Lala...lala...LA! The NEW and IMPROVED online music retailer

To make a long story short, Lala is a new online music retailing selling songs at $.10 each. The only catch is, it's a web song (a song you can only listen to by logging into your account and listening to it via your online library). Right now I need you to do one thing...

STOP!

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Sweet, so I can buy songs for 10 cents but I have to listen to them via an online library which means I need a computer with speakers and an internet connection to listen to my music. Why would I want that?"

You do want this, and I'll tell you why. You buy a song for $.10 and listen to it online only. If you want to listen to it offline thats fine, you can pay the full $.99 for a song and put it on your iPod. There are two big points that I want to make sure you, the reader, understand because this is such a great, innovative idea in the music industry:

1. You can upload your entire iTunes library to your web song library no matter how you obtained the songs(illegal and legal).

***2***. With new technology, the iPhone, the new Google phone, etc, you're ALWAYS online. You may not even realize it but if you've got an iPhone you're connected to the net 24/7. The iPhone doubles as an iPod. See where I'm going with this? For $.10 you can buy a song and listen to it via your iPhone or any other mobile device that has internet connection.

Let me just repeat, you can buy a song for $.10 and listen to it whenever you want on your mobile device that is connected to the internet.

This concept could completely destroy ad-supported music and that rediculous venture that many are trying to push. With this model, if successful, the price of music will not venture into the hands of firms selling adspace on music. Lala has already signed four major labels and 175,000 independant artists to it's online library. Many adsupported music sites can't get one label let alone four.

A year ago I would have been 100% against this idea, but because of devices like the iPhone, I'm betting this service takes off like the iPod.

Over and out,

KR

A Band's Dream: Bandzoogle

I'm sure I've mentioned Bandzoogle before in past posts, but now that I've started using it and really gotten a chance to dive into what it's all about I figure it deserves a proper review.

"Bandzoogle lets bands build great websites in minutes. All the stuff you need (like an online store, mailing list, forum) are built right in. You don't need to know anything about web design -- we do the techie stuff so you can concentrate on your music."-www.bandzoogle.com

Let's start off by saying, you don't need to be an HTML genius to use this service. In fact, you don't need to know HTML at all! Bandzoogle makes everything as easy as a MySpace page...but with the awesomeness of your own website. Yes, I said "awesomeness". Let's face it, while its imparative to have a MySpace page, it's also imparative to have an actual website, a .com, a unique way so people can type in "Your Band" in google and find "yourband.com".

Building a website from scratch is a lot more complicated than knowing how to insert an image or create a link. You've got to be able to make tables, buttons, menus, etc. and that's just the beginning. Don't you love going to your favorite bands websites? They've got awesome graphic design work on their site, killer fonts and overall a vibe that makes you want to come back. That's what's so great about Bandzoogle, it helps musicians and bands create a sense of urgency with their website that they probably would not be able to produce/afford on their own. Check out these sites that are created using Bandzoogles tools:

The Pimps: http://www.thepimps.org/

Namoli Brennet: http://www.namolibrennet.com/index.cfm

Crafty Records: http://www.craftyrecords.net/

Another touchy(and that's putting it lightly) subject with musicians around the globe is the idea of selling music. Everyone agrees it should be sold, the question is, "for how much?". The cool thing about Bandzoogle is you can set up a streaming music player throughout your site, and you can also SELL your music via an online store (completely seperate from the streaming player) at prices you set on your own. No more iTunes $.99 or Amazong $.79. If you're an upcoming band, your music should be $.00. That's my view. Take what you will. This way you can track what your selling (whether it's $.01 or $2.00 a track).

Really quick I need to emphasize the importance of the streaming music player. I remember when my band first hired a web programmer and it was extremely difficult (at least that's what he had us believe) to create a streaming music player for you site, let alone a player that carries over from page to page of your site. The Bandzoogle player is as easy as uploading songs to MySpace. Let me repeat, AS EASY AS UPLOADING A SONG TO MYSPACE.

The photo gallery feature of Bandzoogle is also really great because it doesn't involve page after page of photos. When you click on a photo, it triggers a seperate photo viewing box that lets the user browse through your photos at actual size.

Does your band have a mailing list? I bet you do. Have you gone on facebook and looked at all your friend's school emails and copied them to your "mailing list"without them knowing? I bet you've done something at least similar to that. The Bandzoogle mailing list feature is an awesome tool for bands without a real way of creating and maintaining a mailing list. It allows your site to allow users/fans to submit their own emails to the band and also lets you keep track of each from from a variety of parameters such as city, state, zip code, etc. Remember that gig coming up in Philly? Good thing you have a way to tell which of your fans are from that area so you can send out a personalized email letting them know about your show...Oh wait...you don't. You could with Bandzoogle.

Other great features include guestbooks, blogging, polling (wouldn't you love to know what song is your fans FAVORITE?), contact submission boxes and even an introduction page to show your logo before your fans actually enter the site (talk about branding!).

Now what's the catch? No catch. You obviously pay for the service. I need to emphasize pay for the service. Bandzoogle does it all for you, for as little as $14.95/month to $19.95/month. If you pay $19.95/month thats about $240.00 a year for your website. Most web designers charge $200.00 just for the initial set up!

Being able to update your own "News" section is enough for me. I'm sold.

Go to www.bandzoogle.com right now and start your free month trial.


-KR

The Essential Marketing Plan

So the new Highway Jackson album sounds great, and we're just about ready to put it out (when I say just about ready I mean 3-4 months away). I've been talking a lot about marketing and wanted to put our existing marketing plan out on the table to see if anyone had any cool and innovative ideas that we might have missed.



Web: http://www.highwayjackson.com/ will be up and running within the next 2 months and we'll be giving away one song a week when the album comes out so everyone can get it for free if they wish via the site.



Our last EP "Leave Your Girl Pants at Home" will also be available for download(free) via the site.



The HJ MySpace page is going through a major face lift with graphic designers, etc to turn it into an awesome page instead of a normal band page. The songs will be available to listen to, but in order to download them for free you'll have to visit the official website.



The Facebook group Highway Jackson will be keeping everyone informed of all this as well through messages and events.



Radio: As far as radio advertising goes, HJ will be running ad's for the new album, CD Release Party, Spinout appearance, and pending Bullmoose in-store performance for 3 weeks prior to the release on WCYY, Q97.9, and FNX.



We'll be in the studio with Mark Curdo on WCYY's Spinout, as well as submitting to to various commercial and college stations including WTOS, WFNX, WBLM and WCYY as well.



TV: This is not set in stone, but we'll be pushing an appearance on The 207 as well for an on-air performance.



CD Release Party: We have yet to decide if there will be just one or two CD Release Parties but we are 100% sure the first will be at the Big Easy, possibly another at Champs. We'll have to play it by ear.



During the 3 weeks before the record is released we'll be doing give-aways for CD's, Tickets to the show, free merch and meet and greets with the band for the fans as well.



Retail Sales: The new album will be sold through Bullmoose and Newbury Comics locations. For the first two weeks the online sales will also be sold exclusively through Bullmoose Music before going to iTunes.



Digital Sales: The album will be distributed digitally through one of IODA's subsidiary distributers to over 60 retail digital outlets including iTunes and Amazon.



Promotional Material: We're going to be getting in contact with Daddy's Junky Music to possibly sponsor a banner for the band with the band logo for upcoming shows. We'll also be printing flyers and other print materials to get the word out.



Print Media: We'll be sending the new album to The Portland and Boston Phoenix, The Portland Press Herald, Performer, Northeast Performer, and other well known regional magazines.



Stay tuned for more info...

Licensing Opportunities...do they REALLY exist for young bands?

My band is now an ASCAP member and before that we used Merlin for licensing. I had recently stumbled upon youlicence when I started wondering how good these services really are. Although ASCAP has a registration fee, Merlin was free. The cost itself isn't really a big deal, but what do these companies really do for a young band other than be a name that they can have in common with larger, more well known acts?

I'd love YOUR input!

Marketing Strategies and Band Websites

Is it essential to have a website for your band? I mean let's face it, with MySpace, Facebook, Sonicbids alone you have enough information out there for people to find what their looking for whether they're a promoter, agent or fan. If this is all true, then WHY is it so important for a band to have an official website? Is it the fan/band relationship that people long for? There's something about going to a bands website rather than their MySpace page that feels more personable. A band can fully control their website rather than use cheezy layouts, and can also post as many songs as they like as opposed to just 6. A band can also more accurately track their popularity by charting hits and unique impressions on their website, as opposed to MySpace's inaccurate "friend" list. In the dog eat dog world that we live in it's important to set yourself aside from the pack, and having an official site is the best way to do that.
I've recently been checking out a site that hosts websites for bands and also makes it extremely easy to design and operate. It's called Bandzoogle. There are a few different plans, the most exensive one running you at $19.95 a month, but you don't have to pay anyone to design the site and you also don't have to be an html wiz to get a great product. I highly recommend checking out Bandzoogle and giving it a 30-day from trial.
Part of what a website does is brand the band. Branding is so important to a young band because essentially it's getting your name out there and creating a prior sense of knowledge when someone hears the name. When you release a new album, you can use your website in so many different ways to help promote and drive traffic to and from your other social networking sites such as MySpace.
One great way of doing this would be to have a music store on your site where fans can buy your music for a nominal fee. At the same time when releasing an album, every day or every week you could have one new free download. Essentially if a fan came back just once a week to download that free track you would 1. Have steady traffic to your website and at the same time get your entire album out for free to all your fans over a 10-12 week period depending on how many songs you had on the record.
This is just one of many ideas a band can use to help promote and brand themselves. I'm always finding new ways and always looking so please drop a line if you have any innovative ideas on how to get your music out there!

New Highway Jackson Record Done Tracking...

Just got home from a long stint in the studio tracking the new Highway Jackson record. Things are sounding GREAT, and the incredible Jon Wyman is on top of his game as our producer.

We're still not sure if we're going to sell it, and if so for how much, or give it away for free. It's a 10 track follow up to our 2007 debut release, "Leave Your Girl Pants at Home". With the music business changing so rapidly it's tough to say what would be the best option. On one hand, as a young band you need to make money whenever possible, but at the same time your music getting into the players of the people must be the top priority. Any suggestions?

Many thanks to all our family, friends and fans for all their endless support.

It's Back!

Hey Ya'll,

Trying to get back into this blogging thing. My band is now recording our follow up to 2007's "Leave Your Girl Pants at Home" and we're really excited about the new record.

There are so many crazy things going on in the industry right now, and I'm going to try and stay on top of things and put out as many blogs stating my rediculous and udderly pointless opinion as MUCH as possible. Thanks for staying tuned and keep checkin' this cuz I'll be here!

Monday Run Down- Illegal downloading, daryl hall not happy, industry is fading, and guitar hero rules

• State legislation hammered out over the illegal downloading of music and movies on college campuses appears to strike the right tone in its approach to a relentless problem. (Check it)
• Singer/songwriter Daryl Hall has launched a bitter tirade against the music industry - branding the business "corrupt". (It's a bitch girl)
• Industry insiders look at failing "tip jar" system.(Full Story)
• A Hero Will Rise (Guitar Hero and Lupe Fiasco)
  

Consultation Service Now at The Opening Note

Now as well as providing free blog posts and articles for bands on how they can help further their music career, The Opening Note is offering consultation services for the bands/artists who take their career a little bit more seriously and are looking for guidance. Check out the "Consultation" section of the site and inquire about what we can do for you! ----------------------------------------->

Friday Run Down-Music Subscription, Music Tax, has SXSW gone glam?

• Recording Industry calls for monetization without representation. This concept has been around for years now. Dave Kusek and Gerd Leonhard wrote The Future of Music and predicted this...though I still don't see it happening. (Check it)
• Industry looking to tax ISP's for piracy. (Bogus?)
• Has SXSW, the once "rebel" of festivals gone corporate and glam? And if so, is it a good thing? (Read more)
  

Thursday Run Down

• Having failed to stop piracy by suing internet users, the music industry is for the first time seriously considering a file sharing surcharge that internet service providers would collect from users. (Check it)
• Sueing Napster was the record industry's biggest mistake...(No Really)
• I have received a few comments about my story talking about Trent Reznor being a genius, because without his labels in the past he never could have done what he did, but readers must understand, NIN is not a huge act anymore. They are none as a fringe act, meaning they were once big but can't sell out a small sized arena. Reznor has made $1.6 million in sales and had over 700,000 transactions. That's more than Justin Timberlake after a month of album sales. (Read a great article on this extremely smart guy)
• Here is a list of peeps that have pissed off the IRAA enough to go to court....Star Wars style...

Untitled from thesixtyone on Vimeo.

Wednesday Run Down

• EMI has made peace with the music industry's international trade association, more than three months after its private equity owner threatened to cut its annual funding for its activities in half or pull out altogether. (Read Article)
• Baby bands looking for that big break, buzz bands hoping to become the next big thing and big bands trying to rejuvenate their careers all bring their A game to about 80 venues -- bars, coffeehouses, nightclubs, parks, restaurants, amphitheatres, concert halls, TV soundstages, churches and even the odd private house. With most of the round-the-clock action centred around two bar-riddled cross streets that are closed to vehicular traffic during the event, SXSW resembles New Orleans during Mardi Gras -- but with cowboy hats, BBQ and much better music. (SXSW Stuff)
• A group set up to protect civil rights in the digital arena has condemned the music industry for mounting High Court action against Eircom. (Check it)

• With an ever increasing number of people downloading their music for free, albeit often illegally, over the web, the music industry is at a critical juncture: adapt or die. We7 is a music download website that hopes to set the tone for the music industry in the 21^st century. It thinks it has found a way to make music available for free and yet still generate revenue for record companies and artists. (Read More)

Tuesday Run Down

• With the new business model for labels being a service based company, digital labels such as Musicwerks, Zoomoozik, and now Missing Beat are emerging. Check out Missing Beats press release HERE.
• Couple taken in as UK's largest music faud! (Read Article)
• Music Conference 2008, for the new music industry (Read Press Release)
• Finally, the RIAA admits that suiting over file sharing DOES NOT WORK! (Read Full Article)
• Civil War breaks out in the Music Industry, and as usual, record label executives seem to be on the wrong side of it. (Check it)
  

Monday Run Down

• Many say that without a corporate tie-in, many bands won't make it. Read article from AdvertisingAge here.
• Consensus at CMW seminar says fees for filing sharing are coming, sooner than later. (Read Full Article)
• History of SXSW Music Festival. (Plain and Simple)
• This year at SXSW, everyone is looking for TV-ready acts! (Check it)
• Canadian music and movie pirating headquarters raided by Mounties (For Real)
  

What IS Hip Hop?

Before I get started, let me first make it clear that I’m a white boy, originally from Maine, and that I am fully aware of this fact.

I hear a lot of flack around town these days about Hip Hop. It’s usually negative, something along the lines of, “I can’t stand that Soulja Boy shit”, or “All they talk about is bitches and hoes”. I’m here to put the record straight on what Hip Hop is, and why it’s more than just a rapping.

Hip Hop is a culture. What started off in the late 1970’s as dancing, graffiti, and rapping has emerged into much more. Early pioneers such as Big Daddy Kane, Grand Master Flash, Young MC, Naughty by Nature, and Run DMC paved the way to bring the Hip Hop culture into commercial America.

Today Hip Hop is like cinema. When you go to a movie, you have so many different choices. You’ve got Drama, Comedy, Action, Horror, Rated-R, Rated-G, Porn, and Cartoons. It goes on and on. Hip Hop, as well as Rock N’ Roll for that matter is the same way. You’ve got entertainment rap, such as Soulja Boy and Snoop Dog. You’ve got Gangsta rap in the likes of Dr. Dre, Warren G, 2Pac. East Coast rap in B.I.G. and Diddy, Dirty South, and CHI-Town with Kanye. It goes on and on, and that’s just the rap element. You’ve also go Producers, DJ’s, R&B singers, dancers, etc.

The point is there is a place for all of it. Don’t walk around saying you hate Hip Hop. That’s like saying you hate life. When you go to the club you can’t deny that you love hearing Soulja Boy when you’ve had a few drinks and you’re ready to cut it. That’s what it’s there for. It’s entertainment. At the same time, driving in your car you pop in a Lupe Fiasco, or Common, maybe Pac. Those are the guys that get you when you’re in an intellectual mood. You’ve got guys like Cee-Lo, who can give you both. Let’s not forget something like Erika Badu, or Outkast either.

The culture of Hip Hop is in everyone, even a white boy from Maine. Don’t hate on something you really know nothing about. Because when it comes down to it, the Hip Hop you hate, may be the Hip Hop in you…

Artists think the whole world is out to get them!

Growing up as a musician(and yes I am aware I still have a lot of growing up to do), going to college and now working in the music industry, I learned at a very early age that artists literally thing everyone they meet is out to get them.

I, for a long time, was one of these artists. Everything an artists spends money on they think of what's going to happen in the long run and how and if they will see an immediate return from the investment spent. This is a smart move, but many times an artists will not go through with an opportunity if there is no promised result.

For example, an artist may not run an advertisement because there is no "promise" for the people that will go to the show as a result of the ad.

I work for a digital record label, and this is not by any means an endorsement for the label, in fact I won't even mention the name. The point of this blog is the recent frustration I've received as a direct result of talking to bands and acts about working with us. What we do is offer bands an opportunity to create and develop a fanbase through net marketing, A&R support and digital distro. We advertise the artist on sites like Rollingstone.com, Filter, Blender, and a little over 100 other notable sites. The act also gets A&R consultation with a music industry professional A&R scout that is included in the price. This all goes along with getting digital distribution, which is free anyways.

The point of the matter is, and I won't disclose the price but I promise it's cheap, 90% of the artists I talk to refuse to put any investment into their career. I actually got, "Are you serious? We would NEVER put money towards advertising, thats not our job", from a band a few days ago. I cannot believe the amount of bands out there, that draw less than 50 people per show (on a good night), have home recorded music that can't even begin to match, sound quality wise, what's on the radio, that have the balls and arrogance to think that Clive Davis himself is going to walk into their shithole garage one Sunday afternoon while they're smokin' butts, drinking Bud, playing out of tune guitars, and SIGN them.

In the bands I've played in, we've put up serious cash for promotion and marketing, as well as recording, and we've worked hard to earn the money before we dished it out. A band is a business. If you're serious, and I'm sure you are, get off your ass, become a working band and earn what you "think" you have. News flash: You're NOT that good, and NO band is as important as you think YOU are.

A radio campaign at a small level costs around $10,000. Radio ad's start at around $400 for a week and only go up. No label is going to take a band that can't sell out rooms, let alone 50 tickets and invest $$$ into it. Get a grip on reality.

If I've offended you, then I've done my job. GET TO WORK!


.

Thursday Run Down- Slice the Pie

• Slicethepie.com releases first fan funded album. You can see the press release here. The sad thing is, they didn't even plug the band's website in the press release. To read more about fan funded music, check out this article.
• YouTube has yet to pay any royalties out to any of the artists signed on with one of the four major labels that signed deals with YouTube 18 months ago. (Read Article)
• Wal-mart's CD Markdowns worry Music Industry(Read Article)
• IndieMV welcomes two new entertainment business pro's to the team. (Read Release)
  

Reznor the Genius

Trent Reznor has really got a good thing going. In under a week he's made $1,000,000 by essentially giving his new album "Ghost" away for free. The album has 36 tracks total. Reznor made 9 available for free, and then through his website has many different packages ranging from $10.00-$300.00 in retail value. He's done all of it without label support, and because of it has banked. In 3 days he sold out of the $300.00 package, which only had 2500 units available.

The point is, while labels are bitching about illegal downloads and this and that, here is an artist that, on his own, GIVING his music away and then letting the fans decide HOW and WHAT they want to buy. Talk about fan loyalty. NIN is going to be one of the biggest selling acts this year, and lets not forget, it's an instrumental.

Wednesday Run Down

• THERE COMING FOR YOU! 8,000 new lawsuits were filed globally this week already. These guys mean business, so WATCH OUT! (Read Full Article)
• Greg Sandoval wrote a great article describing what we can see further down the road in 2008. Anything iTunes prices, to Amazon and Ad-supported downloads. (Full Deal)
• The Pirates Have Won! Now What? (Worth a Gander)
• It took less than two days for the Nine Inch Nails to sell out 2500 copies of the Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition CD Package at $300 direct from the band's web site. Add to that any reasonable numbers fron the $75 deluxe edition, $10 CD/DVD preorder and $5 download and it appears Reznor has pocketed a cool million $'s plus without the help of a label and only viral promotion. (Full Post from Hypebot)
  

Combat Against Illegal Download Bill

You have downloaded music for free. Fact.

Your broke. Fact.

Your mind set is, "I'm only one person, what difference do I really make?"

The answer to that is, "A big difference".

The first two years I was in college I downloaded music probably more than most people do. Then I was told off by a guy who worked out 5 times a day and was basically told I was a giant d-bag for downloading artists music for free.

Another Fact: You are a giant d-bag for downloading music from artists who, let me tell you are a LOT worse off financially than you are. Stop being a d-bag. Thats all I ask.


Pass the bill and get these greedy mo-fo's taken care of.