SONG CONTEST BLOG

Yesterday, ReverbNation announced their partnership with Audiolife and the soft launch of the Reverb Store, a robust and fully-integrated e-commerce solution for artists and agents to sell directly to their fanbase.  From do-it-yourself T-shirt designs to comprehensive earning reports, the Reverb Store is as turn-key as the ReverbNation ethos.  Best of all, it includes all the social media promotional widgets and collateral you would expect as well as seamless integration with ReverbNation’s existing marketing features.  Anyone can open a store, create as many custom items as they want, and operate the store for free.  No monthly minimums, no monthly fees.

“The Reverb Store allows artists to layer a purchasing opportunity into every fan interaction they have online, whether it’s at Facebook, MySpace, a blog, or the band’s own website.”
– Michael Doernberg, CEO of ReverbNation

“Artists need solutions that can help them grow their fan base and convert those fans into customers.  The Reverb Store is the total package, combining the best of ReverbNation and Audiolife.”
– Brandon Hance, Founder and CEO of Audiolife

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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.

Over the weekend, I learned that Nimbit, which has been on my radar since Jon Delange of Tinderbox Music introduced me to the company’s CEO, Patrick Faucher, several months ago, has secured venture capital to the tune of $1 million.  The company provides eCommerce solutions for artists and music promoters, and bespoke services such as digital distribution, CD/DVD replication and merchandise production, and web design.  The company’s turnkey approach incorporates web technology to market and distribute digital music with physical solutions such as download cards and promotional prints.  Nimbit appears to be acting in two ways: the first, as a technology company developing digital retail and marketing solutions such as embeddable storefront apps; and, the second, as a broker for commercial print requirements, from CD/DVD replication to custom-branded merchandise which complements its web facet. 

Nimbit’s DownloadCards (credit card-sized branded cards with a unique ‘download’ code) can be sold or given away to the fan at the live venue and later redeemed online as digital tracks through a custom Nimbit store.  This is an excellent example of digital commerce converging with physical commerce, however, DiscRevolt offers an almost identical solution.  Emusu is also competing for a share of this market.  In terms of digital music distribution, Nimbit is facing strong competition from TuneCore, ReverbNation, and CD Baby.  As for print and duplication, Discmakers dominates the US music market and recently acquired Oasis, another formidable opponent in this space.  Although Nimbit’s individual services are not particularly competitive as stand-alone features, the services, as a group offering, and Nimbit’s convenient all-under-one-roof approach, may satisfy artists and promoters with a slight edge.

Now here’s a novel idea: SongVest is a bidding platform for music copyrights.  Bidders have the opportunity to own a stake in their favorite published songs and, in turn, collect the royalty cheques.  The highest bidders also receive a personlised plaque to put up on their wall and show off their claim to music fame.  The songwriter or copyright owner retains a majority stake in the song up for auction, therefore, retaining full control of its use.  The songwriter also sets the minimum bidding price which, as you would expect, may be in the tens of thousands of dollars for a small piece of a commercially successful song.

SongVest positioned itself as a ‘memorabilia’ offering as opposed to a copyright market.  This is a unique approach to tapping into music fans desperate to own a piece of something they love as opposed to a community seeking to capitalize on copyright transfers and administration.  Both scenarios are viable, though.

The essence of owning a piece of copyright is to ensure that the copyright is associated with something broadly admired, reputed, and very well known.  Indie’s hoping to gain coverage out of this venture are unlikely to succeed.  For SongVest, getting A-list songs is paramount and they seem to be on their way having already featured songs made famous by Carrie Underwood, Ozzy Osborne, Cher, Ringo Star, and The Monkees.

Motley Crue’s guitarist, Mick Mars, has struck a deal with the celebrity services division of Paid Inc., a new media company with a strong focus on online relationship and ecommerce solutions for celebrities, to build a brand new website at www.MickMars.tv  and host a range artist-to-fan relationship features to maximize Mars’ online presence.  In addition to offering Mar’s musical portfolio, the site will introduce  new and exclusive guitar clinics, educational resources, and personal performance tips and video demonstrations.  There will also be a strong focus on authentic Motley memorabilia and a new line of merchandise, all under the Paid Inc. celebrity brand management umbrella.