The annual iTunes Festival in London returns tonight for its eighth edition and will run for 30 nights during September, showcasing some of the biggest and most diverse names in music. The festival takes place at Camden’s historic Roundhouse, one of London’s most intimate and special venues. Apple will be streaming the live shows via iTunes – so everyone can watch the action, from the comfort of their own home. And if you have Apple TV you can stream it straight to your Big Screen.
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Since its inception, more than 400 artists have performed at the festival, while millions of fans have watched the magic live. In an interview with The Guardian, Oliver Schusser, Senior Director of iTunes International at Apple, said that he hopes that fans are happy with the selection of artists on offer this year.
Arctic Monkeys – iTunes Festival 2013
“This is our eighth year, and from the first year on, for us it was about diversity” he said. “It’s really a fully-curated month: we want to make sure we have some pop artists, some classical artists, jazz. Some well-established artists, and some up-and-coming artists that we really believe in. I’m really proud, because I think it’s as diverse as we can get.”
Indeed, this year’s line-up is quite the mixed bag of goodies and surprises. Deadmau5 is to kick off the festivities tonight, while Clean Bandit, Tony Bennett, Kiesza, Sam Smith, Jungle, Pharrell Williams, Foxes, Mary J. Blige, Blondie, Lenny Kravitz, Kylie Minogue and Ed Sheeran are amongst those on the eclectic line up. It has just been confirmed that opera legend Plácido Domingo will close the festival.
Ed Sheeran – iTunes Festival 2012
The festival itself has had a major influence on the timing of new releases and marketing campaigns targeted around artists performing at the event. “It feels like this has become really a great part of everyone’s promo activity, from a label and manager and artist perspective”, explains Schusser. “It happened already two years ago: all of a sudden this became a key part of everyone’s plan. Lady Gaga opened last year on the first, and that was the kick-off for her new project, and the same for Katy Perry at the end.”
As always, tickets to attend the festival cannot be purchased and are being handed out to contest winners in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico and the U.S., via online competitions run by local media partners on platforms such as iTunes, Twitter and Shazam, in newspapers such as the London Evening Standard and on radio stations like Global Radio.
Alicia Keys – iTunes Festival 2011
iTunes provides live-streaming, live news feeds, and even a way for fans to apply for tickets. It also allows people to stream the September gigs for free in more than 100 countries.
This is Apple’s genius way of giving the festival a global profile and allowing up-and-coming artists in support slots – Jungle, Foxes, Jess Glynne, Luke Sital-Singh, MNEK and Wolf Alice – to reach a worldwide audience. Not only is this an excellent way of promoting these artists, it also gives the London festival a first-class rating.
“We do invest a lot in the technology: spending a lot of time, energy and R&D in making sure we have the right cameras, the best angles, the synchronisation between the cameras and the stage. It’s really a one-year project every time.”
iTunes Festival line-up
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| 01 Deadmau5 | 02 Beck Jenny Lewis |
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| 03 David Guetta Clean Bandit + Robin Schulz |
04 5 Seconds of Summer Charlie Simpson |
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| 05 Kasabian | 06 Tony Bennett Imelda May |
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| 07 Calvin Harris | 08 Robert Plant Luke Sital-Singh |
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| 09 Sam Smith Sohn |
10 Pharrell Williams Jungle |
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| 11 Maroon 5 Matthew Koma + Nick Gardner |
12 Elbow Nick Mulvey |
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| 13 Paolo Nutini Rae Morris |
14 David Gray Lisa Hannigan |
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| 15 The Script Foxes |
16 Blondie + Chrissie Hynde |
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| 17 Gregory Porter Eric Whitacre |
18 Jessie Ware Little Dragon |
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| 19 SBTRKT | 20 Rudimental Jess Glynne |
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| 21 Ryan Adams First Aid Kit |
22 Jessie J James Bay |
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| 23 Placebo The Mirror Trap |
24 Ben Howard Hozier |
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| 25 Mary J. Blige | 26 Lenny Kravitz Wolf Alice |
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| 27 Kylie Minek |
28 Nicola Benedetti Milos + Alison Balsom |
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| 29 Ed Sheeran Foy Vance |
30 Plácido Domingo |
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