Archive

Remember: Participate in Focus Groups and Invite Fans!

Posted by Mike McCready | February 25th, 2011 | No responses

Music Xray is building a database of music fans. When you invite fans, we pay you more for the focus groups in which you participate. We pay you even more again when those you invite actually sign-up with a fan account.

Just log in to your artist account and click the button that invites fans. Enter the email address (or import the addresses) of those you’d like to invite and click the button.

The more fans we collectively bring to the site, the richer the experience will be for everyone!

 

Log in to invite fans

How Artists are Making it Happen on Music Xray!

Posted by Mike McCready | February 24th, 2011 | 1 Response

 

In the 90 days from February 1st to April 30th over 1550 songs and acts were signed or placed via Music Xray. And we’re just getting started!

 

The truth about the current music business is that there are more opportunities at the fingertips of independent artists/musicians than there has ever been in the past. Companies like Music Xray are making it easier for music industry professionals and their companies to tap into the talent pool of independent acts without becoming overwhelmed. Still, it can feel to an artist like they’re roaming around in the dark, unsure if they will find a deal and unsure of how to get it done.

While there is no one formulaic way to success, we’re starting to see an increasing number of success stories emerge on Music Xray and I’d like to share the stories of two artists and how they each got it done differently.

When you’ve got something good – submit, submit submit!!

Mary Sarah is a talented teenager from Texas. She began submitting on Music Xray about 7 months ago. She submitted to some of the top producers who were offering detailed feedback, song critiques and career coaching. Each of these people were impressed with what they heard. Some of them passed the music on to people they knew. All of them wrote stellar critiques and as always, the industry professionals on the site rated the music for Music Xray’s back-end statistics (keep reading. You’ll see why that’s important).

Then, once she knew that the music she had recorded was standing up to tough scrutiny, she began submitting her songs to all sorts of opportunities: label deals, management deals, sync license deals, exposure opportunities on blogs and more.

Finally, she was spotted by Nan Cassidy on Music Xray, an artist developer based in Nashville together with Sharon Dennis of Dennis Management. When they heard Mary Sarah they knew there was something there. Right on Music Xray, they were able to see Mary Sarah’s stats via statistics from Next Big Sound. They could see that Mary Sarah’s Twitter, Myspace and Facebook followings were growing. Lastly, they were able to look at Music Xray’s back end statistics and that’s when they knew.

One of Mary Sarah’s songs had been submitted to industry professionals on the site 38 times and it had received an average of a 4 star (out of five) rating on every measured attribute (composition, arrangement, performance, production & hit potential).

That is the power of collective A&R!! Thirty-eight industry professionals had heard and LOVED Mary Sarah’s music but none of them had opted to (or been able to) offer her a deal. But they had taken the time to listen and rate her music because Music Xray had made that possible and due to that, Nan and Sharon were able to feel even more confident that their instincts were spot on. Nan and Sharon signed Mary Sarah to a management deal and now she’s on her way in Nashville. Subsequently, Maray Sarah won a $50,000 promotional marketing campaign from Musicati based on yet another submission.

Target opportunities like a sniper.

Grand$un is a hip hop artist from the New York area who has written and produced a couple yet-to-be hit songs. They are really good. He doesn’t have a big budget to invest so he watches Music Xray’s opportunities closely and instead of taking the shotgun approach that Mary Sarah did, he sits back and makes sure each opportunity is as close a match as possible for his songs. He submits only when he reads of an appropriate opportunity or if his songs are matched to an opportunity via Music Xray’s song to opportunity matching system (S2O).

He has secured a few opportunities but nothing that blew the doors off the hinges for him. But then, it happened and he was signed to a one-album deal at Orpheus/Fontana (Universal). You just never know when it’s going to happen. Grand$sun added, “I couldn’t have done it without Music Xray”.

In both cases, both artists were given a lot of validation by professionals on the site who told them they had what it takes to make it. That’s why, if you’re not getting deals on Music Xray, you should be getting as much professional feedback as possible. It could lead directly to a deal but at the very least you will learn how close to a deal you are, your song will accumulate data within Music Xray’s statistics back end that other professionals can see (as in the case of Mary Sarah) and you will learn what you need to do to make it happen.

You’re invited to Music Xray – What is it?

Posted by Mike McCready | February 23rd, 2011 | 2 Responses

Music Xray is where thousands of music industry professionals conduct A&R in complete transparency.

We had some extra marketing money this week so we just thought we’d give it directly to you. So, for a limited time, when you open an artist account on Music Xray, this is what you get:

 

1. Free uploading and/or importing of your music.
2. Free song to opportunity matching.
3. A free credit to get you started (enough for one submissions to one major label).
4. A free focus group conducted on your music (we’ll pay 25 people to provide feedback on your music).
5. Guaranteed feedback on every submission.
6. Guaranteed response time (or your money back).



Everyone Gets a Free Focus Group!

Posted by Mike McCready | February 21st, 2011 | No responses

Starting RIGHT THIS INSTANT at Music Xray, everyone gets a free focus group to get real fan feedback on their music.

 

    1. Log in to your artist account.

    2. Navigate to “Focus Groups” and then to “start new focus group”.

    3. Choose the song you want to test in your focus group.

    4. Check the box at the bottom of the page that says, “Free focus group of 25 participants”.

    5. Click the PayPal button. YOU WON’T BE CHARGED.

Check in on the results each day to see them arrive (you will get an email once the all results are in).

 

If you don’t yet have an account, just click the sign-up button to the left to get started for free. Keep all your rights. Keep all your revenue on deals you get. No strings! No catches!

Download the full Musicians’ User Guide here

 

Songs Selected Every Day on Music Xray!

Posted by Mike McCready | February 16th, 2011 | No responses

Not a day goes by that songs and acts aren’t selected for opportunities on Music Xray. Some days the number of selected songs and acts is in the several dozens.

Be sure to check out the success stories on the site for just a few of the great opportunities being fulfilled through Music Xray.

In recent days, companies like Fuel TV, Universal Pictures, Island Def Jam and others have begun sourcing music via Music Xray. Some of these opportunities can only be found on the site if your songs are matched to the opportunities. The only way to get your songs automatically matched to opportunities is by uploading them (or having us import them for you) for free. Make sure your entire catalog is in Music Xray’s database.

 

Feedback on EVERY Music Xray Submission

Posted by Mike McCready | February 8th, 2011 | No responses

Up until recently, when song owners made submissions on Music Xray they would be notified when their song was listened to by the industry professional they submitted to but then would not hear anything further unless the professional wished to pursue the matter. Exceptions were made when musicians submitted to a professional who was explicitly offering feedback or career coaching.

Starting a few days ago however, we launched a feature whereby industry professionals don’t simply click a button to acknowledge they received and listened to the song, rather they now either “Select”, “Place on Hold” or “Not Select” a song for an opportunity, in which case they provide a reason or reasons for their decision not to select a song or artist.

I know this seems like the natural or normal thing to do in the day and age of web 2.0 but let’s not kid ourselves. Many emerging artists are too young to remember the days when labels, publishers and the like would not even accept unsolicited material. In my day, you’d send your demo tape or CD to a label and most likely you’d never know if it even arrived, let alone get any acknowledgement that your music had been listened to.

Getting guaranteed feedback from top A&R executives, program directors, music supervisors and more is a watershed for musicians and song owners and I am proud that Music Xray is again the first to make something like this a reality.

Music Xray: Get Deals or Get Better

Posted by Mike McCready | February 1st, 2011 | 3 Responses

Music Xray

Music Xray: Good, Better, Best

In short, that’s what Music Xray is about. If you’re not getting deals on Music Xray you may want to consider submitting to a professional for a song critique or some career coaching; or doing a focus group for your song, Music Xray’s latest feature.

 

Of course no on likes rejection and even The Beatles got turned down more than once. It’s just part of the process. But, if you’re consistently not being chosen for deals on Music Xray, you need to find out why.

 

There are now more than 1100 music industry professionals on Music Xray, all eager to hear your music. Open a free account. We’ll match your songs to opportunities for free so you know who is seeking music like yours. Then, you make it happen.