August is Nerd Shit Month at Audible Hype

Posted by Justin Boland on Aug 01, 2009 | 0 Comments

The Tech

First off, thanks to the folks at Hypebot, I’ve won a 3 month subscription to Bandize, which advertises itself as “Basecamp for Bands.” Basecamp is a very awesome system for doing group projects online.  We use Basecamp at Back Brain Media, because our creative team is located in Detroit, Boston, Burlington, VT and Springfield, IL-so meetings are not an option.

The focus for August will be tools and systems.  In addition to Bandize and Basecamp, I’ll be digging through tools like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, a simple, solid and dope site where albums outsell singles by around 2 to 1.

Fun Fact: How did SOHH.com get the #1 spot for overall website traffic? Was it design, user experience, or quality content? Actually, it was shit porn. No joke. Check out Oh Word’s summary of how 2 Girls 1 Cup helped SOHH.com get on top.

The Process

For a hip hop collective working to make a professional website from the ground up, it’s hard to beat this post from Galapagos4 on The Making of Their Website. For anyone working on creating their own label, check out this collection of insights from Invincible and her DIY label Emergence. (I’m glad to report there will be a follow-up interview with Invincible coming up this month, too.)

Finally, here’s something I’ve been re-reading every few days for weeks now: Wendy Day dropping science on Artist Management. Her writing is always clear, honest, and full of useful facts.  I can’t offer higher praise-the woman is dope! There’s a long-overdue Wendy Day tribute I’ve had on the back burner for months now: that, too, will be dropping in August.

The Business

Audible Hype focuses so much on the practical that I neglect my inner business nerd. I read a small handful of magazines constantly: Fast Company, MIT Technology Review, and REMIX all have a place on my collapsing bookshelves. I don’t go into the big-picture, economic macrocosm because 95% of that shit is totally irrelevant to making a living off music. The driving question here is what works? so my focus is different from most music business sites. As much as I mock the old-guard visionaries, there’s also the undeniable fact that I still read everything they write.

There’s very few “Big Picture” thinkers I do endorse.  One of my favorites is the artist formerly known as Bruce Warila, who has written a lot of great articles over the past several years.  I’d recommend starting with Crush Your Local Radio, a very necessary antidote to social media hype. 

For the best metaphor to understand the future of the music business I’ve found so far, check out his article on Auto Parts Recycling as a real “new model” for future business innovation.

You can get educated by another hustler-friendly visionary just by reading this extended interview with Terry McBride from PBS…that’s a very tasty meal right there.  For those of you who enjoy nuts-and-bolts details, check out Kieth Jopling’s take on “The State of Independents.” His blog, Juggernaut Brew, is excellent reading for tech/data heads. 

One last gem for the business nerds: check out Topspin Media’s “Are You Ready” Checklist-a great reality check for anyone’s operation.  See how you measure up:

The list of questions below will help you determine if you have the tools needed to execute a rock-solid direct-to-fan marketing plan.

1. Do you have 90-120 days before your next project launches?
2. Do you know the cost of goods sold for your digital and physical content?
3. Do you have accounts on social networks like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter?
4. Do you have uncompressed WAV or AIFF files of your master recordings?
5. Do you have the means (or access to a designer) to create web-ready artwork?
6. Are you the person who grants approvals throughout the entire planning and execution process?
7. Are you able to provide accurate stats on your Web site traffic and past sales history?
8. Do you currently have marketing services, Web development, and physical distribution partners?

The Spotlight

First and foremost, the coolest news on the hip hop business front is definitely the West Coast banger specialists Blue Scholars partnering with not only a record label, but also a coffee company. There’s more details on the Blue Scholars blog, and from this Hypebot update.

Finally, I leave you with three cautionary tales from hip hop history.  Take mental notes as Dart Adams breaks down the rapid fall of Charles Hamilton, who is basically God’s official 2009 poster boy for What Not To Do.

Remember Lady Sovereign? If not, here’s why:

Source: Guardian UK

“I went on strike and stopped doing stuff, so Def Jam got the hump with me,” Harman shrugs, sipping on a vodka and Red Bull in a pub in Wembley, north London, near where she grew up. Her initial meeting with Jay-Z took place in front of R&B;star Usher and producer LA Reid, and was, she remembers, an uncomfortable experience. “All these executives, on the top floor of a high-rise building, all eyes on me. It was like an audition. Jay-Z is a cool guy, but we only hung out properly once - it’s not like we were best friends.” Her mother was (and still is) seriously ill with a brain tumour. Meanwhile, Def Jam had spent vast amounts marketing her debut album, Public Warning, and saw little chance of profiting from its 300,000 sales. The pressure was on.

The tipping point was a disastrous performance at New York’s Studio B in May 2007. Harman told the audience she was broke and bored of performing the same songs; she left the stage after two tracks to a chorus of boos. “I lost the plot a few times. I was cutting myself and stupid things like that. I was tired,” she says now. “I felt like it was just push, push, push. I didn’t have a chance to record any new stuff, it was the same old songs.”

The Kansas City News published a timeless classic in 2008: “How Not To Be a Rap Star.” It’s the hilarious and painful story of Paul Mussan, who lived such a cinematic meltdown that you can’t even call it failure. As pretty much everyone from the state of Vermont has advised me at least once: “If you’re going to fuck up, do it big.”

On that note, welcome to August, ladies and gentlemen. Get ready for the sprint to the 2010 bumper crop of January Christmas money and college town gigs.  Here’s a toast to everyone going crazy because they insist on doing it right.  Let’s hope the economy doesn’t collapse before we make it.  LMFAO, right?