Monthly Archives: January 2016

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    J Design Releases Add-a-Baffle™ and Partners with Gear Collector

J Design Releases Add-a-Baffle™ and Partners with Gear Collector

Calabasas, CA , January 20, 2016 – J Design is proud to announce the Add-a-Baffle™, an innovative adapter that allows players to switch speaker sizes in the same speaker cabinet. The product line is marketed and distributed by Gear Collector, a new, innovative sales and marketing platform for specialized and limited edition products.

The Add-a-Baffle allows guitarists and bassists to swap speaker sizes utilizing a single cabinet, greatly expanding the tonal breadth of the cabinet. The system comes with the wood components, hardware and instructions for easy installation. For example, a 12” speaker is swapped with a 10” speaker easily and quickly, mounting to the cabinet’s existing baffle.  Kits are available in several sizes, to convert from a 15” speaker to  12”, from 12” to 10”, and 10” to 8”. This unique and innovative concept was designed by J Design founder and owner, Jeff Earl.

“I have been building custom, boutique cabinets for years, and have built all of the cabinets for Fargen Amps. I challenged myself to come up with a way to switch between speakers in some of the cabinets that I love, and the result is Add-a-Baffle,” said Earl.

He focused on tone projection, versatility and ease of use when designing the Add-A-Baffle speaker adapter. “At first, I was very interested in finding out how other speaker sizes and voicings would react with each other when used within the same environment. I built the adapter to test many speakers in the cabinets I was designing and building. It really helped me think outside of the box, so to speak, when designing my speaker cabinet line back in 1999-2000,” says Earl. “It was just then – one of those great ‘ah-ha’ moments – when I realized this adapter could […]

Mad Sun Marketing at the 2016 Winter NAMM Show

Mad Sun Marketing is taking on the 2016 Winter NAMM in Anaheim, Calif., from Jan. 21 – Jan. 24 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., and will have its busiest year yet! The team will be hosting several events through the music and audio industry’s biggest week – the NAMM trade show.
To find out just what our Winter NAMM show calendar of events entail, read below (and make sure to stop by if you have a NAMM badge!):
Media Preview Day, Rututu by EarthMoments, Level 1 Lobby between Halls B & C 
In this exclusive event on Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. (open only to registered media), Mad Sun Marketing will proudly showcase its client EarthMoments’ new product “Rututu,” with a dynamic artist demonstration. Hundreds of members of the media attend this free, “first look” reception to preview music instruments, products and technologies that will be debuting at the NAMM Show.
Rututu by EarthMoments, Booth #6009, Hall A 
Throughout the show, Mad Sun Marketing will be representing its client Rututu – a music playground app with a drag and drop interface, allowing users to sample and create their own tracks featuring unique and high quality instrument samples from the Indian Ocean region and beyond. You can check out a video with more on Rututu at http://rututuapp.earthmoments.com/.
MusicFirst, Booth #4800, Hall C
Throughout the show, Mad Sun Marketing will be representing client its MusicFirst. You’ll be able to view and demo awesome software from MusicFirst like Noteflight, Focus on Sound, Groovy Music, Morton Subotnick’s Music Academy, O-Generator, Soundation4Education, Music Delta, Auralia, Musition, Sight Reading Factory, PracticeFirst, and more.
The WiMN Booth #4386, Hall C 
The Women’s International Music Network (WiMN) will have a booth presence for the first time! Sharing […]

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    Gear Collector Launches New Platform for Boutique Guitar Players, Builders and Artists

Gear Collector Launches New Platform for Boutique Guitar Players, Builders and Artists

New online retail site catering to discriminating guitarists now live at gearcollector.com

Calabasas, CA, January 18, 2016 – Gear Collector is proud to announce the launch of its new company and website, catering to guitarists who play and collect boutique gear. Gear Collector brings together players, builders and professional artists to host a site for conversation, connection and selective instrument and accessory sales. 
 
Gear Collector meets the demand of players, collectors and gearheads who are searching for something new, exciting, and in many cases, rare. Gear Collector connects these players with builders who are at the top of their game, and professional musicians who collect and play specialized gear themselves.
 
Offering custom-built and rare product sales, feature interviews with makers, artist and demo videos and much more, Gear Collector will bring in-depth conversation and community to the boutique market.
 
“There are many discerning players that have been living in the boutique market for years, and many others who would like to join in, but perhaps don’t know enough about the builders and products and what makes them so special.  We are here to help tell the story, and to connect players with some of the best builders in the space.” Our goal is to bring everyone together and in doing so, help this specialized market to grow,” said Rich Abronson, Co-Founder.  
 
In addition to many of the builders’ existing product lines, Gear Collector will feature limited editions, one-of-a-kinds and exclusive product on behalf of these builders.  
 
Self-funded, Gear Collector provides a presence for its builder partners on www.gearcollector.com, and is working with each builder and company to develop a marketing strategy and to execute marketing programs including promotions, social marketing, e-mail campaigning and events. Gear Collector will also produce original video content featuring […]

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    MusicFirst Leads the Way in Cloud-Based Music Education with Strong Fiscal Year 2015 Sales

MusicFirst Leads the Way in Cloud-Based Music Education with Strong Fiscal Year 2015 Sales

MusicFirst, the New York City-based company offering teachers and students a cloud-based collaborative music education system, steadily extended its lead in cloud-based music education with strong fiscal year 2015 sales.

After two years of building its unique combination of music software, learning management system and assessment tools, MusicFirst has now recruited more than 380 U.S. school districts. This has resulted in more than 200,000 individuals already subscribing to its MusicFirst Online Classroom (MFOC).

“With more than 11,000 school districts yet to be approached, and 50 million potential subscribers in North America, MusicFirst is poised for exponential growth in 2016,” said Tomas Wise, CEO of Music Sales Inc., the parent company of MusicFirst.

Sales have increased a strong 400% over last year with revenue 44% over budget this year. MusicFirst is now the single largest cloud-based learning platform dedicated to music education worldwide.

MusicFirst is also expanding its offering. Director Dr. Jim Frankel reports that following the August launch of its online practice and assessment tool for students and teachers called PracticeFirst, the company has signed up a number of the other most important educational publishers, such as Music Sales, Macie Publications, Kjos, Kendor, and more, to supply a rich variety of music content for practice use and assessment.

“PracticeFirst has really taken off since we launched it this past summer. We feel very strongly that music educators were looking for a product just like it, and we are thrilled with the initial response. Bringing affordable, accessible and robust software tools and resources to music teachers and their students is exactly what MusicFirst is all about,” said Frankel.

MusicFirst’s success comes from a standing start in a new sector. In an independent study commissioned by MusicFirst titled “Music Education, Orchestras, and […]

2016 She Rocks Awards Performance Lineup Announced

The Women’s International Music Network (WiMN) is excited to announce the musical lineup for the 2016 She Rocks Awards, taking place Fri., Jan. 22, 2016, from 7 – 9 p.m. at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., during the 2016 Winter NAMM show. Tickets available at www.sherocksawards.com.

Featuring WiMN Founder Laura B. Whitmore and acclaimed guitarist Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper, Iron Maidens), as co-hosts, the 2016 She Rocks Awards celebration will pay tribute to trailblazing women in music and will include performances by:

Jennifer Batten, (Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck) acclaimed guitarist and Awards honoree
Chart-topping pop duo Karmin, including Awards honoree Amy Heidemann
Raining Jane, touring and recording band for Jason Mraz, including awards honorees Becky Gebhardt and Mona Tavakoli
Malina Moye, acclaimed lefty guitarist and 2014 She Rocks Awards honoree
Nita Strauss, (Alice Cooper, Iron Maidens) co-host for this year’s Awards
The Command Sisters, talented Canadian singer/songwriter duet
Plus the house band Rock Sugah, comprised of Divinity Roxx (Beyoncé) on bass, Kat Dyson (Prince, Sting) on guitar, Benita Lewis (Chaka Khan) on drums, and Lynette Williams (Childish Gambino, CeeLo Green) on keyboard

Named one of Billboard’s “7 must-see events at NAMM,” the fourth annual She Rocks Awards offer performances and surprises, food and beverages, giveaways, a silent auction, networking opportunities, and more. The event brings together industry professionals, music icons, artists, fans, and media to celebrate women in music. A portion of the proceeds of the event will go to benefit the Girls Rock Camp Alliance and the NAMM Foundation.

This year’s honorees include: Jennifer Batten, Chaka Khan, Amy Heidemann, Becky Gebhardt and Mona Tavakoli (Rock Camp for Girls L.A. and Raining Jane), Chalise Zolezzi (Taylor Guitars), Mary Luehrsen (NAMM), Crystal Morris (Gator Cases), Mindy Abovitz (Tom Tom Magazine), Cathy Carter Duncan […]