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20.07.12MusicWeek 3
NE-YO TASKED WITH BRINGING BACK THE GLORY DAYS TO CLASSIC SOUL RECORD LABEL
Motown readies 21st Century revamp M
LABELS BY RHIAN JONES
otown Records head Ethiopia Habtemariam has coined R&B star
Ne-Yo as the new Smokey Robinson of the legendary label. In an attempt to bring the imprint up to date, the singer became senior vice president of A&R at the Universal-owned company earlier this year. Habtemariam gave him the
job after he took up residency as one of their artists. “He honestly is the total package and I’m not bullshitting,” she told Music Week. “He’s an absolute professional on every level. He clearly exemplifies what a true R&B pop artist is and what Motown records represent.” Habtemariam admits the
label had lost its way in the past: “It just happened over time, over the years but for many reasons, different regimes.” The singer/songwriter moved
from Def Jam to Motown in January, bringing his Compound Entertainment imprint with him. He will serve as a producer and mentor to the label’s artists as well as discovering and signing new talent.
treated - but instead of complaining, how about you do something about it.” The ethos of the revitalised
label will focus on breaking new artists and focusing on artist development. Motown names to look out
for include male groups B5 and Imprint and young female singer Scotty Rebel as well as solo acts B Smith and Kevin Ross, who Ne-Yo calls “the closest thing to the Stevie Wonder of our day”. Ne-Yo’s fifth studio album
“Ne-Yo is honestly the total package and I’m not bullshitting. He clearly exemplifies what a true R&B pop artist is and what Motown records represent....” ETHIOPIA HABTEMARIAM, MOTOWN
The plan is to bring Motown
back to the success it enjoyed with the likes of The Supremes, The Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder - and when Robinson
acted as artist-cum-A&R. Grammy award-winning Ne-
Yo said: “Being in A&R is all about going out and looking for
SMS music service launches
A new platform to sell or give away music tracks and ringtones via text messaging, Music2text, launches today ( July 20). Fans text a song’s name to
60444 to connect to a mobile music store, where they can download the track for free, 50p or £1.00, as determined by the label or artist. They can also opt to can stream or email the track, and follow the artist via Facebook or Twitter. The service is free to use for
any labels giving a track away for free, but costs £20 if they wish to sell the track – although the seller keeps 100% of revenue. In addition, Music2text
captures mobile numbers of participating “opt-in” fans, enabling UK labels and artists to build a database for future
marketing campaigns. The service has been piloted
with UK hip-hop and R‘n’B artists Bashy (via Essential Music), Starboy Nathan (via Absolute Marketing), Marvell and independent labels. The company is in talks with
three of the top five record labels in the UK, as well as InGrooves, Zimbalan/Believe Digital and Crown Music Management. UK R‘n’B artist Starboy
Nathan used the service to create a direct-to-fan marketing campaign during his major UK tours supporting JLS, The Wanted and N-Dubz. Fans were able to get a free ringtone of his new single Diamonds, whilst code was also included in all of the artist’s marketing materials across press and social media.
The platform is fully
PRS compliant and is in the process of becoming chart registered. Said Crown Music
Management chairman – and former MD of Island Records - Marc Marot: “This is a great example of a fully transparent mobile service that can accommodate all sectors of the industry, be it major, independent or unsigned.” Alex Branson, SVP
INgrooves added: “For record companies and distribution companies this provides a unique way of understanding who their artists’ fans are as well as a new way to sell their tracks. I am sure it will be a feature in many future
talent. There’s so many complaints that I can make about the music industry and just the way that the artist is
Determined: Ne- Yo has been likened to Smokey Robinson, who was VP of Motown in its glory years, as well as a hugely successful artist
R.E.D is set for a September release. It follows a guest spot on Calvin Harris’s summer club track Let’s Go, while he has also been writing with Rihanna for her next album and collaborating with UK artist Conor Maynard. With cumulative US sales of
4.3 million, the singer’s two latest albums 2010’s Libra Scale, 2008’s Year of the Gentleman were both No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. His hit singles include Miss Independent –which netted Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance –Closer and Mad.
“The future for music distribution and promotion is undoubtedly the mobile space and Music2text uses a mixture of tried and tested and cutting- edge technologies....” DENVER THOMAS, MUSIC2TEXT
campaigns to come.” Said Music2text CEO and
founder Denver Thomas: “The future for music distribution and promotion is undoubtedly in the
mobile space and Music2text uses a mixture of tried and tested and cutting edge technologies to deliver a disarmingly simple solution.”
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