Entertainment For Lively Minds
ATM: New/unsigned music websites?
Hey folks,
I'm interested to find out if there are any websites dedicated to up-and-coming/unsigned bands (where I can do searches on various styles and so on without having to go to other sites to hear snippets etc.)?
I've got in mind something like a sort of 'Facebook for music' combined with the voting approach used in sites like the 'stack exchange' so that (in theory) the better stuff floats to the top.
I figure such a thing must exist but apart from MySpace I can't see (or, more likely, am not aware of) anything like this...
MySpace seems to have tried to branch into signed artists, video, news and all that - which is fine, but I want something purer, a conduit (if you will) into up-and-coming unsigned music without too much bias, and driven by voting and comments.
If such a thing doesn't exist, I'm tempted to create it. But I want to make sure that I'm not going to spend months of my life building something that nobody wants. However, I'm looking for a new creative project to take on in the new year and this is one itch I want to scratch (or abandon)...
So, to the Word Massive, if you know of something like this, please let me know. I love discovering new music and I have a hunch that many of you lot do too, so you're the ideal people to tell me that this is a great idea, go build, or 'been there, seen that, go find something more useful to create instead'...
OK, over to you...
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In Theory...
..reverbnation does this as it produces chart positions for different genres for different Cities. When Myspace upgraded its player to the "wait till it uploads and watch some adverts first" format I signed up to Reverbnation. As I only have the free service it means that I'm restricted to the size and types of files so have moved on to SoundCloud - checked the Reverb site after 6 months and I'm still number 10 in the indie charts for Liverpool despite nothing happening there for all that time.
I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for
but Bandcamp.com would seem to me to be a good place to start.
it exists
It's called Soundcloud. It has a social networking aspect, and the ability to 'like' tracks, and add comments at a specific point in in track and comment on it. Great simple user interface and none if the Myspace clutter our intrusive Facebook crap.
Unsigned and established acts use it, and you can easily share and embed it's content in yr own blogs, twitter or whatever else you use.
Bandcamp is also great, but that's more of a market place to sell stuff.
SoundCloud..
..is easy to use and you can send tracks to friends as private or public and choose to have them available for download - how Myspace started before someone saw money could be made and ruined it.
As for established artists Gary Lucas has been using it a lot of late - he has dug in the archives and posted some superb unreleased Kevin Coyne tracks on there - which in my world is big news.
unsigned bands
there are loads of these sites in different guises
recent fave is
http://wearehunted.com/a/#/emerging/
tunited.com
http://randrworld.com
mflow
lastfm
http://awal.com/
they all have different flavours
and plenty more that have been and gone
to be honest - i wouldn't spend time on that one unless it's a hobby
don't expect to make any money from it either :-)
There are a few
and they're not that easy to browse I'd say. My songs are on several, but the odds of someone stumbling across me are probably quite slim - they're crowded places and any act is a drop in the ocean really.
I use Reverb Nation (very little activity there), Facebook (you can plug your Reverb Nation player into it, which is why I have one), MySpace (the whole site feels almost deserted), YouTube, SoundCloud and Alonetone.
I do quite like Alonetone, I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet:
http://alonetone.com/
I would say that if you wanted to have something to attract listeners to, I'd avoid having something which they would need to create a log-in for. People can't really be bothered unless they're also uploading their own work. If you can connect it to Facebook or similar you might have more of a response.