Atlas Funk!!!  Testing a new format.  Normally I just do audio for live concerts, but giving video a try too.  This was shot in a restaurant with almost no light and even less room to set up a camera, but you can still feel the groove and watch everyone have a great time.

Kickstarter: Don’t get kicked!

In this past week we’ve seen Kickstarter.com pop up all over our feeds.  It’s truly impressive what Amanda Palmer has accomplished.  I’m incredibly amused and engaged by Martin Atkins’ “buy a fuck” campaign.  Clearly crowdfunding is here to stay.  

If you’re an entry level or newer band, I want to remind you to be careful, realistic, and prepared!

Back in 2010 I wrote a small article titled 5 Tips For Selling Music Online.  I think tip #5 is more relevant now than ever:

“5.  Be wary of third-party fan funding models:

There are all sorts of really exciting ways to generate money for your band on the internet.  One of the most common models right now is goal oriented fan funding through third-party websites.  This can be great, but make sure to investigate thoroughly.  I have several issues with the goal model.  When fans invest, they are not completely certain where their money is going, or when and if it will get to the recipient.  With the goal model, bands don’t get the money until they reach the goal, which could be never.  This creates a very real possibility that your fans have invested time and money in you and will never receive anything in return.  Obviously, that is not good.  Fans can also be reluctant to invest if they see you struggling to reach a goal. “

Be Realistic! 

This format is oh so appealing. It’s modern, engages your audience, and it’s an exciting project to market.  Amanda Palmer deserves every penny she’s raised, but it’s so vital not to forget that she didn’t exactly raise half a million dollars in a couple of days.  She raised half a million dollars in a couple days because of working her ass off for more than a decade.  She has a world of experience, and has probably paid dues for longer than you’ve played guitar.  Kickstarter didn’t make her career, she already had a great one.

Being realistic makes and breaks bands every day of the week.  Step one for being realistic is being prepared.  If you aren’t playing shows every week and more, you probably aren’t ready for Kickstarter.  How often do you rehearse?  Are you prepared for studio recording?  You MUST treat Kickstarter like any sort of business venture.  You have to deliver as promised.  The goals you set must be attainable, or else you’re in for a world of disappointed fans.  Make a full-length business and marketing plan for your Kickstarter campaign that’s as detailed as if you were trying to get more traditional investors.

Double Edged Sword

Kickstarter is a double edged sword.  It’s a highly visible and creative platform that efficiently allows artists to pitch their products to fans in a very organic and engaging way.  This means that if you fail, you will fail very visibly in front of your fans. You have the potential to excite the masses and reap the benefits, but you must be prepared for a potentially serious fallout with your audience.  It’s not your fans’ fault that they didn’t give you enough money.  Make a contingency plan by figuring out in advance how you can give back and reward them for their efforts if you don’t meet your goal.

There are very few miracles in the music industry, and it’s unlikely that Kickstarter is going to singlehandedly give you the career of your dreams.  Kickstarter is a platform, and like every other way of selling music, it’s going to take a lot of time, preparation, and very hard work.  You can do it though! Don’t let me discourage you, let me encourage you to do it right.  Every day people are coming up with more brilliant ways to leverage Kickstarter, and you have the potential to dazzle the world with your creativity and ambition.  

©2012 Graham Tobias, MediaStructura, Inc.

Go Atlas Soul!  My longtime clients and friends Atlas Soul ( www.atlas-soul.com ) have been written up in the Boston Globe as a much deserved feature article.  And somehow I got some sound engineer love and found my name and picture in the article as well.  Exciting!

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-27/music/31397567_1_morocco-music-funk

Black Angels have been chosen for a Target commercial!!! Very exciting.  I didn’t work on this promotion, but I’m psyched to see a band I’ve worked with get picked up for such a big TV spot.

The Black Angels are fantastic.  They’re a great bunch of psychedelic rockers from Texas, whom I had the privilege to work with this September in NYC.  I production managed and recorded huge secret show for them at a gothic synagogue in the Lower East Side.  I also got to record them in Gibson’s player lounge in the old Hit Factory studio.  Lots of video footage from everything, and there should be more videos in the future.  Check out some of the videos (some official, some bootleg).

Black Angels live at Angel Orensanz.  I was the production manager and live recording engineer.  This is bootleg audio/video, not mine.

Black Angels live at Angel Orensanz.  I was the production manager and live recording engineer.  This is bootleg audio/video, not mine.

Music vs. Social Media: An Inverse Relationship

So I’m sitting on a bus headed back to Boston after working in NYC all week. I’ve been thinking that social media and the music industry are very similar in many ways, yet are moving in opposite directions.

The music industry has a long history, and until recently, few major influencers. Now the industry is saturated with influence and bringing in way less money. Reaching out to fans and the idea of human connection is fairly new in an industry that was once made of gods that walked and rocked the earth among us mortal listeners. I feel like as an industry we are seriously reaching out, leaving the thrones behind and going back to the people we were born from in hopes of reconnecting and rebuilding commerce.

Social media has always been of the people, and for the people. The human concept has been around since the very beginning. It’s built on reaching out, connecting, and joining the conversation. Yet, as the social media world grows larger every day, major influencers are becoming the rock gods of the past, and they’re making more money as they go.

I’m really curious if the music industry and social media will have a major collision on their paths, and if this crossing of ways will blossom into a new age of art, media and business. Or has this already happened? How do we quantify the magnificence of a new age? It can’t just be about the money. Sure it’s harder than ever to make a buck selling music, but we are truly in a golden age of ideas, advanced technologies, and a true and passionate desire to make things better for everyone. We are just at the beginning of the future of art and conversation, and as we have our struggles to find our way down this evolving path, I think we are quickly and steadily heading towards something wonderful.

Check out The Daily Rind on July 19th for a Live Blog of the New Music Seminar in NYC. I will be live blogging for The Orchard, a global leader in audio and video distribution, and comprehensive digital strategy.

Follow me on Twitter:

@GrahamTobias

@Orchtweets

5 Tips for Selling Music Online

1.  Use all viable paths:

There are so many ways to sell music, and consumers definitely have preferences. These preferences vary greatly and it’s important to provide retail options for everyone. Selling direct to fans is a growing and wonderful movement, absolutely sell your content directly from your website.  It allows you to connect with your fans on your ground, and generates greater revenue when you cut out all the middle people.  BUT, don’t stop using major retailers such as iTunes, emusic, Amazon, etc…  Your fans will buy directly from you, but you want as much distribution as possible and major retailers are much more powerful venues for exposure and discovery by potential fans. Take advantage of all your options.

2.  Don’t limit your sales to albums and singles:

Scott Cohen and Bob Baker have written about breaking up your albums into multiple EP’s to sell alongside albums and singles.  Scott divided listeners into three categories– New Fans, Casual Fans and Core Fans.  New fans will buy the single, and core fans will buy the album, but without a middle option, casual fans are more likely to buy the single than the album.  Sell an EP for $3.99 and monetize that middle ground in your target.  Sell bundles and let fans pick their favorite tracks.

3.  Give away content:

Every large marketing project I’ve worked on has involved giving away lots and lots of free content.  Check out Spinner, or the majority of music blogs.  You will see that they are packed full of free content from awesome acts, large and small, from all over the world.  It doesn’t matter who you are, or who your audience is, give away content for free.  Get people interested, get them counting down the days until your album is released.  Free content opens up so many marketing paths and gives you a serious advantage.  Make album trailers, hold a fan video contest, engage your audience and get involved with your community by using content as a tool for interaction, not just transactions.

4.  Actively and genuinely connect with your fans:

Treat your fans like the dream company you have always wanted to work for. They are that company.  They sign your paychecks, they promote you to the world, they take you to exotic locations, and they do all this because they love you for you.  They want your influence, your creativity, your direction and your brand.  You are not above them, treat them like they are a part of you, and believe in them like they believe in you. Send them emails, give them free tickets, retweet and respond to them every time they mention you.  

A fantastic band I saw at Terminal 5 in NYC a couple months ago is Little Fish. Little Fish cares more about their fans than any act I’ve encountered for a long while.  The duo from the UK have something called the Little Fish Paper Club, where you sign up, and they hand-make and send you absolutely gorgeous little presents.  All they ask for in return?  Nothing.  There is an opt-in mailing list signup at the bottom of the registration form.  Talk about dedication to fans.  I’m sold twice now.  They absolutely rock so give them a listen and spread the word!

5.  Be wary of third-party fan funding models:

There are all sorts of really exciting ways to generate money for your band on the internet.  One of the most common models right now is goal oriented fan funding through third-party websites.  This can be great, but make sure to investigate thoroughly.  I have several issues with the goal model.  When fans invest, they are not completely certain where their money is going, or when and if it will get to the recipient.  With the goal model, bands don’t get the money until they reach the goal, which could be never.  This creates a very real possibility that your fans have invested time and money in you and will never receive anything in return.  Obviously, that is not good.  Fans can also be reluctant to invest if they see you struggling to reach a goal. More on this soon, expect a dedicated blog post about fan funding.