VersusMedia: Press Items

Press & Events:

Songnet.org Song Critique, May 7th, 2008
Music Connection Magazine, April 28th, 2008
Songnet.org Song Critique, April 5th, 2006
The Indie Bible, November 2nd, 2005
Acoustic Live Annual Talent Competition, October 23rd, 2005
Syracuse Post-Standard, April 6th, 2005
Songnet.org Song Critique, January 5th, 2005
Musicians Institute - How To Sell Your Songs, November 8th, 2004
Acoustic Live Talent Competition - Finals, November 7th, 2004
Acoustic Live Annual Talent Competition, October 10th, 2004
The Independent - Film & Video Monthly, April 1st, 2004
Songnet.org Pitch Nite, November 17th, 2003
Los Angeles Music Productions, October 1st, 2003
Music Dish, November 11th, 2002
Music Connection, June 10th, 2002
Flipside Magazine, November 22nd, 2001
St Louis Musician's Guide & Directory, October 1st, 2001
Net News Today, April 19th, 2001
Lockergnome.com, April 5th, 2001
Topica.com, February 28th, 2001
iMusicWeek, January 29th, 2001

Songnet.org Song Critique: May 7th, 2008

Ryan will be answering questions regarding placement in film for Songnet members. If you are a member, come join us.

May 7th, 2008
SongNet @ the Coffee Gallery Backstage
2029 N. Lake Ave
Altadena, CA

Music Connection Magazine: April 28th, 2008: Apr 28 - May 11, 2008

ProductionArmy is offering to assist musicians with their production costs. The site is a great way for musicians to gain support for their future projects. But, it’s not just for financial support. Musicians can also use the site to find donations from graphic designers, release party volunteers, street team members, and more. For details, go to ProductionArmy.com.

Songnet.org Song Critique: April 5th, 2006

Ryan will be answering questions regarding placement in film for Songnet members. If you are a member, come join us. If not, why aren't you yet? It's mostly a free service!

April 5th, 2006
SongNet @ the Coffee Gallery Backstage
2029 N. Lake Ave
Altadena, CA

The Indie Bible: November 2nd, 2005

The Indie Bible lists THOUSANDS of places where you can get your music REVIEWED and your songs PLAYED on the radio. ALL genres of music are covered!

The 7th edition contains an article titled "Using Independent Film As A Technique For More Exposure" written by VersusMedia's Ryan Vinson. Get yourself a copy today to read the article!

The Indie Bible can be found in Music sections of Barnes & Noble, Borders, among other book stores. If you'd like to order yourself a copy online, visit this page.

Acoustic Live Annual Talent Competition: October 23rd, 2005

VersusMedia's Ryan Vinson judged at this year's Acoustic Live competition. This round's winner was Melissa Polinar which had a naturally strong vocal presence.

Syracuse Post-Standard: April 6th, 2005

From the Wednesday edition... by Charles "C-Jack" Jackson

If you're a composer hoping to get your feet wet in the film and television industry, www.versusmedia.com can be a great starting point.

This online service helps to match filmmakers and television producers with composers.

The service focuses on independent and student filmmakers, corporate projects and television pilots.

While some projects do offer pay, most of them offer an opportunity to gain experience - with no pay - or earn royalties, based on the income the project generates.

The site offers many levels of membership, the highest being Gold membership for $30 a year. With that - as a musician - you would have an option to mail a CD of your music to be included in the site's screening library, the ability to upload songs to project listings and to license your music directly to filmmakers, and would receive a weekly listing of projects for which your style of music would be suitable.

Charles "C-Jack" Jackson is an entertainment reporter for The Post-Standard.

Songnet.org Song Critique: January 5th, 2005

Ryan will be answering questions regarding placement in film for Songnet members. If you are a member, come join us. If not, why aren't you yet? It's mostly a free service!

January 5th, 2005
SongNet @ the Coffee Gallery Backstage
2029 N. Lake Ave
Altadena, CA

Musicians Institute - How To Sell Your Songs: November 8th, 2004

VersusMedia's Ryan Vinson will be speaking about "How To Sell Your Songs" to a class room of students at Hollywood's Musician's Institute.

Acoustic Live Talent Competition - Finals: November 7th, 2004

VersusMedia's Ryan Vinson returned to judge the final round to declare a winner of the Acoustic Live series. Artists performing were: Theadore, Kat Parsons, Jill Knight, New MaximumDonkey, Quincy, Renee Stahl, and Kathrin Shorr. Congratulations to Kat Parsons for her stunning victory!

Acoustic Live Annual Talent Competition: October 10th, 2004

Come check out FREE live acoustic music as VersusMedia's Ryan Vinson will be guest judging Round #5 of Acoustic Live's music competition. Event start's at 6pm sharp on October 10th at The Westwood Brewing Company (1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA 90024). They'll have FREE Chipotle "Burrito Bucks" redeemable for free food from Chipotle Restaurants (30 per night), FREE Stickers, FREE Acoustic Live compilation CD and more! Artists performing were: Justin Young, Melissa McClain, Jamestowne, Angie Mattson, Krister Axel, Jill Knight.

The Independent - Film & Video Monthly: Volume 27 Number 3: April 1st 2004

The LA based company, founded in 1999 by Ryan Vinson, has a film scouting service that connects independent filmmakers with musicians. It provides filmmakers looking for soundtrack options with a database showcasing the music of thousands of emerging musicians, both in the United States and overseas. Contract details are worked out directly between filmmakers and musicians. VersusMedia projects have screened at Sundance, Cannes, and other international film festivals, and the company has found the music for films in India, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S.

Songnet.org Pitch Nite: November 17th, 2003

LA SongNet's Songwriter Song Pitch - in conjunction with LAMP
Ryan Vinson of Versus Media!
Get your work heard & possibly picked up by one of the hottest & most active film music companies in the industry!
$10.00 submission fee
$10.00 cover if you're not a SongNet PLUS member

Los Angeles Music Productions: October 1st 2003

LOS ANGELES -- On October 18, 2003, from 10-6 p.m., Los Angeles Music Productions will present "Film Music Mecca," an all-day event at the American Film Institute at 2021 Western Avenue. It's NOT all about the record deal. Learn how to license your music for BIG MONEY for film, TV, commercials, documentaries, production libraries and more! Admission is $65; $50 for affiliate members. Speakers have been specially selected for their great track records of working with indie artists. Topics include:

How Songwriters/Composers Make Money: Film, TV, Commercials, Production Libraries & Video Games
How to Score Music to Picture using the Latest Technology
How to Pitch: Who to Contact and What to Send
The Pitch: Music Supervisors and Sound Library Reps Listen to Your Music!

Speakers and panelists include: Music Supervisor Ryan Vinson of Versus Media

VersusMedia's mission gives clients access to all the tools and resources that major entertainment industry figures have, providing means and connections on a limited budget. For the past three years, VersusMedia has provided one-on-one international promotion solutions, as well as having standout Internet marketing, development, and design services. After being consulted by a few film companies in 2001, VersusMedia began to use this connection to link emerging filmmakers and musicians together believing that both could benefit from this mutual need for exposure. VersusMedia provides filmmakers like film school students, studios sending films to festivals such as Sundance, and individuals making digital short films a direct connection to locate types of music they seek for their projects from a database of interested emerging musicians. The service builds a network base which may lead to future opportunities with larger budgets, rather than instant success and money. Within the last year, this service has helped find music for films in India, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, and of course indie films all over the US. Some of the larger projects have been for films slated for Sundance, Cannes, and other international film festivals...

Music Dish: November 11th 2002, By: Eric de Fontenay

The Web as a facilitator for the independent music industry licensing their music has long been touted, but much more difficult as illustrated by the twisting fortunes of companies like LicenseMusic.com. And while the market for music is expanding with the multiplicity of media channels, from advertising to cable TV shows, the challenges to such deals, from creative to financial and rights clearance, are significant for even major organizations. So why launch such a service now?

"We, actually, first began creating this service back almost a year now," explained Ryan Vinson, founder of VersusMedia, the marketing/promotion provider for the music and film industry. VersusMedia recently announced a new service, dubbed the Film Music Agent (FM Agent), to assist musicians in networking with independent filmmakers looking for music. But unlike similar services, the goal is not to create a "super e-commerce music-for-film online service."

"Our main goal is to make connections, and to have lasting opportunities," says Vinson. Just purchasing a track online, is just what it is... purchasing a track. With our service, there is no purchasing online. We're only making matches, and helping each find potential people to work for and with."

Musicians wishing to pitch their music to filmmakers can set up an account on the VersusMedia site where sample tracks can be uploaded for preview. In addition to providing musicians with the ability to search specific projects posted by filmmakers seeking music for film, filmmakers can receive a bimonthly mailer with 10 musician profiles.

Vinson adds, "This service is what I like to call a human-to-human service, in that it's a matching vehicle to make connections, not an e-commerce engine built around taking the human interaction out. When a filmmaker locates a musician they'd like to work with, they are responsible to contact the musician and then pursue the relationship from then on. The lasting relationship is what's more important in an early career, rather than just selling a track."

Music Connection: June 10th, 2002: Vol. XXVI, No. 12

For all the respect artists get for being on the cutting edge, up-and-coming indie bands still face tremendous challenges in getting the word out when trying to reach wider audiences. In the mid-Nineties, Ryan Vinson figured out a way to apply his years of experience as a media company tech and marketing guru towards helping frustrated musicians receive their due. He technically led the design of a free chat service that once reached over 100,000 rooms which included a feature where users could download samples from independent musicians. Wishing to reach out in a new direction in 1999, he launched Versus Media, a full-service Web design and marketing company geared towards supporting and guiding modern music professionals throughout their careers.

"My mission was to give independent musicians access to all the tools and resources that artists signed to major labels have, providing means and connections for them on a limited budget," says Vinson, who has offices in L.A. and St. Louis. "We began with the idea of using the Internet to do direct marketing, creating affordable Web sites which looked very sleek and professional. Major label artists all have unlimited finances to create state-of-the-art sites which help increase credibility and their fan base, and strong indie performers deserve to have sites whose quality is on par. The point is to make them look good, so that when new fans, prospective fans, and A&R reps go to their sites, they see a compelling presentation that makes a great impression. The biggest criteria in choosing our clients is, do they have a recorded product ready to roll? We don't want to waste anyone's time or money."

Versus Media — which also designs Web sites for indie record labels — describes their state-of-the-art Web designs as "name brand sites" whose eye-catching qualities help them stand out on the Web. The company offers an extensive amount of services ranging from Web graphic design to complex Web development in Flash and Perl, ASP, PHP, Javascript, HTML and XML languages.

Basic service also includes manually coded pages. Artists can play a part in the creative process, offering initial ideas about the mood of the site, color schemes and other graphic ideas. Vinson says that work won't begin on a site until his team meets with the artist or band and gets a feel for their music and who they are as people. The sites average eight pages and feature bios, lyrics, events, audio streaming and songs for downloading. Versus will not launch a site until a CD is available for sale through it.

"We also just launched a service which pairs independent filmmakers with indie musicians," Vinson says. "There's always a need for great music to be part of soundtracks. We're hitting film school students, directors on the festival circuit and even those making corporate presentations. It's not a huge moneymaking thing right away, but the exposure to all sorts of demographics can prove invaluable down the line, and if the musicians accept deferred payment, you never know what will be a huge moneymaking film down the line."

Versus Media (versusmedia.com) also has a public relations department to handle artist touring needs, for the purpose of building local press and hyping the band to specific markets for concert and festival dates. This ties in with an overall music marketing and strategy package, which includes press releases, Online radio and and film sountrack placement, news and e-zine Web sites, street team building, peer-to-peer network placements, search engine strategy, digital encoding, and more.

"We'll build a whole plan of attack for the artists who are really serious about getting out there and playing their music," says Vinson. "Since we understand financial constraints, we're eager to work with people and split up payments if necessary. We always enjoy when artists we've worked for come back to us for advice as if we were their managers, and we're always happy to help. All the clients we have worked for are very loyal and we've built a reputation as being the best at what we do. We put our vast experience into every project we work on."

Flipside Magazine: November 22nd, 2001:

"VersusMedia is a very slick-looking site...and has a talented graphic artist on staff to design modern Flash-friendly animated sites designed to market client services."

St Louis Musician's Guide & Directory: October 1st, 2001:

"No smoke screen here, just good solid marketing on the web... If you are ready to get real and go pro, it's probably time to think about some serious internet marketing."

Net News Today: April 19th, 2001:

Truly Cutting Edge Music

If your musical tastes are way hipper than, say, Rolling Stone magazine and MTV, you need to be tuning into the Web for your music news. And if you are in a band that's making that cutting edge music, you definitely need to be thinking cyberspace. I'm Charles Bowen with the Internet News.

Today's report: VersusMedia, your online connection for all kinds of new sounds. This site is dedicated to helping indie-bands promote themselves and turn profitable, with a team of Web designers that's ready make an online statement for every new band. And if you're fan craving the insider's view into the underground music scene, check their electronic magazines.

I'm Charles Bowen with The Internet News, brought to you, in part, by the new CompuServe 2000. Fast connections. Easier email. The value leader in Internet Access. CompuServe 2000 -- at 1-888-692-1122.

VISIT: http://www.versusmedia.com

Lockergnome.com: April 5th, 2001:

GnomeAUDIO

VERSUS MEDIA

http://www.versusmedia.com/index.php

Jake and I have both played in separate bands; he plays drums, and I play bass. The only difference being, the bands Jake has played for have actually played in front of people. Maybe my band just needed better promotion, or maybe we shouldn't have all lived in different cities. Well, it was fun while it lasted. If you've got a band, or even if you're a solo artist, you may want to check out what Versus Media has to offer. They'll design a website to promote your band. You could design your own, but the idea is based on the premise that you should be spending your time practicing your nickel-stringed monkey harp. It ain't gonna play itself, Kyle.

Topica.com: February 28th, 2001:

C O O L W E B S I T E O F T H E D A Y
TODAY'S TIP: VERSUS MEDIA

http://www.versusmedia.com/

At first glance, this superslick site looks like it was designed by the Terminator himself... if he had been an independent record promoter instead of a killer cyborg. Versus Media appears to be dedicated to helping indie-bands promote themselves and turn profitable. Which it does. But even if you can barely play the harmonica, you'll want to check out Starvox and Deaththreat, two of the most killer (no pun intended) music zines on the Net. If you crave an insider's view into the underground/indie music scene that you definitely won't find on MTV News or in Rolling Stone, then take a click on the wild side.

iMusicWeek: January 29th, 2001:

NET MUSIC SITE OF THE WEEK

http://www.versusmedia.com/