Audio and Video DVD burning software

We get asked for recommedations for burning software every week at ProCopy and we try to balance cost versus features when suggesting which software people should buy.

If you want to create Audio CDs for the car or a portable player or Mp3 jukebox style discs so you can play hours of material in the backyard then the Nero 2014 Version of their CD and DVD burning programme is a pretty good place to start. There are many professional features in this low cost software aswell, so it's surprisingly flexible.

Works on Platforms: Windows 7 / Vista / 8 / XP 

Burning and Copying Features

• Highest quality burning for all disc formats (CD, DVD, Blu-ray-Disc)
• Burn safe and highly reliable discs with Nero SecurDisc technology
• Burn discs from disc images and create disc images from burning projects
• Span large files efficiently across multiple discs with Nero DiscSpan SmartFit
• Burn DVD-Video, BDMV, and AVCHD compilations
• Rip and convert Audio CDs and audio files to high quality audio formats

Playback of High Quality Audio Files

If you want to listen to high quality audio files including 24bit/192kHz & DSD files it's not always easy and intuitive.

Fostex now have some PC and Apple compatible software that will do the trick It's available for download here http://buff.ly/1gwY5hH

Main Features

Playbacks most of the audio files available from the internet music download stores

Playable file types include DSF, DSDIFF, WAV, FLAC and MP3.

Runs both on Windows and MacOS.

Easy creation, saving and reading of Play List

Flexible playback mode including Repeat and Shuffle

- See more at: 

Press Release for Unsigned Only Music Comp - Screen Shot

UNSIGNED ONLY MUSIC COMPETITION LAUNCHES "SCREEN SHOT"

Music Supervisors and Publishers Look To Unsigned Only Artists for Songs for Film, TV, Ads, and Video Games

May 12, 2014, Nashville, TN - - Unsigned Only Music Competition announced today the launch of a special promotion, "Screen Shot," geared toward the placement of music in film, TV, advertising, and video games. "Screen Shot," sponsored by Radio Airplay, offers the opportunity for artists to have their music heard by some of the top music execs who are looking to place music in various projects. Artists can submit their original songs from May 12-23, 2014 on the Unsigned Only website at www.unsignedonly.com.

A select group of finalists will be chosen, and their songs will be made available to almost 1,000 industry contacts who are looking for music for upcoming projects. Additionally, one overall winner will be selected and awarded $1,000 courtesy of Radio Airplay, plus 4,000 Radio Airplay credits, promotion on Radio Airplay's social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, and an artist spotlight feature in their blog and newsletter reaching over 200K members. All songs entered into "Screen Shot" will also be entered in Unsigned Only 2014, and all entrants will receive 100 free spins on Radio Airplay for each entry. The winner of "Screen Shot" will be announced in August, 2014.

Most importantly, the overall winner will get the opportunity to directly network with a group of execs who specialize in music placement. They include: Alec Sharpe (Shine America); Ani Johnson (Monomyth Media);Chip Miller (Desert C.A.M. Studios, Inc., Winmill Films LLC); Cindy Badell-Slaughter (Heavy Hitters Music Group); David Weiss (The SongHunters); Evan Stein (Experience Music Group); Jamie Sparks (Kicksta Music Group); Jennifer Taunton (Level Two Music); Jessica Cole (Lyric House); Karyn Rachtman (Mind Your Music); Linnette Harrigan
(Linnette Harrigan Media); Michelle Bayer (Shelly Bay Music); Michelle Silverman (Modern Planet); Pat Weaver (Discovery Network); Rebecca Rienks (E! Entertainment | NBCUniversal); Richard Kirstein (Resilient Music); James Michael Kempter II (JMKconnections); Velma Barkwell (East End Music); and more to be announced.

Unsigned Only's directors, Jim Morgan and Candace Avery, state, "Music placement in film, TV, ads, and video games can be a significant revenue source for musicians. Not only can it be a huge boost for an unsigned artist's career in terms of increasing exposure to a mainstream audience, but it can also increase revenue through upfront money, license fees, and performance royaltes. We want to create opportunities in this field for unsigned artists, and this is this is why we have created "Screen Shot." We are very excited to introduce this new component of Unsigned Only."

Unsigned Only 2014 is an international music competition designed for solo artists and bands who are unsigned to a major label record company or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or imprints. Unsigned Only is looking for outstanding, talented artists: a band, singer, or solo artist...a newcomer or veteran...raw or polished - the gem that needs to be discovered. The Grand Prize winner in Unsigned Only receives $10,000 cash,merchandise prizes, and the opportunity to directly network with and be mentored by some of the music industry's top label executives.

Judges include: John Oates (Hall & Oates); 3 Doors Down; Neon Trees; David Crowder; Rosanne Cash; Craig Morgan; Delbert McClinton; Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Of Monsters and Men; 3 Doors Down; Black Francis (Pixies); Aaron Shust; G. Love; Jason Gray; Dustin Lynch; The Mountain Goats; Alt-J; Mike Posner; Rapsody;Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone); Josh Jackson (Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Paste Magazine); Chris Richards (Pop Music Critic, The Washington Post); Lucy Jones (Deputy Editor, NME); and
Michael Hann (Music Editor, The Guardian).

Mentors include:
Monte Lipman (Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Republic Records); Jeff Castelaz (President, Elektra Records); Seymour Stein (Chairman, SIRE Records and VP of Warner Bros Records); Pete Ganbarg (Executive VP/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records); Mike Elizondo (Sr. VP of A&R, Warner Bros. Records); Tony Kiewel (VP of A&R Sub Pop Records, Hardly Art, Sub Pop Publishing); Allison B. Jones (VP of
A&R, Big Machine Label Group); Josh Bailey (Sr. VP of A&R, Word Label Group); Kim Stephens (President, Forward Entertainment and A&R/Capitol Music Group); Lenny Santiago (VP of A&R, Roc Nation); Dino Paredes (Sr. VP of A&R/GM, American Recordings); and Evan Peters (Director of A&R, Virgin Records).

Unsigned Only is sponsored by: Guitar Center, Casio, Sony Creative Software, Ultimate Ears, Disc Makers, D'Addario, The Intellitouch Tuner, Topspin Media, Mrs. Fields Cookies, The Music Business Registry, and Celebrity Accesss.

INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (ISC) ANNOUNCES 2013 WINNERS

Information from Candace Avery at International Songwriter Competition. 

Yet again Australian Bands and Songwriters have shown their quality by winning several categories.

Here's the press release for the 2013 Winners:

I'm emailing to let PRO-COPY know that the prestigious US-based International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has announced its 2013 winners. We are very excited because out of nearly 20,000 entries from 120 countries, and 68 winners in total, Australia scored three First Place wins, six Second Place wins, four Third Place win, an amazing 32 Honorable Mentions!

It is extremely important to ISC that the accomplishments of these Australian songwriters be recognized, and we sincerely hope that you will help us to accomplish this goal by promoting this press release and helping to spread the word about their international achievements.

Thank you very much for your support of Australian Music!

All the best,

Candace Avery
Founder/Director

International Songwriting Competition
1307 Eastland Avenue
Nashville, TN 37206
ph: 615.251.4441
fx: 615.251.4442
www.songwritingcompetition.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Candace Avery
International Songwriting Competition
615.251.4441
[email protected]
www.songwritingcompetition.com

INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (ISC) ANNOUNCES 2013 WINNERS

45 AUSTRALIAN SONGWRITERS HONORED IN U.S.-BASED COMPETITION

May 7, 2014 - The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), widely recognized as the world's most prestigious and respected songwriting competition, has today announced its 2013 winners. Almost 20,000 entries were submitted, and once again, Australians have garnered the most wins of any country second only to the USA. Australian songwriters have garnered three First Place wins, six Second Place wins, four Third Place wins, and 32 Honorable Mentions. For the second time in ISC history, Australians dominated the Rock category, shutting out all other nationalities. See below for a list of Australian winners.

Established in 2002, ISC awards more than $150,000 in cash and prizes to amateur and professional songwriters around the world. Past ISC winners include Gotye, Bastille, The Band Perry, Passenger, Kasey Chambers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Gin Wigmore, King Charles, Lindsey Stirling, Kimbra, Andrew Bird, The Living End, Eskimo Joe, and many more.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges which included, among others, Imagine Dragons, Martina McBride, Joshua Redman, Josh Turner, Keane, Garbage, Dido, Jon Secada, Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C.), James Cotton, Boney James, Jason Isbell, and Anoushka Shankar. Judges also included the top echelon of music industry executives, including Monte Lipman (Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Republic Records), Dan McCarroll (President, Warner Bros. Records), Alison Donald (Co-President, Columbia Records UK) and many more.

"ISC provides a platform for songwriters to have their music heard in an international arena and encourages them to create and develop their artistry," states Candace Avery, Founder and Director. "It is vital for all artists to be recognized for their talents and awarded the due respect for their accomplishments. We are proud that so many Australian artists excel in ISC, and we have come to expect an unusually high level of songwriting from them."
This year's Grand Prize is awarded to jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger Shunzo Ohno for his song "Musashi." This is the first time in ISC's 13-year history that the Grand Prize has been awarded to either a songwriter in the Jazz category or an artist from Japan.

One of the leading jazz trumpet players in his native Japan by the age of 19, Shunzo Ohno moved to New York City in 1974 to perform with jazz legend Art Blakey & The Messengers. Since then, he has performed and toured with many of the world's greatest jazz artists, including Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans, Larry Coryell, Machito & His Afro-Cuban Orchestra, and many more. With numerous recordings under his own name as a leader, he has also appeared on over 30 more as a sideman and has collaborated on two Grammy winning recordings. Surviving both a serious car accident in which his teeth and lips were permanently damaged and a later bout of throat cancer which forced him to relearn his playing, he is a testament to determination and courage, even inspiring a biography and documentary in Japan about his life.

For a more in-depth bio, please go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/pressreleases
ISC is sponsored by: Presonus, Lowden Guitars, Marshall Amplification, Solid State Logic, Berklee College Of Music, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Airplay Direct, D'Addario, DiscMakers, Thayers, SongU.com, Sonicbids, The Music Business Registry, Indie Venue Bible, Celebrity Access, Tunecore, Independent Mastering, George Stein, Esq., Songtrust, and Taxi.

ISC is now accepting entries for 2014. More information can be found at: http://www.songwritingcompetition.com.
For a complete list of 2013 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners
To download low-res photos of all winners, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners
For high-res photos, please contact Candace Avery at [email protected]

Australian winners include:

First Place Winners:
"Billy's Dream" - Tony King / Beautifully Mad (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Lyrics Only
"Give Her The World" - Adam Eckersley, Jason Reeves, Danelle Joy Leverett (Mannering Park, NSW, Australia) - Country
"Is This How You Feel" - Isabella Manfredi, Jack Moffitt, Thomas Champion, Luke Davison / The Preatures (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Rock

Second Place Winners
"Everything You Wanted" - Sebastian Cohen, Yves Roberts, Montgomery Cooper / Clubfeet (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Music Video
"My Dark Crusade" - Sophie Hanlon (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Performance
"Please Go Lightly" -  Worldfly (Darwin, NT, Australia) - Adult Contemporary (AC)
"Pray My Dear Daughter" - Charles Jenkins / Charles Jenkins & The Zhivagos (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Folk/Singer-Songwriter
"Set Me On Fire" - Missy Higgins, Butterfly Boucher (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Adult Album    Alternative (AAA)
"Seven" - Benjamin Dowd, Sam Reale, Jordan Hicks / Apes (Bacchus Marsh, VIC, Australia) - Rock

Third Place Winners
"Aloft" - David Crowe / Resin Moon (Alice Springs, NT, Australia) - Adult Album Contemporary (AAA)
"Boy" - Bertie Blackman, Francois Tetaz (Northcote, VIC, Australia) - Music Video
"Ow Ow Ow" - Jamie Saxe / The Mighty bUZZniks (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Children's Music
"Werewolves" - Calling All Cars (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Rock

Honorable Mentions
"All In My Head" - Missy Higgins, Butterfly Boucher (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Folk/Singer-Songwriter
"Animal Pals" - Scott Langley (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Children's Music
"Awake" - David Crowe / Resin Moon (Alice Springs, NT, Australia)
"Beautiful Mistake" - Haiydn Zafer / Nez Erok (Perth, WA, Australia) - Dance/Electronica
"Bunyips" - Tony Barnard (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Jazz
"Ceaseless Goodbye" - Imogen Clark (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Teen
"Closed Door" - Shane Timmo  (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Lyrics Only
"Falling Apart" - Themba Thompson / The Khanz (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Music Video
"Falling Apart" - Themba Thompson / The Khanz (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Unsigned Only
"Flesh And Bone" - Casey Barnes, Rick Price (Gold Coast, QLD, Australia) - Country
"Gasoline" - Christian O'Brien, Phoebe Baker, Louisa James / Alpine (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Adult Album Alternative (AAA)

"Kiss You" - Ruby Montey (Gold Coast, QLD, Australia) - Teen
"Listen To Soul, Listen To Blues" - SAFIA (Canberra, ACT, Australia) - Dance/Electronica
"Lo-Fi" - Sophie Koh, Ben Lee, Brad Wood (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Adult Album Alternative (AAA)
"Lovin' In The Fall" - Bex Chilcott / Ruby Boots (Perth, WA, Australia) - Americana
"Loving Myself" - Hairy Soul Man (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Music Video
"Mercy Killer" - Bertie Blackman, Francois Tetaz (Northcote, VIC, Australia) - Adult Album Alternative (AAA)
"Mercy Killer" - Bertie Blackman, Francois Tetaz (Northcote, VIC, Australia) - Performance
"Monsters" - Scott Langley (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Children's Music
"My Dark Crusade" - Sophie Hanlon (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Unsigned Only
"My Lover And My Friend" - Gregg Arthur, Casper Tromp (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Jazz
"Neon Cola Signs" - Eric Robinson, Mike Willmett, James Laubscher, Daniel Murphy / My Fiction (Brisbane, QLD, Australia) - Rock
"Outta Here (Ballad Of Chris Green)" - Cyndi Boste (Hepburn, VIC, Australia) - Americana
"Over The Fence" - Andrea Storm Kaden (Gold Coast, QLD, Australia) - Teen
"Release The Sound" - Roma Waterman (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Gospel/Christian
"Step Inside" - Azaria Byrne, Kara Jayne, Jordan McDonald, Ronnie Simmonsa / The Art (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Unsigned Only
"The 12 Drinking Days Of Christmas" - Danny McMaster (Tallai, QLD, Australia) - Comedy
"The Night Has An Alibi" - Wons Phreely (Perth, WA, Australia) - Rock
"The One" - JD Baxter, K Hickin (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Gospel/Christian
"What We Want" - Gena Rose Bruce (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - Americana
"What's A Girl To Do" -  Iseula Hingano, Nathan Brett / Blue Eyes Cry (Newport, VIC, Australia) - Blues
"You And I" - Damien Leith (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - Adult Contemporary (AC)

ISC is sponsored by: Presonus, Lowden Guitars, Marshall Amplification, Solid State Logic, Berklee College Of Music, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Airplay Direct, D'Addario, DiscMakers, Thayers, SongU.com, Sonicbids, The Music Business Registry, Indie Venue Bible, Celebrity Access, Tunecore, Independent Mastering, George Stein, Esq., Songtrust, and Taxi.

For a complete list of 2013 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners

Hi - Res audio is there a demand?

There's many lively discussions about high quality audio, whether the difference can be heard or perceived or is even necessary. 

Convertor technology, recording equipment and microphone design continually get pushed to the limit as manufacturing techniques and chip technology continue to improve and desire to go the extra mile is forstered by recording engineers, artists and manufacturers. 

If you're interested in the whys and wherefores of high quality audio here's a great article about Hi-Res DSD recording by Mark Waldrep that explains some of the older and new techniques in the realm of digital audio.