SOS Classroom Music

This fall my Writing 340 class undertook the task of expanding SOS Classroom into the realm of music education, an area heavily hit by budget cuts. With an outstanding number of musicians in our class, we believed we could gather a wide breath of online music education resources to begin to fill in the curriculum void in the LAUSD K-8 classrooms.

We focused the topics of rhythm, aural skills and voice, music history, musicians and composers, and music genres and lyrics. We envisioned that these areas would help cultivate artistic perception, creative expression and understanding of the historical and cultural context of music. The ultimate goal of SOS Classroom Music, aside from education, is to cultivate a long-lasting musical interest in youths.

After weeks of bookmarking relevant sites, our class had to determine a user-friendly and age-appropriate presentation of the collected information. Our discussions on how to integrate and present the various project elements brought up many interesting questions surrounding cultural and interface bias.

The area of music history incited engaging conversation as concerns were voiced about appropriate methods of illustration, including questions about the validity and comprehensiveness of our aggregated information. Coach got the class thinking about the reflections of our socioeconomic and cultural bias in the information we collected, as the history of music is so intricately interwoven with cross-cultural and longitudinal influence spanning countries and continents.

Furthermore, interface concerns were raised about the presentation of information. What information would be highlighted and how would we create connections between all the different elements? What connections would we make to Classical composer Mozart and how would we present the history of influence? Where would the instruments and respective histories be placed in relation? The complex chronology of music and its multitude of influences posed a substantial question on both the cultural perspective as well as chronological presentation of all the information we gathered.

The interesting class discussions sparked by these basic logistical concerns not only reflects a larger contextual question our class must face, but also a question our country’s education system must consider in the education reform debate.

11 Pearls of Wisom

Upon doing some research online for the upcoming paper 3, I stumbled upon this article/list, which was posted back in July - "11 Things a Failed Music Career Taught Me About PR." I was immediately interested since I'm majoring in public relations here at USC and would like to pursue a career in the music industry.

Here's Tom Nixon's list of 11 pearls of wisdom, along with my thoughts on each:

1.) Video killed the radio star.
very true. Since the birth and explosion and downfall of MTV, appearances have never been more important. Being an artist is now not just about creating great art, it's also about having an image. From Madonna to N'SYNC to the Spice Girls to Lady GaGa, image is everything. Even the artists who claimed to be anti-establishment had an image, even the artists who claimed they didn't care about their "image"... still had an image. Think Bob Dylan, Sex Pistols, Nirvana, Eminem.

2.) Nothing travels faster than word of mouth.
Word of viral mouth, I'd say. With Facebook and Twitter and blogs nowadays, anything a band does can and probably is somehow documented somewhere on the internet. As Nixon says,

"If your band has a lousy live performance, people would scorch you. If you rocked live, your following would quickly grow."

It's become ever so crucial these days for bands to be part of that word of mouth, to engage with their audience and be an active member in the online conversation.

3.) Publicity is platinum.
I don't know if I completely agree with this one - I think getting publicity is crucial to spreading the word about your band, but it's also about getting the right publicity. A band should aim to get their name out there, wherever their fans are, be it online, in dingy dive bars, or at PTA meetings.

4.) Constant contact.
This goes back to my earlier post with Trent Reznor's business plan. CwF: Connect with Fans. If you keep your fans in the loop, you'll keep the interested, which can be one of the hardest things to do in this A.D.D/15-second attention span world we live in today.

5.) You're nothing without a database.
CRUCIAL point. probably should go as #3, in fact. If you make all those industry contacts and fans, but it's all in your head, it's not going to do anyone any good. Plus you'll forget, make human errors, etc etc etc. Having a database, even if it's just a simple excel sheet with fan emails, is a cornerstone to CwF.

6.) Advertising works.
To a certain extent. Just telling someone that your band is playing or has a new CD isn't enough anymore, there needs to be a CALL TO ACTION (shout out to last week's JOUR 351A lecture). Nixon gave the example about how his band's flyers advertised free shots at the bar they were playing at. Given it wasn't true, but it got people to the bar.

7.) Your fans will do your bidding for you.
Coming back to social media. and CwF. Getting your fans engaged, making them part of the process of the band, not just consumers, will provide natural incentive for them to spread the word about your band. If your fans have an emotional investment in the band, they will care just that much more.

8.) If you can't get signed, put out your own CD.
Truer words have never been spoken. Having a record deal doesn't mean you're set for life - you'll spend years of your career recouping costs to make that damn album before you even see one cent of earnings. With services like CDBaby and bandcamp, it's become so easy for an artist to distribute their music.

9.) Not all bands should toot horns.
A fundamental in PR. You shouldn't lie. You've got to be honest with the media if you want to maintain any modicum of credibility in the future.

10.) Grow your hair out and wear second-hand clothes.
"Preach that message internally, and live it always externally. Be consistent, and be recognizable." I immediately thought of Lady GaGa. I read an article with someone in her camp who said that Lady GaGa IS Lady GaGa 24/7, that you'd never find Stefani Germanotta in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Germanotta has completely blurred the line between her image as Lady GaGa and her self, embracing her image as her self.

11.) Have fun."Life's too short to sweat the small stuff. In other words, 'Rock on!'"
amen. What's the point if you're not having any fun? Don't tell me you're in this industry for the money???

Overexposed??

In the past month, Phoenix has been EVERYWHERE. You know who they are even if you think you don't; you definitely know the song 1901 if you've seen the latest Cadillac commercials, and you've probably seen them live (on TV) if you tune into the late night talk shows, since they've played every single one this year. plus SNL. plus song placements in Where The Wild Things Are, 90210 and Entourage. As Stereogum states, Phoenix is "one lime-beer commercial away from a perfect score on the multimedia-saturation index that goes from 1 to Santigold."

But. How much exposure is too much exposure? Is Phoenix becoming so over-saturated in the media that people the will become desensitized to their music? Has Phoenix managed to pique as well as lose public interest in the same wave of publicity?

When a band gets so much attention in such a short amount of time, how successful is it in generating long-term interest? Or it is just a flash in the pop culture radar? Does Phoenix loose part of their "indie cred" by being in a Cadillac commercial?

Phoenix generated buzz and interest within the indie scene through making the rounds in the festival circuits, and really exploded onto the general public conscious with the intense media tour they've been on.

When the excitement generated by pop culture dies down, Phoenix will probably still have their core fan base, but the question really is whether this public interest can last...

All About the EXPERIENCE

This past week Rob McDermott, the manager of Linkin Park, came to speak to my Entertainment in Public Relations class. He emphasized through and through during his talk the importance of the "experience." He stressed the cruciality for fans to have the experience, how music is about the experience, and how efforts should be made to ultimately drive fans to the experience.

What is the "experience"? It's the experience of seeing your favorite band for the first time in concert, of seeing a new band for the first time live and being blown away, of seeing your favorite band for the millionth time live and still being excited about it.

I've spent some time mulling over the importance Rob placed on the experience, and how touring has become the economic backbone of an artist with declining CDs sales. Being able to tour and turn a profit while on tour has become a critical factor in the equation to keep an artist economically afloat in a ball busting industry.

It is the live experience that cannot be replicated, that just isn't the same when relayed through a digital avenue. It's about the moment, the emotions, about being right then and there.

Concert experiences have been translated in many ways - Youtube videos of select songs from shows, even whole concerts, higher quality live DVDs, and live streams of concerts. The Live Earth Concert. The upcoming U2 concert at the Rose Bowl.

Taking a closer look at U2's decision to broadcast their concert live online. It's already sold out after all, so there is no monetary loss, simply marketing brilliance. What U2 is doing isn't selling out their live experience, what they're doing is showing everyone who isn't there what they're missing. You'll be watching the U2 show on your 15 inch Macbook, and even with your sweet hundred dollar headphones, you'll be thinking - damn. I wish I were there. It's a brilliant marketing strategy, combining the power and reach of the Internet and the live experience to drive fans to the live experience itself. Being able to broadcast your live experience worldwide will help drive concert sales wherever your next tour hits. Not that U2 needs help selling out their tours. But think about what this could do for a smaller act with an insane live show?

Personally, there are quite a few bands that I wouldn't necessarily sit at home and listen to, but would definitely go to a show if they came through town (check out Family Force 5, I beg of you. Bring Me The Horizon also puts on a crazy brutal show).

Given this great strategy, the one thing as a band that one still needs, other than means of broadcasting, is a solid live show. If you sound shitty live and have a boring show, broadcasting it online to the world will have, well, just the opposite effect. No one will want to come see your shows.

Ultimately, it's the live experience that trumps all. So band, please practice and make your set a damn interesting one to watch. Everyone else, get out there, away from your computer, and see a live show or two. It'll be grand, really.

Latest Single, Available Exclusively on Rock Band!

In the midst of the unstable economy and struggles of the music industry, a sector of the industry that has seen steady growth in the past couple of years are the music licensing departments. Now that it's harder and harder to get people to actually buy CDs and the avenues of music exposure are becoming more niche and fragmented, the business of licensing music has provided a way to reinvigorate the single and break artists through to a mass audience.

Some examples of the convergence of music and traditional and new media via music placement:

- MTV's heavy use of music to set the mood and create a soundtrack to the events on their reality shows such as Laguna Beach and The Hills have helped exposed numerous artists to millions of viewers. Back in the Laguna Beach days, MTV put up the soundtracks following each episode for free download on MTV.com.

- The Fray would not be THE FRAY today without Grey's Anatomy. The decision of the show and network to use "How to Save a Life" as the main song in the advertising promotions for the show's season three premier helped launch the song into Top 40, selling over one million downloads.

- Smashing Pumpkins released their single "G.L.O.W." in 2008 via Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rise Against released "Death Blossom" in the same edition of the game, and Wolfmother released "Cosmic Egg" just last week on Guitar Hero 5.

- The Madden NFL video games have always placed a great importance on their soundtracks, helping break artists like Yellowcard ("Way Away" on Madden 2004)and Pitbull ("Fuego" on Madden 2008) to a wider audience.

AP Fall Ball

Last night I was at the Avalon in Hollywood for the Alternative Press Fall Ball Tour, featuring (in order of appearance) You Me At Six, The Secret Handshake, Set Your Goals, Mayday Parade and The Academy Is..., which led me to this whole train of thinking about the music magazine business as well as the formulation of lineups for tours.

A little bit of background and basics about AP and all the bands. Alternative Press is a popular music magazine, specializing in the pop/punk/hardcore/emo genres - think Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Paramore, Green Day. With the boom of the internet leading to the demise of print media, the magazine has suffered in subscriptions and has also slowly begun to loose some of its clout in the music industry. The magazine, while always a very feature-driven publication, has nonetheless developed its online presence by driving readers to exclusive online content, including first-listens, timely photo stories and shorter and more frequent feature pieces. Although readership may be decreasing, getting on the cover of AP is still a big deal for a band, and a feature in the magazine will still be displayed prominently in your press kit/clippings. So despite when people say "who the hell reads AP anymore these days," it's still kind of a big deal?

Moving onto the bands on the AP Fall Ball: Mayday Parade co-headlining with The Academy Is... Mayday Parade, just a mere couple of years ago, was the unsigned band following Warped Tour all summer, not playing Warped Tour mind you, but working the lines and selling their CDs outside the venues. Fast forward a couple of years, they landed a record deal with Fearless Records and have just released their second LP. The Academy Is..., pop-punk darlings from about 2005-2007 (at least I would say), have 3 albums under their belt and a newly released EP. Set Your Goals --> bay area pop-punk/melodic hardcore band --> a solid and growing fan base. The Secret Handshake - synth pop, sang to a backing track and wayy overused auto-tune live. Not interested. You Me At Six, British pop(-punk) imports, kind of the All Time Low of the UK.

Set Your Goals is a band that I think doesn't fit in to this tour - all the other bands on the bill fall way more on the pop side of the pop-punk scale. The hardcore SYG fans don't give a shit about The Secret Handshake and vice versa. Now the question: why put a band like this on a tour like this? Is it a good thing that they don't sound like all the other bands? Is this an opportunity for SYG fans to perhaps discover something new, and an opportunity for Mayday Parade fans to discover SYG? Possibly. There will definitely be some people who will discover a new band they like. There will also be a lot of people who don't stay for the rest of the show after Set Your Goals play, or don't show up until Mayday Parade plays. There are also people who are Set Your Goals fans who won't buy tickets to the show because they don't care about the rest of the bands in the line-up. Does this hurt ticket sales? If so, how much?

Are tours with varied line-ups a good risk or a bad risk? The AP Fall Ball is far from an extreme example, but let's take a look at a couple of the artists they have up for the vote for their spring tour - The Cab, Every Avenue, Fun., Good Old War, Never Shout Never, Frank Turner, Sing It Loud. We could go extremely pop here or go the more indie/acoustic route. What if it were Good Old War, Every Avenue, Never Shout Never? Would the tour sell? Does having a varied bill of artists fragment your audience (and cash flow) or does it coalesce into one nicely diverse crowd?


(note: festivals, whole different ball game. more artists, more stages, more all-around experiences.)

Myspace: Dead or Alive?

“Thanks for the add!”

If you had a Myspace and NEVER received or doled out one of these in a comment or message… well, you’re lying.

Myspace’s explosion in popularity after it was introduced in 2003 made it one of the most popular social networking sites in the early to mid 2000s, with over 100 million accounts created by 2006.

The ability to customize one’s profile through simple HTML codes allowed users to decorate the hell out of their pages, many with ridiculous glitter banners and incomprehensible font. This customization, through Myspace Music, also allowed artists to upload songs and videos to their profile pages for streaming and downloading.

Having a Myspace became one of the first things to do once you formed a band – you uploaded a couple of your demos onto your music player, found a decent and flattering photo to upload, wrote a nice little “About Me,” and started friending strangers on the Internet like crazy.

Starting in the late 2000s, bands and labels started realizing that they could REALLY trick out these Myspace pages with some intense HTML coding – completely revamping the design and look of the page to fit your artist’s “vibe.” Today, even if you’re unsigned, some bands will shell out those 500 bucks for a sweet Myspace design. Not necessarily the most efficient use of 500 bucks as an emerging band I personally say, but hey, we do live in an appearance driven economy after all.

Moving to present day, Facebook has overtaken Myspace as the king of social networking sites – the infiltration of porn stars and spammers on Myspace being the beginning of its downfall. Artists have begun created Facebook pages, but without the level of success achieved with Myspace.

Even though Myspace is declining in its popularity among actual users, I think it’s still an important social networking element for an artist. It is no replacement for a website where the artist owns the domain name, but at least it’s something. A Myspace profile is still a place where you can aggregate all your collateral as a band – a place for your music, your demos, your videos, your blog updates, and a place to connect directly with your fans.

Thanks for the add!

Research Topic

My research project will delve into the debate of the disintegration of the major record label and just how relevant they still are to the music industry. I will analyze multiple perspectives on the issue, from both the well-established artist as well as the emerging artist's points of view. I will examine the pros and cons of the label versus DIY routes of release a record.

Established artists like Radiohead already have an existing fan base as well as an established reputation - the band itself is a brand and an entity to the consumer. There is no need for the clout of a record label to generate interest in a new record or tour - once the news item hits the internet, viral word-of-mouth takes care of the rest. Record labels aren't needed to secure distribution, their services aren't really needed to get Radiohead's newest single onto radio either. If you're Radiohead, you know people. You know people who know people. You can pull all those strings and make all those phone calls on behalf of yourself; you are the means to your end - there is no need for a middleman such as a record label to be involved.

On the flip side, a newly formed band doesn't necessarily have all those connections, which is where record label steps in. Signing to a label doesn't guarantee an easy ride to the top, much less any level of success. What it does provide though are the tools necessary to expose the music.

Signing to a record deal means that the wheels of all the department are churning together to push your new record out onto the market. The marketing department is taking out advertising on websites and magazines; the sales department is making sure your album is actually in stores; the radio department is seeding your single to radio stations across the country; the publicity department is securing interviews, features and reviews; the new media department is establishing an online presence and buzz.

But maybe there is a new business model out there that doesn't include all these different aspects. Many artists are exploring different methods and avenues to get their music noticed and heard, from licensing it through video games or extremely viral campaigns. Artists are evaluating the current bloated structure of many record labels and deciding that DIY is just as viable of an option, perhaps even more profitable, with no recoupment necessary before they start seeing their share of the profits.

The Maine: A Case Study?

Myspace stats: 64,559,416 total plays, 42,249 plays today, 226,914 friends. Member since 9/26/2004
Youtube stats: 67 videos, 29,173 subscribers, 708,581 channel views. Member since 8/28/2006
Buzznet stats: 31,181 friends, 3,790 photos, 307 videos, and 152 journal posts. Member since 8/1/2007

What do all of these numbers mean to a band two years young? A self-paved and well-paved road to success.

The Maine, hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, is a band only two years in the making, with the oldest member just old enough to get drunk [legally] at his own shows, the youngest just barely hitting the two decade mark. Their sound is decidedly pop-punk, leaning more towards the pop than the punk. Their music is catchy as hell, filled with sugary hooks and sweet melodies; the band consisting of strapping young lads, making tweens and teens swoon all across the country. (a touch hyperbolical, but you get what i mean.)

Their music is nothing groundbreaking in this excruciatingly over-saturated "pop-punk" market, but what sets The Maine apart from the sea of shaggy side-swept hair, skinny jeans, and catchy lovelorn sing-along choruses is what one could call their own configuration of Trent Reznor's CwF+RtB business model. Much of the band's success to date can be attributed to their dedication and focus on the CwF, connect with fans, part of the equation - utilizing social networking sites like Myspace, Youtube and Buzznet to their full advantage to remain very connected to their fans. More recently, the band has begun incorporating reason to buy to further fuel their success, releasing a deluxe version of their debut album, Can't Stop, Won't Stop, that includs a 30-minute digital documentary along with bonus tracks and music videos. The digital documentary can also be streamed for free online and bought separately on iTunes, providing fans multiple options to access the same content.

Before delving into why I think The Maine is a exemplary model of how the CwF+RtB model can work for small artists, I would like to acknowledge the fact that The Maine is still a VERY SMALL BAND. Do a random polling on the street and probably 1 out of 50 people, or even less, have heard of the band. Unless you're polling the line outside one of their shows, in which case the person (highly likely to be female, age 13-16), could probably name off all the members plus Pat Kirch's alter ego.

Since their inception, The Maine have utilized social networking sites to their full advantage, diligently establishing their viral fan base through constant communication via Myspace, as the band was still waiting on two members to graduate high school before they could get on the road. The Maine have used these sites to thoroughly chronicle their journey as a band, from videos of their first ever show to regular photo/video updates to periodic Q&A videos for each member with fan-submitted questions. The Maine recently launched a website for the band, which serves as an aggregator of all the content distributed throughout the band's various social networking sites. In addition, the "Assignments" and "Forum" sections of the site not only serve as another way for the band to connect with the fan, but also as way for the fans to connect with each other. Current assignments include:

"- Pen Pal: Start a pen pal thread with someone you have never met before within the maines message board! Create a unique project that you and your new "pen pal" can send to the guys!
- Favorite Memory Letter: Write the band a letter about your favorite memories with the band or their music!
- Fan Photos: Submit pictures of you with the band!

By including fans into the site experience, The Maine is amassing a great amount of user-generated content, which will undoubtedly come in handy at some point in time of their careers, because CONTENT IS KING.

Aside from all their viral efforts, The Maine has also been touring relentlessly for the past year, spending last summer on the "Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour", last fall on "The Compromising of Integrity, Morality and Principles in Exchange for Money" tour, this spring co-headlining the 2009 AP Tour, and a summer-long stint the Vans Warped Tour. (and they're still going strong, heading out on the road again on October 17). It is through touring that a band can really see the tangible growth of their fan base, from playing to a room of 30 to a sold-out show at the House of Blues. It is also through touring that a band gets the opportunity to connect with fans through actual face-to-face interaction, whether it be signing t-shirts, CDs and ticket stubs or posing for hours of photos with the fans after the shows.

The Maine claims they "Can't Stop, Won't Stop," and at the rate they're going, they probably won't be stopping anytime soon.

SBS - Social Bookmarking Soulmate

I am a firm believer that every person has not just one "soul mate," but that it is simply about being at the right place at the right time. In perusing del.icio.us, I think I may have already found not one, but three, social bookmarking soulmates. In this blog I will just profile Flaithbhertach, since he [let's just say it's a he] was at the right place at the right time, the first one I stumbled upon.

After going through 13 pages of Flaithbhertach's bookmarks, I felt that we had a pretty strong connection - I had read many of the articles that he bookmarked, was familiar with many of the online music services he bookmarked, and was introduced to many interesting articles, that he bookmarked.

Flaithbhertach's main bookmarking topic is music, "music" being his number one tag with 216 tags. Music is followed by design and history, each with about 100 tags on del.icio.us. I wouldn't necessarily call him a bookmarking fiend, but Flaithbhertach definitely keeps bookmarking in mind when prowling the internet, bookmarking a couple of pages every other day in varying degrees. Even after 13 pages of bookmarks, I was only still in late August - going back to page 169, I see that he started using del.icio.us in September 2005, and since then has accumulated 1684 bookmarked pages. Looking through his bookmarks I see a wide range of pages as far as popularity goes, he's got pages that only a couple of other people have bookmarked, but also pages that thousands have bookmarked.

Beyond Flaithbhertach's top 10 tags, he has 547 other tags, many used only once, but clusters of double-digits sprinkled throughout. Looking through his tagging conventions, I've found that he is fairly diligent with his tagging, usually using at least three tags, and very often many more. This helps create a network within all his bookmarked pages, probably making it easier for him to search both broadly and narrowly with useful results. The number of tags used only once could probably be reduced; he could probably find a way to consolidate "intelmac," "laptop" and "macbook" into one broader tag.

Two interesting pages I found through Flaithbhertach's bookmarks were a youtube video of a speech on Trent Reznor's (of Nine Inch Nails) business model and a blog about the dark side of "web-only networking."

The youtube video is embedded within an article on Business Model Alchemist, and is a recording of Michael Masnick from Techdirt giving a 15 minute presentation on "how an artist, Trent Reznor, is re-inventing business models for the music industry." (sidenote: watch the video. I know 15 minutes seems daunting, but it goes by quickly with 280 slides and is very interesting, I promise.) Masnick explains Reznor's business model as CwF + RtB, aka Connecting with Fans + Reason to Buy = $$$$, and goes through Reznor's various experiments with the previous Nine Inch Nail albums.

Another interesting page I found was a blog post on Create Digital Music - a guest blog on "Digital, Artists, Labels and the Crisis of Plumeting Expectations". The blogger, Dave Dri, quickly touches upon the downside of online-only networking. Dri discusses the negative effects of losing IRL (in real life) contact with people, both within the industry as well as fans, and discusses the idea of marketing that "begins and ends with 'thanks for the add!!" While I think his perspective is a little more dire and pessimistic, I do agree with the main message of his post, being that "one might say it just boils down to effort." Making music isn't just about a seamless process of digital connections, but is about the effort put into creating the art as well as investing in it beyond just making a Myspace profile.

I think Flaithbhertach is a great resource for my blog readers - his bookmarks are interesting, relevant and educational.

But I haven't forgotten about the two other SBSs I've found, NiteShok and Nice Fish Film's. Both have music as their number one tag, with 261 and 486 tags, respectively. NiteShok's other top ten tags include "music-industry," "writing," "marketing," and "business." Nice Fish Film's other top ten tags include "socialnet," "science," "twitter," and "web2.0." Just looking through the first few pages of each user, I've already found numerous interesting and helpful pages relating to the music industry.

Having these three bookmark-savvy users on my radar will not only help me but also my readers further expand our inquiry and understanding of where the music industry is headed.

Warped Tour - The Movie?

Last Thursday, Vans Warped Tour screened an exclusive one-night "special theatrical event"commemorating its 15th anniversary in a select 460 theaters around the country.

Didn't know about it or just plain didn't go? Even if you went to Warped Tour, love the bands, and all that jazz? No worries, I have an inkling that you're far from the only one.
(and here comes the disclaimer: I didn't go either, thus can't personally attest to the theatrical experience, so what follows is really just an elaborate hypothesis)

Sure, the event got a fair amount of press coverage in all the areas it was showing - event listings in city papers, online features - but how many movie-goers actually showed up at 8pm on September 17th?

The Warped Tour website started a thread after the event asking "If you went to the 15th Anniversary event in theaters tonight, what did you think? Where did you see it? What were your favorite parts?"... which produced some interesting feedback. There were the usual lovers and haters, but what really caught my attention were the numbers thrown out in these response posts. In Huntington Beach, there were "only about 30 people there." In Ohio, "only 6 people in the theater." In Rochester, "only like 15 ppl were in the theatre."

Just from these numbers you could draw some hasty conclusions about the success of the event, but let's look at this in a more scientifically approved manner. 1) There were only 17 responses in the thread - not a very large sampling. 2) Self-selected response - HUGE opportunity for participant bias. 3) Ohio and Rochester are never particularly large markets for the tour anyways.

But. Just from this sample one does nonetheless get the idea that perhaps the movie wasn't as spectacular of an event as those in the Warped Tour camp hoped.

Was it a publicity problem? Doubt it. (same publicists that handle PR for the tour itself)
Was it a marketing problem? Probably not. (visible ad presence on target sites)
Was it simply just a lack on interest? dingdingdingding. (i think)

Attempting to channel the live concert-going experience onto the big screen is undoubtedly a daunting task. What makes the concert experience is the atmosphere, the band's actual live presence, sweaty dudes moshing/fangirls screamings/too-cool arms-crossed nodders, you get the idea. It's about the music, yes, but it's so much more about the experience of it all. Projecting it onto a huge screen with surround sound can perhaps somewhat recreate the auditory and visual factors, but the atmosphere of it all is sucked out. Plus, 2-D vs 3-D??

The question I pose is not whether this isolated event was a success, but if the concert-going experience can be successfully translated to the silver screen. Live concert DVD sales are fairly decent, so can live concert movies make the sell as well?

TRIFECTA

re-post of first three blogs... as one! [and edited.]

HELLO, WORLD.

Major labels are dead.

...depending on who you ask. The major label head honchos will adamantly deny and resent the statement, but know somewhere deep down inside that there is some truth to it. The DIY enthusiasts would concur with great gusto, but know somewhere deep down inside that there is still a place for the big f o u r .

While it is true that the structure and function of the major label is slowly crumbling due to the digital revolution of the past decade, the DIY grassroots movement has yet to completely replace some of the essential services and clout of the major record label.

Nonetheless, the Pandora's box (for record labels, at least) spawned by the digital age has provided avenues for artists and fans to get what they want, when they want, and how they want it. No restrictions, no limitations.

In this blog I shall explore the effects and opportunities presented by the new media frontier of the music industry - from the “threat” it poses to current industry operational standards to the opportunity it provides the industry to evolve and better itself.

The voice of the fan is getting louder by the minute – having an online buzz about your band is becoming just as important as securing that high-profile feature in Rolling Stone. The growth of the music blogosphere and social networking sites is beginning to break down the barrier between artist and fan – less rock god, more tangible (cyber-tangible?) fan-to-band interaction.

No one is truly qualified to speak on this matter, perhaps some more than others, but no single person possesses the crystal ball that plainly and clearly presents the future of the industry. Many have their predictions, many of whom will be right. The power within the industry has spread from the few top dogs to the general masses; whatever direction the future takes, it will undoubtedly be due to collective effort. It’s anyone’s and everyone’s game to make a move and decide what actually happens next.

As an avid consumer/lover of music and someone who’s just gotten their foot in the industry door, I’ve yet to become jaded enough, but hopefully am becoming just wise enough to start comprehending the often twisted inner workings of the music machine. My academic concentrations in psychology and public relations, with any luck, will prove to be assets in my career aspirations to climb up the corporate ladder and become a jaded high-powered, money-hungry music executive. Or simply someone who’s in the industry for the love of music and the desire to help the starving artist (go figure. …it’s the latter, for anyone that didn’t catch on). With the over saturation of the musical market these days, it is crucial to understand how to sell yourself and stand out from the crowd - in order to do so, understanding the social psyche of your target audience is a necessity.

I hope to explore and analyze subjects and events ranging from Radiohead’s decision to let the fan decide what In Rainbows was worth to them, to Fall Out Boy’s extensive viral campaign promoting Folie à Deux, to what having a Myspace as an artist really means today.






…plus of course all my general ramblings and rants about music, the industry, and the latest (or lamest) musical trends (coughcrunkcorecough).

BLOG PROFILE.

The notion of “blogging” about music and the music industry has long existed – the fans as well as the artists ALWAYS have something to say, and ALWAYS find an avenue to say it. The boom of blog hosting sites like Tumblr, WordPress and Blogger has spawned countless blogs dedicated to music, the industry and god knows how many artist fan pages (“stalker pages,” dare I say?).

In the past decade a blog and music news site that has gained momentum and is now considered the go-to source for the latest alternative music news is AbsolutePunk.net. It's a website that in itself is an example of the new media frontier in the music industry, where the voice of bloggers are just as important as those of the slightly more prestigious staff.

In addition to posting breaking music news and album reviews, AbsolutePunk.net also hosts user blogs and interactive forums, serving as an extensive online community for discussions of the latest music on-goings. Jason Tate, the founder of AP.net, is a regular, posting frequent and always opinionated blogs about recent album releases as well as his thoughts on the current state of the industry. Tate often blogs about his “First Impressions” on advances that he, as a music journalist (lucky), gets a first listen to.

Many of his posts are also designed to spark discussion within the whole congregation of users on the site. Earlier this summer, during the heated debate about the use of auto-tune, Tate posted a blog sharing his thoughts on the matter… soon after, 15 others chimed in.

What is often more interesting than Tate’s actual blogs are the user discussions that spring up in the forums. Tate’s post about auto-tune stemmed from his re-blogging of a video he saw in a general thread. News items like “Death Cab For Cutie vs. Auto-Tune” can trigger extensive forum discussions among hundreds of users.

The power and influence of a site like AbsolutePunk.net is demonstrated through its ability to generate incredible online buzz, both positive and negative. With the rising popularity of “crunkcore,” which includes artists like 3OH!3 and brokeNCYDE, an incredible backlash was unleashed on the site, with any news post about brokeNCYDE garnering at least a couple hundred of responses, most extremely, and harshly, negative. The active user community on the site includes both opinion leaders and the average Joe Blow, allowing for dynamic and interesting dialogues.

Absolutepunk.net is ranked 9,404 by Technorati.com, and has an estimated 115,200 unique visitors each month according to Quantcast.com. Tate’s 1,828 blogs collectively have over 900,000 views – regardless of one's personal opinion of him, he is nonetheless a voice people care enough to hear.

My blog, unlike AbsolutePunk.net, will be 100% BLOG. The topics I talk/ramble about will stem from the hot topics (pun… maybe intended?) being discussed on sites such as AP.net.

If it’s worth all that cyber-chatter, it’s worth mine too, damnit.



BLOGGER VOICE CRITIQUE.

Whitney Pastorek writes for EW.com’s Music Mix blog, which is updated frequently and daily by a handful of writers. The main areas Pastorek covers are music festivals and the country and indie-rock genres (her favorite band is Pearl Jam, fyi).

Pastorek is currently conducting a “Guilty Pleasures” March Madness-esque bracket, and as of 9:25AM this morning has Styx up against ABBA (Dancing Queen FTW).

She wrote a news post back in July that nicely illustrated her voice: concise and personality-driven.

You get a sense of the tone from the get-go, with the title “Open Happiness: Best Supergroup ever! Except for the product placement!” There’s a hint of good-humored sarcasm, conveyed by the sentence fragments appropriately separated by exclamation points.

Pastorek begins her post with a single word – “wow.” A continuation of the title, and to the point. She then delves into the news, explaining who the collaborators involved are and describing the single as having:

“Flaming Lips guitars and a catchy singalong chorus buoyed by verses from each of the members, all of whom are totally capable of selling American-Idol-winner’s-single-worthy lyrics like ‘the bridge between us is a rainbow.’”

By using an American Idol reference to describe the chorus, Pastorek instantly creates a distinct image and sound in the readers’ mind, making it relatable to millions…28.84 million to be exact, if we’re talking season 8 finale ratings here.

Pastorek continues her exploration into the single… until she makes a tiny little realization

“Wait.

Is this a Coke ad?

Crap.”

Effective. Emotions conveyed. Minimal words used.

Her use of single words, definitive punctuation and the 3-paragraph layout is a smart and concise way to translate this thought sequence onto paper (screen?).

Another post of Pastorek’s that showcases her voice comes from her coverage of Sasquatch! Music Festival. She begins the post with a touch a humor and some heart.

“I learned while on vacation last year that Sasquatch (exclamation point!) was the best undiscovered music festival in the country, and I’m happy to report that’s still true.”

Using the words “exclamation point” PLUS the actual punctuation personalizes the commentary, reaffirming the fact that there really is a human being behind those words.

Her use of simile in describing the weather as “the kind of weather I’d like to imagine God has running up in heaven” provides readers with a framework for their imagination, and is far more effective than an plain observation of a “lovely evening.” Pastorek also throws in a tidbit about how the weather likely prompted “the couple having sex on the ridge in full view of 25,000 people at sundown on Saturday.” This fun and interesting personal anecdote contributes to her unique perspective on the festival.

In the next paragraph Pastorek describes “the first breeze of the day” as “the sonic equivalent of being wrapped in cool cotton sheets and laid down for a perfect nap.” This use of metaphor reinforces her relatable quality, much like the effect of her American Idol reference.

Pastorek creates an interactive environment within her blog. She posts:

“Finally, as those who regularly follow my festival blogging know, the mark of a good set is if Aunt Whittlz gets peed on, but still doesn’t leave. I’d like to thank the girl who squatted and let loose on my feet during Kings of Leon for reinforcing how much I enjoy that band.”

Embedding the link into the text “if Aunt Whittlz gets peed on, but still doesn’t leave” is a subtle and effective way of linking to another one of her posts – she defines her audience but also includes the first-timers.

She further involves her readers by posing a question at the end of the post: “Were you out at The Gorge this weekend, Mixers? Weigh in on your experience!” This is a smart way to get her readers commenting and engaged, and a good method of encouraging readers to return and see what others have said as well as her responses to comments.

Pastorek’s voice very nicely complements the subject matter of her blog about music and music festivals. The detailed descriptions of her personal experience at the festival make this post unique and a worthwhile read. Music industry etiquette is generally pretty casual, music festivals in particular often serve as a free-for-fall in many aspects…

sex, drugs & rock n’ roll?

Comment Post

comment post on New Music Strategies blog post This Is Islet: The making of a fan site

"This is actually really cool that you created a fan site for this band simply from going to a show and being blown away by their set, and to fill the void that was the lack of this band's online presence. I think what you bring up in this post that is really interesting is the fact that nothing could be found on the internet about this band Islet.

It's interesting to note that the first thing anyone does after discovering a band they enjoy is to look them up on Google. or Myspace. the internet, in general. I think this shows how the digital age and the internet has transformed the music industry. Having an online presence as an artist today is a NECESSITY - I mean, one of the first things a newly formed band does is to create a Myspace.

I think it's awesome that since you couldn't find anything online about this band, Islet, you took matters into your own hands and created a site for the band, a fan site, but an establishment of an online presence nonetheless. Since so much of what is word of mouth is actually word of... typing? blogging? the internet? (ONLINE!), just creating this fan site exposes the band to countless potential new fans. You even said yourself that

"Less than 24 hours later, close to 1000 people have visited, checked out the band and have, at least, now heard of the amazing band that is Islet."

Another aspect that I found fascinating was the demonstration of the power of the fan today. Since the inception of music, what has driven an artist's success and longevity is the fan base - but fans used to be simply passive consumers of what big industry record labels sold to them, yet with the digital age, I feel the power balance has shifted. Fans are now crucial to up-and-coming bands who don't have the clout of a major label - the fans are the ones who have the power to create the online buzz about the next breaking band.

I think your post demonstrated two really intriguing aspects of how the music industry is evolving, all while helping spread the word of Islet!"

The Mediocre, The Bad, and The Ugly

Ah yes, the sub-genre (sub-sub-genre?) of crunkcore. Where shall I even begin? For those unfamiliar with the "explosion" (*see later note) of this underground sub-genre of sorts, let me briefly acquaint you. The most recognizable band to come out of "crunkcore", and they're not even REALLY crunkcore, would be 3OH!3, hailing from Boulder, Colorado. Shush girl, shut your lips, do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips? Ring a bell? I thought so.

Besides 3OH!3, the two most definitive bands of the genre I would say are brokeNCYDE and Millionaires. Go ahead, click on those links, check out their Myspaces, listen to a song or two, it'll be better for all of us if I don't attempt to describe their "music" (valleygirlvoiceovergaragebandtrack).

But look, I'm not looking to bash this "crunkcore" movement - trust me, there's enough of that floating around the internet for all of us. What I would like to do here, briefly, is to explore what I believe to be the silver lining of this 15 minutes of fame fleeting genre.

The explosion (*see?) of crunkcore has gotten a lot of people's panties in a twist. The contempt and general disdain for everything this genre represents, from shitty music to shitty style to shitty lyrics is abundant (see links in last paragraph), some even going as far as to say that a band like Millionaires is ruining music. Given, they're not being totally serious (I hope), but nonetheless, it's a little over-dramatic. True, this crunkcore movement has grown, quickly and greatly at that, in the past two years, BUT... this is still just a little blip on the little underground radar that is the indie/punk/pop/whateveryouwishtocallit scene. It's not even remotely CLOSE to being mainstream. So chill, haters, is what I say first.

Secondly, I am a firm believer that there cannot be good without the bad (evil?) I feel that in the past couple of years the underground punk scene has slipped into a trend of mediocrity of sorts. Sure, there were a handful of good bands that came out, but also an atrocious number of sub-par, listenable but without much musical merit bands that also made it big on the scene. The growing popularity of crunkcore in the past few years has spawned a lot of discussion, whether it be positive or negative, about the industry and the direction of music in general. Is the neon fashion/music scene going to take over? Of course not.

Why, you may ask. 1) Shitty music has no longevity. period. 2) Discussion is the key and gateway to the revival of good music. In the process of bashing all of these bands, it is inevitable that people have to begin to think about their own musical tastes and choices. If you think brokeNCYDE is so bad, is what you listen to that much better? Additionally, the contrast between a band like brokeNCYDE and say, Good Old War, is like night and day. Given when listening to the two bands one would think that they wouldn't exist in the same scene, but they do. It's all a part of that underground general emo/indie/punk scene. Just hear me out on this one.

Both brokeNCYDE and Millionaires were on Warped Tour this summer, which stirred up quite a bit of controversy. But think about it this way: a young, fresh-faced 13-year-old who discovered the Millionaires on Myspace and decided that they were totally awesome and thus will of course go see them at Warped Tour and hopefully meet them at a signing - well. the bands only play for half an hour, the show is at least eight hours long - it's INEVITABLE that our girl here will end up seeing other bands. True, it could be that she'll run from the Millionaires set to the brokeNCYDE set to the Attack!Attack! set, but perhaps she'll also be walking around and see Dear and the Headlights playing or punk veterans NOFX being ridiculous and as offensive as possible (Fat Mike, I'm looking at you).

The point that I'm trying to make is that, yes, crunkcore is not necessarily the best thing that has happened to music since the invention of GarageBand, but perhaps this is the jolt we needed in order to realize just how much good music there is out there, and what good music really IS.

Blogger Voice Critique

Whitney Pastorek is a writer for EW.com’s Music Mix blog, which is updated multiple times a day by a handful of bloggers. The main areas Pastorek covers are music festivals and the country and indie-rock genres (her favorite band is Pearl Jam, fyi).

Pastorek is currently conducting a “Guilty Pleasures” contest/bracket, and as of 9:25AM this morning has Styx up against ABBA (Dancing Queen, obviously).

She posted a news blog back in July that I thought was a great example of her voice: concise and personality-driven.

You get a sense of what tone the blog will take from the get-go with the title “Open Happiness: Best Supergroup ever! Except for the product placement!” There’s a hint of good-humored sarcasm, conveyed by the sentence fragments appropriately separated by exclamation points.

Pastorek begins her post with a single word – “wow.” A continuation of the title, and to the point. She delves into the news item, explaining who the collaborators involved are and describing the single as having

“Flaming Lips guitars and a catchy singalong chorus buoyed by verses from each of the members, all of whom are totally capable of selling American-Idol-winner’s-single-worthy lyrics like ‘the bridge between us is a rainbow.’”

By using an American Idol reference to describe the chorus, Pastorek instantly creates an image and a sound in the readers’ mind, making it relatable to millions. and millions. and millions.

Pastorek continues her exploration into the single… until she makes a tiny little realization

“Wait.

Is this a Coke ad?

Crap.”

Effective. Emotions conveyed. Minimal words used.

Her use of single words, definitive punctuation and the 3-paragraph layout is a smart and concise way to translate this thought sequence onto paper (screen?).

Another post of Pastorek’s that showcases her voice as a blogger and writer is from May when she covered the Sasquatch! Music Festival. She begins the post with a touch a humor and a genuine opinion.

“I learned while on vacation last year that Sasquatch (exclamation point!) was the best undiscovered music festival in the country, and I’m happy to report that’s still true.”

Using the words “exclamation point” and the actual punctuation after it makes the sentence more personal, reaffirming that there is in fact a real person behind those words.

Her descriptive use of simile in describing the weather as “the kind of weather I’d like to imagine God has running up in heaven,” in addition to her diction provides the reader with detail to imagine what the beautiful evening was like, and is far more effective than just stating that it was a “lovely evening.” Pastorek also throws in a tidbit about how the weather probably prompted “the couple having sex on the ridge in full view of 25,000 people at sundown on Saturday.” This interesting and funny anecdote is part of her personal experience and contributes to her unique perspective on the festival.

In the next paragraph Pastorek describes “the first breeze of the day” as “the sonic equivalent of being wrapped in cool cotton sheets and laid down for a perfect nap.” I thought this was a great use of metaphor to relate to her readers, much like her American Idol reference in the other blog post.

Pastorek makes an effort to include her readers and create an interactive environment with her blog. She posts

“Finally, as those who regularly follow my festival blogging know, the mark of a good set is if Aunt Whittlz gets peed on, but still doesn’t leave. I’d like to thank the girl who squatted and let loose on my feet during Kings of Leon for reinforcing how much I enjoy that band.”

Embedding the link into the text “if Aunt Whittlz gets peed on, but still doesn’t leave” is a subtle and effective way of linking to another one of her posts – she defines her audience but also includes the first-timers.

She ends her post by posing a question to her readers “Were you out at The Gorge this weekend, Mixers? Weigh in on your experience!”

This is a smart way to get her readers to comment and get involved, and a good way to encourage readers to return to the page to see what others have said and her responses to comments.

Pastorek’s voice very nicely complements the subject matter of her blog about music and music festivals. The detailed descriptions of her personal experiences at the festival, like getting peed on, is what makes this post unique and a worthwhile read. The music industry is fairly casual as an industry on the whole, with music festivals in particular often a free-for-fall in many aspects (sex drugs rock n’ roll anyone?). Formality simply isn’t rock and roll.

Blog Profile

The concept of “blogging” about music and the music industry has long existed – the fans as well as the artists ALWAYS have something to say, and ALWAYS find a way to make their voice heard. The boom of blog hosting sites like Tumblr, WordPress and Blogspot has spawned countless blogs dedicated to music, the industry and god knows how many artist fan pages (“stalker pages,” dare I say?).

In the past decade a blog and music news site that has gained momentum and is now considered the go-to source for the latest alternative music news is AbsolutePunk.net. It is a website that in itself is an example of the new media frontier in the music industry, where the voice of bloggers are just as important as those of the slightly more prestigious staff members.

In addition to posting breaking music news and album reviews, AbsolutePunk.net also hosts user blogs and interactive forums, serving as an extensive online community for discussions of the latest on-goings in music. Jason Tate, the founder of AP.net, is a regular blogger, posting frequent and always opinionated blogs about recent album releases as well as his thoughts on the state of the current music industry. Tate often blogs about his “First Impressions” on advances that he, as a music journalist, gets a first listen to before the music reaches the masses. Many of his posts are also designed to spark discussion within the whole congregation of bloggers and users on the site. Earlier this summer, during the heated discussions about the use of auto-tune, Tate posted a blog sharing his thoughts on the matter and received many replies from users with their opinions on the subject.

What is often more interesting than Tate’s actual blogs are the user discussions in the forums. Tate’s post about auto-tune stemmed from him seeing a video in a general thread that he re-blogged. News items like “Death Cab For Cutie vs. Auto-Tune” are often triggers to what evolve to become extensive forum discussions among hundreds of users.

The power and influence of a site like AbsolutePunk.net can be demonstrated through its ability to generate incredible online buzz, both positive and negative. With the rising popularity of the subgenre “crunkcore,” which includes artists like 3OH!3 and brokeNCYDE, an incredible backlash was unleashed on the site, with any news post about brokeNCYDE garnering at least a couple hundred of responses, most extremely, and harshly, negative. The active user community on the site includes both opinion leaders and the average Joe Blow, making it very interesting to see the dialogues that occur in these blog forums.

Absolutepunk.net is ranked 9,404 by technorati.com, and has an estimated 115,200 unique visitors each month, according to Quantcast.com. Tate’s 1,828 blogs collectively have over 900,000 views – regardless of people's opinion on his blogs, he is at least a voice that people care enough to hear.

My blog, unlike AbsolutePunk.net, will be 100% blog. The topics I talk about will stem from the hot topics that are being discussed on sites like AP.net. If the people out there in cyberspace are talking about it, so will I. I will also attempt to go more in-depth into these issues, doing additional research to gain a comprehensive overview and different perspectives of the various subject matter.

Hello World

The structure and function of the major record label as we know it is slowly and inevitably crumbling, with new companies and technologies popping up every day that chip away at the foundation that has made the careers of those few and mighty high-powered music executives. The explosion of the internet in the past decade has opened a Pandora’s box for record labels: ridding the necessity of the all-powerful and controlling record label and providing avenues for artists and fans to get what they want, when they want, and how they want it.

In this blog I will explore the effects and opportunities of the new media frontier of the music industry - from the “threat” it poses to the current industry operational standards to the chance it provides the industry to evolve and better itself.

This is a topic that I feel no one is truly qualified to speak about, thus making everyone qualified to chime in – in the past few years, the industry has been going in a direction that reduces the power of the top dogs and spreads it among the masses. No one really knows every aspect of every thing that is going on, no one can say for sure what will happen next, and it’s really anyone’s game to make a move and decide what is actually going to happen next. The voice of the fans is becoming increasingly powerful – having an online buzz about your band is becoming just as important as securing that high-profile feature in Rolling Stone. Although the rock stars of decades past still do exist, it is now harder and harder to become that elusive rock god, as the internet breaks down the barrier between artist and fan, allowing for the engagement between the two parties, both to the dismay and joy of many.

As far as my qualifications go, as an avid consumer of music as well as someone who’s just gotten their foot in the industry door, I’ve yet to become jaded enough but am becoming just wise enough to begin to understand the often twisted inner workings of the music machine. My academic concentrations in psychology and public relations do tie-in to my career aspirations of one day becoming fully entrenched in the industry. With the over saturation of the musical market these days, an understanding of how to sell oneself and stand out from the crowd has become crucial, and in order to know how to do so it can be immensely helpful to understand the social psyche of your target audience. The internet is of course, not going away any time soon, and is a frontier that the music industry won’t simply dabble in but rather is undoubtedly the direction the industry is going.

I hope to explore and analyze subjects and events ranging from Radiohead’s decision to let the customer decide what In Rainbows was worth to them, to Fall Out Boy’s extensive viral campaign promoting Folie a Deux, to what having a Myspace as an artist really means today.