A few days ago, I posted an interview with music publicist Jim Della Croce. In it, he made a few comments about electronic press kits, which I felt would make a good discussion here.
Listen to Jim's comments here...
My question...
Do you use electronic press kits? If so, what have your experiences with them been?
If you're not using them, I'd like to know why also.
Post thoughts below...
21-year-old Ryan Laird moved from Ontario, Canada to Nashville with the hope of kickstarting his music career. He then found out that lots of people do the exact same thing...
So he spent his "life savings" on a billboard that read "Hey Taylor, I LOVE your music. Will you produce my album? — Ryan."
What it looked like...
More on the story...
What happened because of it? Check out this video at the 1:35 mark.
Gotta give Ryan credit for going balls out like this. He didn't put a tiny classified as in a free newspaper, he didn't get a bus bench, and he didn't try to save a few bucks on the art design. He went big and it paid off.
Of course, if you're going to do something like this, you have to be able to back it up with good music. Check out Ryan's MySpace page and just that for yourself.
Thoughts?
Send me your demo or album so I can play it on Music Business Radio and have it reviewed by guys like this...
Send CD to:
Tuned In Broadcasting, Inc.
ATTN: Music Business Radio
1310 Clinton St. Suite 200
Nashville, TN 37203
Just found this interview I did with Nashville City Paper's "City Confidential" series on October 1, 2002. As somebody who is often on the "asking" side of interviews, I thought it was interesting. Definitely gave me some good ideas for questions to use on Music Business Radio.
The reason I'm posting it here is because I think it's good for all people, regardless of profession, to evaluate where they are, where they've been, and the plan for where they're going. And since I do that myself, I'll be posting something tomorrow with my current thoughts on these questions and the interview in general.
But for now, the old interview...
David Hooper
Master marketer reveals the man behind the Web site, music, book David Hooper has made a living for himself helping musicians find an audience. At 29, he�s already a marketing wizard and knows the ins and outs of the tumultuous music business from the perspective of an artist as well as savvy scene hound. After being involved with a band that was well promoted but lacking musically, he has since written a book on how to make money as an independent musician titled How I Make $100,000/year in the Music Business (Without a Record Label, Manager, or Booking Agent) and is the point person for the second annual Nashville New Music Conference (2NMC) to be held in October.
INSIDE INFO
What dreams have you had to let go of or put on the back burner?
I don't know that there are any. People change and so do goals. I have
a lot of stuff on the back burner now because I think of new projects
almost constantly, and there simply aren't enough hours in the day to
get them all done right away. I have a lot of patience though.
What CDs are currently in your player?
Best of Con Funk Shun Volume 2, Gap Band IV, Dag Nasty's Four on the Floor, a CD-R I burned of white label dance mixes from Gnutella, and an audio book about marketing called Unleashing the Idea Virus.
If you could invite three celebrities for a slumber party, who would they be?
I've
met a ton of celebrities, and most of them are pretty shallow and I get
bored really easily. So I'd have to get some that I know could
entertain me for the night and wouldn't be airheads. I'd love to have
Jesus over and also Paul and Jan Crouch from TBN. Jesus and I could
then start asking the hard questions like how is it that she is able to
cry on command and who paid for their $5 million home.
Finish this sentence, "I'd rather be drug through cactus naked than ___."
Punch a clock.
If you could have a talent you don't already have, what would it be?
Can't think of anything. I got this goal planner about a year ago and
started filling it out, but I only got about three pages in and
realized that there really isn't anything that I'm in need of.
What should the title of your autobiography be?
When it comes to books, I always think in terms of Amazon.com and what people will be searching for. My first book was called How I Make $100,000/year in the Music Business (Without a Record Label, Manager, or Booking Agent) because I wanted to get as many search words in the title as I could in order to grab people who were looking for something like "music business" but had never heard of my book. So, I'd have to come up with a title that used a lot of really popular words in order to get the most people to at least be aware I existed. It would be something like 10 Stupid Things 7 Highly Effective Rich Dads Do While Making Chicken Soup for the Poor Dad's Soul.
How do you reconnect with your soul?
Lots of yoga and meditation.
What is the strangest thing you eat?
Wild Oats has these really good, vegetarian Rocky Mountain oysters.
They use couscous and soy protein instead of testicles. It's really
good with a little hot sauce.
How do you want the world to remember you?
This isn't something I'm worried about. I'll be dead.
Who should play the part of you in a movie?
I'm a behind-the-scenes guy, so it would have to be one of those documentary type films where you hear the guy, but never see his face. Any voiceover guy could handle the part, I'm sure.
What do you worry about?
Nothing.
I've learned that I'm not in control over much and it's all inevitable.
What is your greatest success?
I wake up every morning and I can't believe people pay me to do what I do.
The Black Crowes' manager issues statement:
In my thirty years in the music business, I have never once written a letter to
any publication to discuss or oppose a "review" of my artist's work. Any
artist or manager who has survived a dramatically changing musical
landscape, and experienced some longevity throughout, has a clear
understanding that both good and bad reviews are part of the scenery.
However, this letter was not written to address a bad "review" but rather a
fabricated album review that your magazine published even though your "music
critic" had not heard more than one song.
In our business, a fabricated review is a serious concern that may
ultimately harm all artists because it calls into question the credibility
of the entire review process.
A February 20th email response from a Maxim representative stated in part:
"On the rare occasion that we are not given music because of our lead time
or unavailability of the tunes, we make an educated guess ... Of course, we
always prefer to hearing the music, but sometimes there are big albums that
we don't want to ignore that aren't available to hear, which is what
happened with the Crowes. It's either an educated guess preview or no
coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former."
In your publication's first attempt to deal with this issue publicly, a
Maxim representative had only this to say in their official statement:
"Maxim will continue to provide our readers with information that is
important to them, whether it is about fashion, lifestyle, technology,
music, movies and more."
As the media coverage increased dramatically, it seems that your publication
realized that the above statement failed to address the scope of the issue,
and then released the following:
"It is Maxim's editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums
that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not
followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our
readers."
Mr. Kaminsky, your explanation would be interesting as to why you felt it
was acceptable to address only your readers in your apology statement and
completely neglect to mention The Black Crowes, whose music your publication
denigrated in a fabricated album review.
I believe that after the flood of negative media coverage directed towards
Maxim, only then did the publication feel it necessary to issue a public
apology to its readership to contain the damage caused by its actions.
I also believe that the reason you omitted The Black Crowes from your
apology was because your only concerns during this entire situation have
been to protect Maxim's bottom line and the potentially tarnished perception to
your readers.
Yesterday, you were quoted in an Associated Press interview stating in part:
"I will be the last person to mince words here: This is a mistake. ... There
should be no blurry line between what's a preview and what's a review."
Contrary to your above referenced statement, it seems that your magazine's
actions have created an extremely blurry line, if there is any line at all,
between "what's a preview and what's a review." Shouldn't a proper "preview"
notify the reader that an artist's work is forthcoming, whereas a "review"
offers an opinion of the material after someone has actually heard the
music?
In this case, Maxim's preview offered an opinion on an entire album based on
having heard no more than the one track that had been released to radio,
"Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution," and went so far as to assign a star
rating.
Please enlighten your readership and me, or at the very least your staff, as
to what your definitions and guidelines are for previews versus reviews.
Apparently the "mistake" has allegedly occurred with another artist. The
recording artist Nas publicly stated that Maxim gave his unheard, unfinished
material a 2.5 star rating. Was that a preview or a review that rated his
material while he was still in the recording studio? In either instance, I
feel it is indefensible.
In yesterday's Associated Press article, the full extent of your
accountability to The Black Crowes was covered as follows:
"In his interview with the AP, Kaminsky officially apologized to the
Crowes."
After three public statements made by your publication, I feel that offering
an apology through an Associated Press writer without addressing the band
directly is offensive.
Although my comments may be perceived as unforgiving, the fact remains:
Maxim has yet to issue a public apology directly to The Black Crowes.
Although I maintain that Maxim should act in good faith and issue a public
statement of apology to The Black Crowes, as was done for your readers, I
feel that this issue was important to expose on behalf of all artists and
expect that Maxim will follow the publication's claimed policies in the
future.
Sincerely, Pete Angelus Angelus Entertainment
Just got an email from songwriter Trevor Justice. He was so inspired by Barack Obama's speech on January 8th that he wrote a song about it called "Yes We Can" and kept many phrases from the speech intact.
You can hear it at www.myspace.com/trevorjusticemusic.
Doing something timely like this is a great way to get media attention, especially when the topic is something that so many people feel so passionately about. A right wing band known as The Right Brothers has been doing something similar for a few years, with great results.
If this is who you are as an artist, I say go for it. But be sure you want to get involved in something much larger than your music before doing so. Songs like "Bush Was Right" might be hot for a bit, but what happens when people find Bush is a liar?
This is a good idea and can be easily copied by any band or musician. Great publicity for the band as well as helpful to the community...
I've seen the idea of "charity" come up a lot with musicians, but most are afraid to go balls out like this. You'll notice that the money being donated is 100%, not 10% or something like that. Nobody cares about 10%. They want to see that you're serious and doing this for the right reasons, before giving money to a band they're never heard of in the name of charity.
So, with 100% of album sales gone, how does the band make money? New people will be exposed to the music, which will generate plenty of money via future album sales, catalog sales, live performances, and merchandising.
Still on the fence about an idea like this? Think of it this way... You can certainly keep 100% of the money and pay for all the publicity you'd otherwise get for free, probably not getting nearly the promotion result (or the cash) in the end.
So watch and learn...
The Michigan City Vandals (MCV) are releasing their first full length album on November 3, 2007 and plan use 100% of their album sales to build a Habitat for Humanity home in Benton Harbor, MI.
The band feels that recording and releasing this album has become a community effort to help the Benton Harbor Habitat for Humanity affiliate.
“When we decided to donate the money and try to build this house, we realized we needed to come up with the funds to actually record the album. We are not currently on a label and were going to try to pay for it all by ourselves, but then the most amazing thing happened,” explains Bassist and Lead Singer for The Michigan City Vandals, Julee Laurent. “Peak Audio in South Bend donated all the tracking and mixing for four of the songs, our friend Dustin Maust produced and played guitar on those tracks and Tom Jennings and Dave Maki at Czars in Saint Joseph, MI said they would record us live and mix it for us to supplement the studio tracks. It was an incredible feeling to see how this music community comes together and still believes that music can change the world.”
The idea came to the band when some of its members were in Guadalupe, AZ on Whirlpool’s® Second Annual Building Blocks Blitz helping Jose Molina and his family build their first home. The Building Blocks program, which is a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Whirlpool®, is a signature program created by the appliance brand to raise awareness of the affordable housing crisis and to help eliminate substandard housing in the United States.
“To stand next to someone and help them build their home is more fulfilling than a record deal or fame. Those things don’t last, this house will. The Molina’s will watch their grandkids run around in it and they will maybe take a second mortgage to send their kid to college and change generational cycles, all because they have a home and a safe place. This is what Habitat does, and I am just glad we can be a part of it in any little way we can. It’s the proverbial pebble in the water causing a tidal wave or the butterfly flapping its wings. In the end, its how we helped other people, not how we helped ourselves,” says Laurent.
The Michigan City Vandals will be holding a record release party at Czars 505 in Saint Joseph, MI this Saturday November, 3 with a South Bend release party currently in the works. They are planning a regional tour for this winter in hopes of raising $75,000 so that they can break ground on the house in summer of 2008. The album is currently available on www.michigancityvandals.com by snail mail or digital download. Individual tracks are also available on myspace.com/michigancityvandals.
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