"Sonicbids & CMJ Submissions: An Open Letter"

Well written.

I was totally on Sonicbids' side until they leaked that Meg White sex tape onto the internet.

this should shut everyone up.. well put.

i didn't even know bands could apply to play. i just thought it was all label and agency showcases.

I can name several bands that haven't benefited from either.

Didn't Sonicbids break up the Beatles?

Yawn

Panos is a cool guy. Does anyone know if he'll be speaking at a panel at CMJ this year?

Panos just totally pwned you.

Does anyone know if they release an entire schedule of CMJ showcases?

total scam. im a huge cmj supporter, but Sonicbids is a joke. However, CMJ makes a lot of money off the sponsorship of sonicbids and part of the arrangement im sure is that sonicbids gets to charge people to use their service. anybody remember in '03 or '04 when myspace was the major corporate sponsor for cmj? That move helped myspace gain a lot of ground that next year... i think sonicbids is hoping they get the big bucks off their ideas, much like myspace did. Only difference is that Sonicbids is not a social network -- and they don't make it easy for bands. Too many options, too many things to fill out... and they charge for everything. Navigating as an artist is annoying... if CMJ can -- they should lose 'bids next year and bank on something else.

"Does anyone know if they release an entire schedule of CMJ showcases?"

yes, they do.

Panos - As your PR counsel, I'd suggest shorter replies and more bullet points.

What a bunch of bullshit.
Fuck off CMJ.

so let me get this straight - the "hit counter" didn't work? remember when there was real news in the world?

specially =/ especially

Ok, this is the worst example of damage control i've ever seen. I have see the most shittiest bands make it into cmj. Not to sound pompus or to say that my music is the best. But i think my music is creative and unique enough to get in. I've been listening to bands who have gigs for the cmj fest and i just do not get it. CMJ got lazy and are thieves.

lets hear your band

i second that, if you're gonna complain so vocally let's hear your genius....

CMJ is a joke. They should consider getting real dayjobs at this point and stop ripping off bands to earn a salary. I couldn't imagine a worse rag out there. My goodness.

Sonicbids is doomed to failure, despite recently taking 5 million in Venture Capital money.

Sonicbids is antithetical to the web. The web is about creating value and allowing connections between disparate parties, not introducing middlemen into the equation.

But sonicbids is nothing more than a middleman between promoter and artist management. Let's see, they made 6 million last year, and where did that money come from? Out of artists pockets. They take money from artists pockets, pay themselves and the promoters. The opportunities are akin to some sort of lottery, and they are creating thousands of these lotteries by partnering up with thousands of promoters. Anyone can list an opp on sonicbids with minimal scrutiny, and then they split the money with you.

Bottom line, if they were trying to create value for artists they'd have features like rating promoters (similar to e-bay) and they would offer these opportunity submissions built into the subscription price (say 5 free submissions to opps per month).

Where are these changes? THey've got all the money, all the staff, but they just want to go after more of these lotteries because the ethos of the firm is to profit first not create value for musicians and have that lead to profitability. Therein lies the secret to their long term success.

Sonic Bids is a machiavellian nightmare.

The logic of going to a school that only accepts 10% of the people only holds if they aren't screwing the other 90%.

I hate Sonicbids, they are a ruthless money making machine and should just shut up and die.

Sonicbids, SXSW and CMJ are all fucking with our heads and egos. They know musicians want status by playing in their festivals and want recognition. Guys, better stick to improving your craft and forget about the status of CMJ or SXSW, including sonicbids, they are nothing but a bunch of fucking B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.S. and fucking us musicians in the A.S.S.E.S. whenever they can. Bunch of no good fer nothin' ass lickers!

And those sonicbids staff who are reading this - go fuck yourselves in the ass, you god damn no good mother fuckers. I hate you all...

Are you kidding me? Panos's explanation that CMJ downloads each mp3, which is around 5 megs, before they listen and make a determination is quite ridiculous. What's the purpose of the streaming tool? It's much more efficient and less chaotic to stream a coupe of songs from an artist's page than to download, archive, label, listen, and make determination. Think about it!

Can you say BULLSHIT!! Get a new excuse.

Sonicbids is a total scam. Our band was stupid enough to fall into it to. It didn't take us long to figure out that they keep accepting submission money for events that the promoter has already CLOSED, they have never fixed their tracking service because they don't want you to know that the promoter you just paid $50 to never even viewed your kit, and they have NO customer service. You never hear back or maybe after four months.

We found a MUCH better service that doesn't have the BS, doesn't look like a cartoon, understands the struggling musician and works FOR us, and has customer service reps online up to 20 hours a day, seven days a week. Even on holidays!

http://www.powerpresskits.com

myPPK Power Press Kits. NO per-use fees, no pay-to-play. Graphic themes are great and you can make your own theme for cheap. We STRONGLY recommend everyone who has been scammed by soncibids check out Power Press Kits.

if you think that some fucking e-press kit is going to help your band then you need to get a clue.

shouldn't your website be the press kit?

Yes it should have been their website, so they don't fill up posts of spam.

Sonicbids is the biggest rip off since Tonos, they steal money from musicians, they make millions off of their liason with venues who greedily have seen this as a new way to rake in money...most of these bozo's don't even PAY the bands who do perform at their venues to play...but they expect a band to pay to audition...I think the Federal Trade Commission should look into the affairs of Sonicbids and the IRS should audit them...and anyone who lives in Boston should find out the names of every single thief involved and make it extremely uncomfortable for them to go anywhere in this country....we musicians are everywhere..and Sonicbids is killing live music

I understand the point Panos is trying to make but it REALLY does feel like a LOTTERY 90% of the time, is this really a measure of talent versus opportunity? if so then I'm seriously fucked.

As artists what are we getting out of applying for live shows & opportunities through a MIDDLE MAN? wouldn't it be more ethical to list these opportunities on a website and apply directly and accordingly? I think it would an excellent idea to allow for a certain number of free submissions after an artist has invested a considerable amount of money on membership and submissions.

just found this, might be a good alternative to sonicbids
https://www.hellomusic.com