Submissions and Widgets
Hello,
As we approach the 3000 mark I thought it would be a good time to talk on the method of submitting your material.
Firstly, especially over the past two months, the quality of submissions has been excellent resulting in representatives from A&R listening to many tracks and seeing artists live as a result. We are currently looking at several artists who we feel have potential.
When creating your blog it is important to know how your material is going to be viewed and by who. Many of you are using your blog as a promotional tool of your work and to help build your online presence. In doing this attracting the attention of the labels. When doing this, regular posts are essential with new content added all the time. Be this new tracks, rehearsal/live video or interviews etc. These create the most interesting style of blog and often build a solid subscribership quite easily which can create a 'buzz' around your work. Adding neighbours and contacting other Vox users is the easiest way to build your own community.
If you're main motivation is to access the ears of those within the labels the most important thing to consider is the quality of the material you're submitting. Don't send a message to the label asking for someone to listen, but also say "I'm still working on this" or "With real money this will sound great". Only submit what you feel is your best work that you're 100% proud of. This doesn't necessarily mean the production has to be flawless. Once you feel that your potential submission is representative of what you can achieve then upload as soon as you can.
Once uploaded, your tracks are available in the central A&R area where the new submissions are listened to. It's easy for us to listen to each track and visit the blog of those which catch our attention. This is when first impressions are important. Often we will visit a blog on the strength of a track and there is nothing there, except that track. The very minimum contents of your blog should be:
Audio - Some people don't upload before contacting us, do this first.
Info on yourself - This could be in the 'About Me' section or simply a post summing up. Give details of what you've achieved in the past. Maybe people you've worked with, radio, big gigs etc.
Pictures - It's nice to know what you look like :-)
Please don't simply register a blog and send a message along the lines of "Check out Myspace - www..." with nothing on your blog. The main reason for us using this platform is so we can quickly go through new submissions, review them internally and use the tools that are available to us. Directing to external sites wont allow us to do this. However, please do incorporate your myspace or any of your other sites into the 'My Links' section, in addition to your populated blog. That way we can access more information about you and use the platform internally.
Finally, regarding comments on material. We launched this for demo submissions through a community rather than a feedback/critique site. Take a look at the FAQ we released at the start of this project for further details which can also be accessed via RCA's and Columbia's landing pages. We can quickly access and listen to new submissions whilst having a simple way of contacting the artist. Plus we can easily forward material around internally. We do comment on where we can but currently it's impossible for us to comment on every track submission as we want to spend as much time going through the new material as we can.
Quick tip on embed's
It is now possible to add third party embeddable widgets in your sidebar aswell as your posts. So if you wish to add a hit counter to monitor traffic, slideshows, other media players etc you can do this here. This can help you monitor traffic and also encourage further interaction with your blogs.
New Additions:
A Grazr widget has been added to the sidebar so you can explore some of our other staff blogs. The additional links section also includes some of the artists we've been listening to recently.
thanks
CD
Comments
Excellent! Thanks for the update and advice CD!
One thing i would love to be implemented into the current model is perhaps some sort of notification that the blog owner receives when an A&R rep checks out their work.
Just a simple email would do wonders and would seriously help people along because i for one sometimes sit around wondering "i wonder if so and so managed to check out my tracks". I'm not asking for feedback, just the developers to add a couple of lines of code that would trigger and automated email stating something along the lines of "An A&R rep has checked out your work".
I'm gonna make the suggestion to the Vox team as i think something like that would be great for first time, nervous demo submissions.
Also keeping my blog updated is really difficult as i'm going through resits and also i have man occaisons when i'm just feeling really uninspired! Oh well... T'is the way of the world i guess!
Kang.
Sounds good to me folks! What happens, though, if you're primarily a recording artiste writing and producing material which would be too expensive to put on the road without backing from a major though? I'd love to tour my material, but I'd need a backing band and a brass section the size of an army and it would be a BIG show. That's my intention, not an accident. I would never be able to put together a live act for you to come and see unless it was done properly as a big production. Another thought is - how would you break someone like Mark Ronson nowadays? He just does his thing in his studio as well without having a ready to go band for you to go and see in a smoky club. It's just that there seems to be quite a few of us about - ie artistes who compose best alone and would tour a show - but only if it were likely to take off. It minimises the risk of failure if you can get stuff down in a studio environment first and see if people like it. Then tour it when it catches on - not before. The days of bands getting big by spending their lives on the road sleeping in the back of a van are long gone.
MM
Cheers for the update...we are steadily building our profile and appreciate how many artists you have to support...loving the question of the day thing !
See that you have Losing Sight in the player down the right there ! Hope you're enjoying listening to it as much as we enjoy performing it...perhaps you could catch a show someday !
just signed up and looking to expand our page in any way possible,
feel free to stop by and listen to some of our songs,
I've just uploaded a review from the BBC
ENJOY!
:)
Yeah this site is great but one thing i would LOVE to see is a drop box of some sort that would allow producers and songwriters to submit material to specific projects that SonyBMG and it's many babies have on the go. Fair enough we are unsigned and have no track record but how else are we expected to build up our portfolios? I mean, i've worked with a whole host of unsigned local talent who themselves are unsigned so if i submit demos and say i've worked with so and so the A&R rep will just think "Who in the world is that?" but that still doesn't stop me from name dropping the people i work with because for all i know the A&R might not like my work but might like their work, aslong as someone gets on the ladder it's all good!
Anyways, back to my drop box idea! For example if an artist is looking for some deep, emotional lyrics and music for his/her upcoming album then perhaps a drop box could be set up for whoever is interested in submitting work. Only ONE submission per person per project, this would make selecting tracks easier. Also if nothing worth using comes out of it then it's no big deal because you will end up using the songwriters and producers already in the camp. This, i feel would be a great chance for producers and songwriters to really step their game up if they knew they would have a chance at gettin a placement on a major release.
I dunno, food for thought i guess.
Kang.
I'm so happy this morning.
I'm videotrain.
Video Train consisted of Makishu.
Makishu is pianist + composer.
Please enjoy my music.
Thank you...
Video Train
Dear Vox Team
This is really helpful.
Hi
This site gives real oppo for unsigned tal to get heard by the people that matter so big thanks for that, I like Kang's idea about being notified if some A&R interest has been expressed in your work and perhaps some kind of a virtual showcase of several bands music could be played every so often (?)
Thanks
D-FiNiTiVE
Hi folks, my demos are still in working but with a bitta cash and a good studio i'm sure would unit shift big time.
Please get in touch
Davey Boy
If you're going to do something you've got to do it big", quotes frontman Mofo in every interview Trailer do. It has become somewhat of a motto for the band. Trailer are a band who never settle for second best, which has been the key to their coming together and growth as a band. They play their own brand of music labeled ‘Atmospheric Dance Rock Fusion’ and are confident that you won’t have heard anything quite like it before.
Inspired by every musical genre going, every book they've read, films they've seen, politics and situations they've been in, all get thrown into the songs and what comes out is some of the most intense music you will ever hear..
Recent gig review from supporting Shiny Toy Guns!
** Trailer all the way from Coventry, which seems to be going through a bit of a purple (or should that be sky blue...that's the only thing I know about football by the way) patch now in terms of music. Blending the thumping beats of Underworld with the anthemic kind of tracks that Kasabian bang out together with a bit of Liam swagger, Trailer seem to have a whole album's worth of tracks that deserve your ears (ears meet Trailer, Trailer meet ears...now go get a room). 'Set the Country on Fire' in particular has the kind of energy and positivity that I've not really heard since the glory days of Asian Dub Foundation. Ace. They gave out free CD's at the end too...which always gets my vote.
Have listen on our page and give is some comments.
Thanks TRAILER
Yea..I really like Kang's idea how there could possibly be a notification that an A&R actually looked at your material. It can leave a person in agony just wondering if their song has even reached somone! Anyways..other than that i really appreciate you all putting a site like this together! very help..Thank you!
Cheers guys!
I hate wondering "what if they didn't get it?" or "Should i resend it?".
The thing with the web is that sending out a notification e-mail is as simple as scratching your arse. The web developers could set up a "confirm receipt button" for the A&R folks or they could just have an automated system that sends out an email when a song or email is read. It's pretty simple really.
Kang.
Heya,
Cheers for the advice. We've just finished our latest recording, three new tracks! The first of which is now up on our profile. Our upcoming shows are:
10th September - 93 Feet East, Brick Lane
27th September - The Cavern Club, Liverpool
30th September - The Rock Garden, Covent Garden
We'll keep updating our vox profile with news on gigs & recordings in the near future. Drum tracks have already been laid down for the next EP!
Cheers!
The Endgame
Hey there,
Would be great if you could check out our latest couple of tracks guys. Spent the day in Blueprint Studios in Manchester and are very pleased with the results! It's worth a listen as we've been told our Arabic influenced melodies and overall style is very unique.
Our profile is also coming together pretty well, including plenty of pics, and videos for you to look at.
Cheers for your time :-D
enjoy!
EPIPHANY
Hi i`m new to Vox and i`ve uploaded a few of my tracks and photo`s.
There are some really good artists and artist pages out there and can`t beleive some of the talent ive heard.I think Vox is a brilliant way to get yourself heard , by other artists and A+R and i welcome all honest comments on my music and appreciate any one listening to it.
for now i`ll be busy in my home studio making some new music and will upload them as soon as they`re ready.
please feel free to check out my tunes and leave any comments. THANKS!!
This is really great guys, I fully agree with Kang in respect to the notification emails. Its not asking much, it would just let you know that something is happening and your not being overlooked or a insentive to get off your ass and do some more promotion.
Add me to your neighbourhood guys, the the merrier!
Nick Donovan
www.nickdonovanmusic.com
We agree Kang, we have been managing for years and you would think that we would be used to the process by now.
We have two stunning bands on our site for the A&R guys to look at and have no idea if they have. THE LAST GRAND and THE BETS.
Then again... they couldn't have looked at them yet......because we haven't had a phone call wanting to sign them.
Regards,
Bluebird Management
Perhaps you haven't got a phone call because their music is being passed around internally to get a more broader opinion. If that's the case it would be a blessing just to know that someone is listening! That's what's frustrating... Not knowing what's happening! You would have thought that with everything being digital things would have been made a little easier and less stressful for both parties (A&R and artists) but as with everything new there are always improvements that can be made to the current model(s).
Oh well... Just do what you do and carry on with your daily grind. When it's your turn to receive the phone call it'll be your turn, until then just keep pushing and promoting your artists! :D
Kang.
Indeed! it's not asking much at all. Infact the same few lines of code that are used to notify people of messages and post replies can be modified to notify people when their page or music is accessed by an A&R.
I can't believe something i've learnt at uni is finally coming in use! lol
Oh the joys of software engineering! haha
Kang.
In one post you said this:
"You need to take that money that you're blowing on recording albums and travel the world instead. Be in a band, play live, have fun, post your music on the web, have good memories, but for god's sake don't waste any money towards it and don't do it on this supposed professional level."
In then here you said:
" I think that the artists need to start forking out some of their own money to make themselves better if they want to make it."
Ace.
Travel the world like a free young person, not as a band - sheezus.
Okay, so you cut and pasted certain segments of my comments to try and knock me down because maybe you weren't happy with my approach. I appreciate that effort Ace man, but I think everyone except you realized that what I was saying was that artists need to spend their money on development and not recording albums. Was that so difficult to understand in what I commented.
Me thinks the younguns needs to get to bed earlier.
That's right - we're marketing ourselves on the Internet now. We don't need you! You'd better start to get nice - or become obsolete.
Methinks you need a little more respect for other people.
Gotta respect! This is not about who's right or who's wrong. But in life you sometimes have to be a squeaky wheel to get your point across. I have a lot of respect for all the time that musicians on here are putting into their careers. But I am trying to be serious here. Most of the artists that are looking to get signed on here need some direction and advice on how to better the structural side of their songs, not the artistic vision of the songs. Although some artists definitely don't take the business side of things seriously when it comes to having a good product ready to go for the A&R guys, that's for sure. You have to see this is a competition thing and not the lottery where any piece of fodder can win. A band like Fox Cubs should set an example for the rest of you as far as effort into your product. If the record company doesn't think you work as hard as those guys or have that ambition then you'll be left out in the cold. There are artists on here nearly in their mid twenties who have never played live before who say they're still waiting to find the right band! The executive producers of the record label want to be impressed all around - by your obvious work ethic and sense of direction, your knack for recognizing how to have commercial appeal in your music, and a "wow" factor in your music. I'll leave it at that.
Damn, that sounds pessimistic - sorry ;-)
Hey Bev. I'll be putting my new offering up on Myspace next week. I'm having fun with some of the myspacers who have expressed interest in my sneak preview scam first ;-) I like to torture them. I'd be really grateful if you could find the time to pop over and have a listen?
Cheers
MMxx
Wo wo wo! Just read all these posts! It all seems a little hot in here? Haha! Let's all chill out guys. We're all friends afterall? I'm loving the depth of conversation that is goin on here. My overview opinion is that...
A) it would be cool to have an automated email response (as Kang suggested)
B) at the end of the day, i think Matt is right to emphasize the fact that so so many artists (generally and here on vox) forget to think of themselves as a business. it's the 21st century. people need to make money, and A&R need as much reassuring as possible that the act in question is the absolute money-making-machine! (afterall they're putting money into you - in some cases a lot of money!) This means being professional and presenting yourself as a unique, marketable quality product.
C) we're all friends here. if you can't take nice advice then your missing the whole point of being in a 'feedback' environment. i've taken a lot of flack on the chin in the past and am all the better for it now and all the more confident than ever :)
D) following on from what someone commented earlier. wouldn't it be really cool for us all to set up either a podcast or an online showcase gig. we could each vote for our favorite vox artists and the top five artists would perform live online via webcam or such like in a showcase event. Or (ignoring this cyber-malarchy for a moment) we could even organise a showcase event in London for a few of us to perform at? I'd be well up for that. I'm long overdue another few gigs in the big smoke.
Let me know your thoughts x Ashmeister x
Count me in for the podcast or gig! I was thinking about doing something similar the other day during a session with the lads.
We've been so busy working on our music that we totally missed the boat for the MTV OXJAM thing... That would have been really cool to do :(
We've just uploaded our first complete track, it's not bad for being a home recording, but it's worth a listen
The profile will be updated soon, with some pics and some bio.
Thank's for everything
NONSEI