Thursday, September 22, 2011





There were absolutely loads of events going on during fashion week, with something on almost on every corner in west London’s shopping areas. I was blown away by the sheer number of people that turned out for Vogue’s Fashion's Night Out for a cheeky glass of champagne and quick celebrity spotting session. I happened to be at SHOWStudios checking out Motherof Pearl’s collabration with coffee shop themed exhibition and artist Keith Tyson. I also bumped into an old friend Adrien Sauvage who has taken the celebrity styling and fashion design worlds by storm with his unique brand “This Is Not A Suit”. Check out the linked video, its perfect!

Also I happened to find myself at the Adidas Originals x Exit x Absolut Vodka party on Saturday last week which was heaving with people from all parts of the fashion and music world, it was great to see the two industries converging over a brand that has remained credible since my father was a young man. It was also good to see great strategy in action where the endorsement of a young blogger called Cheyenne Davide married the brand to youth, street and fashion culture perfectly! A good time was had by all!  

ML

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Station Sessions are back - Launching 1st of September!

The Station Sessions are back for a new season of regular live music for commuters at St Pancras International. The new season kicks off with Marcus Foster and Lotte Mullan, followed by 2 months of the best emerging acts the UK music scene has to offer.



This season the Station Sessions are moving upstairs and will have a slightly different feel, as well as a different location. The stage will be set up in the space between the Eurostar platforms, The Betjeman Arms Pub and Carluccio’s restaurant.
In case you aren’t familiar with the upstairs at St Pancras just look for the Olympic rings or the Stations’ trademark Dent clock face.
With the massive success of the Station Sessions festival, we intend to keep a healthy buzz surrounding the Station’s music scene. The festival showcased a mix of established acts (Kids In Glass Houses), experimental acts (Submotion Orchestra), new acts (Charlotte O'Connor), and great fun acts you just want to shake your rump to (Vintage Trouble). We’ve never seen commuters so happy!
This season we continue to change the mould, with an exclusive “Live In The Living Room” type of aesthetic!  Sessions this season will have a more intimate feel with great vocals, acoustic guitars, clapping hands, bar stalls and armchairs, so get there early to claim the best seats in the house.
The Sessions resume on Thursday September 1st at 6pm, and will be on every Thursday thereafter from 6-7pm until the end of October. Give us a shout on Facebook or Twitter if you need help finding us at our new location.
Find more info on:

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Views from the Station Sessions Festival - WK1 by Charm Factory


"Working with Syllabus and the team at Place PR for the launch of the inaugural Station Sessions Festival has been fantastic. It's a really unique proposition for artists to engage with the general public in a location that ordinarily would be out of bounds. Having worked with them on sessions for rising Charmfactory (www.charmfactory.co.uk) artists over the past 12 months including Delta Maid, Liam Bailey, Scoundrels and Friends Electric I knew the potential that lay for bigger acts at St Pancras International and how smooth it would all go, of course.

Having Guillemots (facebook.com/guillemotsmusic) launch the festival was such a great moment - I think the photo above taken by snapper Brendan Doherty really captures the spirit of the event - the station concourse was buzzing. The icing on the cake was Nerina Pallot (facebook.com/NerinaPallotOfficial) playing a full hour set with a string quartet on Friday evening to mark the release of her new album 'Year of the Wolf'. So many people who ordinarily never go to gigs stopped to take in these special performances, not to mention the legions of fans who came down.

Would I do it again? Hells yeah, try stopping me. Would I recommend other artsits to do it, yes, in a flash. "
LL, CharmFactory


We love when a good plan comes together and it certainly did for the launch of the festival, thanks to the lovely people at CharmFactory.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

We're on the move!!




Busy, busy, busy, and it's about to get even busier!!!

As of the 1st of June, we will be moving out of our slightly dark and dingy basement in Camden, and into a beautifully bright and airy Georgian office in Angel! Dispite the ridiculous amount of packing that's got to be done over the next few days, we're all really looking forward to it. A change of scenery is always good for a creative mind, so they say. We now just need to work out how to bubble wrap the fish!

So, for all your records, our new office address is....

The Syllabus Agency
359 Goswell Road
London
EC1V 7JL
Telephone Number: 02077549177

Happy packing!!

KF

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Earth Hour 2011



Here at The Syllabus Agency we got our Earth Hour party started by launching the ‘lights out’ event a day early during office hours!

As first time celebrators, the rush was on to complete lists of work before 5pm sharp! Finally, at 5.10pm lights went down, Computers put to sleep and plug sockets were switched off. Earth Hour had arrived in all her glory and we felt her essence, so in honor of our country England and Her Majesty Queen Liz we cracked open the beers and prepared for the band to arrive.

It wasn’t just a random act in which we Joined global cites and great British landmarks that bowed down to the power of Earth for an hour of darkness that would inevitably fill us with more light at the end. Landmarks such as EDF Energy, The London Eye, Manchester United Old Trafford, No 10 Downing Street and six bridges across the Thames including the iconic Tower Bridge were involved. Even Queen Elizabeth joined households around the world for Earth Hour with lights going off at Buckingham Palace.

The overcoats a London based band Inspired by Pop music and the love of ambience in empty rooms filled our office floor with acoustic sounds and numbers such as “Give yourself to me” and “Hangover Square.” With Matt’s quirky lyrics and Kate’s sweet harmonies we felt entirely in the Spirit of Earth hour.

4 months into 2011 and our planet has witnessed more than 5 natural disasters. From forest fires to earthquakes and of course a tsunami. Here at the syllabus Agency we understand and feel the necessity to be more carbon efficient and less wasteful in this current climate. We used Earth Hour to establish a fresh start of corporate consciousness. So here is our commitment to earth. We shout out with pride to you and the rest of the world from one office to another. Together we can make a difference!

Our Earth Hour film is Coming soon.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Euro Star Staff Get Signed Demos With Love



The Station Sessions has become a must do for Tourists, Commuters and Music Lovers all around london eager to experience top quality live music in completely unexpected surroundings. With regular faces joining us every week as they wait for and sometimes miss their trains, the scene is becoming pleasantly familier. However last week we were joined by a new audience, St Pancras International’s staff!
A number of Eurostar staff members came down to enjoy the music and even bought Love In The Asylum’s EP. Lovely to see the Stations Sessions bringing joy to regulars and still capturing new audiences.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

An introduction, A fairwell and a Birthday celebration. "Pheeeewwww what a week."


Hello, I’m the new Intern. Name's Hanna-Jade, people call me H-J for short term efficiency. Feel free. I’ll be chatting to you on Twitter or Facebook and also updating you with all our electrifying news stories. With David’s departure I will have some very big shoes to fill (literally). So a very BIG congratulations to David, he has attained the job role of Communications Assistant for the Red Bull Reporter. GO DAVID GO GO GO! He will be sadly missed. Great guy!

A shrine of remembrance in his honor. 









And last but not least! Gideon or shall we say Gman, who has a great passion for the art of Ghetto HipHop, turned a year older last week, and with age comes responsibility. See Gideon below recycling his Rapping Paper. Good lad! Happy Birthday Gideon! 












Once a Junior Gunner, always a Junior Gunner! 












Kindest Regards 
HJ  



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

ONE BILLION DOLLARS $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Spotify - Is it worth it?

We here at the Syllabus Agency are avid users of the Spotify product. In an office that we share with the Green House Group, were just over 10 people work, I believe just one of us Owns a Spotify Premium Account. I have used Spotify since it was launched in the UK and have watched it grow form strength to strength with great interest.

I was reading the Telegraph over a nice cup of tea and a crumpet this morning and while casting an eye over the front page of the Business Section (as one does), I noticed that there was an article on my beloved Spotify.

Turning to page 3 straight away I saw this head line:


Now as you can imagine I was quite shocked as well as being surprised - as for a music programme that certainly does not have subscribers even close to 1/50th of Facebook's (assuming Facebook's recent valuation of  $50bn) - I had to ask myself, "How could Spotify (in this market) be worth $1bn after only 2 years in business"?

The reason, I have read, is because a Russian Billionaire who has invested significant sums previously in other fast growing web-businesses such as Facebook & Groupon has recently purchased around 5% of Spotify for $50m. Even though this has happened, Spotify have announced that they are to keep raising funds with a $100m target.

But what will they do with this money?

I believe the real objective behind this money raising is to break America! The easy assumption is that the company will turn around and redistribute its new investors’ funds to the big music labels, as part of the distribution deals it is cutting to get into the U.S.
Spotify already has deals with Sony & EMI & is supposedly closing in on one with Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest label. 
A rough estimate is that Rhapsody, Napster, MOG & Rdio  have a total of about 1 million subscribers, about the same that Spotify has on its own. So in order to really make the case for music you rent by the month, Spotify is going to have to lay out serious marketing cash to get people to pay attention.


All I can say is that it certainly is going to become more interesting over the next 6 months for this "Hugely Valuable" company that is still only a baby!

DC

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Listen More - Shuffle Less!




A great piece by the BBC last week alerted me to the presence of Islington’s Classic Album Sundays. At these events, held at Linton Street’s Hanbury Arms, music fans gather to listen to classic albums in full without any interruptions. The rules are strict.... No talking. No texting. You’re not even allowed a loo break!! The only decree is that you must listen to every song on the album without any distractions.


The idea was inspired by a blog post from DJ Greg Wilson who felt as though listening to music had become a passive activity. The great inventions of iPods and MP3 players have meant that we no longer sit down and appreciate whole albums, we tend now to listen to them as background music whilst at work, or on shuffle when out jogging in a park. In fact I honestly can’t remember the last time I listened to a whole album without any distraction. The only time I can think of when I’ve even been remotely close is the Great M4 Traffic Jam of 2008 when I was stuck in a queue for close to 4 hours. I don’t even remember if it was a good album I was listening too. I was probably too preoccupied by my fellow jam sufferers, staring at them for entertainment.


Anyways, a lady called Colleen Murphy, aka Cosmodelica, agreed with Greg’s views and so started “Classic Album Sundays: A Communal and Audiophile Listening Experience” at the end of last year. Everyone’s welcome and so far the group have listened through to The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’, Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’ and De La Soul’s ’3 Feet and Rising’.


Each event costs £5 and starts with pizza at 5pm, with the album on at 7pm. Mobile phones should be turned off, no entry will be allowed once the album has started, and the album will be played in full including any silences.


So if this sounds like a perfect Sunday afternoon activity for you (it certainly does to me!) then the next classic album to receive the 'Cosmodelica' treatment will be Stevie Wonder’s ‘Innervisions’ on Sunday, February 13. Full details can be found on the event’s facebook page


http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147502185303043


Be there! I’m pretty sure I will be!


KF





Thursday, January 20, 2011

Who are we then?

I thought for this week's blog, I'd give a little more insight into the world of the Syllabus Agency. We're a young bunch of music and marketing folk, and we really know our stuff. However we will not be hiding behind our rather great campaigns any longer. 
It's time to unveil some key people that work here....


First off it's Gideon. Otherwise known as The Big Cheese, Granddaddy or just simply Boss Man. 
He's loves paying our large bar tabs. In fact, here it looks as if he doesn't think that the bill is expensive enough. We should try harder next time.


Then we have Katie. She's like Mum I suppose. Katie keeps us all in check, and shouts at us if we don't wash up. She looks after production for all our events, and makes sure that Beyonce and Jay-Z get fed. (The Syllabus goldfish...not the popstars. They probably have their own Katie to feed them).
Here she is with Milton (we'll come to him) sporting a rather fetching high-vis vest ready for a night on the tiles.


I suppose I should introduce myself now. I'm Jon. I'm head of music and also account manager on some projects. I'm also rather great. And modest. That's all you need to know... 

...Oh and I like to dance. I look very cool when I do. 


I mentioned Milton before. He's our "youf" expert. He looks after our student and youth networks. 
Milton loves the funk. So much so he changed his name by deed poll to Funky Milton Lawson.... 
...that's a lie. He didn't do that. I will be encouraging him to do so from now on though.


And lastly, but not leastly, is our intern David. 
He likes to eat out of the bin when he thinks no-one is watching. Strange lad. 

Monday, January 10, 2011

Songs of Life and Hope

On Sunday, a fantastically talented emerging artist released the fifth & last E.P of a series of five that he has been working on for a number of years now. 

His name is Ed Sheeran (http://www.edsheeran.com) -



Releasing these E.P's was part of a plan to generate enough hype and excitement around him that the Major Labels would take note where they had previously ignored him. 









Fortunately his management (http://www.rocketmusic.com) - Elton John's relatively new entertainment company supported him in this and let him follow his own path. For Ed, his journey so far has proved to be a very successful. Prior to the release of the fifth E.P Ed signed a record deal with a Atlantic Records and plans to release an album either this year or next.

What has amazed everyone, following the release of said E.P is the overnight success of it. As I type, it currently lies at #2 in the iTunes chart:


Neatly tucked behind Rihanna but ahead of Tinie Tempah, Kings of Leon & Plan B - one of the biggest selling albums of 2010.

This has of course been done before by an unsigned act, most recently Mumford and Sons - but what this proves is that in this digital age where artists often connect directly with fans via social networks such as Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EdSheeran) and Twitter (twitter.com/EdSheeran) - something Ed has done exceptionally well - it is more likely that thanks to loyalty, generated by hard working artists, their music is more likely to be paid for rather than downloaded for free (something Ed has stated he doesn't mind). For Ed this has paid of and he should be a role model to younger and even older unsigned acts trying to get noticed by the majors.

So as I leave you to ponder this amazing feat by a likeable, young, exciting new talent. I leave you with a video of him performing at our very own Station Sessions (http://www.stationsessions.com) courtesy of St. Pancras International who host it.


Please Enjoy!

DC

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Don’t you love students…



They have such a hard life, constant partying, no real sense of responsibility, and a couple of lectures spread sporadically throughout their week. They do have bad tempers, demonstratedhere so probably best not to rub them up the wrong way…
The interesting thing about them is that they are extremely cynical, extraordinarily tech savvy, exceedingly trend aware and surprisingly susceptible to good quality communications.
We have recently embarked on a student focused online/experiential campaign and have the scars to prove it. We’ve discovered that as with most intelligible beings communication needs to be a give and take process. Given their characteristics, students require a particular effort, they aren’t difficult, they just need communication to be absolutely brilliant! (ie very pertinent, engaging and followed by free stuff!)
A few small golden nuggets for student focused campaigns:
  •  Find a tone of voice that’s accessible, that you are comfortable with, and that you feel you can maintain.
  • Be open minded about the things you decide are relevant, i.e. not just issues directly related to the campaign. Diversification keeps things fresh.
  • Make communication open and engaging and invite response by remaining relevant not by asking people to respond, students don’t react well to being asked to do anything.
  • Credibility is key, so positive brand associations, targeted exposure and maintaining reasonable marketing spend and are essential.
  • Finally, choose your sites very carefully, and gain intimate knowledge of the university sites as universities differ considerably; what works in one is almost guaranteed not to work in another.
Students aren’t much different to you or I, except that they are very aware of themselves, and have slightly more time on their hands then we do. People generally want interesting content, and love something with a useful kickback. If you can make it interesting, engaging, useful it will fly!
ML

I think it’s time for a little ‘end of 2010’ rant…


I think it’s fair to say that it’s impossible to deny the innovation currently being seen within the music industry. With the rise of the digital lifestyle, and with it a new generation of music consumers, every music business should be thinking about new and different ways of making, distributing and promoting music to the masses…or so you would’ve thought.
I don’t want to take away from the great work being done by many in the music, media and marketing industries…a select few, forward thinking employees and entrepreneurs are making huge strides to recognise the changes and adjust accordingly however, this is definitely not the norm and more often then not, it’s simply the addition of a ‘digital’ tab to a company website.
I’ve been party to one particular instance in recent weeks that makes me, not only extremely pissed off, but also seriously question the hands that the UK Music industry’s currently in. 
I had a meeting with an extremely well known, ‘traditional’ music industry body (to remain nameless) about a music project we’re currently working on with one of our clients. After much discussion, one of the gentlemen leading the meeting began talking to us about another initiative his company were running out in 2011, the premise of which was to reward young people with incentives (gig tickets etc.) to buy music online, instead of illegally downloading it.
As he continued to lay out this carefully ‘thought’ out plan, with its ridiculously large budget, I began thinking WHEN WILL THESE GUYS UNDERSTAND!!!! Instead of wasting time, money and resource trying to fight natural changes to the industry, why can’t the majority of the ‘traditional’ music industry FINALLY accept these changes are happening, whether they are on board or not.
Why not use some of that money and resource to try and figure out ways round the problem, how to monetise other areas of music or figure out how to ensure artists benefit even if the music is shared for free.
These changes are happening – they’ve already happened – and it’s simply remarkable that STILL, the majority of the industry cannot bring themselves to accept this…
For them, it’s still just a simple matter of adding ‘digital’ to their business card. (sigh) 
GC

Make Me Viral



We all know that YouTube for years has been the playground for the bored and procrastinating masses of under appreciated office workers who trawl for hours through hilarious videos, spreading their links to equally idle colleagues. But if I’m honest though, I never really saw the point in it. I got that they were funny, but the cynic in me felt that half of them were set up and acted out by aspiring wannabe actresses desperate to cut off their hair on their “wedding day” or hula-hoop in their pants on a Wii - all for a shot of fame. I was indeed a sceptic. Well that was until a Thursday at the beginning of December when the Christmas crowds of St Pancras were entertained not only by Leo from The Streets, but also by a delightful member of it’s audience. Weird things genuinely do happen, and even weirder we were all there to capture it on film! The video below is from one of the many people who caught it on camera…..
Since said episode I have become obsessed with all things viral, including religiously watching Alex Zane and his show Rude Tube.
It appears to me that making a viral video is little about talent and a lot about luck. While there’s no sure-fire formula for making our little outbreak at St Pancras a successful viral video, these few tips below may help your chances at creating your very own version of a viral Van Gogh!
Tip #1 - Keep the video short. Too long and no one will watch it!
Tip #2 - Make your viral video funny. Humour can be hard to get right sometimes, but it’s the surest way to make people want to share your video.
Tip #3 - Content beats quality in a viral video. Most successful viral videos are made by amateurs, so good content is more important than high production quality.
Tip #4 - Post your video EVERYWHERE! Spread the word far and wide to increase your hit rate
Tip #5 - Promote your video. Email friends, people at work, your Mum, literally anyone. Then let them do the hard work for you!
Tip #6 - Keep trying to make viral videos. Often it’s completely random videos that go viral, and no one can predict with much accuracy what is going to catch on and become a big hit!
Who knows if these points will make our large break-dancing man a living viral legend, but with a bit of luck and a bit more promotion, he might just be!
KF

Dream Weaver


I am renowned in the Syllabus office for having pretty bad taste in music. I don’t think it’s bad, other people do. I just like a good pop tune. What’s wrong with that? 
So with this in mind, for my first blog, I thought I would spend a little time recommending some of my favourite new artists of the moment, that aren’t as cheesy as I might usually go for. And before anyone gets all antsy, telling me instead that I should be recommending some Afghan-Neo-Psychedelic-Techno-Grindcore, remember these are MY favourites. 
I’m going to make this up as I go along, so they’ll be in no particular order:
A couple of Ed’s to start with. Incidentally managed by the same person, but rather different:
1. Ed Drewett - amazing voice: http://tinyurl.com/drewett
2. Ed Sheeran - freaking incredible mix of beatboxing, acoustic guitar playing, rapping, and singing, all brought together with a loop pedal. This is him in a car park with Example (not as dodgy as it sounds): http://tinyurl.com/22rfeav
3. Matthew and the Atlas - beautiful songwriting: http://tinyurl.com/2beuxdd
4. Visitor - I used to manage this band when they were called Cobra Dukes, so I am slightly biased. Check them out here: http://tinyurl.com/2dopvb9
5. Jamie Woon - this is probably one of my favourite “covers” ever: http://tinyurl.com/2f3cbo
6. The Milk - I tried to book this band a while back, and they cancelled at the last minute. I still like them though: http://tinyurl.com/yen2aht
7. Gentleman’s Dub Club - live dub/ska/reggae performed by middle class white boys anyone? Yep, weirdly it works: http://tinyurl.com/2d2k4ax 
8. Real Fur - I like these guys a lot. Not seen them live yet, but I’m expecting big things: http://tinyurl.com/2bvylls
9. James Blake - I hadn’t heard of this dude until about 15 mins ago when our lovely friends at Track In The Box sent it to me. It’s rather good: http://tinyurl.com/28epz79
10. Finally, I just couldn’t resist one classic cheesy 70’s tune in this list, and what a classic this is: http://tinyurl.com/yl75u5u
JK

Live For The Moment



As I sit here within the realms of Syllabus Agency HQ, Listening to the ‘Best of Rush’, nursing a bad night’s sleep and the aftermath of a far from average Goo Goo Dolls gig at the Kentish forum on Sunday night, there are a number of issues pacing themselves through my head. One has been bugging me for a while now and while on the absolute occasion I may be an offender, over the past 2-3 years this issue has gone into absolute overload. 
I would like to point out that this blog should’t be seen as a rant in any way. If you choose to see it as a rant then it should be seen as a “constructive” rant more than anything.
I am fortunate enough to be somewhat of a connoisseur London’s live music scene. Having attended well over 300 gigs over the last 6 or so years and one thing that absolutely kills me (aside from high pitched screaming and people that whistle loudly right beside your ear deafening you), are the good people that pay inflated ticket prices to attend shows and yet spend duration staring at a little screen 12 inches from their faces. 
Why?In this day and age where bands simply do not stay together for more than 5-10 years (if they’re lucky) would you want to attend a gig and not even watch it. These moments are ones that should be treasured in your mind and not on the web - If you were to search for a live performance of any song by any band then it is highly likely that you would get between 5 and 25 versions posted on youtube, with maybe one being of decent quality.
In my opinion there is only one way this is going and I cannot understand why band / record labels haven’t fully caught on to it yet. A few years back, www.concertlive.co.uk caught on, signing up bands to make official recordings of shows on their tours. I attended a few gigs where this product was offered but it was organised so badly, not enabling fans to take the recording home that night, having to wait up to 7 days and also being charged far to much.
One band got it right - METALLICA - they set up a website where fans are able to buy any show they have ever played, some dating back to 1982 and the beginning of Metallica. -(www.livemetallica.com). Now, after every Metallica show, swarms of fans (including myself) log on to the website and buy their very own high quality copy of the show they attended and can relive that special moment again and again. 
Metallica have proved that this works and it can be seen at their shows, with less people standing, staring at their phones / cameras recording their single moment in low def.
What’s next? Video - If high quality recordings can be produced within moments of the shows finishing, ready for fans to take home / download, then surely it is only a matter of time before bands start making good standard video recordings of all their shows readily made available for fans to buy very soon after the show.
We all know that the Music Industry is monetary black hole, so surely labels should be taking advantage of this cheap product with high sales potential as bands begin to make a name for themselves.
Finally, going back to my original point. Fans, put down your phones and cameras and live for the moment, life is to short and so are band careers.
DC

Introducing The Syllabus Agency


An exciting year for The Syllabus Agency 
This is the first submission to the The Syllabus Agency blog “Views from an agency”. As described in its title, this blog will act as a talking point for the agency, where thoughts and feelings, opinions and inclinations will be set free to wander through cyberspace.
—————————————————————————————————— 
Yeo Valley Rap - Heading for Christmas #1
In the first instalment of “Views from an agency” I would like to talk about the ongoing shift of power away from major record labels and towards the new world independents, self releasing bands and music savvy brands for producing popular, high grossing records.
The Syllabus Agency was recently approached by Black Sheep Records on behalf of Yeo Valley, the family-owned dairy company, to distribute its latest record entitled ‘Yeo Valley Rap’. This track has very quickly become extremely popular boasting over 1 million views on YouTube. It has been predicted that Yeo Valley Rap will make it to #1 in the charts over Christmas; great news for Syllabus and a real achievement for Yeo Valley and the crew. The power of the Internet and its most popular platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, have changed the music industry beyond recognition and certainly for the better! It seems the power to make a successful track is continually shifting from the label to the consumer. Without their support we probably wouldn’t ever have known that farmers made such great rappers!
Good work Yeo Valley Boyz!
ML