Thug Life Army

The launch of Spinlet, Africa's premier digital distribution service will be celebrated this week on an international level at the Midem 2012 in Cannes, France. The Spinlet service will debut within Africa this February with over 200 thousand tracks making it the largest platform for music discovery throughout Africa.

To celebrate, Spinlet is hosting a showcase of African music on Monday, January 30th at the DaDaDa Club as part of the official Midem Off festival. Spinlet Night will feature two of Africa's hottest hip-hop rap artists Naeto C and Paul G as well as the rising soul and R&B star Sesu. Headlining the event is the world-renowned DJ Jazzy Jeff, who will be DJ'ing from the Spinlet catalog, including top songs from Ice Prince, D Grin, 2face Idibia, Tiwa Savage and more.

Spinlet's launch means a paradigm shift in music distribution and the fight against piracy in one of the world's hottest emerging markets. "We are dedicated to working against piracy with structured deals in the artists favor and bringing in marketing support to create revenue and promotion of artists' music internationally," says Spinlet CEO Eric Idiahi. "Being on the ground in Nigeria, I see that our biggest competitors are pirated CD's on the street corner, we want to create value in the users eye and revenue for the artists."

Spinlet is supported on the most popular smart phones including Android, BlackBerry and Symbian^3 and is available for free download via the Android Market, Blackberry Store, and Symbian Platform. "We have partnered with an amazing catalog of artists, mobile carriers, payment providers and a variety of brands to support our network to ensure our users get a unique and quality experience," Says Spinlet founder and COO Sami Leino, "we are confident that the service speaks for itself, and users and artists alike will agree that is what sets us apart as Africa's top mobile music application."

Within Spinlet, users can remotely store, manage and listen to music from anywhere using their mobile device. Spinlet promotes social sharing with an interface that allows users to create accounts, make playlists and share their favorite titles using social-networking sites, such as Facebook with their friends. "We want to support African music in every way possible and that means promotion on every level, whether it be internally on the Spinlet application or at international events like Midem, the largest and most influential music industry conference in the world," says Idiahi.

This has made Spinlet the first stop in signing digital distribution agreements in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African Countries. Spinlet offers an array of multi-national, award winning music and has signed hundreds of artists and labels to the service. Additionally, any music rights holders can upload their music for sale on the Spinlet platform.

The 18th edition: 2012 GRAMMY Nominees album was released digitally and in stores January 24, 2012. The album features 22 hits that represent nominees for many of the most widely recognized GRAMMY categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Country Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Artists include Adele, Katy Perry, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters, Foster The People and many others.

Universal Republic Records and The Recording Academy have paired together to release the album. This will be the 18th edition of the best-selling collection. A portion of the proceeds from the album benefits the MusiCares Foundation and the GRAMMY Foundation – both of which were established by The Recording Academy.

This year’s GRAMMY Awards will take place on Sunday, February 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles hosted by hip hop artist and actor LL Cool J and air on CBS.

2012 GRAMMY Nominees Album Tracklist:

1. Adele: “Rolling In The Deep,” nominated for Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

2. Bruno Mars: “Grenade,” nominated for Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

3. Katy Perry: “Firework,” nominated for Record Of The Year.

4. Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera: “Moves Like Jagger,” nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

5. Nicki Minaj: “Super Bass,” nominated for Best New Artist.

6. Rihanna featuring Drake: “What’s My Name?” nominated for Album Of The Year.

7. J. Cole: “Work Out,” nominated for Best New Artist.

8. Lady Gaga: “You and I,” nominated for Album Of The Year.

9. Foster The People: “Pumped Up Kicks,” nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

10. Skrillex: “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites,” nominated for Best New Artist.

11. Coldplay: “Paradise,” nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

12. Foo Fighters: “Walk,” nominated for Album Of The Year.

13. The Band Perry: “If I Die Young,” nominated for Best New Artist.

14. Mumford & Sons: “The Cave,” nominated for Record Of The Year.

15. Bon Iver: “Holocene,” nominated for Record Of The Year and Best New Artist.

16. Lady Antebellum: “Just A Kiss,” nominated for Best Country Album.

17. Taylor Swift: “Mean,” nominated for Best Country Album.

18. Blake Shelton: “Honey Bee,” nominated for Best Country Album.

19. Eric Church: “Drink In My Hand,” nominated for Best Country Album.

20. The Black Keys: “Dearest,” nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

21. Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson: “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” nominated for Best Country Album.

22. Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse: “Body and Soul,” nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.