The Nashville Feed

Looks my favorite little website Twitter.com might not be little for too much longer. Actually it hasn’t been small for quite a while but in my circle of friends I was one of the few that used it. As I encouraged friends to join they liked it and it spread from there.  The ease of use and variety of ways to contribute to Twitter makes it addictive and simple. According to Digital Media Wire Twitter traffic is up 70% in the USA and 485% in the UK.

In the past I’ve blogged how you can use Twitter as a cheap way to set up a SMS list and now with the updated iPhone you can now even find people near you Twittering. I do believe the killer app is one that is one that is super simple easy to use.

Further Reading:

• Analysis: Twitter UK Traffic Up 485% This Year, 70% Higher Than USA
• SMS Mobile Marketing for an Artist

Ask the song hounds — producers, artists and other music bizzers who sniff out hits in haystacks of demos — what it takes to find a smash, and they’ll often describe their special blend of market savvy and musical sense as “ears.”

Maybe ears get too much credit. What about the inner ear’s basilar membrane, which triggers millions of neurons that set off a psychedelic light show of electrical impulses in the brain?

As long as Nashville has been a songwriter’s town, there’s been a lot of talk about exactly what makes for a great demo. Some say all they need is a rough work tape — just a voice backed by a single instrument — to spot a great tune. Others say a fully produced demo is the key to understanding if a song or an artist is worthwhile. It turns out the answer could be more physiological than either side suspects.

“How a demo is perceived may lie at a sensory encoding level as opposed to a cognitive level,” said Jeremy Federman, a researcher and Ph.D. candidate at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University who specializes in audiology and music perception and cognition. As a former L.A.-based songwriter, Federman brings more than one perspective to this discussion.

“When I was pitching a song to Bonnie Raitt’s producer, he said they didn’t want fully produced demos because they like to do whatever they want to songs, with no preconceived ideas,” Federman related. “But all of my demos were fully produced because of an intuition that a lot of people don’t really know what they are listening for.”

Federman cautioned that “music perception and cognition is a brand new area of research and conclusive results are just emerging.” However, experiments have revealed that more electrical impulses occur, while listening to or performing music, in the brains of musicians than non-musicians because more brain areas are activated, and that the basilar membrane within the inner ear, which converts vibrations from sound into signals in the brain, is more stimulated by a full band than a solo performance.

“Other factors — the skill level of the musicians, the mood and emotional state of the listener — can also affect perception,” Federman added. “But more complex signals do generate more excitation in the inner ear and brain. So it’s possible that a fully produced demo could get a better reception because it causes more neurons to fire.”

Meanwhile, the debate continues on Music Row.

“As a producer, I prefer getting work tapes,” said Rivers Rutherford. “That gives me an opportunity to hear my own interpretations.” But in addition to producing albums for Montgomery Gentry, Jamie O’Neal and other artists, Rutherford has penned smashes for Brooks & Dunn, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Gretchen Wilson — and in submitting his songs for consideration, he has learned that sometimes a solo demo just doesn’t do the trick.

“I’ve had it work both ways,” he attested.

Rutherford has also found that the process of recording a full-band demo might even improve a song’s structure. Nine years ago, he and co-writer Tom Shapiro had a guitar-and-voice work tape of a tune they believed in. “But it didn’t get any interest,” Rutherford recalled. “Then we went to demo it in the studio, and I realized while hearing the band play that the work tape was six to eight beats a minute too slow. So we sped it up.”

The result was Brooks & Dunn’s No. 1 single, “Ain’t Nothing ’Bout You.”

At typically $800 to $1,000 per song, recording a demo with a band in a Nashville studio is an expensive lottery ticket. But if it hits, the payoff can be big.

Tom Hambridge won an ASCAP Song of the Year Award in 2007 for co-writing Keith Anderson’s Top 5 hit “Every Time I Hear Your Name,” which was shopped as a fully produced demo. Although he’s had tunes recorded by Rodney Atkins, Billy Ray Cyrus, Joe Nichols, Montgomery Gentry and many others, Hambridge is, like Rutherford, also a solo artist and producer, with albums by Susan Tedeschi, George Thorogood and Johnny Winter among his production credits.

“Because I’m a songwriter, when I’m producing I can hear a good song whether it’s just a singer with a guitar or a full band,” Hambridge said. “But I always do full productions of my own songs that I’m going to pitch, including background singers. In Country Music, the bar is so high that you need to get your song across in the best way possible. The greatest songwriters in the world are here in Nashville, vying for spots on big Country albums every day, and not every decision maker hears things the same way.”

This means presenting each of his songs in a form most likely to help a variety of listeners hear its particular strengths. “Some producers are wizards behind the board, but they need to know what a finished song might sound like,” Hambridge said. “A&R staff may help pick tunes — or management or maybe even the president of a record company. If a label or artist is really going to bet on a song, the marketing department might be asked for an opinion on whether radio will play it. And chances are not all of those people are songwriters.

“Let’s put it this way,” Hambridge summed up. “If you really want to knock somebody out, do you give them a shiny new car or the old one that’s back in the shed?”

How To Make Your Demos Real Contenders

Before you or your engineer push the “record” button, here are some demo basics and not-so-basics to consider:

• Get It Done: “A work tape is crucial,” said Rivers Rutherford. "Specifically, it's a blueprint for demo studio musicians. Beyond that, with just one instrument, one voice, and a cheap digital recorder, it might be all you need to bring a tune to life. Just be sure you’re got the structure of the song tight.”
• Hit Your Groove: “Make sure your tempo is correct for the song and that it’s locked in,” said Rutherford. “The groove has to be on the money for a song to be convincing.”
• Sing It Pretty: “You need a believable vocal performance of a good melody,” Rutherford noted. “You don’t want to get too over-emotive. This is a song-driven market, not a record-driven market like rock ‘n’ roll, so you’re just trying to get the spirit of a song across.”
• Buddy Up: A good studio crew can cut four or five songs in an afternoon session. Tom Hambridge suggests sharing sessions with other writers. “Sometimes there are five or more different writers at a session, all splitting the cost to get good demos of their best tunes.”
• Trust Your Musicians: “In Nashville the session musicians are the best in the world at getting demos done,” said Hambridge. “Songwriters are not usually producers, but good musicians spend so much time in the studio playing on all kinds of songs that they often know exactly what you’re going for. Listen to their ideas.”
• Polish Your Sound: Hambridge likes the sheen added to his demos by a final run through the various compressors, EQs and other devices used in mastering. “My demos sound like commercial recordings,” said Hambridge, “because that’s what most people are used to hearing.”
• Get Personal: Once you’ve got demos to pitch, network through artists’ rights organizations, publishers, showcases, parties, etc., — wherever you can find the industry people best positioned to help place your song. And make friends. “There’s no guarantee that artists, managers or label people are going to hear your demos,” Hambridge said. “You’ve got to get out there and make them interested in you.”

By Ted Drozdowski | © 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

While driving to and back from Florida last week I discovered how bad of a position radio is in; its way worse than I had thought just flipping through the dial in Nashville, TN.

There was almost nothing on while I scanned the spectrum, well almost nothing. I found repeat of Casey Kasem’s Top 40 featuring up comers of the 80s. It should have been named “Top 40 One Hit Wonders that you don’t hear from until they appear on a reality show or The Soup.” Kind of long but it would have been better.

It was so bad I almost thought of re-activating my Sirius sat radio the next time I road trip then cancel it after I’m back. It would have been worth the $12.95 for the week. Lucky for me I had a few podcasts in my iPod which got me home.

What to Do

So what is radio to do? Radio business professionals are saying HD digital radio will save them. For example:

• More variety. Nearly half of all HD channels feature formats rarely found on the dial these days, from gay-programming-oriented Pride Radio at Hartford's KISS 95.7 to "mashups" such as Cincinnati's WOFX 92.5, whose Mother Trucker pairs classic country such as Merle Haggard with rockers such as ZZ Top. "This is unique content you wouldn't get anywhere else," says Jeff Littlejohn of Clear Channel, with 800-plus HD stations broadcasting in its markets.
• Connecting to iPods. A new HD Radio feature called "iTunes tagging" lets listeners hit a "tag" button on their radio when they hear a song they like. iTunes will list the tagged songs after syncing with the iPod for previewing and purchase.
• Less expensive hardware. The first wave of HD Radios were pricey, up to $500. New radios to be announced Wednesday include sub-$100 models from Sony, Coby and iLuv and others for less than $200.

(Source USAtoday.com)

I really think the only thing that will save radio is the break-up of the major conglomerates allowing for more stations owned by more people willing to take risks. The consolidation of the radio industry has created a death spiral. And just when radio needed the funding aka ad dollars Bloomberg.com is reporting that internet ad spending will overtake radio this year.

Artists Moving On

Even if they get their act together it might be too late artists are moving on beyond radio. They are expanding and reaching out to fans online and now the mobile space. Even though getting a hit on radio today reaches large audience it’s not a profitable as it used to be. The artists are going direct to the fans and they are responding with arms open.

Changes are Happening

Whatever will happen radio will not have the power over the music industry as it once had. The artists are moving on to new opportunities. They are finding ways where they don’t need a label to get played for an audience. They are using new technologies that sidestep the establishment.

Further Reading:

• HD Radio sends strong signal, but audience weak – USA Today
• HD Radio stations tune in to everything – USA Today
• Internet Ad Spending to Overtake Radio in 2008, Publicis Says – Bloomberg.com
• Music Radio Should Be More Like Talk Radio – Nashville Feed

The big buzz on the Music Row in Nashville has been Mobile Marketing but I don’t think it’s quite prime time yet. There is talk of reproducing on your mobile phone what you get in-front of your computer including ways of monetization. Problem I see is that the technology hasn’t caught up with the vision and to be honest I don’t think anybody has figured out the net yet. When the money online equals what is made via selling a physical product then you can try to reproduce it via the mobile platform.

I primarily think the online world including mobile is for marketing and then secondarily a source of revenue. Using social networking, video and your own website is the vehicle to expose your music to new fans and connect with existing fans.

Mobile lists are the not as easy as your standard email list. The mobile phone networks are not open access and each provider is the gatekeeper with different rules. Unlike email if you a deemed a SMS spammer the providers aka in the states Verizon, at&t, T-mobile, Sprint and others will ban you from not only their network but probably come after you legally.

There are online companies that have set up relationships with these providers and offer list services to you with out the hassle. Problem is they are expensive and I doubt return on investment can be achieved. I don’t know too many independent artists that can afford that cost.

Another solution is using micro-blogging sites like Twitter.com that notify their users via SMS message when you make an update. The drawback of using another site is that there is one more step (or site) to sign up. Also you don’t control if people allow Twitter to send them SMS messages and you can’t segment your list like you would with SMS list services. Usually with Twitter you updated as needed but if you’re going to use it for SMS messaging you might want to have two accounts. You would have one for the usual Twitter tweets and the other for SMS which is only updated when important information needs to get out.

What other ways or services have you used to reach your audience via SMS?

What’s the best way to acquire new fans and keep existing ones? Don’t piss them off. It’s as simple as that. I wish I had thought of that topic but someone else has. MuchMusic out of Canada (FUSE is their American channel) has a blog post on that very topic. They name the top 10 and really target the big artists but its good to know. I’d say its common sense. My favorite is “Don’t Be Metallica.” In another post I’ll go into ways for a smaller artist not to irritate their fans.

• 10 Ways Musicians Piss Off Their Fans – MuchMusic

Web 2.0 (Wikipedia) is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.

Web 2.0 is here and there’s talk on the “internets” that Web 3.0 (Wikipedia) is on its way. What that means is Web 2.0 is maturing there’s plenty of solid websites that offer you and your fans the ability to interact easily and inexpensively. The problem is there is more to do than time in a day. The same is for your fans, the bombarded with invites from friends all over the net.

As an independent artist you need to make the most of what time and money you have. Your fan base is the best source of information. Ask them what websites they use on a regular basis. The results give you two positives, one it allows your fans to have input which creates a stronger bond and two you get the information on where to be online, besides your own website. A good polling survey website is PollDaddy.com. Key things to keep in mind:

Social Media Saturation
Your fans are getting invites from all angles to join social networks. Some will join and use them, some will join and never come back and some will just delete the email. You ask where your fans spending their time online, better to join their networks and go where they are. I would avoid expanding to new social websites unless you think it’s something use and thank you for suggesting it.

Top Social Sites
There are a few websites where your fans are that a no brainers. These’s websites are the pioneers of social media and its pretty much a guarantee you have fans there. They are the following:

• MySpace (Network)
• Facebook (Network)
• YouTube (Video)
• Flickr (Photos)

All the sites listed above have some sort of social features available.

You can add Twitter.com to that list due to its ease of use and integration with other sites like Facebook. Twitter, is a micro-blogging website; more information on Twitter visit their website or check Wikipedia.

Engage
Once you’ve selected and set up profiles online you want to stay active. Nothing is worse than when an artist that is all over the web doesn’t response or makes updates to any of their profiles. Why would you add them to your social group? I’m guilty of that with the Nashville Feed profile on MySpace.

In conclusion, a key thing to remember is you and your fans time is limited so use it wisely. Also stay active, don’t join every website or expand beyond what you can maintain. Now take our poll!

CMA Music Festival is over and time to get back to blogging on a regular basis. We're about half way through the year music sales are down another 13% and the economy is sputtering so what is an independent artist to do? Personally nothing more than you're doing now; using new media and spending your limited money wisely. Best thing to do is review what you are spending on new media. Here's a few things to review if you feel the inflation pinch.

Hosting
Are you paying too much for the space where you have your website? There's
a glut of hosting companies that offer inexpensive plans for as little at $5 a month. The hosting company I use Site5.com always has great deals. Best if you can pay up front and get several years locked in.

Email
Are you paying for email like Yahoo or another? I would say 99% of website hosting companies include email with their plans. The advantage of this is you don't have advertising at the end of emails you sent with the free services like hotmail or yahoo. Other advantage is you can have what ever name you want at your own domain. It looks professional and usually you can check is via the web just like the free services.

Web Design and Updates
As a web designer I have found out two things. Our services are not inexpensive and most people that want them can't afford it nor think its worth it. That's why you see most artists switching over to MySpace or Facebook instead of having their own website. In the past I have explained why it isn't a good idea for several reasons. Design is important but if you just can't afford it there are other ways to get a fairly good looking site without using MySpace or Facebook. Google has just released another good tool called Google Pages. They have taken the GeoCities crap from the 90s and brought it to the new century. It's easy and if you know html you can drop you're old website code right in. (with a few changes of course)

There are other ways to save in a tight economy which I will explore in the next several posts. If you have suggestions make a comment and we'll explore it some more.