Like a garden, a website needs to be tended, pruned and taken care of. Occasionally, things need to be uprooted, and new things planted. It’s not a perfect metaphor. You get the idea. I’m changing stuff around here.
I’ve been thinking a great deal about ways to invigorate New Music Ideas. At present, as you know, it’s a site where one of a handful of music industry types (sometimes it’s me, usually not) reviews a website purporting to be of some help to independent musicians and music industry types like yourself.
But it occurs to me that this under-utilises this site’s greatest asset: its readership. Our opinions on music sites can be instructive and occasionally even accurate. Your opinions combined are authoritative.
The new approach
So here’s how it’s going to work. Every few days, I’ll post a site that you may or may not find helpful. I’ll give you a brief outline as to what it claims to be, and then you can go check it out, or – if you’ve already used it – get straight in and start giving your opinions.
The comments are now the website
That’s where the reviews live. We want to hear what you think.
Be constructive. If a site sucks – tell us why – or how it could improve. If it’s great, be specific about what makes it great.
Let’s try this out
This is how it works. Here’s a screenshot of the website under review. You can click on it to get to the site in question.
Yes, it’s my site. At the risk of being torn to shreds in public – let’s start with (gulp) New Music Strategies.
Now here’s the bit where I tell you a little bit about what the site under consideration claims to be all about:
It’s a site, written by me, that tries to unpick and explain what’s going on in the online music environment – and from that, attempt to develop strategies to help independent musicians and music businesses cope and thrive in a changing media environment.
What would you give it out of 10? How many stars? What’s good about it? What’s wrong with it? Can you suggest ways it could be improved? How would you describe it in order to recommend it to someone, or warn them away from it?
Now here’s the bit where you weigh in with your thoughts…