Seeking Quad-Cities Musicians! Third Round of QC Beats Starting Up in October
The next round of QC Beats, a local online audio streaming service, is taking submissions from Quad-Cities musicians the entire month of October.
Thanks to the partnership of the Davenport Public Library, River Music Experience, and St. Ambrose University, QC Beats was created in early 2019 to showcase original music from Quad-City musicians.
“Building a collection of featured local artists will expand the reach of our vibrant creative community by elevating musicians and connecting them with the larger community,” according to a Davenport library release.
“QC Beats will also help support local musicians by paying them a $100 honorarium and feature artist biographies, upcoming show information, and links to the musicians’ other websites,” it says. “QC Beats will create new fans and inspire listeners to support local artists who make the music.”
This project was funded by the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Q2030 grant program. These grants support projects that make the Q-C region more cool, creative, connected, and prosperous.
Community members with a Davenport Public Library card, RME membership, or St. Ambrose students will be able to download audio files, and everyone else will be able to stream music at no cost.
There will be one submission period per year. Each submission period will be open for at least three weeks. The submission period for 2020 will take place from Oct. 1 to 31.
After the submission period, submissions will be judged by curators consisting of members of the local Q-C music community and library staff with a music background. Selections should be made and announced by early 2021.
Artists can submit their music through an online submission form located at qcbeats.org. Both artists and the public are encouraged to read the FAQ page located at qcbeats.org/faq to learn more about the process.
Due to various capacity and funding challenges, the RME is no longer a primary partner in the project, executive director Tyson Danner said this week. “We’re trying to focus on core programming while staying open to the best new opportunities,” he said.
“We’ve offered to help them promote it, and also offered our venue as a performance space should they need it,” he said. “We haven’t heard anything yet about this year’s process but we’ll absolutely help spread the word when we do.”
On Feb. 1, 2020, the second year of the QC Beats streaming service had a free artist showcase at the Redstone Room at RME, 129 Main St., Davenport..
The performance featured The Common Faces, Riding Atlas and Subatlantic.
QC Beats launched in January 2019 with 15 area artists, and were added early this year, including David G. Smith and Konrad.
On the website, artist and album pages feature biographies and information about upcoming shows, links to the musicians’ websites, social media, and online stores.
QC Beats is open to anyone in the Q-C area, and a committee of community members votes on the artists to include, based on various criteria, said Kate Dale, RME director of entertainment. There were fewer artists selected early this year because of budget constraints, since the artists are paid and there were more funds available the first year, she said.
