Who Do You Think You Are?

As you can see from my previous blogs, I have attended a few workshops lately with the Recording Academy. One of the most important things to consider when starting a band, a management company, or even having a show is what is your brand. Everything you sell has to provide some sort of insight to who you are and the image your fans will achieve if they buy into your products.

For me, my personal brand is NerdyRockChick. Most of my social media contacts are listed under the persona with the exception of LinkedIn for professional purposes. I based the name on a questionnaire that told me to describe myself in three words.  I love sci-fi, punk rock and I am a girl.  NerdyRockChick.

Once you figure all of that out and you establish your brand, you now have to protect it with everything you have. No matter how small your operation might be, there are can always be a negative side to your image.

One of the blogs I follow is Internet Paraganar. There are quite a few topics covered on the website but their internet/computer blogs have many useful blogs on marketing. A blog that recently caught my eye covers protecting your brand name and reputation online. There are many people who can attack your brand. “People who want to destroy your reputation could be your business competitors, former employees ore even customers dissatisfied with your service delivery or your product”.

Translation for artists, anyone who has a similar style, former band mates, and fans that stood out in the rain for two hours while you were a no show.  So what can you do to diminish the damage? Social media is by far the best bridge to use to reach out to those who have nothing good to say. A tactic seen by bands on twitter such as @bfsrocks (Bowling for Soup) is reaching out and sending a personal mention or a general tweet toward fans apologizing for errors in information.  

I'm In The Band

I recently went to a Rock Band Network workshop in Austin that was put together by Pyramind and sponsored by T-mobile. As a gamer, it was a really neat experience to meet some of the creative talent that has put together one of my favorite video games. As a musician, it was really cool to find another socially interactive product for content and connecting to fans through a popular medium. What really appealed to me was going through motions to actually set up a song through the process and learning about the Rock Band Network. 


It can take a whole company to take a song and develop it for game play. You have to start with the music and record the stems, which are separate audio tracks. Then you have to translate the stems into measures and beats and then to notes corresponding to the controller. A really cool feature I did not know about was you could set instances in the track to follow the digital character so the animation that goes on while you are playing look authentic. It’s designed to be so authentic you can tell if a bassist is playing slap or pick style and what words the vocalist is in the animation is singing.

This is a long and tedious project that can take several days to work through and often there are companies that divide the work.

Once everything is complete, the song then goes to the Rock Band Network, which is a community of artists, programmers, and gamers that give feedback and can affect whether or not a song is allowed to be on Rock Band. The community watches for authenticity, profanity, and quality work. It is essential that if you are going to publish your work on the network that you get a sense of common mistakes so that you can publish as quickly as possible.

The best part of the whole night was getting to play Rock Band with executive producer Jeff Marshall and Gregory J Morgan of Pyramind. 

Live Sound, Live Music

With current lawsuits against music pirating, it is clear that a new strategy must emerge for profit to be made. Sky News Online quoted Chris Wright of Chysalis saying, "You can't download the experience of being at a live gig." I believe the most beneficial plan is  having a well-rehersed act, a stocked merchandise table and website, and respect for the fans will lead to profitable popularity.

If I had the choice to live anywhere and do anything the rest of my life it would be to be on tour with a band. One of my basic criteria for whether or not I like a musical act is how they sound live. There is something about the in-person experience versus a recording in the car or in a room that defines a moment in time differently.

Every seminar I have attended the last year, artists and promoters are depending on concerts to turn a profit as well as pushing merchandise. Because recordings are no longer a profit-maker for the label or the artist, the quality of work can only get better from here on.

EIY Music

Touring takes a lot of time and work to plan, especially for artists that are not well known. With ticket sales down due to a declining economy even the best laid out plans can fall apart.

One of my favorite people to follow through blogs and twitter is Sarah Saturday. Sarah is a leader and promoter for her musical act, Gardening, Not Architecture, as well as the creator of www.earnityourself.com. In Sarah's latest blog, sarahsaturday.blogspot.com, she discusses her plan through the fall for her DIY tour and all of the planning involved. One of the hardest things to accomplish for a tour is fundraising, especially for a band just starting out. Sarah is able to accomplish some of the fundraising necessary by using her networking resources for jobs before and along the tour, taking donations, and making packages of limited-press merchandise. In previous events I have attended, there a has been a major movement in the industry to use limited-press merchandise to make money for popular acts. Sarah has taken this a step further by incorporating other artists and different mediums as well as donating a portion of the funds to a memorial donation to a charity for a friend who has recently passed.

Sarah had been planning the fall tour for a long time and now the tour has ended. Her hard work and successes are due to planning and experience. Money is one of the biggest concerns when planning an event, taking the time to know your audience and giving them something to admire long after the show will  encourage successful fundraising in the long run.

Time Of Your Life (For A Price)

My last post covered the importance of social media and keeping up with your fan base to sell your brand and sell seats. Now, I want to talk about selling merchandise. At the Grammy GPS workshop in Dallas another topic that was covered was merchandising in the e-market.

Jessica Ballis, who is the current Digital Strategist and Marketing Manager at Universal Republic, offered an interesting piece of advice. She and the other panelists Aaron Sainz and Theda Sandford recommended that when selling music in today's digital market, artists should bundle music with tangible items such as limited edition shirts, vinyl records, and anything else that would only be available by an artist and in demand by their fans.

I thought this was a brilliant strategy, not only would it sell the music but it allowed the artist to make up for pirating losses and gave the fans something to have physically, possibly wear out with friends or brag about. Part of the punk fan in me initially thought this was sneaky and possibly underhanded, but with fewer and fewer fans going out to shows to purchase merchandise, selling things I, as an artist, could support  along with my music should have been reinforced long ago.

Another suggestion was to have a limited edition event or auction that would allow access to an artist for a price and/or bid. Such an event might be a personal meet and greet, backstage passes, or anything that would allow exclusive access to the biggest fans with the largest wallets. A comment from the crowd encouraged that "You would be surprised the financial support the biggest fans of your band would give to be able hang out." This also raised a red flag in my head. "Hey!  I am totally one of those people!" I am hurt to think my favorite band would do this but I can see how a marketer, manager, and artist would benefit and the fan is getting the chance of their lifetime, even if it isn't earned by hard work and luck.

Come Back To Texas (And Check Your Twitter)

I recently attended a Grammy GPS workshop event in Dallas that covered topics about legal considerations for aspiring artists, booking and touring trends, and the e-marketplace. One of the most surprising things to me about the event was that almost every single topic was dominated by discussion about incorporating social media. All of the experts had something to say about social media and finding the right services for your work.

Jaret Reddick, the frontman for Bowling For Soup was one of the experts for the Booking and Touring Trends workshop. I have been a fan of Bowling For Soup since middle school so it was a great surprise to see him on the list for the event. I know as a fan, the band uses social media constantly. You can find Bowling For Soup on Twitter as a band or individual accounts, as well as Facebook and Myspace.

In 2009 the band started using SayNow, a service that uses your cell phone to stay in touch with artists. If you sign up for SayNow as an artist you can contact fans through their voice messages and have actual conversations with one fan or many over the internet. I had the opportunity to talk  with Jaret and he told me all about the features of the service the band used and that Bowling For Soup fans really responded to the personal experience. 

As I said before, Jaret was there to explain about touring and booking trends, which and the other speakers Kris Youmans and Randy J. Miller did start out to discuss, but it quickly became apparent that being able to book and sell out shows relies on a strong and healthy fan base first. Having a relationship with your audience through social media has shown to be one of the most important thing you can do to keep your band or brand alive.

As someone who has recently been employed as a social media persona, I am always surprised at the many uses and trends that are associated with social media. However, I am always reminded that networking is important no matter who you are or what you do and that the larger your audience the more influence you will have over your own success. I believe that this applies for everything but it especially applies within the entertainment industry and within the media. Social media can no longer be considered a passing internet trend for young audiences.

If you are a student currently enrolled in classes you can sign up to be a Grammy U member of The Recording Academy.

About Me

Andrew WK

 My name is Danielle Stolley and I am a concert junkie. I am currently working toward becoming an artist and/or tour manager. I am often found going to shows, talking with artists and bands as well as attending professional workshops.

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