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Publication Date: 12 June 2007
UPDATE
Old new beginnings...
Out with the old, in with the new... Old things are passed away, time to ring in the new.
The more things change, the more they stay the same... You know all the clichés.
It's time to pull a few of them out of the hat and share some UK Gospel.com future plans...
The more things change, the more they stay the same... You know all the clichés.
It's time to pull a few of them out of the hat and share some UK Gospel.com future plans...
February 19th, 2007. Monday night. 23:00 hours.
I'm on my laptop, listening to a file called 'UKG Spin test transmission' as I type this.
And that right there is probably one of the key indicators of what 2007 is going to be like for
all of the UK Gospel.com/'UKG' branded platforms: lots of testing, lots of new ideas, and exciting new ways of delivering information about a whole bunch of stuff.
I'm not comfortable with change just for the sake of it, which is why the current look of UK Gospel.com (which I designed about 4 years ago) has remained pretty much the same. But - truth be told - the entire website is long overdue for an overhaul.
And the main aim of this upgrade? Not only more opportunity to again present our largely
under-reported musical evolution, but also more opportunity for you to interact around that content and information. The whole idea is to allow you - if it so takes your fancy - to do more than just read the stuff presented to you.
And that right there is probably one of the key indicators of what 2007 is going to be like for
all of the UK Gospel.com/'UKG' branded platforms: lots of testing, lots of new ideas, and exciting new ways of delivering information about a whole bunch of stuff.
I'm not comfortable with change just for the sake of it, which is why the current look of UK Gospel.com (which I designed about 4 years ago) has remained pretty much the same. But - truth be told - the entire website is long overdue for an overhaul.
And the main aim of this upgrade? Not only more opportunity to again present our largely
under-reported musical evolution, but also more opportunity for you to interact around that content and information. The whole idea is to allow you - if it so takes your fancy - to do more than just read the stuff presented to you.
ON UK Gospel.com (Version 1.1 and 1.2)
Anyone following my annual recap of what
goes on behind the scenes in UK Gospel.com-
land for the past few years will already be
familiar with the principle of what I'm about
to talk about.
I've seriously considered upgrading UK
Gospel.com version 1 (this here site) for
about 3 years or so, going as far as building two separate test sites, which still exist to this day. Funny enough I still get the occasional person registering on one of the sites, (the one pictured above) - even though it says quite clearly that it's still in its test phase. Oh, well...
UK Gospel.com Version 1.1 - designed by OBED in 2004 before he went
off to start hosting popular TV shows on GENESIS and R MUSIC TV.
Note COMMISSION pic. They've been working it for a while...
off to start hosting popular TV shows on GENESIS and R MUSIC TV.
Note COMMISSION pic. They've been working it for a while...
Both of these sites have been pretty much ready to go for at least a couple of years, but the time (and timing) just never seemed right.
However, in that same time frame, United By One.co.uk has had two serious upgrades, Soulcure.com has also had two, and we've had more quality websites popping up on the
UK web landscape. From my point of view that has been SUPERB news in terms of the support that the UK industry now has available to it.
From a UK Gospel.com point of view, one of the major problems I have always grappled with concerns what to do with the content here on UKG version 1. Do I start the version 2 site with fresh content, and just leave this legacy content here? Do I migrate some of the strongest/still relevant/popular material from here to the new one?
And what about the transition? Do I run both the new and old site side-by-side, updating both for a short period of time, or do I just do a full switch to the new one...?
However, in that same time frame, United By One.co.uk has had two serious upgrades, Soulcure.com has also had two, and we've had more quality websites popping up on the
UK web landscape. From my point of view that has been SUPERB news in terms of the support that the UK industry now has available to it.
From a UK Gospel.com point of view, one of the major problems I have always grappled with concerns what to do with the content here on UKG version 1. Do I start the version 2 site with fresh content, and just leave this legacy content here? Do I migrate some of the strongest/still relevant/popular material from here to the new one?
And what about the transition? Do I run both the new and old site side-by-side, updating both for a short period of time, or do I just do a full switch to the new one...?
Admittedly this a good problem to have, but it's a problem nonetheless. This version has over
1500 pages of content, so it's a situation I've had to give a lot of thought...
Right now, my thinking regarding the launch of version 2 kind of favours the 'run Version 1 alongside Version 2' option. It's less stressful (at least it is for me) and it also means you can
still get to the older content, should you want to. In other words, the new site will have just new content, and this site you're on right now will retain the legacy material. Having said all
of that I'm seriously considering transferring some of the still-relevant legacy material to version 2, but we'll see how that goes. You see how this sometimes stresses me out...?
And finally: my tentative launch date: Summer/Autumn 2007. If you're wondering why it's that far away, read on. There are a few projects to get out of the way first...
After a while you get an instinct for doing
1500 pages of content, so it's a situation I've had to give a lot of thought...
Right now, my thinking regarding the launch of version 2 kind of favours the 'run Version 1 alongside Version 2' option. It's less stressful (at least it is for me) and it also means you can
still get to the older content, should you want to. In other words, the new site will have just new content, and this site you're on right now will retain the legacy material. Having said all
of that I'm seriously considering transferring some of the still-relevant legacy material to version 2, but we'll see how that goes. You see how this sometimes stresses me out...?
And finally: my tentative launch date: Summer/Autumn 2007. If you're wondering why it's that far away, read on. There are a few projects to get out of the way first...
After a while you get an instinct for doing
ON UKG Shop.com (Version 2)
certain things.
When I started with UK Gospel.com version 1
back in May of 2000, dialup was king, and broadband was just a distant dream in the eye of many an ISP. Back then (and this is a reflection of those times), this site was very text-heavy, with very little by way of images.
As user expectation grew (and people generally required a lot more information out of their web experience), it was time to raise the game. As a result I added images to accompany features as standard practice. This all sounds rather quaint now, but it shows how
far we've come in such a short space of time.
The UKG Shop.com instinct kicked in once the serious support you guys have for the UK gospel music scene became more apparent. It was quite simple, actually: if you were interested in reading about UK artists, and were also getting excited about the music you
When I started with UK Gospel.com version 1
back in May of 2000, dialup was king, and broadband was just a distant dream in the eye of many an ISP. Back then (and this is a reflection of those times), this site was very text-heavy, with very little by way of images.
As user expectation grew (and people generally required a lot more information out of their web experience), it was time to raise the game. As a result I added images to accompany features as standard practice. This all sounds rather quaint now, but it shows how
far we've come in such a short space of time.
The UKG Shop.com instinct kicked in once the serious support you guys have for the UK gospel music scene became more apparent. It was quite simple, actually: if you were interested in reading about UK artists, and were also getting excited about the music you
were hearing on your radio, then you probably wanted to get some of that music for yourself.
Stands to reason.
The developing nature of our industry meant that most artists could only place their product in their local Christian bookstore and - as Internet usage penetrated even further - also on their own websites. But it also meant they didn't necessarily have the advantage of the broader base of visitors that a 100% UK dedicated website like UK Gospel.com had (and still has)...
So in summer 2005, I launched the first of two new
UKG platforms: UKG Shop.com (the other being
UKG Presents.com. More on that in a bit).
The idea was a simple one: over time, create the
world's largest, high-quality, 100% UK online Urban
Stands to reason.
The developing nature of our industry meant that most artists could only place their product in their local Christian bookstore and - as Internet usage penetrated even further - also on their own websites. But it also meant they didn't necessarily have the advantage of the broader base of visitors that a 100% UK dedicated website like UK Gospel.com had (and still has)...
So in summer 2005, I launched the first of two new
UKG platforms: UKG Shop.com (the other being
UKG Presents.com. More on that in a bit).
The idea was a simple one: over time, create the
world's largest, high-quality, 100% UK online Urban
gospel music store, covering a whole range of gospel
music from the UK.
I don't know if I'm quite there in terms of it being the largest, but the range keeps growing: I think the store now has something in the region of 60 - 70 CDs (and even a couple of DVDs),
with everything from exclusive material (IDMC's LIFT YOUR HEAD UP mixes can only be found
here, I think), to hard-to-find releases, limited-edition releases, promos, full albums, EPs and singles.
There's not a great deal of money in it both for the store and the artist (though I've no doubt
that time will come), but right now, we need to sow. Leave the harvest until harvest time.
Anyway, it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or more specifically, a web guru) to realise that the
UKG Shop.com site is simply a couple of dedicated pages here on UK Gospel.com V1. That's because the resources required to build an online store back then (especially the kind we now
music from the UK.
I don't know if I'm quite there in terms of it being the largest, but the range keeps growing: I think the store now has something in the region of 60 - 70 CDs (and even a couple of DVDs),
with everything from exclusive material (IDMC's LIFT YOUR HEAD UP mixes can only be found
here, I think), to hard-to-find releases, limited-edition releases, promos, full albums, EPs and singles.
There's not a great deal of money in it both for the store and the artist (though I've no doubt
that time will come), but right now, we need to sow. Leave the harvest until harvest time.
Anyway, it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or more specifically, a web guru) to realise that the
UKG Shop.com site is simply a couple of dedicated pages here on UK Gospel.com V1. That's because the resources required to build an online store back then (especially the kind we now
UKG Shop version 1 - humble beginnings...
take for granted these days) was way out of the meagre resources of someone like me - essentially a guy whose passion has somehow taken on a life all of its own...
But, good news! UKG Shop.com will be getting its own site! Yay!
The UKG Spin test transmission has been playing on a loop all night. 45 minutes and 20 seconds of varied UK gospel music from Reggae to Rock, by way of RnB and Acapella.
I'm not usually up this early (and maybe one day I'll explain the reason why I am), but for
But, good news! UKG Shop.com will be getting its own site! Yay!
The UKG Spin test transmission has been playing on a loop all night. 45 minutes and 20 seconds of varied UK gospel music from Reggae to Rock, by way of RnB and Acapella.
I'm not usually up this early (and maybe one day I'll explain the reason why I am), but for
...There's not a great deal of money in it...
but right now, we need to sow.
Leave the harvest until harvest time...
but right now, we need to sow.
Leave the harvest until harvest time...
February 20th, 2007. Tuesday morning. 5:00 am.
now: onwards and upwards:
Where was I? Oh yeah, UKG Shop.com version 2. Well, I'm hoping to have that go live between now and the end of summer...
One of the more interesting related developments is the UKG Shop.com contributors website (which is now in its second version). I set it up to perform a kind of a 'behind-the-scenes' function, allowing anyone who has product on the store to know what's going on: new additions to the shop, what's selling on a month-by-month basis, artist's comments (I've had a few of them share their thoughts on people buying their product in faraway places like Japan and Canada), and stuff like that.
The reason you've never heard about it is because it was never intended to be a publicly accessible website. It started out as a way for me to keep records of the contracts I had with artists that had stuff on UKG Shop (it was fine to keep it all in my head when there were
Where was I? Oh yeah, UKG Shop.com version 2. Well, I'm hoping to have that go live between now and the end of summer...
One of the more interesting related developments is the UKG Shop.com contributors website (which is now in its second version). I set it up to perform a kind of a 'behind-the-scenes' function, allowing anyone who has product on the store to know what's going on: new additions to the shop, what's selling on a month-by-month basis, artist's comments (I've had a few of them share their thoughts on people buying their product in faraway places like Japan and Canada), and stuff like that.
The reason you've never heard about it is because it was never intended to be a publicly accessible website. It started out as a way for me to keep records of the contracts I had with artists that had stuff on UKG Shop (it was fine to keep it all in my head when there were
only 5-10 CDs in the store, but as it grew I needed a more sophisticated system).
Shortly afterwards I decided to release it to the artists so they could get a feel for how things were going from a sales point of view (and perhaps that might help them understand the markeplace a bit more). Now I'm also thinking that once the new version of the UKG Shop goes live, I could make the contributors web address public as well.
KARL NOVA from GK REAL really likes the concept and has been a great supporter. It'll be interesting to see if this is something that catches on with you guys as well...
Launch date: Spring/Summer 2007.
I've no doubt there are lots of plans by lots of people to offer UK gospel music downloads.
I'm certainly one of them. I already successfully trialled a download service about 18 months ago and that went very well.
Shortly afterwards I decided to release it to the artists so they could get a feel for how things were going from a sales point of view (and perhaps that might help them understand the markeplace a bit more). Now I'm also thinking that once the new version of the UKG Shop goes live, I could make the contributors web address public as well.
KARL NOVA from GK REAL really likes the concept and has been a great supporter. It'll be interesting to see if this is something that catches on with you guys as well...
Launch date: Spring/Summer 2007.
I've no doubt there are lots of plans by lots of people to offer UK gospel music downloads.
I'm certainly one of them. I already successfully trialled a download service about 18 months ago and that went very well.
ON UKG DOWNLOAD (VERSION 1)
But there's a world of difference between doing a limited run of a small number of downloads, and a full-service system. So - subject to all the necessary licences being sorted out - expect to see a UKG Download service (with more than likely a 100% UK offering) at some stage in 2007. As far back as 2003 I'd had some interesting signings to the project, but
there are a lot more people and projects on the scene these days, and - as with UKG Shop - I'd like to offer as wide a range as I practically can for launch. We'll see how it goes...
Launch date: I just said 'at some stage in 2007', didn't I...?
UKG PRESENTS VERSION 2 is easily the biggest thing I have done since launching UK Gospel.com version 1 back in 2000. UKG Presents Version 1 was simply a page on SoundClick
(www.soundclick.com/ukgshop), set up to support the CDs on UKG Shop.com
there are a lot more people and projects on the scene these days, and - as with UKG Shop - I'd like to offer as wide a range as I practically can for launch. We'll see how it goes...
Launch date: I just said 'at some stage in 2007', didn't I...?
UKG PRESENTS VERSION 2 is easily the biggest thing I have done since launching UK Gospel.com version 1 back in 2000. UKG Presents Version 1 was simply a page on SoundClick
(www.soundclick.com/ukgshop), set up to support the CDs on UKG Shop.com
March 14th 2007. Wednesday morning. 5:00 am.
ON UKG PRESENTS VERSION 2...
Click here
Essentially the idea was to allow potential buyers get high-quality preview clips of the CDs they were interested in (in stereo 128kbps, for the geeks among you), usually presented in a neat little mix to enhance your listening experience and purchase decisions (and if that doesn't sound like cheesy sales-speak, nothing does!!).
Over time artists started offering their music for free to the project, making it grow
Over time artists started offering their music for free to the project, making it grow
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