Ariel Blog Challenge--Week 6

Not long ago I started building a mailing list. I started with a few friends, a few industry contacts, and a few artists. I now have 300+. I have categorized them so that I can send an e-mail to all or by category. My next mission is to contact my FaceBook and Twitter friends to see if I can add them to my list (if they are not already on my list). I would like to ask some of my FaceBook friends and a group of teens that I have access to, to fill out a survey monkey and give their e-mail address to me (if I don’t already have it) in exchange for a free song. I hope to be able to give them a song by one of the artists I work with on my dime as I view their input on the survey and their e-mail of value. I have been sending out a newsletter to those people once per month, but I think I should probably send at least two out per month. I like the ideas that Ariel gives in chapter six concerning building the e-mail list. Thanks!

"I want your music; but I don't want to pay for it."

The debate seems to continue over illegal downloading and fans expecting free music. I admit that not too long ago, I thought it was a sin to illegally download music or burn a friend’s CD. That is, until I realized I had committed that sin. I have asked teens over the past few years if they engage in such actions and often they would respond with, “If the artist is independent, I buy the music. If they are on a label, I don’t. I burn a friend’s CD or illegally download.” They have no remorse for the latter. They seem to think the artist and label are making enough money and won’t miss a few dollars. I have felt the pain of illegal downloading on behalf of the independent artists I work with. Having read the pros and cons and numerous artist reactions—some belligerent and some feeling like it has boosted their career—I now have another thought to ponder.

I am currently reading “Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From The American Indie Underground 1981-1991” by Michael Azerrad. Each chapter is a story about a particular band including Black Flag, Husker Du, Minor Threat, Fugazi, and Sonic Youth. Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi) states, “It was all about documentation.” So let’s ponder that statement. Consider a visual artist who puts their artwork on display at a gallery. You pay to go in the gallery and view the artwork. That artist might make an occasional sale or have smaller prints made as well as postcards or gift cards to sell. The performing artist displays their work through shows making money through ticket sales. And, another type of display for their music is licensing a song for a TV show or film. That artist might sell t-shirts, posters, or-----yes, CDs and digital downloads. We call that merchandise. Artists must rethink their income sources. Those sources from top to bottom would be: touring, licensing, and then merchandise. A thrilling live show is what fans want and what they’ll pay for. The CDs are merely documentation and merchandise.

Ariel's Blog Challenge Week 5

I have been thinking about a surveymonkey for some time. In fact, I started a list of questions that I should ask. Because of the nature of my business—Creative Liaison for a few indie artists—I would like to know more about their fans. Right now I work with mostly local Indies who are in the folk or folk/pop genre. Down the road, if my business expands, then I might be interested in picking up more artists that are not so local. But, for the time being, in working with a small roster, I want to know more about their fans, hence the surveymonkey. I also want to survey my peeps to see what their habits are—where they buy music, who they are listening to, etc. This is a project on my “list of things to do” by end of year. As far as newsletters and e-mails go, Gregory Douglass helped me set up a newsletter through my website. I have created an e-mail list with keywords so that if I want to send a newsletter to my peeps in Vermont, as opposed to other industry contacts, I can call up the VT peeps. If I want to send a more formal newsletter to industry peeps, I can call up keyword “industry”. So far I have a total of almost 400 contacts. My goal is to add in other industry contacts—radio and a few new industry FaceBook friends (with their permission of course) as well as new VT FaceBook friends. My target date for this project is by the end of August. As far as the look of the newsletter—I try to incorporate photos on occasion and upcoming gig dates for the artists as well as what I am up to. Sometimes I incorporate a quote or what I’m reading or “song of the month”. I like Ariel’s idea of “telling a story”. And, her suggestions to keep building the e-mail list and communicate often. I shall go forth and do good work! By the way--I love her subtitle--3 G's: Greeting, Guts & Getting. I always called my family the 3 G family--Glory, Gregory, & Gwendolyn!