Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK has announced that their Columbia Records and RCA Records labels will no longer be accepting physical demos sent in by bands and artists. Instead, they've decided to go the blog route and are now officially asking bands to create blogs to promote themselves by using the Vox blogging platform to write blog entries, upload their music and network with fans. Bands will then have a chance of getting discovered online by either Sony BMG, Columbia Records or RCA Records' A&R reps.
It's very interesting to see that Sony BMG has jumped on to the Music Blog Wagon. Here at BandWeblogs.com we've known how important band blogs are and have been promoting bands and musicians' blogs since January 2005!
But I'm not here to toot my own horn. As far as I'm concerned, Sony BMG - you're preachin' to the choir. Band Weblogs started out as a Band Blog and Music Blog directory and now Guest Music Bloggers have been contributing their band press, music reviews, band stories and music links for greater exposure.
The more free places on the internet that bands and musicians can go to get exposure the better and as I've mentioned recently, band blogs are great marketing tools. The bands that do create a blog at Vox hoping to get discovered by a Sony A&R rep should realize that there will be many more benefits to writing in the blog than just for those particular record labels. The band blogs at Vox are available to anyone who might want to read them which means that they're also great marketing tools for other possibilities and discoveries.
I've created a blog and profile for my band The Babylon Cowboys at Vox which you can find here: http://thebabyloncowboys.vox.com/. I'll be updating the blog with our music and various random thoughts. You never know!
The A&R reps, who also have their own Vox blogs, will be looking for bands that have great music, positive comments, good ratings, lots of friends - basically a lot of buzz and I'm sure that Sony BMG, Columbia Records or RCA Records will be announcing their first Vox blog signing soon.
Chairman and CEO of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, UK & Ireland, Ged Doherty even has a blog at Vox. He's written some interesting blog entries there if you want to read what Ged has to say about the new Sony BMG blog initiative, his experiences with bands and his various thoughts.
Bands can sign up for a Vox blog here:
For more information about Sony go to Sony BMG Music UK
Once you have created your Vox blog and have some songs and entries up, why not come back here to Band Weblogs and tell us all about it!
Register for free and be a Guest Music Blogger at BandWeblogs.com!
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By: Jenny May
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While it seems to be a great thing that Sony and their sublabels are turning more to the web to find talent, we must not forget the underlining reasons why... All the downsizing they have done in the last few years which has reduced the size of their staff & A&Rs and capacity to review all the music they must be receiving.
In addition, as opposed to being a pure web search for web talent (using blogs & social communities), they are trying to push bands to use one particular avenue to be discovered - one type of blog. If you want to be a leader in the digital marketplace, you have to be adaptable to search for talent in whichever new platforms surface themselves and not just be a latecomer to blogs!
That's my 2 cents