Toronto, ON -- When
Toronto band Uncle Seth submitted a few of their songs to a website
called the Podsafe Music Network in July of 2005, they didn't realize
that in less than a year they would make friends and fans of podcasters
as far away as Florida and the UK, not to mention be producing their
own podcast.
"We knew very little about podcasting, except that
it seemed to be a way to get some online exposure for our music," says
lead singer Tara Thompson. "I don't think any of us realized there was
this amazing international community we're now a part of."
The Podsafe Music Network is a part of Podshow.com, the company created by podcast pioneer Adam Curry.
Uncle
Seth's place in the network and other promotion has lead to plays on
such popular podcasts as Curry's show Daily Source Code, Brian Ibbot's
Coverville, Jason Evangelho's Insommnia Radio, and many others.
While
Podshow is leading the charge to create a business model around
podcasting, music artists and podcasters can join the Podsafe Music
Network for free.
The legal agreements each sign give the podcasters clearance to use any of the music on the network for their shows.
"Clearance
is needed because podcasts are actually MP3 file downloads, so artists
have to give permission to have their tracks included." explains Jay
Moonah, who plays bass and harmonica with Uncle Seth. "The network
gives the bands and the podcasts an immediate way to connect. Part of
the agreement is that the podcasters must fill out a form that sends an
email directly to the artist when they play a song. That means bands
can instantly see when they've been played on a show. I often email the
hosts back, particularly if they play us more than once. That's lead to
us forming relationships with podcasters all over the world."
One
podcaster, Phil Coyne in Birmingham, UK even devoted an entire
70-minute episode of his show Bitjobs for the Masses to Uncle Seth.
"That
was when we really knew we were onto something amazing" says Moonah,
"when a guy in England who we've never met talks to us on the phone for
an hour, and dedicates a whole show to our music, we knew we'd become
part of a really special community."
Buoyed by their success
with the medium, Uncle Seth recently decided to launch their very own
podcast. "Basically, it's us talking and being ourselves, and playing
interesting live or acoustic versions of our songs that our fans won't
have heard before." says Thompson. "It's a way for people to get to
know the band, to hang out with us. It's really fun, and we had some
terrific feedback on the first couple of shows."
Moonah is convinced that podcasting is becoming an important means for independent artists looking to build their audience.
For more information, visit www.musicface.com/uncleseth/.
