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!

See for yourself:
www.BandCentral.com

While record labels are trying to halt their downward spiral and unswervingly opting for “safe” artists with proven mass-market appeal, the DIY model of self-management, self-promotion and self-releasing is the only option available to the majority of bands ? and the only way that most bands will get off the first rung of the music industry ladder.  Any band that is serious about moving their career forward in this climate will see BandCentral as an essential tool.

In our experience, the difference between a successful band and a band that fades away has to do almost entirely with hard work, dedication and passion.  BandCentral is designed to streamline the self-management process and make every-day organisation and communication between the band, band manager and third-parties much easier, enabling you to get on with the music and promotion, rather than getting bogged down with missed communications, lost gig booking info, bickering over shared or IOU costs, chasing each other for rehearsal or gig stage times, losing your performing rights data or not having important files at hand.

Naysayers say that “bands will never be organised enough to do all this stuff themselves”.  I believe that these are the same people that are sitting around, blinkered to all the opportunities the digital sphere presents to artists and waiting for CD sales at record stores to turn around.  I know from personal experience that without some way of keeping tabs on the nuts’n’bolts admin side of a creative venture, there’s a risk that the band can lose momentum and non-creative work can sink the entire endeavour.

Making it in the music industry has always involved a lot of hard work but never more so than today.  BandCentral fills a vital role in this new ‘DIY’ paradigm, helping bands to harness the best of what the web has to offer them and giving them all the tools they need to streamline the self-management process and join the music revolution.

2. Should every band be using BandCentral, from fledgling to established?

Every band that is serious about their music should be using BandCentral.
If you’re an unknown band, you should make use of BandCentral’s tools to get organised, get yourselves out there and get known.  Once you’re established BandCentral will help you to collaborate better with each other encourage complete transparency in dealings with third-parities such as managers, producers & bookers etc. and help you to organize every aspect of your band life.  It will also help you to organise and get the most out of all the different elements of the DIY business model, from live shows and tours to single/album releases and accounting and merchandising.

Acts who have broken through to the big-time will have an army of full time management looking after them, so acts like Coldplay or Interpol are obviously not going to be needing any help from BandCentral.  Their management, however, would find it hugely helpful on a day-to-day basis as it keeps everything in one central, secure and instantly accessible place online.

Every industry needs a tool to help it get organised – BandCentral aims to be that tool for the Music Industry.

3. Most bands are strapped for cash. With so many musician resources out there, bands often face a tough call as to which they should spend their money on.  I have always recommended investing in assets that show a direct financial return.  Is BandCentral such an asset?

I’m in full time band and I know from personal experience how costly things can be.  We’ve intentionally kept the price down with cash-strapped bands in mind and we feel that £4.99 (approx. $10) per month split between 4 or 5 people is a small price to pay for the service that we offer bands.  It’s less than one packet of smokes in the UK.. and a lot better for you!  We also have a Free option for those bands who either can’t quite justify the outlay yet or see their bands as more of a hobby or a side interest.

There’s a strong argument for a band saving a great deal of money simply by being better organized.  To take the BandCentral Finance Manager as one example, if your band keeps track of finances in a detailed, responsible way, then you’ll know what you’re spending, when and how you’re wasting your money, and you’ll surely pick up much more than £4.99 a month in savings.

So, is BandCentral an asset worth investing in?  You tell me.

4. How is BandCentral different to Bandize?

Whilst Bandize is certainly in the same territory as BandCentral, anyone who has tried the two services will be aware that there are stark differences in terms of functionality, design and overall usability.  We welcome comparisons between the two sites because this gives us the opportunity to highlight the contrasts.

5. When do you expect to become profitable?  Do you expect to reach this goal without another round of investment?

We have been working on BandCentral for the last 15 months and have grown to a team of 7.  Happily, we’re on course to become profitable within the next 12 -18 months.  BandCentral has already negotiated a second round of funding, details of which will be released in the coming weeks.

6. What can we expect to see from BandCentral in the next six months?

BandCentral Version 2 will be launching in the autumn and brings with it a whole host of brilliant new features such as Music and Merch Management along with some cutting edge enhancements to those V1 features that BandCentral users already know and love.

We’re also incredibly excited about the BandCentral iPhone app that’s in development because it’s something our bands have been asking for for a while and were pretty confident it’ll transform how bands and band managers communicate and get organised whilst on the move.  We have just appointed an agency and the app will be set for release in early 2010.

Beyond that, we’ve got some more music festivals and industry events lined up, both here, in the UK, and abroad.  We’re going to be taking BandCentral to Music Live in November, MIDEM in Cannes in January and we’re excited to be part of the really strong British contingent headed to SXSW in March ‘10.
You’ll be hearing a lot more about BandCentral V2 and developments with the iPhone app in the coming weeks.

Visit www.bandcentral.com

Related Posts
BandCentral – Band and Fan Relationship Management
Bandize
ArtistForce

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:

Related Posts
Bandize
ArtistForce
RockDex

Further to my post about Nimbit on the 8th March, I had a chance to communicate with the company’s Co-Founder and CEO, Patrick Faucher, this week regarding my comments.  Here is his response:

Interesting observations.
You may have overlooked the fact that we offer the only fully integrated storefront delivery system that allows you to sell, bundle and fulfill both physical and digital goods.  Also, our download card system actually drives the fan to redeem the product directly in the artist’s storefront, which is key to creating repeat customers and cross-merchandising.  One thing I can say regarding Reverb, Tunecore, etc. is that we don’t see them competing with our core business, which is direct-to-fan commerce. The reason why artists tend to stay with us is because they make more money overall, it’s easier to manage their business, and more sustainable.

I encourage artists to take their career into their own hands, self-manage and self-promote.  I believe that this is a prerequisite in today’s music industry and taking greater control of your assets will ultimately yield greater results than relying solely on third parties.

Needless to say, I’m not the only one who thinks this way.  Technology has created a gateway to music fans and the entrance through it is cheaper and more accessible than ever before.  As such, there are services available, free and not-so-free, catering to every imaginable aspect of a musician’s career, founded upon the DIY paradigm.  From music-friendly analytics and publishing tools to online collaboration and direct-to-fan distribution solutions, there are countless specialized offerings out there gaming for a stake of the massive independent artist market.

Now, a new service has emerged with the aim to assist artists in personal organization and management.  A one-stop-shop for accounting, task management, scheduling, and almost every other administrative task associated with the music industry, Bandize hopes to help artists clean up their act.

Currently a by-invitation-only service, the company may be over reaching by expecting artists ? essentially a community suffering from attention deficit disorder ? to take to a CRM solution.  Most artists are not facing complex cash flows and a diverse and demanding clientbase to truly take advantage of Bandize’s full suite of organizational features, including “Asset Management” which is bordering on ludicrous.  Those that are can probably justify hiring an intern, assistant, accountant, or personal manager as a business expense, by my estimation.  I did, however, enjoy learning about the company’s one-click data syndication, a simple yet powerful feature which enables users to post just once for all of their online properties.  That makes perfect sense.  It saves time and ensures that marketing messages and general communications remain consistent.

The site looks good and I completely support artists who wish to get organized and disciplined.  I just don’t believe that they will.  It’s like cleaning your room or taking out the trash.  There’s always something better to do.

A no-commission management deal, whereby the artist pays an artist manager or management firm a salary or ‘retainer’, is a relatively new contract model in the music industry.  The artist has the power to hire, fire and negotiate with his management.  The artist manager has a certain degree of ‘job security’ but can not reap the rewards of a huge commercial success.  No points.  No success fees.  Simple.  And the artist is in control.  This is similar to the way PR companies operate and charge for their services.

At the negotiation table, the terms of the deal, regardless of the type of payment model, should be in light of the degree of financial risk the artist manager is expected to undertake by the artist in the event that the artist can not pay upfront.  Considering that financial institutions define the terms of a loan by assessing the degree of financial risk, it is reasonable to expect an artist manager to be compensated based on similar projections.

Monolith Festival
For today only, Monolith Festival is giving you $5 off your submission. By submitting, you will have the opportunity to share the stage with this year’s amazing line up at the incredible natural amphitheatre, Red Rocks. Monolith alumni include The Flaming Lips, Justice, Cake, Band of Horses and many more.
http://tinyurl.com/6ks6el

Songwriters Circle
The New York Songwriters Circle Loft Series is a monthly gathering designed to support a thriving community of musicians at all levels and abilities through education, information, and peer-to-peer interaction.
http://www.songwriters-circle.com

We Are Listening & MTV
Two months after We Are Listening panelists selected Tim Mahoney as winner of The Singer/Songwriter Awards, We Are Listening, together with Tinderbox Music, secured Tim’s music on MTV’s hit television series, “The Hills”. In addition, Tim closed an attractive digital distribution deal with IODA and is looking forward to additional licensing opportunities currently in the works. “Companies like We Are Listening are the reason why independent artists make it”, Tim wrote to We Are Listening, adding, “Talking with the founder, Lior, and shaping a custom television placement campaign was the best prize I could have ever hoped for. I was impressed.”
http://www.wearelistening.org/about_contest.php?type=ssa

Band Camp
Bandcamp, a free publishing platform for bands, provides artists with the most relevant content management and social marketing tools, with a super clean interface and friendly user management system.  Bandcamp update.
http://www.bandcamp.mu

With the much anticipated advertising-driven download services such as SpiralFrog, Napster and eMusic lending themselves to mobile networks such as Cingular and TicketMaster’s $13.5m investment in iLike (founders of Garageband), the music space will become, quite literally, universal. More artists are likely to show up on the radar due to, say, an unexpected public vote on a music community such as PureVolume or a great show at a festival sponsored by the renowned artist service, Sonicbids. By the end of the year, I believe that the increase of independent music communities and number of online artist profiles will pave the way to greater choice, more accurate recommendations to consumers and more alternatives to expose previously unheard-of music.

And while all of these multi-million dollar start-ups promise more exposure and business for unsigned artists and a better experience for music lovers, as musicians, we can still depend on good ‘ol fashioned live venues – another sector on the up & up. T-shirt anyone?