Archive for June, 2008

Rock is back on June 24th when Mötley Crüe, the world’s most notorious rock band, will release their first new studio album featuring all of the original members in over a decade; titled Saints of Los Angeles, (with a gritty Top 10 first single of the same name) the album is comprised of songs lyrically inspired by the band’s jaw-dropping accounts of decadence chronicled in their NY Times best-selling memoir The Dirt. Of the new material, Rolling Stone says, “The Crüe is back… and they’re grimier than ever.” Following the original release of The Dirt in 2001, the NY Times said of the book: “Open it anywhere and find a story to remember,” while Details said, “… makes Pamela Des Barres’ I’m With The Band look like a nun’s diary by comparison.”

In support of their new album, Mötley Crüe will make a bevy of media appearances, including Larry King Live (June 20th), The Late Show With David Letterman (June 24th), and Access Hollywood to name a few. Clear Channel will even offer fans a sneak peek of the new record over 171 stations on the day of release.

The band has also created Crüe Fest, a touring rock festival embracing the lifestyle of rock that brings headlining bands together, giving fans a five-for-the-price of-one value in this atmosphere where rock rules once again. Produced by Live Nation, the inaugural year of the tour features Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt and kicks off July 1st in West Palm Beach, Florida, working its way across North America for over 40 dates throughout July and August. Tickets, band profiles and exclusive content from all of the Crüe Fest bands will consistently be uploaded at www.therockvine.com.

In April, Mötley Crüe debuted their single “Saints of Los Angeles” with a live performance at their Los Angeles press conference announcing Crüe Fest. The ubiquitous presence and popularity of music-based video games has influenced a resurgence of rock that has not only rejuvenated the average rock fan, but also served to create and educate a new generation of rock lovers. Mötley Crüe teamed up with MTV’s Rock Band (who is also a partner of the Crüe Fest tour) to debut a download of the single for use on the game simultaneous with its iTunes debut. If one had doubts of the role of these games in bringing rock back, the sales numbers of the single on Rock Band would lay them to rest: Rock Band downloads were a staggering five times that of those sold on iTunes.

Crüe Fest U.S./Canada Tour Dates:

July:
07.01.08 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
07.03.08 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
07.05.08 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte
07.06.08 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
07.08.08 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
07.09.08 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
07.10.08 Sarnia, ONT Bayfest
07.12.08 Philadelphia, PA Susquehanna Bank Center
07.13.08 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
07.15.08 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
07.16.08 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
07.18.08 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis
07.19.08 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheater
07.20.08 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis
07.22.08 Houston, TX Toyota Center
07.23.08 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
07.24.08 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
07.26.08 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
07.27.08 Denver, CO Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
07.29.08 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
07.31.08 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion

August:
08.01.08 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center
08.02.08 Los Angeles, CA Glen Helen Pavilion
08.05.08 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Pavilion
08.06.08 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
08.08.08 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre
08.09.08 Portland, OR Rose Garden
08.11.08 Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
08.13.08 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
08.14.08 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
08.15.08 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
08.17.08 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
08.19.08 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Amphitheatre
08.20.08 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
08.22.08 Boston, MA Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
08.23.08 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
08.24.08 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
08.28.08 Toronto, ONT Molson Amphitheatre
08.29.08 Albany, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center
08.30.08 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
08.31.08 Pittsburgh, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion

27
Jun

Whiskey Falls To Make European Debut Next Month

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

(Nashville, TN - June 25, 2008) Fresh on the heels of two 2008 CMA Music Fest performances, Whiskey Falls hits the road hard this summer with dates in England, France, Canada and even a volcano in Japan.

In between three months of shows across the U.S., the band will make stops in Canada in June, England and France in July and play the Country Gold Festival at the largest ACTIVE volcano in Japan in October. The dates in Europe and Japan mark the first shows the band has ever played outside North America.

The UK show will be held in London on July 25 at the world famous Borderline, followed by an appearance two days later at the Country Rendez-Vous Festival in France.

“We could not be more excited about taking our live show, and country music, overseas where many of our influences originated,” said lead singer Seven Williams.

Without any major label support, Whiskey Falls has already graced the pages of People, USA Weekend and Billboard magazine this year. They have also been featured on Extra! and the CBS Early Show.

Named 2008’s ‘Breakout Band of the Year’ by Music Row, Whiskey Falls’ self-titled debut album produced two Top 40 hits in “Last Train Running” and “Falling Into You.”

Their foot-stompin’ baseball anthem “Load Up the Bases” was selected by Fox Sports South as the official theme song for the network’s Major League Baseball coverage. The song can be heard in stadiums across the country throughout baseball season.

Whiskey Falls’ hectic schedule in 2008 has already included major festival appearances and special events such as the Super Bowl Tailgate Party, Country Thunder USA Festival, Stagecoach Festival and the ACM Jam at Fremont Street.

A list of Whiskey Falls’ current tour dates follows. For more information, visit:
www.whiskeyfallsmusic.com or www.myspace.com/whiskeyfalls.

6/26
Chippewa Valley Country Fest / Cadott, Wisconsin
6/27
Evergreen Park / Grande Prairie, Alberta
6/28
Dauphin Countryfest / Dauphin, Manitoba
7/3
Riverside Park / Lacrosse, Wisconsin
7/4
Marion Country Fair / Marion, Ohio
7/5
Kempton Fairgrounds / Kempton, Pennsylvania
7/8
Lincoln Country Fair / Troy, Missouri
7/10
KIX on Beale Street / Memphis, Tennessee
7/13
Hodag Country Festival / Rinelander, Wisconsin
7/15
West Virginia Fair / Mineral Wells, West Virginia
7/17
Independence Country Fair / Batesville, Arkansas
7/19
KSON Event / San Diego, California
7/25
The Borderline / London, England
7/27
Country Rendez-Vous Festival / Craponne, France
7/31
Duke’s Hometown Bar / Portland, Oregon
8/1
Kruzer’s / Twin Falls, Idaho
8/2
Utah Basin Celebration / Roosevelt, Utah
8/6
Les Schwab Amphitheater / Bend, Oregon (w/ Brooks & Dunn)
8/7
Lithia Motor Amphitheater / Central Point, Oregon (w/ Brooks & Dunn)
8/8
WXCY Maryland BBQ Fest / Havre De Grace, Maryland
8/14
Kansas City Live / Kansas City, Missouri
8/15
Midnight Rodeo / Springfield, MO
8/16
WMUS Moosefest / Muskegon, Michigan
8/22
Billings Harley Davidson / Billings, Montana
8/23
The Butte Depot / Butte, Montana
8/28
Hickory American Legion Fair / Hickory, North Carolina
8/29
Barbour Country Fair / Philippi, West Virginia
8/30
Moss Cottage Park / Mt. Savage, Maryland
8/31
On the Waterfront / Rockford, Illinois
9/5
Low Places Club / Lancaster, Pennsylvania
9/6
Wachusett Mountain / Princeton, Massachusetts
10/19
Country Gold Festival / Kumamoto, Japan

Whiskey Falls play shows in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan through October.

Premiere Radio Networks reported RADAR 97, June 2008 results for its 17 RADAR networks (Diamond, Diamond Plus, Emerald, Emerald Plus, Evening Adult, Evening Youth, Female Focus, FOX News, Male Focus, Mediabase Female, Morning Drive, Pearl, Pearl Plus, Ruby, Sapphire, Sapphire Plus and Urban).

The release of RADAR 97 is the latest phase of a planned additional sample increase to a planned 300,000 respondents by the end of 2008. The RADAR 97 sample consists of 250,090 diary keepers/PPM panelists/respondents.

President of Premiere Radio Networks Charlie Rahilly stated, “Today’s release of RADAR 97 data reinforces the dominant reach capabilities of our industry. We’re happy to bring our clients and advertisers targeted and innovative ways in which their marketing needs can be maximized.”

Premiere Networks Dominate in Total Weekly Reach
In an analysis of both total and exclusive weekly reach by a RADAR network company in RADAR 97, June 2008 (Volume 2, Network Audiences to All Commercials, All Broadcasts - 24 Hours), Premiere Radio Networks achieved the highest percentage weekly reach among all eight RADAR network companies for Persons 12+, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49. For total weekly reach in RADAR 97, Premiere reached 42.2 percent of all Persons 12+, 44.2 percent of all Adults 25-54, and 45.1 percent of all Adults 18-49. Additionally, 29 percent of Premiere Radio Networks’ total weekly reach are exclusive listeners (30.9 million Persons 12+ listeners - unique audience not reached by any other network group).

Premiere Continues Solid Strength with Women
In the RADAR 97, June 2008 survey of all 58 measured radio networks for the All Broadcasts, Monday-Sunday 6AM-midnight broad daypart, Premiere Female Focus is the only RADAR-rated network to feature a percentage female composition of 68 percent or higher for key female target demographics. Of all its Adults 18-49 listeners, Premiere Female Focus was comprised of 68 percent Women 18-49. Of all its Adults 25-54 listeners, Premiere Female Focus was comprised of 68 percent Women 25-54.

Additionally, both Premiere Pearl Plus and Premiere Pearl scored with significant female compositions. Of all its Adults 18-49 listeners, Premiere Pearl Plus was comprised of 61 percent Women 18-49. Of all its Adults 25-54 listeners, Premiere Pearl Plus was comprised of 60 percent Women 25-54. Of all its Adults 18-49 listeners, Premiere Pearl was comprised of 60 percent Women 18-49. Of all its Adults 25-54 listeners, Premiere Pearl was comprised of 60 percent Women 25-54.

Premiere Mediabase Female also scored solid percentage female composition. Of all its Adults 18-49 listeners, Premiere Mediabase Female was comprised of 55 percent Women 18-49. Of all its Adults 25-54 listeners, Premiere Mediabase Female was comprised of 56 percent Women 25-54. In the RADAR 97, June 2008 survey of all 58 measured radio networks for the All Broadcasts, Monday-Sunday 6AM-midnight broad daypart, Premiere Radio Networks is the only network radio company to feature any RADAR-rated networks with a percentage female composition of 60 percent or higher.

Premiere Radio Networks Scores Solidly in Top 20 Rank Groupings
In the RADAR 97, June 2008 rankings of all 58 measured radio networks for the All Broadcasts, Monday-Sunday 6AM-midnight broad daypart (Average Audience), Premiere Radio Networks continued to maintain a solid presence among the top 20 ranked network grouping across key target demographics, particularly with its Clear Channel-based networks. For Persons 12+, Premiere had eight of the top 20 RADAR-rated networks, with Premiere Morning Drive ranked tenth, Premiere Mediabase Female ranked eleventh, Premiere Emerald Plus ranked thirteenth, Premiere Male Focus ranked fourteenth, Premiere Sapphire ranked fifteenth, Premiere Emerald ranked eighteenth, Premiere Sapphire Plus ranked nineteenth, and Premiere Diamond ranked twentieth.

For Adults 25-54, Premiere had eight of the top 20 RADAR-rated networks, with Premiere Mediabase Female ranked seventh, Premiere Emerald Plus ranked eighth, Premiere Male Focus ranked eleventh, Premiere Sapphire ranked thirteenth, Premiere Diamond ranked fifteenth, Premiere Morning Drive ranked seventeenth, Premiere Emerald ranked eighteenth, and Premiere Diamond Plus ranked nineteenth. For Adults 18-49, Premiere had seven of the top 20 RADAR-rated network ranks, with Premiere Emerald Plus ranked fourth, Premiere Emerald ranked fifth, Premiere Mediabase Female ranked seventh, Premiere Diamond ranked ninth, Premiere Diamond Plus ranked eleventh, Premiere Male Focus ranked fifteenth, and Premiere Sapphire ranked sixteenth. Overall, Premiere Radio Networks placed no less than five of its total 17 networks among the top 20 ranked RADAR-rated networks across almost all key target demographics.

Premiere Radio Networks in RADAR 97 included approximately 1,000 Clear Channel owned-and-operated radio stations among its consistently rated Gem and Plus networks.

“Premiere in RADAR 97 again affords our marketplace super-solid reach opportunities across our targeted properties,” commented Len Klatt, senior vice president/director of Research for Premiere Radio Networks. “With the radio measurement landscape changing minute by minute, we appreciate the fact that RADAR remains committed to providing a consistent numerical benchmark of both listening and compliance for our current client base and those advertisers looking to use the diverse network radio platform.”

Premiere Mediabase Female Maintains Consistent Top 10 Rank Positions
In the RADAR 97, June 2008 survey of all 58 measured radio networks for the All Broadcasts, Monday-Sunday 6AM-midnight broad daypart (Persons 12+ Average Audience), Premiere Mediabase Female scored a solid ranking among the top 10 RADAR-rated networks across most key female target demographics. Premiere Mediabase Female was the number five ranked network for Women 25-49, Women 25-54, and Women 35-54. Additionally, Premiere Mediabase Female was the number six ranked network for Women 18-24, Women 18-34, Women 18-49, and Women 35-64.

Strong Premiere Rank Stories in Top Markets
In RADAR 97 rankings of all 58 measured RADAR networks for the All Broadcasts, Monday-Sunday 6AM-midnight broad daypart (Average Audience), Premiere Radio Networks maintained no less than five of the top 20 ranked networks among the Top 10, Top 25 and Top 50 TV DMA Market groupings for Adults 18-49. Premiere Diamond Plus was the number four ranked network for Adults 18-49 in the Top 10 TV DMA and the Top 25 TV DMA Market groupings. Premiere Emerald Plus was the number four ranked network for Adults 18-49 in the Top 50 TV DMA Market grouping. In RADAR 97 rankings of all 58 measured RADAR networks for the All Broadcasts, Monday-Sunday 6AM-midnight broad daypart (Average Audience), Premiere Radio Networks maintained no less than four of the top 20 ranked networks among the Top 10, Top 25, and Top 50 TV DMA Market groupings for Adults 25-54. Premiere Mediabase Female was the number five ranked network for Adults 25-54 in the Top 10 TV DMA and the Top 25 TV DMA Market groupings.

26
Jun

Blue Pie Licenses The Orchard Catalogue

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

We are pleased to announce that Blue Pie have licenced the Orchard catalogue through their Australasian partner AmpHead Music to commercialise the catalogue across a number of white label retail stores. The stores are built by Blue Pie’s partner Blue Vault Digital www.bluevaultdigital.com . The new stores provide brands with the ability to access a new level of ” Branded ” music and digital entertainment retail sites and music products to grow sticky websites and expand their customer database. Blue Pie and Blue Vault Digital are focussed on empowering brands to be able to have their own digital entertainment portals to engage their customers with products that reward consumers for brand loyalty and consumption.

Blue Pie is launching a number of new stores throughout 2008 and 2009. You can see Blue Pie’s flag ship store ” My Blue Pie Music ” at www.mybluepiemusic.com.

Store features and functions include:

* Reward program facilities.
* Ala carte sales of music.
* Subscription services.
* Gift cards.
* Branded Music Vouchers.

The store site is located at www.mybluepiemusic.com

About the Orchard Catalogue:

Blue Pie has licensed the Orchard catalogue. The Australian team at Amphead will be working with the Blue Pie team to assist with promotional support and featuring artists. As Damien Reilly - CEO of Blue Pie says ” This is an exciting step for our company and all the team at Blue Vault Digital. We have been working on this for the past 2 years. Digital Entertainment content is the reward currency of the future. We are honoured to be working with The Orchard and the Amphead team. 2008 will be an exciting and rewarding year for all ”

Store rollouts and further announcements will be posted to the Blue Pie and Blue Vault Digital sites.

ABOUT THE ORCHARD:

The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD) controls and globally distributes more than one million songs and over 3,000 hours of video programming through hundreds of digital storesand mobile carriers. With operations in 28 countries, The Orchard drives sales for its label, retailer, brand, and agency clients through innovative marketing and promotional campaigns; brand entertainment programs; and film, advertising, gaming and television licensing. A pioneer in digital music and media services, The Orchard fosters creativity and independence.

ABOUT BLUE PIE:

Blue Pie Productions is a new media company with expertise in technology and new media, to maximise returns from the new, global Internet-based digital entertainment business. Blue Pie the record label is the embodiment of Damien Reilly’s years of experience with the Internet and the music business. It has grown into a digital record label with a wide range of alliance-partnerships which it calls upon to create simple digital delivery systems quickly and cost effectively. Blue Pie’s priority artists include Alexx Calise, Ooh La La, Belasco, Marvel, Burning the Day, Aveonics, Erik Simins, and Sahra to name a few. Blue Pie’s roster of artists are gaining ever increasing worldwide recognition. Blue Pie represent over 750 labels world wide. Search on “blue pie” in Google for more information

ABOUT BLUE VAULT DIGITAL:

Blue Vault Digital provides business-to-business digital entertainment services. Blue Vault Digital offer the content and white-label technologies used to create music and video download and subscription services for world-class consumer brands. Blue Vault Digital’s proprietary platform supports several forms of digital media content including music tracks and videos, as well as long-form television, film and books. Blue Vault Digital offers a broad range of products, from turnkey to custom. Blue Vault Digital work with consumer brands to integrate its solutions into their proprietary offerings. Headquartered in Sydney Australia with affiliated offices in the USA and Ireland, Blue Vault Digital is wholly-owned Australian company. For more information or to speak with a Blue Vault Digital representative, please contact sales@bluevaultdigital.com

The future of the music business will rely increasingly on live shows and concerts. The summer concert tours are well under way with an ever increasing number of bands and festivals looking to compensate for the drop in CD sales. A new web site, Concertbuzz.net helps fans find the best shows among the large and increasing number of concert offerings.

The future of the music business will rely increasingly on live shows and concerts. The summer concert tours are well under way with an ever increasing number of bands and festivals looking to compensate for the drop in CD sales. A new web site, ConcertBuzz.net. helps fans find the best shows among the large and increasing number of concert offerings.

Fans can find out which bands and artists are best live and also write and post their opinions to help get the message out about their favorites. It is the electronic equivalent of good [or bad word of mouth.

All the following acts are touring and have been reviewed by fans on Concertbuzz.net: Radiohead, Plant and Krauss, Steely Dan, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and the Police.

Some fans might like to find great indie concerts where tickets will be less expensive and they might be seeing the stars of the future. Concertbuzz.net helps fans find bands such as Pull Tiger Tail and The Perils who are getting great word of mouth.

The days when fans had to purchase an album in order to get one or two tracks are long gone; now fans can also be sure that they are spending their money on a great concert. The web site Concertbuzz.net will enable fans to find and help others find the best live acts to ensure the cream rises to the top.

(Nashville, Tennessee — June 18, 2008) - The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) announced today that Calgary-based, Corkscrew Media have been selected to produce the 2008 CCMA Awards broadcast to be held in Winnipeg on September 8. This year’s Awards Show will once again be broadcast by CBC with encore airings on CMT in Canada.

“Corkscrew presented an outstanding bid. It was well researched, well thought out and presents concepts for the CCMA Awards that will have both the in-house and at-home guests dancing in their seats,” said Chair of the CCMA Board of Directors, Heather Ostertag. “I think Country music fans have a lot to look forward to.”

Brent Kawchuk and Paula Davies of Corkscrew Media will be the Executive Producers of this year’s broadcast. Davies and Kawchuk and the rest of their production team step into this role with a wealth of experience in the production of live television and music events.

“Everyone at Corkscrew is thrilled to be a part of this year’s show,” Kawchuk said. “Myself, my Co-Executive Producer Paula Davies and writer/producer Joel Stewart have long been involved in music and television and are excited to be bringing our vision and experience to this year’s awards. Our goal is to create a live, energetic show that puts the fans first - celebrating right along with their favourite country artists and seeing them in unique musical moments that they might not see anywhere else.”

Country Music Week 2008 in Winnipeg will be held September 5-8 with the CCMA Awards to be held September 8 at the MTS Centre. Tickets to the CCMA Awards will be available through all ticketmaster locations and online at www.ticketmaster.ca in the near future. Stay tuned to our website for updates. For more details about Country Music Week or the 2008 CCMA Awards visit www.ccma.org.

About the CCMA and Country Music Week:
The CCMA is a non profit trade association dedicated to the growth and development of Canadian country music. For over 30 years the CCMA has marked each September with Country Music Week, a four day conference and celebration culminating in the internationally broadcast CCMA Awards (established 1983). Country Music Week is one of the largest music events in Canada with a combination of activities for both community and industry including showcase opportunities for newcomers, educational seminars and an all day FanFest that delivers Canada’s stars to the community.

23
Jun

iTunes Store Tops Over Five Billion Songs Sold

   Posted by: mwatkins    in Publishing News

Apple announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over five billion songs from the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com). iTunes is the number one music retailer in the US* and features the largest music catalog with over eight million songs. Also, iTunes customers are now renting and purchasing over 50,000 movies every day, making iTunes the world’s most popular online movie store.

iTunes features movies from all of the major movie studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate and New Line Cinema. Users can rent movies and watch them on their Macs or PCs, all current generation iPods**, iPhone and on a widescreen TV with Apple TV. iTunes Store customers can also purchase new movie releases from major film studios and premier independent studios on the same day as their DVD release.

The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over eight million songs, over 20,000 TV episodes and over 2,000 films including over 350 in stunning high definition video. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Thompkins Marketing LLC is delighted to announce that it has signed a North American distribution agreement with Hong Kong based MCS Asia in respect of the forthcoming releases of two French bands “Jade” and “Novox”. MCS has licensed the rights to distribute the master sound recordings in form of physical product and online digital distribution.

MCS recently signed global (ex-France) administration deals with France-based Z Productions and P.A. Gaultier Editions S.A.R.L. to represent both the publishing rights and master sound recording rights for Jade and Novox.

Thompkins is a former CBS Records and Epic music executive whose 35 year music career includes marketing and band development of such artists as the Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Luther Van dross, Culture Club, and Sade. Thompkins believes the North American audience will connect with Jade’s trip-hop inspired genre and Novox funky jazz. The bands are expected to officially launch in the 4th Quarter in the US and it is anticipated that Thompkins will be involved in both bands touring in the US some time in 2009.

Thompkins VP of media Michele Thompkins will be in charge of the artist development on these projects and will be releases under her newly formed label Thompkins Media Group.

Tony Hotung, Managing Director of MCS Asia, commented “We are pleased have this distribution deal in place so shortly after having signed the publishing and master rights of the two bands. We are looking forward to working closely with Thompkins whose industry expertise will be invaluable in developing Jade and Novox as bands and introducing their unique sounds in North America.”

* Our goal is to be the first site to represent ALL bands and venues, big and small. We want to bridge the gap between larger concert event sites and the smaller bands and venues that slip through the cracks. Our new VIP system rewards community members for adding show dates for their favorite bands and venues. The rewards include gift cards to online music retailers and ticket sites. (http://bandloop.com/vip.php)

* Our tools for bands have been expanded, with the ability for bands to archive their shows, as well as updates to our already massive venue database. Bands can literally enter their entire tour schedule in minutes. A growing number of bands are also using our SuperWidget, which makes linking their shows and messages to other sites a breeze. (http://bandloop.com/signup.php?b=1&detail=promote)

* We’ve had a great response to our key features; MyLoop, where users can add bands to their favorites list and check for updates with one glance, and MyShowlist, where users can track upcoming shows they plan to attend.

* We have a new page called FeedMe, dedicated to daily feeds from top music blogs and music websites. (http://bandloop.com/feeds.php)

About Bandloop:
Bandloop was founded by two music fans in San Francisco who shared a vision; to make updates easier for bands, while creating a community of bands and fans intent on complete and accurate concert information. They are champions of independent music, and Bandloop regularly sponsors concerts featuring SF’s finest local bands

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) announced today that it has acquired certain assets of Groove Tubes LLC. Among other assets, FMIC purchased the Groove Tubes brand. Groove Tubes company founder Aspen Pittman will continue in a consulting role.

Groove Tubes was founded in 1979 and is a long-time leader in the development of high quality amplifier tubes. The business has also grown to include development and production of microphones, accessories and other electronics.

“We are pleased to announce that Groove Tubes has joined the FMIC family of brands,” said Bill Mendello, Chairman and CEO of FMIC. “Under Aspen Pittman’s leadership, Groove Tubes has grown from a small business to an important, internationally respected company and we look forward to fostering even more success together.”

Matt Janopaul, President and COO of FMIC added, “An important part of Fender’s history revolves around tube amplifiers. The ‘59 Bassman and the ‘65 Twin Reverb are great examples of our long history of amplifier innovation that dates back to 1946. More importantly, these amps have been instrumental in shaping modern music today. FMIC will be a great steward of Groove Tubes going forward as we combine our deep experience in amp design with the service and testing capabilities that Groove Tubes and Aspen Pittman are known for.”

“After 30 years building Groove Tube products for the best players in the world, I am thrilled to join Fender, the most respected player in our industry. I knew Leo personally and he inspired me as a great inventor and changed my life. I also knew and deeply respected Bill Schultz as the great leader who revitalized Fender. Now, I am both blessed and humbled by the invitation to join this incredible team where my life’s work has been secured under the most favorable circumstances I could have ever imagined, like a dream come true,” commented Aspen Pittman.