SoundExchange announced today the recipients of its inaugural 2014 SoundExchange PULSE Award: Lorde, The Neighbourhood, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, CHVRCHES and Lindsey Stirling. The SoundExchange PULSE Award recognizes the quick market entry and continued sustainability of artists in the digital radio streaming music space. These artists were recognized for bursting onto the scene in the non-interactive digital space.
“We are thrilled to honor our inaugural SoundExchange PULSE Award recipients for their musical talent, success and passion,” said SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe. “Our unique position at the center of the digital music space affords SoundExchange valuable insight into emerging and trending artists on digital radio. The SoundExchange PULSE Award shines a spotlight on those artists who have broken through in the digital streaming world.”
The inaugural SoundExchange PULSE Award recipients are artists that work with major and independent record labels and include:
· Lorde – The New Zealand teen phenom and GRAMMY-Award winner broke onto the scene in 2013 with her critically acclaimed debut album, “Pure Heroine.”
· The Neighbourhood – The American indie rock band is composed of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margott and drummer Brandon Fried.
· Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The duo reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart with the independent release of their smash hit “Thrift Shop.”
· CHVRCHES – The promising Scottish electronic group is composed of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty.
· Lindsey Stirling – The American violinist, dancer, performance artist, and composer was nominated for a Billboard Music Award and won a YouTube Music Award.
While Lindsey Stirling and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were unable to attend a reception held in honor of the SoundExchange PULSE Award winners, Stirling shared her excitement via video exclaiming, “I want to thank SoundExchange for giving me this awesome award. I’m so excited about it and what a cool surprise to get mid-tour.”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis shared a note stating, “Thank you SoundExchange. We truly appreciate having you on our team. We are honored to be recognized with the award!”
In addition, Daniel Glass, founder of Glassnote Records, was in attendance accepting the SoundExchange PULSE Award on behalf of CHVRCHES. Ron Perry, president and head of A&R at SONGS Music Publishing accepted the award on behalf of Lorde.
SoundExchange royalties are paid by non-interactive Internet radio, satellite radio and cable radio services and are distributed by SoundExchange directly to the recording artists and rights owners that earn them. The SoundExchange PULSE Award winners were selected based on data reported to SoundExchange by 2,500+ digital radio providers, and based on those who had a significant increase in digital radio exposure during the previous 12 months. Artists must be members of SoundExchange in order to be eligible for the SoundExchange PULSE Award.
