The Album Project
Music Reviews Made Simple
Archive for 'Articles'
Do Band’s Need Websites?
Posted on July 4th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles.
I used to be convinced that a band needed a website, but now I’m less than sure. The record labels are the ones running the band’s site 9 times out of 10 and more often than not they only get updated once a quarter. What then is the point?
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Question Of The Day?
Posted on May 30th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles.
Do you prefer for band’s to post videos and updates from the recording studio or would you rather just be surprised when the album comes out?
4 Comments
Thrice Vs. Jon Foreman
Posted on April 16th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles.
Concept records are nothing new but in the last year we’ve had 2 major players release themed albums. Thrice had 4 EP’s based on the elements and Jon Foreman had (will have) 4 EP’s based on the seasons. The question is which do you prefer and who did a better job?
1 Comment
The Heyday Giveaway
Posted on April 13th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles, News.
We’ve talked about The Heyday a lot in the last week(s). Hopefully it will get them signed by a label who will be a good fit for them (maybe The Militia Group or Dog House Records is paying attention). Anyway the whole point of this post is to giveaway the band’s newest self titled record.
Simply leave a comment (about anything) and we will randomly pick one person to win.
Update: Contest is over
Fine print: You must live in the United States, you can only enter once, and you must leave a valid email. Contest ends 11:59pm on 4/16/08
The Album Project 1 Liner for The Heyday - Self Titled
7 Comments
The Truth About Myspace Music Store
Posted on April 5th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles, News.
There has been some press out there about how Myspace will be opening a music store to compete with iTunes and Amazon but not very much seems to mention the downsides of this deal.
Myspace has been one of the primary ways independent artists get their music out there for people to hear. Having a place to upload your own music for people to go and listen to it has been a huge victory over the years. Roughly 30 million, out of 110 million, people use the music features myspace provides.
The downfall seems to be that the major record labels are the ones benefiting and independent artists are getting left out.
The breakdown:
Myspace and major labels will have this music service that they jointly own and can then set prices as well as set royalties (presumably lower). Promotion gets taken care of by Jamba (news corp owned) and eliminates managers and other PR people.
This seems to be kind of like a facorty adding one machine to do the work of 5 people, and then laying those 5 people off. There are defniietly arguments for every side but chances are this deal won’t be so hot.
Sources: The Register, USAtoday
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Quarterly Review
Posted on April 5th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles.
So it’s April about we’re a quater through the year of music releases. This has been the best year in recent memory for so much good music.
Some of the top releases from the past 4 months would have to be…
- The New Frontiers - Mending
- Edison Glass - Time Is Fiction
- Jon Foreman - (Winter and Spring)
- The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
With some other memorable ones being…
- Search/Rescue - The compound
- The Matches - A Band In Hope
- Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces
- Moving Mountains - Pneuma
Which are some top albums for you for the year that have already come out and which ones are you still looking forward to?
1 Comment
Delirious: Kingdom of Comfort Give Away
Posted on April 1st, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles, News, Updates.
Delirious has a new record, Kingdom of Comfort, coming out April 1st and we are giving away a copy of the album.
Update: Contest is over
Rules: Leave a comment with your favorite Delirious song. One person will be randomly picked on April 2nd.
Fine Print: One entry per person, blah blah blah, The contest ends midnight on April 1st. You do have to live in the U.S., and please leave a valid email as well.
9 Comments
Conspiracy Theory #1: Labels Leaking Fake Albums
Posted on March 31st, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles, News.
Simply for the sake of thought or conversation I’ll throw out a conspiracy theory.What if a label wanted to promote a newer band or artist and to get a word of mouth movement, what would be an effective way of doing that?
What if a label leaked the new bands album under a different, high profile bands name, faking the early leak of an anticipated album?
If no press is bad news. Then any promotion must be good promotion, right?
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Too Much Music At Once?
Posted on March 21st, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles.
Buying music is something that people tend to have certain rituals or habits associated with. Whether buying the physical disc or music that is digital there are particular styles of how people do it.
Some people are the “grab-alls”, which simply means that whatever they happen to find while browsing they will be getting. I am not this type of consumer, but that may just be because I can’t afford that way of consuming music. Another type of person is the “one at a time” person who almost only goes to a music store (brick and mortor or online) because they have something in mind that they want. I tend to fall closer to this type of person and that’s because I love getting a CD and giving my attention to that disc alone rather than having acouple I have to chose between. The last big stereo typical music consumer would be the “once in a blue mooner” who probably buys only 1 album a year for one reason or another. Although stating the obvious, I don’t fall close to being that person, nor do I really understand them.
There are a lot of ways people buy music, what is your style?
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PlayRadioPlay! Give Away!
Posted on March 17th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles, News.
The Album Project is very pleased to offer you our very first contest give away. Personally I hate these because I never win but we’ll make it easy, simply leave a comment about which song you would want to see PlayRadioPlay! cover someday, and you will be entered into the contest. We’ll randomly pick two winners to receive the new album ‘Texas’ as well as some posters. (P.s. the odds are in your favor)
Update: contest over.
Read the full review of ‘Texas’
6 Comments
Hyped Just Alittle?
Posted on March 15th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles, News.
So incase some of you haven’t been following, Panic At The Disco and Lyida will both be releasing albums soon and to say there has been a bit of hype for each would be an understatement. Does the hype ruin a record or help it?
I love finding out that an album is coming out this week, or one I missed and it is already out because then I don’t have to wait for it. When a band announces it months and months in advance and then posts every week about the progress sometimes the anticipation outweighs the results and an album that may actually be decent gets put aside because it isn’t as great as I thought it would be.
Any thoughts?
2 Comments
Fantasy Record Label
Posted on March 10th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles, News.
There is fantasy football, and baseball as well as every other sport but what about creating a fantasy record label?
Objective: Choose up to 5 unsigned bands that you would sign if you had a record label. The bands you choose should ones that you think will be signed to actual record labels. The objective is to scout out bands and gain points for each correct pick.
Rules: You can have up to 5 bands at a time, to sign another one you’ll need to drop one. Points will be gained if the band you’ve picked ends up signing to an indie or major label within 3 months of you signing the band to your fantasy label.
Points: The points mean nothing, and are simply used to keep score which again, means nothing.
Leave your picks in the comments…
3 Comments
Artist Spotlight: Trevor Hall
Posted on January 20th, 2008 by Tyler, under Articles.
Why do you need to know about Trevor Hall? Deep, strong, raspy vocals bring the songs stories through the speakers with a gripping desperation that is different than most mainstream stuff out there right now.
What music and style is Trevor Hall? The main style and instrument is Acoustic, although there is a mix of rock, reggae, and blues which just brushes the surface.
Where can you hear some stuff from the artist? Myspace, Official Site
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2008 Predictions
Posted on December 31st, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
Below are just some fun predictions on the bands/artists that will make it big or disappear in 2008, as well as how the music industry will change.
Unsigned in 2007 who will get signed in 2008
1) Stacy Clark
2) Jeff Caylor
3) Your Sweet Uncertainty
Band’s that will break up/go on hiatus
(I really don’t want this)
1) Copeland
2) Sherwood
3) Mxpx
2 Comments
2008 Expectations
Posted on December 25th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
Usually as 2007 whines down the music releases it takes a month or two for them to whined back up again with the end of February really kicking off the musical year. 2008 looks to switch it the norm a bit with Number One Gun releasing an album in the middle of January Jet Lag Gemini and The Mars Volta also releasing their record in the first month. [Click on to read the entire article]
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The Integrity Of Music Reviews
Posted on December 13th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
There has been some controversy going around lately with the integrity of video game reviews because of the recent firing of a CNET employee. Obviously The Album Project is strictly music but it brings up the point about who can you trust, who is being paid to write good reviews to sell records?
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Best Albums Of 2007
Posted on December 10th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles, News, Updates.
The Album Project has been around for a little over 4 months and continues to grow tremendously. I really appreciate all the support the site has gotten thus far. Below you will find some facts about the site for 2007 along with what everyone wants to know, the best albums of 2007. Everyone will have their own opinions so let us know your top 10 album list in the comments.
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Stop Re-Releasing Albums
Posted on December 6th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
A popular trend developing has been to re-release an album 6-12 months after it originally comes out. This is has been going on for a long time I’m sure but seems to have become even more popular recently. As a music consumer who actually buys music it makes me sick to see record labels seemingly trying to cash in on consumers like this.
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Music Impulse Buys
Posted on November 7th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
Everyone has impulsively bought something at one time or another whether it be an electronic toy, clothes, music or food so I know this topic will met with, if nothing else, understanding. Music is my weak spot when it comes to spending money because being able to find anything you want on iTunes or Amazon.com and buy any cd at 3 am, and then have it right then is dangerous for a music lover trying to save money.
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Response to ‘Getting Music Bloggers to notice you’
Posted on October 20th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
I came across an article that was titled “10 Ways To Get Music Bloggers To Notice You” and of course it caught my attention. I would like to respond to some of the points though, some good and others not. Check out the article below.
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[Beginners] Guide to Bit Rates
Posted on September 24th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
Have you ever been, or are you confused by audio bit rates? Does the word “Bit Rate” kind of scare you? Well this is just a brief dive into seeing what it is and how it affects you as a digital music consumer.
1 Comment
Writing Reviews…Harder Than It Looks
Posted on September 14th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
It can be a daunting task to take an album, that a band most likely poured a lot of themselves into and tell people it’s no good and not to buy it. In the same way not everyone is cut out to be in a band, not everyone or anyone is able to be the one to judge music for the masses, Simple as that.
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Who Pre-Orders CD’s?
Posted on September 10th, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
Does anyone pre-order music albums? I always see advertisements for album pre-orders and sometimes am interested in purchasing them but rarely, if ever, do. I have a feeling most people don’t either but why is that, and is there something better that could be done?
3 Comments
Music Reviews, Do They Even Matter?
Posted on September 2nd, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
Do reviews matter? I guess an even better question would be do music reviews even matter.
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Radio Single’s and How They Get Chosen
Posted on August 23rd, 2007 by Tyler, under Articles.
How does a radio single get picked from a group of songs on a CD? Haven’t you ever wondered how the record labels pick the songs that represent and sell an album?
