Next Big Sound (a/o June 18th):
Nokia is the latest to offer its own music streaming service in the US. The mobile company has just announced the launch of Nokia Music, a free streaming service that will be available to US-based Nokia Lumia smartphone owners. The service is ad-free and does not require registration or subscription. Users can listen to playlists curated by Nokia's 'musicologists,' or create their own from a library of millions of tracks (apparently, also in offline mode). The new service also includes 'Gig Finder,' which, obviously, locates concerts in the area and keeps users up-to-date.
Also, UFC is turning to music to increase its brand awareness. The organization is collaborating with deadmau5 and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance to create a UFC-themed music video for deadmau5's upcoming single, 'Professional Griefers'. This is a new direction for UFC, which has been aggressively seeking more diverse audiences.
Skype now accounts for one in three international voice minutes, according to research cited by Om Malik of GigaOm. The Microsoft-owned company, which just celebrated its ninth birthday, has '254 million monthly active users' and is 'growing somewhere around 40 percent year-on-year.'
Also, Yamaha is launching Yamaha Entertainment Group, a new in-house record label. Billboard reports that the company will offer an attractive 50 percent share of recorded music revenue, far above the industry standard. The first act to be signed is British rock artist Leogun, who is managed by Elton John's company, Rocket Entertainment Group. Warner's Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) will be handling Yamaha's marketing, promotion, and release distribution details.
Scooter Braun, manager of Justin Beiber and others, has just signed Korean pop artist Psy, creator of the insanely popular Gangnam Style song and video.
Also, an interesting research study by the University of Cambridge has concluded that music makes kids more empathetic. The Sacramento Bee first reported...
The study defined empathy as a child having an understanding of the emotional state of another. A total of 52 children – 28 girls and 24 boys – were split, randomly, into three groups. One met weekly and was immersed in interactive musical games and was composed of 13 girls and 10 boys. A second group undertook activities involving the use of written texts and drama, but no music. Another group had no interactive activities at all. The study found that children involved in musical group interactions scored higher on an empathy test that was given to all the children both before and after the activities.
While it may be preliminary, this could end up having an impact on the way music is (re)included in educational curricula in the future.
Elsewhere, Freddie for a Day celebrations kick off today (Wednesday), with Freddie the Angry Bird being tossed into the party by developer Rovio. This isn't a playable character though, at least not yet.
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