MUSIC INDUSTRY BLOG

When I created this blog, I wasn’t interested in blogging.

I had ulterior motives.

At first, I was interested in packing-in as much key-word dense content as I could for We Are Listening’s search engine ranking.  This is a rookie SEO mistake.  If you don’t know what SEO is, you’re better off not knowing.

Later, I used the blog as my personal journal.  I wrote about things that interested me.  It was completely self-indulgent and didn’t interest anyone else.

Finally, when I did bother to publish half-decent content, if anyone found it interesting, I wouldn’t know about it.  I disabled Comments so anyone who wanted to respond, couldn’t.  You see, I was too lazy to moderate comments.

In 1979, researchers at Harvard Business School began a study on ‘goal setting’.  A decade later, they discovered that graduates who wrote down their goals for the future before leaving Harvard earned ten times more than the graduates that didn’t.

Yesterday, I wrote down my goals.  One of them is to “Create An Outstanding Blog In 2010″.

So today, I’m turning over a new leaf.  I’m going to do what accomplished bloggers do, starting with this post.

And this is my plan (and pledge to you):

1. Enable Comments
Moderate them frequently and respond to them quickly.

2. Write Conversationally
Avoid big words, long sentences and fat paragraphs.

3. Maximize Readability
Use larger fonts and darker colors, and remove unnecessary elements from the page.

4. Reference Sources
Link to other bloggers, authors and content owners when borrowing their ideas.

5. Validate & Demonstrate
Back up ideas, provide examples and further reading.

6. Include Benefits
Write with the reader in mind by making the information accessible and valuable.

7. Be Decent
Write transparently, reveal the truth, and manage cynicism with grace and integrity.

T-shirt from Zazzle

“Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the key behaviors of ADHD.”

I was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) at the age of 16.  I don’t presume that music listeners at large suffer from it but rather draw the comparison to the syndrome due to the endless choice and ease of switching from one piece of music to another ? impulsively.

With terrestrial radio, I can always ‘turn the dial’ but I’m otherwise passively engaged.  As I’m no longer willing to be spoon fed music and advertising by terrestrial radio, I consume it interactively online or via cable or satellite.  I listen to whatever I like, whenever I want, on any device I choose.

Consequently, I’m busy running my music applications and managing my playlists instead of sitting back and just listening.  I’m the DJ.  I’m the station.  I’m not listening like I used to because I’m busy broadcasting to myself…  rating, sharing, editing, remixing, collaborating, plugging in, adding plug-ins, logging off, connecting elsewhere.

I’m not sure that this is a good thing for someone with ADHD.

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Create your own blog in 10 seconds

I just discovered that anyone can create their own custom M&Ms!

Just imagine:  Every bite with your message, artwork, logo or face on it.  How cool is that?

You can also choose from a variety of personalized color schemes and packaging.

It’s so awesome you have to check it out.  Yum!

Setting up even the simplest of blogs requires some technical tinkering.  Formatting content and adding images, music and video can drive you up the wall.  It’s not too difficult I guess but, for most of us, more trouble than it’s worth.

With Posterous, you can create and update your own blog by simply sending an email!

Here is an example in which I attached a picture of my son, Ethan, and an MP3 of “Amazing” by Andrew Allen:

10 seconds after I sent the message, I received an email from Posterous confirming that my email has been posted.  My post looks like this:

You can view it on my Posterous blog too.

Start you own Posterous blog now by sending your first post to post@posterous.com

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Of the 13m songs available for sale on the internet last year, more than 10m failed to find a single buyer and only 173,000 of the 1.23m available albums were ever purchased – leaving 85% without a single copy sold [source].  Established artists are touring constantly to compensate for their recorded music sales deficit and emerging artists can’t seem to get enough attention to justify a gig, let alone a tour.

With that said, some artists think beyond the realm of music sales and live shows to get ahead of the curve.  Sometimes, with limited resources and public awareness, artists conceive of multi-media experiences that capture the hearts and minds of even the most fickle music fans, providing an unobtrusive yet enticing gateway to their music.  The Polyphonic Spree got my undivided attention for at least 10 minutes this way.

In an effort to promote and celebrate the release of their new album, “Together We’re Heavy”, The Polyphonic Spree created a three-level internet adventure game to the soundtrack of their music called The Quest For The Rest.  The journey, albeit tediously long with me at the helm, was as wondrous and enjoyable as their blend of a 10 person choir, horn and string section, and various cross-genre instrumentation.

It began this way:

Welcome to the new interactive adventure from The Polyphonic Spree featuring brand new music from their forthcoming album, “Together We’re Heavy”, coming July 13th.  Help the three lost members reunite with the rest of their group by guiding them through three different environments and you will be rewarded.

Unfortunately, when I completed all three levels and “reunited with my group”, the reward (two live track downloads, a video, plus lyrics) produced a “Page Load Error”.  Otherwise, really good fun!  Try it…

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JamLegend is the web-based answer to Guitar Hero and Rock Band, providing a free and social gaming experience that allows users to ‘play along’ with great tracks using  their computer key board (which doubles as a guitar if you hold it upright and use the ‘Enter’ key as the plectrum).  It’s a fun way to listen to and discover new music, play along with favourite tracks, and compete against like-minded music lovers.  JamLegend relies on user-generated music from independent artists.  Considering the scope and scale of the video gaming industry, it appears that JamLegend has created are very viable and powerful opportunity for artists and music promoters to garner additional exposure.  Here is how to submit your tunes.

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For those of you running your artist page with WordPress or using WordPress for your blog, you may consider adding a little life to your tags with an animated tag cloud plugin by Roy Tanck.  You can see it in action on Roy’s blog on the top right and install it here.

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Martin Atkins puts the current state of the music industry into perspective, sharing wisdomisms such as “you’ve got to think outside the box”, “where’s the fucking box?”, and “I build my own boxes”.  The veteran drummer credited by NIN, Ministry, and Killing Joke, among others, has published a comprehensive guide slated to put an end to touring stupid.  Tour Smart (available on Amazon) is out and Martin has been unleashed on a new generation of artists living in a box and staring at the pretty wallpaper.  The scope and scale of this publication covers every aspect of the music ecosystem, from where to pour your gasoline to health & safety practices [when pouring gasoline].  The man has a plan and if you don’t follow it, you’re fucked.

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On the NPR blog, I stumbled upon a two week old post marking the annual Beatbox Battle World Championship held in Berlin.  NPR featured the competition’s wildcard winner, 17 year old Julia Dales from Canada, and I think the young beatboxerererer deserves a bit of the sp-sp-sp-sp-spotlight.  Sorry.

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