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Boom.fm goes off-air

It is with great sadness that we announce to all bands and music fans that at 5pm on Monday 10 December, our website http://boom.fm will shut down.

Our investor, World of Avatar, will no longer be funding Boom.fm and our current revenue streams do not cover our operating costs.

The Boom.fm team is incredibly proud of what we have achieved in the past year. We have been true to our intention of growing and supporting the success of the local music industry. The caliber of people we have in our community is really special. You are some of the most influential and forward thinking individuals in local music scene and it’s been a crazy, wonderful ride working with you all.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all the bands that signed up with Boom.fm. We love this industry and are passionate about what we do and we hope to find an alternative solution, because we believe in your success.

We will store all the code and content, and once we find a brand that is committed to supporting the South African music industry, we will reactivate the site. Boom.fm will continue to exist through social media.

If you need to get in touch with us please get in contact with team on [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected] or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

P.S. To those bands playing on the BOOM! Ramfest stage, don’t worry, everything is still continuing as norm. The name of the stage just might change. We'll be in touch with more info.

#BoomDIY: Management

Van Coke Kartel band bassist and manager, Wynand Myburgh, talks about what exactly a manager does for a band and how a new band can go about getting a good manager. He talks about his experience in the music industry, which started as member and manager of one of S.A.'S most famous bands, Fokofpolisiekar.

Watch video here.

#BoomDIY: PUBLICITY

Although most probably think they know what a publicist is, in the music industry the lines between manager and publicist often merge. Louise Crouse explains what she does, plus why it's a good idea to have a publicist, even if you're a starter band. Louise's extensive experience with SA's Bellville bands, including Fokofpolisiekar gives her insight into the local industry that can be greatly beneficial to artists wanting to make music their career. You can contact Lindi or Laurissa from Publik PR if you're looking for a publicist. Phone: Lindi 072 025 4240 || Laurissa: 082 555 3236 Email: [email protected] || [email protected]

Watch video here

#BoomDIY:Recording your track

We find out what George (lead singer of Taxi Violence and Goodnight Wembley and sound engineer) recommends to bands starting out in the industry, for example what exactly is pre-production? Do you need a producer? If your budget is limited: is it better to spend more on one single track or many? George also explains why it's important to get an outsider's ear to listen to your track. With his skills as a sound engineer and more than 8 years of industry experience George knows what works and what doesn't. Listen to Goodnight Wembley on Boom.fm at here.

Watch video here.

#BOOMDIY: How to get your track played on radio

Second video in the #BoomDIY Series:

How to get your track played on radio

DJ Ready D (musician and radio DJ) shares his experience with us and explains how to get a song onto radio. He explains what "broadcast friendly" means, and why separate edits for radio, like remixes, can really benefit an artist. Ready D explains why getting the paperwork sorted out is an imperative part of getting playlisted. He talks about how the playing field has broadened and how collaborations can boost a musician's career.

Watch the video here, http://youtu.be/3EHZtTMC19Y

#BoomDIY video series...

An overview of the first part of the series of #BoomDIY videos:

We've decided to do a series of videos to provide bands with information when they're first starting out. We speak to a SAMRO representative about licensing music and how to go about “sorting out the paperwork". DJ Ready D talks about creating a track that is acceptable for radio play. Van Coke Kartel band bassist and manager Wynand Myburgh talks about what a manager does for a band, and how a new band can go about getting a good manager. Louise Crouse, publicist to well-known SA musicians such as Jack Parow, Die Heuwels Fantasties, aKING (to name few) talks to us about what it is a publicist does and why she thinks it is necessary for a band to get a one.

One thing that is clear from speaking to industry professionals: it is hard to "make it" in the music business, all the clichés about it being "cut throat” and "dog-eat-dog" come to mind and seem to apply. A start-up band really can’t afford to sit back and take it easy - if you want to be taken seriously then you need to get serious. If you’re committed to your craft, we’d like to help out with ideas on how to take your career as a musician to the next level. We would to know what you are struggling with and we will source some expert advice on the topic. Drop Renée an email at [email protected] and we can find out how the people who know how it works made it happen.

This is the first video in the series.. 1) LISCENSING AND SAMRO

So you’ve recorded a track and playing some live gigs, and have heard this thing about “licensing”, and maybe you’ve heard about SAMRO? We set out to understand what exactly it means to license music. We speak to SAMRO representative, Xolani Zulu, who explains the difference between the composers’ rights and the master rights holder. He explains how SAMRO protects musicians' rights and advises on when and how bands can go about approaching SAMRO. After chatting to Xolani, it is clear that licensing your music is a vital part of the process.

Watch the video here, http://youtu.be/4T1OVeIV-OI

It's all happening at the BOOM! stage ( The T's & C's )

Where it started:

It all started with a beer at the Trumpet Tree in Stellenbosch a couple of months ago, as all great things do.

Well, actually it started more or less a year ago at Klein Libertas, over chops and wors on the fire. Beer was also involved. We (Boom.fm and RAMfest) spoke about how the local scene is on the up 'n up and what we could do to make it even better. Loads of ideas were thrown around. We ended up mapping out not only the future of the South African music scene, but also planning and scheming for the entire southern hemisphere to get together. We were going interconti_mental_.

Long story short. We discussed having our very own stage at RAMfest 2012 a Day of Thunder. Boom.fm was still a brand new company - full of fire and vigor - but also, with a limit to our resources. We just didn't have the time or the man power to pull it off, not on the scale we wanted to anyway. So the idea rested in the cooler, right next to the ice cold Black Labels, for another year.

Back at the Trumpet Tree. Boom.fm and RAMfest, standing at the bar, RAMfest says; "RAMfest 2013 Cape Town is back to being a full weekend festival", Boom.fm brow raised, excited; "A FULL WEEKEND FESTIVAL"? RAMfest smiles and nods; a full weekend festival (a similar conversation ensued when RAMfest announced Joburg as a two legged dog this next time around). We continue talking about music and how epic the line up is. (Yes we know who the other two internationals are, go get yourself a fresh pair of knickers before we divulge, it is going to be mayhem.)

We revisit the BOOM! stage idea, this time the discussion leads to not only one stage but two (this is also where the idea of a colaboration between us, Boom.fm, our sister company Mxit and RAMfest was introduced - more on that at a later stage). The BOOM! stage in Cape Town and Joburg, with none other than the BOOM! stage breaking the festival in on the Thursday night.

The Conclusion?

RAMfest 2013 presents for the very first time, the BOOM! stage. This stage will pull you straight out of your hangover, right back into the swing of festivities. Showcasing some of South Africa's most wanted up-and-coming musicians across a variety of genres, from Folk & Funk to Rockabilly & Reggae, plus a couple of old favourites.

The BOOM! stage is powered by local online music streaming service and music store, http://boom.fm and Africa's biggest social network, Mxit.

The BOOM! stage will be at:

RAMfest CPT 7 - 10 March 2013 ( http://on.fb.me/SlqjNO )

RAMfest JHB 15 & 16 March 2013 ( http://on.fb.me/Slqp8m )

HOW TAG YOUR BAND WORKS. ( The Terms & Conditions )

This is a social media campaign to bring awareness to local up-and-coming bands that Ramfest organisers and Boom.fm don't yet know about (yes, it happens). Ultimately, both parties will still decide upon the line up, but fanatical fans' favourite bands will definitely be considered. Boom.fm will also attempt at all times to profile bands we feel are going that extra mile to promote their music.

* NB! Only bands that have a Boom.fm ( http://boom.fm ) profile with music will be considered for the 'tag your band' submissions. We cannot promote music that we don't have on our site. Also, potential fans won't be able to discover your music through our Radio Player if it's not there.

Tag your band name with a link to your Boom.fm profile in the BOOM! stage poster comments. Find poster here - ( http://on.fb.me/SloJLR )

We promise to check out every single band who is mentioned on our Facebook page.

Done! Are you as excited as we are?

#DIY Music

When Boom.fm attended the MIDS workshop in April, we were quite sad that it was so poorly attended. Here David Chislett was delivering a lot of really important info for musicians to gain a better understanding of the local music business - and nobody was there to hear it.

After chatting to numerous bands about licensing issues, brand involvement, record labels etcetera we realised that way too many musicians don't seem to see the value in understanding the business-side of the music industry. Playing rad music just isn't enough. You need to be able to sell yourself (and obviously your music(!)) to pay the bills. Even if the end objective is to sign with a label and 'get them to do everything for you,' you need to understand how everything works first so that you can negotiate a better deal for yourself. Labels generally try and make money for themselves first.

Last week SA Music Scene posted about a new book written by Mart-Marie Schoeman called 'When Music is your Business". So we read it, and if you're a musician looking to make it in the SA industry, we recommend you read it too. It goes into the details of confusing things like licensing your tracks and shows you with examples how to fill out SAMRO/NORM forms. The admin side of things can be pretty boring, but you need to know it.

It also has a pragmatic summary on marketing - for example, a list on what the industry expectations are for a press kit:

What do I put in the press kit?

• A cover letter to introduce yourself and explain your expectation of them. If it is for radio, tell them that you want them to playlist song number 4 on the album.

• An autographed CD, preferably a commercially released CD ‐ the media is not very keen on working with demos.

• Photographs.

• A Biography. See notes below and remember to add a list of awards if any.

• A gig list. Both played and planned – at least 3 months ahead.

• A fact sheet. If you’re writing a factsheet to go along with a biography and/or an upcoming album release, there are some business points you should consider: copyrights, trademarked band names, sponsors, previous recordings (with titles and dates), band managers and record labels. Also include how many Facebook likes, YouTube views, Twitter followers and email addresses are in your database.

• A list of other media coverage. What are the good things that magazines, newspapers and internet blogs have written about you?

• A press release. A document telling your story, background and events happening soon. This is almost like the biography, but more focused on an event like a big gig, CD launch or release. If you can’t afford a publicist to write a suitable press release, just search ‘press release template’ on the internet and write something accordingly.

Find Mart-Marie's book on her website, here.

A few weeks ago, Boom.fm decided to start a new project called DIY MUSIC - with snippets of practical info delivered in video format for young bands who want to understand how the local industry works. Put together, these short videos will have all the information bands need to function without a label. We hope it'll help musicians to gain a better understanding of the larger environment in which they're operating so that they can actually make some money.

More info to follow soon!

LOOKING FOR A PART-TIME A&R AGENT (scout) TO HELP US FIND AWESOME NEW BANDS IN JOBURG:

This may be the perfect jobbie for you if you are:

Out-going (personality and literal!)

Someone with excellent communication skillz

If not trendsetting, trend observing

A student (because you go out a lot & stay up late)

A serious muso (you know like laaank bands/musicians)

Very open-minded in your music taste (we need all types of music)

In Joburg

Responsibilities:

Boom.fm is a free service for bands to sign up to and sell their tracks on. Fans discover new bands through the Radio Player. Unfortunately lots of new bands (with or without labels) don’t know that Boom.fm exists, and therefore aren’t taking advantage of the service. While we go out in Cape Town all the time and are well connected in the music industry here, we don’t have any presence in Joburg. We need someone who goes to a lot of gigs and is connected to loads of musicians to sign bands up to our portal so that we have more awesome music for fans to listen to.

Remuneration totally depends on how many bands you swing our way but this is a part-time job and if you’re doing it for the money, this aint the right job for you. This is the music industry after all.

If you think this is a cool gig for you, please send us more information about yourself and why you think you’re the right person for the job to [email protected].

Surrender To Someday EP launch

Surrender To Someday’s new EP, Crown. Paper. Kings offers some delicious guitar riffs, big anthemic choruses and straight-up rock ‘n roll. Crown. Paper. Kings is the five piece’s second EP and comes more than two years after their debut release This Side of Make Believe.

The songs on the EP vary from the in-your-face rock ‘n roll of Electric Armageddon, which starts off with a bang and descends into a delicate midsection before it takes a sharp left turn into a blistering chorus. Truth Turns To Legend explodes into a finger tapping intro from lead guitarist Thinus Jacobs before it changes grooves and slides into a swing rhythm. Then there are also the more melodic and more spacious sonic landscapes of Time Travelling Ain’t What It Used To Be and Catherine’s Wake.

Already, the lead single from the album, Drop Dead, Gorgeous, has been play listed on MK and has been receiving radio airplay on various Campus radio stations around the country.

Louis Minnaar, who has created some spectacular artwork for some of South Africa’s most respectable artists, created cover artwork that expertly illustrates the themes from the album title. Vocalist Wessel Jacobs elaborates: “We feel very privileged that Louis was able to lend his talents to our project. It is inspiring that this batch of songs will be visually represented by such a powerful image.”

The band is thrilled to finally release these songs and is excited to start touring and playing shows in support of this EP. Surrender To Someday is ready to conquer some unexplored terrain, are you ready to join the crusade…?

From 13 June 2012 the songs from the EP can be purchased online at Boom.fm (http://www.boom.fm/surrendertosomeday/?tab=music). Fans that want to buy a copy of the CD can contact the band at http://www.facebook.com/surrendertosomeday or they can catch the band at one of the launch gigs and purchase a copy there.

Doing it Indie.

There is a new online one-stop shop for your very best music news, gossip, entertainment and commentary in town. Indie does it is the brainchild of the well-known Journalist and Photographer Genevieve Vieira. It is a pioneer in the South African online news space and was created to provide a dynamic platform for loyal music lovers to connect with like-minded people.

Indie Does It offers a space for music enthusiasts to engage, share and learn about South Africa and its ever-progressing music industry. Indie Does It also seeks to provide its readers with the latest original music content, by a team of professional writers who wield an unreserved passion for music.

Visit Indie Does It on www.indiedoesit.co.za

For more information and inquiries on promoting your content and press releases contact Genevieve Vieira email [email protected]

Oh you Sweet Thing...

The dust on the Northam horizon is rising. The sweet scent of thorn trees and bushes and grass - Bon fires, bong fires, camp fires and braaivleis fires, even the smell of a few burnt spare tires. The cheers of 20 000 beer guzzling fans. 7 Stages under sun, moon and stars and a few hundred bands. Music from everywhere - near and far. Music for everyone from the Main Stage to the Klein Bar. Can you taste the true spirit of music eco through the bushveld. Oppikoppi Festival, the Sweet\Thing i always felt.

Africa's Music Mecca, Oppikoppi, is turning 18 this year. And thousands upon thousands of young and old, equally eager and hungry, music fans are starting their preparations for the Groot Trek.

This year Oppikoppi is going big, even bigger than before. With plans of having 7 live stages in order to showcase more music and more genres and a new campsite infrastructure to host even more people (20 000 capacity.) Plus a few surprises.

But they are not only going bigger, they have also teamed up with Standard Bank to make going bigger easier by making ticket prices smaller:

six buffalo / R600 on Standard Bank Youth Portal

seven buffalo / R700 on Oppikoppi Facebook

seven buffalo and one lion / R750 on Ticketbreak.co.za

"the sweetest deal is buying from the Standard Bank youth portal for R600. They supplement each ticket for the fans (nice hey?) and you DO NOT have to be a Standard Bank client, they just want you to see how decent and upstanding they are. (Oppikoppi Notes FB page)"

R100 to R150 saving means more beer, Cuervo or you can even spice up your bacon and eggs with a side serving of mushrooms...

The following artists have been confirmed:

Aking Baskerville Beast Bittereinder Black Cat Bones Catlike Thieves Dance, you're on Fire Fokofpolisiekar Gert Vlok Nel Jack Parow Lilly Million Shadowclub The Kiffness Thieve Toya Delazy

Save the date for 9,10 &11 August '12 and check out the Oppikoppi Festival FB page Twitter feed for more line-up updates.

https://www.facebook.com/oppikoppifestival

https://twitter.com/#!/oppikoppifest

Post by Jacques van Straten

#Oppikoppi #music #Jose Cuervo #aking #bittereinder #Black Cat Bones #Jack Parow #Fokofpolisiekar

Lonehill Estate Return with New Album and Invitation to Switzerland

Lonehill Estate have just returned to SA after some successful shows in the States.

After receiving some international success through the web, the band were invited to perform at the esteemed Musexpo in Hollywood. The event brought together some of the world's top executive minds, emerging talents and influential figures from the press, media and technology realms. Lonehill Estate took to the stage with their neon coloured rock sound and stunned the crowd with eye-twitchingly good music.

The band also performed at The Viper Room, home to Hollywood’s elite. It was here that they created a roar with the newest green member, better known as The Fraq. Lonehill Estate’s marketing strategies have never been quite modest, but it is their mischievous seal that is taking these guys straight to the top.

Lonehill Estate Release New Album

And it couldn’t have come at a better time. Just a week after their return, Lonehill Estate’s brand new album has been mixed, mastered and ready for stores! The 14 track album is without a doubt the band’s best release yet and proves that not only Lonehill Estate but Nathan Ro as well has come a long way since his days at Project Fame.

This self-titled album includes radio hits such as Gangstar, Technoband, Green Pocket, Daans, Look Good and more.

Nestlé King Cone and Lonehill Estate off to Montreux Jazz Festival

As a result of the success received in LA, Lonehill Estate have achieved international airplay in the US, Germany and Japan. Most recently the band were invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Nestlé King Cone is delighted to have come on board and together they will embark on this exciting journey beginning July and once again share Lonehill’s quirky sound with the rest of the world. The band will be performing alongside some of the world’s most esteemed artists including Alanis Morissette, Radiohead, Noel Gallagher’s new band, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Jessie J, Tony Bennett, Lana Del Rey, Fourplay, Sergio Mendes and more.

“We are super excited that people who aren’t even South African like our music. We hope to make South Africa proud by inviting the rest of the world to join our little techno band. That is… if they don’t mind of course” says frontman Nathan Ro.

RAMFEST NATION

Ramfest Nation is a 3-part mini documentary produced by Boom.fm.

The 5-city Ramfest tour, a first for South Africa, serves as the backdrop for the in-depth analysis of the ins and outs of the local rock music industry from the perspective of international and local bands, promoters, brands and music journalists.

Part 1 looks at this year’s nationwide Ramfest and gets the opinions of the organizers and bands involved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DnBdtl-Hek

Part 2 explores what it takes for local and international bands to achieve success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT7xOG-muIA

Part 3 examines the role that brands can play in the South African rock music scene and how brands and bands can capitalize on the investment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-plYxIB-2Y

Watch the full length video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPrYIdIeIBM

Thank you very much too Renee de Villiers who worked very hard at making this doccie and for getting it to where it is now.

WANTED: MUSIC LOVIN INTERN FOR PUBLICIST & MUSIC WEBSITE

What does this mean: An intern means very little money – let’s just get this straight upfront. However, because this is the music industry, this also means free tickets to loads of gigs and the opportunity to hang out with your heroes. You may also learn a thing or two about the music industry, which is kiff if that’s what you’re into.

What you need to be good at: A publicist basically makes sure bands get loads of recognition – sends out press releases, helps to organize events, comes up with rad ideas for the band – that kinda thing. You will therefore need to be a great writer, and a naturally effective communicator. Of course, most importantly, you need to be someone who is passionate about music and would like a stab at the music industry.

Details: The hours you will be required to work are quite flexible.

Die meeste van die bands is ook Afrikaans, so jy moet vlot wees in engels

en Afrikaans. You will be required to translate press releases, for example. You’ll also need to understand how social media works and be quite good at it, have your own transport and a laptop.

The reason why we (Boom.fm) are posting about this is because we’d also quite like access to a lightie who will do some stuff for us that we have now considered below us. Just kidding. But we will pay you some cash money on the side to do some odd jobs. And you will probably get to go to a lot of gigs.

If you’re interested in this jobbie, please send us something that tells us why you are the right one for this job, what you’re good at and what you’re up to right now. Send this info to [email protected] and [email protected].

Louise Crouse is the publicist for Jack Parow, Van Coke Kartel, aKing, Die Heuwels Fantasties, Fokofpolisiekar and Taxi Violence.

Boom.fm is an online music portal that allows bands to sell their tracks and fans to discover new music.

Live the Music.

Why we love Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

CYHSY basically achieved success without a label, on the interwebz. They produced their own first album and were lucky enough to get an awesome review from the otherwise often prickly Pitchfork. We like this part:

"There's something really refreshing about stumbling across a great band that's trembling on the cusp without any sort of press campaign or other built-in mythology-- you actually get to hear the music with your own ears. While a lot of bands view the promotional apparatus as a necessary evil, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah prove that it's still possible for a band to get heard, given enough talent and perseverance, without a PR agency or a label. Indie rock has received a much-needed kick in the pants, and we have the rare chance to decide what a band sounds like of our own accord before any agency cooks up and disseminates an opinion for us. Damn, maybe this is how it's supposed to work!"

Yes, indeed. Perhaps this IS how it's supposed to work. Well we think so anyway.

So, CYHSY are coming to South Africa and we're giving away some tickets to one lucky Capetonian band who'd like to learn a few things from these guys. And maybe have a little fun while doing that.

HOW is easy: Post your band profile on our FB page and get your fans to like it (we don't want to decide these things, more democratic this way). Whichever band gets the most 'likes' by 1pm Thursday 12th will be going.

The-not-so-small-print: You need to be a legit band. Which means you have music up on our site. No point in trying to be discovered if you don't have anything for anyone to listen to.

Live the Music.

THE GREAT APES are coming to a club near you!

The Great Apes play heavy, dirty, sexy rock n roll and they play it loud. Their live shows are frenetic and they are heavy-weight contenders for the best live act of 2012.

The Great Apes are releasing their first album with a tour from Cape Town to Splashy Fen via Joburg and Pretoria.

To do the raw, high-octane energy of the band’s live show justice, The Great Apes have opted to track the album live. To do this the band travelled to Ladismith to work with Jo Ellis at Blooroom Studios where they blitzed through each muscular song on the eight-track record in just two days – followed by a minimal session of adding overdubs and textures.

In keeping with the attitude of the recording, The Great Apes have hand-made the album-covers using lino prints of artwork they themselves designed.

A limited edition run of five hundred copies will be available at shows on the tour, each cover a unique specimen.

The Great Apes will be performing at:

ALL NATIONS CLUB, Salt River (Cape Town) on Wednesday the 28th March with The Dollfins (this is the album release)

THE JOLLY ROGER, Plumstead (Cape Town) on Friday the 30th March with Wild Eastern Arches

AANDKLAS, Stellenbosch on Saturday the 31st March with The Bone Collectors

ARCADE EMPIRE, Pretoria on Thursday the 5th April with Black Cat Bones, Dead Alphabet, and The Plastics

THE BOHEMIAN, Joburg on Friday the 6th April with Cortina Whiplash and Svage Lucy

THE WOODS, Joburg on Saturday the 7th April with The Brother Moves on and Cable Stealing Gypsies.

SPLASHY FEN, Grant Erksine Stage on Sunday the 8th April after Love Glove Pyrotechnics

Be sure to get to at least two of these shows and pick up an album!

If you dont know who they are check them out on; http://boom.fm/thegreatapes

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