying to fight natural changes to the industry, why can’t the majority of the ‘traditional’ music industry FINALLY accept these changes are happening, whether they are on board or not.

Why not use some of that money and resource to try and figure out ways round the problem, how to monetise other areas of music or figure out how to ensure artists benefit even if the music is shared for free.

These changes are happening – they’ve already happened – and it’s simply remarkable that STILL, the majority of the industry cannot bring themselves to accept this…

For them, it’s still just a simple matter of adding ‘digital’ to their business card. (sigh) 

GC

Make Me Viral

We all know that YouTube for years has been the playground for the bored and procrastinating masses of under appreciated office workers who trawl for hours through hilarious videos, spreading their links to equally idle colleagues. But if I’m honest though, I never really saw the point in it. I got that they were funny, but the cynic in me felt that half of them were set up and acted out by aspiring wannabe actresses desperate to cut off their hair on their “wedding day” or hula-hoop in their pants on a Wii - all for a shot of fame. I was indeed a sceptic. Well that was until a Thursday at the beginning of December when the Christmas crowds of St Pancras were entertained not only by Leo from The Streets, but also by a delightful member of it’s audience. Weird things genuinely do happen, and even weirder we were all there to capture it on film! The video below is from one of the many people who caught it on camera…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGnGzNpOb44

Since said episode I have become obsessed with all things viral, including religiously watching Alex Zane and his show Rude Tube.

It appears to me that making a viral video is little about talent and a lot about luck. While there’s no sure-fire formula for making our little outbreak at St Pancras a successful viral video, these few tips below may help your chances at creating your very own version of a viral Van Gogh!

Tip #1 - Keep the video short. Too long and no one will watch it!

Tip #2 - Make your viral video funny. Humour can be hard to get right sometimes, but it’s the surest way to make people want to share your video.

Tip #3 - Content beats quality in a viral video. Most successful viral videos are made by amateurs, so good content is more important than high production quality.

Tip #4 - Post your video EVERYWHERE! Spread the word far and wide to increase your hit rate

Tip #5 - Promote your video. Email friends, people at work, your Mum, literally anyone. Then let them do the hard work for you!

Tip #6 - Keep trying to make viral videos. Often it’s completely random videos that go viral, and no one can predict with much accuracy what is going to catch on and become a big hit!

Who knows if these points will make our large break-dancing man a living viral legend, but with a bit of luck and a bit more promotion, he might just be!

KF

Dream Weaver

I am renowned in the Syllabus office for having pretty bad taste in music. I don’t think it’s bad, other people do. I just like a good pop tune. What’s wrong with that? 

So with this in mind, for my first blog, I thought I would spend a little time recommending some of my favourite new artists of the moment, that aren’t as cheesy as I might usually go for. And before anyone gets all antsy, telling me instead that I should be recommending some Afghan-Neo-Psychedelic-Techno-Grindcore, remember these are MY favourites. 

I’m going to make this up as I go along, so they’ll be in no particular order:

A couple of Ed’s to start with. Incidentally managed by the same person, but rather different:
1. Ed Drewett - amazing voice: http://tinyurl.com/drewett

2. Ed Sheeran - freaking incredible mix of beatboxing, acoustic guitar playing, rapping, and singing, all brought together with a loop pedal. This is him in a car park with Example (not as dodgy as it sounds): http://tinyurl.com/22rfeav

3. Matthew and the Atlas - beautiful songwriting: http://tinyurl.com/2beuxdd

4. Visitor - I used to manage this band when they were called Cobra Dukes, so I am slightly biased. Check them out here: http://tinyurl.com/2dopvb9

5. Jamie Woon - this is probably one of my favourite “covers” ever: http://tinyurl.com/2f3cbo

6. The Milk - I tried to book this band a while back, and they cancelled at the last minute. I still like them though: http://tinyurl.com/yen2aht

7. Gentleman’s Dub Club - live dub/ska/reggae performed by middle class white boys anyone? Yep, weirdly it works: http://tinyurl.com/2d2k4ax 

8. Real Fur - I like these guys a lot. Not seen them live yet, but I’m expecting big things: http://tinyurl.com/2bvylls

9. James Blake - I hadn’t heard of this dude until about 15 mins ago when our lovely friends at Track In The Box sent it to me. It’s rather good: http://tinyurl.com/28epz79

10. Finally, I just couldn’t resist one classic cheesy 70’s tune in this list, and what a classic this is: http://tinyurl.com/yl75u5u

JK

Live For The Moment

As I sit here within the realms of Syllabus Agency HQ, Listening to the ‘Best of Rush’, nursing a bad night’s sleep and the aftermath of a far from average Goo Goo Dolls gig at the Kentish forum on Sunday night, there are a number of issues pacing themselves through my head. One has been bugging me for a while now and while on the absolute occasion I may be an offender, over the past 2-3 years this issue has gone into absolute overload. 

I would like to point out that this blog should’t be seen as a rant in any way. If you choose to see it as a rant then it should be seen as a “constructive” rant more than anything.

I am fortunate enough to be somewhat of a connoisseur London’s live music scene. Having attended well over 300 gigs over the last 6 or so years and one thing that absolutely kills me (aside from high pitched screaming and people that whistle loudly right beside your ear deafening you), are the good people that pay inflated ticket prices to attend shows and yet spend duration staring at a little screen 12 inches from their faces. 

Why?In this day and age where bands simply do not stay together for more than 5-10 years (if they’re lucky) would you want to attend a gig and not even watch it. These moments are ones that should be treasured in your mind and not on the web - If you were to search for a live performance of any song by any band then it is highly likely that you would get between 5 and 25 versions posted on youtube, with maybe one being of decent quality.

In my opinion there is only one way this is going and I cannot understand why band / record labels haven’t fully caught on to it yet. A few years back, www.concertlive.co.uk caught on, signing up bands to make official recordings of shows on their tours. I attended a few gigs where this product was offered but it was organised so badly, not enabling fans to take the recording home that night, having to wait up to 7 days and also being charged far to much.

One band got it right - METALLICA - they set up a website where fans are able to buy any show they have ever played, some dating back to 1982 and the beginning of Metallica. -(www.livemetallica.com). Now, after every Metallica show, swarms of fans (including myself) log on to the website and buy their very own high quality copy of the show they attended and can relive that special moment again and again. 

Metallica have proved that this works and it can be seen at their shows, with less people standing, staring at their phones / cameras recording their single moment in low def.

What’s next? Video - If high quality recordings can be produced within moments of the shows finishing, ready for fans to take home / download, then surely it is only a matter of time before bands start making good standard video recordings of all their shows readily made available for fans to buy very soon after the show.

We all know that the Music Industry is monetary black hole, so surely labels should be taking advantage of this cheap product with high sales potential as bands begin to make a name for themselves.

Finally, going back to my original point. Fans, put down your phones and cameras and live for the moment, life is to short and so are band careers.

DC

Introducing The Syllabus Agency

An exciting year for The Syllabus Agency 

This is the first submission to the The Syllabus Agency blog “Views from an agency”. As described in its title, this blog will act as a talking point for the agency, where thoughts and feelings, opinions and inclinations will be set free to wander through cyberspace.

—————————————————————————————————— 

Yeo Valley Rap - Heading for Christmas #1

In the first instalment of “Views from an agency” I would like to talk about the ongoing shift of power away from major record labels and towards the new world independents, self releasing bands and music savvy brands for producing popular, high grossing records.

The Syllabus Agency was recently approached by Black Sheep Records on behalf of Yeo Valley, the family-owned dairy company, to distribute its latest record entitled ‘Yeo Valley Rap’. This track has very quickly become extremely popular boasting over 1 million views on YouTube. It has been predicted that Yeo Valley Rap will make it to #1 in the charts over Christmas; great news for Syllabus and a real achievement for Yeo Valley and the crew. The power of the Internet and its most popular platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, have changed the music industry beyond recognition and certainly for the better! It seems the power to make a successful track is continually shifting from the label to the consumer. Without their support we probably wouldn’t ever have known that farmers made such great rappers!

Good work Yeo Valley Boyz!

ML