Orient Lodge has entered into an agreement with Sonicbids to use Sonicbids’ platform for handling electronic press kits for review. Musicians wishing to present their music to Orient Lodge are urged to use the Orient Lodge Music Review Page on Sonicbids.

What does this mean? Well, I’m a big folk music fan and I’m always looking for good new performers to listen to. One of my favorite events of the year is the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, with its Emerging Artists Showcase. I’ve gone to Falcon Ridge just about every year since the early nineties. For the past couple of years, I’ve sought out information about the emerging artist performers online so I could listen to their music before getting to Falcon Ridge. Last year, I found that the best information available was from electronic press kits (EPKs) on SonicBid. Falcon Ridge is now using SonicBids for their submission process. They receive hundreds of submissions and winnow it down to two dozen performers that get a chance on the Main Stage.

I preparing for 2010 Falcon Ridge, I thought I would check out Sonicbids a little better. I signed up for an account there, had a good discussion with the folks at Sonicbids, and decided I would create an offering there. Emerging artists wishing to get reviewed on my blog, and perhaps get interviewed on Fiona’s Radio Show can submit their press kits.

Sonicbids charges a nominal amount for processing charges and I get access to the EPKs of interesting emerging artists that wish to be reviewed here. My initial plans are to select one musician each Monday to highlight as a Music Monday post. I will then contact the musician to see if they want to be interviewed by Fiona. Yet I’ve only committed to reviewing five over the coming quarter, in case I run into time constraints or just don’t find enough exciting musicians to review.

I wasn’t sure what sort of response I would get, but I’ve already received three great EPKs, so I’m pretty excited about this, and I’m expecting that I’ll at least be able to select one good performer a week, and perhaps more.

So, if you are a performer looking to reach new listeners, consider submitting an EPK. If you are just looking to find some exciting new talent, check my Music Monday posts each week.