by The Seattle Public Library recently unveiled their plans for an online streaming service through their website that allows people to discover their new favorite Seattle albums and musicians Titled “PlayBack,” the upcoming service will be a free-to-use platform for worthwhile bands to get their music heard, as well as for fans of the great, plentiful Seattle music scene to be turned onto artists they perhaps may not have come across had it not been for “PlayBack.”
It’s no secret at this point that Seattle’s musical culture is notable and admirable for its creativity and singularity, as well as being completely diverse, as local artists, both older and up-and-coming, continue to demonstrate. However, with such a wide world of music in Seattle, it can be hard to just naturally stumble across an artist that’ll change your life, but “PlayBack” hopes to remedy that by offering a unique service to guide the process along.
Beginning on Monday, May 9th, bands will be encouraged to submit their album to be considered for inclusion in the initial batch of albums. The submission period will be open for two weeks, until May 23rd, when deliberation begins. The panel of judges curating the finalists includes Tim Lennon – Executive Director of Vera Project, KEXP DJ Larry Mizell, Jr. and Three Imaginary Girls founder Liz Riley Tollefson. Out of these submissions, 100 albums will be chosen, and will be the first batch of “PlayBack” albums, which can then be streamed through the Seattle Public Library’s website, and can be downloaded for free if you’re a card-carrying SPL member.
Up to 50 albums will be selected to add to the collection in each submission period. Submissions will be accepted online and each artist will submit a representative song from their album, upon which the jurists will base their decision. Selected artists will sign a license agreement and receive an honorarium of $200 for sharing their music through PlayBack. Artists may choose between a 5-year license term or a lifetime license term.
Be sure to follow the library on Twitter and “like” them on Facebook.
Bands can submit their music HERE.
