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SoundOff.fm – Fun Way to Discover & Promote Music
/ By Clyde Smith / in Music Business/ No comment
SoundOff.fm launched to the general public late last month as a music discovery game and indie artist promotion site that allows musicians to upload song samples for participants to choose in battles between two songs. It's a very simple concept that they seem to be executing well yet they're also gradually adding features that fit with what they've developed to date.
SoundOff.fm does an excellent job of explaining what they do and how it works:
The Basic Concept
Artists upload the best 20 seconds of their music.
Voters select a genre, hear two songs, and vote for the track they like best in a blind taste-test.
As they vote, users earn credit to spend on the site.
Voting can be "Fair Shake" or "Snap Judgment". In the first, you listen to two samples, vote and then find out more about the artists. In the second, you're timed, vote on as many as you can without necessarily listening to the full samples and then you're given a batch of artists to check out when your time's up.
Credits can be traded for music downloads and can also be used for tipping musicians. Musicians get credits through sales and tips or by direct purchase and can then use those for various promotional options on the site. However, offering downloads is an option not a requirement.
The promotional options are well thought out and include being able to build an opt-in mailing list and announce shows as soon as an artist uploads music samples. Promo options that can be purchased with credits include obvious forms such as being featured or played more often, emerging marketing concepts such as sponsoring the sign in CAPTCHA and more interesting ideas like "Challenge A Track":
"In normal circumstances, SoundOff randomly selects two tracks within a genre. As a result, voters rarely see the same battle twice...using "Challenge A Track," artists can pair against a rival track in the same genre so they always appear together. The two artists can wager on the outcome, and they can both share the link with friends, using the power of the SoundOff community to settle the score. These custom SoundOffs expire after a certain amount of time, and the winner is awarded the terms of the wager. Upon purchase, this will last for 3 days."
Though the basic ideas of users choosing the best of two options isn't new, executing a more complex concept while keeping the experience simple is one of the things that differentiate SoundOff.fm. Ideas like "Challenge A Track" suggest that they also have some insight into building on the concept in a manner that fits the basic idea. SoundOff.fm is a solid music discovery game that musicians can use to promote their music in the context of people having fun.
Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. He maintains a business writing hub at Flux Research and also blogs at This Business of Blogging. To suggest music services and related topics for review at Hypebot, please contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.


Sodium determination is becoming ever more important for the food industry.
Conventional sodium testing methods demand complicated sample preparation, complex instrumental setup, as well as knowledge and experience in analytical techniques. METTLER TOLEDO presents a new analytical method dedicated to the simplified, yet highly accurate determination of sodium.
Salt is an essential ingredient in processed foods and its content needs to be determined accurately. The ever increasing health awareness and demand for accurate food product labelling drives the requirement not only for the determination of sodium chloride, but also of sodium cations, which must be declared separately. This is particularly important since the excessive intake of salt is directly linked to adverse health effects.
Multiple Standard Addition technique is a new simple and effective application for the specific and accurate determination of the sodium ion content.
The determination of sodium cations is performed with ion-selective sensors. As the membrane potential cannot be observed directly, the potential of the ion-selective electrode (ISE) half-cell is measured against a reference half-cell.


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USCIS To Allow Additional Applicants for Provisional Waiver Process
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule, effective August 29, 2016, that expands the existing provisional waiver process to allow certain individuals who are family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) and who are statutorily eligible for immigrant visas to more easily navigate the immigration process.
USCIS noted that the provisional waiver process "promotes family unity by reducing the time eligible individuals are separated from their family members while they complete immigration processing abroad, while also improving administrative efficiency."
The agency said the final rule builds on a process established in 2013 to support family unity. Under that process, certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens can apply for provisional waivers of the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility, based on the extreme hardship their U.S. citizen spouses or parents would suffer if the waiver were not granted. The final rule expands eligibility for the provisional waiver process to all individuals who are statutorily eligible for the waiver of the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility. Until now, only immediate relatives of U.S. citizens were eligible to seek such provisional waivers before departing the United States for the processing of their immigrant visas. Those eligible for the provisional waiver process under the 2013 rule are only a subset of those eligible for the waiver under the statute.
To qualify for a provisional waiver, applicants must establish that their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouses or parents would experience "extreme hardship" if the applicants are not allowed to return to the United States.
USCIS said it expects to update its Policy Manual "in the coming weeks" to provide guidance on how it makes "extreme hardship" determinations. The final rule also makes changes to Form I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver. These changes will go into effect along with the final rule.
Applicants should not submit a request for a provisional waiver under the expanded guidelines until the final rule takes effect on August 29, 2016. If you do so before that date, USCIS may deny the application.
USCIS announcement
Final rule
The updated I-601A will be posted on USCIS's website at uscis.gov/i-601a on August 29, 2016.
Mark A. Ivener, A Law Corporation, a nationally recognized law firm, has successfully assisted hundreds of clients in immigration matters.
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Up-down-left-right-overhead…and even in free flight. The Family Rides will let you experience physical forces up close – and control them interactively!
The Family Rides pallet conveys the effect of physical forces in ways that are unique to every model.
The BUTTERFLY will let you experience gravitational forces in an intensity you have never felt before; the LOOP family shows you what "upside-down" feels like and the NAUTIC JET is the only ride in the world that will let you experience the free flight phase.
The SUNDANCER, which impressively enables users to feel centrifugal forces, is new in the range and extremely successful. The passengers can control the speed and inclination as well as the rotating direction of their cabins directly.
This form of interactive involvement is an important criterion in the Family Rides by Sunkid. In the turning "Power" TOWER, for example, users must lift themselves up by manual power. This is unnoticeably supported by a motor that is not perceived by the passengers. This enables even children to pull themselves all the way up – and maybe their grandpa as well. On top, they will be rewarded by an exciting 360 degrees all-round view.
The Sunkid Family Rides actively integrate their passengers into the experience of the ride and leave space for individual design of the riding process.