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Assessing The Environmental Cost of the Record Business
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 29, 2008 | 0 Comments
I’ve been reading a lot of misconceptions lately, but that’s nothing new. Most of what passes for “music journalism” is just re-phrasing press releases, after all. So the recent trend of articles about the environmental impact of the music business is something I feel obligated to speak on. Honestly, I think it’s just fluff-an easy story to write about that contributes nothing worthwhile. Worst of all, it’s a distraction from ongoing sources of real pollution, poison and devastation.
Today I’m going to use a recent column from Exclaim! to examine the reality behind the rhetoric about “greening” the industry. We’ll be covering everything from China to London to Los Angeles, and back to your local landfill.
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Weekend Brainfood, Feb 23rd 2008
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 23, 2008 | 0 Comments
For this weekend’s batch of brainfood, I’m collecting the highlights of three outstanding interviews. Two of them are very recent, one of them is pretty old-but the common thread here thinking bigger than your competition. This is not a comparison of dick size.
What I mean is looking further ahead and anticipating how logical future trends will affect your business. Being on top breeds arrogance, which leads to collapse. This has been true for every human civilization in history, true for every record label known to mankind, and it probably applies to whoever you’re dating now. Wait, this is a music blog.
The key to making effective moves is seeing openings that most other folks haven’t read about yet. I’m not arrogant enough to think any strategy I’ve come up with is “new”-that’s why I decided to run this whole operation open source. I’m just sharing stolen goods, and here’s the cream of the crop. I hope you’re enjoying a stoned Sunday, like civilized people.
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Part Three: Yes, Touring is Really Necessary in 2008.
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 20, 2008 | 0 Comments
Last week I posed a provocative question and spent some time arguing against common sense. This article is going to be coming full-circle: advocating a more informed and precise version of common sense. First and foremost, Yes, touring really is nescessary in 2008. A number of readers have wondered: why did I phrase the question so vaguely?
I’m glad people caught that-it was deliberate, and central to the point of this series. Most people I talk to, from new artists to established pros, operate on the assumption that touring is nescessary, period. I would like people to seriously re-evaluate this embrace of tradition: screwdrivers are nescessary, too, but they’re not always the right tool for the job. In part two of this series, I established the fact that touring is not nescessary to “break” your act. In fact, it’s the least effective, most expensive method of introducing a new artist to a large audience.
In this final installment, I am going to examine what touring is nescessary for: generating media attention, connecting with your existing fanbase, and most importantly, making some damn money.
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Weekend Brainfood, Feb 16th 2008
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 17, 2008 | 0 Comments
Although I’m writing focused articles and working in series format now, I have a lot of business weirdness going on in my life. I’m still researching the music industry in all directions at once, so this is the first in a regular series of Weekend Brainfood. These are useful and interesting scraps that don’t belong in any articles (for now) but I still want to share with you.
I hope this all connects dots, inspires ideas and helps you get work done in 2008. As always, I appreciate feedback, suggestions, and requests for specific articles.
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Part Two: Is Touring Really Necessary in 2008?
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 13, 2008 | 0 Comments
I was reading over an excellent interview with a band I never heard of-Me Talk Pretty-about DIY music marketing and managing your own career, and I came across a line I spent the next 5 minutes re-reading and meditating on. It goes a little something like this:
Touring is too expensive to do on a consistent basis, but it’s necessary.
Is it, though? As the Martin Atkins bible Tour:Smart
makes painfully clear, touring is kind of a pain in the ass. So I don’t want to make any sweeping pronouncements, here. If I wanted more publicity, I’d frame this more provokatively, such as “TOURING IS DEAD”-but let’s just explore the question: is touring really necessary in 2008?
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Part One: Is Touring Really Necessary in 2008?
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 11, 2008 | 0 Comments
Audible Hype is all about questioning common sense and giving the Status Quo a good swift boot to the nuts. As many readers know, I’ve been on the road more or less constantly since last October, so live shows and touring have been at the forefront of my mind. I’ve got about 30 pages in my journal about how to tighten my operation-and yours-but before I get to that, I’d like to burn everything down first.
Is touring even nescessary? With the prices of fuel and food increasing every day, and the US dollar being constantly devalued, it’s going become increasingly expensive to get On The Road Again. So this week, I’d like to spark a discussion on the future of live music. Are there less expensive, more profitable alternatives to driving all over the country? Are there strategies for reaching new listeners that don’t involve calling up grumpy strangers for hours on end?
I think there’s quite a few, actually.
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Tour:Smart by Martin Atkins
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 03, 2008 | 0 Comments
A review of the best book on the music business I’ve ever found: Tour:Smart -
An Interview with Micah Solomon, President of Oasis CD Manufacturing
Posted by Justin Boland on Jan 29, 2008 | 0 Comments
In my previous article, I dropped the following:
Perhaps someday, someone will explain to me why anyone would order CDs through Oasis when all their packages are at least $100 more expensive than identical packages from Discmakers.
I didn’t realize that “someday” would actually be the next Monday, and “someone” would be the president of Oasis, Micah Solomon. Google Alerts is a beautiful thing, and Solomon responded to me immediately. He was friendly and professional and he got me curious. Nothing impresses me like real human beings, so I wanted to give Micah Solomon a platform, right here on Audible Hype, to correct me.
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How to Book a World Tour While You're Buck Naked
Posted by Justin Boland on Jan 24, 2008 | 0 Comments
Of all the dinosaur occupations in the music biz, few are more endangered than the “Booking Agent.” Don’t get me wrong-a well-connected and professional booking agent can deliver the world at your fingertips. But don’t delude yourself-if you can afford a real booking agent, you don’t need to be reading Audible Hype-you’ve already got a successful music career.
This article, then, is for everyone else. When I book shows, I use freely available tools and common sense, and it’s been working out great in 2008. This is a step-by-step guide to exploiting new technology to get you good old GIGS, anywhere you want. It’s downright amazing how much power you have at your fingertips-here’s a guided tour.
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How to Defeat and Kill The Devil MySpace
Posted by Justin Boland on Jan 11, 2008 | 0 Comments
Myspace is a wasteland of fake profiles, horrible coding, obnoxious ads and total brain death. Unfortunately, it’s also 100% nescessary for making money off music in 2008. It’s the largest built-in audience of any social networking site, and if you’re doing hip hop, metal or anything that involves lots of young fans, there’s nowhere else to be.
Online promotion through Facebook is a communist nightmare in comparison to the tools available on Myspace. Let your fans promote you on Facebook-your efforts are better spent shaping your image and reaching new audience on Myspace.
