Grindstop Blog

In the iTunes era, there’s no question that digital music reigns supreme. In the coming years, who knows? Even the most astute industry experts can’t predict what medium or business model will dominate, but that hasn’t stopped bloggers from combing through a recent spate of audio-related announcements to discern the next big trends. Five predictions for what lies ahead:

* ‘The End of the MP3′ Web sites that allow users to play (or stream) music files for free have been around for years, but one called Lala has been making noticeably larger waves. Lala has developed an application that will allow users to stream their entire music libraries on mobile phones (beginning first with an iPhone app). The company’s co-founder says it will replace MP3s as the preferred format for digital music. Ironically, this puts Lala into direct competition with Apple’s own iTunes music store. As Wired’s Eliot Van Buskirk notes: “LaLa claims it already earns an average of $67 per user. That’s 300 percent more than what the iTunes music store brings in, according to a 2008 Forrester study. If that figure is accurate, Lala is already proving that drastically lower pricing for music could spell higher profits for the record industry and more tunes for the people at the same time.”

* Refined Music Search Search companies are listening users’ complaints that finding music online is a chore. On Wednesday, Google debuted a much-hyped new search function that allows users to play and purchase audio files directly from a search results page, thanks to partnerships with several burgeoning music services (Lala and Myspace’s iLike, to name a few). The move comes a year after Yahoo partnered with Rhapsody to create a similar playable musical search function. Still, as PC World’s Ian Paul finds, music search is far from perfect: “When I searched using song lyrics, Google often came up short…Yahoo’s search results were less robust than Google’s in my tests. I could only find music samples when I searched for artist names, not song or album titles. But if you’re looking for a simple way to sample a particular song, either service will work just fine.” The L.A. Times’ Jon Healey is similarly unimpressed with Google, and doubted the contention of some bloggers that the service would help grow legal music downloads: “It can help expose millions of people to legitimate Internet music outlets, which will help those companies compete with free (and, in many cases, unauthorized) sources of music online. Whether consumers will actually spend more on music than they’ve been doing, however, is a whole ‘nother question.” Meanwhile, Microsoft has begun its own talks with MySpace to host a comparable service.

* Audio Algorithms The creation and production of music is also undergoing a revolution. At Discovery News, Robert Lamb inspects uPlaya, a Web site launched earlier this summer that uses an algorithm to determine the “hit potential” of any audio file a user uploads. By mathematically comparing a song’s features to past hits across multiple genres, the company claims to be able to predict its viability, allowing artists to adjust their new music to appeal to the widest possible audience. As Lamb explains: “Think of the technology as the artificial intelligence counterpart of Simon Cowell, except with more stats and less sarcasm.” He also says that it has achieved an 80% success rate. Meanwhile, over at EurekAlert, Luke Barrington reports on a new project at UC San Diego that also relies on an algorithm to generate automated music playlists. Test users preferred the UC playlist to Apple’s Genius recommendation system. Barrington suggests the technology will help bring new artists to the forefront: “Genius currently ignores relatively unknown songs because it lacks adequate wisdom from iTunes customers about how these songs connect to other songs. Systems like the auto-tagging music algorithms developed at UC San Diego could be useful in filling in the ‘blind spots’ in Genius and other collaborative filtering systems that rely on the wisdom of the masses to generate playlists.” And yes, the Malcom Gladwell devotees are correct in thinking that the popular journalist caught wind of this trend years ago.

* ‘The Music Gene’ Over at the Huffington Post, self-proclaimed “provocateur” Gail Zappa offers her eccentric take on the state of the music industry and an outlandish prophecy of the future. Recalling an incident in which her husband, musician Frank Zappa, was blacklisted in San Francisco, she argues that modern music corporations have enough power to tell an artist “you’ll never work on this planet again,” and actually enforce it. She bemoans the increasing availability of recording technology and the sorry state of copyright enforcement as a result of Internet file-sharing. Finally, she predicts that “Scientists (?) [sic] will prove that there is a ‘music’ gene,” which will bring about a cure for deafness and vindicate the notion that listening to music “is exactly like sex.”

* Radio Revival? Over at the Guardian, Nicholas Lezard celebrates new figures suggesting that nearly 90 percent of people in the UK listen to radio at least once a week: “For those of us bewildered and appalled by the march of modernity – in other words, those of us over 40 – this return to bygone days is so welcome it almost induces tears. We may be being badgered to buy HDTVs, iPhones, nanowotsits and any amount of technocrap, but against all this babble we can erect a solid wall of good sense and bullshit-free information…” The only trouble is that the British station leading the charge is BBC Radio 4, which specializes in just about everything but music. However, the number of listeners for classic music station Radio 3 is also up 12.6 percent to 2.19 million listeners, suggesting that for at least a certain genre of music, radio still holds sway.

For some the pursuit of success in the music business is nothing more than a quick dollar hustle. For others it’s more about fame and notoriety than art or financial independence. Some just like to express themselves through music and would love nothing more than to make enough money to do it full time. Others, while having respect for the culture of music are driven by the entrepreneurial opportunities available and see themselves creating and owning the next Universal Records. Maybe it’s a combination of all the above. No matter which description fits your situation the best, success in meeting your objectives will largely depend on how you answer the following two questions which are:

•1 How many people know your product/service exists?

•2 How many people care enough about your product/service to invest?

Keep in mind when I use the term ‘investment’ I’m not only referring to the corporate level but also the consumer level. In 2009 fans spend money on music because they want to, NOT because they have to. Matter of fact due to the recent emergence of free legal music streaming platforms (You Tube, Myspace Music, Imeem, Spotify, etc…) the consumer only has to invest their time and pay with their eyeballs, instead of their wallets. The popular phase ‘time is money’ couldn’t hold more weight in today’s Internet Age.

For example Oprah Winfrey built her empire off of millions of watchers paying not in dollars, but attention to her – which in turn allowed the TV network to charge corporations for ACCESS to her audience (to advertise their products). This ‘attention pool’ also affords her the opportunity to expand her revenue potential into film, print, radio and other media formats. With attention comes influence and that’s where true value lays…in the ability to help shape one’s perspective of what life means to them. How many people are paying attention to what you bring to the table?

Until recently music as a stand-alone product held a certain value due to the limited access one had to it. You either heard it on your local radio station or saw it on MTV/BET. Song rotations were limited on purpose so the record labels could profit off of massive attention (millions of listeners/viewers) but limited product exposure (15-20 song radio/video rotation). In order to listen to your favorite music on-demand you had to purchase the album. This scenario resulted in historic album sales, million dollar video budgets and 8 figure JV deals…until the Silicon Valley mob changed the game.

Once the Internet Age kicked in the consumer now had almost unlimited access to music/entertainment from thousands of online destinations. Because of this the scarcity value has now switched from the music to people’s attention and that (not online piracy) is the primary cause for the decline in album sales as the business model switches from ownership to ACCESS. The war all content creators are in is for market share of the collective MINDSHARE.

Finding the correct equilibrium between attention and scarcity will be a crucial part in the overall outcome of your efforts. Tipping the scales too far in either direction can have an adverse effect. For example spamming people (who never gave you their email address to begin with) or creating a false hype with manufactured beef in search of attention may only erode your brand credibility and turn people off. On the other hand keeping your product completely out of the market for too long in an attempt to retain a scarcity value may stall any momentum you’ve built and allow for the competition to fill the void.

For today’s music professional in search of sustainable success it’s important to understand that perceived value is often tied into scarcity. In other words you have to be able to offer something the next person can’t easily obtain (or create) and then capitalize off the access to that commodity. Then you need enough people exposed to your product/service so you can build a potential customer base and hopefully grow. As with anything worth the trouble your preservation and execution will determine how many crops you yield off the harvest.

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We’ve located quite a few ways to promote our independent record label, new released music and new artists. Having your business information available to your targeted audiences is the central key. There has to be visibility!

One of the perfect ways to make your business information visible and available, is to connect with others who are already visible and available! That is right, seek and search out other websites that will allow you to become linked to their website …it works! For every individual who comes in contact with a website you’re connected to, will definitely elevate the occasions of your website being viewed additionally.

I found that by asking various web site owners permission to link their web site to yours will ofttimes time cause a web site link ex change to take place… wonderful deal huh? You bet it is! Just remember this, it is all about visibility! You will be surprised how a lot of other web site owners are willing to ex change links.

So let’s get on board and start seeking out friendly website owners who want the same accomplishments for their website as you want for yours. But make sure you be careful of those who will ex change links and then remove your link from their website. Go back and check their website every so again and again.

We’re in the middle of “Banned Book Week” and this quote just came across my desk…

“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go to your library and read every book…” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

This got me thinking about the music business and how some of the “powers that be” are handling the issue of new technology. Rather than look at the good it can do, they see the problems– file sharing, piracy, etc.

You don’t have to agree with something to learn from it. And denying it’s a problem will only delay your ability to turn that problem into an opportunity.

For every “problem” file sharing has caused, there have been multiple opportunities…

Let’s take a look at basic distribution to press outlets, for example…

How much did it used to cost to get somebody a quality copy of your music? How long did it take? How many trees, pieces of plastic, and people were involved to make it happen?

File sharing changed the way the game is played and made distribution better. For example, let’s say I’m doing a last minute interview for Music Business Radio and need to get some broadcast quality music and more info on the act I’m talking to be prepared for it…

Current technology will let that happen within minutes…not hours or even days. And this opens up a lot of opportunity to do things, where there might not have been time before.

And taking that same concept of a “digital copy” that can be sent anywhere, almost instantly, think about how you connect with fans. In the old days, you’d have to go through a writer, who would have to deal with an editor, who would have to deal with a printing deadline, and then work with the postal service to get your message to your fans. Not only would it take a while, you’d also have the limitations of space, with only so much paper and ink available to you.

These days, it’s not a problem. You can set up a web page, or go on Twitter, or do any number of things which will get your message out, as you intend it, almost instantly. And since it’s in a digital format, you don’t have the “lack of space” issues you once had. Just keep typing until you run out of things to say…

Or post an audio clip, so people can hear what you’re saying and really get a sense for the emotion behind it. Or maybe video is more your style…

And think of how much less this new method costs?

Bottom line is that there is good in everything. Focus on the opportunities and make the technology work for you. Learn about it, even the “bad” stuff like file sharing, so you can use it to your advantage. If you don’t you’re going to be left behind by somebody who is.

How are you using technology to advance your music business career? Post thoughts below…

My inbox receives a continual stream of junk mail that assures me that the one thing that is most lacking in my life is the condition of my resume, and that, if I will only pay them $29.99 a month, they will help me redo my resume, get a better job and save my loathsome existence. To which I say: delete, delete, delete.

As musicians we know that traditional resume techniques used by workers seeking office jobs, and the junk mail that touts them, are not relevant to our needs. Moreover, we’ve probably at least reflected on the idea that, in general, resumes might not be useful at all in getting work. So what’s the truth?….

The world is changing, the industry is changing, and the music giants of today will no longer be industry titans tomorrow. In the last five years there has been an explosion of emerging artists popping up from the most unlikely of places. At one point 25% of the musicians on the American Billboard Top 100 music chart weren’t American born, which clearly reflects a huge shift that the music marketplace once controlled by the United States is no longer. The United Kingdom and Latin American countries have exploded onto the scene, and in many cases/genres are controlling the American market. As these countries continue to strengthen, there are several countries that are quickly approaching the same status.

Musicians, both domestic and international, scramble to new venues around the globe to capture their piece of an audience, however it’s important to realize there’s a specific rhyme and reason to global expansion. Some countries are on the up and up with their music industry, while others are only perceived to be successful. It is important to have a plan, a plan that incorporates industry statistics, buying trends, music festivals, intellectual property law, emerging artists, genres, and demographics. Most people don’t take the time to evaluate these aspects. Lucky for you I do. Stay ahead of the game, and if you’re looking to expand your career, label, or market to international areas, there are two countries that will blindside the global market in upcoming years. Please meet: Australia and South Africa. Stay ahead of the curve and learn where/why/and how to capture these markets immediately.

WHERE: Australia
WHY: Industry scholars are already aware that Australia is the ideal music market unfortunately musicians do not. If you monitor the Australian Billboard music charts you’ll notice an eclectic mix of musicians from around the globe. Even though a majority are American A-listers, if you dig a bit deeper you’ll notice Australian acts cluttered throughout. Australian musicians may not be the in the global mainstream yet, but they will be. The musicians are unique, they have their own style, and because everything is recorded in English, the likelihood American labels will begin cherry picking Australian talent is inevitable. If you incorporate Australia’s rising tourism numbers coupled with the countries low piracy rate, talented musicians, new genres, and solid buying market, their music industry expansion is a no brainer.
HOW TO CAPITALIZE: North American musicians will have a difficult time expanding their careers into the Australian market from a touring standpoint simply because of the economics. Traveling to Australia for a tour, shipping product, or jetting over for promotion is unreasonable from a money perspective, however getting radio airplay isn’t. There is a hug radio market in Australia, and because English speaking musicians (more so North American musicians) are already popular in the area, there is an existing demand for good product. As nice as an Australian tour may be, focus on getting radio exposure first, as it will be your best shot to slowly build a fan base. For European artists the opposite is true. Traveling to Australia is reasonable, and with Australia’s strengthening music festival season, getting some face time with fans will prove beneficial. As for focusing on radio efforts, wait until you establish a fan base by touring first, as the chances you’ll trump a North American or Australian band for radio time is unlikely.

WHERE: South Africa
WHY: The African music market in general is booming. Matter of fact, the entire continent is becoming a self sustained, self contained entertainment ecosystem. For the same reasons as above, the explosion of new/unique genres, steady tourism numbers, musicians, festival, language and buying trends in South Africa make it ideal. Even though the American music market is still the controlling industry force around the globe, major labels will adapt to global change very carefully. Careful for U.S. majors mean signing English speaking artists who have sexy/exotic/international appeal, but not TOO sexy and exotic. Tracking down European acts still proves financially risky for American labels, however South Africa fits the bill. The country adds extra incentive because of international trading routes, laws, and market potential that make the country attractive. If you’re thinking there are many other countries that the U.S. has great trading relationships with that would also fit the bill, you’re right -so why South Africa? The South African music market is gaining a closer relationship with the Nigerian movie industry, which essentially means licensing deals, added global exposure, cross promotions, and a huge revenue stream. The Nigerian film industry (ie: Nollywood) produced a 2.3 billion dollar industry in 2008, and is still rising. Believe it or not, Nollywood ranks #2 in the world in terms of films produced each year, ahead of the United States and behind India. Combine a possible Nollywood relationship, South Africans sense of community development with its artists, and rise of popularity for Nollywood films in Johannesburg and Cape Town and you’ve got a potential recipe for success.
HOW TO CAPITALIZE: Without sounding totally repetitive, the same steps that apply in Australia also apply to South Africa. North American artists should focus all efforts on radio, while European artist build a fanbase by touring.

RUNNER UP: The Netherlands
WHY: Quickly speaking, The Netherlands is packed with unique musicians. The country is a nice central European hub especially from a touring standpoint. However the strongest asset of The Netherlands is the fact piracy isn’t as widespread as it is in other European countries. Matter of fact the annual report put out by the International Intellectual Property Alliance, which monitors widespread piracy in each individual country, doesn’t even categorize The Netherlands as a “potential threat.” The likely emerging European markets of Italy, Sweden, Germany, and France, along with a majority of the Asian countries plagued the IIPA’s “piracy watch list” (ie: not good) which makes the likelihood their music markets will explode into the global mainstream rather difficult.

The Topspin blog has a story of one of the bands they’ve worked with, a lesser known act called Fanfarlo, that was able to reach some specific goals in promoting itself and building up its fan base, while getting many to commit to paying. From that, the post discusses a four step “formula” that the band used for success (listed here with my summary):

1. Don’t suck: something that often gets lost in these discussions. The music still does need to be good. All of these business models are that much harder if the music isn’t any good and fans don’t like it. Playing good music is a definite first step.
2. Get others to introduce you to their audience: This is another good point. I’ve been talking to some musicians lately, who were trying to understand how to best apply some of this stuff, and I often suggest looking for other, more well-known acts, that the band can work with to get some sort of endorsement, or “opening” slot on a tour (or even just a gig) as a way of reaching more fans. The Topspin post points out that some people assume that this is the real story behind the success of Fanfarlo, but the numbers don’t bear that out. It probably accounted for approximately 30% of the band’s sales. Not shabby, but hardly the only reason for the band’s success.
3. Make those audiences an offer they can’t refuse: In this case, the band offered a download of their album, plus four bonus tracks for $1 for a limited time. Yes, all of the songs combined for a dollar — not each of them for a dollar apiece. While I normally support just giving away the music for free, I can see a reason to offer them all for a dollar in some situations. In this case, it gets more people to commit to the music and the band, but at a price that is much easier to deal with. I’m still not convinced that $1 is better than free, but it sure beats regular album prices. While this offer was for a limited time, after it was over, the band still offered the download cheaply ($6).
4. Repeat: This is another important one. We keep hearing bands put in place business model promotions that are one time deals, rather than a fully thought-out continuous and ongoing business model. By repeating the process, not only can a band keep making money, but it lets them iterate and experiment, and find out what works (and what doesn’t.).

In this case, it looks like things definitely worked. It was able to get 15,000 new fans on its mailing list, with a rather stunning 13,000 of those buying something (but fans just want stuff for free, right?). Of those who simply viewed the download offer, an amazing 22% made a purchase. That’s an insane conversion rate. Also 30% of the download buyers came back and bought a physical product later (CD, vinyl or special edition).

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Perhaps with some tweaking, here’s what current wisdom tells you:

1. Make music.
2. Give your music away; it’s your best advertisement.
3. Organize into a business entity.
4. Go on tour.
5. Build an audience.
6. Sell stuff and a bit of music when you can.
7. Go on tour again.
8. Sell even more stuff.
9. And when you stop touring, your revenue stream will slow to a crawl.

As new interactive digital products enter the marketplace (and they are), your digital future will look something like this:

1. Make music
2. Give your music away; it’s your best advertisement.
3. Sell high-margin interactive digital products to fans.
4. Go on tour if you want; it won’t be necessary to making a living.
5. The reoccurring revenue never has to stop.

Make money from home…
I’m reminding everyone of this now because some of you are making serious decisions based upon the current wisdom outlined above. New interactive digital products will enable you to generate reoccurring revenue from your bedroom, provided that fans learn about you through your songs. Timeline: 2012 and beyond.

Illegal sharing and your digital future…
Aside from the wildest interactive capabilities that you can imagine, the question that’s on everyone’s mind is: Will illegal sharing crush these products also? The answer is no. The products that will come into the marketplace will capture the personalized (and for example: weighted, scored and ranked over time) digital relationship that you have with each of your fans. Fans will not share (their login credentials to) these highly personalized products.

Preparing for this future…
Artists have been giving away everything from baby pictures, to blog posts, to bedroom videos to sell music. Flip it all around and contemplate a day where ‘everything’ is part of your interactive package, whilst your songs are simply your banner ads. Hold things back today, to include in your digital tomorrow.

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Are you steering everything you do in terms of getting a record deal? I don’t blame if you are still. It’s been ingrained into our heads that a record label is the mighty savior.

I just read a post by George Howard on what an Artist Manager should be doing in today’s environment and he brought up an important reality check.

To summarize, his point is that the major role for a manager in the old days was to secure a record deal. In today’s world, it’s about generating revenue from as many sources as you can.

So with that in mind, how do you approach things if you’re acting like your own manager.

Today you can make and stay connected with fans without spending much money, you can release music relatively cheap (if you don’t opt for making an album without having any fans and record 3ps instead), you can reach music supervisors without a publisher, you can book your own tour if you put in the work. Everything is at your fingertips to really make a go of things on your own. It may take a little more time and effort, but that’s the price of not having a lot of dough to really expose an artist

So where do you start?? Here are few ideas to help you out.

1. Define Success

Know what you want to achieve with your music. Be honest with yourself

2. Have money goals

You need to know how much you need to make to keep the band going. You need to save money and keep track of your spending.

3. Continuously learn about the internet, internet marketing, social media, music related technology updates, etcc…

Let’s face it. The internet is the distribution vehicle of today and the future. Physical music will always hold a place in the world, but it will be only for die-hards.

4. Don’t emphasize the album!

Focus on songs and releasing music constantly in little chunks (3ps). You build fans through songs. The hardcores will buy albums down the road, but you gotta make fans first.

5. Emphasize direct contact

E-mail, twitter, facebook, etc.. are all ways to keep people updated. Be active and engage your audience.

6. Work to build a solid live show

Play a lot and build that live show out as that’s what people will pay good money for (if you’re good).

7. Focus on Merch early on

Find a way to get killer shirt designs, bring them to every show, and sell them online. You can make more on a shirt than a CD if the design is stellar and you don’t need to spend as much upfront.

Remember, it’s all about building something from the ground-up. It doesn’t happen over night.

If you love what you do, you’ll put in the effort.

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In an industry that is all about networking and who you know, business cards are a great tool. They are a convenient way to give a new friend or business contact a little pocket-sized reminder of who you are, what you do, and how to get in contact with you. Moreover, in a industry where individuality, creativity and quality are valued, musicians need to use business cards that reflect their personality, artistry and character.

There are a lot of different ways to approach the musician business card. Let’s start with some examples.

Note that several of these examples came from musicians on our Facebook group, who we write to now and then for help and advice on upcoming articles. All musicians are free to join in – just visit our FB group page and click “Join this Group.”

We’ll start with my absolute favorite business card from my friend Bart, a musician in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia who was kind enough to let me reprint his card here. He’s a funny guy, and people always like working with him. Read his selling points at the bottom of the card.

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