MUSIC INDUSTRY BLOG

Two weeks ago, Panos Panay, Founder and CEO at Sonicbids, announced that 10,000 Sonicbids members will receive their part of $4 million of unclaimed digital performance royalties collected and distributed by SoundExchange, the non-profit organization that collects royalties from satellite and internet radio.

Sonicbids members can check if they are on the ‘list’ and how much is owed to them by logging into their Sonicbids account.  If they are on the list, they must then register with SoundExchange to claim payment.

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Next week, we’re launching our proprietary user management system.  Big words for a small organization!

Think of it as your personal song contest and critique status manager and editor, accessible by clicking on My Account (at the top right of every page on our site).

What is a Status?

We assign a status to your contest submission or critique the second your transaction is complete.  For contests, your status is Received until the contest deadline.  After the deadline, it’s In Review for up to 30 days.  Within 30 days, at the point that the judges have made their final selections, you receive a final status: Not Selected, Runner Up, Finalist or Winner.

With critiques, it’s simpler.  As soon as you purchase your critique, your entry is In Review.  When the reviewer has completed the critique (within 14 days), the status is Complete.

Why is Status important?

1. So you can self-edit your entries.

For example, if you had trouble uploading your song file, wish to make changes to your lyric or even want to substitute your entire contest submission, as long as your status is Received, you can!  And you can do it in just a couple of clicks by logging into your account.

2. So you can keep a record of your important communications with us.

When we assign your final status (Not Selected, Runner Up, Finalist or Winner) or complete your critique, we notify you via email.  As of next week, these emails will be saved in your account, along with every single detail associated with your contest entry or critique.

How do I access these details?

By clicking on Details on the right of each contest or critique item in your account!

If a final status has been assigned to your contest entry (Not Selected, Runner Up, Finalist or Winner) you can click on that to view the email that was sent to you, by whom and when.

Why did we go to the trouble?

1. So you have total control over and insight into the service that you are paying us for.

2. So you no longer need to depend on emails from us.  We will continue sending them, you can be sure of that, but all the information you can possibly wish to have about your contest entry or critique will be at your fingertips.

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Sonicbids and Delta Airlines have partnered to provide a minimum of six Sonicbids artists with airplay on Delta’s entertainment audio channels on domestic and international flights.  Dubbed “Sonicbids Indie Showcase”, the two month (September/October) programme will consist of 30 of every 90 minutes of play dedicated to selected Sonicbids artists, amounting to extensive exposure to approximately 5 million listeners on 42,540 Delta flights.  Selected songs will also be announced on air and listed in Delta’s online Sky magazine.

Submission details here.

Recommended online artist development platforms:

ReverbNation provides marketing and artist development solutions for up and coming musicians that need to “compete, cooperate, and differentiate in an increasingly noisy online environment”.   With a 360-degree approach, ReverbNation offers every tool in the shed for fledgling artists plus social and professional networking solutions in a single hub.

Music Nation, an artist-fan-promoter community, provides an array of music marketing features, as well as song contest and songwriting opportunities.  Perhaps more fan-centric than ReverbNation, Music Nation has also adopted the 360-degree approach to artist development.

OurStage, an artist and fan community that revolves around a “democratic” songwriting contest, has been making a splash as a pull-marketing platform for songwriters and recording artists to receive objective feedback from potential fans.

SellaBand, a vision of the music industry to come, has harnessed the power of niches and created an artist development platform that allows fans to, literally, put their money where their mouth is.  With a low risk and easy to digest financial investment program for music lovers, artists enjoy recording and A&R opportunities if they manage to attract enough “believers”.

YouLicense, the first independent music licensing platform, is where artists and music buyers engage one another and cut out the middle man.  With a host of music licensing opportunities in every imaginable musical genre, YouLicense is an artist development favorite.

MyDrifts is more than just a MySpace music marketing system, it’s an entire suite of music marketing tools for the artist or artist manager that wishes to better target his marketing efforts and learn about his audience.

Sonicbids is an artist development veteran, helping bands get gigs, and promoters book the right bands.  Their community consists of bands, singers, songwriters, and performers of all kinds, and music buyers of all kinds, including singer songwriter competition promoters, music licensors, festival programmers, and more.

On January 24th, 2009, Kings of Leon will headline the Dare 2 Dream benefit concert at the House of Blues Chicago to raise funding and major awareness for pediatric cancer research and treatment. Platform One Entertainment, the organizer of the event, is giving one Sonicbids artist the opportunity to open for Kings of Leon and receive $1,000.00 for travel and hotel accommodations.