There is a newbie on the internet music scene, and its name is OurStage.com. Do we need another one? And what makes it different?

OurStage.com is centred around a competition principle. Artists can win monthly prizes, as decided by the fans.

It works per channel, eg per style of music, and artists can upload music and video.  You have channel winners, and also overall winners.

So, how is it different from every other music website?

Firstly, as Quaxle is for songwriters and artists, let’s look at OurStage.com from an artist perspective.

There are prizes to win. Of course, there are only a few prizes for many artists (if the site turns out to be successful, this could be 100, 000 artists). This is the nature of competitions.

The prizes are really tempting. They include mentor sessions, performances, a Godin guitar and cash prizes.

My main concern is that it reinforces the connection between music and competition. Even though there is some truth in that, especially at the top of the music industry, i’m not sure i like the idea of a website founded entirely on this premise. I very much prefer a site like last.fm, which is about connecting music lovers with more music, and MySpace, which is akin to an online business card for a band.

I do recognise that OurStage.com will help the winners as some  of the prizes will make a big difference to bands and solo artists who win them, i cannot really condone the whole premise of the site turning music into a big competition.

This is from an artist point of view. But what about the users?

 Like many websites designed to attract artists (eg content), it fails to have an unique selling point for users. OK, it might be that they get to choose a winner, and they know that their vote might make a difference for the future of that artist. Sure, it’s nice. But as a music lover, it wouldn’t make me ditch my current favourite music website to join OurStage.com.

Overall, i wish them all the luck in the world as i can see their intentions are good but i will not bother registering with them, neither as an artist nor as a user. Will you?

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Eric Hawkins writes about the master fader, and its use, in a refreshing article titled “the master fader is not for monitor control” over at http://erikhawkins.berkleemusicblogs.com/2008/02/03/the-master-fader-is-not-for-monitor-control/

Lorenzo, over at “My Endeavour to be a published songwriter” blog, has browsed the internet for us all and found an article about a songwriting success story. Go to http://publishmysongs.blogspot.com/2008/02/contest-to-career.html and read it on his blog, or go straight to the source article at http://www.yesweekly.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=3285&TM=65330.66

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Many websites offer pro song critiques, with prices varying from £10 ($20) up to £50 ($100). Should you get one?

The debate is rife on songwriters forums and mostly, songwriters do not agree. In fact, this article was inspired by a thread on the subject over at Just Plain Folks.

Like many of these decisions, it depends on your personal circumstances, so here’s a quick list of pros and cons to help you decide.

Why you should pay for a pro critique of your song

•  someone you pay, as opposed to a fellow songwriter you know through a songwriting forum or a songwriter group, will be more inclined to tell you the truth as he/she will have no friendship to lose
• you are helping a pro or semi-pro songwriter to earn a bit of money in between two royalties meagre payments
• even if the critique is disappointing in terms of its helpfulness, you’ve only lost £20 ($40), which isn’t worse than having a disappointing meal at a restaurant
• you want to market your song to a specific market and the advice from a songwriter who has broken into that market would be useful
• you feel something isn’t quite right but you can’t put your finger on it

Why you should not pay for a pro critique of your song

• a live audience is the best test for a song (so if you’re a performing songwriter, get yourself out there and test your song - there’s nothing like a real audience to make or break a song)
• if they really knew how to write a hit song, why aren’t they doing it and living off the royalties?
• a pro songwriter would never want a semi-pro songwriter to get better as she/he then becomes direct competition, so can you trust their advice, or is that “pro” songwriter really a pro songwriter
• you don’t want someone to judge your song based on their rules
• you know you are the next John Lennon/Tori Amos and you don’t need anyone’s permission to record your songs

 If you want to add something, post a comment :) 

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