Boardgame
pmp E
Words by Jared Anderson
very now and then something new comes along that changes the way companies or people do things. It’s been said that great businesses provide a simple solution to a complicated problem, and the founders of PMPWorldWide.com are proving just that. Anthony Merchante, the CEO of PMP (Production MarketPlace), had his first vision of things to come in 1998 not long after he and good friend Ainsley “AZ” Nicholas started looking into the success of internet communities that provided networking and socializing. After studying how the web communities functioned and generated money, they started a blog site and online record pool. Several comments were left on the message boards of their websites addressing a need for a virtual marketplace where producers and artists could showcase, buy or sell their music directly to record labels.
to do.” PMP is providing that arena. Unlike Taxi or Digiwaxx, the Production Marketplace is a hyper competitive market that is not for the faint of heart. There is no one to critique your work or anyone to provide production advice, it’s just your songs competing against other high caliber peers. “Competition is a valuable tool to let you know where you stand,” Merchante says. “PMP puts their quality above their name. You come to PMP because you feel you’re ready to compete.” Presentation is important too. Each producer is given a profile, which includes a picture, a bio, and your music. The PMP administrators stress the importance of keeping your profile fresh and updated. “You can be talented but your presentation is critical to your success, give your music a chance to be heard,” advises Dimanche.
Once the groundwork for PMP was completed AZ reached out to a former high school classmate, Conrad Dimanche, who is the Senior Director Of A&R at Bad Boy Entertainment, to structure a system that would benefit A&Rs or label representatives interested in purchasing music. Merchante, AZ and Dimanche began to pool their resources to bring A-list producers and A&Rs to the site and establish an instant quality to their marketplace.
Each song submitted for a “track dump” is screened for quality assurance and to make sure each song matches the track description given before going to an artist or label representative. Once a producer has demonstrated a “stand out” ability to create good music consistently PMP will feature them on their site putting their own personal stamp of approval on the producer. Another way to stand out is to send in a video, a producer or artist can send a video in of their production process as long as they credit PMP on the video.
PMP has grown to over 500 subscribed users without much fanfare or advertisement. Merchante credits PMP’s user expansion to the idea that “People who have the right resources will be in the right arena to do what they need
PMPWorldWide.com is setting itself apart from any competition and is growing rapidly. Upgrades and new features will be added within the coming year to go deeper in the many different needs that go into making an album. //
82 // OZONE MAG