Before I joined the management team at MyDrifts, I was in the process of raising money for my ‘big idea’. I met with all the prominent VCs as well as a couple of angel groups in Israel.
My big idea: The LinkedIn For The Music Industry.
Just imagine a professional network dedicated to music professionals. An environment where music publicists can solicit their services to record labels, college radio promoters can collaborate with social media marketers, music festivals can advertise their venues to music-centric brands etc.
Not a marketplace for music. But a marketplace for music resources. Wow!
It’s a terrible idea. And for more reasons than one. But mainly because The LinkedIn For The Music Industry is LinkedIn!
I have learned to avoid big ideas and focus on big problems.
If I can help someone with his or her problem, that’s big.
If I can help lots of people with their problems, I’m in business.
1. Follow Trent Reznor Nine Inch Nails
In May 2008, Nine Inch Nails released the The Slip as a free digital download accompanied by a note from Trent Reznor, “This one’s on me”, as a courtesy to NIN’s loyal following. The album was downloaded over a million times before the end of May 2008. Many of the music industry’s most disruptive paradigms, including the “Free” and “Direct-To-Fan” concepts, can be traced back to Trent Reznor’s independent marketing activities.
2. Follow Don Passman Author and Entertainment Lawyer
One of America’s top entertainment attorneys, Don Passman is the author of the non-fiction bestseller “All You Need to Know About the Music Business”, which has sold more than 300,000 hardcover copies in print.
1. Follow Terry McBride CEO and Co-Founder of Nettwerk Music Group
Terry McBride is a two-time recipient of the Pollstar Industry Award for Personal Manager of the Year for his work with Sarah McLachlan (1997) and Avril Lavigne/Coldplay (2002), and recipient of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the 2003 Juno Awards, recognizing an outstanding individual who has contributed to the growth and advancement of the Canadian music industry.
2. Follow Derek Sivers Founder and former President of CD Baby
Winner of the 2003 World Technology Award, Derek Sivers founded CD Baby “by accident” in 1998 and turned it into the largest seller of independent music on the web, which he sold a decade later to Disc Makers.
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.
When Sellaband launched in August 2006, it introduced music fans and unsigned artists to a revolutionary approach to meeting and collaborating with one another. By providing a financial incentive at the very core of its proposition, the German upstart pioneered an investment platform that provided fans with a stake in their favourite artists’ assets, and artists with a means of raising capital for recording and distribution from the folks who care about them the most: their fans. A seemingly far-fetched idea, the platform took off and, today, boasts an extensive fan funded artist base that has managed to raise over $2,200,000 collectively. Although a handful of fan funded music dotcoms exist, including SliceThePie and TheNextBigSound, Sellaband is leading the trend that has yet to illustrate its full potential as an industry shifting force. The company is now setting its sights on the US market with a high-profile endorsement from Chuck D.
Slicethepie and Bebo announced a co-venture this week whereby Bebo members will have the opportunity to grab the A&R seat at Slicethepie’s artist career-funding network. Strikingly similar in concept to Sellaband, Slicethepie is tapping into the leading British social network’s community assets while Sellaband remains very much an independent platform. The music “business” role-play idea has been embraced by a number of players in one form or another, including Songness, TheNextBigSound, and Soundout, a Slicethepie imprint, based on the belief that if potential fans are provided with both a true hand in an artist’s fledgling career as well as a financial incentive, consumer loyalty and word-of-mouth shall follow. Perhaps the shape of things to come.
Kyte, the San Francisco based company providing turn-key solutions for online and mobile digital content production, distribution and monetization, has announced the launch of custom iPhone and iPod Touch apps as a new means for music fans to access their favourite artists’ music, videos, news, and exclusive content. In a separate affair, 90’s rock group, Presidents of the United States of America, who made a name for themselves with “Lump” and “Peaches”, have just released their own iPhone app along the same lines. For $2.99, fans can stream the band’s entire catalogue over a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, as well as gain access to exclusive content and previously unreleased music. This is exciting music industry news! iPhone apps are hugely popular and provide an unparalleled platform for artists to access their audience and visa versa. It won’t be long before we see more and more artists, from megstars to indies, harnessing this technology to promote themselves, monetize their catalogue, and upsell associated initiatives and assets such as concert tickets and merchandise.
As an artist, getting your ass on stage and performing to as many people as often as possible is key. In the US, SXSW is arguably the largest draw of both music fans and artists, certainly independent artists. Should you get on a SXSW stage? Of course you should. However, assuming that you are not yet well known, playing live at an over-crowded and super competitive event has its limitations. Sometimes, you have to get off the stage in order to truly make an impact and, year after year, I’m seeing more independent artists attending music conferences, on their own behalf, and with their business hat on. Although the largest of the lot, Midem in Cannes and Popkomm in Berlin, also offer a variety of live performance opportunities to acts big and small, the true event value is in the aimless wondering between the booths and random handshakes with industry professionals. I’m not joking. You’ll meet a lot more people on the floor than on stage. If you meet someone who wants to hear you play, both Midem and Popkomm have listening rooms big enough for you to perform acoustically. If nothing else, attending these events will teach you a lot about the current music market and provide you with the confidence to approach prospective partners who may [or may not] invest in your next recording, touring, licensing, or writing initiative. You never know.
Los Angeles native, Alana Grace, was selected as the winner of Round 6 of The 2008 Singer/Songwriter Awards songwriting contest by We Are Listening’s panel of judges last month. Having spent most of her childhood in Nashville, today she splits her time between the two cities and just completed a five month recording session in LA with producers Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Eve 6) and John Fields (Switchfoot, Pink, Andrew WK). She is now gearing up to promote the concerted musical effort: her debut album titled “Break the Silence” from which her winning song, “Words Escape Me”, was selected. The album was mixed by industry legends Bob Clearmountain (The Rolling Stones, The Cure, Aerosmith) and Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, Hoobastank, Alanis Morissette).
Los Angeles native, Alana Grace, was selected as the 
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