Ted Williams, A Homeless Man In Cleveland Gets An Incredible Second Chance

Until last week, Ted Williams was a homeless man that panhandled on the corner of a highway in Cleveland.

But when Williams was interviewed by videographer Doral Chenoweth III and he had a chance to show his vocals skills, his life took an incredible turn. The video racked more than 5 million views on YouTube, Williams was officially rechristened “Golden-voiced”, and the job offers began pouring in.

Literally. The man who championed Williams’ cause (a Reddit user that is known as Shiggiddie) received no less than 80 offers for Ted in his personal messages over the course of just two days.

That was amazing, the kind of thing one sees in the movies. And things were to get even more cinematographic. Continue reading

TuneCrank – Letting Independent & Unsigned Artists Spread Their Music

TuneCrank
Name: TuneCrank
URL: http://www.tunecrank.com

The meet-and-greet tradition upon which the music industry operates is a necessary evil… or is it? Websites like TuneCrank are here to bring that hegemony down.

In general terms, this site lets just anybody upload his tunes and have them streamed to whomever is willing to give them a good listen. The process is wholly free, and what TuneCrank aims to do is give just everybody a chance to be discovered, in a framework in which there are no favoritisms of any kind. On TuneCrank, all that matters is the quality of what you are uploading, not whose back you are scratching. Continue reading

Wanabez – Where New Talent Is Discovered

Wanabez

Name: Wanabez
URL: http://www.wanabez.com

The meteoric success of artists like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga has opened everybody’s eyes to the role the Internet can play in a musical career, and Wanabez is here to let singers and instrumentalists have a fairer chance of being discovered.

Wanabez is a brand-new video portal for aspiring musicians, a place that is comparable to a version of YouTube in which only videos of people looking for the big break are uploaded.

Just like YouTube, Wanabez can be used for free. And the videos that are uploaded can be commented and rated by just anybody – site visitors, other performers, industry folks who stumble upon them…

Besides, since videos can be sorted both by rating and by the number of comments they have received finding the most promising acts is a much easier task. Any person looking for emerging talent can visualize only those that have received the highest qualifications, and avoid having to sit through one band after the other of fifteen year olds doing their own versions of “Whole Lotta Lovin'” with the divine conviction that they are incendiary, when they are just a good couple of light years from getting anywhere near the mark. Continue reading

G2 – Simplifying The Way Bands Are Booked

G2.fm

Name: G2
URL: http://www.g2.fm

This site was created by a group of musicians who felt frustrated with the process in which bands are traditionally booked. If anything, G2 makes everything clear from the word go – the artists and the managers of venues know what they are getting at all times.

That is possible because the site lets everybody have a profile in which everything is clearly set down. If you are a performer, you let everybody know which kind of music you can play, and you do that in the most representative fashion you could imagine – you upload a video of your band in action. In that way, managers of venues get to listen and see you as you rock out.

On the other hand, if you have a club you can not only browse through the pages of artists but actually create a calendar showcasing which slots you have to fill. Interested bands can approach you in a bid to get the gig. Continue reading

Move Over Suzan Boyle, The Next Sensation Is Here. He Is Named Lin Yu Chun, And He Comes From Taiwan.

The next singing sensation has just been uncovered by “Super Star Avenue”, the Taiwanese equivalent to American Idol. Named Lin Yu Chun, he resembles the Scottish prodigy in the sense that his countenance gives just no indication of his musical prowess. Guess that makes him three times more appealing in the end.

He wowed the audience at the show (and the whole online community today) with his rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, the insanely popular theme tune from “The Bodyguard”.

Here you have the video in its entirety. I must admit that the original song had been so overplayed back in the early ‘90s that I developed a sort of allergy to it. While Lin’s version did not exactly cure it, the faithfulness of his performance is nothing short of astonishing. But I will let you judge that for yourself: