We7 News

New music on We7

First up, in a highly awaited return to the music scene, we have Usher who comes back with Love In This Club. First single from his forthcoming album and already a number one smash in the US, "Love In This Club" will further cement Usher's tag of The King of R & B.

Next up we have Kelly Rowland, who, after following the phenomenal Top 5 UK success of "Like This" and "Work" is back once again with the brand new single Daylight, featuring one of the finest boys in Hip Hop, Travis McCoy from the Gym Class Heroes. "Daylight" is a feel good slice of sunshine which screams "Bring on the summer" and Kelly works it perfectly with her silky smooth vocals and cheeky smile.

This month, we also have a collection of previously unreleased rarities, outtakes and remixes from the illustrious career of Sarah McLachlan, Rarities & Other Stuff also features unique collaborations from Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper and many more!

Finally, selling over 4 million copies in the UK alone, A New Day Has Come is one of Celine Dion's best-selling albums and features the hits "I'm Alive", "Have You Ever Been In Love" and "A New Day Has Come".
Originally release in 2002, "A New Day Has Come" marked the return of Celine Dion after a two year career hiatus and was her first collection of the new songs since "Let's talk about Love" in 1997.

Also on We7 this week...

This week on We7, we also take a look at some of the big album releases over the past few months. Top of our list is Blackout, the comeback album from Britney Spears.
Forget the tabloid hype, Blackout saw Britney return doing what she does best. The comeback album of the year, it was the perfect response to critics who thought she had lost it, earning rave reviews and a number one placing on the US charts.

The Kings of Leon released their third album, Because of The Times in April last year. A runaway success, it spawned 3 hit singles and showed the increasing musical maturity of the band. Recorded with long time producer Ethan Johns in Nashville and Los Angeles, the album was many critics favourite record of 2007.

Packed with frenetic, anthemic rock juxtaposed with lingering ballads, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace is the seventh studio album from the mighty Foo Fighters.  Echoes, Silence and Patience saw them once again team up with legendary producer Gil Norton to produce a record that leaves
the listener desperate for more...

And last, but not least, Spirit from Leona Lewis. The first British female singer to reach number one in the US in twenty years, Spirit was also the fastest selling UK debut of all time.
Its easy to see why - Leona Lewis has worked with some of the best producers and songwriters in the business to put together a timeless set of classics.

Latest unsigned artists...

So what's new and unsigned on We7? Have a listen to Klavar, our number 1 artist in Dance, a clever mix of strong beats and ambient vibes all gathered in the fantastic double album Night and Day. We7 interviewed this week Tony, one of the two members of Klavar to talk about their album and their plans for the future...

And if you like more ambient music, check out Curfew and their brand new album now available on We7, Inside. They describe their music as a magical blend of both synthesized and acoustic soundscapes with thought-provoking and poetic lyrics, beautiful soaring melodies and infectious rhythms.

From Leona, to Take That, to The Hoosiers - "Listen Now" FREE at We7.com

Whether it's Take That, Mark Ronson, The Hoosiers or Leona Lewis that tickles your fancy, today is great news for all music fans because tracks from all of these artists, plus lots more, are available to be selected and listened to immediately for FREE at We7.com.

The new "on demand" music service, launched today at We7.com, gives fans access to over 500,000 tracks from Sony BMG and a wide variety of independent artists and labels, legally, safely and in a format they want.

Music fans can "listen now" to the music they want for free thanks to We7's unique model which grafts a short audio advert onto the front of each track.

Unlike illegal file sharing sites, the artist and record label will get paid every time music fans listen to the track from the revenue generated by advertising. This provides a viable solution to music piracy and a win-win situation for music fans and artists alike.

In addition, tens of thousands of music tracks can be downloaded to be 'listened to later' on their iPod or MP3 player for free with the attached advert, which can be removed after a set number of listens, or an amount of elapsed time.

If fans don't like ads they can alternatively buy it via We7 without the advert, giving consumers the choice to listen to music in the way they want it.

Music sharing with your best friends is encouraged at We7 as every play is paid for.

Steve Purdham, co-founder and CEO of We7 comments: "To date music fans have really only had two choices to get the music how they want it - buy or steal. Today we're changing that by putting the fans and artists first to deliver a fresh new alternative. Simply fans get the music they want and now have the choice of paying with their money or paying with a small amount of their time. So everybody is happy".

Jack Horner, co-Founder and Creative Director, FRUKT adds, "We7 is pushing the boundaries of music delivery to give fans greater access to the music they love whilst ensuring the artists get paid fairly too. Innovative approaches to the monitising of music in this time of change for the traditional music business deserve much praise and support. A major label partnership is a very exciting step forward in delivering a more mainstream offering to music fans."

Initially, not all the tracks will be available to listen to in all the formats but We7 will continue to work with the music industry to break down the barriers to bring even greater choice to users in the coming months.

We7's catalogue keeps on growing...

IRIS, INgrooves and BFM Digital sign up to We7

We7 today announced deals bringing more than 200,000 new and diverse tracks to music fans. Agreements with IRIS, one of the world’s leading independent Digital Distributors, InGrooves one of the largest independent digital-only music label/publishers and BFM Digital, a Distributor that gives independent labels and artists a platform to get their music into the marketplace. We7 has now licensed catalogues containing more than 750,000 songs.

The deals follow the recently announced partnership with Sony BMG, who became the first major to sign with We7 in the UK, making its huge digital catalogue available for We7 users to stream for free, with a short targeted audio ad preceding each track. The new signings follow the likes of Sanctuary Records, V2 and Nettwerk in allowing We7’s 130,000 users to download great music for free, and rights holders and labels to gain new advertising revenue streams.

IRIS distribute many renowned independent labels such as Scion, Chemikal Underground, Subliminal and Big Dada. InGrooves will be adding over 130,000 tracks from prime independent labels such as ESL Music, VP Records, Chocolate Industries and A2M Distribution. BFM Digital distributes labels such as Cristal Records, Disk Eyes and Ana Records. BFM will make 60,000 tracks available for We7 users to download and stream for free, with a short audio ad.

Clive Gardiner from We7 commented “We7 is delighted to expand further our exciting top-quality repertoire choices for our users. We7 is all about discovering and sharing great music, whether that means listening now (streaming) or listening later (downloading). I warmly welcome these latest licensors and thank them for embracing We7’s pioneering ad-funded business model which is based upon dynamically targeted advertising opportunities.”

IRIS’s Chief Marketing Officer Bryn Boughton said: “Leave it to Peter Gabriel and his colleagues to come up with such a unique and innovative way to offer fans free music whilst at the same time paying the artists and labels their fair share. We think our labels will benefit greatly from this model and we’re excited to work with We7.”

Renée Reed, Director of Business Development for INgrooves: “We’re very happy to be working with We7 and are particularly impressed by the milestones they have already reached in such a short amount of time. We love that consumers now have the option to either purchase a download or get it for free while the artist still gets their share. We7's ad-supported business model is a truly dynamic one and we're looking forward to their continued success".

Steve Corn, CEO of Big Fish Media said: “Peter Gabriel has a history of innovation in the music industry and we very pleased to be part of his latest venture. We believe that We7 represents a uniquely, creative approach to solving the inherent conflicts between a la carte and subscription models of digital music. BFM Digital feels that it is an imperative to support such alternative compensation structures and we are proud to have our diverse catalogue part of their growing service.”

Coming soon on We7... Music how you want it!

A few weeks ago we announced a deal with Sony BMG that gave us access to their extensive catalogue of over 200,000 tracks. From 28^th April, We7 will feature your favourite artists – such as Mark Ronson, Bruce Springsteen and Leona Lewis. These superstars of music – along with many, many others – will be available to you to stream, for free and on demand!

Since our launch in May 2007, we’ve been working hard at signing up artists and labels of all sizes to give you, the user, a broad range of music to listen to.

With the support of the good people behind Sony BMG - and the artists they work with - plus many independent artists and labels already on the service, We7 will have hundreds of thousands of tracks available to users to access for free!

Full-length streaming will initially be available for the UK only. But we’re working hard to extend this into other countries around the world. Each streamed track will be preceded by a short audio ad (which helps pay for the track). If you like the track so much that you want to buy it, you will be able to do so from our own store, or from the iTunes store.

Free full length tracks, to stream and download on We7, are obviously great news for music fans, but also great for artists and labels, who get paid every time someone streams or download a song. Thanks to We7’s unique model – where artists and record labels share in revenue generated by advertising on We7 – artists and labels can finally monetize fans' growing desire to get music for free!

We7 is building a new future for music, a future where fans are able to discover new and exciting music the way they want to, and artists and labels get fairly paid for their creative work. Every day we will be adding thousands of new tracks increasing the choice of music available to you.

We7 aims to become your one stop shop for music, a place to go where you can download or stream for free with an ad, or pay for it without an ad.

So be a part of the We7 music revolution today!

We7 has changed!

We would like to welcome you to the new look We7 website. Our new website allows for easier access to the music you like and adds great new features and choices.

For the first time, the new look We7 now offers free, on demand streaming of tracks. This means you can choose whatever tracks you want to listen to in full, and make up playlists to listen to online or download to listen to wherever you like.

Each playlist can have up to 60 songs, and you can create multiple playlists to create a selection of tracks that fits every mood - whether you are working, playing or just chilling out! And don't forget to share your playlists with your friends!

Listening to songs from your playlist is brought to you free by playing a short audio advert before each track which is targeted to your profile - this is what generates money for the label and artist.

After each song has played, you can choose whether you want to pay to download the song without any ads - or download it for free with ads before each track.

All downloads are 192 kbps MP3s which you can play anywhere anytime on any player. If you've downloaded songs for free with ads attached, the ads don't stay there forever. You can remove them after 28 days by re-downloading the track - for free - after 28 days!

So you can listen now (stream) or listen later (download). You can choose to pay to download without ads; or download for free with ads. The choice is yours - We7 brings you Music as You Like It!!!

At the beginning not all choices and options will be available for every track... but we are determined to deliver this over time. Every day we are adding thousands of new tracks to the service. So be a part of the We7 music revolution today!

Celebrate St Patrick's Day with We7!

To celebrate St Patrick's Day, we thought we would take the opportunity to take a look at some our favourite Irish music from the site and give you an exclusive selection of some of the best songs to get you in the party mood.

Irish music is popular all over the world, not just in Irish communities. Traditional Irish Folk tells tales of heroic Irish struggle and resistance, passed down from generation to generation through song. Emigration spread Irish music throughout the world, kept alive by Irish communities in North America, Australia and Britain.

From the 1960s onwards, bands such as The Dubliners started to gain popularity in Britain, as folk music started to gain a wider appeal. However, Ireland has produced their own fair share of Rock and Rollers - Most notably U2, The Undertones (a favourite of John Peel) and The Pogues, who still tour today under the command of Shane McGowan.

So whats your favourite irish song of all time? Who do you like to listen to as you sup on your pint of Guiness?

Sony-BMG signs with We7!

We are delighted to announce that Sony BMG, one of the UK's largest and most successful record companies, has signed with We7 to provide free streaming of its music to We7 users in the UK.

From the end of April, We7's users will be able to stream music, on demand and for free with a short audio advert before each track, from the extensive Sony BMG catalogue. The label will also make available to stream on demand new releases from its current roster of artists. Initially the streaming service will only be available to existing registered users of We7, before it is rolled out to new subscribers.

We7 will now feature music from internationally successful artists including Bruce Springsteen, Westlife and Foo Fighters and top selling British talent such as Mark Ronson, Kasabian and Leona Lewis. Sony BMG's reputation for discovering and developing exciting new talent such as The Hoosiers and Ting Tings will also compliment We7's commitment to unearthing new and exciting artists.

Today's announcement marks a significant step forward for We7. Having launched in May 2007 with 30 tracks available to its users, We7 has steadily made progress in signing a number of leading independent's catalogues to the service. We7 now has licensed nearly 1 million tracks from record labels of all sizes and unsigned artists.

It is We7's fresh approach to finding new ways of delivering music to fans that has proved so successful in attracting record labels, distributors and unsigned artists to the service.

Commenting on the announcement, Ged Doherty, Chairman of Sony BMG in the UK and Ireland, said "We are in the business of embracing a multitude of new ways our music can reach audiences. Our deal with We7 is an important step forward in offering fans greater flexibility in how they consume music."

The announcement further signifies the achievements of We7 in a short space of time. Having passed the 2 million downloads mark in record time, last month, We7 was nominated in the category of Digital Achievement of the Year at the Music Week Awards.

Steve Purdham, CEO of We7, commented "Today marks a significant leap forward for We7 and the industry as a whole, as Sony BMG lead the way in embracing the on demand streaming model for the benefit of music fans, artists and advertisers alike."

Peter Gabriel, the musician and founder of We7 added, "The digital revolution has provided exciting and extraordinary opportunities in the music business, even though it has been largely written off by many. We7 is a model that will supply free music to the consumer and still provide a stream of revenue to musicians and content owners. We are delighted that Sony BMG are exploring this new world, and are the first forward thinking major to come on board with us."

Keep checking back with We7 for further exciting additions to our musical offerings in the coming weeks!

Tell us your favourite tracks by the Kinks

What's your favourite song by The Kinks? We7 has all of their 1960s period output available to download for free.

Most people remember the Kinks for the stand out hits - Lola, Days, Waterloo Sunset and You Really Got Me - But We7 also has plenty of previously unreleased material for you to discover.

The Kinks have made a lasting impression on pop music in the UK - you can hear it it in bands such as Blur and the Libertines who not only reference them through the music, but also celebrate the wistful patriotism of The Kinks later work, such as Arthur (Or, the Decline and Fall Of The British Empire).

The Kinks also turn up in film soundtracks from time to time- Well Respected Man, for instance, plays over the opening titles of the critically acclaimed film Juno.

The four original members of the band - Dave Davies, Ray Davies, Pete Quaife and Mick Avory - are rumoured to be reforming in the near future to tour.