Weekend Wows and Winners: American Music Awards

A yearly event to recognize the best of the best in the music industry, the American Music Awards took place on Sunday. Contrary to the Grammys, the decisions of who wins lies in the hands of the the fans and dedicated music buyers.

The AMAs had 16 performances from some of the top charted musicians in the industry. TLC and Lil Mama had a throwback moment as they performed TLC’s best known hit, Waterfalls.Other lively performances include Katy Perry’s  opening number, Jennifer Lopez’s dance filled tribute to Cuban legend Celia Cruz, and Miley Cyrus’s digital kitten enhanced finale. New Artist of the Year nominees included Imagine Dragons, Ariana Grande and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who all also had the opportunity to perform onstage, showing us why they are the next big artists to look for.

Taylor Swift won Artist of the Year for the third year in a row with her album Red.

Justin Timberlake took to the AMAs to show that there isn’t any musical genre he can’t conquer, winning both favorite pop/rock and soul/R&B male. And it didn’t stop there. The multi-talented man went a little country and performance a new song, “Can’t Drink You Away.”

Rihanna was the first-ever winner of the prestigious “Icon Award,” as she is one of the top-selling digital artists, as well as most-liked person on Facebook and most listened to musician on YouTube.

Here at PMBC Group, a Los Angeles based Entertainment PR firm, we are always keeping up on the latest news in the entertainment realm, and this weekend’s AMA performances were something you did not want to miss out on.

Who’s your top pick for favorite artist of the year?

PMBC Group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

Jay Z Premieres ‘Holy Grail’ Video Exclusively on Facebook

It’s no secret, social media platforms are an integral component to how we communicate in our society, but have you ever heard of an artist premiering a new music video exclusively on Facebook for the first 24 hours for fans to watch? Well, iconic-rap artist Jay Z did just that.

Posting his ‘Holy Grail’ video featuring Justin Timberlake is a Facebook first. With his 17 million followers, some could claim this was genius marketing. However individuals decide to look at it, posting his video to Facebook is nearly guaranteed to reach all of his fans. Not only that, but by posting his hit-single video on Facebook, fans are able to provide feedback, giving Jay Z precise insight to what his fans are thinking.

We at PMBC Group, A Los Angles Entertainment PR Firm, are excited to see how this will influence the evolution of participation by music artists, or any entertainer for that fact, as it pertains to posting their content on social media platforms.

What did you think about Jay Z posting his ‘Holy Grail’ video on Facebook?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

Bonnaroo: Music with a Message

It’s summertime, which means music festival season is in full swing. But how many of these festivals weave in a good message to go along with it? Named one of the “50 Moments that Changed Rock and Roll” by Rolling Stone Magazine, the annual 4-day music festival, Bonnaroo, began Thursday afternoon, has just that.

The festival held on a 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, features over 100 musical artists of many different genres including indie rock, hip hop, country, and electronica, as well as many talented stand-up comedians.

Bonnaroo promotes itself as a sustainable festival, with various health, wellness, and nonprofit organizations that come out to promote their movement to save the environment. The event has a solar stage which not only features artists, but has environmental speakers, as well yoga classes.

Here at PMBC Group, a Los Angeles based Events PR firm, we believe Bonnaroo is the best of both worlds, fusing a message of environmentalism into their exciting music and arts festival.

Are you leading a sustainable life?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in
Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

ShowScoop: Yelp for Concerts

In our tech savvy day and age, recommendations for the latest products, restaurants, and places have taken to apps to spread the word to friends and users alike. Here at PMBC Group, a Los Angeles based Technology PR firm, we understand that a greater social media presence means a larger fan-base, and when it comes to fans there is no greater industry reliant on audience presence than the music and entertainment industry pushing chart topping singers and box office hits to stardom.

Just as individuals utilize Yelp to discover restaurant and store reviews, an app has been developed to allow users to review a singer or band’s live performance in the palm of your hand. ShowScoop is a relatively new app where users rate musicians on four categories: stage presence, crowd interaction, sound quality, and visual effects. Reviewers can also upload photos to give others a visual perspective on the event.

It’s alleged that this could grow to be very beneficial to lesser-known artists trying to gain more of a following, especially at music festivals. Festival-goers can see which artists to check out moments before set times.  With festival season gearing up, this will make discovering new artists easier than ever before with the click of a button.

How do you discover new music?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

Canadian Astronaut Creates First Music Video in Space

Who would’ve known that technology would become so advanced by 2013 that we could create music videos in space? Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who is expected to return to Earth after five months at the International Space Station, commemorated his trip with this awe-inspiring music video.

Hadfield sang a revised version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” while playing the guitar floating throughout the ship. We at PMBC Group, Los Angeles PR firm, were very impressed by Hadfield’s rendition, a quite emotional and well sung ballad all shot with a view of just how far he is from Mother Earth. Hadfield has won many followers, tweeting and posting from space about life away from home. He’s even recently hosted a singalong with thousands of Canadian schoolchildren, all from space. Integrating social media so well with space exploration, we can’t wait to see what this means for future trips to space as well as Hadfield when he gets back to Earth.

Do you follow space exploration on social media?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

Twitter’s Music Site Makes Headlines at Start of Festival Season

With Coachella kicking off the music festival season, it seems all eyes and ears are turning to the latest hits to kickstart the warmer months. PMBC Group, Los Angeles tech PR firm, caught wave of one of the latest music trends to hit the web, Twitter’s new music site that launches this weekend!

The social media platform redirects users to an authorization page for an app called “Trending Music Web,” without allowing them to the site yet. By stating this is the “web version” of the app, there is suspicion that the app will be primarily for mobile. This all comes after Twitter’s acquisition of the music discovery service We Are Hunted on Thursday. We Are Hunted enables users to listen to their favorite songs and discover new artists. With the past founder Stephen Phillips tweeting tracks from Rdio and Soundcloud, some wonder if these services may be integrated into Twitter’s app.

Have you joined Twitter’s new music site?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

Spring Into the Season with This Killer Playlist

Whether you are enjoying spring by hanging out poolside, taking a drive to the beach, going on the road trip you’ve been planning, or hitting the outdoors, we at PMBC know how much some new tunes can set the mood. Get your burst of energy to get up and out to enjoy the weekend with this new spring playlist.

1. Icona Pop – I Love It
2. Olly Murs – Trouble (ft. Flo Rida)
3. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – White Walls (ft. Schoolboy Q, Hollis)
4. Will.i.am – Scream and Shout (ft. Britney Spears)
5. The Wanted – Chasing the Sun (Hardwell Remix)
6. David Guetta – I’m a Machine (ft. Crystal Nicole)
7. Pitbull – Feel This Moment (ft. Christina Aguilera)
8. 2 Chainz – I’m Different (Spenca & AFK Trap Remix)
9. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us Down (ft. Ray Dalton)
10. Justin Timberlake – Mirrors

What’s on your playlist?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

Channeling the Best of All Worlds: SXSW

Celebrity sightings, unforgettable performances, one of a kind screenings, trade shows, gaming, chart-topping parties, stand-up comedy, and standout start-ups, the list seems endless at this year’s South by Southwest Festival. The marbling of conferences to festivals, SXSW, continually steps into uncharted territory featuring the likes of Justin Timberlake to new technology that can potentially foster a new trend.

SXSW alone has inspired similar festivals internationally while raising well over $167 million alone in 2011. Over at PMBC Group, Los Angeles Tech PR Firm, there’s one thing on the top of our interests: the standout technology. With a handful of start-up clientele we’re always eager to learn about the latest technology, especially the SXSW Accelerator. We were excited to find out that Wanderu, Phone2Action, Neurotrack, Plotter and MakieLab all won prizes. Each start-up reigned respectively in their featured categories and we’re eager to see the results.

What did you hear about SXSW?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at http://www.pmbcgroup.com.

Throwback to Hip Hop’s Finest

It’s Throwback Thursday and at PMBC Group, Los Angeles’s Entertainment PR firm, we like to remember some of music’s history, just like how this year’s Oscars recapped music from some of the most famous movies of our decade. So take a walk with us, Jimmy Fallon, and Justin Timberlake down memory lane with their mashup of some of hip hop’s biggest hits.

Jimmy and Justin take it way back with Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise,” Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It,” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice Baby.” Breaking into the 90s we have Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Brain,” DMX’s “Up in Here,” not to be complete without Nelly, 50 cent, and Outkast. And of course, this mashup couldn’t showcase hip hop’s finest without Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, and Nicki Minaj to show what the future of hip hop has to come.

Were your favorite hip hop artists/songs included?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at www.pmbcgroup.com.

Friday Favorites to Start Your Weekend

The weekend is almost here, and to wrap up the week PMBC Group is sharing a few of our favorites to get your rest and relaxation started.

Watch: “Safe Haven,” a romantic film based on one of Nicholas Sparks‘ best selling books, that hit the big screen yesterday. Starring Hollywood hunk, Josh Duhamel and ABC’s Dancing With The Stars’ beauty, Julianne Hough, this is one movie you won’t want to miss.

Listen: On Tuesday, Rihanna released an official music video for her song “Stay” featuring Mikky Ekko.  The single is part of the singer’s seventh studio album, “Unapologetic,” which debuted at No.1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart following its release on Nov. 19, 2012.

Justin Timberlake also recently debuted a new song entitled “Mirrors. ”  The eight minutes long song was written about the pop star’s wife, Jessica Biel.  “Mirrors” is the first promotional single officially released from JT’s upcoming album “The 20/20 Experience,” which is set to be released on March 15.

Read: USA Today’s Best-Selling Books lists American Sniper, by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice, as number two, behind Nicholas Sparks’ Safe Haven. This moving, must-read autobiography is about the life of the ex-Navy SEAL Sniper, Chris Kyle, who was recently shot and killed at a shooting range earlier this month. The book jumped from #113 to #2 within the past week.

How do you plan to start your weekend?

PMBC group is a multi-level PR firm based in Los Angeles, specializing in Corporate PR and Tech PR. Visit us at www.pmbcgroup.com