Broadjam is an international web community for musicians and their friends. It’s a place to discuss music, collaborate with other artists and submit songs for exciting professional opportunities. With the wide range of features and services Broadjam has to offer, there are tons of ways you can use Broadjam. We want to hear from you…how do you use Broadjam?

Recently, Broadjam’s Customer Service group launched a blog on blogspot.com, broadjamcs.blogspot.com. This blog discusses Broadjam artists, new features, tips on how to use your Broadjam profile, and industry news. Check out Broadjam’s Customer Service blog and let us know what you think.

Use HTML – Over the last few years I’ve learned lots of ways to use my Broadjam hosted website to its fullest. There are little things you can do to make your website more appealing to visitors, but you’ll need a Primo Mob membership to do it. Currently Broadjam.com is offering 25% off any new signups and renewals. Just type Broadjam08 into the promotion code field.

Here is one of my recommendations:

Use HTML – Basic HTML will work on most of your profile pages on Broadjam as well as on your Content Editor. Basic HTML is easy to use and can make your website function and look better. I learned basic HTML from tizag.com. Using text links and image links is a great way to guide visitors through your website as well as to spice up certain pages. Look at what I did for my Bio page on djsportico.com. I took a small image that I uploaded at another website and then linked the image to the bio page of my Broadjam profile. Also, check out my links page for Dencity.org. You could tell someone to check out your news page and make the word “News” link to it. If you move your mouse over the menu buttons of your website and right click and choose Copy Shortcut, you’ll receive the direct URL to that page.

I prefer to use ImageShack.us to upload my images. They don’t add any watermarks to images, it’s free, and it’s easy to use. All you have to do is upload an image and then use the direct link option they give you. You’ll probably need to resize most of your images, so be prepared to spend some quality time on your website.

We’ve all faced the challenges – it’s 1am and you’re on a creative roll when suddenly, your computer crashes, inspiration is lost, and you’re facing a technical nightmare. Call OBEDIA. They’re available any time, day or night, to help you with your technical problems and put you ahead of the learning curve for new software.

And now, you can get answers right here on broadjam. If you have any technical problems, need any “how-to” tips and tricks or just need advice on what to buy, post your questions on the OBEDIA Q & A Blog. Answers will be posted the following week for all broadjam members to read and learn from Obedia’s expertise.

About OBEDIA:

OBEDIA provides 24/7 training and support for all the major computer-based recording systems. They work with clients worldwide, ranging from absolute beginners to seasoned professionals. OBEDIA also has an impressive list of industry clients, including Sony Pictures Entertainment, AMD, the Grammy Foundation and many others.

I’ve been in NYC the past couple of days at the Billboard Music & Money conference. It’s an interesting collection of industry executives who come together once a year for this event. It’s always a good education to attend these things and keep my nose in the biz. Clive Davis was one of the keynote speakers and it was inspiring to hear him talk. One of his comments, and I’ll paraphrase him, was that it all starts with the song. And he went on to say that it’s pretty much impossible to sell records without good songs. If anyone would know, it’s him And the guy never seems to age – he must be doing what he loves!

Later that night I went to BB King’s on 42nd street to see The Hooters. I stood and watched these guys play their hearts out for 2+ hours. As I was standing there, I was thinking of what Clive Davis said earlier that day. The Hooters are cream-of-the-crop songwriters. Besides their own string of hits, they’ve written many others including “Time After Time” for Cyndi Lauper and “One Of Us” for Joan Osborn.

I’ve known the band for quite a while, and the engineer of their most current record, John Senior, has been a good friend since we both worked at Ensoniq Corp. I have always been a fan and thought it would be tough for them to one-up their effort. I got an advance copy of their new record a few months ago and I believe it’s their best yet.

If you get a chance, get a copy of this record, listen carefully and absorb the songwriting. These guys are what Clive Davis was talking about — brilliant writers. Not only that, they’re excellent showmen, and I wish them the best this time around.

Roy

Hey all,

A few days ago, I wrote about Broadjam.com’s migration to a new platform, and I want to give you a quick update. The transition is going very well, and we’re looking forward to finishing in the next few days. Most major issues have been resolved, and a few others are being worked on as we speak. To date, we’ve heard from about 25 of our members and we greatly appreciate any feedback that you can offer. Please keep it coming.

One thing you can do to enhance your experience is to upgrade your system to the latest version of Firefox, Internet Explorer or any other browser you might be on. (This will probably enhance your overall Internet experience, as well.)

We realize there are still outstanding issues, and thank you in advance for your patience. Our customer service team is working closely with our developers, so a note to customerservice@broadjam.com will receive a quick response. Or, as always, you can email me at roy@broadjam.com

Thanks again for your support.

Roy

For the past few months, our development group has been rebuilding the foundation of our website – moving it from one platform to another. For the most part, these changes will be invisible to you. Why do we do things like this when the site seems to be running fine? Sometimes I ask myself the same thing…LOL.

But in all seriousness, to keep a competitive advantage, we have to stay on the front edge of new technology, whether it’s behind the scenes or not. Overhauls like this enable us to add new features quickly and efficiently… all of which we’ll be talking about more as the year unfolds. What does this mean to you? We would like to continue to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

We have a lot of great ideas for where we want to take the site, but yours are even more important. If you have features or improvements you’d like to see, I ask you to put your idea in this blog feedback or email me directly at roy@broadjam.com.

Thanks for being a member of Broadjam,

Roy

broadjam and OBEDIA are excited to announce the weekly OBEDIA Q & A Blog. We’ve all faced the challenges – it’s 1am and you’re on a creative roll when suddenly, your computer crashes, inspiration is lost, and you’re facing a technical nightmare. Call OBEDIA. They’re available any time, day or night, to help you with your technical problems and put you ahead of the learning curve for new software.
And now, you can get answers right here on broadjam. If you have any technical problems, need any “how-to” tips and tricks or just need advice on what to buy, post your questions on the OBEDIA Q & A Blog. Answers will be posted the following week for all broadjam members to read and learn from Obedia’s expertise.

About OBEDIA:

OBEDIA provides 24/7 training and support for all the major computer-based recording systems. They work with clients worldwide, ranging from absolute beginners to seasoned professionals. OBEDIA also has an impressive list of industry clients, including Sony Pictures Entertainment, AMD, the Grammy Foundation and many others.

Last fall, I ran in to Woody Moran at the Audio Engineer Society conference. Woody had recently launched a new company called Namba Gear. Namba Gear makes really nice quality carrying cases for studio gear, laptops, cables and the like. Woody is a long time industry veteran going back to MIDI Man through his days at M-Audio. We’re pretty in to what Woody’s doing with Namba Gear, and we’re excited to be promoting his bags on our site.

You might see Namba Gear’s ad running around our site. Please take a moment to click through and check them out at nambagear.com.

We’re always working on improving Broadjam and lots of cool things are just around the corner. With that said, I would love to hear from you. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to post them here or send them to me at Roy@broadjam.com.

Roy

ROUND TWO:
Our friends at Korg have read your entries and have chosen their top five favorites. Now it’s your turn. Below are the five finalists in the Korg D888 Giveaway. Read through the comments and decide who makes the best case. Your comments will determine who walks away with this innovative digital recorder/mixer.

We will be accepting your comments for two weeks only, so don’t miss your chance to weigh in on who you think should win the Korg D888. Please post your comments within the blog. We’re tracking this in the blog because we want to know more about why you like the entry you chose.

Thanks for your participation.

RULES:
These rules supplement, incorporate by reference, and are to be read with (and not to limit), the Broadjam User Agreement located within the Broadjam User Agreement.
1. You must be at least 13 years of age to vote in the Korg D888 Giveaway.
2. You must provide true, accurate, current and complete contact and other information, as requested by Broadjam.
3. You may be disqualified for false registration, making false claims, misrepresentation or any other behavior, action or activity that Broadjam, in its sole discretion, deems to be “cheating.”
4. All votes for the Korg D888 Giveaway must be fully posted in the blog by 11:59 PM Central Standard Time (or, if being observed, Central Daylight Time) on January 22, 2008.
5. Closing and announcement dates may change without notice to you.
6. All votes are final and irrevocable. Once you have posted your vote for the Korg D888 Giveaway, you may not withdraw the vote or request to change.
7. Broadjam may change these rules at any time, in Broadjam’s sole discretion, without notice to you.
8. Voting in the Korg D888 Giveaway does not grant you any right or license to use any Broadjam material (i.e. logos, images, text, etc.), trademarks or other intellectual property of Broadjam for any purpose, without Broadjam’s express written consent.
9. Employees of Broadjam, their sponsors, advertising agencies, affiliates, agents, representatives, and the families or households of the above are ineligible to vote in the Korg D888 Giveaway.
10. Without limiting the applicability of other provisions of the User Agreement, the limitation of liability provisions of Section 1.11 of the Broadjam User Agreement apply to the Korg D888 Giveaway.
11. The selection of winners by Broadjam and the judges, is final and unappealable.
12. Arrangements for receiving all prizes, unless otherwise specified, must be made within thirty days after Broadjam’s receipt of a winner’s affidavit of eligibility/publicity release. It is the responsibility of the winners to claim prizes within such thirty day period. All unclaimed prizes will be forfeited, and Broadjam may award any unclaimed prize to a runner-up.
13. All prizes are non-transferable and void where prohibited by law. No cash substitution of prizes is allowed.
14. The odds of winning will depend on the number of eligible votes received. Winners will receive the prizes as set forth in the Korg D888 Giveaway announcement. In the event a prize is not available due to circumstances beyond Broadjam’s control, Broadjam reserves the right to provide a substantially similar substitute prize that Broadjam deems to be of greater or equal value.
15. Winners understand and agree that they are solely responsible for any and all taxes, including but not limited to sales, income, or value added, incurred on prizes received, and for any and all duties, tariffs, or import fees that may be assessed upon receiving prizes.
16. Broadjam will incur the cost of shipping prizes. Broadjam may choose the method of shipping, in its sole discretion. Broadjam is not responsible for the failure or tardiness of prizes or damage to prizes, delivered via US Postal Service, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, DHL, or other reputable carrier. Proper identification such as a valid driver’s license, passport, state ID, or military ID may be required to accept delivery of prizes. In the event that a winner chooses not to accept a prize, the winner forfeits all claim to that prize, forever.
17. The Korg D888 Giveaway is void where prohibited.
18. To obtain the name of a winner, which will be available after the conclusion of the Korg D888 Giveaway, mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Broadjam Contest Winners, Broadjam, Inc., 6401 Odana Rd., Madison, WI 53719.