Seasons greetings from the Broadjam staff!

What do you have going on during the holiday season? Give your concert dates, album releases, special projects, and anything else you think people should know!

We often get questions from new members asking us the difference between a profile page and a website, and we’d like to take a minute and explain. With the advent of social networking sites like Broadjam, MySpace, YouTube, etc., the line between a website and a profile page became blurred.

Here’s the difference:
A profile page is what you get when you sign up for Broadjam and other sites. It’s where your songs, photos, etc. show up after you upload them. Profile pages all look very similar because they’re laid out the same way.

Most importantly, you have to come to Broadjam.com to view a Broadjam profile page. That’s why your custom URL is probably looks something like www.broadjam.com/bandname. For a website, however, you pick your own web address, which could be something like www.yourbandnamehere.com.

Check out the difference between Broadjam “profiles” and “websites” that other artists have created:

Check Broadjam “websites” that other artists have created:

A website offers you more flexibility than a profile and is fast and easy to make. You can choose the design and use extra features like the guestbook and mailing lists. If you are a Broadjam member, you are close to setting one up right now. If you’re not already, check out our Primo MoB website membership.

How about showing us your profile and website? Post your links here.

The Butthole Surfers, Hoobastank, Bow Wow Wow…many love these bands, but few love
their names. Though a distinctive name may be the thing that separates you from the crowd,
sometimes it’s the thing that separates you from, well, the good names. Then again, “good names” are completely subjective.

What we want to know is your pick for the worst band name of all-time. What names make you cringe?

It’s that time of week again. Time to post your shows, releases or any thing else you want to announce. Have anything going on this weekend? What’s on tap for December? You can use this post to get the word out about pretty much anything you’ve got coming up. Whether it be a local show or a new cd, we want to hear it!

We updated your profile homepage today. You can now post your latest news right on your homepage. There are also photo, album and merch store links that have been added to the right column.

Visit your profile homepage and check out the new look!

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Holly Brook, an incredible artist and five-year Broadjam member. You might have heard the Fort Minor song “Where’d You Go,” which was released as a single last summer. It reached the top spot on TRL’s countdown and peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song also won the “Ringtone of the Year” award at MTV’s 2006 Video Music Awards. A major factor in the success of the song was the beautiful chorus, sung by Holly. I’ve stayed in touch with Holly over the years and would like to share a little bit more of her story.

Holly moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. There, she landed a five-album deal with Machine Shop Records, a label formed by some of the members of Linkin Park. Her debut album was released early this year.

KT Tunstall and Shawn Colvin are just some of the artists you might think of when listening to Holly Brook’s record, Like Blood, Like Honey. However, while her voice and songwriting hold similarities to these artists, she is unique in her own right. Her pitch is excellent, her delivery polished and her tone a little edgy.

Holly wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on her album. It’s a mellow record that my wife and I love. Her songwriting truly comes from the heart. One song, “Givin’ It Up For You”, is about her dedication to the music industry and her willingness to give up everything to make music for a living. Another, “Saturdays”, is a unique piece that makes a small departure from the sound of the rest of her album. It caught me a little off guard, but I really liked it. She writes like a seasoned writer, but still creates songs that have a youthful feel to them. I am very much looking forward to hearing the music that she will make in the future.

I have followed Holly’s career for some time now and recently had the chance to talk with her. In our conversation, she mentioned that Broadjam was the very first site that she posted her music on. She loves the review process. “Getting feedback on my songs from other musicians has made me a better writer. I take all of the input seriously and apply it.” She comes from great musical stock, as her mother is also an excellent writer and musician. Her mother’s band, Heartwood, is a Broadjam member as well.

Her MySpace page, www.myspace.com/hollybrook, has over 38,000 friends, so she is starting to build a nice following. It seems that everywhere I look on the web, someone is saying something good about Holly. Knowing her personally, I understand why.

I have thoroughly enjoyed following Holly’s maturation as a singer and songwriter and highly recommend her debut record. Purchase Like Blood, Like Honey here.

-Roy Elkins, Broadjam Founder and CEO

What going on this week? Give your concert dates, album releases, special projects, and anything else you want people to know!

Today is the premier of OK Go’s interview, presented by Local Show Live - Worldwide, on Broadjam TV. Members of the band discuss what life is like after gaining huge publicity and exposure. Listen to the lead singer, Damian Kulash, talk about why the internet is the best place for independent artists to promote their music.

Does the interview spark any amazing online promotional ideas? Exercise bikes anyone … ? Tell us what you think.

We’d like to give some love to our “College Credit: Indie Rock 101” contest winners. This was a Broadjam contest that ran in September and October and received a lot of high quality submissions. The winners were put on a CD that was sent out to radio stations and press outlets across the country. These artists put together such a strong album that it’s made the top five lists for added CDs at 11 different radio stations!

The stations are:
WPMD - Norwalk, California
WLCA - Godfrey, Illinois
WSRI - Eau Claire, Wisconsin
WUMM - Machias, Maine
KBTL - El Dorado, Kansas
KSLU - Hammond, Louisiana
WARG - Summit, Illinois
WCSR - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
WEOS - Geneva, New York
WLSA - Marie, Michigan
WYBF - Radnor, Pennsylvania

Congratulations to all these artists!

Yoni - “Twentysomething”
Dice - “Believe”
The Gaskets - “Left Hand”
Alyssa Atherton - “Spinning”
Bench Grinder - “I Don’t Mind”
Gino Scarpino - “Brilliant By Design”
The Rideaways - “The Matter”
Dead Smiling Pirate - “Strictly Ballroom”

Check out these songs and let us know what you think. Also, feel free to leave a comment and link to any great artist or artists you found this week on Broadjam.

It’s that time of week again. Time to post your shows, releases or any thing else you want to announce. Have anything going on this weekend? What’s on tap for December? You can use this post to get the word out about pretty much anything you’ve got coming up. Whether it be a local show or a new cd, we want to hear it!