Guitar Center Music Contest - $300!

Description **This contest is limited to Premium Members only** Being a musician is tough. Making money as a musician is even more difficult...until now. Enter your best music into this contest for a chance to win $300 to Guitar Center! Note: This prize will only be awarded if a minimum of 15 entries are submitted. Requirements There is no entrance fee for this sponsored contest, but entry is limited to premium members. All types of music are accepted in this contest, whether it be classical, rap, rock, a cappella...you name it. Video and Audio uploads only please (no pics). All entries will be considered, but more attention will be given to the top 5. Winner to be chosen by Taltopia Staff. Taltopia.com has no affiliation with Guitar Center.

Taltopia.com Passes 100,000 Users, Proves Artists Value "Free" In This Economy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Taltopia.com Passes 100,000 Users, Proves Artists Value "Free" In This Economy

Los Angeles, CA

Taltopia.com, a platform that connects aspiring talent with fans and entertainment industry professionals, announced today that their membership had just passed 100,000 registered users. “We couldn’t be happier,” said co-founder Anthony Zanontian, referring to the site’s membership, ”it’s great too see how users are responding. We really do everything for them.”

Taltopia differs from most talent-themed websites by allowing its members to upload an unlimited amount of media, apply to casting calls, and enter sponsored contests where they can win prizes – all for free. Taltopia also offers a number of free articles to its members, thereby helping aspiring artists on their path to success. It’s no wonder the site’s membership continues to grow rapidly in a slumping economy.

Another competitive advantage for Taltopia.com can be found in their new “Offers Section,” an area of the site which allows members to complete incentivized offers from advertisers in return for Famebucks, the pseudo-currency used on the popular website. Members can then redeem these Famebucks at Taltopia's Store to purchase gift cards and merchandise from retailers such as Amazon, Apple’s iTunes, and Guitar Center.

Most of these offers simply require members to enter an email address or answer survey questions, resulting in free Famebucks to the user and income to Taltopia from the advertiser. “Our new Famebucks Offers Section is one way we have had to adjust our revenue model to accommodate the economic downturn” said co-founder Allen Vartazarian. “It’s been great to see these free features gain traction with our members,” he added.


About Taltopia.com:
Taltopia.com is a platform that connects aspiring talent with fans and entertainment industry professionals. Members can create free profiles, upload media, join fan clubs, enter contests, and submit to casting calls. Categories include music, art, acting, dance, comedy, and modeling. Taltopia.com received $800,000 in angel funding in March of 2008 and is based in Los Angeles, California.

Contacts:
Allen Vartazarian, allen@taltopia.com
Anthony Zanontian, anthony@taltopia.com
(818) 763-1065
http://www.taltopia.com

Bulk Uploader!

The moment you have all been waiting for...the Bulk Uploader is here! That means that you can upload or embed multiple images, songs, and videos all at the same time! It's super easy to use this bulk uploader. Click on "Browse" to add a file from your computer...if you want to add more files, click on the "Add" button, and repeat as necessary.

You can also embed multiple files by pasting the "Embed" code from your favorite media sharing website (YouTube, MySpace, DeviantArt, Slide, and Flickr are a few of the many places that offer embed codes). Click on the "Add More" button if you want to...add more. Pretty simple, right?

Once you are done, click the "Upload" button, wait for you files to upload, and then you will be prompted to enter more details for each media you have uploaded. Click here to take our new bulk uploader for a spin!

Complete Offers - Earn Famebucks!

We just finished adding a cool new feature to the site that lets you earn Famebucks just by completing offers here (you need to be logged in, so be sure to create an account if you don't have one yet).

Here is how it works:
1) Find an offer: Each offer states how many Famebucks (F$) you can earn for completing the offer. The description will tell you exactly what you need to do to earn the Famebucks.

2) Complete the offer: Click on the image of the offer you would like to complete. This will link you to the offer page where you can complete the requested information. Some offers are free and only request information or a download, while other offers may require you to purchase a product or subscribe to a service.

3) Wait : After you have completed the offer, it may take a few hours for our system to be alerted of its completion. Please be patient during this process. If you have completed an offer, and still have not seen the appropriate deposit in your famebucks account, then please contact us.

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Taltopia's Holiday Photo Contest

Photo Contest

In the spirit of the Holidays we are giving away a Cannon "Elph" digital camera! We are looking for holiday themed photography. Be sure to submit your best stuff! Good luck!

Click here to enter (or vote) now!

RocaWear Rap Contest

Rap Contest!

Think you got the best rhymes around? Prove it in the RocaWear Rap Contest. The rules are simple: upload a video or audio track of your best rap, then invite all your friends to come vote for you. The winner will get $50 to RocaWear and an iPod Shuffle!

Click here to enter now!

Acting Contest

Are you an aspiring actor looking to make it in Hollywood? Upload a VIDEO of you acting out a scene from your favorite movie. Taltopia.com will pay for $100 worth of acting lessons for the winner!

Click here to enter the contest now!

Now Casting! (Taltopia Launches Casting Calls)

Question: What is a casting call?

Answer: In the performing arts, casting (or casting call) is a vital pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.

Now that you are aware of the formal definition of "casting call," we would like to introduce you to the new Casting Call section of Taltopia.com, where industry professionals can post their current projects and recruit talent for FREE. (click here to sign up for your free industry professional account)

Casting directors, Photographers, Talent Agents, Music Producers, Filmmakers, and Choreographers can use this new feature to access our database of over 50,000 artists.

Casting call categories include Acting, Crew, Dance, Modeling, and Music. You can even search for casting calls within a certain mile radius of your zip code!

When you come across a casting that you are interested in, simply click on the blue "apply" button to submit yourself directly.


Click on the following link to check out our (growing) casting section:
http://www.taltopia.com/castings/casting-calls.aspx

Enjoy.

Taltopia's Best Comedian Contest!

Comedian Contest

We are looking to discover the best comedian on Taltopia.com! Submit your funniest skit, prank, or stand-up routine for a chance to win two tickets to the Improv Comedy Club at a location near you.

Submit the funniest VIDEO or AUDIO clip of yourself doing a skit, prank, or stan-up routine. The top 5 entries will be judged by Taltopia's staff.

Click here to enter: http://www.taltopia.com/contest/40096/Taltopias_Best_Comedian

Win a brand new Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera!

We have a new contest for a chance to win a Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera!

We are looking for Taltopia's photographers to show us their best macro shot! For amateur photographers this just means very close-up photography. Be sure to submit your best stuff! Good luck!

Here is the link: http://www.taltopia.com/contests/contest.aspx?cid=40097

Thumbnails

Many users have been asking us to create a way for embedded media to show thumbnails (instead of our generic TV icon). The moment you have all been waiting for has now arrived! Although we already do pull thumbnail images for videos from YouTube, Revver, ClipShack, starting today we will also pull thumbnail images from embedded images on Photobucket, Snapfish, Webshots, and Flickr.

Thumbnails help our members get an idea of what a media might be about before they click on it. Don't worry if you have already embedded media from these other sites, since our top notch programmers have set up our system to go back and automatically pull the thumbnails for you ;)

Stay tuned for more updates...

Album Art Contest: Lunar Sway

Art Contest

Lunar Sway, an L.A. based rock band, is looking for artwork to be considered for the cover of their upcoming CD!

Click on he following link (or the image above) to check out the contest on Taltopia.com:
http://www.taltopia.com/contests/contest.aspx?cid=40045

Lunar Sway is on track to become the breakthrough band of 2009. This band embraces new models of creation, promotion, and distribution of their music, including the release of a new song on every full moon.

To learn more about Lunar Sway be sure to visit their site here:
http://www.lunarsway.com

and join their fan club here:
http://www.taltopia.com/lunarsway

*Prize Description: Your artwork to be considered for their next CD, CD autographed by the whole band, 2 Tickets to their next show (date to be announced), 5 free mp3 downloads of their tracks! less

Requirements
Upload any artwork that you feel represents what Lunar Sways stands for. Your entry must incorporate the moon. Photography, art, photoshops, etc., are all acceptable!

The top 5 entries will be considered by Lunar Sway for the prize.

Taltopia News and Updates

There has been a lot of stuff cooking here at Taltopia.com headquarters that we wanted to keep you updated about.

Wall of Fame: First and foremost, we would like to inform all of you about a minor change we are making to our Wall of Fame section. Currently, when you bid for a spot on the Wall of Fame, your entry stays up until it is outbid or 21 days, whichever comes first. Since the site has grown significantly since we created the Wall of Fame, we are going to be lowering the time period to 10 days. This will help to ensure that the Wall of Fame is not being abused, and will open up spots for other deserving talent looking to get more exposure.

Higher Quality Audio: After some super heavy-duty fine-tuning, we have improved the quality of audio playback in our media player to CD quality! We are pretty proud of this, especially since there aren't too many other sites out there that offer this sort of committment to preserving quality.

Best Week Ever: Last week Taltopia had its best week ever in terms of traffic to the site. Our Alexa ranking (for those of you who know what that is) jumped about 25,000 spots, while our traffic tripled! This spike in traffic can be attributed to a number of factors, including TV ads airing nationally, people getting others to vote for them in 3 contests ending at the same time, as well as a very successful press release.

In The Works: We are in the process of developing a casting call section where members can browse and submit to a plethora of available casting opportunities in cities around the country. This casting section is also going to be an amazing resource for casting directors to recruit the talent they seek. Along with this, we are developing a number of value-added features exclusively for premium members...more details about this later.

Allen and Anthony Learn How to Flyer

1. 6,000 people standing in line to audition 8am
2. 60 people standing in line to audition at 8am

Can you guess which one was American Idol and which one was America's Next Top Model?

No, no it's not what you think. Well, actually it is. The Fresno audition of Top Model, had a poor turnout. Even though this was a little disappointing, we were still able to promote Taltopia.com to a very targeted group of models who really wanted to make it in the industry.

American Idol was a little different. By a little, I mean a lot. We arrived to the scene around 2am to see how the line was coming along. Again, we were met by the stern face of disappointment. Only 50 cars were in the parking lot. We decided to lay low for a few hours hoping the situation would change.

Then it happened.

Hundreds of cars started pouring into the Cow Palace parking lot. By 5am there were close to 1000 cars parked with singers jumping 0ut to get in line.

It was time for action. Allen and I stepped out fliers in hand and started to go to work. Cars continued to come into the parking lot, while those who had finished were leaving. After we had finished with the cars, we took a more personal approach and started handing our super awesome fliers (seen below) to talent as they were walking past.

I am happy to report that we passed out all of our fliers and have ordered another 5000. See you at the next audition American Idol!

It's Finally Here!! Taltopia.com's Contests!!!!

Wow. Starting off the blog with a "wow" may be dramatic, but it's well deserved. After months of talking about contests, we finally did it. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, you read correctly dear talopia-ites.

Contests have arrived.


You might be wondering, "What does it mean for me, your average taltopia user?" Well, average taltopia user, this means that you can now win prizes and famebucks just by creating or entering contests.

Contests are broken down into two main categories:

1. Sponsored
2. User Generated

Sponsored contests are generated internally. What this means is that we partner up with companies, studios, casting agencies, etc., to bring you contests where you can win awesome prizes. Currently we have an MTV casting seen here , a digital camera for photographers seen here, a chance for models to sit down with a scout seen here, and a gift certificate to Michael's Arts and Crafts seen here and other great stuff to come that you can take home. Check it out here.

User Generated contests are created by you, our fantastically cool users. You create the title and description, then set the requirements, entrance fee and duration. It is totally controlled by you! After you create your contest you can invite people to join, and the entrance fee they pay gets placed into a prize pool. For example if you created a contest with a 5 famebuck entrance fee, and ten other people joined, then the winner would get 50 famebucks!! Check our User contests here.

We hope you enjoy the new section on our site, it can be accessed via the new tab, and on the front page.