AEROPLANES TOUCH DOWN AT ISLAND U.K.

Island U.K.’s use of Universal-owned Swedish digital distributor Spinnup as an A&R tool to find new acts has yielded its first result. Dundee rock four-piece Model Aeroplanes have signed a deal with the U.K. label after uploading their music to the platform. Spinnup scout Yvonne McLellan tipped off Island about the act after helping them develop and suggesting they use Spinnup for their next single.

Model Aeroplanes’ self-released four singles “Crazy,” “Innocent Love,” “Club Low” and “Deep in the Pool,” the latter of which was uploaded to Spinnup in May. They’ve also performed at new music festivals The Great Escape, Live at Leeds and Dot-to-Dot, as well as T in the Park. The band is managed by Paul Grieve and A&R’d by Annie Christensen, Island Senior A&R Manager and Island A&R scout Simon McCulloch.

Said Louis Bloom, Head of A&R at Island: “A&R is the lifeblood of what we do at Island Records, which is why Spinnup as a platform is so important in our discovery strategy going forward. The growing success of Model Aeroplanes is a testament to our commitment to nurturing new talent and we’re really excited to have them join us at Island.”

Nine acts have been snapped up by Universal Music Sweden from the platform since it launched in 2013. Success stories include Albin, who had a big hit in 2014 with “Din Soldat” (or "Your Soldier" to us non-Swedes), and Vigiland, who had a #1 with "Shots & Squats" earlier this year. Recent signings include Mavrick, Alfons and IRO.

Pictured in the Model Aeroplanes signing photo are (front row, l-r) Island MD Jon Turner, bandmembers Grant Irvine, Kieran Smith, Rory Fleming-Stewart and Ben Buist; (back row), Island’s Louis Brown and Annie Christensen, Spinnup scout Yvonne McClellan, Island’s Glenn Cooper, manager Paul Grieve and UMG International’s Niklas Twetman.