Do you remember when Hollywood movies introduced new songs? It happened this week with the new track “The Hanging Tree” which is sung by actress Jennifer Lawrence and appears on the soundtrack for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1” . The track has landed at No. 2 on the American iTunes pop single chart.

The song was written by The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins and the indie band The Lumineers.

According to sources Jennifer didn’t love the idea of singing.

“ The film’s director, Francis Lawrence, recently told Vulture that the actress was extremely anxious about singing the song on set for a pivotal scene in the movie. “

“I knew she didn’t love the idea of singing, but I didn’t realize how nervous she was until when we started the first take, and she was in tears. Not totally broken down, but she was unhappy,” he says. “She would have much rather we used somebody else’s voice. I think she said she wanted Lorde [who sings the movie’s theme song] to do it!”

Kings of A&R has officially launched our Top 8 Emerging Artist Campaign which will be announced on January 10th. Kings of A&R top 8 emerging artists have landed on the iTunes charts, syncs, and major press coverage. To submit music for consideration click here..

The past top 8 emerging artists are below which were featured in September.

Emmy Bachmann – Stranger
Kit Walters – Your Ghost
Colin Huntley – Best I Never Had
The Silent Scene – Collecting Hearts
Sydney Leigh – Crazy Beautiful
The Crazy Carls – Let Me
Colour of London – Heart Attack
Justin Klump – The Night is Young

Emmy Bachmann is a brand new artist on the scene yet has already been dubbed a blond bombshell singer-songwriter by PopWrapped. Our favorite tracks are I Don’t Love Him and Rescue Yourself. Kit Walters has released a new song along with a video Your Ghost. He will release an EP and will headline a show in The Studio at Webster Hall, Sunday September 21st. Colin Huntley is an emerging singer/songwriter & guitarist based in Austin, TX. The video for his single Best I Never Had has already garnered 315,000 YouTube streams. The Silent Scene is on the verge of a breakthrough. The track Collecting Hearts is our favorite and they were also featured on iTunes New & Noteworthy. Sydney has self released her debut EP “Crazy Beautiful”. Sydney Leigh wrote and recorded with Nolan Lambroza (Sir Nolan), Steve Daly (Tracklacers) and Heidi Rojas. The Crazy Carls are making a splash on the scene. The band headlined Florida Music Festival in Orlando with Less Than Jake and Dirty Heads, and were featured on Sunfest with Train, Big Sean, and Ellie Goulding. Colour of London has released a new track “Heart Attack“, and they have partnered with lifestyle brand, Alex and Ani, who featured their music in commercials and stores around the globe. Finally, Justin Kump, the singer-songwriter has begun to make a mark. His album debuted on the U.S. iTunes Singer-Songwriter Chart earning him solid press, and Sirius XM invited him to perform on at their studios in NYC. Check out his track The Night is Young.

Hozier
“Take Me To Church”
22,355 downloads

Mark Ronson
“Uptown Funk”
14,523 downloads

Meghan Trainor
“All About That Bass”
13,281 downloads

Sam Smith
“I’m Not The Only One”
11,732 downloads

Pentatonix
“Mary Did You Know?”
8,379 downloads

Vine has become a new platform that music artists can exploit along with YouTube & Facebook.

Here are some key pointers in the article “Can You Build a Business in 6 Seconds?”

“But the appeal of Vine isn’t only in the overall number of people who are using it. In a fashion strikingly similar to YouTube, the service is a home to a new breed of digital stars — artists who are amassing large and highly engaged fan-bases, six seconds at a time.

“Based on numerous industry people we’ve spoken to, a Vine star could make anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000 for a branded Vine video. It’s a pretty wide range, and certainly not a strict one — determined by factors such as number of followers, the level of engagement, and/or if the video is part of a larger campaign.”

“If you look at some of the top names on Vine, you’ll notice that the platform isn’t their only social outlet. The most-followed individual on the platform, Nash Grier, with 9.2 million followers, also has 3.24 million followers on Twitter, and 3.46 million subscribers on YouTube. Jerome Jarre, with his 7 million Vine fans, has 697,000 followers on Twitter and 754,000 subscribers on YouTube.”

Musician Shawn Mendes, who found popularity on Vine by releasing six-second versions of cover songs, recently debuted his first album, which spiked to number one on iTunes in less than 40 minutes after its release.

Brittany Furlan, the leading lady of Vine with 7.1 million fans — who has scored brand deals with the likes of Trident, Reebok, and Universal — has 182,000 supporters on Twitter and 129,000 on YouTube. Her goal is to eventually be a movie star, and thanks in large part to the audience she has cultivated online, she recently booked an appearance in an upcoming Zac Efron movie.

But the fact remains, while Vine can be a great creative outlet for budding digital stars, for many, it remains a gateway to something more — just like every other digital platform.

“I think it’s so important to be living on all these different environments and all these platforms,” adds Jonathan Skogmo, founder and CEO of Jukin Media, which works with Vine stars like Logan Paul and BatDad. “I’d say the same thing about a YouTube personality.”

So, the question again, can you build a business in six seconds? Short answer: Yes, because it’s just the beginning.

Wind-up Records has long been known as the house that Creed built. Although they are an independent label, they’ve been home to many chart toppers in the Active Rock and Alternative genres. Over the last few years, Wind-up has been branching out, picking up artists that seem out of place on a roster that once included Drowning Pool and Evanescence. Kings of A&R caught up with Wind-Up A&R director, Shawn Cohen, to find out more about their new eclectic roster that includes bands such as The Griswolds and SPEAK and how they are transitioning into new genres.

Wind-up has been picking up some surprising new bands. Where is all that coming from?

We have been known as the house of active rock for a very long time and we’re trying to be creative and showing the world that we can do mainstream, alternative, pop…we’re not just rock. We want to work with music that we love, no matter the genre.

What’s your favorite artist that you’re working right now?

Hands down, The Griswolds. Not just because I signed them, but they are just from fans to music the most intriguing, fun, exciting people and it shows all around. Their social media, their recorded music, their live shows, they are a very dynamic band.

How’d you find them?

I found The Griswolds in the blog scene. They had posted their first song , Heart of the Lion. It was under the radar when I heard the song and I was really into them. I did some homework and saw they were doing well on Triple J (Australian Radio). I listened to their other songs and I thought it was very creative and refreshing so I reached out to them. CONTINUE READING