An open letter from J.T. Fielding:
The WORDS WITHOUT VOICESTM Online Album Art Competition has officially ended. Although we did not receive the minimum number of submissions necessary to award Prize money, we consider our maiden voyage a success.
All contestants who entered work will receive a full refund through PayPal. We are still exploring the best way to issue these refunds, so please be patient and allow 4-6 weeks for this process.
Our goals for the WORDS WITHOUT VOICESTM Online Album Art Competition were several:
We feel that we succeeded at these goals. According to our usage statistics, we received over 112,000 page visits since January. We continue to sign up new members each day, and have enrolled over 1,100 artists to date.
There were many growing pains along the way, not the least of which was a serious technical/coding issue with the upload interface. Now that the contest has officially ended, we will be assessing the http://www.WordsWithoutVoices.com site to determine which technical features need revision. We will be implementing a blog onsite, to keep everyone informed of all developments.
The WORDS WITHOUT VOICESTM digital multimedia series will be a permanent fixture at the above-mentioned URL. Plans call for Phaze 2, the addition of song lyrics to the series, to debut in September 2008. The 20 SONGBOOKS posted in Category I will each serve as an individual conceptual mini-series (for want of a better term) to be developed.
In the coming year, AFPI will be soliciting visual Artwork to illustrate the covers of these 20 SONGBOOKS. Artists can continue to choose a SONGBOOK cover to illustrate and may upload their work at the site for publication consideration. As the contest is over, THERE WILL BE NO SUBMISSION FEES.
Atlantis Found Publishing Inc. is working on developing a new product for online multimedia presentations. We are hoping to have a database of quality original visual artwork from which to design these products. Artists whose work we select will sign a standard industry royalty contract and receive residuals from any future digital multimedia product sales.
As we explore this new artform together, I will be sharing my personal creative and artistic vision, which goes far beyond simple Album or CD covers. I am hoping that the introduction of song lyrics in Phaze 2 will inspire others to produce visual artwork which will bring each multimedia series to life.
Tentative plans call for Phaze 3, the introduction of music to the series, sometime in 2009, depending on the success of Phaze 2.
Please keep in mind that we are in the early stages of trying to develop a meaningful and artistic way to combine rock lyrics, music and visual artwork using Internet Technology. We believe that this is an area that has been relatively untapped, as there is little technology which addresses the huge gap (both financially and quality-wise) between PowerPoint presentations and full-blown MTV-quality music videos. Atlantis Found Publishing Inc. is committed to filling this gap.
Like most new companies, we have a 2-5 year business plan in place. Unlike many commercial ventures, however, we are about ART first, not money. So the ultimate success of the WORDS WITHOUT VOICESTM series will be determined by the passion and imagination of the artists we partner with.
To those artists who are seeking a new, innovative approach to the Digital Arts: Come join us! Membership is free, and we offer worldwide exposure for your artwork.
To those who have already joined us in the WORDS WITHOUT VOICESTM digital multimedia series: Thanks! Thanks for helping us to establish a web presence in 2007. With your continuing help, we believe the future of this exciting new artform will be successful.
Jim Fielding
Conceptual Artist
President & Publisher
Atlantis Found Publishing Inc.
To contact me personally: jtf@WordsWithoutVoices.com
Media/business/promotion/advertising/income stream/ideas or suggestions: info@WordsWithoutVoices.com
Help/Technical support issues: support@WordsWithoutVoices.com
