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

Kings favorite Jared & The Mill continue to impress with their popular track Breath Me In. They kicked off their fall tour alongside Canadian singer-songwriter Alexz Johnson and Patrick Droney. They hit the road in June 2014 with Barry Gibb performing for thousands of fans across the country at sold-out shows. They have also shared the stage with notable artists including Flogging Molly, Cake, The Killers, Y La Bamba, Joe Pug, Horse Feathers, and playing at Summerfest 2014 in Milwaukee with The Zac Brown Band. They are currently working on their next EP, which is slated for release in spring 2015.
Contact: travis@basismanagement.com

Buzz Track: Hold On Tight

Californian singer-songwriter Ed Prosek is creating a buzz with his latest work. His latest track “Hold On Tight” hit 100,000 plays in less than 3 weeks, and reached #1 on Hype Machine. With comparisons to James Vincent McMorrow, Patrick Watson, George Ezra and Ben Howard, he has dramatically announced himself as one to watch on the scene. Prosek has toured the UK, the West Coast of the US and Germany and just completed a 12 date UK Tour that took him all the way up to Aberdeen. Ed Prosek is an artist to watch…
Contact: stopandthinkmusic@hotmail.co.uk, (press) Kim@Supercatpr.co.uk

Renowned music industry executive Tom Sturges literally wrote the book on creativity. In his most recent work, Every Idea Is A Good Idea, he explores the two primary types of creativity- individual and collaborative. While the book is a must-read no matter what you do, filled with excellent advice and exercises to help anyone find their creative center and learn to access it more efficiently, many of us work with artists every day in a non-creative capacity. We followed up with him to find out a little more about how to have a successful relationship with truly creative people, and see what creative turns he has taken to end up where he is today.

In the book Every Idea Is A Good Idea you talk about how deeply personal the creative process is, and how it shouldn’t really be discussed. When you said that a one-hit wonder will go on and on about how a song just came to them, I laughed out loud. We all know those guys. Can you give me a few questions one can ask to get a good read on whether or not a new artist is really tuned in to their creative center? Or is producing material the only way to really know?

True artistry is very genuine, and very truthful in its presentation. And you know the truth when you see, and more importantly, hear it. In a strange way, it’s almost as if the performer doesn’t really care if anyone is listening or not, as if he or she is so in tune with their own music and art that the presence of a witness is insignificant. Picasso could not tell you how he painted, but he could tell you how empty his life would be without his art.

So the questions to ask a new artist would relate to their inspirations, their artistry, their big dream, their favorite song that has ever been written (not their own, I hope), what they were like in high school, and that kind of thing. Come at them from the perspective of complete respect and see how they respond.

You have worked with a lot of very extremely creative people and in your book you share one particular story about an encounter you had early in your career with Carole King. You have picked up a lot of wisdom about creativity itself, but what can you share regarding what you’ve learned about working with creative people, from the business end of things?

Between an artist and the record, there are several intermediaries, including the producer, engineer, mastering engineer, mixer, a&r, etc. Between the songwriter and the song there is no one. When working with artists, the music is almost like a third person in the room, probably because it required so many others to successfully create it. When working with the writer and talking about the song, you might as well be talking about a family member.

The bottom line is that one must be completely respectful of a creator’s art, and allow plenty of room for ego and dreams to co-exist with the vocal, instrumentation, the lyrics and melodies. But, before sharing an opinion with someone about their work, find out if it’s the FINAL version, i.e., cannot be changed no matter what versus a DRAFT, i.e., still a work in progress. If it’s the latter, feel free to say whatever you like. But if it’s the former, pay a compliment relative to your view of the work and say no more.

What do you think it takes to have a successful working relationship with an extremely creative person when you’re not really a collaborator?

If you are working with someone and you are not a collaborator, you need to pick the role you intend to play. Possibly you are the sounding board (listen to all ideas and offer comments and suggestions), the enabler/facilitator (organizer of studio time and finder of musicians, but with no “creative” role to play), or the fan (who loves everything, no matter what). The thing I find most creators need most is believers. So if you cannot be any of the three above, just believe. CONTINUE READING

Since our last feature on Corsica Arts Club this indie duo has released a new single Untamed. They’ve captured the attention of tastemakers at NME, MTV, and KCRW, and were invited by the band Spoon to open for them in Los Angeles. As far as the new single, it was inspired by New Order, Bryan Ferry, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, and Iggy Pop’s “The Idiot”. Their last single California I follow immediately made us fans.
Contact: corsicaartsclub@gmail.com