The Music Xray Blog
technology enhanced identification of high potential songs & talent
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Tip of the week – Check out the new way to browse opportunities on our site

Posted by Mike McCready | February 24th, 2010 | No responses

We’ve made some changes to the site to make things easier. See the new way to browse opportunities here: http://www.musicxray.com/artist/categories

Tip of the Week:Set up your own drop box on Music Xray to begin accepting song submissions from other artists

Posted by Mike McCready | February 16th, 2010 | No responses

Set up your own drop box on Music Xray to begin accepting song submissions from other artists.

Use the submissions to evaluate songs to feature on your blog or other websites, your local radio station, or even provide song critiques in our soon-to-open “artist-to-artist critiques” section. Read how to set your self up here: http://www.musicxray.com/blog/accepting-song-submissions-on-music-xray-is-easy.html

Invite Other Artists to Music Xray to Get Some Free Submissions & Exposure on Our Home Page

If in the next three days you invite at least 10 new artists to try Music Xray we will give you a promo code that will remove the transaction fee from any submission on Music Xray.

Additionally, you make money when those artists conduct transactions on our site and the artist who earns the most between now and the 15th of March will be featured on the front of our site and thereby exposed to every industry professional who uses Music Xray.

We make it easy so click here to get started. You only have until the end of day on Friday!

How to Use Music Xray to Know if You Have a Hit Song and Potentially Get Signed in the Process

Posted by Mike McCready | February 13th, 2010 | No responses

There are few better indicators as to the future success of a song or artist than how industry insiders react to your music. These are the people who are

trained to (and make a living by) knowing whether money can be made with a song or an artist. They aren’t always right. But it’s their job and they do it

more consistently than anybody else.

We’re building this company because we saw a need for artists to be able to get quick and inexpensive feedback on their songs from people who make

music their business. It’s hard to access these people. Let’s face it. Most people will spend a lot of time and money trying to get their song into the hands

of people who can truly help them get to the next level.

So, if I had a couple new songs this is how I’d use Music Xray to find out if I have a hit.

I would submit them to 5 or 6 top music industry people to get some real, pure, objective feedback. If most of the feedback is positive you know you’ve

got something hot on your hands. If the general consensus is that your song needs some work, then you’ll get some valuable feedback from people who

aren’t easily accessible and who really know their stuff. You can use the feedback to make adjustments to your work and get more feedback.

For example, let’s say I have a pop act with a couple really good tracks. I would submit the first song (the best one) for a critique and coaching to a few

guys that know the space (for example):

Alex Greggs

Jeff Blue

Jeff Bova

Alex Forbes

Brian Hardgroove

and Peter Rafelson

Keep in mind that each submission enables you to send a note to the industry professional so write a short introduction (not your whole bio and

everything. That goes somewhere else.) and then ask the questions you most want answered.

What do you think of the song itself?

What do you think of the production and the arrangement?

Where would you make improvements?

What do you think about this song’s and this artist’s viability?

Then, wait a few days for the answers.

Once each of them has answered, you submit your next song. In the message section you remind the industry professional who you are and that they just

critiqued your previous song. Then, you ask your follow-on questions.

Can you give me feedback on this song similar to the way you gave me feedback on the previous one?

Do you like this artist enough to see a place for her in any projects you know of?

Where do you think I should take this song next?

Now, that’s a pretty inexpensive and fast way to really and truly know how my song is likely to do in the market. And who knows? I might get signed in the

process. Each of the people I will have just accessed are people who aren’t likely to pass up a sure deal.

Oh, if others say my song is pretty good but I still don’t get a deal, I’d consider submitting it to The

Music Umbrella. They license and place a lot of songs and they don’t seem to let too many good ones go by.

Lastly, whether you’re submitting already created Music Xray Song Presentation Packs or you are just uploading MP3’s be sure to go back and fill in as

much information on your presentation pack as possible. Industry professionals like to be able to see everything in one place. If you upload MP3’s for your

submissions you will receive an email explaining how to fill out your presentation packs. You can also check our FAQ section.

Good luck. I look forward to hearing your success stories.

How Music Bloggers can Prevent Google Blogocide 2010 from Happening Again

Posted by Mike McCready | February 13th, 2010 | No responses

Hey everyone we have been watching the issue with Google taking down the music blogs. They have been calling it the blogocide 2010 and we are not

happy to see it happy either. We suggest that bloggers use our drop box to more effectively accept requests for new music that they can then play

directly from music xray site. This is all free to do and you can read more here on how to do it:

Accepting song submissions on Music Xray is easy

Whether you’re a Grammy-winning producer, a music blogger, a label or just a guy with a website, you can begin using Music Xray to accept song

submissions. With your free dropbox you have the following options:

  • Accept submissions completely free (100% free for you and your submitters).
  • Charge a submission fee.

  • Donate any percentage of your fee to charity.
  • Promote your opportunities/your dropbox on your own websites and through social networks.
  • We promote many of the new opportunities to thousands of artists (we make sure they're real).

If you are posting songs you’ve received we have a couple different options. Like this or like this.
If you want to open a drop box click here and log in under Music Industry Professionals.

Tip of the Week:Invite other artists to try Music Xray and earn money when they conduct transactions on the site

Posted by Mike McCready | February 12th, 2010 | No responses

Invite other artists to try Music Xray and earn money when they conduct transactions on the site. Here’s how:

1. Log in as an artist on the right side of the page here: http://submit.musicxray.com/login
– Note: You must use a third party account (Facebook, Google, Yahoo etc).

2. On your dashboard you will see a button enabling you to invite other artists (it will even give you the option to import your contacts)

3. Send the invitations. Your earned balance will be reflected in real time on your dashboard. We pay you through PayPal.

Music Xray is one of the fastest growing sites for musicians and word is spreading fast. Position yourself to make some extra cash just for being among the first wave of artists to discover our service.

Tip of the Week:Find out if your songs have what it takes

Posted by Mike McCready | February 2nd, 2010 | No responses

Find out if your songs have what it takes. Check out the easiest and fastest way to truly know your music’s potential and potentially get signed in the process.

Read about it here.

Fix My Mix: Lets Talk About Your Song’s Mix: Hakim Callier
Hakim Callier is a mix engineer and music producer based in New York City. He graduated from the Institute of Audio Research (NYC) and has mixed records by Kristin Hersh, Jeff Caylor and Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band.

He is offering free mix consultation services until July 27, 2010. During this time he will review your submissions and discuss them with you them from the mix’s perspective. We will discuss any questions you may have on:

The Sounds (your sound selections and making them bigger)
The Trends (common trends in you musical genre)
The Story (how the mix should match the song)
The Freshness (keeping the mix fresh and interesting)
The Space (height, depth and width)
The Lead (the most important voice/instrument in the song)
The Scene (this refers to the mood, and character of the mix, vintage, modern, etc.)
The Big Picture (pulling it all together to grab the listeners attention)
Hakim says, “I am looking forward to discussing these very important elements with you about YOUR song’s MIX .”

Tip of the Week:Please vote for Songs of Love Foundation to receive $1m

Posted by Mike McCready | January 19th, 2010 | No responses

Dear all,

Please vote for Songs of Love Foundation to receive $1m

By next week many of the music industry professionals on Music Xray will be donating part or all of their submission fees to one of many worthy charities we will make available. We are reminded this week by the tragedy in Haiti of just how important it is to be generous to those in need. For years we have admired the work John Beltzer is doing at the Songs of Love Foundation and now, if Songs of Love receives the most votes, Chase Bank will make a $1m donation to this very worthy cause. All it takes is your vote. You don’t even have to make a donation.

Please follow the instructions below to vote – and then please come back to this email to see all the great new opportunities that just arrived on Music Xray.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Login to your Facebook Account (skip this if already signed into Facebook)
2. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/winonemillion.
3. If prompted, click on the “Allow” button.
5. Click on the button “Become a Fan”
6. Click on the button “Vote for Charity”
7. You’ve done it! You will see a “Thank you for voting” message. Please publish your vote to spread the awareness across Facebook.

Mike McCready
CEO
Music Xray

Tip of the Week:Get a professional song critique

Posted by Mike McCready | January 12th, 2010 | No responses

Get a professional song critique.

You probably notice that some of the opportunities (and many of the new ones we’re introducing today) are for professional song critiques. If you have any doubts as to the value of professional feedback you can read a couple blog posts here:

Why You Should Have Your Songs Professionally Critiqued

Who You Should Ask To Critique Your Songs

Most importantly, this is one of the best ways to discover what you really have on your hands. Getting just a few professional opinions of people who are accomplished in the business can give you the confidence to know your song is ready to be pitched to real opportunities or the insights to make the improvements you need. Many of these professionals can help you in more ways than one. Engaging a professional for a song critique or career coaching can be a way to start a relationship that endures and that can result in real steps forward for you and your music.

Invite Other Artists to Try Music Xray and Earn Money

Posted by Mike McCready | January 11th, 2010 | No responses

Invite other artists to try Music Xray and earn money when they conduct transactions on the site. Here’s how:

1. Log in as an artist or an industry professional on the top of the musicxray.com website.
– Note: You may use a third party account to log in but it’s not required (Facebook, Google, Yahoo etc).

2. On your dashboard page you will see a button enabling you to invite other artists (it will even give you the option to import your contacts). Sending invitations using that button sends an email and automatically includes your affiliate links. But, you can use your affiliate link to create your own landing page, send your own email invites, tweet, post to FB etc.

You will also see in the “settings” section a counter that will show you how many affiliates have signed up under you.

Invite artists and get paid

3. Send the invitations. Your earned balance will be reflected in real time on your dashboard. We pay you through PayPal. Be sure that you have your PayPal account setup.

PayPal account setup

4. If you do not want to use email to get new artists to signup you can use the affiliate id. Click on the settings button on the top toolbar:

Settings tab

Just append the affiliate id to the end of any links to Music Xray including the urls for your song presentation package.

Music Xray affiliate program id

Tip Of The Week: Use the TuneCore module to sell your songs right from your Music Xray Song Presentation Pack

Posted by Mike McCready | January 5th, 2010 | No responses

Use the TuneCore module to sell your songs right from your Music Xray Song Presentation Pack.

See an example here: http://present.musicxray.com/xrays/1659/public