Emusic is Giving Away Free Music…Every Day
eMusic’s benevolence is limited to one free Mp3 a day, but I suppose that’s better than zilch. I may very well plug their “Free Daily Download Widget” into GarageSpin’s sidebar, as long as it doesn’t mess with the site’s template too much. Here’s what it looks like:
If one mp3 a day isn’t enough for you, try 25 free mp3 downloads…which is what you get if you sign up for an eMusic Free Trial. (You can actually sign up, download 25 tracks, ‘n’ ditch…which they’re probably not too fond of, but the model must work for them as they’ve been offering the free trial for several years, now.)
Also worth mentioning is their launch of an eMusic Facebook App, which subscribers can use to show off their music stuff for the FB world to see.
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Best Subprime Mortgage Crisis Cartoon Ever
While browsing the interwebs, I happened upon a cartoon that successfully explained the sub-prime motrgage crisis to me, a subprime crisis dummy. If you’ve ever wondered what terms like “sub-prime mortgage”, “collateralized debt obligation”, “frozen credit market”, or “credit default swap” meant, and enjoy anime, this masterpiece may be for you. (Barrack Obama’s credit crisis explanation would have seriously benefited from such a vid…)
Btw, the video above is only Part I (7 min); if you want to see the rest, Part II (4 min) can be found here.
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How to Get Your Band or Music on Faceoook
I just created a Facebook Page for GarageSpin. If you’re on Facebook, let’s connect.
What is a “Facebook Page”? (i.e. not a “Facebook Profile”)
Most folks know how to use Facebook to create a regular, personal profile page. But not everyone knows about “Facebook Pages“, and if you’re a musician, band, or artist, you should. Facebook Pages were created by Facebook to enable bands, artists, businesses, politicians, whatever, to create pages for themselves within the social network that are separate from personal profile pages.
Why Should I Create a Facebook Page?
Well, it’s super easy, so why not? But more importantly, Facebook usage is skyrocketing, and it’s become one of the most popular social platforms for sharing stuff (links, photos, music, quotes, news, and random nonsense.) Rather than my writing a “Facebook for Dummies” post, you should try it yourself if you haven’t already. Check out these traffic trends (Facebook is blue, MySpace is red):
It’s clear that Facebook is currently crushing the once almighty MySpace, and isn’t close to stopping. As a musician or artist promoting music or art, you need to get plugged in. The Band Page can be used to communicate to fans, manage gig schedules, store video and event info, and other stuff. You can see an example of one by checking out my GarageSpin page.
How Do I Create a Band Facebook Page?
It takes 2 minutes:
- Use your Facebook login to access your account (or create a new one).
- Then go to the Create New Facebook Page.
- Select the 3rd radio button titled “Artist, Band, or Public Figure”.
- Then select “Band” or “Musician” (or whatever applies) in the dropdown box.
- Click on “Create Page”.
- Your Facebook Page now exists. Now pimp it out with stuff. (Note: When you upload your music, you will need to upload a driver’s license or passport photo to verify your ID.)
Facebook Applications: How to Add Music to Facebook
So, maybe you’re not in a band, and you just want to add your favorite music to Facebook. There are some alternative, and pretty cool facebook applications built to let you add music to your personal profile. Facebook apps have been created by a bunch of third party websites. Two great facebook apps are the iLike app and Last.FM app. Be sure to check them out. You’ll need to create an account with any site whose Facebook application or music widget you decide to use.
If you’re in a band, and you want to add your band’s music to your personal profile page, you can do a couple things. Once you create a band Facebook Page, you can add it to your regular Facebook profile’s “Favorites” section. You can also use one of several band Facebook applications, such as the ReverbNation App. iLike’s and Last.Fm’s facebook widgets would also work. Which one you decide to use is your call.
Customize Facebook Profile
Facebook isn’t MySpace; it doesn’t allow much in the way of free facebook layouts, facebook hacks, or the other garbage that plagues MySpace. If you want to play with your band Facebook profile, customise it with the many Facebook applications that exist. There are some ugly apps out there, though, so be careful what you test or activate.
Be Searchable
A quick word about Facebook search optimization. If you have an odd band name or last name, be sure to somehow, somewhere, include multiple versions or spellings of your band’s name so your fans can find it. For example, if your band was named “Facebook” (though I’m not sure why’s you’d do that to yourself), you might want to include variations such as faceboook, facebok, faceboo, facbook, acebook, etc in a little “keyword” section somewhere within your profile.
Unblock With Facebook Proxies
Another quick word, this time for those of you who can’t use Facebook because it’s blocked at school or at work — use one of many Facebook proxies to unblock Facebook. A proxy is usually able to grant you access to your account indirectly, bypassing your school’s or company’s filtering systems.
Go Forth and Conquer
Okay, I rambled waaaay more than I intended to about the ‘Book. Take 2 minutes to create your own page, or add new music to your personal profile. Then, connect with me so we both have more friends and feel more popular.
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Microsoft Songsmith: An Evil App Used for Good
You may have heard of Microsoft Songsmith, a software that generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. (Imagine an 80’s Casio keyboard following your lead with one of its demo sample music styles, like Bosso Nova or Swing or something.) The results are generally chillingly painful. (Is that harsh? Here’s the demo…you decide.)
However, brave soul Johannes Kreidler overcame the inherent evil of the app by composing the cultural masterpiece, The Billion Dollar Song, which quite literally follows stock chart implosions and such with graceful, even upbeat, melodies. This is a must-watch:
So, perhaps we need not fear Songsmith. You can get a free Songsmith download here, and create your own computer generated masterpiece. We’re one step closer to 1984’s prediction…
(Via Hypebot)
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Pics from the Weekend: Rapple and Crappie Derby
I am easily amused by things I see while on long trips…I suppose it’s out of the need to find joy in micro-moments when you’re waiting for time to pass, as the snowy landscape before you replaces the one in your rear view mirror.
Amusing microscene #1: Rapple Gumballs
Hermaphroditic apple-raspberry creatures busting rhymes — you can’t beat that concept. I also think “Rapple” is an incredibly awesome band name, and far, FAR better than “GarageSpin.” I’m unsure what fruit the green dude is supposed to be… (Found on a 25 cent gumball machine at a rest stop on Route 87.)
Amusing microscene #2: Crappie Derby
I normally avoid any event, location, product, or service that is in any way described as being “crappie”. Yet this one requires a $2.00 registration fee. More amusing is the fact that the poster brags about “toilet facilities on ice.” Not for me, thanks. (Seen in Whitney Point, NY.)
Good times, good times.
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New GarageSpin Design Launched - What Do You Think?
At long last, GarageSpin’s much-needed redesign is complete (see the old site screenshots here). Like the Bionic Man, it’s bigger, faster, and stronger than before (the blogosphere will bend to my very will, broo-ha-ha-haaa…). I’m still tweaking some things here and there…but then, that process never really ends, so…what do you think?
Wordpress Plugin-Crazy
Now 100% Wordpress-powered (bye-bye Movable Type), there are quite a few new tools under the hood. For you Wordpress junkies, here’s a list of the plugins I’m using so far: Akismet, All-in-One-SEO Pack, Comment Relish, Dewplayer, Feedburner Feedsmith, Get Recent Comments, Contextual Related Posts, Google Analytics for Wordpress, Official Statcounter Plugin, TellAFriend, Twitter Tools, Wordpress Automatic Upgrade, Wordpress Database Backup, WP-Contact Form: Akismet Edition, and WP-Polls. I’m using Dada Mail for mailing list management. Would you recommend any others?
Next on the To Do List…
I plan to take a break from web design to get back to music over the next couple of months. Some next steps:
- Finish new song “20-20 Foresight”
- Choose between Intense Debate and Disqus comment plugin solutions (ok, it’s not music, but it’d still an important upgrade I need to get done)
- Write a song about Wordpress
- Select a new way to post music (Bandcamp, Soundcloud, or another tool)
Thanks
Big thanks go to Brad, Jesse at iThemes, and Scott for help and advice at different points in the process. All are great guys (and are pros when it comes to Wordpress site design). Also, big thanks to Taylor and Tara for support and encouragement along the way.
What Else??
What does this website need? How can I improve it? Besides the obvious — more music and more posts….
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Cool Stuff I’m Bringing on Vacation
We’re going on vacation (i.e. “Vay-Cay”), and I thought I’d share a few cool things I’m taking with me:
- The book “This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession“…to ponder my pondering-brain…
- A Hohner Chrometta 10 harmonica…’cause I haven’t used it much since I got it a year ago for Christmas…
- The iPhone apps “Beatmaker“, “Noise.io“, and “7 Chords“…to see if I can feed jog the ol’ muse a bit…
- The December and January issues of Wired…so I don’t get too comfortable rolling around in sand, and forget what “cloud computing” and “consumer generated media” mean…
- Two paddles and a paddle ball…cause we love beach paddle ball…
- And a pair of snorkel gear…though I wish Girl Crusade wouldn’t always make me wear the pink mask…
See you in a week!
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QUICK FIX: Corrected RSS Feed
Arrgh..! The feed link I posted about earlier was WRONG. (If you tried it, you probably got an error of some kind.) Here is the corrected feed link — please give it a shot, and let me know if anything funky happens:
A big apology to all GarageSpin subscribers, and a HUGE thanks to Taylor for pointing out my mistake!
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