Erich Bergen releases the track Running Through The Night.  Radio darlings like Daughtry and Lifehouse come to mind after giving this track a stream. Fresh off his Broadway debut, you may know Bergen who plays Blake Moran on the CBS TV drama series, Madam Secretary.  Bergen tells Kings that the feedback has been amazing, “The response to this song has been more than I could have imagined. I’ve received hundreds of messages on social media, both public and private, about how much this song has meant to them on a personal level. One person in India told me it was the first time they’ve felt ‘understood.’ Another in Minnesota told me it gave them the courage to come out to their family. What this proves to me is that music continues to be the singular universal language that connects us all and that we are all more alike than not. I’m very proud ‘Running Through The Night’ could have some small part in that.” Check it out!

Kings favorite Flight Brigade drops a new track Stranger Things. Like their previous single, the seasoned musicians capture a classic sound. The UK seven piece indie act has been on the cusp of breaking out. Maybe these new tracks will take them to new heights. They’ve become festival darlings appearing at Glastonbury, Bestival, and Great Escape. Radio play includes BBC 6 Music, Gary Crawley, and BBC Introducing London. The band is even bubbling with blogs. They have everything covered, now its sit and back wait and see if the band launches into outer space.

KINGDM recently dropped the straightforward up-tempo track  Dust featuring Reo Cragun. The upcoming producer has been praised by tastemakers and his tracks have landed on KCRW, Beats 1, BBC1 and BBC2. Splitting his time between Los Angeles and Europe, Italy born KINGDM has worked his way up to 10 million combined streams. The debut track ‘Can’t Get Over You’ reached No. 1 on HypeMachine while the follow up track “Baby” featuring Kevin Garrett landed n the Top 10 Spotify’s global and U.S. Viral 50 charts. I believe KINGDM is lightyears ahead with his songwriting. In an interview with ATWOOD Mag he notes, “Most of my songs start in my head. Sometimes I hear melodies or ideas, and the first step is usually to capture them on the Voice Memo of my iPhone. When I move to production, I generally have a clear picture of how I want the track to sound, but it’s rarely related to a style. The first flow of ideas is usually very quick. 90% of the song is usually done within a couple of hours. But then I spend a LOT of time editing and tweaking sounds, and I think that’s when the blend of styles often happens”.  Give the track a stream.

Velvet Starlings is picking up steam with its brand of retro  rock. Behind Velvet Starling is Christian Gisborne a 15 year-old indie rock singer/songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. I think we are seeing more of these type of 70’s influenced type of acts pop up, while Greta Van Fleet, the most popular of the pack right now, just received a Gold certification for their debut album. The latest track Sold Down the River opens up with a moody organ swell and takes you on musical journey. Think Black Keys meets The Yard Birds. The band started making waves after receiving heavy spins on Sirius XM. Additionally, they are tapped to play festival “Summerfest” in Milwaukee and will tour Europe in 2019. Give it a stream.

Today, the Music Modernization Act has been officially signed into law by President Trump.  Kanye West among others witnessed the historic moment. Artists have been treated very unfairly for a long time. The Music Modernization Act will modernize copyright protection for recording artists and songwriters in the digital and streaming age. Simply, artists will get paid fair market value.

The bill revamps Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act. Their are the act’s three main pieces of legislation:The Music Modernization Act, which streamlines the music-licensing process to make it easier for rights holders to get paid when their music is streamed online. The Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, & Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act for pre-1972 recordings. The Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act, which improves royalty payouts for producers and engineers from SoundExchange when their recordings are used on satellite and online radio.