Soundclick Review!

Following last week’s review of Reverbnation, I would like to call attention to another popular online artist community: soundclick.com. Soundclick boasts fewer and less comprehensive features than Reverbnation, but has a lot of media to browse through. Soundclick is directed most at producers, artists and fans. Producers whom create the tracks that artists/vocalists often purchase use soundclick as an effective medium to connect with artists. Soundclick has producers and artists alike from all over the world with many Canadians making headway in this community. Prices of tracks range from $.99 for a lease (a lease allows you curtained disclosed promotional limited use of the track) and $10.99 for exclusive (this gives the artist full legal use of the track with no limitations) all the way up to $99 for a lease and $499 for the exclusive. It is in this way that Soundclick is able to help producers connect with artists and actually generate revenues while getting their name out there.

Artists can post/sell their tracks on soundclick as well. Most artists tend to provide free music to their fans on soundclick and utilize the community to browse and connect with hot new producers. Artists can post venues and gain support within soundclick and often collaborate with other artists they had previously not even heard of!

Fans have the privilege of joining a community full of talented artists and producers. It is easy to find great music fast. Soundclick has an easy and useful interface that fans will enjoy being on for hours while they discover all the new music their ears can handle!

So go check out Soundclick. If you’re an artist, producer or just a fan you’ll find plenty to keep you informed, entertained and always moving forward!

Reverbnation Review!

Reverbnation Review: an artist community full of opportunity

Reverbnation is a site truly worth checking out. Whether you’re a fan looking to discover some fresh new music to listen to, an artist looking for an online home for your songs, a manager trying to promote your client, or a venue looking to fill its stage with new talent; Reverbnation has services tailored to all of you.

 Services offered for labels/managers:

Statistics Tools-

Track each of your artists’ stats from one dashboard. Link accounts from Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter, and put widgets on Artists' sites to track stats. You can even follow who’s blogging about your artists with the Buzz Tracker feature.

Promotion Tools-

Create apps, newsletters and many other forms of online promotion for your artists all within Reverbnation. Reverbnation press kits provide your artists with a means of submitting a nice, clean digital package of media to potential venues. You can even build an independent website for your artist through the site builder service. Reverbnation also provides digital distribution to iTunes and virtually all other major music download sites for one flat fee. Each album can have up to 50 songs included for one standard rate and you collect royalties well the world discovers your artist.

Services for Artists/Bands:

Within Reverbnation, artists can access a variety marketing resources. FanReach is an email based marketing tool for finding and informing your fans. GigFinder will search for venues looking for talent such as yourself and help you get booked. Reverbnation will track your stats automatically and help you create a special home on the web for your music.

Services for Fans:

Reverbnation offers an unbelievable amount of resources for fans looking to discover some new music. Comprehensive search guides the way allowing you to search for artists based on genre, geography, popularity etc. A pop up music player for individual artists can be used so that fans can keep browsing after they have found an artist to listen to.

So whether you’re a fan, a manager, an artist or just a fan wanting to discover even more music; Reverbnation has a variety of services to cater to your needs-and most are free!

Feature Artist: JY

This week's feature artist is Jason Allen Colquhoun otherwise known as JY. Born in Toronto, Ontario on September 7th, 1987 JY grew up in the near-by town of Stratford. He began rapping in 2003 releasing his first mixtape in 2005. It included songs he had been working on over the past two years. After releasing his mixtape, JY began working intensively on the album he would release next, in 2006: The Underworld. This album would show Jason's progression as an artist and showcase his overall potential as a lyricist. With dark beats, an intense flow and a continual theme of the streets this album seemed far from amateur. This album was not notable due to anyone song, but instead the album had a feel of one long, collaborated musical work. Each song flowed into the next as stories of the streets were told with a smooth style full of metaphors and witty punch lines. Although this album was creative and far from amateur, it was also far from what was yet to come.

In 2010, JY released his next album: Almost Time LP. This album showed a new side of JY that was even more lyrically advanced. The production quality of this album also vastly improved with JY seeking professional production and mastering instead of creating the entire album himself. Just like last week's feature artist, JY successfully submitted one of his songs to a radio station and secured air time. Although this album was by far JY's best to date, he ensures us the best is yet to come. He hopes to release his sequel to his latest album which will be called Timeless.

Check out some of JY's songs below off his latest album Almost Time LP.

click here to view JY's Reverbnation page!

Elleybee: Feature Artist

This week we will look at an artist from London, Ontario that goes by the stage-name Elleybee; a unique hip hop artist that recently got his first play on the radio! Elleybee has been an amateur rapper for over 10 years, with a large number of songs under his belt. He recently released two mix tapes: Back to the Basics (unfinished) in October 2010 and Therapy Session in August 2011. His album-titled single from Back to the Basics received very positive reviews online. Elleybee submitted the clean version of this song to Conestoga College radio and was surprised to get another very positive response! Conestoga College agreed to play his single on light rotation on 88.3 FM. This was certainly a huge moment in Elleybee's career one that would give him even more drive and motivation to make a name for himself in the world of underground hiphop.

Check out Elleybee's song Back to the Basics from YouTube: