PLAYMA photoshoot backstage: less words, more images with Webdoc

Playing with Webdoc today, which recieved quite some buzz on MIDEM this past weekend (a dedicated blog post is coming up today on Dotted Music).

Not fully convinced with how everything is organized there, but it is cool and very useful service without a doubt!

Check out a video my wife Katya did from a PLAYMA photo session in December 2011 (the photographer is Vika Konovalova).

Filed under  //  apps   casestudy   photo   promotion   video  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

PLAYMA - Cuz We Are PLAYMA #YouTube

PLAYMA is revealing their new track and a first music video, filmed by Dotted Music (my wife Katya)!

Titled Cuz We Are PLAYMA, this 4x4 masterpiece with a crunchy dubstep breakdown shows a pure PLAYMA energy and style - you will love it. Created out of days worth of footage, the 3-minutes video for Cuz We Are PLAYMA chronicles their journeys of 2011: from the day in Kaliningrad when PLAYMA was founded to our home rehearsals and the first live gig in Paris' La Bellevilloise club.

Get a full MP3 version of Cuz We Are PLAYMA for FREE at http://playmamusic.com

Filmed and directed by Katya Apanova

 

Filed under  //  playma   video   youtube  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

Howard Bloom: Success in Music Industry #YouTube

Howard Bloom: Success in Music Industry Select comments by Howard Bloom at IdeaFestival 2010 on his past experience as a publicist in the music industry

Filed under  //  video   youtube  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

Quickly creating announcements with Smore #CaseStudy

Another cool little app I discovered and tested this week is called Smore.

Currently in Alpha (yes, not even Beta), the service allows to instantly create simple pages and share them on social networks. This kind of a digital flyer is great for announcing events, and so I tried it out yesterday with a page dedicated to next week's premiere of PLAYMA's new music video for "Cuz We Are PLAYMA."

THE RESULT: Cuz We Are PLAYMA announcement on Smore

THE PROCESS:

  1. Signed up with a Facebook account (the service is currently invitation-only, but check the end of the post if you want the access)
  2. Created a new page
  3. Edited the title, description, added text, few teaser photos from the video, a link to the PLAYMA YouTube channel. There are not too many formats available for instering into a page, but enough for what this tool was created for. Adding an event date was a bit confusing, since the widget also includes a location field that can't be removed (totally ok if you promote a real-world event like a party). That's why the primere will apparently happen in the SF YouTube office (need to inform the guys so they are not too shocked on Tuesday).
  4. Changed the theme. I'm not sure who is the target audience of this service right now, but most of the themes are too... colorful.
  5. Published and shared the URL! Very quick and simple.

Basic statistic are available, showing the admin how many views the page got (without any details at this point). I loved that each page goes with a Facebook comment plugin, which is very appropriate considering the social concept behind the service.

Overall a fun and handy tool, which of course needs to improve to become something that you can use on a regular basis (but it's alpha afer all). The two creators of the service have done a great work so far.

If you want an invite, let me know in the comments or Twitter @matterandrew and I'll try to get you one!

PS: For full disclosure, I am not affiliated with Smore, but do manage PLAYMA. Watch that video on Tuesday, it's awesome!

Filed under  //  casestudy   promotion   service   video  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

Santa is a Communist - Josh Urban #YouTube

All in a tizzy about the Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays conflict? You're missing the bigger picture. Santa is a Communist, and he's taking over a rooftop near you. Don't be fooled by his laugh or a wink of his eye. He dresses in red, and he pushes a socialist agenda that is most un-American. Sharing and cheer for EVERYONE? Sounds like redistribution. Pretty soon they'll be rationing eggnog. All photography, camera, and post-production editing by Noah Urban and Zakk Urban, http://www.mazuzu.com Back the attack, buy war posters! http://joshurban.com/merch-1.html

Filed under  //  video   youtube  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

PLAYMA Live @ Excuse My French, Paris 11/05 #YouTube

PLAYMA's Mars and Ben William playing live at La Bellevilloise club in Paris, France, on November 5th. More info about the party can be found at http://www.excusemyfrench.fr/?p=953

Filed under  //  live   party   video   youtube  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

Matt And Kim's new flash mob-inspired music video for "Block After Block"

From the press release: "The video was shot on location in NYC and not only includes Matt & Kim's gang of friends, but also loyal Twitter followers who showed up to fulfill Matt's fun and fresh concept of a flash-mob performance occurring in numerous iconic New York City locations. Crowd surfing on the Brooklyn Bridge, performing in a Chinatown intersection, and taking over the NBC Rockefeller Plaza are just a few of the raucous scenes included in this fun-filled music video."

Filed under  //  flashmob   fun   video   viral   youtube  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

David Guetta Teams Up With 'F--king YouTube Sensation' Keenan Cahill

Grammy Winning DJ/Producer David Guetta recently teamed up with YouTube star Keenan Cahill to do a megamix of Guetta's biggest hits from the past year. Check it out below, funny stuff (and pretty smart, most importantly):

 

Filed under  //  video   viral   youtube  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

OK Go making cool shit, just as declared

After reading all the latest stories about OK Go's contradictions with EMI (I'm sure you've heard a lot about it lately) and watching an alternative video for "This Too Shall Pass", which the band filmed after the label prohibited embedding the original one, I can't feel anything but even deeper admiration of the act.

In his November 2009 interview, posted on Dotted Music, OK Go singer Damian Kulash didn't seem to count on viral videos as the only and main promotional weapon, and most probably didn't know that YouTube would bring the band another boost of popularity just few months later. But that the band's "make cool shit" motto works despite anything.

A quote from that interview for your inspiration:

At the end day, make cool shit. It’s so ridiculously oversimplified. It’s true that YouTube is no longer outside of the box or cutting edge. It’s become the main medium for videos. People make their videos for YouTube now, not MTV.

...

Things are exciting. Thinking about it like, “I have a band and I need to figure out a clever marketing plan” – that will always fail. If you look at it like, “I have a band and I want to make cool shit” – if you’re really good at that, it will market itself.

Filed under  //  fun   label   promotion   rock   video  
Posted by Andrew Apanov 

Make The Girl Dance - Kill Me [VIDEO]


MAKE THE GIRL DANCE [KILL ME] (official video)

Not that heavily fascinated by the content (have to confess though, I love watching footage from NYC, especially since I've never been in the States yet, lol). But the concept is fun, good job!

Filed under  //  fun   rock   video  
Posted by Andrew Apanov