The CMU

Background to CMU…
•    CMU has been bringing together everyone in music for nearly ten years.
•    The CMU Daily is the UK’s biggest and most popular daily news service for the UK music business, read by over 12,500 music people every week day.
•    CMU’s readers include everyone from the big cheeses at the major music and media firms to the people leading the music scene at the grass roots.
•    The CMU Daily provides a summary of all the big stories in the music industry and music media, plus a guide to the latest tours, signings and releases.
•    Throughout its ten year history CMU has been known for its skill at discovering and championing new talent.
•    Among the bands to get some of their first coverage in CMU are Stereophonics, Eminem, Snow Patrol, Dandy Warhols, OutKast, Dido, Delays, The Streets, Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters, McFly, Kasabian, The Killers, Goldie Lookin Chain, Arctic Monkeys, Pendulum and Klaxons.
•    CMU has a long association with the college music scene, which it utilises in order to reach the grass roots music community.
•    Because of its independent ownership, irreverent style and genuine passion for new music, CMU enjoys huge popularity across the UK music business – with a lot of goodwill among key industry people.

Introduction to The CMU Social…
•    CMU has been a media partner of Leyline club nights for over three years, including Remix Night, Kill All Hippies, Hum and Insomniacs Ball.
•    CMU and Leyline are perfect partners – because both share a passion for new music across multiple genres.
•    In 2008, the year of CMU’s tenth birthday, CMU and Leyline will co-launch a new monthly night, The CMU Social, which will bring together music people from across London, and provide a new platform for great new music.

Format/Plan
•    The CMU Social will primarily be a new band showcase event.
•    Approx three bands will appear each month.
•    Between bands the CMU DJs will play a mix of indie, indie/dance crossover, remixes, mash-ups and quality pop.
•    The night will have early doors (maybe as early as 6pm) to encourage music industry people to come straight after work – a drinks promotion before 8pm would be good to pull in the crowd early. 
•    Bands will perform at 7.30pm, 8.30pm and 9.30pm, with an 11pm close.
•    CMU Daily readers (ie industry and media people) will be able to get into The CMU Social for free (they will ‘guest list’ themselves via the CMU Online website). Tickets will also be available to the public for a fiver – with the night primarily promoted to London’s grass roots and college music communities.
•    CMU and Leyline will seek sponsorship to cover the costs of staging The CMU Social.
•    Additional quirky events may be staged in the first hour – eg exclusive first airings of major music videos, straight out of studio playbacks of forthcoming albums, artists testing brand new songs acoustically.
•    Where permission is granted recordings may be made of some sets for airing on the CMU online radio show, which will relaunch in Spring 2008.

Artists
•    Acts will be predominantly signed, most likely with new deals or releases to promote. The headline slot may be a more established band with a new album to promote.
•    Each night will be co-curated by CMU and Leyline. Genres may vary slightly from month to month, but each night will be programmed so that featured artists “gell”.
•    CMU will utilise its ten year long relationships with all key major and independent record labels to secure artists – this will be backed up by Leyline’s unrivalled experience in booking artists for this kind of event.
•    For the artists The CMU Social will be primarily a marketing platform – putting them in front of numerous key opinion formers in the UK music business, music media and grass roots music community. Featured bands will also be promoted through the CMU Daily and other CMU media.
•    Given CMU and Leyline’s existing contacts and good reputation, we see The CMU Social quickly becoming a must-play night for artists.

Marketing
•    The CMU Social will be primarily marketed to the industry and media people through the CMU Daily and a once-a-month bespoke email to the CMU Daily readership.
•    The night will be primarily promoted to students via partnerships with key student media (mainly student newspapers) around London, arranged via CMU’s college network.
•    The night will also be promoted via all of CMU’s other media, plus a monthly press release will be sent out to CMU and Leyline’s collected press contact lists.

Long term aim/229 Relationship
•    Our aim is to make The CMU Social an iconic monthly night in London, that brings together everyone working in music in the capital, and which becomes a must-play night for quality new and established talent with new albums to promote.
•    We propose to start The CMU Social in the smaller room at 229, making for an intimate event, but with a view to expanding it into the larger venue on special occasions in the future.  
•    Once established we would also stage CMU Social nights as part of other events, eg industry conventions like The Great Escape and In The City, at music festivals and at the Edinburgh Festival where CMU’s sister publication ThreeWeeks is the flagship media. At these events we would promote 229 as the “spiritual home” to The CMU Social.


People saying nice things about CMU
“Takes the pomp out of the industry. I like that”.
“I love the off the cuff tone and the feel that the people writing it care about music as well as the music industry”.
“CMU recognises what an absurd and foolish passion the music industry serves and yet you still take it seriously and refuse to belittle it. You actually seem to care about what you’re writing about. I don’t think you can say that about many people whose job is to churn out words on the subject of music, especially the music industry”.
“Without doubt it is the most informative piece of music communication that I receive. Keeps me very much in the loop with everything connected to the industry”.
“It’s the only music news disseminator I trust”.
“It doesn’t try to be hip or score points for being in on something first – it is inclusive”.
“bunch of opinionated fuckers... love it!”

Quotes taken from CMU Daily readership survey Spring 2007, undertaken by Media Entertainment Research

UnLimited Media
CMU is owned and loved by UnLimited Media , a London based media, content and marketing company with offices in Shoreditch.

Web Links
www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/daily
www.unlimitedmedia.co.uk