New Music Sites: NoiseCreep and Loudcrowd

AOL Music launched a new site today called NoiseCreep, dedicated exclusively to heavy metal and hard rock. After the successful start of AOL’s other genre sites devoted to Rock, Country and Hip-Hop, the new site will provide fans with a place to get heavy metal music and video content.

The site will also promote the newest bands and artists looking to develop a genre specific fanbase, and AOL Music Vice President Bill Crandall says that he’s “confident that NoiseCreep will resonate with fans and advertisers alike. It’s metal done right.”

AOL Music is home to many popular series like the live performance video site Sessions and regular music podcasts on The Interface. “We’re always looking to find new and innovative ways for providing music fans with a singular multimedia destination,” said Crandall.

Browsing the site, you can notice that independent heavy metal isn’t the focus, with the attention directed more towards signed bands. With AOL’s dollars backing NoiseCreep, they have exclusive access to signed artists and will probably compete with sponsored music sites like NME and Pitchfork. However, it’s a great place to get news related only to heavy metal and rock, which is surely a blessing for fans of the genre.

While we’re mentioning launched music sites, Loudcrowd is the newest combination of games and music, offering an online gaming platform where users can create their own avatars and access music playlists, while playing a series of music-themed games with friends.  Everything is done on a well-designed, lightweight flash platform.

Make sure you check out the new sites, and tell us if they’re up to your standards. Not only are they ways to get in touch with specific music communities, in this case heavy metal and gaming, but you can also add them to your list of free music and video sites, if community building isn’t your cup of tea.

Photo via flufftronix.com
Source: BusinessWire, WashingtonPost