BandMark’s New Media Toolkit Part 1!

Nowadays, artists and digital marketers in the music industry have a seemingly infinite supply of new media solutions at their disposal for managing direct-to-fan activities. While many of the companies pioneering these new technologies and techniques often fade away as fast as they have appeared, there are without a doubt a few innovators which have emerged as forerunners in direct-to-fan management solutions.

As of recent, both technological advances and the internet have brought about the ability, and the necessity, for marketers to track true performance metrics in real-time. Marketers are now able to evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing initiatives based on data capture, sentiment, engagement and, most importantly, conversions. Access to this data helps marketers better define where to concentrate efforts, which is bringing a new precision to marketing in the digital music industry. Targeting is crucial, especially in the music industry, because artist marketing is all about being in touch with your fans.

With the right fan management platform you have all the tools you need to grow your fan-base, build relationships, and measure the impact of everything you do along the way. However, with such a wide range of companies providing digital marketing toolkits, how do you know which is the best technology to manage your fans online? BandMark picked 10 companies with momentum in the digital marketing toolkit space that you need to know about: Topspin, Bandcamp, Nimbit, Rockdex, Mozes, NextBigSound, Rootmusic, FanBridge, Buzzdeck, and Artistdata. Read on for a review of the first 5 companies, and then check back next week for part-two of this review.

 

 

www.topspinmedia.com

Topspin is a popular direct-to-fan marketing and retail software platform which gives musicians, as well as authors and filmmakers the ability to promote their art and connect with fans.

What can it do? Topspin allows users to effectively spread their content with the use of their multi-media players which stream high-quality audio and video that can be played and shared on websites, blogs, facebook feeds and mobile phones. In terms of direct-to-fan contact, Topspin provides users with the ability to reach their fans via email, FB & Twitter in exchange for free downloads. When sending emails, Topspin offers users the ability to target fans based on: geography, purchase history, social influence, or even how they found you originally. Topspin even allows artists to bundle their digital media with their physical merchandise, tickets and Fan Club/VIP access for the ultimate fan experience. Like most software platforms of this type, Topspin provides real-time fan data which allows for more targeted and cost-effective marketing initiatives.

Why use it? With integrated ecommerce and reporting functions, fan management, asset management, and ticketing tools in one software package, this platform is the whole shebang! Give it a try by creating a free account using the basic services for as little as 9.99$ a month. With musicians from Les Blanks to Arcade Fire and legendary Paul McCartney, all having run successful campaigns with Topspin, what do you have to lose in giving it a try?

 

 

 

 

www.bandcamp.com

Bandcamp is a service which provides musicians with a place to host, stream and then sell their music through personalized home pages. Although it sounds a lot like MySpace, what differentiates Bandcamp from sites like Myspace is its convenience and the ability to monetize efforts.

What can it do? Bandcamp offers a plug-and-play simplicity which jives with artists who are not web-savvy and up-starts who are just looking to sell or share their work. For the most part, Bandcamp takes care of the ‘nitty-gritty’ technical details, so that users can focus on producing and promoting their craft. Nevertheless, for those who wish to roll up their sleeves and delve into the world of digits, Bandcamp features an incredible array of statistical tools to help users learn more about their audience.

Why use it? In addition to convenience, the benefit of using Bandcamp is the freedom it gives artists in how they share their work. Unlike other platforms, Bandcamp’s user-defined pricing scheme empowers musicians to price and sell their work at their own discretion, in whichever digital format they prefer. Artists then pay a portion of their profits to the site. The one catch is to find a price that’s low enough to create conversions, yet high enough to cover the site’s commissions. Bottom-line: If you’re not an economist with a background in price optimization, you may want to avoid this hurdle altogether by releasing work for free. Either way, with Bandcamp, the choice is totally yours!

 

 

 

 

 

www.nimbit.com

Nimbit is another direct-to-fan platform created for fan-management activities in the music industry. Nimbit prides itself on providing an easy solution for self-managed artists, managers, and emerging labels to: grow and engage their fanbase; to sell their music online; and to sell tickets, VIP Bundles and all their merch online.

What can it do? Nimbit helps artists to connect with their fans through email marketing, twitter and facebook. With Nimbit’s platform, musicians can sell their digital music on nimbitmusic.com, facebook, in addition to their dedicated site. In fact with Nimbit, artists can sell just about anything, direct from everywhere, while Nimbit fulfills on the seller’s behalf. Nimbit also allows artists to offer free tracks for email sign-ups, create and share download cards, and to create customized promotions. In addition to allowing users to create their own fully customized store-front online, Nimbit offers a variety of reporting features which help artists to manage and optimize their business activities. Marketing analytics, real-time sales reports, tracking fan history, catalogue management and multi-artist dashboards are among some of the reporting features offered by Nimbit.

Why use it? Would you ask your plumber for medical advice? Probably not; that’s why Nimbit was made by musicians, for musicians. “We’re not just a bunch of tech heads trying to make a buck off musicians. We’re people with experience from all sides of the music business. We’ve seen the problems of the old-style music industry first hand and we’re here to change it.” Bonus: Nimbit runs an affiliate program for companies targeting similar audiences. Affiliate partners can place either a unique button or banner on their website, and earn commissions ranging from $10 – $20 per signup!

 

 

 

 

 

www.rockdex.com

Although Rockdex was originally created to be an extension of the Music Arsenal band management application, RockDex eventually grew into something much bigger: a full-fledged company. With the launch of its 1st standalone version in 2009, Rockdex caught the attention of music professionals with its simple and visually intriguing social media metrics and insights.

What can it do? RockDex is a unique, B2B platform that tracks thousands of websites, collecting data for musicians from blogs, fan connections, pageviews, tweets, song plays and more. Rockdex then uses this data to provide artists with a high-level view of their online buzz, including a comprehensive picture of growth and scale. Using this revolutionary software, artists can explore actual conversations in order to understand what motivates fan behaviour and drives exposure. Rockdex can even spot viral trends and help artists track the progress of such trends over time through constantly updated charts, graphs and maps.

Why use it? No matter where you stand in the music industry, Rockdex has something for you. Record labels, Managers, Artists, Publicists, A&R Reps, and Booking Agents are all making use of Rockdex to stay ahead of the curve. With a free 15-day trial on all accounts, it’s worth checking into this platform to find out what all the buzz is about…literally!

 

 

 

 

 

www.mozes.com

Mozes Connect is a web-based platform that allows users to create and manage customized, targeted mobile marketing campaigns. As mobile marketing becomes increasingly important in the case of live events, Mozes’ mobile platform is an ideal new media technology for bands and other performing artists wishing to connect [with fans] at the point of inspiration.

What can it do? Mozes connect is a simple platform which allows companies to create mobile experiences in order to engage audiences at live events. With Mozes, users can run a variety of mobile campaigns including: contests, voting, trivia, fan generated content, or simply send out branded media. Mozes also offers users a variety of cool web widgets, and other proprietary tools, to boost campaign results. Most importantly, users can check the status of their campaigns in terms of participation, locations, poll results and much more, and then use this information to manage their mobile activities in real-time. The best part? Marketers have the option to easily change any campaign into a mobile and/or email list building engine so that marketers can keep the customer relationship going even after the event ends.

Why use it? Mozes Connect is the only platform solution focused exclusively on connecting companies with their audience via mobile phone – in particular at live performance venues, something which is extremely useful for bands and musicians.

 

 

 

 

The Future of the Vinyl Music Culture

When I think of vinyl records, I am instantly reminded of my youth and of listening to The Beatles on my dad’s wood-paneled stereo receiver. Now, almost two decades later, audio technology and the digital revolution have completely transformed the music industry. From cds to mp3s and streaming music services, the age of analog music is progressively being replaced by a digital era. In fact, with even the Beatles finally making their digital debut on iTunes this past May, it would seem that vinyls, along with 8 tracks and tapes, are a thing-of-the-past. Nevertheless, talk to any indie music collector or audiophile and you might be surprised to learn that these music fans believe vinyl is set to re-enter mainstream music…and they may not be wrong. In fact, as counterintuitive as it would seem in this age of ipods and digital downloads, vinyl sales are actually on the rise. According to a recent report by Nielsen News, since the beginning of 2011 vinyl sales have actually risen by 37% as compared to the same period in 2010[1]. With pressing plants increasing production of vinyl records, I can’t help but wonder where the demand for these records is coming from. With big labels and major music organizations like RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) resistant to the idea of a resurgence of vinyl, can anyone really agree on what the future holds in store for vinyl and the vinyl music culture? An investigation of the music industry reveals a gamut of opinions to this and the never-ending debate on the supposed superiority of vinyl to digital music.

Without a doubt, any vinyl purist will tell you that vinyls will be around years to come because the audio quality of a record trumps that of a CD or any other digital medium. In case you’re wondering, there are two reasons for vinyl’s supposed sonic superiority. Firstly, mastering houses generally compress the audio on CDs in order to make the sound as loud as possible; however unlike with CDs, the audio on vinyls cannot be compressed to those extremes. So despite the fact that CDs can have a wider dynamic range, LPs will generally have a more subtle sound to them. The second reason for vinyl’s superiority is that regardless of the sampling rate, digital recordings can never capture the complete sound wave present in an analog groove. For both of these two reasons, vinyl offer can offer a richer, warmer and more nuanced sound than CDS, and it’s often argued that cds and other digital mediums will never be able to reach the sound quality of vinyl. Nonetheless, modern-day music listeners and even most djs are predominantly choosing digital music over vinyl. Why is that? Most notably, the major appeal behind digital music is accessibility and portability. With the massive proliferation of ipods and other digital music player devices it appears that despite the fact that a record can sound better than digital mediums likes cds and mp3s, portability is so important to consumers today that we are ready to forfeit better sound quality for the benefit of being able to bring our music with us everywhere.

Nevertheless, we’re still seeing vinyl sales increase and it seems likely that those sales are driven by the fact that records provide an element of tangibility that digital music can never offer. Many people in the music industry that will tell you that for many, including the artists, “vinyl is the true version of the release…the size and presence of the artwork, the division into sides, the better sound quality, [and] above all the involvement and work the listener has to put in, all make it the format of choice for people who really care about music.”[2] Although big labels are resistant to the idea of a vinyl comeback, many vinyl record companies are staying competitive by recognizing the unique needs of music fans living in the 21st century. In catering to consumers’ desires for easy accessibility and portability of their music, many record labels are now including download codes in their record packaging which music fans can use to download MP3 versions of the songs. With many of the major record labels now including these download codes, is it possible that vinyl will not only survive in this digital age, but actually rival other digital formats such as cds and streaming music sites? Only time will tell. Speaking for myself however, vinyl records just don’t fit into my lifestyle. While I do miss the old days of flipping through cd inlets filled with album lyrics and artwork, as an avid music listener whose ipod is never more than a purse pocket or a jacket zipper away from me, digital music is the only way for me to experience music in the way which really moves me: on-the-go music pumping out the perpetual soundtrack to my life.

 

Which Newsletter Provider for Bands?

 

In today’s plugged-in world, where the ubiquity of the social media network reigns supreme, keeping in touch with your fans is paramount to success in the music industry. When I buy a new CD, I expect more from the band than the possibility of a secret bonus track; I expect the whole (online) user experience: a website, a music blog, a Facebook band page with Facebook band tabs to visit; a Twitter account to follow, and a band newsletter to subscribe to. So what does this mean for music artists trying to survive in this cut-throat industry? Simple, your fans want to hear from you – not just your music; fans want content, and one of the best ways to provide this content is by newsletter.

With a veritable cornucopia of email service providers to choose from, it’s no easy task to find the right provider, especially if you’re in the business of beat testing and not A/B testing. Nevertheless, despite how daunting the selection process might seem, and how tempting it may be to start emailing newsletters yourself, it’s highly recommended that you choose a web-based provider for distribution. Before you start your search however, it’s important to define what you’re looking for in an ESP. Once you’ve established all of your needs, we recommend that you base your choice on these critical factors:

  • Ease of Navigation and Use;
  • Deliverability & Reliability of Service;
  • Flexibility
  • Tracking

Here’s a review of four leading newsletter technology providers for bands…

MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com)

MailChimp is one of the newer email service providers in the context of this review. However from our research, Mail Chimp provides one of the best entry-level opportunities for small businesses (including up-and-coming music artists) as they offer: a good balance of pricing with a free plan for a mailing list of up to 2,000 subscribers; a good level of reliability; and a decent set of reporting metrics.

From a user standpoint, the interface is as simple and fun as its mascot. Most notably, contact list management is straightforward, and creating emails is a jiff with a wide selection of free HTML templates and their Design Genius editor to create your own designs. Inherent in the simplicity of its design however, is that it’s not quite as loaded with features as some of the competing email providers.  For one, Mail Chimp does not allow users to compare message reports. Nonetheless, MailChimp has an add-on that lets you leverage certain Google Analytics data giving you insight on certain ROI data that wouldn’t be available otherwise. Finally, in addition to being fully integrated with PayPal and Google, Mail Chimp is also fully integrated with Twitter and Facebook to help you spread the word about your newsletter.

Super Band-bonus: With MailChimp you can create campaigns in several different email platforms (without even having to log in!). You can even use their i-phone app to manage your account making it perfect for use when you’re on tour and you can’t get to a computer! Just another reason why MailChimp is BandMark’s preferred ESP.

 

ExactTarget (www.exacttarget.com)

Exact Target is a global messaging platform which allows businesses and artists, to connect with their customers and fans via email marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing, landing pages and dynamic sites. In our opinion, this platform is better-suited for medium to large e-businesses delivering complex interactive marketing campaign, rather than bands and music artists. In terms of user features, the Exact Target Design toolkit includes everything you need to create sophisticated HTML emails, and then some.

In terms of reliability, Exact Target claims to have an average system up-time of 99.99%; unfortunately, an audit of customer reviews of ExactTarget’s software paints a slightly less appealing image. Users claim that the software Exact Target is running is outdated, and there are many reports of bugs.  Other users still complain about ET’s incomplete and poorly written documentation, in fact I couldn’t even find a price list for their services anywhere on their site!

Biggest Band-bummer: Although Exact Target’s complex software and reporting allows you to create those highly targeted, personalized communications required to cut through media clutter, engaging with your fans shouldn’t be this complicated, or time-consuming.

 

Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com)

Having been in business since 1996, Constant Contact is one of the oldest email marketing services around. In terms of ease of use, Constant Contact has a well-designed interface that is relatively easy to learn. For novices, Constant Contact is reputed as having excellent customer service and support, including online support communities and access to your own dedicated support agent. In terms of features, Constant Contact offers a wide range of standard email creation and sending features, as well as some neat optional features like the ability to archive emails and host them on a Constant Contact homepage.

Constant Contact email templates are simple to use and format-tested in all major email programs. Unfortunately, compared to other providers, the flexibility of their template designs is limited, and only available when using their in-house templates. Nevertheless, Constant Contact has a built a good name among the sea of providers, and with a 60-day free-trial you can see for yourself. The only downside is that this email service provider is on the more expensive side of email marketing service providers.  On the other hand, in terms of deliverability and reliability, you get what you pay for with Constant Contact, which boasts a 97% inbox delivery rate.

Biggest Band-bummer: While Constant Contact offers a relatively standard tracking options, it does not allow for social media integration, conversion tracking, or integration with Google Analytics. So if you’re planning on selling your band merch through your newsletter, this newsletter technology is not for you.

 

Courrielleur (www.courrielleur.com)

Courrielleur is a French-Canadian ESP based in BandMark’s hometown of Montreal. In terms of ease of use, Courrielleur has the typical set of mailing list management and a fair share of automated features which take care of list management for you. Courrielleur also offers a decent selection of free newsletter templates that are format-tested in all major email programs. In terms of tracking and reporting, Courrielleur offers a pretty straight-forward dashboard and visuals to help you understand your campaign. Courrielleur is well-suited for use in all industries as evidenced by its diverse group of clients from agencies, companies and government bodies including: EDC, Dom Rebel, Lotto-Quebec, NVI and Ogilvy.

Super Band-bonus: In terms of the general administration of your account, one of the bonuses of Courrielleur is that it allows the possibility of multiple users per account, unlike Constant Contact. Courrielleur also offers the ability to make secure online payments. Both of these features are perfect for on-the-go musicians who want to spend more time making music.

Biggest Band-bummer: Although Courrielleur offers a free-trial, there’s a 99$ activation fee upon sign-up. Also, an all-French website means you better brush up on your 7th grade French classes tout-de-suite!

 

 

A/VISION 3 Worst AND Best..

Now first of all, in this business partnership (Me and Duncan) I’m not the wire head.  Although I like house music, electronica and Cafe Del Mar style lounge, I have never been one for the more experimental sounds of the sub-genre world of  minimal noise, so take my review with the required grains of salt.

At first, I was confused and was wondering if the opening shows (WOMEN WITH KITCHENS & TRISTAN PERICH) were part of MUTEK’S sort of perma installations in @ the S.A.T?! Nothing to write home about here :/ (no offense to the artists) but this pretentious overly minimal hipster shizit is really not my thing and I honestly didn’t see too many happy faces (many stoned ones) in the crowds of those who truly appreciate this “genre”! I mayhave had had a more meaningful experience, hitting my iphone on the side of my head to traffic lights!

I’m no expert in what I think is called: Glitch, Noise or industrial sound collages, but I do know it was hard to tell the difference between those first 2 acts which is probably a sign that the productions were not very unique..  I have no idea what I was experiencing in terms of mediums but I can tell you how it felt! It felt like I was staring at a broken TV looping between it’s half channels and hearing a screwed up radio signal on a country road.  I would have had to be high out of my tree to enjoy this realistically and even then I may have had a more meaningful time hitting my iphone on the side of my head to the  traffic light tempo outside!

So that’s the bad part of my night. I don’t think my business partner who is VERY into electronic music was happy either.. judging from his immediate solution to go get a drink at the bar within seconds of the show! There, so now that I got that out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff…  In this case, the hard work of enduring the opening acts came with a very fruitful reward called SCULPTURE

Since Amon Tobin was nothing new for me, I wanted to check out a show that was. SCULPTURE was all that MUTEK promises to be. Original, cutting edge, mind warping multi-media. The synchronization of visual medium to audio was nothing short of genius. The technique alone was this, best described below in this MUTEK showcase:

home-made zoetropic discs – slabs of vinyl illustrated with otherworldly patterns that they play at various speeds and film to create simultaneous cycles of analogue sound and looping, mind-melting imagery.

Every single audio piece was a match made in heaven for the multi-screen visual. The most enjoyable example of this, I felt, was when very basic star shapes were slowly appearing on the screens (The ones made with 1 solid line which have very wide points, typical of star tats) as soon as we started seeing these slowly spin into frame, a super pleasant and lullabye-esque chime was being mixed into very hard beats. Almost like Tinkerbelle meets drum & bass. Very cool. VERY. COOL.

What I really liked about this show, was that even though the music was by proper definition probably Experimental, there was method in this madness, some kind of journey in this chaos. If you missed this truly brilliant display of mesmerizing multimedia , I invite you to experience a small taste of it here:

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TOPSPIN TRAINING in Santa Monica

While on vacation in Los Angeles, I decided to squeeze in a little business and attend my second TOPSPIN training.

Topspin builds professional direct-to-fan marketing software. Their software has helped artists in the world of music and film (I didnt know about the film part – cool!) build awareness, connect with fans, and earn more revenue than traditional channels. Located in San Francisco (I hear that’s where all the nuts and bolts are)  with offices in Santa Monica (That’s where I was!), Nashville, New York (We did the Brooklyn training too) and London.
Founded by Peter Gotcher and Shamal Ranasinghe and helmed by Ian Rogers (Cool guy with skateboard in pic)

The first one we did was in Brooklyn with Duncan and Ants and we were all totally exhausted from no sleep and got lost on the way! Although it was a great training, we retained very little and came back wanting to get rockin’ with the platform but didn’t know where to begin. Months went by and the Topspin newsletter was just getting more and more exciting! New features, goodies out of beta and amazing new partnerships with music industry marketing intelligence, fulfillment partners and technology.

We decided, it’s time to go back and this time go close to their roots: sweet home California (a lot of the training has very confidential info like the accounting of well known artists, so you wont be seeing those pics) but we have a nice one of the cool new WordPress ready store front they have up and running. The example we looked at is 72musicians (Left to right, a cool retro bike by the ping pong table and neat posters like pop/rock geneology!)

Founded by Peter Gotcher,Shamal Ranasinghe and helmed by Ian Rogers, the Topspin team is a collective of technology and marketing professionals. “We’re passionate about the business of music, we’re musicians and DJs and we’re laser focused on building marketing tools for artists and their partners – tools we use ourselves.”

So what did I learn? Well a lot actually. I learned that the real value in any direct-to-fan campaign is in the number of fans and how you market to them. Grouping different fans by very specific marketing data is crucial. Why send the updates of your Chicago tour to everyone or market your most expensive limited edition double vinyl with signed poster to the new fan who just gave their email for 1 track a day ago… Knowing how to market and who to market to all while being time sensitive is key. Never talk to your fans more than monthly. I remember Peter mentioning that twice. Peter Brambl, by the way, was our awesome teacher for the day. He was not only really sharp and took time to answers questions, he directed us to the free pizza, coffee and fruits in the kitchen ;)

We took a look to see what METRIC, BEASTIE BOYS, TRENT REZNOR… had done for some of their album and tour launches. Stuff like hiding USB keys in various places like the venue’s washroom with secret content to unlock for the most die-hard fans. We also looked a little at DENGUE FEVER’S marketing because the singer’s wife was in the class, really nice woman – wish I remembered her name…

My favorite part was the social media integration of the widgets because at BandMark we do a lot of that. MySpace headers, Facebook tabs and micro sites. The fact that we can quickly make store ready micro sites for bands with a plug-and-play WordPress template is awesome! We’re too cool for school but considering the Berkeley training for the gang – seems like this platform isn’t going anywhere anytime soon – all aboard! Other cool cats we met at the training was this dude from Stereogum (blog) a nice local band member from The DollyRots, (who by the way rock.) Really poppy punchy punk. This guy from RED BULL studios, I think?

Best of all, looks like we are about to sign an amazingly talented band who is ready to spin on this crazy digital marketing machine…. cross your fingers and stay tuned!

Internet Streaming Radio Dogfight!

This week’s mission: A beginner’s rundown of four major Internet music streaming services: LAST.FM, GROOVESHARK, SLACKER and PANDORA.

Without further ado…

1. LAST.FM

Going in, I was already a big fan of last.fm, and that’s because I scrobble. No, it’s not as filthy as it sounds. To scrobble means that you let the last.fm service track the music you play on your computer or portable device, linking you to others who do the same, with comparisons of your tastes and suggested artists to check out. It’s beautiful in its simplicity.

There are even (unofficial) ways to scrobble data to last.fm from other services like Slacker and Pandora, should you care to. Well-played, last.fm. Well-played.

While revealing of your true self in the same way a Facebook drunk picture can be (Do I really listen to Corey Hart that much? you’ll ask yourself), it’s the scrobbles that give last.fm its power. No other site can match last.fm’s ability to unite fans of the most obscure possible acts from all over the globe. It’s a treasure trove of the underground, the underrated, the undiscovered and the antiquated.

I’ve been a last.fm user for almost three years, in which time I’ve scrobbled about 50,000 tracks from about 2,000 different artists, many discovered through the site itself. But I never touched their subscription radio feature even once, until so recently. I suppose the prospect of making a decision based on thirty entire tracks just wasn’t worth the bother. Thirty tracks on last.fm represents a couple hours of listening, at best. Costco booths give you bigger free samples than that!

But for purposes of this article, I listened. And I was exposed to roughly thirty awesome artists I’d never heard of before. Impressive, but not surprising considering what I know of last.fm Unlike the ‘listen to related artists’ features of other sites — dictated from the top down, by genre marketeers — last.fm’s choices of related artists are generated by the scrobbles of other users. And other users aren’t DJs. They don’t care about flow. They can be eccentric and eclectic. And they can surprise you in the best way.

And… now I’m out of tracks. Luckily, last.fm’s subscription service is very cheap (as advertised, it’s only $3.00 a month). Of all the pay services listed here, last.fm’s is the one I’m most likely to embrace. Call it brand loyalty, but the price is right, the interface is a breeze, and the musical selection is so far off the scale that they’ll have to start measuring in parsecs.

A related note: Where clunky old Myspace claims to be the arbiter of undiscovered basement bands and quirky DIY auteurs, last.fm actually provides, and then some. Take note, unsigned musicians — if you’re not on Last.fm, you’re nowhere. Perhaps literally. Get your tracks up there and join the party.

  • BEST FEATURE: Every band you can think of. And more. Much more.
  • WORST FEATURE: If you don’t at least have an open mind about listening to dudes playing theremins in their basements, you may as well not bother.
  • IDEAL FOR: People so indie that their favourite bands only play clubs in New Crobuzon.

2. GROOVESHARK

I’m new to Grooveshark and have yet to plumb its depths, but let me tell you — this thing packs a punch. Once you get past an initially off-putting interface — it’s iTunes, but yellow — you’ll find yourself in a deep delicious ocean of sound.

One thing I like about Grooveshark? Make that a few things: No signups or registrations to deal with. No limited number of track skips. No mid-song buffering. Freedom of interaction is a big positive: You can skip tracks forward and back, scan back and forth in a song if you want to hear a certain refrain again (just as you could on your own mp3 player) and treat the place like a big musical sandbox.

I’m not sure what Grooveshark’s subscription-based VIP service entails. How can you get better than Grooveshark’s free service? At this rate, I’m figuring it involves swimming in a pool of Cristal and then a trip to the mile-high club aboard a private space shuttle made of diamonds.

To save favourites, save tracklists and access the custom radio stations, you’ll have to register. This is entirely optional, and you can get to the music without it. Playlist creation is a little finicky at first — it’s easy to delete or scramble a listing by accident — but it’s also very powerful, with the ability, much like iTunes, to select multiple tracks in the conventional way, with a shift-click. I didn’t expect such a high level of interaction and navigability from a Flash interface, and I must say I’m impressed.

Grooveshark is a new discovery for me, but I anticipate going back to it very soon. Actually, I’m already there. And how sweet it is.

  • BEST FEATURE: Depth, selection, interactivity, speed, etc.
  • WORST FEATURE: Design cribs from iTunes, and iTunes isn’t that great to begin with.
  • IDEAL FOR: People with functioning ears.

3. SLACKER RADIO

Oookay. Slacker. Slacker doesn’t let you navigate inside of a song. It gives you a limited number of song skips. It requires registration that expires after thirty days, and there are loud and obnoxious pre-recorded DJs in between songs. It requires you to disable any script-blocking software just so their interface will work and the songs will load.

Yeah.

Okay, for the two of you still reading this section… I hope you like Top 40. Because that’s what you’re gonna get.

Seriously. Unlike the other services mentioned in this article, Slacker is heavily biased towards the mainstream. If you let Slacker do the work for you in constructing a playlist, it’ll load you up with all kinds of major-label crap that you’ve heard hundreds of times before on the radio, and probably didn’t enjoy much then, either. Their ‘related artists’ system is a bit of a joke in this regard. In Slacker’s nightmarish, dystopian world, all roads lead to Godsmack. Even roads that started at ambient electronic. Internet research tells me that Slacker is owned and programmed by former satellite radio operators. In terms of musical selection, this may be its chief problem. They should rename themselves ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Clear Channel’.

There is an upside. Potentially a fantastic upside. If you have the time and patience to program your own playlists (a bit of a daunting affair, full of micromanagement) you may end up building a real work of art — a playlist crafted by both human and algorithmic hands to feed you new and awesome music every track. Your range of options in this regard is actually quite powerful and easy to administrate, with the ability to choose or ban songs, artists or genres at will.

But Slacker — paradoxically, considering its name — assumes you have the patience and willpower to do this. Not everyone will. Slacker advertises having over 2 million songs at their disposal, but if they’re just going to heap steaming piles of Nickelback upon you anyway, what’s the point?

Slacker’s subscription service apparently features ABC News bites and unlimited song skip ability. Well, sound the vuvuzelas, it’s party time. Or not. In the end, Slacker is for less discerning, more mainstream listeners, and it serves them very well. But I’m not one of them. And those pre-recorded DJs can suck a donkey.

  • BEST FEATURE: It’s just like the radio.
  • WORST FEATURE: It’s just like the radio.
  • IDEAL FOR: People whose radios have just broken and it’s too late at night to hit up Wal-Mart in their H2s while chugging Smirnoff Ice.

4. PANDORA

Most Internet music goons will tell you that Pandora is the greatest overall choice for a personalized ‘Net radio stream with depth and breadth. I hear raves from friends, from blogs, from a lot of corners. Yet I’m unable to decide for myself, because of the blurb that glares at me with cold legal contempt every time I visit the site:

“We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for listeners located outside of the U.S. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative. “

  • BEST FEATURE: They are deeply, deeply sorry. And sad.
  • WORST FEATURE: Due to licensing constraints, they can no longer allow access to Pandora for listeners located outside of the U.S.
  • IDEAL FOR: Presumably, people inside of the U.S. But I can’t be sure.

Well, that’s a fine to-hell-with-you. But, ‘no alternatives’? I don’t think so. For instance, I think I hear Grooveshark singing to me in soft, ethereal tones. Time to go listen closer.

Lindsay Lohan: Keep On Thuggin’

Lindsay Lohan: Keep On Thuggin’

Despite being confined to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, Lindsay Lohan continues her career of crime. Our music industry gossip mill sources tell us that on Sunday morning, Lohan assaulted a fellow inmate in a dispute. Eyewitnesses say that Lohan and the unnamed victim were seen arguing over the possession of a bottle of Evian in the prison’s exercise yard shortly before Lohan attacked the other with a sharpened toothbrush. The victim is currently in critical condition at Lynwood’s St. Francis Medical Center.

“We all scoffed when we heard Lindsay was coming in, but she’s more hardcore than we thought she’d be,” said an inmate witness who declined to be named. “I used to run drugs through Mexico and I’ve seen a few things, but nothing like her. She looks like something that fell off the back of a Harley doing a deuce down Route 66, and that voice… dear god, that voice. How old is she, anyway?”

Lohan's dealer, Vinnie 'The Squid' Carpenzo, smuggles a kilo of Tenochtitlan Gold heroin in his colon during a conjugal visit with Ms. Lohan on Saturday.

Lohan's dealer, Vinnie 'The Squid' Carpenzo, smuggles a kilo of Tenochtitlan Gold heroin in his colon during his visit with Ms. Lohan on Saturday.

Luckily for Lohan, her team of lawyers, led by Frederick Weinberg, is working around the clock to have Lohan released early. “We’re aiming for at least a sanitarium transfer until we can appeal the charges formally,” Weinberg said in a statement today. “But Ms. Lohan has to be released soon… before anyone else gets hurt.”

Today’s conflict marks the third such altercation since Lohan’s prison stint began on July 20th, following a Friday incident in which she viciously attacked a warden during a cell transfer. Sources say that attack was in response to off-hand criticism of Lohan’s most recent album, 2005′s “A Little More Personal (Raw)”, which was lambasted both critically and commercially. “I don’t think that guy’s ever going to walk again,” a witness said. “She’s raw, all right. She’s a mean girl.”

Music Industry predictions for 2010!

O.k been reading up a ton on the music industry predictions for 2010 and have come up with a few, if I dare take a crack at this and by all means feel free to share your predictions or POV in the comments :) Thanks to the resources that have helped some of my research: Wired.com, Mashable.com, Headliner.fm, Alexa.com, Forrester.com

10 BandMark  Music Industry predictions for 2010:

``I see... me and David Bowie having sushi! but more importantly...``

``I see... me and David Bowie having sushi! but more importantly...``

1. Venture capitalists and big named brands will further finance musicians

As record labels merge and swallow up partners, (Warner+EMI? Like when Polygram merged with Universal in the 80`s) marketing budgets will be slashed once again so the once 100k budget which got cut int0 50k last year, will likely be cut again to 25k. This wont be as tragic as it seems because big named brands and the film industry will gladly spot these artists with some nice budgets for appearances and brand vanity and  smaller artists will opt for their own investors. This will force bands to be doing a lot of hands on marketing to stand out in what has become a huge sea of new music and very tough competition.

2. Fan clubs and street teams will come together as direct-to-fan platforms evolve

As a music fan, you can sign up to newsletters, fan-clubs, VIP offers, the record label store, Street teams, mobile alerts and the list goes on. Well with more and more artists selling directly to their fans, it is inevitable that a solution emerges that handles everything. Fan logs into the ultimate Direct-to-Fan club and specifies purchasing habits, street team activities, news alert delivery options etc… and everything after than is one cleverly marketed click away where fans interacts with band offerings, demand new versions and get rewarded with prime goodies like shout outs on stage for sharing content. I see the monthly and yearly subscription fee model popularize itself in these clubs as well as in on-line music stores.

3. Artists will make more music on demand

With more and more bonds being built via web 2.0 technologies, the artist and fan relationship will continue to grow and I predict that fans will start to create their own mini EPs by directing the artist to get re-mixed by producers they like, release acoustic and live versions and even integrate raw studio cuts and include tracks from talented fans  as well. A sort of Choose-Your-Own-Audio venture with all the emerging remix and interactive technologies at the forefront.  I`d like to see these mini EPs come in a digital bundle, return of the 45 vinyl and have basically 3 songs: fan made re-mix, fan demanded acoustic version and raw studio cut.

4. Music will be seen less on a CD rack and more in the clouds…

CD sales will continue their steady decline and the music population will turn into digital and vinyl heads for the most part.  Watch as vinyl reach out to the hardcore fans who want the immediacy of digital AND the physical fix. Subscription based streaming music stores like Grooveshark and Spotify will become a serious business model for labels to consider. Grooveshark`s traffic has a really healthy up-and-to-the-right metric line and really if you think about it – it`s the perfect compromise for the majority of the digital music community.  Faster than utorrent, cheaper than Itunes and trendier than Twilight, these subscription based stream stores are clearly making their mark in the music market place.

5. An artist`s database will turn into a fairly measurable currency with social metrics

The more time we spend on-line, the more valuable a musician`s database will become (users are expected to be spending EVEN more time in 2010).  All artists will experience an increase of virtual fans simply by putting themselves out there but also the clever musician, management and label will be harvesting and analyzing fan data with the new social metrics coming out.  The simple: enter email, tweet, share this for a track models will only amplify this virtual currency.

6. Interactive touch screens will start showing up at concerts

I don’t mean the kind you see at music festivals with SMS streams and the next band info with sponsors and ads. I mean a truly interactive experience where one can sign up to fan clubs,  shop,  join a contest request shout outs (I know I’m obsessed with shout outs and honestly think it’s the best way to reward and keep a fan loyal). In my perfect vision of the future, one that my inner geek truly adores, the interactive touch screens are so paper thin and huge and now after having seen AVATAR they are probably 3D as well!

7. MySpace will offer musicians a lot more options and will not go away

I was honestly laughing when respectable journalists were writing about “The Death of MySpace”  ”Facebook will take over MySpace”. Look, no matter how much you have a hate on for Tom and no matter how fk* irritating that damn CSS is to code around – MySpace is still the #1 place online that music fans go to check out an artist’s music. If you don’t care about all that and you are just looking at the numbers, well their actual traffic has been pretty stable for the past 3 months (Oct-o9 to Dec-09). So although things look promising, we`ll have to check the numbers again in the next 3 months…

“Indie musicians now have a new way to make money online by adding their songs directly to MySpace Music in exchange for sharing in the ad revenue with the service.” Original post by Elliot Van Buskirk @ Wired.com click MORE for further information.

8. Facebook will release a highly customizable new version

I have to say that I am not impressed with the rate in which Face book releases new versions or fixes bugs… the only reason why I use Facebook (and I likely speak for most)  is that everyone is on it and I really have little choice.  At least MySpace has an excuse for it’s bugginess - it was built in the dinosaur era with some lame programming language.  I am hoping that with a huge fan page community, Facebook steps up to the plate and actually pimps up the code a bit so that one can customize way more and turn their fan page into highly interactive music fan playgrounds of stuff to do, purchase and without error messages with apps not working. Recently, either the ilike app had a bug in it or the steps to add it to your fan page were totally convoluted cause almost every music client of mine was calling me about it!  So Crackbook, I’m unliking you a bit until you impress me with a new version…

9. More street stars like G-Funk RED will be discovered

I think after over a decade of really wimpy commercial rap, hip hop and urban beats it’s time to get back to the simple stories and sounds of the untrained street songs BEFORE the musician has someone else writing their rhymes and picking their outfits. Who says teenagers need cheesy synthesized effects and big studio sound to make them happy? O.K well they sort of do BUT unlike our grandparents, kids are growing up on decades of classical, blues, rock, electronic and are totally into experiencing new stuff – although there will always be at the perfect age for pop. I was lucky, I had an older brother making sure between Madonna and Wham I had Led Belly, Chet Baker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Marley, Iggy Pop…  well tell u what, these kids have a realllly big brother called the internet allowing them to discover more music than ever before subjecting people like G-funk RED and others to get international exposure from sites like YouTube.

10. America will have a full year of discovering more oddities like Susan Boyle

It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out that after Susan Boyle, America’s Got Talent is going to experience both an increase in unusual auditions from older and oddball performers but will also be prioritizing them especially after seeing Susan`s popularity skyrocket and set new standards for discovery.

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