Neither can anyone else! One of the biggest mistakes people make with their Myspace page is to choose a background, layout or colour scheme that clashes with the text, rendering it difficult to read, or worse, unreadable.  Always ensure that your text is clear and easy to read.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

The simpler your page, the quicker it will load up.  Large complex backgrounds and picture files will make your site slow and cumbersome.  Look to streamline your site for efficiency and only include what is necessary.  If you use pictures, it is possible to convert them to a significantly smaller file size with a negligible loss of quality.  Remember, the longer your page takes to load, the more chance the viewer will get fed up and go elsewhere.

PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD

Always assume the average viewer is going to come and go within 10 seconds.  With that in mind, you want to ensure you have your very best track set to play as default.  If your best track has a long intro, edit it so that it hits in straight away with the juicy parts.  You have a limited time to entrap and captivate your viewers, especially those that are just passing through or page hopping.

CONTROL YOUR COMMENTS

As a matter of rule, you should set your comment settings to reject HTML and require approval before posting.  If your comments are full of spam and harmful hyperlinks, this creates a negative image.  Refrain from using your comment section as a means of dialogue.  Use IM or Email for this and leave your comment section for one off comments and/or replies.

PROFESSIONAL IMAGE

The image and vibe or your page will influence how your visitors view you.  Habitual bad language and spelling mistakes in your bio, blogs and bulletins will make you come across as ’amateurish’.  If you take your music seriously, you will appreciate your music is a business.  Treat your Myspace as an extension of that business.

CONNECT THE DOTS

Are you on every other social network under the sun? If so, promote every one of them on your Myspace! This really doesn’t have to take up a lot of room.  Check out the Piewatch ‘Links’ page and you will notice we promote multiple sites using small recognisable icons.  This provides a compact and efficient way of promoting your various sites without the need for messy hyperlinks.

VISUAL INTEREST

Creating an eye catching and interesting default picture for your Myspace avatar will increase the chances of someone clicking it whilst browsing friend/group lists or comments.  Try to use something that works in a small size.  Blinking or moving images can be effective and eye catching.  These are easily created using Adobe Image Ready.  Solo artists might consider using their best photo shoot picture, whilst bands may consider using a band logo.  If you are savvy, you will persuade your friends to adopt your avatar and help promote you.  Competitions and giveaways for people adopting your avatar are a good incentive.

HIDE AND SEEK

Every part of your page can be hidden if need be.  The HTML needed to hide specific parts of your site is easily found by searching online.  If you have 7 friends, but wish to project a much larger image (without lying), simply hide your friends and friend link.  If you do not receive a lot of comments, consider hiding your comment section.  A lack of comments points to inactivity and unpopularity, whilst a page without a comment section redirects attention to other parts of your page.

BALANCE THE NUMBERS

If you have 1000 plays a day on the Myspace player, 100,000 friends but no comments for the last 6 months, something doesn’t add up.  Make sure all the numerical info provided on your page is legit and adds up.  If you feel the need to use bots to up your page views (for example), ensure this doesn’t stick out from the rest of your stats.  Remember, it is possible to hide any and all stats with the right HTML codes if necessary.  Sometimes it is better to hide inactivity than to create a false perception that the page is active.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Try to log onto your page daily.  If this is not possible, think about hiding your last login stat.   Ensure all information is up to date, from gig lists to bio.  A neglected site promotes a lazy image.

FUN AND GAMES

Keep applications to a minimum and relevant to your music.  Polls can provide useful information if used wisely.  However….Games! A big NO-NO!  Now we at Piewatch like our games, so much so that we incorporated an arcade games section into the site.  However, whilst we have a whole website in which to include a bit of fun, you have one page.  Think logically!  Nobody is going to appreciate those tracks in your player if they are playing Pac-Man.  Promoting Namco will not help promote your tracks.

HORIZONTAL SIN

Never have a page that forces the viewer to scroll horizontally.  Having a wide page is not cool! Scrolling down the page is natural; scrolling across the page is annoying.  Having to scroll both vertically and horizontally to view the entire page will soon have your visitors hitting the back button.

THE 6 P’s (PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS P*SS POOR PERFORMANCE)

Creating a Myspace page that you are happy with will usually involve bringing in a lot of HTML code from different sources.  It is very easy to accidentally save changes to your HTML and find you have saved an empty page (and the ‘back button doesn’t always get you out of a jam).  Additionally, importing dodgy HTML code from some sites can wreck havoc with your existing HTML.  Think smart and save your sites HTML coding into a WORD document at regular intervals!

STRANGER DANGER

Effective networking is about forming real online relationships with people.  Having millions of Myspace friends that you have never talked to does not constitute good networking.  It’s better to have invested your time into making 10 real friends you can call upon when needed than a collection of unknown strangers.

WHO ARE YOU PROMOTING?

If you import HTML code from external sites to help you build your own, pay attention to any additional elements within the provided code that places an advert on your site.  You don’t have to be fluent in HTML to figure out which part of the code is creating the unwanted effect.  Find it…Remove it.

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR

Videos provide an excellent addition to your Myspace page.  However, a badly shot video with jerky, grainy camera action and hussy, distorted sound is not going to do you any favours.  Whilst a half decent amateur video shot by the crowd is acceptable, ensure the sound quality is top drawer.  If this is not possible, consider compiling your videos into one compilation video and overdubbing the audio with a fully mastered quality track.

PROMPT RESPONSE

Reply to every message and comment.  Responding to messages promptly promotes a professional and friendly image.  Responding to every comment provides you with a mini promotion on someone elses site.  Try to add a personal touch to the comments you leave on other peoples sites.  In doing so, you increase the likelyhood that they will leave a comment on your site, which in turn helps to keep your page looking active.

JEDI MIND TRICKS

Ok…So we don’t actually know any JEDI mind tricks, but we do know a little about psychology.  Ever seen those comments saying ‘HEY…Love your stuff! Check my tunes OUT!! (Maybe with an advert underneath)  Does that make you want to click on them?   The best way to get someone to look at your site and listen to your tunes is to make no mention of your site or tunes!!  Simply leave a personalised comment relevant to the individual’s page you are commenting on, compliment them, but in such a way that it appears you have actually taken the time to look at their site.  Example – saying you liked a particular element in a song situated last in an artist’s player, gives the impression you have listened to all their tracks.  Likewise, commenting on something written in a person’s bio gives the impression you have read their bio in its entirety.   People like it when you take an interest in them, with many returning the favour.

GROUP HUG

Groups are a great promotional tool.  Join lots of groups!  The fact you are a member means your avatar will occasionally receive some added promotion, as group members are randomly displayed on the group’s home page.  Use the group forum to say hi! Many group forums are underused, allowing you to remain visible in the active topics for quite some time.  Choose groups that are relevant to your genre.  It is worth noting that other artists, hungry for friends, will scroll through the group’s member listing, sending friend requests as they go.  This is a good way to bump up your friend numbers without having to send out friend requests.

COMPULSARY CONTENT

Whilst there are elements that you may or may not decide to include in your Myspace page such as artist/band photo’s and videos, there are some which no self respecting artist should exclude, such as Gig lists and Mailing lists.

1ST PERSON OR 3RD PERSON?

Writing a bio is personal to you.  There is no right or wrong way.  However, it is worth considering that how you choose to write your bio may impact on how you are perceived by your visitors.  Writing in 3rd person is very formal and professional, but can also make you come across as arrogant, big headed and distant.  Writing in 1st person can convey a friendly and personal touch, but can sometimes lack the formality of a serious musician.  However you choose to write your bio, it is the content that will make or break you.  A bio written in 3rd person that say’s nothing is no match for a glowing musical CV written in 1st person.

TOP FRIENDS

Why do many artists feel the need to make ‘Top Friends’ out of well known celebrities/musicians/actors, all of whom they have never met!??  It’s usually out of a misguided belief that their visitors are dumb enough to believe they are associated in some way with the elite.  Fact…your visitors will think you are a muppet.   Ideally, choose friends who would give you added exposure if they were to mutually add you as a top friend on their site.  Once you have made them a top friend, enter into dialogue about anything BUT the fact you have added them as a top friend.  Hopefully they will just stumble on the fact and with a little luck add you too.  If not…try someone else.  Try to keep friends and family away from your top friends list.  View it as another promotional tool.

Has this article helped? Let us know by rating the article and leaving us a comment.

Gamble Responsibly

First and foremost, trading on the Slicethepie exchange is GAMBLING.  It is a recreational activity for members aged 18+ and comes with financial risks.  Whilst the potential gains could be huge, they are unknown and by no means guaranteed.  The potential losses however, are easily quantified.  Put simply; you could lose every penny!

PLEASE NOTE: U.S CITIZENS ARE RESTRICTED FROM USING THE TRADING EXCHANGE DUE TO U.S GAMBLING LAWS

“NEVER GAMBLE MORE MONEY THAN YOU ARE PREPARED TO LOSE”

Understand the Exchange

Having invested in an artist who successfully reaches their £15k financing target, you will be entitled to 1 contract for every £1 invested (if eligible).  The contracts go live on the trading exchange shortly after the artist is fully financed.  You now have the option to wait until the contracts are redeemed for a cash return 2 years after the artist’s album is released.  Alternatively, you can sell your contracts on the trading exchange.  The trading exchange at its most basic level, is a platform that allows the buying and selling of contracts between investors/traders.

We recommend reading the official Slicethepie FAQ which has a section dedicated to the trading exchange.

“YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KEEP YOUR CONTRACTS FOR 2 YEARS TO MAKE MONEY”

Understand The Contract Value

Contractual value can be divided into 3 phases.  The ‘Pre-ordered’ phase, the ’Trading’ phase, and the ‘Redemption’ phase.  The initial cost of obtaining contracts through investment (pre-ordering) provides the original cost of the contract.  In most cases this will be £1.00.   By making a mental note of a contracts original price, a mental ‘base’ value can be formulated, in which any contract offered below this threshold might be deemed good value.

The contract value will then fluctuate once on the trading exchange, based on speculation and investor confidence.  The prices being determined by how much traders are willing to buy/sell contracts for.

Finally, 2 years after album release, the contracts are redeemed for a cash sum (see official FAQ for details) and the contract pays out its true value.  As the ultimate value of a contract cannot be realised until the end, the redemption value remains speculative, based on your own confidence.

By understanding these 3 contractual value phases, you will be better placed to make trading decisions on the exchange.

“THE CURRENT CONTRACTUAL PRICE IS ONLY WHAT THE LAST PERSON WHO TRADED IN THAT ARTIST, THOUGHT THEY WERE WORTH”

Theoretical Loss

Contract prices will go up and down.  In order to make money, you simply have to buy low and sell high, or in the case of the investor looking to sell his/her pre-ordered contracts; sell for more than the initial cost of pre-ordering the contracts.

Sometimes the price will drop and your portfolio will show you have made a loss.  It is very important to understand this is a purely theoretical loss.  As long as you do not sell for a loss, you have not actually made a loss.  Similarly, if your portfolio is showing good growth, you are only being shown theoretical profit.  You need to sell your contracts for profit to make profit.  A contract that is worth £2.00 can be valued at £1.00 tomorrow, £3.00 the next, but £2.00 cash is always £2.00 cash!!

“A LOSS SHOWN IN YOUR PORTFOLIO ONLY BECOMES A REAL LOSS IF YOU DECIDE TO SELL”

Reinvest

Money makes money! Use your trading profits to buy more contracts, either through the exchange or via the investment stage.  Small profits continually reinvested can significantly increase your portfolio’s growth over time.

“YOU WILL BE SURPRISED HOW QUICKLY YOUR PORTFOLIO CAN GROW THROUGH CONTINUAL REINVESTMENT”

When The Going Gets Tough – BUY!!

A fall in contract price provides an excellent opportunity to purchase more.  Buying additional contracts at a lower price than you originally paid will lower the total average price you have paid for your contracts, resulting in a lowering of the contractual price needed for you to break even or move into profit.

Example; I have 2 contracts bought at £1.00.  The value crashes down to 50p, whereby I purchase 2 more at 50p.  I now have 4 contracts costing me £3.00 in total.  Previously, I needed to sell a contract at £1.00 to break even.  Having bought more contracts at the lower price, I can break even by selling my contracts for £0.75

“BUYING MORE CONTRACTS AT A LOWER PRICE INCREASES THE PROBABILITY AN ARTIST WILL RETURN A PROFIT FOR YOU”

Life Is a Rollercoaster

Contract prices can go up and down.  Look to sell at the ‘peaks’ (before a fall) and buy during the ‘troughs’ (before a rebound).  Remember, prices never move in straight lines (graphically), tending to zigzag, forming an upward or downward trend.  Whilst it is important to try and predict the highest and lowest points of any ‘trend’, it is equally important to gauge the many peaks and troughs that can occur throughout a trend, thus maximising your trading profits.

“BUY LOW, SELL HIGH”

Board Control vs. Financial Risk

The more contracts you own in an artist, the higher the level of ‘board control’ you have.  The number of contracts you own in an artist will determine the level of influence you are able to exert on the exchange and which strategies are available to you.  Needless to say, owning 1000 contracts will allow you to adopt certain trading strategies not available to someone with 5 contracts.   Remember, the more contracts you have, the more you have to lose as your ability to influence the exchange is linked to the risks you are willing to take.   It’s a careful balancing act.

“BALANCING THE RISK IS A STRATEGY IN ITSELF”

The Price Is Flexible

If you are looking to purchase a contract on the exchange, you do not have to buy at the going rate.  If you feel the price of a contract is too expensive, simply place an offer to buy at a lower rate and wait for someone to meet your offer.  Similarly,  if you are looking to sell a contract and are unhappy with the low price  offered  by others, place an offer to sell your contract(s) for higher.  Accepting the current price results in an instant transaction, where as placing offers can land you some great deals and increase your profits, though it can take some time for your offers to be met, and it is not guaranteed that they ever will.

“All GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE THAT WAIT.  A LITTLE PATIENCE CAN PAY OFF IN THE END”

Knowledge Is Key

Prices are dictated by investor confidence.  Good news will generally result in an increase in prices.  Bad news may result in a fall in prices.  No news is usually bad news!  Be sure to watch the Slicethepie Trading News segments for price sensitive information.  Be aware that once the news has been released by Slicethepie, it is usually too late!  Many investors will already be aware of price sensitive information well before it ever hits Slicethepie and have their strategies already in play.   Be sure to keep up to date with artist sites, blogs and tweets.  If you are invested in an artist, join their mailing list.  For a comprehensive list of all financed artist’s sites, check out our ‘SLICETHEPIE ARTIST LINKS‘ page.

“HAVING A STRATEGY BASED UPON KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION IS BETTER THAN A GAMEPLAN RELYING ON INSTINCT AND LUCK”

Ready Steady Trade

The pace of trading varies from day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute.  Trading can be slow and uneventful one day only to be fast moving, volatile and unpredictable the next.  Be prepared for the sudden changes in pace that can occur at any time.

“I MADE £175.50 PROFIT WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF MY CONTRACTS GOING LIVE ON THE EXCHANGE” THE SPEN

Silly Offers = Savvy Transactions

Have a look at the contractual offers of any artist on the exchange and you will notice exceptionally high/low offers at the extremes of the board.  At first glance, it may appear that these are ‘silly’ offers, but they are in fact savvy offers, lying silently in wait for an extreme movement in price (i.e. sharp rises or crashes).  It is not unheard of for a contract sat at under £2.00 to rise to £10.00 overnight, only to fall back down again sharply.  Similarly, it is not unheard of for a contract above £2.00 to crash below £0.20 only to rebound shortly after.  Traders that have ‘silly’ offers on the board stand to make a lot of money during times of extreme market volatility.

“AN OFFER MADE JUST IN CASE IS BETTER THAN NO OFFER AT ALL”

The ‘Under 10′ Rule

Whilst there is no definitive rule, there is a general consensus among Slicethepie traders that individual offers over 10 contracts have a habit of temporarily suppressing prices one way or the other.  By keeping individual offers below 10 contracts, market fluidity is encouraged and price fluctuations can occur freely.  That’s not to say traders should refrain from putting in individual offers of 10+ contracts.  Indeed, certain strategies such as ‘buffering’ rely on this very rule.

“OFFERING 1 CONTRACT ENCOURAGES TRADERS TO BUY IT QUICK OR MISS OUT,  OFFERING 100 CONTRACTS  ENCOURAGES  INVESTORS TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO BEAT YOUR OFFER”

The ‘Bolstering’ Technique

This strategy involves putting up offers for large amounts of contracts in order to create a false buffer, in the hope of influencing a price trend in a specific direction, or in order to slow or reverse a current trend.

Example 1) Putting up an offer to buy 250 contracts at a certain price, sets a temporary ‘floor’ whereby the price will not drop below this unless someone sells 250 contracts at that price

or the offer is removed.  The idea is that other traders wishing to purchase contracts are forced into making higher offers, which could turn into an upwards momentum.  The strategy relies on a bluff.  In most cases the trader does not wish to actually buy 250 contracts at that price but there is always a risk that this may happen.

Example 2) Putting up an offer to sell 250 contracts will have the effect of creating a temporary price cap on the board.  Again, in order for contracts to rise above this threshold, traders need to buy out the 250 contracts or the offer needs to be removed.  On the face of it, it can look like someone is simply cashing out there contracts, but such a technique is used to mimic this and force prices down, by encouraging other sellers to undercut and shaking investor confidence.  This is done primarily to obtain cheaper contracts by the instigator.  Again, there is always a risk that all 250 contracts are bought up at a price lower than wanted.

“NUMBERS HAVE THE POWER TO INFLUENCE”

Creating False Trends

Another strategy that is sometimes adopted is to cause a sharp crash or rise in contract prices by buying up, or selling down the board.  The idea behind this is to create a sharp upwards or downwards trend that then gains momentum.  It relies heavily on the ‘herd’ mentality of other traders and is sometimes used in conjunction with the Bolstering technique in order to strengthen the illusion of other traders jumping on this apparent upwards/downwards trend and filling the contractual price void accordingly.  This strategy is not without risks.  There is no guarantee that traders won’t simply fill the void back with similar offers, bringing the board quickly back to it’s original position.

“IT IS DIFFICULT TO TELL IF A SHARP RISE OR FALL IN PRICES IS THE INFLUENCE OF ONE INDIVIDUAL OR THE COLLECTIVE CONFIDENCE OF MANY TRADERS – OR BOTH!”

The 2 Up 1 Down Strategy

This is a very simple strategy for penny trading.  When selling a contract, place a sell offer 2 pennies higher then the current best buy offer.  When this offer is met, immediately put an offer in to buy it for 1 penny cheaper, which (fingers crossed) should still be 1 penny higher than the next best buy offer.  There is always a risk that you might not be able to buy your contract back cheaper, but if you sold it for a profit in the first place, this strategy is risk free. This strategy is basically a reverse take on the golden rule of ‘BUY LOW, SELL HIGH’.  In this case we are selling high and buying back low.  We have provided an example of this strategy in its most simplest form.  We’ll leave you to figure out variations.

“WHETHER YOU BUY LOW AND SELL HIGH, OR SELL HIGH AND BUY LOW, YOU HAVE STILL MADE MONEY”

The Collect and Forget Strategy

The easiest strategy to adopt on the exchange is to simply not trade.  Invest in an artist, collect your pre-ordered contracts and when they go live on the exchange, simply hold them till redemption.  It’s the ‘Hit and Hope’ strategy, but a great strategy if you have confidence in the redemption price and do not wish to be sidetracked into making a potential error or misjudgement through trading.  That said, it is worth considering whether you have a price at which you would definitely sell your contracts before they are redeemed.  If so, make a sell offer accordingly.

“EVERYONE HAS A PRICE”

You Don’t Need To Invest To Trade

The Piewatch team encourage everyone to invest in Slicethepie artists whenever possible.  However, it is not a prerequisite to trading.  You are able to go directly to the exchange and purchase contracts without the need to have invested in an artist.  Please Note; buying contracts off the exchange does not give you the same additional benefits that investing does.  When you buy off the exchange, you are buying the contract(s) only.

“I NEVER INVESTED IN 51/50′s OR THE ALPS, BUT THROUGH CAREFUL TRADING OF THEIR CONTRACTS I’VE MADE £70 PROFIT BETWEEN THEM” THE SPEN

Go Virtual!

If you are a little unsure, confused or plain baffled by the trading exchange, why not try your hand at Virtual Trading.  It costs nothing and is risk free, allowing you to trade in a safe and fun environment.  As an added incentive, Slicethepie run a Virtual Trading league, with the top ten weekly traders sharing £100 worth of vouchers.   It’s not only a great way to learn how to trade, but a great way to make some money for the savvy traders out there.

Never Reveal Your Strategies!

Admittedly, we have given you examples of basic strategies you may wish to adopt on the exchange.  However, the best strategy is to not let anyone else know what your personal strategies are.  Piewatch investors are individually aware of many other strategies that we can unfortunately not reveal, given that they would compromise our own individual game plans on the exchange.  We will however leave you with this little piece of advice……

“ALWAYS QUESTION THE MOTIVES OF ANYONE REVEALING THEIR PERSONAL TRADING STRATEGY”

DISCLAIMER: The opinions and statements made in this article are those of the authors, intended to provide insight and information based on their experience.  We advise you to carefully consider the inherent risks of any investment or trade you make and recommend you read the Slicethepie gambling policy.

 Has this article helped? Let us know by rating the article and leaving us a comment.

Before you can begin writing a constructive review, you need to listen! There is no point writing about the problematic lead guitar if the track is a classical composition with no guitars in earshot!

Be aware!!  If it is obvious from the review submitted, that you have not listened to the track in question, the artist may report you to Slicethepie.  Should Slicethepie agree that the review is not constructive, you could be suspended and lose your scout earnings.

It’s Not OK

Probably the most unconstructive word you can use in your review is ‘OK’.  If you describe something as being ‘OK’, you might as well have said nothing.  ’OK’ means acceptable or passable.

It’s the ’shoulder shrug’ of descriptive words.  It conveys neither like nor dislike and shows a lazy and thoughtless approach to your review.  DO NOT USE! Sitting on the fence doesn’t help the artist.

Production Quality

There is a lot of debate as to whether production quality should be mentioned in a review.  After all, the £15k financing is supposed to pay for the track to be professionally recorded, mixed and mastered.   If the recording quality is exceptionally substandard, don’t be afraid to mention this.  Distortion, noise, static and peaking levels are unforgivable and will naturally effect any review/score given.  It is best to only mention other production issues if you have experience in production and are able to not only point out problems, but provide advice as to how the artist could overcome any such issues.

“This track would sound better recorded in a professional studio” – a very unhelpful comment.

“A pop shield or post production Deesser might help in eliminating the excess vocal sibilance” - Helpful

In conclusion, it is best to mention production quality in your review, only if you know something about it and can provide useful advice to the artist.

Review Length

God may have created the world in 7 days, but trust us on this; you cannot write a constructive review in 7 words. Needless to say, the ScoutPlayer’s ‘Autobotic Scout Slapper’ will pick up on overly short reviews and throw them back at you to redo.  Whilst it is possible to submit reviews comprising of just a couple of sentences, we would recommend writing 3-5 sentences (approx 50-100 words)  in order to deliver a constructive review to the artist.  Remembers, at least one sentence could be written for each of the sections highlighted on this page.  writing 3-5 sentences is very easy if you adopt a planned and structured method.

Adjectives

Adjectives – or simply ‘descriptive words’, should form the basis for your review.  If you mention anything, be sure to describe it. With so many adjectives in the English dictionary, a clever use of descriptive words can ensure your reviews are not too similar.

“I liked the drums” – lacks description.

“I liked the thunderous and heavy drums, especially the snappy and crisp snare” – a little more description and detail provides the artist with a more constructive overview.

For inspiration, be sure to consult an online Thesaurus!!

Be Specific

A general comment like “I didn’t like the vocalist” only tells the artist that you didn’t like the vocalist.  In order to convey your opinion and be constructive, explain why!

“I didn’t like the vocalist because she had difficulty keeping in key” is a  much more constructive statement.  It is worth noting the track time should anything noteworthy occur in the track.  In doing so, highly constructive statements can be given such as

“I didn’t like the artist because she had difficulty keeping in key, especially at 1.22 and 1.56 in the track”

Notice how we have already used 20 words just explaining one aspect of a vocal?

Timing

Timing issues in a track are always worth pointing out.  If the track has groove or the instruments are ‘tight’, let the artist know.  Similary, if the track is all over the place, or one of the instruments is having difficulty keeping in time, it is worth highlighting.

Sounds Like?

Do tell an artist if they remind you of someone.  It is fine to state that an artist sounds like a second rate ‘Eminem’ (for example). However, it is unacceptable to slate the artist for trying to sound like Eminem.  Similary, if the artist has a unique sound, it is worth commenting on this.

Commercial Viability

A very controversial topic.  The whole scout process is set up to put forward the most commercially viable tracks.  The problem is, what is commercially viable? Is it what is played on the mainstream media? Remember, if a track is at the top of it’s game, within a niche genre, it too could do well amongst it’s fan base.  Negative reviews/scores given to genres that are not necessarily played on BBC Radio 1 show genre bias and narrow vision.  It is best to base your review in context with the genre at hand.  If you are reviewing a classical film score (for example), try to base any comments on it’s commercial viability around it’s intended market.  If in doubt, it is easier to avoid the topic.

How Do You Feel?

Music is a universal language.  It speaks to us on many levels and can move us in ways other forms of communication cannot.  Artists create music in order to invoke a response in the listener and  are therefore very eager to hear what response (if any) their music has had on you.  Perhaps the track made you feel happy, sad, annoyed, irritated, bored, elated or calm?  Perhaps there was something in particular in the track that caused this?

“The vocal tone was irritating, totally at odds with the soothing piano melody”

The Classic Sh*t Sandwich

If a track is bad….really bad; try to wrap the bad in between some positive remarks.  Not only does this balance your review, the artist is more likely to view your negative remarks as constructive rather than plain nasty.

“The intro started off well with an imaginative array of sounds.  What followed can only be described as a train wreck as the cringeworthy vocal clashed with the detuned guitar that sounded like a dying cat. On a positive note, the drums were punchy and powerful.”

Justify Your Score

If your score is at odds with the review submitted, this will only serve to confuse the artist.  Whilst it would be ideal for all scores to reflect the review given, the review and score are two seperate entities.  The review forms your personal opinion of the track.  The score (assuming you play by the slicethepie rules) is a judgement of how you feel everyone else will score the track.  It is quite possible that you may personally love a track, but give it an average score to maintain your accuracy/star rating.  If for any reason you feel the need to give a score that does not reflect the review given, be sure to include the reason for this in your review.

Fit For Purpose?

Does the track have a particular purpose? Does it fall short or exceed this purpose?  For example, a dance track that has a thumping 4×4 kickdrum is created to move dancefloors.  Stating that such a track failed to invoke an ambient and tranquil atmosphere shows a disregard to the genre and style the artist creates.  Similarly, criticising the lack of distorted vocals, wiki wik scratching or a 909 kick in a piece of classical music is destined to fall on deaf ears.  Such statements do not help artists, and merely show up the genre bias of the scout.  It is always best to review genres you are comfortable with and have an understanding of.

Lyrics

A track’s lyrical content provides ample to write about! How were the lyrics delivered? What was your opinion on the subject matter? Were they coherant, audible, clear, descriptive, clever or simplistic?  Were the lyrics poetic, gritty, dark or humourous? Were they easy to follow? Did they compliment the track? Were they catchy?

Give Constructive Advice

Scouts may be tempted to give advice to an artist in their review.  Whilst there is nothing wrong with this, be careful how you phrase that advice.  It is sometimes better to offer a ‘suggestion’ than to provide an opinion under the guise of fact.

“If you sped the track up, it would sound better” - offers your biased opinion.

“It may be worth considering increasing the tempo, which may add to the tracks energy, which was lacking for me” - notice how this comes across as a helpful suggestion!

Honesty Is The Best Policy

If you hate a track, apart from adopting the ‘sh*t sandwich’ technique, don’t try to soften the blow.  Say it as it is! That said, do so in a polite and respectful manner.  There is nothing wrong with telling an artist you hated their music (as long as you explain why!).  Similarly, if you really loved a track,  let the artist know.  Remember – conveying your overall feeling towards a track is a great way of concluding your review.

F5

There will be genres you despise or do not wish to scout.  If you come across a track you do not wish to review, simply press F5 and move onto the next one.  If you cannot listen to a track objectively, you are not doing the artist any favours in reviewing their track.  Remember – reviewing tracks you know nothing about, or dislike, could impact your scout rating.

Don’t State The Obvious

“This song is a song” – Not helpful!!

“Initially, there were some drums, followed by a rock guitar, accompanied  by a female vocalist” – This is neither helpful or constructive.  The artist is primarily interested in your opinion, not a running commentary of their track.  It’s the artist’s track after all…..they already know what happens! Only mention a track event if you plan to talk about it.  Filling out a review with unnecessary ‘padding’ is just lazy, and very unhelpful.

Stand By Your Review

Whilst the reviews are submitted anonomously, some scouts are happy to sign off their reviews with their Slicethepie username.  It is a voluntary gesture, but can add weight to your review.

Keep Track Intros Short and Snappy.

Slicethepie scouts are required to listen to 60 seconds of your track; at which point they are able to write and submit their review.  In many cases, the scouts will formulate an opinion within the first 60 seconds and have their review written and submitted before the 2 minute mark.  If a track has a long and uneventful introduction, scouts will be more inclined to give it a negative review/score.  In order to optimise your track, it is worth considering a rework so that it kicks in within the first 30 seconds.   If the track has a chorus, it is best that this comes in before the 90 second mark, ideally before the 60 second mark.

Upload Radio Edits

The length of your track may affect how many scouts review/score your track.  If your track is too short (under 2 minutes), or too long (over 5 minutes); scouts may comment on the track’s lack of commercial viability and lower their scores.  If you submit a 10 minute track, it is very unlikely the scout will listen to it in it’s entirety.  To optimise your track, rework and upload a radio edit (approx 3 minutes – 4.30 minutes in length).

Limit Tracks For Commercial Loudness

Over the years, music has been getting louder and louder.  This has led to a ‘loudness’ war in recent times where dynamics are sidelined for loudness.  The unfortunate consequence is that scouts are likely to comment negatively and mark down tracks that are ‘quiet’.  Whilst scouts could simply turn their speakers up, don’t expect them to praise your track for the inconvenience.  In order to increase your tracks loudness, simply use a brickwall limiter.  There really is no need to try and achieve ‘commercial loudness’ as this is best left to sound engineers with experience.  That said. there is no reason why you cannot increase your tracks loudness to a satisfactory level.  Simply get hold of a limiter (The L2 from Waves is a good recommendation), set the ceiling to -0.3 DB and increase the Threshold so that the track is turned up without eating into your sound. Simple and effective.

The Human Touch

Tracks with vocals tend to do better than tracks without.  Indeed, browse the showcases and every track featured has a vocal.  If possible, look to incorporate a vocal into your tracks.  Naturally, this is not possible for certain styles, like film scores or instrumentals.  Don’t be too disheartened if scouts comment negatively regarding a lack of vocals.  Unfortunatly, vocals are seen by many as a  fundemental requirment for commercial viability. 

Clarity

How your music ‘sounds’ is sometimes more important than the music itself.  If your track is badly mixed, or worse, sounds like it was recorded on a motorway in a hurricane with a dictaphone, don’t be surprised if this has a detrimental impact on your review/score.  It’s advisable to seek the assistance of a dedicated sound engineer or producer when looking to mix/master your track but some basic guidlines for those DIY producers out there are as follows;

• Do not record your instrumentation/vocals on one track!!
• Ensure you record with the best equipment your budget allows, the final sound is limited to what you put in.
• Remove all unwanted frequencies on every track.  eg. Roll EQ off at 40HZ in order to remove low end rumble/noise
• Provide every component of your track it’s own ‘space’ in the frequency range.
• Use reverb sparingly
• Use panning and stereo width effectively to dramatically increase your tracks clarity.
• Compression is a great way to ‘blend’ or ‘take the edge off’ of sounds that may be sticking out in the mix
• Use monitor speakers and a good set of headphones to mix/master.

Refrain from using profanities.

Tracks that contain insulting, rude, obscene or vulgar language are destined to recieve negative reviews from many scouts.  To optimise tracks that do contain profanity, it is worth considering removing or ‘beeping out’ expletives in order to appeal to a wider audience and increase the commercial acceptance of your tracks.

Avoid Monotony

If your track lacks movement or variety, scouts will find your track repetitive and boring!  Create a 4 Bar loop and repeat it for 5 minutes and the review will be as predictable as the track.  Your music is a journey…..make that journey interesting and keep the scouts attention. 

Avoid Abrubt Endings

Theres nothing worse than ending your track with an unnatural stop.  Ensure your track ends in a natural and logical manner.  This might be done by bringing the composition to a natural end, or by fading out the track.  If your track cuts out, like someone pressed the stop button on the dictaphone, your review/score may reflect this.

Avoid Abrupt Intros

Similary, if your track kicks in at 1 second with a full on audio assault, you could recieve negative reviews for scaring the sh*t out of the reviewer (especially if they have had to turn up the speakers for the previous ‘quiet’ track).  Ease your listener into your track with a short and effective intro. 

Autotune Your Vocal

Not everyone has a natural singing ability. That doesn’t stop us all from singing in front of a mirror with a hairbrush.  Some artists take it one step further and upload those ‘hairbrush’ moments to the scoutroom!  If you recieve review after review slating the vocalists ability to hold a note, consider using Antares Autotune on the vocal track.  This industry Standard tool is used in studios as well as during live performances aroung the globe (you would be surprised how many commercial vocalists can’t sing..lol).  Don’t be afraid to adopt this tool to optimise your track.  Remember, if scouts are going to comment on anything in your track, it will be the vocal….get it sounding as good as possible!! Failing that, a new vocalist may be the order of the day.

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Stay active on the Slicethepie forum

It is no coincidence that Showcase Artists that take an active part in the Slicethepie forum attract the most investment.  Posting a simple ‘hi’ on the forum is a great way to kickstart your investment, as most investors will not be interested in handing over funds unless they are sure a showcase artist is both active and interested.  Regularly updating the forum as to how you are promoting your investment proposal outside of Slicethepie will bolster investor confidence on the site, which can in turn provide extra momentum and an increased kitty.

Offer investors something ‘special’ for larger investments

It certainly worked for financed artist’s ‘Trail’!  They offered a free gig for individual investments over £750, thereby creating an incentive for larger investors.  However, incentives need not be limited to free gigs; use your imagination.  Incentives could range from a featured photoshoot of top investors with the band (on the album sleeve), allowing investors studio access to see (and be apart of) the recording process, 1 year free entry to future gigs, featuring in a music video shoot, or even vocally on one of the tracks (for the vocalists out there).  Perhaps offering something as simple  as a personalised thankyou letter or video message to your investors further afield might be worth considering.  By creating a staged ladder of additional incentives (in addition to the contractual benefits) it may be possible to attract larger investments from your investors.

Self finance to create a false momentum

It may sound strange to invest in yourself, but in doing so, you can create a false impression that your investment has momentum.  A little self investment is all it takes to get yourself amongst the Top 5 Showcased artists which then gives you additional promotion in the weekly STP news section as well as featuring you in the Top 5 on the Showcase Section Homepage.  Aside the extra limelight, drip feeding yourself investment can create a false momentum that can in turn be built on by other investors to create a real momentum.  Remember, if you do not reach your £15k target by the deadline all money is returned to you.  You may also take money back at any time up until you reach your £15k target, so technically this strategy costs you nothing.

Create videos promoting your investment proposal

Creating a promotional video can be fun.  More to the point, it can be a highly effective way to promote your investment proposal in cyberspace.  Having created a promotional video, you can embed it into your website and social networking profile, bulletin it, email it and upload it to Youtube!  Be sure when uploading it to Youtube to use as many ‘clever’ tags as possible.  Your ‘band name’, ‘financing’ and ‘Slicethepie’ may be obvious examples but what about ‘Dragons Den’, ‘Sellaband’, ‘Money’ and ‘Sex’?. Be creative with your tags and you never know who (or how many) might come across your video.

Create promotional CD’s to giveaway at gigs.

CD-R’s are cheap.  In fact you can easily get a spindle of 100 for under £15.  Cheaper if you look.  Invest a little time and money into creating some giveaway mini albums and you can reap the rewards later.  To optimise your promotion, create a 60 second ‘talkover’ track, explaining your slicethepie investment proposal.  Ensure you mention all the benefits of investing £1, £5 and more.  This ‘talkover’ track should then appear as the first and last track on your mini album.  If you are a band, splittin the chore of burning CD after CD can be split between you.  Once you have a load ready to go, simply tell people to at your gigs to collect them from you directly after your set, that way you are only giving away the CD’s to interested parties.  This is a great way to get your fans to pre-order your future album and help you reach your investment target.

Offer limited edition physical copies of your future album

Even in this day of digital media, everyone still loves the feel and look of a physical album.  If you set aside a budget from your prospective £15k, you might consider creating a limited run of exclusive physical copies for those investors that have invested £50 or more (you would need to verify this through STP).  In doing so, you can now provide an additional incentive to investors, many of whom may just be prepared to give that little bit more in return for something ‘real’ and ‘exclusive’.  The cost in creating a limited run of professional CD Albums is fairly low, still leaving plenty to record and promote the album.  If it get’s you over that £15k finishing line, it may be a strategy worth considering.

Promote your investment using the power of Beermats

There’s a reason BeerMats are a great promotional tool for bars, gigs and clubs! It’s because they are cheap, highly visible and can promote your message to every drinker in an establishment.  You can easily buy 1000 two-sided custom beermats for around £100.  If you are a band, this cost can be divided between members.  Have one side promoting your Band Logo and Slicethepie; the other side outlining your investment proposal with details of the relevant web addresses.  Use them at your gigs, or simply visit all your local pubs and ask them to help you out for a few weeks/months by using your beermats in their establishments.  A very simple, cheap and effective promotional tool.

Create and deliver promotional flyers for your local area

Flyers are a great way to reach people, whether handed out at gigs or posted through doors in your locality.  You can get these professionally made up but if cost is an issue, why not make your own?  A printer, some A4 paper and a little time spent creating a flyer outlining your investment proposal is all you need.  It’s a game of chance, the more you hand out, the greater the chance someone might take a look at the Slicethepie site and invest in you.  The more professional and eyecatching you can make your flyer, the better.  Keep it short, snappy and eyecatching on one side, with the details on the other side (similar to the BeerMats) to maximise your flyers effectiveness.

Contact your local newspaper/radio station

You may be surprised just how approachable and accomodating local Newspapers/Radio stations are!  It never hurts to contact them and ask if they would be interested in featuring you and your investment proposal, especially since you have beaten tens of thousands of artists globally to reach the showcase.  Many former showcase artists have found their local media very enthusiastic and all too happy to feature them and their investment proposal.  Contact them!!

Bulletin/E-mail your social networking contacts regulary

Ever heard of the Grand old Duke of York? Apparently he had 10,000 men which he marched to the top of a hill and back down again (for reasons unknown).  Luckily for you,  the only excercise you are asking your legions of online fans, family and friends to undertake is the simple finger clicking of a mouse in the direction of your investment page.  If you have fans, use them.  If you don’t, get networking and find some.  Given that an investment of £5 provides the investor with a free download of the future album, they are to all intents and purposes, pre-ordering the album for £5!  If this isn’t worth shouting about in Cyberspace, what is??

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