Web 2.0 and The Thank You Economy

I had the opportunity to hear Gary Vaynerchuk yesterday, at a Drucker Business Forum event.

Vaynerchuck is a social media expert, entrepreneur, and bestselling author of Crush It! - Why Now Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion, and The Thank You Economy. He is a regular speaker at events such as the TED conference and SXSW and consults on social media with companies like Johnson & Johnson, Disney, Pepsi, and Google.

He is best known for building a huge online wine business with his irreverent WineLibraryTV video blog and extensive use of Web 2.0 technologies. Gary is in the top 100 of people followed on Twitter. He is funny, intense, competitive, and has a ridiculous work ethic.

In The Thank You Economy he passionately advocates for the humanization of business by strengthening authentic relationships with customers using Web 2.0 tools and old-fashioned generosity and consideration.

Building strong relationships with customers is a long-term play. Established businesses, particularly public companies, resist investing in this kind of culture shift because they are focused on short-term profits and have difficulty computing the ROI on  Web 2.0 engagement.

Vaynerchuk insists that this is the future of business and if companies don’t start caring about their customers and employees they will not survive.

As passionate as this guy is about people, his focus is on making money. He believes that building generous and sincere long-term relationships is the key to success, not because he is Mother Teresa, but because he is driven to compete and create wealth. Many people dabble in social media, but they are not really sure what they are doing or why. After some experimentation they give up. Without a clear business model and a solid understanding of your potential market, tools like Twitter seem scattered and decentralized compared to old-school top down marketing channels like television, print media and radio.

People have a tendency to use social media as a ‘push’ PR broadcast channel, which it is not. I see this all the time with musicians advertising gigs and their latest accomplishments on Twitter and Facebook. This amounts to random electronic direct mail. When I see this kind of communication I immediately tune out.

Twitter and related tools are like a giant cocktail party. This is a medium for listening and conversation. How many times have you heard someone say, “I don’t get Twitter. Why do I care what so and so had for breakfast?” People are discussing their passions online. Facebook, Twitter, and mobile phones have become the new barber shop. Listen and learn. We are instinctively afraid to engage with strangers, but stepping into that conversation opens a new door.

The bottom line for business is this: Customers are talking about you every day, whether you like it or not, the good, the bad, and the ugly. You have the opportunity to join that conversation and build genuine, caring relationships. Vaynerchuk believes that unless businesses do just that they will be run over by the empowered consumer and the competition. I think he is probably right..

When It Can't Be Done, Do It...

"A new idea can be either unfamiliar, silly, or both. It can't be judged by description. It needs to be done (made) to exist. It is unlikely that anyone will sanction the cost of something they don't understand. Therefore, you have no choice but to do it yourself. At whatever cost."

"Being right is based upon knowledge and experience and is often provable. Knowledge comes from the past, so it's safe. It is also out of date. It's the opposite of originality. Experience is built from solutions to old situations and problems. The old situations are probably different from the present ones., so that old solutions will have to be bent to fit new problems (and possibly fit badly). Also, the likelihood is that, if you've got the experience, you'll probably use it. This is lazy. Experience is the opposite of being creative"

- from Paul Arden's book, It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be

Entrepreneurship and the New Music Industry

I recently interviewed Jason Fried, co-founder of technology company 37signals for Berklee Today magazine. The article draws parallels between starter companies and music careers. If you haven't done so already check out 37signals' great little business book, Rework.

Thanks to Mark Small at Berklee Today for making this happen...

You can read the full article here:

Entrepreneurship and the New Music Industry

Netflix plan is to stay focused

This is an interesting slideshow from Netflix (repost from 37signals blog). Their strategy continues to be focusing on their unique niche and great customer experience. Worth a look!

Netflix plan is to stay focused

Jazz as a business model

OK, let's face it. It's not easy making money as a jazz musician. As a matter of fact, today it is probably more difficult than it has ever been. The audience is understandably small because the music is sophisticated. It requires the listener's complete attention and an inherent interest in the format. Nonetheless there are two things the mainstream music industry can learn from jazz:

1. The artist and the music are the central focus rather than the particular revenue stream or distribution vehicle.
2. The music has to be truly extraordinary to differentiate the artist and attract an audience.

Look at the big guys. I'm sure Keith Jarrett has done very well selling CDs over the course of his career yet there are myriad ways he can make money because it's all about who he is and what happens when he sits down at the piano. No one else can offer the world what he can.

Ask yourself, how many mainstream pop artists pass that test? There are entire genres of music that are intentionally imitative and mediocre; trendy, lightweight, stylized fluff. 

Let's get our perspective straight. Sure, if the sugar water industry suddenly collapsed it would be a huge financial adjustment for many people, but let's not forget, this stuff is not actual food. It's unhealthy for regular human consumption.

Since the traditional record industry is collapsing why don't we think about rebuilding our business models on something substantial, something that really matters and adds value to the world. 

Taking care of business - We're all self-employed

Reading Paul Resnikoff's essay this morning it occurred to me that the 'vehicle' for the future of the music business will be a completely individualized start-up mentality. Everything has changed; what it means to be a performer, a recording artist, a songwriter, an instrumentalist, a composer, a music publisher, a record label... As long as we hang on to the old paradigms we won't see opportunities for the future.

Apple dropped Computer from their name because they're about something bigger; challenging the status quo and and building things that empower individuals. They practically own the word, "i". Computers, smart-phones and music downloads are manifestations of their larger identity. Think like a start up or a game-changing company. Why do you do what you do, how do you add value to the world, and how can you make money with the gifts you give?

Professional musicians have always worn multiple hats and been less dependent on CD sales as their primary source of revenue. Ask yourself what your favorite musicians stand for. What is their vision of music and how have they organized their lives around that commitment?

CDs are a by-product of something much bigger. If we continue to focus on the rapidly shrinking 'what' and 'how' of the past we'll miss the opportunity to do something exceptional today. Get back to why you make music. Forget about how the music business is supposed to work and visualize creating something unique, powerful, and profitable.

Why Do You Do It? - Pt. 2

Most record labels were started by people who loved a particular type of music and wanted to share their passion. They liked to make money, but most were driven by a real love for music. Labels had unique identities - Atlantic, Delmark, Blue Note, Reprise, Prestige, Columbia, Nonesuch, Verve, Folkways, Deutsche Grammophon... As I discovered music I felt a clear loyalty to particular labels that has been absent for decades.

As the record business grew the focus shifted to what they did and how they did it - throwing money at radio, creating mega-stars, selling CDs, music video, etc. By the dawn of the Internet age the music business had been replaced by the CD-selling business. Lacking consensus and visionary leadership the industry completely missed the huge opportunity presented by technology companies like Liquid Audio and Napster. Steve Jobs stepped in to pick up the pieces which is pretty remarkable when you think about it. Apple is all about Why and they understand how music works in people’s lives. So what can we learn and what happens next?

Why first, execution 2nd…

The music aggregators of the future may not look like old-school record labels, but I don’t think success will be based on a particular distribution methodology. The opportunity is for smart business people and artists to get back to the Why of music and build from there. Smart execution is key to creating a profitable business and distinguishing yourself in today’s flattened, over-supplied, music world is a formidable challenge. But first you need to know what you stand for and why you are doing what you do. If that starts to get fuzzy, your business will fade into the noise with everybody else.

Why Do You Do It? - Pt. 1

Reading Simon Sinek’s new book, Start with Why I was struck by his statement that,  “...people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” Sinek describes a simple formula he calls the Golden Circle. The center ring is WHY, the middle circle, HOW, and the outer circle, WHAT. Most businesses he says, talk about WHAT and HOW, but real leaders start with WHY and work outward. WHY is what creates loyalty whether in business, politics, or the arts. I ask myself why I still listen to certain artists and particular pieces of music after decades. It’s not great technique or a killer sound that brings me back, it’s why they did what they did.

Someone told me a story about Ry Cooder many years ago. I don’t know if this is true, but supposedly Ry showed up at a recording studio for a session, to discover that his favorite recording console had been “upgraded” to the latest and greatest. The owner enthusiastically extolled the virtues of his new board but Ry just shook his head, said, “We won’t be making any music today….” and walked out the door. There’s a guy who know why he’s doing what he does.

When I asked LA indie band, Killola what makes them engaging to fans they said, “We tend to reveal ourselves in more realistic light, and show people that we're just regular folks who just happen to have this outlet for making music in a band.  I think that lends to the accessibility.” Sounds like WHY to me.

37signals is a company that is all about WHY. They built Basecamp because it was the product they wanted to use. This flies in the face of conventional Product Management thinking, yet their approach has built a very profitable, devoted, user community.

Sinek talks extensively about Apple and Southwest Airlines. I recently booked air travel to a city that Southwest does not reach with direct flights. When I realized this I very, very, reluctantly switched airlines. Why this loyalty? Air travel is not a big deal for me one way or the other, but something about my experience with Southwest over the years has made them my default choice. WHY explains it.

Last month, Mark Small wrote a great article in Berklee Today speaking with a variety of Berklee alums about why they make music. When I hear great musicians it is food for my soul largely because there is absolutely no question at all why they are doing what they do. I talk about business models, marketing and all the rest, but let us not forget WHY. If music inspires and deeply moves us, that is the true compass we need to follow. The HOW and the WHAT will fall into line...

Career Tracks: Killola

Photo by Thaddeus Bridwell

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the excellent folks in Killola, a four piece “Hardpop Altcore” band formed in 2003 and based in Los Angeles. Consisting of Lisa Rieffel (lead vocals), Mike Ball, (guitar), Dan Grody (drums) and Johnny Dunn (bass), the band’s indie work ethic and unique blend of garage rock, punk, and pop/electronica has created a devoted international audience. The band tours regularly in the US and UK and has a strong Internet presence.

Killola were early Myspace adopters; they had songs posted on the site in late 2003. They have been consistently on the front edge of digital distribution and marketing, successfully deploying many innovative strategies including free tracks, USB flash-drive bracelets and Dog Tags, and a diverse, synergistic media presence. Lisa Rieffel is also an actress appearing in the upcoming feature film/rock-musical "Girltrash: All Night Long" (all the film's music by Killola) and an original cast member of The King of Queens. In 2007 Lisa and Johnny began hosting a weekly radio show (on Dave Navarro's personal Internet Radio Network 'Spread Radio Live') featuring a mix of music, interviews, fan interaction, and general mayhem.

The band’s first 4-song EP was released for free on stencil-screened CD-Rs packaged in hand painted sleeves. Their first formal record, "Louder, Louder!" was released in January 2006. It was recorded frugally and sold well on both and 7” vinyl, particularly in the UK. They released a live DVD/CD, "Live in Hollywood" in October 2006 and self-booked a UK tour in the summer of 2007. Their second album, "I Am The Messer" was released in April 2008 on CD and USB flash-drive wristbands which also included extra songs, photos, videos, and hidden 'easter eggs'. The album was made available for free download in August of that year through sponsorships with DW Drums and Skullcandy. The band has self-funded their own videos and has a killer iPhone app. Their website, blog and mobile presence are all seamlessly connected, keeping the engagement with fans strong. Their new album, "Let’s Get Associated" was announced in March 2010 and is available on USB flash-drive Dog Tags which include their entire CD back catalog.

Thanks to Wikipedia for parts of this history. You can read the full entry here.
Oh... did I mention that their website kills?
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Tell me a little about your musical background.
All 4 of us are all self-taught from a young age.  And Dan (drummer) attended the LA Music Academy. We learned songwriting by trial and error, gauging what works through incessant home-demoing - and re-demoing, and rehearsing.  We like a brisk pace... for us, Songwriting Faster > Songwriting Slower.  Less time to question things.

Can you describe what makes Killola’s music and vibe so engaging?
That's probably better answered by fans/listeners...I suppose we try to be personally accessible, and 'real'…. A lot of bands really try to shine themselves up, in their bios for example, to be angelic or plastic, and that truly comes off holier-than-thou. We tend to reveal ourselves in more realistic light, and show people that we're just regular folks who just happen to have this outlet for making music in a band.  I think that lends to the accessibility. 

How would you describe your fans?
Our fans are unique. Snarky and sharp, and dependable. We do a weekly radio show (Monday nights, www.killola.com/radio), and while the weekly listeners flux and grow... we can always depend on the core-group of listeners to be there, hanging in the chat room, reliably for years now.

You’ve been doing innovative DIY marketing since 2003. Your first EP was delivered in hand painted sleeves and you gave away copies. How did that work to for you?

I mean, it was rough guerilla distro of a realllly-rough DIY demo... there was no way to precisely track anything. We'd leave stacks of these cool-looking, hand-painted CD packs in various places around LA... we'd often get curious, and come back later that day and the stack would be down to 1 or 2... sometimes gone completely. And the boring-looking CDRs that were there next to our stack would still be there, untouched.  That was at least indicative that ours were standing-out from others. And when we had an upcoming show in town, we'd tuck a flyer inside... and sometimes we'd meet a few people at the next show who mentioned the demo they'd picked up that week at Amoeba, or somewhere else. 

Are giveaways driving fans to your shows and triggering sales?
Absolutely. We gave away our last album (digitally) to more than ten thousand people. Within 6 months, our CD inventory was totally depleted from online sales. We toured to cities that we had never played before... and people were there, singing along. I have to assume that's at least partially due to all the freeleased music.



Is the business picture different in England and Europe?
Totally different. People buy singles there, physical/tangible singles, in anticipation of an album... and those purchases vault bands into the mainstream. Also, rock music still dominates a large portion of the industry.... and the radio plays a lot of rock music there.  Also, newspapers/magazines still trump blogs... and on and on. Its a highly media(magazine/newspaper)-driven industry there. Plus, touring an album through the UK is a piece of cake, compared to the US.  The entire UK is about the size of Oregon, so you can loop the entire UK, many many times, in a few weeks. One US tour takes one month, minimum... and that's a long, hard drive. 

How often are you touring?
We do a west coast/Southwest tour every couple months... a full US tour every 12-18 months. We've only done the UK once, however we are needing to get back there again, badly, soon....



I love the USB flash drives. How do your fans like them? Are they making you money?
We decided to 'pre'-release our new/latest album via USB Dog Tags. So, this currently is the only way to get the new record. Obviously, the biggest fans are going to jump on this, in order to get the new music right away.  However, I'm certain that CDs are still preferred, because of car stereos, and the nostalgic vibe of the new-CD-process (open, listen while reading liner notes, a defined listening track-order, etc). So, there's a lot of people asking for the new album on CD.  Are the USBs making us money? Oh yes. 

How important are mobile apps?
I don't know how important they are... but they're awesome, that's for sure.  The internet is a wide open click-a-thon.. stream of consciousness, and unconfined, distractions abound.  Good apps are internet-based, but they keep you 'focused' on a task. I love that. Want to browse for pets? Open the PetFinder app. You're going to see the same pets that you would see on their website... but that's it. The URL bar isn't lurking there, temping you to read The Onion...  I like having that focus as an option sometimes.

How many people do you typically get at shows?
Depends on the city, and what day of the week... LA is packed. NY is packed. In-between is a toss-up. Tuesday night in Lincoln, Nebraska... hm... not sure.



How big is your mailing list these days?
Above 7,000. The only reason I know that is because we recently had to upgrade our mailing-list provider to the next tier in monthly mails-allowed... it costs us more now to send-out one newsletter. Yay?

How have you funded the band as you have grown?
Basically, if its gonna cost us... we need to learn how to do it.  That outlook saved us 90% of the costs that most bands just swallow.  Learning exactly what outsourced-services DO gives us more insight into the cogs of this machine... and also makes us keen to what price we WOULD pay, if we were to outsource.  We have lots of music in TV and movies... and that's a fantastic way to raise money for the stuff we wanna do.

Your web presence is really strong. How much of your biz is coming from web sales and how much from live gigs?
Our online store is pretty deep, so its a steady well. There's enough variety on there to pretty much please anyone, so I'd say that's the lion's share of income... unless we are out on tour. On the road, the gigs pay, and the merch sells at the gigs, so its a self-fueling machine. 



How much music and merchandise do you typically sell at your shows?
I have no idea. We have a dedicated merch guy, and a credit-card machine, and he has a computer there to track it all, so I imagine all that stuff is called-for.... I just try to mention the merch-table from stage one time per show, and we try to hang out there for a while, post-gig. There's usually a group of people picking stuff out throughout the night... and I know we're constantly re-ordering new merch, because I design the artwork. So I guess it moves steadily.

How have you learned the business side of music? Did you take classes, read books, talk to people in the biz?
There's no better way to learn it than getting out there and doing it.  We manage ourselves (something that we are more and more eager to offset), so we've dealt with 7 years of business/issues first-hand. We've skinned our knees on contracts, and fended for ourselves in negotiations... and we all fairly headstrong in both business, and common sense. If something smells strange, 99% of the time its because it IS strange... don't be afraid to ask the difficult questions and usually the source of the odor is revealed.  We also picked a lot of people's brains over years of coffee. 



Who are your partners? Mob Agency handles your bookings... How about personal and business management, attorneys and music publishing? Are you handling the Internet marketing drive yourselves?
We work heavily with Aderra (a digital/music technology company), on both strategies and tour-support. And MOB Agency is a fantastic company for booking those tours. We will soon be putting out feelers for a good manager, because we have a full movie coming out next year (a musical, in which Lisa is the lead-role, and Killola wrote all the songs... Lisa and I co-produced). And so far, we are self-published. All marketing has been from within, however we did work with a PR company (Reybee) on this last tour they were great. We will be sticking with them for future press campaigns.

How did you vet your partners? How did you know what questions to ask?
If you're friendly to people, they'll introduce you to their friends, and so on... for years. In 2008, we played the 'wrap-party' for a big movie (hint: Nakatomi Plaza part 4)... a guy we met in 2006 (who worked on our video for "I Don't Know Who") did special-FX for this movie, and he asked us to play. People from MOB Agency were there, and a few weeks later MOB contacted us for a few shows... we hit it off with them as people, and have worked together since. We didn't have a TON of questions for MOB, because their work ethic and track-record spoke volumes.  Similarly, we met Aderra through a friend of the band, and Killola ended up as the first band Aderra ever recorded live. Aderra now tours with some of the biggest bands in the world, recording live shows.  We've worked with them since that first show.  We want to work with people who 1) we get-along-with as human beings, AND 2) they do good work in the music business....  This industry is saturated with people who are only good with one or the other.

How much of the web and app development do you do yourselves? It all feels really well integrated and personal.
I'm a web designer by profession, so everything you see out there is all from within the band.  The Killola iPhone app was built by an app team, but we designed the graphics/skin so that it rightly matched our existing look.


How much time do you spend each day communicating with fans and updating your social media network?
We're mobile as crap.  So our iPhone keeps us socially synced throughout the day.  All the sites are tied-in together, allowing one single update to propagate throughout our network.  But sometimes we just turn everything off for a day or two.  That helps with sanity.  We stream live video from our phone, to the web, from rehearsal, from the van, from parties... anywhere. It keeps us connected to fans, and keeps it fun.

How do you balance practicing/writing/recording, etc. with the business stuff?
Usually (when not on tour) we get together once or twice every week or two, just to hang out, and we often do that at our practice space.  Music often ensues.  Things were super hectic earlier this year, as we shot a full-length feature movie for nearly 3 months.  This took us out of our 'normal' band mode, and sort of inserted 40 new band members into our life...  there was no balance, just two gears: Learning, and Go.

How would you chart your growth? In other words, when did things kick in and what was the sequence; gigs, Myspace, YouTube, CDs, website, giveaways?
I'd say we were adolescent at the exact time Myspace hit adolescence, in late 2007... our numbers and fanbase popcorned in parallel with that site, and we sort of rode the Myspace mechanism into 2008 with our first full US Tour.  Once that site starting losing efficacy, we had already rendezvoused with our fanbase at more intelligent websites, we had tours in place, and were able to convert the web-presence into real-life encounters on tour.

demo>Myspace>giveaways>CDs>website>tours>other_sites      That formula lacks the underlying "extremely hard work" ingredient, but that's to be assumed.  :-)

In what order did you add partners, and why?
MOB (booking) was our first partnership.  Good booking is the only situation that is almost entirely shut-off to independent bands.  Clever and hard-working independent bands can do 'almost' anything that labels can do... however booking agents are still absolutely powerful and necessary.  Aderra offered an outlet to technology that no other company offered; we wanted to work with them because it's a fresh, new medium (live recording distro) and the people behind Aderra are fantastic people and smart cookies.

How involved are you in music publishing? Are you making money with synch licenses, and performance royalties?
For non-radio-bands, and independent acts, music publishing and synch licenses are the quickest way to BIG checks in this business. Placing one song in a movie or commercial can totally change your entire year/decade.  And the pretense factor in music licensing is surprisingly low. Record great songs... movies don't seem to care what band you're in, what label you're on, or what blogs are saying... they tend to buy music that works. Which is refreshing. 

What are your thoughts on making a living in music?
All the successful musicians I know are a highly skilled jugglers, in the professional sense.  If you want it bad enough, you can make art/music work without a 'day job'. I wouldn't recommend trying it outside of a major metropolitan area... but if you're smart, and flexible... and humble...  it works because there's always a need for determined artists.

Are you interested in moving to an indie or major label? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of working with a record label?
Certainly.  We've only gotten to where we are by listening to reason.  If a label provides something desirable, then there might be reason to work together.  A record label has the built-in power of a catalog.  If Label X has a successful back-catalog of great releases.... that label's 'newest' artist is almost immediately granted 'credit' based on the past-successes of that label's catalog.  Labels can mean great exposure in the proper scenario.

Thanks for sharing all of this great stuff!

Nonesuch knocks it out the park with Brad Mehldau's 'Highway Rider'

Nonesuch Records is doing some very cool stuff with their promotion of the extraordinary Brad Mehldau recording, Highway Rider.

The website is engaging and features an innovative scrolling musical score and a fascinating story book (with streaming audio) that takes the listener/viewer through the programmatic trajectory of this unique project.

Highway Rider is available on CD for and for download in audiophile quality 320 kbps MP3 format (with bonus tracks). Nonesuch has created a compelling online campaign. The website alone is a real trip! I’ve been listening on Rhapsody and ordered the CD as well. One of the drags about downloads is losing the direct segues between tracks and of course, I want to hear this in highest audio quality available.

Kudos to Nonesuch for supporting such great music and creating an awesome promotional campaign.

Making a profit by adding real value..

If we learn anything from the Wall St. crisis it should be this:

Sustainable businesses make a profit by creating and adding value to the world.

Windfall “paper” transactions are unsustainable and eventually lead to financial disaster, and/or the degeneration of industry.

Take a look at this heated debate between 37signals principal, David Heinemeier Hansson and Mahalo founder Jason Calaconis. The good stuff starts 47 minutes into the clip. Calaconis represents the classic tech approach to business: raise capital, build your model, and sell for a huge windfall...if you don’t go under first. Hansson tears his argument apart and advocates building sustainable businesses that generate real profits. He describes profit as: “A measure of success of the impact you are having on the world…”

Jason Calaconis vs.  David Heinemeier Hansson on This Week in Startups

What does this have to do with music?

Well… In the early days of the record industry the business was much smaller and broken into niches that served specific audiences. Music was served up in neighborhood clubs and record stores. Impresarios and label owners were hardcore fans who understood music and their audience. Sure, they wanted to make money, but they did it by making great records.

In the sixties people got greedy and very quickly the business became about selling as many records as possible to the lowest common denominator. The huge sales generated by international hits underwrote the enormous losses created by bad business practices, greed, and stupidity. Large labels were more concerned with grooming an “overnight” show-biz sensation, than discovering and developing the next Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell or Emmylou Harris. It’s always been a tough racket, but the business people with a true passion for music, who have made this their work, keep pushing to stay afloat and find the balance between profit and value.

Many professional musicians have felt disenfranchised from the “music business” for years. It has about as much to do with their day-to-day work as the dry-cleaning industry. If this is any kind of benchmark, we’re not in good shape.

The business is collapsing because the big money train crashed...with considerable help from illegal file-sharing and the general disruption of the Internet. The good news is, people love music as much as ever and there is great stuff being created every day. There are many label folks like Glen Barros, Bob Hurwitz, Manfred Eicher, and John Virant who know how to add value and turn a profit in this industry. I would love to hear what they have to say.

...and definitely check out Rework, a great little book describing the business philosophy that has made 37signals so successful.

David Pakman on the decentralization of the music industry...

Check out this excellent analysis by venture capitalist and former eMusic CEO, David Pakman...

The Sad State of the Old Music Business

(Re)Defining Music as Business

The Internet has made music creation and distribution available to everyone, processes traditionally handled by record labels. The responsibility for managing marketing and music publishing now fall squarely on the artist. Because of the massive amount of material on the Internet it is very challenging to rise above the noise and distinguish yourself. While running a business is creative in it's own way, thinking of oneself as a brand is very uncomfortable for many creatives. Jacob Detering has written a good blog post about this subject.

(Re)Defining Music as Business

Another good read on this subject is Fans, Friends and Followers by Scott Kirsner. Scott interviews several artists working in a variety of mediums, who discuss the successes and challenges they have had as they figure out how to promote themselves and choose the right business partners.

Stay tuned to this blog for tools, strategies and success stories...

Independent Music Publishing: What's Working, What's Ahead?

On Tuesday evening the California Copyright Conference (CCC) hosted a lively panel of independent music publishers discussing the current state of their industry; what’s working, the challenges ahead and opportunities for innovation. The panel was moderated by Eric Polin, Sr. VP, Music Publishing, Universal Pictures, and Jonathan Rosner, President of the CCC and co-President of Bicycle Music.

The panel:

David Hirshland - President, Bug Music
Kathy Spanberger - peermusic, President, Anglo American Region
Kenny MacPherson – President, Chrysalis Music Group
Randall Wixen - President and Founder, Wixen Music Publishing
Ron Sobel - President of North Star Media; Partner at Winogradsky/Sobel; and Chair/Music Business Division, McNally Smith College of Music

The companies represented range in size and manage a mix of established and independent artists. Most are grounded in traditional catalog administration, but North Star Media in particular partners with unknown artists without mechanical or performance royalties and is primarily focused on artist development and leveraging innovative revenue streams and new media opportunities.

The panel felt that this was generally a good time to be an independent publisher. David Hirshland discussed the dangers of complacency and the need to repurpose catalogs and encourage writers to work in new, creative ways. Randall Wixen said that his company is being approached by many new artists who are looking for more attention from publishing partners due to shrinking or non-existent advances from record labels. All the panelists emphasized the importance of quality and focusing on great music. David Hirshland: “It’s still about being moved by what you hear…” Kathy Spanberger discussed the importance of partnering with artists who have a strong work ethic because of the demands of social media and the exploding opportunities provided by the Internet.

The panel discussed “360 deals” and the trend for publishers to expand their services beyond catalog administration. While none of the speakers would consider their services truly “360”, they are all innovating aggressively, seeking out new revenue streams and pushing artist development as mechanical royalties decline.

Ron Sobel threw down the gauntlet (at one point donning a referee’s shirt), opening an energetic discussion on the practice of issuing minimal or “free” synch licenses to build and artist’s brand. He shared the story of an unknown artist who approached him to manage his catalog. Sobel was appalled to see that he had issued a synch license to MTV for $1 until he saw his ASCAP statements which had generated a living wage for eight years and helped the artist build his career. The idea of “free” was discussed quite passionately, particularly by Kenny MacPherson, who was strongly opposed to lowering the bar for synch licensing fees. All the panelists shared a concern for the de-valuation of music catalogs but acknowledge the need to examine each deal on a case by case basis.

Ron Sobel discussed his role as a teacher and asked where this industry will be in 2020. “If we don’t innovate I think we lose.”

For more information on the California Copyright Conference and their monthly panels see their website: www.theccc.org

Building a personal music brand with blogs and RSS...

Blogging is an indispensable tool for building a personal brand online. RSS feeds provide a slick way to manage blogs and stay on top of your online community. Here are a few things musicians may find useful:

• If you are using a Mac, as many musicians are, you can add a folder to your Bookmark Bar for your favorite music related blogs. When viewing a site in Safari, click the RSS button in the URL address field. The page will change into a list of all blog posts for this site. The view can be customized with the tools in the right sidebar. Add a bookmark to the folder you have created for this page. When new posts are added, a number indicating new posts will appear to the right of your bookmark (as well as the Bookmark Bar folder). You can do the same thing with any RSS reader, but this is particularly easy with Safari.
• Review your favorite blogs each day and add comments to posts you are interested in. Be sure to direct folks back to your blog or website to keep the connection and conversation going. This is a simple, effective way to stay connected with like-minded musicians and industry bloggers.
• You can use RSS feeds to deliver customized content in any number of other ways as well. For example, if you are looking for a job, you can create a custom search at Indeed.com (or any number of other sites), view as RSS and bookmark. This is much more efficient and manageable than sorting through piles of daily email notifications.
• Make sure that your website and blog are set up for RSS so that your community can follow you and easily engage in the conversation.
• If you visit topical websites that are not RSS enabled (for example, local live music listings wherever you may be), let the site owners know that you want to subscribe to an RSS feed.

RSS is a powerful tool that will help you to keep your blog current and communicate with your community, whether you are at home, on a laptop somewhere, or using a mobile device.

Just remember, always be authentic in your communication. Before you hit the 'post' button ask yourself if you really have something to say that is adding value and coming from a deeper personal place.

Music and The Curse of Knowledge

One of the greatest sources of alienation and disillusion for professional musicians is the profound sense that their deep love of music and lifelong commitment to developing their skill, is completely invisible and unappreciated by non-musicians. It’s easy to becoming bitter when you see a crowd jump out of their seats for ‘The Chicken Dance’ at a wedding, yet the original piece of music you have rehearsed for weeks is completely ignored and/or misunderstood by the few people that hear it (often friends showing up out of sympathy for the disenfranchised artist).

There is a tendency to try to balance this phenomena by dumbing down the music, making a more ‘commercial’ record, hiring a mediocre singer simply because they look good on stage and bring in a crowd. This only leads to furthering the distance between musician and listener, deepening the cycle of bitterness and isolation (“...nobody likes my stuff anyway, so I’ll just climb into a hole and write really weird music…”).

We want others to be as moved by music as we are. Why is this so difficult for many of us to achieve? The explanation for this phenomena, and the way out of the artist’s conundrum, is understanding The Curse of Knowledge. This principle is well articulated in Chip and Dan Heath’s book, “Made To Stick”, which I heartily recommend. The idea is that, once we know something, it is very difficult to imagine what our experience would be without that knowledge. A professional musician has spent years developing their ability to hear, perform, and understand music. The simple act of listening to a commercial on television triggers a complex array of associations, emotions, and physical reactions that a non-expert does not experience.

So, how do we bridge communication and understanding between musician and audience? The behavioral change must come from the artist. The key is to find common ground for both parties. It has to be real to avoid the ‘dumbing down effect’. Put yourself in the listener’s position. How will they respond to your music, emotionally, physically, the visual presentation, etc.? Of course, appreciating music is a very personal experience, built on exposure throughout a lifetime, but there do seem to be certain musical phenomena that resonate almost universally and stick with people for hundreds of years. How can you use this idea to connect with your audience without compromising the deepest, most personal elements of your work?

Leveraging Internet Music Distribution

In a recent survey by British think tank Demos, researcher Peter Bradwell found that music listeners who participated in illegal file sharing behavior spent more money on music than listeners who did not admit to using illegal services. Two key paradigm shifts created by Internet distribution come to mind:

1. Distribution, whether as playlists, recommendations, or downloads, is largely controlled by fans, not record labels or content creators.
2. The per unit cost of ‘digital copies’ is essentially zero.

This creates a situation in which even an unlicensed transaction has value for the content owner; a possible new fan, and marketing data. The first challenge is to leverage that value. The second is creating legit services that provide a vastly better user experience than illegal file sharing at a competitive price. In addition, why not simply license file sharing behavior, leveling the marketplace? I know, easier said than done. The issues of copyright infringement are significant, but a major roadblock is the complexity of the traditional royalty model.

People will pay for innovative, superior products. Apple is a great example. Everyone grumbles about the proprietary nature of their business model, but folks are still lining up for iPhones in a recession. The music industry has the potential to transform itself, ushering in a new era of compelling, competitive, Internet marketing and distribution services. Executing will take hard work, visionary thinking, and cooperation.

The Future of The Professional Musician

As the music business continues to shift, the future vision for professional musicians remains a work in progress. By professional, I mean a person who has devoted themselves to the mastery of one or several of the musical arts. This would include instrumentalists, composers, orchestrators, songwriters, recording engineers, educators and producers. Music is a deep and profound human language and I think Malcolm Gladwell is fairly accurate when he sets the bar for mastery at 10,000 hours. For most people pursuing music on this level, a professional career is essential to that process.

To the general public, ‘The Music Industry’ is about pop music entertainers who may or may not be truly accomplished musicians. The topical conversations about freemium and direct-to-fan marketing have been focused on self-contained bands or singer-songwriters. The fact is, there are many complex business models contained within the music industry and all are been shaken up by the rapid changes in technology and the global economy. How do you plan your career if you are not primarily a singer-songwriter or performer?

Professional musicians have always relied on multiple income streams to make money. Today, the business is changing so quickly that musicians will need not only a thorough understanding of the traditional elements of the business, but will also need to master the Internet to brand and market themselves. As you start your career, think about what you do best. What strengths do you have that can be applied to marketing, networking and business? Frank Zappa used to ask people he was auditioning, “What do you do that’s amazing?” That’s a great place to start.

Who is your target audience? Whether they are music fans, film producers, music supervisors, educators, technology managers, or other musicians, be clear about your unique brand and use every tool at your disposal to get the word out and build your network. Educate yourself about the intricacies of music publishing and licensing. Get involved in the conversations about the future of copyright. See how you can apply direct-to-fan marketing strategies like Mike Masnick’s CwF + RtB = $$ to your career goals.

There are many excellent blogs and resources on the web. There’s a good article in the latest issue of Berklee Today on Gerd Leonhard and his ideas for collective licensing and web marketing for musicians. Don’t get stuck on old paradigms. Even traditional aspects of the music business such as publishing, are in flux. The process of change will only accelerate and the successful business models of the future will be entirely new.

The challenge is finding a balance between the need for self-promotion and the passionate pursuit of music. It’s not easy to spend twelve hours a day immersed in music and then put on your marketing hat. Planning is key. First figure out what you do best, then set specific goals for your career. The tools for self-promotion can be overwhelming. Having strong mission and vision statements and clear milestones and benchmarks will help you identify the tools and strategies that will work best for you.

Above all, stay connected to the music inside you.

Impermanence & Innovation in the Music Biz...

Michael Masnick’s great presentation at NARM 2009 really lit a spark in me. While many of us want to hold onto or modify the old business models in this industry, everything has changed.

The supply of digital music far exceeds the demand, and most everything is available in one form or another for 'free'. The devaluation of recorded music mandates the development of new, innovative business and collective licensing models.

As Tim Hurson states in his book, Think Better, reproductive thinking can only go so far. No amount of incremental improvement will ever turn an adding machine into a spreadsheet. Creative problem solving, the back and forth between out-of-the-box thinking and structured strategic planning, is the key to breaking free from old paradigms and dead ideas into new, productive territory. The urgent need for new ideas increases daily as the globe shrinks and technology continues to disrupt.

Thoughts on the DIY Utopia...

Reading Paul Resnikoff's article, The DIY Utopia, struck a chord with me. Jazz musicians and composers have been living under the radar of the pop music biz forever. Typically their 'art' is one of multiple music-related income streams.

The quality of the music and the musicianship is key. Good music moves people, brings them together, and naturally creates community. A powerful piece of music can create a relationship with the listener that lasts a lifetime. This shouldn't be too hard to market, particularly if you have a defined niche. Mediocrity on the other hand, is a hard sell. The question is, "Can this model scale to the mainstream music industry?"