Online Collaborations:

Online collaborations are remote collaborations that generally take place via dedicated discussion forums on the Internet. Songs ideas are posted, auditions are reviewed, and many of the discussions take place out in the public forums (although "Private Messaging" features do see a lot of use as well).

Several websites exist, all around the world, below are a few useful links:

Featured collaboration sites:

www.rodchubb.com/ijams
www.musicianscollaboration.com
www.artistcollaboration.com
www.openmusicfactory.com

Online collaborations lead to amazing things. Musicians and songwriters from around the world meet up by chance, exchange ideas and audition for parts in each others projects, many without ever meeting in the "real world". If you want to take part in this growing phenomena, which has already produced a vast amount of very high quality music, here are a few guidelines to make sure you get the most out of your online collaboration experience:

1. For the technical details on how to exchange files etc, please refer to the "Session" section of this website.
2. Online collaborations are all about people who freely give their own time to further the pursuit of their passion for making music - as such you need to arm yourself with a bit of patience and flexibility. Good things come to those who wait - this can often be true of online collaborations.
3. Online collaboration sites offer instant access to a whole forum of musicians - the links to the left are a good place to start. These forums are also full of discussions related to gear, recording techniques, how to set up an FTP server etc (and the "General" threads tend to generate some fairly amuzing off-topic discussions as well...).
4. If you put up a song up for auditions - prepare to receive some! You will hear other people interpret your ideas, or come up with something you never would have thought of - not all of which may fit your style or correspond to what you were looking for for a given project. Learn to say no in a polite manner, and remember to only give constructive criticism (which is probably mostly a matter of opinion anyway).
5. Likewise, if you audition for somebody else's song, don't be discouraged if your part isn't taken. Part of the gratification lies in simply being able to jam to somebody else's tune - even if you don't make it into the final production.
6. A final word: you will be amazed at the quality of the music produced - far from the rigid structure of the music industry itself. Check out some of the links on this site, or take a listen to the songs that have been posted in the "Finished Collaborations" section of the main collaboration sites.
7. Here's a good live example of an artist who has been doing the online thing for a few years - www.jeffsmithmedia.com - take a listen to some of the amazing songs Jeff has been involved with.
8. Convinced? Then I'll be seeing you at one of the collab sites - and don't forget to enjoy yourself!!!