The only requirement is that you play original music in the Buffalo area. This isn't Battle of the Cover Bands!
How does the selection process work?
First, two bands are selected each week by the Artvoice staff; 32 bands will be selected in all over the course of the contest. Each week there will be a faceoff between the two bands - we'll print your bio and photo in paper, and readers visit Artvoice.com to listen to your tunes and cast a vote for their favorite. The top vote getter moves on to one of four quarterfinal rounds (so if you're keeping track, that means there will be 4 quarter-finals, each featuring 4 bands.) The quarter-finals are LIVE events where the chosen bands show their stuff in person at a Buffalo venue. Fans in attendance cast a ballot for their favorite of the evening, and the winner takes the quarter-final round (and prizes!) Once all four quarter final rounds have been completed, we'll be left with the 4 best acts, who will face off live one last time at the BOOM grand finale. Once again, fans in attendance cast their ballot and we declare the grand winner, who takes home even more fabulous prizes.
What do I need to register for BOOM!
Bands interested in registering for BOOM! will be required to submit a brief questionnaire, telling us a little about your band. Along with the questionaire, you will need to submit one or two sample songs and a photograph or two of the band. We'll pick our favorite song and photo for use on-line and in print, though if you have a preference, note it in the comments section of the questionnaire.
How does file submission work?
After the questionaire, you'll be taken to a page with a file upload applet. From here, you can "browse" your computer to select up to four files to submit. You should select and submit all of your files at once. There is only one upload form; but it accepts up to four files. Our registration system is compatible with any modern web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.), but you will need to have cookies enabled, and the Adobe Flash Player (at least version 8) installed. Unless you've intentionally disabled cookies, they should be enabled already. Likewise, the vast majority of web surfers already have the Adobe Flash Player installed on their computer. If you do not, you may download a free copy from Adobe; the process takes a minute or two tops.
What kind of audio files do I need?
Audio files *must* be in MP3 or AAC (.M4A file type) format. If you've never created an MP3 before, there's a great guide here. Apple's iTunes player is another free, easy-to-use choice that's available for both Macintosh and Windows PCs that can create either type of file. There's some additional tips to using iTunes here. We'd suggest using a bit-rate of 192kbps when creating your files, as this provides a good balance of sound quality (basically CD-quality) and file-size. If your files are already in a different bitrate (or you don't know what a "bitrate" is), don't worry, if they sound good to you, just send 'em on over.
What kind of images do I need?
File types must be either JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg) or TIFF (.tif, .tiff). JPEG is perhaps the most common image format on the Internet, and is what just about every digital camera on earth produces by default. We're looking for high resolution images here, because if your band is featured we'll want to put your photo in our print publication, and high resolution source images look the best once printed. Ideally, your images should be somewhere around 300dpi, in the 5"x7" neighborhood (aka 1500x2100 pixels, or 3 megapixel.) If saving your JPEG in a program like Photoshop, check for advanced options, and be sure to use the "Maximum" quality setting. As for TIF files, enable the "compressed" setting, if available in your photo software. If your images are smaller, that's OK too, we just very much prefer the higher resolution variety so you will look your best in print. If sending two images, feel free to send a band photo and a band logo. If you've only got one image, we really prefer a photo that actually depicts the band members.
How long can my songs be?
There's no real limit on how long your songs should be; but we are capping submissions at 40 megabytes. The amount of music you can fit into that amount of space should be pretty generous (on the order of 20-30 minutes total, assuming 192kbps and also submitting 2 high-res images). We'd suggest submitting more "radio friendly" song lengths, at around 3 minutes, if possible. Remember, readers who may have never heard of you before will be reviewing your tunes, and you don't want to test their attention spans.
How long will this take to upload?
This depends on a lot of factors - mainly how big your files are, and the speed of your Internet connection. Assuming a full blown 40 megabyte submission, upload times would resemble the following:
128kbps upload (such as Road Runner lite or Verizon's basic DSL in the Buffalo area): 45 minutes.
512kbps (such as mid-level Road Runner or Verizon's high speed DSL): 12 minutes.
1 megabit or more (University or Corporate LANs, Road Runner's higher speed tiers, Verizon FiOS): 6 minutes or less
These are worst case with the biggest files allowed; smaller files will mean shorter upload times. (If you're curious, dial-up would take closer to 2 hours, and we don't reccomend it!) The upload applet will tell you how fast your transfer is moving, and how long is remaining, once you've gotten it started. For an average submission and an average Internet connection, the whole thing should be over in a few minutes generally.
How will Artvoice use this info?
If your band is selected to participate, we'll be running your profile and photo in print. We'll have your submitted music, photo(s), and questionnaire information on our BOOM website (http://boom.artvoice.com) where people can check out your band. By submitting this info, you're giving us permission to use it in this way; therefore only band members or official representatives thereof may make submissions.
I don't have electronic versions of my music or photos, can I still register?
Our apologies, but no, you may not. We'll only be accepting on-line registrations this time. If you run into problems with the submission process, you can always contact the webmaster for assistance. We figure by this point just about every band out there has had experience submitting photos and music to websites like MySpace, Last.fm, MP3.com, and so on - and we've focused on making our process just as simple. If you show up at our office with a CD or cassette and your bio written on the back of a dirty bar napkin (yes, it's happened), you'll be sent away.
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