What happened to the #openmic that used to thrive on Steemit? Who's with me in launching a Hive Open Mic?
@wildfamily and I collaborated on a handful of Open Mic events, supporting us as we developed our unique style as song carriers.
Envisioning the Hive Open Mic
To me, this feels like a brilliant time to set a new stage, and shine a bright spotlight on budding musicians who are ready to shine! We find ourselves at a mystical moment when the live music arena is burning away, while artists wonder what to do with their creative fire.
I'm seeing a weekly invitation for artists to share their heart songs. I see weekly music themes, designed to inspire artists to explore and discover new territory with their musical talents. I see a small team of music enthusiasts who offer their insights about the songs submitted here, with ample encouragement for those brave souls who share their voices.
Ultimately, I see a universal Harmony that is created through the celebration of our collective Voice—including the vocal cords and the instruments and all that is given a voice. Music allows us to join forces on a vibrational level, building community connection, while honoring and celebrating the arts.
Sharing original songs for a global audience can be intimidating at times, but the rewards of connection, expression, and encouragement make it a meaningful experience.
Remembering the Steemit Open Mic
I fondly remember The Steemit Open Mic, hosted by @luzcypher and sponsored by @pfunk, @curie, @isaria, @ausbitbank, and other legendary success stories. Clearly, The Steemit Open Mic will serve as a strong precedent for future open mic events. The above link is the 1-year anniversary, when the event was at its prime.
Personally, The Steemit Open Mic was my #1 earner of upvotes and STEEM. I participated in dozens of weekly contests, along with a sister campaign called the Steemit Open Mic Songwriters Challenge, sponsored by @meno. I also gained tremendous value through real friendships that surfaced naturally through my participation. Plus, it gave me a chance to develop my voice and refine my skillsets as a singer-songwriter, a performer, and a recording artist.
A few of my highest earning songs include: “Far Out In Oregon”, “Adios To The Blues”, and “Mustang Again”. A few of the songs I introduced here became the signature songs of a band called Cosmic Butterflies [And A Bear]. It's simple to see the value that comes when artists are willing to share for an audience.
Cherishing the Open Mic Experience
In my very humble experience as a semi-professional musician, I witnessed myself growing in confidence and improving in performance throughout the time of my participation in The Steemit Open Mic. Looking back, I can see clear signs of this growth through two songs that I carried, eventually carrying me into the studio with my 8-member band. For example, here is the progression of our song, "Flourish."
Flourish
"Flourish," presented in Steemit Open Mic #95, July 2018
"Flourish," music video by Cosmic Butterflies [And A Bear], July 2019
Home
A second example is this our song called "Home," with three progressions shown here. FYI, our band Cosmic Butterflies [And A Bear] was scheduled to perform our live music world premiere concert during SXSW just last month, on 3/16/2020. Because of the cancellation of SXSW, we postponed our public presentation, so you'll be among the first to hear the studio recording shared below.
"Home," presented in Steemit Open Mic #94, July 2018 "Home," presented at home, October 2019 "Home," studio recording by Cosmic Butterflies [And A Bear], December 2019Realizing the Hive Open Mic
Because the entertainment industry is at a stand-still, with musicians and artists wondering what to do with their ample creativity, I propose we hold space here on #Hive dedicated to a #hiveopenmic. I feel this platform will appeal massively to the numerous musicians seeking new ways to share their talents and reach their audiences. These musicians will benefit from Hive's actively engaged audience, who will be moved by the medicine of the music.
While other social networks are arriving, with their various incentives for creating, commenting, and curating, Hive is the one with the firm foundation and the highest propensity to be a haven for creative professionals. I have witnessed first-hand the many levels of growth in Open Mic participants, including myself. I believe the Hive Open Mic will liven up the field, and make it buzz.
I have to humble myself, being a newbie on Hive. In my quick searches, I've discovered a couple of #openmic posts here on Hive, but I don't see a designated space for this type of organized event. Correct me if I'm missing something. Honestly, I'm still finding my way here on Hive, and I might even be a little bit lost, but I'm hopeful it will hold the same level of vibrancy that I felt on Steemit two years ago, when I was highly engaged.
That said, I feel I have a strong voice in this conversation about reviving the open mic for Hive, making it new. In addition to my open mic experience, I also hosted an 21-episode event called Steemit Vision Quest, celebrating the creative spirit as we bring our inner visions into focus. Plus, I served as a curator of the OCD Daily, showcasing newbies with exceptional creative, original content.
Have you checked communities? First step could be creating a open mic community, the advantage to tags is that user can subscribe to them and moderator can crosspost posts into it and mute spam.
Thanks for your suggestion. I browsed the communities just now, and I found several "Music" communities, and a few "Original Music" communities. There's no "Open Mic" community. I'm not sure how to add a new community category. Any advice?
I you click on the plus sign:
you can create a community by creating a hive account:
Let me know if this works for you :).
Here is also a tutorial:
https://peakd.com/hive-100421/@coruscate/rhrzlkic
You rock! Thanks so much. Wow, this post by @coruscate was pure gold.
Good call!
Good call!
The OpenMic thing was replaced by #sonicgroove, quite some time ago.
Click here to see recent posts with that tag:
https://peakd.com/trending/sonicgroove
SonicGroove also has a Discord server, where people can talk to each other in real-time and share posts. https://discord.gg/ZRAAkff
I looked more closely into the #sonicgroove tag just now. Based on what I see, it looks like people are just casually using that tag for their own random music posts. But this is different from the Steemit Open Mic, which was a massively engaging event, with clear organization, weekly announcements, curated lists—a major celebration of fine songwriting and musical talents.
Am I missing the bigger picture? Yeah, it's possible. I've been on a Steemit hiatus for about 6 months, and then rejoined once Hive arrived. I'm sure that there's value in the Sonic Groove movement, whatever it is, although my first impression is that it feels very ordinary to me. The open mic was extraordinary. It was substantial. Do you know what I mean? I believe there's something more we can offer to musicians, with a Hive Open Mic.
That might be how it is going now, but when SonicGroove first started, they had weekly Curation Posts and concerts in their Discord. I've not checked to see if all that is still going on or not. But there's probably plenty of room for your revival of OpenMic, regardless! We have so many great musicians on the blockchain! Good idea!
Nice, I sure appreciate the encouragement, as well as the commentary. In fact, I'm pretty new to Peakd as well, and so it's helpful to have your reminder here about that. Thank you.
Hey man, I remember watching your progression through the weeks at ye old #openmic. I really dug your stuff brother. I’ve been kind of feeling the same way. That was a pretty cool thing that really gave me a lot of support and encouragement as a newbie on this crazy experiment. Not to mention all the great musicians i got to interact with...
You are going to destroy us at openmic!!!!
I’ve definitely been honing my skills lately :)
Hopefully this new embodiment will bring about more collaborations and push some creative boundaries; I’m really into getting weird lately, I find it’s a great way to see where my ego is confining my expression and holding me back...
Also the experimentation is helping me find my “true sound”, if thats a real thing...
~ @shookriya
Rockin! Thanks for remembering my presence on ye old #openmic. :) Very cool to know you feel the same way. Let's do this man.
I don’t know if I can do much other than participate, upvote and reshare posts but I think it’s a great idea and a great time! And I was just wondering if you made it over to Hive yesterday while I was not on my phone!
Synchronicity! So cool the ways we stay connected through time and space. I remember you fondly, my friend, and I'm glad to be back in touch.
I’m not involved much in the music community, but I even remember some great stuff I came across in the Open Mic. And there have actually been favorable developments and newly emerged projects since then too. I’ll echo other comments and say the first step is setting up a dedicated community space on Hive. Beyond that I’d see @threespeak potentially being a great venue to encourage the video sharing through and possibly court as a curation sponsor.
Excellent suggestion, thank you. Yes, @threespeak is new to me, so I appreciate your introduction. I'll check that out.
This would be cool, I loved listening too. Especially with our current "new normal" lockdown life, it'll be a trip to the local cafe to hear musicians in the comfort and "Safety" of our homes.
Right on. Yeah, I live in Austin, Texas, where our city's motto is "The Live Music Capital of the World." We used to host an amazing array of live music every day. And now there's nothing. Bands are adapting through live-stream music broadcasts and home-recorded music videos. It's the best we can do right now.
Would love to see you get active on Hive
This post has been appreciated and featured in daily quality content rewards. Keep up the good work
Nice! I'm grateful for your encouragement. Thank you. Your boost means a lot to me.
Sonic groove is a tribe for music, they run a contest called sonic groove live which is like open mic. I think the tag for the contest is #sgl. You may want to talk to @Isaria or @krystle!
Oh awesome. OK, thanks for the suggestion to reach out to @isaria—yes, I recognize her name from the Steemit Open Mic. And good to hear from you.
you too, welcome back!
hi there, hive open mic will arrive soon, im part of the judge panel at sonicgroove and in the beggining i participated at steemit openmic two years ago
these month i was finding a solution for the prizes and seems like we could be operational in a month and thanks god with a good deal for the artist!
with clear organization, weekly announcements, curated lists—a major celebration of fine songwriting and musical talents.
i really liked your publication cause i could see you want an initiative for musicians as i do, when i arrived steemit that contest saves my life.
Oh yay, I'm happy to hear from you. I look forward to catching up with Sonic Groove Live, once you all get active again. In the meantime, I'm grateful for your encouragement with this Hive Open Mic initiative. I won't have a prize pool at this early stage, so I imagine it'll be humble beginnings, although I'm hopeful I'll get a favorable response from the many ready musicians and music fans. Cheers!
what do we need as musicians is to make comunication between all the posible barriers, I think music is the only way to make cryptos successful
Rock on brother. Yes, there are no more walls in this world. Only open spaces and warm embraces—this is the medicine of music.