Do you make music? If so, create a profile as an Artist. Do you have a passion for music but no interest in having a career in music? If so, create a Fan profile. Are you an agent, manager, promoter, publicist, talent buyer, venue owner, or any other music related professional working in the industry? If so, please create an Industry Professional profile.

OurStage recognizes that Artists, Fans, and Industry Professionals all have very different needs and interests. By selecting the profile that describes you best, you help us personalize your OurStage experience. We'll tell you about things that are meaningful to you and we'll spare you the stuff that's not.

When we say somewhat, we mean that we take care of serving up the material in a fair and unbiased fashion. We are watching very carefully to make sure that each item in the channel gets equal exposure--we guarantee that. Whether that happens in a particular judging session, though, is another matter.

Depending on how much our users like something (rank it favorably), and how long they want to keep on ranking, the ranking engine will try to get the user to discriminate how much more an item is liked over other ranked items, and thus, the reason why users may see what appears to them as the same item coming up during several battles.

Our site users who judge cannot request what material they will be served to judge. During judging they have to view or play the material served, and at a minimum, they have to screen an item for 15 seconds each before they can rank one item over another.

Then, all of the rankings from all of the users are taken together and the ranking engine bubbles up the best items to the top!

Field Representative for OurStage.com

Independent internet music and film site OurStage, Inc. seeks passionate music fans to become OurStage.com Field Reps to find and promote talented artists and introduce them to our always growing user base.

OurStage is all about exposure. We promote emerging music talent through highly trafficked band pages, monthly promotions, and a 100% democratic fan voting system. We are actively recruiting avid music lovers to become a presence on the OurStage site and help us find the next big thing in music. Your goal will be to reach out to new bands and musicians and get them to not only join the OurStage community but become active members of it.

OurStage encompasses many genres and sub-genres organized in channels. For a complete listing of our current channels, please see http://www.ourstage.com/music.

Requirements -

1. You are passionate about music and already have or are willing to establish a network of artists to contact. Field Reps should have exceptional communication skills and feel comfortable interacting with artists in person (at clubs/shows/festivals/house parties) and via electronic means, i.e. MySpace, E-mail, message boards, etc. Field Reps are not limited to a specific genre of music but are encouraged to focus on those with which they feel they can be most successful.
2. Solid writing and editing skills are essential.
3. Experience with networking, producing content for the web, and interacting with musicians a must. Our experience has shown us that being a connector is a key factor in success.
4. Familiarity with online music sites and solid computer skills.
5. Additional experience in sourcing talent, A&R, or other fields related to music highly desired.

Compensation:

Guaranteed monthly compensation for hitting a minimum performance benchmark with substantial bonuses for hitting additional benchmarks, as well as exceptional performance. For more details, please contact Rainy at fieldreps@ourstage.com. Please include a cover letter and resume in RTF, DOC, or PDF format.

Please note,
We are serious and passionate about what we do. You should be too.

Check out the top ranked artists in our Channels, meet Fans, Friends, and Artists, and most importantlyJoin Marketplace. When you join Marketplace, you gain access to over 45,000 artists complete with their fan following. Post your gigs and select new acts based on their Mojo rating a numeric indicator of their talent and fan appeal. You can also post your events calendar on Marketplace and promote your shows to the entire OurStage community.

Marketplace is a networking arena that connects artists with talent buyers at all types of venues. In other words, it's an easy way to find and book more gigs for yourself or your band.

Use it to get more gigs, greater exposure, and make your life easier. With Marketplace, you can instantly send your free EPK (showcasing all your best songs, videos, press, photos, and more) to venues looking for talent like you. Flaunt your Mojo (a number you earn by uploading to our Channels and competing in our contest) to show them you can draw a crowd. Marketplace increases your exposure by letting venues search for you. When talent buyers plug in the kind of artist they want, your name and information could pop up. Talk about getting yourself out there!

All you need to use Marketplace is a profile. When you register on OurStage and activate your account (using the link we email you), you automatically get a profile. So if you haven't registered or activated, do that now. Then just click on Marketplace in the menu bar at the top of the screen and get rolling.

First, enter the Marketplace by logging in to your OurStage account and clicking on the Marketplace link in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Now you can search for gigs by name or by adjusting the filters under the gig name search. If you're using the filters, you can specify your preference for genre and location; Press the search button to see all the gigs that are perfect for you.

The best way to sell yourself to a talent buyer is to email them your electronic press kit (EPK). EPKs are free on OurStage-- If you don't already have one, go to How do I create an EPK? and get started. When you've got an EPK, it's really easy to apply to gigs. From the detail page of your chosen gig, just click the Submit My EPK' button in the description header. You can add a personal note along with your EPK submission if you choose. When you're ready to put yourself out there, just click Apply. The talent buyer will receive an email alerting them that you've applied. To help you keep track of your pending submissions, every gig you apply for is saved under My Gigs' in Marketplace.

If the venue talent buyer reviews your submission and thinks you're the best act for the show, you'll receive a congratulatory email alerting you that you've been booked. In order to confirm this gig, YOU MUST CLICK ON THE LINK PROVIDED in the email.

Every artist gets a Mojo rating based primarily on where the fans rank them in our Channels. Other factors that figure into the Mojo rating are: number of Fans, number of Friends and number of media uploads as well as EPK completeness. On Marketplace, venues can use the Mojo rating to help them identify artists with a proven ability to draw a crowd.

To get a Mojo rating, register on OurStage and activate your account using the link we email you. From there, all you have to do is create a free EPK from your profile page and activate it. To get a positive Mojo rating, just click "View My EPK" from your profile and click the "Activate My EPK" link.

Go to your profile page to see your current Mojo rating displayed on your dashboard.

Improve your Mojo rating by competing actively on OurStage. The better your ranking in Channel contests, the greater your Mojo, and the more likely you are to be hired. Fans are also key. Make sure you recruit as many Fans as possible to ensure prospective venues that you can draw a good crowd. One more thing you can do: keep your profile and your EPK packed to the limit with your latest tracks, press clippings, photos, videos, and performance dates. Always look your best, because you never know when you'll be discovered.

Before you do anything remember that fairness, honesty, and trust are key in the venue/artist relationship to OurStage, so please be sure that your cancellation is absolutely necessary. If it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, artists canceling a previously accepted offer must provide the venue with a minimum of five weeks notice prior to their scheduled appearance. Venues must be contacted via phone and/ or email. It is understood that artist performances are subject to detention by sickness, accident, riot, strikes, epidemic, acts of God or other legitimate conditions beyond their control. OurStage reserves the right to suspend or delete accounts of any parties found abusing the cancellation feature of Marketplace.

Marketplace is a networking arena that connects venue talent buyers with fresh talent. It's an easy and efficient way to find artists that draw the best crowd for your venue.

Marketplace can simplify and streamline the process of finding rising artists in your area and beyond. Post a gig on Marketplace specifying the kind of artist you're looking for, and sit back and wait for the right artist to come to you.

Better yet, Marketplace helps you choose artists based on their Mojo: a numeric indicator of their talent and fan following, and recommends other artists that may also suit your needs. Everything you need to keep your venue buzzing with rising talent and surging crowds is provided by Marketplace.

All you need to use Marketplace is a venue profile. When you register on OurStage and activate your account (using the link we email you), you automatically get a profile. So if you haven't registered or activated, do that now. Then just click on Marketplace in the menu bar at the top of the screen and start booking some new talent.

Register as a venue on OurStage and we'll contact you right away to validate your registration information. Once that's done, your account will be activated and you can create a venue profile. Make sure you fill in all the information you can, including a description of your venue, press reviews if you have them, and your contact information.

When you log in and click on Marketplace at the top of the screen, you'll be able to see a list of your current gigs. To list a new gig, click the Add a Gig button at right and begin filling in the details. When you've specified the kind of music and performer(s) you're looking for, you can either preview it, save it as a draft, publish it to the site, or cancel the listing altogether. Publishing it to the site will allow all OurStage artists to search for, view, and apply for your gig.

You will receive notice by email when artists apply for your gigs. You can also view all your applicants at once by clicking on the Applicants folder tab in Marketplace. Click on their image to view their EPK or Fan Club, see their Mojo rating, and play their stuff to determine what kind of talent they bring to the table.

Every artist gets a Mojo rating based primarily on where the fans rank them in our Channels. Other factors that figure into the Mojo rating are: number of Fans, number of Friends and number of media uploads as well as EPK completeness. One of the major benefits of Marketplace is the Mojo rating because it allows you to identify artists with the biggest talent, fan following, and the most potential to fill your club.

OurStage artists can easily locate venues like yours by searching on Marketplace. They can search by keyword or by parameters like submission deadline, gig date, capacity, genre, number of band members, location, and venue type. When your venue comes up in their results, they can click on it to see all your open gigs.

Once you have found the best artist for the show, select them from your list of applicants and hit the Book button. Easy, right? We'll send them an email message notifying them that they were chosen. Their status in your profile is Pending until they confirm acceptance. After that, they move up to the Booked section of your Marketplace profile. When you're ready to advance the show with the artist, just click Send Message and sort out the details.

When your chosen artist clicks on the link to confirm a gig, he/she will be provided with the general terms and conditions of a live performance agreementthe most important one being that they show up to play. If you want a little more insurance, you can also add your own standard contract. If any issues arise, we can help. Just send an email to community@ourstage.com

Before you do anything remember that fairness, honesty, and trust are key in the venue/artist relationship to OurStage, so please be sure that your cancellation is absolutely necessary. If you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO cancel, you must provide the artists previously booked a minimum of five weeks notice prior to their scheduled appearance. Artists must be contacted via phone and/ or email. OurStage reserves the right to suspend or delete accounts of any parties found abusing the cancellation feature of Marketplace.

The percentages you see at the top when judging are a reflection of which track you selected as your favorite, and by how much you favored that item, as compared to other site users.

Sometimes the numbers may appear a little strange if one of the items in that battle was uploaded very recently - So don't worry if you feel like you were in too small a minority in your decision.

The agreement percentage you see after you judge a battle is an estimate that may include data from previous months' contests. This percentage is for entertainment purposes only and should not be used to infer channel ranking.

Folk/Acoustic Channels

The Acoustic channel is for songs of any genre that feature acoustic instrumentation and arrangements that focus on and feature acoustic instrument performances. This channel is not for instrumental songs - they should be in the Instrumental or Solo Instrumental channel.

OurStage Examples of Acoustic:
Tim Naylor - Tastefully Graceful Check In The Dark - Complicated Lullaby

Folk is a channel for contemporary folk songs strongly influenced by the folk tradition in instrumentation and subject matter, or acoustic songs that are rooted in the pure folk tradition.

Examples of Folk:
Keith Curtis - The High Mountain Range
Kathleen Dunbar - Round And Round

Bluegrass is typically based around acoustic stringed instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, and upright bass, with or without vocals where each instrument takes a turn playing the melody and improvising around it. Covers of standards are permissible in this channel.

Singer/Songwriter (Male)channel is for music that focuses on lyrical storytelling and simple melodies with most of the emphasis being put on the character of the vocalist. Electric instruments are used as texture, however, the music stays mellow throughout favoring acoustic sounds. And yes, you must be a guy. This channel is intended for solo acts where the song was both written and performed by the singer. Tracks that have a best fit genre (i.e. classic Rock to alternative, blues, country, rap, R&B etc..) should be flagged as off topic. If the profile name isn't a FIRST NAME/LAST NAME and the right gender, EXPECT the track to be flagged as off-topic and moved to a more appropriate channel.

Classic: Cat Stevens, Nick Drake
Modern: Modern: Jack Johnson, Ben Gibbard, John Prine

OurStage Examples of Singer/Songwriter:
Alain De Courtenay - Sing To You

Singer/Songwriter (Female) channel is for music that focuses on lyrical storytelling and simple melodies with most of the emphasis being put on the character of the vocalist. Electric instruments are used as texture, however, the music stays mellow throughout favoring acoustic sounds. And yes, you must be a gal. This channel is intended for solo acts where the song was both written and performed by the singer. Tracks that have a best fit genre (i.e. classic Rock to alternative, blues, country, rap, R&B etc..) should be flagged as off topic. If the profile name isn't a FIRST NAME/LAST NAME and the right gender, EXPECT the track to be flagged as off-topic and moved to a more appropriate channel.

Classic: Joni Mitchell
Modern: Fiona Apple

OurStage Examples of Singer/Songwriter:
Jen Murdza

Country Channels

The Americana/Alternative Country channel is for artists that have their roots in traditional country music while incorporating instruments, lyrical themes, and production from other genres.

Classic: Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds, Gram Parsons
Modern: Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, Wilco

OurStage Examples of Americana/Alt. Country:
The Foreign Cinema - Hazy Autumn Days Stephanie Raymond - Dance of a Lonely Man

The Country channel is for honky-tonk, country pop/rock, and country folk artists. Most artists reflect the culture of the American south, favoring literal storytelling over lyrical abstractions. The music incorporates traditional instrumentation like pedal steel, twangy guitars, violin/fiddle, piano, and acoustic guitar.

Classic: Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard
Modern: Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Faith Hill

OurStage Examples of Country:
Raising Cane - Going Under Garret Ramquist - You Are The One

The Traditional Country/Western Swing channel is for songs that "evoke a specific sound, namely the long-standing tradition of simple country songs delivered with simple instrumentation and a distinct twang," or, Country music based in traditional string band music" (Source: All Music Guide). Roots music is for Country/Folk/Americana music with an old timey arrangement and vocal performance feel. Covers of standards are permissible in this Channel.

Rock Channels

The Pop channel is for dance/Beat heavy, up-tempo songs with vocal that features keyboards and drum tracks more than guitars and live drums, or for commercial, polished up-tempo rock music with pop friendly hooks.

Classic: New Kids On The Block, Madonna, Whitney Houston
Modern: Kelley Clarkson, Avril Levigne, Justin Timberlake

OurStage Examples of Pop:
Bree Sharp - Robots In Love The Long Time Darlings - Saturday Night Wil Deynes - Super Wonderful

Alternative Rock is for edgy rock music with aggressive or heavy musical productions, yet less aggressive than Hard Rock.

Classic: Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins
Modern: Foo Fighters, Green Day, Arctic Monkeys

OurStage Examples of Alternative Pop:
Front Row For The Meltdown - All My Life
Pascale Picard Band - Gate
View From An Airplane - Operation Illusion of Destiny

Example of Alternative Rock:
Wonderfool - Divine
White Light Riot - In a Shotgun Whirlwind

The Rock channel is for music with a prominent vocal melody, usually accompanied by a guitar, drums, and bass. Many rock songs also involve pianos, synthesizers, or other instruments. Some of the mainstream bands that model the sound of rock music range from The Rolling Stones to The White Stripes.

OurStage Examples Include:
Kilroy - I've Got a Second
The GoStation - Common Ground
Troy MacCubbin - Never Walk Away

Contemporary/Soft Rock for light Pop/Rock ballads and mid tempo songs.

Examples of Contemporary: Cahill - Out Of State Stars Go Dim - Crazy Korby Lenker - Bored Will Harrison - I Went South/a> Sean Cox - Redemption

Indie Pop channel is for non-mainstream rock music, that veers closer to Pop music than traditional rock music, but with instrumentation and vocal melodies that are not as aggressive as hard rock or alternative rock.

Classic: REM, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo
Modern: Modest Mouse, Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire

OurStage Examples Include:
Benny Strange - Nowhere Left To Run

Indie Rock channel is for tracks that express traditional rock elements, but with a modern/ethereal feel. As with Indie Pop, the instrumentation and vocal melodies are not as aggressive as hard rock or alternative rock.

Classic: REM, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo
Modern: Modest Mouse, Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire

OurStage Examples Include:
Foxtail Somersault - Escalator

Punk rock/Ska/Psychobilly often features one or more electric guitars, an electric bass and drums with vocals. In Punk Rock, vocals are often accompanied by a shouting vocalist that backs them. It has been described as very anti-establishment music and very rebellious to the normal characteristics of rock music and other genres. The term rises out of 70s bands like The Clash and The Ramones, or the Sex Pistols. Ska pulls from reggae, punk rock and rockstready styles and tends to feature a predominate walking baseline and accented guitar or piano rhythms. Ska and punk are grouped together in one channel because they're closely related styles, though the tones and rhythms and song structures vary substantially.

Classic: The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Clash
Modern: The Hives, Blink 182, The Donnas

OurStage Examples of Alternative Pop:
The Beltholes - Ex-Girlfriend Love Story In Blood Red - I Made Out

Jam Bands is for bands whose performances often feature long improvisational sections (or "jams") and rhythmic grooves, which can often cross several genre boundaries. The term "jam band" was used for groups playing a variety of genres funk, blues, country and folk.
OurStage Example:
Night Phoenix

Southern Rock/Blues: Developed in the Southern United States during the late 1960's and early 1970's, Southern Rock has its roots from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals. Examples include The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mountain, and Eric Clapton. More contemporary examples include Nickelback and 3 Doors Down.

Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony, and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums. Unlike R&B and soul songs, which feature many chords, funk songs are often based on a single chord. Influential funk performers include James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic.

Heavy Rock

The Hard Rock channel is for rock music that usually involves heavy use of aggressive electric guitars, drums, and bass guitar with straight forward rock vocals.

OurStage Examples Include:
Solid State Logic - It's Not Over Her Skeleton - Save You Now

Death Metal (From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_metal): Death metal is an extreme heavy metal subgenre. The genre is typically characterized by the use of heavily-distorted guitars, harsh vocals that are low-pitched and/or growled, morbid lyrics, fast-paced rhythms and melodies, and unconventional song structures.

Example of Death Metal: To Outlive the Beginning - Of Monsters and Men

Hardcore Rock began in the early 1980s with post punk bands like Black Flag, the Germs, Middle Class, Fear, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and the Rollins Band. Hardcore bands in the beginning were rhythmically loose and heavier than their forerunners like The Clash, and the Sex Pistols and played with more intensity and drive than punk bands typically did. It is frequently characterized as being faster, meaner, and heavier than punk, but with similar lyrics. This channel is not for rap.

Classic: Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains
Modern: Hatebreed, Terror, Converge

OurStage Examples of Alternative Pop:
The Beltholes - Ex Girlfriend Love Story in Blood Red - I Made Out

Metal rock is a genre of rock that developed during the late 60s and early 70s, with a thick sound from drums and guitars, with fast paced guitar solos and heavily amplified. It is now characterized by heavy use of electric guitars, and electric bass with other accompanying instruments at times, with loud vocals that are often accompanied by crashing drums. Some famous metal bands include Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Motley Crue.

Classic: Black Sabbath, Metallica, Kiss
Modern: Cradle of Filth, Venom, In Flames

OurStage Examples of Alternative Pop:
Dark Shift - We Came To Rock

Gothic/Industrial is for dark themed compositions. Gothic songs tend to feature heavily processed guitar sounds wtih emphasis on angular guitar melodic lines instead of thick chords. Industrial music could be considered a more abrasive and aggressive cousin to Gothic and features a fusion of rock and electronic styles. These songs should have vocals. Songs without vocals probably belong in the Techno channel.

Rap Channels

Rap music consists of rhythmic lyrics and an instrumental track or beat, often performed with a DJ or drum samples.

Classic: Run DMC, NWA, Boogie Down Productions
Modern: 50 Cent, Kanye West, Wu Tang Clan

Alternative Rap blur genres, drawing from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk. Often laid-back grooves, with socially conscious lyrics and song themes.

Gangsta Rap is a style of Hip-Hop that became popular in the late 1980's and remains very popular today. Many of the long-standing important commercial artists in this genre are cited as being Ice-T, Snoop, and Dr Dre.

OurStage Example of Gangsta Rap:
Fofif - Wutz Good

DJ/Beats is where all the aspiring beat-makers and DJs on OurStage can show off their best work. Beats are usually sampled from sections of other songs, and synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands are commonly also used, especially in newer music. They generally are entirely instrumental.

Spoken Word is a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. Spoken-word is often done with a musical background, but emphasis is kept on the speaker. (Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoken_word)

Instrumental Channels

The Instrumental channel accepts any solo or multi-instrumental (i.e. non vocal) compositions for both acoustic instrumentals and amplified compositions. It is not for techno/electronica or other compositions of that type.
OurStage Example:
Ameranouche - Les Memoires De Django Et

The Rock Instrumental channel is for all varieties of Rock based music without lyrics.
OurStage Example:
Pravda - Edge of Fire Graham Greene - Impressive Hair

Solo Instrumental These are solo instrument songs where other instrumentation is incidental to the main instrument performance.
OurStage Example:
The End of Love The Things in the Attic

Electronica

Electronic music is a term that covers a wide range of electronic or electronic-influenced music. The term has been defined by some to mean modern electronic music that is not necessarily designed for the dance floor, but rather for home listening. Some of the archetypal electronic musicians include John Digweed, Orbital, The Chemical Brothers, and The Crystal Method.

Classic: Devo, Kraftwerk, Boards of Canada
Modern: Aphex Twin, Massive Attack, Air, The Chemical Brothers

OurStage Examples Include:
Loto - Beat Riot, feat. Peter Hook

Club/Dance is high energy, mid to up tempo electronic music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. This does not currently include Club-style Rap though, which should be in one of the other Rap channels.

Mainstream examples: Carl Cox, Aphex Twin, Orbital

Techno places a strong emphasis on a steady, recurring beat, usually carried by a strong bass drum and punctuated with snares. Synthesizers and/or looped sound recordings act as the harmony of the song. Techno lends itself to DJ sets quite well, as it is relatively easy to transition between tracks and creates a non-stop night of dance. These songs should be mostly instrumental.

Classic examples: ATB, Paul Oakenfold, Armin Van Buuren

OurStage examples: Centron - Space Walk

Ambient/Chill Out is traditionally music focuses more on subdued, minimal and soft-melodic compositions, it has evolved to also include variations of techno and trance styles which lend a "chill-out" element to the song structure. Traditional ambient's telltale signs are calming and lightweight synthesizers with a relaxed beat. These songs should be mostly instrumental, or they are probably Electronic/Electro-pop, when vocals are present there should not be an emphasis on lyrical content.

Classic examples: Brian Eno, Moby, Rob D, Energy 52, Orb, Thievery Corporation

OurStage examples:

Cross-Genre

The Christian/Spiritualchannel is for music withlyrical themes that arereligious or spiritual in nature, characterized by uplifting messages of hope and faith.The styles of music in this channel might very greatly, but all entries must have vocal accompanimentto ensure each is specific to areligionor conveys deeplyspiritualvalues in a positive way.

OurStage Examples of Spiritual:
Strive - Better Way