Sometimes I have a hard time coming up with good topics for my blog, so I recently asked for help with blog topics via my Twitter account. I got one response, but it was a great one! Monica gave me several great ideas, and I'm finally getting around to starting on them. So before I get started, thanks for the help kick starting my brain Monica!! One topic that was brought up is that musicians have a lot of opportunities to get their music out there through (what I would call) non-traditional sources. Meaning its not on the radio, on a CD, or on your website. Monica and I have some common friends in The Nadas who recently did this for an app that the company Monica works for designed. It's a great app for any snowboarder or skier out there - check it out: For The Nadas, it's an opportunity for them to get their music in front of a brand new crowd. Often times if I'm looking at something like that, and really like the background track, I will dig until I find out who it is. That often times leads to purchasing new music.
The same could be done for bands that have holiday music recorded. Take your music to e-card companies that can place your holiday tune on one of their cards!
Often times, bands may have to donate their song to applications such as this. But, by making sure that people can find out what song is on that app/card/etc, there is definitely an opportunity to make money. Not to say that there aren't occasions where you can get paid by placing your music in things such as this, but always consider the opportunity whether there is immediate pay or not. Consider it "spending" your marketing dollars. :)
Earlier today, I was reading a article that Artists House linked to Derek Sivers' blog titled "Does your company really want to hang out with me?"The post addresses how some companies are trying to "hang out" with consumers to get them to use their products, when really they are just trying to sell something to them. This happens all too often on Twitter especially. It was a great post that you should definitely check out.I wanted to briefly add my own two cents on this topic. There was a particular case with a great band out of Chicago that I know, Snowsera. Before I knock on them, I'm going to preface this by saying that they are now doing a fantastic job using Twitter, with their website, etc. When I first started following them on Twitter, I was seeing posts from them probably 5 times a day about their free music. Don't get me wrong - I love free music! Especially GOOD free music. But after a few weeks of this, even I was getting upset to the point that I was about ready to unfollow them. Instead, I called them and suggested that they stop trying to sell their fans something on every twitter post. Even though they were giving something away for free, it was still being pushed a bit too hard. Instead, I told them to tell their fans what they were doing, what music they're listening to...just being more real and transparent. They have done a fantastic job of doing this, and I would now use them as a role model for other bands. Every now and then I see them post about some new music, and you bet it catches my attention and I go check it out. They are getting their community involved by having them vote on new songs that they posted on their website. They are creating conversation. They are no longer pushing their product, but are being real and building their community by being involved. Just like they were able to do this, so can companies. Corporate America can learn a lot from music.
I think I write this almost every post, but holy crap it's been a while since I updated this thing! I'm not going to sit here and make too many excuses, but let's just say I've been hella busy and leave it at that.
So, where have I been? Well I just returned from an 11 day trip to Austin, TX for the 2009 SXSW. It was a great time, but very exhausting. We were working anywhere from 10-14 hour days, then networking at night. We had a great promotion for our client throughout the interactive, film, and music portions of the festival. I also met some great people from Revision3 - an online TV channel. Check it out - they have some cool stuff! Check out the episode of Scam School with our client's van in the episode.
By the time the music portion of SXSW was rolling around, I was exhausted! I was able to catch up with long time friend, Jason Vigil, who (I heard) put on a great performance at his showcase. Way to go Jason! A nice long night of 6 hours of sleep got me rested and ready to go for the rest of the music week. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see nearly as many bands as I had hoped. Late nights of work restricted the music I was able to catch. I did get to see Jane's Addiction sound check for the Playboy Party...and got to be at the party (by the way, the bunnies really aren't that hot). Dave Navarro still knows how to play guitar pretty well.
Probably the highlight performance that I saw was Janelle Monae at the Levi's Fader Fort. She has a great voice, and her stage presence just blows the whole show out of the water. Very entertaining to watch, that is for sure.
We had a great new band from the UK play in our client's vehicle (performance will be posted soon) - We Have Band. Very down to earth people and humble. We checked out their show that night, and they put on a great performance. Definitely check them out!
All in all, it was a fun but exhausting week. I think I'm still recovering...hopefully one of these days I can catch up! Including posting more on here. If you were at SXSW, share you're favorite bands with me!
 With the ever changing music industry today, it is interesting to watch independent artists/band experiment with different things. The Nadas are no strangers to the music industry, having been around for over 15 years. They have managed to make a career out of music, and establish a following around the country. They have also started their own label, Authentic Records, and successfully developed several other bands.
The Nadas constantly strive to stay up with the trends in music, and have greatly impressed me as of late. There are a lot of online tools available to bands, and The Nadas are doing a great job with the tools they are using. Almost every member of the band is on Twitter, and posts fairly regularly. They use Twitter in an effective manner too - not just to promote their music, but to build relationships with people. They also have their label on Twitter. They utilize this to mention things that are going on for their artists, and also release a weekly "Ear Snack" via Twitter. The Ear Snack is a free download from one of their artists that you can obtain by going to the Authentic Records website. Some of the band members post TwitPics regularly, of sometimes random stuff, but fun. In addition to Twitter, they update blogs, post live streams of shows on Ustream, and much more. The Nadas also do a good job of incorporating the online tools they're using with the offline. These guys put on a great live show, and truly appreciate people coming out to see them and hang out.
Probably the most unique and interesting thing that they're doing right now is their new album called Almanac. The album itself is an interesting concept - for the year of 2009, The Nadas are writing, recording, and releasing one song per month. At the end of the year, they will release the full physical album. The coolest thing they are doing with this project is allowing fans to be part of the process along the way. They recently posted on Twitter that they were listening to the final mix of the the first song on Almanac, and were looking for feedback. This message was accompanied by a link to their live in-studio Ustream feed. They allowed fans to listen to the mix, and give their feedback live. They are also offering many other options for fans to be involved in the process, with several different monetary offering varying access. I'm very anxious to see how this approach works out for them - offering access to something fans typically are not involved in, for a price. I think this may be the way the industry goes, and am very excited for these guys and glad to see them on the cutting edge. Check out the different packages they are offering below, and go check these guys out when they're near you - their great music and fun/crazy/sometimes drunken/and often hilarious shows are well worth it!
There are a lot of great music blogs out there that offer some really solid info. But recently, I was reading one that offered some advice that I animately disagree with. I'm not going to call them out on it, because that's just not nice. The blog suggested that when an artist or band gets busy enough, they should hire someone to update things such as their Twitter. This is something that bands/artists should NEVER, ever do! It all comes back to a blog that I posted a while back about having an authentic conversation with the fans, and building those relationships. It's very important that a band's online/social media efforts are giving fans an inside look, not just pushing the latest CD (or another thing of the band).
Which brings me to my next point...
There is a plethera of online tools available to bands/artists today. With everything to choose from, a lot of bands try to utilize all of the online tools, and do a half ass job with all of them. Rather than trying to use all of the online tools, bands should take a serious look at their fanbase and where they hang out online. Then select the online pieces that you know you can update regularly. The number of those is up to each band, dependent on the amount of time and commitment they have to it. Then do a fantastic job with those online tools that you're dedicated to, rather the half ass job with all of them. But never give up those things and hire someone to do them. If there is a need to trim back as you move along, that's okay. But keep the relationships with your fans real.
This week's Artist of the Week is Dayna Lane from Nashville, TN. Dayna's first single "I'll Keep Believing" from her debut Vialex Records album was just recently released to radio. The album will be coming out very soon, so check it out!
Originally from Chicago, Dayna is a very down to earth girl with a great voice. Think Jewel, with a little more grit. :) She always has a smile on her face, and has a truly great heart. Check out her new video that was just posted today! Dayna has opened for several big artists (Jewel, Tim Reynolds, Taylor Dane, and more) and is going to be doing some limited touring soon, so stay tuned to her website at daynalanemusic.com to find out dates.
Preview a couple of tracks from the new album on Dayna's myspace or her website.
Muhammad Ali has always been a figure that I have admired and respected. His wit was (and still is) as quick as his hands and feet, and often packed just as much power. His hands may have slowed, but he's still got the wit - as evidenced in this funny video when he met George W. Bush. Ali was probably the most brash, yet humble, man ever.
I just saw a Muhammad Ali quote on Twitter recently that made me think of some musicians. Ali always called himself "The Greatest". When asked what great means, he responded "Great is never looking down on those that look up to you."
This thought can translate over to musicians very well today. A musician, hugely successful or not, should never act like they are a "rockstar" and are better than everyone else. They may have some skills that are better than other peoples skills in that area, but the opposite is probably true as well. I will never put up with an artist that I work with who thinks they are the "shit"...even if they are. That being said, the right way to approach music (and life in general), is to stay grounded to your fans. Have real conversations with them, build personal relationships, be grateful for them aiding in your success (and show it). It is important to be brash enough to show off your skills, but be humble enough that people want to be a part of your career and help you along your path to success. Without fans buying your music, coming to your show, buying a t-shirt, or telling a friend about your tunes, you would be nobody.
With that, I leave you with a few more great Muhammad Ali quotes
This week's Artist of the Week is someone I found out about through Twitter - Chris Blake. Chris first caught my attention when someone posted a link to his video for "Someone Else" on Twitter. I watched the video and was immediately hooked. The whole thing was fantastic - the music, the lyrics, and especially the video concept. In case you haven't seen it, Chris googled "biggest regrets" on the internet, and posted the responses he found in this video. The responses are funny, serious, and some even sad. Whenever I'm having a bad day, it definitely picks up my spirits. To date, the video has received nearly 80,000 views on YouTube.
Shortly after, I started following Chris on Twitter. His posts can be random at times, but definitely thought provoking and interesting. After listening to some of his other music, I decided to download his most recent full length album Wave from iTunes. I listened to the whole album and loved it! I sent Chris a message on Twitter and told him I had downloaded the album and loved it, to which I got a reply of "Really?" :) I'm not sure if he was more shocked that I liked it or that I downloaded it, but either way, Chris seems like a very down to earth, nice guy. The music is catchy and has a great vibe. It's very easy to get lost in the tunes and start tapping your toes (or even breaking out some sweet dance moves). Chris' vocals can rival some of the biggest artists out there and the musicianship on the album is very tight throughout. The music is very heart-felt, and makes you realize how much Chris puts into his work.
Chris recently sent me his new EP Tetris. The music on the new EP is equally as good as the tunes on Wave. I encourage you all to go listen to the album on Chris' Myspace and purchase it when it is available.
Chris has really impressed me with his approach to being an idependent artist in today's music world. It is a strange time in music, and Chris appears to be a model to follow for any idependent artist out there. He is active in social networks, cranks out a lot of music, and really cares about building relationships with people that take an interest in his work. Not only does he put out great music, but he also utilizes a lot of other unique marketing tools, such as his videos. Chris puts out a good amount of videos, and all are very well done. From coming up with creative concepts for videos such as "Someone Else" to more traditional videos such as "Phantom Love", he utilizes tools that all artists have at their disposal. I won't give away all of Chris' secrets, but there are very cost effective ways to make unique videos that grab peoples attention.
Take a look at Chris' Myspace to listen to some of his tunes and check out his videos. Then buy some of his music, and support a great independent artist!
This morning, I was reading an article about Music and recent Biological studies with music that was posted on the Economist website. It was an interesting article for a number of reasons, so give it a read when you have some time. I'm only going to touch on a couple of points in this blog post, as well as some of my additional thoughts.
One of the things that the article brought up was the "ability of music to manipulate the emotions." You hear something that reminds you of a fond memory, and it makes you happy. Or, it can have the opposite effect. Another thing it mentioned is that music "triggers visual images in the cerebral cortex." That really struck a chord with me, and made me think of music videos.
Music often gets my mind racing with images, and that is the approach I take with music videos. I have written the concept for a video (which can be seen on my "My Work" page on this site) and am working on a few new ideas. The approach I like to take with videos is to tell a story. That is generally what songs are doing in lyrics, so I attempt to bring these lyrics to fruition in pictures, so to speak.
I have recently seen a couple of videos that do a great job of this. The video for "Cath" by Death Cab for Cutie does an amazing job of bringing the song to life. Not to mention it's a fantastic song. Another video that recently came out is "You Found Me" by The Fray. This also does a great job of showing a story.
What about you - do you like a video that tells a story? Or a video that just shows a band rocking out?
In the music biz, there has been a major shift between the old school of thought and the new school of thought. The old school of thought (radio promotion, pushing one single, etc) worked great. With the onset of all of the tools available online for independent musicians, this school of thought is virtually obsolete. Not to say there isn't a place for radio anymore, but for a new artist, there are much better ways to develop a following.
Today's consumer want to feel an authentic connection, and to feel like they are being included in what's happening in the artists career/life. From Facebook to Myspace to Twitter to blogs (and on and on), there are so many ways for artists to connect with potential fans. It is becoming increasingly important to have a real conversation with the consumer - this pertains to all businesses, not just musicians. The social media available to artists today allows them to build relationships with fans that have probably never seen them perform live.
I recently started following Stefan Lessard and Dave Matthews on Twitter. They have been posting about their time in the studio, putting up Twitpics, and just generally talking about what they're up to. This is a great example of how even an established artist is utilizing available tools to build that authentic connection with today's digital consumer.
One of the most interesting things I've heard lately is that nobody has the right answer for success in music today. There is no longer a set formula. Different paths lead to success for different bands/artists.
To all the struggling artists out there, embrace the tools at your disposal and find the right path for you! Much of this can be done for little to no cost. Do something unique! Use twitter to offer discount tickets to a show, post stories from the road in a blog, post videos of shows on YouTube, etc. The older school of thought still holds a small spot in today's marketplace, but has now become the minority.
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