Browsing: music

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Spotify gives its outdoor campaign a witty local twist
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At the end of last year, Spotify crunched the numbers and surfed its playlists to give thanks to its users for a ‘weird’ 2016. Now, Spotify’s brought its highly successful ‘Platform for Discovery’ campaign to New Zealand shores to highlight some the most bizarre habits of Kiwi listeners.

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Cleve Cameron continues to ‘Do’ it
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Former JWT executive creative director Cleve Cameron—who left his cushy job in advertising to pursue his passion for music—has released his first music video for his album Welcome to the Primal Digital, for the single ‘Do’.

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Bowie’s in space

Yesterday David Bowie accomplished the impossible, and proved through death that he is immortal. The world has refused to let him die and his many faces have been scattered across the web, while his name and memory are on everyone’s lips. And while he has been well covered in the media already, we just couldn’t help but write a little something on him. So here’s a few examples of Bowie’s foray into the world of advertising and business, as well his strangely accurate predictions around the future state of music.

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Revenue streams: where the Kiwi music industry makes its money
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The mode of delivery for audio has changed markedly in the past few decades, to the point where young folk tend to see a cassette tape as the modern-day equivalent of a gramophone. And a PwC report into the contribution of the music industry to the New Zealand economy shows that while the total retail sales are down significantly on 2012 as a result of shifting listening habits and illegal downloading, the significant growth in online streaming is making up some of the lost ground.

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First DJs, now listeners: under-the-radar Kiwi tech success story Serato aims for the masses with music app Pyro
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For the last 16 years, Serato has been at the forefront of DJ culture and technology. Its ground breaking Pitch ‘n Time time-stretching algorithm and flagship audio mixing software product Serato DJ are industry standards. Kanye West rapped about them on one of his tracks. Eminem did the same. And now it’s releasing its first mass-consumer app, Serato Pyro, a music player that beat-matches and mixes song playlists. Chief executive AJ Bertanshaw explains the company’s evolution—and its Kiwi style marketing approach.

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A beat that stays with you
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As indicated by the proliferation of headphones fastened to the ears of runners and gym goers, a personal soundtrack has become something of a necessity for an exercise regime. Given this affiliation between music and exercise, organisations such as Beats by Dr Dre has released a plethora of ads featuring sports stars using its products. Similarly, Spotify has also been making moves into this space, developing playlists specifically targeted at those engaging in exercise. And now, the music streaming service has taken it one step further by launching a feature that plays tracks matched to the pace the runner is moving at.

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MediaWorks targets lucrative older demographic with new station
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Following last week’s announcement that Kiwi FM would be switching off, MediaWorks has now released a statement saying that new nationwide radio brand called Magic will launch on April 20. Targeted at 50- to 69-year-olds, the new station will be programmed by The Breeze content director Ian Avery and feature classic tracks from the likes of Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Dusty Springfield and Rod Stewart, among others. And this move could make commercial sense, given the high level of disposable income this group has in its pocket.

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Serj Tankian merges sight and sound
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System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian has taken on a slightly different career direction in recent years in developing a cross-sensory art exhibition that features a range of original paintings that have accompanying soundtracks.

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Mix tapes live on
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Advertising agency netplus is sharing the love with its clients—past, present and future—by resurrecting the cultural phenomenon that was the mix tape. The agency embarked on a Valentine’s mission to cosy up to its clients by launching a website called ‘mixplus’, a digital interface where clients the agency loves, clients its lost and clients it wants can select different mix tapes after which the appropriate ’80s tunes (sourced via SoundCloud) sing out from the computer.

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Whybin\TBWA takes BOTAB title for 2014
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Axis gongs, client wins and the quality of campaigns usually define competition in the creative advertising industry. But every year, for one night, none of that matters, as the agencies take to the stage and vie for the greatest honour of them all: the Battle of the Ad Bands (BOTAB) title. This year was no different. A total of 550 fans converged at the Kings Arms to watch the madness unfold as Pegasus and The Job Numbers (Colenso BBDO), The Gypsy Thieves (DDB), The OG Villains (Ogilvy & Mather), The Expendables 5 (Sugar & Partners and String Theory), Foote Cone (FCB), Dooya (WhybinTBWA/DAN), Building 7 (Flying Fish) and The Chased (OMD) took a moment away from their day jobs to slap the bass in front of three judges.

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The fruits of Friends Electronic’s artistic labour offer some audio-visual BOTAB inspiration
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The hair is being groomed and the guitars are being tuned for tonight’s Beatles-themed Battle of the Ad Bands at the Kings Arms, and while the winner of the last two year’s events, Barnes, Catmur & Friends’ Friends Electric, is out of the running this year (all the members are thought to be pursuing solo projects after a huge falling out, with Daniel Barnes going through his Sting phase and focusing on the lute), it’s an opportune moment to show off the saucy full-length music video the band made as part of its prize from its win in 2012.

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Lego techno
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Beck’s and Shine just launched some pretty cool Playable Posters to celebrate the start of NZ Music Month. And if you liked that musical contraption, then check out Play House, a ridiculously complex music maker made of Lego Technic.

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Pandora’s founder Tim Westergren on entering the Kiwi market—and what it means for Spotify and iHeartRadio
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Only a few hours after stepping off a plane at Auckland Airport on 7 April, Pandora founder Tim Westergren sat down with us for a quick chat at the Generator, the New Zealand headquarters of the company. Although Westergren’s arrival in the country came as part of a promotional push to officially introduce the music-streaming platform to the New Zealand market after its release late last year, Pandora is by no means new to the Kiwi market. PLUS: a look at how Pandora’s offering compares to Spotify and iHeartRadio.

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A brief history of Morning Report told through theme tunes
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This morning, Susie Ferguson and Guyon Espiner hit the airwaves as the new co-presenters of Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report, and the start of their tenure coincided with the release of new theme music for the long-running show. Since 1970, each decade of the show’s history has been given its own theme tune, and the new version, which comes a day after Geoff Robinson’s last show, serves to usher in a new era for the radio show.

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The Rock offers to help listeners evade James Blunt
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It isn’t uncommon for radio broadcasters to give away complimentary concert tickets to listeners, but the way The Rock is going about it is pretty hilarious. As part of its online promotion titled ‘Don’t be at James Blunt,’ The Rock is inviting listeners to share their dislike of the troubadour to stand a chance of winning a ticket to see a “real rock show” outside the country on the same night that Blunt is set to perform on Kiwi shores.

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Google hearts music
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Google’s new TVC for its entertainment store Google Play is a celebration of everything related to the heart — and alert viewers will notice a quick grab of Kiwi songstress Lorde among the artists gracing the service’s play arrow icon.

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