I haven't blogged in a long time so I hate for my first blog in this long to be a negative rant but here goes...
I am writing this blog for one simple reason: to let the world know that www.crossdogs.com is unprofessional and a waste of money. I would not feel the need to do this if the company had not continued to promote itself as a worthwhile venture and if the company had not saturated the pages of google with press releases on websites that all hold the same inaccurate claims.
If you are not a Christian artist then you might as well not waste your tmie reading this.
I am a Christian artist in a regionally successful band that is on the rise. I book gigs for the band so I thought it would be a good idea to sign up with Sonicbids.com and the Christian version crossdogs.com.
I was right about SonicBids. I was dead wrong about CrossDogs. Both sites allow you to create an online press kit that you can send out to churches and venues where you would like to play a concert. That's a fine option but it is unnecessary if if you have a website and MySpace and PureVolume and any other number of free websites available to artists.
The option I was interested in for both sites is the ability to submit your band to festivals, concerts, churches, colleges and other opportunities that are looking for a band that matches what they need. For instance, if a church said they are looking for a band that could provide a celebratory concert with a lot of fun and a message of hope..well I'd submit in a heartbeat. So, for a small fee equal to or around the amount one would spend to create and send a press kit (folder with CD, bio, photo, recommendations from past venues, requirements, etc.), one could do it online with a music player and all of the things venues have come to expect in a press kit.
Well, SonicBids is constantly listing new events for just about every state and several countries around the world. I have not always had success when submitting to events, but there has never been a shortage of opportunities on the site.
CrossDogs on the other hand has literally and without exaggeration had 3 events listed for the past year.
SonicBids charges $5 a month and you can opt out at any time. I have not opted out because there have been so many new opportunities listed each month that I feel it is worth it to continue my membership even if I do not submit to an event each month.
CrossDogs, on the other hand, charges $49.95 a year and literally offers one to two new events a year despite claims to the contrary.
I am not trying to destroy this company. I wish them the best and hope they will begin to provide the services they say they offer. I am, however, trying to let others know not to waste money. I have emailed several times in the past, as have many other artists about what the company is doing to remedy this and have heard nothing but empty promises and lame excuses. For the past year their message boards have been filled with complaints and laments from the people that paid for their "services". I was going to tell you to see for yourself but they actually took the message board down.
So there you go. Please do yourself a favor and do not pay Crossdogs.com for a year of nothing.
