Dyson's Fear 3.0

Death of the demo tape

Major pop recording label asks aspiring stars to go online with demos

LONDON (AP) - A major pop recording label is opening an online portal for aspiring singers and groups, EMI announced Tuesday.

The group's Parlophone label, whose artists include Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Radiohead and Norah Jones, is now accepting music files online, as well as in mailbags.

Since the rise of the Internet and the MP3 file, recording employees' e-mail inboxes have been clogged with website links and music attachments, in addition to demo tapes and CDs arriving vie regular mail, according EMI said.

New software designed by a former musician allows aspiring artists to upload their music files and publicity photos directly to Parlophone.

"One of our top priorities is to keep our talent spotting process as efficient and up to date as possible," Nigel Coxon, head of Parlophone's artist and repertoire team, said in a statement.

"This new system allows us to do just that, while at the same time helping us stay committed to giving anyone the opportunity to be heard."

Parlophone tested the new software over the summer, EMI spokesman Dylan Jones said. A few independent labels have previously adopted such a system.

The software tracks which recordings Parlophone workers have listened to, and allows them to rate tracks and artists. The system also alerts musicians when their tracks have been reviewed.

In the coming months, Parlophone hopes to phase all demo tapes to online submissions, Jones said.

EMI's other major labels include EMI Records and Virgin Records. No decisions have been made regarding switching any other labels to accept demo tapes online, Jones said.

posted by Jason @ 1:18 AM