Sonicbids: A National Concern
The image above is screenshot of my Gmail when sorted by sender "Sonicbids." For those of you who don't know, Sonicbids is a pay-subscription based website on which you maintain an electronic press kit that you, for varying fees, submit to festivals, booking agents, publishers, magazines etc. Many music festivals require you to set up an account with and use Sonicbids as a means of submitting an application to perform. If, like me, you have made the tactical error of trying to forge a career in music, then you've likely had dealings with Sonicbids, or "services" like it.
When setting up my smart-phone I opted to receive personal emails on it. This was a mistake, as when making the decision I forgot about one unrelenting emailer who is indiscriminate about whose inboxes they barrage with opportunities to play Warped Tour and knows no appropriate time of day to tell you so: Sonicbids. Despite my subscription having long ago expired, Sonicbids still manages to thwart all attempts to block their various daily alerts--meaning that morning, noon and night my phone is blowing up with licensing opportunities, development deals, songwriting competitions and music festivals that I "might be interested in." I have the feeling that I'm not the only one who has this problem.
Last year, Next Big Nashville required bands to submit via Sonicbids, so I know many of you have dealt with them. NBN chief Jason Moon Wilkins says that they decided to go with SB in an attempt to make the process of organizing submissions and band info easier. He claims that they didn't necessarily get what they thought they would out of it but that the issues they had with SB, mainly technical, have been addressed. He went on to say that while they will be using SB in 2009, there will also be other submission options such as American SongSpace.
Perhaps some of you out there would like to share your story on how you overcame Sonicbids? Also, has using Sonicbids really paid off for what you've paid in? What's the biggest gig any of you have booked using their service?
In other NBN news, Wilkins said that for the 2009 installment of the festival they are working to set up a Friday evening event to take place at honky-tonks on lower Broad, as well as an outdoor event to take place Saturday. Also, Wilkins has begun meeting with chamber of commerce members as part of Mayor Dean's Music Business Council, and is encouraged by his dealings with them so far.
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