unsigned artists

Music is one of those past times that, without it, the world seems a lot less interesting. My friend John and I have been a music fan for over 30 years ... motowon, rock and roll, blues, jazz, you name it. Many people may not remember the old days when music was played on vinyl records, turntables and crystal styli. And, of course, the advent of "newer technology", such as tape and CDs were all the rage. But, digital music has really turned the music industry on its head. What can be done with digital music distribution far outreaches the physical distribution methods.

Because of this new paradigm of digital distribution, the world of music promotion has really opened the doors for unsigned artists to find an audience. Anybody, talented or not, can cut a digital recording, put it up on the Net and voila, people are coming to you in droves. But wait! That's not quite the full story. Reality is that you can put your music up on the Net, but if nobody knows it's there, is it really there, there?

That's where this company, Pure Play Music comes in. My friend, John Lancaster stumbled upon them while surfing the Net. They've created a music social networking site that allows unsigned artists to upload their music and create a community around their music and genre. Pure Play Music provides the community with tools to communicate between artists and fans, fans to fans, artists to artist, etc. The tools include instant messaging, ratings music player, forums and more. And, the company also promotes these unsigned artists in very unique ways.

For exmample, Pure Play Music inked a deal with Dixons Store Group. By doing so, the unsigned artists sample music gets distributed on over 1 million MP3 players worldwide. In addition, the company provides ambient background music to stores using the unsigned artists songs. Millions of people hear the sounds of these artists without needing to go through the traditional closed models of radio and TV.

Now, there've been others who have tried to promote unsigned artists, including the most famous of all, MySpace. But, MySpace tries to be everything to everybody. This is not necessarily the best venue for independent artists to get known. And, of course, another company burst onto the scenes about 3 years ago, promising fame and wealth to artists and online retailer ... flaming out in a sea of legal battles with the SEC.

Pure Play Music seems to be doing the right things. John tells me that they've been in business since 1996, a long time in this digital age. I think because of their stability, they struck a deal with Leigh Steinberg, renowned sports agent, to be a sponsor for the 2009 Superbowl promotional party. There will be more companies promoting the same, which I think can only be a good thing for unsigned artists to be found, share and promoted.