The Big Portal Relaunch! · Sound of Prog

Our new flagship is finally taking off! It has taken a little longer than originally planned. Well, "a little" is quite an understatement in this case. 😁 After weeks of almost daily development work, countless lines of code, a few more grey hairs and occasional arguments with technology (which, of course, always had a different opinion), the time has finally come: -The new Sound of Prog portal is finished and ready for launch! 🚀

And no, it's not simply a new website with a fresh coat of paint. I've given Sound of Prog a complete technical and conceptual overhaul to offer our listeners, musicians, presenters and editors considerably more possibilities than before. So, here's a little tour around our new UFO:

🎧 Sound of Prog Plus – Radio, whenever you want!

With Sound of Prog Plus, we now have our very own completely free and ad-free on-demand section.
Here you can listen to shows from our presenters whenever you like, at your own pace. No fixed broadcasting schedules and no risk of being called away for dinner right in the middle of a brilliant guitar solo. Those who register for a free account can also:

• Save favourite shows and episodes.
• Bookmark interesting shows to listen to later.
• Resume unfinished episodes exactly where they left off.
• Explore tracklists and discover new music through our ever-growing artist database.

Especially with Progressive Rock, being able to resume a show is rather useful. After all, there are apparently songs that last longer than the average lunch break. 😁

More opportunities for bands and artists 🎸

Airplay - Submit your music directly to us
Are you a musician or playing in a band, have you released new music but don't have a promo agency? No problem! From now on, you can submit your music directly to Sound of Prog for possible airplay.

Your submission goes straight into our internal editorial system, where it becomes available to all our presenters and editors, just like the promotional releases we receive from promo agencies. This creates a direct connection between artists and our radio team, without having to fill out three forms at a government department in London first. 🇬🇧

One thing that was particularly important to me was giving musicians themselves more opportunities. Our ever-growing artist database connects artist profiles with their music, releases and further information. Bands and artists can even manage and update their own profiles upon request (via our Claim feature).

And there's more to it than just search engine optimisation. The information is also used by our new web player, optimised for both desktop and mobile devices and, of course, supporting Bluetooth. Whenever a song is playing, listeners can immediately find out who's behind the music and where they can discover, preview, stream or purchase it. The relevant information also appears on our website and in our own chat.

What mattered most to me was that our listeners shouldn't just see a song title on the screen, but also have the opportunity to discover more about the musicians behind the music.

Our editorial team gets its own system 📰

Quite a lot has changed behind the scenes as well. Our team of presenters and editors now has its own little editorial management system. Music submissions from various sources are collected in one place and can be marked for Airplay, Review or both. Team members can also assign themselves tasks, organise their work and keep track of everything. Considering the amount of music we receive, that's a tremendous help. After all, we want to listen to Progressive Rock, not compose a concept album about our own bureaucracy. 😁

Our Chat – More than just a bit of conversation 📰

Our very own Sound of Prog Chat has learned a few new tricks as well. Alongside a modern, user-friendly interface, you can now like individual messages and, of course, songs being played, or react to them with emojis. This makes it easy to show which tracks you're particularly enjoying.

Another brand-new addition is our integrated quiz feature!
Whenever people in the chat feel like it, we can play a music quiz together, perhaps one dedicated to Progressive Rock. Who knows the band? Who has the correct answer? And who will confidently insist on something that's completely wrong?

Modernised, but with the same passion ❤️

The entire platform has been technically modernised and optimised for both desktop computers and smartphones. My goal was to develop Sound of Prog into a place where radio, music, artists, our editorial team and our community can all come together in a meaningful way.

And despite all the new technology, one thing remains exactly as it has always been: Sound of Prog is and will remain an independent, non-commercial music project. Run with a great deal of passion, free for our listeners and without the usual commercial circus.

I'm actually a little proud of what has become of this idea. Even though my computer and I occasionally had rather different opinions about what constitutes a relaxing evening. Of course, there will still be a few adjustments and improvements here and there over the coming weeks. With a project of this size, I'd probably be more concerned if absolutely everything worked perfectly straight away.

Now I'm really looking forward to letting you explore it for yourselves! The UFO is ready for launch. 🛸 The engines are running. And somewhere on board, there's almost certainly a guitar solo playing that lasts longer than the flight itself. 😁

Welcome to the new Sound of Prog! Have a look around, try out the new features and let me know what you think!

Keep on proggin'! 🎶🛸
André