By Linda Kim
Undeniably, the internet allows lesser known and new musicians and
artists to
bring their work to the public at a larger scale than ever before.
Music sites
like bringthenoise.com are channels of free and easy publicity and
fan reach
for artists. For music listeners, internet music leads to new discoveries
and
more access to a wider variety or more of a specified genre.
Bringthenoise.com is a music site dedicated to underground hip hop.
New
artists or unlabeled/indie artists can submit their music to bringthenoise
via
mail. The music is then broadcast on the site. Internet users can
listen to
live broadcast shows every night at 9 pm EST. Each night of the week
is a
different show with a different topic and DJ, and the schedule is
available on
the site. Those who missed the live feed can listen to past shows
up to two
weeks as well. Bringthenoise keeps a top 10 chart of artists featured
on the
site, and plays the songs on the Sunday night show, The Top 10 Countdown.
In addition to submitting and listening to music, underground hip
hop fans can
obtain and exchange information relevant to their hip hop interests.
They can
post messages on the Noiseboard to ask questions about songs and artists,
get
more information from btn staff or other users, and discuss issues
related to
underground hip hop or music in general. The site also provides hip
hop news,
with articles about both mainstream and underground hip hop music,
musicians, and relevant issues in the music world. Reviews of hip
hop albums by btn staff are also available. Finally, hip hop fans
can check out other sites of
interest through the links featured on bringthenoise.
Bringthenoise.com is simply organized and easy to use. Although it
is probably
not entirely comprehensive on the underground hip hop world, it provides
more in one place than underground hip hop fans could get otherwise.
It is a great site for lesser known artists who want to get their
music out and for
listeners who want more than what is available through the radio or
albums in
stores. Those who are new to underground hip hop can get a good sample
of it through the live broadcast shows and past shows on the site.
Bringthenoise.com is a convenient resource for the sustaining and
spread of underground hip hop through the web, something that was
a lot more difficult and costly to do before widespread internet use.