Slicethepie News

Newsletter 49 - 4th July 2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:59:24 G7T

Miranda Barber Debut Album Now Available On iTunes!

Miranda Barber’s debut album ‘Lips’ Decision’ is now available to download from iTunes!

“Barber is a refreshing new talent and she has proven the public made the right choice with this impressive debut.” - Entertainment Focus UK

“A truly impressive debut album.” - Seatwave

“The whole thing is full of catchy tunes and quirky inflections.” - Vanguard Online

Miranda also has a number of upcoming gig dates in and around London – click here to find out more. We caught up with Miranda prior to her album launch for an interview - you can check it out here.

Buy Contracts in Miranda Barber.

Slicethepie Artists Appearing At A Festival Near You This Summer!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had a steady flow of news pouring in from our Artists regarding performances at some of the UK’s biggest and best festivals this summer.

It started with Scars on 45 playing at the Isle of Wight Festival earlier this month and then The Alps were confirmed to play at the Secret Garden Party. Next it was The 51/50’s announcing their appearance alongside Mystery Jets at the Y Not Festival. Then Walk.Don’tWalk bagged themselves a position (as well as a glowing write-up on NME.com) in the final of this year’s Road To V competition to win a slot at V Festival. Next The Critical stepped forward, with their place in the final 5 in line to play at the hugely popular Benicassim festival in Spain. (news just in: unfortunately they haven’t won this time, but they have secured themselves some backstage tickets to the festival!)

And, as if that weren’t enough, Shortwave Fade have now announced that they are in line to play at the Summer Sundae Weekender in August, (vote for them here) and Lights.Action! have just announced that they will be joining The Verve, Stereophonics, Rage Against The Machine and Kings Of Leon on the line-up at this year’s T in The Park festival in Scotland. So, if you’re heading out to a UK festival this summer, don’t forget to look out for your favourite Slicethepie Artists!

This is how summer’s shaping up festival-wise so far...

Isle of Wight - Scars on 45 – Been and gone!

T in The Park – Lights.Action! (confirmed) – 11th – 13th July

Secret Garden Party Festival – The Alps (confirmed) – 24th – 27th July

Y Not Festival – The 51/50’s (confirmed) – 1st – 3rd August

Summar Sundae Festival – Shortwave Fade (tbc) - 8th-10th August

V Festival – Walk.DontWalk (tbc) – 16th -17th August

Lots To Keep You Busy This Weekend On Slicethepie - New Showcase open now and new Scout Room on it's way !

It's all change this week on Slicethepie, as the All Genres 7 Scout Room drew to a close, the new Showcase got underway and the All Genres 8 Scout Room is due to open soon.

Here are the top rated tracks from the All Genres 7 Scout Room.

1.Krystal Rogers – Can’t Be With You

2.Ortega – Girls Got Game

3.Tim Corley – Turnaround

4.Chantel Upshaw – Ain’t No Good!

5.Mark Hildreth – It’s My Life

6.Adele – Wilted Rose

7.Kitsch – Beautiful

8.Mark Hildreth – Magic Spell

9.Ryan Inglis – If I Fall

9.Krystal Rogers – Truth

The All Genres 7 Showcase is now open and there are several first time Artists, as well as some familiar faces, awaiting your vote. The Artist/s deemed the most worthy by you will go on to secure £15,000 to record & market their album, before joining the Slicethepie Trading Exchange, where you can secure your share in their album’s potential financial success.

Don't forget to vote!

Backstage Passes In Laura Stevenson Still On Sale – Be A Part Of Her Success!

Laura Stevenson, the latest Artist to win a Showcase on Slicethepie, continues raising Finance for her album this week.

Backstage Passes are currently on sale for £5 each and, as usual, will secure you the right to buy discounted Laura Stevenson Contracts and secure your potential share in her album’s success, as well as access to an exclusive backstage forum on Slicethepie. Most importantly, Backstage Passes will also entitle you to a free copy of the album upon completion!

Buy Backstage Passes here and check out Laura's MySpace here.

Be Our Myspace Or Facebook Friend

If you’ve not yet checked out our snazzy new MySpace, now’s as good a time as any to head over, have a browse and make friends with us too. Click here to visit our MySpace page. Or if you’re more of a Facebook-er, you can become a Facebook Fan here.

Check in with these pages on a daily basis to keep up to date with all the latest Slicethepie News and Market News, which will help you to stay ahead of the game on the Trading Exchange. You can also find links to all of our Financed Artists, as well as meet other Slicethepie Scouts and Investors.

Additionally for Facebook Fans – you can add our Scouting app to compare Scouting skills with your friends and our Watchlist app to display your musical discoveries and thus put an end to arguing over who discovered which bands first!

Other news

Vote for Temposhark’s video for ‘Blame’ in the SXSW Click Festival; Download Miranda Barber’s album from iTunes; Stay up to date with Lights.Action! album news on their new website; Join the Gibson UK Guitar BandsArena; Read an interview with Tommy Ludgate.

Music Industry news

Virtual Trading League winners

1	teejays	£30
2	antuk81	£20
3	Row 29 Records	£15
4	nominomster	£5
5	Is that a record?	£5
6	RDost	£5
7	LyleCrystal	£5
8	lemonylime	£5
9	allstar.productions	£5
10	Bellissimo	£5

Compete in this week's Virtual Trading League and be in with a chance of winning one of next week's prizes.

An Interview with Miranda Barber

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:56:11 G7T

Miranda - hello! How you doing?
Pretty good cheers. Looking forward to the weekend. This week has done me in. In a good way, album launch and so on.

Congratulations on the (upcoming) release of your debut album. How does it feel? Have you been busy? Thanks. I’ve been super busy. The launch party/show was on Wednesday 25th June and I kind of feel that all the shows I’ve been playing this year and all the energy that went into making the album, culminated in that one night. It was a triumph. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed playing a show more. With double bass, drums, cello, backing vocals and piano, I was allowed to be indulgent enough to play all twelve tracks to a gorgeous packed house at the Ginglik. And that was my reward really. And shortly the album will be released, and I guess now it would be super if some people popped along to buy it!

Tell us a bit more about the album. How/where did you record it? How long did it take?
Lips’ Decision was recorded live in a brilliant studio called Goldtop Studios, which is a converted dairy in Chalk Farm. The music? I guess it’s smoky, piano lauded balladry with vintage croons, wandering upright bass lines, melodious hooks, sumptuous strings, subtle guitar nuances, ukulele shards, some skiffle and the kind of song writing that hasn’t been heard since the 60s. Over twelve tracks, Lips’ Decision will take you on a journey. One minute you’re tapping your foot or taking your clothes off to a cheeky number, and then the rain comes down and there’s a heart laid open. In terms of genre, ask someone else! I think Lips’ Decision sails in and out of the waters of blues, jazz, soul and folk, whilst holding high the banner of the acoustic singer/songwriter. I make no apologies for that.

I recorded my previous EPs live because I love the live performance and it makes sense to me to record like that. They are the kind of recordings I like to listen to. I wanted to create an old school sound, inspired by the Nina Simones and Billie Holidays…a live, raw, old-school sound where the listener feels that they’re in the room with the musicians. Nothing over-polished or over-produced, just all about the music being captured in the moment. I was working with some astonishing musicians and the chemistry was phenomenal, so it was all about feeling it at the piano with double bass and drums. I’m super proud of the rustic and raw live sound. I think you can hear the spontaneous relationship between the people and the instruments and that’s what I was after. Charlie Winston produced the album, and he really allowed the live performances to speak for themselves, and Neil Brockbank at Goldtop is the engineer you want to work with if you’re recording live. The man knows his stuff and he’s passionate about it!

In terms of timeframe, we just went for it and recorded, mixed and mastered the whole album in just under a month. Live takes were recorded over six consecutive days with me at the baby grand or ukulele and vocals, Davide Mantovani on double bass and Roy Rodds on percussion. Overdubs were done over the next five days with Geoff Southhall at Mi7 Studios, then the album was mixed in six days at Mi7 and Charlie and I mastered all the tracks in one day with the wonderful Marco Migliari at Real World Studios! Most of the live tracks we captured within the first couple of takes, and if we weren’t feeling it, we moved on, and came back to them fresh on another day. Nothing worse than losing the magic. It’s got to be fresh.

And how about the songwriting process itself – is this something you find easy? How long does it take you in general to write a song?
All tracks on the album, I wrote on my own. I either sit at the piano or ukulele with some lyrics or more often just with a vague idea and it all happens fairly organically. Sometimes I write my songs really quickly, and sometimes they are a gradual project, but I never take too long in the writing cos I get bloody bored and lose interest. In terms of what propels me to write, I guess I quite often get an irrepressible urge to express whatever is niggling at me and the most satisfying way for me is through music. Sometimes I’ll sit at the piano and not be sure of how I’m feeling about stuff, I’ll be on the brink of something, so my instinct is to find out. Writing from that level of consciousness or unconsciousness or whatever is my starting point. I write about what moves me generally. The state of the world, a stranger on a bus, powerful memories, unresolved stuff, the good stuff that makes your heart race, and I just like to tell a story.

Which are your favourite tracks from the album?
I love different things about all the tracks. The last track King Of The Island, I wrote about a bloke I met in the Philippines who owned his own island and is a complete megalomaniac. I didn’t intend to record it for the album, but I was fiddling away on the ukulele in the studio and my drummer just started making some beautiful percussion sounds, my double bass player jumped up on the vibraphone, Neil popped one mic in front of me and pressed record, and there it was. I think it has a mystical, magical, music box feel. We just left it as it was, no overdubs, no nothing. It is what it is. Same with the very cheeky Show Me Yours. One microphone, me on ukulele and vocals with my boot heels on the floor and Charlie singing some harmonies beside me…a pure live performance.

I love the strings in the middle 8 of A Thousand Seas – they are inspired…Charlie wrote the string parts.

I have recorded My Tomorrow previously on my EP of same name, but I am in love with the new recording of it. There is a restraint about it that is delicious and the pizzicato strings are edible.

Too Damn Hard is naughty and gutsy and I also swear and laugh in the take because I thought I had messed up the timing, but we listened back and loved it and decided to leave everything in, and nobody notices my cussing unless I point it out to them! I love the Sergeant Pepper ending to Paprika Haze too.

Sweetheart’s Embrace is definitely a favourite of mine. This is the story of two homeless people, and the harmonies and strings bring the piece to life. And The Num Num Song was a first take wonder and the first track we recorded, so that’s a special one. Blues Day will always be one of my all time favourite songs, and with the horns and rain, and beautiful brushes on snare, I think it is the most haunting track on the album. For me, the most fragile number is Roof Has Got A Hole…also a one take wonder with Davide on double bass. Vocally, I love Bad Man; dark and sardonic.

How have you been promoting the album so far and how do you plan to continue promoting it?
Was it easy to find a PR company and organise the artwork etc?
At the moment, with the small amount of money I had left over after recording the album, I have a dinky little music PR company working for me, pushing the album towards online features, press, radio and reviewers. They have managed to stir up a nice little bit of hype, which is great. I sent the PR company an email when I received the finance to make the album and sent them a copy of my EP which they loved. That was the important thing; that they believed in the music. I’m not sure what I’ll do about promotion once the money runs out, which is soon. Just keep playing shows, and believe in the product. The artwork was straightforward. A girlfriend of mine is a wonderful photographer so I chose my frocks and location and we did a shoot for the album, and then my fella, who is a designer, tackled the album design. Very handy! I was sitting on his shoulder for the entire process because obviously it was a very personal thing and I wanted to be sure that the images and style had the necessary impact.

What was it like to appear on live TV in Berlin? Nerve wracking we bet!
Not all that nerve wracking really. The interview was bizarre, cos the interviewer’s English wasn’t extraordinarily good and my German is very ordinary, so sometimes I misinterpreted what he was saying. Or he would ask me a question, I’d answer, and then he’d turn away to camera and translate everything in German, leaving me sitting there feeling like a prawn! Was very funny though. And then I just played Sweetheart’s Embrace live which was fine. Everyone was absolutely charming.

What did you think of Berlin as a city? We hear it’s a very creative place, full of the independent spirit.
I absolutely love Berlin and am quite tempted to live there for a bit. Audiences really adore their music and sit in complete silence while you play. I have never had to compete with people chatting in the crowd. There is extraordinary respect for the performer, and the same people come back and then back again for more AND they buy CDs! It’s hard to really nail what it is about Berlin. It’s chic and funky and it seems there is space to grow there. A creative energy.

How have you found the whole Slicethepie process? Would you recommend it to other Artists?
The process has been very smooth for me. Of course I’d recommend it. There’s nothing to lose by giving it a go and nothing wrong with receiving £15K to make an album, or promote one you already have.

What advice would you give to other independent Artists?
I’m in no position to be giving advice. I’m a struggling artist as much as the next guy, I just have a lovely fresh new album to tout about. I’d just say, keep on slogging away at it. At the end of the day you only have your songs, so play them.

Which other Artists have you been listening to lately?
Richard Hawley and Marie-Jo Therio are currently getting most play on my iPod.

Miranda Barber debut album 'Lips Decision' now on iTunes!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:10:10 G7T

Miranda Barber’s debut album 'Lips' Decision' is now available to download from iTunes!

Miranda was the first Artist to complete the full Arena process on Slicethepie – from uploading her 3 tracks, to receiving top reviews in the Scout Room and then on to winning the Showcase and securing the £15,000 Finance. She is the second Slicethepie Artist so far to release an album.

Originally from Australia, Miranda has been living in east London for 9 years, steadily building up a name for herself on the live music scene. Her sophisticated blend of adult jazz-pop-blues has been winning her fans all over the place and her songs contain a unique quirkiness, something which accurately reflects Miranda’s personality and makes her music stand out above the rest.

‘Lips’ Decision’ consists of 12 tracks, recorded at Goldtop Studios in North London and produced by Charlie Winston. The album includes popular tracks 'My Tomorrow' and 'Too Damn Hard.' You can read some great reviews of the album here and here or even better, down the album from iTunes by clicking here!

Check back later on in the week for an interview with Miranda.

Newsletter 48 - 27th June 2008

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:15:20 G6T

Miranda Barber's 'Lips' Decision' Out Monday!

Miranda Barber will release her Slicethepie financed debut album 'Lips' Decision’ this Monday.

This is a very exciting business, as Miranda is the first Scout Room selected Artist to release an album and the second Artist ever to release an album via Slicethepie. She kicked things off with a packed out pre-release party at the Ginglik (fact: the venue is actually a converted public toilet, but it’s actually much nicer than it sounds!) in London on Wednesday. Additionally, all those who hold Miranda Barber Backstage Passes have also been able to get their free copy since the beginning of the week.

The album consists of 12 tracks, recorded at Goldtop Studios in North London and produced by Charlie Winston. The album showcases the unique vocal and songwriting talents that secured Miranda the finance last year and is sure to be embraced by fans of Norah Jones, Martha Wainwright and Tori Amos.

Pick up some Contracts in Miranda Barber and secure your share in the album's success.

Laura Stevenson Wins The Showcase – Financing Begins

Laura Stevenson was this week crowned the winner of the latest Slicethepie Showcase, after securing the most votes from Music Fans and potential Investors. She has now entered the Financing stage, where Backstage Passes are currently on sale for £5 each.

Twenty-something Laura proved very popular amongst the Scouts and her songwriting and persistence have been rewarded - all 3 of her entered tracks made it to the top 10 rated tracks in total, in the All Genres 6 Scout Room, which then took her through to her 4th and final Showcase. Her song 'Down' also received the millionth review ever to be submitted by the Scouts on Slicethepie.

Laura cites some great influences, including Patti Griffin, Suzane Vega, Gillian Welch and Ryan Adams. She has also released an EP and received some great reviews from the press. To find out more about Laura, check out her impeccably kept Myspace page, in particular we would highly recommend you check out her blog.

Pick up some Backstage Passes in Laura Stevenson and be part of her success.

The Critical To Play At Benicassim?

As previously reported, Slicethepie band The Critical were selected as 1 of 30 bands to face the public vote in the SupaJam competition, where 1,000 bands entered for the chance to win a slot at this year’s Benicassim Festival in Spain. Well, they have now made it to the final 5! They are set to play the final in London on July 1st in front of a panel of music industry experts who will decide which band gets to go to Spain.

Benicassim is a huge annual music festival, located in North-East Spain and spanning 4 days in total. Hundreds of acts are due to appear at this year’s festival including Leonard Cohen, Gnarls Barkley, Mika, Morrisey...and hopefully The Critical too!

And in other news from Camp Critical, they have recently confirmed the producer for their Slicethepie funded debut album to be Chris Brown (not the US R&B star!). Chris’s credits include The Beatles, Blur, Massive Attack, Paul McCartney, Muse, My Vitriol, Radiohead, Spice Girls, Starsailor, Supergrass... so this all sounds very promising for their album.

Buy Contracts in The Critical.

Contracts In Shaun Barrowes Now Trading On The Exchange

Shaun Barrowes Contracts have now begun trading on the Slicethepie Exchange. Shaun already has an album professionally recorded, produced and ready to go, so he's planning to use £15,000 to promote the album and make sure it gets as much exposure as possible.

To secure your share in the album's success, pick up some Contracts here. You can either hold on to Contracts until they payout after a 2 year or period or buy them low and sell them high to make a profit with on the Trading Exchange.

To find out more about Trading, check out our FAQs and Tutorials.

UK Bands - Get Finance For Your Album And A Gibson Les Paul

UK bands, if you haven't joined the Gibson UK Guitar Bands Arena yet, then we feel it is our duty to let you know that you are missing out.

Not only will the most successful band from this Arena secure £15,000 to record and market their album - but they will also become the owner's of a brand new and rather valuable, Gibson Les Paul guitar!

Statistically, there's at least a 1 in 50 chance of making it through to the Showcase and from there a 1 in 20 chance of securing the finance & the Les Paul - so if you're confident the Scouts will like your tracks, then what have you got to lose?

Join here - for free.

Other news

Check out Tommy Ludgate's latest video blog; Temposhark playlisted on Sub.TV going out to 1.8 million students in the UK; Lights.Action! announce Academy tour; Scars on 45 invited back to play at next year's Isle of Wight Festival; Earn money listening to new music in the Scout Room; Be our Facebook friend; Or our MySpace friend.

Music Industry news

Virtual Trading League winners

1	Luckytown Media	£30
2	720Records	£20
3	Conncourse	£15
4	In Progress	£5
5	Twenty Three Records	£5
6	teejays	£5
7	Pfrog	£5
8	ramonbayron	£5
9	Toby Domoney	£5
9	Aaron H Records	£5
10	King of Hearts	£5

Compete in this week's Virtual Trading League and be in with a chance of winning one of next week's prizes.

Last chance to download a free Slicethepie album!

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:12:08 G6T

There’s not long left now to download our free Slicethepie 1st Anniversary Album, so if you haven’t yet got your copy – hurry!

The album features 15 tracks from our financed Artists and has been available to download for free since Friday. It’s really just to mark our 1st Birthday, say a big ‘thank you’ to all of our Slicethepie members and to celebrate our financed Artists’ successes to date. (To see a full round-up of each of our financed Artists’ achievements to date, check out last week’s .)

To download the album for free, all you need to do is click this link and enter the code: WEAREONE.

But hurry, this offer will end on Friday at 5pm (BST) and the album will no longer be available!

Newsletter 47 - 20th June 2008 - Special Birthday version!

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:58:53 G6T

Happy Birthday Slicethepie!!

This week, we have been celebrating Slicethepie's 1st birthday! Yup - it's only been one year since we launched into the big wide world web - and 16 financed Artists, 1 million reviews, over £ 1/4 million invested in total by our Music Fans and Investors and 4 awards later, we are stronger than ever. To celebrate our 1st - anniversary, join us as we look back over our financed Artists' achievements to date - and reveal details of how you can download our exclusive Slicethepie financed Artists album....

The Alps – Track: 'Something I Might Regret'

Album Status: Available to Download

In March this year, The Alps became the first ever Slicethepie financed band to release an album, having raised over £21,000 via the Direct Financing route back in October. 'Something I Might Regret' was produced by Dave Allen (The Cure, Depeche Mode, Human League) and scored them a whole load of national and international press, including pieces in Clash magazine, Wired, Billboard, The Independent and The Guardian newspapers, as well as a playlist spot on XFM and a mention on NPR in the US!

Buy Contracts in The Alps.

The 51/50's - Track: 'Hypnotised'

Album Status: recording

The 51/50's were the next band to raise the finance on Slicethepie. They've been through a line-up and a name change since but are now stronger than ever, having just completed a gruelling schedule of live dates. They are now putting the final touches to their debut album and are due to play the Y Not Festival in August, second on the bill to the chart topping Mystery Jets.

Buy Contracts in The 51/50s.

Miranda Barber – Track: 'My Tomorrow'

Album Status:
released 30th June (special early release for Backstage Pass holders: 23rd June)

Miranda was the first non-Direct Finance Artist to have come all the way through the Arena process and secure the £15,000. Since then, she's embraced the DIY ethic by recording a series of video blogs documenting the making of her debut album 'Lips' Decision,' which is due for release on 30th June. She's also caught the interest of major labels and recently performed live on German TV in Berlin.

Buy Contracts in Miranda Barber.

Scars on 45 - Track: 'Burn The House Down'

Album Status: mixing/mastering

Since raising the £15,000 back in October, Scars on 45 have achieved a phenomenal amount for any band, let alone an unsigned band. To start with they were an iTunes Featured EP for a whopping 6 weeks, they then performed on BBC TV, before going off to support South Africa's biggest band The Parlotones, where they also appeared on several TV shows. They then returned to England to play the Isle Of Wight Festival, alongside such acts as Kaiser Chiefs, Kooks, Iggy & The Stooges and The Police. They are currently putting the final touches to their album.

Buy Contracts in Scars on 45.

Tommy Ludgate – Track: 'Why so low'

Album Status: mixing/mastering

Londoner Tommy Ludgate won the Arena 2 Showcase and joined the Slicethepie Trading Exchange in November last year. With an ease to her sound that comes only as a product of being blessed with a natural talent, plus a rave review from Blues Review Magazine under her belt, Tommy enlisted the production skills of Tom Kelly, who really knows his stuff having previously worked with the likes of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Yusuf (Cat Stevens), the Puppini Sisters and Nerina Pallot. For the mixing, she has secured Hugh Padgham who has worked with some massive names including; David Bowie, The Bee Gee's, Paul McCartney, The Police, Genesis and McFly. The album is on its way and in the meantime, Tommy has a number of live dates coming up in and around London.

Buy Contracts in Tommy Ludgate.

John Tayles - Track: 'Walk Away'

Album Status: mastering

Canadian singer/songwriter John Tayles knew an opportunity when he saw one and he wasn't going to let £15,000 that would put him the road to achieving his musical dream get away easily. So, he hooked himself up with a national Canadian TV appearance, which went out to over 1.2 million viewers and subsequently secured him the finance! John's been keeping his fans up to date via a video blog and regular updates on his Facebook page. You can keep up with him here. 'Walk Away' is an unmastered version of a track that will feature on his forthcoming debut album.

Buy Contracts in John Tayles.

Shortwave Fade – Track: 'Stay As You Are'

Album Status: mixing/mastering

Indie/Electro 4 piece Shortwave Fade were already attracting attention, even before they'd won the Indie/Rock Showcase, having released a single on Oxford independent label Shifty Disco and played an A&R Showcase. Since Slicethepie, they've appeared in The Daily Telegraph, as well as playing alongside Black Cherry and a host of other up & coming bands. The band have recently emerged from the studio, where they've been working with Gavin Monaghan (The Smiths, Editors, Scott Matthews, The Twang) on their Slicethepie funded debut album. You can currently preview some of the tracks on their Slicethepie profile.

Buy Contracts in Shortwave Fade.

Sarah Grace – Track: 'Come Fly'

Album Status: pre-production

Sarah has recently announced her plans to record with producer Dave Marks and will enter the studio towards the end of August. She's also had a request from a radio station all the way over in Nashville to play her song 'Come Fly.'

Buy Contracts in Sarah Grace.

Jamie George - Track: 'Flockin (Always The Way)'

Album Status: planning production

Jamie George already knows a bit about the ups the downs of the music business from his time with boyband 3rd Edge, who scored 3 top 20 hits. The multi-talented Medway star has since gone solo and has already written, recorded and produced his Slicethepie funded album and is just putting in some finishing touches. He's already had some radio play on the UK's biggest urban station KISS 100 and with lots of budget left over for promotion costs and a killer album up his sleeve, fingers crossed there will be plenty more where that came from...

Buy Contracts in Jamie George.

Armstrong - Track: 'Can't Go Back'

Album Status:
pre-production recording starts July

Armstrong, unlike most bands, are currently busy finishing off their university degrees, but, unlike most students, they know where their headed next - to the studio to record their Slicethepie funded debut album. They will be using the production team at Pravda Studios - Matt and Andy of Headroom Productions, who between them have worked with the Kaiser Chiefs, The Wildhearts and members of the Foo Fighters. They've already secured the support of the UK's biggest weekly music magazine Kerrang! who described their music as "A tornado of infectious pop-rock melodies."

Buy Contracts in Armstrong.

Walk.DontWalk – Track: 'Day From Hell'

Album Status: recording

Fast rising Birmingham wonder boys Walk.DontWalk are storming their way to the top, with a string of successes to their name and incredibly still less than a year old (as a band!) Since raising finance on Slicethepie, they've made it to the final of this year's Road To V competition (due to be broadcast on Channel 4 this month), won a glowing write up by NME journalist Mark Beaumont, recorded at Konk studios, played a string of successful dates including hot London indie nights Club Fandango and Bloody Awful Poetry. They are currently working with Arctic Monkeys engineer Loz Brazil on their forthcoming debut album and awaiting the results of the Road to V competition. Fingers crossed!

Buy Contracts in Walk.DontWalk.

Lights.Action! - Track: 'Sound Of Deafening Silence'

Album Status: pre production

Lights.Action!'s future looks bright, having already played last year's Carling Reading & Leeds Festivals, scored numerous radio playlist slots (including plays on BBC Radio 1 and Kerrang! Radio), and supported acts including Boy Kill Boy, Saosin and Kids In Glass Houses. They have toured the UK extensively, building up a strong fanbase (the 'Lights.Action! Army') and winning rave reviews from everyone from The Sun newspaper, to Kerrang! magazine. They are currently working on their Slicethepie funded album with Rich Wilkinson (Magic Numbers, Sugababes, Paul Weller).

Buy Contracts in Lights.Action!

The Critical – Track: 'Killer Fever'

Album Status: pre production

The Critical have been super busy lately, speaking to various, press, promoters and pluggers in preparation for the release of their Slicethepie funded debut album. They are currently in talks with two producers – James Lewis (Cajun Dance Party, Arctic Monkeys, The Pistolas, Look See Proof, Roland Shanks, Dirty Little Faces) and Chris Brown (also worked with on projects including Radiohead, David Gray and the Beatles Anthology) – but a final decision is yet to be made. The band had just enough time to enter a competition to play at this year's Benicassim festival in Spain – and make it to the final 30! (Vote for them .)

Buy Contracts in The Critical.

Temposhark – Track: 'Joy'

Album Status: writing

Temposhark have also joined the exclusive league of those bands good enough to have picked up an iTunes seal of approval with a 'Staff Favourite' spot on the front page. The press seem to like them a lot too. In the past few months they've been selected as The Guardian.co.uk's 'Band of the Day', received a top review for their album from NME, performed on Fearless TV in the US, been featured on MSN, been selected as single of the week by Walmart.com and been asked to headline the Popstarz Clubnight in London, along with a whole host of other achievements.

Buy Contracts in Temposhark.

Shaun Barrowes – Track: 'I Still Loved You'

Album Status:
album complete, planning promotion

Shaun Barrowes already has an album of jazz-pop treats all recorded and ready to go. Having been given the seal of approval by no less than Celine Dion, it looks like the only way is up for our US star. Shaun has also recently completed a tour of 21 American cities, as well as winning an international songwriting contest for the ballad "When I Take Your Hand." Additionally, he has also written songs for major labels and worked with some of the top producers in the USA.

Buy Contracts in Shaun Barrowes (only available to Backstage Pass holders at the moment.)

Download a free Slicethepie Album - one week only!

To celebrate our Artists' success to date and say a massive thank you to our Artists, Music Fans and Investors, we are offering a Slicethepie album, featuring the above 15 tracks, to download for free, for one week only! To download it just follow this link and enter the password: WEAREONE

To read this week's News story, which includes big thank you to our Artists, Music Fans and Investors and to view a summary of our Artists' collective achievements to date, plus find out about what's in store for Slicethepie, visit our News section.

All Genres 6 Showcase update…

As the Showcase enters its final week, here's a quick round-up of the positions so far;

1.Lot55
2.Laura Stevenson
3.Edward Bell

Don't forget to Vote!

Other news

Miranda Barber Backstage Pass holders – get your exclusive early release album from Monday; Check out a lovely review here; and album launch gig details for this Wednesday in London; Watch a video weblog of Walk.DontWalk from the Road to V website (Weblog #2); The Alps single release delayed, but you can still watch the new video; Vote for The Critical to play at Benicassim here; Slicethepie on Billboard; All latest Press; Be our Facebook friend; Or MySpace.

Music Industry news

Virtual Trading League winners

1	King of hearts	£30
2	Conncourse	£20
3	720Records	£15
4	teejays	£5
5	Luckytown Media	£5
6	Pfrog	£5
7	dudewheresmycar	£5
8	Robertson Records	£5
9	TippiToo	£5
10	Tom/Tom Records	£5

Compete in this week's Virtual Trading League and be in with a chance of winning one of next week's prizes.

Miranda Barber Backstage Pass holders: exclusive album pre-release details

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:07:38 G6T

Miranda Barber's Slicethepie funded debut album 'Lips' Decision' is due to be released on 30th June. But if you hold a Backstage Pass in Miranda you will be able download the album from this Monday 23rd June! This offer is exclusive to Backstage Pass holders and, as you have already bought Backstage Passes, you won't have to pay a penny to download it!

Don't forget to check your inbox on Monday, when you will receive a Slicethepie message containing your unique Backstage Pass holder code which will in turn enable you to download the album early.

In the mean time, you can check out a lovely review of the album here.

Slicethepie is 1 today!!

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:27:58 G6T

It's been exactly one year to the day since the Slicethepie website launched! One year has seen a vast number of achievements and with 16 financed Artists, 4 awards, over £1/4 million pounds raised in total, 10,000 Artists signed up so far, an army of 60,000 Music Fans and Investors and over 1 million reviews submitted to date - Slicethepie is thriving and continuing to change the way that music is discovered, financed and released. It's all thanks to you Artists, Music Fans and Investors who make up the Slicethepie community!

Check out our Financed Artists achievements so far...

To celebrate our 1st anniversary, we thought we'd look back at the successes of our Financed Artists to date. Here's a round-up of just some of their collective achievements so far....

Press - Numerous press appearances in various print and online publications, including; Clash Magazine, Fuse Magazine, PlayLouder, NME.com, Remix Magazine, Drowned In Sound, MusicOMH.com, Billboard, Music Week, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times newspapers.

Live dates – spanning a huge variety of venues and festivals, including; Isle Of Wight Festival, SXSW, Proud Galleries, Club Fandango, Islington Academy, Liverpool Academy, Popstarz, Sin, Punk (Soho), Leeds Cockpit, 100 Club. Upcoming: Y Not Festival, The Secret Garden Party festival.

Support slots -Support slots with South Africa's chart topping band The Parlotones, Starsailor (2 x #2 selling albums in the UK), Go:Audio, I Was A Cub Scout, My Awesome Compilation, The Young Knives, The Paddingtons, Vincent Vincent & Villians, Saosin, Boy Kill Boy, Kids In Glass Houses, Keane, The Subways, I Like Trains.

TV - TV appearances in Canada, Germany, USA and South Africa, plus one upcoming national UK TV appearance.

Radio – playlist spots and shout outs on various local, national and international stations, including BBC Radio 1, BBC6 Music, XFM, Kerrang! Radio, Kiss 100, local radio and NPR in the USA.

iTunes - 2 x featured slots on iTunes, plus one album already released, 8 albums recorded and now at various stages of mixing/mastering/release, plus numerous more to follow.

Competitions -2 x competition finalists – Road To V and SuperJam.

Producers & Mixers – Secured the skills of a collection of first class producers, who between them, have worked with Artists including; Arctic Monkeys, Kylie Minogue, The Lightning Seeds, Craig David, The Kooks, Editors (Loz Brazil); Sigur Ros and Bowie (Ken Thomas); Metallica, Nickleback, Bryan Adams (Darren Grahn); Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Cat Stevens, Georgie Fame, Killing Joke, Chris De Burgh, Jocelyn Brown and Alexander O'Neil (Tom Kelly); Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, The Magic Numbers, Hot Chip, Jamie T, Amy Winehouse (Richard Wilkinson), David Bowie, The Bee Gee's, Paul McCartney, The Police, Genesis, McFly, Mansun, Sheryl Crow, Elton John, XTC (Hugh Padgham.) Additionally, The Slicethepie Artists Relations team have been working hard to establish relationships with some of the top players, both established and up and coming, in the music industry, to enable our Artists to have the best possible chance of establishing a long and rewarding music career.

Music Fans and Investors on Slicethepie - it's all thanks to you!

A massive thank you to all of our Music Fans and Investors, who have collectively submitted over 1 million reviews in total and invested over £1/4 million in new music.

Your discerning ears and reviewing skills have resulted in 14 quality Scout Room selected Artists, as well as providing Artists with invaluable feedback on their tracks. And your investments in new music has resulted in these Artists being able to go on to record & release their albums, as well as paving the way for a new, exciting and rewarding music business model - meaning that music can continue to be developed, nurtured and thrive for many years to come!

A big thank you to you - our Slicethepie Music Fans and Investors!

Exciting times ahead...

We also want to take this opportunity to let you lovely folk who make up the Slicethepie community know that we have been listening to your feedback, suggestions and comments over the past year and we have some very exciting developments scheduled to kick in over the coming months. It's all very exciting, as Slicethepie enters its second year and second stage of revolutionising the way the music is discovered, funded and released.

OK, it's all getting a bit gushy now, we'll stop with the thank yous. But just before we go, one more...

Starting this Friday: download a free Slicethepie album!

To say a big thank you to all of our Artists, Music Fans and Investors on Slicethepie, and to celebrate our Artists' success to date, we will be offering up a Slicethepie album featuring tracks from each of our financed Artists, to download for free and for one week only - starting this Friday. Don't forget to check back then...

Stay tuned and thanks again!

The Slicethepie Team

Newsletter 46 - 13th June 2008

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:30:17 G6T

Scars on 45 play Isle Of Wight Festival this weekend

Any minute now, Slicethepie financed band Scars on 45 will be taking to the stage at the Isle Of Wight Festival. They are sharing the bill with some of the world’s biggest acts including Iggy & The Stooges, Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs, The Police and N.E.R.D. It's been a busy couple of months for the band, having recently returned from South Africa where they were supporting South Africa’s biggest band, The Parlotones, and last weekend headlining a packed out homecoming gig at legendary Leeds venue The Cockpit. You can check a review of the gig here, see some photos here, and become a Facebook Fan at the same time. The album is on its way...

Buy Contracts in Scars on 45. Check out some of their latest press links.

Shaun Barrowes still raising Finance - not long left now!

Shaun Barrowes is due to complete Financing soon and by the end of next week, discounted Contracts will be available to Backstage Pass holders. Shaun comes all the way from Utah, USA, and he has recently completed a tour of 21 American cities. His “sophisticated blend of jazz-pop, balladry” has won the approval of no less than Celine Dion, who recently announced to the world, via The Ellen DeGenres Show, that his track “When I Take Your Hand” made her want to renew her wedding vows.

Shaun has already spent $50,000 on his spanking new album and it’s all recorded, produced and ready to go. As a result the entire £15,000 will go towards marketing and PR costs, ensuring that the album gets as much exposure as possible.

Pick up some Backstage Passes today and secure your right to discounted Contracts. If he sells over 10,000 albums you could make a decent profit!

Gibson UK Guitar Bands Arena: preview what's in store for the Scout Room

It’s been two weeks since we announced Slicethepie’s partnership with Gibson – teaming up to offer UK guitar bands the un-missable opportunity to secure not only £15,000 for their album, but a Gibson Les Paul guitar too! All the usual rules apply, it’s free to enter, Artists keep hold of all their copyright & publishing and will receive valuable feedback on their tracks which will help them to develop their sound.

Scouts can take a sneak peak at what to expect from the Scout Room and check out the latest additions to the Arena here. And Scouts don’t forget – if you know any unsigned UK guitar bands, send ‘em this way!

All Genres 6 Showcase positions so far

1. Laura Stevenson
2. Lot 55
3. Katelyn Dawn

There’s a stack of great Artists in the All Genres 6 Showcase, including some first timers, and they are all vying for your vote. Don’t forget, any number of Artists can through to the Financing stage - if they can secure enough support. So every vote really does count!

Other news

Check out some un-mastered tracks from Tommy Ludgate forthcoming album; Check out our Scouting Guide; Miranda Barber's debut album out 30th June; The Alps new single 'Not So Laughable Now' out 23rd June; Check out Temposhark’s performance on Fearless TV; Scouting continues in All Genres 7 Arena; All Genres 8 Arena now open to join; Be our Facebook friend; Or add us on MySpace.;

Music Industry news

Virtual Trading League winners

1	Conncourse	£30
2	720Records	£20
3	King of hearts	£15
4	Pfrog	£5
5	ramonbayron	£5
6	faceless	£5
7	Indabeatz	£5
8	teejays	£5
9	Digital4 Media	£5
10	independent	£5

Compete in this week's Virtual Trading League and be in with a chance of winning one of next week's prizes.

Newsletter 45 - 6th June 2008

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:29:18 G6T

Miranda Barber's debut album 'Lips Decision' released on June 30th

Miranda Barber, the first Scout Room selected Artist to secure the £15,000 Finance on Slicethepie, will release her debut album 'Lips Decision' on June 30th.

Back in September the army of new fans Miranda won over on Slicethepie, along with her existing loyal fan base, took her to the top of the Launch Arena 1 Showcase, where she secured the most votes and thus collected the £15,000 to record & market her debut album.

The album features 12 tracks, recorded in North London and produced by rising star Charlie Winston, who himself is becoming quite notorious on the London music scene. Miranda has been documenting the album making process in a series of video blogs, the latest of which you can check out here. To read more, plus find out details of her album pre-launch party in West London on 25th June, click here.

We are also aware that Miranda has already attracted some interest from one of the major labels and will, next week, be appearing on national German TV.

Click here to secure Contracts in Miranda Barber before album buzz pushes the price up.

Slicethepie & Gibson partnership scores some great press - UK bands don't miss out!

The Gibson UK Guitar Bands Arena launched last week and has since been scoring us some great features in top music industry publications. In addition to last week's front page story on the Music Week website, we have also been featured on Digital Music News (again!), Music Ally and CMU Daily, as well as a feature on Clashmusic.com. Visit our Press section to read the articles and catch up on all our latest press.

The Gibson UK Guitar Bands Arena is now welcoming entries from all UK Guitar Bands, and this time, not only will UK Bands be in with a chance of securing £15,000 for their album, but the most successful band, as selected by music fans on Slicethepie, will also be presented with a legendary Gibson Les Paul Guitar at their world famous London Showroom! It's free to join - all you UK guitar bands need to do is upload your 3 best tracks and click 'enter now' under the Arena's tab.

Catch up with The Critical

It's all gone a bit interview crazy with The Critical this week. You have a choice of two - you can check out our written interview with them here (we highly recommend this one) or you can watch a video interview that they did for their local newspaper here - but both are well worth a look.

Buy Contracts in The Critical here.

New Scout Room launches - earn money reviewing new music in the All Genres 7 Scout Room!

No sooner had the All Genres 6 Scout Room closed (see below for top rated tracks), than the All Genres 7 Scout Room opened its doors and the Scouts got back to work, reviewing the latest in unsigned music from a variety of genres. If you fancy doing the A&R this weekend, visit the Scout Room now. You are, of course, paid per review and the better you are at reviewing, the more you will be paid.

Check out our complete Guide to Scouting here.

Top rated tracks from the All Genres 6 Scout Room - Showcase now open!

This week, Scouting in the All Genres 6 Scout Room came to an end and the top Artists, as rated and reviewed by the Scouts, have now entered the Showcase stage. To check them out and vote for your favourite, click here. There are a number of new Artists, as well as some familiar faces. Persistence has paid for one band, who make it through to their first Showcase after 8 tries and proving that changing your tracks can make all the difference...

This of course means that there are now only a few more weeks until the next Artist to secure the £15k finance is announced! And it's up to you to decide who.

Here are the top rated tracks from the All Genres 6 Scout Room:

Other news

Backstage Passes in Shaun Barrowes now on sale; Contracts in Temposhark now trading on the Exchange; Shortwave Fade Backstage Pass holders – check out their profile to listen to an unmastered mix of the first single; Check out another video from Scars on 45 South Africa trip ; Watch Tommy Ludgate's latest video; Compete in this week's Virtual Trading League - to be in with a chance of winning one of next week's cash prizes.

Music Industry news

Virtual Trading League winners

1	Able Baker	£30
2	Luckytown Media	£20
3	Geet Records	£15
4	King of hearts	£5
5	720Records	£5
6	852	£5
7	Pfrog	£5
8	powerthirst	£5
9	Conncourse	£5
10	musicscout	£5
10	skint records	£5
10	milky heaven	£5
10	faceless	£5

Compete in this week's Virtual Trading League and be in with a chance of winning one of next week's prizes.

Catch up with The Critical

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:05:30 G6T

Congratulations on securing the Finance for your album! How does it feel?
By far the best feeling we've felt whilst being a band!

Had you entered any other Arenas before you won the All Genres 4 Showcase, or was this your first time?
Yup once before and got some very useful feedback from the fans which we then used to improve our sound for our next victorious effort. So the message to other bands is to get your stuff out there, listen to what the punters what, then give it to 'em!

We hear you've been busy making plans for the album/release - can you tell us a bit more about what you've been up to? Do you have any ideas for the album or how you're going to promote it?
It's been totally manic but we've been speaking to a lot of very interesting people so it's also hugely exciting. We've spoken mainly to producers at this stage but we're also out there getting the gigs and creating a buzz so there's been a lot of interviews with press and we're hopefully speaking to some radio guys next week.

We have grand plans for this album - we're talking strings and gospel choirs here people!! No seriously, it's looking like it's gonna have a rockier feel in the same vain as our last demo and we've written some real quality stuff in the last month or so, so for us the biggest challenge is gonna be choosing which ones make it in to the final cut. We're meeting a couple of PR & Marketing people within the month to discuss some of the promotion ideas we have, but we also plan to play some high profile gigs and spread the word that way as well. This is where our fans can have a big impact as word of mouth recommendations go a long way!

What do you think of the whole Slicethepie concept and the DIY movement? Have you had much contact with the music industry? How healthy do you think the British music scene is at the moment?
Slicethepie is, for bands like us, simply a genius idea - from meeting you guys this week it's obvious that you care about the artists and you're trying to help them make a name and career for themselves rather than making a fast buck. We've had limited contact with industry people so far to be honest, but already using Slicethepie’s contacts etc we've spoken to a shed load more useful people in this last week already.

The 'scene' is a bit too much of a scene at the moment, in our opinion, as it seems like majors are only really looking for a very particular image and sound depending on which day of the week it is - it's hard to gage what they’re really looking for but I’ve heard a lot of quality unsigned bands and some awesome releases on the indie labels recently so overall there’s a lot of competition out there – it shows how much promise we have to be able to rise above such competition.

Tell us a bit more about the band's history - how long have you been together, how did you meet?
The current line-up's been together for 18 months now and it has never sounded better - we found Gav kinda by accident - we needed a new drummer, someone brilliant! Then totally out of the blue one night Ollie was talking to a mutual friend in a pub who knew a drummer and introduced him to Gav - turns out the guy is a bit of a legend and he's been the missing piece that we were looking for to take us on to the next level really.

Before, Ollie and Chris had played been gigging locally in Crawley for a couple of years but had gone through quite a few line up changes in the rhythm section so it was never quite the full package. Paul and Ollie were at that time also gigging in another band (Tahoma) which was playing some good gigs in London and gathering a bit of momentum before the drummer decided that his future lay elsewhere so that came to an abrupt end. So Ollie & Chris formed The Critical, brought in Paul and the rest is kinda history….

What's at the top of your playlist at the moment? Who are your influences, musical and otherwise?
We listen to a massive range of new and old music, we feel it's the best way to be able to write the best songs you can as often the arrangements in all the different genres give you great ideas about how to structure your songs.

Paul (Bass) I'm a bit of a rocker at heart so biggest influences for me are Smashing Pumpkins, Manics, Nirvana and Counting Crows. More recently I've been into Yourcodenameis;milo, 30 Seconds to Mars (saw them play a blinder at Brixton), Explosions in the Sky and, dare I say, Fall Out Boy!

Ollie (Singer) only really started playing the Guitar after listening to Oasis back in the day. 'I'm listening to bands like The Audition, My Chemical Romance and Vampire Weekend at the moment, I'm always looking for something new’ 'I'm influenced by everything I've known since birth!'

Chris (Lead Guitar) is a Star Wars Geek, Insane about The Manic Street Preachers, The Beatles and The Clash. He loves a bit of Monty Python!

Gav (Drums) I'm a rocker, I grew up surrounded by music from the likes of Slade, Sweet, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Queen, Areosmith, Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi plus Metallica. My parents are to blame for the first two Glam Rockers!! These days I find myself listening to The Foo's, Editors, Kasabian, Bloc Party, Kings Of Leon, and Linkin Park. I remember the last time I went to watch Kasabian, I was blow away by Ian Matthews, " He didn't stop playing all night, even in between songs.. there was a constant beat.. he held the band together!!"

And how about the most embarrassing thing on your MP3 player? (honestly!)
Paul – 'I have to admit my guilty pleasure is Genesis – just love that prog Rock man!!!! There’s also a lot of rather dubious R&B on the old iPod courtesy of my other half….

Gav – 'Ant and Dec, Aqua, Abba, Bee Gees, Labi Saffri, Meat Loaf and N-Trance. I have a lot of old Rap and R&B and I still take time to listen to it, can't beat a bit of Snoop and Dre.'

Any other Slicethepie Artists you'd recommend?
Seems like Walk.Don' Walk are making a big impression. Really like the Alps too, some great tunes! Otherwise it would have to be The Critical all the way…obviously!

And finally - do you have a message for your Backstage Pass holders?
Well first thank you for your support. Hopefully you're as excited as we are for the future - we're committed to making a quality record for everyone to enjoy and your input is always welcome at whatever stage and in whatever format. We'd like to think of novel ways to get people involved in the this process so we’ll be in regular communication with you guys to let you know what we're up to!!

We also think with the whole marketing/promoting thing and our success is as much to do with us as it is with our fans and backers, so the more people know about us, the better!

- So get out there and tell the world how good we are!!

Miranda Barber's debut album released 30th June!

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:57:39 G6T

Miranda Barber will release her Slicethepie funded debut album 'Lips Decision' on 30th June.

London based, but Australian born, Miranda was the very first Scout Room selected Artist to come all the way through a Slicethepie Arena and secure the £15,000 Finance for her album. She has since been documenting the album making process in a series of video blogs, the latest of which you can watch here.

The album consists of 12 tracks, recorded at Goldtop Studios in North London and produced by the multi-talented Charlie Winston. Her smoky brew of breathy, piano led pondering is a fresh mixture of intelligent lyricism, melodious hooks and the kind of song writing that hasn't been heard since the 60s. Incorporating wandering upright bass lines, sumptuous strings, subtle guitar nuances and ukulele shards 'Lips' Decision' charts the growth of a genuine talent.

And it's even more remarkable given that in 1990 Miranda was diagnosed with a paralysed vocal chord & told she would never sing again. Fortunately, her determination to create music & her love of performing prevailed and her voice returned in all its glory- soulful, husky and sultry, it dips & slides like honey.

As well as Charlie Winston, Miranda has also collaborated on live and recorded projects with various other producers and artists including Tom Baxter, Davide Mantovani, Roy Dodds and Raison D'Etre.

Miranda will host an album launch party in London on 25th June. To find out more about the album launch, plus other upcoming dates, check out her MySpace page.

Newsletter 44 - 30th May 2008

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:21:34 G5T

Gibson UK Guitar Bands Arena launches – join now!

Slicethepie & Gibson Guitar made the front page of MusicWeek.com this week, as we announced the news that we've joined forces to offer UK Guitar Bands the chance to secure not only £15,000 for their album - but a legendary Gibson Les Paul Guitar too! The most successful band will also have the Les Paul presented to them at Gibson's world famous London Showroom.

Slicethepie is very excited to have teamed up with Gibson - the world's premier musical instrument manufacturer and leader in music technology, who have been making their top quality guitars since 1902. Gibson guitars are used by a huge array of world famous musicians including BB King, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Noel Gallagher and Slash, to name but a few - and you don't get much better than that!

UK Guitar Bands can join now, for free. You will keep hold of all your copyright and publishing and, as well as being in with a chance of securing £15k & a Les Paul Guitar, you will also will receive numerous independent reviews of your tracks from our Scouts, as well as gain exposure for your music.

Read more here. Check out our front page news story from MusicWeek.com here. And visit the Gibson website here - www.gibson.com

One million reviews now completed on Slicethepie!

An incredible 1,000,000 reviews have now been completed in under a year by Scouts on Slicethepie. For our Scouts, 1,000,000 reviews has equated to over £50,000 earned in total - with one Scout now having earned over £2,200 simply by Scouting alone!

All of these reviews are proving invaluable to our Artists and Slicethepie is fast carving out a niche in the music industry as a place where Artists can go to gain feedback on their music and insight into the honest opinions & tastes of the record buying public, as well as find out areas of their music that might be standing in the way of their success. As the reviews are anonymous, they are also objective and honest - something that can be surprisingly hard to come across in the music business.

To see the one millionth review, plus read an interview with our current Top Scout Alliswell, click here.

This story also scored us a great piece in last weekend's Sunday Telegraph - you can read the article here.

Shaun Barrowes wins the All Genres 5 Showcase - Financing begins

The results from the All Genres 5 Showcase are in and Shaun Barrowes has become the next Artist to enter the Financing stage – Backstage Passes are now on sale for £5 each.

Acoustic/Jazz/Pop Artist Shaun Barrowes hails all the way from Utah, USA. He suffered a slight misfortune recently when his MySpace page, complete with 11,000 of his fans, was deleted as a result of hackers. But he's back and stronger, with a new MySpace profile and a Slicethepie Showcase win now tucked safely under his belt.

You can pick up some Backstage Passes here.

Or find out more about Backstage Passes here.

Catch up with Jamie George and Shortwave Fade

Jamie George has been super busy recently, recording and producing his Slicethepie funded album. But he did manage to find just enough time to record this video blog. With the help of our Artist Relations team, Jamie is currently putting together the right mix of PR companies, radio pluggers and promoters required in order to get the widest possible coverage for his album, when it's released (date tba). You can buy Contracts in Jamie George here.

Shortwave Fade have also been a busy band, sticking to a tight studio schedule in order to get the most out of recording time and fill their Slicethepie funded album with a bevy of musical treats. You can find out more about how it's going, plus see some pics from the studio here. You can buy Contracts in Shortwave Fade here.
And for Backstage Pass holders in Miranda Barber and/or Tommy Ludgate, you can check out their latest video blogs by visiting their respective Backstage Pass holder forums.

Other news

Discounted Contracts in Temposhark now on sale to Backstage Pass holders; Be our MySpace friend; Or our Facebook Friend; Join the Gibson UK Guitar Bands Arena; Scout in the All Geners 6 Scout Room; Check us out on Digital Music News.

Music Industry news

Virtual Trading League winners

1	Able Baker	£30
2	Tapping foot Recordings	£20
3	Highthorn Music	£15
4	first tap	£5
5	darigandi55	£5
6	Geet Records	£5
7	gta	£5
8	daniel12345	£5
9	720Records	£5
10	Conncourse	£5

Compete in this week's Virtual Trading League and be in with a chance of winning one of next week's prizes.

Slicethepie partners with Gibson Guitar

Thu, 29 May 2008 11:37:28 G5T

Press Release: Legendary Guitar Maker Supports Revolutionary New Website Where Bands are Funded by Fans

UK, London –: Slicethepie, the website that enables the financing of new music by enabling music fans to run their own record label, today announced an innovative partnership with Gibson Guitar. From today, a fan driven search for the best UK Guitar Band will be officially supported by Gibson with the most promising act receiving a classic Gibson Les Paul guitar as well as securing £15,000 funding to record and market their album. The guitar will be presented to the band at the world-famous Gibson Guitar showroom in London.

Launched in June 2007, Slicethepie is a web-based financing engine for the music industry that connects artists in search of funding with fans and investors who want to get involved in the music industry by scouting, breaking and investing in new artists. So far the site has financed 16 acts, with Greenwich quartet The Alps being the first to release their debut album 'Something I Might Regret' in March this year.

Slicethepie is fast becoming one of the major sources of financing for unsigned artists, having recently announced they are set to finance more artists in 2008 than EMI, Sony BMG and Warner achieved in the UK last year.

Gibson Guitar has over one hundred years of history and is widely regarded as the world’s premier musical instrument manufacturer and leader in music technology. Gibson guitars are played by many of the world's greatest guitarists such as Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Angus Young, Pete Townshend and Slash. Gibson Guitar is committed to supporting the bands and solo artists of tomorrow by getting involved with initiatives such as Slicethepie.

David Courtier-Dutton, Slicethepie founder, commented: "We are really excited to have one of the iconic symbols of rock n roll supporting Slicethepie. If funding for a debut album wasn't incentive enough, a Gibson Les Paul guitar should appeal to all guitar bands serious about their art."

--- Ends ---

About Gibson Guitar
Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Gibson's HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar and the Gibson Robot Guitar represent the biggest advances in electric guitar design in over 70 years.

Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.'s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson's website at www.gibson.com or www.gibson.com/press.

Slicethepie Scouts Complete One Million Reviews!

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:28:54 G5T

Last week, the Scouts in the All Genres 6 Scout Room took Scouting on Slicethepie to a whole new level by hitting the 1 million reviews mark - that's a phenomenal 1 million reviews completed on Slicethepie since launching, less than a year ago!

The millionth review was of the track 'Coming Home' by Laura Stevenson, and was submitted by Flickering Ember. Here it is in full;

Scout: Flickering Ember
Artist: Laura Stevenson
Track: Coming Home
Score: 9/10

Beautiful, haunting, moving, makes you sit up and listen and give it the attention it deserves. It touched me and made me think, and I could tell the artist put her all into its vocal delivery. The simplicity of the instrumentals really worked on this song and I think this is a brilliant song.

For our music Scouts, 1 million reviews has equated to over £50,000 earned in total, with one Scout having earned over £2,200 just through reviewing new music on Slicethepie!

But it's not just the Scouts who have benefited - for Artists on Slicethepie, this has meant 1 million independent reviews of their tracks, enabling them to gain valuable feedback on their music straight from the mouth of the record buying public, as well as gaining insight into the public's opinions and tastes.

12 Scout Room selected Artists have now gone on to raise finance for their albums (15 Artists financed in total), with Contracts in each of them now trading on the Slicethepie Exchange, where Scout earnings can be used to trade in new Artists & secure a share of their financial success.

And all of this in less than a year since launching!

The Scout Room harnesses of the Wisdom of the Crowds - the theory that a group of people can make a better decision than a small number of people, even experts - to put the power back in to the hands of Music Fans. The Scout Room has proved to be remarkably effective - after 50 reviews, a track's average score will hardly change regardless of which of the Scouts participate or how many times the same track is submitted. This consistency means that a number of Artists repeatedly come out in the top 2% of a Scout Room and therefore then proceed to the Showcase.

We now have an army of over 60,000 Scouts on Slicethepie - with an average of 10,000 reviews submitted per day.

A massive thank you to all of our Scouts - keep up the good work!

Read an interview with our Top Scout - Alliswell

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:54:23 G5T

Hello Alliswell, congratulations on making it to Top Scout status on Slicethepie!

What's the secret to your success?
Jaffa Cakes.

How long have you been a Scout on Slicethepie?
Under six weeks! Slicethepie already feels like home though

How much money have you made from Scouting so far?
Exactly enough to buy a microKORG!

Who's been your best discovery? And who's currently on your Watchlist?
Shaun Barrowes "I Still Loved You" simultaneously broke and won my heart when I first heard it.

My watchlist is excessively long - well over 100 artists! It's going to be quite a mission to slim it down. Names I particularly remember though are Edward Bell, Laura Stevenson and Ryan Inglis.

Have you used any of your Scout earnings to buy Backstage Passes in Artists with? And if so, who?
Temposhark and Trail. I was very hesitant at first - I wanted to see how the system worked before investing my Scout earnings. Now I feel like I "know" the Artists in the All Genres 5 Showcase, I'm very eager to invest in them.

...Or, have you tried taking your talent spotting skills to the next level and traded in Artists on the Trading Exchange?
I've given it a shot. Maximum profit to date: a grand total of 55p!

What's been your favourite Arena to Scout in?
I've only had a decent experience of All Genres 5 and 6. All Genres 5 felt "fresher" than the current arena - maybe the honeymoon period has worn off?

Who's your favourite Artist/band from our Financed Artists? Who would you tip for the top?
Scars on 45 drew me in with their careful, tender and honest songwriting – "Loudest Alarm" is beautiful beyond words. I got the same feeling listening to them as I did listening to "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab For Cutie. Judging by their current contract prices, I think I'm not alone in believing they will be tremendously successful!

How do you rate Artists? What kind of thing do you look for? And what do you think it takes to become a successful recording Artist?
Good questions! I could write an essay. Probably best if someone severely edits this response as I have a tendency to ramble!

When rating a track, I try to put my personal musical preferences to one side and think of the bigger picture. I listen for passionate delivery, proficient musicianship, meaningful lyrics, tasty bass lines and attention to detail in song writing. Sloppy playing, clichéd lyrics, out of tune vocals or lazy mixing do nothing for me. Whilst I understand the majority of Artists don’t have the money to record in a studio, I think that giving all you have to a song can be the difference between a 5/10 and an 8/10 – back to the drawing board or on to the Showcase. I believe that time is the greatest investment an Artist can make in their music and it really does show. I dabble with home recording myself – a cheap microphone and Audacity (free audio editing software) so I know what can be achieved, given time and effort.

I think that a successful recording Artist cannot rely on talent alone, but must be extremely hard working, attentive to detail, must always seek to improve themselves and be totally committed to the business of gigging, publicising, recording, writing etc. etc.

One final thing that really encourages me to support an Artist is how much the Artist supports their fans - it's a game of give and take!

What kind of music do you listen to outside of Slicethepie?
My fiancée introduced me to the beautiful, often haunting realm of the singer-songwriter (Damien Rice, Tom McRae, Ryan Adams). Left to my own devices, I tend towards the shamelessly bombastic world of progressive rock (Porcupine Tree, The Mars Volta, Dream Theater), interspersed with some classy jazz (Hiromi Uehara is my favourite most recent find!) and a healthy dose of British rock (Idlewild and Bell X1) thrown in for good measure.

And finally - any tips for those hoping to make it up the Scouting league?
Be generous, constructive and honest in your reviewing - keep in mind that real people will read what you’ve written. Dig through the forums - they're a veritable gold mine of advice. Most importantly, have fun when you're Scouting - a positive frame of mind works wonders!