Learn How to Build a Facebook BandPage Tonight

RootMusic is providing a free step-by-step live video demonstration on how to build a Facebook BandPage tonight at 6pm PDT / 9pm EDT via their Ustream channel, or you can watch it below. If you're unable to attend, you'll be able to watch the archived version at your convenience.

 

Digirido to Launch Music Marketing Resource Website

Digirido, a new website aimed at "helping the music industry share and discuss marketing in the digital world" is preparing to launch later this month. For more information, follow Richie Silver or connect with Digirido on Facebook.

Music Hack Day London

UPDATED 2 (links fixed, apps added):

Another Music Hack Day (London) was held this past weekend. Below are the hacks:

• Paul G music-on-hold hack (call his conference number and select the music you want to hear
• Cuttle (access music library on iDevice under iOS 4, and run a live remix using realtime beat tracker)
• Big Piano (inspired by the movie Big - big floor piano that you can make music with)
• Future of music 2010 (a Mac OS X app that scans your iTunes library and computes the music you are not supposed to be listening to anymore based on your preferences, and then deletes it from iTunes and your hard drive)
• Gramophone (browse around the world, pick a month from history and find songs that were played live then and there)
• HOTTTABS (crawls the web for you and retrieve the guitar tabs of the hottests songs of the moment according to their level of difficulty)
• BumbleTab patient guitar tutor (a very patient guitar tutor)
• Daily Sample Set (ruby script that pulls the hottest downloadable uncompressed Creative Commons tracks from SoundCloud within last 24 hours)
• Piracy (android app that allows you to drop tracks from your music collection on your current location, allowing others to grab them if they're close enough)
• Playlistr (imports/exports XSPF playlists, imports tracklists from the BBC Programmes website, links to stream on Spotify and buy from 7digital)
• Disco Snake (play the classic game snake, but you have multiple pieces of food available at any time, and eating a piece of food adds a note to a playing sequence with a pitch and velocity corresponding to the position of the food, and crashing in to your tail results in switching to a new set of samples)
• Singalong (quick access to tablature from your favorite bands)
• Speakatron (a program that looks at you through your web cam and plays a sound when you open your mouth)
• The Cut Liberator (a python script to autogenerate cut up hip hop mixes)
• Roomba Recon (The inspiration for this project is a robot solving a maze. Or cleaning a house. The general idea is to construct coherent playlists that traverse from a start to end song on the Soundcloud with minimal prior knowledge.)
• Webloop_Revisited (The webloop, in its first incarnation remotely presented at music hack day STHLM, is an ongoing experiment in using modern browsers to generate sound. On one hand. On the other hand it tries to find ways to allow people to collaboratively create music.)
• Earth Destroyers (For my London Music Hackday hack I built a web app called 'Earth Destroyers'. Give Earth Destroyers a band name and it will show you how eco-friendly the band's touring schedule is. Earth Destroyers calculates the total distance traveled from the first gig to the last along with the average distance between shows. If an artist has an average inter-show distance of greater than a 1,000 km I consider it an 'Earth Destroyer'. The app also shows you a Google map so you can see just how inefficient the tour is.)
• 7digital Never-ending Popquiz ("Arcade style" never-ending popquiz. Reaching next level will bring new type of questions and they get more difficult with each level. Wrong answers cost you lives. You can choose different genres to play and questions are generated randomly from top artists tagged with this genre. Options for answers are generated from similar artists to the correct answer.)
• 7x7 (a square of 7x7 notes, where the notes can be selected by using the mouse. All notes within the selected rectangle are played, creating various chords. When notes are selected they are played according to an Attack-Duration-Decay envelope, where the user has no control of the parameters.)
• MixCloudPad (a sit back way of enjoying MixCloud content on your iPad)
• MashBox (The user selects a track and the system mixes it with another that is chosen at random (within limits), and uploads to http://soundcloud.com/mashbox)
• SongkickGiglister (An Android oriented Songkick gig lister for people who agree to go to gigs before they've heard the band. Fetches the upcoming gigs for a given user, pulling in data about the bands: links to Spotify, tracks from around the web etc.)
• Accessible music (This hack is a web browser where songs are triggered with mouse over movements)
• MuseScore OSC Remote (several musicians scoring together)
• I was there (tour t-shirts from your Songkick gigography)
• Gowalla for SoundCloud (check in with Gowalla to a particular venue and get a free SoundCloud stream/download)
• Cleversounds (next time you visit a place with a cleversounds jukebox (at the moment, just laptops), you will be played artists that you like)
• Music Mag (create a music magazine from Guardian content)
• The Sound of Tweets (simple web app to turn tweets into pieces of music)
• Swearaoke (this is a game where you play Guitar Hero guitar, and this makes the words to a song)
• Auto Score Tubing (YouTube.com is stuffed with great musical performances. Imagine these videos playing along with the musical score! While manually synchronizing a score measure per measure along with the video is possible, automatic synchronizing would be even greater.)
• The Sound of Data About Justin Bieber (exploring how fan data could be presented not as visualizations, but instead as sounds)
• Political Echonalysis (exploring the style of politcal speech by analysing the audio data)
• Not That Song (add songs from your 7digital locker to playlist that tells you how well those tracks fit together, or not)
• Head Tracking Sound Installation (breakout Game with Procedurally Generated Audio - actions in the game affect the audio output)
• BBC Dance & Electronica Archive & Recommendations (tracklist archives for all dance & electronica shows, finds listed tracks on SoundCloud, after entering your Last.FM username, it recommends artists based on the _complete_ tracklist)
• Mortal Songbat (a musical version of Mortal Kombat)
• Radio Map (sweeping the frequency spectrum on an old analogue radio to the digital web-radio world)
• SoundWheel (Sound Wheel is a circular synthesizer that uses synesthesia and variable intonation to make funky sounding basslines)
• Chatter-FM (call a number and leave a message that will be uploaded to soundcloud)
• Nirtous Oxide (webcam midi controller that tracks colours / fruits)

It's inspiring to see what can be developed in a weekend - congrats to all! While I haven't experimented with any of the above hacks, based on the brief summaries they've provided, my favorites are Disco Snake, Earth Destroyers, I was there, Gowalla for SoundCloud and Mortal Songbat. Btw, if you are not familiar with Music Hack Day, watch these two videos:

The Changing Demographics of Social Media

Flowtown created this nice infographic yesterday illustrating how the average age for social media users is increasing. For example, the average Facebook user is now 38 years old, and 64% of all Twitter users are now over the age of 35. Does this shift change social media strategies for artists, labels and online music services? Probably, but it would be useful to know what sociological factors are driving the increase, how are these age groups using social media, which countries and cities represent the greatest increases, etc.

5 Rdio Features for Music Enthusiasts

I've been using Rdio a few weeks now thanks to Glenn Peoples, and I'm impressed with their service. Below are 5 features that make Rdio a great experience for music enthusiasts:

1. select and listen to a specific artist, album and/or a specific track
2. create and share custom playlists, subscribe to your friends' playlists, or collaborate on their playlists
3. effortlessly write a review for a song and/or album (this data could be a great resource for artists, labels, managers and the like)
4. great social interface allowing users to easily see what their friends are listening to (vice-versa), as well as other Rdio users, and who is listening to the music you like (creating new opportunities for music discovery)
5. nice visualization of music collections (i'm assuming they'll add more visualizations)

Rdio will likely influence other music service providers to modify their offering with similar features and design, benefiting all music listeners, but there are a few areas where Rdio can improve:

• increase content, especially from unsigned artists with services like CD Baby and Tunecore
• easier queue creation/management for individual songs and albums (e.g. the drop down to add is cumbersome)
• tighter integration of music recommendations based on a user's listening activity; it's a bit separated from the experience at present

NuMuBu Launches with Social Sharing Sweepstakes

NuMuBu, a new online community for music industry professionals and businesses has officially launched out-of-beta, and to celebrate they're offering a social sharing sweepstakes for spreading the word on Facebook and Twitter, giving participants a chance to win up to $25K, or one of five iPads.

To enter the sweepstakes, go here, and follow their directions; existing NuMuBu members should go here. For more information about their sweepstakes (rules, requirements, etc.), go here.

Below is a brief video about NuMuBu's service:

ReverbNation updates their My Band Facebook App

Yesterday, ReverbNation released the latest version of their already successful My Band Facebook App, based on feedback and suggestions from their users (read their full announcement here). Some of the new features include:

• tour map, show schedule with details, ticket links, sharing
• fan-exclusive downloads
• custom header banner
• aggregated fan count stats (MySpace, Facebook, ReverbNation Mailing list)
• song lyrics
• links to retailers like iTunes and Amazon

Here's a screenshot of how it works (it's their fake band to demonstrate the app) - what do you think of their revisions:


 

G2.fm: an artist booking management system

Based out of Chicago, G2.fm is building a service similar to Sonicbids. According to their website, the founders have built an artist booking management system based on their personal experiences as musicians, promoters, and booking agents. "Our successes, as well as lessons from past frustrations, inspired us to create a solution that would streamline the booking process, save artists time and money, and create new revenue streams for our venue partners."

While I'm not sure what fees G2.fm charges artists and/or venues, if any, here's how it works for musicians and/or artist managers:

1. signup and create a profile for your band (bio, genre, location, etc)
2. upload your media (music, photos, videos, etc.)
3. search venues and apply for gigs - you can then check the status of your application

Here's how G2.fm works for venue owners/managers:

1. signup and create a profile for your venue (venue description, location, size, etc.)
2. create and customize a calendar with your available dates/times
3. browse applications and book desired talent

Share your Music with Bln.kr

Bln.kr is a new webapp that allows you to easily share music you make on Twitter, Facebook and smartphones. While there are several startups providing similar services (e.g. Tinysong and Twiturm), Bln.kr is providing pro services, such as automatic QR Code creation, private sharing, multiple audio format support and more.

10 Invites to Rdio

Have you been wanting to try the new social music service, Rdio? Thanks to Glenn Peoples, I now have an account, and I'm giving away all of my 10 invites to readers of IMT. All you have to do is post a comment requesting an invite by logging in with your Twitter account below, and I will randomly select 10 winners.

Essentially, the invite will give you a free, 3 day preview of Rdio, but after that, you'll have to pay. So while the invite will get you in so you can try Rdio, you'll have to start paying after 3 days (please note, Rdio only works within the US at this time).

Below is a brief feature tour of Rdio from lifehacker:

Top 10 Music-Based Facebook Apps

According to All Facebook, the unofficial Facebook resource, below are the current top 10 music apps on Facebook (based on monthly active users):

Sonicbids Acquires ArtistData

If you haven't heard already, Sonicbids has acquired ArtistData. It's a smart acquisition for both companies, and their combined services will create an even more comprehensive solution for artists, so many congrats guys! For detailed information about the acquisition, please read the story on Hypebot.

Btw, when your company has numbers like these, you will get acquired.

ArtistData Opens Developer Environment, Approaches 4 Millionth Update

ArtistData announced earlier today that they just passed the 3.75 millionth update to their partner network (see below) on behalf of the 25K plus artists that use their service. Wow, congrats Brenden!

ArtistData also announced today 7 new partners to its platform, for a total of 28 (see above), including Bandzoogle, LiveMusicMachine, MobBase, MobileRoadie, Scout66, SeeJoeRock, and Songkick. They join existing partners, like Bandsintown, FanBridge, Jambase, and Sonicbids - there are now over 50 companies currently working to integrate with ArtistData (to be announced as they become available).

Additionally, ArtistData has opened its developer environment to all developers - all you need to do is sign-up and you'll receive a free developer key. For more information, please see: http://developers.artistdata.com.

Cross Promote your Music with other Artists via Headliner.fm

Yesterday, Headliner.fm gave a presentation at the SF MusicTech Summit. Essentially, the service provides a cross promotion platform for artists. You can read how it works here, or watch the short video below:

Interactive Facebook Promotion Widget from ReverbNation

ReverbNation has created a super easy widget to assist their artists in promoting themselves on Facebook. It's intuitive, interactive and easy for fans to share, and the artist's music doesn't stop while a listener is learning more about the band - expect this tool to be a hit quickly! Check it out in this video overview:

Create an Artist Blog in Minutes with Lifeyo

I just read an article about Lifeyo, a free, easy-to-use blog/website builder (similar to Bandzoogle) that launched last week at SXSW. For musicians and bands looking to quickly create a nice looking blog in minutes, than you may want to explore what Lifeyo offers, and because it's a webapp, there's no software to download. But, if you're looking for a feature-rich solution, or a company that solely focuses on artists, than take a look at Bandzoogle. Below is a brief interview and demo with Lifeyo from CenterNetworks:

Some of the Challenges Artists Face Promoting their Music (a video)

While concept stage Immitter seems to be trying to develop a music promotion engine, I'm not sure what tools they'll provide to artists, practically speaking, as they haven't yet developed their initial service (they're still very early stage), but this is a creative video about some of the challenges musicians and bands face vying for exposure to their music:



Founder and CEO, Jermaine Kelly said they're pitching at DEMO this Monday.

Enhance Your Facebook Fan Page with RootMusic

RootMusic is a new web app that enables you to seamlessly enhance your Facebook Fan Page (see videos below). For example, by adding the free, RootMusic BandPage tab to your existing Facebook Page, your fans can listen to your music while they comment, view photos or read about upcoming shows - not possible with standard Facebook Pages, as the music stops. You can also allow your fans to download songs for free, or integrate your band's twitter feed all within a nice looking layout which can be your default tab.

While RootMusic just launched a few weeks ago, it's a promising tool for artists that you should experiment with, as I'm sure we'll see more features and functionality from RootMusic soon. Do you think Facebook will counter and create more flexibility for artist Fan Pages?

Record, Upload and Share Sound Bites on the Go with Chirbit

Ever been at a music conference and needed an easy way to capture a quick thought about a panel, conversation or event you could share with your friends via your iPhone? With Chirbit, you can, and just in time for SXSW next week.

Simply signup with Chirbit, and use your iPhone's built-in Voice Memo app to record, and you'll be sharing micro-podcasts and soundbites within minutes to your friends on Facebook. You could even provide daily updates from Austin via your Twitter account.

There are some size limitations, but the service appears to be free, at least for now. To learn more about Chirbit, visit with them during their official launch at SXSW during TechKaraoke (3/15/10). In the meantime, here's their official screencast:

JELLI, a User Controlled Voting Service for Broadcast Radio Goes Nationwide

Earlier today, Jelli, a user controlled voting service for broadcast radio stations announced its expansion into the following 10 markets across the US:

• WBOS Boston, MA
• WPST Philadelphia, PA
• KXTE Las Vegas, NV
• WJBX Fort Myers, FL
• WJLK Jersey Shore, NJ
• WKRL Syracuse, NY
• WKLL Utica, NY
• KISN Bozeman, MT
• KBAZ Missoula, MT
• KTRS Casper, WY

I've been a fan of Jelli for quite sometime, and even interviewed Jelli about 6 months ago, as the idea of allowing listeners and music enthusiasts to control broadcast radio is the right direction for terrestrial radio. It could reduce a station's operating expenses by eliminating or reducing the need for traditional on-air personalities, so their expansion is not a surprise, nor is their recent press coverage in USAToday - it's just a matter of time before more radio stations adopt this kind of technology.

If you're not familiar with Jelli, the service allows users to control what's played on a local broadcast radio station via their web browser through simple acceptance voting. For example, "when a song is actually playing on the air, listeners can also vote whether it Rocks or Sucks. If enough players think it Sucks, the song is taken off the air instantly, even if it’s mid-song" (via Jelli's press release). According to Dave MacDonald, senior vice president and market manager at CBS Radio, “we were excited about the success of Jelli’s initial launch in San Francisco, and are now putting X107.5 Las Vegas in the hands of the listeners, allowing them to control the broadcast in real time.”

Below is a recent interview with InformationWeek: