Lori Cunningham

Zircon, I'm not saying that you don't deserve every single fan, every single sale, or every single win. I stated before that I find your and Jillian's music amazing. If not in those exact words, I said something like that. I know the music biz is hard and I know that sales are going down. I'm not discrediting you at all. And sales are different than biasing an outcome for something free. I'm fine that I didn't make the finals. Yes, at first I was disappointed, but I'm fine. And I know you guys have worked really hard. Didn't I state that in my last post? Your music is great, I have voted for you on OurStage, not because I have heard of you before, but because your music was better than who you were up against. That's all I have asked people to do. But yet I was hearing of people judging against me just because they wanted free music. And yes, that's life. I'm not bitter nor angry or anything. Everyone has to start somewhere. And I didn't spend 1 day talking to people, I spent 8 days. I have to tell you, when "Breathing You In" comes on in my house in the rotation on my mp3 player, my kids get all excited and start pretending the play the "instruments" and dancing around and stuff. It's the cutest thing! You have a fan here. There has to be somewhat of an influence of this site. You have to admit that. But didn't you read that I complimented you on your hard work for building it? And if I'm wrong, than I'm sorry. I want to get back to the real reason why we make music anyway and not worry any of this. So anyway, let's not worry about this anymore, really.

Wow. There's nothing left to say.

I have the utmost respect for Jillian - as a person and as a musician. Ever since I found her on myspace, I have looked up to her with her ability to write wonderful lyrics and melodies. And her voice is like velvet.... I just love it. I wanted to say that, to get that out. You guys have worked really hard to build this community and to refine your art. Being a musician takes dedication, sacrifice, and many times frustration and tears. So hats off to what you have built. For those of us who don't have access to a community this big to plug our music in a competition of this size, you can see where some might feel the injustice. But with that said, I don't feel like it's right to judge someone's track better just because they belong to this forum. I literally kissed my house and family goodbye for a week so I could sit here on the computer and judge and meet new people from 8 in the morning to 12 at night or later. I love the people I met, and they are truly my friends. But my family suffered, I suffered. I have three little boys, ages 8, 5, and 2. I sacrificed and did that because I don't have the fan base to support me because I'm just beginning. It was a great opportunity to get exposure. I made it into the quarter finals without voting in Techno even once, btw. But I knew after that, the games would begin and I was going to fight for my chance. I haven't heard of anyone else doing that yet. OurStage is a great way to get exposure and to find music and other friends we would have never found any other way. Yes, there are flaws. There are bound to be when they have that much cash on the line. Talent needs to speak for itself on there, not votehording. I'm am not going to waste my energy on this anymore, and neither should anybody else. I'm going to invest my time and energy into refining my art and remembering why I started making music in the first place. I will not stop competing on OurStage, but I need to find a better balance in my life. If I win? Great. If not? At least I know that I tried my best with making the best song I could. The end. What are YOU going to do?

Okay. I had to say something since I'm the topic of some of this discussion. Jillian is right, I have loved her and Andy's music for a while now. I've bought some, still plan on getting her album. Last year Jillian directed me to this site to download a couple of her songs that I really loved. I couldn't find them but that's okay. I am not saying that anybody is not a terrific musician. PhiJayy is being the spokesperson for a lot of artists on OurStage. Keep in mind that while Jayy is speaking out, and he's a great guy, he's 16. And he's not afraid to say so. So there are some experiences in life that he just hasn't had. For being only 16 and his brother 18, I think they're doing a spectacular job with their music. Now, also being 16, sometimes things aren't articulated the best, no offense Jayy. Jayy is not saying that it's unfair just for him and his brother to post a thread like this. And he's not saying that you guys aren't great musicians. We all admitt that you are! Here's the part that seems a bit unfair - that even if, by chance, the song by an OCR remixer isn't as good as its contenders, more people will vote for it because of the "community" and how good of a promo package is being given out. Now I know this is life, welcome to the music biz. It did slap me in the face the other night when chatting in the Judges Chambers though. Two guys were judging in Techno and admitted to me that my track was better the SGx's, but they were voting for him because they wanted that free music. Once again, not fair, but it's life. I didn't like the fact that I was #1 for 90% of the time in quarter finals and semi finals, only to be beat out in the last 10 minutes. Yes, I've asked friends and family to vote for me and on myspace. I think only about 20 people did. But here in this community, everyone is posting "Let's support the community and vote for them." It's not about who has the better track, but who's apart of this huge forum, and that's sad. More and more artists are noticing that when it's crunch time, Zircon, Jillian, and SGX come up from behind at the last minute. I have 2 whole pages in my inbox of very livid artists writing me once they have found out about this thread. It's not a secret. Please read this with the tone that I'm very level headed and I'm not trying to cause a scene or debate. I wanted to have my say.