Just read an excellent article by indie music net label, Eardrums Pop, which nails the key difficulty faced by indie/home/DIY bands and music producers. That of getting feedback on your music. Any kind, at all. From likes and retweets to comments, mentions and honest to god reviews, every single piece of feedback is more greatly valued than you can imagine.
Look, nip off and read EP’s post then come back. I’ve got a proposition.
Okay, so here’s the deal. You know book groups (read/discuss/fall out with the woman who sees 50SoG as actual literature and lifestye manual in one)? How about we get a group of folks together and do the same for DIY pop**. Someone chooses a release – can be a single track, a band ep or a multi-act effort, doesn’t matter, but ideally it should be an act that does not have access to record store distribution. Maybe not even iTunes. Real under the radar stuff. We all go away, have a listen and come back a week or two later, having given it time to sink fully (or become the worst earworm ever), and discuss the songwriting, production, lyrics, whatever.
Obviously, there’s no point in doing this uncritically. So, Marquis of Critsbury rules, but not punches pulled, yeah?
I can host it here as a regular feature unless anyone has a better venue. And will certainly go ahead with it, even if it’s only me.
I suggest we start with one of the Eardrums Pop compilations : Between Two Waves – Second Wave – Volume A. Partly to give a nod to the label that got me thinking about this, and partly because it gives us ten artists to talk about.
So, anyone with me on this? Sign up in the comments.
**I’m sure this has been done before btw, but it can’t hurt to resurrect it, can it?
ayeahmur 
Count me in!
Great idea! Definitely up for this 🙂
*raises hand* Count me in. 🙂
Great idea, I’m in x
Thanks everyone. Good to have a quorum (Yvonne, d’you think your man might be interested?)
I think a two week scheduly thing sounds about right, but for this first one I’m going to suggest three weeks (because a few of us are away at an event in two weeks time). I’ll do a blog post with house rules and expectations to kick it off later on, but for now thanks for being involved.
Sounds awesome!
Hell yeah, I am in.
Cheers guys. I think this possibly has enough traction to be its own site, so I’m going to knock something up and will post here with appropriate links shortly.
might be more useful link for general access to the 1st release, compilation download in different formats as well as to that soundcloud link http://www.eardrumspop.com/2014/05/27/epop037-between-two-waves-the-second-wave-vol-abc/
Sounds fun.
This sounds very much like my sort of thing. I’ve learned so much from participating in February Album Writing Month (www.fawm.org) and 50/90 (http://fiftyninety.fawmers.org) – so I know initiatives like this can really bring benefits. Count me in.
Chris – FAWM. I hadn’t heard of that but if NANOWRIMO exists, I guess it makes total sense. 🙂
Right guys – I’ve set it up as a google community. Should be open to anyone. Let me know if you’ve got a problem with anything.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/115120318657928299948
Sign me up. Love the idea.