All-American, International Basketball player signs physical distribution for his memoir.
Altavoz Distribution is proud to announce its partnership with international basketball player and former Maryland Terrapin Travis Garrison. Altavoz will expand distribution of his inspirational memoir, “Never Satisfied: An Athlete’s Battle”. In the memoir, Garrison takes the reader play-by-play through his rise, fall, and rise again. Coached and mentored by the legendary Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School, Garrison became a McDonald’s All-American basketball player. He was later recruited by Coach Gary Williams, another outstanding mentor, to play for The University of Maryland. After assisting the school to earn its first ACC title in twenty years, Garrison made a life changing decision, causing him to go undrafted and unsigned by the NBA.
Garrison’s mission in “Never Satisfied” is to help advise young athletes and their families about what could happen during a young person’s journey through higher levels of competitive play. Garrison is supremely honest and direct to help the next generation learn from his mistakes. His return to success and well-being is a testament to the power of responsibility and positivity.
Garrison plays professional basketball around the world in the Ukraine, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela and Greece. He lives with his wife and children in his native state of Maryland.
Imagine our surprise when, flipping through the latest issue of Billboard (issued July 6), we saw a mention of our company! On page 24, in the article titled “A New Day for Indie Distribution,” author Ed Christman discusses the revitalized independent distribution sector of the music industry. According to Christman, dynamics of the music marketplace are shifting to where smaller labels seeking distribution turn to smaller distributors as a result of stricter regulations from major distributors like RED or Fontana. Additionally, the relatively recent resurgence of vinyl popularity has reestablished the importance of independent distributors, particularly those that specialize in niche genres. Altavoz has benefitted from such shifts through deals with labels such as SuperStar Recordsto distribute physical copies of rising young blues master Quinn Sullivan’s second album GETTING THERE. Newly independent artists, like Dawn Richard (formerly of Bad Boy Records), have also found their alternative with Altavoz. We echo Christman’s sentiment that the future for independent distributors is optimistic, and we look forward to continue working with independent labels on their physical and digital distribution needs.
AltaArtist Wins Hip Hop Award
by Lauren Fagan
Altavoz is proud to announce that our own AltaArtist, Bella Nae‘, was the recipient of the Midwest Hip HopAwards’ Best R&B artist! The Midwest Hip Hop Awards debuted in Ohio to celebrate all the Midwestern Hip Hop artists. This latest accolade comes on the heels of an amazing spring for this young artist. Bella Nae had the opportunity to go on tour with MGK for his Lace Up Tour and perform at SXSW once more.
Congratulations, Bella Nae’!
Magna Carta…Holy Grail Backlash
by Madelyn Dutt
Last week, rap mogul Jay-Z digitally released his twelfth studio album Magna Carta…Holy Grail exclusivelyas a smartphone app. The album was then available for retail sale four days later on July 8. Most of the buzz surrounding Magna Carta focused on Jay-Z’s decision to release strategy; hardly any conversation concerned the music itself. While indeed an interesting method, some criticism has arisen charging that Jay-Z is treating his fans more as customers than he should.
According to Washington Post writer Chris Richards, the terms of agreement required to access the Magna Carta app are what debased Jay-Z’s fans to being mere consumers. “In exchange [for downloading the app], users were asked to share access to their social media accounts, their phone calls, their GPS location and more. If the medium is the message, we finally had an answer to that fan-or-customer question,” Richards says.
The artist-fan relationship is a special one that should involve a certain personal connection between the two. In Altavoz’s opinion, maintaining this bond is crucial and part of what makes loving music so enjoyable. By creating an app that has the potential to invade fans’ privacy, presumably for the purpose of collecting data, Jay-Z may have violated the importance of treating fans as they deserve.
Here at Altavoz, we love when the Majors support us Indies, and that is exactly what MTV, VH1, and CMT are doing for the 4th of July! From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow, the three music networks are celebrating “Music Independence Day” with special programming highlighting emerging independent artists. Click here to learn more about each network’s plans and be sure to tune in over the holiday! Who knows, you just might be introduced to your new favorite musician!
Always Expect the Unexpected from Weird Al Yankovic
by Sarah Grin
Remember that time when you weren’t considered cool unless you listened to Weird Al Yankovic’s “Fat” or “White and Nerdy”?
Well it’s time to reintroduce Weird Al with lots of new material…But it’s not what you’re thinking. There aren’t any parodies of Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” although there really ought to be one.
Weird Al is now on tour promoting his new children’s book, “My New Teacher and Me!” If it’s anything like his songs, this book should be quite interesting.
The book takes a turn into fantasyland, where you can find blueberry muffin trees, dinosaur heads, and two-headed goats, OH MY!
But before reading the book, here is a few precautions because you just never know what your kid might try to do:
Make sure your child doesn’t start planting muffins in your backyard
Or dig a path to the Great Wall of China and run into a skeleton of some kind
Or any other sort of ridiculous attempt at being like the boy in the book.
Concert Review: Welcome To Forever Tour
By Ellen Gillingham
Logic came home for his Welcome to Forever Tour at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD. From the moment Logic took the stage, the concert was one big party, unified by a love for Maryland and the DMV. He was very interactive with the crowd, and seemed so happy that everyone was there to see him perform. He recalled personal experiences at the venue as a fan, wishing that the artist would just look at him.
Logic released his mixtape, “Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever,” celebrating his freshman status in Hip-Hop. The Maryland rapper remains true to his past and beliefs above all. Since his debut on the cover of XXL, Logic has a newfound confidence. You can hear this in his tracks. His style has switched flows and he delves into new styles.
Logic’s lyrical skill that initially gave him well-deserved attention is obvious in tracks like “Roll Call.” The beat comes from Outcast’s hit, “Ms. Jackson” and includes lines like, “Fighting for credibility from the lack of blacker skin/
It’s kind of funny how your pigment determines how people perceive you/ That’s ignant/.”
Logic has the talent to out-rap masses. With his new status, Logic has to prove himself against his freshman peers. With his style, he shows up in the industry with Welcome to Forever, Logic proves that he can perform extraordinarily.
The celebration started with local artist Lyriciss, special guest QuESt, Skizzy Mars, and Castro! The great emcees and djs had incredible crowd control and inspiration. The performers fit into the musical picture, representing Maryland and engaging fans.
A definite AltaFave, The Fillmore Silver Spring was recognized by Billboard recently by making the trade magazine’s list of “Top 25 Hottest Clubs.” It was the perfect location for Logic’s hometown visit on his national tour.