24-hour spotlight for indie artists

The world of independent music is a crowded and competitive one, with millions of bands languishing in obscurity both online and off. indieSolo is a site that hopes to help the cream rise to the top, so to speak, by giving one independent band centre stage each day. Launched at the end of 2006, Canadian indieSolo gives unsigned independent musicians the opportunity to showcase their music and talent for an entire day in the hopes of getting discovered. Bands are chosen by audition, and those selected get 24 hours to promote their music, show off their unique personalities, build their fan base and make money through the sale of CDs, ringtones, merchandise and donations. indieSolo offers free hosting of up to three MP3s for each band, and a rating system measures their popularity and buzz. Fans, meanwhile, gain an easier way to discover new music. They can interact with bands they like, give feedback, and download free MP3s and ringtones. The site keeps a list of the top MP3 downloads, while forums and blogs foster community interaction. Participation on ad-supported indieSolo is free for both artists and fans. indieSolo was created by Johnny i, founder of EyeShout Media. He explains: “I see indieSolo empowering the indie artist like MySpace empowered the entire indie music industry.” As traditional music distribution models give way to web-enabled ones, sites like indieSolo offer a win-win by bringing new freedom and exposure to musicians and helping fans discover new music. The concept cries out for genre-specific versions—focusing on the blues, say—as well as application to other art forms, such as a site showcasing the authors of books. The main challenge will obviously be to attract enough traffic to these sites, but it will be interesting to see what this model can do! (Related: A luxury deal a day.) Spotted by: Lori Reiser