This article focuses on statements made by Glee Music Supervisor PJ Bloom in which he suggests that the exposure artists get from having their music placed on television is valuable enough that he is shocked that artists and writers still get paid when their music is used.

I find this particularly insulting because PJ Bloom is the music supervisor for Glee- a show whose entire appeal is based on using already well known and well loved songs as the major audience draw for the show.  If the music selected for the show wasn’t adding any value to the show (something worth paying for), then why does PJ select so many songs from the Billboard charts or from popular movies, instead of just using 5 or 6 unknown songs from a music library in every episode?

Very clearly because by using a Brittany Spears song in an episode, PJ isn’t just licensing a song, he is hoping to harness all the love, goodwill, and interest potential audience members have for Brittany Spears and her music, love and goodwill cultivated by many, many hours of hard work by Brittany Spears, her songwriters, her record label, etc.

PJ’s job is not one of marketing and promoting music as a service or a favor to artists and writers; his job is to put the best possible music into a television show to make it the best it can be so that the show can stay on the air and make money, which is evidenced by the high quality and popularity of the music selected for the show.

Furthermore, as writer Helienne Lindvall points out- “Exposure for what?  Lindvall summarizes the problem of PJ’s “exposure” argument pretty well:

So, to sum up: musicians shouldn’t get paid for radio as it is promoting record sales. They, in turn, should not expect to be able to charge for their records, as everyone can get it for free anyway on the hundreds of pirate sites.  But not to worry, because their records promote their live performances – never mind if they have to pay to play, as performing is promotion for their records (that they don’t get paid for).

Check out the article “Music Supervisor “Shocked” That TV Studios Still Pay Labels to Use Music” and weigh in.

Do you agree that television exposure is a more valuable commodity for an artist or writer than the paycheck they receive for its placement?

I like this article because it details the importance of management, what qualities to look for in a manager, as well as some practical advice for musicians looking for management at different levels in their career.  It also gives a good explanation of what a manager does, and how manager’s get paid.  Overall, its very
comprehensive.

The article identifies 3 must have characteristics for managers: passion, connections, and funding.

As stated in the article:  If your manager has passion, he may be able to succeed without the others. However, if your manager is without passion for your music, your chances of long-term success will be reduced.

The best-case scenario is, of course, having all three.

After passion, the article explores why finding a manager with a connection is so valuable to an artist –

“To get a record deal, or becoming a successful indie you often must develop your connections from the ground up. The process can be accelerated if someone on your team, in this case the manager, has connections.”

However, the artist should be mindful to consider a potential manager’s connections, and consider if they are a good fit for the artist.

Lastly this article discusses how managers can invest financially to in the artist’s career, and in turn how managers expect to be compensated when artists earn money.

Having a good understanding of this is vital to artists, so they can make informed decisions when entering into agreements with managers (although even with a good understanding, it’s still a good idea to have any agreement with a manager reviewed by an attorney).

Finding the right manager can make a huge difference in your career, so check out “Finding The Right Manager” from Raprehab.com, and pick up some pointers!

In his blog, Frank discusses what he sees as the 3 most profitable DIY revenue streams for artists as well as which type of artist succeeds in each stream.

Frank points out that DIY artists living below stardom are consistently finding profitable careers.

How are they finding them?

According to Frank, most of these success stories can be attributed to either (1) success on Youtube, (2) success in touring, or (3) success with sync placements.  However, each revenue stream has drawbacks, and these drawbacks can inhibit success in one of the other revenue streams which is why it is rare to find success in all 3.

Want to learn more?

Go read “The 3 Most Profitable DIY Revenue Streams, And Why Many Artists Succeed at Only One of Them” By Jay Frank.  Then try out each of these revenue streams if you haven’t already and see which one is the best fit for you.

Maybe you’ll even be one of the rare artists that can be successful in all 3!

DWC was named Volume 11’s 2012 Band of the Year due to their successful use of Kickstarter to fund their second album, as well as their general embodiment of what it takes for a young touring band with large aspirations to be successful in today’s music industry.

Jesse, how did the band come together and when did you originally play as Dead Winter Carpenters?

The band first came together at Bobolink Festival in Belden Town, CA. I was playing there with Montana Slim. Jenni was playing with a friend and sat in with Big Light.

Tahoe isn’t very far from the bay area, so as Montana Slim was slowing down playing shows, Jenni’s band Rusty Strings were also in the same phase. Our drummer Ryan was playing in Rusty Strings, so basically members of both bands merged.

We got a gig at the Crystal Bay Club in Tahoe for an after party for Yonder Mountain String band in March 2010 where we had to prepare enough songs for two 2 hour sets. We had a blast at those shows – everyone just spilled over from the Yonder show, it was a great scene and a positive experience for us, so we started booking more shows and then went to record an album later that year.

Crystal Bay Club, Lake Tahoe

You  mentioned you were playing with Montana Slim prior to DWC, which was slowing down in playing live shows as the members of DWC met and came together. What lessons did you learn from Montana Slim that you took into this new project with DWC?

We never really expected Montana Slim to be a full time touring band. I just moved to SF from the east coast and Sean did as well.

It was very much a grass roots effort. We had little or no management at the time. It was driven mostly by getting our original tunes out there and seeing if people liked them.

We just wanted to go out, have fun, and see if people liked it.

When exactly did you make the decision that music was going to be your full time thing?

Being in this industry and the level we are at, I think it still is a learning process for me and everyone involved determining if we should be touring until we are blue in the face or should we be recording, how much time to dedicate to touring versus recording and releasing EPs. Basically to determine what is feasible as it relates to paying bills and surviving as a full time musician.

From what I’ve seen it is about going out and touring everywhere because how else will you get known?  Of course, though, with the internet and social networks we could also get turned out to someone in Japan for example just by seeing a friends recommendation on Facebook or something, so we are very aware of that as well.

With Montana Slim we were playing a lot, about 150-200 shows a year, and it became wearing on all of us. It’s tough to be scraping by all the time, not knowing how much pay you’ll make each week, where you are, or even what day of the week it is (chuckle). That slowly wound itself down simply because everyone has to be very accepting of that trade off.

Personally for me I loved waking up every day somewhere new, seeing the country, meeting folks, and felt very fortunate in that regard to be seeing so much, having these unique experiences, playing music. So I never really wanted to stop playing, Sean didn’t either, and then once you can meet people who have the same goals, and talented musicians to boot, then you know you can all put your energy into this and give it a go.

Jesse

Did you have a particular idea in mind about the sound you wanted to have as a band or did you just play with folks and run with what came out?

When I first started writing songs, I had no idea what they would sound like or what I wanted them to sound like. I never had a distinct vision of what I wanted to sound like though I knew I liked playing live music, making people happy, and giving people a chance to forget about whatever is going on in their life and just have a good time. I know that is why I go to see music – to be put in a certain emotional space and leave feeling like I had a good experience.

I did though have a vision of what festivals I wanted to play and the number of new tunes I wanted to consistently be creating. I think that is one of the keys – consistently putting out new material and giving folks new stuff to listen to because especially with the internet that stuff can spread instantaneously. You can give yourself more of a chance to connect with folks virally when they get attached to new songs and can then help you spread your fan base.

I have also been trying to get out of my old stubborn ways of wanting to play live as much as possible and play 200 shows a year and run everybody ragged (smile).

So is that the discussion that takes place in your band (and others), the debate between how much to play live relative to the practical aspect of wear and tear, as well as cost and very rational perspective of how to make a living at it?

I think that is what is good about where we are today. We have management in place and we can all discuss as a band and with management how to keep doing this and still grow musically and spiritually, survive financially, and stay happy and continue to enjoy it.

Longevity is certainly the goal – we all know we want to be doing this, so trying to figure it out is important. And the mix of what it takes to keep at it is constantly changing. I mean Sean just had a baby, so things like that certainly change your perspective and so you have to work that out.
And it can certainly be taxing being on the road but you need to be sure you are getting back to the studio frequently enough as well.

So who is responsible for making sure the band is moving forward from a business perspective and being efficient with your time on the road, making videos, creating content, etc. Who is responsible for focusing on things like that, or are those aspects handled more as a group?

I think it is crucial to use that downtime on the road effectively, and I believe it helps us while we are touring to grow the turnout from show to show when we are on the road. We are growing out this alt-country-americana thing and I think people getting behind the scenes insight also helps people get to know the band better and establish stronger connections.

You know, we’ve been playing multiple night runs at many places now, so this gets people more deeply connected to want to be at more shows. That and the depth and variety of music.

But to your question, Jenni is very good at that sort of thing, as well as our manager Dan (Carlstrom).

But ultimately, if everyone is concentrating and offering ideas on how the grow the band better, than that is where good ideas come from. So a few folks may take the lead from time to time, but a group effort is really needed to keep it working.

You mentioned management a few times now. How did you come to meet and hire your current manager, Dan Carlstrom? Can you describe what you were looking for in management and what that relationship is like?

We started with the same approach as with Montana Slim though with DWC we had even more music for shows. Initially we were looking for help with general management and booking, and then you really need to split those two up because it can be a lot of responsibility for any one person to handle booking and management.

The way it worked for us was that we are playing and on the road for a couple months when we started working with Dan. Dan ended up seeing us at that first show after the Yonder show and was blown away by what he heard and the general vibe we had. Several months later we reconnected and starting working together.

Either way, we knew having management was important; having someone on the team focused on the business side of things. And it this case we were fortunate to have someone with good experience approach us (Dan had previously managed SF based Hot Buttered Rum).

Dead Winter Carpenters, North Lake Tahoe

So what is that relationship like?   What do you find your manager brings to the table that you wouldn’t otherwise get without a manager?

On a very fundamental level it is important that someone outside of the band is out there fighting for you, getting air play, networking.

Networking is certainly one good example – having someone get to know people that can help the band move forward that the band members may otherwise, for various reasons, may not be able to meet and develop relationships with.

With Dan, he brought connections from managing Hot Buttered Rum during their peak so he came in knowing a lot of people and was able to come in and assist with booking first and foremost. Then we signed with a booking agency about a year after starting work with Dan.

One of the reasons Volume 11 wanted to call out DWC as band of the year and a good example for other independent bands was your use of Kickstarter to fund your second album, ain’t it strange (May 2012)?   Who came up with that idea, how did you first hear about them, and what were some of the concerns you had going into that process?

We recorded that album in January 2012 but started the process in the fall of 2011. I started hearing about Kickstarter in the summer of 2011 from other bands that have been successful using it.

Not only is it a good way to raise funds for your band, but also a good way to get your fans involved in the creative process as well. Plus the entire recording process is expensive in general, so using Kickstarter seemed like a good solution to help in both these areas.

in the studio

Was there a specific plan in place regarding how much you wanted to raise or did you just estimate an amount?

We looked at various studios though we are friendly with the band The Brothers Comatose. They recorded their album at this place called Prairie Sun Recording in Sonoma County, CA. I really liked the sound of that album. I spoke to their sound engineer Matt Wright, who engineered our album as well. He is great at what he does, bringing out the best sound from the musicians etc. We spoke to Matt and the studio owners, came up with a estimated of production costs, mastering etc. and came up with a budget of $12,500, which seemed like an astronomical amount to us. I mean, we didn’t think we could ask for that sort of money.

Were you nervous about not hitting your goal or what was going to happen?

We were not only nervous about if we were going to make this goal but also how people would perceive it. You know, we don’t want people thinking we were too big for our britches. But we were confident that we had the tracks that we wanted to record and the right studio so we went forward.

In the end we had over 300 donors, which was awesome.  About an average of $40-$50 per donation. Anything over $20 got a signed CD once it came out, among other things, so we offered items in return.  It was really energizing to know that many people cared enough about what we were doing.

I hear you. I think what you are talking about is how many artists feel about using social networks – it is hard to put yourself out there and not know what the reaction will be. How did you guys overcome that fear to not take that risk to expose yourself and instead go after it confidently?

We did talk about this. The track record of other bands using it successfully helped. Plus it came at the right time for us with this first album, and we new this was what was needed to make the quality album we wanted to make.

Proper planning helped as well. We listed and shared all the estimated costs so people knew exactly what we were going to do with the funds, which I think provides credibility.

We still went over budget by at least a few hundred dollars (light chuckle) but without this support we wouldn’t have been able to do anything, so it was worth the risk.

Generally speaking though I feel fortunate that we are growing during this social media age so that things like this are possible.

How can you summarize the band’s feelings after you decided to start?

It was definitely a nerve-racking experience. I don’t even think we hit our goal until there were two or three days left from our 40-day window, so our fingers were crossed and we were making sure people were sending links around to get the word out.

Do you ever find the promotional and marketing aspects of being an independent musician getting in the way of the creative aspects of developing your music?

Yes and no.  At first we were doing that a lot as a band as a grass roots sort of thing, mailing out posters, calling to book shows, etc.  All of that takes a lot time.  Now that falls into the management court, which gives us this time back for our music.

As for the creative thing, being on the road all the time fosters collaboration though personally for me it is hard to write when I am on the road.  It takes me more time to reflect on things, and that comes with breaks.  Taking the time to flush out songs well comes during the off time and is an important part of the creative process.

Ideally it would be nice to get up, work on music for a few hours, and then go about my day.  That has always been my goal, get up and work on songs in a set manner like that, and hopefully one day I’ll be able to do that.

So is that how the creative process works for you, you work like a writer for novels, put in a few hours when you can?

Actually, no. For me it is more random or sporadic. I will be taking a hike or walking around town, and ideas will come for a chorus or lyrics, and hopefully I’ll write it down in my notebook or run into a store and write it on a newspaper. It is a little easier now with the smart phones to text yourself or something.

Sean & Jenni

What do you think has been the most difficult part financially of making it as a band?

We each have different responsibilities and what our baseline costs are per month – rent, phone bills, student loans etc. So the first goal is covering all your base costs.

And that at least keeps you motivated to play shows as much as you can, or push yourself a little more.

There are times Jenni and I choose to take some extra gigs to cover costs. Every once in a while you go shovel some snow if you have to (chuckle). And when you have good months you can save a little, and buy a new toaster or something.

That being said, we limit our overhead as much as possible, find less expensive places to rent, drive around in old beater cars and stuff to make it possible to do this.

Over the years we’ve become better at living like this, spending less extravagantly, budgeting better, and knowing where you can cut corners so we can live a reasonable lifestyle. For example, Tahoe is a beautiful place to be and generally speaking more cost effective than San Francisco.

Are there other bands you have modeled yourself after as far as what you need to do to be successful?

One of the best things about being out on the road is meeting up with old friends, and new friends as well, and many times those conversations lead to the business side of things – who has good ideas, how to make touring more reasonable, comfortable, do-able, financially viable, etc.

I can’t name any one band specifically though. Really we are all sharing information with each other on all of these things in the natural course of meeting people and helping each other out.

Ultimately the goals are to have more people at shows, so you can play at bigger venues, and get more people to those shows etc. But there are no single answers for that – every band has to figure that out on their own.

I mean, we just came back from the midwest and got our ass kicked out there. When you go into new markets it is hard. We had some great shows, played a couple festivals, but still, when you go to new places how can you expect people to come out when they have never heard of you?

And what do you guys do to market it? Just promote and hope for the best?

Funny, we have had these discussions very recently. We have played the midwest a few times now. So we have to ask, is it better to build in a region to get to 500 capacity venues rather than spread yourself thin by touring nationally at smaller venues?

West coast, Colorado, Montana we all do well. So there is discussion on whether to put our energy into creating more fans and momentum there, then head east, rather than try and do it all and not build enough momentum in any one location. So those discussions take place as needed.

If we do decide to focus on staying in the west in 2013, then depending on which festivals we attend in the south, midwest or east, we can build some 2/3 week tours around those as opposed to taking 6 weeks to tour even deeper, spending all our money on gas, and not having much else to show for it.

DWC rockin' it on the lake...

What do you think success as a band means?

My first priority is to keep creating new music, and finding new ways to play songs, arrange shows, and keep things from staying stagnant for us musically so we don’t become more or less bored with our tunes and our own production. That is the most important part for us.

Secondly, it becomes about providing better shows, making each show more of an event. For better or worse, I will take a packed room over anything- you feel the energy of a good show, no matter the size of the venue. I’ve seen some amazing music where just 15 people are at the bar, but still when a place is packed and people are stoked, that is the environment that makes it a more memorable experience and will bring people back.

You guys have a wide variety of cover songs, from Tupac to the Dead, so what started that approach?

We talk a lot about that stuff too. We try and pick covers that are different then our genre – which I describe as the alt-country americana blue grass rock thing – we try and pick things outside of the genre to start playing and learning. Surprising people when they hear something they don’t expect and then they are grooving to it – that’s cool to me and fun to do – taking a popular song and presenting it in a different way.

You can also learn from other songs and perhaps put some of that into future song writing. For example, we recently covered a Raconteurs tune that has a bit more rock , so it makes us maybe think about writing a song in that way next time around.

Personally, I think learning songs is important, whether it is your song or someone else’s, and you can be just as creative with both.

Sean, Jenni, Jesse & Dave

So what does Dead Winter Carpenters have in store for 2013?

We plan on writing new material, and are aiming to record a new album later in the year, whether it be a live recording or studio. We are not currently planning on using Kickstarter again, as we feel it was more of a one-time tool.

Hope to see everyone at future shows!

Dead Winter Carpenters:

Fiddler/Vocalist – Jenni Charles
Upright bassist/Vocalist – Dave Lockhart
Guitarists/Vocalists – Jesse Dunn & Sean Duerr
Drummer – Justin Krueger

www.DeadWinterCarpenters.com
Facebook: Dead Winter Carpenters

I think this blog is fascinating because it has a great discussion of the relationship of music and branding in a setting I hadn’t thought much about before.

The music used in these retail playlists has benefits for both the retailer, as well as the artist.

“A good retail playlist can bring home the culture of a business and psychologically affect a customer in a way that doesn’t feel pushy. And it’s positive for the featured artists. In today’s flooded climate, where new songs are published at a crazy rate on the Internet, having your song play in a Victoria’s Secret, for instance, can help cut through the noise.”

Matson points out that with music recognizing apps like Shazam, any place your music plays creates an opportunity to connect fans to you.

Matson focuses on one particular retailer that Manio works with, Under Armour, to highlight what considerations go into selecting the music for a brand. Not only does this discussion exemplify how music can fit into a brand, it also offers thoughts about branding that artists can bring into their own brand building efforts.  Manio got the know the company, identified the word “innovation” as a word that represented the brand, and then used it in his strategy to create a playlist.

Similarly, artists should consider their brand, and identify specific words and ideas that they would like to exemplify their brand, then carry those specifics into all their marketing efforts. Furthermore, identifying the characteristics of their own artist brand, can help artists to pitch their music for synch or sponsorship opportunities in a way that shows how their artist brand fits in with the company’s brand.

“If [Manio] pulls it off right, he’ll communicate the brand, intrigue the consumer and expose people to extraordinary music.”

Visit NPR’s Music News section and read “Who Picks The Music You Hear At The Mall?” by Andrew Matson, and learn more!

For October’s blog post of the month, I chose “

In this blog, Mark Knight teaches artists how to use the advertising technique of story telling to promote their music.

According to Knight, as the advertising landscape became saturated with similar products,  “brands provided a point of differentiation by developing a personality and attaching values to a product.  The brands were bought to life through story telling in advertising.”

He suggests that artists can use this strategy as well – “Just as brands evolved their marketing, independent artists need to do the same to create compelling brand stories around themselves and their music.”  

Two benefits of this approach include (1) making artists more memorable and (2) building deeper connections with fans.

What I like about this article is that for every benefit discussed, Knight demonstrates his point by including an artist story, which leaves readers with the sort of memorable, engaging impression of his blog that he wants artists to leave with his fans.

Easy advice for anyone to immediately implement!

The entire thesis is full of useful information on a variety of topics from industry professionals, including top venues for indie artists to perform in to top indie record labels, as well as how artists can develop their careers.

In the Hypebot article, blogger Clyde Smith pulls out a selection of what the interviewees considered their “most important piece of advice.”  While each tip is vastly different from the next, each tip offers valuable advice.

So take a look at the list and think about how you can apply each piece of advice to your career.  Then, if you are an A+ student, check out the thesis in full for more tips.

Thanks to Clyde Smith of Hypebot for sharing this great information!

With a figure that high, I’m guessing it probably includes some if not many of V11 readers, which is why I’ve chosen this article (as well as SoundExchange) to feature in this August’s Blog Post of the Month column.

The reason why so many artists haven’t claimed royalties that are being held by SoundExchange seems to be that many artists don’t understand what SoundExchange is, what types of royalties it collects, and who should register.

The short answer is that if you are an artist on a recording that is performed digitally (for example through a digital radio station, or television that is streamed online), then you should register. SoundExchange collects royalties for artists that perform on a master recording- regardless of whether they wrote the song or own the master recording.

To read a more detailed account of what SoundExchange does, as well as the top 10 misconceptions about SoundExchange/reasons artists don’t register with SoundExchange, check out this article from the DIY Musician, written by SoundExchange.

So get informed, and don’t be one of the 50,000 missing out on hard earned royalties!

At the heart of both blogs is the issue of changing attitudes toward music ownership, and how music is acquired and consumed.

NPR’s blog demonstrates the expectation that many people have (particularly young people) that they shouldn’t have to pay for music.

David Lowery’s blog points out the problems with this expectation.

Lowery’s blog has garnered a lot of attention (it has hundreds of comments, and according to the site, received half a million views in only 2 days) and has been discussed across the media from Forbes to the Huffington Post. I think that’s because he has managed to articulate and explain the change in attitudes toward purchasing music in a way that identifies what many of us in the industry sensed was wrong but couldn’t quite put a finger on.

Lowery points out that the whole “Free Culture” shift in attitudes toward intellectual properties doesn’t actually make music free. Rather, it just shifts the revenue stream away from the people who create music and into the pockets of technology companies that make the products and services that help people acquire music, which explains why these companies have the incentive to promote the idea you should be able to get music for “free” through their products.

Lowery boils it down to this: Why do we value the network and hardware that delivers music but not the music itself?  Why are we willing to pay for computers, iPods, smartphones, data plans, and high speed internet access but not the music itself?  Why do we gladly give our money to some of the largest richest corporations in the world but not the companies and individuals who create and sell music?

However, I can’t put *all* the blame on technology companies, because we (as in the music companies and musicians) haven’t been doing much to stop it.

I applaud David Lowery for taking a stand and making waves, and encourage others to do the same.

We should all be working to spread information, change attitudes, and lobby for congress to take intellectual property and its protection seriously. Don’t let the technology companies be the only ones contributing to the conversations. We also need to take a look at bringing new technology, and new digital options for people to acquire music while fairly compensating artists from sources owned and controlled by people in the music industry.

Unfortunately we seemed to have missed the boat on that front.

Even iTunes, which is the leading “legitimate” source of digital music is owned by Apple, a company not necessarily in the business of music, but in the business of selling iPhones, iPods, and iPads. At the end of the day, they may only really be interested in selling music to the extent that it helps them sell other products, so they have little incentive to consider fairness to artists, writers, and content owners.

So, V-11 readers, I issue you the following challenge: Read David Lowery’s blog and the surrounding discussion and do one thing this week to help musicians and/or the music industry:  Buy music directly from an artist; learn about organizations that lobby for the protection of copyrights (or better yet, donate to one); and/or read up on current discussions in the legislature that affect copyrights (or better yet, write to your congressman about them). Lowery also suggests donating to a charity that helps musicians or writing to companies that have advertisements on sites that facilitate the theft of music.

Bottom line, if we in the music industry don’t care then why will anyone else?

We all need to do our part to make our voices heard in the public discourse on music in the digital age.

This post chronicles Hisham Dahud’s journey from music industry wannabe to music industry professional. In this blog, Dahud realys his journey, as well as all the lessons he learned along the way. No matter what you want to do in the industry, these lessons can help you get there.

Dahud encourages identifying what you love about the music industry, as well as what you have to offer, and learning as much as you can about the business as a whole. He also suggests coming up with a definitive plan to reach your goal, while remaining open to change and new opportunities.

I think the reason I liked this article so much is that Dahund’s story is in many ways similar to my own.

When I decided to pursue a career in the music industry a couple of years ago, I did many of the same things. I learned as much as I could about the industry, figured out what I have to offer and how I could best fit in, and worked to find any and all opportunities that could help me acheive my goals.

One of the opportunities I found was right here- writing for V11. I jumped at the chance to write for V11 when it crossed my path, even though I had no idea exactly how it would fit into my overall plan, or where it would get me. 2 years later, I’m working for an industry veteran that suggested I email him my resume while I was interviewing him for V11.

So check out “How I Earned My Place in the Music Business: 6 Insights For Breaking In” on Hypebot and start (or continue) your journey from music industry wannabe to music industry professional.

Have a story to share about how you reached a music industry goal?
Post it below!