I may be interested in this venture. I will be looking forward to more information as you move along.

How would the artists present their songs?

In a nutshell, the artists would be asked to upload their song(s) to our site. There will be a submission form to fill out. Then the songs are available for website vistors to listen on-demand. In addition, visitors will be given the opportunity to rate and comment on each song if they choose.

I like this idea. On-demand will allow a relatively larger number of submissions to be made available, but at some point, a filter system might have to be put in place to limit the thousands of songs submitted to match the capacity of the server.

If there's a contest and ratings it's competitive rather than sharing. Maybe the thing to do is be sharing and nurturing rather than another Battle of the Bands???

If it is to be an online open mic, it should have the same same scratches, dents, and hiccups of a real open mic - no filters.

Great comments! Scot: I think you're right. There will be many people who will want to share their music only and will choose to stay out of the contest aspect of Open Mic. We'll give the artists the option of deciding for themselves to what level they want to be involved. And Jim: yes! No filters. Just like a real open mic.

I think it might be nice for some of the submissions to be played on the main playlist. Perhaps this can be a "prize" for winners...

Did I miss it? I don't see anything about the contest aspect of this, but people are commenting on it. What's up with that?

I love this idea. I also missed the bit about competition. So, are we talking only original songs and no covers? What about the ever popular "broadcast quality" sound? Not everyone is able to produce sophisticated digital computer generated songs. So does that mean accepting boombox recorded cassettes is out? How is the music to be uploaded? What audio files should they be? What if some of the combatants are members of PROs? Is there a limit to the number of songs uploaded? Song length? Does it rain in indianapolis in the summertime?

Why not make it more like a real open mic which is live? There is technology available to stream live sound and music played through a desktop microphone right onto the web.

Great idea. I would love to hear some of the best songs submitted by listeners played in the regular rotation. Selection could be made using visitors' ratings.

I wouldn't trust listener ratings to tell me the sun was shining if it was broad daylight.

I think it should be completely random, and take yer chances.

Jim,
Maybe you are not familiar with sites such as macjams.com. They have thousands of songs posted, and I have found great performers there both by random browsing and by listening to the fans' top rated songs.

Not everyone might have the capability to play live to a computer. I would say, it should not be limited in the ways people can access and submit something.

Great idea! I'm not sure about the "prize" idea. No sense in making a Folk Alley American Idol. An open mic could be problematic for a full band. Why not let those wanting open mic do it also via cd and submit a cd to the station, with the artists saying which song they would like played on the open mic?

To comment on the sound quality issue--don't worry if you can't make an absolute professional recording. It can be as simple as you sitting down in front of a tape recorder with your guitar and hitting play/record. Plus, if you have a computer and a cheap piece of software, muti-track demos are super easy to produce these days and it's really amazing at how many "Indie-type" bands are being discovered through "bedroom recordings."

Can't wait to hear your songs once we're up and running.

Hey Linda, can we submit songs too? :)

>>Hey Linda, can we submit songs too? :)

Chris, I know you're looking for a venue to debut your "Chris Boros Sings Acoustic Kiss" release. So, sure. You can upload a track or two to share with the Folk Alley community.... we can't wait! :-)

Great idea - some thoughts: Live on line is very do-able, if its the way you want to go. I play live on line frequently through "PalTalk" (paltalk.com) which is an on-line disussion deal which includes music - some live.

It is also pretty easy to record using the software referenced above. I have done on-line collaborations, in which each artist posts his/her tracks and then they are mixed into a final song - its great fun and I'd love to post one to the "open mic".

Final thought - I hope cover's aren't excluded. Originals are delightful, but folk music is about sharing songs (to me) and if its all not-for-profit, covers should be fine IMO.

Thanks for listening
Lane lanew@adelphia.net

I would love to submit my songs from my two cd's. I do believe the station has them already as well!

Nathaniel Maloney

Jim and Linda,
I have been listening for a couple of years
now. The open mike idea is great.
Like a festival of new music on-line.
I would be definitely interested
Our web site and tracks are on:
www.stan-Designs.com.au/boomerangcafe.html
We are a four peice folk celtic band
from Melbourne Australia. Many Thanks

Jim and Linda,
I have been listening for a couple of years
now at work 8 hours per day.
The open mike idea is great.
Like a festival of new music on-line.
I would be definitely interested
Our web site and tracks are on:
www.stan-Designs.com.au/boomerangcafe.html
We are a four peice folk celtic band
from the home of the National Celtic Festival
Portarlington, Australia. Many Thanks

Awesome....sign me up................

Jason Bennett
bennettfolk.com

sounds like its already a hit guys ! I will tell those I know in Wales to get ready.

I love the idea of an open mic. I think that live recording into a computer mic will yield inferior sound. I would rather make a nice barebones digital recording and make an MP3 out of it. You could have a "top 40" list where people's ranking changes as listeners vote. I think it's also a good idea to allow performers to opt out of the ranking, and just submit their song. Let me know when to submit!

When is this kicking off? I just got a copy of my songs that will be on the Oak Park Farmer's Market Bluegrass Band CD that should be coming out shortly. I have three songs on it, two of them I wrote. I am very proud of the one that was recorded in the large group setting and I am anxious to let others listen to it. The other two songs were recorded in a more intimate setting with just me on guitar and I am singing with my daughter on all three songs. Please give us an update.

Thanks,
Jack Swain

Hi Jack,

Open Mic is still a couple months off - but we'll let everybody know when we're ready for submission. We have other immediate projects we're working on currently, and then the Open Mic is next. It's high priority for us, but just a little further down the trail at the moment. Probably not the answer you were hoping for, but it IS coming! Stay tuned.

Open Mic sounds great-looking forward to giving it a try-all the way from Glasgow!

This is a great idea. Just a thought or two . Why don't you use the songs that are uploaded for a particular day or week and then split them up into covers vs originals ? Then , the new singer - song writer would have his or her daily opportunity for the big internet stage. I hear there are new technologies which allow " real live ." This could be a separate pre - arranged " real " Open Mic event scheduled as warranted. As I said before , this is a great site . Thank you.

Great idea! I'm totally up for it. Let us know how we can help.

As everyone esle as said..

Excellent idea. Looking forward to it.

If there is anything we can do to help please let us know.

WOW! LOVE THE IDEA OF OPEN MIC! Having just acquired a computer capable of streaming quality music like Folk Alley I can't wait to get the info to a couple of very talented friends who might not otherwise have a 'stage' to showcase their considerable talents! Thanks for proving that it's the MUSICAL TALENT that makes the difference, not the shallow physical beauty of a performer!