K-Murdock on Kickstarter and Full Time Music Production
Posted by Justin Boland on Jan 04, 2011 | 0 Comments
Fresh off an incredible 2010, the DMV producer K-Murdock has a lot on his plate this year. With a steady run of quality projects and a successful Kickstarter campaign under his belt, he took the time to talk some business with Audible Hype…
AH: As an artist with a huge digital footprint, how do you stay organized and prioritize your promotion online?
K-Murdock: It’s tough with all the social networking tools that exist, plus being a one man operation, you are bound to overlook something. But it’s worth the effort when you see people reposting your info up and it’s spreading like wildfire. As you mentioned, “organization” is KEY, I’m still learning that and always feel I can do better at it, but so far so good.
AH: How was your experience with Kickstarter? Would you use them again for another project?
K-Murdock: MY experience with Kickstarter was great! It, along with places like Bandcamp and Soundcloud are an indie artist/label’s dream come true as it allows that ease of access for fans to really make a difference in bringing a project to fruition. I wish i knew that there would be some hefty fees taken out from the total money raised, but we had just enough to handle getting all we wanted done so im happy and aside from some minor hiccups i had with the vinyl pressing, its all paying off! I recommend it for anybody and will indeed re-use it for a future project soon!
AH: You’ve been putting out albums longer than many Audible Hype readers have been getting ready. Do you have a template for new projects now, or do you approach each new album or EP differently in 2010?
K-Murdock: I was thinking about that the other day, and am curious if listeners feel inundated with my projects, but I aim to have something out every season or at least every 6 months just to stay consistent and actively in people’s heads and ipods. But to answer your question, really the only pre-requisite with me and my projects is that they have to have a fresh concept, I dont wanna do albums for “album sake” anymore…cuz what’s the fun & challenge in that ya know? I’d rather try and do something fresh that will challenge me as a producer and hopefully elicit fans to say “wow he went left field” or “what a cool idea!” After doing the last album for Panacea, myself & Raw Poetic decided we wanted to do concept records moving forward for the rest of our musical careers and i think that mindset has definitely influenced my solo/side ventures as well.
AH: I’ve read you’re also a big believer in Bandcamp. Has that become a central hub for your operation in the past year? Do you think it’s robust enough to be the basis of a business?
K-Murdock: I can’t reiterate enough how much of a godsend Bandcamp is. 75% of the little money I make from music is from there and it’s just so simple and effective, I feel like I owe the creator Neil Diamond a big favor should he ever need one. Since I started using it last spring, I have noticed that they are very receptive to the users input and that’s great as we know what we want and they facilitate us!
For my business, which isn’t as big as I envision, it ultimately it serves me well, especially in conjunction with some other merch resources like Bigcartel and Fairtilizer.
AH: How did you approach getting reviews for 12 Step Program? Were you approaching people with digital copies or sending out physical product once you had that?
K-Murdock: For 12 Step Program reviews/promo, I definitely saved myself money and sent links to different blogs and tastemakers via the help of the guys at Potholesinmyblog. I was definitely cashing in favors and sending it to people who have expressed past interest or done past reviews. Even if they weren’t that favorable, albeit the majority of feedback we have gotten is positive. For this to be the kickoff release on my newly incorporated imprint, it was exciting and humbling.
For more on the success story behind Panacea’s Kickstarter campaign, we highly recommend checking out Greg Rowlett’s article in Mashable, How Musicians Are Using Social Media to Connect With Fans. and even more detail in a video interview with Jeremy Calvery about Direct to Fan Strategies. Turns out, their email list was the primary source for Kickstarter pledges.
You can find more of K-Murdock’s work at Neosonic Productions and feed your ears over at Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Also worth checking out: his recent interview @ Kevin Nottingham.