Clear Channel Baton Rouge, owner and operator of major radio stations WYNK 101.5, WFMF 102.5 and 96.1 The River, has begun promoting the New Music Network in Baton Rouge. The New Music Network provides a free service, similar to local music Web site www.RedStickRock.com, providing aspiring artists the opportunity to spread their music throughout the local community, as well as across the nation.
The site, www.ClearChannelNewMusicNetwork.com, allows musicians, bands and singers to freely post their music for a nationwide audience. The New Music Network was created on the West Coast late last year and since has attracted more than 2,000 bands to post information about their members, song files and lyrics.
“It’s a nationwide initiative,” said Bob Murphy, director of programming for Clear Channel Baton Rouge. “The ultimate goal is to get local bands recognized nationally. New Music Network gives us a chance to literally network local artists across the country. Somebody who lives in Seattle could search a type of music, and a Baton Rouge band could be exposed that way, and vice versa. So it really is the way to expose the bands to a bigger area.”
Some local band members feel this is a great opportunity to expand their audience, if that is their goal.
“Every band has different agendas,” said finance junior Vince, Mancuso, rhythm guitarist for Movin Weight. “Baton Rouge doesn’t have many local bands that aspire for anything higher than playing local bars, and that’s fine. Local efforts can get them exposed to local people. There are a few bands, our band included, some other bands like Soulhouse, that really want to do more than play in Baton Rouge. Something like this is really going give bands like that a gateway to go beyond the Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette areas.”
The founders of www.RedStickRock.com also feel this effort from Clear Channel will improve and expand the local scene.
Every little bit helps,” said Civil engineering senior Paul Catledge, co-founder of www.RedStickRock.com. “The idea behind RedStickRock.com was to give people a place to find local music because there wasn’t a place before us. If Clear Channel sponsors a Web site to help locals get recognized, it only helps the scene grow. More arenas directing people toward Baton Rouge music can never hurt.”
His partner agrees opportunities lie in the nationwide network.
“It’s good; it gives people another outlet for providing their music to people,” said Michael Barr, administrator of www.RedStickRock.com. “Our cause is strictly to help out bands, and the more sites we have promoting bands in town the better. The more the merrier.”