SinceAndrew Dubber introduced “Quit MySpace Day” over 1 year ago the view of MySpace as that indispensable tool in the independents arsenal has been been coming increasingly under fire. Dubber unflinchingly rains a tirade of criticism on the failures of MySpace, calling it not just “irrelevant ” but “utterly poisonous”. Many have followed suit and together a compelling case has been made for the inadequacies of MySpace as a place for independent musicians (or social networking altogether for that matter). At the same time, others have put also put forward compelling reasons for staying on.
So, just why should we leave, and what are the reasons for staying?
In the blue corner - Quit now.
MySpace was never designed as a music platform. Dubber makes the point that MySpace was never designed as a music platform - a sober look at the actual features, integration with other services and a lack of effective revenue generating tools for independents is still a testament to this. Dubber says though you can manage your day to day independent music career on MySpace “its like trying to dry your hair with a toaster - it isnt really fit for the purpose”.
MySpace have failed musicians. Dubber also says that despite having the “greatest untapped asset on the Internet right now” (pretty much EVERY band on the planet) they have failed to innovate and deliver real opportunities for them. MySpace need to do better, much, much better. The new makeover doesnt impress Dubber one bit. In this view, MySpace had their chance - but they blew it. No point waiting around when there are other opportunities to consider.
There are some interesting new services popping up surrounding the live circuit, one of these is Songkick.
From a gig goer perspective, Songkick is an online service that keeps you updated about upcoming concerts. Via the Songkick “Tracker” you can search for your favourite artists, venues and festivals and by tracking them keep updated on who is playing, where and when. You can even track your friends and know which gigs they intend to hit up, as well as the city you live in to keep informed about all the upcoming gigs going on there. You will be notified when new gigs are announced, and see a calender of all the concerts going on the coming weekend and in the future. One great feature is that as a gig goer you can upload photos and videos for the events you have attended, add reviews and even build a gigogprahy of past concerts and festivals you have been to.
Now, as an artist, band or promoter this service clearly has many benefits. It is straightforward to add your own events to Songkick and as yet you cannot create your own special artist profiles - just adding your concerts into the database will make it trackable to people using the service. If you are looking for a good way to coordinate your concerts with fans, attract new people, get reviews and raves about your gig and also have a place to for you our your fans collect videos and photos of you being a rockstar - then Songkick is a great place to do this.
There are many great places you can turn if you want advice and tips on how to promote your music on the Internet. In today’s post we thought we would list a few and tell you a little about them.
Know the music biz
An online community and resource centre for independent artists and musicians. The goal of this website is to make available the information for artists need to build a sustainable career in a changing music industry. It has a wealth of articles written by individuals who really know their stuff. Highly recommended.
Ariel Publicity
Description: The “sound advice” area of Ariel Publicity provides some great advice articles to help motivate and guide your online promotion strategy. Ariel Publicity is a “Cyber PR” company who really have their finger on the pulse. We highly recommend signing up to the bi-weekly “sound advice” bulletin.
Buzz Factor
Description:The buzz factor offers music marketing and promotion tips for songwriters, musicians and bands. Bob Baker, acclaimed author of the “Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook” among other titles, writes it.
Every once in a while, one stumbles upon a blog which catches ones attention, and you can´t resist a mention. Excuse the poor rhyme, but its Friday, and we are feeling fine! Ok, enough. Anyways, the blog we have in mind is a blog written by an Englishman, living in a small village outside Gothenberg, and it has a distinctly Nordic flavour. Ice and Deersis a blog which which is concerned with “pleasing your eyes and ears”, and please it does. Packed with aesthetically pleasing visual and audial treats, you are always left with a nice fresh taste in your mind every time you leave. One can tell that the writer is a music video-surfing addict, and has a diverse if somewhat eclectic appreciation for the artistic. If you want to get a daily dose of some savory music videos, and some auditory delight, this blog will deliver both. Here is a video reccomended by the author:
Today we would like to write about a new service which has got the Record Union team quite excited. Introducing Bandize! Managing a band can be notoriously difficult, and what Bandize aims to do is bring clarity and calm to such a complex and often time consuming venture by making the whole endeavour more organised, efficient and focused. When they launch to the public, Bandize will boast a set of well thought out tools which will make most aspects of managing a band much easier and more transparent.
So what do Bandize offer? Well, a lot. You will be able to manage everything surrounding upcoming shows and tours online, including dates, locations, hotels and contact persons. Badize´s digital ledger will make the accounting side of things more transparent by helping you keep track of all your transactions, who is owed what and who needs paying. On top of this you will be able to keep track of your inventory, synchronise your social networks, manage that ever expanding “to do” list and keep a tab on how album releases are fairing. For a more detailed explanation of their set of tools we recommend checking their website. One gets the feeling that Bandize could be one of those services that once you begin to use it, you will wonder how you ever coped without it.
We like Bandize because it is yet another example of how Internet based services can and are empowering artists and bands. Though Bandize will surely appeal to professional tour managers and high profile management agencies, it will most likely be bands and artists without large management teams who will profit the most from this service. Either way, it has the potential to become an essential weapon in the independent musician’s arsenal. This is a service to keep an eye on.
The people behind the Meadow mp3 blog are well aware of how the online music environment is changing the way people form their opinions about music. The authority and influence of the traditional channels such as Record Labels, TV channels, Radio, and management companies are dwindling with the onset of the collaborative possibilities which underpin the digital music revolution. With this in mind, the orientation of Meadow Music is absolutely spot-on. They are an expanding a network of listeners, musicians, artists, producers, song writers, film producers, authors and just about anyone else with a love for music to fill the void created by the decline of the previous authorities. “Together we can create the world of music that we want to have”, that is the guiding vision of Meadow Music. Combining the shared wisdom of individuals, their experiences, their dreams, visions and personalities they believe we can create a different kind of music environment which will benefit us all. We at Record Union couldnt agree more. Meadow music is dedicated to the Swedish independent scene but the blog is available in both Swedish and English. It is updated daily and provides reviews and commentary on a diverse repetoir of artists and bands, providing you with all the relevant links and posting numerous clips to view at your pleasure. This blog is definitely something to put in your favorites; it is already in ours.
You are awesome is not a label (though it helps labels release tracks), it’s not a promotion agency (though it promotes artists they like), it’s not a booking agency (though it helps organise tours and shows) – you are awesome is a blog, and it’s awesome! In fact, it’s not quite a blog either, well it is, but it is more than a blog. It is a “creative living room” where people are welcome to hang around and share ideas, and it is a great place to discover great indie music from a great collection of (yes, awesome) bands and artists. These guys have scoured the local Swedish/Scandinavian independent scene, but also scenes beyond, to bring you some really talented artists who together showcase a diverse range of musical goodness. This pseudo-blog screams creativity. Did you know that Sweden has actually been labelled the most creative country in the world? If you dont believe us, view the music videos available from the YAA TV stream and you might change your mind. YAA has also release a groovy little mix-tape too (well actually, its quite big) which will definitely massage your eardrums. You can download it from the YAA homepage. All in all, this is an uber blog. Needless to say, it is exactly these kinds of concept blogs which the independent scene needs to bring perspective to the dazzling array of music which is now available on the world wide web. Definitely go check it out, else you are not awesome!
There has been talk recently about whether the internet is making the “hit” irrelevant. The manufacturing of the “hit” is associated with the times where major Record Labels had an impressive control over consumer behaviour. It was that elusive formula which guaranteed blockbusters, that formula which enabled their marketing departments to create and predict demand for music to an almost scientific certainty.
However, now the ideology of the hit seems to have lost it power. As the story goes, by the year 2000, a new autonomous realm largely outside the record industries control was beginning to take a toll on the hits effectiveness. This new realm was not based around the “cult of the mainstream”, could not be cracked by mass marketing strategies; this new realm was the internet. The internet is the “hits” worst nightmare. The internet has produced far more choice in what music is available. Consumers became less susceptive to the neatly packaged mass marketed mega bands, now able to exercise more freedom in what music they put on their play list. WIthin the internet developed a whole new culture, one of file sharing, ipods, bloggers, myspace, home recording, user recommendations, net hypes, podcasts…No longer satisfied with the limited music available through the tradition channels, music taste, and the identifying process involved, has become far more diversified. What was once the cult of the mainstream has now fragmented to a dazzling array of subgenres each with their own “micro-hits”. These days, the “top 40” has become irrelevant to the new generation of internet savy music fans, who actively engage with music in diverse ways; the cult of the mainstream has become the cult of the “niche”.
So does this signal the end of the “hit”? Yes, well, kind of…its hard to say. The internet music community is growing steadily, as is the digital download market, which is growing exponentially. For many, the authority of the traditional “hit” seems superfluous compared to the massive amount of choice the internet offers listeners. The “hit” will remain in some sense, but it seems likely that the mechanics helping to produce it will have changed to become more in line with the online environment.
Organisations like the “Montreal Indie Music Network” are the lifeblood of independent music. They are a concert Promotions Company actively involved in spreading valuable information about gigs going on in their area. Not only involved in promoting concerts, they regularly post information about up and coming artists on their facebook group as well. Like most people dedicated to indie music, they appreciate that some of the best music out there comes from unknown indie bands, as opposed to the “heavily-hyped and advertised major-label megabands”. As we all know, Independent music does not have the same capital for huge marketing, advertising and promotion schemes as the major record labels, which makes networks like these all the more important. Where would the independent scene be without them?
Beginning as a face book group the network is in the process of creating a website called “Indie Montreal”. We spoke to the creator of the network, Jon Weisz, about the role of his network in today’s music environment. He observes that “95% of pop music fans are too complacent: they listen to whatever Television tells them to listen to without questioning the music’s quality or relevance”. Indeed. Jon understands more than anyone that labels simply don´t have the resources to market most of the great music out there, and that questions of risk often force them invest resources in artists appealing to the “lowest common denominator” (for more on this, see this article). Imagination, that crucial artistic ingredient “doesn’t make money for these companies, who often put millions of dollars into promoting a single artist”. With this in mind, his network
“provides a resource for people who fall within the 5%, who understand that music’s appeal is not cultural and dictated, it’s personal and discovered. Although a lot of popular music is good, I find that the best music is almost always found in indie niches that are not heavily marketed or publicized”.
We at Record Union couldnt agree more! Keep up the good work guys!
Pick the band is an interesting concept: it is the first fan run label. It is a label which relies heavily on the participation and collaboration of the music community to make decisions. It is loosely a talent contest featuring unsigned bands from various locations within the US (it is not global yet), and is orientated around Rock. Fans get to vote on which bands continue to the next stage of the competition, their favourite single, create music videos and design merchandise and album artwork. It invites fans to participate by provide designs, video concepts, song ideas, song title and tour stops. Pick the band really has embraced the possibilities for collaboration that the internet provides; it is an archetypal music 2.0 (or 3.0?) website.
This is a website which understands the weaknesses of the old record label structure and is attempting to redefine, it its own way, what the term record label means within a new music environment. However, it does incorporate some of the tendencies that Record Labels are known, and sometimes criticised, for. It does require Bands to surrender a deal of control over their music, although now it is the fans who influence decisions rather than production managers. If anyone should affect the decision on which t-shirt the band should use, what song they should release as a single, how their video should look, it should be the fans, right? This raises an interesting question though – is the role of a band to satisfy their fan base or to make music on their own terms? Shouldn´t bands just “do their own thing” and collect fans based on their evolving individuality? It is their music, after all – they should do with it as they please. What does everyone else think about this idea?
