Stick It To the Man -- DigiDownload Site That's More YOURSpace than Myspace

From 7Digital out the UK comes a DIY digital download site for indie bands that's actually usable. Indiestore.com allows bands and artists to create their own download store. According to the site, the "Starter" level includes:

Starter:

indiestore Starter is the free service level for artists just getting into the digital music revolution. The Starter features will warm you up to creating your artist presence online. Features include:

• 70% revenue share
• Up to 4 Track uploads
• Multi-format downloads - No DRM
• Free tracks
• Pre Orders/Release Date
• indiestore.com/yourchoice URL
• Blog, Gallery, Events
• User ratings and comments
• Real-time reporting
• Monthly Accounting
• PayPal and Click & Buy payments
• indiestore flashplayer
• Last.fm - your music played & sold on Last.fm

The layout is clean and easy, and none of that Myspace mucking about with friends and too many stupid graphics. I'll rant about this later, but this dovetails right into my theories on extending the concept of a "band" to include people who have nothing to do with performing. To really do an end run around of the "MAN," the more people you have to take care of stuff like this, selling your music, updating your tour information, photos, blogs, etc., the more you can leave the flailing and confused old music industry in the dust.

I know, I know, there are many of these type of sites out there. I was just impressed with how this site looks and works. It "feels" very accessible. Bands and artists need to spend their time creating, not navigating the complexities of setting up an online store. Easy is as easy does.

If you're looking to sell your music online, you might also want to check out these:
http://www.digstation.com/
http://www.musicane.com/Home.aspx
http://www.snocap.com/

That's So Glay!

So, I bet you're thinking to yourself, "Who's the number one selling band in Japan right now?" You are, aren't you? Well, that would have to be Glay. Yes, Glay. They're top of the J-Pops right now with their song "Love is Beautiful." Perfect for all those valentine's celebraters out there. And not only is Love beautiful, Glay themselves are beautiful. Look at these pretty guys. I would hope they would send me a valentine, or sing me one of their emotionally intense power pop songs. They've been a hard-working band for 10 years and have attained quite a bit of popularity in Asia -- as well as with J-Pop fans around the globe. The description of their name is wonderful: GLAY's name (pronounced 'gurei' in Japanese) is a deliberate misspelling of Gray/Grey and was chosen to mean 'that which is neither white or black' to illustrate the type of music they wish to play, i.e. rather than limiting themselves to pop or hard rock and roll/rock.

From the samples I've listened to [from the official Glay Site], they seem comparable to a more emo/R&B version of Fall Out Boy or Taking Back Sunday. Though they definately do have something in common with their Shibuya-Kei genre comrades, Puffy Ami Yumi. I could picture some of their music backing up a cartoon of some sort.

It's good to get out of your own backyard and take a listen to what other parts of the planet are digging. We can see a reflection of our own culture and maybe have a new appreciation for what we gloss over, yet others revere.