Blabbermouth.net
Encyclopedia
Blabbermouth.net is a website
dedicated to heavy metal
and hard rock
news, as well as album
and music DVD
reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the website's design was completely changed and the record label Roadrunner Records
began hosting it.
Users can post comments to selected news articles and album reviews, either in response to other user comments or in response to the article itself. Blabbermouth.net, described by the London Free Press
as a "reliable industry and fan site", has been widely cited as a source on heavy metal and hard rock.
, was staying with Krgin in New York and set up a meeting with Gunter Ford of World Management. During the meeting, Ford suggested an idea for a "heavy metal portal," a site which would offer news, merchandise, and CD reviews to get record labels to sell their products through the site. Ford wanted Kampf to be involved. Krgin disliked the idea and wished for a site that offered around-the-clock news, as he thought that no good news sites existed.
Krgin began researching how to develop and host
his own website two months after the meeting. After a year Krgin felt comfortable going "live." The initial "primitive" version of the site was launched on March 3, 2001. In October of the same year Monte Conner
, a friend of Krgin, and a Roadrunner Records
artist and repertoire approached Krgin with the idea of having the site hosted on the Roadrunner servers. This way, Krgin could focus on Blabbermouth.net's content rather than the technical aspects involved in running a site.
In February 2011, the website added a 'Shop' link to the site, clicking on the link takes you to a page that says "Coming Soon".
and other people in the music industry, stating this is where the "best" information comes from.
Krgin supposedly sends e-mails and makes telephone calls daily to obtain new information. Blabbermouth.net has a 'submit news' feature which has proved to be helpful to Krgin. When receiving a rumor he deems worthy of posting, Krgin will first research and contact people related to the band and question them about the rumour. It's claimed that 90% of the information posted is either found online or is submitted directly to the website by bands, managers, labels or associated persons.
(users that make derogatory comments) and news posts that are unrelated to heavy metal or hard rock. Krgin said he posts these articles to attract humorous comments from users, and as relief from the constant monotony of album news.
In September 2006, Krgin claims to have performed a cleanup of Blabbermouth.net's comments and to have adopted a policy whereby users can report offensive comments in order to have them deleted from the site. Prior to this, in his own words, "countless abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic and threatening comments" had been posted on the site since the "comments" feature was implemented in early 2002.
(as of August 2011). The busiest day so far was 298,000 unique visitors in a single 24-hour period, which occurred on the day of Ronnie James Dio
's passing (May 16, 2010). The second-busiest day was more than 200,000 unique visitors in a single 24-hour period, which happened the day after the death of Type O Negative
frontman Peter Steele
-- April 15, 2010.
Busiest days in Blabbermouth.net's history—as measured in "Absolute Unique Visitors" (Google Analytics
):
Each of the figures above represents the number of "Absolute Unique Visitors" (Google Analytics
) that visited Blabbermouth.net in a single 24-hour period. The figures were provided by Google Analytics
except for the December 9, 2004 number of unique visitors, which came from WebTrends
.
Blabbermouth.net's busiest month so far was May 2010, with 1,675,645 "Absolute Unique Visitors," according to Google Analytics
-- primarily driven by extra traffic caused by the deaths of Ronnie James Dio
and Slipknot
bassist Paul Gray.
Blabbermouth.net is ranked as the 29,897 most trafficked Web sites according to Alexa
. However, this number is misleading as it only covers the visits to www.blabbermouth.net, which is a small portion of the web site's traffic (since the actual web site hosted by Roadrunner Records
and is located at www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net, which is not included separately in the Alexa rankings).
Blabbermouth.net has more 101,000 registered users (users who are registered to post comments on the site) as of August 2011.
as a "reliable industry and fan site", is widely recognized as an authority on heavy metal and hard rock. It has been cited as a source by the London Free Press, New Musical Express, MTV.com, the Toronto Sun
, the Baltic News Service
, the St. Petersburg Times
, News.com.au
, and OC Weekly
.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
dedicated to heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
news, as well as album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
and music DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the website's design was completely changed and the record label Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
began hosting it.
Users can post comments to selected news articles and album reviews, either in response to other user comments or in response to the article itself. Blabbermouth.net, described by the London Free Press
London Free Press
The London Free Press is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada.The London Free Press began as the Canadian Free Press, founded by William Sutherland in 1847. It first began printing as a weekly newspaper in 1849. In 1852, it was purchased for $500 by Josiah Blackburn, who renamed it...
as a "reliable industry and fan site", has been widely cited as a source on heavy metal and hard rock.
History
Founder Borivoj Krgin came up with the concept of Blabbermouth in January 2000. Robert Kampf, a friend of Krgin who runs Century Media RecordsCentury Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
, was staying with Krgin in New York and set up a meeting with Gunter Ford of World Management. During the meeting, Ford suggested an idea for a "heavy metal portal," a site which would offer news, merchandise, and CD reviews to get record labels to sell their products through the site. Ford wanted Kampf to be involved. Krgin disliked the idea and wished for a site that offered around-the-clock news, as he thought that no good news sites existed.
Krgin began researching how to develop and host
Web hosting service
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet...
his own website two months after the meeting. After a year Krgin felt comfortable going "live." The initial "primitive" version of the site was launched on March 3, 2001. In October of the same year Monte Conner
Monte Conner
Monte Conner is a producer and A&R person for Roadrunner Records. He has worked with numerous bands including, Slipknot, Trivium and King Diamond.- Discography :#Trivium - The Crusade#Stone Sour - Come WhatMay#Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip...
, a friend of Krgin, and a Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
artist and repertoire approached Krgin with the idea of having the site hosted on the Roadrunner servers. This way, Krgin could focus on Blabbermouth.net's content rather than the technical aspects involved in running a site.
In February 2011, the website added a 'Shop' link to the site, clicking on the link takes you to a page that says "Coming Soon".
Sources
According to his own words, Krgin spends most of his time operating the site, supposedly missing out on sleep and other life essentials. When finding information relating to bands Krgin claims to search bands official websites (including social networking sites ), which are usually reported on immediately, and band message boards where members of the band post. However, Krgin relies on the contacts he has made over the years ranging from band members, metal journalists, managersTalent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
and other people in the music industry, stating this is where the "best" information comes from.
Krgin supposedly sends e-mails and makes telephone calls daily to obtain new information. Blabbermouth.net has a 'submit news' feature which has proved to be helpful to Krgin. When receiving a rumor he deems worthy of posting, Krgin will first research and contact people related to the band and question them about the rumour. It's claimed that 90% of the information posted is either found online or is submitted directly to the website by bands, managers, labels or associated persons.
Criticism
Blabbermouth.net has been criticized by musicians and music industry persons for internet trollsTroll (Internet)
In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response...
(users that make derogatory comments) and news posts that are unrelated to heavy metal or hard rock. Krgin said he posts these articles to attract humorous comments from users, and as relief from the constant monotony of album news.
In September 2006, Krgin claims to have performed a cleanup of Blabbermouth.net's comments and to have adopted a policy whereby users can report offensive comments in order to have them deleted from the site. Prior to this, in his own words, "countless abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic and threatening comments" had been posted on the site since the "comments" feature was implemented in early 2002.
Traffic
Blabbermouth.net is visited by more than 1.2 million unique users each month, and it has an average of 80,000 unique visitors per day, according to Google AnalyticsGoogle Analytics
Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website...
(as of August 2011). The busiest day so far was 298,000 unique visitors in a single 24-hour period, which occurred on the day of Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
's passing (May 16, 2010). The second-busiest day was more than 200,000 unique visitors in a single 24-hour period, which happened the day after the death of Type O Negative
Type O Negative
Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
frontman Peter Steele
Peter Steele
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk , better known by his stage name Peter Steele, was the lead singer, bassist, and composer for the gothic metal band Type O Negative...
-- April 15, 2010.
Busiest days in Blabbermouth.net's history—as measured in "Absolute Unique Visitors" (Google Analytics
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website...
):
- Sunday, May 16, 2010: 298,378 (the day Ronnie James Dio died)
- Thursday, April 15, 2010: 206,183 (the day after Peter Steele died)
- Monday, May 17, 2010: 170,905 (the day after Ronnie James Dio died)
- Monday, May 24, 2010: 154,969 (the day Paul Gray was found dead)
- Thursday, December 9, 2004: 154,000 (the day after "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was murdered)
Each of the figures above represents the number of "Absolute Unique Visitors" (Google Analytics
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website...
) that visited Blabbermouth.net in a single 24-hour period. The figures were provided by Google Analytics
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website...
except for the December 9, 2004 number of unique visitors, which came from WebTrends
WebTrends
Webtrends is a private company headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. It provides web analytics and other software solutions related to marketing intelligence...
.
Blabbermouth.net's busiest month so far was May 2010, with 1,675,645 "Absolute Unique Visitors," according to Google Analytics
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website...
-- primarily driven by extra traffic caused by the deaths of Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
and Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
bassist Paul Gray.
Blabbermouth.net is ranked as the 29,897 most trafficked Web sites according to Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
. However, this number is misleading as it only covers the visits to www.blabbermouth.net, which is a small portion of the web site's traffic (since the actual web site hosted by Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
and is located at www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net, which is not included separately in the Alexa rankings).
Blabbermouth.net has more 101,000 registered users (users who are registered to post comments on the site) as of August 2011.
Recognition
Blabbermouth.net, described by the London Free PressLondon Free Press
The London Free Press is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada.The London Free Press began as the Canadian Free Press, founded by William Sutherland in 1847. It first began printing as a weekly newspaper in 1849. In 1852, it was purchased for $500 by Josiah Blackburn, who renamed it...
as a "reliable industry and fan site", is widely recognized as an authority on heavy metal and hard rock. It has been cited as a source by the London Free Press, New Musical Express, MTV.com, the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
, the Baltic News Service
Baltic News Service
The Baltic News Service is the largest news agency operating in the Baltic states. Founded in April, 1990, by a group of students , it sought to inform foreign correspondents in Moscow of developments in the Baltic states' struggles for independence from the Soviet Union...
, the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
, News.com.au
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
, and OC Weekly
OC Weekly
OC Weekly, a sister publication of both LA Weekly and The Village Voice, is a free, left-wing weekly paper distributed in Orange County, California and also in Long Beach....
.