Author Archive for SandraPage 23 of 30

The Magic of Looping: David Ford, One Take, One Camera.

published
on April 21, 2008
by
Sandra
in artist/album reviews, music, technology, and video
. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Looping is clearly one of the fundamental aspects of digital music making. From watching friends play with Fruity Loops in college to seeing an ex-roommate perform a live looping concert for New Years last year, I’ve become increasingly interested in the magic of looping.

Thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Eliot Van Buskirk of the Listening Post, I discovered this video of David Ford, in which he records his song “Go To Hell” – in one take – using looping and household kitchen appliances, in addition to instruments and a microphone. Badass.

A perfect example of the modern multi-instrumental recording artist looking for creative new ways to make music. He would do well as a MixMatchArtist. To compare this rendition to the original, click here. I think I like the homemade one better.

Ultraviolet Sound – Another Great Music 2.0 Band

published
on April 16, 2008
by
Sandra
in artist/album reviews, culture, music, and video
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Recently, I had the pleasure of discovering a band that totally rocked my world from the second they walked on stage. Following the Presidio 10 race, an event put on by The Guardsmen and the Ashlyn Dyer Foundation (two San Francisco-based charity organizations), there was a party for the runners, organizers, supporters etc. Click here for more great pics of the event taken by Guru Khalsa of TheAList. Though I was only able to catch a few of their songs, Ultraviolet Sound secured itself a place on my list of Hot immediately.

Not only do they have that funky, gritty, electro pop punk sound that I love, but they (like more and more bands every day) are challenging convention and embracing the changing music industry. Ultraviolet has teamed up with TrueAnthem, which is an “advertiser supported online music promotion and distribution company” all about connecting the band to the fan. You can listen to and download their songs on TrueAnthem for free, because at the start of each song is a brief “sponsored by” message delivered by the band itself. Howard Stern, anyone? Not sure if he was the first one to read the radio’s commercials himself, but he certainly popularized the concept.

While this model won’t work for everyone, I know I for one will gladly listen to a quick message if I get the song for free. Honestly, I’m surprised more media outlets haven’t embraced the Howard Stern style method of having the person/people/band people are tuning in for deliver the ads. San Francisco’s dance station, Energy 92.7, does this well. With any other radio station (yes, I still listen to traditional radio in the car) I change the station when commercials come on. But when Fernando and Greg are doing their show, I gladly listen to all their ads cause their delivery is priceless – they make going to the dentist or mattress shopping sound fun. Since I have come to trust their recommendations I am more likely to check out the things they advertise than what I hear elsewhere.

We see more and more examples of free music, almost-free music, listen-for-free music and pay-the-band-not-the-label music sources everyday. Those who are still clinging onto traditional models – and can’t pull their heads out of their asses – sit around and bemoan the crumbling of the music industry, stressing over declining CD sales and cursing today’s youth and their sense of entitlement and wanting everything for free. Meanwhile, others are watching with interest as the industry evolves, are adapting to it and celebrating the myriad new opportunities being created.

Last.fm is a great example. They recently demonstrated that giving users access to free streaming music encourages music purchasing. Since their “free, on demand” service launched, they have experienced a 119% increase in their sales through Amazon. Those are some nice stats, people. Even MySpace Music is looking to the stream-for-free model to increase record sales.

Let’s support bands like Ultraviolet Sound, explore the many new ways of discovering, making, and distributing music, and evolve the shit out of this industry, shall we?

Microfinancing Musicians: How to Skip the Middleman and Pay the Artist

published
on April 2, 2008
by
Sandra
in culture, music, and technology
. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

After exploring options for where musicians can sell their music online, I wanted to step into the shoes of the fans – the fans who would rather support their favorite artists and help them make more music by paying them directly as opposed to paying a label or music store.

I touched on it briefly in the 5 predictions for digital music trends post mentioning that “services like Slicethepie and Sellaband are paving the way for a more direct financial and emotional connection between creators and consumers”, but after discovering a few more services I think this topic warrants its own post. It’s one thing to buy a CD or iTunes single or a concert ticket. It’s another to just give money to the artist.

Here are the sites I’ve found (so far) that allow you to do so. They each operate a little differently. Some also allow you to make money while supporting the artist.

Sellaband
“You are the record company”
The Deal: The Believer picks an artist they like. Each artist issues 50,000 Parts at $10 each. Believers (fans) have to cumulatively raise $50,000 to get their Artist in the studio. Fans can withdraw their Parts and get their money back at any time up until they reach the 50K, at which point the Artist gets hooked up with a studio and an A&R person and the Partholders get to watch the magic happen. Advertising revenues and net profits from sales are split evenly between the Artist, the Believers, and Sellaband. And Believers can open a Shop to sell related products from their Artist and earn commission.

Slicethepie
“Help yourself to a piece of the music industry”
The deal: Every fan is a music label and can become “emotionally and financially involved at all levels of the music industry – scouting, breaking, investing in and influencing real artists” by sending them through the various stages of Slicethepie – Arenas, Scout Rooms, and Showcases. Fans listen to tracks, write reviews, vote for, and finance the artist by buying Backstage Passes, which give them exclusive access to the artist and the right to buy Contracts at a discount. Then, the Contracts (tradable on the Slicethepie Exchange) give investors a return over a 2 yr period.

CASH Music: A Coalition of Artists and Stake Holders
“A platform for engagement”
The deal: Not totally sure yet, as they are quite new, but in a nutshell it is “an open-source platform for the new, distributed music business” where artists and audiences can interact and support one another creatively. Projects are by invitation-only for now.

Calabash Music
“Tune Your World”
The deal: “Peer-to-peer microfinancing of new music projects.” Positioning themselves as “the leading international music download service and the world’s first fair trade music company”, they focus on international artists and even have a partnership with National Geographic, using Calabash’s catalog to access world music and put these artists in front of the 10 million monthly viewers of nationalgeographic.com. Pick an artist, make a minimum $15 sponsorship, and download advance copies of the artist’s recordings. Money is transferred to the musician once their goal is reached.

ArtistShare
“Where the fans are making it happen”
The deal: Around since 2003, ArtistShare is probably the oldest player in the field. In exchange for funding their favorite artists, fans receive “access to the creative process, LTD Edition recordings, VIP access to recording sessions and even credit listing on the CD.” Another cool feature is RadioShare, which allows radio stations to access music from ArtistShare.

As the music 2.0 movement continues to evolve, I will be watching with great interest to see which services become widely adopted and which trends prevail. Choose-your-price and pay-the-musician-directly are definitely two of the concepts I think will continue to gain popularity. And rest assured, among the many great features (including those that facilitate compensation for musicians) that will soon be available to MixMatchers, the ability to throw money in a tip jar to show some love for the artists you dig will be there.

Bands and Brands: A New Era of Partnerships in the Music Industry

published
on March 31, 2008
by
Sandra
in culture and music
. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

In this day and age – with the unprecedented level of access to information that people have through the internet and other means – consumers are not nearly as gullible as they used to be. Consumers are not only bombarded with advertising from every angle and have to find a way to filter through it, but they have also become jaded to a degree with traditional sales and advertising methods. I know I have.

One thing I’ve found interesting in this new climate is the tricky ways that some of the big players are partnering up to try to reach this new breed of audience. Big name sponsors like Coca-Cola teaming up with shows like American Idol come as no surprise, but then there are some unlikely marriages that make me think “um…weird” at first, but ultimately make a lot of sense.

As the music industry gets repeatedly dismantled and reinvented, all sorts of interesting partnerships are popping up. For example, Guns N’ Roses and Dr. Pepper? Allegedly, Dr. Pepper is going to great lengths to bully encourage GNR to release Axl’s much anticipated “17-year-in-the-making belabored masterpiece, Chinese Democracy, in 2008” according to the official press release. Free soda for everyone in America…There is even a blog dedicated to this thing. The writers at Tiny Mix Tapes made some interesting observations, including the following:

1. Dr Pepper is shamelessly trying to tap into the music blogosphere with this campaign.

2. Anyone who posted about this offer is a fool and are playing right into Dr Pepper’s hands.

3. We’re fools.

Guess that makes me one too.

Liquor companies have long been reaching their tentacles into the music industry, with tour sponsorships and what not. But what about a specific liquor brand partnering with a specific band? Like Bacardi and Groove Armada? The English electronic music duo, is (according to Wikipedia) “best known to the music listening public for producing music that have featured in numerous media including advertising campaigns, movies and computer games” so they are no stranger to collaboration.

It seems that now the rum peddlers are increasingly establishing themselves in the dance music space. Jeff Macdonald, global brand director for Bacardi, says “This heralds a new era for ‘bands and brands’ and promises to set a precedent as to how both artists and brands can reap the rewards of a mutually beneficial relationship.”

I’m curious to see if this begins to happen on a smaller scale as well, with unsigned independent artists. As the MySpace/YouTube generation of musicians find fame online, will they also find ways to partner with smaller brands?

Where to Sell Your Music Online

published
on March 25, 2008
by
Sandra
in culture, music, and technology
. 13 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

As I’ve been watching the big record labels crumble and the music industry evolve, I’ve become more and more intrigued by the ease with which independent musicians (and big name artists like Radiohead and NIN) are taking matters into their own hands. Record music without the use of a professional studio? Easy. Promote your work on social networking and music discovery sites? No problem. The next question in my mind is: what are the best places to sell your music online? Thus, I’ve compiled a list of sites to do just that. I’m sure it is by no means complete, so feel free to let me know who I’ve missed. In no particular order:

CD Baby – I first heard of CD Baby years ago when my childhood friend and accomplished musician, Mike Stocksdale, let his friends know that his album was available for purchase through them. The “little online record store that sells albums by independent musicians” has been around for a decade and, according to New Music Ideas, has become “one of the biggest digital distributors on the planet.” As you can see on their about page, artists make $6-$12 per album and get paid weekly.

Amie Street – If you weren’t already familiar with Amie Street, you may have seen them mentioned in conjunction with the Eliot Spitzer scandal. Ashley Alexandra Dupré not only posted a few of her songs on her MySpace, but also adroitly thought to post them on Amie Street where “all songs start free and rise in price the more they are purchased.” Predictably, a bunch of people – being the victims of morbid curiosity that we silly humans are – bought the songs, which subsequently rose to the $.98 max. The company gives 70% of song sales back to the artists.

MixPal – Though I only recently discovered (and briefly blogged about) this service, it’s probably one of my favorites. The idea of being able to set your own price, keep most of the proceeds, be paid immediately though PayPal, and even place a MixLink on any other website makes their approach a very attractive one.

BlastMyMusic – Another site that is all about fans supporting the artists directly, BlastMyMusic lets you buy singles OR albums on the artist’s profile on the site or through the “Music Blaster” on the artist’s website(s). Yes, the Music Blaster is also a facebook app – one where “fans can earn 5% for each song they sell and at the same time help gain further exposure for their favorite bands” to boot! Though artists only get 65% of the profit using BlastMyMusic, the widgetized aspect is pretty sweet.

Stage.FM – Formerly known as Audiri and based on the old mp3.com model, Stage.FM allows you to search for music using a tag cloud and tends to emphasize free music. In a great concise review of the site, New Music Ideas notes that while still a bit buggy, the site is great because: “Stage.FM lets artists sell tracks through the site and keep 100% of the sale price. Artists can set the price for each track, from $0.20 to $1.60, or let visitors download it for free. Money from sales is transferred to the artist’s PayPal account every month. And the Stage.FM music player widget lets artists sell their tracks from their own domain and social networks too.” I also like the “find bands near you” feature.

There are far too many services out there to make a comprehensive list, but if your favorite is not listed above, feel free to leave a comment and name your preferred service – with a link to your profile of course!

Also, stay tuned for some revolutionary new ways to sell your music online (piecemeal, for example) through MixMatchMusic, coming soon to a computer near you.