A childhood buddy of mine called me from his Wall Street office asking “Have you ever heard of The Catching from NJ? My 10 year old son saw them live and really likes the band”.

After a quick search, I found the 4 piece pop act which wasn’t hard to find. I was hooked after a first listen. The latest single Ready Set Go is straight-up pop rock. The Catching was added to Nick Music and are #1 on YouNow. They have two videos floating around the net directed by Marc Klasfeld (Twenty One Pilots, Katy Perry) and are completely booked with shows this month via High School Nation Tour. From Rumson, NJ arose Charlie Puth — are these boys be next?
brian@rebelintel.com

Since I first came across The Bergamot, a husband / wife indie folk duo, I’ve been addicted ever since. The new remix of the popular track Forget About Tomorrow is their best yet – think Coldplay meets The Black Eyed Peas.

The Brooklyn based indie act is on a 50 state tour that wraps up October 22nd and have been featured in BuzzFeed, The Deli Magazine, and The Music Bit. The dedicated touring act has performed alongside All American Rejects and Young the Giant, while the latest track was remixed by LA based Malachi Mott (The Game & Zedd). Last but not least, The Bergamot’s created The Unity Collective, a project that brings people together during this divisive era. Props!
contact@thebergamot.com

Swedish producer duo Death In The Afternoon has crafted a stuck-in-your-head dream pop track. Think M83 meets MGMT.

Their vague backstory hasn’t stopped the Swedish darlings from heating up the blogosphere. They’ve also had tracks placed in TV series including AWKWARD, Looking & Pretty Little Liars.

Good Enough was released via the Swedish indie label Sommarhjarta. Keep an eye on this electro/pop duo.
contact@ditaband.com, redrik@sommarhjarta.se, liv@mysticsons.com

Music blogs are a great medium for artists that want to grow their audience. Receiving shout-outs from tastemaker blogs can increase an artists’ subscriber base, song streams, and outside opportunities including brand partnerships. Of course, making contact with bloggers poses a challenge for artists since many of the blogs receive hundreds of music submissions a day. Many bloggers freely admit that their inbox looks like a war zone.

Rapper Kellee Maize notes, “When I started reaching out to blogs many years ago, the volume of emails coming to these sites wasn’t as large. I definitely received some blog love, and it helped my SEO a great deal, but more and more folks are making amazing music, (which is awesome), and this marketing strategy of emailing music blogs is now over-saturated.

Just imagine how many submissions Stereo Gum and Pitchfork get? And, getting no response, time and time again can be a discouragement that you don’t deserve – but don’t worry, blogs will start reaching out to you, once you build a fan base”.

If you make good music and build a fanbase, then generally blogs will find you and start posting your music. This can lead to licensing opportunities and brand partnerships.

So who are the top 100 music blogs on the web? Pitchfork and Consequence of Sound are at the top of the list according to Feedspot . Others include Your EDM, Pigeons & Planes, Hype Machine, The 405, Ear Milk, Largehearted Boy, Kings of A&R, Brooklyn Vegan, The Wild Honey Pie and The Music Ninja.

The full list of the top 100 music blogs on the web can be viewed here.

Naations is blowing it up with Kingdom. The track which landed on Spotify’s Fresh Finds Playlist and New Music Friday has elements of Lorde, Rihanna, and M.I.A.

The Australian duo consisting of Natt Dunn & Nicky Night Time have written for artists including Jess Kent, Alex Winston, and Bearson.

Having quickly made a name for themselves, the dynamic duo just wrapped up performing at Australia’s BIGSOUND festival.
andrew@youngandvicious.com, holler@mucho-bravado.com,