Annual Game Music Awards 2017 - Artistas Do Ano

Annual Game Music Awards 2017 – Artists of the Year

We are pleased to present the winners in the ‘Artists of the Year’ category of the Annual Game Music Awards 2017. These panel-voted, officially-recognised awards provide a thorough and wide-reaching recognition of achievement in game music over the last year. The panelists have selected their choices by carefully considering the merit of the game music created this year — as art and entertainment, as part of in-game experiences and as part of stand-alone albums. Congratulations to all winners, runners-up, and nominees.

Outstanding Artist — Eastern Composer

Keiichi Okabe

Keiichi Okabe’s contributions, both to Nier: Automata and Final Fantasy XV Episode Gladiolus showcased his prowess with vocals in music and helped define both soundtracks. –Don Kotowski

Runner-Up

Yasunori Mitsuda

Other Nominations

Kohei Tanaka
Shoji Meguro
Yugo Kanno

Outstanding Artist — Western Composer

Joris de Man

Every section of Horizon Zero Dawn’s sprawling soundtrack was invaluable in building the game’s musical identity. However, Joris de Man’s warm melodies and rich orchestration brought the soundtrack to a whole new level. -Emily McMillan

Runners-Up

Grant Kirkhope

Other Nominations

Borislav Slavov
Jessica Curry
Patrice Borgeault

Outstanding Artist — Independent Composer

David García Díaz

For Rime, Spanish composer David García Díaz wrote an ambitious score that conveys much of the game’s emotional texture. In addition to writing all of Rime’s music, Díaz had a hand in its presentation, using visual scripting to create an adaptive soundtrack that responds to player movement. As a testament to his skill, Díaz’s Rime compositions earned him a job at Ninja Theory, where he scored the critically-acclaimed Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. -Michael Hughes

Runner-Up

Alec Holowka

Other Nominations

Ari Pulkkinen
Darren Korb
Stoj Snak

Outstanding Artist — Newcomer

Kristofer Maddigan

Kristofer Maddigan tackled his first game score with such a high level of skill, dedication, and ingenuity that he received immediate acclaim upon Cuphead’s release. The 30s-inspired jazz score not only featured superb compositions and performances, but brought a whole new genre of music to the game soundtrack table. -Emily McMillan

Runners-Up

Jeff Russo

Other Nominations

Daughter
Mariam Absounnasr
Tee Lopes

Outstanding Artist — Soloist

 J’Nique Nicole

J’Nique Nicole’s voice complemented the NieR universe wonderfully and brought both beauty and power to each of her contributions, whether solo or alongside Emi Evans, Nakagawa Nami, and Marina Kawano. -Don Kotowski

Runners-Up

Julie Elven

Other Nominations

Kate Higgens
Nakagawa Nami
Sebastien Surel

Outstanding Contribution — Ensemble

ANÚNA

Ireland’s ANÚNA brought a haunting and ethereal atmosphere to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, reminiscent of Mitsuda’s work on Xenogears. It’s no wonder they’ll be featured on the upcoming remastered soundtrack to that very game. -Don Kotowski

Runners-Up

Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra

Other Nominations

Daughter
Hungarian Studio Orchestra
Nashville Scoring Orchestra

Deixe 2018 Ser O Ano Que Você Vai Descobrir O 'Audio Drama' - Podcast

Let 2018 Be The Year You Discover Audio Drama

First of all thanks to Sarah Rhea Werner for this article.

There's more to podcasting than true crime.

In fact, there's more to podcasting than tech news, comedy, business advice, creative inspiration, and even the most hardcore of history, too.

If Barnes & Noble were stocked with podcasts instead of books, most of us would have only explored half of its shelves—the nonfiction half.

So... what's keeping us from exploring the other side—the fiction side?

Fiction podcasts exist.

Fiction podcasts (also called "audio dramas") are just that—podcasts that tell a fictional rather than non-fictional story. They represent a huge spectrum of storytelling genres, from contemporary fiction to Lovecraftian horror.

I'll get more into why you haven't you heard of them—or heard more about them—in future articles.

For now, here are five reasons you should be listening to fictional podcasts (a.k.a. audio dramas) in 2018.

1.  There's room on the ground floor—and nowhere to go but up.

Want to get in on the ground level of something big? Despite any notion that fiction podcasts "had their moment" back in 2016, the audio drama movement is just beginning.

I attended the very first PodCon back in December of 2017, and spoke with many attendees who remarked that it was the first time they had seen audio drama truly (and perhaps overwhelmingly) represented at a podcasting conference.

Podcast industry veterans shared similar thoughts. Dave Jackson, for instance, remarked upon the surprising showing of millennials, females, and even "people with elf ears" (a.k.a. cosplayers)—people who are not usually represented at podcasting conferences.

They were all there for audio dramas.

(Side note: I'm considering The Adventure Zone, which tells a fictional story and had one of the largest showings of of cosplayers, as an audio drama for the purposes of this article.)

I'm attending PodFest 2018 in Orlando later this week, where I was invited by founder Chris Krimitsos to speak specifically about audio drama.

In short, the industry is starting to notice audio dramas, and there's no ceiling on their potential growth. Get on board and be a part of this exciting movement as it happens.

2. They're free.

I often explain audio dramas with the audiobook analogy. "Think of the podcast as an audiobook," I tell my long-suffering friends. "And the individual podcast episodes are just chapters of that audiobook."

But unlike your Audible audiobook subscription (or your Netflix/Hulu subscription), audio drama subscriptions are completely free.

3. They represent all flavors of fiction.

Just like there's more to nonfiction podcasts than just true crime, there's more to audio drama than just... whatever you think audio dramas are.

There are audio dramas for every type of fiction: mystery, sci-fi, thriller, horror, romance, contemporary fiction, western, experimental high-concept fiction and even erotica.

There are episodic audio dramas if you prefer one-off short stories, and ongoing sagas with complex plotlines.

And speaking of representation... Unlike so many other entertainment mediums, audio drama creators seem to be increasingly intentional about including POC, LGBTQ+, and other under-represented people in their work.

4. They're good.

I think there's a certain campiness or social discomfort associated with "old-time radio dramas", which may account for mainstream podcast listeners' hesitance to give them a try. I don't blame them—I truly have zero desire to listen to re-runs of Little Orphan Annie or The Lone Ranger.

But modern audio dramas are far from campy—in fact, they're often well produced, well acted and downright addictive.

There's a reason that so many audio dramas are being adapted for film and TV. Podcasts like TANIS, The Bright Sessions, and Lore are showing up on-screen because they're just plain well-told stories worth listening to.

5. They're ideal for passive consumption.

Okay, so this one's true for all podcasts, but I don't think it's being taken advantage of as much as it could be by fiction lovers. Get your stories while you drive, jog, garden, commute, wait at the dentist's office, and more!

Where do I start?

I don't want to overwhelm you, so these three shows are professionally produced, newbie-friendly places to begin your deep dive into audio drama:

• Limetown:  (iTunes, Google Play, stream online)
• Welcome to Night Vale: (iTunes, Google Play, website)
• The Big Loop: (iTunes, stream online)

Once you're in, you'll be clamoring for more. When that happens, tap into the #audiodramasunday hashtag on Twitter, or keep your eye out here for future recommendations.

Do you have a favorite audio drama?

Shout about it in the comments!

40% Dos Ganhadores Do Grammy São Lançamentos Independentes

40% of Grammy wins in 2018 were independent releases

Three Grammy-winning albums distributed by CD Baby!

Our friends at A2IM published an article listing all the recent Grammy-winning titles that were released by independent labels, accounting for 36 out of 84 award categories.

Depending on your perspective, it might seem strange to recognize Big Machine and Sub Pop as indie (since they’re almost household names) but that’s exactly what they are, and their achievements are all the more impressive because of their relative independence from the majors.

But it’s not just “big” indies who won this year.

Of the fifteen titles CD Baby distributes that were nominated for a Grammythis year, three of them won!

Congratulations to:

• Pablo Ziegler Trio, for Jazz Tango (Best Latin Jazz Album)
• Lost Bayou Ramblers, for Kalenda (Best Regional Roots Music Album)
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo, for Shaka Zulu Revisited (Best World Music Album

Spotify Agora Lista Os Créditos Ao Compositor E Produtor

Spotify Now Lists Songwriter, Producer Credits

Spotify has announced that users will now be able to view the songwriter and producer credits on the desktop platform.

"The more we share information, the more opportunities we can help create for songwriters," said Annika Goldman, ‎director of music publishing operations. "This is just the beginning of making songwriter and producer credits more easily available to Spotify listeners, and we look forward to continually improving that information, in close collaboration with our music industry partners."

The new feature pulls the credit information from record label-provided metadata, and it also discloses the source of that information to the users. Spotify says the feature will constantly be evolving in order to provide the most accurate information.

The credit feature comes soon after Spotify launched the Secret Genius program -- which includes an ambassador program and global songwriting workshops -- among other songwriter-focused initiatives.

"Songwriters are an integral force behind the music we love," said Tiffany Kumar, Spotify's global head of songwriter relations. "With the newly launched credits feature, we aim to increase songwriter and producer visibility and, in turn, foster discovery among new collaborators, industry partners, and fans."

Songwriters involved with some of the biggest artists, such as Justin Bieber and Kelly Clarkson are responding positively to Spotify’s changes.

Frank Dukes, a songwriter who has worked with Camila Cabello and Lorde among others, said, "It's amazing to see Spotify give the unsung heros of music some recognition on their platform. Definitely a step in the right direction."

Music publishers are also happy about the Spotify move. "When I won a Lifetime Service Award at the NMPA’s Centennial Annual Meeting last summer I called upon the streaming services to display the names of the songwriters who wrote the songs just as they clearly credit the artists who recorded them," Sony/ATV Music Publishing chairman/CEO Martin Bandier said in a statement. "With this announcement, Spotify has taken a first, important step to properly recognize the vital contribution that songwriters make to its service and should be applauded for it. Songwriters are the essential lifeblood of the music industry. Without their words and music there would be nothing for artists to record, no hit songs and no music to stream.”

Def Leppard - Album 'Hysteria' Volta Ao Top 40 Da Billboard

Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Def Leppard's 'Hysteria' Back In Top 40 After 28 Years

The return of Def Leppard’s full catalog of music to digital retail, and its arrival on streaming services, pumps big gains. 

On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Feb. 3), Fall Out Boy notched its fourth No. 1 with the arrival of Mania. The set earned 130,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Jan. 25, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 117,000 were in traditional album sales.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the week’s most popular albums based on their overall consumption. That overall unit figure combines pure album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the action on the rest of the Billboard 200:

— Soundtrack, The Greatest Showman – No. 2 — For the first time since the Billboard 200 transitioned to an equivalent album units-ranked tally in December of 2014, a soundtrack has scored four weeks of 100,000-plus units. The Greatest Showman, which holds at No. 2 on the chart, earned 109,000 units (up 5 percent) in the week ending Jan. 25 — which is also its fourth straight week of 100,000-plus units. Previously, among soundtracks, the Fifty Shades of Grey album logged three 100,000-plus weeks in 2015. 

— Sam Smith, The Thrill of It All – No. 11 — The album zips 17-11 with 26,000 units (up 30 percent) and 13,000 albums sold (up 116 percent) after further sales were generated by Smith’s concert ticket/album bundle redemption promotion offer.

— Def Leppard, Hysteria – No. 39 — The return of Def Leppard’s full catalog of music to digital retail, and its arrival on streaming services (both on Jan. 19), naturally pumps big gains for the band on the charts. The bulk of the rock act’s older catalog had been absent from digital retail since 2007, and from streaming services almost entirely, as the group had long disputed its payment rates from digital sales and streams.

The Def Lep hit parade is led by their 1987 monster album Hysteria, as it re-enters the Billboard 200 at No. 39 — its highest rank since June 17, 1989. The album, which spent six weeks at No. 1 in 1988, climbs back onto the list with 13,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Jan. 25 (up 2,337 percent), according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 7,000 were in traditional album sales (mostly from digital album sales), 5,000 were in track equivalent album units, and a little over 1,000 were in streaming equivalent album units.

The band’s Vault: Greatest Hits 1980-1995 also returns (No. 79; 8,000 units), as does Pyromania (No. 146; 5,000 units). 

In total, the band’s equivalent album units grew 1,083 percent to 35,000 units. Their catalog of albums sold 24,000 digital downloads, 66,000 digital songs, and generated 4.3 million on-demand audio streams. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was their top selling track and most streamed song (7,000 downloads; 1.9 million streams). The tune, from Hysteria, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988.

— Neil Diamond, All-Time Greatest Hits – No. 86 — Following Neil Diamond’s Jan. 22 announcement of his retirement from touring, due to his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis, the music legend’s catalog grew in sales in streams in the week ending Jan. 25. 

Diamond’s overall album sales jumped 157 percent to 6,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen Music. His total equivalent album units earned figure grew 121 percent to 10,000. His digital song sales vaulted 197 percent (to 14,000) and his on-demand audio streams rose 41 percent (to 3.3 million). 

His All-Time Greatest Hits album re-enters the Billboard 200 chart at No. 86 — its highest rank since 2014. It earned 7,000 units during the week (up 119 percent). The set also zooms 27-4 on the Catalog Album Sales chart with 4,000 sold (up 164 percent).

— They Might Be Giants, I Like Fun – No. 108 — They Might Be Giants’ latest album, I Like Fun, begins with 6,000 units (mostly from album sales). It also starts at No. 3 on Independent Albums, marking the group’s highest charting set on the 18-year old list.

— Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac – No. 132 — Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 album re-enters at No. 132 with 6,000 units (up 3,621 percent), following its deluxe reissue on Jan. 19. The album — which was the band’s first No. 1 on the chart — was reissued in various remastered editions, some with many bonus tracks. All of the permutations of the album, including its original version, are tracked together for charting purposes. Fleetwood Mac’s return to the chart grants the set its first visit to the list since 2012, and its highest rank since 1981.

The Fleetwood Mac redux is the latest expansive archival reissue from the act, following Rumours (in 2013), Tusk (2015), Mirage (2016) and Tango in the Night (2017). 

Black Panther - Detalhes Da Trilha Sonora Revelados

Details Announced for ‘Black Panther: The Album’

Kendrick Lamar has revealed the track list for Black Panther: The Album, the soundtrack compilation featuring songs from and inspired by the Marvel Studios film. Among the artists featured on the release are Lamar himself who is producing the album with Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Khalid, as well as Swae Lee, ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, Jorja Smith, Travis Scott and The Weeknd. The soundtrack will be released digitally and physically on February 9 by Interscope Records and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Black Panther directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Andy Serkis will be released nationwide on February 16 by Walt Disney Pictures.

Here’s the album track list:

1. Black Panther – Kendrick Lamar
2. All The Stars – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
3. X – Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz and Saudi
4. The Ways – Khalid and Swae Lee
5. Opps – Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok
6. I Am – Jorja Smith
7. Paramedic! – SOB X RBE
8. Bloody Waters – Ab-Soul, Anderson .Paak and James Blake
9. King’s Dead – Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future and James Blake
10. Redemption Interlude
11. Redemption – Zacari and Babes Wodumo
12. Seasons – Mozzy, Sjava and Reason
13. Big Shot – Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott
14. Pray For Me – Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd

As Pessoas Continuam Roubando Musicas Da Internet e Ameaçando A Criatividade (US Report)

New ‘Notorious Markets’ Report: U.S. Trade Rep Calls Out Stream-Ripping Websites That Continue To Threaten American Creative Community

First of all thanks to RIAA for this article.

WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released its annual ‘notorious markets’ report which shines a spotlight on specific sites and physical markets across the globe that specialize in peddling illegal American products such as music and movies. For the second year in a row, USTR highlighted illegal stream-ripping websites.   These websites capture or “rip” a copy of a song available only for streaming on legal websites like YouTube and then provide users a permanent download of the music file.  This year’s report recognizes stream-ripping websites as a “phenomena that continues to threaten legitimate streaming audio and video services, music performers, and composers.” Current studies show that more than half of all 16-24 year olds worldwide have illegally stream-ripped songs from YouTube or other streaming sites, and research firm MusicWatch has estimated a 50% increase in the number of Internet users in the U.S. who stream-ripped music in just two years.

Below is a comment from Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) President Mitch Glazier on the report:

“We welcome this report which identifies the ‘worst of the worst’ illegal music sites and those that unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of the American music community.  The ‘notorious markets’ listed as well as many others pose a systemic threat not only to the American creative industries, but to the growth of the legitimate U.S. streaming economy and our digital future.  We cannot jeopardize the recent growth the music community has worked so hard to achieve by allowing these illicit sites to go unchecked as they succeed in ripping off American creators.

“Most notably, stream-ripping was appropriately included for the second year running as a priority concern that massively imperils the streaming economy.  Stream-ripping has become the number one form of piracy confronting the music industry.  If left unabated, whether by governments or by online platforms that simply turn a blind eye to this problem, the jobs and livelihoods of millions of American creators will be ruined and the future of digital trade stands starkly at risk.

“We greatly appreciate the U.S. government’s spotlight on stream-ripping and for the incredible hard work of Ambassador Lighthizer and other agencies that went into this effort. This exceptional report reflects the Administration’s commitment to the American creative industries and the strong foundation of protection and enforcement that fuels them.”

To read USTR’s full report, please see here.