Song Showcase Banner.
Song Showcase was created by AJM STUDIOS member, Murray. It was created on December 15, 2009. Murray stepped down as leader of the showcase and rights were handed over to AJM STUDIOS member, Omar. When a song is showcased, it is up to members to interact and rate songs. What makes Song Showcase different from SEA-WA FM is that it gives you a more focused look on bands giving information about them. Murray focused on local bands to give them air time, (local being Pacific Northwest, Seattle area), but that changed when Omar tooks the reigns of Song Showcase. He still give band bio's, but opened up to both mainstream and smaller bands around the nation. Though not officially closed as a series, the thread stopped being updated on June 3, 2010. If true, the thread lasted 170 days.
History[]
Murray released "Song of the Week" to the public on December 15, 2009. His first song showcased was, "Don't You Know Your Beautiful" by Seabird. The name was officially changed to "Song Showcase," starting on the third update. Song Showcase became bottled down due to the success of SEA-WA FM and the slow update progress of Song Showcase. Song Showcase released a banner which attracted a small amount of more people the the thread. It followed a schedule of a new song every Tuesday and Thursday. Near the end of Murray's reign as leader of Song Showcase, viewership and views began to pick up. After thirty songs, Murray officially said his goodbye to listeners. The last song played was "Four Chords" by The Classic Crime. Murray's final goodbye was; "Thank you to everyone that has participated in this. I hope you enjoyed some of the music and perhaps will continue to listen to it."
The lowest ranked song under Murray's control was, "Beware The Jubjub Bird And Shun The Frumious Bandersnatch" by Forgive Durden which got a 2.9 rating. The highest ranked song was, "Upsidedown" by Jack Johnson which got an 8.8. Murray released 30 total songs.
Talks quickly went under way of who was going to take over Song Showcase and Omar stepped up to the plate. He admitted he had his eye on something like this the whole time. A gradual transition was made, as Omar simply had to step into the leadership role. The infrastructure of the thread was already made for him, and he simply had to choose songs to showcase.
Omar officially took control on March 28, 2010 releasing his first song which was "Maria Maria" by Carlos Santana. Viewership and ratings quickly jumped up with a new growth in support for Song Showcase. Viewership greatly declined in the later updates of the series. Though never announced, the series has not had an update since June 3, 2010 and is presumed done.
Music[]
Under Murray's reign of Song Showcase control, he tended to focus on local Pacific Northwest and Seattle bands, even to the level that two local Seattle radio stations mentioned AJM STUDIOS.NET because of the local music choices.
Omar has taken a different approach choosing music from a broad spectrum of genre's and not focusing on local music.
Reception[]
Song Showcase was a major breakthrough at AJM STUDIOS being known as the start of a new realm for threads. Quickly Song Showcase was bottled down by SEA-WA FM. Complaints came that Song Showcase had only one update a week while SEA-WA FM was every other day. The music choice was also not a hit in Song Showcase, often choosing songs that got low ratings by members. Complaints also came that Song Showcase had no formal banner. One was finally made, and it attracted a small amount of people to come in. When Murray made it clear he was shutting down shop, people began to support Song Showcase. Ratings have been noticeably higher for Song Showcase when Omar took control of the song choice.