This year, The Syndicate was nominated for 9 industry awards! 6 individual awards, and 3 overall company awards. Check out what categories we were nominated in, as well as what some of our peers had to say about each person nominated.

Promoter Of The Year
Karen Moran-Thomas: “She’s quickly made a name for herself through honesty and personality.”

Specialty Promoter Of The Year
Patrick Shillenn: “Pat talks to the commercial specialty folks and does it with class.” “Knows his stuff, great taste in sneakers.”

Promo Company Of The Year
The Syndicate: “Because they spend way too much time doing what they do.” “Great music/artist selection and quality.”

Best Use Of The Web
The Syndicate: “thesyn.com/blog… deafleftear.com… metalinsider.com… need I say more?”

Holy Shit! Their Records Are Awesome!
The Syndicate: “Something for everyone.” “I know how much I listen to them as a fan.”

Biggest Cojones
Matt Kleinschmidt: “Because I’ve seen ‘em.”

Biggest Ray of Sunshine
Karen Moran-Thomas: “She is like delicious golden butter on a pancake, the best kind of butter to be on a pancake.”

Most Sincere
Karen Moran-Thomas: “Gives the straight pitch.”
Graham Rothenberg: “I thought it read ‘gullible.’”

You can check out the full list of nominees here.

Those attending the marathon will vote on the nominees to determine who the award in each category will go to. If you are going to the Marathon be sure to cast your vote for your favorite Syndicate member.

The folks at Viigo just launched a new ROCK version of their mobile reader. There, fans can get mobile rock news wherever and whenever they wish. Two of our online properties, Metal Insider and Deaf Left Ear are part of the eight flagship websites that make up the application’s feeds.

The app is free, so go and download it right away and start getting your entertainment news wherever you want. http://getviigo.com/rock. You can read the full press release after the jump.

Viigo Launches Rock!, Giving Rock and Metal Fans Content From Eight Top Industry eZines In One Place

Artist information, news, interviews, features, reviews, tour dates, audio and more available in new module

Toronto, ON (August 26, 2009) – Viigo Inc. (www.viigo.com), developer of the popular mobile content and services platform for smartphones, has teamed with eight of the top rock and metal eZines to create “Rock!”, a new module that offers up to date artist information, news, interviews, features, reviews, tour dates, audio and much more.

Included in the Rock! module is DeafLeftEar.com, DrivenFarOff.com, MetalInjection.net, MetalInsider.net, MetalSucks.net, MetalUnderground.com, PureGrainAudio.com and SMNnews.com. The Rock! build is immediately available for download at http://getviigo.com/rock.

“We at Deaf Left Ear are more than excited about our entrance into the mobile world through our partnership with Viigo. We live in a time where updates on-the-go are more the norm than ever,” said Matt Kleinschmidt, DeafLeftEar.com. “People want custom information, on their terms, through their means, when they want it. It’s an exciting challenge for modern content providers. Companies like Viigo understand this concept; partnering with them allows Deaf Left Ear to deliver our content in a format loyal readers demand through enjoyable means they deserve.”

“Driven Far Off is entering your world 24/7 with the new Viigo mobile app,” said Bryce Jacobson, DrivenFarOff.com. “Bringing you that latest music news directly to your phone is something we have always wanted to do and now we can with our partnership with Viigo. Windows Mobile and Blackberry users can now get our content on demand and on the road. It’s the best of both worlds.”

“It is very exciting for our site to be entering the mobile world as it is clearly the future,” said Robert Pasbani, President, MetalInjection.net. “The people at Viigo have made it extremely easy for us to extend our reach to the new medium.”

“Metal Insider is very pleased to finally have a mobile solution, especially in the form of a quality app like Viigo,” said Dan Rodriguez, Metalinsider.net. “Our silly marketing gurus wouldn’t stop yapping about us needing a mobile platform, and while we don’t usually believe a word they say, there’s no doubt Viigo’s Rock! module will be great and a must-own for any metal fan. We couldn’t be more excited to have Blackberry and Windows Mobile users join us in making fun of (and maybe learning a little about) the industry.”

“We’re psyched to partner up with Viigo as our mobile solution,” said Vince Neilstein, founder of MetalSucks. “As more and more people access the web via their mobile devices, we know that Viigo, as leaders in their field, will make great partners in enabling our reader’s access to MetalSucks anywhere, any time.”

“It’s awesome that you can get all the best rock and metal news and features in one place, all on your phone with Viigo!,” said Doug Gibson, Founder, MetalUnderground.com. “We’re pleased to be involved in this amazing initiative and look forward to having our readers access our content on the go.”

“Over the 5 years since inception, rock news ezine PureGrainAudio.com has taken pride in being at the forefront of innovation and technology,” said Chris Gonda, CEO PureGrainAudio.com. “As the site’s traffic and content continues to increase we look for new and interesting ways to disseminate the information we gather to our loyal legion of readers. That is exactly why we are teaming with Viigo. The hip, new mobile application will allow for ALL PureGrainAudio.com content to be read anytime, anywhere without the need for a computer. Now that is awesome!”

“With SMNnews acting as one of the largest independent heavy metal and hard rock focused zines on the net today, maximum audience reach is a necessity in today’s modern world,” said Aidan Gray, founder, SMNnews.com. “Working with companies like Viigo enables our users to read the latest daily heavy metal news, gossip, and more at SMNnews.com – all while on their smartphone. Accessing the latest news, reviews, interviews, and over 100 official band forums has never been easier now we’re partnered up with Viigo.”

“We’re very excited to have brought together eight of the most notable rock and metal eZines to create our new Rock! module,” said Mark Ruddock, CEO, Viigo. “This unique collaboration provides our users with a “best of” scenario not found anywhere else.”

Thursday frontman, Geoff Rickly had the following to say.

“One of our biggest concerns was that we find a situation where we could be free to just be Thursday. Epitaph have continually voiced their desire to help us become the band that WE have always wanted to be. It’s a great feeling to have a label encourage you to be more socially conscious and politically active. It’s a great feeling to have a label owner push you to explore the most experimental and challenging aspects of your band’s music instead of dissuading you. It’s a truly great feeling to be working with a label that all of our friends have had so many great experiences with.”

Thursday will still release their forthcoming split EP with Japanese band Envy on Temporary Residence this fall but the band is already planning on putting out their 5th studio album in the spring of 2009.

Read the full press release after the jump.

THURSDAY SIGNS WITH EPITAPH
New Jersey’s Post-hardcore pioneers, Thursday, have signed to Epitaph with plans to release their fifth full-length album this spring.

For the last decade, Thursday has released groundbreaking, essential albums like 2001’s fan-favorite Full Collapse and 2003’s breakthrough release War All the Time, and played riveting shows, garnering hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide. As the band approaches their tenth anniversary, Thursday has dug deep to recapture the original fervor and fire to make their most honest and sincere record to date.

Having had their share of ups and downs with record companies in the past, the band was determined to find a label that was as passionate about their artists as the band is about their music. The group signed with Epitaph Records in September based on their parallel values and the label’s reputation for its dedication to their bands.

“One of our biggest concerns was that we find a situation where we could be free to just be Thursday,” explains Thursday frontman, Geoff Rickly. “Epitaph have continually voiced their desire to help us become the band that WE have always wanted to be. It’s a great feeling to have a label encourage you to be more socially conscious and politically active. It’s a great feeling to have a label owner push you to explore the most experimental and challenging aspects of your band’s music instead of dissuading you. It’s a truly great feeling to be working with a label that all of our friends have had so many great experiences with.”

As Thursday enters the next phase with an enthusiastic group of kindred souls behind them, they are approaching their next effort with the same humility and passion that has elevated the band throughout their career. A reaffirmed socially conscious ideology and years of both experience and hindsight have found the band with their most authentic voice yet. Never ones to back down from their beliefs, Thursday is devoted to bring their fans their most thoughtful, inspiring album ever.

“We’ve always believed that music has the power to change lives and that all of us who have been lucky enough to make music for a living have a responsibility to try and make the world a more compassionate and livable place in any small way that they can” Geoff adds. “We hope that with Epitaph’s help and guidance we can do our part.”

Stay tuned for more details regarding Thursday’s forthcoming album.

Both companies have defended the possible merger as a venture that will benefit consumers, promising compatibility with existing radios and more flexible pricing and programming choices, including a delicious a la carte option. We break down the post-merger choices for you after the break.

Though XM and Sirius both proudly announced that current equipment will be compatible with both services, they’ve never explicitly said they were capable of receiving all programming from both services. As it turns out, Sirius subscribers will be able to add-on approximately 10 “select” XM channels for a total $16.99 per month (up from the current $12.95 monthly), and vice-versa for current XM subscribers. There will be a number of new packages offered, themed for Family, Sports, Talk, etc. In addition, a la carte packages where subscribers can choose 50 or 100 stations from either service will be offered for as little as $6.99 monthly. Here’s the full list of post-merger:

- View the XM channel lineup after the merger.
- View the Sirius channel lineup after the merger.

The major bum-out for current subscribers: those alluring a la carte packages will only work with a new line of radio units sold after the merger. If current subscribers want to get additional programming on their existing radios, they will be limited to the “Everything plus Select” 10-more-channels option.

Daytrotter has worked itself into being a required stop for bands to get into their studios and record live music sessions. Artists ranging from Death Cab For Cutie to Vampire Weekend have all stopped by the site’s studios and recorded tracks for the site to give out to its wide audience.

Like Daytrotter, XPN has built up a solid reputation as one of the best AAA-formated radio stations in the country. The Philly-based station is known for taking risks (see their merger with y-rock a few years back) and “Daytrotter Radio” will probably be no different.

“Daytrotter Radio” will debut on Wednesday, May 7th at 10:30pm on WXPN. The half-hour show will be hosted by the ‘Trotter’s founder Sean Moeller. The show will feature music from the website’s vast recording sessions and be transmitted on XPN’s terrestrial airwaves as well as their three websites – www.xpn.org, www.yrockonxpn.org, and www.xponentialmusic.org. The show will also be available for download at www.daytrotter.com.

You can read the official press release after the jump.

PHILADELPHIA Pa., May 6, 2008- WXPN (http://www.xpn.org), the nationally-recognized leader in Triple A (Album Adult Alternative) music and a noncommercial radio service of the University of Pennsylvania today announced a partnership to create a weekly radio show with Daytrotter, a critically acclaimed art and music website based in Rock Island, Illinois. The new show, “Daytrotter Radio,” will premier May 7th at 10:30pm on WXPN and will be hosted by Daytrotter founder Sean Moeller.

“Daytrotter Radio” is a weekly 30 minute program featuring the unique recording sessions that have made Daytrotter.com one of the most popular online music destinations. In addition to broadcasting on WXPN throughout the Delaware Valley and Central PA, the radio show will be available via online streaming at the station’s three websites (XPN.org, YRockOnXPN.org, and XPoNentialMusic.org) and will also be available for download at Daytrotter.com.

“Daytrotter has an excellent reputation for providing music fans with these very cool and unique performances by some of the best well-known and up and coming indie bands,” stated Bruce Warren, WXPN Assistant GM for Programming. “We’re excited to be able to make these Daytrotter sessions easily accessible to the XPN and Y-Rock On XPN listeners on some new media platforms.”

“All of us — that’s read as all four of us — here at Daytrotter headquarters spend considerable time listening to David Dye’s World Cafe program, remarking on how our adopted friends in White Rabbits or Langhorne Slim sound as they’re getting interviewed by the man,” said Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter. “We’ve got tremendous respect for what WXPN does for musicians and we’re thrilled to be able to share some of their air, bringing our unique analog recordings to a bigger audience.”

ABOUT Daytrotter
Daytrotter was launched in 2006 by music critic Sean Moeller as a music website based in Rock Island, Illinois. Moeller’s idea was simple and unique in that he planned to post “Daytrotter Sessions,” which are bands coming into the studio, recording original songs and then posting them on the website for free. Moeller shared this idea with music engineer Patrick Stolley, web developer Mark Hurty, and a few of his favorite illustrators. On March 23, 2006, Moeller posted the first Daytrotter Session with the indie band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Today, the Daytrotter Sessions have become a venerable part of the independent music scene. At Futureappletree Studios, home of the Daytrotter Sessions, the musicians record four exclusive songs on quarter inch tape. Moeller posts the songs twice a week on www.daytrotter.com. The music is complemented with original artwork, interviews, and features with musicians on the vanguard of the music scene.

ABOUT WXPN
WXPN, the nationally recognized leader in Triple A radio and the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk, is the non-commercial, member-supported radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. WXPN produces World Cafe®, public radio’s most popular program of popular music hosted by David Dye and syndicated by NPR, and the Peabody Award winning Kids Corner hosted by Kathy O’Connell. WXPN also produces the alternative rock service, Y-Rock On XPN (yrockonxpn.org) as its secondary radio channel in HD. WXPN serves the greater Philadelphia area at 88.5 FM, the Lehigh Valley at 104.9, Worton/Baltimore at 90.5 FM, Lancaster/York at 88.7 FM, Harrisburg at 99.7 FM, and the world via online streaming at XPN.org and XPoNentialMusic.org.

But don’t expect to be tuning into a wonderland of XM-Sirius goodness any time soon though, as the FCC still needs to sign off before this is final – and they’ve been the slowest decision makers of all. Hopefully this won’t drag out for another year, but with the National Association of Broadcasters still fighting valiantly against the merger, who knows…

If you’re the type who likes to read big words, here’s what the D to the O to the J had to say:

After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the Division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and that the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers. The Division reached this conclusion because the evidence did not show that the merger would enable the parties to profitably increase prices to satellite radio customers for several reasons, including: a lack of competition between the parties in important segments even without the merger; the competitive alternative services available to consumers; technological change that is expected to make those alternatives increasingly attractive over time; and efficiencies likely to flow from the transaction that could benefit consumers.

You can read the Department’s official release and analysis here.

Since forming in 1985, TVT has hosted a wide roster of acts. Ranging from Nine Inch Nails early on, to current acts like The Polyphonic Spree and Lil’ Jon.

At this time there are no reports of what will happen to the current roster artists, what will happen to label’s upcoming release schedule, or why this decision has been made. But lately there’s been more than a few reports of the label’s artists publicly airing problems with label founder and current President, Steve Gottleib. Like this recent one by Pitbull.

In fact, even though he’s not been on the label for many years, Nine Inch Nails frontmant Trent Reznor posted this single sentence statement about the label on hiswebsite then linking to this story on allhiphop.com.

18 February 2008: you’re gonna get yours

Not ALL news about the music industry is bad these days.

Damn Trent! That’s cold!

But maybe all those record breaking “Crunk Ain’t Dead” bling chains weren’t a good idea after all.

Fortress, the sophomore Vagrant release from PROTEST THE HERO, has debuted at #95 on The Billboard 200 chart with over 7600 units sold. Fortress also debuted at #10 on the Billboard Top Independent chart and delivered a stunning #1 debut in the band’s home country of Canada.

The band has also just been confirmed to play this year’s Bamboozle Left, in Irvine, CA on April 6th.

You can also see them on the road, they just kicked off a US And Canada tour with Silverstein in support of Fortress. Dates can be seen after the jump.

Feb 07 – London, ON @ Cowboy’s Ranch ^
Feb 08 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus ^
Feb 09 – Montreal, QU @ Club Soda ^
Feb 10 – Quebec City, QU @ Imperial de Quebec ^
Feb 21 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium *
Feb 22 – New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre *
Feb 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero *
Feb 24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
Feb 26 – Norfolk, VA @ Norva Theatre *
Feb 27 – North Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues *
Feb 28 – Nashville, TN @ Rockettown *
Feb 29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade *
Mar 1 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues *
Mar 2 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution *
Mar 4 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing *
Mar 6 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues *
Mar 7 – Houston, TX @ Meridian *
Mar 8 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s *
Mar 9 – Dallas, TX @ The Door *
Mar 11 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater *
Mar 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee *
Mar 13 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues *
Mar 14 – San Diego, CA @ Soma *
Mar 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Avalon *
Mar 16 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
Mar 18 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre *
Mar 19 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox *
Mar 20 – Boise, ID @ Big Easy Concert House *
Mar 21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theater *
Mar 22 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theater *
Mar 24 – Kansas City, MO @ Madrid Theater *
Mar 25 – Sauget, IL @ Pop’s *
Mar 26 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4 *
Mar 27 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues *
Mar 28 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall *
Mar 29 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s *
Mar 30 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Zoo *
Apr 6 – Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre/Bamboozle Left

^ – w/ Silverstein
* – w/ Silverstein, A Day To Remember, The Devil Wears Prada

Considering that the New York rock experience has, for the last decade or so, consisted of Lenny Kravitz, Foo Fighters, Green Day and Nirvana, we weren’t expecting much. However, the station’s website showed their first hour of music, and for the most part, it’s pretty impressive. For a market that’s been a lot more likely to play Velvet Revolver than the Velvet Underground, it was both risky and exhilarating to have heard Lou Reed’s voice emanating out of the Syn stereo. Then to follow up it up with R.E.M.’s “Supernatural Suerserious,” a song that isn’t even out yet, was a nice one-two combo to start off a new station. Here’s the rest of the first hour, which, with the exception of Nickelback, we’re pretty ok with.

The Velvet Underground – Rock And Roll
R.E.M – Supernatural Suerserious
Elvis Costello – Pump It Up
Tom Petty – Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Blondie – Call Me
The Bravery – Believe
Bruce Springsteen – Blinded By The Light
The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize
U2 – Angel Of Harlem
Nickelback – Rockstar
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Zephyr Song
The Black Crowes – Hard To Handle
The Killers – Somebody Told Me

Henderson has a busy year ahead of him: The instrumentalist will be playing on Bootsy Collins’ forthcoming CD, as well as recording with onetime Guns N’ Roses guitarist, Buckethead. He has a signature Epiphone guitar, “The Apparition,” coming out later this year, and is also endorsing a range of products for other companies including Digitech, Dean Markley, EMG and Krank. In addition, Henderson is a featured instructor on website www.guitarinstructor.com.

“The Syndicate not only care about and understand my career path, but they customize opportunities and events based on my personality and personal goals,” Henderson says. “I’m proud as hell to say I’m a Synner who has saints working with me!”

“Marcus’ passion for music is matched only by his desire to help people love and create music,” Syndicate partner Rev. David Ciancio says.” “We’re ecstatic to have him join Thursday, The End, Shadows Fall and Protest the Hero as a part of the Syndicate’s management roster. His work in the Guitar Hero series has helped to shape a revolution in video gaming and we hope to help him do the same with the rest of his works.”

For publicity and marketing opportunities, contact Rev. David Ciancio.

You can lay your eyes on Marcus’ signature Epiphone guitar, “The Apparition” after the jump.