Farmclub Pumps Up Its Music Offerings

After surviving nearly a year on the Web, Jimmy and Doug’s Farmclub.com is ramping up.

The music site, at https://www.farmclub.com, recently added new interactive options, including nine streaming radio and video channels, customizable video playlists, music news, free e-mail, event listings and a community-building feature that connects budding musicians with budding music-video makers.

Universal Music executives Jimmy Iovine and Doug Morris founded the online music destination in conjunction with the weekly “Farmclub.com” TV show on the USA network and the Farmclub.com label, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. The triumvirate structure allows for a unique kind of cross-promotional synergy.

“We understand how to push music to consumers,” said Andy Schuon, president of Farmclub.com. “And we’re motivated by the fear that anyone would be able to present music better, whether on TV or the Web.”

Aspiring musicians can submit their demos online, and after an internal selection process, Farmclub.com will post the music on the site. Visitors to the site vote on which groups should perform on the TV show. If the artists receive enough critical praise from this peer-based audience, and have what Farmclub.com thinks it takes to become a major recording act, they may be signed to the label.

So far, Farmclub.com has signed eight artists, including local folk pop act Fisher, whose single “I Will Love You” has an intense Internet following, and British pop diva Sonique, whose debut album, “Hear My Cry,” has gone gold.

According to Schuon, a staff of about 10 people screens submissions daily and provides feedback within just a few days.

For general users, the site provides excerpts from the TV show, such as clips of interviews, backstage behavior and performances (including U2’s appearance last Monday, which will be rebroadcast Saturday at midnight). In addition, the site supplies a wealth of more than 25,000 free songs, as well as numerous free videos to listen to or watch while visiting.

For now, that is. The extensive music playlist is currently available only on a trial basis. A subscription-based service is in the works.

He’s Back: Anonymous Director is at it again. The 25-year-old Los Angeles-based director, who created a fake “Star Wars: Episode II” trailer that became popular on the Internet last summer, has released a “Raiders of the Lost Ark” trailer. His latest effort is part of a campaign to bring about a re-release of the film as it nears its 20th anniversary. The two-minute film, which pulls together clips from the Steven Spielberg-directed movie, is available online at Indy20.com (https://www.indy20.com) and iFilm.com (https://www.ifilm.com). It has been downloaded about 10,000 times since it was posted online several weeks ago.

“I’m excited that people are starting to take interest in the trailer and ‘Indiana Jones,’ ” said the director, who asked that his name not be used. “If the powers that be see it, that’ll be a success. Maybe [‘Raiders’] will be in theaters next year.”

Political Satire: As the close presidential race nears the end, and tension mounts, the Web offers a dose of comic relief. Internet film portal iFilm has compiled a fun list of links to online political spoofs. Included in the mix is the “Quimby 2000” campaign on “The Simpsons’ ” Web site, available at https://www.thesimpsons.com/quimby2000, and the “Duke 2000” campaign, created by cartoonist Garry Trudeau for Entertaindom.com, available at https://www.entertaindom.com/pages/duke2000/home.jsp. The extensive list of satirical political offerings is available at https://www.ifilm.com. Click on the IFILM Showcases link on the top right portion of the home page.

Auctions: Those enticed to get a piece of the action promised in the “Charlie’s Angels” advertisements can get a piece of the movie online. Props from the set of the film, released in theaters today, are available to bidders through Nov. 15 on Yahoo! Auctions at https://auctions.yahoo.com or on the Sony site at https://www.sony.com/charliesangels/auction. Items include Dylan’s (Drew Barrymore) classic ’69 Camaro, Charlie’s (John Forsythe) speaker phone, Bosley’s (Bill Murray) couch, Alex’s (Lucy Liu) parachute jumpsuit and Natalie’s (Cameron Diaz) gold bikini. . . .

Starting Thursday, fans can bid on artwork created by more than 50 celebrities. Proceeds from the purchase of the works, which interpret the “Helping Hands” theme, will benefit charities selected by the celebs, including Woody Allen, Lisa Kudrow, Gillian Anderson, Magic Johnson and Jewel. The celebrity auction will be hosted on the AOL public site at https://www.aol.com/shopping, but all profits will go toward charities.

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Michele Botwin can be reached at michele.botwin@latimes.com.