ANR Lounge.com: A Canadian band’s best friend?

So, you’re a Canadian musician looking for an affordable way to promote your music online.

There are a variety of options available to you, including Sonicbids and Myspace. While the $50 annual fee that Sonicbids charges for an EPK (electronic press kit) is well within the price range of even the most cash-strapped musician, who wants to publicize Canadian-made music on an American-run site? And let’s face it; everyone has a MySpace page these days.

That’s where ANR Lounge comes in.

The online music service, launched in 2002, offers a free alternative to companies like Sonicbids and best of all it’s 100 per cent Canadian. The site allows bands to create their own customized EPK that can feature MP3s, bios and tour dates. Over 600 radio stations and music industry types from across the country can in turn access these press kits.

Artists looking to finance a recording can also utilize the Funding Matchmaker system to find out which assistance programs they may qualify for. ANR Lounge has aligned itself with 15 music industry associations across Canada, including the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), Urban Music Association of Canada and Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA) to name a few.

ANR Lounge launched the BETA version of the site on September 1. They will unveil the final version in November according to project manager Anna Maria Russo. They recently celebrated their 1000 upload and Russo reported that they have met their site traffic expectations for the month of September. She reckons they will triple those numbers during the month of October

“We’re really happy!” she enthused. “The site has been up for two-and-a-half years now. We relaunched the new site in the beginning of September with limited service. But even with limited service people are just driving to the site so we’re really happy with it.”

A recent segment on CTV’s eTalk Daily also helped draw attention to the site, which has been Russo’s main project since she started working for CIRPA in 2002.

“This is my dream job actually,” Russo said, laughing. “For me it’s providing access to individual artists, allowing them to get to the next level that they need to get to and to provide whatever (tools they need). And we’re able to provide it for free.”

The project is currently entering the final year of a five-year contract with FACTOR and Russo said that she plans to “fight to the bitter end” to keep it a free service. She said that they are looking for sponsors for the project once their contract ends next year.

Considering the unprecedented support that it is receiving it shouldn’t be a problem. While navigating the site does reveal that it still needs a lot work, it’s only the BETA version after all, the potential for it to give a service like Sonicbids a run for its money is definitely there.

ANR Lounge received another big boost when Toronto’s Brassmunk came on board. The Juno Award-nominated hip-hop group added their press kit to the growing ranks of Canadian talent using the site as a tool to promote their music. Other big names using the site include The Salteens and Propagandhi.

Agile, Brassmunk’s producer had nothing but good things to say about the site. While he is computer savvy, he said that ANR Lounge’s easy user interface is a boon to artists that might not be as computer literate.

“I would say, a lot of music artists aren’t really into computers, besides playing video games and checking emails,” Agile said. “Even if you’re at that level, computers aren’t your thing; it’s set up like email.”

“So, if you can use email you can use ANR Lounge and I think that’s the biggest plus of it; the easy user set up.”

The networking opportunities with fellow artists and other movers and shakers in the business is another plus. Agile also likes the fact that it puts the band in direct contact with fans. He found it’s Brassmunk’s fans, rather than music biz types, that seem to be contacting them to ask about tour info, where they can find their music or to just tell them how much they enjoy Brassmunk’s music.

The fan interaction fits perfectly with Russo’s grand vision for the site: “I hope that the public embraces it as well as a great source of music that you would not normally hear on the radio as well as of course Canadian favourites.”

To find out more about ANR Lounge head to www.anrlounge.com

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