Get Your OurStage On!

Hey everyone! This is April. I'm Angie's best friend, manager, musical collaborator and soon to be tour manager.

We hope you've had a chance to listen to "Ukulele Love Song" and watch the video.

We just entered the song and the video into competition for January at OurStage.com. Angie could win $100 or $1000 if she makes it to number one!

OurStage is a unique competition site, in that it's not just about sending your fans over to vote for you. It's not a popularity contest. You have to listen and judge a variety of songs within a genre. It's not only a great way for emerging artists to gain exposure, it's a great way for fans to discover new artists.

So we're both aware that these days, getting people to get engaged beyond hitting the "Like" button on Facebook can be as big an endeavor as trying to herd cats while stapling jello to the wall, but if you've got some time to kill and want to listen to some new music, give it a shot. If Angie is in the top 40 by the last week of the month, she'll move on to the next round.

Here's how it works. Go to OurStage and register as a fan. Once you're in, go to Angie's profile and become her fan. This is not necessary, but it can make judging easier. I'll explain how in a bit.

Now you're all ready to judge. You'll want to click on the "Judge" link on the left hand side under "My Apps." Angie is competing in both Alternative Country and Country Videos. Just click on either of those channels and you're ready to go. You can choose to judge two songs head to head, or stack rank four songs at a time. Being Angie's fan on OurStage means that her entry will come up sooner in the judging. I'll usually do a little judging while I'm randomly browsing or reading blog posts.

Another cool feature is that you get a Judging Influence ranking. This is based on how much time you actually spend listening to the songs, how often you judge, how much consideration you put into your voting, etc. If your influence increases, your votes mean more.

And hey, if you think that another song you hear is better than "Ukulele Love Song," vote accordingly! Artists don't improve by having smoke blown up their asses. They improve from honest feedback.


So it's definitely not as easy as just clicking over and voting, but we think it's awesome that she's getting pitted head to head with others in the same genre. I've personally discovered several new artists that I enjoy through the voting process.

Give it a try, and leave a comment if you have any questions.