MARSTROPOLIS Proliferates
rrose...@earthlink.net
For Immediate Release
ROB ASTOR'S Concept Album MARSTROPOLIS Spreads Across Cyberspace
Since the release of his new instrumental double CD MARSTROPOLIS in
September 2005, Rob Astor has been very happy with opportunities and
his success. "I didn't know digital distribution would be so
rewarding," Rob says. "I'm completely surprised by the number of
downloads compared to physical CD sales. What I'm experiencing
firsthand is the advent of the Internet as a powerful musical outlet.
It's taking on and surpassing traditional record companies in terms
of exposure for undiscovered artists."
Rob's CD was released through the primarily Internet based company
CDBaby.com. Based in Portland, Oregon, CDBaby mainly sells it's
titles through a website store. In addition, artists are also
distributed to more than two dozen legal digital download sites
including big names like Apple's iTunes (who recently surpassed one
billion in download sales), Rhapsody, and the new and improved legal
version of Napster.
"You can't imagine what a thrill it was for me to browse iTunes one
night and find my music there." Rob is very excited. "I was
listed quicker than I thought I would be, but I'm not complaining!"
He's amassing a listing of his most popular downloaded tracks.
The success of MARSTROPOLIS has also been dependent upon many other
digital sites where Rob is listed. Mindawn.com is one of those places,
utilizing the Vorbiss FLAC and OGG formats for its site content.
"FLAC files are very similar to the M4A files Apple uses. It's a
'lossless' format where sound quality isn't sacrificed when
converting standard AIFF files to something the size of a great
sounding MP3 file," Rob explains.
Several of Rob's MARSTROPOLIS tracks have been very popular on Yahoo!
Music. "The titles which are way ahead in the pack are more dance
oriented. Someday, I might have an excuse to do a greatest hits
collection!" Rob jokes. However, he doesn't see this happening
anytime soon. "I still have too much music to create!"
Yahoo! Music is a part of AOL's MusicNet which also includes Tower
Records. "I was equally as trilled to find myself at the Tower
Records site as I was to be on iTunes." The Virgin Records and FYE
download sites are both a part of this grouping. "CDBaby really does
have its perks." One of those is a recent partnership with Best Buy
where independent musicians can be found by searching the store at
BestBuy.com.
"I've also set up on a few newer download sites that aren't
included in the CDBaby distribution package. One of them is
Audiri.com." Since joining, Rob has been a strong presence on the
download charts kept at the site. Along with many of his MARSTROPOLIS
tracks, Rob has listed three brand new tracks; the New Age "Tropic Of
Antarctica", the mellow Middle Eastern flavored groove of
"Aphrodite's Belly Dance", and the party-like "Monkey Down".
These new tracks will appear on future projects. For the time being,
they are only available at Audiri.com.
"For a while, 'Tropic Of Antarctica' was doing the best." The
track has a beautifully arranged 12-string guitar layer Rob is very
proud of. "Currently, 'Aphrodite's Belly Dance' has been the
strongest seller." It has been firmly placed in the top 15 of the
monthly sales charts and peeked at number 2 on the daily charts.
Another site Rob will soon be a part of is ANK Dance Music Portal, a
digital site based in the U.K. "I was invited to join the site by
the owner who heard some of my music on MySpace.com. The Internet as a
promotional tool is very powerful. It's amazing to me what's
happened since MARSTROPOLIS came out."
The first of these unique opportunities was offered to Rob thanks to
his sites at MySpace.com. "I was contacted by a company called Jun
Group. They were producing a film for the Coca-Cola Company, one of
the 'lifestyles' shorts you might have seen advertised in theaters
last summer. They liked a track they heard on cNet. I was asked to
submit music for use in this movie. I sent them a dozen or so tracks
and was given the offer to continue submitting music for future
projects."
Rob firmly believes in taking every opportunity, as well as creating
some of his own. "MARSTROPOLIS was inspired by a video game called
SimMars, based on the popular SimCity games. I submitted the whole CD
for consideration of inclusion in this game. So far, they like six of
my compositions. I'm working on additional music for SimMars at this
time. It will be released later this year."
Besides submitting music for the SimMars game, Rob has submitted
MARSTROPOLIS to a few other places to gain more exposure.
"Currently, Adult Swim of the Cartoon Network is asking for musical
submissions. I'm a hit with teenagers and video game players. It
couldn't hurt to be on TV for fifteen seconds or so."
A second place Rob chose to send music to is Pump Audio. "Pump Audio
acts like an agent. They connect people in TV and other media outlets
to musicians and market music for those projects. It's a way for
musicians to have their work possibly be used as the soundtrack for a
TV program, for example."
Lastly, Rob also sent his music to Magnatune Recordings. Magnatune
helps market musicians through an on-line database and through
merchandising. "You don't have to worry about having an exclusive
agreement with either Pump Audio or Magnatune. With both companies,
you're completely free to continue promoting and marketing your music
in any way you want."
"Holographic Nightclub (Dance Of The Boytaurs)", a track from
MARSTROPOLIS, was inspired by a scene in a science fiction short story
written by Rob. Look for "The Mirror Crack'd" at
TwistedShift.com in the very near future. Rob plans to send another to
the L. Ron Hubbard's Writer's Of The Future Contest this Spring.
What lies ahead in Rob's near future? "I'm actually working on
three musical projects at this time. There's the SimMars music,
which will be packaged as BEYOND MARSTROPOLIS. I'm also recording a
proper third CD leaning heavily on Neo-Classical and Classical
influences called XENOPHOBIA. I recently finished a symphonic track in
two movements called 'Tyrant Lizard' which brought me to the
realization that I can continue to expand my horizons. And, there's
also an EP of sorts that will have tracks on it, which weren't quite
finished from 1999 up to 2005. It's a very creative period for
me!"
If you're missing out on Rob's music, be sure to look for him on
iTunes, Audiri.com, CDBaby.com Yahoo! Music, TowerRecords.com.
BestBuy.com, Mindawn.com. You won't be disappointed!
Visit Rob Astor on the Internet at these sites:
CDBaby.com/cd/robastor2
Audiri.com/RobAstor
MySpace.com/soloartistrobastor
MySpace.com/robastor
Music.download.com/RobAstor
Links of related interest:
CDBaby.com
Mindawn.com
PumpAudio.com
Magnatune.com