Time is money. Those words have been around awhile – long before anyone dreamed of distributing music through digital technology, rather than on legacy formats like CD, vinyl, cassette, 8-track tape and old-timey wax cylinder. But they remain truer than ever today, especially in a world where multitasking is everything. If you’re a radio programmer, journalist, curator or blogger with numerous balls in the air, having everything in one place is invaluable.
On that front comes Player, the time-saving application from Play MPE, a Vancouver-based company that’s become the preferred digital distribution system for artists and record labels around the world.
A funny thing about the way the music business runs in 2021 is that, as much as distributing music has never been easier, it can also be epically frustrating. Through the magic of email and embedded links, it’s great being able to access new releases from major labels, groundbreaking indies, legacy artists, and promising upstarts. But, as any seasoned industry professional knows, sometimes everything you need to spotlight a new favourite record isn’t there in an email, especially if it hasn’t been sent through Play MPE’s Caster application. When you’re a programmer eager to rush a new favourite song onto the air, you need a broadcast-ready WAV file and the song’s ISRC (International Standard Recording Code), not an MP3 so compressed it takes you back to the days of Discmans and LimeWire.
And with Player, tastemakers don’t even have to look at the release email. In fact, many tastemakers prefer to avoid their inbox and just check out new releases right in the application. Having instant access to the latest music from around the world 24/7 really streamlines the discovery process. The moment a release comes out and you receive your mobile notification, it is already available to stream or download in Player.
Play MPE’s Stephanie Friedman, formerly vice-president of Nielsen Music/BDS, explains: “Player is easy to use, everything works – search! playlists! download! – and content never expires. Radio is era-driven, and while most programmers need a constant flow of new releases, they also have to freshen their gold libraries. Play MPE is a great resource for a wide range of broadcast quality audio needs.”
Running a music publication where you need to discover tomorrow’s Albanian art-metal stars for your “Six Import Bands You Need to Know Today” feature? Play MPE understands you’ll need assets like photos and band info for that. Play MPE’s Player serves as a famously secure, one-stop gateway for new releases from the world’s top major and indie labels, as well as DIY artists. User-friendly and intuitive, the application was designed to make discovering new music easy, whether you’re a radio programmer, print journalist, digital media blogger, music supervisor or curator picking the songs that play in retail stores and restaurants.
“Radio programmers do form a large part of our recipient lists,” Friedman notes, “but we also service music supervisors and curators from all categories including cable audio, retail, restaurants, travel, film and TV, press, sports venues, blogs – you name it. The feedback we get from our users is great. For many it is their preferred way to receive music because everything they need is contained within the release and they can access content on their own timeline.”
What stands out immediately is the range of releases. Tastemakers with no use for labels can choose to browse all categories, which range from the broad-based classics (rock, country, and jazz) to more focused genres like southern gospel, college, and golden oldies. Should you be running a station devoted to the songs of countries – Cuba, Mali, Brazil, and Jamaica – where the sun shines 24-7, the Play MPE Player filter can be easily set to spotlight world music, rhythmic, reggae and Latin tropical releases.
Need to make sure you’re meeting your Canadian content quotas? Player can be set to zero in on records exclusively from the beautiful Great White North. Once you’ve found something you like, it’s just a matter of simply clicking a release and then either streaming or downloading as a WAV or MP3 file.
The folks behind Player understand that busy tastemakers don’t always have the time to chase down resources when their interest in an artist has been piqued. Promo photos, bio info and contact information is included with each release, which means no frantic casting about the internet for the right label person, publicist or band member to contact when material is needed.
The Play MPE team also realizes that convenience is king so logging into Player is easy, no password required – a personal sign-in link is delivered right to your inbox! Or, just as easy, download the app on your phone. Using Player means no more getting a random email from a band or label and wondering if the link to the new Lechuga, Beaches or Lil Durk record is legit. And no more juggling multiple logins to access music.
Can anyone get a Player account? Well, the application is for music industry professionals so all applicants are vetted before they are given access. Tastemakers can request access here.
There are many radio programmers who almost exclusively use Player to access music because they know it’s secure, and because files are ready for airplay the second they are downloaded. Should you need help, thanks to print deadlines, remembering when a new record is scheduled for release or pre-release, it’s simple to set up a weekly email notification schedule.
Labels from around the planet use Player to get their music out into the world, so it makes sense that the site can be configured so that it’s in English, French, German or even Latvian. Lucky as you might be to have a job that involves discovering new music, sometimes you just want to get to the cottage on a Friday afternoon. Play MPE’s mobile Player app makes it easy to get the latest releases on the go.
Because it also works offline, you can make playlists to listen to on the app when you’re completely off the grid, fishing in the middle of Northern Ontario, building a dream cabin on a British Columbia Gulf Island or whale watching off the coast of Labrador.
Or, you know, reading up on Benjamin Franklin. One of the busiest inventors in history, the American icon is the man responsible for the quote “Time is money.” With that kind of insight, he would have appreciated Play MPE’s Player.
