Tag: David Bowie

  • ‘Life: Spend it Well,’ recommends M&S’s new campaign

    MUMBAI: British retailer Marks & Spencer has announced the launch of its new brand proposition in India: ‘Life. Spend it Well’.

    More than just a tagline, ‘Life. Spend it Well’ is an attitude – designed to inspire and enable people to make every moment special by focusing on the quality experiences, people and things that really matter. The new advertising campaign will sit across all digital channels, in-store and all Marks & Spencer marketing communications in India moving forward.

    ‘Life. Spend it Well’ is based on the insight that, people increasingly seek out what is important: the quality experiences, people and things that make life special. Marks & Spencer exists to help its customers make the most out of every moment and every minute. ‘Life. Spend it Well’ is about grabbing life, wearing your best coat, and, yes, never settling for uncomfortable knickers.

    The bold advert takes customers on a journey from cradle to graceful (or not-so-graceful) empowerment, reminding every woman and every generation that life is short, so spend it well. A series of uplifting vignettes featuring women of all ages celebrate the power of everyday choices. These choices range from the practical to the emotional, with viewers urged to say no to regrets and no to comparing yourself to others.

    The launch of this campaign introduces an inspirational tone of voice for the brand, and focuses on attitude and empowerment. It represents a commitment to putting the consumer at the heart of everything it does – positioning Marks & Spencer as enabler of a life well-lived – and includes a significant focus on customer experience.

    The new advertising campaign is the first from Valenstein & Fatt (the creative agency formerly known as Grey London). The advert was directed by François Rousselet through Riff Raff Films, and, fittingly, set against a new arrangement of David Bowie’s classic Rebel Rebel.

    Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Marks & Spencer’s Executive Director of Customer, Marketing & M&S.com said: “Our ‘Life. Spend it Well’ campaign in India is a radical departure from where we’ve been previously. It speaks to deep truths about our customers and celebrates their lives in a way which is new and innovative for the brand. To remain relevant and attract new customers, we need to get people thinking differently about Marks & Spencer and recapture our position as a pioneer in culture.

    “That’s why the energy, swagger and spirit of ‘Life. Spend it Well’ is so important – it’s about empowering our customers to say no to the ordinary, so you can say yes to the best. We’re committed to helping our customers spend their lives well by understanding what clothing fits and flatters today’s modern woman, and by ensuring this philosophy is applied across the entire customer experience.”

    The new advert is part of an integrated campaign in India including social media, digital, press, outdoor, in-mall and in-store activation.

  • 2016’s top moments on Facebook

    2016’s top moments on Facebook

    MUMBAI: Each year, Facebook reviews the moments, events and trends that people shared and talked most about. Today, we’re excited to share those top moments from 2016. The top moments represents most talked about, shared and discussed topics that dominated the year that went by.

    The methodology to determine the top trenders is simple. The top 10 moments of this year’s Year in Review were measured by how frequently a topic was mentioned in Facebook posts made between 1 January and 27 November, 2016. To put this list together, mentions were analyzed in an aggregated, ‘anonymised’ way and then ranked to create a snapshot of the year on Facebook. The top 10 Live videos were measured by total cumulative views.

    While across the world, US Presidential Election, Brazil’s politics and Pokemon Go ruled conversations, in India, things were mostly festive this year with the top trending topic in the country being ‘Diwali’ followed by what Indian follow religiously ‘Cricket’. Uri Attacks and surgical strikes were the third most talked about topic on FB, given its grave significance, in the backdrop of the current nationalistic wave. Here is the full list.

    Top 10 most talked about topics from India in 2016 on Facebook:

    1. Diwali
    2. Cricket
    3. Uri attacks and surgical attacks
    4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Movie)
    5. Hardwell (India Tour)
    6. Priyanka Chopra
    7. Rio Olympics
    8. Pokemon Go
    9. Pathankot
    10. iPhone 7 launch

    Global Top Moments on Facebook

    1. US Presidential Election
    2. Brazilian Politics
    3. Pokemon Go
    4. Black Lives Matter
    5. Rodrigo Duterte & Philippine Presidential Election
    6. Olympics
    7. Brexit
    8. Super Bowl
    9. David Bowie
    10. Muhammad Ali

    This year was also the first time Facebook had introduced its live video options, and thus the top live videos warrant its own list.

    Top 10 live videos on Facebook from India:

    https://www.facebook.com/ajaz.qamer/videos/1769859169954467/
    https://www.facebook.com/sonakshisinhaofficial/videos/10154155457904701/
    https://www.facebook.com/AmitabhBachchan/videos/1440239589343159/
    https://www.facebook.com/IamSRK/videos/1660059270686996/
    https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/videos/10154902993692580/
    https://www.facebook.com/KajolDevgan/videos/1756974501230484/
    https://www.facebook.com/BollywoodTabloidOfficial/videos/1183974758358529/
    https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/videos/10154980331897580/
    https://www.facebook.com/AAPkaArvind/videos/1129804343783728/
    https://www.facebook.com/AjayDevgn/videos/1067612059943103/

    Top 10 global live videos:

    1. Candace Payne, Chewbacca Mom
    2. Ted Yoder, Soundscapes
    3. Buzzfeed, Countdown to the next presidential election
    4. Atlanta Buzz, People are lining up to hug police officers in Dallas
    5. NBC News, Election results
    6. Under the Hood, Video of a truck completely carved out of wood
    7. Viral Thread, Population count from US to CA
    8. CNN, Election results on Empire State building
    9. Dena Blizzard, Pokemon Go for moms ”Chardonnay Go”
    10. Super Deluxe, Election map

  • 2016’s top moments on Facebook

    2016’s top moments on Facebook

    MUMBAI: Each year, Facebook reviews the moments, events and trends that people shared and talked most about. Today, we’re excited to share those top moments from 2016. The top moments represents most talked about, shared and discussed topics that dominated the year that went by.

    The methodology to determine the top trenders is simple. The top 10 moments of this year’s Year in Review were measured by how frequently a topic was mentioned in Facebook posts made between 1 January and 27 November, 2016. To put this list together, mentions were analyzed in an aggregated, ‘anonymised’ way and then ranked to create a snapshot of the year on Facebook. The top 10 Live videos were measured by total cumulative views.

    While across the world, US Presidential Election, Brazil’s politics and Pokemon Go ruled conversations, in India, things were mostly festive this year with the top trending topic in the country being ‘Diwali’ followed by what Indian follow religiously ‘Cricket’. Uri Attacks and surgical strikes were the third most talked about topic on FB, given its grave significance, in the backdrop of the current nationalistic wave. Here is the full list.

    Top 10 most talked about topics from India in 2016 on Facebook:

    1. Diwali
    2. Cricket
    3. Uri attacks and surgical attacks
    4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Movie)
    5. Hardwell (India Tour)
    6. Priyanka Chopra
    7. Rio Olympics
    8. Pokemon Go
    9. Pathankot
    10. iPhone 7 launch

    Global Top Moments on Facebook

    1. US Presidential Election
    2. Brazilian Politics
    3. Pokemon Go
    4. Black Lives Matter
    5. Rodrigo Duterte & Philippine Presidential Election
    6. Olympics
    7. Brexit
    8. Super Bowl
    9. David Bowie
    10. Muhammad Ali

    This year was also the first time Facebook had introduced its live video options, and thus the top live videos warrant its own list.

    Top 10 live videos on Facebook from India:

    https://www.facebook.com/ajaz.qamer/videos/1769859169954467/
    https://www.facebook.com/sonakshisinhaofficial/videos/10154155457904701/
    https://www.facebook.com/AmitabhBachchan/videos/1440239589343159/
    https://www.facebook.com/IamSRK/videos/1660059270686996/
    https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/videos/10154902993692580/
    https://www.facebook.com/KajolDevgan/videos/1756974501230484/
    https://www.facebook.com/BollywoodTabloidOfficial/videos/1183974758358529/
    https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/videos/10154980331897580/
    https://www.facebook.com/AAPkaArvind/videos/1129804343783728/
    https://www.facebook.com/AjayDevgn/videos/1067612059943103/

    Top 10 global live videos:

    1. Candace Payne, Chewbacca Mom
    2. Ted Yoder, Soundscapes
    3. Buzzfeed, Countdown to the next presidential election
    4. Atlanta Buzz, People are lining up to hug police officers in Dallas
    5. NBC News, Election results
    6. Under the Hood, Video of a truck completely carved out of wood
    7. Viral Thread, Population count from US to CA
    8. CNN, Election results on Empire State building
    9. Dena Blizzard, Pokemon Go for moms ”Chardonnay Go”
    10. Super Deluxe, Election map

  • The Grammy Awards 2016: A not-so-appealing “starry” affair

    The Grammy Awards 2016: A not-so-appealing “starry” affair

    MUMBAI: Music world’s much awaited award show of the year, The Grammys, created a lot of buzz before its telecast; but unfortunately did not impress viewers. Only few performances, which had the potential to be interesting, grabbed the eye balls. Apart from those, the show, by its usual standards failed to impress the audience due to poor production ideas.

    The award night from The Recording Academy had a “starry” line-up of more than 30 artists, including the multiple time Grammy nominee Taylor Swift, who opened the show with a song from her Grammy-nominated album, 1989. The show also faced some audio glitches and concerns with the entertainment quality. While performances by Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift are to be appreciated, Lady Gaga clearly was the showstopper of the big awards show.

    The show had a total of 83 categories and 15 performances and tributes. The Recording Academy handed many awards early in the Grammy Awards pre-ceremony. The first big winner of the awards this year went to Swift for Best Pop Vocal Album for 1989. The list of big winners also included Meghan Trainor, who took Best New Artist; and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, who won Record of the Year for “Uptown Funk.”

    Lamar led the Grammys 2016 ceremony with 11 nominations, and won five awards. Mentioned below are the winners from the different categories at The Grammy Awards 2016:

    Record of the Year: “Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
    Album of the Year: 1989 — Taylor Swift
    Best New Artist: Meghan Trainor
    Best Rock Performance: “Don’t Wanna Fight” — Alabama Shakes
    Song of the Year: “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran
    Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: “Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
    Best Pop Solo Performance: “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran
    Best Rap Song: “Alright” — Kendrick Lamar Featuring Pharrell Williams
    Best Music Video: “Bad Blood” — Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar
    Best Rap Performance: “Alright” — Kendrick Lamar
    Best Music Film: Amy
    Best Pop Vocal Album: 1989 — Taylor Swift
    Best Urban Contemporary Album: Beauty Behind the Madness — The Weeknd
    Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals: “Sue (Or In A Season of Crime) — David Bowie
    Best Historical Album: The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol 11 — Bob Dylan And The Band
    Best World Music Album: Sings — Angelique Kidjo
    Best Spoken World Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): A Full Life: Reflections At Ninety — Jimmy Carter
    Best Dance Recording: “Where Are Ü Now” — Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber
    Best Dance/Electronic Album: Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü — Skrillex and Diplo
    Best Metal Performance: “Cirice” — Ghost
    Best Rock Song: “Don’t Wanna Fight” — Alabama Shakes
    Best Rock Album: Drones — Muse
    Best R&B Performance: “Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Gray)” — The Weeknd
    Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “These Walls” — Kendrick Lamar Featuring Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat

    For the entire list of the winners, click here 

  • The Grammy Awards 2016: A not-so-appealing “starry” affair

    The Grammy Awards 2016: A not-so-appealing “starry” affair

    MUMBAI: Music world’s much awaited award show of the year, The Grammys, created a lot of buzz before its telecast; but unfortunately did not impress viewers. Only few performances, which had the potential to be interesting, grabbed the eye balls. Apart from those, the show, by its usual standards failed to impress the audience due to poor production ideas.

    The award night from The Recording Academy had a “starry” line-up of more than 30 artists, including the multiple time Grammy nominee Taylor Swift, who opened the show with a song from her Grammy-nominated album, 1989. The show also faced some audio glitches and concerns with the entertainment quality. While performances by Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift are to be appreciated, Lady Gaga clearly was the showstopper of the big awards show.

    The show had a total of 83 categories and 15 performances and tributes. The Recording Academy handed many awards early in the Grammy Awards pre-ceremony. The first big winner of the awards this year went to Swift for Best Pop Vocal Album for 1989. The list of big winners also included Meghan Trainor, who took Best New Artist; and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, who won Record of the Year for “Uptown Funk.”

    Lamar led the Grammys 2016 ceremony with 11 nominations, and won five awards. Mentioned below are the winners from the different categories at The Grammy Awards 2016:

    Record of the Year: “Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
    Album of the Year: 1989 — Taylor Swift
    Best New Artist: Meghan Trainor
    Best Rock Performance: “Don’t Wanna Fight” — Alabama Shakes
    Song of the Year: “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran
    Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: “Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
    Best Pop Solo Performance: “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran
    Best Rap Song: “Alright” — Kendrick Lamar Featuring Pharrell Williams
    Best Music Video: “Bad Blood” — Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar
    Best Rap Performance: “Alright” — Kendrick Lamar
    Best Music Film: Amy
    Best Pop Vocal Album: 1989 — Taylor Swift
    Best Urban Contemporary Album: Beauty Behind the Madness — The Weeknd
    Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals: “Sue (Or In A Season of Crime) — David Bowie
    Best Historical Album: The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol 11 — Bob Dylan And The Band
    Best World Music Album: Sings — Angelique Kidjo
    Best Spoken World Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): A Full Life: Reflections At Ninety — Jimmy Carter
    Best Dance Recording: “Where Are Ü Now” — Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber
    Best Dance/Electronic Album: Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü — Skrillex and Diplo
    Best Metal Performance: “Cirice” — Ghost
    Best Rock Song: “Don’t Wanna Fight” — Alabama Shakes
    Best Rock Album: Drones — Muse
    Best R&B Performance: “Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Gray)” — The Weeknd
    Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “These Walls” — Kendrick Lamar Featuring Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat

    For the entire list of the winners, click here 

  • Vh1 to live telecast Grammy Awards 2016

    Vh1 to live telecast Grammy Awards 2016

    MUMBAI: Vh1 will live telecast the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in India from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California on 16 February at 7.30 am.

    The channel will air a repeat at 9 pm on the same evening.

    The 58th edition of the Grammys will witness rapper LL Cool J host the evening for the fifth consecutive time. This year’s awards will be graced with performances by artistes such as 11 time Grammy nominee Kendrick Lamar, seven time nominee The Weekend and 10 time Grammy award winner Adele, to name a few.

    “After an overwhelming response to the airing of Golden Globe Awards, we take pride in carrying forward the awards fever ever further with simulcast of the Grammys on Vh1. Keeping the promise of showcasing only the best of English entertainment, we are excited to showcase the grand edition of the biggest music night in the world for our viewers once again,” said Viacom18 EVP and head of English and youth entertainment Ferzad Palia.

    This year, Lifetime Achievement Award recipient David Bowie will be honoured with a tribute by six-time Grammy winner and current nominee Lady Gaga. The tribute will mark Lady Gaga’s fourth appearance on the Grammy Awards telecast. She has been nominated for the category Best Song Written for Visual Media for Till It happens to You with Diane Warren.

    This year, Kendrick Lamar leads nominations with 11, followed by Taylor Swift and The Weekend. Additionally, music producer Max Martin received six nominations and engineer Tom Coyne, rapper Drake, and engineers Serban Ghenea and John Hanes each earned five nominations.

    The channel has leveraged the Grammys through various associations and tie-ups. Vh1 has associated with 15 hangouts across 10 cities in India, including Hard Rock Café to screen the awards in 15 outlets across eight cities. Jean Claude Biguine has been roped in to create the Grammy red carpet look. Vh1 will also be conducting college activation where a Grammy branded car will be travel to college campuses across Mumbai, Delhi and Pune.

  • Vh1 to live telecast Grammy Awards 2016

    Vh1 to live telecast Grammy Awards 2016

    MUMBAI: Vh1 will live telecast the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in India from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California on 16 February at 7.30 am.

    The channel will air a repeat at 9 pm on the same evening.

    The 58th edition of the Grammys will witness rapper LL Cool J host the evening for the fifth consecutive time. This year’s awards will be graced with performances by artistes such as 11 time Grammy nominee Kendrick Lamar, seven time nominee The Weekend and 10 time Grammy award winner Adele, to name a few.

    “After an overwhelming response to the airing of Golden Globe Awards, we take pride in carrying forward the awards fever ever further with simulcast of the Grammys on Vh1. Keeping the promise of showcasing only the best of English entertainment, we are excited to showcase the grand edition of the biggest music night in the world for our viewers once again,” said Viacom18 EVP and head of English and youth entertainment Ferzad Palia.

    This year, Lifetime Achievement Award recipient David Bowie will be honoured with a tribute by six-time Grammy winner and current nominee Lady Gaga. The tribute will mark Lady Gaga’s fourth appearance on the Grammy Awards telecast. She has been nominated for the category Best Song Written for Visual Media for Till It happens to You with Diane Warren.

    This year, Kendrick Lamar leads nominations with 11, followed by Taylor Swift and The Weekend. Additionally, music producer Max Martin received six nominations and engineer Tom Coyne, rapper Drake, and engineers Serban Ghenea and John Hanes each earned five nominations.

    The channel has leveraged the Grammys through various associations and tie-ups. Vh1 has associated with 15 hangouts across 10 cities in India, including Hard Rock Café to screen the awards in 15 outlets across eight cities. Jean Claude Biguine has been roped in to create the Grammy red carpet look. Vh1 will also be conducting college activation where a Grammy branded car will be travel to college campuses across Mumbai, Delhi and Pune.

  • YouTube signs international licensing deal with PRS for Music

    YouTube signs international licensing deal with PRS for Music

    MUMBAI: The multi-territory license covers the use of music by the 100,000-plus musicians represented by PRS for Music in videos streamed on the platform. This includes official music videos, live footage, soundtracks and user generated content.

     

    The license also includes the rights to tracks available through PRS for Music’s pan-European licensing initiative, the Independent Music Publishers’ European Licensing (IMPEL).

     

    Artists available through the IMPEL initiative include David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, Lou Reed and Goldie.

     

    The new license agreement is one of the most extensive yet, covering more than 130 territories across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

     

    PRS for Music first licensed YouTube in 2007, one of the first copyright collection societies outside the US to do so.

     

    This initial license finished at the end of 2008, with a new deal not being signed until September 2009 due to lengthy renegotiations between the companies.

     

    Disagreements during negotiations resulted in YouTube blocking UK viewers’ access to thousands of music videos on the site between March and September 2009.

     

    PRS Music chief executive Robert Ashcroft said: “Streaming is a key growth area for PRS for Music, helping drive our online revenues to over ?50 million in 2012. YouTube’s vast reach around the world offers our publishers and songwriters a unique stage and music lovers’ access to millions of songs.”

     

    “The issue of remuneration from streaming services remains a key one for our members, and the further evolution of our licensing relationship with YouTube will help ensure continued growth in royalties for our members from one of the world’s leading video platforms,” Ashcroft added.

     

    In July, statistics published by PRS for Music and music and entertainment strategists FRUKT revealed that big brands invested a record ?100 million on music in 2012.

     

    Artist endorsements, such as Mastercard and Emile Sande at the Brit Awards, brought in ?4.5 million, a 33 per cent increase in brand spend from the previous year.

     

    Digital spend reached ?10.4 million thanks to campaigns including YouTube’s LoveLive channel and the launch of the new Spotify app.

     

    Live music sponsorship, meanwhile, accounted for the largest share of the market at 35 per cent, netting over ?33 million.

  • EMI, BBC Worldwide in deal to unlock music archive

    EMI, BBC Worldwide in deal to unlock music archive

    MUMBAI: EMI Music and UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide have struck a deal that will see thousands of hours of pop and rock music content, locked away for years, released to the public for the very first time.

    The arrangement allows the British-owned music company and its artists to release material from the corporation’s extensive archive of TV and radio recordings across multiple platforms including digital.

    In return BBC Worldwide has the opportunity to use EMI artists’ performances to create new programming which can be sold to international broadcasters and consumers.

    BBC Worldwide has also acquired the rights to distribute the content direct to consumers via any of their own future digital services.

    EMI and BBC Worldwide are identifying programme material relating to artists in the EMI family which can be used to create a wide range of products for global release across multiple platforms.

    The EMI family includes artists such as Kylie Minogue, The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Lily Allen and Pink Floyd. Under the deal EMI will have the opportunity to include BBC recordings from their artists as part of DVDs, CDs and digital downloads whilst BBC Worldwide has the opportunity to drive revenue through international radio and TV programme sales, as well as on-demand streaming from those very same artists.

    Both companies will also receive reciprocal royalties for each other’s sales.

    This unlocking of the BBC archive will make vast quantities of content available in all formats for consumers to enjoy both in the UK and internationally.

    The deal is part of BBC Worldwide Music’s strategy to derive greater value from the wealth of music-related material in the corporation’s archive. The BBC archive covers the entire history of rock and pop.

    The deal will look to build upon the release of BBC content previously licensed to EMI by artists such as Coldplay, David Bowie, Queen, Roxy Music and Depeche Mode. Some of the EMI archive gems include live radio performances from Pink Floyd, including a session from 1967 featuring tracks from their first album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn; Coldplay on Inside Tracks performing a stripped down version of their first hit “Shiver”; and an Omnibus special titled Cracked Actor from 1975 devoted to David Bowie.