AristoVideo
Hey, Hey! We’re Thir-tey!
Friday, April 30th, 2010 | Uncategorized, aristomedia | No Comments
The AristoMedia Group Celebrates 30 Years in the Music Biz…
When Jeff Walker started The AristoMedia Group in 1980,
the compact disc was still in development, the World Wide Web was a decade away and the digital download hadn’t revolutionized the music industry yet…
“No one could have predicted our industry would be where we are today when I started this company 30 years ago,” says Walker. “I’ve witnessed so many changes over the last three decades – I’ve seen the industry turn completely upside down, in fact – that change seems to be part of the norm, now. Digital technology has permanently altered our business, and a lot of that change is positive… but boy, it sure has made things interesting these last few years!”
Walker started AristoMedia in April of 1980 as a singular PR firm, but over the last 30 years, the company has continued to grow, developing into a multi-faceted media, marketing and promotion company that houses a half-dozen specialized departments. Those divisions include Aristo P.R. (publicity and PR) AristoVideo (video promotion and marketing), AristoWorks (new media), AristoVision (Christian video promotion), Marco Promotions (secondary radio promotion) and Marco Club Connection (dance venue marketing).
Walker also began a domestic and international consulting business, Jeff Walker & Associates, founded a digital label, GMV Nashville, in 2007 and most recently, established a video content and EPK distribution service called DownCast in 2009.
“The last five or six years have been particularly challenging, but the positive result of that has been another period of expansion within the company,” he says. “Our club department, Club Connection, has really grown with so many Country artists featuring more dance-friendly material these days, and our digital label has filled a niche for artists where a traditional label might not suit their needs. DownCast is our most recent addition, and we’ve just expanded that service to include distribution for book new release materials.”
AristoMedia’s Senior VP of Promotion and Marketing, Craig Bann, echoes those sentiments. During his 20+ years with the company, Bann has seen his share of changes as well.
“Now more than ever, it’s a time to be proactive in the music industry,” Bann notes. “The digital landscape continues to even out the playing field between established and emerging artists, and as a result, many new media and marketing opportunities have been created. We try to provide a range of services that will appeal to artists at all levels of their careers.”
Walker’s efforts to promote international Country artists in the U.S. facilitated the company’s expansion as well. Born in Australia, Walker tirelessly advocated, and continues to stress, the globalization of Nashville-based music. His company has hosted its own annual global showcase in conjunction with the CMA’s Global Artist Party for the past several years as a prelude to the CMA Music Fest each year in June. Aristo also publishes a digital, quarterly international newsletter that is distributed to more than 7,500 recipients worldwide.
As The AristoMedia Group celebrates its 30th birthday in the music business this month, Walker remains characteristically upbeat.
“When times are tough, sometimes being opportunistic is the best thing you can be,” Walker says.
AristoVideo & TTV announce DownCast service
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 | Aristo Video, AristoWorks, aristomedia | No Comments
(Nashville, TN – July 6, 2009) AristoVideo and Travis Television Productions have announced the formation of a strategic alliance that bundles the two companies’ specialized video services into one consolidated package, named DownCast.
The arrangement integrates broadcast-quality video content with a distribution network that services an extensive list of radio, television, national and regional video programs, newspapers, trade publications, celebrity and entertainment shows, wire services, closed-circuit partners, global outlets and a full range of online destinations.
“This is a service that has been in development between AristoVideo and Travis Television since the beginning of the year,” says AristoVideo Senior Vice President Craig Bann. “We feel like this alliance is a natural marriage between two companies that have a proven history of success in the entertainment industry. From download to broadcast, DownCast will provide clients with top-notch, professional video content that is created and then distributed in a format that is already prepared for streaming and broadcast use.”
In addition to its video delivery mechanism, DownCast is designed to provide outlets with easily accessible tour press materials and a variety of content in advance of album releases. Outlets are notified electronically as new assets are uploaded. The system provides on-demand access to video content, digital photos, audio clips and press materials as needed on a secure, password-protected server.
“Thanks to our years of network television experience, we are extremely proud to offer entertaining and informative packages that can tell an artist’s story in a matter of minutes,” says TTV President Greg Travis. “It’s truly amazing that we can reach millions of people with this new service, and it was important to us that we could offer artists the same broadcast-quality video we use for network television shows. DownCast is a great new way to personalize the introduction of a new album or tour, and the artists retain ownership of all the content.”
AristoVideo, the veteran video promotion department of The AristoMedia Group, handles the distribution duties in the agreement. Travis Television Productions is responsible for creating and producing the content, which includes electronic and digital press kits, video news releases, video profiles and a diverse variety of Internet streaming material. The two Nashville-based companies have a combined 45 years of experience creating, promoting and distributing professional video content.
The DownCast service operates through a customized distribution application developed and managed by AristoWorks, The AristoMedia Group’s new media marketing and development department. The service’s extensive database is compiled from resources provided by the various departments within the company, including Aristo PR (publicity), AristoVideo and AristoVision (video promotion), AristoWorks (new media), Marco Promotions (secondary radio promotion) and Marco Club Connection (dance club promotion).
For more information, visit: www.AristoWorks.com/DownCast
Reels n Reels n Reels…
Monday, February 23rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Hi Everyone! I know I’ve met many of you already, but for those that I may not have had the opportunity to meet yet, I’m Jaime Marconette and I’ve recently taken over for Jessica Porfirio here at AristoMedia. Jessica left in December, and I’ve been busy settling in and trying to fill her shoes the best I can. It’s been a great transition and I’m really enjoying working with all of you.
We’ve been pretty busy here at AristoMedia since the beginning of the New Year. We’ve already sent out three reels (178, 179 and 180), and we’re currently putting together reel 181. Some great clips have been on these. Sugarland, Eli Young Band, James Otto, Cledus T. Judd and Kevin Costner (yes, that Kevin Costner) have all been featured. And believe me, we’ve got some very exciting stuff coming out to you in the next couple of weeks. We’re still putting it together, but it’s going to be good.
We’re also very pleased and proud to say that a lot of the clips we’ve been working recently have been extremely successful on the R&R charts. Here are just a few of the highly-charting singles we’ve been working: Billy Currington’s “Don’t,” Blake Shelton’s “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” AND Toby Keith’s “God Love Her” all hit #1!. Lee Ann Womack’s “Last Call” is Top 15 and rising stars Eli Young Band are currently sitting at #24 with their latest “Always the Love Songs.” You can find Eli Young Band on reel 180 along with James Otto’s “These Are the Good Ole Days,” which is currently #38.
For the third year now, we put together a Valentine’s Day Promotion with Universal Music Group Nashville. This year’s promo featured CDs by Billy Currington, Lee Ann Womack, Sugarland and Mr. George Strait. There were four runner-up prize packs that contained all the CDs, and then one grand prize that contained the CDs and a box of chocolates. The promotion was a great success and really gave us an opportunity to help bridge the gaps between viewer, television show and record label – as well as create some great marketing for everyone!
Also, please check in with our pages on a couple of these fast-rising online social networking sites. Check out our MySpace page where you’ll find everything from the current music videos we’re working to online “friends” and others you can connect and network with. And if you’re a Facebook user, search us out and add us to your profile page. Just type “AristoMedia” in the Facebook Search application, and you’ll see us pop up! We’ve got pictures, videos, press releases and events all listed out, and just like MySpace, you can connect and network with other music video programmers and fans.
I hope 2009 is off to a great start for everyone. Best wishes to all of you and your families. Please feel free to contact me or shoot me an email if you ever need anything.
Best,
Jaime
Video: the Gift that keeps on Giving!
Thursday, December 11th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
AristoMedia’s video department has been extra busy these last few weeks…
As the Christmas holiday nears, our big priority has been servicing music videos that celebrate the holiday season. For the first time in a few years, there is new Christmas video content being released! Some examples that we serviced recently are Faith Hill’s “A Baby Changes Everything,” Katie Armiger’s “All I Want For Christmas” and “I Just Want To Be With You This Christmas,” Bulls Gap “A Country Boy’s Christmas,” Relient K’s “Sleigh Ride” and Rascal Flatts’ “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”
In addition to the Christmas videos, we also are wrapping up some product awareness campaigns. We just finished a 3 week promotion based around Blake Shelton’s release “Startin’ Fires,” and we are now in the process of working a Stocking Stuffer Promotion with 5 UMG artists and their latest releases (Jamey Johnson, George Strait, Billy Currington, Lee Ann Womack and Sugarland.) The participating television outlets hold contests to give away the product and make mention of the artist’s new releases. This is a great way to help develop awareness through television in markets both large and small. In the realm of promotions, we are also gearing up for a Valentine’s Day promotion with UMG as well. This is the third year in a row we will be staging this campaign, which also includes a box of chocolates!
Several videos that we are currently working have singles that are in the Top 20 on the R&R charts. These include Lee Ann Womack, Randy Houser, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton, Jamey Johnson, Billy Currington, and Sugarland. And, it looks like we are not done with new content this year yet! We’ll be sending out our next compilation reel #178 in the next week or so. Exact videos that will make this production are still TBD, but I promise it’s a good one!
Finally, on a personal note, after 4 wonderful years I will be leaving AristoMedia. I will be taking time off to be at home and raise my little one (with a new little one coming in June.) With the year end nearing and my time here getting shorter, we’ve all been working hard developing our new website (www.aristovideopromo.com), and doing research for our annual outlet status report, which will be released in early ‘09. And in the spirit of marketing our department, we’ve also been growing our myspace page (www.myspace.com/aristomedia) significantly since we re-launched it in the spring. Rachel remains as our Christian Video Promoter and Craig is diligently working on finding the right candidate to fill my seat – no bribes please!
Merry Christmas!
Jessica