Kev999
Speaking of genres, "Prog" seems to be noticeable by its absence.

 
 
Soundcloud's the same. Searching for 'prog' or 'progressive' gets you EDM.

Kev999
Speaking of genres, "Prog" seems to be noticeable by its absence.

I suppose it is probably not possible to please everyone or cover every contingency, thus we have "other".
I personally would like to see a category for Christian music. Although I suppose Christian in this context would refer more to lyrical content than genre, as there is music with Christian content of many varying musical styles.
 
That said, my reaction upon visiting the site was favorable and I am thinking about ways to utilize it.

jpetersen

iRelevant
...I would become pissed off if my classification get's over ridden by supposed AI. There are multi-genre songs, and it is ultimately a human judgment call whether as song is Rap with Reggae elements, or a Reggae song with Rap elements. I think it would be better do find a way to discourage obvious erroneous classification by the publisher. To communicate why this is not in anybody's interest. 

You raise the problem of conflicting interests.
 
For consumers, sub-genres help finding material.
For artists, sub-genres are hidey-holes that reduce exposure.
 
Artists who put their Rap songs in Country do so knowingly to maximize exposure.
They would be pissed off, irrespective of whether man or machine re-categorized their material.
But Country fans will be pissed off finding Rap tracks in their Country category.
 
Google base their results (mostly) on algorithms, regardless of who they piss off.
 
An algorithmic solution has the advantage of being for the most part a neutral arbitrator.
 
And hey, paid featured songs can be put over multiple categories as an additional income stream!
 

The main problem is that willfully erroneous categorizing of material is destructive to the usability of the service. The promoter might get a play that he would otherwise not have had, but I doubt he will get a like or a tip for his song. It doesn't take long before you give up on listening based on genre, when every other song is totally out. You will end up with a service with a bunch of promoters to fewer and fewer listeners.
 
Algorithmic and AI solutions, or the ghost in the machine type of solution, may seem appealing initially ... although the results of it will ultimately be blamed on the designer/provider of that service. Which can then be dehumanized as just a "technical decision" ... no judgment involved. Eventually songs will be designed to manipulate these algorithms accordingly. 
 
Well ... paid erroneous classified songs, sounds like a recipe for no listeners and bankruptcy :)

I suspect most Bandlab users don't think about "genres" at all. They think they are making music, period. So if they even notice that they are being asked to categorize their sound, they might not know how to do that, or they might not want to be bothered. When I was starting out (right after the Civil War) the goal of every young songwriter was to get on the radio, but it still took me a couple of years before I saw that radio was extremely segmented, and your music had to fit a segment (genre) or program directors wouldn't listen. Today, radio holds very little sway. The gatekeepers don't have much power, and the kids starting out don't know (and don't need to know) rap from reggae. There are too many of them to moderate, and algorithms won't get it.
 
Bottom line: We are the legacy SONAR users, the last of the old guard. We use the DAW the way recording studios used to be used. The new generation doesn't. Bandlab has rudimentary tools and loops online, and even though they can get SONAR for free now, I'd be surprised if more than 20% of them try it. And they don't care about no stinkin' genres.
 
Maybe instead of having to wade through many, many tracks that are mislabeled or just plain wrong, the Bandlab site could have a section devoted specifically to those trying to find partners to work with, like a musician's contact service, with an online form allowing you (us) to say what we do and what we're looking for, with "genre" being a required field.

Larry Jones
I suspect most ..................................................................
...........................................................................................................
................Maybe instead of having to wade through many, many tracks that are mislabeled or just plain wrong, the Bandlab site could have a section devoted specifically to those trying to find partners to work with, like a musician's contact service, with an online form allowing you (us) to say what we do and what we're looking for, with "genre" being a required field.

Thanks Larry,
There is very much weight in what you are saying.
I agree but with perhaps an addendum that.... 'Genres' for such a section ( as you put it ) still need to be carefully explained / defined ..............as a pop-up advisory perhaps .... (ie: Defined insofar as the purposes of Bandlab fluidity and in very basic language/ terms ).
cheers.............Frank

Frank Harvey
 
I agree but with perhaps an addendum that.... 'Genres' for such a section ( as you put it ) still need to be carefully explained / defined ..............as a pop-up advisory perhaps .... (ie: Defined insofar as the purposes of Bandlab fluidity and in very basic language/ terms ).
cheers.............Frank

Perhaps, but I think I could write a "classified ad" for a musician in such a way as to weed out 90% of the loopers and wannabes on Bandlab. I mean no disrespect, but I would be looking for real players and singers, with skills beyond my meager abilities.