BigChampagne's Ultimate Chart (a/o February 10th):
1. “What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger),” Kelly Clarkson
2. “Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele
3. “Turn Me On,” David Guetta
4. “Rack City,” TYGA
5. “Good Feeling,” Flo Rida
6. “Smooth Criminal (Glee Cast Version),” Glee Cast
7. “Young, Wild & Free,” Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa
8. “Domino ,” Jessie J
9. “Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO
10. “Ass Back Home ,” Gym Class Heroes
The early-stage, fan-funded A&R space is now welcoming a fresh addition. Initial players Slicethepie and SellaBand are pushing initial experiments, though US-based WeMix (wemix.com) is now officially jumping into the arena.
The
startup was co-founded by rapper Ludacris, who is playing an integral
role in the talent-searching process. WeMix has been floating for
months in an under-the-radar, pre-launch mode.
A&R, the art of finding and crafting fresh artists, has traditionally been driven by labels (major and independent) and associated managers, lawyers, and even other signed artists. But a more democratized, digitized music environment could reshape that process, and potentially pluck better acts.
"The old way of making records is a thing of the past," explained Ludacris, himself an ultra-successful product of the major label system. "A&Rs, marketers, the radio game, million-dollar videos, predictable producers — this system makes it really tough for new blood or new ideas to rise to the top."
WeMix allows artists to build profile pages and upload songs, riffs, and snippets for review by the broader community.
The best-rated material
theoretically rises to the top, and gains exposure among WeMix brass -
including Ludacris. Along the way, WeMix has created an engaging
environment that allows users to vote yea (mix it) or nay (fix it) on
any submitted content.
Other artist-friendly tools include music business tutorials and a software suite that facilitates creation, collaboration and mashing-up. The site also includes an online voice mail application powered by VoodooVox, one that allows users to collaborate and offer feedback within the profile page.
The monetization plan is less defined, though revenues are expected to come from music sales, advertising, SMS, and a potential television deal, according to the company.
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