A link list of band discovery

May 1, 11:29 AMBaltimore Band ExaminerJeff Schad

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Baltimore Band Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Once in a blue moon you find an unknown band poised
for greatness. Image by Jeff Schad

Now that we covered where to go to find your next show, its time to help you, the reader, to source the places go for great band discovery. Most of us are familiar with iTunes and the smattering of other major online mp3 stores, but all of their intelligent suggestions for new music still miss out on scores of relatively unknown bands.

Knowing where to find them is half the battle. Check out a few of these resources to beat the bushes a little more. If you find at least one band you like the journey will be successful, so go on dig in.

Stompinground bills itself as thus: "We are an independent Music oriented web site featuring Independent/unsigned bands,indie band listings, Music resources, Record label listings and many other resources.
Promote your band, label or company internationally thru the most resourceful independent music market place and site on the web!" The site provides hundreds of band listings, but doesn't provide any search functionality, and lots of links to band websites are broken.

The Pier, dubbed a reggae, hip-hop and rock site, leans heavily towards the reggae and reggae-rock end of things. If you're a fan of these genres, this site is highly recommended. The content is very good, and although you wont find hundreds of new bands here, it is easy to get into the interviews, free music and show reviews the site offers up.

CD Baby is the closest thing in this list to iTunes, but with the onus on independent music. This is where lots of audiophiles I know go to find new bands and music that can't be found on the major mp3 sites. The interface is easy to navigate, and searches by genre also provide the ability to search on a mood, which is very cool.

Laudr gets a mention in this list for one reason only: This user post about free indie music downloads at Amazon.com. Aside from that, the site is too involved. It asks the user to register, login, vote, comment, etc...That's okay, except if you don't want another social media site to sink your time into. It's the kind of site this humble writer will use to pick off gems just like the free Amazon music post.

The best thing about purevolume is the search feature. A new visitor can go to the site, search on all bands within 10 miles of Baltimore, and viola, 1317 bands are returned in the search results. Any site that can keep you captive for hours from one simple local music search gets a thumbs up.

Every so often SurfRhythm serves up interesting music posts, ranging from interviews to more informative posts like contributor DP's insightful look into this very subject. Some of you may have figured out this is my site, so please excuse the shameless self promotion. Click here for all SurfRhythm music posts.

Have you got some other favorite resources for squeezing the underground music orange? Post a comment, don't be shy.