More Than Disco isn’t exactly a neophyte project. It has been an active and continually expanding website since 2011. Humble beginnings saw the site initially in blog form only and transitioning into the further developed online resource freshly unveiled today. The main components of the newly expanded More Than Disco bring together a variety of content, with the biggest elements being: news, interviews, free downloads and More Than Disco’s own emphasis on featuring artists that encompass the unsigned, local, global and the signed.
The founder and owner of More Than Disco is Shauna Maguire and she is not shy about mentioning what seems to be lacking in between music and the internet, thus leaving a space wide open for a site like hers to come in and take root. After all, “disparate” is not a word used lightly where any particular market’s health is concerned.
It’s probably the most disparate market the music industry has ever seen – an explosion of social media, online music streaming services, DRM, DIY band marketing and festival upsurge.
The crux of the “problem” Maguire alludes to, or basically what can be considered the void of the moment, is the idea of existence without utilization among all of what the music industry keeps creating for, and offering to, its inhabitants. There are many, and some might even say too many, choices and methods for artists to choose for themselves when they leap into the business. Despite the range of options available to artists, and even with many of them becoming irrelevant in regards to individual budget and experience levels, at the end of the day Maguire observes a potential lack of “capitalization from [artists'] hard work not [being] seen by overseas audiences.”
Because More Than Disco has its headquarters based in Melbourne, Australia, it would be considered an international operation. That said, this second overseas exposure and awareness gap that Maguire points out would be of especially high relevancy to U.S. site visitors. The U.S. exports and promotes so many artists outward to other nations but tends to not match this effort toward itself and does not proportionately bring non-U.S. acts to the attention of its own listeners. There are certainly bands and explosive hit makers that run against this trend but, they are definitely in the minority. If More Than Disco manages to fill this and similar voids, it could be primed for a permanent slice of frequently visited internet real estate.
Starting feature artists and content (plus their existing credits) are listed below:
New Interviews:
- Australian female pop artists Sophie Koh (“Best Female Artist”, The Age)
- Michelle Xen (LADY ELECTRONICA, The Neon Wild)
New music:
- Casey Desmond (The Voice, U.S.)
- Half Moon Run (“The Next Big Thing”, NOW Toronto, CAN)
- The New Division (NME’S “Radar”, U.S.)
- The New Highway Hymnal (“Best Act of 2012”, Boston Phoenix, U.S.)
Previously featured interviews from 2012:
- Triple J bands of the minute Tigertown
- Nantes and Art of Sleeping (AUS)
For more info, check out More Than Disco
Kira is an old school music nerd with a love for all things creative; always searching for music’s common ground. She graduated with an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University. Drop her a tweet @shadowmelody1
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