While this is, quite obviously, an infomercial style competition designed to get bands to select this blogging software over some of the other sites available, the concept behind it is one which demonstrates a shift in the way a bands success is measured.  These gigs aren’t being booked on how many records are being sold but instead entirely on the way in which a band’s web presence is managed.

In Mike Ragongna’s enlightening article, (Found at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/the-business-of-music-ii_b_527570.html) Panos Panay, the creator of Sonicbids, argues that there is now ‘a class of artists that is completely redefining the way the music business works and the way that music is experienced and discovered.’   This ‘middle class’ has nothing to do with the funds behind the artists but much more to do with the value that they place in their relationship with fans. By considering themselves ‘entrepreneurs,’ using social networks and blogs to increase their profile, these musicians can raise their game into the music business without the help of execs and A&R men taking a cut of their profits.

While WebFest 1.0 may well, for all we know, not even get off the ground, this shift is here to stay.  This concept shows there is plenty of weight in the theory Panay puts forward and that tour bookers are starting to take notice of the power of having a group of seriously engaged fans.  Serious artists are those who ‘make things happen for themselves’ and engage their fans in every way possible.

If you are a musician and would like help engaging your fans through the internet then check out Indigo sky’s dedicated Online Music Promotion website – Indigo Sky Music.

While traditional outlets, such as a great festival booking or a single that catches the attention of Drowned in Sound are still a surefire way to get noticed, what options are there for bands who aren’t quite there yet but want to spread the word as far as possible?

Just like anywhere else, the power of a friends’ voice online cannot be underestimated.  A recent white paper entitled ‘The Influencer: A Consumer Voice With Legs,’ confirmed the concept that online influencers have an ‘inherent’ desire to participate in word-of-mouth recommendations and although that currently still primarily takes place offline, the digital music environment offers a particularly convenient way for these influencers to share the music they are loving online.  A link on a Facebook page, a quick tweet; the power of these cannot be underestimated and the key is to reach out to those powerful voices, the ‘leader of the gangs’ and get them to love your music and more importantly, share it to others who trust their opinion.

While this may not come as a great surprise, what is surprising is how many of these influencers may be hidden away in your own friends list.  If even a small proportion of the thousands of friends sitting on your MySpace page are the kind of people who like to prove they are in the know (and trust me, there will be many,) it takes little more than a simple but personalised recommend a friend campaign to spread the word further than you imagine. The power of the influencers is sitting in your own contact list; it is simply up to you to learn how to use it.

If you’re a musician and you’d like help with your social media campaigns then visit our dedicated Online Music Promotion website – Indigo Sky Music.

It seems that industry insiders believe a shift has already happened with plenty of talk of an ‘investment gulf’ from the major labels who have been choosing to pile these vast sums of money they speak of into a small number of acts in order to guarantee a high success rate.   It was brought up at the UK festivals conference last year that bookers and promoters have been starting to back new artists, on the promise of a performance at their event, simply to ensure the steady flow of talent through the industry, where major record labels have been failing.  While Alison Wenham, chairman of the indie label network WIN, makes a perfectly valid point in stating that ‘artists generally prefer to leave the complex administration…to someone else,’ who that someone is depends entirely on how adventurous you want to be.

Some of the most obvious shows of alternative funding and management models can be seen through schemes such as Slice of the Pie and Pledge Music , where fans choose to pay towards an artist’s release.  While the collapse of Sellaband (albeit apparently temporary) has certainly dented buyer confidence in these models, what is impossible to ignore is the fact that the power is shifting away from the record labels and into the hands of those who will be buying the music.  The latest Facebook trend, the group ‘Storm the Charts,’ coupled with the recent Christmas number 1 uprising suggests that music fans aren’t willing to do what the established protocols tell them they will anymore.   This isn’t a new thing; pop has been very separate from other types of music for a good while now.  But what is different is the phenomenal rise in internet use for well, everything, has meant that they finally have the right platforms to make their voices heard, and on a seriously large scale. As user engagement online becomes increasingly impossible to escape, so too does the concept that anyone involved in the music industry can ignore the views of the consumer and carry on regardless.  Consumers expect more, they expect to have a say and they expect to be involved but what’s more, in many cases, they are more than happy to pay towards the privilege.  They might not be willing to pay for a traditional album in a jewel case but once they are engaged, tell them their favourite artist needs their support and you’d be surprised at quite how quickly that £7.99 can be found.

I think it may be way too early to say the major labels are counting down to their doomsday although those following the EMI situation may beg to differ.  However, the model itself is shifting…no longer can a label spot a band playing in a bar and thrust them off into stardom.  Labels expect more; they want an already engaged fanbase, they want to know what they are getting themselves into- they simply can’t afford to take the huge risks needed to throw that $1 billion behind someone who might end up in the bargin bin two years down the line.  With any of the models, record label or not, fan engagement is going to be the key to success. Like it or loathe it, social networking; twittering, buzzing and commenting, cannot be underestimated.  If you want to be fan funded, you need the fans.  Record label funded? You need to prove that the fans want you and will line the increasingly empty pockets of the major labels.

Huge commercial success is still going to be measured in the same terms for a long time yet.  But for those who aren’t Lady Gaga or the Kings of Leon, the way forward seems to me to be engage your fans, spread your word.  Whether you choose to embrace the modern and go fan-funded or hope to seek out that ever mystical record deal, the support and numbers will open up these doors to you.  You can offer every Pledge reward in the world but if nobody knows who you are, nobody will care and nobody will buy.