#259943 - 07/07/2005 16:11
Music Web Sites . . .
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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So I’ve been out pedaling our CD for a couple months now, trying to promote it the best that I can. Obviously we’re not going to be on any big radio stations anytime soon, so I’ve turned my attention to the web. There are tons of sites like garageband, myspace, soundclick, purevolume, broadjam, and even iTunes (sort of) where fans can find our music. Of course, the rub is our “fans” already know where our music is- it’s creating new ones that’s the problem, and none of these sites are quite cutting it.
See, we don’t need record labels to record anymore (we recorded ours for < 10K and I think it sounds pretty good), but they still are the ticket for promotion. But it seems that isn’t due to a lack of technology. With mp3, FLAC, and the internet, it seems that musicians should be able to find fans independent of radio and the whole record label system. But it isn’t that easy . . . yet. Like with many areas on the super highway, there is just too much information on independent music out there and no real accepted way of finding it. There is some great music out there and I’ve purchased many more CDs and downloads from these sites than I have because of hearing stuff on the radio (of course, not listening to the radio might be part of that! One “limitation” of the empeg is a low tolerance for DJs and commercials), but the reality is most of the great independent music out there is lost and unheard by a broader audience.
Even now, though, digital audio is gaining wider acceptance. iPods are everywhere and sites like iTunes and MSN Music are getting more and more exposure. People seemed primed for the idea of accessing the best music via the web rather than the radio, but it simply isn’t happening yet.
Six months ago, I’d have been mystified as to why. Now I am not. Every site I’ve been exposed to is fatally flawed in the promotion department. With iTunes and MSN Music you can’t really fault them, because they are about the big players. But these other sites who are CHAMPIONING indie music, they are falling down on the job. And now that I’ve experienced them and tried using them to promote my music, I know why.
The goal of promoting independent music is to bring fans and bands together. Fans need a place to go to where it is easy and fun to find new music- after all, that is what the radio is and why people go to it. It’s easily accessible- you just turn it on and listen- and it’s (generally) an enjoyable experience. Yet on these music sites fans have to put in a great deal of effort actively searching for music and when they do find a band they like, are not really inspired to stick around or stay involved. The exception to this is “myspace”, which has BY FAR been the biggest promoter of our music due to is “fan centric” approach. In fact, myspace is not a music site at all, but a people site that happens to promote music from time to time. At least they got that part right- it’s about engaging the fans. However, the fall down on the concept of giving bands what they want. And trying to find good music by searching on myspace? Forget it the features just aren’t there.
So you have most of these sites with features rich for bands, and others that are meeting the needs of fans. But none of them are doing both, which is what is so key. You have to bring indi bands and potential fans together. There is a world wide market for just about any kind of music since radio’s physical limitation of broadcast range does not exist.
I think that if someone were to come along and take the best bits and pieces of all of these sites (including iTunes and the other big players), you could create THE place for bringing fans and independent bands together. In fact, I’m so certain of this that I’m trying to find an investor who will buy off and fund the thing. Probably won’t happen (like many of my big ideas), but I’m sick and tired of putting time and effort into sites that don’t have the full picture when I think I’ve got a better way.
So, here’s my question for you guys (sorry about the rambling prelude): what would be the online experience that would best help you find independent music? What kind of features would a site offer? I have my opinions as a music listener, but I’d like to see what other people come up with. The other side of the equation is what bands would like, and after a couple months of hitting the pavement hard I think I have a REALLY good idea of what that is.
Thoughts? Comments? Am I completely off base? Is it even rational to think people will use the web to search for new music?
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259944 - 07/07/2005 16:34
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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veteran
Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
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I don't know if a different online experience will help you.
Here are the main ways I find and listen to new music:
1. I hear a new track on CD101, a local independant radio station
2. I hear a new track on NPR (radio again)
3. My friend plays me a track that I like
4. A friend tells me I should check out a band because "they sound like band X" that I like
5. I hear a track in a store/theater/other public place and I Google the lyrics
6. Free compilation CDs from Spin, other places
See, most of the new music that I find, I hear first, then buy. I think there are a few things you could do to promote your music that do not involve a website, something only the most hardcore indie music listener will browse through. I think your average listener will not find or listen to their music unless they hear it first.
1. Mail demos of your CDs to college radio stations, especially Christian ones (they are most likely to play it).
2. Mail demos of your CDs to Indie/Christian bookstores
3. Try to get featured on a podcast somewhere. With iTunes 4.9 I really think podcasting will explode.
The last is the only tech based one here, but I really doubt setting up yet another music website that more people will just ignore will help you out any.
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#259945 - 07/07/2005 16:42
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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The only way I can think of to find new bands that you like that is to compare them to bands that you currently like. That obviously doesn't help a lot when you have eclectic tastes, but I think you're just going to be out on your own there. Secondly, simply comparing keywords doesn't work. While it's hard to separate Pearl Jam and Creed based on keywords alone, there are many people who like one and not the other. And the only way I can think of to solve that is to base the suggestions for one user off the likes of other users. But then you fall into the problem of not already being popular. If there's some band out there (let's call them UndergroundBand) that's not yet popular, but, if they heard them, virtually all fans of PopularBand would like, but only 1% of those fans had heard them at all, then you fall into the same trap as you currently have without some sort of promotion tool. It seems to me that the way you'd have to do it is to have ratings for all the bands from each user, both positive and negative. And I think I'd classify them that way. Not just one star to ten stars, but negative five to positive 5. And make sure to keep in an "I haven't voted for this band" flag so that that result won't have any effect. That way, if you take all the PopularBand fans and see that of those that voted for them, UndergroundBand has a rating of 4.5, then the fact that they're unknown wouldn't be an issue. And the site can't only promote the bands they have. They need to have all bands in their database. I know that this isn't really a new set of ideas, but I think it's important to point out that there an unquantifiable quality that permeates things that people like that can't be determined by a computer. And it works both ways. Some people only like what I would consider shlock and I'm sure that those people think that what I like is shlock, even within the same genres, so you can't just apply some arbitary "quality" criterion, either. Maybe some sort of "pretentiousness" scale.  Also, I'd like to see why I've been recommended an artist. What was the suggestion based on. Like I said, none of this is really new. Amazon does stuff like this, but it doesn't really seem to work with music on their site.
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Bitt Faulk
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#259946 - 07/07/2005 16:46
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: cushman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
1. Mail demos of your CDs to college radio stations, especially Christian ones (they are most likely to play it).
2. Mail demos of your CDs to Indie/Christian bookstores
3. Try to get featured on a podcast somewhere. With iTunes 4.9 I really think podcasting will explode.
Good tips. We're actually doing #2 and #3 and KNOW we need to do #1 but haven't quite gotten there yet.
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I think there are a few things you could do to promote your music that do not involve a website, something only the most hardcore indie music listener will browse through.
But why are only the hardcore indie listeners going to these sites (and I'm not really convinced those people are really going)? As an example there are TONS of non-harcorde indie listners on myspace- they've figured out how to pull in the average net-surfer.
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I think your average listener will not find or listen to their music unless they hear it first.
Agreed, but is there any reason people wouldn't hear it first on the web? My thought is that if you give people a good experience where they really connect with good indie music, they'll go back. And what's more, they'll bring others. The sad truth is that none of the sites listed above (except for myspace) offer any kind of satisfying end user experience.
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I really doubt setting up yet another music website that more people will just ignore will help you out any.
Oh, no. My intent is not to promote my band- it's just that there seems (to me) to be a need for this capability that the existing sites are not quite hitting. But if I can't get empeggers into the concept, I'm afraid it is truly doomed!
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259947 - 07/07/2005 16:54
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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member
Registered: 24/10/2000
Posts: 106
Loc: San Jose, CA
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I prefer Indie music. Previously, I haunted the indie music section at Rasputins, would buy new bands at random by the stack and then would take back the stuff that sucked (which unfortunately was a rather high percentage). The few I really liked (The Black Keys, The Eyeliners, Calexico, etc...) I'd then start going vertical and exploring. I've stumbled across some really good discoveries that way just completely at random, and I've also had some phenomenally bad music experiences as well.
Now I get a *lot* of my Indie music directly from band websites. I find out about bands that I might like through podcasts and then follow the links in the shownotes or google the band until I get them straight from the band website. There's a ton of small podcasts that play really good music, or you can also get plugged on one of the bigger ones like Rock and Roll Geek Show (or his new indiecast feed) although there's a lot of good smaller ones that the competition for isn't quite as tough.
I have gotten some really good pointers to older stuff that I somehow managed to completely miss (The Angels, and his new band Red Phoenix) through RnRGS which is also good and I've also gotten some good pointers to niche stuff like Buddahead, Gidget Ga Ga, and lots of others. Like most things, though, I don't rely on just one source and I still make the occasional buying spree random run to Rasputins, although last time I ended up with this really really bad "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion" CD that I foisted off on a friend (no offense if he happens to be an empegger, heh).
I like garageband.com but to be honest, 99% of the stuff on there is crap and it's a royal pain to sort through all the crap to find the occasional gem. My taste generally runs to folk, acoustic, blues and harder rock (everything from Shawn Mullins to The Angels) and I don't generally go for the trendy mashups, hiphop or strange mushroom/acid jazz garbage my coworkers all listen to.
I guess to sum it all up, as a very prolific buyer/consumer of Indie music catalogs, I generally end up going straight to the band website. Of course, first I have to stumble across a sample of their music somehow, which I do the old-fashioned way: buy lots of returnable music at random and get recommendations from trusted sources.
-- Gary F.
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Eeyore, Original Owner -- Mk II 80 Gb, Blue
S/N #090000803
Tigger, 2nd Owner -- Mk IIa, 80 Gb, Blue
S/N #40103789
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#259948 - 07/07/2005 17:01
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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The only way I can think of to find new bands that you like that is to compare them to bands that you currently like.
I absolutely agree- I am soo glad to hear you say it because this has been a major part of my thinking. The only site that REMOTLY does this well is msn music, and there are two fatal flaws with their implementation. First off, you have to pay for it (kills the concept right there), and secondly it favors popular music. It’s a good start though- you can tune into a “radio station” that plays music rated highly by fans of a certain artist. I tried it for a month and found a couple of bands I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
My thinking is to expand on this and create almost personalized playlists for users, taking into account both the songs they favor and those they don’t. So if you’re a fan of Pearl Jam but not Creed (describes me well!), you’d get the same sort of suggestions as others who have similar tastes. And as you interact more, the more refined the suggestions become.
But the cool thing about the way MSN Music does it is that they just start streaming the songs to you, which is more of a passive process than amazon.com. You can just set it up to play in the background, and then if you hear something you like (or hate), you can pause to rate it- or even buy it.
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It seems to me that the way you'd have to do it is to have ratings for all the bands from each user, both positive and negative. And I think I'd classify them that way. Not just one star to ten stars, but negative five to positive 5. And make sure to keep in an "I haven't voted for this band" flag so that that result won't have any effect. That way, if you take all the PopularBand fans and see that of those that voted for them, UndergroundBand has a rating of 4.5, then the fact that they're unknown wouldn't be an issue.
This is EXACTLY what I was thinking (well, ok, not the negative stars thing, but definitely keeping positive and negative scores and “I haven’t voted for this band”). Additionally, I’d think there would be a place for unrated songs that haven’t received enough votes. That way someone doesn’t end up at the bottom of the barrel because one person didn’t like the song. It’d also keep a part of the site fresh with new music.
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And the site can't only promote the bands they have. They need to have all bands in their database.
I hadn’t thought of this, but I think you’re probably right.
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Also, I'd like to see why I've been recommended an artist. What was the suggestion based on.
Yeah, I REALLY like that feature of amazon.com.
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259949 - 07/07/2005 17:16
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Wow. MSN Music does sound like a really good idea except for their focus, the payment thing, and the fact that it's Microsoft and probably Windows-only. With the legal state of online music these days, I think you'd have a hard time doing that without charging for it, though. I wonder if you could possibly get enough money out of Amazon referrals? What would be even cooler is to join up with some independent record stores. My local store is part of a coalition, CIMS. I wonder if they'd have some interest in partnering up with something like this. Maybe you could have something where people could buy the albums from them, if they were local, for pickup. Anyway, I'm just talking out of my ass now.
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Bitt Faulk
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#259950 - 07/07/2005 17:19
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Quote:
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And the site can't only promote the bands they have. They need to have all bands in their database.
I hadn’t thought of this, but I think you’re probably right.
Well, you'd have to have all the bands in the ratings database, but you could conceivably restrict the music streaming, if you had it, to bands you were promoting. That would help alleviate the cost of the streaming by having a definitive list of artists that you're playing, all of whom have agreed to let you play their music online for free.
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Bitt Faulk
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#259951 - 07/07/2005 17:26
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Wow. MSN Music does sound like a really good idea except for their focus, the payment thing, and the fact that it's Microsoft and probably Windows-only.
Yup, yup, and yup. It doesn't even work properly in FireFox (not that they care). But I've no problem with stealing their concept! Hope they don't sue me, though . . .
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259953 - 07/07/2005 17:40
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Well, you'd have to have all the bands in the ratings database, but you could conceivably restrict the music streaming, if you had it, to bands you were promoting. That would help alleviate the cost of the streaming by having a definitive list of artists that you're playing, all of whom have agreed to let you play their music online for free.
It'd have to be that way. No way can I acquire the rights (or the catalog) to play signed artists. The only trick is making it easy and intuitive for users to note their favorite signed artists. It could be done, though.
The bottom line is that for you, at least, the "relational" model for finding music is better than the "chart" model most sights use. That is true for me as well- the way I find most music is by recommendataions of others.
Myspace has another variation on this where fans explicitly link to the bands they like. Like I said, myspace has by far been our best experience online. Unfortunatly, it requires quite an investment (Ok, know which bands does THIS person like) that most aren't willing to make (I'm not- we've gotten a lot of interest from myspace, but I've only found one band there that I really like). The MSN Music approach is much more passive, but I think both could be available to take advantage of user preferences. And then, once you have this information, charts are easy to compile so you could throw those in for free for people who simply must have a chart (bands like charts because it gives them a competition and bragging rights if they win).
It seems like this "relational" model to finding music would be the obvious one since "word of mouth" is the best advertisement, but it seems not many sites have utilized this so far. Thus, it is one key aspect to my strategy.
Edited by JeffS (07/07/2005 17:48)
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259954 - 08/07/2005 03:55
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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But why are only the hardcore indie listeners going to these sites (and I'm not really convinced those people are really going)?
As a non-hardcore indie listener, I don't go to these sites for two reasons:
1) I haven't heard of most of them. You can't promote a nobody band if you can't even promote your website well. By "well", I don't mean "first page of listings on Google".
2) Scouring those websites is too much effort. I like music, but I don't like it so much that I'm going to spend hours of my day looking for new stuff. I might be willing to spend an hour or two a month to queue up a ton of downloads, but otherwise? Forget it.
Essentially, it boils down to this: I already have a pretty large selection of music at my fingertips that I like. If getting new music is any more difficult than turning on a radio, or hitting go on a long streaming playlist, then I'm just going to listen to what I already have. Forget about 30 second samples and single song downloads, those are only useful if something comes highly recommended from a friend, or otherwise piques my interest/curiosity.
For an example of the latter, a few weeks ago, I was reading a +5 post from a guy on slashdot, discussing promoting something when you're not already famous. He had a link to "a major mp3 blog" (mp3 blogs? didn't even know they existed) where he had a sample track with more downloads than a track from bjork. That made me curious, so I followed his link just to see what the fuss was about. (Incidentally, I really dug it.)
We're so accustomed to having music pushed at us, that to have to go looking for new music will nearly forever remain the domain of the hardcore listener. The less hardcore will content themselves with getting music they already know, and there's so much of that there's no need to go looking for stuff one doesn't know.
IMHO.
PS... I also won't use it unless I can access it on Linux, on non-x86 hardware. That means none of this proprietary application crap. It's either java, web-based (sans-Flash), or open-source so I can compile it myself.
PPS... yes, I know... people like me make up approximately 0% of the market. 
PPPS... yes, I know there's no need to use a PS when I have the ability to make incessant edits.
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#259955 - 08/07/2005 05:45
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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1) I haven't heard of most of them. You can't promote a nobody band if you can't even promote your website well. By "well", I don't mean "first page of listings on Google".
Yeah, this is a big complaint of mine. Most of these sites seem underfunded enough that they don't have the budget to get themselves out there. That's why I'm convinced that I'd need some financial backing to make this work. I'm sure I could get some friends together and develop a web site in may spare time if I really wanted to (though that would effectively kill my spare time devoted to the band- it's difficult to make multiple spare time project work), but "If you build it they will come" does NOT work in the real world.
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Scouring those websites is too much effort. I like music, but I don't like it so much that I'm going to spend hours of my day looking for new stuff . . . if getting new music is any more difficult than turning on a radio, or hitting go on a long streaming playlist, then I'm just going to listen to what I already have.
Another vote in favor of a passive experience, where you are streamed selections. Of course, if you truly don't want to put any time in then the best I can do is stream you "people who liked artist x liked these songs" or "these are the highest rated songs in genre y"- but that's still a lot easier than scouring a site looking for bands and never knowing what kind of quality you're going to get. But if you're willing to vote on a couple of songs or even list your favorite (or least favorite bands), the site can begin to custom select music to better hit your tastes.
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For an example of the latter, a few weeks ago, I was reading a +5 post from a guy on slashdot, discussing promoting something when you're not already famous. He had a link to "a major mp3 blog" (mp3 blogs? didn't even know they existed) where he had a sample track with more downloads than a track from bjork. That made me curious, so I followed his link just to see what the fuss was about. (Incidentally, I really dug it.) . . . We're so accustomed to having music pushed at us, that to have to go looking for new music will nearly forever remain the domain of the hardcore listener.
I think the key here is to be able to capture the hardcore listeners and give them easy ways to draw in the non-hardcore listeners. After all, word of mouth is the best promotion.
What I'm currently envisioning is a system in place so that fans could easily provide links to the artist's page on the site and then be rewarded if people click the links. So if I'm a huge fans of NewIndieBand, I can use my special link to their page and referr my friends. If I get a lot of friends to visit the band's site then I might win a prize- or maybe I'll just be listed as one of the "top fans" on the artist's page.
Of course, this kind of involvement is much deeper than most music fans are willing to go, but every band has a couple of fans that really want to help out in every way they can. So the idea is to give those fans the tools to really get out there and promote the band for you- after all, the best promotion is word of mouth. In fact, this concept is lifted from our own site where we have such a referral system in place. It works pretty well- not only do we have referral contests, we also have plenty of stuff to keep people engaged- we offer fans free downloads for registering with our site (which gives us a nice mailing list we can use for sending out email by zip code as we do shows), a band forum, a gallary for pics, and even a chat room. These are the kinds of features that devoted fans of a band would appreciate.
So the idea here is to give passive people playlists that match their tastes, and hardcore fans tools and motivation to interract with their favorite bands and promote them to the passive bunch.
See- our site does a good job of capturing fans once they get there- it's getting them to our site that's the problem. But if your had a bunch of artist sites, all with the same basic features (forums, pic gallaries, fan lists, referral contestes) then you'd have this common interface that makes it all comfortable. And fans of one band might look at what other fans of the same band might like. Each fan can have (if he or she likes) his or her own page with bio information and a listing of the bands of which he or she is a fan. The starts creating a network of the truly devoted and helps leverage relationships and "word of mouth" type referrals. This concept is borrowed heavily from myspace and works really well there.
The thing about myspace is that it doesn't work for the non-hardcore like you. There is no way to find music there unless you are truly willing to get invovled and start exploring these relationships between bands. I think it is key to make the experience as deep or shallow as the user wants it to be. If all you want to do is stream some music and hear some new tunes- it should be as easy as clicking a button. If you want to reall dig deep and interact with the band and other fans, those tools should be easily accessible.
. . . yes I've been thinking about this way too much. And my intent here was to really find out if I'm hitting the mark or not with my ideas. Of course, empeggers are only one type of listener out there, but the feedback I'm already getting from you guys is helping me flesh out (and possibly reject) some of these ideas. I appreciate it a lot!
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259956 - 08/07/2005 17:10
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Another vote in favor of a passive experience, where you are streamed selections. ... But if you're willing to vote on a couple of songs
I'm sure this is obvious, but I'll point it out anyway. It'd be very cool if you could start with a kinda generic streaming playlist and vote in real time for what songs you liked and it could modify the playlist to keep up with the way you're voting.
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Bitt Faulk
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#259957 - 08/07/2005 17:40
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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I'm sure this is obvious, but I'll point it out anyway. It'd be very cool if you could start with a kinda generic streaming playlist and vote in real time for what songs you liked and it could modify the playlist to keep up with the way you're voting.
For certain- so if you say "I don't like Creed" then it would remove Creed songs (and likely Alter Bridge) from the list immediatly. Try THAT with traditional radio! Of course, we won't be playing Creed, but you get the idea . . .
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259958 - 08/07/2005 17:41
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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I actually like the new rental type services like napster to go. The only thing I don't like is they do not have much inde music. I would like to see emusic have a service like napster does because I like the emusic catalog better. I personally like hunting for new bands so for me something with unlimited downloads is important. Here's what I want: 10 dollars a month unlimited downloads Rental type service is fine as long as I can transfer to some kind of portable. Large selection of smaller inde labels and artists that self release (no label) with the ability to search by label. The ability to buy the actual CD from the service. The current services just let you download the tracks if you buy the album I would rather get a CD. I would want it set up like itunes where you click one link to buy the disk and they already have your billing info to make late night impulse buying easier .
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Matt
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#259959 - 08/07/2005 17:53
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: msaeger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
something with unlimited downloads is important.
hmmm, that might be difficult to achieve. I'd think tryng to get the prices right would be more difficult under this kind of scheme.
Personally I prefer the "pay per download" concept better, but I wonder how others feel . . . Time for a poll perhaps?
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The current services just let you download the tracks if you buy the album I would rather get a CD.
One thing we have set up on my band's current site is that if you buy the physical CD you can download all of the tracks immediatly. They're DRM protected (not my choice- it's the system we're using), but that's not a biggie if you're receiving the CD in the mail. I wish more sites would do this.
BTW, I do plan on allowing bands to sell their tunes or have them available for free downlaods, and I'm hoping to do all of this without drm. The question is whether indie bands would go for that. I know MY band would, but that's one issue that coule be a potential thorn from the "making the bands happy" standpoint.
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259960 - 08/07/2005 17:59
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#259961 - 08/07/2005 18:27
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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Quote:
hmmm, that might be difficult to achieve. I'd think tryng to get the prices right would be more difficult under this kind of scheme.
Yeah I don't know how napster, yahoo, bands or record labels make any money from the unlimited rental services services. I want the service to find new music and when I find bands I like I buy the disks I like to get the whole record not just individual tracks.
Quote:
One thing we have set up on my band's current site is that if you buy the physical CD you can download all of the tracks immediatly. They're DRM protected (not my choice- it's the system we're using), but that's not a biggie if you're receiving the CD in the mail. I wish more sites would do this.
I have seen that before too. It's nice to get the songs right away but with the rental type services it wouldn't matter because you would have already downloaded the tracks.
I would have thought the bands would prefer drm but it doesn't appear that way. Emusic had way more indie bands than napster and napster claims to be pursuing them.
Maybe instead of a music service you could do a specialized search engine.
_________________________
Matt
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#259962 - 08/07/2005 22:42
Re: Music Web Sites . . .
[Re: JeffS]
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enthusiast
Registered: 11/06/2003
Posts: 384
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Couple of options that I haven't seen mentioned 1. Warren Ellis and his Superburst mixtape. He's actually looking for new music right now. 2. Lauch/Yahoo Music. I've been told that they actually have a decent reccomendation engine and other such things. True, there's a big focus on the mainstream stuff, but supposedly they are very open to indie and underground stuff as well. --Nathan
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