May 25, 2010

Jango PopScore Top 5

Here's this weeks top 5, check 'em out now, right here !

Artist: Blu Lyon
The estranged son of a well-known Trinidad music family, hip-hop artist Blu Lyon now finds himself in New York, writing, producing, and pursuing a solo career.

Click to hear Blu Lyon:
Call Me Up
Artist: I Hear Sirens
I Hear Sirens is a four member post-rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite shifting lineups early in the project, their DIY attitude and strong appeal to fans have remained intact.

Click to hear I Hear Sirens:
Ashes Fall Like Snowflakes, Burying The Sea
Artist: Cosmogene
Cosmogene is the self-titled debut album of Brooklyn musician Sam Gloor. On it, simple arrangements are composed using sparse layers of glockenspiel, music box, experimental percussion and piano.

Click to hear Cosmogene:
The Last Real Cowboy
Artist: Billy Cross and The High Bridge Band
Billy Cross and The High bridge band was formed in September of 2008 by vocalist and guitar player Billy Cross and instrumentalist Robert Hall. Their music is grounded in traditional country, both poignant & sincere.

Click to hear Billy Cross and The High Bridge Band:
Conscience
Artist: Miily James
Cool and quirky singer-songwriter Miily James hails from the UK, via Australia. Backed by a talented band, her music is a melange of retro, girl-band sing-along pop.

Click to hear Miily James:
Quirky Little Duchess

Last Week's Top PopScore Band Misery Index

Last Week's Top PopScore Band Misery Index has landed themselves on the Billboard 'Top Heatseekers' chart today at # 43 toay with their album 'Heirs to Thievery on Relapse Records

Check their Jango profile HERE

May 24, 2010

New: Updated Geo Reporting


We have just updated the 'Geographic Reports' in the 'Reports Tab' of your artist dashboard. Where before the reports were a solid overview of plays by country and state you can now drill down much deeper into a rich geo-data set.

Primarily now you can view your play stats by country, state and city. This is also broken out by actual play count rather than a % per territory. The best and most actionable data you receive is your 'Song Likes' and 'Fan Count' broken out on these levels as well.

Note: The Geographic report is updated once a day (after midnight EST), so you may notice some discrepancies in numbers from other reports that update more frequently like the 'Play Stats Report' which is updated every two hours.

7 Ways To Improve Your Odds Of Winning A Song Contest

Here's a good read below from We Are Listening's Lior Shamir. Lior always has a good insight into what it takes for artists to get the most out of their promotional activities. Check it out.

1. Look For Clues

Most song contests publish a goldmine of information about their contest judges on their websites. Each judge’s professional profile may contain clues as to what kind of music is most likely to get his or her attention. You can determine what the judges are looking for by checking which artist, publisher, label or music supervisor each judge is presently working with.

2. Look For Patterns
Most song contest websites stream their winners’ songs. If you take the time to listen to a number of the winning songs, you may discover a pattern – a songwriting style, genre or topic – that appears to catch the judges’ ears time and time again. Use this information to your advantage when deciding on a song to submit for the contest of your choice.

3. Write Like A Pro
If you’re including a lyric with your song contest entry, it should not read like a page from a book. Format your lyric so that each section of your song is clearly labeled (e.g. Verse, Chorus, Bridge), use a line space to separate each section of the song, use upper case letters to highlight hooks and new sections only, and don’t include chord changes, notes, or copyright information unless they are specifically asked for.

4. Clean Up Your Act
Your contest submission does not have to be professionally produced but you may be marked down if you’re not hitting your notes, your instruments are out of tune, the band’s not in the pocket, or the recording is inaudible. Make it easy for the contest judges to enjoy your music by eliminating poor performance and unprofessional presentation.

5. Focus On The Song
Song contest judges are professionals. They will not be swayed by awesome production around a mediocre song. When you’re choosing which song to submit for a song contest, focus on the song not the bells and whistles.

6. Put Your Best Foot Forward
A song contest is not a science experiment. Participate in a song contest as if you’re pitching your best material to a label, publisher, music supervisor or event by submitting thoroughly polished songs – not a demo you threw together last night.

7. Do Your Due Diligence
Most song contests cost money to enter. The odds of winning are always going to be stacked against you, much like the odds of getting signed by a major label or publisher. Read the rules, terms and FAQ carefully. Then read them again. Make sure you completely understand what is required of you and take the initiative to contact the contest promoter with questions. Don’t spend your hard earned cash until you’re absolutely sure that you know what you’re getting yourself into. Taking this small extra step will spare you the disappointment of entering the wrong song into the wrong song contest.


About the Author

Lior Shamir is the Managing Director of We Are Listening, a leading international song contest platform for independent artists. We Are Listening has landed their contest winners on the stages of the world’s largest music festivals, placed their songs on internationally syndicated television shows, and secured the most desirable co-writing, publishing and recording opportunities in the business.

5 Great Reasons To Get A Free We Are Listening Account >>



May 20, 2010

New: Have Your Plays Slowed Down?



As always we're working hard here at Jango HQ to make your Airplay experience more effective and functional and on that note you may have noticed the rate which your plays are happening has slowed down. The reason for this is we have introduced a mechanism we call 'Pacing' which determines how fast your allocated play credits are used.

Some of your pacing is still determined by your quantity and choice of artist targets, similars, as well as how many other Airplay Artists have chosen those same targets. There are many more moments for Airplay Artists to be played next to artists like Coldplay, U2, Lady Gaga, Madonna & Jay Z but at the same time many more Airplay Artists choose those targets. Conversely, targeting independent or niche artists means less opportunities for plays but less Airplay Artists choosing those targets. Either way it is always best to target the fan base most likely to be receptive to your music.

With all that in mind we will try and pace your plays as best we can to match your subscription package. In other words - a band that is on a $10/month package will see their plays happen slower than a band on a $100/month package.

Even more exciting is that you will soon be able to turn this pacing on or off right inside your artist dashboard. You will have a choice between 'Normal Pace', meaning the bigger package you have the more plays you receive a day, and 'Fastest Possible' which means we will play your songs as much as we can.

Through all your helpful suggestion e.mails to airplay@jango.com we've heard you loud and clear that this is the number one feature change needed for Jango Airplay right now. We hope this helps make all of your Airplay experiences that much better.

Looking forward, The Juggler

May 19, 2010

A Special Offer From Tunecore

Jango Airplay is always trying to partner with organizations who can
provide something valuable to our users, whether it's festivals, PR
companies, blogs, or whomever. This week we've got digital distribution
pros Tunecore, and they have a great offer for you. Check it out below.










20% off for Jango Customers. Enter the code Jango20 by
May 31st to receive 20% off the purchase of distribution of an
album, single, or ringtone.


Sign yourself. With TuneCore get worldwide distribution of your
music into iTunes, AmazonMP3, MySpace Music and many more. Join
TuneCore artists Nine Inch Nails, Keith Richards, Jay-Z, Drake, Joan
Jett, David Byrne, Beck, Nevershoutnever, Public Enemy, Steve Vai
and thousands more to get heard around the world.

"TuneCore made the process of putting our music out effortless and
transparent." - Jim Guerinot, Manager, Nine Inch Nails

For Your Special Offer - CLICK HERE

May 18, 2010

Jango PopScore Top 5

Hey Folks, here's the top artists on Jango Airplay that had the best PopScore for last week. Some great music here all around so definitely check them out.

Artist: Marie Hines
Nashville based pop singer-songwriter Marie Hines carries an energy that resonates throughout her music. A natural lyricist, Marie sews a colorful patchwork quilt of the experiences and sounds of her youth.

Click to hear Marie Hines:
Wrapped Up In Love
Artist: Misery Index
Misery Index is a Baltimore-based grindcore/death metal band. Their latest release, "Heirs To Thievery" unloads another salvo in the group's charge to the forefront of the international death metal scene.

Click to hear Misery Index:
Theocracy
Artist: Arkid
Arkid is a psychedlic and progressive trance artist hailing from Manchester in the United Kingdom. He makes fresh, detailed music with just a hint of the Goa spirit.

Click to hear Arkid:
Night Pitch
Artist: Eric Dodge
Despite a lifelong passion for music, country artist Eric Dodge only began sharing his talents professionally in 2003. Since then he's shared the stage with Nashville's finest, and recently released the album "Home To Me."

Click to hear Eric Dodge:
The Last Real Cowboy
Artist: K. Davis
K. Davis is an independent hip-hop artist from Booklyn, NY. The emotions in his music are a product of overcoming through faith, ambition, and imagination.

Click to hear K. Davis:
Exposed

May 17, 2010

Willing To Do Whatever It Takes






We ran across a great article today in the Valley Free Press about one of our Airplay Artists called The Willing. Besides having a great story of their own they had some great things to say about Jango Airplay and being able to reach new listeners all around the world.

Check the article HERE

Check their Jango Profile HERE

May 11, 2010

Your Craziest Gig Stories


With Moondance booking wrapped, we've started to think about how tough life on the road can be. A couple of Airplayers had interesting tour stories, but nothing too wild.

So we want to hear from you. What was your craziest gig? Wild fans? Crooked club owners? Horror stories from the road? Share them in the comments of this blog post, and maybe other Airplay bands can learn from your experience.

May 10, 2010

Jango PopScore Top 5

Artist: Seven Cedars
Seven Cedars is a group of friends from Canada who recently decided to try their hand making alternative rock. Single "I Wanted You There" is their first effort, and a very promising one.

Click to hear Seven Cedars:
I Wanted You There
Artist: Eldorado
Critically acclaimed and hailed as one of the top 5 hard rock bands at 2009's Independent Music Awards, Eldorado play ballsy, take-no-prisoners hard rock.

Click to hear Eldorado:
The House Of The 7 Smokestacks
Artist: Travis Rush
Travis Rush is a country artist and entrepreneur from Portland, OR. Priding himself on the integrity of his music, Travis delivers "slice-of-life" songs with honesty and commitment.

Click to hear Travis Rush:
You'll Find Your Way
Artist: The Mouth Of Ghosts
Fusing alternative rock and trip-hop, The Mouth Of Ghosts are a band from London who make moody, textured music, fueled by ragged guitars and distant electronics.

Click to hear The Mouth Of Ghosts:
Hunting Me
Artist: Sky Flying By
Sky Flying By is the solo post-rock project of an artist who would prefer to remain nameless. Shift electronics envelop the listener, while guitars caress.

Click to hear Sky Flying By:
High Wind Advisory

May 5, 2010

Loomis & The Lust - Bright Red Chords - Video

Here's a quick peek at a video from Jango Airplay band Loomis & The Lust called 'Bright Red Chords'. Loomis & The Lust we're recently picked from a handful of Jango Airplay bands to play at this year's Moondance Jam in Walker Minnesota.

They were also recently selected by MTV Iggy as one of the 25 best new bands...check out more on that HERE . There must be something going on with these guys...keep your eyes and ears peeled for more.

May 4, 2010

2 Jango Airplay Bands to Play Moondance

So the final choices are in from our good friends at The Moondance Jam & The Moondance Jammin Country Fest. They've picked one band for each festival out of a great pool of entries right here on Jango. So with no further ado, here they are...

Playing this years Moondance Jam

Loomis & The Lust - Check their profile HERE















And playing The Moondance Jammin' Country Fest

The DeVillebillies - Check their profile HERE

















Have a great time @ Moondance and send us some pics...










Jango PopScore Top 5

And here they are folks, the 5 bands with the best PopScore for last week. Check 'em out !!!

Artist: Ojah (Feat. Denrick)
A Jamaican cultural-reggae artist, Ojah is a potent singer-songwriter, with a musical and social message. His latest release is a benefit track for the people of Haiti.

Click to hear Ojah (Feat. Denrick):
Prayer For The Haitians (Feat. Denrick)
Artist: The Lighthouse And The Whaler
Despite its nautical name, The Lighthouse and the Whaler was born in a Northern Ohio field, during a spontaneous jam between three local musicians.

Click to hear The Lighthouse And The Whaler:
White Days
Artist: Leland Harding III
After years of recording for some of the most talented artists in the Midwest, Leland Harding III has taken his singing, songwriting and musicianship to the other side of the microphone, recently releasing his debut album, "Turn To Me."

Click to hear Leland Harding III:
A Cowboy's Life
Artist: Snake Dove
Snake Dove is a producer and remixer currently based in Houston, TX. Delighting in the blur of technical and musical, his first release is scheduled for late summer.

Click to hear Snake Dove:
Ingmar's Lantern
Artist: Jean Hilbert
Jean Hilbert?s fascination with music began at the age of 6, and has only grown since. An accomplished songwriter and arranger, she continues to write & perform as a solo pianist, and with the group Reflections.

Click to hear Jean Hilbert:
Inside The Night