OurStage is a proud community sponsor of Just Plain Folks, a community of over 51,500 music makers, writers, publishers, and virtually every type Music Industry type out there. We wanted to pass along an opportunity from them to you, our star artists. If you would like to enter a release coming into the newest cycle of the JPF Music Awards (happens only every 2 years) you can mail Just Plain Folks a CD or DVD entry. Due to the holiday weekend, entrees must be postmarked by September 2nd to qualify for the awards.

I have become good friends with Brian, the founder of Just Plain Folks since we started sponsoring the organization. I can’t speak more highly about the organization and the JPF music awards. Same as OurStage, JPF is FREE to join. And it is FREE to enter their incredible music awards.

To enter, you need to follow the simple instructions below EXACTLY as requested:

INSIDE and OUTSIDE the package, please include this information:

Writer/Artist/Band Name:
Name of each album being entered (Use DEMO for non albums)
Full Mailing Address:
Home & Cell Phone Number (Inside Only):
Valid Email Address (Inside Only):
Website (if available Inside Only):
Same Contact info for any representative other than Writer/Artist/Band if needed (Inside Only):

That’s all there is to it! Press Kits are welcome but completely optional. They’ll send out updates throughout the process via the Just Plain Notes Newsletter. They do not verify receipt of entries. Once the entry deadline has passed, they will post all entries received. At that time if an entry is missing, there will be a grace period in which you can re-submit an entry. Per JPF: “DO NOT SEND ENTRIES WITH A SIGNATURE REQUIRED! ” They are often not available to sign for packages and your entry will be returned to sender and you’ll have wasted time and money. Don’t do it! Also, no need to spend money on Overnight packages. If they need an entry rushed to us, they will request it from you directly. Just send your entry in postmarked by September 2nd and they’ll be happy to get it when it arrives.

Send all entries to: Just Plain Folks Music Awards, 5327 Kit Dr., Indianapolis, IN, 46237.

After that September 2nd date, they will ONLY accept entries of albums released AFTER September 2nd, 2008 up until December 31st, 2008. Nominations will be out in early 2009 and the awards show will follow, time date and location TBA.

They’ve already logged in nearly 40,000 albums and over 500,000 songs from nearly every country in the world! As much as I love and live by OurStage, I have to give props to JPF. This is the largest (and most diverse) music awards program in world history. You really should join in all of the fun. Again, it’s free to enter!!!

REMEMBER you also have to join JPF (and it’s free) by using this link: http://jpfolks.com/JPNotes/subscribe.html?name=Join

Glorious OurStage Community Members:

Your passion, thoughtfulness and willingness to share your viewpoints inspires me each day to be the best Community & Artist Relations Guy @ OurStage that I can be. I impressed by the variety and quantity of comments from my last blog post (read it here if you missed it). I’ve decided to pick from the different comments you left certain phrases that seem to reflect key/repeating themes (be it concern or comment).

Someday soon we’ll have discussion boards for this type of dialog. Until then, I’ve indented my responses. Also, I’ve purposely not included the names of the commenter. Without further ado, here they are (and in no particular order):

Your comments on my blog post and my attempt at a response:

1. Ourstage needs to get rid of displaying the percentages of how many people did or did not agree with your vote afterwards. (I believe I saw someone else comment on this as well).

We state in our FAQ: “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.” Many folks think they’re fun. But if you always adhere to the principle of vote for what you think is best, the percentages are just that—fun and entertaining, as intended.

2. If I vote for myself, and I vote everyone else down in an effort to further myself, there is absolutely nothing dishonest about doing so. Whatever strategy one employes when voting is the message they send about who they “honestly” wish to succeed.

This isn’t at all the purpose of OurStage. In fact, we’re the opposite. If we were a pure popularity contest, like so many other sites out there, then yes, this is true, what is described above IS being honest. But being honest on OurStage means that you’re agreeing to participate in a truly unique taste-making community. You have opinions about songs and therefore you should vote based on your taste and preference to be honest. To think only 1 song is good and the rest are not, does nothing to help you, the artist, the other artists competing in your channel, or OurStage and also is very improbable at best.

3. You do NOT, you could not, have any method by which you can determine the honesty of a voter. No algorithm, nor any other mathematical function can determine honesty.

What we have is data. And LOTS of it. We can with data look for patterns. Yes, it is a model. And yes, a model is only as good as the underlying data. The good thing for you and for OurStage is that we have SO much of this underlying data that we can see the patterns and CAN determine honest judging in contrast to dishonest judging. I can’t show you the data. But patterns make it obvious for us to see.

4. Ourstage shouldn’t display the rankings during the quarter and semi final.

If we couldn’t handle honest vs. dishonest judging elegantly, we’d agree. But we can. So if it’s your desire, go ahead and be a dishonest judger. The only way to do that is to vote counter to your personal tastes, or with a goal of pushing one artist higher and others lower. But your votes will be of less influence than the votes of the honest judgers.

5. Artists should not be able to vote, or at least not be able to vote in channels where they have their own songs entered.

Like any democracy, we don’t prevent you from voting for yourself. But if you choose to vote in a way that suggests a pattern of dishonest judging (you can contemplate what some of those patterns might look like) your influence goes down so its not time well spent.

6. Every vote should count the same.

Well, we want to inspire folks to be as honest as they can be. So some strata here is in order. But it’s important to note that Sandy (A Gavel God judger) could love Song B and Stu (also a Gavel God Judger) could loathe Song B and their votes will carry the same influence.

7. Dishonesty in the judgeing is people that just vote for a particular artist not on the merits of their songs but on the fact that it is their friends song or they have been asked to vote for a song.

This is a very true comment as far as OurStage is concerned. We’re not like other Web sites in that we’re about taste-making not pure popularity. So go ahead and ask your fans to vote for you. But make sure your fans vote for all artists fairly (honest and thoughtful). That will only help you.

8 I do send out updates on how my songs are doing and ask people to vote for them if they like the song and want to.

You should be able to message your fans to enlist their support. If anything, it reminds them what channel you’re in. The community seems to do a good job policing itself in terms of “that’s spam” so it’s not out of control. Again, discussion boards are good way to broadcast those “check me out” messages. Until we have them, let’s try to keep these messages limited to your fans. Suggestion—get more fans on OurStage :)

9. You do NOT, you could not, have any method by which you can determine the honesty of a voter. No algorithm, nor any other mathematical function can determine honesty.

We do have a model. It works well because of the amount of underlying data. So I’m comfortable claiming that OurStage is the most fair online competition for musicians on the Web. Most fair, is pretty darn cool IMO.

10. What happens when one starts out as a “gavel God”, then as judging gets closer to semi finals, they slip through “mighty” and down to honorable..and yet they’ve picked at least 8 of the quarter finalists in a channel…..have they gone from being an “honest” judge to an”dishonest” one?

It is highly unlikely (if not impossible) that a predictor would not also be a Gavel God.

11. How you gonna judge music you don’t understand?

Trust your ears. Let your instinct help you. If you don’t like Head-to-Head judging, try Sort 4 (or other way around). Just do your best. Can’t ask for more, and you’ll be rewarded for that.

12. How do I find out if I am honest? or dishonest?

Bottom line here is that dishonest people tend to know that they’re trying cheat, game and mess with the voting. S if you have to ask, chances are you’re honest. That said, here’s an excerpt from our FAQ that goes into more detail.

When you go to the judging page, you should see your Judging Influence rating displayed at the top of the page. This rating reflects how honestly you have been judging since the start of the current month (for this reason the Judging Influence rating doesn’t even appear until the 2nd of the month). If after the 2nd of the month, your Judging Influence rating still doesn’t appear, it means you have not judged in enough battles to get a rating. The more thought you put into your judging, the sooner your Influence rating will build from ‘Weak’ to ‘Honorable’ to ‘Mighty’ to ‘Gavel God.’ If you’re active on the site and your rating is ‘Gavel God’ day after day, you’re well on your way to earning badges and achievements for your efforts.

What comments remain unanswered? What new questions arise? Let the cycle continue and comment away.

At last, the end of month is upon us. That means we here at OurStage (and you, I hope) eagerly partake in the showdown to the final rankings. But as we’ve alluded to for some time now, HONEST and THOUGHTFUL JUDGING matters on OurStage. Yes, it counts. Put a marker on it. Check a box. Drop a ballot. This isn’t a joke, farce or folly. We care about honesty and we’re rewarding it.

In fact, we have a stellar FAQ the details just how much we care about it. Read it here.
We also posted something about it on our newly sprouting Community Blog

And just to prove how much we care about it, I’ll write about it on my blog too, in a valiant (hopefully not ‘in vain’) attempt to spread the good word. First off, allow me to define for you what is meant by “Honest Judger”. And here I quote from our FAQ:

An honest OurStage judger is someone who takes judging seriously, listens closely to every song or video they review, and puts careful thought into the decisions they make. A dishonest judger is more careless with their judging. They rarely pay enough attention to the battling media items to have a true preference.

We measure this by assigning all judgers a “Judging Influence Rating”. Again to quote our oft cited FAQ:

This rating reflects how honestly you have been judging since the start of the current month (for this reason the Judging Influence rating doesn’t even appear until the 2nd of the month).

A Predictor is something we JUST introduced. Predictors are influencers with the added superpower of knowing a winning song when they hear it. They tend to vote for the same songs that, at the end of the month, achieve the highest rankings.

We have CHANNEL predictors for all our channels. But we only have THREE (yes, 3) ‘super-duper uber’ judging achievements we award each month: the GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE predictor awards. Last month those honors were bestowed upon:

Stu Brice, July’s GOLD predictor award winner
Rbopster, who took the SILVER (and who also works on a farm and drives a cab)
Leeia Music, our BRONZE award recipient.

Bottom line: these badges are cool and take work, thoughtfulness and passion to earn. So stop by the profiles of these fine folks above to congratulate them on their July success. And my advice to you is to be the best predictor you can be, so I can congratulate you for winning the award in August!

IMPORTANT READ THIS: You cannot be a “Predictor” if you don’t judge honestly. But YOU CAN be an influencer with top judging influence (Gavel God) even if your taste veers away from the popular taste. That way, we can still introduce folks to each other who share a similar taste in music, and reward the honest predictors with a badge. The Predictor Awards are intended to be a fun way to highlight the best predictors. Regardless, we will reward honesty and thoughtfulness above all else.

Dig this concept? Leave me a comment and tell me about it.

Rock on.

Big news on the battle front. We here at OurStage, dedicated to making your online music discovery experience THE MOST amazing possible, are proud to announce a new way to judge music. We call it Sort 4. If you like to move, drag, drop, order, and then move things around again until it’s in the order you think is best to worst, than Sort 4 judging is for you.

Instead of the classic head-to-head judging format (still available btw) where the judge chooses between two songs, Sort 4 lets the judge listen to four songs and drag them into a “Drop Zone” where they can order them from best to worst. Take Sort 4 for a test drive go to the judging page, and then tell your friends and fans to try it!

BIG IMPORTANT ALL CAP PROMO GIVE-AWAY ATTENTION GRABBER PLEASE LOOK HEADLINE

One lucky, randomly-selected person (this is a sweepstakes) who judges at least ten Sort 4 battles and the person who judges the most Sort 4 battles by Quarter-Finals will win a new iPod and a set of MyVu glasses (retail: $375).

Check out the official “sweepstakes” rules here.

MORE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ALL CAP GIVE-AWAY NEWS The person who does the MOST Sort 4 battles (this is a contest, legally different than a sweepstakes) between now and quarter-finals will also win the new iPod and a set of MyVu glasses!!!

Check the official rules here.

What are you waiting for? Go to battle! Oh yeah, and remember to leave me a comment telling me what you think about Sort 4 judging.

This week, we announced the grand opening of the OurStage Marketplace. Perhaps some of you have already noticed the Marketplace link in our Navigation Bar.

Maybe you’re wondering what the marketplace is all about. If so, this post is for you. Consider it my informal Q&A about Marketplace, that if successful, will inspire you to start applying for gigs today. So that intro aside, I offer you good people of OurStage Daniel Palmer’s Informal Q&A About the OurStage Markeplace

What is Marketplace?
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.

Why should I use Marketplace?
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.

How will the venue choose who to book?
Your Mojo rating is likely to be what they go by first. The higher your Mojo rating, the more likely they will check out your art to see if it’s a fit.

Mojo? What’s that?
Every artist gets a Mojo rating based primarily on where the fans rank them in our Channels. You can see yours by clicking the Markeplace link in the navigation bar. 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 (you can see that on your Marketplace homepage too). Venues will use the Mojo rating to help them identify artists with a proven ability to draw a crowd.

What makes the OurStage Marketplace cool?
Here’s my top 3 coolness factoids:

1. The venues we’re helping to book. We will keep adding amazing gigs, some perhaps at huge Live Nation venues (I mean HUGE—like 20,000 seat amphitheater huge…like that means opening for somebody with serious industry muscle huge).

2. Right now NO COST, longer term, lower cost. Music is a hard enough road without being nickeled and dimmed along the way. Yes, at some point in time we’ll need to charge something for a premium type membership. But there are some very key differences between us and others. Our EPKs are now, and will always be, FREE for you. On top of that, many of the gigs will not have their own “application fee”. Let me state that again: gigs without application fees means NO RISK for you to apply. So what if you apply to a gig and you didn’t get it? Big deal. Try again…try another….our plan is to encourage your participation, not discourage it.

3. Mojo baby, mojo. Here’s the simple beauty of this new service. Put your art on OurStage (free). Enter our channels (free). Let the fans decide (free). Get a rank (free). Pump up your Mojo score (free—but helps if the fans like you too ;)). Our system is unique in that a Mojo score makes it easy for venues to find the right talent (less sifting through submissions). That’s why the love working with OurStage. Get it??

Here is how I would interpret all this if I were you. Nominal fee (right now zero) lets you apply and apply to great gigs. if you don’t get picked, it should mean you don’t get pissed (or at least not much). Great opportunities means you’ll have a shot at sick gigs that could really help your career. So stay engaged with OurStage—having a top ranked Mojo will be one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd.

We have a solid FAQ on Marketplace I encourage you all to read. But moreover, I want you to go to fill out those EPKs and apply for Marketplace gigs. Remember how I kept suggesting something big was coming in all those emails—well, here it is.

So what’s your take on the OurStage Marketplace? Venue and gig opportunities will keep coming in (and we’ll keep the shelves stocked with killer gig opportunities). Let me know your thoughts on this brand new offering from your friends at OurStage.com by leaving me a comment.

Rock on.

Now, go get some gigs!

In the latest edition of RollingStone (still a fav. of mine) I learned that Kid Rock has “long refused to sell his music as digital downloads”. AC/DC and The Beatles also resist And yes, even without the power of the digital single, Kid Rock has managed to climb the charts and sell over 1.3 million units of his latest effort: Rock N Roll Jesus.

How, you might ask? Kid Rock said it best (and I quote from RollingStone here):

“Good music just doesn’t go out of style, and if you hear a great song that moves you, you’ll obtain it — by any means necessary.”

So yes, great songs and good music (not to mention a little old-fashioned name recognition) can certainly do wonders for album sales. Now, all of that good info aside, allow me to do a complete 180 and ask you to give us (OurStage) some of your tracks for free. Yes, you read it right. No need to reread. I want you to give us some of your music. Blasphemy? Perhaps. Effective and beneficial for you? We have behind-the-scenes data from our number crunching brainiacs to suggest ‘yes’. A strong ‘yes’ in fact.

Why should you be downloaded when these big name bands are refusing and are still successful? Well, here’s the kicker (an arse kicker at that). Like it or not, the “name recognition” thing is what gives them this option. Kid Rock and AC/DC can shake the foundations of the current industry thinking with a bold move like shunning digital. But at this point in your career, can you afford to make the same choice?

Before you can make bold moves and shake things up, you have to make a name for yourself. That’s why OurStage exists—to help match you with more fans. To encourage the fans to try something new—like your music—we offer them something called a “Track Pack.”

We give Track Packs to fans as a thank you for taking the time to make OurStage part of their music discovery efforts and to showcase the true talent that’s making a home here. I’m looking for more good music to give away to OurStage fans as part of a Track Pack.

So yes, I’m the anti-Kid Rock here. Not only do I want your digital singles, I want to give them away to the fans for free. But there is a method to the madness. If your art is selected to be included in a Track Pack, or other promotional incentive, it just increases your chances of finding those fans strewn about the internet like a spilled jar of marbles. What do we (OurStage) get out of the deal? More fans using our site. Nothing secretive or slimy here. . It’s all out in the open.

Take a look at what a “Track Pack” page might look like: http://www.ourstage.com/go/30onus. And yes, this is a real Track Pack page, but available ONLY for newbies to encourage them to join OurStage. And guess what, it works. The fans LOVE these. There is a license agreement to read before you offer your songs up for the Track Packs. No secrets here either. We get to choose the tracks to give away. Also, signing the agreement doesn’t mean we will feature your music just means that we could.

Maybe this isn’t for you. Maybe you love the idea. If you love the idea, sign up for the opportunity today. Give yourself a chance to be labeled as a hot new artist in your genre.

Do you like the idea of Track Packs? Let me know with a comment.

If you subscribe to the “I want more exposure” school of thought then click here.

Yes, good people of OurStage, today, August 8th, 2008 is my 1 year anniversary. Anniversary of what, you ask? Anniversary of creating my OurStage artist profile. On August 8th, 2007, I joined OurStage, not as an employee, but as an artist. Being it my anniversary and all, I thought it appropriate to share the untold tale of how Daniel Palmer came to be your Community and Artist Relations Guy @ OurStage.com.

The Tale
It was a dark and stormy night. Actually, it wasn’t dark and stormy at all. I was just trying to add a little dramatic effect. In actuality, it was a really sunny, nice day in fact. I was on vacation. Yes, back in the same spot where I was just vacationing, only it was a year ago (i.e. this is a flashback). I had just recorded my 2nd CD, HOME SWEET HOME and thinking about what I could do with it. The reason I make music is because every time I sit down with a guitar, I write something. Maybe its a gene. I don’t know.

A long while back, (many moons and 3” longer hair ago), I had dreams of being a rock star. However, emaciated band mates, penny filled bank accounts, and rehearsal studios with stalactites of mold dripping down from the ceiling, inspired me to a different path. Still, I never stopped making music, writing songs and recording. I just stopped making bands.

So here I was, with a new CD wondering, “how the heck will this ever be heard?” After all, I don’t gig. I don’t market my music. It wasn’t my profession so I wasn’t investing much in the post CD creation distribution process. Still, as a musician, I figured it would be nice to have somebody other than my progeny give it a listen.

One Google search later and I found OurStage.com. Boy, did this site look different to me. I’d never seen anything quite like it. Let the fans decide, eh? So I did. I put my songs on OurStage and it turned out that the fans sort of liked it. Finished 13th in Rock after a few months on the site in fact. I didn’t win anything, but just being a part of OurStage answered a very important question that for me, as the artist, I couldn’t easily answer myself. Do my songs suck? If they did, I was ready and willing to work on my craft to make them better. OurStage answered that question for me in a way that MySpace never could. I felt a different sort of validation for my art.

The next week, after vacation, I was bragging to friend about my stellar success on OurStage and how cool the site was. Now, this is the destiny part of the story that’s pretty funky. Turns out my friend had friends who new people who worked for OurStage. I figured, hey, I’d love to connect with these guys. After all, they’re doing really great work for artists. Figured I could share some feedback, insights and ideas I had about the site and music in general with the staff. Well, one thing lead to another and just like that, you all ended up with lil’ ol’ me, championing our collective efforts as your loyal and steadfast community and artist relations guy.

So after a year of “OurStage existence” I thought I’d share with you some THEN (8/8/07) and NOW (08/08/08) comparisons.

Daniel Palmer’s OurStage 1 Year Anniversary Comparisons

Number of Genre Music Channels
Then: 16
Now: 52

Artist Members
Then: about 7,000
Now: All I can say is somewhere north of 50,000

Prizes/Opportunities Awarded
Then: Hundreds
Now: Thousands

Battles
Then: Tens of thousands
Now: Millions+

Not only has the site grown TREMENDOUSLY since I first made an OurStage profile, but we’ve added a lot of great new features in the year including: blogs, calendar of events, free EPKs, the OurStage Marketplace complete with your “Mojo” score, music recommendations based on your personal taste, live chat (Judge’s chambers), PartyLine listening parties, new profile layout, talent scout game, and bunch of other behind the scenes goodies that help fuel our community growth.

So happy anniversary to me. And to you. When is your one-year OurStage profile anniversary? Let me know and I’ll send some good vibes your way. Thanks for continuing to support OurStage and independent music in general. PLEASE (PLEASE PLEASE) read my blog about what you can do keep making OurStage even bigger and badder.

I know this year has seen a lot of changes on the site, new rules, new polices etc.. We will continue to make improvements to the site to inspire even more honesty and thoughtfulness in judging, help the fans discover all the great music and talent on OurStage, and support deserving artists with even more career advancing opportunities. That’s my promise to you. It takes a community of committed individuals to help make it happen. Let’s commit the energy needed so that on my next year’s anniversary post, the comparisons from then and now will be even more extreme.

I hope you enjoyed my little OurStage anecdote and blog post. Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought.

Let’s take a moment and ponder all of great and significant things in our lives that require no effort on our part to obtain or maintain. Still thinking? I can’t think of one. Love and marriage takes work. Your gladiator body (or aspirations for a gladiator body) certainly does as well. Kids, for those in the know, is work 2x (reward 2x too). Your musical chops-those certainly take work. Your vast and impressive knowledge of music didn’t come free either. Friendships, yup, those take work too.

The stuff you want to buy tends to cost money, and money usually takes work to earn, unless of course you win the lottery. Perhaps the lottery is one thing you can get, that’s significant and worth having, but doesn’t take any work at all (aside from paying a buck). Then again, I’ve read that lottery winners often end up broke, depressed and unhappy. Perhaps the old adage, “it’s the journey, not the destination” has more than a little ring of truth to it.

So what does this have to do with OurStage, you ask? Good question. Bottom line is that OurStage (like everything else that’s worth having) takes work. Yup, I said it-work is involved. Sure we’re free to use. We don’t charge a dime for our EPKs, unlimited file storage, PartyLine listening parties, email messaging or event calendar. We host all of these free channel competitions for artists to enter and win great prizes. We offer free exposure, promotion, and opportunities to take your art to the next level. And for the fans, we provide a safe, free platform to discover great new music from talented emerging artists. And free ways to reward the most deserving with career changing opportunities.

That’s our work. And you know what? It is rewarding. We feel good about what we’re doing here. We feel that we’re making a difference in the music industry and the lives of fans and artists worldwide. We’re proud of our work. But are you? OurStage is great because you make it great. You put your talent on OurStage. You use OurStage to discover great talent. But stop for a moment and ask yourself, are you doing what you can to make OurStage even better?

“Ask not what OurStage can do for you, ask what you can do for OurStage.”

If you’re short on ideas but long on ambition, I have the list for you. My sincere hope is that each member of OurStage feels that their efforts and involvement with OurStage is rewarding. Ours is a relationship. After all, a concert is only good if there are fans in the audience to enjoy it. So that said, I give you five answers to the question, “what can I do for OurStage?”

1. Tell your fans!! If you’re an artist with a MySpace (or other) profile with more friends there than fans on OurStage you have an opportunity to make a difference here. Use banners to promote your fan club, or your channel contest. Learn how to use banners here.

Fan club banners will help build up your OurStage fan club

Tell your friends and fans that you’re on OurStage

2. Make your OurStage profile a first stop, not an afterthought. New news, new events, new tunes—get them on OurStage and tell your fans to come here to check it out.

3. Be kind all the time. We’re a community of artists and music fans. There is never any reason to veer from the straight and true path of our Community Values.

4. Tell your friends! If you’re a fan of music, chances are you know other fans of music. Tell them about OurStage, where the art and the artists matter most. We even have a banner contest, in case you didn’t know.

We have banners for fans to place on other sites too!

5. Be involved and join the OurStage revolution. Show support by sharing your enthusiasm for talented OurStage artists. Need a primer on OurStage music discovery? Check out 10 Ways to Discover Music.

Think for a moment about businesses that are committed to independent music, run by artists and truly benevolent and passionate music fans, who are helping advance the careers of independent artists on a daily basis. I’m not saying we’re the only company out there that fits the bill, but I will say, it’s a pretty short list. And I think that alone makes it worth the effort. Don’t you?

Share your thoughts on this blog with a comment, won’t you? More important, tell everyone about OurStage. And as always, rock on and be fearless.

The Grammy Award-nominated Christian pop rock band Newsboys headlined The Soulfest (July 30th-August 2nd, 2008 at Gunstock Mountain Resort) last weekend. The band formed in Australia in 1985 and has been one of the most popular and best-selling Christian music artists of the past two decades.

While attending The Soulfest, I had the good fortune of sitting down with Paul Colman, the new guitar player for Newsboys for a Q&A. Paul, also a grammy nominated singer/songwriter/entertainer, has performed all over the world, written hit singles, garnered numerous awards and has sold hundreds of thousands of records. According to Paul’s Web site, “the band’s current hit single “Something Beautiful” was Paul’s first co-write after joining the band in 2005. He still performs as a solo artist and is currently in the studio working on his 14th recording, due for release April 08.”

During our chat, Paul and I discussed the state of the music business and what inspired a successful solo artist (and front man) to dedicate his considerable talent in more of a supporting role for a well-established band.

OurStage:What’s your take on the current state of the music industry?
Paul: We’re in the middle of huge shifts in the music business. Not only how music gets recorded and produced, but also how it’s promoted. It’s a death sentence for any artists who is resistant to change.

OurStage: What’s changed most in your opinion?
Paul: More than ever, the industry is about branding your band and connecting with fans. Life is about people. Love God and love people. If you’re an introverted artist, you’re music has to be that much better to be heard. Unless you’re able to connect on a personal level with the fans, it’s harder than ever to stand out and be noticed.

OurStage: How can artists make that connection with their fans?
Paul It’s about writing great songs for one. Also, you have to craft a great show. Great shows are comprised of a bunch of amazing moments strung together. Those don’t just magically happen. The artists that put on the best shows work on them. They practice them, so they can happen.

OurStage:I know this is the approach you take with your shows? Does the band do the same for Newsboy concerts?
Paul: Yes. Without a doubt. The trick is to make it look natural, not rehearsed.

OurStage:When did you join the Newsboys?
Paul: I joined 3 years ago now. Thereabouts.

OurStage:You were already a very successful solo artist, what inspired the move?
Paul: I had reach a point in my career where I needed help seperating Paul Colman the man from Paul Colman the artist. Life in many ways is like a house. The studs of the house are there. But I was trying to figure out how many did I put up and how many did God? I was becoming too intoxicated with self. It was always about Paul Colman and I was losing perspective on what mattered most. I looked at the ‘house’ of my life and decided that it was not how I wanted to live. I would rather live in a tent then sleep under this roof. Newsboys was in many ways an answer to my prayers. It freed me of my own self so that I could see God’s blessings in my life.

OurStage:Was playing the “Paul Colman” role tough for you before the change?
Paul: Definitely. My life was suffering from it. I felt very hypocritical. I would say and sing one thing, but I was feeling another.

OurStage: Was there any hesitation on your part before deciding to join Newsboys?
Paul: None at all. I’ve known Peter a long time. This was about becoming an employee in a way. It wasn’t all about Paul Colman. I got to let that go. It was truly a blessing for me.

OurStage:Your mostly an acoustic player as a solo artist. How was the transition from acoustic to electric guitar for you?
Paul: Right. I never really played much electric guitar before. I locked myself away and just committed myself to the work. I viewed it as holy work. God leading me on my path, not me trying to do the leading. I built my rig from scratch and approached it as a job.

OurStage:How has the band embraced you as the the new guitar player?
Paul: It’s been an amazing experience. I get some complements for sure. But nobody thanks me for the work I do on a daily basis. Nor should they. It’s my job and they expect me to be good at it. It’s truly freeing that my work and my identity are no longer as intertwined as they once were.

OurStage:Do you still like performing solo?
Paul: Oh sure! It’s great. Just different. When I’m in the zone I know that nobody does what I do. It’s fun to put on a great show. But now, being a member of Newsboys, it’s not devastating or a personal blow when I don’t.

OurStage: What do you think you bring to Newsboy? Why did Peter want you in the band?
Paul: (Laughs) Personality I guess. I bring my own unique style to group that’s working well. It feels like a band and I’m happy to be a part.

OurStage:What’s your thoughts on Christian music market today? How does it compare to other markets?
Paul: There a lots of sub-cultures within the Christian music community. We’re happy to have our niche. It’s not an issue for us that we’re not always embraced by the mainstream music media community. We’ll sell out a 15,000 seat arena. Another artist will sellout a 1,200 seat venue, but they’ll make the newspapers here in the States and we won’t. But our focus is writing great songs, playing memorable shows and connecting with out fans. That’s what we do.

Newsboys new live CD/DVD Houston We Are Go hits the streets September 2nd.

Paul Colman’s music is available on Paul Colman.com.

This was my first interview with an artist for OurStage. Let me know what you think with a comment.