Find Out About: GorillaPop Artist/Fan Community
Interview With Founder And CEO Lance Massey
by Anne Freeman, 
GorillaPop is the brainchild of sound designer/composer Lance Massey, who was one of the first to apply computer algorithms to commercial music. Lance developed and released one of the world's first commercially available sound morphing program, a popular tool for major sound designers and composers worldwide. When not recording music in his new "post-modern" studio in New York City or producing and engineering big band jazz CDs, or developing new sound design systems, Lance stays busy supporting his music community site, GorillaPop. We'll learn more about GorillaPop in my e-interview with Lance Massey.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Lance, why and when did you create GorillaPop and what are you hoping to accomplish with the site?
Lance Massey GorillaPop grew out of a P2P program I developed that counted downloads. My idea was to create a P2P app that could pay artists based on the number of downloads. I used the mlDonkey engine on the backend, so I could access all the major P2P nets plus bitTorrent. Sadly, P2P users wouldn't use it because of the tracking and all the major labels and PROs threatened to sue me.
So much for trying to do the right thing...
Anyway, I had some neat little functions for music discovery, which one of my brothers said sounded like a match making service, so after a few months of programming GorillaPop started coming together.
My original (and still driving) vision for GorillaPop is to create a web site where people can jump off a plane in a foreign city, log on to the site and instantly find people to recommend great local music. I love the idea of a global community of music fans and artists, and I love that I might be able to create a way for them to connect.
Of course, I'd also like to make it profitable, mainly so there will be a way to pay back the artists. I can't afford it now, but one day I hope to pay artists based on how often they get played on the site.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] What makes GorillaPop different from other music sites?
Lance Massey Though music is what ties together activity on the site, GorillaPop is really about connecting people. Technically, this shows up in the different ways I make it possible for people to discover each other -- I call them "The 10 Beautiful Things" that no one else offers (at least in the context of a social network or match making site).
1. Profile Matching: Profile matching recommends artists or people based on a "musical profile." A musical profile can either be entered by hand, or automatically calculated from a member's iTunes library using gTunes.
2. Song Recommendation System: The song recommendation system is based on a user's ratings of songs by category. It is fast, accurate, and can scale as large as Amazon.
3. Person/artist Recommendation System: The person/artist recommendation system matches people and artists based on data from the song recommendation system.
4. Playlist Searching: With playlist searching, artists, song titles, album titles, and tags can be used as search terms to locate other members on the site who have the same items in their own playlists.
5. "Who's Listened to this Song" Button: The who's listened to this song button is a quick click, and you instantly see who else has been listening to a song. This is a great tool for artists.
6. "Who Posted This Song" Button: The who's posted this song button shows who added the currently playing song. It's a great toy for potential fans to locate new artists.
7. Favorites Notification: With favorites notification, upon adding a song to your favorites list, an email is sent to notify the original poster of the song -- another great tool for artists.
8. Keyword Searching By Title, Lyric, Genre, Artist, or Folksonomy Tag: When using keyword search, results can be sorted by most played, least played, most recent, and random...
9. Custom Playlists: You can create multiple custom playlists of songs on the site, all of which are searchable (see #4).
and ...
10. Highest Rated Songs: Clicking on a tag (on the "FIND MUSIC" page) brings up the 20 highest rated songs in that category. This is a great way to find what people think most highly of as opposed to which songs are played the most.
One More Beautiful Thing: In addition for artists, I have a music placement service. Once upon a time I was a jingle writer, and once in a blue moon I still get calls for commercials, so now I always search the site for suitable material. *Unlike* anyone else, I only ask to split the initial licensing fees - I don't charge artists "search" or membership fees, nor do I ask for any back end payments. So far as I know, GorillaPop is unique in that.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] What hardware/software requirements are necessary to use GorillaPop?
Lance Massey It's a web site, so pretty much any computer should be able to display it. Flash is required to play the MP3's. Internet Explorer is really ugly, so I recommend using Firefox.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Tell us about "Music Matching Algorithms," for which you have a patent pending.
Lance Massey I love my matching algorithms!
In a nutshell, a user can either use gTunes to upload a musical profile for their GorrillaPop site or, if they prefer, a user can simply enter their favorite songs, artists, and styles by hand. GorillaPop then searches the site using these criteria to automatically start matching people whose profiles are similar. I've separated it out to automatically look for artists or people. Or, if you want more detailed searches from the search page you can try various combinations.
Of course, as more people join the more fun this will get.
I've also extended the song recommendation algorithms to create a "ratings profile" that keeps track of how a member rates songs, which over time starts matching people with similar ratings profiles. This algorithm is extremely slick in that it not only will match you with people who like the same songs, but also people who dislike the same songs as you -- gave me goose bumps the first time I saw it working!
These are, of course, in addition to all the standard search functions. :)
[The Aspiring Songwriter] What help services do you have for artists and fans using the site?
Lance Massey There's an FAQ in the "Forums" called "How Do I....?" Also, I am always checking in to provide personalized help.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] How does an artist participate/get registered on GorillaPop?
Lance Massey I work really hard at making everything as simple as possible, so...
Initially, artists just sign up as a regular member, choosing any status except "Fan" or "Just Looking." Once they've validated their email address, they can upload songs and photos. I *highly* recommend an artist go to the "FIND MUSIC" page and select tags most appropriate to their songs to give themselves a rating - this makes sure they show up when fans are doing searches.
To become a "Featured Artist" they simply need to ask.
And I should probably mention - all of this is FREE. I don't charge for creating a profile or posting songs.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] What are the requirements for artists to make their music available, what is "gTunes" and how does it relate to the "iTunes" services?
Lance Massey Songs must be in MP3 format. Artists can choose to either upload songs to the GorillaPop server, or provide a direct link to the MP3.
Since the site is free, and since I'm still not profitable, anyone that provides a song *must* agree to zero licensing fees. But if I can ever get the site profitable, I'll be setting aside monies to pay artists based on their play statistics.
gTunes is a small application that translates a user's iTunes Library into uploadable playlists. It also figures out a user's musical profile for uploading to GorillaPop. It's pretty basic now, but one day I may build back in the P2P functions it originally had.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Lance, give us some more particulars about the interface between registered GorillaPop music fans and the artists using GorillaPop.
Lance Massey If a user has discovered some songs they like then one way to share is by using the onsite playlists. The playlists are still primitive, but once a user adds a song to a playlist it is instantly searchable and available for other people to find and listen to. A future enhancement will be to provide the URL (with the artist's permission, of course), so users can copy them directly to their favorite player. This creates a nice organic system where people can browse someone else's playlists, add songs from those playlists to their own, then by extension become part of any playlist search results.
Users have access to the zillions of different ways to discover songs on the "FIND MUSIC" page. They can search by tag, genre, title, artist and get results based on Top 20, Bottom 20, rating ranks, or just random order. *Then* if a user hears a song they like, clicking on "Who Posted This Song" will bring up the artist's profile, where they can read their profile, see their photos, hear other songs by that artists, and message the artists if they want.
There are all sorts of advanced search capabilities for finding people and/or music -- search by title, lyric, tag, genre, artist -- sorted by most played, least played, highest rated, or random. And the click through potential is just nuts... find a song, I'm sure you can see where I'm going :)
Plus, I've built the music matching algorithms into the "FIND PEOPLE" page, so the combinations *there* are virtually endless.
The song recommender is also great. In fact, it can sometimes begin recommending songs after a user has rated only one song!
Of course, there are the forums and the chat rooms, and in the next few weeks, I'll re-implement Groups. And like Friendster and myspace, people can also have "friends" with which they can share things.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] How does this interface benefit the artists, the fans?
Lance Massey
The thing I love about the GorillaPop interface is that it instantly starts finding matches -- it really can't get any easier to connect to people or find music. But GorillaPop gets deep... very deep...
[The Aspiring Songwriter] You mentioned earlier something about connecting fans and artists when you are out of town. Since many artists tour, this would be of interest to them. Please give us some details regarding how this feature works.
Lance Massey One of the benefits to the artists on GorillaPop becomes the speed and ease with which they can locate new potential fans. Artists on tour can jump on the site and with a couple of clicks find all the people in an area who are already pre-disposed to liking them and send them a quick email, letting them know they're in town.
Vice versa for fans -- a couple of clicks and you can easily find all the people or artists in your area who are into the same kind of music.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Lance, you said that artists can use GorillaPop to connect with fans. Give us a few more details regarding how can artists can use GorillaPop to build their fan base and promote their careers.
Lance Massey As with "regular" users, artists start getting immediately matched to people who've indicated they prefer their style of music. In addition to being discovered by fans on the site, I've set up the music player so an artist can see who has been listening to their material. And of course, on the "FIND PEOPLE" page artists can search for others who like their style.
Once they pull up a user's profile, they can then make contact or invite them to be a friend.
There are also Forums and the Chat Room with Groups and Announcements coming back soon! Of course, fans can sign up to receive announcements; I'll also be adding a way to people to email all their "Friends" at once as well.
Once someone becomes a true fan, I expect they'll be going to the artist's web sites.
GorillaPop is also a CDBaby affiliate, so I'll be providing direct links back to their CDbaby pages to help them sell CDs.
And of course, don't forget that I scan the site for songs to submit for commercials!
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Can artists link their GorillaPop page back to their webiste?
Lance Massey Of course! My web site could never take the place of an artist's. GorillaPop is simply intended as a way to help them find new fans, not be their home base.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] How have you or do you expect to incorporat podcasting?
Lance Massey I'm still playing with that. At the moment, it's an infomercial showing off the talent already available. As it grows, the nature of the podcast will change, but for now I'm seeing it as a way to introduce people to the very cool talent on the site.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Lance, how do you market GorillaPop  how do music fans and artists find out about it?
Lance Massey Right now, I'm primarily using Google Ads. If I can save some more money, I'll get more into PR, but the main thing is word of mouth. I work extremely hard at implementing new things on the site, and on locating interesting artists, so I'm hoping the passion that I have for the music and the people will rub off.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] I see you've added a dating service to the site  why did you do so and how does it work?
Lance Massey GorillaPop originally *was* a dating service, but I felt there was so much more that could be done for artists I kind of neglected it for a while. But it's back and it's great! All the music profiles and rating profiles work just great for connecting people.
Music is primal and irrational. It touches the soul of a person unfiltered, and the type of music to which someone responds, and the ways they respond are very telling. In that sense, I think GorillaPop is a powerful and quick way to connect with people. At the very least it's a sure way to know that you'll at least be going out to see some cool music!
Though I doubt I'd choose my life mate based solely on their musical tastes, I'd definitely have reservations about someone whose taste sucks. :)
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Lance, how do you see GorillaPop meeting and/or anticipating the needs of artists and their fans over the next five years?
Lance Massey For artists, my long term dream is to create a place where they can not only get new fans, but maybe even get a little back (based on their play stats, or if they get a commercial placement).
In the near term, it's a great way to find new potential fans in a much more directed fashion. When I've been promoting my CDs it was always incredibly frustrating trying to find people who might like my music, so I'm hoping this will make their lives easier.
Over time, I'm hoping bigger players in the industry will realize that GorillaPop will be a great way for them to discover new talent. From my experiences of trying to do the right thing in the past, I'm not a big fan of the major labels, but I do hope GorillaPop artists will be able to team up with smart and dedicated marketing and finance types.
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Any success stories you'd like to share?
Lance Massey I haven't really asked anyone what they've been up to. I've gotten some nice testimonials about the site and me, though. :)
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Anything new coming down the pike?
Lance Massey Is there ever!
First, I'll be re-implementing "Groups." I've discovered that no matter how advanced your algorithms are, people love interacting with people, and they are far more likely to check something out when someone in their "group" recommends it.
I'll also be resurrecting my 3D interface, "GorillaWorld," which was a hoot. You could run around in this fantastical landscape and actually interact with other members on the site -- chatting, seeing their profiles, checking out their playlists, etc... Overtime there will be "Punk World," "Pop World," "Love Song World," and on and on.
And of course, if I can ever get profitable, I'm going to pay artists based on their stats. *That* will be when I know I've gotten it right. :)
[The Aspiring Songwriter] Lance, thanks for talking with MusicDish about GorillaPop. Any final words/thoughts/comments?
Lance Massey I'm just really grateful to be able to build GorillaPop. Music has been my life and it still effects me on a profound level. I hope that GorillaPop will be a way for me and people around the world to truly share in the joy of discovering new music and finding cool people.
Join GorillaPop today to get your music out and connect to fans! www.gorillapop.com
(Editor's Note: Shortly after my e-interview with Lance, he informed me that GorillaPop received licensing agreements with the three performing rights organizations in the U.S., ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, enabling artists to receive royalty payments for plays on GorillaPop. Additionally, he just added CDBaby affiliate links to the "FIND MUSIC" page. What this means is that if a song is playing that is available on CDBaby then a button appears that takes a member to the artist's CDBaby page.)
Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2005 - Republished with Permission
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