i feel as though there are many artists on this site who are amazing, yet unsigned. maybe their recording quality isn't amazing, but they have some worthwhile material. who knows..maybe if there were a seperate section dedicated to these artists, then we might start seeing some of them join the ranks of the signed artists.

anyone agree?

Perhaps in the same way that artists can tag their tracks according to genre/sub genre, there could be a tick box or similar to indicate if the artist or track is signed or unsigned. Then if people wanted to have a playlist of unsigned bands they could do.

Personally I would rather see all artists featured in one playlist regardless of being signed or unsigned. The 'Hot' playlist is currently the one featured on the front page of the61 and that is the one that seems to receive the most attention. Seeing signed and unsigned artists alongside each other, or say Mixtapes and Meltdowns at #1 and DJ Shadow at #3, is more fun to me :-)

yes, i completely agree about keeping the hot list as a combination of everyone. in fact i don't think that signed artists should get their own playlist at all. this site is being hailed as a music scouting site, yet i've noticed many bands who have already been "scouted". i'm pretty sure that a good portion of the t61 bands that are well known and have already seen success are not even aware that they are on this site or that t61 even exists. someone from their label is probably putting their music up just for added attention...
i digress.
my proposition is simply to add a playlist called "UNSIGNED" as a fourth tab next to HOT, NEW, AND BEST. I think a lot of t61 listeners would be keen on the unsigned tab. this would give a venue to the small and upcoming bands who are actively working this site..and are frankly what this site is all about (i think).

great idea mr. hands for a face man. a fourth tab for unsigned bands wouldn't take away from the hot list or any other list for that matter. it would just give us the opportunity to focus our listening on unsigned bands and it would give unsigned bands their own venue on the site.

great idea mr. hands for a face man. a fourth tab for unsigned bands wouldn't take away from the hot list or any other list for that matter. it would just give us the opportunity to focus our listening on unsigned bands and it would give unsigned bands their own venue on the site.

A good suggestion ztbz.

Nowadays the distinction between signed and unsigned bands is a lot less clear than previously. How would being unsigned be defined? Releasing music through a label that the artist has not set up themselves?

good point, Alex. conceptually, i think it would be possible to distinguish between the two. afterall, bands who are on a label are usually pretty proud of that fact, and therefore would not pretend to be unsigned just to make it into the unsigned playlist.

as far as bands who sign themselves up on their own labels..at first glance i would welcome them into the unsigned club, because they essentially still are. a name does not a label make.
probably the easiest way to administer this classification would be to create a database of all known legitimate labels (easily found in industry publications) and let bands choose from a drop down box to let the site know what label they are under. if their label does not appear in the drop down box, then they can type in their own label name. for the purposes of this site, any label that does not appear in the drop down box would be considered "unsigned" until it gets added to the database.

i'm putting way too much thought into this topic, aren't i?

anyone with a comprehensive distribution agreement beyond their local area would qualify as signed i would think

i would think so as well...and hotpants, i can just see the wheels turning. do you dream about this at night? ha ha. i completely agree with everything said on this thread..i hope it gets some notice.

It's come up before. Deciding which labels count as 'major' labels is more or less impossible and more over isn't it better for artists to know where they stand relative to signed artists?

yes...some arbitrary decision making might have to be made regarding what counts as a label or not (see my previous posting)..as far as unsigned artists knowing where they stand in relation to signed artists, they would remain just as much a part of the other playlists as they are now...so it would not affect their standings at all. it would simply be an additional resource for both artists and listeners.

I think this is a great idea. I can forsee a time when all the blog scrapes will result in major signed acts, with their huge marketing head start, swamping the site. Having this extra tab would take nothing away, but would create a quick filter for those listeners looking for something genuinely undiscovered.

Just a thought.... maybe rather than for unsigned acts, it should be for musicians who actually participate in the site, as opposed to those who have just been uploaded without their knowledge. Although I guess that would open up a similar can of worms in terms of the criteria you use to judge it.

it seems to me that the benefits of adding this playlist would outweigh the downsides...if for nothing else than the point that Temple Scene brought up. as the site gains popularity and the major artists start taking over the playlists, it will make it that much harder for the smaller bands to get noticed.

many bumps to this idea

thanks..i can see why the boys haven't come through on this new idea yet..
obviously they've been working pretty hard on all the other new stuff.
keep the ideas flowing