American Idol Underground

Every year people tune in to watch the latest crop of Idol wannabes. We watch the talent or lack there of parade across out television screens. We laugh at those that think they are perhaps a little more talented than they really are; we pick our favorites to follow and even sympathize with the finalist crying foul when surprisingly voted off the show.

However, deep down, there are many of us who long for the spotlight of American Idol. We see ourselves on stage, performing for millions, basking in the spotlight awaiting the fame and riches that will follow for the winner. The trouble is, some of us are too old (Idol has an age limit), some of us are unable to travel to the competition locations and others are just worried about performing in public.

So what are those of use supposed to do? Especially given that the auditions for the next season of American Idol are soon to get underway. Well, a new web site has provided not only an answer to this question, but an alternate route to the fame of American Idol.

American Idol Underground makes it possible for musicians to have their songs heard and rated by millions - all from the comfort and privacy of home. American Idol Underground, while not directly affiliated with the show American Idol, is licensed by the show and can use the logo and competition model. So while it is unlikely that Simon, Paula or Randy will actually hear your song, your song will be exposed to all of those who have signed up to use the site. There are prizes available and while there is no guaranteed record contract waiting like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the season, exposure, on a wide spread basis, is a feature of the site and the site claims that some of the users have received national exposure and distribution deals from using the site.

Here's how it works. Songs are posted on the web site by users and then are placed into categories. Once in the categories, each song is guaranteed to receive a minimum of 200 spins or plays on the site. Higher rated songs receive extra spins for free. Listeners can even request or demand your song.

To begin with, users register with the site and create a profile. You can register as an artist/band or as a standard membership which allows you to listen to songs. A genre is then selected for the music you upload. This is where your song will be posted and where it can be heard. I was quite surprised at the variety of genres available, even including comedy and spoken word. Users listen to the various songs by selecting one of the channels or genres. Once on a channel songs are rated and users can access the profiles of musician. They songs are rated on a scale from 1-5 and use a weighted ranking system so a rating given while the song is being played receives more weight than a vote cast simply from viewing an artist's profile page. The site even offers fan club management and gig calendar options.

However, all of this is not free. To post a song, you must purchase what are called "spin credits." It cost $25 to post a song and receive the minimum 200 spins. If you post a single song in more than one genre or want to post a revised or updated version of a song, you must pay an additional $25. There are also quality minimums for the songs that can be found on the web site. While there are no restrictions on content of the songs, there are options to select for explicit lyrics or content and the site reserves the right to remove any song. However, the site sets out that they want to provide the listeners with what they want to hear and suggests that posted songs match similar commercially available songs. It should also be noted that the artist retains all rights to the song once it is posted and only grants American Idol Underground rights to play the song on the site.

Once a song is posted and played, it is rated and can, with enough backing, end up on one of the charts on the site. There is a chart maintained for each different genre and it is updated weekly. As well, all users of the site with music posted have their music entered in online competitions. There are over $200,000 in prizes available, air play is guaranteed for winners and a rather lengthy panel of industry experts will also review the finalist's songs.

Overall, the site is quite detailed and provides a great deal of information, making it quite user friendly. There is a great "Help" section that provides answers and step by step approaches for most anything you would need to do on the site. Music can be uploaded online, but should you not have upload capabilities, you can even mail a CD to the site in
California
. The CD won't be returned, but your song will be uploaded and end up on the site.

So at the end of the day, having your songs posted online isn't exactly the same as being Taylor Hicks, Clay Aiken or Kelly Clarkson and getting up on stage while millions of viewers watch from home, but you still have your music played for the masses and have them rate it. To some degree, the site is quite similar to Myspace, but it is devoted only to musicians, so if people are on American Idol Underground, they are either posting music or playing it. As well, on Myspace, people have to come to your page to hear the songs, on American Idol Underground, the channels are much like interactive radio stations, so the listeners have the songs delivered to them. Perhaps the biggest difference at the end of the day is that users won't have Simon to give them his unique, unbridled comments on their songs, but this may actually be a good thing. Only time will tell if this site proves to be the online equal of the televised show, but for now, it will be fun to watch and maybe post a few songs.