Sunday, June 6, 2010

Musical Options


The only 'constant' in the world is change. This is pretty hard to dispute and why anyone would bother is beyond my realm of interest. I am finding, however, that people are increasingly bemoaning commercial music as all sounding the same. To an ever-increasing extent they have a valid point and it has been the subject of many an interesting conversation in the now global music world.


With an exhaustive list of genres of music, ranging from emo to disco, country and western, blues, rock and roll, heavy and ambient to name but a few one wonders how music can begin to sound the same. The obvious answer to this is that most music lovers only regularly listen to two or perhaps three genres of music.


Prior to the advent of the phonograph and radio people would listen exclusively to live music. This could be a neighbour playing an acoustic guitar or banjo, the local choir or a few friends having a singalong. Maybe even parts of all of the above. Irrespective, they were listening to live music without all of todays' glitz such as massive P.A. systems, screaming crowds, dazzling light shows and outrageous ticket sales. These small gatherings many years ago were simply part of life and no thought was given to the intimacy and 'realness' of hearing music performed live. There was also the option of not attending such gatherings.


As time and thus technology progressed people were able to listen to music on their phonograph or radio. A phonomenal advent at the time to think that one could listen to music that was not only from a different country but was also of a genre' that they had never heard before.


It was at this point, the point where people could choose which genre' of music that they could listen to, that musical commercialism in its' earliest form arose. Radio stations, record labels and record stores popped up left, right and centre as people sought out their favourite artist. This led to great anticipation of the next song to be made available by their artist of choice.



The next thing to occur was a flood of different artists and different genres of music from all over the world. Music has always been a global affair but it took technology to unite it. Again, this was an extremely exciting, creative and productive time for world music. In the grand scheme of things, however, it wasn't too long before music became a competition with every participant racing for the golden egg; namely money.


As music became more readily accessible this competition became rather vicious with lawyers and large corporations becoming involved. Large corporations and lawyers don't belong anywhere near music but the sad fact is that they have made themselves so.


When the internet began, the floodgates were open to all and sundry as people have access to so much music and are willing to pay through the teeth for it in droves. I view this 'syndrome' as the dumb leading the dumber. I am yet to fathom the necessity of a tiny device that can store more songs than can be listened to in a lifetime.



Music marketing became so 'in your face' and one-sided that it made me feel ill. It still does. Seeing the same names, images and song titles at every turn have numbed me to it all. Although my personal preference is rock and roll, I am in no way prejudicial to these ever present 'big names.' I have gone out of my way to listen to their material objectively and to be perfectly honest I think consumers are being roped in and robbed blind.


I have noticed, however, in very recent times music sites such as Nimbit which allow the artist to set their own price for downloads are increasing in 'searchability.' Despite Googles' latest venture in making artists searchable directly from their toolbar in conjunction with iLike I doubt very much that this will benefit independent musicians. I am uncertain as to how this will affect music sales and have discussed this topic in detail elsewhere.


Only this morning I received an email from ReverbNation saying that they had finally launched their much awaited webstore. On further investigation I noted that the software they are using is identical to that of Audiolife.


With the likes of Bandcamp, Nimbit, Reverbnation and Audiolife making it possible for independent artists to make their material available for purchase with no up-front costs things are definitely looking more promising for grass roots independent musicians. Promotion and growing a loyal fanbase, leading to music sales can now be placed firmly in the hand of the artist as opposed to the invisible people who have had too much control for too long.


Discount Voucher Code For "Redemption" is: raunchy

<a href="http://bobfindlay.bandcamp.com/album/redemption">(You &amp; Your) Poison Pen by Bob Findlay</a>

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Sell You Music Before Your First Performance







The vast majority of independent musicians are of the opinion that they had entered a new frontier when the advent of internet music thrust itself upon the world, only to be hunted down by unscrupulous corporations & bled for every penny that they are worth. The harsh reality is the unscrupulous corporations were here well before we were.




These sharks were circling before we even arrived!

These guys had such a head start it's laughable! They knew the ropes & what was coming next and being in the positions they were, all they had to do was what they would do were musicians any other commodity. Wait for the market to be willingly flooded by products that PAID to be there and make sickening amounts of money on the trickledown effect for them almost as an afterthought.

Yes, we were all dazzled when we first saw our photo & bio on iTunes or Amazon & heard our songs being played on fancy little widgets. How long did THAT novelty last before you realised something wasn't adding up?!? Some folks still enjoy that superficial side of the internet which is, sadly, only perpetuating a badly flawed system.

Never Mind The BoLLockS!




The horse has bolted on the online music industry for the small-time independent musician as far as creative freedom, financial viability & competitive conditions. “What can we do, Bob” I think I hear you think.

Firstly, instead of emailing ME, post the overall angst of your emails to sites that provide message boards & forums.*

(*Don't get me wrong, I DO appreciate your emails*)

Keep it tidy. Keep it clean. You're on display.

Introduce yourself on these boards & get involved, but conduct yourself in a professional manner. These boards are excellent places to subliminally advertise yourself for FREE!!!

How many musicians go to such places? Why is this? Because it's not “cool.” Well,
forget about being “cool.” That died off in the 70s. If you're being yourself, then you're cool.

Make a point in these forums, on these boards & in discussion groups of making music  LISTENERS aware of how the online industry is actually run, the actual pressure put on independent musicians (use yourself as an example to personalise the message) to provide free music & how much this 'free' music costs YOU. Make mention of how you feel cornered & overpowered by the big guns & how dedicated & serious music listeners are being seriously misled instead of being given the TRUTH by those who can afford to force-feed the market. In other words, call it as you see it.

You can PRE-SELL an album here!

I receive EXTREMELY surprised & genuine feedback from music lovers from these forums. I have been as surprised by their misconceptions as they are aggravated by
the way the online music industry operates.

The most effective way of informing music lovers of the state of the online music industry is to write to YOUR followers. ReverbNation & Facebook in particular allow you to write DIRECTLY to your followers. It doesn't get more personal than THAT online.

Spend some time writing your letter, keeping it concise & relevant. Save a copy and use the same letter for wherever else you have the ability to email followers of your music. Point out how music lovers are being kept in the dark about online music without even REALISING it. Avoid 'ranting & raving' & stick to the facts. Making the reader feel 'involved' isn't even a task as they already ARE involved. Suggesting any course of action is purely up to you & you WILL be humbled by the dedication of your followers. Believe me, I know.




Complacency doesn't work.

As irritating & time-consuming as it may seem, 'read the fine print' on every online document before agreeing to ANYTHING. Yes, they all appear to be the same and yes, certain online places suggest you skip the formalities & tick 'I Agree.' After being seconds from entering several song competitions when I initially began in the online music industry when I scrolled down to read of the 'non-refundable fee.'

WHY organisations practise this subversive activity is, to my mind, far from ethical. They are, of course, 'legally' entitled to operate this way but it's not in the spirit of what music is all about.

YOU can help keep the online music scene real.

Discount Voucher Code for "Redemption" is: raunchy


<a href="http://bobfindlay.bandcamp.com/album/redemption">(You &amp; Your) Poison Pen by Bob Findlay</a>