Aspiring musicians find fans on Alonetone.com

By Atticus Morris
The Guardsman

The explosion in digital distribution services, including hybrid social networking sites like Last.fm, self-publishing platforms like Bandcamp and media stores like iTunes, gives the independent musician more options than ever for getting their product out.

The problem is, without an established following, it’s unlikely artists will make any money selling MP3s.

Alonetone offers a different and, what its creator Sudara Williams believes to be, more effective approach for artists: getting the music to as many people as possible instead of going directly after a profit.

“Giving away your music is the new version of play out as much as you can,” Williams said.
Alonetone bills itself as “a place for small label, do-it-yourself, and everyday musicians and bands.” Its sleek and intuitive interface, having evolved from user-made suggestions, is streamlined to make things as easy as possible for the independent musician. Users simply sign up for an account, click upload and voila; the Web site automatically creates a podcast, searchable in iTunes.

“This site is like a breath of fresh air,” said St. Louis based user, Alykai. “There are so many sites on the internet that are so overwhelming. This is simple, elegant and most of all functional.”

Alonetone offers its users unlimited audio hosting, but unlike other similar sites, there is no advertising or investor backing and all content is free to download. Because nobody’s profiting, concerns about behind-the-scenes influence over content are alleviated.

The concept is a radical departure from the traditional promotion-and-sales model of the music business; in fact, Alonetone is not a business at all. It’s an online community where like-minded musicians can share music, network, collaborate and seek technical advice about recording and production.

Williams, who is a musician himself, said “If you are the kind of person who chases fans, you might find some success, but it’s a lot of hard — and non-musical — work. Better to connect to people, find communities, give music out to whomever will listen, find an audience and find individual opportunities.”

Established artists wanting to make money from MP3s can also benefit from what the platform offers. Composer and pianist Joshua Wentz uses Alonetone in addition to selling his music from Sidedown Audio.

“As far as profit is concerned the benefit is negligible,” Wentz said of Alonetone. He uses it as a promotional tool and provides links to Sidedown Audio for those interested in hearing more.

“I put all of the work I do into two columns — that which will be given away and that which will be sold. And certainly more people have heard my music due to the fact that some of it is online for free.”

The ultimate success of this type of model — whether or not independent musicians adopt it — remains to be seen.

Williams said that compared to similar Web sites, or those with corporate backing, Alonetone’s roster of more than 1,000 artists is only a blip on the musical radar, but for now, as its home page will attest, Alonetone is a “damn fine home for musicians.”