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Indie Bands Find New Audience through Podcasting

Toronto, ON -- When Toronto band Uncle Seth submitted a few of their songs to a website called the Podsafe Music Network in July of 2005, they didn't realize that in less than a year they would make friends and fans of podcasters as far away as Florida and the UK, not to mention be producing their own podcast.

"We knew very little about podcasting, except that it seemed to be a way to get some online exposure for our music," says lead singer Tara Thompson. "I don't think any of us realized there was this amazing international community we're now a part of."

The Podsafe Music Network is a part of Podshow.com, the company created by podcast pioneer Adam Curry.

Uncle Seth's place in the network and other promotion has lead to plays on such popular podcasts as Curry's show Daily Source Code, Brian Ibbot's Coverville, Jason Evangelho's Insommnia Radio, and many others.

While Podshow is leading the charge to create a business model around podcasting, music artists and podcasters can join the Podsafe Music Network for free.

The legal agreements each sign give the podcasters clearance to use any of the music on the network for their shows.

"Clearance is needed because podcasts are actually MP3 file downloads, so artists have to give permission to have their tracks included." explains Jay Moonah, who plays bass and harmonica with Uncle Seth. "The network gives the bands and the podcasts an immediate way to connect. Part of the agreement is that the podcasters must fill out a form that sends an email directly to the artist when they play a song. That means bands can instantly see when they've been played on a show. I often email the hosts back, particularly if they play us more than once. That's lead to us forming relationships with podcasters all over the world."

One podcaster, Phil Coyne in Birmingham, UK even devoted an entire 70-minute episode of his show Bitjobs for the Masses to Uncle Seth.

"That was when we really knew we were onto something amazing" says Moonah, "when a guy in England who we've never met talks to us on the phone for an hour, and dedicates a whole show to our music, we knew we'd become part of a really special community."

Buoyed by their success with the medium, Uncle Seth recently decided to launch their very own podcast. "Basically, it's us talking and being ourselves, and playing interesting live or acoustic versions of our songs that our fans won't have heard before." says Thompson. "It's a way for people to get to know the band, to hang out with us. It's really fun, and we had some terrific feedback on the first couple of shows."

Moonah is convinced that podcasting is becoming an important means for independent artists looking to build their audience.

For more information, visit www.musicface.com/uncleseth/.

More Thoughts on Controversy...

Posted yesterday about how controversy gets publicity and sells records.  More thoughts on that...

As an artist, I think it's important that you be yourself.  If you're into jihad, or bitches and hoes, or going to church every day,  it's cool for that to come through in your music.

But if you're just looking to piss people off for no other reason than to sell records, watch yourself...

What people think of as "risque" changes.  Luther Campbell and 2 Live Crew got great publicity (and sold a lot of records) in the late 1980s by singing about "Dick Almighty" and being horny.  These days, with songs like that, they couldn't get somebody to piss on them if they were on fire.

My point is people get bored as well as desensitized and that you're always going to be pushed to take what you do to new limits.  And if you're on the edge about doing something now, you can bet that you're not going to feel very comfortable when you have to step things up a notch.

It should also be noted that people can spot a fake.  If you're not into it, they'll know it.  And unless you've got credibility with people, you're not going to go very far.

So be yourself.  Do what you do and make yourself happy.  That's the only way to have a long career in this industry.

Controversy Gets Publicity (and Sells Records)

by Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - A Muslim musician living in Britain said on Wednesday that two directors at his record label had threatened to resign if he released a new album describing suicide bombers and the West's immorality.

The threat means Aki Nawaz, who was born in Pakistan but moved to Britain aged three, would have to distribute "All is War (The Benefits of G-Had)" independently, causing delays of around two weeks.

"It won't get released on July 17th because of the other directors. I have to move it back two weeks," he told Reuters.

"The point is that these guys -- the directors -- who I admire, they're scared about what England is turning out to be in the sense that you can't speak. And they are scared for me."

The two directors could not immediately be reached for comment at Nation Records, the label which Nawaz helped to set up and which had been expected to release All is War.

The album was not the first time Nawaz has written politically charged songs. According to the Nation Records Web site (www.nationrecords.co.uk), the independent label which had planned to distribute All is War, Nawaz's group Fun-Da-Mental has released records including "Erotic Terrorism" (1998) and "Why America Will Go to Hell" (1999).

The difference now, he said, was a climate of fear in Britain, where the events of September 11, 2001 and the suicide attacks in London on July 7, 2005 had rendered open discussion of Muslims' place in society impossible.

"BY HOOK OR BY CROOK"

Nawaz, whose influences include punk, rap and South Asian song, aims to release the album "by hook or by crook."

On his band's Web site (www.fun-da-mental.co.uk), All is War is described as "13 tracks of provocation and law breaking."

While the lyrics are not available, a "manifesto" describes the ideas behind each of the songs.

Of the track "786 All is War," Nawaz says: "Since 9/11 it (the United States) has displayed all the evidence necessary to find it guilty of genocide and mass murder."

In "Che Bin" he compares al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Cuban revolutionary leader.

In an extract from "Cookbook DIY" quoted in a British paper, he includes the lines: "I'm strapped up cross my chest bomb belt attached/Deeply satisfied with the plan I hatched."

While accepting that his lyrics and ideas were controversial, Nawaz defended his right to express them and added that he did not condone suicide attacks. "They are part of the reality, a tragic reality. Everyone is to blame."

Two Blank CDs - $14.99

NEW YORK (Billboard) -- Cult band the Residents and the Cordless e-label have teamed up to create something that is either a unique multimedia experience that will link the physical, digital and mobile worlds -- or is just plain wacky.

On June 13, Cordless issued the Residents' "River of Crime" -- a 1940s-style radio serial with a band-composed musical score -- in a cardboard double-CD package with artwork that reinforces the band's trademark eyeball, all for $14.99.

The catch? It contains two blank CDs so that the five episodes, which will be released sequentially during a 10-week period, can be burned after the last one becomes available. A unique code for each package allows users to unlock the subscription at riverofcrime.com.

The package is exclusively available at Virgin Megastore locations in the brick-and-mortar world and at idealcopy.com in cyberspace. A prerecorded version of the project is planned for wider release next year.

The episodes also can be downloaded individually as they are released at all digital music stores. Each episode is priced at $1.99.

Cordless and the Residents created a unique vehicle to issue "River of Crime" because they wanted to make it available on an episodic, subscription basis.

"It is a bit wacky, but so are the Residents," Cordless president Jason Fiber says. "The Residents are always pushing the limits, whether it's music, art or technology."

Customers purchasing the limited-edition digital subscription will also receive digital extras like ringtones and mobile wallpaper as well as materials that can be burned onto the blank CD-Rs, including alternate versions of the "River of Crime" artwork, scripts and instrumental soundtrack elements.

And Fiber asks, "How can a digital-only release be (positioned) as a collectible? Residents fans are collectors, and this gives them something tangible to add to their collection."

Through the effort Cordless, Warner Music Group's e-label, can help brick-and-mortar stores sell digital product in physical form.

"It is an experiment, but we think it is something that is relatively easy to understand," Fiber says. The package comes with a red sticker on the cover warning that it contains blank media and telling buyers not to burn "River of Crime" until all episodes are retrieved. Inside the package is an instruction card.

On the other hand, Fiber says it may also be confusing. If the helpline rings off the hook, he says he'll know the effort was too ambitious.

Think You're a Badass?

I understand that it takes a bit of ego to get on stage and play in front of people, but the number of artists who contact me with a heads way bigger than their talents simply blows my mind...

Get over yourselves already.  Selling out your local bar is easy; it's like a 16-year-old playing Little League. 

If you're really serious about making music for a living, and not just stoking your own ego, I suggest you start doing some things which make your feel uncomfortable.  And this isn't just things having to do with music...

If you have a fear of public speaking, join Toastmasters.  If you have a fear of dancing, go take some lessons.  If you've never seen the inside of a gym, go join Gold's.

When you do this, two things will happen...

1. You'll find out that you're not as great as you think you are.

2. You'll find out that fear of something is a lot worse than the reality of doing it.

The difference between the successful bands that I work with and the guys who come and work with me, only to walk away with their tales between their legs, is that the successful bands do what they're afraid of.

So what are you afraid of in the music business?  Write a list and then start doing what's on it.

Get This Book!

I've talked about this book on here before, but heard yet another person mention it this weekend, which reminded me about how important it has been to so many people...

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hills is the book when it comes to developing a mindset which will let you bring in huge amounts of cash.  Derek Sivers of CD Baby loves it, so that should tell you something.

If you've ever wondered what the difference between the guys making big money in music and those who are always broke, this book will explain it to you.

It's $10 at iTunes, so do yourself a favor and get it now.

Dumbass Move by Dallas Austin

Legendary producer Dallas Austin is in a Dubai prison, where he stands accused of transporting drugs into the Arab country en route to Naomi Campbell's birthday party last month.

Austin has worked with Madonna, Michael Jackson, Brandy, TLC, Aretha Franklin, the Indigo Girls and Boyz II Men. Dubai, which is a member state of the United Arab Emirates, has strict drug policies and a reputation for a stern justice system.

Bonnaroo: It's not just for hippies anymore.

By Ray Waddell

Bonnaroo: It's not just for hippies anymore.

A diverse musical lineup brought 80,000 fans to the fifth annual Bonnaroo at this rural site on a 700-acre field about 60 miles south of Nashville. Nearly 150 acts performed across a dozen stages and tents during the June 15-18 event.

After missing the sellout mark in 2005, Bonnaroo sold out in advance this time around, with tickets available only on its Web site. With a gross of more than $15 million, Bonnaroo is the top-grossing event of its kind. Tickets, which covered all four days, ranged from $169.50 to $184.50.

Considering a growing softness in the so-called "jam band" scene in 2005, a shift in the lineup to a more mainstream/indie rock bill seems to have been a calculated risk that paid off for producers Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment.

This year, such acts as Radiohead, Beck, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Elvis Costello & the Imposters joined scene mainstays like Phil Lesh & Friends, Blues Traveler and Trey Anastasio.

While the musical direction clearly has shifted, Bonnaroo producers see the changes more as a natural progression.

A.C. Entertainment president Ashley Capps says, "We've always had this expansive vision of what Bonnaroo could and should be."

Superfly president Jonathan Mayers says Radiohead and Petty, for example, have been on the wish list for a while.

"We started with a certain core, the jam band community, and that still is a big part of our programming," he says. "There is definitely a percentage of new audience here this year, and introducing them to the Bonnaroo experience is cool."

If it was a different audience at Bonnaroo '06, it certainly didn't look much different to veteran observers. "I've never really felt like (Bonnaroo) was just a hippie festival," Capps says. "Anybody (who) has been camping in a field for three or four days is inevitably going to take on similar characteristics. It goes with the territory."

My Morning Jacket has played the last four Bonnaroos. The band's growth at the fest has been significant, and this year a crowd estimated at more than 20,000 enthusiastically caught the act's post-midnight, three-hour performance. That is a tremendous increase over its first appearance, when the band drew less than a thousand.

From a talent budget that Billboard estimates at around $3 million (the producers don't divulge that information), Mayers says about 20 percent goes to about 65 percent of Bonnaroo's acts. At many festivals, the budget is top-heavy, with 10 percent of the acts taking up as much as 90 percent of the budget.

Distributing this wealth of talent across many stages and days is a rewarding challenge. "We have a real vision of what the whole experience is about," Mayers says. "We're in the details business, and hopefully that's what makes us a little different and special."

$1500/month Giving Away MP3 Files

Around 2000 or 2001, MP3.com had a deal where they would distribute $1,000,000/month to artists who gave away music via its site.  Some guys were making hundreds of thousands per year.  And it was pretty common to find people making $1000-2000/month.

I remember speaking at a music business event held by Vanderbilt University during this time.  Also speaking was a local independent artist who was just starting to find her legs.

A member of the audience asked about making a living doing music.  Her response was to put up songs on MP3.com and get money for giving them away.

I thought this was the most stupid idea ever...and here is why.

MP3 was a great "money-maker," but was far from being a "business."  If you don't know the difference, just ask all the artists who were bringing in $1000-2000/month and thought they could quit their jobs and be set for life.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a certain situation, which can bring in a ton of cash rather easily.  MP3.com was a great example of that.

You should absolutely take advantage of these opportunities when they come up.  The problem is that many people confuse a temporary situation with something that will last forever.  That rarely happens...  If we learned anything from the "dot com" era, it's that you can't just spend, spend, spend without bringing back some money in return.

But there was some real good which came from this experience, which is why I'm writing this...  In fact, the good that came from it was worth much more than any of the money mp3.com paid out...even to the guys who were making $200,000 or more per year.

This experience showed artists that you can make a living making music.

You may think to yourself, "Duh."  But believe me when I tell you that there are plenty of artists, the majority of them, who don't think it's possibly.

Sure, they see somebody like Britney Spears bringing in tons of cash, but that's her.  They don't believe that it can happen to them.

But it can...and the checks that mp3.com sent out during this time proved it.  Not exactly the money that Britney Spears is earning, but it was enough for hundreds of people to quit their jobs, which is a great starting point to really bring in the big bucks with your music.

mp3.com is gone, but there are other opportunities like this still around.  One of them is Google Adsense, which will allow you to make money from your website's traffic by placing tiny ads.  You can see an example in the righthand column of this page...

I've seen people, Derek Sivers of CD Baby for one, argue that this just gives people a chance to click away to another site.  It does.  But if your site isn't making any money without ads, what do you care?

Best option would be to do a second site, perhaps a "fan area" for people who like the genre of music that you play.  See Lyric Garage for an example.  This is a forum for songwriters which makes money via this program.

Something to chew on...  If you're interested in signing up and playing around with this, a link is below.

Jay-Z Launches Boycott of Cristal

NEW YORK -- Rappers have long proclaimed their love for Cristal, frequently mentioning the high-end champagne in songs and popping the corks of the clear, gold-labeled bottles in music videos and at nightclubs.

But the makers of Cristal don't seem to feel the same way about hip-hop -- at least that's one rapper-turned-record executive Jay-Z sees it.

Now president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Records, the multiplatinum rapper has decided to boycott his once-beloved bubbly over comments from Frederic Rouzaud, managing director of Louis Roederer, the company that produces it.

In The Economist magazine, Rouzaud said the company viewed the affection for his company's champagne from rappers and their fans with "curiosity and serenity."

Asked by the magazine if the association between Cristal and the "bling lifestyle" could be detrimental, Rouzaud replied:

"That's a good question, but what can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business."

The comments left a bad taste in Jay-Z's mouth. The rapper said he would pull Cristal from his small chain of popular sports lounges -- where bottles of Cristal sell for $450 and $600 -- as well as from his personal flutes.

"It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the `hip-hop' culture as 'unwelcome attention,'" Jay-Z said. "I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including the 40/40 Club nor in my personal life."

Jay-Z plans to replace Cristal -- which a club spokesman said it could never stock enough of -- with Krug and Dom Perignon at the Manhattan and Atlantic City locations of his 40/40 Club. (There are plans for clubs in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to the club's Web site.)

Rouzaud did not return a message seeking comment. But it was the writer of the article, and not Rouzaud, who used the phrase "unwelcome attention." After Rouzaud's comments about Dom Perignon and Krug, scribe Gideon Rachman wrote: "Both Dom Perignon and Krug have had their share of unwelcome attention, too."

Still, Jay-Z spokesman Ron Berkowitz said his client remains offended.

"They're trying to distance themselves from the hip-hop community," Berkowitz said. "The hip-hop world certainly helped elevate the presence of Cristal. At the end of the day isn't the goal for any company to sell bottles?"

Cristal, which Roederer considers its "jewel," began appearing on the lips of many hip-hop devotees following an onslaught of mentions in rap songs starting in the 1990s.

Jay-Z's adoration goes back to at least 1996, when he rhymed on the song "Can't Knock the Hustle": "My motto, stack rocks like Colorado/Auto off the champagne, Cristal's by the bottle."

Others with a fondness for Cristal include Sean "Diddy" Combs, Kanye West and Trina.

According to Agenda Inc., a brand strategy agency that tracks mentions in Billboard's top 20 songs, Cristal ranked No. 8 in 2005, behind brands such as Mercedes, Nike, Bentley and Rolls Royce.

Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 and is still family-owned, according to its Web site. Cristal was created in 1876 exclusively for Tsar Alexander II. Roederer stopped making the champagne after 1917 but started again in the 1940s.

Boycotts aren't new to hip-hop. In 2003, Pepsi agreed to give $3 million to charity after Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons threatened a boycott because the soda company canceled an endorsement deal with rapper Ludacris in the wake of complaints from commentator Bill O'Reilly.