USA News Feature makes our July

When we got approached by USA News for an article about who we were and what we do in the music business I said absolutlely. Being in the business for (3) decades somehow doesn't seem that long when it's something you love doing. Although as the owner I never thought it would grow to this point, I knew independant artists faced a struggle competing with the big labels and they still do. I know this all to well as I've lived it.

Todays market is a 180 from (20) years ago and if your not enbracing the digital landscape your not reaching where your fans are. It took weeks of back and forth with their reporters to really highlight just what we're doing at TMP and the piece surprised even me with the clarity of everything we do as a company.

From the inception to where we are today has changed drastically, Now we specialise in production, Dolby Atmos and giving artists quality sound, when we combined this with our own distribution company (Tiger Music Distribution) it really set us apart from the competition. There are lots of distributors in the digital landscape but we are the only truly Canadian company doing distribution and doing it on a global scale.

Our roots are in country music and always will be but we're well versed in many other genre's and as musicians ourselves we know what it takes to make the sound every artist is looking for. Unless your an engineer, making a track with just any software doesn't cut it in today's market. Program directors and playlisters are looking for professional quality sound. If they don't see a engineer involved or a solid company you don't stand a chance.

You can read the full article(s) that got published on USA News at the following link:

https://usanews.com/newsroom/music-distribution-done-right-tiger-music-productions-canada-redefines-the-future-of-independent-artists

Since this piece was published we were fortunate enough to also be placed on another publication titled Artist Recap and this really takes things over the top. It's nice to be recognised for what we've done here at TMP and it resonates in both articles but the story remains the same, (giving independant artists and labels a voice) has and will always be our main focus. Here's the link to the Artist Recap story and we have to thank both publications for taking an interest in our company that's 100% Canadian.

https://artistrecap.com/tiger-music-productions-canada-advancing-music-production-and-distribution-for-independent-artists-2/

Spotify is cracking down on artificial streams

The digital age of music brings with it it's own issues. One of them is people that use bots to inflate an artists followers and listeners.

In this day and age of promotion and how easy it is to promote artists with a budget it's a shame people are resulting to trying to cheat the system.

When people use campaigns that are bot driven it doesn't work, their numbers might look good for a while and then they drop to below what they were when they started.

There are a number of companies out there that use bots so be very careful who you give your money to and if it looks to good to be true it is, check them our before handing over your money or it might cost you more then you think.

Artists that dedicate their life, career and their hard earned money playing gigs to promote themselves deserve the attention, not from people that use bots to inflate their numbers artifically.

As a disidtribution company this subject has always been an issue and we take a zero tolerance with it. If we get notified from one of the streaming services we immediatly investigate it. If we find artists or managers who are doing it their account is closed and their music is pulled, streaming services are likely to follow suit.

Now Spotify which is the first and I'm sure not the last is imposing penalties per release of any material found to be involved when artificial streams are detected. Other DSP's will follow suit and content will be removed and accounts closed as they already have done it in the past.

We see this as a positive for artists who put their heart and soul into their music and it will level the playing field. Fines can range from $20 and up and distributors can and most likely will charge a takedown fee if artificial numbers are detected. As much as we'd like to say it this has been happening for to long and we're glad the DSP's are involved.

For those of us that love music, the industry and where it's going this is the right step towards a fair balanced system.

Scammers preying on artists, not cool !!!

It's no surprise that as technology advances so do the scammers and we've just heard about the latest one out there. Scam artists are becoming more sophictocated and are good at impersonization and faking real profiles.

These people approach artists right from their soundcloud account and send them an email offering them a recording contract. To every artist this is a dream come true and if your not on the lookout for it they have you.

Here's how the latest scam is working, The scammers are saying they are from A & R and Interscope records and you'll get contacted by either their vp or assistant to their EVP of their A&R team. In this case it was a "Nicole Wyskoarko and Randall Sycamore" who look real but have faked the profiles of real people.

They will send over a short publishing contract for you to sign which is fake. In the contract it will say they are giving you new studio equipment and a salary which in this case was $1.000.000 a year. Once signed they say they will fly you out to meet in person to sign more indepth contracts.

Before that ever happens their going to ask you for money they say is for project management and tracking software that you must have before any money is transferred. (This should be a BIG RED FLAG)

From there they are going to ask you to send the money via PayPal and use the friends and family part so they don't get charged a fee, (another red flag and that also makes you getting any money back impossible) As if that isn't enough thir also going to say they didn't receive it and try another email address: both are listed here: subreana72@gmail.com and kadengold63@gmail.com.

I've heard of a few people that have gotten taken by these people and they even tried asking for banking and login info, (Don't send them money and Don't give them your banking info)

Record labels never ask for funds up front; they take a percentage of royalties to recoup funds. If labels offer a recording contract, you'll need a lawyer to go through a lengthy contract. It is people like these scammers that give the entire industry a bad reputation, and we need to shut them down. If you are contacted out of the blue with a recording contract, here's the first thing you should do: Look up the actual company and see if the person works for them. Find their contact info and call and email them to ensure it all matches up, (and it will never be a Gmail address.)

Use Google Maps to see if the location actually shows the business, and get a lawyer involved. (IF THEY ASK FOR MONEY, DON'T GIVE THEM ANY AND REPORT THEM. If you are in Canada, report to the R.C.M.P. commercial crimes unit; if you are in the U.S., report to the FBI commercial crimes unit.)