Google reveals music-search service

Google has provided details of its new ‘Discover music’ search feature, which enables people to find songs via the search engine.

When a user searches for a music-related query such as the name of a song, artist or album, search results will include links to an audio preview of relevant songs provided by partners MySpace and Lala.

Clicking on the result allows a consumer to listen to an audio preview of the song directly from one of those partners, with links to purchase the full song.

MySpace will provide streaming music from record labels EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner.

The pop-up player includes a link to music videos and any relevant tour information.  Users will then be able to buy songs from iTunes or Amazon.

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Conservative blogger Iain Dale claimed it was ‘complete fallacy’ that Labour cabinet ministers use Twitter at last night’s Conservative ‘Twinge’ event.

Dale was speaking at the second ‘Twinge’ event at the Conservative Party Conference, which also featured Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan and ConservativeHome editor Tim Montgomerie as panelists. The event was run by Fishburn Hedges and Channel 4 News

Dale said at the event: ‘It’s a complete fallacy to say that there are Labour cabinet members on Twitter because it is their special advisers who are doing it.’ Dale also claimed John Prescott’s tweets were written by his son David Prescott: ‘The whole point of the internet is that if you don’t keep it real you get found out, and I’m afraid that nobody should believe that John Prescott does all this. He may dictate the odd bit for his son to do from time to time, but it is his son [writing it].’ Meanwhile, Hannan used the event to defend his criticisms of the NHS earlier this year, which sparked the popular ‘WelovetheNHS’ Twitter campaign (PRWeek, 18 August 2009). ‘I wrote a book a year ago, calling for Singapore-style personal health accounts. And I have spent a year trying to get people in the British TV media to take those ideas seriously. So to ignore me and then to suddenly make it a big story when Labour starts attacking it, and then to turn around and say “Why do you say these things in America rather than the UK”, strikes me as a bit much.’

He then claimed the campaign had been organised by the Labour Party, which was refuted by the campaign creator Graham Linehan on Twitter. Last week Fishburn Hedges ran a similar event at the Labour Party conference in Brighton. Panellists included Ed Balls MP, Tom Watson MP, former Labour minister Caroline Flint and Labour Twitter czar Kerry McCarthy (PRWeek, 29 September 2009). Flint told a packed crowd that Twitter could be used ‘to get your version of the truth out there quickly’.

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Outdoor event specialist Walk the Plank is taking its illuminated Art Car Parade to Manchester and Edinburgh this November.

The free event, which features vehicles created by artists from all over the UK, will parade through Manchester city centre on 26 November, before moving on to Edinburgh on 28 November.

This year will be first year the event has taken place in Edinburgh, and will help mark the culmination of a year of Homecoming Scotland celebrations as well as the official opening of the city’s festive offering.

The concept originates from America, where Art Car Parades are a huge phenomenon.

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Marketing agency Beatwax and Exclusive Ballooning navigated a hot air balloon through the open bascules of Tower Bridge this morning in a dramatic stunt to celebrate the UK premiere of Disney Pixar’s ‘Up’ this Sunday (4 October).

The 150kg balloon made its way upstream, courtesy of Exclusive Ballooning, from Wapping at around 5am, arriving at Tower Bridge around 5.15am.

Weighing the same as a baby elephant, the balloon has been designed to replicate a popular scene from the movie, in which a 78-year-old balloon salesman ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies off to South America.

It has been travelling across Europe over the past few weeks, visiting some of its most famous landmarks and bringing the film to life.

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Two ex-Jack Morton event planners, Jeremy Garbett and Laurence Croneen, have teamed up to create a live communications agency called Deeper Blue.

After undertaking managing director roles in New York and Dubai, Garbett and Laurence have taken time out to draw up plans for the new agency.

“The role of live communications has never been more vital. But, it’s no longer business as usual. The world has changed, and the way you should engage people inside and outside your organisation has also changed,” said co-founder Garbett.

“Audience attitudes and behaviours warrant far better examination from our industry.”

Croneen added: “Our starting point was listening to the people who matter most – our clients. They talked about engaging not only with the needs of “now” but also the crucial next steps in post-recession growth.

“The key is knowing how to integrate, activate and measure them in the widest context, embracing all communication channels to create a richer, deeper and longer lasting engagement with your key communities.”

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The Willow Foundation, the charity that gives once-in-a-lifetime experiences for the seriously ill, is looking for experienced event industry professional to help with its campaigns.

The charity, which was set up ten years ago by Arsenal goalkeeping great Bob Wilson and his wife in honour of their daughter, serves 16 to 40 year olds who have illnesses such as motor neurone disease, cancer and late-stage multiple sclerosis.

Willow Foundation head of events Louise Smith said the charity, which gained acres of coverage for its recent camapign featuring artworks by sporting legends, is looking for experienced event organisers to aid with its fundraising.

The charity does one-off events such as golf tournaments, gala dinners, shooting days and even a planned pedal kart grand prix at Goodwood to raise cash to give its charity recipients ’special days’.

If you think you can help the charity contact Louise Smith or visit the Willow Foundation website.

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Executive Events Manager

Salary: Competitive

Location: West London

Executive Events Manager

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity (www.theElders.org).

We are looking for a fast, friendly and efficient Executive Events Manager to join The Elders’ busy team in London. The main responsibilities include planning and organizing Elders’ meetings and trips; maintaining regular communication with offices of the Elders and Advisory Board; and preparing draft communications for the CEO.

Applicants should have an affinity with The Elders’ mission and considerable experience in the organization of events. We will offer the right candidate a competitive salary and benefits package.

Event Manager

Salary: £26,000 + OTE bonus

Location: Deptford, SE London

This is a fantastic opportunity to join one of the industry’s leading event catering companies. We are looking for a winning events professional who has significant experience within London’s event industry and the proven ability to achieve and exceed targets.

Managing a portfolio of high profile venues you will be responsible for developing relationships with venue contacts as well as building pro active and progressive relationships with clients. You will be involved with our clients from their initial contact with our company, guiding them through the process to the successful delivery of their event.

You will be highly articulate with impeccable credentials and the appearance and approach appropriate for the corporate market. You will be confident of your sales abilities and driven towards achieving personal and team targets. Self motivation and team spirit are required in equal measures.

An in-depth knowledge of London event venues is pre-requisite and as a caterer of repute it is also essential that our representatives are real ‘foodies’ with a love, knowledge and understanding of fine food and wine.

Our team at The Moving Venue are passionate about our product and enthused by delivering quality events to schedule, to budget and to acclaim. If you would like to share in our success and have the ability to fulfil this role we would like to hear from you. Applications must be accompanied by a covering letter detailing your suitability and salary expectations.

Event Assistant

Salary: £14,012 pro rata –

Location: East London

Events Administrator

Rich Mix is a dynamic flagship centre for arts and culture in East London, close to the City and Brick Lane.

This vast former garment factory now houses a three-screen cinema; exhibition and event spaces, café and a 200-seater performance venue; as well as education and workspaces.  It is designed to bring together cultures and disciplines to create an entirely new kind of arts centre.

Part Time Events Assistant 22.5 hours per week over 3 days – £14, 012 pro rata

As a social enterprise our primary purpose is to deliver an arts and culture programme to the local community, with a commercial approach that will maximise our income.  Rich Mix offers versatile and unique venues spaces that cater for a range of customer needs.

The Events Administrator role will work closely with our Events Officer to support our busy events department in this multi-purpose arts venue.  The role will involve dealing with the administration of a range of events including conferences, dinners, boardroom meetings, weddings and other unusual events.  The role is predominantly office based but occasional evenings and weekend work may be required for larger events.

To be successful you will have excellent communication and organisation skills.  Ideally, you will also have some previous experience of venue based events.

Further details of this role, including the job description can be downloaded from www.richmix.org.uk in our recruitment section.

To apply for the above position please send your completed CV and a personal statement by post to Joy Campbell, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA or email by clicking on APPLY quoting 2009 Event Assistant in the subject box.

Marketing Manager

Salary: £30000 – £35000 Bonus + Pension

Location: London

Key responsibilities
•Develop marketing strategy for the division in conjunction with the event director
•Manage and monitor budgets, provide accurate forecasts and feed into the budget setting process
•Coordinate all marketing plans and activities with other staff to ensure that the plans are delivered effectively
•Manage, monitor, maintain and regularly review relationships with key suppliers to ensure highest levels of service are continuously delivered
•Develop and maintain systems and processes which enable the team to carry out and report on its activities efficiently and effectively
•Provide Central Team and MD with on-going and post campaign effectiveness reports and recommend on-going improvements
•Remain up-to-date with latest communications tools and continuously assess their deployment to improve marketing effectiveness
•Promote a culture of testing and change to continuously drive improvement
•Drive the database strategy across the business

Skills
A proven track record of creating successful customer facing campaigns
Proven use and understanding of complex databases and segmentation techniques
Proven understanding of tracking and response reporting
Excellent project management, planning and organisational skills
Excellent interpersonal and communications skills
Good copywriting skills
Excellent financial management skills
Excellent negotiation skills
Excellent people management skills
Literate and numerate
Competencies
•Research and analysis
•Strategy and Planning
•Brand creation and management
•Measures Effectiveness
•Leadership

Event Producer

Location: London

Salary: £25-30k + benefits

Leading industry association with a global membership base seeks an Event Producer to join the team. This is an ideal role for someone with a background in financial journalism or similar, looking to work in a business environment.

This is a unique opportunity for an event producer to join an independent, entrepreneurial-thinking association at the forefront of the financial risk management sector. Events deliver critical intelligence to members and are highly practice driven, complementing certification programs.

As Event Producer you will be responsible for conducting in-depth market research via telephone, internet and face-to-face meetings to develop conferences on cutting edge issues in this sector, focusing on quality content. You will also research and recruit industry experts as speakers at your events. Working closely with the rest of the team, across marketing, sales and operations and publications you will have high level verbal and written communication skills.

An ideal candidate for this event producer role will have strong financial sector experience and knowledge, preferably from a journalistic background or similar. You will have proven research experience in the finance sector and will be looking to develop your career in a fast paced business environment. Some overseas travel to events will also be required.