Open Forum: What Do You Want to Learn in 2011?
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 08, 2011 | 26 comments
Open thread for the weekend: What do you want to see covered on Audible Hype this year? What are the biggest roadblocks you’re dealing with in 2011? What continues to frustrate and confuse you? What are the most important topics I need to be focusing on?
26 Comments
1 Magick Hands says...
"Artist development" -- I am working with a group of like-minded friends but none of us know how to build a foundation, we're just hungry and motivated. We all want a roadmap, so if you got any ideas? Please share.
Posted at 2:08 a.m. on April 9, 2011
2 Infinitez says...
Merchandise, licensing, touring.
Posted at 2:52 a.m. on April 9, 2011
3 Vinnie Vaughn says...
MERCH. Who to trust, who to buy from, how to budget, how to handle it on the road, all that shit. All I know is we're doing it wrong.
Posted at 10:43 a.m. on April 9, 2011
4 Man Mantis says...
Band accounting.
Posted at 1:59 p.m. on April 9, 2011
5 Hump Jones says...
Planning tours.
http://www.humpjones.com/rear/entry/the_bootstrap_theorem...
More on Kickstarter projects that work.
Cheap-as-fuck video campaigns that work.
How to get funding for very, very bad ideas.
Posted at 2:39 p.m. on April 9, 2011
6 Reckless says...
Budgets and startup costs, because the landscape changed so much new artists don't fully realize what their options are.
Posted at 2:31 a.m. on April 10, 2011
7 Justin Boland says...
From FB: "...putting together a memorable performance, seeing through the bullshit promoters, getting paid more often and better, finding the right outlet/audience for one's style, efficiency"
Posted at 1:43 p.m. on April 10, 2011
8 nek4life says...
I'd like to see more articles about the music making process. Not necessarily what gear and technical details, but perhaps how an artist works from an inkling of an idea to a full realized song. Perhaps even do case studies by taking a particular track and have the artist walk through their thought process involved in making it. Honing your craft sorta thing.
Posted at 3:26 p.m. on April 10, 2011
9 e_legs says...
licensing, mobile apps, more effective collaboration/networking between musicians
Posted at 5:06 p.m. on April 10, 2011
10 VOKAB says...
GETTING MY MUSIC LICENSED TO MOVIES AND TV
Posted at 6:45 p.m. on April 11, 2011
11 Flows Bierce says...
Promotion and booking. Nobody pays attention to the stuff I submit, everyone tells me to build a buzz, what the fuck. How does buzz start is basically my question. Who do I have to pay off here?
Posted at 11:11 p.m. on April 12, 2011
12 juiceboxjackson says...
I've actually been pretty freaking pleased with recent content on the site...I guess I'd just say, "more of the same."
What VOKAB said is a point of interest to me as well...the whole world of licensing for TV/Film is pretty much unknown to me...
Posted at 9:27 p.m. on April 13, 2011
13 Garrett Heaney says...
I would like to see some articles on testing in regards to marketing and promotion. I'm sure every artist tries a hundred things a year, to varying degrees of success, but those who do it best likely have a strategic testing strategy to find out what is going to work best with specific audiences and products.
Maybe on a broader scale, you could publish an article or guide to pairing marketing techniques to specific audiences. What works best to get the attention of professional industry types, what works best to get the attention of musicians, what works best to get the attention of journalists, what works best to get the attention of white kids, and so on and so on.
Or... do successful promoters call bullocks on this audience specific strategy and broadcast one voice to the lot of them.
Posted at 3:03 p.m. on April 15, 2011
14 Garrett Heaney says...
I'd also like to read/write an article about cracking into showbiz as a means of making dough and blowing up. I imagine there are a ton of producers out there making music who could do well scoring movies and in doing so, gain notoriety more quickly than say, doing 20 shows a year. I'm not sure where I read or got this notion, but I think there are a few shows... I think Entourage and Weeds, who have their entire soundtracks done by the same record label.
So yeah, an article on the crossover (in both senses of the word) potential between indie music and film/tv.
Posted at 3:11 p.m. on April 15, 2011
15 Stack Blabbath says...
How about more coverage of DJs? I've always wondered about touring DJs because that's a job I'd love to have in the future...
Posted at 10:20 a.m. on April 16, 2011
16 Justin Boland says...
You'll dig this, Heaney: http://bit.ly/hXfjYL
I'm guessing you mean getting a regular job in the biz, rather than "blowing up" meaning winning the lottery and becoming famous. That article will basically be a re-write of "Year of the Glut" -- there's continuously less jobs but more (and more qualified) competition every year.
Posted at 1:03 p.m. on April 16, 2011
17 yesterdaze says...
More interviews with managers would be much appreciated on this end because I'm currently doing that for 2 good friends and honestly don't have a clue how to bring them to the next level. ANY insights from pros would help, so please find more guys like Eamon Mulligan and Kevin English!!!!
Posted at 2:22 p.m. on April 16, 2011
18 Dustin Porchia says...
I'd like to see more interviews of producers and indie labels that were able to "break-even" or get "in the green" with their roster.
I'd also like to see some interviews of some of the web designers/developers behind the new technology being used to help bring hip-hop and the industry into the future (digital sales, social media, social media marketing, etc).
Oh, and I really enjoyed the statistics you posted on sales and etc in the industry...keep doing those!
Posted at 7:13 p.m. on April 16, 2011
19 Kerry McCartney says...
Organizing a business in my apartment...what to keep track of and how, what I legally need to store, etc. I get lost on this too easy.
Bartering and the service economy. What is master worth vs. cover art vs. guest verses and etc? How does this get worked out in the real world?
How much can we get away with? I know there's all this blah blah blah about sample laws and copyright trolls but really, can't my crew get away with selling CDs at shows for cash and never dealing with lawyers?
Posted at 12:35 a.m. on April 23, 2011
20 Marko Labs says...
More from producers, more from promoters, more from record label owners and artists managers. I like the behind the scenes approach you're taking. More of that, please.
Posted at 6:05 p.m. on April 23, 2011
21 IV the Polymath says...
+1 for music licensing for TV/Film/Elevators/Waiting Rooms/Anything.
Posted at 1:03 a.m. on April 24, 2011
22 Kayla Bessinger says...
i don't even know what the word for it would be, but an article about filling all the gaps would be good.
buzz has to start somewhere. what is the equation that lets you always turn your recent accomplishments into new stories and something bigger? why do some new artists in my local scene seem to be blowing up faster than my team ever did, mostly thanks to the work we've been doing?
i guess basically my question is at what point do we give up, and start over with a new name?
Posted at 2:55 p.m. on April 24, 2011
23 Retox says...
This comment section is a treasure chest of good article ideas, thank you for starting the convo. Great community of artists you've got here.
Posted at 4:02 p.m. on April 27, 2011
24 Darwin says...
It would be cool to see an article about lifestyle on the road. I remember from punk band days everyone comes back from tour sick as dogs. Then I toured with a bluegrass band it was, yup, even worse. THEN I toured with a hardcore band that was more than half straightedge and I finally came home from tour feeling great. I also wound up coming home with ACTUAL MONEY IN MY POCKET that was neat too. So, something that teaches kids about the difference between the IMAGE of rocking on the road vs. the REALITY of being a professional. Especially in this hip hop shit. I'm a promoter and I've seen rap tours end on the 2nd or 3rd stop because of guys getting arrested/hospitalized/missing busses. Thanks.
Posted at 10:52 a.m. on April 28, 2011
25 Justin Boland says...
@Retox
I don't really "have" a community here, they just swing through. I'm a lucky dude.
Posted at 3:23 p.m. on May 3, 2011
26 quolywowidway says...
Hi Guys, tell me please, I am now in America, and my parents are in Kiev how to to pay them anything so they called me with regular phone, but cheaper than it's now? I found just such a an article, maybe someone has used a similar service, or heard of him? Tell me please whether this actually real?
Posted at 7:55 p.m. on May 6, 2011