JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Blazetrak...

1) I hate to see Ott..or anyone else.."bounced" for his Difference of Opinion. I LIKE folks with some Quirkiness & "Attitude" (as opposed to Yes-Men & Milktoasts...)

2) Even when they're wrong:(I'm LEANING towards OKing BT, but said in my response I'd be spending money on DEMOS [That I'd consider VERY Commercial] BEFORE I'd be testing the waters with Blazetrak.)

3) I certainly respect Brian's Opinion...after all, we're all here together for Free/he HAS been at this for Quite Some Time. VERY scandal-free, too, if you'd care to remember.

4) I'd been a TAXI Member for 3 years/made it to One Road Rally. They are GREAT Folks and DO Deliver/You're an idjut if you DON'T go to the Road Rallies & Interact/Make Your Connections.
I only had ONE "Referral" in all that time...simply 'cuz I didn't have the $5-per-burrito very often to send. (They also offer a reduced rate for every year you re-up your membership..& it was FREE if you brought in 2 new members, as-well. Dunno if BT offers any such Incentives...& if not, Why?)

5) I don't blame Greg for Buying-&-Trying BT, since sometimes the ONLY Way to find out IF something works IS to shell-out some loot & See What Happens NEXT. Everyone here seems to be in a BIG Hurry to see IF this is the Next Big Thing. (AND to sorty "Kill The Messenger"..too.) (Anyone remember when the only way a Rock Band could get a gig in L.A. was to PAY the Bar?)

Brian..& Ron..have both given us a LOT to think about..Greg too.
(Who was that celeb who said "Be COOL, Mah Babies"..?)

Best Wishes & Big Appreciative Hugs,
Stan

Greg I am writing this in the hope that this will benefit you in some way and clear the air. Now I think you are a bright and talented individual. You have proved that your music is successful and you are dedicated and enthusiastic about your craft. It does not rock my boat but that is to be expected given that your music is aimed specifically at the teen market...I am 57 so grew out of that infatuated teenager phase about forty years ago. Now you have and will make a lot of mistakes and bad errors in judgement...I certainly did at your age. You are young and with ALL youth comes vulnerability, impetuousness, inexperience, a tendency to readily accept things at face value and a certain naive gullibility that some unscrupulous folk will use to their advantage. I know cause I and most others had these same traits when younger but we grew up and grew out of them. It is all part of the growing up process. We learn by our mistakes and it makes us stronger and wiser. Sometimes older more experienced people will look at things from a more balanced skeptical and objective POV. We know that if a thing looks too good to be true or offers something for nothing or some wonderful thing that others cannot there is generally a catch or it is a scam. Often we are right but sometimes we are wrong. The important lesson that experience teaches is to ask probing questions, be skeptical and sometimes cynical and dubious about some people and their setups. Honest people running honest business will happily provide evidence of legitimacy answer any probing questions frankly and honestly and usually come recommended by many. Now I and some others smelled a rat and heard alarm bells ring when you posted the Blazetrak promo and I have heard or seen nothing to quieten the bells. You on the other hand still seem to think it is a worthwhile venture and see little wrong.
When I was about seventeen a well known impresario and agent type heard me singing. He introduced himself and said that he could get me recording contracts and a slot on Top of The Pops etc. I was over the moon and was sure I would be the next Elvis. Now at seventeen in the UK a parent or guardian has to sign on behalf of a minor. My dad, now passed away, was a very clever man....he was skeptical and did some research into this guy and the outfit he was running. He refused to sing the contract. I pleaded with my dad but he still refused saying it was for my own good. I was angry as hell and hated my dad I even told him that. Turns out the guy was even worse than my dad thought and a few acts fell foul of him and his operation. He swindled people out of literally millions. It was only later that I knew I had a narrow escape and was thankful my dad had the presence of mind to do what he did.
Sometimes listening to the voice of truly well meaning experienced people is better than a youths gut instinct.

The most significant thing in this whole thread (from my perspective) is the fact that Blaze Trak (unsurprisingly) declined Brian's offer. You know why? Because they know that the whole experiment would take longer than their fly-by-night operation will last.

I just don't get why anyone would give Blaze Trak (or anything like it) money for some bland critique. And I am bewildered as to the strength of feeling in defence of this nonsense!

Of course, people can do as they please. There is no template for how to make the most of being an independent musician - merely a list of things to avoid.

Frankly you'd be better off buying promo space on Soundclick than using Blaze Trak. At least you get something for your money! lol

Dan

Actually Ron, the truth about your company is coming out more and more clearly now.

I did acknowledge that I appreciated you sent an email before you posted on your very first post (anyone can click his name and read it). But nice try to paint me in a negative light.

We welcome anyone who wants to be a positive part of our message board community. Marc is a perfect example. He doesn't run ADS here, he offers free valuable advice (far superior to what I read your expensive staff offered the gullible Roy and Helen by the way based on what he posted elsewhere). But you never really did much of value here to anyone but yourself.

Plus, as time has passed, some concerns have been raised about your company and your practices, including some very negative things revealed again by Roy. For example:

You don't refund money back even when the critique person someone pays for never responds. Instead, now you give credits back. Some might call that bait and switch or a scam. No matter what it is called, it's a rip off in my opinion.

It also seems quite clear that these critiques are so short and empty (for Roy they last less than a minute and a half according to his recap) and the advice given is far less than can be found for free from even the most rank amateurs who often write far superior critiques on our lyric boards (for free). If the quality of the advice is equal to or better than what your professionals are giving, where is the value? Remember, you yourself made it clear that your company has NOTHING to do with anything beyond the critique itself. To state or imply spending money with your company gives you anything more would be innaccurate according to you. So Roy has clearly exposed the worthless quality of the responses when compared to FREE advice given all over the net. The fact that it comes from a famous person at most is a vanity play and nothing more. (And remember, if something MORE comes out of it, well, that's not something you have anything at all to do with. If you imply more, well that could cause a lot of legal trouble if it didn't actually happen for everyone. So you can't make that claim).

Blazetrak has gotten lots of publicity and you've managed to take money from folks I brought together. But if they read this, they have only themselves to blame. On the other hand, I will no longer allow any promotional support of your company until I can independently verify the value. You've refused that, so you are no longer invited to post info about your company, nor will I allow (when I find it) anyone else to do the same without my permission in advance. As you've now stated twice, nothing anyone says makes a difference to whether or not someone will use your service (see above for the exact words used) so that would include me.

We'll see.

That concludes this enlightening discussion. Now on to Roy's post before we move on to more useful ways to spend time and money on your career.

Brian