The Bloggable Music Network

Posted on 10.19.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

After the huge response I got to the post about Becky and Christian radio, I came up with an idea that I’m REALLY excited about and I hope you will be too.

It’s called the Bloggable Music Network.

WHAT IS THE BLOGGABLE MUSIC NETWORK?

It’s a network of bloggers who love music. We all have “bloggable” moments. Moments that are so amazing that we HAVE to blog about them.

I think there is a lot of “bloggable” music out there too. Music so good it must be shared. That’s what the network is all about.

Here are the details:
1. A monthly email newletter that highlights 3 artists that we feel MUST be heard.

2. We’re asking you to listen to the music, then blog about the songs you love.

3. We’ll provide the tools and information you need to share the music with your friends and readers.

WHY JOIN THE NETWORK?

1. Get free music
We’ll work as hard as we can to get a free single or two from each artist so that you can listen at your leisure. We’ll also set up giveaways and special events for you and your readers.

2. Save time
Learn about the greatest new artists without sifting through a million band sites or Myspace pages (shudder). We won’t tell you about EVERY new release or EVERY new artist. Only the best.

3. Make a difference
There are absolutely amazing artists whose music isn’t getting heard. The Bloggable Music Network is about to change that. Join us.

Your readers will thank you.

DETAILS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW

1. What kind of music will you highlight?
While we won’t restrict ourselves to a particular musical genre, we do plan to select music that moves us toward God. Not all the artists would techically qualify as CCM, but based on their lyrics and their lives, we will choose music that encourages and challenges us in our faith.

2. What’s the catch? Does it cost something? Will you be trying to sell me something?
Nope. There are two goals for this project:
-- Great music, meet Becky.
We want to introduce artists to a wider audience

-- Becky, meet Great Music.
We want to introduce music lovers to the world of music outside of the radio.

3. Is this strictly for indies or label artists?
We have no regard for indie or label, just good music.

4. Do I have to blog about every artist every month?
Definitely not! We don’t want you to blog about an artist unless you absolutely love their music. We want truly great music to go truly viral. We’re not looking to market anything, just introduce it and let it run.

5. Are you going to do anything nefarious with my email address?
Nope. I won’t give or sell it to anyone. Period.
(Props for using the word nefarious in a sentence, though.)

6. Is this just for bloggers?
Actually, no. Anyone can sign up to get the monthly email. The content will be targeted toward bloggers, but you could use the same info on Facebook, Twitter or in an email to tell your friends about the music you find.

Again, our goal is to tell you about music so great that you can’t help but share it with your friends.

SIGN ME UP!

I want to sign up. How do I sign up?

Simple. Just enter your email below (RSS readers, click through to sign up) and try to be patient until our first newsletter goes out on November 3.

I know it will be hard, but you can do it.

(FYI - You’ll receive a confirmation email. Check your spambox if you don’t get it within 10 minutes.)

Get The Word Out

If you just can’t keep this idea to yourself and you can’t wait until November 3, here are a couple buttons that you can use on your site to get the word out about the Bloggable Music Network.

Large Logo - 200px
Just copy the code below:


<a href="http://www.thesecretlifeofkat.com/site/comments/the-bloggable-music-network/"> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2956083429_7998697271.jpg?v=0" / ></a>

Small Logo - 150px
Just copy the code below:


<a href="http://www.thesecretlifeofkat.com/site/comments/the-bloggable-music-network/"> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2956083429_7998697271.jpg?v=0" width="150px" / ></a>

Questions? Comments?

So, does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Do you have any questions? Suggestions? Ideas?

Please share them in the comments.

The Comments:

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Signed up?  Check.
Button on blog?  Check.
PUMPED about this idea?  Check check.

Great idea Kat. I’m also signed up and have your button on my blog. All three of my readers will be thrilled!

SO excited about this!  All 5 of my readers will be, too!  (Haha, Tracy!)

Great idea Kat!! Very excited to see deserving artists get noticed!!  A certain soft-rocker might be a good one to feature soon.

sweet! love it

Great Idea! Thanks for putting this together!!

Oh, I cannot WAIT!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This is cool. Thanks for organizing.

This sounds like a lot of fun, I just joined the newsletter and added the button to my left hand side of my blog!

Awesome idea! There aren’t many things in life that move me more than music and I think this is a wonderful way to introduce us to some great new artists...which we don’t always get with our local radio stations!

So looking forward to this! I will blog about it tomorrow!

Hello,

Help a little bog out...I’m hosting a give away at my place. The winner will receive a FREE dvd of a veggie tail movie!

Thanks.

Take care,
Amy

This is so awesome! I can’t wait!

@Erin ... AND, one of my readers is my mom!

@Tracy--Hehe, my mom isn’t computer savvy enough to read mine.

I’m thrilled you all are so excited about this. There’s been a great response so far and I’ve already cooked up something special.

Oh, and Tracy and Erin....it’s so fun to see people commenting to one another and not me. I feel like an blog-friend matchmaker.

Been debating whether or not to post this…

First off - I think that this is a great idea.  I trust that - given her experience - Kat has a sound understanding of the workings of the CCM marketing machine and it will be interesting to see what music is lurking under the radar.

One thing, though.  In suggesting quality music (that doesn’t necessarily fit the CCM archetype) I would challenge people to consider artists/bands/songs that don’t necessarily (at first glance) “encourage us or challenge us in our faith.”

Let me explain - if this is the primary criterion it is likely that appropriate (and worthy) music will be left out simply because it doesn’t have the proper veneer (i.e. the artists themselves may not be Christian or the song may be secular); however, the music itself may fulfill the other requirements (showing us something of God, encouraging us in our faith, etc.).

I’ll leave off with a few examples.  I will contend that all of these songs reveal the Sacred...and I leave it to you to judge the faith-state of the artists.

Washing of the Water - Peter Gabriel
Drunkard’s Prayer - Over the Rhine
If It Be Your Will - Leonard Cohen (The version by Antony is incredible)
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen (although the Jeff Buckley version is sublime)

Anon

Anon,
First of all, I’m generally a pretty nice person so please feel free to leave your normal name.

Secondly, I agree that music of all kinds can encourage and challenge us in our faith. I actually have several favorite songs by artists who aren’t believers.

However, my intention for this project is to really get behind the many incredible Christian artists who just don’t get radio play. There really are SO many solid believers putting out solid music.

I hope that this project will have no regard for label vs. indie or CCM vs. secular. However, until the well runs dry I do want to focus on believers who make amazing music.

I used to think that somehow Christians just made worse music (that’s an exaggeration, but you get the idea.)

But I’ve come to realize it’s just that the gatekeepers weren’t pushing the good stuff through. I’m hoping to open another gate…

Thanks - and fair enough.

I appreciate your perspective on the gatekeepers.  Unfortunately I think that it is a general phenomenon (that is, we see the same thing in the “arts” in general; secular and non).  This probably goes hand in hand with art as product.

Cheers.

True, but I think the internet is in the process of blowing the gates wide open…

We’re not as reliant on big media anymore.

Im in!

Can podcasters consider this music to be podsafe—legal for us to use on our shows?

Hey Kat!

I’ve been following your blog for a couple months. I found you through Kate McDonald. I signed up for the bloggable music network maybe a day or two after you first posted this blog. Anyway, I did not receive an email. :( I was wondering if I needed to sign up again. It’s definitely something I would love to be a part of. I love finding new, awesome music. And I like to be able to share that with others. Thanks!

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