The Nashville Feed

Twitter is not like any other social network. Plain and simple. Unlike other social networks like MySpace or Facebook if you "add" aka "follow" someone on Twitter it will not result in that person following you in turning growing your reach.

Twitter is pure interaction where if you just post crap nobody will follow you nor will they care about your brand. The only exception I can think of is a news service like CNN or New York Times. They post information that people interests people hence creating value. The key to Twitter is creating value to the people that follow you. Why did Obama have over 50,000 people following him? Because he posted information that people wanted to know or follow. A good example of a brand utilizing Twitter to the fullest while creating dialoge and community is Griffin Technology (the maker of iTrip & other goodies). Check out the Griffen Tech Twitter feed and notice how they do it. One thing to consider is they have a dedicated person that works the social network 5 days a

Of all the social networks Twitter is hardest to maintain because it's so real time. If your a music artist consider two or more twitter accounts. First start just with band news this is something you would update when you have specific updates, information you are pushing out where people don't expect conversation. Then a second that you would use for personal conversation with daily trivial stuff. Create the conversion with your fans of each member of your group then fans will have a more intimate connection.

One caution with having twitter feed for each member of the group is if there is problems or issues it will be very public. While your official artist Twitter feed is saying everything is fine the personal feeds may say something very different.

Overview:

Pros: Real-time feedback, easy, quick & creates a bond with fans if done correctly.

Cons: Time consuming (even though easy), risk of private matters aired public

Other Reading:

• Grow Your Social Networks Organcially, Start with Twitter

Something I've been saying for years. Make note, if you're not using the web to promote your brand as an artist then your late to the game.

• I Want My MTV? Not Anymore, Music Promotion Moves to Web
  It's clear now that the Web has once and for all replaced TV's role in the music business.     
  

Further reading:

• R.I.P T.R.L. - Why MTV's TRL was doomed anyways
  The loss of TRL is directly associated with the networks move AWAY from music. Music Television was after all the original name of the network before it reduced itself to MTV. Lets face it though... have any of us actually seen a music video on MTV in the recent past?         
  

It's Columbus Day here in the US so that means a day off for me. If you read one article read "SonyBMG, You So Don't Get It" it's a good read with some information on what not to do.

Music Business & Sales

How the Music Business Spent the Summer Killing Itself… r.e.c.a.p.
from the "is it binding blog" by Randal Foster

Can the 'freemium' model weather the financial storm? - Cnet News
George Carlin said that when you live in the United States, you're guaranteed a front row seat to the freak show. Events of the last few weeks only reconfirm how right he was.

SonyBMG, You So Don't Get It.
Perhaps I woke up on the wrong side of the couch this morning. Maybe my coffee is too strong. Or maybe SonyBMG is so stupid about their online marketing efforts that they deserve to be ridiculed first thing the morning... every morning, until they stop damaging their own artist brands.

Walmart Phasing Out Music Sales...And That Revenue Isn't Coming Back
Coming soon to Wal-Mart: The new AC/DC album. Not coming to Wal-Mart for much longer: Most other music.

The Big Record Labels' Not-So-Big Future
With the Web decimating CD sales, the major labels are looking for new revenue streams, including ringtones, merchandise, tours—everything but music

Social Media

Net radio bill passes House - Cnet News
Web radio stations live to fight another day. The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that Web radio stations have painted as life or death for their services.

State of the Blogosphere / 2008
Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, which will be released in five consecutive daily segments. Since 2004, our annual study has unearthed and analyzed the trends and themes of blogging, but for the 2008 study, we resolved to go beyond the numbers of the Technorati Index to deliver even deeper insights into the blogging mind.

Web 2.0: Making Friends / Web 3.0: Making Money
Web 2.0 is really at its core about user interface. Interface technologies such as Flash and AJAX have allowed web pages to be more active and engaging and to really become application-like. By and large, we have used this power to make social applications. But Web 3.0 is different. Web 3.0 is about the data.

David Byrne, Brian Eno and the viral album
Musicians David Byrne and Brian Eno, the historic duo who brought the world "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" more than 20 years ago, have a new album out, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today."

One Man's Piracy Is Another Man's Crowdsource
Say you own a record label, and one of your artists performs, causing fans to film the show and post their videos online. Do you: A) try to get all the videos deleted, B) do nothing or C) edit the best ones together to create a video of the concert from multiple camera angles, giving you another way to promote the artist and sell out shows?

Technorati Tags: linkfest, netradio, music business, social media

Interesting video on Web 2.0. Enjoy.

The days of randomly adding people to your artist or business social network needs to come to an end. When social networks were new it was the way people thought they could market their artist/band or business. It was effective at first but now that the newness has worn off so has the impact. It has become more of an irritation than a benefit to most. Artists and businesses need to work smarter now instead of the shotgun approach.

Artificial Growth and Past Mistakes

In the past on social networks acquiring as many "Friends" as possible gave the perception of allowing you to reach a wide audience. In my eyes this is a mistake which creates just irritation. For example on MySpace I see only businesses and artists adding each other and never have a connection. There for there is no value to either parties and dilutes the value of their respective social network.

Twitter is Different

Word to the wise for artists and businesses using Twitter; it is not a typical social network like MySpace or Facebook and should be approached differently. If you're not familiar with Twitter Wikipedia has a good explanation to get you started.

Twitter you either "following" or someone "follows" you. This is how Twitter differs than the others; adding many people to your "follow" list doesn't necessarily mean they will return the favor. It's not mutually agreed on like traditional social networks. But by creating compelling content on Twitter people will "follow" your thread because they see value.

Grow Your Networks Organically

Allowing your network to grow "organically" by creating compelling content in turn will want to "follow" or "friend" you making the network more valuable as a tool. Then you can get your message out through the clutter and build your brand.

Further Reading:

• Twitter Definition on Wikipedia
• Seven Tips for Organic Twitter Branding - Mightly Brand Blog

On Monday September 15th I hosted the SOLID Nashville After Work(shop) Series with the top Web 2.0 and the Music Business. It began with the video "A Vision of Students" which I had suggested in order to show what our consumers are doing and how they are learning.

After that Pinky Gonzales "web guru/genius" and former big wig at echomusic, founder of Artist Media Group and Adjunct Professor teaching Creative Music Marketing class at Belmont University gave a presentation on what is "Web 2.0" and the history of the internet. Then Kami Knake New Media Manager at Warner Brothers Nashville, creator of "Bands Under the Radar" podcast presented what the industry is doing currently with the whole "Web 2.0" thing.

The second part of this podcast consists of the question and answers from the SOLID and the audience. It is a little hard to hear some of the questions but I have posted them in the show notes below.

Show Notes:

Pinky Gonzales - Web 2.0 and How we Got Here
Creative Music Marketing on Ning
LinkedIn

Kami Knake - What the Industry is Currently Doing & Future Technologies
Bands Under the Radar
LinkedIn

Questions and Answers Section

Are you familiar with Filter.com?

What's the best way to get music integrated into other industries? How to present new ideas to the industry?

How do you get an established indie artist who wants an indie online presence to take it to the next level? How do you convince him to create a professional and indie online presence without "selling out" and not being amateurish?
With the advent of Web2.0 where does that leave the 12 track album format?

What about contracts? They still going by the album format? Is anybody signing shorter or longer contracts?

When does the economic reality flip the model?

More developed artists like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have recently been in the spotlight for their free download promotions which enabled them to make millions selling collectors packages to their super-fans, but how can the small independent artist not only survive but grow to the same "super status" without collecting revenues from album and song sales?

What are unique ways artists are using the web for promotions.

Dirks Bentley Example

Do you think it's still important to send fans to the official website instead of a social network site?

Are very many people using other newer social network services beyond the biggies like MySpace and Facebook?

Subscribe with iTunes

Technorati Tags: bands under the radar, kami knake, music marketing, pinky gonzales, solid nashville

The concept of a "home entertainment center" is no longer limited to a room with a mammoth flat-screen TV, booming stereo sound and theater seating. The term now applies just as well to the not-so-humble mobile phone.

Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Rissi Palmer, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner and Keith Urban are among the performers who use mobile marketing for everything from supplying fans with news to engaging audiences with promotions and quizzes even in the midst of a concert.

The aim of these activities is to build a fan database to which the artist can target sales campaigns. The more information gathered, the easier it is to tailor messages to specific demographic and geographic segments of that database.

Mozes, Inc., which in February acquired Nashville-based Hurricane Interactive Promotions, provides the software system and administration to link artists with their fans' mobile phones - and vice versa. Mozes, used by more than 3,000 major and independent record label artists, is permission-based, spam-free and cost-free to consumers. One of the company's recent campaigns involved previewing tracks prior to the April 22 release of Phil Vassar's Prayer of a Common Man album for registered members of Phil's Mob, the artist's mobile-based fan club.

Another Mozes specialty is a text-to-screen service that allows fans at concerts to send text messages to an onstage screen for everyone to see while the artist is performing.

"If you're at a Brooks & Dunn concert," said former record promoter Chris Stacey, VP, Music Industry Sales, Mozes, Inc., "and up on the screen we're flashing a message that says, 'Want to go backstage and meet Brooks & Dunn? Text them at 66937 which spells 'MOZES,' then you can do that. Once that message comes into our system, we say, 'Thanks for texting Brooks & Dunn. Would you like to get updates from Brooks & Dunn on your mobile phone? If yes, reply now.' Once people opt into our database, we've built the bridge. They've basically given us permission to come back and market to them on that device."

Winners of in-concert prizes, such as the backstage visit, are notified directly via their mobile phones. For artists who use the text-to-screen feature as a regular part of their concert tour, Mozes assigns a traveling representative to set up and manage the technology as well as to screen each message to see that nothing inappropriate is transmitted to the screen.

According to Mozes' sales statistics, there are more than 237 million mobile phone users in the United States - about 79 percent of the population. These phones are constant companions to people in their teens and 20s, the segment of the population most likely to buy music. Stacey added that a far greater percentage of cell phone users open their text messages than do e-mail users, which is clearly a big advantage for marketers.

In campaigning for the People's Choice Awards, Rascal Flatts used Mozes to send personalized voicemail messages to its fans' mobile phones, directing them to the official People's Choice voting site. More than 10,000 people responded, according to Stacey. The trio ultimately won in the categories of Favorite Country Song (for "Stand") and Best Group (beating out rockers Daughtry and Maroon 5).

Although most marketing features are available through the conventional wireless hookup, some require that fans' mobile phones be connected to the Internet. In February, Tim McGraw addressed this issue by launching the mobile Internet site www.mcgraw2go.mobi, which guarantees access from provider dotMobi, via any mobile phone, regardless of phone model or wireless carrier.

Richard Trio, whose Triovisions firm designed the platform for McGraw's site, said that fans who sign on to it can get announcements and tour information, download ringtones and wallpaper, receive streaming audio and video, buy songs and videos and upload their own photos and videos for posting on McGraw's Web site.

"Right now, we're outbounding text messages regarding presales for tickets," said Trio, speaking prior to the start of McGraw's "Live Your Voice" tour. "As we get closer to the season, we'll increase those outbounds, which will be more specific and targeted toward different venues. You can set up [contact] lists by demographics, by geography, by common interests, etc., and then target your message to them."

Explaining the rationale for establishing www.mcgraw2go.mobi, McGraw's road manager Robert Allen said, "We see that future e-commerce and marketing, especially as it relates to music and product, is perhaps going to be done more and more as an impulse buy from the [mobile] phone user."
Stacey puts it this way: "We view ourselves as a funnel for all the different ways you can collect mobile information. We try to funnel it back and provide a platform for clients to manage that information and execute their campaigns.

By Edward Morris

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.