Anyone who has randomly surfed through YouTube has eventually landed on a video of a teen guitar virtuoso with millions of accrued views. Search a little further and a vast world of amateur instructional guitar ‘how-to’ clips will reveal themselves with tantamount popularity. Guitar is a massive interest category on YouTube and, with it, a traditionally unrepresented musical niche has emerged to the fore: Guitar Virtuosos. Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Nuno Bettencourt, and alike, were popular long before YouTube unveiled itself as the premier video portal, however, a new breed of guitarists have caught the attention of the dotcom generation with unique styles that, until now, experienced only nook-and-cranny exposure.
Enter CandyRat Records, the most visible alternative acoustic guitar label on YouTube – or anywhere, for that matter. The boutique-sized label, founded by Rob Poland, has capitulated extraordinary guitarists through a series of low-budget video clips of their music, the most successful of which include some form of tapping, odd tuning, or any other unconventional manner of playing their instrument. Although CandyRat represents a whole slew of talented guitarists and singer/songwriters, the company’s most notorious roster of YouTube maestros includes the likes of Erik Mongrain, Antoine Dufour, and, of course, Andy McKee, who has garnered just under 20 million views for his video performance of “Drifting“, an original composition, and over 8 million views for an innovative version of “Africa” by Toto. And then there’s Don Ross.
Don Ross was Rob Poland’s first signing, even though Don remained contractually independent. In 2005, Don released an album through CandyRat which marked the label’s investiture as an acoustic aficionado. In a recent communication with Jill Katona of Paperwork Media, Don’s booking agent and Andy McKee’s former rep, I learned that it was Don who brought Andy to Poland’s attention, who later signed him and released two of his CDs under CandyRat. Old friends, Don Ross and Andy McKee collaborated for the label and enjoyed mutual exposure online. However, it was McKee’s video performance of “Drifting” that truly put CandyRat on the map and significant offshoot traffic in Don’s direction, as well as the other artists on the label’s growing roster.
Don Ross and Andy McKee’s styles are comparable. The two masters of their trade govern the art of percussive, finger-picking, neck-hammering guitar techniques which make their solo guitar compositions sound as if there are multiple instruments omnipresent. Considering Don Ross’ lengthy tenure as an acoustic guitar performer, I can only assume that he is one of the pioneers of this style – he has certainly become renowned for it.
Don is currently on tour with Brooke Miller, a 2007 finalist in We Are Listening’s Breaking the Band, and their aggregate talent should make for an excellent series of live show.
South by South West in Austin, Texas, is one of the largest music events in the world – and a truly fun weekend for fans and musicians alike. For artists, access to Austin’s best venues is a career development must and Tinderbox Music, in association with RedGorilla, provides the means to get new acts on stage at a set-up cost that’s lower than the spectator entry fee into SXSW. RedGorilla caters to the Austin venues that are not included in the SXSW line-up, mainly due to festival logistics issues. Each year, these venues open their doors for artists to enjoy the SXSW reception and provide attending music fans with a free alternative. Last year, RedGorilla hosted 300 acts at eight different venues. In 2009, showcases will take place from Wednesday, March 18th, to Saturday, March 21st, on Austin’s 6th Street, right in the heart of the action. Tinderbox Music has a number of slots open for interested parties. RedGorilla is an unsanctioned event and not a part of SXSW.
For booking details, contact:
Jon Delange
jon[at]tinderboxmusic.com
(612) 375 1113
Gighit is another entry into the already crowded gig listing and search space. With all the promise of its competitors, including Gigulate, which I covered last week, LiveKick, Songkick, and ItsLiveMusic, and others, I fail to see the differentiation. That’s not to say that Gighit is any better or worse than the others but rather aiming at the very same target with no unique positioning in sight. That goes for the others, of course. Is the gig listing and search niche just a battle of who launches and unrolls more search functionality?
Gighit, developed by Caffeinehit Ltd., a London-based design company, claims to have been around since 2000 under various guises with the ambition to provide gig listings and artist promotion services on the web, prior to the onset of web2.0 and social networking. Looking at Caffeinehit’s website, the team behind it is clearly talented (in terms of design, at least) but I question how they’re going to leverage this concept in a currently very noisy and cluttered live music environment.
Gigulate is a new dotcom out of England that provides performing artist gig schedules and tour details by analyzing music industry news, blog posts and published gig listings across the web. Much like SongKick, LiveKick and ItsLiveMusic, to name just a few competing gig listing search engines, Gigulate’s business model is fashioned on live music ticketing, a music industry sector on the up&up. The idea is to provide music fans with a free and swift method of searching for and subscribing to specific live music events, and up-selling ticket purchases via third-party online ticket sellers such as WeGotTickets or See, two UK leaders. Although the site, currently in private beta, does not yet provide a direct means for ticket purchases, the company will probably pursue a merger or acquisition by a leading player in the field to deploy the ticketing end; Ticketmaster would be an ideal candidate.
From hotel lounges to corporate advertising campaigns, music is an integral part of creating a unique identity. Businesses commission their own music to strengthen their brand in a number of capacities, including audio logos and signatures, gongs, jingles, theme tunes, and orchestral underscores.
The Cologne Bonn airport in Germany signifies the beginning of music in airport branding. Several frustrating hours of delay at this airport in the mid-1970’s prompted Brian Eno to produce a record of calming music intended for public environments called “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”. Its success paved the way for a new musical niche of ambient and ‘chill-out’ music. In 2003, Cologne-based group, “plus49”, partnered with a design firm to create music specifically for the Cologne-Bonn Airport, a collaborative effort inspired by Eno. The band wrote on-hold music for the telephones, elevator tunes, an airport speaker gong, and a short musical snippet called “Happy Sky” which aired prior to every overhead announcement at the terminals. Their song, “Symbols & Gateways”, dedicated to the launch of the Germanwings Airbus is, today, the airport’s theme song and featured on an album of airport-themed music.
Airports are, quite literally, a city’s gateway. Although most of the passengers passing through them are unaware, airports invest considerably in a unique musical identity which, in turn, becomes synonymous with the destination itself. Leaving a strong musical impression has become tantamount to providing a powerful customer service or shopping experience which helps to promote the city’s culture and attitude. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), for instance, traces its theme tune back to a 1970’s chart topper called “L.A. International Airport”, written by Leanne Scott and performed by Susan Raye. For its 75th anniversary, LAX commissioned a change in the chorus to make the song more upbeat and ‘welcoming’. During 2003, Southwest Airlines gave each of its arriving LAX passengers a CD copy of the song.
Arguably, the most ambitious airport music program is attributed to Austin- Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. The airport hired a music coordinator to oversee its four live music venues and ensure that its passengers enjoy only local music, an approach now shared by many airports around the world to promote their local cultural assets.
Due to the ubiquity of music in today’s society – music is simply everywhere we go – brand managers and music coordinators have to work much harder and invest more money to ensure that their client, be it Heathrow Airport or Coca Cola, is tapping into an audience that will buy [and fly] with greater confidence if appropriate and assuring music accompanies the experience, a matter of increasing emphasis during a down economy.
In the point of view of the booking agent, you – the artist – must be in place in your career that you can attract enough paying gig-goers to your show, do so frequently, and with consistent growth to justify the booking agent’s efforts in exchange for his 10% (sometimes 15%) cut. Unfortunately, most developing artists, even those with a small but loyal following, are not attractive enough for the reputable booking agents to pursue. Much like talent scouts, booking agents will sometimes take a chance on an act that they believe will develop successfully and provide a handsome financial return in the future, but this is a relationship that is both difficult to pursue and cultivate and its terms will be strongly in the favor of the booking agent.
If you’re not a savvy manager yourself, find an artist manager before looking for a booking agent. Keeping in mind that your manager sees a cut of everything you do whereas the booking agent only sees a cut of your live performances, statistically, a manager should be easier to sign with because he is spreading his risk on all of your musical assets. Your manager should already have music industry connections and a way in to discuss tour scheduling opportunities face to face with an established booking agent, rather than making cold calls yourself. However, if this is not the case, at least the booking agent can see that you were talented enough to attract an artist manager in the first place and, therefore, worth attending your next show.
The multi-national booking and management agencies such as The Agency Group and William Morris Agency prefer to see that you have financial backing, usually in the form of a label contract. This, if nothing else, ensures that the label can afford to finance your tour and even take a loss for the privilege of ‘breaking’ you.
Whatever the arrangement may be, everyone involved wants to make money. As such, it’s your responsibility (or, better yet, your manager’s responsibility) to show that you are a great investment.
Live Nation, the world’s largest producer of live concerts and the leading purveyor of the mega-deal (or 360 music deal), has become a music industry powerhouse and, as result, drawing and signing the most lucrative artists in today’s live music market , a la Nickelback and Madonna. The LA-based live music behemoth sells more than 45 million concert tickets each year and, in music industry standards, considered a promotional sure-fire. In many respects, the company operates as a music label should: developing professional artists of every caliber by providing a financial pipeline into every aspect of the artist’s ‘portfolio’. In 2008, Live Nation organized and produced 16,000 concerts for 1,500 in 57 countries.
The record industry, worth approximately $31 billion globally in 2006, is a large slice of the much broader and more than three times larger ‘music industry‘, worth more than $130 billion. With record sales dipping and alternative revenue streams coming into significant play, a broader view of the music business, namely the live, gaming and film/television licensing, and publishing sectors, is warranted for budding professionals. In spite of the bad rep, the record industry remains to be one of the most creatively oriented sectors in media with 20% of its revenues invested in the acquisition and development of new talent. This is a staggering figure for R&D investment in intellectual property. Although this investment is still being recouped from record sales, revenue goldmines are being discovered in other media sectors which are increasingly more prominent than the traditional retail sources. Recorded music has become a key influencer in the mobile industry and a pivotal consumer offering in $100 billion worth of broadband subscriptions in 2006. The live performance sector is growing rapidly and its promising, future effect on music merchandising and sponsorship remains to be seen.
While the record industry appears to be an exclusive club, every artist recording and, in one form or another, publishing music is, in fact, a part of it. As music converges with other media, so does the record industry with other industries. As such, as more and more artists produce and publish great new music, more opportunities arise for monetizing their copyright without the dependency on actual record sales.
I received an email this morning from Frank Mitchell at Aderra Inc., a company that specializes in the recording of live events through the use of USB flash drive wristbands that are immediately available for sale after an event takes place.
Frank writes:
Briefly, Aderra allows an artist to generate additional revenue at their LIVE show by selling the show IMMEDIATELY after it happens by way of USB drive!!! Here is what our company and clients believe our services provide for music artists:
With CD sales down and Internet piracy aways prevalent, Aderra offers the artist the ability to capture and sell a concert immediately after it happens. We are able to reproduce 1,000 wristbands in under 15 minutes!!! Much faster than the CD burning capabilities of the past.
It allows the artist to increases their sound scan numbers as the drives can be pre-loaded with their NEW album.
We also create a vehicle to additionally connect with their fans as the USB drive has it’s own “user interface” that is custom built for that artist. To display band profiles, short videos, charity affiliations, etc…the sky is the limit for content!
In the case of a tour we allow sponsorship opportunities on the band itself, along with space on the drive for the sponsors.
If they are a new artist trying to get themselves out there, the drive can be used as their Electronic Press Kit (EPK).
* THERE IS NO UPFRONT COST FOR THE ARTIST TO PARTICIPANT. This means that Aderra takes ALL the upfront risk and the artist simply takes half the profits after costs are covered for the USB drives and technicians ($4 to $7 per drive). Typically the split is 50/50 depending on their status with their record label and in the case they need to include the label the split 1/3-1/3-1/3. No other company has this ability and as I said on the phone today we are seeing some tremendous interest throughout the industry. The price point that we have seen be successful for the USB drive would be around $20-$40 dollars depending on the artist.
Notwithstanding the fact that Frank and I did not, in fact, speak on the phone as he cited in the last paragraph and that this is clearly an unsolicited email, this is a poor sales pitch for a potentially excellent concert merchandising solution.I first came about the USB wristband solution for the live music sector two years ago at Popkomm, the annual music business conference in Berlin. I can’t remember if it was Aderra showcasing their product or one of their competitors but, either way, I was taken by the possibilities. Aderra’s pricing seems more than reasonable though I suspect that indie artists that draw a limited number of prospects to their shows will not be enjoying this service just yet.
The immediacy of this service is what makes it so powerful: the point of sale is, hopefully, the point where the prospect is still wrapped up in the show and ready to spend extra to take home the experience. The USB wristband is a fun, functional and aesthetic piece of merchandise, with both physical and digital value.
On January 24th, 2009, Kings of Leon will headline the Dare 2 Dream benefit concert at the House of Blues Chicago to raise funding and major awareness for pediatric cancer research and treatment. Platform One Entertainment, the organizer of the event, is giving one Sonicbids artist the opportunity to open for Kings of Leon and receive $1,000.00 for travel and hotel accommodations.
Live Nation, the world’s largest producer of live concerts and the leading purveyor of the mega-deal (or 
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