Why I am an Idiot
Posted in Latest News by celia at 5:11 pm
Of course, I too am an idiot for not getting out when the golden parachute opened its doors to me. For not choosing my lifestyle above my passion. For ignoring the path of so many of my favorite associates,who now yearn to find a life in music that doesn’t exist anymore.
I stand in a pretty odd place - having had 14 years in independent label life, and another 14 in corporate label life. I am reminded daily to adjust my thinking to the events of today, not the past.
The future belongs to the youth, the adventurers, the innovators, the creators and the fools.
I run One Little Indian for North America – a label that defies definition and is fiercely independent. There, it’s all about the music.
I also write, produce and record a weekly radio show on KCRW (On The Beat). The radio show is about the record business.
I sit in the Idiot’s box with some pretty great talent.
I enjoy your show, Celia - it’s a bright spot for me.
Your post is a propos right now, because I’m about to release a new album and wrangling with what “release a new album” means right now. Just because we don’t know the answer doesn’t mean that it’s not a good time to be a musician. It just means it’s an uncertain time, scary but exciting.
Thanks for helping us figure it out!
Take care,
Rain Perry
Comment by Rain Perry — February 13, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
Thanks Rain.
You are so right - recod marketing is completely different than it was
just a few years ago.
I looked you up on Myspace. Helpful to build that friends list. This
is a network of supporters to be there for your career potentially.
Never has an artist had so much access to their fans. Work with it
and develop it. Let your fans know you care about them. Change things
on myspace often.
I assume you play out. Build your fanbase there too. Give your audiece
a reason to come back to shows. It’s one of the most important aspects
of career development. No one can ever take an artist’s audience away.
It’s yours for a lifetime if you want it.
Postcards, flyers, posters - anything to collected the dots with fans - if you’re not excited about your career, to let people know what you’re up to, why should they be?
Build professional relationships with other like minded artists if you’re a good
collaborator. Co-write, co-headline, co-op together. If you prefer the solo route, be prepared to be very prolific.
Digitally release your music - Whether you use Ioda, The Orchard or
Tunecore - get your music out there so you can capture bucks, and
more importantly, build your fan base.
Record marketing in the new millenium is all about building a
relationship with your fans - enough so they want to stay actively
involved with your latest developments.
Send copies of your record out to like minded communities on the web
for reviews on sites and blogs. Some will accept mp3 files - others
will want a cd burn or cde.
Pressing records is very good, but be exceptionally realistic about
where you are selling them. Physical retailers are not interested
in many titles these days, unless there are tangeble drivers
to move the records quickly in stores. The traditional marketing
elements like radio distribution, publcity, and instore positioning
are important as well, but all in the right time. Unless you have
bucks on or behind you, manage the steps to your career well,
even if that means investing in others to help.
At the end of the day, this is your career. Have fun building it.
Enjoy the ride.
Comment by celia — February 15, 2007 @ 7:58 am
Hi, Celia - thanks for this very detailed response. I appreciate it. I hear a lot of complaining about the music business right now - how impossible it is for an artist to make a living, etc. - and it can be disheartening at times. But - I don’t know - I think we’re in a new minstralsy era, which a far more organic way to connect with people than the big record company model.
Take care,
Rain
Comment by Rain Perry — February 15, 2007 @ 11:30 am