November 2008
45 posts
7 tags
Artists House Vault: Careers in Sound Design
I’ve received several requests on twitter for more information about careers in music other than being a musician. So, today’s Vault will focus on a career that allows you to still work with music and sound, still use your technical skills in recording and audio editing, and put food on the table without having to ever step out on a stage.
These videos will be featuring Chris...
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The Artist's Dilemma
Last week, we posted an interview with Jerry Goolsby talking about the sometimes touchy issue of art vs. commerce.
Today, we’ll revisit the issue. George Howard’s blog, 9 Giant Steps, featured a video earlier in the week, and I thought it touched on several important points.
As Howard has talked about on his blog, trying to make money off of your music is not inherently evil and does...
5 tags
Artists House Music
Hello everyone! We hope all of you had a wonderfully full Thanksgiving, in every sense. Even though it was 70 degrees and humid here in the South, the holiday season is finally here!
I’d just like to remind all of you that the reason this blog is here is to help all of you! Whether you are a musician, a music entrepreneur, or a music business professional, we hope you’ll find...
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Artists House Vault: Dennis DeYoung of Styx
For today’s Artists House Vault I decided to do something a little different. Instead of trying to give advice, I just wanted to see if there was any Thanksgiving related content. So I searched Artists House for Thanksgiving.
What came up? Not too much, but I did find a great interview with Dennis DeYoung of Styx, in which he talks about what it is like to be in a rock band. My favorite...
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New Music Labels as Artist Collectives
In today’s music business, record labels are completely amorphous. No one knows what they are, what they should be, or where they are really going. I mean, we know what they are - but how is it that record labels can be the uber-conglomerate Universal Music Group on one end of the spectrum and Dude in his living room on the other? What makes both of them “labels” and what do...
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ISP Tax: A Solution For File Sharing?
Andrew Orlowski has written a fascinating article over at The Register, which details how an ISP tax to cover the revenues lost to illegal downloads will destroy innovation in creative industries, specifically with regards to marketing and distribution. For those who don’t know, there has been a proposal floating around for a number of years that a good way to counter-act the effects of file...
14 tags
Simple Tips for Success: Follow your Fans on...
This week’s Simple Tips for Success is aimed to help you maximize Twitter using TweetFeed.
If you’re doing something right and gaining some traction, chances are that your band, product, name or service is going to get mentioned on the Twittersphere.
So what should you do?
Find and follow those users that are talking about you!
Those are the people you want to connect with. Those...
7 tags
Focus on Attention, not Copies
There is an important article on Gerd Leonhard’s blog about the difference between attention revenue and copy revenue, and how media will change as we move into the future. Don’t be scared if you don’t immediately understand what that means. What he talks about could have a lot of implications for musicians going into the future.
Gerd envisions:
A Future where many content...
8 tags
Use the Web: TheNextBigSound.com
I’ve recently fallen in love with a new music discovery/promotion website. I’ve really come to appreciate its simplicity for users as well as its practical potential for musicians. I know there seems to be a new website like this showing up on the web every other day, but this one in particular has stood out to me. Hear me out:
First, The Next Big Sound provides users with a simple,...
9 tags
Consider Different Price Points for Your Music
I’d like to start off the week with some food for thought.
I’ve read a swarm of arguments on the internet about why all music should be totally free. There have been an equal number of counter-arguments about why music needs a price tag.
What I haven’t seen is much discussion about how musicians can keep different products at different price points. It seems simple enough, but...
Weekly Wrap Up: Busier Than Ever
It was quite a week here at the Artists House Blog, with our first guest blogger and a record high for comments by our readership (that’s you guys). That last fact is incredible for us, as without your involvement what we do wouldn’t matter. Keep reading, we’ll keep writing, and we will see you over the course of the next week:
Viewing Piracy In A New Light By Josh Belville
...
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Artists House Vault: The Deal with 360 Deals
360 deals are not new. Artists such as Robbie Williams and Korn signed 360 deals years ago, when those deals were more the exception in the business than the rule. But 360’s started getting a lot more attention and hype about a year ago as labels saw in them safe refuge from the increasing threat of declining physical music sales.
Today, most labels have embraced some form of a 360 deal as...
5 tags
Artists House Vault: Art Vs. Commerce
We spend a lot of time here on the blog talking about what it takes to successfully apply proven business and technological practice to music in order to further an artist’s career. It cannot be denied that the rules of more mercenary disciplines like business and marketing have an important role in achieving success, but it is important to remember the “why” behind all of the...
10 tags
Talk Back to your Core Community
We spend a lot of time hyping why today’s musicians need to be active on the interwebs. Social networks are essential to keeping tabs on an increasingly diverse (geographically, demographically, and psychographically) music community supporting your craft.
I use the word “community” very deliberately, because it is not about bands and fans anymore. That’s too divisive....
1 tag
Musebin: Twitter-style Music Reviews
“It’s a reaction to the wordy, wordy MP3 blogs and people craving really concise content.”
I love the word reaction. I’ve always thought that a successful entrepreneur should actively fight to have themselves thought of as a reactionary, as it implies an energetic, single-minded response to the status quo, which should be at the heart of any great entrepreneurial idea....
10 tags
Artists House Vault: Samples
In music production and recording, using samples can often create sticky situations. Artists House has some great videos that explain samples from a few different viewpoints — legally and otherwise.
On the “pro” side of samples is Dr. E. Michael Harrington, professor of intellectual property at Belmont University in Nashville.
Legal Challenges and Cultural Benefits of Sampling...
6 tags
Different Paths for Different Artists
In light of the discussion surrounding Ian Roger’s recent address about the New Music Business Equation (that was yesterday’s required reading, remember?), I think it’s a very important point to emphasize that there isn’t a reliable ‘model’ to follow anymore. There probably wasn’t ever a single model, but there was at least a pretty straight-forward path...
14 tags
Reader Profile: Josh Belville
Hello all! Our first Reader Profile is up, and the artist we’ve chosen is Josh Belville. Josh wrote a guest blog earlier this week about Viewing Piracy in a New Light. It’s a great read, so be sure to check it out. Besides being a great writer, Josh is also talented musician and actor. Check out the interview below, and while you’re at it give his song She Never Told Me a...
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Viewing Piracy in a New Light (continued...)
There has been some great discussion regarding the recent Tennessee legislation that essentially will hold Tennessee universities accountable for enforcing copyright on their respective campuses.
If you didn’t read what our guest blogger, Josh Belville, had to say about the new law - read it now.
I’ve heard some arguments in response to his idea saying that universities can’t...
10 tags
Ian Rogers on the New Music Business Equation
Normally, this is the kind of information I’d share with you on our twitter, but this is something so important to the future of the music industry and how artists will need to shift both their own thinking and the very business models that their music careers are built upon.
Firstly, thanks to Bruce from Hypebot (great music industry blog) for providing a Cliff Notes version of Ian...
4 tags
Use The Web: MediaMobz.com
MediaMobz is a web based company that seeks to connect video producers with people who need them. The user is put in the role of financier with a project to be made. They post their budget and then the community of video producers submits their ideas as for how they would complete the project, in a fashion similar to how an eBay auction works. The user then picks the one best suited for the job...
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Simple Tips for Success: Focus on a Few
My proposition to you is to spend less time worrying about the number of friends or followers you have on social networks. Instead, focus on fewer but more valuable people.
Online social networking tools can be powerful, but numbers are just numbers and don’t necessarily represent your real “reach.” Does having 500 friends on Facebook mean that 500 people are paying attention to...
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Artists House Vault: Band Managers
thefabe, an active music blogger and one of our followers on twitter, asked us recently about when artists should consider getting a manager.
Great question, and a tough issue to weigh for a lot of musicians.
In short the answer is when you can’t do all of the work yourself.
Another thing to consider is what a manager can really offer you. It’s great to find someone that wants to...
8 tags
Viewing Piracy in a New Light
Today we are featuring a guest blogger - writer/musician/friend Josh Belville. We found Josh on Twitter and he successfully got us totally hooked on his music. His creativity doesn’t end there: he also maintains a blog and is writing a novel. We’ll be doing a profile of Josh later this week.
This article came about as a reply to a tweet we sent out last week. Josh said screw 140...
11 tags
Does Your Band's Website Pass the Test? (SEO...
Last week we began our first installment in a series about search engine optimization for musicians. Our goal is to guide you past the myths surrounding SEO, and to help you start making small steps towards big results. Last time we talked about what SEO isn’t; in this post I’m adament about telling you what SEO is. Next time, we’ll begin making some actionable steps forward....
11 tags
Artists House Vault: Careers in Arts...
Some of us have always known that we want to be part of the arts community, but have decided somewhere along the way that the largely unpredictable life of an artist is not a viable path for everyone.
Luckily, there are many other career paths that allow you to stay involved in the arts without having to live off of spam and cigarettes.
Considering a career in arts administration may allow you...
10 tags
Artists House Vault: Kelvin Brown on his Gear,...
Artists House has some fantastic interviews with a producer / entrepreneur / student who is getting his hands dirty - Kelvin Brown.
Kelvin on his gear — how he produces — and competition:
An interview with Kelvin and George Howard: This one is a little bit longer, but gets into some of the facts about forming an LLC or alternative businesses. If you have the time and any...
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Muxtape Relaunch
It appears that Muxtape is nearing its relaunch as a service for bands. Previously, M was a free service that let users create customized mixtapes of their favorite songs by posting mp3s from their hard drive. That drew attention from the RIAA and the service was shut down.
So far, details about Muxtape’s new form are limited, but it seems that Muxtape will offer an embeddable ad-free...
4 tags
Anti- Fall 2008 Sampler, And A Word On Core Values
iMeem has secured the right to stream the new Anti-Records Fall 2008 digital sampler, the applet for which I have re-posted above for your convenience. Not only is this the perfect opportunity for you folks to listen to some great music from one of the most eclectic catalogues of music featured on any record label (the N.A.S.A. track is particularly awesome), but it also gives me an excuse to...
12 tags
Simple Tips for Success: Get Social
For this week’s Simple Tips for Success, I’d decided to use my contribution to Project 100: Marketing in the Social Media Era — a collaborative book project I’m going to be a part of. Given that you’re here and being proactive about your musical career, I may be preaching to the choir, but you may find some insight in it too.
Get Social: The New Call to Action for...
13 tags
Does Your Band's Website Pass the Test? (SEO...
This is the first lesson of several that will be posted over the upcoming days, so be sure to come back to find out what to do next!
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There are many fantastic tools and guides showing up on the web that are helping average people like us create really effective websites. It’s no longer out of reach for the ordinary internet user to get a healthy and...
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Use The Web: Bandbox.com
Last week I was introduced to a website that is creating something that I have been attempting to plot out for a long time. Bandbox.com is a web-based music company that has created an embed-able store widget for websites that allows artists to sell their music at whatever price they choose and returns 100% of the band’s earnings to them. I know. You’re incredulous. Read on and I...
18 tags
Artists House Vault: Protools Tutorial
Hope everyone’s having a great weekend!
If you are like me these couple of days off are a saving grace, and it’s a great time to get all those creative ideas from the week out of your head and into the real world to share with people.
One of the blessings of this day and age is the convenience of recording technology. There’s no excuse to not start up ProTools and get some...
Weekly Wrap Up
Hey Readers -
Here is this week’s best of compilation, for those who may have missed it:
Use The Web: Webmonkey.com http://artistshousemusic.tumblr.com/post/58021557/use-the-web-webmonkey-com
Traits Of A Healthy Music Business http://artistshousemusic.tumblr.com/post/58180890/traits-of-a-healthy-music-business
Under Our Roof: Jonathon Coulton...
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Artists House Vault: How to be a Tour Manager
I was talking about roadies, booking tours, and long drives with a friend and decided to search around the Artists House site to see what came up. Interestingly enough, I found a short interview with Nick Light of Warner Brothers about that topic:
How to be a Tour Manager
Check it out.
Basically, it comes down to just being on top of the game.
You’ve got to be adaptable,
it...
16 tags
Do Not Put Your Faith in Ticketmaster
I’ve been trying to stay quiet with my thoughts about Ticketmaster’s latest news because I feel like anything they do is basically moot to the part of the music business that matters: its future. But in the current reality, they do represent a major force (and A LOT of money) that influences musicians, venues, and fans. Alas, I’m going to weigh in with my thoughts.
Here is...
8 tags
Reader Profiles: Artists and Songs
I just posted a note over on our Facebook page about a new feature we’ve started up here at the Artists House blog.
Reader Profiles: Aritsts and Songs
What we need from you are a couple of submissions — your best song, one you’d like to work on, etc… anything really. Then we’ll take some of our favorites and try to give some feedback and help to spread the word...
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Use The Web: Why Paul Boutin Wants You To "Kill...
Paul Boutin’s article in WIRED magazine this month suggests that blogging in the age of Twitter and other such services is antiquated and pointless. The “blogosphere”, he says, has become overly saturated with cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns that have effectively drowned out the authentic voices that originally defined the movement. Utilizing services like Facebook,...
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Under Our Roof: A Profile of Jonathon Coulton
The Art Of Tearing Down Your Walled Garden
Jonathon Coulton is an Internet musician, personality, and entrepreneur who has found great success over the past three years with his personal web musical experiment, www.jonathancoulton.com, a website he founded after quitting his day job as a VB programmer (Thanks to MitchO for the correction -BC). He has managed to make his music sustain him full...
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Francis and the Lights form LLC, get 1 million...
Now this is interesting.
NEW YORK, Nov. 3. — Francis Farewell Starlite, frontman of independent band Francis and the Lights, today announced the incorporation of Francis and the Lights, LLC. The move includes a $100,000 investment from The Normative Music Company, giving the new entity a valuation of precisely one million dollars. Via: The Normatist
What does that mean? That means that...
15 tags
Traits of a Healthy Music Business
Provoked by the tantalizing and mostly ambiguous news about Ticketmaster proposing to reinvent itself, I began thinking about what it really takes to create a successful music business today. These days, the things that surround your product are almost more important than the product itself (DISCLAIMER: This is not an excuse to release crappy products or music).
There are a lot of choices out...
12 tags
Use The Web: Webmonkey.com
Ordinarily, I won’t be dropping one of these columns two days running, as I wouldn’t want you folks to get too overwhelmed, but I Tweeted about this site earlier and after looking into it a little deeper I decided it was well worth a bigger explanation.
Not all of us have what it takes to code/build websites. Much like mastering a language, it really comes down to whether or not you...
12 tags
Use The Web: Redbubble.com
Hello readers -
This is the first installment of what I am going to be calling the “Use The Web” series. My aim is to point you in the direction of sites/services/ideas that you might not know about but could easily put to use in your own musical and artistic endeavors.
Redbubble is an easy to use web portal and manufacturing company for artists who are looking to profit from...
16 tags
Simple Tips for Succes: Start a Mailing List
Hello loyal readers!
I’m going to start a weekly column geared towards providing simple yet detailed steps to help you with your musical, artistic, or entrepreneurial career. Although it is may seem impossible to 100% guarantee success, it is often the simple things that people tend to overlook that contribute to failure. It is my goal to help you avoid that!
If you have any comments,...
16 tags
Artists House Vault: Booking and Touring
Though artists could easily spend all of their time promoting themselves online, technology will never replace the importance of real face to face contact and creating genuine human connections. The strength of your fanbase is going to come from touring.
In that spirit, here are a couple videos from the Artists House Music site about booking live shows.
Representing the big boys, Brad Wavra of...