This page is your window into the “GERMANIACdotcom Labs” where you can read about all the new projects that are currently being developed and all the new ideas that we are thinking about implementing on the site. Check back often, as this page will be regularly updated with our latest ideas and progress.

Updates on current projects

GERMANIACdotcom Music Shop (last updated on May 12th)
I am very happy to report that the planning for the Germaniac Shop is going well. So far, we (myself and a few people who have advised the development of the Shop) have determined how everything will work, most importantly how we will handle the customer transactions and how bands will join the Shop and be paid. There’s still more work left to be done at this stage, but I have already received lots of positive feedback from the bands and fans who got a sneak preview. Stay tuned for more details over the next several weeks as the launch date approaches.

More album reviews (last updated May 9th)
I have to say, I am really impressed with the album reviews our new author Valtteri has been doing. So much so, in fact, that it has made me realize this is a big area that Germaniac lacks. We need more proper album reviews, so I will be asking some new people to help build our review database. I also have a few reviews set up for myself in the next few weeks.

Proposed ideas for the future

New sidebar and menu
It’s becoming obvious that the sidebar needs to be redesigned. We have written about so many German bands here that the Categories list is huge! It’s just ridiculous, really, and unfortunately the new version of the blog software does not support the collapsable categories like we once had. So I am investigating alternative solutions that will allow the sidebar to become navigable once again.

German singles and albums charts
This is one idea I have been debating for many months now. Should we have a post with the weekly album and singles charts from Germany? Of course, there are lots of different charts to choose from, but I don’t know if any of these would really be relevant to Germaniac readers. With the blog format we use, it’s pretty easy to search by genre and find other bands you should like, so would the charts just be too repetitive? I would really love your opinions on this idea.

Tour calendar
I wanted to make a tour calendar for concerts in North America, but I have found it’s just as easy to make a tour post with all the dates of a band. Do you still want a tour calendar in addition to the normal tour posts?

New blog for bands
Germaniac is mainly a blog that is read by German music fans, and I think that’s a really great start. But the I also think there would be a great benefit to make a second blog specifically for bands to read. This next blog would have business tips, marketing and promotion ideas, new industry trends, and conversations with bands that had some kind of unique success story. Just a bunch of tips to help bands become more successful.