Radio station no longer requires membership or login

[Christopher Duncan]

In my continuing efforts to bring new listeners to your music, I've decided to eliminate the requirement that people create a member account in order to listen to The Composer Channel. Hopefully this will bring us more people who might have hesitated to listen previously because they didn't want to sign up for something they thought would bring them spam. Now they can just go to the site and click on the listen link.

A member account will still be needed for contributing composers as it's tied in to the station database that provides all the info on composers, songs, etc. However, you only need to be logged in to update your info, not to listen.

Hope this will bring you a wider audience! :)

[SeanHannifin]

Sounds like a good decision! :) Thanks!

[rwayland]

In my continuing efforts to bring new listeners to your music, I've decided to eliminate the requirement that people create a member account in order to listen to The Composer Channel. Hopefully this will bring us more people who might have hesitated to listen previously because they didn't want to sign up for something they thought would bring them spam. Now they can just go to the site and click on the listen link.

A member account will still be needed for contributing composers as it's tied in to the station database that provides all the info on composers, songs, etc. However, you only need to be logged in to update your info, not to listen.

Hope this will bring you a wider audience! :)
Good idea!!

Richard

[Styxx]

Excellent idea Chris!:)

[Joseph Burrell]

Good on yer. I think this should help. I'm reluctant to sign up for things, especially if I don't know the value beforehand. So for folks that just want to tune in, this is probably the way to go.

[Daag Nabbott]

...<edit>.... Hopefully this will bring us more people who might have hesitated to listen previously because they didn't want to sign up for something they thought would bring them spam. Now they can just go to the site and click on the listen link....<edit>...
I hadn't thunk on that one before. But I'm glad you did, for now that you brought it up, I'm thinkin' you made the right decision. So, thanks for thinkin'!

[KevinKauai]

EXCELLENT CHANGE, Christopher!

This will make sending out "promotions" a LOT easier. Strategically, I think you can "promote" signing up if the listener WANTS to receive promotional stuff about The Composer Channel and/or contribute to the Forum (and perhaps put a "Want to receive special info about upcoming events on The Composer Channel?" link right up there.

Related issue: I seem to remember a place where you published the content of the "editions" of the Programs, but I can't seem to stumble across in browsing.

I also tend to keep the smaller five "Listen" page on my desktop at pretty much all times. Although this seems to be a Javascript "OpenTccPlayer()" or "OpenTccLoFiPlayer()" invocation you might consider a "combo" page that is http-invocable for folks to bookmark. That small page could also have link(s) back to The Composer Channel pages and might develop into something that people leave on the desktop.

The only other "usability" suggestion I would make is to put the two "Click here to Listen" links on this page: http://www.ShowProgramming.com/TheComposerChannel.asp much higher up (like maybe even above the word "Welcome"). This would make folks sending out the link have to answer far fewer "confusion questions" (you know those!) from the folks that we want to PROMO to.

my $0.02 ... and thanks for all you do! KevinKauai :)

[Christopher Duncan]

Good on yer. I think this should help. I'm reluctant to sign up for things, especially if I don't know the value beforehand. So for folks that just want to tune in, this is probably the way to go.
Is that Brian Wilson lurking in your image?

[Joseph Burrell]

No, its Tom Peters from 'Tom Goes to the Mayor,' an animated series on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network.) Yeah, yeah, I know. I should grow up already. :o

http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-31027/

[Christopher Duncan]

EXCELLENT CHANGE, Christopher!
Related issue: I seem to remember a place where you published the content of the "editions" of the Programs, but I can't seem to stumble across in browsing.

The schedule link is on the left menu,
http://www.showprogramming.com/TccSchedule.asp

And by the way, I'd be grateful if you wouldn't make the source code of my web site public, even something as trivial as scripting calls. As a software developer yourself, I'm sure you can understand.

Thanks,

[Christopher Duncan]

Yeah, yeah, I know. I should grow up already.
I hear that all the time myself. You first. :)

[Joseph Burrell]

Not a chance bucko! :D

[Jeff Turner]

Very smart decision Chris. Everything sounds great.

[KevinKauai]

I'd be grateful if you wouldn't make the source code of my web site public, even something as trivial as scripting calls. As a software developer yourself, I'm sure you can understand.
Scuze me, Christopher!

In light that anyone can right click on a page and do a "View Source", there are few things in ANY web page that are unseen. It was my impression that was one of the reasons behind the various "script" things that could "hide" the true source of things (as opposed to the 'call' which was what I cited). Forgive me, already! Sorry that you've taken umbrage; I was simply trying to point out ways of making promotion easier from one's own web page which, it would seem, would definitely benefit TCC.

:) KevinKauai

P.S. Folks can see the "plug" for The Composer Channel that I've put on the front page of my music web site here (http://www.kevintweedy.net/). Anyone is welcomed to "lift" the graphic that I lifted and pull the necessary "source code" from there for their own purposes. Below is the image file "logo" of The Composer Channel. As it does not contain copyright notice, presumably it can be included in such promotion and folks can lift it from here via the same right click and "Save Picture As ..." and incorporate it in their own web pages. If that is something that you'd rather we NOT do, Christopher, please let me know and I will desist immediately.
http://www.kevintweedy.net/images/TCC_logo.jpg

P.P.S. I'm no longer a "software developer" as I only maintain my own sites and am otherwise 100% involved in music. ;)

[Christopher Duncan]

Hey, Kev.

No offense taken, and thanks for the link on your site.


Below is the image file "logo" of The Composer Channel.
Here's a better graphic for anyone who wishes to do the same - the link for the page is
http://www.showprogramming.com/TccPlayer.asp and the graphic is here:
http://www.showprogramming.com/images/TccLink.gif
http://www.ShowProgramming.com/images/TccLink.gif

(I'll do something prettier when I get over this cold...)


P.P.S. I'm no longer a "software developer" as I only maintain my own sites and am otherwise 100% involved in music. ;)
Once a techie, always a techie! :)

[Garritan]

I would like to commend Chris for the extrordinary job he has done.

I receive many comments on how professional the radio station sounds and what a wonderful thing it is to have GPO artists heard. At NAMM many were very impressed and thought they were listening to a professional broadcast station. Expect to see mention of the radio station in upcoming print media.

The station is easily accessible, no pre-registration is required, and I encourage all of you to listen and to contribute. This is a great alternative to top 20 radio where we get to hear new and vibrant music from members of our GPO community. This is a very extraordinary thing Chris is doing for the GPO community and for musicians. I ask that you support Chris in his tremendous work.

Three cheers to Chris, Deirdre and Charlie!!!

Gary Garritan

PS: People have been asking to hear some of the winning demos and if is okay with Chris I would like to showcase them on the Radio Station.