Frequently Asked Questions - Underground Music Online

Most Frequently Asked Questions

About UMO

Q. What do the letters U.M.O. stand for?

A. The letters U. M. O. stand for Underground Music Online. UMO has been the Official Site for the Underground Music Scene located in Greenwich Village for about 10 years. Back then local underground musicians would have to dial directly in to the UMO Music computer. Since 1995, thanks to the Internet, UMO has been able to expand its mission considerably in order to support interesting performers and artists located throughout the world.

Q. What is Underground Music?

A. Underground Music is "music that is not yet OR is no longer part of the mainstream music culture as it exists in the media" on a daily basis. As an example, an Underground Artist may perform all original songs OR may cover songs which were written by others, so long as the cover performance adds something of the underground artists' unique talents and is not just an attempt to imitate or mimic the original artist.

Q. Why does UMO use standard music categories as opposed to using the term alternative?

A. People have told us that once they know that a song is original or that an artist's performance of a previously recorded song is unique, they would like to know what genre it would most closely resemble. The categories make it possible for you to hear new or different styles of pop, rock, R&B, etc, without having to wade through music and attend performances that are not close to the styles that you enjoy. For example, if you want to take a date to a rock concert you might be disappointed to pay your admission and go in, to find an opera. The categories are only provided as a guide for listener convenience. Of course, you are free to sample music across all categories.

Q. How come there is no Hip-Hop or Rap available on UMO?

A. Unfortunately, we can't effectively cover every genre of music in the world, so we have limited our coverage to those areas that our participating writers and musicians have the greatest expertise. We feel that there are probably many web sites out there that can cover other genres better than we could and we would not be doing you a favor by covering your favorite music genre poorly.

Q. Why is there such a focus on Greenwich Village?

A. Since we are physically located in Greenwich Village we can provide the best coverage of the village and the surrounding areas in New York City. Sites located in LA and other places are probably better capable of handling their local artists.

Q. Is it possible to become a member of UMO if I don't live in the Village?

A. Yes, however, there will be some UMO Music events that occur in the Village, that may not be possible for you to attend. In fact, we are considering whether there should be a separate membership category for those who would not be able to take advantage of some of those events. As soon as that question is answered we will post the information on the web site.

Do You Have Questions, Comments or Complaints?

If you have questions, comments, or complaints please contact us at UMO so that we can make improvements. We will attempt to answer all correspondence as quickly as possible. If a similar question is asked repeatedly, by different persons, we will include it on this page.

Bugs or Problems With the UMO Web Site?
Submit Bug Report Form OR Email Us at BUGREPORT@umo.com - So We Can Fix It !

Rev 7.0 08.06.04 07:37:23