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This article is about the music website. For other uses, see Garage band (disambiguation).

GarageBand.com was a large online community of independent musicians and music fans. Founded in 1999,[1][2] the site was used by musicians who were seeking greater exposure and critical insight provided by an audience of their peers. The site was also used by music fans to discover new independent artists in the site's vast collection.[1] Some is Creative Commons-licensed music content, announced in 2004.[3] Garageband closed its doors in June 2010, offering users migration to iLike.[4]

After the demise of the original MP3.com in 2003, subsidiary Trusonic, with an inventory of 250,000 artists representing 1.7 million songs, partnered with GarageBand.com in 2004 to revive these artist accounts. Most of the technology and infrastructure developed at MP3.com was retained.[5][6]

Main features

At the site's introduction, a monthly contest for a $250,000 record contract was announced.[1][2] In addition to free MP3 hosting, GarageBand.com offered independent bands the chance to enter into contests in which they compete for a top spot on the GarageBand.com music charts for their particular musical genre (e.g. 'Rock', 'Avant Garde'). In 2005, the GarageBand Faceoff contest offered winners airplay during a weekday afternoon 4-minute broadcast on four large-market FM radio stations, and a grand prize Capitol Records recording contract at the end of the year.[7] Later, the prize for hitting the top of the charts was expanded to inclusion in Clear Channel's "NEW! Discover Music" program, giving exposure across over 400 of the company's FM station websites. Entrance in the contest was either earned through reviewing the music of other members, or by paying a $19.99 per song submission fee.

The site uses a sophisticated rating system to generate popularity rankings for each artist, and maintains charts of these rankings. This makes the large music catalog easier to browse for fans. The music industry also uses these charts to find new talent. Several GarageBand.com members who have charted well found subsequent music career success in the form of label deals, licensing and promotional opportunities. Examples include 10 Years (signed to Universal Records) and American Idol finalist Bo Bice.

Licensing and partnerships

In 2004, the company licensed the GarageBand name to Apple for use with its music creation software.[8] Also that year, the company partnered with Microsoft for GarageBand members' music to be linked from MSN.com for download.[9]

GarageBand.com introduced Gcast, a podcasting platform which integrates the GarageBand.com digital music library, in 2005.[10] The service was created in response to greatly increased traffic to GarageBand.com after its podcasting feature was introduced. It was announced to tie-in with World AIDS Day.[11]

In 2006, the company launched iLike, a social music discovery website and iTunes sidebar application that tracks the music you listen to and recommends new music. Recommendations also include links to free downloads from GarageBand.com artists.[8]

Site downtime

After the dot-com crash, the company lost an important record distribution deal. In 2002, the website was taken offline for a time.[12] GarageBand.com does not currently load and has apparently been that way since 2011 as Alexa.com indicates.

The garageband.com domain name is now owned by Apple Inc. and redirects to the product page for their included music making software Garageband '11.[13]

"The Final Countdown" (1999-2001) contest winners

The band's listed below were the winners of GarageBand.com's recurring but short-lived contest for a $250,000 recording contract.

Reviewers' Picks awards

To win a Reviewers' Pick award, a band must show growth on the Independent Music Charts by genre, high review ratings and maintain an active profile. Artist were reviewed and awarded weekly.

Reception

In a 2006 review in PC Magazine the site received an "Excellent" editor rating, with 4 (of 5) stars. Bill Machrone summarized, "GarageBand.com demands a lot of work, in the form of music reviews, from participants. But this community of half a million artists and listeners may just be the Web's best source of indie music."[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Luening, Erich (September 30, 1999). "Music site brings bands out of the garage". CNET News. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  2. ^ a b "Record producer Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) joins forces with Technology pioneer and former Netscape Executive to launch Garageband.com". garageband.com. September 30, 1999. Archived from the original (Press release) on 1999-11-28. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  3. ^ Dean, Katie (June 7, 2006). "GarageBand.com Leaves Door Open". Wired.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  4. ^ Wauters, Robin (2013-03-08). "After More Than 10 Years, Indie Music Community GarageBand.com Folds". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  5. ^ Bialik, Carl (April 18, 2004). "GarageBand to Revive Old MP3.com Archive". WSJ.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.(subscription required)
  6. ^ "GarageBand and Trusonic Offer New Home to More Than 1.7 Million Songs and 250,000 Artists". GarageBand.com via Business Wire. April 21, 2004. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  7. ^ Hefflinger, Mark (October 30, 2006). "GarageBand.com Contest to Air Unsigned Artists on FM Radio". Digital Media Wire. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  8. ^ a b "iLike Shares Apple's GarageBand". Red Herring. March 1, 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  9. ^ "Microsoft to work with indie music site GarageBand.com". USATODAY.com. Associated Press. November 16, 2004. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  10. ^ Sharma, Dinesh C. (May 23, 2005). "GarageBand.com tunes up podcasting tool". CNET News. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  11. ^ Hines, Matt (December 1, 2005). "GarageBand Creators Launch Podcasting Service". PCMag.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  12. ^ Mariano, Gwendolyn (February 15, 2002). "Garageband unplugs site". CNET News. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  13. ^ Garageband.com search result. Domaintools.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  14. ^ Trieschmann, Werner (September 23, 2005). "After the Goldrush Went Bust". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved 2013-03-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Machrone, Bill (June 29, 2006). "GarageBand.com Review & Rating". PCMag.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
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