Thanks to Music Ally (Bacardi talks music and branding) from March 26 we have a follow-up of the Bacardi-Groove Armada Pyramid Scheme that I had written about previously.
Despite some things to be desired, such as presentation skills and its length (38 minutes) I recommend checking it out - it is from the marketing perspective. I'll give you some of the stats that showed up 27 minutes into it (so you don't need to wade through the first 27 minutes). Bacardi managed more than 43,000 downloads of GA's new album (of which, we find out that 4 songs were "coached" by Bacardi as branding their product) and made Number 1 on a few charts including Hypemachine's. We do not ever find out how deep the free downloads got (recall that if you were able to get a certain number of your friends to download track 1, you were allowed to download track 2). I can venture a guess that those first four Bacardi brand songs were the free ones that were downloaded (for the record, I've not heard any part of GA's Bacardi album).
I mentioned that the presentation was from a marketing perspective, and portrayed as successful, with lots of free media attention that would have otherwise, they estimate, cost them many millions of dollars. However, we never find out how much money it cost them to do the deal, or how much it will cost them to do another deal. They also claim that it was very difficult to make the artist do what they wanted, but get them to think it was their idea (in the question/answer part of the video). Lovely.
Your thoughts on this?
Free air time is great, no doubt about it. Was this free air time best for Bacardi or best for GA? Not sure, but Bacardi seemed to come away with an estimated >$7M in free advertising. GA? Well, GA recorded four songs about something that they thought was their idea and these brainwashing songs were downloaded for free. I'm most interested, however, in the downloading pyramid scheme. At the end of the day, 43,000 downloads in 40 days is pretty good...even if each song is about how great rum is; too bad there was no value to each download...to GA, I mean.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Different Approches
Amy's latest post here on Music Hounds, Free Music got me thinking about the different approaches people take to finding music. From her post she indicated her delight in sampling music from all over the web for hours. I do not share the same delight; I have a much shorter attention span.
I will work backward in the music hounding process:
Listening to a song. When I come across a new song it better catch my attention quickly - within the first 30 seconds or less; regardless of whether I am familiar with the band or not. It could be one of my favorite bands, but I'll disregard the song if it hasn't grabbed me immediately and I'll move on to another. I do not like radio stations in general, but it is because of this short attention span. I wouldn't mind internet radio if one could move through songs one does not like; if Pandora, for example, allowed such a thing...well I guess it wouldn't be much of a radio station.
Finding a song. I generally do not like recommendations from music recommendation sites. I have blogged about this in a couple of posts, the most recent being Signal Patterns Music Survey, mostly because they never seem to get it right...for me at least. I usually have something in particular I'm searching for and broad genre categories are often not represented properly simply because the sites hosting music do not allow much inclusion of different music styles without just grouping in "OTHER". This is a shame. Reverbnation is one such hosting site that comes to mind. So I wind up searching large amounts of music under "other", for example, with a strategy of crossing my fingers and hoping I like what I hear (for the first 30 seconds). I hate that. Pandora is a good example to use here - they make recommendations for their users based upon similarities to an entered "favorite band/artist". This seems a good way to find music, provided that Pandora accurately identifies "similarities". Its popularity suggests that it may have that down. However given the 30 seconds "rule" I have (see above), Pandora is frustrating to me. As I mentioned, I'm usually in the mood for a specific type of music. If I stumble across something that sounds good, I'm excited and have found something new (to me), but oftentimes it takes many, many tries with little or no success (part of the reason I get impatient with NPR's Second Stage). Perhaps I do not have entirely mainstream musical tastes, but I do like music that falls under the general categorization of a whole host of "genres".
What's the solution? To my knowledge (and I'd love to be proven wrong - so write if you have input) if I do not have a band name/artist name/song name/genre that I'm searching for, no such solution exists other than painstakingly clicking with crossed fingers and toes. I am building the Hounds to the Music search function because of my short attention span when it comes to finding new music. There is a ton of new music posted every day, but how to find it efficiently? I certainly do no think that Hounds to the Music will be the Holy Grail of music hunting, but I do hope that it will take a small step in that efficiency; ultimately one will always need to click and hope, but if the frequency of success can be increased, that will be a benefit I think.
How do you hunt for music? What sites do you use? Do hunt like Amy or me?
So, will Amy, who loves to poke around free music for hours on a weekend afternoon benefit from the music search function of Hounds to the Music? I hope so, although she may use it in a different manner than I plan to.
Hounds to the Music. What's the status of Hounds to the Music you ask? We are getting there...closer and closer each day. We plan on a limited launch to indie musicians/bands/labels and other interested parties around mid to late summer this year. We will also be entertaining investors starting in April.
I will work backward in the music hounding process:
Listening to a song. When I come across a new song it better catch my attention quickly - within the first 30 seconds or less; regardless of whether I am familiar with the band or not. It could be one of my favorite bands, but I'll disregard the song if it hasn't grabbed me immediately and I'll move on to another. I do not like radio stations in general, but it is because of this short attention span. I wouldn't mind internet radio if one could move through songs one does not like; if Pandora, for example, allowed such a thing...well I guess it wouldn't be much of a radio station.
Finding a song. I generally do not like recommendations from music recommendation sites. I have blogged about this in a couple of posts, the most recent being Signal Patterns Music Survey, mostly because they never seem to get it right...for me at least. I usually have something in particular I'm searching for and broad genre categories are often not represented properly simply because the sites hosting music do not allow much inclusion of different music styles without just grouping in "OTHER". This is a shame. Reverbnation is one such hosting site that comes to mind. So I wind up searching large amounts of music under "other", for example, with a strategy of crossing my fingers and hoping I like what I hear (for the first 30 seconds). I hate that. Pandora is a good example to use here - they make recommendations for their users based upon similarities to an entered "favorite band/artist". This seems a good way to find music, provided that Pandora accurately identifies "similarities". Its popularity suggests that it may have that down. However given the 30 seconds "rule" I have (see above), Pandora is frustrating to me. As I mentioned, I'm usually in the mood for a specific type of music. If I stumble across something that sounds good, I'm excited and have found something new (to me), but oftentimes it takes many, many tries with little or no success (part of the reason I get impatient with NPR's Second Stage). Perhaps I do not have entirely mainstream musical tastes, but I do like music that falls under the general categorization of a whole host of "genres".
What's the solution? To my knowledge (and I'd love to be proven wrong - so write if you have input) if I do not have a band name/artist name/song name/genre that I'm searching for, no such solution exists other than painstakingly clicking with crossed fingers and toes. I am building the Hounds to the Music search function because of my short attention span when it comes to finding new music. There is a ton of new music posted every day, but how to find it efficiently? I certainly do no think that Hounds to the Music will be the Holy Grail of music hunting, but I do hope that it will take a small step in that efficiency; ultimately one will always need to click and hope, but if the frequency of success can be increased, that will be a benefit I think.
How do you hunt for music? What sites do you use? Do hunt like Amy or me?
So, will Amy, who loves to poke around free music for hours on a weekend afternoon benefit from the music search function of Hounds to the Music? I hope so, although she may use it in a different manner than I plan to.
Hounds to the Music. What's the status of Hounds to the Music you ask? We are getting there...closer and closer each day. We plan on a limited launch to indie musicians/bands/labels and other interested parties around mid to late summer this year. We will also be entertaining investors starting in April.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Free Music
Love it or love it not? Good relationship with it or bad?
I recently flipped through a magazine article on music and wrote down an entire list of artists/bands it mentioned that I thought I would like to sample. After categorizing them and crossing off the ones I was already familiar with, I got onto Amazon's MP3 downloads site and started a search that lasted me a couple of hours more than I had planned. I love spending an afternoon in the fantastical tangled web of music sampling. Unfortunately, for me it's too easy to download the free music Amazon offers and not purchase anything (and purchased music is generally the better music, since you get what you pay for).
You might not be able to relate--some people's music habits cost them thousands of dollars a year and others, like me, are just plain cheap about it. Theoretically and on principle, I have great respect for musicians and the time and work they put into their craft. Especially because I consider myself a musician. It's not cheap to make an album, so it shouldn't be cheap for me to listen.
So is free music good for me and the general public, or bad? For the artist, it's a useful marketing tool. But the question is, do we use it as the "appetizer" it should be that encourages us to buy more songs, or do we treat it how we treat other things we don't invest in: without the value it and the artist deserves?
Do you download free music? Is it good or bad for your music searches?
I recently flipped through a magazine article on music and wrote down an entire list of artists/bands it mentioned that I thought I would like to sample. After categorizing them and crossing off the ones I was already familiar with, I got onto Amazon's MP3 downloads site and started a search that lasted me a couple of hours more than I had planned. I love spending an afternoon in the fantastical tangled web of music sampling. Unfortunately, for me it's too easy to download the free music Amazon offers and not purchase anything (and purchased music is generally the better music, since you get what you pay for).
You might not be able to relate--some people's music habits cost them thousands of dollars a year and others, like me, are just plain cheap about it. Theoretically and on principle, I have great respect for musicians and the time and work they put into their craft. Especially because I consider myself a musician. It's not cheap to make an album, so it shouldn't be cheap for me to listen.
So is free music good for me and the general public, or bad? For the artist, it's a useful marketing tool. But the question is, do we use it as the "appetizer" it should be that encourages us to buy more songs, or do we treat it how we treat other things we don't invest in: without the value it and the artist deserves?
Do you download free music? Is it good or bad for your music searches?
Thursday, March 5, 2009
RPM Challenge Over
With the end of February comes the end of the RPM Challenge. I have not looked to see the final number of bands or artists who completed the challenge, but if it was like the last two years it will have been around one thousand. That's preety neat - 1,000 groups cramming for nothing but the satisfaction of completing. I finished the challenge with the help of one of two bands, but only ONE album; truth be told I was ambitious and signed up for two albums - one for each band.
Now comes the question: you want to hear songs from the RPM Challenge, but have no place to start - no band name, no genre, etc to go by to find cool-to-you music. What do you do?! This is precisely why I founded Hounds to the Music. Ideally, by next February you will be able to use our web application service to find cool-to-you music from the RPM Challenge and everywhere else on the internet.
Now comes the question: you want to hear songs from the RPM Challenge, but have no place to start - no band name, no genre, etc to go by to find cool-to-you music. What do you do?! This is precisely why I founded Hounds to the Music. Ideally, by next February you will be able to use our web application service to find cool-to-you music from the RPM Challenge and everywhere else on the internet.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Listening Doesn't Have to be Passive
I'm privileged to have acquaintances in two bands on the cusp of making it big. The groups couldn't be more night and day. The first band, we'll call them Band A, creates new wave eighties hip hop. They started out in L.A. and moved to London because, well, the Brits tend to be more accepting of indie experimental music than their American cousins. (I also think it might have something to do with the British Isles being a bit smaller than the U.S.--just a bit.) It's a crazy group of guys who strip off their sweat-soaked shirts on stage, who travel across the world to Tokyo for just a one-night show, who can party with the best of them, and yet, who are deadly serious about their music. Is it their talent, dedication and savvy business maneuvering that got them interviews on BBC 1 and Jonathan Ross? That put them in the London Paper and magazines, and moved them up to #3 on the charts? That booked them more U.S. shows and made them one of the most requested bands on one of L.A.'s hit radio stations? Or is it something else?
The next band we'll call Band B. Band B is from Reno, NV. They got their start playing worship songs for a young adult church service. They tour Christian music festivals and retreats and churches, and last year won a major song contest in Houston that got them a record deal. Right now they're working with some influential musicians in the Christian sphere and making plans to tour nationally. They're all married, some of them with kids, and are actively involved in their Reno church. But they've agreed that if they don't make it big this year, they'll go back to just playing locally, not as a full-time job. What's interesting about Band B is that the Christian musician that's working with them, who's kind of like a mentor, has encouraged them towards a different sound, one that sounds conspicuously like . . . him. I was also surprised to learn that when they record their album, the vocalists in the band are the only ones who end up on the final product. The musicians are all studio musicians, not a part of the band at all. They play whatever Band B would play, but it's not the same instrumentalists. As a consumer and music lover I was shocked, and yet I hear this is a typical practice. (But I digress...this is an unrelated topic for another day.)
The two band's start-up stories pique my curiosity about my favorite bands--how they got started, how they got discovered, what makes them big or successful (because big and successful doesn't necessarily mean the same thing, I don't think). And at what point do talented musicians throw in the towel? I'm trying to make my way in the book publishing sphere, and book publishing is a lot like music in this regard: the artist's success depends on the viewer. Of course music mobility depends on a lot of factors, but above all, it comes down to word of mouth.
We, the listeners, are not so passive as I used to think. Or at least, we shouldn't be. If we want more good music, we have to talk up our favorite artists. We have to play their albums for our friends. We can become facebook fans. One of the sites that really helps this process along is NoiseTrade. You have two choices on the site: get free songs by telling five friends about it, or get the songs by paying whatever you think they're worth. Sites like these not only benefit the artist by increasing the viral nature of their music, but they also benefit us, because our favorite music keeps playing.
What are you doing to keep the music going?
The next band we'll call Band B. Band B is from Reno, NV. They got their start playing worship songs for a young adult church service. They tour Christian music festivals and retreats and churches, and last year won a major song contest in Houston that got them a record deal. Right now they're working with some influential musicians in the Christian sphere and making plans to tour nationally. They're all married, some of them with kids, and are actively involved in their Reno church. But they've agreed that if they don't make it big this year, they'll go back to just playing locally, not as a full-time job. What's interesting about Band B is that the Christian musician that's working with them, who's kind of like a mentor, has encouraged them towards a different sound, one that sounds conspicuously like . . . him. I was also surprised to learn that when they record their album, the vocalists in the band are the only ones who end up on the final product. The musicians are all studio musicians, not a part of the band at all. They play whatever Band B would play, but it's not the same instrumentalists. As a consumer and music lover I was shocked, and yet I hear this is a typical practice. (But I digress...this is an unrelated topic for another day.)
The two band's start-up stories pique my curiosity about my favorite bands--how they got started, how they got discovered, what makes them big or successful (because big and successful doesn't necessarily mean the same thing, I don't think). And at what point do talented musicians throw in the towel? I'm trying to make my way in the book publishing sphere, and book publishing is a lot like music in this regard: the artist's success depends on the viewer. Of course music mobility depends on a lot of factors, but above all, it comes down to word of mouth.
We, the listeners, are not so passive as I used to think. Or at least, we shouldn't be. If we want more good music, we have to talk up our favorite artists. We have to play their albums for our friends. We can become facebook fans. One of the sites that really helps this process along is NoiseTrade. You have two choices on the site: get free songs by telling five friends about it, or get the songs by paying whatever you think they're worth. Sites like these not only benefit the artist by increasing the viral nature of their music, but they also benefit us, because our favorite music keeps playing.
What are you doing to keep the music going?
Saturday, February 7, 2009
CDs...the things you play in a CD player
With the ever present news of CD sales continuing to slip, in part due to the inability for the big record labels to understand that their world is changing in favor of digital media, this week I believe that I found the solution:
It was very, very cold here early this week and upon leaving in the morning my car was entirely frosted over. The week prior I had broken my window scraper; it was a nice one with a brush on one side. So looking around for something to use to get the frost off of my windows, I found a CD case. It actually worked quite well. The record labels should start marketing each album thus:
"With each album, you receive a free window scraper!"
Think of the impact if albums start coming with brushes on one of the four sides! For summer months, maybe a pump and spout for doubling as a water gun on one of the remaining sides!
Two more seasons and two more sides remain...
It was very, very cold here early this week and upon leaving in the morning my car was entirely frosted over. The week prior I had broken my window scraper; it was a nice one with a brush on one side. So looking around for something to use to get the frost off of my windows, I found a CD case. It actually worked quite well. The record labels should start marketing each album thus:
"With each album, you receive a free window scraper!"
Think of the impact if albums start coming with brushes on one of the four sides! For summer months, maybe a pump and spout for doubling as a water gun on one of the remaining sides!
Two more seasons and two more sides remain...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Life lessons found in the RPM challenge (T-minus 2 days)
I've been "preparing" for the RPM challenge by pulling out old, familiar, favorite albums and listening to new music on sites like Reverbnation. Not like I don't have enough to do anyway, but working on the challenge is something of a "must" for me. I'm not sure why I'm so excited to start (in two days) nor am I sure why it is a must to participate this year, other than I really did miss it last year.
There is a wonderful sense of accomplishment associated with writing a song and telling yourself, "it is okay". It is okay for someone else to hear this song. It is okay for other people to not like it or for it to not be everyone's favorite. It is okay if it isn't one of my favorites. It is okay if it isn't as developed, complex, or musically mature as songs I typically listen to. It is okay...(insert any excuse here). There is also a fabulous sense of accomplishment when you finish - even though you finish tired and grumpy without any desire to even look at your instrument(s) for a while.
This challenge is really a terrific life lesson (when used as intended) which teaches to enjoy the process. I've always struggled with "enjoying the process" in school, work, life, etc. I tend to focus on getting to the final outcome...only to realize that that is just part of the "bigger" process. However, for some reason I do enjoy the RPM challenge process. Perhaps because the only potentially negative outcome is that I don't finish - I feel disappointment in myself for not following through to the end. There are no other negative consequences - not everyone will dig my tunes...okay; there will be someone out there who does though...okay; and I will, more or less, like the tunes - I'm satisfying a need (to write music), following through on a task, making something, and having a lot of fun enjoying the entire process.
Two days and counting...not listening to my own advice about enjoying the process - I have two days to enjoy!
There is a wonderful sense of accomplishment associated with writing a song and telling yourself, "it is okay". It is okay for someone else to hear this song. It is okay for other people to not like it or for it to not be everyone's favorite. It is okay if it isn't one of my favorites. It is okay if it isn't as developed, complex, or musically mature as songs I typically listen to. It is okay...(insert any excuse here). There is also a fabulous sense of accomplishment when you finish - even though you finish tired and grumpy without any desire to even look at your instrument(s) for a while.
This challenge is really a terrific life lesson (when used as intended) which teaches to enjoy the process. I've always struggled with "enjoying the process" in school, work, life, etc. I tend to focus on getting to the final outcome...only to realize that that is just part of the "bigger" process. However, for some reason I do enjoy the RPM challenge process. Perhaps because the only potentially negative outcome is that I don't finish - I feel disappointment in myself for not following through to the end. There are no other negative consequences - not everyone will dig my tunes...okay; there will be someone out there who does though...okay; and I will, more or less, like the tunes - I'm satisfying a need (to write music), following through on a task, making something, and having a lot of fun enjoying the entire process.
Two days and counting...not listening to my own advice about enjoying the process - I have two days to enjoy!
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