Students launch hip hop site

The Internet has been a major force in changing the face of the recording industry. A group of IU students created a Web site that is helping this change along and has garnered positive feedback from all levels of the music world.\nSenior Soren Packer is the founder and editor in chief of www.soundslam.com, a Web site devoted to bringing hip hop fans the latest news and reviews of the music they love. He started the Web site after completing an internship with Arista Records in New York.\n"In launching the site, I recognized the growing influence of hip hop on pop culture," Packer said. "I felt there was still great potential for hip hop to grow on the Internet."\nAccording to the site, the mostly IU-based staff offers news about the industry, reviews of new albums, artist profiles and a message board. The site also offers editorials on cultural and political events affecting the hip hop world and its audience, including opinions on the recent scuffle at a Pacers game. \n"The most popular features of the site include our growing archive of streaming music videos and our exclusive interviews with top hip hop artists," Packer said. \nThe site includes interviews with the Beastie Boys, Talib Kweli and Wyclef Jean.\nReviews Editor Nick Saligoe said he is impressed with the way the site has grown in popularity in the year since its launch.\n"The site has seen well over a million hits," Saligoe said. "The site attracts viewers by word of mouth, advertising on Google and posting our interviews on sites that the interviewee is affiliated with."\nPacker said future plans for the site include a new design and additional sections such as an interactive feature on the history of hip hop. \nSaligoe and other staff members, who moonlight as disc jockeys, will also make mix CDs of songs by popular and underground artists, which will be available on the site.\n"We are going to expand the use of technology on the site to provide more customized features," Packer said. "We are partnering with other firms to provide hip hop ring tones and digital downloads to our visitors."\nPacker said he welcomes freelance writers and journalists to contribute to the site. The goal of the site is to branch out to music fans whether they are interested in mainstream or underground music.\n"The site's target audience is anyone interested in learning about, listening to or involving themselves in hip hop, regardless of their conceptions about what hip hop actually is," Saligoe said.\n-- Contact staff writer Jorie Slodki at jslodki@indiana.edu.