Created in partnership with the US-based alternative and pop-punk music online radio station idobi Network, and Leaky Sync, boutique music licensing agency and rights holder collective, the campaign debuts on 1 May and features 20 artists hand-selected by idobi.
In conjunction with the campaign, Leaky Sync will make the curated ‘Portugal Invasion’ playlist available for sync licensing opportunities.
According to the organisers of the campaign, “not only has Portugal become a top tourist destination”, but “the country once known only for Fado was already the “focus country” for Eurosonic this year; Europe’s biggest music conference and showcase festival.”
After several British Invasions and major ripples from other international music makers, “the American indie music scene is primed and ready for the ‘Portugal Invasion’ and it’s going to be good.”
Early last year, boutique music licensing agency and rights holder collective, Leaky Sync began to help pave a path to international recognition for the indie artist and label community in Portugal. The collective continues to pitch songs for syncs by some of the most talented Portuguese artists. In addition, Leaky Sync’s music discovery programme, Discovery Boost has already played an integral role by coordinating music video programming in seasonal video loops presented within the French airline, Air Austral. Support has hit US soil as well; the Las Vegas World Market Center featured genre specific music videos on their digital displays, in continuous loops, spanning the International Nightlife Congress. The music discovery programme also plugged Portuguese songs to music designers in Australia, to be programmed in hotel chain lobbies.
On the strength of these successes, Leaky Sync says it was eager to prioritise the territory.
Initially orchestrated by Steve Bootland from The Portugal Music Scene / Portugal territory A&R/Sync rep, Leaky Sync quickly created the ‘Portugal Invasion’ playlist and teamed up with idobi Network.
Idobi, which claims to “consistently bring the best new music to millions of listeners nationwide (…) immediately envisioned the ‘Portugal Invasion’ radio campaign as a vehicle to drive music discovery for select Leaky Sync artists.”
The campaign, touted as a music experience, will run for 30-days throughout the month of May on the network’s indie station, idobi Anthm, featuring 20 songs curated by idobi music directors, Eddie Barella and Matt Vogel.
“We’re thrilled by the positive response coming from our industry relations towards Portuguese artists within the collective”, says Josh East, Director of Music Licensing and Head of A&R at Leaky Sync. The start-up is comfortably pitching music from just over 50 active artists and bands from Portugal, and the roster continues to grow.
“It seems that our team may have something here, to support popular music from a specific foreign territory, and leak it into the U.S. through long developed relationships and media partners”, he adds.
To produce fresh digital content for the campaign, idobi will book several participating artists and bands for interviews on popular idobi live shows throughout the month of May.
“With a listenership of over 7 million tune-ins per month on idobi Network, the ‘Portugal Invasion’ is a great opportunity for indie music fans to discover Portuguese artists”, says Eddie Barella, Program Director for idobi Network.
Additionally, Leaky Sync will set up studio space in Lisbon, Portugal to produce a co-branded idobi Sessions ‘Live in Lisbon’ – Leaky Sync Acoustic Series. Featured artists and premiere dates will be announced across all partnership social media platforms. The videos will be presented on idobi.com and on the idobi YouTube channel.
Leaky Sync will continue to pitch more Portuguese artists and the ‘Portugal Invasion’ playlist to music supervisors, gaming companies, trailer production companies, movie and TV studios, as well as targeted brands and ad agencies that represent them. The idobi ‘Portugal Invasion’ playlist is available now on Spotify, via a search for Portugal Invasion or by visiting short link http://sptfy.com/Y94.
To stream idobi Network’s live radio stations, go to idobi.com or download the idobi app for iOS.