Just checking to see if any of you that have some IT/web background might be willing to help me with a little project for this site. One thing this I’ve wanted to add for some time is the ability for members to be able to keep member’s songs/projects on the forum in an organized fashion. Maybe break it down by genre, etc. Many of you have posted your finished (or unfinished) songs on here, so I’d like to start centralizing a spot on here for others to enjoy the work! (not just as forum posts, if that makes sense)
Anyway, if any of you would be interested in discussing this further and have some ideas (and the ability to help), please reach out to me.
Thanks!
I can’t really help from the technical side, but it is a great idea.
I’ve always thought the site should compile some of the music on here and present it on some of the streaming platforms to help gain interest. I’m sure there could be some legal snags, but a yearly “Best of Indie Recording Depot” album would be a lot of fun.
If it were a traditional office with a standard set of files or records, yeah, I could keep things uber organized and readily accessible with a minimum of flirting with the office girls during work time but, yeah, a miss with me there on tech for sure and for certain, but, I got ideas in the overwhelming amount to where folks are getting hospitalized after listening to them over and over, over the course of a horrendous lifetime’s worth of knowing and not knowing me. I could send a resume anyways but I’d probably get on your nerves real quick like because well yeah I ramble and not just in type and print but just sit with me a share a pint, well, not a pint between us in one glass because that would be kinda weird, but, yeah, we don’t actually call them pints over here in Canuckville, well, I don’t anyways because I don’t drink beer on tap! Eww! Gross. Beer should only be served in a bottle that has been chilled just to the point of being frozen. Whadda we talking 'bout?
I would suggest that anything like that should require an opt-in by the IRD member posting their music. That would add some complexity to the process, but would be essential to respect anyone’s privacy who doesn’t want their work published elsewhere without their permission.
A few years back there was some coding magic done to hide the Backstage category from the main screen, unless you opted in to that (which many people couldn’t figure out), which effectively killed off meaningful discussions there. And perhaps led to the decline in forum participation you have seen over that time. Social media can be messy and ugly, but it’s what many people want, and drives their participation. “Comedy & Tragedy” as my avatar points out. The music without the social part gets old pretty quickly.
That said, you could perhaps focus on expanding the “bookmark” capability on the site - which pales in comparison to how it worked on RecordingReview.com! I understand that Brandon Drury did custom .php coding to make that happen most likely, but perhaps the Discourse forum software offers more options? Let people select categories for their bookmarks, or compile playlists, which could then be shared with the forum? Or create a new forum category to publish “the best of the best” or something like that.
All that said, I don’t think great ideas get much traction without making the forum environment fun and compelling - even addictive! While I don’t encourage addiction of any kind, I used to log onto both RR and IRD almost daily to see the next outrageous or inspiring thing that might be posted, that would challenge or interest me. I think some people call it “culture”, some companies call their brand “company culture”, define who you are and what you represent. “Things go better with Coke”, “Nike - just do it!”, etc. Gimmicks only go so far, but buffoonery fuels careers! Just look at the band KISS.
To get more people involved, the content could include mix contest winners, so the artist and the producer/engineer would grant permission to IRD by entering the contest. If you needed more content quickly to get started you could go back through the archives for content and see if a few people would like to remix.
If you put relatively short time limits on the contests you could direct listeners back to the site for written descriptions of how the mix was done.
Wowzers, this went sideways quickly. I’m reading back through my post trying to understand how I didn’t word it correctly. I’m just looking for a way for artists to post their own music in a more organized fashion. This may involve integrating with a separate site entirely. It certainly doesn’t require anyone’s “permission”. If they add their music, they are granting their own permission. There will not be an IRD ‘greatest hits’, or any sort of compilation. It’s simply a way for people to come and check out what is shared in an easy to view/sort fashion. That was it.
I’m quite skilled at taking things off into tangents, if that played a role.
I guess that begs the question: “Why do you want to do this?” What’s the objective? In the past, you have spoken of ideas to bring in new members to the forum. Is this one of those type of things? The BTR category is there for anyone who wants to peruse it and listen or comment. That’s the organic method that has seemed to work for over a decade during the collective history of RR/IRD. If you’re wanting to build something where people will add their stuff to it, maybe ask if they even want that?
I have to say, frankly, that I still don’t get it. What’s the objective? What’s the goal? Do forum members want this? My comment on the tech part is, yeah, tech does play a role in making things work effectively on a forum, but the key attribute of a forum (IMO) is building a culture where people are attracted to it because it’s fun/interesting/exciting. Those are mostly non-tech items, they are social culture items. “Build it and they will come” type of scenario.
Personally, as I mentioned in my comments earlier, the forum lost some relevance when the off-topic Backstage threads were discouraged. Music is life, and life is music. That means it’s bigger than just song composition and mix technique. It’s what are the songs about! What’s happening in the world, the human condition? If artists aren’t discussing those types of things, there’s not as much culture happening. I understand that some folks only want to check in for the music, but I’d guess many others want to talk with people they know here, and especially get viewpoints on things happening around the world “first hand” rather than news sites. Companies almost always fail when they only focus on “the bottom line” and “metrics”. The successful ones know that their key asset is people, and they do everything they can to build the culture that helps the people thrive.
Just re-posting here from a post on another site, in case it might come in handy for something like this:
How it works:
1 - Login with google
2 - Add your custom url => musicwall.app/yourname
3 - Paste the Spotify or YouTube Links of the projects you’ve worked on
4 - Add the roles you did in those projects (producer, musician, mixer, mastering)
5 - Thats all!, you can share your profile with ease (some producers friends of mine and me just paste it on the instagram description so people can see all projects with one click)
I understand that this might be ideal for the techno/nerd type mentality that wants to capitalize on all things digital, but it’s the anti-thesis for those of us who don’t want to be tracked by Google/Disgracebook/Instagram Tech Lords and AI bots.
These abominations have already enslaved many of us with their data collection schemes. When will it end? Only when they own your soul with digital ID surveillance and New World Order agendas! Take “the chip” man, and just be done with it. Let them rule your life!
Yes, they make it easy and so convenient. Surprise? They want all your info so they can track you! They make it as easy as possible. Does that not raise questions? You’re being lured into the Metaperverse of digital slavery. You may not see it now, of course not, but one day they will own your soul through your own digital compliance. Everything is tracked through the digital signatures. Wake up people!
“There’s a sucker born every minute” — P.T. Barnum
This is awesome! I’m going to check this out right now. I was thinking of ways to utilize something along these lines and perhaps combine with tags that would include genre for sorting. Thanks for digging into this!
I’ve referred to it as FakeBook but I like yours much more!
Artists need a Gate Keeper otherwise old Heck and all Hell breaks loose and the intention to attract the non artist buying public is lost and abandoned in the overwhelming swell of music both good and bad or, potentially easily popular vs the obviously acquired taste.
Artists themselves cannot be the Organizer nor should they be running the show, it’s like when a President or a Prime Minister gives themselves a raise when their Performance Evaluation hasn’t yet been taken up with their Employers.
When I first came across this post I thought Radio but you got one, right? To attract “them” not in our world, the Radio needs to be manned or womanned and the Rotation needs Curation.
So. As long as “they” are not riffling through my underwear basket in some sick fantasy or collapsing my bank account… everything that is, is being looked at, examined, sometimes repackaged and remarketed so someone somewhere can spy on it printed on some paper and ponder.
What is being “sold”, you don’t have to buy but being in the Market that we are, you cannot force what you want nor think should be… you’d be infringing on my sought out World Emperor title and that we cannot have, your doorbell will ring in… 3… 2… 1
Although I am fairly certain I would eventually regret saying it but, I wouldn’t mind the Paparazzi tailing me to every toilet stall to keep my scent strong in their ever attempt to catch a rare glimpse of me doing something brilliant or stupid. I love being on stage and if for the career being on stage is showing off while I grab the newspaper off my porch every morning in my loosely fastened bathrobe, well gosh dang it, I’ll do it!
And then there’s “Metaperverse”, which I believe I invented. Both, of course, are products of the creative mind of Mark Schmuckerberg.
It’s challenging to wear multiple hats, but I prefer artists managing themselves, to corporatocracy telling artists what to do with their talents. Great things were achieved during the Golden Age of major record labels, due to the financial aspect and marketing/distribution, but now … that only results in watered-down nonsense IMO. What used to be cutting-edge musical “avant-garde”, has now become Illuminati whore-mongers.
You don’t have to be an artist for that to happen, just a member of Congress. I don’t know what to call it, but the “fame” route doesn’t really seem worth it. Those who “made it” at least had mixed feelings. If you can make an impact with the least drama, that can sometimes turn out to be a cool thing. For example, the band Rush. You can’t escape the drama and publicity aspect, but you can minimize it.
Yeah, probably. You make a good point. While I must have presumed IRD to be a lonely truck stop on the Interwebs, your ‘admission’ (?) suggests that it’s filled with the same Big Tech spyware as everywhere else. Where there’s a ‘web’, there’s a spider. I only suggest minimizing such interactions. I can say I have tried and tried, and had some success, but you’re only going to escape the spider by going totally off-grid … if even then.
Where are folks currently posting their songs? I’ve used Soundcloud in the past, but with a new CD I am looking to put online I am wondering what alternatives there are. For me the most important characteristics are: (1) the site does not mess with the loudness of my songs - I want to control my own lufs; (2) my fans (all three of them) should be able to do a search of the site under my name and find my songs (categorized by album) and download them (or just stream them) without logging in, registering, or giving their email address or any other personal information; and (3) the site is funded not by the musicians but by banner advertisements that appear while folks are browsing songs and downloading.
As an audio engineer, i usually post my client’s material on Youtube for them to hear it as anyone would on that popular media site.
I make sure it is always on the private or unlisted programming so the artist has total control of who views their product.
Yes, YouTube is like the world TV station or radio station with the ability to render your music private or public. That’s a big plus for songwriters wanting to privately display their unfinished or unsigned work to their peers.
I have several artists on my personal YouTube account, and none of them know of the other music being privately uploaded.
As far as sonic quality, none of the popular sites will give you anything spectacular sounding outside of their file size limitations.
The best one can hope for, all things being equal is for the artist to master their music at the best
quality resolution their equipment can handle and let the hosting site’s algorithms do their thing.
Thanks.
The music without the social part gets old pretty quickly.
… I’ll just retreat back to my Faraday cage then…
I don’t know what to call it, but the “fame” route doesn’t really seem worth it. Those who “made it” at least had mixed feelings. If you can make an impact with the least drama, that can sometimes turn out to be a cool thing. For example, the band Rush. You can’t escape the drama and publicity aspect, but you can minimize it.