marco club connection
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.
Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Gloriana Mix It Up!
Thursday, May 7th, 2009 | Club Connection | No Comments
Over the past few months, Aristomedia’s Club Connection has been focusing on establishing more personal relationships between our artists, dance clubs and choreographers. As a result, our current promotions have started to include Meet & Greet packages and other events that help build a stronger bond between artists and fans.
Blake Shelton is one of the most recent stars that has hired Club Connection to connect with country dance club patrons. He released the up-tempo “Country Strong” exclusively to clubs, while he released back to back ballads at radio. Dierks Bentley’s new single “Sideways” is another dance club anthem, this time with a shout out to DJs in the lyrics!
River County with dance instructors Jamie Marshall and Earleen Florka
The guys from River County have also focused their attention on attracting the country club consumers. In April, the band traveled to Michigan for a weekend of line dancing and quickly made a lot of new friends. They stopped by Boomer’s Roadhouse for an acoustic meet & greet and a quick ride on the mechanical bull. They also learned the Barry Amato line dance, “The River County Stomp,” at the 6th Annual ‘Time to Dance for a Cure’ charity event to help St. Jude. Jamie Marshall taught the class and Derek, Chris and Jake were right in step!
Club Connection has released a number of remixes over the last few months that have achieved overwhelming success in the dance clubs. Three different mixes of Gloriana’s chart climbing “Wild at Heart” have been added to nearly 70% of our panel after the first three weeks! Jack Ingram’s “Barefoot and Crazy” and Marlee Scott’s “Fight With You” remixes have inspired choreographers like Earleen Florka and John Robinson to create custom line dances for these songs.
New releases include Charlie Allen’s “Proof” and Canadian native Duane Angelvette’s “She Luvs Country.” Check out the Marco Club Connection website and myspace for more information on these artists and to hear all of our current releases.
Til next time!
Bobbe
Club Connection Venue Tour!
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
AristoMedia’s Marco Club Connection wants to remind you that Country Dance Clubs are still going strong long after the days of “Achy Breaky Heart” have passed!
As usual, we have a lot planned for this month! We are excited to bring you new music, our first ever venue tour and special bar promotions sponsored by Piedmont Distillers.
First, the big news is that our first ever Club Connection Venue Tour kicked off a couple weeks ago in Knoxville, TN! The idea behind this tour is for us at Club Connection to build a more personal relationship with our club owners, DJs and Dance Instructors, as well as to shoot footage of patrons enjoying our music. Each weekend through December I’ll be visiting different clubs and conventions, so be sure to read our blog to catch up on our recent trips to Cotton Eyed Joe and Kickers Country Club and to stay up-to-date on future club visits.
Now, on to some of our artists…
Over the past couple weeks Matt Stillwell has been up and down the East Coast visiting radio stations and promoting his new single “Shine.” While Stillwell is focusing on his radio tour, Club Connection has been busy organizing 35 individual ‘Shine Parties,’ sponsored by Piedmont Distillers and Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine. These parties will be held around the country over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Charlie Allen’s newest single, “Why Ask Why,” is quickly starting to pick up steam. After only a few weeks of promotion, the single is getting play in over a hundred clubs and dance halls across the nation! Last week we also sent out a line dance written by Ginny Allen that is beginning to draw attention within the dance community.
Club Connection is also proud to announce the remixed single of “Livin’ The Good Life” by Daniel Smith. This new version is being mastered and duplicated as we speak and will be sent out to clubs early next week. For a sneak preview, stop by our myspace page.
Up-Coming Releases
Two weeks ago I stopped into the Rutledge here in Nashville for a River County CD release party. I was standing in line and soon realized the band had shipped 45 of their most loyal fans down from Indianapolis to be present for the event. The excitement and energy surrounding this performance was infectious! I ended up meeting the band and seeing firsthand what compelled so many wonderful people to support this young group. I was eager to work with them and am now proud to announce that Club Connection will be releasing River County’s new single “We’re All Here” later this month!
San Diego natives are familiar with our up-and-coming projects from Married by Elvis. Mike Brown from InCahoots Dance Club is eager to get his hands on the new dance remixes of “Sin City” and “My Inlaws Are Outlawed.” Keep your eyes and ears out for these exciting releases.
Abby Abbondanza, former lead singer of The PovertyNeck Hillbillies, will be releasing his new full-length album Promised Land to clubs later this month. Club Connection has felt the buzz and is looking forward to the response from this energetic frontman’s debut release!