Metallica is putting their new music on their website. I'm a Metallica fan. I was on board from Ride the Lightning and I peaked with the black album. I've listened to St. Anger three times. The snare drum gives me a headache.
Not a Great First Impression
So they release a song to the public at 48 kbps (64kpbs is considered "AM Radio" in my book). What is this "soup cans and string" fidelity?
Then I see where they have another song to listen to, but instead of giving it all in one file I get to listen to 13 second clips. I'm not making this up.
Chic Fil A Marketing
One of the reasons Metallica HAS to let their audience listen is because we all got burned on St Anger. It sucked. So before I put out another 12 bucks I need some reassurance. I always point to Chic Fil-A at the mall. They give you a small piece of chicken to entice you to buy the whole thing. They don't give you a small piece uncooked. It's the same quality as the chicken.
You have to trust your fans. They want you to succeed.
Put your song in hi-fidelity into a flash player (maing it very hard to steal). I know that you can record anything you hear on the computer. But think about this, the person who goes through the trouble of re-recording your music from the flash player wasn't going to buy yout album anyway.
As for the song, I'm sorry to hear their fidelity does not match the bone crunching razor sharp sound of the black album. The chorus was pretty cool, but you had to wait a LONG time to get their. They seem to be trying hard to be "the old Metallica" with songs with a bunch of different parts. That's cool, but they lost their sound. Thankfully, they also went back to a "normal" snare drum. At least now I can listen.
One of the features we have on the Musicians Cooler Podcast is the "Tales From The Road." Those lovely times when things didn't go quite as planned. Well Peter Woolston not only has a story (which you will hear on a future podcast) but he has VIDEO. The great thing is he was in New Zealand and he went there for the NICE weather!
Doug Ross has managed to make a living as a full time musician for over 20 years without getting famous or going broke. He has a business degree from the University of Maryland, but didn't learn any money-saving secrets in college. Most of the best advice he's gotten has come from reading up on basic personal finance columns and books (hint, hint). You can find his blog about Music Finances at http://soundmusicsoundmoney.blogspot.com/ and you can find his music at CDBaby.com and check out his website at http://www.dougross.net
I'll be interviewing him on Tuesday for this weeks Musicians Cooler Podcast. If you have any questions let me know.
Speaking of Saving Money, did you can take a domain like http://soundmusicsoundmoney.blogspot.com/ and get a ".com" domain name for it (like soundmusicsoundmoney.com ) for $6.95 a year by using the Godaddy Coupon code " cooler3 " at www.godaddy.com
In a note to CDBaby users owner Derek Sivers said this, "I chose Disc Makers as the new owner because their president Tony Van Veen has been one of my favorite people for years, and I always felt they'd do a better job of running CD Baby than I could.
The CD Baby staff, location, name, and everything else will stay the same, but I think you'll start to notice more attention given to improvements that help you sell more music."
It should be interesting to see what future project Derek works on. He has been a shining example of customer service, creativity, and a champion for the inide musician. You can see what he is working on at http://sivers.org/
I can always tell when a new edition of the Indie Bible is out. I get flooded with horrible, form letter BS.
It's a shame to see people buy such a great reource and then have no idea what to do with the information. When it comes to the music business, there is no microwave. There is no 4 minute popcorn button. However, we all are used to that fast results, and thats what we want. So I get crap like this:
"I recently found your listing in The Indie Bible - and thought your podcast would be perfect for my latest project.
For God's sake I say my name at the begining of the podcast. It's on my website. USE MY NAME.
"The name removed to avoid promoting such a Band" just released our first album "Things Left Unsaid", and I'd be honoured if you gave it a slight listen and let me know what you thought!
I think you need to get my book "Get your band out of the basement and keep them out of the asylum at www.musicianlibrary.com or if you're on a budget get the chapter about approaching people at www.promotingwithpodcasting.com THEN READ IT.
Blah blah blah, I've already deleted your email by the time I get to this part.
I will say it again. Shotgun marketing is not the way to go. It takes 4 seconds to get a name. I've sent a reply to the person and said, "Why do you think my podcast would be perfect?" I'll be interested to hear what this person says.
Get a name, and use it.
Listen to the podcast and then mention the episode you heard. If you take the time to listen to me I might take the time to listen to you.
Best of all I have a button on the front page of the website that shows "SONG SUBMISSION"
Yesterday I mentioned Ray Confer and his use of Rever Nation. In fact it seem more and more people are jumping on this band wagon. According to a recent press release, they have signed up 200,000 bands in the first 20 months. Impressive.
In the release it mentioned, "Use of the ReverbNation technology has recently spilled over from the indie ranks to some of the more recognized names in music as well, like 50 Cent, Kenny Chesney, Madonna, O.A.R., Natasha Bedingfield, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Sara Bareilles, and Sean Kingston, to name a few. Over 60 of the Billboard Top 100 now have a presence at ReverbNation.com
Over the coming months, ReverbNation will expand the offerings to Artists even further, giving them more tools to succeed at the ‘business’ part of the music business, including: Low-cost digital distribution to iTunes and other retailers, a dynamic ‘Reverb Press Kit’ for media outreach and gig submissions, a ringtone generator and sales tool, and several enhancements to the FanReach communication tool. In addition, the company plans to introduce an “Artist Sponsorship Platform’ where Brands can link up with thousands of interested Artists at a time, creating a new revenue stream for Artists in these challenging times of declining music sales."
When I went over to the site is impressive. It seems easy to use. My only worry about putting all your eggs in one basket is if they turn into the next mp3.com you are out of luck. I prefer to find technology to put on a website I own, that I control, and I can change whenever and however I want. But if you are looking for great tools on a budget of zero, this is definitely worth checking out.
Recently I've been swapping emails with Ray Confer. You may know him as "Da Bluez Preacher" (www.dabluezpreacher.com). But I just found out that he is a master of accompanying himself using a Boss RC-50. This technology is amazing. If you are creative, I could see being able to put together a whole show, and go play coffee houses, and other small venues. The best part? NO BAND EGOS, and NOT A LOT OF GEAR TO LUG AROUND.
Watch Ray as "Acidic Loop" show off this technology.
This unit goes for about $500 (I use Same Day Music as they don't charge tax unless you are in NJ).
Joshua D. Wilkes, lead singer of The Legendary Shack Shakers, allegedly exposed himself onstage June 27 at Rocketown, a downtown Nashville facility conceived by Christian singer Michael W. Smith as a safe, alcohol- and drug-free location for youth to enjoy concerts, classes, videogames and skateboarding, according to its website.
According to a police affidavit, Wilkes opened up his pants and exposed his genitals to an audience of adults and teens. A representative for the club said it was The Legendary Shack Shakers first, and last, performance at Rocketown, according to The Tennessean. The Nashville-based band was opening for Rancid (livedaily.com )
Maybe he thought it was time for x-rated show and tell. "Hey everybody here is my junk.." The point here is know your gig, know your audience, and act accordingly.
Why Indie Bands Should Want the Sirius and XM Merger to Go Through
Right now in Cleveland Ohio (the biggest market I’m near) you can’t find much (if any) local music on the radio. In Akron you may find some on the college radio (but only if you play a certain style). Canton Ohio used to have a “Local licks” show, but I think that is gone as well (and probably on Sunday’s at 1 AM).
Right now we are waiting for the FCC to approve the Sirius and XM satellite company merger. This would be a good thing for local bands, and here is my thought behind this. If the two satellite companies merge, they create a great “National” level of radio stations. A person can drive from New York to San Francisco and never change the channel. They will focus on “National” acts.
So how will the local stations compete? They will need to find a niche? The niche is the locality. They can start featuring music you don’t here anywhere else (the current claim I tell to people when I’m speaking of Satellite radio). It's time to start being nice to the DJs and program directors. It will take them some time to figure out, but eventually they will need to do something to set them apart from satellite, and that may just be playing your music.
