Marco Promotions
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.
Marco Promotions Fall Update
Friday, November 14th, 2008 | Marco Music | No Comments
Fall is a busy time for Marco Music with lots of records competing to be in their optimum position when the holiday shopping season rolls around in late November. Among the season’s highly anticipated releases is the second album from Big Machine’s Taylor Swift. The debut single from that album, “Love Story,” has been rocketing up the charts and is poised to hit #1 across the board in the next few weeks.
After a few weeks of significant difficulty with the Music Row chart, we are very pleased with the brand new and improved chart system at Music Row (courtesy of AristoWorks), which has made reporting much easier for our friends at radio, and which will undoubtedly result in greater ease of information flow between us and radio and our record clients.
Patty Loveless continues to turn heads with her new album “Sleepless Nights- The traditional country soul of Patty Loveless.” This stunning collection of classic country covers has critics scrambling for superlatives, and radio stations have been embracing her version of George Jones’ classic “Why Baby Why.”
In other news, if you’ve ever wanted to try your hand as a record exec, Valory Music Co. is asking fans to take part in producing newcomer Justin Moore’s debut album. The 10-week promotion allows fans to help pick the songs that will be on the record. A widget has been placed on Justin’s social networking sites (Myspace, iLike, Facebook, Digital Rodeo, etc…) where fans can listen to his new music and give their feedback. There will be two new songs placed on the widget each week for fans to vote on, so after the promotion ends, the 10 songs with the most votes will make it onto his album. Fans will also be able to create their own personalized 10-song playlist, which can earn them a chance to win a trip to Justin’s Album Premiere Listening Party early next year in Nashville. Check out his myspace page to get started.
Have a great fall season!
Rick