ContentSphere - Music & Media in an Online Culture

Berlin's all2gethernow Coming To SXSW - YEEEHAW!!! #a2n

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:06:34 +0100

Hey there… so here we go! all2gethernow 2010, which is scheduled for Sept 6th-12th, will be present at SXSW booths #509/511/513 in Austin (TX). We are joining teams from Cologne, Hamburg and more peeps from Berlin. All the freshest news on Germany’s musical landscape and what you are about to expect at all2gethernow - just come over and have a chat with gorgeous Andrea Goetzke or myself (if you can bear that). Of course, we are going to provide you with twitter, friendfeed and facebook coverage, pics’n’all. Hashtag: #a2n You thought a2n 2009 was a great one with just 10 weeks of preparation? Ok. This year we are about go really boom. You are afraid a2n is losing touch with its bottom-up approach? Hell! Don’t you ever dare to… Never. Artists, fans, bloggers, consumers - keep your bags packed and prepare your suggestions. More details soon.

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Zoe.LeelA - Lush Electronic Soul From Berlin

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:31:22 +0100

© by Thomas Ternes at TOMPiGS.COMSometimes, things simply happen. There are a few coincidental moments which start a whole chain of terrific encounters. Now, if this leads to discovering new music, it gets a full-fledged Mike-Masnick-“connect with fans” experience. Somewhat surreal, yet very real. It’s been about two weeks ago when I received a tweet from netlabel Rec72. They recommended an artist to me, Zoe.LeelA - in particular because of ContentSphere’s Creative Commons focus. To be honest, I get a LOT of recommendations, links, or artist followers via Twitter. And I really like that. I follow each and every person back who’s in the music business. That’s the premise. But I don’t have the time to check back all music (which is a shame). Luckily, I did this time. Zoe.LeelA’s EP “Queendom Come” went straight into my playlist. Sure the guy (or girl) from Rec72 doesn’t know my likes and dislikes… but he...

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Why Jay Frank (FutureHit.DNA/CMT) Fails: It's Longevity That Artists Need, Not Chart Success

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:09:47 +0100

© Jay FrankBrowsing my Google Reader today I stumbled into Kyle Bylin’s interview with Jay Frank of Futurehit.DNA and CMT (a division of MTV Networks) at hypebot. Jay’s new book “FutureHit.DNA - How The Digital Revolution Is Changing Top 10 Songs” you can download for free on his site. Well, of course the digital revolution has changed music. But there are some claims of his that I do not necessarily agree to in the way Jay puts it. It’s a bit of context that’s missing. First of all, you might easily forget about the fact that he’s talking about chart music only. During the interview I can’t help getting the feeling the majority of musicians (from Jay’s point of view) are merely in it for the money. Rules to follow, issues to avoid - just to make sure your song makes the Top 10. Honestly, the probability any song makes it there is very low. Let’s face it: It’s near zero. You might as well spend your time and...

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Recommended Music: "Ambient Circle" (Germany)

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:23:00 +0100

CC-BY-NC-ND by Ambient CircleToday’s act I’m going to introduce to you is no band. Neither it’s a solo artist. You might call it a project. And it sure has developed in a way not expected. Ambient Circle is a collective of various participants located in Germany’s North-Rhine area. Every now and then, they get together to play electronic music sessions. They are entirely focused on electronic ambient music, and it’s just twelve sessions they did so far. This includes public and private sessions. Continue reading "Recommended Music: "Ambient Circle" (Germany)"

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DIY-Marketing #3: Georgia Wonder Serving Fresh Ideas in Reducing Recording Cost

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:04:02 +0100

Go support Georgia Wonder!Georgia Wonder is Stephanie Grant from London and Julian Moore from Portsmouth. We got to know each other via Andrew Dubber’s blog and Twitter. You’re searching for a pop/rock/folk band serving beautiful tunes and a brilliant female voice - buy their tracks. You can even choose if and how much to pay for downloads. Or you may order a physical copy. Julian Moore and Stephanie are never short of clever ideas to add to their marketing. And they are really running the marketing themselves. Blogs, videos, Bandcamp, iTunes, We7, Twitter, homepage, mailings (email as well as snail mail), Facebook etc. - it is time consuming but they’re constantly connected to their fans. Continue reading "DIY-Marketing #3: Georgia Wonder Serving Fresh Ideas in Reducing Recording Cost"

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all2gethernow: Documentation is here.

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:23:51 +0100

Finally. Editing of videos, compiling all material and statements took more time than expected. But it’s - almost - done. Unfortunately, most statements are available in German only. Yet some of the sessions were held in English. I’m still missing the sessions on collection societies and DIY marketing, the latter featuring Amanda Palmer and Georgia Wonder. Though one video I’m sure you will enjoy: Amanda Palmer live at Münze Berlin (almost 80 minutes). Right now, the documentation on Vimeo lists 59 videos. This includes statements from participants right after panels they were involved in as well as full videos of some sessions. Much thanks to the guys from PeopleZapping as well as to Jens Best who was heavily involved into editing the videos. Btw, these videos are the result from our webcasts - please don’t expect HD material shot with the best and most expensive equipment you can find at Amsterdam’s IBC. Also, you might browse the Flickr...

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Music Business: Lessons In Free Strategies From Other Industries (Pt. 2)

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:44:00 +0100

© Jonny Mccullagh | Dreamstime.comI started this article two days ago (which isn’t quite correct because I started writing it about a week ago), though I have yet to come to the main part - the lessons themselves. Hope you enjoy, have your read. Continue reading "Music Business: Lessons In Free Strategies From Other Industries (Pt. 2)"

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Music Business: Lessons In Free Strategies From Other Industries (Pt. 1)

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:43:00 +0100

CC-BY-NC-SA by Comrade_SIf talking to independent musicians about the benefits of distributing content for free you most certainly will come across four arguments in monolithic defense. I paid too much in creating this to give it away for free. Free distribution is beyond control. How am I supposed to pay my rent if I give away my works for free? Free doesn’t work.This article deals with all of them - kind of. But the main focus is to show that an artist is not alone in employing “free” strategies. It’s reasonable. It’s common business. Please note: I won’t discuss copyright issues in here. But no matter if you give away your song for free to billions of people or if you sell a licence to one company - your copyright in your song remains unaffected. Please keep that in mind. Continue reading "Music Business: Lessons In Free Strategies From Other Industries (Pt. 1)"

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Do We Need Music Conferences?

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:04 +0200

© Pn_photo | Dreamstime.comDo We Need Music Conferences? Music Conferences provide numerous possibilities to make business, network and discuss with your colleagues, share knowledge with your peers and discover new talents and industry trends – so they say. But do Music Conferences really provide added value and do they fulfill what they promise? Does the industry need conferences to develop to the next step? What are the reasons for the increasing amount of conferences all over Europe? I came across this when browsing this year’s program to Luxembourg’s Sonic Visions festival and - you guessed it - conference. Obviously, the question is a more rhetoric one. At least I hope so. Too bad if announced panel’s conclusion would be to reduce and cut conferences. Of course, some conferences appear dispensable. Actually, changes in music industry indicate that some sort of conferences has become redundant. Continue reading "Do We Need Music Conferences?"

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DIY-Marketing #2: Can Artists Be Creative?

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:28:29 +0200

CC-BY-ND Fräulein SchillerIs this provocative to ask? Well, yes. No. Depends on. Of course everyone has his ups and downs. Yet there’s more to it. Because nobody has the skills to be creative in every field. Or is there a sculptor in your band who is perfect in weaving tapestries, writing scripts for plays at the Old Vic, and at the same time artfully handling his stock shares himself and piling up his riches at the Caimans? So why do I ask? I’m not talking about finding a strategy or business model here. It is the very basic that comes first: ideas. Sounds simple, but be prepared for hard efforts. You know for yourself that ideas just won’t pop up when handy. Continue reading "DIY-Marketing #2: Can Artists Be Creative?"

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DIY-Marketing #1: Amanda Palmer's Basics in Donations

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:48:49 +0200

CC-BY-NO Karola RieglerActually, I intended to start out with suggestions in DIY marketing for artists today. Suggestions I would have come up with by myself. Then Amanda Palmer posted her response to the feedback her posting on donations generated. Anyone: Read her response. In full. It is essential and the basics to everything I can tell you. Some of it she already mentioned at Berlin’s all2gethernow. For all those who don’t have the time to read through Amanda’s terrific response I’m going to highlight some parts. On her website, Amanda has a page called “The Till”. Anybody who’s willing to can pay any amount as a donation. If you pay you will get no CD, merch or whatsoever. Why to pay anything? Does she really think there are people crazy enough doing so? - That’s what you might think. my cellist friend zoe keating (@zoecello), who more or less runs her own business out of her house (and isn’t signed), told me a...

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Recommended Music: "The Bony King of Nowhere"

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:26:00 +0200

While planning for my upcoming blog posts I thought it might be a good idea to feature some new and rather unknown artists now and then. Hey! This is about music - and if there’s someone real good who deserves to get more attention… let’s do it. You may remember that when I reviewed the Peter Doherty gig months before I mentioned the opener to be worthwhile getting their own article. Here it is. The Bony King of Nowhere - that’s what they are called. Actually, “they” means “he”. Because it’s Bram Vanparys from Ghent in Belgium plus supporting musicians. Continue reading "Recommended Music: "The Bony King of Nowhere""

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Germany's Collection Society GEMA Having a Rollercoaster Ride?

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:44:12 +0200

© Brett Mulcahy | Dreamstime.comSeveral times I mentioned GEMA (Germany’s collection society) and hassles artists as well as event managers and other people are having in dealing with them. Yet, all2gethernow’s panel on collection societies made me feel some relief in looking forward. Continue reading "Germany's Collection Society GEMA Having a Rollercoaster Ride?"

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More Concepts & Ideas to Collaborate With Independent Musicians and Upcoming Media Companies

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:57:00 +0200

© Richard Thompson | Dreamstime.comFinally, I decided to change the content design of ContentSphere quite a bit. Previously, articles have been long. Some very long. Others… well, think of the Chinese Wall. The disadvantage is, the longer the articles are the less frequent there’s a new posting. From now on, each day will see a very short posting. Some ideas that came to mind. Some link I came across. Some new site worth a mention. It would be really great to get a bit of feedback from your side relating to these postings. Because, based on these I decide which short article or new issue is worthwhile to work out. Concept is to throw in one longer article (deserving that name) once a week. But don’t expect it to be as long as the chart toppers from previous months - some consisted of more than 10k characters (don’t ask for #1… 18k). Maybe I won’t show the discipline to keep up with my new principles but at least I hope so. Regarding the topics to...

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Farbwerte - Lohnenswerte Perspektiven auf SchwarzRotGold

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:40:00 +0200

© Frank Roesner/Robert EysoldtEs gibt Tage, die ich bevorzugt ohne Medien im Innern meiner Häuslichkeit zubringe. Karneval. Silvester. Abseitig dieser schaurigen Tage kann man entweder der Natur frönen oder sich als unauffälliges Café-Inventar in wunderbar umtriebigen Stadtdschungeln genüsslich dem Menschenstudium hingeben. Nicht so an diesen aufoktroyierten Tagen, die stets im Marketing-günstigen Bundling mit Emotionspaketen einschließlich Nicht-Echtheitsgarantie daher kommen. Warum der Artikel? Warum heute? Warum innerhalb eines Medien- und Musik-fokussierten Blogs? Wir schreiben den 3. Oktober, Tag der Einheit, diesmal 2009. Wenn der Tag (glücklicherweise) auch nicht eine solch ausgeprägte Eventcharakteristik hat wie die oben genannten, so tragen die geliebten Medien mit Sondersendungen, MovieFilmFilmMovies, Kurzserien, Dokumentationen, Performances, Ratespielen und Leipziger Allerlei doch das ihnen Mögliche dazu bei. Ein Tag zum Zurückziehen. In die eigene, solipsistische...

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