Thanks Chris Rockett from promoteyourmusic.net for including Unsigned Band Promotion on your Mega List of  Musician Promotion Resources

I’ve been having an interesting conversation by exchange of emails with Ben Williams of Liturgica about a Euro bug fix for Easybe 1-2-3 Music Store! This is a bug they found that causes albums for sale in the store to default to Euros at -0.00 - i.e. offer them for free in Euros! Liturgica have fixed the bug and are willing to formalize it as a patch with a script to run, etc.

That’s totally awesome of you Ben.

And as Ben says, "With the apparent demise of Easybe, it looks like we’ll have to provide our own support!"

Personally, I would try and find another music store, maybe Bandcamp? However, I know Bandcamp has its critics!

Anyway, here is Ben Williams to tell you all about it:

"This is the bug that changes the user setting for currency from that selected by the Administrator to a Euro currency setting (that is, if you set albums and tracks to sell in Dollars, they change to being shown for sale in Euros). This bug is further compounded by showing Albums and Tracks for sale in Euros at 0.00, giving the impression to customers that they are free (i.e. no charge).

"Liturgica are making it available on our site at no charge to Easybe 1-2-3 Music Store users: Euro bug fix for 1-2-3 Music Store - CLICK HERE

"Full details can be found in the Readme file."

Well done Ben :)

SYRUSS the rock band from Plymouth, Devon (Southwest England) have got themselves a shiny new website - have a gander.

They’ve got the usual profiles where you can check out the tunes and videos and help yourself to any of the free downloads - MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Micro-Site

Bandonkers is a relatively new website that gives musicians a way of searching for other musicians in their local area. It’s a good idea, a user can either post their own advert, or search through existing advertisements posted by other musicians. It’s all about connecting musicians and bands in your local area. Looking for a drummer? Or are you a drummer looking for a band? You get my drift, it’s a simple concept.

As you have probably guessed, Bandonkers is yet another one of those sites like Unsigned Band Promotion, Band Directory and London Gigs, that needs your support if you want to benefit from it - tell your friends and give them all a try.

The Bandonkers website seems very easy to use and there are no charges whatsoever - it’s free!

There have been a couple of incidents recently when I have looked for a band’s website and have discovered that they do not have one. Then I find out that they do not even own their own domain name! Odd. Buy your band’s domain name now, before I do. I like Network Solutions - use the search box above. I am an affiliate, so I will get a small commission, but don’t be put off by that as Network Solutions are excellent value for money.

So you’ve just recorded a great tune into Garageband (or whatever), put the cheap but effective Chinese condenser mic back in it’s box, moved a few faders, patched in a few very professional presets and hey presto! – something so good that you want the rest of the world to hear it. This is happening in bedrooms right now all over the world and is going to be the source of the vast majority of all music that consumers will be hearing (if not paying for) in the future.

It’s great. It renders obsolete almost the entire music industry with its monolithic structures, lumbering speed of response and enormous overheads. Almost!

SmallfishRecordings believes that amongst all of this upheaval, there is one aspect of music that will not change and that is – Quality.

Even the lowest of lo-fi productions has to meet basic sonic standards if it is to satisfy anyone other then the bloke that recorded it straight to cassette tape. And even the best digital creation needs to carry with it the fingerprints of analogue distortion if it is to be truly satisfying.

It’s very often the case that great musical ideas are stifled because the creative, intuitive skills of the artist don’t carry over into the more logical arena of the mixing or mastering process, and it’s here that SmallfishRecordings finds it’s niche.

The SmallfishRecordings Project is determinedly small, client focused and somewhat selective. Jon (Mr Smallfish himself) works on projects that he mostly discovers himself but increasingly, is taking in commercial projects to keep the wheels turning - and not falling off! Clients upload their material to the studio and can take advantage of a range of services including:
Mastering: You should try this even if it’s only once – you might be surprised what can be done to improve a straight stereo file with the right processing.
Mixing: Taking advantage of a combination of good ears, experience and some high-end processing solutions can really add depth, clarity, dynamics and a balanced soundstage to even the muddiest of mixes.
Improvement: Having access to a wide variety of sound sources and engineering tools, SmallfishRecordings can replace, re-enforce or add to the original content.

Jon has invested very carefully to make sure that while overheads are kept to the bare minimum, some of the best possible processing tools are in place including products from TC Electronic, URS, Izotope, IK Multimedia and others.

What all this adds up to is this… Commercial quality production within the reach of the dedicated amateur.

Why should you even consider asking someone else to mess around with your masterpieces?

We make decisions in life based on comparisons – your preferred brand of cheese will be based on years of trial and error. If you never hear an alternative translation of your music, you will never really know where it stands in terms of levels, tonality, dynamics, texture etc. Even if you send your mix out and it comes back worse, then you’re someway further down the track to understanding your own music.

SmallfishRecordings understands that the potential client base for the project are not likely to be seasoned professionals, so put a lot of effort into helping each one through the process, explaining what each change; fader move, EQ shift or compression treatment is there for so that the artist gains some new insight into these aspects, and can then improve their own skills used in the front end of the process. If you visit the SmallfishRecordings website and read through some of the examples, you’ll get the idea.

The SmallfishRecordings Label

Late in 2010, the first commercial release will take place on the SmallfishRecordings label. Jon has found that some of his clients are so exciting musically that all studio fees are waived in favour of an agreement to co-release the final product through this new experimental label.

Having asked the question "Why Label?" the only reasonable justification left is to provide a focal point for a specific collection of artistic creativity, so that people finding a resonance with it, know where to go to find it. There will be no advances, no big promotion budgets, but there will be the chance to become part of a very special community which can position each artist in the best possible place to move onto the next step – few risks, great fun and great music. Jon has a formula that goes like this:
(Little Cost X Let’s Have a Musical Adventure)/World Wide Audience = Why Not?

One of the important benefits of being a web-based service is that the organisation is growing a world-wide network of clients and partners, some of which will become the mutual "distributed distribution" framework for artists joining the project.

Not only do the masses now have the means of production, they also have the means of distribution.

[Ed.] This post was written especially for the Band Promotion Blog by Jonathan Huxtable of The Smallfish Recordings Project. Thanks Jo and good luck - BTW I like your website.

Band Directory

Sebastian Gibbs of Band Directory contacted me regarding a link - I wonder if that’s a reciprocal link? Anyway, Band Directory is one of those sites like Unsigned Band Promotion and London Gigs, that needs your support if you want to benefit from it - sort of in it to win it - Give tham a try.

If you read this blog regularly you will know that I feel strongly about indie bands promoting themselves locally i.e., Gigdoggy’s Gigs List was high in my esteem (sadly the beta version came to nothing) because it promoted collaborative networking, Band Directory could be seen in a similar light. Their aim is to, “match lots of suitable local bands to venues” and it’s basically Free unless you want Premium Promotion.

I must say, Band Directory does sound a little like Band Direction (a social network for musicians, venue owners and producers)! However, I’m not going to worry about that because Band Directory is UK based and up-and-running, Band Direction hasn’t gone live (may never go live) and is USA based. Lemonrock is worth a mention and more than a gander.

The Slips New Website

After slating the Slips’ website in "The Slips - Electro Band London" about a year ago, I thought they deserved a big WELL DONE for creating such a positive and attractive site.

The only thing I liked on The Slips’s old website, was the way they collected a fan’s email so they could download free remixes - very few bands did it so well as The Slips. The new website however is very entertaining. The Slips’ website is pulsating, gloriously bouncy and super-hot. I’m Loving The Slips New Website.

<strange>They’ve changed their website address too, from theslips.net to theslipsmusic.com</strange> Which is a little odd, but I’m sure they have their reasons.

The Slips released a 7" single Girls At The Back Up in the States as part of LA based IAMSOUND’s Singles Club, reaching No. 6 on The Hype Machine on the day of the release - awesome BUY it NOW - Click Here - $6.99 uses PayPal or you can BUY NOW From iTunes - MP3s or 7" vinyl including DRM-free MP3s.
The Slips have also released their first ever mix tape: Vol 1 Download Mix Tape Vol 1 FREE

• The Slips
• MySpace
• @The_Slips [Join The Slips on Twitter]
• DNR Music Productions

I was contacted by Michael Swando of Swanzai - he wants a link, I wonder if he’ll link back? I doubt it! I get the impression he’s on the up - he has done some very good posters. This is what he has to say about himself:

Swanzai.net is a small graphic design firm based in Chicago, IL, specializing in creating high-end show posters, websites, flyers, and merchandise for bands and musicians. We’ve got over 8 years experience and dozens of stunning posters and websites already created for bands in Detroit, Chicago, and Phoenix. On top of this, we’ve adjusted our pricing down to nearly self-defeatingly low rates, and pulled out all the stops to bring in every unsigned band who needs the step-up quality design can give you.

Hanging out, working, and living with numerous musicians and bands over the past 4-5 years especially has opened our eyes to the symbiotic relationship between visual artists and bands. Oftentimes a band can be identified by a unique visual style that accompanies their music in the forms of Album Art, Merchandise, Show Posters and now Websites, and similarly - the work that designers do could scarcely be possible without the legacy of musicians sharing their music for inspiration.

Swanzai understands this. We also understand the budget unsigned artists can be under, and the priority of getting your music out there so the world can hear. We believe our prices are about as low as can be justified, and we’re working to include more relevant discounted package deals. Not every band has the pull to afford a different show poster for every show, so we make it easy to buy a discounted set of different posters that are reusable - just write in the info for each show and keep your promos fresh while still stretching your buck.

Apart from being, in our opinion, pretty good-looking, Swanzai.net’s Web Products can help out the unsigned band in several ways. Starting at $150 for your basic landing site to $600 for a fully-automatic multimedia music-selling machine, each of our websites are 100% custom-made and never from a template. Integrating your web site into a Content Management System (starting at $300) not only gives every bandmate the ability to update your site from anywhere from a familiar (think Blogger / Facebook) interface, but allows us to easily incorporate advanced features such as selling your music, swag, & mp3s online, incorporating a blog, videos, and social media, and more.

Swanzai is a fresh, young update to the online band design scene. With fresh, unique, high-end work and the lowest prices around, we’re primed to become the go-to source for budget show posters and web sites for the Unsigned + Indie Band Scene. Rock on.

As I said I like Michael’s work, I was taken by the Amen Cowboy poster. One thing that did strike me as very odd though, Amen Cowboy who have got a MySpace, haven’t got a website!! Stranger and stranger, they haven’t even bought their Domain Name. www.amencowboy.com is still up for grabs - I like the name Amen Cowboy… I think I might do me some rustling.

Donate now to help children affected by the earthquake in Haiti

As per usual at this time of the year, I’d like to explain that Unsigned Band Promotion is Not a business and is Not seeking to make profits from bands using this website. I help musicians and artists get their websites noticed by fans, search engines and the music industry in half the time they could do it on their own and I do it for FREE. There are some costs, and I try to cover these costs by users donations and by promoting affiliate links!

You can show your support to Unsigned Band Promotion by making a small donation, I am not asking for much, as little as £1 or $2 would be greatly appreciated.
Donations are fast, free and secure when made with PayPal.

In 2010 I shall be continuing to support:
Naomi House a purpose-built children’s hospice that provides a homely environment for children with life-limiting conditions that means that they will not live to become adults.
UNICEF the United Nations Children’s Fund, which is a global champion for children’s rights, they make a lasting difference by working with communities and influencing governments.

PLEASE Make a Donation to Naomi House - I’m not an affiliate and do not receive any commission from this link.
PLEASE Make a Donation to UNICEF & Help Children by Buying Cards & Gifts Today - I am an affiliate and do receive a v.small commission from this link.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS
from
Ian