Along with trends like 'the bear thing,' 'the wolf thing,' and 'the beach thing' has come 'the remix thing.'
Lately, indie bands have recently been all about organizing remix contests and projects for their fans.
The latest band to jump on the bandwagon? Metric. They've partnered with Indaba Music,
Topspin, and RCRDLBL.com for the contest and they're upping the ante
with a $1,000 cash prize for the person that makes their favorite remix
of each of their album Fantasies' 10 tracks. Furthermore, the
band will consider the winning entries for a potential future release.
Metric totally knows how to get the music community motivated.
Phoenix, the French band that took the world by storm this year, has made a similar offer to their fans. The band sent out an e-newsletter on September 18 with a letter of appreciation and the files from their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix with which they are encouraging their fans to go wild.
SoCal harmonizers Local Natives have a page on their website that's dedicated to stems. The page includes an email address where fans can send their remixes, as well as zip files of every track from their album Gorilla Manor so that anyone and everyone can break it down and remix the hell out of it.
Aussie band The Temper Trap recently finished up a contest for their fans to remix their hit "Sweet Disposition." They've hooked up one lucky winner with tickets to see the band perform at the Austin City Limits Festival next weekend, which has one of the best festival lineups of the year. Whoever made the most sickest remix has also won a meet and greet with the band.
Here's to hoping that older artists like the Beach Boys hold a remix contest, too, so I'll finally win one of these things since the majority of their fanbase will be too old to know how to remix. I'll be sending good thoughts to the deejay deities.
