Food for Thought…

I’m reading Chris Anderson’s “FREE” and came across a thought I’d like to share.  He quotes Clay Shirky, a writer and NYU lecturer, who believes it’s much smarter for content creators to give their good away for free:

“For a creator more interested in attention than income, free makes sense.  In a regime where most of the participants are charging, freeing your content gives you a competitive advantage.  And, as the drunks say, you can’t fall off the floor.  Anyone offering content free gains an advantage that can’t be beaten, only matched, because the competitive answer to free – “I’ll pay you to read my weblog!” – is unsupportable over the long haul.

Free content is thus what biologists call an evolutionarily stable strategy that works well when no one else is using it – it’s good to be the only person offering free content.  It’s also a strategy that continues to work if everyone is using it, because in such an environment, anyone who begins charging for their work will be at a disadvantage.  In a world of free content, even the moderate hassle of micropayments greatly damages user preference, and increases their willingness to accept free material as a substitute.”

I find myself in this conversation more and more often.  “Should we give our music away for free?” – maybe not all of it, but certainly some of it.  Would you buy a song you’ve never heard from a band you don’t know?  Is your entire career dependent on the $.99 you’ll make off that download?  You need attention.  Make it available in all formats for purchase, but give your best track away for free to anyone interested in listening.  Even if I have access to free content from artists I like, I always buy to support…fans do that.  But I’m not a fan until I hear the goods! – Thoughts?

Trent Reznor shares his thoughts on what to do as a new artist

I read this today and thought it important to share with the community.  The thoughts on what to do as a new / unknown artist from a leader in revolutionizing the artist-fan relationship:

Originally posted on Trent Reznor’s NIN Blog.

—–

I posted a message on Twitter yesterday stating I thought The Beastie Boys and TopSpin Media “got it right” regarding how to sell music in this day and age. Here’s a link to their store:

illcommunication.beastieboys.com

Shortly thereafter, I got some responses from people stating the usual “yeah, if you’re an established artist – what if you’re just trying to get heard?” argument. In an interview I did recently this topic came up and I’ll reiterate what I said here.

If you are an unknown / lesser-known artist trying to get noticed / established:

* Establish your goals. What are you trying to do / accomplish? If you are looking for mainstream super-success (think Lady GaGa, Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake) – your best bet in my opinion is to look at major labels and prepare to share all revenue streams / creative control / music ownership. To reach that kind of critical mass these days your need old-school marketing muscle and that only comes from major labels. Good luck with that one.

If you’re forging your own path, read on.

* Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales. Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY. As an artist you want as many people as possible to hear your work. Word of mouth is the only true marketing that matters.
To clarify:
Parter with a TopSpin or similar or build your own website, but what you NEED to do is this – give your music away as high-quality DRM-free MP3s. Collect people’s email info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell. Make the packages special – make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan. Make a premium download available that includes high-resolution versions (for sale at a reasonable price) and include the download as something immediately available with any physical purchase. Sell T-shirts. Sell buttons, posters… whatever.

Don’t have a TopSpin as a partner? Use Amazon for your transactions and fulfillment. www.amazon.com

Use TuneCore to get your music everywhere. www.tunecore.com

Have a realistic idea of what you can expect to make from these and budget your recording appropriately.
The point is this: music IS free whether you want to believe that or not. Every piece of music you can think of is available free right now a click away. This is a fact – it sucks as the musician BUT THAT’S THE WAY IT IS (for now). So… have the public get what they want FROM YOU instead of a torrent site and garner good will in the process (plus build your database).

The Beastie Boys’ site offers everything you could possibly want in the formats you would want it in – available right from them, right now. The prices they are charging are more than you should be charging – they are established and you are not. Think this through.

The database you are amassing should not be abused, but used to inform people that are interested in what you do when you have something going on – like a few shows, or a tour, or a new record, or a webcast, etc.
Have your MySpace page, but get a site outside MySpace – it’s dying and reads as cheap / generic. Remove all Flash from your website. Remove all stupid intros and load-times. MAKE IT SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE AND EASY TO FIND AND HEAR MUSIC (but don’t autoplay). Constantly update your site with content – pictures, blogs, whatever. Give people a reason to return to your site all the time. Put up a bulletin board and start a community. Engage your fans (with caution!) Make cheap videos. Film yourself talking. Play shows. Make interesting things. Get a Twitter account. Be interesting. Be real. Submit your music to blogs that may be interested. NEVER CHASE TRENDS. Utilize the multitude of tools available to you for very little cost of any – Flickr / YouTube / Vimeo / SoundCloud / Twitter etc.

If you don’t know anything about new media or how people communicate these days, none of this will work. The role of an independent musician these days requires a mastery of first hand use of these tools. If you don’t get it – find someone who does to do this for you. If you are waiting around for the phone to ring or that A & R guy to show up at your gig – good luck, you’re going to be waiting a while.

Hope this helps, and I’ll scour responses for intelligent comments I can respond to.

TR

Featured Artist – Darkest Grace

Darkest Grace is an indie metal band in Seattle, on the grind, building a name for themselves everyway they can.  If you’re following this blog, you know one of the most frequent questions I receive is, “how do we open for a national act coming through town?”  This is a hurdle every young bands has difficulty overcoming.  Darkest Grace has and I’d like for them to share with you what it took to FINALY make it happen.  Maybe you can take something from their experience….

Guys, how long had you performed in Seattle before the opportunity to open for a nation act appeared?
We played around Seattle for nearly two years, slowly building up both our confidence and reputation in the area.

Who was the act and how was the show?  Give us some details about it.
The band was Soilwork from Sweden.  The show was great and finally tapped our band into the true Seattle metal scene which we were having trouble getting into with purely local shows.  It’s hard for local metal bands to find a scene and seattle, but getting on national shows really helped us break through.  We now have several die-hard Darkest Grace fans who show up to almost every show, and get engaged in our online presence.

… Continue Reading

Guest Advisor : Jay Tavernese Answers Your Producer Questions

As I’ve mentioned…I’m happy to share my thoughts.. but if I think a friend of mine can provide better advice I’m going to seek it out!  I’ve received a handful of questions regarding producers and thought it a perfect opportunity to call upon my good friend Jay Tavernese.  Jay and I have worked together on tours, comparing notes, managing bands, sharing information, and so on.   He’s currently a Producer and Band Manager @ In De Goot Entertainment working with producers Toby Wright, Mike Watts, Steven Haigler, and others as well as artists like 10 Years.

Here are his thoughts:

We’re  thinking about working with a producer but don’t know if it makes sense yet.   At what point in an indie bands career do you think it’s something we  should do?
Working with a producer depends on a lot of factors and what your desired result may be.  Every band may need or desire to work with a producer at a different point in the career so there’s no one answer here.  The most general answer I can say to that question is to seek out and work with a producer if you’re looking to take your music to a national level and have mass awareness.  Now I say “work” with a producer and what I mean is don’t just hire a producer and not listen or follow what they want you to do.  They’re there to offer a different opinion and pull the music out of you that you & your band may not be able to come up with on your own.

How  important is a GREAT recording job for an indie band?  We’re debating on  how much to spend.  It seems to me that it’s real easy to tell the  difference between a bad and good recording but much harder to tell the  difference between a good and great recording.
It’s very easy to tell the difference between bad & good & great recordings and I would say it’s very important to have great recordings to gain a mass audience, sell records or just get the attention of a & r for a deal.  If you’re demo sounds 5 times worse then you do live, chances are you might not want to send that out.

How  does a band that’s not on a label get to work with a producer?  I mean, I  know they cost a lot of money but where do we even start to get our musi

c to  them and see how much?
Producers work with unsigned bands all the time.  Just find out who their manager is or contact them directly.  You’d be very surprised at how many of them have studio websites, myspaces, etc.  As for the “I know they cost a lot of money” statement, every producer is different.  They’re not all an arm and a leg and if you know they cost a lot of money, why would you ask the question?  Tons of producers do spec deals, take smaller fees & higher points and even shop developmental projects.  DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!  DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING!!

What  exactly does a producer do?  I know the engineer records, I know the  mixer mixes, I know the guy that masters it, but what about the producer?   Or do they do everything?
If you don’t know what a producer does, chances are you don’t need one.  I can’t tell you how many bands I’ve seen over the years running up to me going “we need real management,” and then I ask them “what does a manager do?” and they have no response.  So, by that rationale if you see a commercial for a new cologne you know you need it because you play football?  NO!

All producers are different, some co-write, some arrange, some just get great sounds and some just get all the band members on the same page as to what the recording should be.    It’ll take a few conversations and maybe even doing some demo sessions or co-writes with different producers and artists before you can really determine what you’re looking for in a producer and which one will deliver what you want.

Featured Artist – NYLE

I recently posted Nyle’s video for “Let The Beat Build” and if you read the post you know how much I enjoyed the video!  I had to feature Nyle and get some background on how they pulled it off…and as expected..time, energy, planning, and talent.  If you missed the video, I highly recommend checking it out before reading any further!!  Here’s the inside scoop….

Nyle, I was turned on to your video “Let The Beat Build” by our A&R Scout Kiran and have probably watched it 50 times!  I sincerely love the creativity, passion, and what appears to be the unadulterated love of music and performance.  I gotta get into your head a bit and know what it took to make such an original piece.  So let’s dig in…

What’s so impressive is that both the video and audio is recorded simultaneously – LIVE!  How long did it take to plan and choreograph the shoot prior to hittin’ the studio and doing your first run-through?
Plan? Ha! The 32 of us were just sitting around one day and Chadd the director was like “Do guys want to make a music video, so we just did the whole thing that day.” Nah, actually the whole project from start to finish took around 3 months. Alot of it was just planning and booking equipment, the Director of Photography had to see the space and map out the lighting. We were assisted by 194 Recordings  (school run label) who coordinated all the people. … Continue Reading

Featured Artist – Adams Dagger

As promised, we’re going to start featuring independent artists that are out there hustling for themselves! There ARE success stories and I want to share them. We can learn from one another..so let’s share information!

First up, Adams Dagger. They recently toured the entire US from southern California to NYC and back. Self booked, no agent, and actually came home with money in hand! I hit up the band’s drummer, Mick, and asked him to share some insight as to how they turned this tour into an indie success!  Here’s the story…

Mick, Adams Dagger did something most signed bands can’t do – come home from a national tour with money in your pocket! Let’s focus on how you did that. First, how long was the tour?

The tour was 20 days. We played 16 shows during that time.

Before leaving, did you budget tour expenses like hotels, per diems, and gas? If so, what exactly did you include in your budget?

The only thing initially budgeted was gas expenses. I knew that from the guarantees we had we would “almost” cover gas for the entire tour. There were no per diems. The first time out was every man for himself. We weren’t planning on staying in hotels much at all, just sleeping in the van mostly or staying with friends or family. … Continue Reading

I love this…

With protools, it’s so easy for mediocre bands to enter the studio and come out sounding great.  Many a time I’ve sat there in the booth cringing at the vocals, then with a few tweaks…  Perfect.  I get it, that’s cool…but lame as well.  Imagine no punch-ins…straight through recordings where EVERYONE had to hit it perfectly or everyone had to start over.  Definitely would make you work harder.  Definitely would force a game plan.  Definitely would inspire everyone to perfect their part and be aware of everyone else in the room.

So check this out…my friend Kiran sent this to me and I’m very grateful for it.  Whether you like hip-hop or not, there are a few thing every musician/artist can take from this.  These are a bunch of NYU students… shot the video in one take. All the audio was recorded live… simultaneously.  You’ve heard me go on and on about offering creative content…your fans want something unique and of quality.  Here’s a great example…

Nyle “Let The Beat Build” from Nyle on Vimeo.

Have you heard of this kid?  Over 250,000 plays on youtube… Get creative and work hard at offering something unique.

Ben

Chicken and the Egg…

Dan’s in a band from Austin.  GREAT music scene with a lot of opportunities.  His band is a couple years old, consistently plays out, crowd is steadily growing, and wants to know how best to attract some press around their hard earned achievements.  He doesn’t want to spend the money on a publicist as he fears the money will be spent to only hear, “we’re going to pass on featuring the band in our magazine because they don’t have a story yet.”  So if “press” needs “press” to justify featuring you, where do you start?  How do you build the “story”?

You’re doing it.  You just told me what your story is, however it’s no different than any other band out there.  And your gut is right…if you spend money right now, you’re not going to get the press you’d hope for.

You hear me say this over and over again…start locally.  Find every local magazine, newspaper, college paper, fanzine, webzine, and blogger within a 50 mile radious and hit them up.  Hometown stories are good stories.  Let them know when you’re playing and invite them to the show.  Put them on the guest list and make sure to find them, shake their hand, and thank them for taking the time.  Find someone who can write to write your bio.  And don’t exagerate and fluff it up…I personally think the simpler the better at your level.  What have you done, who are you, and what can I expect from your music and live show?  Don’t cheese it up…it’s so transparant and desperate.  Something I’ve done in the past that works is contact a local paper or weekly and ask if they have anyone on staff who writes bios for musicians.  You’ll most likely have to pay $100 or so, but now you’re on their radar, and if they wrote your bio they may have an interest in helping you out a bit too.  It’s a good way to start a partnership.

So for the next 6-8 months hit up everyone you can in your backyard and start accumulating as much local press as you can from album reviews, live show reviews, interviews, small features..anything.  Once you have a healthy quote sheet and some real substance, now you’re building your local hero story.  Take this to your next market.  “Hey, just wanted you to know we’re buzzing in your backyard”.   It’s work…  It’s a lot of follow up and staying on top of the ball, but if you focus on this you will see results…assuming the music is good!  If you’re independent and working for yourself, this is a necessary step.

Thanks, man..keep hustling!

Ben

New and Improved..

Welcome to the new site!  I’m excited about the growth and thank all the artists who continue to be engaged!  I have some exciting things planned, so keep the questions coming and expect to see more very soon…

Ben

Should beginning bands give music away for free?

Yes.  Here’s the scenario…

Antonio’s band is just getting off the ground in the Boston, MA area.  They’re about half way finished recording their debut album and are starting to play out around the area.  There seems to be a bit of a debate on whether or not to give some of the music away for free.  One side of the argument is…hey, after all the time, energy, and money we put into recording this it makes no sense to give it away…the other side is, let’s focus long term, give tracks away, and encourage word of mouth with hopes to find more fans.

If you’re an independent band, with no label support, just getting off the ground…you absolutely need to give some of your music away for free..and not the left overs..you need to share the best songs you have!  If you don’t…how are people going to hear your music?  Naturally gravitate towards your myspace page?  Doubt it.

Here’s my advice…make everything you have available for purchase.  Get your tracks on iTunes (and everywhere else), link your sites to it, and let people know they’re available for purchase if you’d like to support the band.  You’ll be surprised how many will purchase to support.  Your current FANS will support, but the new one’s wont..they’re not yet convinced and are testing your water.  You need to convince them with your music.  Give it to them, let them live with it, enjoy it, and guess what…if your songs are good enough…they’ll react!  And if they react, they’ll buy the other songs and maybe even a t-shirt and ticket to the next show…that’s what you want.

And really?  Is $0.99/track really going to make any difference in your career right now?!  No…be real.  It’s not..If you’re working for $0.99 then you’re way too short sighted and wont make it…besides..just a reminder..you’re doing this for the love of music, remember?  And there’s nothing better than sharing your music with new people, right?!  Share your music now, think long term, and the money will come…LATER.  Don’t bottleneck yourself this early.

So what’s the best way to give your music away?  I’m a fan of getting a little something for the free track.  I’ve started working with loudbytes: loudbytes.com.  You can get 1000 band cards for next to nothing that have your artwork on the front and a download code on the back.  Hand them out at shows and to the people you know.  When they go to loudbytes to download your track, loudbytes grabs their e-mail address and sends it back to you.  That’s cool.  Now you can hit everyone up who checked out your tunes and personally invite them to your next show.  These guys can attach your music via download codes to cards, button, hangtags for t-shirts, stickers…whatever.  I’ve even started using them to cut out the cost of CDs.  I put music on hang tags now.  So rather than sell a shirt for $10…I sell it for $15 and you get the album as a digital download for “free”…now you’re thinking like a business..cutting cost of goods sold.

So yes…give it away in one form or another…your fans will appreciate it and like I said…if the music is good enough people will react.

Ben