Artist Interface

[Old Admin]

Artists, please vote and let us know if you would be interested in an interface to the site that allows you to upload content and maintain your profile. You would be able to upload new songs, remove songs, change your information and so forth. Similar to many of the other online music sites such as mp3.com and ampcast. This would be a paid service with some small monthly fee.

[test]

Sounds good to me.

How small would the "small monthly fee" be?

[Old Admin]

Not sure exactly, probably in the $15-$30 range...

[skylla]

i kind of like the idea that the egn-admin serves as filter, allowing only bands of a certain standard. the comparison to mp3.com makes me shiver with fear. imagine hundreds of bands - half of them crap - and having to find the gems among them. as it is now it's more a question of finding bands with a style you like. i haven't found any bands by now i would consider bad.

all in all i think it's a BAD idea.

[KissTheStar]

Originally posted by skylla
i kind of like the idea that the egn-admin serves as filter, allowing only bands of a certain standard. the comparison to mp3.com makes me shiver with fear. imagine hundreds of bands - half of them crap - and having to find the gems among them. as it is now it's more a question of finding bands with a style you like. i haven't found any bands by now i would consider bad.

all in all i think it's a BAD idea.

The artist interface will not change how bands are selected to join the artist roster here at the EGN. The EGN will continue to act as filter and the artist section will not be filled with hundreds of bands that are crap. This feature will allow bands that have already been approved as EGN artists more flexibility to add or remove songs to their artist page and to make changes as they see fit.


~Craig

[skylla]

sorry... my mistake.

i am all in favour then. please disregard my 'no-vote' then (the only no-vote so far). unfortunately i can't seem to change it.

oh, by the way. my band got accepted to EGN a couple of weeks ago on the basis of some not quite finished song-versions (didn't know how long the whole process would take). unfortunately our record will only be finished around september the 1st. so... do i need to send some kind of message to egn-admin before uploading the material (now that some time has passed), or do i just go right ahead?

[KissTheStar]

Go ahead and send a message to the Admin prior to uploading your songs.



~Craig

[Midihead]

I've told the Electrogarden folks that I'd support such a thing if it happened, so you've got my vote. This IS your target audience if your an electronic artist. I know that most of my fans stop by here often, therefore it's in my best interest to be here for them. I've only a few concerns, but I'll share them privately with the site administration. If it's done right and the price isn't too much, I'm totally in. I may even drop my AmpCast membership in favor of this one.

[intro]

Just curious (and wondering if I'd even make the cut, lol)... what standards does EGN hold bands to when deciding whether to let them have an artist page or not?

-Mark
www.djintrovert.com

[Old Admin]

Originally posted by intro
Just curious (and wondering if I'd even make the cut, lol)... what standards does EGN hold bands to when deciding whether to let them have an artist page or not?

-Mark
www.djintrovert.com

That is not easy to answer.

But, in general we prefer.

1. Bands that are signed to a label and have at least one CD out available for sale.
2. Tracks that are product ready, and of recording quality, not demos

All of the other criteria can not really be phrased, as at some point someone just has to say, "yes" or "no".

[cliffwalk]

I think combining having the artist chip in since you are hosting a presence for them AND continuing to have a form of standards in place for acceptance is a slippery slope. How do you guys intend on keeping your objectivity when additional "artists" means some additional revenue? Just a curiosity... devil's advocate...

The reason I ask is that I think having those standards makes the site better BUT... I was an artist on here at one point in time and HATED to bug the Administrator everytime I wanted a change... ALSO, I would have definately paid.

Thoughts?

[Old Admin]

We will continue to allow only certain artists that we feel are of certain standard. Once an artist is accepted they will have the option for standard Flash based service which is free or for the new artist interface which will not be free. It is really as simple as that. There are so many other sites that will let anyone get on that we do not think we will ever try and let revenue influence our decision on what we bring to the site.

[arronc]

Hi there,

I am all in favour of this idea in principle BUT.....

The new interface allows you to download the material. The great thing about the old one is that you couldnt.

I dont think everyone would be quite as free with their best work if it could be downloaded.......

[Old Admin]

Formal download enable is up to the artist.

However, people that know how the streaming works can get around this and get the mp3 for download. This is the case here, mp3.com, and ampcast.com too. Nothing can be done about that without rolling out a proprietary HTTP streaming server and even then it can still be ripped. This is the nature of mp3 technology.

[arronc]

Because the old player obfiscated the information, it was harder to rip. The new version is so easy I suspect anyone on this site could do it.

I would be much happier with the old interface. It gave this site something pretty unique from an artists perspective.

I would be happy putting a any material I had on the older flash interface without thinking of harming existing sales, but would not do so with the mp3 interface.

IS it just me who's paranoid and tight ?

[Old Admin]

Again, it is not this site. The streaming/playlist technique is how it is done in the top OMD's too. MP3.COM and AMPCAST.

Flash can also be ripped through the sound card. Nothing is perfectly safe. The new interface is a flexible tool that uses mp3's - that carries its own connotation for online placement that is not particular to this site, it is a matter of fact.

[arronc]

OK, I take your point. Its a great improvement anyway !

Cheers,