The number 1 album this week is “Blue Slide Park” by Mac Miller, real name Malcolm McCormick.
Miller records for Rostrum Records, an indie label from Pittsburgh owned by a guy named Benjy Grinburg. It’s the same label that launched Wiz Khalifa on Atlantic Records. For the Mac Miller album, which is hip hop with melodies, Rostrum is distributed through Universal Music Group.
It does seem like Mac Miller’s success comes from hard work and social networking on Facebook, where he has more than a million friends. He also has million Twitter followers. All that translated into about 149,000 CD sales
Buzz Track: Up To No Good
This UK pop duo combines British indie with American pop – “Think The Kooks ‘Naive ‘ meets Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream”. The band have just released a 4 track demo EP ‘Time Will Tell’ which is available for free download at www.theapproval.bandcamp.com
Contact: theapproval@live.co.uk
Buzz Track: Hurricane
The track Hurricane by The Relay Company has become a Kings favorite. This pop act has released 2 EP’s and has opened for Gym Class Heroes, Good Charlotte, The Summer Set – and has shared the stage at festivals with Neon Trees, Cage the Elephant, ect.
Contact: adammariucci@mac.com
Buzz Track: Living in the Moment
Brand new song from The Hint out now called “Living in the Moment”- produced by Scott Riebling (Weezer) and mixed by Mark Needham (The Killers). The Hint has toured the US and the UK independently, including an Absolutepunk sponsored tour, Purevolume tour, Warped Tour with Ernie Ball, SXSW with BMI and CMJ in the past.
Contact: thehintmgmt@gmail.com
Grooveshark is an online music search engine, music streaming service and music recommendation web software application, allowing users to search for, stream, and upload music for a charge that can be played immediately or added to a playlist.
I sat down with Grooveshark’s SVP Paul Geller discussing artist payout, Spotify, and how Grooveshark positioned itself as one of the leading providers of music streaming in the industry.
Tell me about your history in music. You mentioned that you began as a musician signed to a label performing in an emo band.
I started playing violin when I was 4. I think my mom was a Tiger Mom before it was fashionable. I always had to be playings something. In middle school I took up alto sax, then piano/keys and finally landed on an instrument I considered fashionable. My dad bought me a beat up Japanese Strat. To this day it’s my favorite guitar even though I have quite a collection. After a few years of playing alone I started a band with a couple other buddies from school. The band was called Keepsake. We signed a deal with Eulogy Recordings when I was 15, put out a record and went on our first tour when I was 16. I think I did about 3 records before my 19th birthday and had been up and down the East Coast a dozen times. I have vivid memories of sleeping in an uninsulated utility van on Christmas Day in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Read more….
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