1. Musicians who have used Digital Media
Ed Sheeran Arctic Monkeys
•English singer, songwriter and producer •English indie rock band
•Born in Halifax but moved to Framlingham in Suffolk •Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield
•Learned to play guitar and write songs at a young •Began rehearsing at Yellow Arch Studios in Neepsend and played first
age gig on 13th June 2003
•Began recording his own EPs in 2005 •Began to record demos at 2fly Studios in 2003
•Moved to London in 2008 to try and pursue a music •17 songs were burned to CDs to give away at gigs as they didn’t know
career how to get songs onto the internet
•Played 312 gigs in 2009 •MySpace webpage created by fans was popular which they were
•In 2010 he posted a video through SB.TV which led unaware of
to Example asking him to tour with him •Were popular over North England receiving attention from BBC radio
•In April 2010 he went to LA and played open mics •Mark Bull filmed a performance and made them a music video and put
before being spotted by Jamie Foxx who offered him it on his website
the use of his recording studio for the rest of his stay •In May 2005 they released their first single on their own ‘Big Bang’
•His music was seen a lot on YouTube label
•In January 2011 he released his last independent •Played Reading and Leeds festival on the stage reserved for unsigned
EP which reached no.2 on the iTunes chart which bands
then gained him mainstream attention •This hyped the music press
•Later that month he was sighed by Asylum/Atlantic •Signed to Domino in June 2005
records. •First single ‘I bet you look good on the dance floor’ released with
Domino in October 2005 and went straight to no.1
Conor Maynard
•English singer
•Born in Brighton on 21st November 1992
•In May 2006 he created a YouTube account
•He uploaded his first video, he covered ‘Breathe’ by Lee Carr in December 2008
•Throughout 2009-2012 he continued uploading videos of him covering different songs
•Maynard uploaded cover versions of songs with rapper and close friend, Anthony "Anth" Melo
•Together they covered a variety of songs, including: Chris Brown; ‘Crawl’, Taio Cruz; ‘Dynamite’ and Rihanna; ‘Only Girl
(In the World)’
•He was brought to record label attention as American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo watched his cover of ‘Beautiful Monster’
•He then contacted him soon afterwards and became his mentor
•He was signed to Parlophone records

2. Lily Allen Justin Bieber
•English recording artist, actress and fashion designer •Canadian singer, songwriter and musician
•Born in Hammersmith, London on 2nd May 1985 •Born in London, Ontario in Canada and was raised in Stratford,
•She abandoned school so she could improve her Ontario in Canada
performing and compositional skills •As he grew up, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums,
•In 2005 she was signed to Regal Recordings, who gave guitar, and trumpet.
her £25,000 to produce and album •In 2007 at the age of 12 he entered a competition singing Ne-
•She created several demo songs and created a Yo’s song ‘So Sick’ and placed second. His mother Patricia
MySpace page in 2005 to make some of her recordings filmed it and then uploaded it to YouTube for their family and
public friends to see.
•Her demos attracted thousands of listeners •She then continued to upload covers of him singing various
•500 limited edition versions of her single ‘LDN’ were R&B songs.
released, reselling for as much as £40 •He became increasingly popular on YouTube from these
•She produced two mix tapes also videos.
•This success convinced her label that they should use •Scooter Braun came across one of his videos by accident and
her music as it is more creative rather than more tracked him down and contacted his mother.
mainstream music •She was reluctant to let him fly him over to Atlanta, Georgia in
•She worked with producers Mark Ronson and Greg USA to record some demos but decided to let him in the end.
Kurstin to finish her first album •When he was their he met and sang for the singer Usher and
•Her debut album ‘Alright Still’ was released in 2006 then decided to sign him.
•The album was released in the United States in January •Justin Timberlake also wanted to sign him but was out-bid by
2007, reaching 20th on the Billboard album charts Usher.
•By January 2009 the album had sold 960,000 copies in •He was signed to Island Records in October 2008.
the UK and 520,000 in the US •Scooter Braun became his manager.
•She released her second album ‘Its not me, its you’ in •His first single ‘One Time’ was released whilst he was still
February 2009 writing his first album. It reached 12th in the Canadian hot 100 in
•It debuted at number 1 in the UK, Canada and Australia July 2009.
along with it debuting 5th in the US •He released his first album; ‘My World 2.0’ in March 2010 with
•In September 2009 she announced she would not be his second; ‘Under the Mistletoe’ in 2011.
renewing her recording contract •He released his third album ‘Believe’ in 2012 and was number
1 in many countries.
•As of April 2012 he is said to have sold 8 million albums in
America alone and over 15 million worldwide.