Columbia Demos’ blog

Your Submissions

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:35:40 +0000

Hello all,

As we're getting more artists joining the Vox community I thought it would be good to do a quick summary of what's required to make sure your music gets to us and is presented in the best possible way.

First of all, make sure you are in the A&R Group. This is essential. If you did not join via the Columbia or RCA entry page you will not have automatically been added to this group. To check simply click the 'Groups' link at the top of the page to see which groups you are a part of. If you are not a part of this group, simply click the link in this post and add yourself. This will ensure as you add music to your blog it's added to the group.

Next, upload music. Yes, it sounds quite simple but a lot of people are registering, then simply sending a private message with a link to another page with no actual details on their own blog. Uploading your music and other details into your page makes them easy for review by those within the label and wider community. It's a simple process, if you have problems getting your music online be sure to have a look at the Vox help section.

Write a post. If you're not wishing to regularly maintain a blog that's fine. However, it would be preferable if you could put details of yourself on the page, include pictures and video if you wish. This gives us at the label a much better idea of what you are like as an artist.

With regards to private messages to the label pages you are more than welcome to contact us. However, more recently we've experienced a high volume of messages. Many of which are simply 'check out my blog' which often prevent other queries and replies getting to us in reasonable time. If you've created your blog and are part of the A&R Group you music will be accessed and listened to those within the A&R community. If you have a query or following up on a recieved message and have waited a long time for a response please feel free to chase up with another message but please be aware we do receive lots of messages.

We have an email address for technical queries and help also which is onlinedemos@googlemail.com. This address is not for submissions via MP3, it's simple for technical queries, press enquries etc.

In the meantime we hope you have been enjoying using the service so far. If you have any suggestions improving the service please do get in touch. We're currently already working on a number of concepts suggested by the community.

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BRITs to give new talent massive exposure announces new 'Critics Choice' Award

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:43:30 +0000

'Critics Choice' Award

Brit2008

UK recorded music industry association, The BPI, unveiled today a brand new award category for the UK's biggest and most prestigious awards ceremony The BRIT Awards 2008 with MasterCard.

The 'Critics Choice' Award will focus on new British acts the critics are tipping to break through in 2008. The shortlist and eventual winner will be chosen by a team of experts made up of music critics from national newspapers, major music magazines and music websites as well as heads of music at major radio and TV stations. The 'Critics Choice' Award will be open to artists signed to a label who are set to release their debut albums in 2008.

Ged Doherty, Chairman of The BRITs Committee commented, "The BRITs continue their support for up and coming British talent by creating this new award. It's a fabulous idea and I can't wait to see who our panel of experts deem to be their choice for 2008."

BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor added: "The BRITs is a great platform to profile the pick of the past year's established and new artists to a wider domestic and international audience. This new category allows us to use the UK's premier music event to profile even more emerging UK talent."

The results for this award will be revealed exclusively on the new BRITs website (at www.brits.co.uk <http://www.brits.co.uk/> ), when it goes live on 10th December 2007.

Here, the BRIT Critics' tips for tomorrow will be unveiled, listing the top three artists or bands the critics are backing to break through in 2008 - as well as the overall winner - the BRIT Critics' Choice for 2008.

The Critics Choice Winner will collect their award at The BRITs main show, February 20 - live on ITV1 as well as perform live at the BRITs Nominations Launch Party. This year, the first hot ticket of the year, the BRITs Nominations Party, will be staged at London's Roundhouse in Camden on Monday, January 14 and broadcast on ITV2 at 8pm that same night.

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Your Influence on the Future of the A&R Community

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:10:53 +0100

Hello,

With the introduction of the calendar and the 'listened to' flag as a result of suggestions from within the community, it's very obvious how important your insight into the development of this is. As you use the platform, you probably already have some ideas on what you want to see from this. Although they were two quite simple additions, they are benefitting both us at the label and the artists we have in the community a great deal. For those of you who were having problems using the calendar on a Mac, USE THIS LINK. I will include it in the links section of this page.

So the next question is, as our community is getting bigger what do you expect from it as artists? As mentioned before, this is now the method of demo submission to the label and it is working well. More is getting listened to, presented to A&R and more acts are being investigated through this process.

However, there are further opportunities that exist when using a platform such as this that are well worth investigation and discussion within the A&R blogs.

The first thing I want to do, is hear your ideas on functionality/concepts outside the simple submission process. For example, could more tie-in's with other platforms be established? If so, where and with who? Would you like to see the better acts within Vox being promoted in other ways, such as getting some radio/inclusion in regular syndicated podcast? Has their been a function on another platform that you'd like to see here? Also, with the introduction of services like sellaband, or slicethepie do you think there could be more elements of offering a sliding-scale development for new talent using our resources at hand? Would you even like to see a different kind of label stemming from a community such as this?

This is simply the ideas stage at the moment but there have been a number of discussions within the community which have highlighted some interesting ideas and I would be interested to hear what you think could be done with Vox.

Hope all is well with you

(on behalf of CD)

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Kang's Calendar

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:12:12 +0100

In response to suggestions from the community (namely Kang and others), a couple of new elements have been added.

Calendar

There is now a Calendar which anyone can add their gig dates to. No registration/log in is required. Simply add your details and everyone will be able to see when and where you are playing. So please take a look, see what you think.

Also, there were suggestions of a 'listened to' flag to show when Columbia/RCA/A&R have listened to a track. It's near impossible to give detailed comments on every track. But a simple when it was listened to and by who message seems like a good idea. So as of today I'm trying out something new that will generate a time stamp and signature as something is listened to by one of us. It's simply text at the moment but I will see if I can get some kind of embed graphic.

More details to follow.

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Artist Feature: Fox Cubs

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:24:33 +0100

Fox Cubs joined us back in April under a different name just as this community was developing.

The first track that really caught my attention was 'I Could Be Wrong', Although the band haven't tried to emulate any of the Cure's styling musically, I find the vocals quite reminiscent of Robert Smith, especially on their newer material.

'In Silence, In Secret, In Shadow' is also delightfully dark with a bludgeoning intro, seedy phrasing in the verses and a really strong chrous. I'm looking forward to seeing the band live to see how their use of synth's and reverb effects translate.

They've just come out of the studio with their latest offerings 'Beasts of England' and 'You'll Never Learn' which looks like the band are taking a break from the dark side musically. Be sure to visit their blog and have a listen to their other tracks. In the mean time, watch the below:

Fox Cubs - Beasts of England

Also, on reading the comments of Kang and others, I have contacted Vox to see if we can add fucntionality to the A&R process of having some kind of 'listen to/by' flag on new submissions. I don't know if this is possible yet but will keep you informed. Keep the good ideas coming. Thanks Kang.

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Submissions and Widgets

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:09:24 +0100

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

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Molloy

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:23:07 +0100

Hello,

Got some 'angular electro' for you here (not my words).

Listened to this stuff at home the other night and got taken in by the Molloy's 'Tracy' with anologue synth crazyness. On hearing it I'm sure you'll

molloy - tracy

have it on loop in your head, willingly or not. I wasn't sure about this one at first, but the fact I can't get the tune out of my head says something.

I think this may cater for the heavy eye makeup, blazer, I go to Koko/Afterschool fraternity. One of the A&R chaps here pointed this out to me and excitedly said, "I love their car". If you look at their blog you'll see what I mean. Have a listen and lets see what you have to say about it.

Tracy

Paradoxical

The Healer - Hoxton Hips

So without further ado and inkeeping with me letting the bands talk about themselves rather than me try to pad out a posting with nonsensical fluff, let's get on.

How would you describe yourself musically?

Dirty-minded angular electro-pop-rock. Otherwise? Busy!

Is that really your car?

Yes, it's Chaz's car! And if you're lucky you might see it sometime driving around London (or being picked up off of the red route by the TFL's truck! - This actually happened the 1st time we used the car after painting it, actually!)

Who influences you musically, and how are they influencing other current independant artists do you think?

Molloy caz

We love Queen's harmonies and Brian May's hair, Adam & the Ants's quirky chord progressions & Thin Lizzy's guitar harmonies. Our latest influence is Stephen Hawking's pencil moustache (see the picture!). Sadly, we think he has been overlooked as an influence in music since Radiohead's Ok Computer. Divine too, who's influence can be seen in bands like The Gossip and Keane. Also Birdland. There are not enough bands around today that have matching hair...apart from the Horrors, who, incidentally, if you blacked up, would be the absolute negative image of Birdland. Brilliant. Eighties metal band RATT & nineties indie crooners CUD have also left their mark on us in equal measure. If you spliced them together you'd end up with Sophie Ellis Bextor. Probably.

What's your favourite piece of kit within the band?

Our analogue synth Alan! Our telephone which we use as a microphone on stage & our 60's french fireman's megaphone!

How did you get together?

On 12th December at 12 minutes past midnight, oblivious to each others presence, we were sat waiting for a take-out pizza. "Alan", shouted the member of serving staff as we all arose. Could we all be called Alan? Can you die of cancer at a car boot sale? The answer, of course, is yes! Astounded by this coincidence, we formed an eternal bond, which can only be broken by ham. It wasn't long before we had formed a band, too, and chosen a moniker in fitting with our green & orange attire - Molloy was thus born. Of course, we soon found out that being in a band and sharing the same name wasn't all going to be sunshine & roses. So, over a game of Scrabble, new high-scoring, yet succinct, identities were formed accordingly…Jez (19 points) guitar & vocals, Caz (14 points) vocals & guitars, Chaz (18 points) bass, Jacqz (32 points) synth & vocals, Toz (12 points) drums. It's ok, it's a rare kind of ham.

What do you do when not creating 'dirty-minded angular electro pop-rock'?

Drink white russians? Eat cheese? Make bread? Talk about bread makers? Watch Twin Peaks? We also DJ! (We'll

Molloy Chaz

be playing our favourite tracks on 8th August at Indiesexual @ Catch, Shoreditch!)

Best gig?

At the People's "something" in Manchester, an old man's pub that usually hosts a local community musical in the tiny upstairs room where we played. There was only 1 speaker, 1 microphone and the reverb was stuck on full! There was a band there who didn't have a drummer but had a fan sitting by the stage playing air drums for their entire set! (see the video!) We had a great time!

Did you Glastonbury?

We played the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang "Anti-Glastonbury" gig at 93 feet east! It rained, but hey, we were warm and cozy indoors!
We promised ourselves that we'd only go to Glastonbury if we're on the bill. Next year? Yes, next year.

So, have a look around their blog too, maybe see what else you can find. Leave a comment or two on what you think. Even add them to your neighbourhood so you'll know as soon as they've finished something new.

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Shiney New Music

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:32:52 +0100

Hello,

Apologies for the temporary hiatus in posts. Was away for a while and unable to update properly.

Firstly, I was looking through the comments of the last post, really interesting stuff. A few views on where producers sit with music today, plus real thoughts on the music featured too. Thanks to Blair Lott, Matt Morris, Nuggit De Hornet and Apside for their comments. Perhaps warrants a further post? Let us know and I'll link through to what you put up.

As we approach THE 2000 ARTISTS MARK (!!!), it's getting easier and easier to find good music to listen to. The media player is in good use, although a little basic it seems that many people are finding new bands that they want to hear. I'm still working with vox on an updated version.

I'm updating the format further for the unsigned blogs, I'm going to feature one artist per blog, but get posts up more often. That means there's more space for each featured group. I'm contacting the bands first to get more info. So hopefully you'll find out further details here that aren't on their blogs. I will also feature comments from this post in the next blog, so get writing about the music. The feedback on the last post was really good.

I'd like to talk about are the Lost Levels which I can only describe as 16 bit games console influenced indie rock. :-

Lost Levels 3

) Steve and Owen met in an Arcade on the Golden Mile before turning their blistered, possibly arthritic fingers to the jumpy basslines as crunchy drums we hear in Lost Levels.

I've been told that Xavier and Iain met at a Siobhan Donaghey audition, have a look at the pictures and you can see that neither of them look like her, so no wonder they were rejected.

Working out of a converted barn on the Norfolk coast, they use an array of wonderfully low tech synths and recently appropriated an harmonium to produce the bleepy stompers featured below, with often interjections of ambient bliss as heard in Early Sheets. Looking at the activity from the last post, I'd love to hear your views on these.

The Band Are:

Xavier - Vocals/Keys
Iain - Guitar/ Vocals
Steve - Drums/Glockenspeil
Owen - Bass/Double Bass

Gigs:

15th June - Parade - 333 Old Street London

25th June - The Gramaphone, Commercial Road, London

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How are you all?

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Wed, 09 May 2007 14:46:11 +0100

Hello,

It's been crazy in here as regards all the PM's and such. Apologies if you haven't received a reply, I'm trying to get back to every person. For all the "Hey check out my stuff" emails, we are. If you upload something it's getting heard by somebody somewhere. Potentially over time it can be heard by a load of people, of course that depends on you and the quality of the tracks your sticking on here. :-)

There's been a lot to listen to, if I mentioned every track that really jumped out this would be a very long blog, however I think there's certainly a handful that need a mention.

Pinstripe got in touch a while back and I had a listen to their stuff. This Feeling Inside and Did I Say have a great atmosphere, not too busy production-wise but enough in there to keep things interesting. Have a listen, see what you think. Maybe post a few comments here about it.

Spector's Pull Of The Wheel caught my ear via the media player, a nice four to the floor club stomper. Had me bopping about my room at home whilst I was getting ready to head out. From the sound of his blog he's after feedback from the masses as he's starting to experiment in other styles. Head on over, have a listen and let him know what you think.

Type and JB's Let Me Know opens up with a DJ Shadowesque beatfest. A really well put together track and I love it. There's not much in the way of detail on his blog, get onto him and get him to stick more stuff up.

Good to see things are going well in the community and you are all talking to each other rather than simply shouting about your own stuff or spamming. In fact there has been very little which is great. As you know spamming each other with the same message to try and generate interest isn't a great way of promoting your band. Establishing relationships with others in the community is important and the best way to do that is through relevant comments, neighbouring or using PM's in a non spam manner.

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It's here, hear it...

nobody@vox.com(Columbia Demos) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:04:53 +0100

With much thanks to Vox, we have a media player on here so everyone can easily listen to your tracks!

It's a very simple audio player but it does allow you to visit the artists' track entry in the A&R group and go through to their blog if you like what you hear.

This is something that I'm very happy with as it should really open up your work to the wider online community. I am already working with the page minimised so I can work to the sounds of your latest offerings. :-)

There are a hundred tracks on there and I will get the playlist updated regularly.

More to follow.

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