February also saw the new Tuts+ make over as well as the unveiling of a Tuts+ dashboard allowing a convenient and configurable location to track all the Tuts+ top stories, twitter feeds and digg articles. The dashboard will enable Tuts+ to solidify its brand and position as the number one resource for online professionals.

The new blog aims to publish 2 - 3 high quality tutorials every week under the guidance of its new editor Lloyd Alvarez - a freelance art director, animator and designer living from NY. Unlike the other TUTS+ sites however, AETUTS will offer mainly high-definition screencast tutorials. This will allow visitors to clearly see and view the tutorial final products in motion as they’re created.

AETUTS enjoy a proud genealogy, being the 5th member of the TUTSPLUS family which currently includes PSDTUTS, NETTUTS, VECTORTUTS and AUDIOTUTS.

The sites continue to grow - both in terms of the number of sites operating within the network, as well as the traffic that each site receives. The Envato network of sites now includes:

• Envato Marketpalces (FlashDen, AudioJungle, ThemeForest and VideoHive);
• TUTSPLUS family (PSDTUTS, NETTUTS, VECTORTUTS & AUDIOTUTS);
• Creattica; and
• FreelanceSwitch

We expected that 2009 will see further growth of the Envato Marketplaces and consolidation of the TUTSPLUS family along with the strategic launch of additional components for Creattica. So onwards and upwards!

VideoHive will soon be complemented by a sister site when AETUTS, the latest member of the TUTS+ family is a launched. AETUTS will house and showcase some of the best Adobe After Effects tutorials around.

Today we also welcome Naysan Naraqi, a former CNN producer and globe trekker with extensive media and publishing credentials, to Envato. Naysan joins the team in two weeks as Rockable Press Manager and will be building our publishing arm to create a solid line up of how-to guides and books.

Creattica Daily is the first part of a project to build a creative portal / network, with more subsites being released over the course of the next year.

Envato is a lot easier to trademark and the process is already well underway. Additionally in the last 24 hours and for the rest of this week, we’ll be busy making sure all instances of the name and logo have been moved over to the new brand.

With a change like this, it’s a good time to introduce a new feature to our sites in the form of a little site-switching widget that is now appearing on all our major sites in the top right. The site switcher not only allows users to flick between sites, but also ensures that our audiences are aware of all the Envato sites.

So here’s to a long future as Envato. We hope to put our stamp firmly on the new name in the years to come, and to use it as an umbrella to continue offering the best sites and services as we build our creative eco-system.

Web2 brings musicians and sound artists new means of profit and recognition

It’s always been a struggle for musicians and sound artists to make a living, but thanks to the internet, many are now taking their careers into their own hands. A new breed of stock audio site is allowing artists to expose and sell their work to a far broader demographic than they ever could have before.

AudioJungle.net, launched this month, is an online marketplace where members can buy and sell music and sound effects. The site has quickly built up a library of over 2,000 audio items from a broad spectrum of artists.

Adrien Gardiner is one of these artists and has previously composed music spots for Nokia and Microsoft. He now has 380 items for sale on AudioJungle and his compositions have sold over 800 times.

“Things have changed for the better within the music industry in the last few years. The web has given me unprecedented access to work oppertunities. Thanks to AudioJungle I can showcase my work to over 50,000 members and participate in the community. I also make money by selling my files and make new contacts for freelance work.”

Vahid Ta’eed, CEO of Eden, the company that built AudioJungle says “There are so many undiscovered musicians all over the world that are brimming with talent. The great thing about AudioJungle is that location and social connections cease to be the make or break for a sound artists career. A sound effect specialist in Portugal can sell their work to a web designer in Montreal - there are no restrictions. Talent becomes the all-important factor.”

AudioJungle.net launched May 2008 and is the sister site to the massively popular website, FlashDen.net. AudioJungle’s members buy and sell their music and effects and participate in a thriving musical community. AudioJungle is part of a network of sites including FlashDen.net, PSDTUTS.com, BlogActionDay.org, and FreelanceSwitch.com

The purchase pages for our three sites can be found at:

1. PSDTUTS
2. FreelanceSwitch
3. FaveUp

Our Miiingle site will be coming down shortly, and we’re moving FlashDen to running onsite promotions and notices in place of advertising.