Mountain Dew Sets New Music-Business Trend

This song caught me by total surprise, and I have Mountain Dew to thank??

If you haven't heard, Mountain Dew created a "record label", called Green Label Sound, where they release free MP3's by certain buzz-bands, and sponsor tours, as a means of building brand awareness.

In addition to @StarSlingerUK, Mountain Dew's star-studded roster includes Wavves, Neon Indian, Freelance Whales, The Cool Kids, Matt & Kim, and Chromeo, so it's definitely not a lineup to be taken lightly. (@dew_GLS provided plenty of free music from these artists and others that you can find at www.greenlabelsound.com/artists.)

I'm anxious to see what role, if any, Corporate America plays in the future of the music industry. Currently, Motel 6 is offering free lodging for touring bands, Converse opened a recording studio in Brooklyn where artists can record for free, and Taco Bell gave away $500 gift cards to 100+ deserving bands to be spent while on tour.

It remains to be seen whether these relationships between bands and brands are an anomaly, or part of a growing trend of artists making money through unconventional means. Bands like Freelance Whales deserve the right to make money and raise band awareness through credible means such as this, so for now, don't call them sellouts, just enjoy the music!

"Hey! I See You Flashing Me Your Taillights"

As the days count down to July 12th when the @coolxkids finally release their first full length album, When Fish Ride Bicycles, I'm finding it hard to hold back the excitement as the leaks steadily find their way onto the internet, then shortly after that, to iTunes. Seems like finally breaking free from the suits (no swimming) and finding a home on Green Label Sound is proving to be the perfect combination of awesome for @ChuckisDope and @SirMichaelRocks. When I say awesome, I mean both monetarily and creatively, as they're able to give us what they want us to hear like they've done on their extremely dope and unheralded mixtapes like Tacklebox and Gone Fishing, as well as make ALL THE PROFITS from their upcoming album. #MostArtistsWish

Below you'll find their newest single, which will be song 9 on When Fish Ride Bicycles. It's an uptempo, laid back, fun, party starter type track where the guitar will make you shake your hips a bit as the subterranean bass provides a not so subtle reminder of why you installed those after market subs in the trunk...

Yup, that's wassup, no half steppin' with the treble heavy laptop/PC speakers, do the song some justice and loosen the screws a bit in the back of your car. All in all, it's a solid track and @MAYERHAWTHORNE will reel in the ladies with his smooth vocals, make no mistake about it, he's got a high pitched, but grown and sexy appeal to his music. I don't like this track as much as I did Bundle Up, but it's still worthy album track and worth adding to the newest playlist you're goin' with.

So far there hasn't been a let down one bit from the high that Hip Hop is continuing to ride with all the high profile, great new singles that have dropped this month. All I ask of you, yea you reading this, is that you go out and support TCK and cop their album on iTunes when it drops so that they can get rewarded for their unique and undeniably thrown back style of music. In other words, they're a big part of what's keeping Hip Hop evolving and continuing to be interesting, so at the very least that should warrant you at least copping an iTunes single. #ThinkAboutIt

The Cool Kids feat Mayer Hawthorne - Swimsuits

|iTunes

Winter's Almost Over, But You Still Gotta Bundle Up

Wow...didn't see this one comin', but I'd liken it to finding a layin' $100 on the sidewalk with no one in sight to claim it. Just when you thought @chuckisdope & @SirMichaelRocks were always gonna be that underground rap group that everyone silently admired for for their Old Spice fresh style that set trends rather than following them, they all the sudden pop up (pun intended) on the Mountain Dew branded Green Label Sound with a ferocious new single. True to their style, the dumbed down, signature 808 bass dominates over a sick rolling synth. Simply put this track is disgusting, it goes hard in a real subtle, old school way, which is something the @coolxkids have become known for over the years.

It's cool too that through all the record label bullshit they've went through, they finally copped a record deal that would make most Hip Hop artists jealous as hell. I say that because “Mountain Dew is waiving the usual label share of the revenue, leaving all income, minus iTunes processing fees, to the artists” (Source). In an interesting symbiotic relationship, the Pepsi owned brand is more or less waiving their profit off The Cool Kids debut album When Fish Ride Bicycles in exchange for being able to use The Cool Kids to promote their products. Regardless of whether or not Green Label Sound will be able to market music as well as soda, it's still part of an interesting trend the music industry is going through, swaying some of the power back to the artists as they now have more options than the used to have. The music sells itself and with a little promotion from a company with limitless re$ource$, it's looking like the perfect storm for Chuck and Mikey. Time will tell, but you've got the green light to be more than excited about lots of new music coming from the Chi-town trendsetters...

When Fish Ride Bicycles, due out next month, that's #22bitches...

The Cool Kids - Bundle Up

|Download