The App lets you the listener customize your own version of my band’s song ‘Rustbucket’, based on different pre-recorded parts of the song that we’ve done in studio. For example, do you want the regular or alternate lyrics in the verse? or more cowbell in the chorus? the live or regular bridge?
]]>DISCOVERY
1. Last.FM
When it comes to preference based radio players, the two big names are Last.FM and Pandora. Last.FM uses the preferences of other users in the community who have similar tastes in music to recommend songs to you. You can like and dislike tracks all the while adding to the “preferences” that the app uses to suggest new music to you. One of the key differentiators for Last.FM is the unlimited number of skips. If you don’t like a song, skip it. Other apps limit you to a certain number of skips every hour which can be annoying when exploring new genres and artists.
]]>In this recent article, we see Universal Music suggesting that they are disinclined to work with acts who aren’t knee-deep in social media tech…
]]>“There may be some indie hipper-than-thou artists who want to let the music speak for itself. They are probably not for us. We believe an artist has a responsibility to communicate with their audience…We embrace the world of technology and the vast improvements in communication”.
I was recounting the days when my friend Javier worked at Bart’s CD Cellar and we would take our hard earned 50 bucks and camp out at the Cellar for hours, each come up with 10 albums, race home and spend the next 8 hours listening to our treasures, arguing over who fared better, and reveling in the sounds coming out of the speakers.
]]>BJ Jansen writes in The New Artist Development Model: Growing your Brand from the Ground Up that there “is a [music industry] road map that begins in extreme complexity and ends in strong monetization like any other successful business.”
Jansen also argues in The Future Record Label Model = Brand Marketing Collective “that the new successful [music industry] models will revolve around collective brand marketing.”
The Secret of Branding: Is your Story compelling enough?
]]>Let me explain. You write your hit song. You’re ready to press up some CD’s and get down to the local radio station so the world can hear your voice. Your time is NOW!!!!!! But WAIT!!!!!!!! There are a few things you need to do first….like protect your work. Under copyright laws, the second you write down your lyrics or record your song so others can hear it, you are protected under copyrights. End of story. BUT…..how do you prove that you did it first? That’s where the Library of Congress comes in. They keep track of who wrote what song, and when. However, in order for them to do this, they need to know when you have a new song. This is when you fill out the copyright form PA and/or SR. Once this is done, you are safe to play your music for the world.
]]>The big four ran a cartel on the industry, preventing competition, charging far too much for albums, and ripping off their hard working musician clientele. Hypebot researched the traditional record deal to see which involved parties benefit. Of total revenue, 63% went to the record label, 24% to the distributors, while only the remaining 13% was awarded to the hard working artists. The 13% awarded to musicians must then be allocated to their respective managers, agents, attorneys, etc.
Signing a deal with a record company was once a status symbol. Musicians, signed with one of the big four record labels, could be sure to at least have their music heard. Now these labels are, in desperation, trying to reformat the traditional record deal into what is now known as the 360 Deal. It seems foolish to allow these companies to force musicians into unfair contracts; contracts compromised by unchecked industry power and control.
]]>