Yesterday, my friend and colleague, Tobin Watkinson, accepted my invitation to join We Are Listening’s Panel of Judges. His participation in our songwriting competition review schedule will kick-in immediately.
Tobin Watkinson was most recently a consultant to the A&R Department at Atlantic Records while simultaneously holding the title of co-founder/partner at boutique LA based management company, Roxwell Management. Prior to co-founding Roxwell, Tobin was the Director of Artist & Repertoire at MySpace Records, a joint venture with Interscope Records.
He has been awarded gold and platinum records for his early involvement in the discovery of recording artist OneRepublic. Their debut single “Apologize” has sold over 10 million singles worldwide and is one of the most legally downloaded songs in U.S. digital history. In 2008 “Apologize” broke the all-time record for the most “spins” in the history of U.S. Top 40 Radio and OneRepublic went on to sell nearly 2 million copies of their debut album “Dreaming Out Loud” which has been certified gold or platinum in 12 countries. In addition, Tobin has also helped launch the careers of successful touring acts Scary Kids Scaring Kids (RCA) and Madina Lake (Roadrunner/Atlantic).
Prior to being recruited to help launch MySpace Records, Tobin was partnered in a joint venture with Warner Music Group and was part of the team that led business development efforts at internet music startup Purevolume.com. In addition, Tobin has worked with Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group, as well as joint ventures through Columbia Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, LLC.
I am confident that the addition of Tobin’s expert knowledge of the marketplace, sound ear, and network of contacts will lead to greater accomplishments for our songwriting competition participants.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads about an amazing tool designed to help you manage your career, and focus on music, rather than the boring business that seems to always get in the way of true creativity.
I recently spent some time with the awesome guys over at BandCentral. And I have to admit, I was blown away by what they’ve put together.
You’re a musician on the rise, which means you’re probably struggling to find the best way to keep in touch with your fans and organize your ‘music business’, right?
BandCentral can help.
You probably need help keeping track of your money, organizing your gigs and staying on top of your merchandise sales (especially if you expect them to keep climbing).
BandCentral makes it easy.
Whether you’re un-signed and self-managed or you presently have a label and pro manager, BandCentral will save you from the time, burden and career-crushing mistakes so many artists fall victim to…
Anything that helps musicians make more music by helping them delegate the drudgery seems like it’s singing in the right key to me!
Seth Godin, best selling author and popular blogger, writes:
If you have a book to write, write it. If you want to record an album, record it. No need to wait for someone in a cubicle halfway across the country to decide if you’re worthy.
I think Seth is suggesting that, if you’re waiting for a so-called music biz whiz to tell you that your band rocks, you’re giving too much power to someone who doesn’t care about your music nearly as much as you do.
ArtistForce, the web-based relationship management platform and marketplace for live entertainment, has introduced a free version of its service. The free edition provides artists with up to five different industry resources per month and will make it possible for them to receive messages, negotiate booking inquiries, and use the ArtistForce widget, without paying any fees. Entertainment buyers will enjoy free and unlimited access to review talent, negotiate performance offers, manage event expenses, generate documents, and manage contacts.
ArtistForce is offering a cash prize of $10,000 to the artist who books the most paid shows using any free or paid version of ArtistForce between October 9, 2009 and February 14, 2010. The cash prize will be presented in Austin during the company’s participation in SXSW 2010, where the winning artist will also be given the opportunity to perform live at an ArtistForce sponsored event.
Labels aren’t doing very well at the moment. In fact, they’re darn right horizontal on their deathbeds.
People don’t want to pay for music anymore.
Children are being sued for copyright infringement.
Every digital music startup in the last three years has flopped.
It’s grim.
Yet there’s never been a better time to start a label.
Go ahead, sign a few acts – no one else will.
Nobody expects an advance or a fat tour bus. It’s budget airlines all the way.
Invest in talent while it’s cheap and ubiquitous.
Don’t know how to do it? Plenty of executives out of the job. Go talk to one.
Four tips to get you started:
1. Quit your day job. Nobody will take you seriously if you’re doing something else 9 to 5.
2. Stick with what you know. If you lack people skills, avoid public relations. Focus on your strengths and, when you can, develop or outsource your weaknesses.
3. You’re in business. Act that way. Get organized. Lots of stupid people own hugely successful businesses. You too can create a successful business.
4. Pick great acts. Treat them well. Work hard for them and they will show you returns.
Music is a safe bet. There will always be money in it.
Just joined BandCentral, a fan and task management service specifically developed for musicians and industry professionals. It’s strikingly similar to Bandize, and playing in the same ball park as RockDex and ArtistForce. The Band Status Updates, a one-click message syndication feature which posts to the band’s Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter profiles simultaneously, appears to be a lite variation of what ArtistData currently offers, along with a number of other dotcoms that aim to ease the pain of managing data across a number of social networks at once (I use Ping.fm to syndicate this blog). The idea is simple: an affordable client relationship management solution for the music industry or, more simply put, a service for bands who manage their own fans. How’s that for a strapline? There’s also a number of key admin features for internal band use. Watch the video:
ArtistData, one of my favourite start ups in the music space and named “one of the four most helpful websites for artists” by Music Connection magazine, launched in June 2008 with a very simple yet powerful solution for artists and promoters: one-click news and gig listing syndication across multiple online platforms. Since then, the site has gone from updating artist data on three sites to over 20 and has added a number of complimentary features such as a tour booking generator and an automated system that finds and notifies local media publications for cities where artists have upcoming shows.
“We are thrilled and humbled that with almost no marketing, we have been able to make such a big impact,” says ArtistData President Brenden Mulligan. He also shares that the company’s artist roster has been growing faster than 15% a month from word of mouth promotion alone. “It’s phenomenal. Our users are our greatest asset and it’s amazing to see them evangelize so much on our behalf”.
Terry McBride’s Nettwerk Music Group, (home to Jamiroquai, Barenaked Ladies, and Sarah McLachlan), live music and media behemoth Mama Group Plc, and Brian Message’s ATC Management (manager of Radiohead, Faithless, and Kate Nash), combined forces to create Polyphonic, a new artist investment and development company embracing the 360-degree model, Music Week announced yesterday. The company has committed more than $20m for its first year of operation, marking significant additional capital thereafter, to provide “an important funding option for artists” asserted Brian Message adding “ATC and Mama have co-invested in a number of new artists over the last three years and Polyphonic marks the next iteration of that business. Now, together with Nettwerk, we want to be working with a much bigger group of artists and managers and the capital we have available makes that achievable.”
Yesterday, my friend and colleague, Tobin Watkinson, accepted my invitation to join We Are Listening’s Panel of Judges. His participation in our songwriting competition review schedule will kick-in immediately.
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