Hi everyone.  So as I mentioned before, I moderated a panel at SXSW 2010, called “Too Much Information – Is Interacting Killing Rockstar Mystique?”
The goal was to have an open conversation about the strategies and various ways that artists are using social networking tools, and how it affects their fanbase, and their perceptions.  Is there such a thing as too much sharing?
The panel ended up being a ton of fun, and I think we had …

On Dec. 9 of last year, the free (ad-supported) live-streaming site UStream.tv released a live video-broadcasting app for iPhone.  I’m sure the data-charges for using it could potentially get really out of hand if you used it over your 3G network, but if you’re within range of a free wifi network there are some really interesting things you could do with this.

broadcast live from backstage before a show, interact with the fans in the audience, …

Several factors have really started to come together to result in a plethora of metrics being applied to music.  Record sales (and download sales) are no longer the only relevant metric for analyzing an artist’s fanbase.  I’ve personally seen an artist play a single concert to a room holding more fans than have bought their newest album in the entire country.  Ticket sales are a good metric, but that data isn’t readily accessible, or accurate …

I’m excited to say that my panel topic has been accepted into the upcoming SXSW 2010 program, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to moderate this discussion.  Thanks to everyone who voted for it earlier this year!
In October I gave a talk on Communicating With Fans at the Halifax Pop Explosion Festival and Music Matters Conference.  I’ve received a lot of great feedback from that talk, and it prompted me to turn it into …

I heard a radio commercial the other day, extolling the virtues of the electronics and audio store’s vast selection of headphones. “And for the aspiring musician on your list… we have the… blah blah blah.”
“Aspiring musician”…. that phrase gets tossed around a lot, but what does it mean? It seems to me that it’s something someone calls you if they don’t think you’re very successful at the moment. It’s almost offensive really. …

When you’re in a band, there are lots of things that have to get done, but aren’t the glamorous parts of the job… Sure when it comes time to get on stage, it’s no problem mustering the will to perform.  Or when you have to go on TV or the radio to do an interview, for the most part it’s not a hassle.  But there’s many things that need doing, like having to set up …

Recently I was in a discussion about Communicating With Fans, as part of the Halifax Pop Explosion and Music Matters Conference (thanks so much to everyone involved in the conference for having me!) and while I was there a musician asked me something… I’m paraphrasing, but basically he said “you talk often about engaging with current fans, but what about getting new fans?  What about trying to get places like Exclaim to write about you, and …

Sadly, this is not some sort of sinister comic-book style supervillain threat… it’s just the truth.  When you’re in a developing band, and you’re trying to get people out to shows, or trying to sell the first few shirts/download cards/CDs/what-have-you, you’ll most likely start by telling your close friends.  When you do, please keep something in mind… your friends will all ask you to get in to the show for free, to be on the …

So if you’re in a band and you’ve decided that you need to post more updates on your site than you currently are, or if you want to try and make your updates a little more interesting (and who doesn’t?)… try applying more concept.  More of a “hook.”
Here’s what I mean… say for example, you just want to keep your site updated frequently, so you’ve decided you will write a daily blog for an upcoming …

A friend sent me the link to check out culturejam.com – after poking around on the site for a bit, it seems like they’re doing some interesting work in the twitter-world, with a specific eye toward music marketing.  One of the main things they seem to be doing is providing a twitter-app, that will back-end a download function.  Most of the examples they provide on the site seem to live on a sub-domain of the …