Samsung’s search for the music stars of tomorrow
SAMSUNG is teaming up with hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons and Universal Music at SXSW to launch ADD52 — a platform that gives anyone with an original song to sing the chance to get the world to listen to it.
The idea is simple. ADD52 is an open platform that will debut one original song and video from an emerging or unsigned artiste every week for the next 52 weeks. All aspiring musicians need do to be in with a chance of being chosen is to post their songs to the platform, then use social media to draw as much attention to it as possible. Announced on Wednesday, ADD52 will use a special algorithm to analyse a host of data such as video views, social media buzz and influencer interest to help with the selection process. Its founders describe the algorithm as an A& R engine.
“For artistes, it’s the place to be discovered. For music lovers, it’s the place to discover,” explains Simmons who, along with business partner Steve Rifkind, is backing the venture via his All Def Digital and All Def Music companies.
But as well as simple promoted exposure, those artistes who are selected will be eligible for production budgets for creating videos and accessing professional recording studios and will also get access to mentoring via leading industry figures.
“This type empowerment
of marks artiste
huge progress for the music industry,” Rifkind said. “The artistes will be featured on multiple platforms including Samsung’s new Milk radio service, ADD52 TV show hosted by DJ Skee as well as music for the HoopMixtape franchise, which collectively have viewership in the millions.”
Indeed, Samsung’s newly launched free music streaming service, Milk Music, will play a critical role in the platform and ADD52 will have its own dedicated radio station. Launched on Mar 7, Samsung Milk Music is essentially the Korean company’s answer to Apple’s iTunes Radio and is currently only available as an app in the US exclusively for Galaxy handset owners.
The partners see the platform expanding into a content ecosystem of video content, music tracks, profi les, live performances and collaborations.
“ADD52 represents the kind of innovation and experimentation the industry needs,” said Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group Lucian Grainge. “It is also the very kind of progressive thinking and willingness to explore new areas that we’d hoped to see when we partnered with Russell, Steve and the All Def Digital team, and we are pleased to be a part of it.”
There is no word yet when the platform will officially start accepting submissions. Visitors to the ADD52 website are being asked to subscribe so that they can be notified when the project goes live. — Relaxnews