Social media opens a new door for musician Merv Pinny

MEDIA RELEASE
September 2016

Social media opens a new door for musician Merv Pinny

In August this year, Kiwi musician Merv Pinny released the music video for a song entitled ‘O.B. can you hear the children cry' through Facebook. Within a matter of weeks, the video had received 10 million views and has since reached 12 million views – with more people watching and listening every day. The song was inspired by the suffering that the children of the world face as a result of the conflict across the globe.

With the media constantly full of reports of fighting happening abroad, Merv felt the need to create something that could play some part in making a difference. During his research, Merv discovered posts by Angelina Jolie detailing some of the challenges refugee children faced and some of the ways she was able to help.

According to Merv: ‘Whatever view I may have held of her earlier, she's now one of my new heroes; a kick-ass woman who is prepared to put much of herself on the line to do or get something done.’

Merv wanted to draw attention to this suffering and to do something that could bring people together. ‘The song is how I can give a voice to what is happening and to help highlight the plight of growing numbers of children being made refugees by war and extremist ideology’ says Merv.

‘O.B can you hear the children cry' has gained Merv international attention; from Colombia, to Canada to the UK – and all through the power of social media.

The song’s traction kicked off off in the UK, with 3,000 views in the first few hours. Most of this attention was achieved organically, and much of that may be in part due to the strong messaging behind the song and the relevance of the messages to what is currently happening in the world – not to mention the compelling and at times confronting imagery of the music video.

Merv started his music journey when he bought a guitar from his brother for $10. From there, his love of music and performing blossomed. He became a well-known local artist in the early 1990s, when he was nominated best male vocalist and his album Destiny was nominated for best country album at the New Zealand Music Awards in 1995. However, he put his music career on hold in 1996 following a bike accident. ‘O.B can you hear the children cry’ has been his return to the public eye, with more music to come following the same socially-aware vein.

If you are interested in hearing the song, head over to https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/o.b-can-you-hear-children/id1133873657?app=itunes&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 or https://www.facebook.com/Merv-Pinny-1743157509306067/?fref=ts. Merv will be donating his proceeds from the song to children in need.

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