“The launch of the Noisemakers series was a logical step for us,” says Matt Weed, Operations Coordinator of Steam Whistle, about the show which features interviews with notable independent and alternative musicians. “Steam Whistle has been working with independent Canadian musicians for many years through our Unsigned series, and CHARTattack’s demographic and great taste in music made for a natural partnership.”

andPOP, one of Canada’s largest sources for multiplatform pop culture news, acquired CHARTattack.com in October 2011. The online video network’s strategy to revive the site’s popularity is through the use of targeted content including a video platform that lends to unique, integrated sponsorship opportunities.

“The look and feel of Noisemakers takes cues from the Steam Whistle brand and is an example of how andPOP is spearheading integrated sponsored content that can be shared across multiple digital platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.” says Robert Ostfield, CEO  of andPOP, which owns CHARTattack.com. Content will be posted by both partners on their respective sites.

Noisemakers debuts the first of 18 pre-taped episodes on February 10^th featuring an interview with musical artist Eight and a Half. View it at www.CHARTattack.com/noisemakers and www.SteamWhistle.ca.

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For more information, visit www.CHARTattack.com. For an exclusive media preview of the first episode or media inquiries, please contact: Aimée Savard, APR, asavard@aimpr.ca, 416-788-6719. Interviews are available with andPOP CEO Robert Ostfield or CHARTattack.com’s new Editor-In-Chief, Dan Busheikin.

About CHARTattack

Launched in 1996 as an online companion to CHART Magazine, CHARTattack.com is Canada’s premier website for music news, videos, MP3s, and artist interviews. Updated daily, CHARTattack is committed to promoting the best up-and-coming acts from Canada and abroad, while covering the indie and alternative music landscape.

About Steam Whistle

Steam Whistle, an independent brewery housed in Toronto’s historic John St. Roundhouse, has a singular focus of making just one beer of exceptional quality that Canadians can be proud of. They craft their refreshing Pilsner with traditional brewing methods and only four, natural ingredients. Steam Whistle Pilsner is packaged in signature green glass bottles, cans & draught, and is shipped fresh across Ontario, Alberta and more recently BC to Beer and Liquor Stores as well as licensed bars & restaurants. Steam Whistle welcomes more than 100,000 visitors to the brewery each year to the on-site retail store, for a tour or to attend one of the many on-site events, concerts and art shows. Highly awarded for its premium beer, its business success, community support and environmental practices, Steam Whistle Pilsner is now one of the top selling premium beer brands in Ontario.

About andPOP

andPOP has emerged as one of Canada’s premiere multiplatform sources for pop culture news and interviews, with breaking stories appearing on outlets like Entertainment Tonight Canada, MSNBC, The National Post and more. andPOP’s content reaches over 1,000,000 viewers and listeners across North America every month through its website www.andpop.com and to a syndicated audience through partnerships with AUX TV, Rogers On Demand Online, YouTube and XM Radio.

Toronto-based indie music and culture website andPOP reports it has received new investment from Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame inductee and former Broadcast Executive of the Year, Gary Slaight.

The online video network is also launching its first late night talk show, Out To Lynch, live from Grace O’Malley’s pub in Toronto’s club district.

Slaight is President and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Radio and the Standard Broadcasting Corporation Limited, a large privately-owned multi-media company.

He’s also known as the creative force behind the Canadian Radio Music Awards, and a digital media entrepreneur.

“andPOP is growing in leaps and bounds,” Slaight noted. “Their keen understanding of online video as the future of media, and recent acquisition of CHARTattack.com, sparked my interest as an investor in the music and broadcast industry.”

Slaight currently runs Slaight Communications and has won numerous awards including the recent Humanitarian Spirit Award at the 2010 Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards. He sits on several Boards of Directors including the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Sirius/XM, GlassBOX, and Maplemusic, among others.

Slaight joins the andPOP investment team as the online video network launches its very first late night talk show. “We’re really excited to launch Out To Lynch, a late night talk show that follows the variety show format but is accessible to the Facebook generation,” said Ian Lynch, host of MuchMusic’s Video On Trial and MTV Canada’s 1 girl 5 gays.

The live audience and online viewers watching at home will be able to participate in the show through various social media channels. “The goal is to let andPOP’s following communicate with some really big names, with out the buffer of a typical host behind a desk,” Lynch added.

Daniel Johnson from the band Stereos and some of the cast members from Degrassi: The Next Generation are slated as guests for the first show on December 7th, 2011.

Out To Lynch airs weekly at Toronto’s Grace O’Malley’s pub (14 Duncan Street) on Wednesdays at 8pm. Audience tickets are assigned on a first-come-first-serve basis, a limited number of seats will be reserved for fans that tweet @andPOP leading up to the show.

The new show comes at a time of growth for the online video network with other recent show additions including Small Talk, T.W.O.T.I, #freshpresslive on andPOP, and the acquisition of the popular indie music site CHARTattack.com, which has led to a 600% increase in traffic to the site.

Full Story

TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2011 /CNW/ - -andPOP, one of Canada’s largest sources for multiplatform pop culture news, has acquired CHARTattack.com, a well-established and respected Canadian music website. The online video network intends to revive the site’s popularity through more targeted content including a video platform.

“The internet provides an incredible opportunity for sharing, promoting, and celebrating great music, and our goal is to tap into that with originality, honesty, and insight,” says andPOP CEO Robert Ostfield who intends to promote the more cutting-edge artists who are driving the indie genre to new levels. “The CHARTattack audience can expect to see video and text interviews with acclaimed artists like The Arkells, Portugal The Man, Memory House, and Tory Y Moi this season.”

CHART started out in 1990 as a print publication, and was deemed Canada’s longest-running and most-respected music magazine for nearly two decades. In 1996, CHARTattack.com brought it online featuring music news, CD reviews, interviews with Canadian and international artists, and of course its notorious “Charts”. When CHARTattack.com decided to close its doors after being online for fifteen years, andPOP couldn’t let this Canadian music institution die. That said, CHARTattack will be receiving a major overhaul as it enters its second life, but staying true to the fundamentals that made it a success. Dan Busheikin, the new Editor-in-Chief, says “We are honing back in on the independent and alternative music scene for which the magazine was famous,” says Busheikin, whose background is steeped in music journalism. “Through relevant video content our audience can explore indie music and new artists in a more engaging way.”

The acquisition comes at a time of growth for andPOP with new programming set to launch on its own redesigned site, which already streams to a syndicated audience of more than one million. “We’re excited to add three new shows that reflect the changing media climate,” says Mr. Ostfield referring to Small Talk, T.W.O.T.I. and #FreshPressLive listed below. “Our audience simply isn’t watching traditional media interviews that profile artists– shorter interviews with a catchy format resonate better online, and capture more attention.”  Recent interviews for the site include Joe Jonas, Wiz Khalifa, The Cast of Footloose, T-Pain, and Justin Bieber.

andPOP offers marketers unique opportunities to promote their brands through innovative approaches to sponsorship and brand integration. It’s also attracting investment as new stakeholders recognize media organizations no longer need to be defined by large studios and overhead. Jordan Banks, Managing Director of Facebook Canada, joined the board of directors in January 2010 and two others have recently followed suit. Additionally, Jaimie Grossman, former CEO of UPTREND Media, which was acquired by the Yellow Pages Group, has come on board as a key advisor. He recognizes andPOP’s structure and approach is different from other outlets, operating out of a modest space and streaming its high definition content through UStream’s platform. The platform provides powerful features allowing producers to create TV-quality content at a fraction of the price.

andPOP’s New Online Video Shows:

Small Talk
After the huge success of andPOP’s MMVA coverage where Katy Perry helped us make Justin Bieber a fake ID, it was clear our audience was looking for something different. Small Talk is a way for fans to see their favourite artists as regular people, by creating strange scenarios like getting a tattoo or going on a speed date. Celebrities are willing to drop the personas we see in every other interview when they’re genuinely having fun! Hosted by Jordan Bortolotti, these fun interviews are broken into “small” chunks (hence the name Small Talk) that resonate better with an online audience. Watch daily on andpop.com.
http://www.andpop.com/2011/09/19/video-small-talk-with-joe-jonas-speed-dating-part-1-of-4/

T.W.O.T.I. (This Week On The Internet)
This show features and dissects the most popular viral videos each week. Similar to a sports highlight package format, Comedian Paul Henry Murphy adds his satirical spin to the videos trending on the internet. Not only doesT.W.O.T.I. keep you up to date on the best “fails” and accidentally awesome content, it also features real reactions from random people on the street. Watch daily on andpop.com.
http://www.andpop.com/2011/10/31/this-week-on-the-internet-episode-1-nothing-but-a-good-time/

#FreshPressLive on andPOP
Daily news is pulled from andPOP.com and discussed by hosts Jordan Bortolotti and Natalia Buia. #FreshPressLiveis based on pop-culture headlines without the stereotypical bull you’re used to seeing on TV. This show is raw, uncut, and live from the floor, and includes the casual daily conversations you have with your friends. We share new music videos, spread gossip and laugh about the random stuff we can find on the internet. Watch daily at 5pm on andPOP.com.
http://www.andpop.com/2011/10/31/freshpresslive-for-october-31-2011/

For further information:

visit www.andPOP.com, www.CHARTattack.com.  For media inquiries or interviews with andPOP CEO Robert Ostfield or CHARTattack.com’s new Editor-In-Chief, Dan Busheikin, please contact: Aimée Savard, APR, asavard@aimpr.ca, 416-788-6719.

“andPOP’s position as a major online source of pop culture news and interviews has been built on our commitment to produce high quality content that features some of the world’s top entertainers,” said Robert Ostfield, CEO, andPOP. “Jordan was a natural fit to join the andPOP team as his background and strategic vision is the skill-set we were looking for to help expand the scope and distribution of our exclusive and diverse content.”

“I am excited to work with the very talented crew at andPOP. We are in an era where the marriage of content and distribution will rule the day. I believe andPOP is uniquely positioned to take advantage of its ability to produce terrific content while also capitalizing on the consumer’s multi-channel delivery expectations,” said Jordan Banks.

About andPOP

andPOP has emerged as one of Canada’s premiere multiplatform sources for pop culture news and interviews, with breaking stories appearing on outlets like Entertainment Tonight Canada, MSNBC and The National Post. andPOP’s content reaches over one million viewers across North America every month, and most recently can also be heard on XM Radio Canada. Additionally andPOP can be seen with its new TV show on AUX TV starting in March 2010.

For further information: Media contact: Robert Ostfield, (416) 300-7904, robert@andpop.com

“andPOP’s position as a major online source of pop culture news and interviews has been built on our commitment to produce high quality content that features some of the world’s top entertainers,” Robert Otsfield, CEO of andPOP said in a statement. “Jordan was a natural fit to join the andPOP team as his background and strategic vision is the skill-set we were looking for to help expand the scope and distribution of our exclusive and diverse product.”

Banks has a resume that will surely help him take andPOP to new heights. Before founding Thunder Road Capital, he was the chief executive officer of JumpTV, a major broadcaster of sports and international TV over the Internet. Before JumpTV, Banks was the managing director of eBay Canada, the top online shopping destination in the country.

“I am excited to work with the very talented crew at andPOP,” Banks said in a statement. “We are in an era where the marriage of content and distribution will rule the day. I believe andPOP is uniquely positioned to take advantage of its ability to produce terrific content while also capitalizing on the consumer’s multi-channel delivery expectations.”

As a multiplatform pop culture content provider that reaches over one million viewers across North America every month, andPOP is thrilled to have such an experienced and exciting new member come on board.

This strategic relationship is resulting in a considerable increase in traffic to andPOP’s site, with its featured videos receiving phenomenal gains in viewership. With viewers visiting andPOP’s website, it is anticipated that the pop culture site will continue to build on this mutually beneficial relationship with YouTube.

“We are really excited that YouTube is bringing andPOP’s content to its community,” said Robert Ostfield, Co-CEO for andPOP. “andPOP is already seeing the benefits of this arrangement as more and more viewers see our top-notch videos and hard-to-get interviews with people’s favourite celebrities.”

Additional andPOP videos featured on YouTube include coverage of the 2008 Just For Laughs Festival, as well as interviews with Katy Perry, the cast of The Hills, and Russell Peters. Check out www.YouTube.com/andPOP for more videos.

About andPOP(tm)

andPOP is a leading online news and pop culture content publication based in Toronto, Canada. andPOP’s content includes music, entertainment, technology and gaming. andPOP also features video interviews, product, reviews, and monthly contests. andPOP reaches over 4 million people a month through its content alliances.

For Additional Information:

Robert Ostfield
andPOP
416-785-3270
robert@andpop.com

Every Canadian who visited MySpace Canada on June 18th was greeted with andPOP’s seven-minute video, which featured andPOP reporter Jordan Bortolotti on the red carpet and backstage at the MMVAs, speaking to celebrities like Flo Rida, Rainn Wilson of The Office, Sean Kingston, Hedley, Jesse McCartney, Brody Jenner and Whitney Port of The Hills and Chace Crawford of Gossip Girl.

andPOP will be providing its video content through the MySpace Canada network. MySpace viewers will be able to view the latest and greatest from the team at andPOP. “We are extremely excited to be a partner with MySpace Canada. As the leading social network on the Internet, we are looking forward to sharing andPOP’s content with such a large audience,” Robert Ostfield, co-CEO of andPOP, said.

The MySpace International launch of the new splash page is one of the biggest announcements in the company’s history. In conjunction with the launch, andPOP’s coverage of the Much Music Video Awards became the first featured video on the new page and served as the launch of andPOP’s MySpace video channel.

“MySpace is thrilled to have andPOP join our world. Their coverage of celebrities and events all over Canada is a perfect fit for the MySpace community. We’re looking forward to more great stories and content from them,” Jane Tattersall, Director of Marketing for MySpace Canada, said. andPOP joins the MySpace community which includes BBC Worldwide, Fashion Canada, Celeb TV, The Onion, MySpace Celebrity and more.

About andPOP

andPOP, which launched in 2000, is one of Canada’s most popular sources for entertainment news, interviews and contests. Started by two Toronto-area high school students looking to bolster their resumes, andPOP has now emerged as one of Canada’s premiere sources for pop culture news, with breaking stories appearing on outlets like Entertainment Tonight Canada, MSNBC and The National Post. andPOP’s content reaches over 4,000,000 viewers across North America every month.

About MySpace

MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. MySpace has created a connected global community by integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums. MySpace’s international network includes more than 29 localized community sites in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, India, Japan, and New Zealand. Fox Interactive Media is a division of News Corp. (NYSE:NWS – News, NWS.A – News; ASX:NWS – News, NWSLV – News).

(*) Among the top 2000 domains comScore Media Metrix, May 2008. For more information on comScore Networks, please go to http://www.comscore.com.

For Additional Information:

Robert Ostfield
andPOP
416-785-3270
robert@andpop.com