Musician Social Sites

• HitSquad
  It is like Digg for musicians, you can submit articles, vote on articles and good stuff gets to the frontpage.
• WeAreTheMusicMakers – Sub-Reddit
  A Reddit category just for music makers, good news and discussions are regularly posted here.
• Recording Questions
  It’s like Yahoo! Answers but for musicians, ask questions and someone might answer you to help out.

Musician Forums

• GearSlutz
  A forum for talking about gear with people who like gear. Great place for people who need info on hardware topics.
• DubStep Forum
  Not just for people who like DubStep because the production category has some great posts that would apply to musicians from all styles (link points to Production category).
• IDMForums
  Another forum that has a good production section with lots of great topics for musicians to scan through.
• Harmony Central Forums
  Very popular forum for musicians with some great categories for individual instruments.
• Future Producers
  Music producers forum, very popular and good topics.
• Virtual Instrument Composers Forum
  Forums swaying more towards virtual instruments and talk about DAWs.
• Mac OS X Audio
  A forums for musicians who use a Mac, but not bad for those who use PC too as many topics apply to both.

Musician Tutorials

• Audiotuts+
  Fairly new site that has lots of tutorials to do with audio recording and production created by people who get paid to make them.
• Ricci Adams’ Musictheory.net
  Lots of lessons to learn music theory and a few useful utilities.
• Sonic Academy
  You need to pay for some stuff, but there are some free tutorials available and if you upgrade you won’t be disappointed.
• Production Advice
  The advice is pretty good too with well written regular articles mostly on mixing music.
• War Beats
  Great video tutorials, most are showing you techniques using FruityLoops and the videos can also be found on YouTube.
• Music Tech Tutorials
  Lots of tutorials collected from around the internet and sorted into categories for you.
• Tunetorials
  Loads more tutorials using various music making software collected from around the internet.

Musician Magazines

• Sound on Sound
  Top magazine for recording music, good forum to check out. Some things need a subscription but there is plenty for free.
• MusicRadar
  Another great magazine style site with lots of great articles for all sorts of musicians.
• Electronic Musician
  Music magazine site which has regular interviews with music industry insiders, tutorials and reviews.
• Remix Magazine
  Another magazine which reviews music gear and with articles. Not much on remixing though that you would expect from the name.
• Mix Magazine
  A magazine aiming more towards the studio or live mixing rather than the actual music making.
• Future Music
  A very popular magazine which contains news based more towards new hardware, software and music products.
• Pro Audio Review
  Magazine with reviews of music hardware.

Musician Blogs and Web Sites

• Create Digital Music
  Very popular blog that contains news about new hardware and other music industry news.
• Key Of Grey
  Nice blog with lots of news and interesting articles.
• NoiseAddicts
  Although there has been a small drop in new posts recently, it’s still not a bad blog for Noise Addicts.
• Wire to the Ear
  Regularly updated with interesting posts and many videos.
• Home Studio Corner
  A blog by Joe Gilder for the Home Studio enthusiast.
• Audio Geek Zine
  A blog for Audio Geeks with regular new updates.
• HipHop Makers
  A blog aiming more towards the musicians who like to make HipHop beats.
• Musformation
  Lots of tips and news for musicians of all sorts.
• Berklee Music Blog
  Blogs by the teachers from the famous Berklee College of Music.
• Music Think Tank
  Another blog with posts about the music industry and musicians.
• Indie Music Tech
  A look at new technology that can help the indie artist.
• We Are Listening Blog
  Music industry news, many of which applies to indie musicians.
• Ask a Sound Guy
  Ask the Sound Guy a question and he will answer with a blog post. The blog also includes music news of interest to musicians.
• Recording Review
  Articles and news about recording gear and tutorials.
• Audio Cookbook
  A blog with a slant towards the experimental side of audio production and sound design.
• Pro Sound Web
  A site for music professionals with news and information.
• Waveformless
  A freeform discussion of electronic music and the techniques and gear used in making it.
• SonicState.com
  A large and old site with lots of info, news and reviews.
• HypeBot
  A blog about news within the music business.
• The Indie Digest
  Articles to do with media and how it affects you as a musician.
• DJTechTools
  A blog serving musicians who love to DJ. Good forum on there too.
• TweakHeadz Lab
  Learn about home and project studios, helping you pick the right gear.

Music Hardware Sites

• Gear Junkies
  News about releases of music gear.
• Rekkerd
  News and articles about new releases of music software.
• Matrix Synth
  A blog with lots of posts about synths and the technology behind them.
• Synthtopia
  Another blog dedicated to synthesizers.
• Synth Gear
  A site all about the wonderful world of electronic music and electronic instruments.
• Vintage Synth Explorer
  Find out about synthesizers from the past.

Music Contests

• OurStage
  Win cash, festival slots, magazine coverage and more when you get top places in the fan powered charts.
• Remix Comps
  Site for finding out about all the latest remix contests.
• Music Comps
  Keep in the know about contests that involve music, songwriting and more.
• LaptopRockers
  Another site that lists remix contests and also has music industry news.
• MixMatchMusic
  A site which allows you to create your own remix promotion.

Music Collaboration

• Indaba Music
  Collaborate with other musicians in their on-line software.
• Kompoz
  Another site which allows collaboration between musicians.

Audio Samples

• The Freesound Project
  Share and find sounds licensed under creative commons licenses.
• CCMixter
  Stems of music licensed under creative commons licenses.
• Acapellas4U
  Big database of downloadable acapellas for personal use and Mashups.
• SampleSwap
  Big database of free to use sounds.
• Looperman
  Lots of free to download loops, new ones added nearly everyday.

Software

• KVR Audio
  Huge site which lists virtual instruments and effects. Lots of patches are available too.
• HitSquad Shareware Music Machine
  A database of software which is useful for musicians.
• Gersic
  Database of free software plugins for those who love plugins and love free too.

Online Sound Distribution

• SoundCloud
  Great site and online software for sharing tracks around the internet, free for upto a certain amount of songs.
• BroadJam
  A web community for indie musicians and find opportunities.
• BandCamp
  Allows you to upload your music and distribute or sell easily.
• ReverbNation
  Lots of tools for musicians including Facebook integration and some nice web mp3 players.
• OurStage
  Win cash, festival slots, magazine coverage and more when you get top places in the fan powered charts.
• Fairtilizer
  Site which you can upload music, take part in the community and get nice players for your homepages.

Shopping

• Musician’s Friend
  Online shop for instruments, hardware and other music gear.
• zZounds
  Another great shop for musicians who need more gear and stuff.
• Instrumentpro
  Yet another fantastic online shop that stocks lots of musicians gear.

Online Distribution

• CDBaby
  Will make up cheap CDs and distribute your music to all the top online stores including iTunes.
• TuneCore
  Upfront fee but you keep all of the royalties when they sell your music through all the top onlines stores including iTunes.
• Zimbalam
  Another place that will get your music into some of the top online stores.
• OOiZiT
  Allows you to sell your music on your online profiles and keep the royalties.
• RouteNote
  Sell your music in Digital Stores for no upfront payment.

Music Marketing

• Bob Baker’s Indie Music Promotion
  A blog by Bob Baker with articles about self promotion for the indie musician.
• MusicMarketing.com
  A blog detailing how to sell more music and make more money from being a musician.
• Artistshouse Music
  A site with lots of information on creating a sustainable career with music.

Guitar

• Guitar Noize
  A blog and news site for the musician who loves guitar.
• I Heart Guitar
  A blog for those who just love the guitar.
• Guitar Site
  News, reviews and more for guitarists.
• Effects Bay
  A blog all about those great effects that you can use with your guitar.

Other

• Musician Wages
  A website about making yourself a career as a musician.
• GroundZero Projects
  An online music community for DJs, producers and music junkies.
• BandCentral
  Online tools to manage your band on the internet with both free and paid for accounts.
• Join My Band
  Post adverts to find new band members or find bands which require your music skills.
• MobBase
  Make your very own iPhone app for your band and get it into the iPhone app store.
• Band Metrics
  Get detailed statistical reports about your band by following your stats.
• BandZoogle
  Allows you to make a professional looking web site for your band without the need to be a complete internet geek.
• AudioMastermind
  A directory of links to music sites for musicians.

• Attack Of The Music Communities – April 8, 2008
• i Life Solutions: Best In Home Personalised Theatre – February 9, 2012
• Spotify Gift Cards Available to Buy in Retail Stores in UK in time for Christmas – November 1, 2011
• Spotify Gapless Playback – October 17, 2011
• 2 Tools to Turn YouTube into a Genre-Based Radio Station – October 3, 2011

Music Startups Musicians Should Use on a Daily Basis originally appeared on: Crenk
Join our Community: Twitter, Facebook

Myspace – Myspace is the king of all social networks and is leading the way in the music space. Everyone knows how myspace works, you sign up for a profile and then your able to upload 4 songs to your profile. Simple yet effective, because of how many artists are on the system. Additionally, myspace will be launching a new music feature in the coming months.

Bebo – Bebo who just got acquired by AOL for $850 million, is a big player in the social networking space. Currently, they are 3rd in the USA but leading the way in UK. The has the ability for bands to customise their profiles, and can even add songs to their profiles. However, doesnt have a music player at all and is very limited in so many ways.

Last.fm – Last.fm is a service that is growing every day. It is a service that keeps track of what music you listen to, and then helps you discover new music based on your preferences. Last.fm can be used to find new music, listen to music you already like, and get in touch with people who have the same taste in music as you do, discover new gigs in your local area. Last.fm also allows artists and labels to upload their own music and videos and promote them for free. As far as im aware only selected artists can now actually receive royalties from Last.fm when their music is played via their site.

Purevolume – Purevolume is probably the oldest music social network of the lot in this article. It has a sleak design and it is tailored just for artists. Unlike most other social network there arent poor quality ads all over the place and Purevolume is actually still strong when it comes to traffic stats and user participation. The site itself is still missing several features that are need by artists, but the overall feel is still top notch.

Imeem – Imeem is a new social network which allows artists to upload their music and actually make royalties via plays on the Imeem site. Currently artists need to have an agreement with Snocap, so that Snocap can track the amount of plays done on Imeem and then Imeem pays artists a percentage of the advertising revenue they receive.

MOG – is a social network that helps you “discover people through music and discover music through people”. Basically MOG makes it easy for you to find new music to listen to by using custom filters and personalized suggestions. The site is very similar to Last.fm, but has a few twists in their algorhythm. MOG also provides users with reviews, news and streaming audio. MOG also features a music TV that continuously broadcasts videos taken from YouTube.

iLike – iLike is another service that is similar to Last.fm, but has a nice twist that allows you to also organise your music. It lets you share music libraries with your friends, browse and sample their most played songs, and compare your compatibility scores. iLike will also send you music recommendations directly in iTunes.

JamNow – is a social network aimed at musicians that allows them to create audio content online in real-time. JamNow isn’t a site that simply makes you “post and listen” to audio content: its platform enables real-time music collaboration and lets you schedule live jam sessions and listen to musicians that are playing right in that moment.

Haystack – is all about finding new music through your friends and the people you think are taste makers or cool. You can browse music, pictures, videos and reviews of artists as well as build your own profile and personalize it with images and videos. They encourage artists to sign up directly or even through their labels.

Sonific – is a social network that offers a great way to promote your music, if you are an artist. It lets users put a free music widgets with your music on their sites and promote it to their own audiences, for free. In exchange, Sonific users get free music to use and listen to (download is not permitted) and make their site look cooler – while you get free advertising for your music.

Sellaband – is a music social network that turns the fans and listeners of bands into their producers, asking them to invest in a band or artist they support so that they will be able to get a recording opportunity. Every single investor that supports a successful band will take home a small cut of the profits made by them. Artists not only get financial support but also share 50% of the ad revenue coming from the free downloads of their music.

iJigg – is a online community that lets you comment on music and share songs. You can rate music and influence what becomes popular, as well as upload your own music to share it with the community and make new fans. You will need to decide whether to open a “listener” or “artist” account, which will give you access to different features (e.g. listeners can download free mp3 of their favorite music, while artists can upload their own music).

Flotones – is a monetized social network for artists and their fans. The best features is the ability to promote and distribute content via mobile phones. For example a band can do ringtones and mobile wallpapers. After registration you will be able to promote your content at your gigs and even on your social network profiles. You’ll be asked to sign a contract before getting paid.

Overall:

Out of the list above i think the key sites to sign up to are Myspace (overall largest reach), Purevolume (music specific), Last.fm (but only if you have royalty agreement with them), Imeem (royalty collection on streams and growing in traffic) and Sellaband (potential to receive investment money).

• Build Better Relationships with Zentact – January 7, 2009
• Music Startups Musicians Should Use on a Daily Basis – March 19, 2011
• Soundcloud Growing Past One Million Users Globally – May 18, 2010
• Digital Music Distributor RouteNote Signs Three New Online Music Stores – Deezer, Napster, Thumbplay – January 29, 2010
• Personally Publish Self Works with Lulu – January 1, 2010

Attack Of The Music Communities originally appeared on: Crenk
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