Music, Marketing and the Social Web

New Post for Content To Commerce

2012-03-02T07:57:00.003-08:00

Social Media, Travel and Tourism

My Thoughts on the Belize Road Warriors Program

Click HERE to read my recent post on Content to Commerce - Big Fuel's company blog.

New Post for Content To Commerce

2012-01-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hits Don't Lie

10 Ways for Bloggers to Engage with Big Brands

Click HERE to read my recent post on Content to Commerce - Big Fuel's company blog.

New Post for Content To Commerce

2012-01-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

Dude, Where's My Content?

Ashton, Utley, and the 'And Then...' Approach to Social Content Distribution

Click HERE to read my recent post on Content to Commerce - Big Fuel's company blog.

New Post for Content To Commerce

2011-06-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Talk Is Cheap in Social Media

Click HERE to read my recent post on Content To Commerce - Big Fuel's company blog.

What I Learned At My First SXSW

2011-03-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Live music is alive and well.......

As somebody who loves music but does not frequently attend live shows and as somebody who constantly reads statistics about declining concert ticket sales, I’d made the assumption that the concert industry is fading out in favor of the online music experience. I learned at SXSW that this is simply not true. I was blown away by the staggering number of venues, artists and hardcore music fans in attendance as well as the excitement surrounding each and every one of them. Tens of thousands of people flew hundreds of miles to cram as much music into every waking hour as possible. As a web marketer it was also exciting to see the amount of digital content being captured by fans at any given show. One could not look up without seeing dozens of smartphones, handheld video cameras and still cameras capturing every moment of every performance. One would hope that this content would quickly make its way to the social web and serve to promote the art and careers of the performers.

......but it’s not really my thing.

Well, at least not this particular brand of live music. For me personally the live music experience must contain a number of elements in order to provide the necessary value. In most cases I must already know and love the music that I am hearing performed live. Second, I have to be physically comfortable during the show. Getting knocked around and having my feet stepped on by thousands of sweaty, head-banging fans just isn’t for me. Call me what you wish, but I’m a pretty athletic guy and even just standing up in a crowd for many hours at a time is exhausting. Third, the sound quality has to be superior. In almost every SXSW showcase I attended the sound was deafening and I didn’t even come close to hearing and appreciating the lyrics, melodies, and chord structure that make a true song. Yes, I realize that this is the norm for a live show, but for some reason I just can’t get past this. It’s 2011—why can’t they make speakers that work?

Work travel is exactly that: Work.

Travel is among one of my major passions in life. Naturally when the chance to attend SXSW through my company came up I jumped at the opportunity. I’d never been to Austin, never been to a music festival of this magnitude, and SXSW is even listed in my go-to travel guide The 1000 Places To See Before You Die. Naturally I saw having to work as a small price to pay for the experience. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite that simple. I didn’t appreciate until I was on the ground just how much I’d miss the leisure and pace of vacation travel—particularly the ability to escape the noise, the heat and the crowd when by body was telling me to do so. Television production is exhausting, both mentally and physically, and most of my days were spent tagging along with the host and crew, snapping pictures and social filing along the way. It also surprised me that my strict regimen of diet and exercise in the months leading up to the festival did not translate into the energy that would have been ideal in this setting. I was tired. I was hot. My feet hurt. When a day of shooting was done I found myself not hopping from showcase to showcase but licking my wounds in my hotel room and in bed by midnight.

Panic! At The Disco fricking rocks.

This was the one band at SXSW that I was majorly excited to see. Our production team had scheduled an interview with them but as I was not a direct part of the production team it was unclear for awhile whether I’d be present for the interview or even the show itself. Thankfully the segment producer Iva made the effort to walk me past security into a backstage area where the interview had taken place, and for a few minutes I was actually standing right next to the band. Very cool. After dinner, she also sent me back to the show with a handheld video camera to shoot B-roll footage. I own and have listened extensively to everything that P!ATD has put out, and I guess I always assumed that because of the complex production style and unique nature of the lead singers voice, a lackluster live show was unavoidable. How wrong I was. They were electric, performing all of their hits from the previous 2 albums (including my favorites ‘New Perspective’ and ‘Nine In The Afternoon’) and tracks from their new album Vices and Virtues that I’ve been immersed in since its release on Tuesday.

Austin. Cool city.

The jaded New Yorker in me could not get over how friendly and welcoming just about every single person in Austin was. Even the cab drivers! Even the bouncers! Even airport security! I cannot tell you how refreshing this was. It’s sad that service workers in New York are so needlessly nasty that a friendly smile in another city leaves me in a state of shock, but I appreciate it all the more when I’m on the road. I was also floored by the number of music venues. You always hear about Austin and its live music scene, but I literally could not walk for 30 minutes in any direction without hearing a band playing in some bar. The East Village pales in comparison. Only complaint? Not enough cabs.

I want a tattoo.

Sorry mom. They’re just too cool to resist. While the hipster/indie rock style of dress I saw a great deal of in Austin definitely isn’t my thing, I saw a lot of tattoos that looked really, really good. The only thing that has held me back from taking the plunge is that I don’t know exactly what I want. Maybe I’ll have figured it out by SXSW 2011.

I need to invest more time into music discovery.

Spending the weekend with Steven Smith, AbsolutePunk blogger Tony Pascarella and a number of other festival-goers brought me to the realization that while I consider myself a die-hard music fan, in recent years I’ve put very little effort into discovering new artists outside of the mainstream. All weekend I was surrounded by folks who seemed to know everything about every band that had ever existed. Beyond the headliners I wouldn’t have known where to begin. More full album downloads, more online radio, and more Pandora are definitely on my to-do list.

An Artists' Guide to Video Production: 5 Questions for a Pro

2011-02-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

As managing director of NYC-based production company Production Directorate, Jonathan Smith has gone to sea aboard a nuclear icebreaker, filmed rare HD footage of polar bears in the Arctic Circle, and has worked extensively as a solo shooter and field producer in southern Africa. He's worked in long-form, documentary, news, live events, reality TV and just about every other form of production for diverse outlets including The History Channel, MTV News & Docs, NBC Universal and the United Nations Association. Did I mention that he's a Yale graduate? A longtime friend, I sat down with Jonathan to determine if his experience and expertise could translate into practical advice for bands and artists on a budget. Here's what he said.

Many artist EPKs and other press-related videos require some sort of artist interview segment. What should an artist do to ensure that the interview feels natural and that the soundbites obtained achieve the goals of the segment?

Have a friend interview you by asking questions off camera in a casual, conversational style. Take your time with it. Above all else, don't sit there thinking about soundbites or how it will look -- that's what editing is for. Make sure to discuss your goals with the interviewer, write out some questions or an outline of what main points you want to hit (a good outline is better than a list of questions), and leave it to the interviewer to get those bites from you.

If you are reading from a script, people will tune out in about five seconds -- and viewers can tell right away if something is scripted. When producing these kinds of segments for television, producers do use scripts... but scripts are written after an interview happens. For example, if MTV News is doing a profile of Justin Bieber, they will sit down and shoot an interview with him -- usually lasting at least a half hour. The interviewer is often a producer asking questions off camera. Then, the interview is transcribed and the best soundbites are written together into a script with voiceover from the host. The script is then given to an editor to assemble.

It is important to note that to achieve any kind of professional-looking video, you're going to have to invest in or track down some basic editing software (iMovie, Sony Vegas and Final Cut Express are all good options). Turning on your camera, letting it roll and then uploading an unedited clip to YouTube won't cut it.

What is 'B-Roll' and how should an artist incorporate this into a video project?

If you work around media long enough, you'll run into the term 'b-roll' and become familiar with it. While many people know what b-roll is, hardly anyone seems to remember the other part of the equation: 'a-roll.' The interview material described above, for example, is 'a-roll'. These terms come from the old school tape-to-tape (reel-to-reel) editing systems where film was often literally cut and pasted together in the editing process. A-roll is the backbone of your story. It is the dialogue, narration, interview material and voiceover. B-roll is all the material you see over the a-roll while people are talking. You need lots of b-roll to make a video interesting and compelling, and you also need it to cover all the edits in an interview. It takes a lot of editing to cut a half hour down to a few minutes of the best bites in a coherent story, and all those edit points in the interview need to have some other footage over them so it looks natural.

The rule of thumb is to have b-roll showing everything discussed in the a-roll. For example, if, in your interview you say "I am performing this week at The Rockstar Lounge," you need to have some footage of that performance. It's not enough just to say it, you have to show it. That's the power of video. It's very important to get a lot of b-roll. For every hour of interview footage, you need about three hours of b-roll. It is important to get as much of whatever you can -- even generic shots of you walking down the street, hanging out with friends, etc. It's your video, so make sure your viewers get to see as much of you as possible.

By now, you're probably starting to sense that it takes a lot of work and a lot of footage to get even a short video put together. It does. It takes patience, and it can be tedious at times -- just like any creative process. But it can be a lot of fun, and it is always a great feeling to see your finished product. It is also a very good investment in your career.

What common mistakes would you expect an amateur videographer to make while shooting a live performance video?

If you don't have a tripod (or something else you can set your camera on to keep it steady, like a stepladder), don't bother. The occasional hand-held shot can add some nice style elements, but 90% of your footage needs to be on a tripod.

Your brain is moving faster than you realize, and the typical instinct is to move around a lot and try and get all kinds of different shots. It takes a lot of discipline not to do that. If you do that, the footage will be useless. At the very minimum, make sure to count to ten either in your head or on the camera's timecode reader before changing shots. Don't zoom in and out other than to go tighter or wider a couple of times during the performance.

Also, get fan reactions. Remember, this footage will be edited together, and most live performance videos are not actually a record of the whole song from start to finish. It will usually be cut down into a minute or two, so you don't have to worry about getting every aspect of the performance. As you prepare for your shoot, watch and study other performance videos online and on TV. Keep a close eye on the techniques they use.

Before shooting, do a little research on the concept of "shooting for post." This will help a lot.

If an amateur video camera is used, what can be done to ensure that the quality of light and sound are as good as possible?

The line between professional and amateur cameras is blurring every day. There are some outstanding, affordable HD amateur video cameras out there, and they produce great results (Flip, the iPhone video camera and the Kodak Z18 come to mind). As with professional cameras, you can only get those results with the right planning and attention to details like light, sound and using a tripod.

You might not expect this, but with internet video especially, the audio quality is more important than the picture quality. That's not to say you don't need to worry about getting good picture -- you need to put just as much effort into getting good sound. One obvious point that's easy to forget: make sure you record your interview in a place where there's not a lot of noise.

Also, the built-in microphones on amateur cameras are usually not good enough for interviews and other a-roll shoots. Fortunately, there are many good, affordable third-party microphone options available (a lavalier mic is what you want for an interview, and a decent hardwired one doesn't need to cost more than $40). In fact, the audio gear you use to record your tracks may come in handy. Make sure your camera has a place to plug a mic in (there's usually a 1/8 inch port that looks like a headphone jack). If there isn't a mic jack, you can record to a computer or digital recorder and sync up the audio to the footage -- just make sure to make a loud clap after you start recording on both the camera and audio gear. The editor will use that noise to sync the material together. Your camera person should bring headphones and check to make sure the sound is good. Record a few seconds and play it back to check. There's no worse feeling than going through all the work and effort to shoot an interview only to discover later that the audio is bad. Most things can be fixed in the editing process. Bad audio, unfortunately, cannot be. It has to be recorded right.

For lighting (and in general), it is much more important to make sure your bases are covered than it is to try and be super creative. Footage that's too dark isn't usable. Too bright can sometimes be a problem too, but your camera will, in most cases, keep that from happening. Your focus should be on making sure there is adequate light without a lot of shadows. For HD cameras especially, soft, natural light is best. I've had a lot of luck with simply placing an interview subject facing a window with good light. If a lot of light is coming in, tape a white sheet across the window to diffuse and soften the light a bit. Also, don't be afraid to shoot an interview outside if the weather is ok. Natural light is cheapest, easiest and best. The first hour after dawn and the hour or so before sunset has the best light for this (the so-called 'golden hour'). The midday sun is usually too harsh.

If that's not an option, it may be worth it to invest in some of those higher-end soft light bulbs (the expensive ones at the grocery store-- they run about $10 a pop). Pick up two of those and put them in a couple of regular lamps, and use those lamps to light the room where you are shooting. Lighting is very important, and it takes a lot of time to get it right, but, at the end of the day, it is more of an art than a science. For a TV interview, setting up the lighting often takes more time than the interview itself. Plan to spend some time on it, but don't overthink it. If it looks right, go with it.

Let's assume that an artist does have a small budget to produce a video project and is able to hire somebody. What minimum qualifications should the artist expect from a shooter/editor, even on a budget?

Understand that it is always a lot more expensive than people think. For a fully produced professional video, it will cost at least $1,000 a minute -- usually more. It takes a lot of time, equipment and highly skilled expertise. If you post an ad on Craigslist offering someone $100 to do a video, it's not going to happen. You are most likely going to need to find a film student or someone who is just getting started in the industry who needs to build a portfolio. Students also have access to a lot of awesome, high-end equipment and facilities, so ask around and try and connect with someone enrolled in some kind of media production class or academic program.

In terms of qualifications, make sure you find someone who has at least a little bit of editing experience and access to editing equipment. An editor can become a cameraman a lot easier than the other way around. Make sure you work with the person you hire to set a schedule with reasonable deadlines. Understand that there are standard workflows in production that may not seem obvious to you. You need to work with the person you hire to make sure you are both on the same page about everything from the get-go. When projects run into trouble, it is almost always because of the little things. For example, if you want a YouTube video, don't assume that the person you hire can just crank out a DVD too. Go over everything in detail and understand that you are entering into a creative partnership.

It's also important to understand that most people working in production are freelance and their livelihoods depend on a steady flow of projects. If you come knocking and ask someone to do an "emerging artist profile" -- something that would usually cost thousands of dollars -- and can offer a few hundred bucks, understand that people get hit up for that kind of thing all the time. You may well be able to pull it off, but you have to make it worth their while. How are you different? Why is this cool? Why would I want to donate my time to this project?

Throughout the entire process -- from considering candidates -- to the final delivery, make sure that you are listening to and communicating with your production partner. The first conversation should include some work examples (yours and theirs), sharing some creative ideas and some thoughts on how to pull it off. Look for someone you feel you can communicate with and rely on to get the job done. There will always be bumps in the road and obstacles to sort out. It's very important that the person you are working with knows how to tackle those obstacles (that's not to say he or she needs to have all the answers, just the right approach to figuring it out) so that you can work together to produce an awesome final piece.

New Program: Meet Chevrolet's "Cruze-arati"

2011-01-23T13:15:00.001-08:00

I am very excited to announce the launch of a brand new campaign that I've been working hard on for the past 3 months. As you may know I've been working with Big Fuel Communications, General Motors' NYC-based social media agency of record. As a part of our campaign for the new Chevrolet Cruze we've created a web-based video series surrounding 6 passion points including Music, Sports, Travel, Fashion, Entertainment and Technology. The Cruze-arati campaign follows a different host within each passion point, each of whom is an established influencer in their field, as they blog, vlog and tweet their way across the country in search of the unexpected. Since I began work with Big Fuel I've focused primarily on delivering the web elements of the Music and Sports programs.

In Sports I am extremely honored to be working with host Amy Martin. Amy is the brilliant Phoenix-based founder of social media agency Digital Royalty. She has established herself as the go-to expert in social media specific to the professional sports world. Her clients have included the UFC, Shaq, the L.A. Kings, Chicago White Sox and more. Did I mention that she has over a MILLION Twitter followers? It has really been an honor to work with Amy as I admire her in so many ways. She is the closest to what I'd consider a professional role model, as she's accomplished so much of what I hope to in my career......and she's still young!

In the Music vertical I have the pleasure of working with host Steven Smith. Steven is a veteran music VJ and former host of Steven's Untitled Rock Show on Fuse, the Top 20 Countdown on VH1 and has been involved with a number of other television and web-based projects. Whereas Amy is someone that I hope to emulate in the social media end of my career, Steven is somebody who to me embodies all of the good that remains a part of the music industry. In an industry that in recent years has seemed to produce nothing but burnout, headache and cynicism, Steven brings an energy and enthusiasm to music that has been incredibly refreshing. I can't wait for people to see this on camera.

Though I'm not working within the travel vertical I just have to get in a plug for series host Mike Barish. If Amy is who I hope to emulate professionally and Steven's energy for music is something that I admire, my passion for travel is best embodied in Mike.

You can follow the program on cruze-arati.com, @Cruzearati on Twitter, and pick up some tips on Foursquare as well. I also have to give a shoutout to the segment producers that I've been working with on the project, Jared Pearlman and Iva Jukic. Both are incredibly talented and experienced producers who truly 'get' social media and its' unique implications on web video. More to come!

Top 30 Pop Songs of 2010

2011-01-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

What a great year for pop music! I am truly delighted to have looked back on 2010 and found 30 pop songs that I truly loved. I'm looking forward to great music from all of these artists in 2011.

*1. "Take Control" (Sted E & Hybrid Heights Radio Edit) - Julissa Veloz
2. "Your Love Is My Drug" - Ke$ha
3. "King Of Anything" - Sarah Bareilles
4. "If Its Love" - Train
5. "All The Right Moves" - OneRepublic
6. "Telephone" - Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce'
7. "Speechless" - Lady Gaga
8. "Billionaire" - Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars
9. "Gives You Hell" - Glee Cast
10. "Stereo Love" - Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
11. "Naturally" (Dave Aude Remix) - Selena Gomez & The Scene
12. "Bad Romance" - Lady Gaga
13. "Oh Yeah" - Rod Carrillo & Ronnie Sumrall feat. Bodega Charlie
14. "Grenade" - Bruno Mars
15. "Only Girl (In The World)" - Rihanna
16. "Going Strong" (The Grower Guitarra Mix) - Natalia Flores
17. "You Belong With Me" - Taylor Swift
18. "Raindrops" - Basement Jaxx
19. "Acapella" - Kelis
20. "Misery" - Maroon 5
21. "Secrets" - OneRepublic
22. "Haven't Met You Yet" - Michael Buble
23. "Strange Condition" - Morgan Page
24. "Indestructible" - Robyn
25. "We No Speak Americano" - Yolanda B Cool & Dcup
26. "Poker Face" - Glee Cast
27. "Overload" (Buzz Junkies Club Mix) - Dana Rayne
28. "Shut Up And Let Me Go" - The Ting Tings
29. "Break Your Heart" - Taio Cruze feat. Ludacris
30. "We Are Golden" - Mika

*The #1 most-played track on my ipod in 2010

The Five Worst Pop Songs of 2010

2010-12-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Before anyone reads this I just want to give much love to all of my friends working hard at major labels to promote artists and bring success to their companies. For what its worth, each of these singles was commercially successful in their own right and any criticism is not of the artist itself but of the single. Each of these artists has had at least one single in their careers that I have loved...........it's just that the classically trained university music major in me has certain creative and artistic standards that these particular tracks failed to meet. It concerns me deeply that pop songs that are lyrically inspiring, rhythmically innovative, structured according to the rules of Western music theory and delivered with genuine vocal talent are becoming increasingly rare. This is how I've chosen to complain. Here are, in my opinion, the worst offenders of 2010.

Eminem
"Not Afraid"

I'm not afraid to take a stand
Everybody come take my hand
We'll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just let you know that, you're not alone

You know what irritates me most about this track aside from the bland, predictable, faux-inspirational chorus? The fact that urban artists and producers use so little creativity in order to deliver something that is no doubt intended to be a dramatic statement. To put things in perspective, here are just a handful of the other songs that have incorporated the overused i-VI-III-VII chord progression in recent years:

"Holiday" - Green Day
"Poker Face" - Lady Gaga
"American Girls" - Counting Crows
"One Of Us" - Joan Osbourne
"Numb" - Lincoln Park
"Lost" - Coldplay
"Love The Way You Lie" - Eminem & Rihanna

Here's what I think happened. Eminem and his producers worked tirelessly in the studio for months to create gritty, heartfelt and unique tracks that are Eminem's forte. Then somebody stood up and said "Hey guys, the album is done, now let's throw something together that radio stations will play." Anyone agree?

Usher
"OMG"

Is Usher even trying anymore? Seriously. Had this song been released without any edits by Andy Samberg as an SNL parody, all of America would have gotten the joke; coming from an established R&B vocalist with a 16 year run of legitimate chart-topping hits, it fell flat. The 'song' (and I use the term loosely) wreaks of laziness on the part writer/producer will.i.am in both songwriting and production. "OMG" comes off as a pathetic attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator with pointless chanting, autotune and a years old web culture reference. Its almost like he took the gems from his 2004 multi-platinium release "Confessions," dumped them into a Brita filter and poured pop music lovers a glass of what was left. Drink up!

Justin Bieber
"Baby"

He's young. He's cute. He's got a decent voice. He plays the guitar. He's white. So here is my question: whose brilliant idea was it to turn Justin Bieber into a faux hip-hop/urban crooner, pair him up with a low-brow rapper and throw him onstage alongside hip hop dancers? Wouldn't it have made more sense to brand him as an acoustic singer/songwriter (I'm thinking a young Jason Mraz), pair him up with legitimate songwriters instead of urban beatmakers who wouldn't know a harmonic progression if it bit them on the ass and let him share his talents without adding the urban elements? Just because he was discovered by Usher doesn't mean he needs to be Usher, right? The Garage Band beats, uninspiring chord progressions, predictable melodic line and obnoxious 1-word chorus are simply an embarrassment to a young talent that I truly believe is capable of more.

Rihanna
"Rude Boy"

As a man, the lyrics of Rihanna's "Rude Boy" make me.....well.......uncomfortable. I mean, I grew up with Madonna and Britney-- overt female sexuality is neither surprising nor threatening in the least. But on what planet do these qualify as song lyrics?

Come here rude boy, boy can you get it up?
Come here rude boy, boy is you big enough?
Take it, take it, baby, baby

Not to mention the fact that these three lines repeated endlessly over unchanging beats and chord progressions comprise about 90% of the song. Pointless garbage, but if absolutely nothing else it makes me all the more grateful for the colorful and provocative video.

Taylor Swift
"Mine"

I don't mind Taylor Swift. "You Belong With Me" definitely fell within my top 20 singles of 2009. "Mine," the lead single from her multi-platinum October release Speak Now, however, left much to be desired. Swift, though vocally unremarkable, is a talented songwriter with a string of catchy pop/crossover hits to her credit. So what went wrong here? From a structural standpoint the song is rhythmically and melodically repetitive. The backing instrumental track sounds sounds like every other country song that has been written since the dawn of time. But worse than that the song simply isn't about any subject matter that hasn't already been thoroughly covered in Swifts first two studio albums. I don't think that anybody expected her 3rd album to be a drastic transition into womanhood (think Britney, Christina, Miley, etc) but from an actual songwriter I'd have expected a more mature and compelling production.

Transitioning from Friends to Fans, Profiles to Pages on Facebook

2010-11-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

A recurring issue in the past year with my clients in the music industry and beyond is the why, what and how of Facebook marketing within the new platform. By now most bands have made the transition from personal profile to an artist page, but many solo artists and other celebrities have hesitated to make the big move. Perhaps many artists feel that a personal page is well, more personal, and they're not wrong. The ability to direct-message, invite your friends to events and add new friends is valuable and not an option on a fan page. Many are frustrated with Facebook's constantly changing platform for artist integration and refuse to make the jump on these grounds. However, for artists on the rise that are thinking about the long term promotion of their work, fully committing to the exclusive use of a fan page may be something to consider sooner rather than later.

As of this writing, Facebook caps the number of friends that one can have on a personal profile at 5,000. For a developing artist this may seem like a respectable number, but why would any artist want to limit the number of people who choose to become a part of their online world? An indie artist may have far fewer friends than this on a personal profile, but once again it makes sense to plan for the long term. Also, though the success that artists have found with Social Ads (Facebook's advertising program) has been mixed, this is an option only available to fan pages that should not be ruled out. Artists with specific marketability have found success with the program and a fan page allows you to keep this option open. Finally, personal profiles are more likely to contain sensitive information and may understandably cause an artist to hesitate in handing over their password to members of their marketing team. On the contrary, anyone with a personal profile can be added as a fan page administrator, increasing the likelihood that none of your messaging will fall through the cracks when you become too busy to update.

Once you've decided on making the transition there are a few basic rules to follow that will make things easier.

First, limit your privacy settings to drive new connections to your fan page instead of your personal profile. Click on Account (upper right corner) -- Privacy Settings -- Connecting On Facebook -- View Settings. Change the dropdown menu next to "Search For You On Facebook" to "Friends Only". This will ensure that non-friends who search for you in the future will come across (and like) your fan page instead of your personal profile. You can still send friend requests to new 'real life' friends that you wish to add to your personal profile, but they will not be able to find this profile via Facebook search.

Next, take a good, hard look at your fan page and prepare it for your fans by plugging in all content that would normally exist on your official website or myspace profile. Make sure that your iLike account has your most current music uploaded and organized and add the iLike 'Songs' application so that your Facebook fans can easily listen (or use the My Band app as an alternative). Make sure that all press-ready photos, performance shots and pics with fans are uploaded and organized; save the non-professional images for your personal profile. Do the same with videos, either by integrating the Youtube application or by uploading manually via the Videos application. Use the Events application to make sure that all of your performance dates are current.

Now that your page is ready for traffic, begin the process of inviting your fans from your personal profile to your fan page. There is no way to automatically 'convert' from a personal to a fan page, so you will have to bank on your true fans following you from one to the other. There will be casualties along the way, but remember once again that you are making a long-term commitment. Under the profile pic on your fan page, click on 'Suggest To Friends' to bring up a list of the friends on your personal profile. Suggest your fan page to all of your friends and attach a friendly note with the invite. Something like this:

Hello friends! Moving forward I will increasingly be using my artist page to share my music-related updates such as new tracks, photos, events, videos and more. Please take a moment to 'Like' my page so that we can keep in touch. Thanks for the support!

Finally, commit to a set period of time in which your artist page will be your exclusive portal on Facebook. For practicality, let's say about 3 months. During this time period, follow the 'suggest to friends' instructions above at least 2 more times to catch the folks that missed your first request. Tease your artist page from your personal profile now and then:

Just posted 3 new tour dates on my artist page! (with attached link)

You can also offer incentives that are available exclusively to those who like your artist page. My favorite trick is to use Fan Access, an application that allows you to create and edit a 'fans only' tab, to offer a free mp3 download.

To conclude, a quick note on facebook Groups. Here is the reality: facebook groups are a dinosaur from a bygone age. Very few people join or actively partake in groups anymore, opting instead for the fan pages. Its not that groups lack any particular functionality; rather they just aren't cool or current. Ask your fans to join your Facebook group and you risk sounding out of touch.

5 Myths in Social Media Marketing

2010-08-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

1) Most of the content that I receive on the web is free, so web marketing must be free as well.

WRONG. While many forms of informational and entertainment-based content are and will continue to remain available on the web free of charge, most social media marketing efforts still cost money. Contrary to popular belief, there are few if any free paths to effective marketing on the social web. Want more Facebook fans? You can easily convert your existing customer base from website visitors or newsletter subscribers to Facebook fans, but are these really 'new' users? Social networks can be an excellent way to improve communication with an existing customer or fanbase, but if you genuinely wish to expand your brand's social media footprint to a new sect of potential customers, you'd better be ready to pay for Facebook Social Ads, Friendblaster Pro on myspace, or somebody to do your targeted follows on Twitter. Think that the unpaid intern who comes into your office once per week and will disappear at the end of the summer is equipped to handle your company's social media marketing strategy because they are young and 'know Facebook'? Think again! You wouldn't ask an intern or entry-level associate to produce your next TV commercial, supervise a million dollar ad buy or coordinate a sponsorship campaign, so why trust your internet strategy to anyone at less than a manager level? Want to produce high-quality and compelling digital content for your brand such as videos, iPhone and Facebook apps, or podcasts? Better get your wallet out-- video production and web development are just as costly as ever.

2) Every business needs active Facebook and Twitter profiles.

WRONG. The cold, hard truth? With a handful of exceptions, Facebook and Twitter have not proven especially effective in marketing certain types of products and services, particularly those that are B2B oriented. Think about it; the operative word here is social network. Social-- not work, business, research, sales-- social. Those that wish to market B2B products on the social web will find it extremely difficult on most social media channels to target their message to the appropriate retail buyer, executive, brand manager, etc. that needs to hear it. Take a look at your own Facebook profile; how many of your 'Likes and Interests', the primary criteria used to target consumers by advertisers, are business oriented? Do you send a friend request to every business contact that you interact with on a daily basis, or do you prefer to keep your account personal, private and fun? The truth about Twitter is that 99% of those who log onto a Twitter account for work purposes are exclusively interested in broadcasting their own messages and not hearing what you have to say. And then there's LinkedIn; as a social network geared toward business professionals you'd think that this would be the ideal environment for finding the right individuals and companies to introduce your B2B product or service to, but the truth is that most people's privacy settings prohibit you from 'cold calling' them unless you are bold enough to claim the stranger as a real-life friend. In my own business development experience I've found that a surprisingly few number of LinkedIn members are open to receiving communication from strangers, either because they do not list their work email address, they do not show up as 'in network' or they simply do not wish to receive communication from non-connections.

3) The web has solved the age-old question of marketing's effectiveness through analytics and ROI tracking.

WRONG. Well, not completely. New tools have come along that allows us to directly track how many clickthrus generated in SEO and SEM campaigns have led directly to sales, but how many digital marketing efforts are actually geared toward driving direct sales as opposed to brand awareness? Your hilarious viral video that cost you $20 to make got 1,000,000 Youtube views; how many of the viewers went out and purchased your product, and how many just got a good laugh? Let's say you have 150 Facebook Interactions, 75 new Twitter followers and your online video received 55 views today. What does this mean exactly? Should you refrain from creating and promoting all digital content that does not directly lead to a trackable sale? Of course not! It is as important as it ever was for executives and marketers to put their message out there to the masses whether or not they can track the exact ROI on these efforts. Some things never change.

4) Social media channels have replaced the need for an effective product website.

WRONG. Official websites are just as important as ever for a multitude of reasons. For starters, websites offer you the freedom to tailor your design, content and marketing message in a way that social networks simply do not. For SEO purposes, your website showing up as the #1 Google hit in a search for your company is the first step in your establishment as a legit enterprise, whereas a myspace profile showing up at the top may raise an eyebrow or two and encourage the searcher to move onto a competitor. A social network profile is not a replacement for an attractive, navigable, informative, content-rich official website, and your website should serve as 'home base' for your marketing efforts.

5) Social media channels are great for generating leads but should ultimately drive traffic back to the 'real' content on my official website.

WRONG. Too many marketers are overly concerned with manipulating the flow of traffic to the location on the web that they deem as the most important. Here's a tip: allow the flow of traffic to develop organically and offer your visitors the content they need in the spots they want to consume it in. If your product or service lends itself naturally to video content posted to Youtube, provide complete information through your videos rather than 'teaser content' that links back to your website. People are smart when it comes to web navigation; if they want to find your website and you've made it easy for them to find, you don't need to manipulate them into doing so. Accommodate your web traffic in the space that they find most comfortable with complete content and information.

5 Rules for Successful Artist Contests

2010-07-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

I've been running online contests on behalf of artists across all genres and career levels for some time now and have learned a thing or two in the process. A special contest or promotion can be a great way to engage your online fanbase or achieve some other marketing goal, but before launching into something there are a few rules of thumb that could make the difference between a worthwhile effort and a waste of time.

1) Determine Your Goal.

Don't ever run a contest just for the sake of running a contest or to give your fans 'something to do'. Use a contest as a means to achieve a specific marketing goal and determine what that goal is before starting. Do you wish to promote a new album, single or video? Increase sales? Build a fanclub? Obtain fan feedback? Promote a social media profile? Encourage newsletter or mobile fanclub signups? Figure out what exactly it is that you'd like your fans to do FIRST and tailor the promotion around this objective.

2) Keep It Simple

I cannot overemphasize the importance of creating contest elements that are as simple and straightforward as possible. The entry instructions/method of entry are the most important in this respect. If you cannot list your entry instructions in less than 3 individual steps, revisit the concept and overall framework of the promotion in order to determine a way to simplify things. Stick to a method of entry that doesn't require the entrant to visit multiple websites or social network profiles or submit too much personal data. The more hoops that your fans have to jump through to participate, the fewer that will.

3) Beware of Contest Cliches

A viral video promotion sounds like a great idea, right? This may be true, but before confidently asking your fans to share videos of themselves rocking out to your new single, be aware that an extremely small percentage of online fans will take the time to record and submit a video. If you are a developing artist I'd recommend steering clear of this one as you will likely be disappointed at the low number of submissions. As a conservative estimate, you can expect 1 video submission for every 20,000 myspace fans. No joke. An alternative U.G.C. promotion? Ask fans to submit photos, or even better, text entries on a specific topic. I also recommend using voting campaigns (i.e. 'vote for our band on 3rdpartysite.com') sparingly, if at all. Why? First of all unless you can obtain full entry data from participants and offer some sort of prizing for participation, what are your fans getting out of voting for you to win a contest on a 3rd party site? Whats in it for them? Why should they submit their email address and other personal info to a site that they don't care about so that you can win an online contest? I see artists and bands overusing voting campaigns all the time, and the only ones who seem to benefit are those running the contest.

4) More Prizes, More Submissions.

As a rule of thumb, it is a better incentive to offer many fans a small prize rather than a 'grand prize' that only 1 fan will be lucky enough to obtain. Think about it; a fan will read your contest details including prizing info and quickly calculate their chances of taking something home as a result of their participation. 1 prize offered to 1 lucky fan tells the fan that the odds are not in his or her favor, so why bother? Instead, offer a larger number of smaller prizes to more participants- or better yet, EVERYBODY that enters. A free song download for each entrant or 5 Free CDs per week for 4 weeks is an outstanding value proposition. Don't have a budget for shipping prizes? Label won't let you give away song downloads? Be creative!

5) Be Consistent with All Contest Elements

If your contest language indicates that you will announce the winner on August 21st, you'd better stick to it. If you promise a small prize to a large number of people, do not put off your fulfillment efforts. If you say that the prize is a free pair of concert tickets on Facebook, it had better say that on Myspace as well. Even if you feel like the majority of your fans are in one place online as opposed to another, be sure to announce and promote your contest equally across all web properties; respect people where they choose to interact with you online, not where you feel they should be. Make an effort to create visually appealing contest artwork; hire a graphic designer to do this if possible.

Awesome Viral Video Promotion

2010-06-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite myspace designers recently sent me a link to a viral video promotion that he'd seamlessly integrated into the website for the Ohio-based rock band Before Their Eyes. Near the top of the website just below the band's photo and logo, visitors are prompted to share an exclusive video as a status update with friends on Facebook or Twitter first and receive access to the video second.

Tracking on the site's backend shows that this particular campaign generated over 2,000 posts between Facebook and Twitter.

While the concept of exclusive fan content is certainly nothing new, I love the way that this has been so attractively built into the backend of the band's website. In only 2 mouse clicks I have shared the content and viewed the video without ever leaving the site; this is infinitely more attractive a proposition than finding, copying and pasting code or a URL, leaving the page to visit a new one, figuring out the best way on each constantly-evolving social network to share it, etc. I also love that because the promotion exists entirely on the band's website, in essence they 'own' the promotion, as opposed to hi-jacking a branded technology that somebody else has created for a similar purpose and plastered their logo over.

The only concern of course is cost. Web design and video production services do not come cheap. However if you email Nick Moore at nmoore3@gmail.com to inquire about this service, he may cut you a good deal.

The New Tyler Hilton EP and Why It Should Sell

2010-05-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

One Tree Hill fans will remember Warner/Reprise artist Tyler Hilton in his recurring role as the villainous Chris Keller. Those of you who without an affinity for the soapy CW teen drama may remember him as Elvis in the 2005 film Walk The Line. Though throughout his 10-year career as a recording artist Hilton has not quite been able to match his success on the screen with success on the charts, he's been on my radar since I first heard 3 brilliant and memorable acoustic/pop tracks from his 2004 album The Tracks of Tyler Hilton (When It Comes, The Letter Song, and Pink and Black). I believe that When It Comes is still in my Ipod's Top 25.

A few days ago I saw a Facebook Ad announcing a new release of Hilton's-- likely targeted to me because I'd listed him years ago as a favorite artist. Since he'd already earned my trust I was more than willing to give his new music a chance, but the first thought that popped into my head was "I am not paying $8 for 5 songs that I haven't heard and may or may not like." The second thought? "I don't have time to listen to 12 new tracks that I haven't heard and may or may not like." To my surprise and delight, the 5-song EP was available on Itunes for only $2.99. I downloaded it without hesitation.

Kudos to Warner/Reprise for appropriate pricing and marketing on this release.

Will EPs eventually replace full-length albums as the default method for releasing new music? This marketer and music fan hopes so. Think about it; unless we're talking about a full-length new album from an artist that one is very passionate about (I can only think of 5-10 of these off the top of my head), why should I allot hours of my time to dedicate the 3-5 listens to 12 songs that it normally takes to reach a level of familiariarity and enjoyment with each? Also, why should I spend $9.99 on unknown music when I could just as easily use this money to purchase 10 songs that I love?

If labels and artists want digital downloads to compete with the Groovesharks of the world as a means of music discovery, a fairly priced EP is definitely a step in the right direction.

Photos from Winter Music Conference 2010

2010-04-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

7 Artist EPK's and What I Like About Them

2010-01-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

I am currently in the process of developing my first artist EPK and came across a few things that I liked in my research. The main thing that I learned in the process is that an artist EPK (Electronic Press Kit) Video doesn't have to be anything specific, but it should always accomplish one specific goal. Whether that goal is to introduce a developing artist to a wider audience or to promote their 11th studio album, it probably makes the most sense to keep that goal in mind during all aspects of production and not to try to do too much.

While I have yet to find the 'definitive' artist EPK, here are 7 that I came across that possessed a great quality or two that we can all learn from.

I love the EXCITEMENT that this projects. It tells us that Michael Buble is a worldwide phenomenon and makes us feel like even bigger things are in store for 2010.

Alice In Chains
I like how this is shot like a film and the artistic qualities conveyed. I also like how the use of black & white imagery contrasts the video content. They don't appear to have had much video content other than the interview to work with but these two factors help tremendously.

James Hunter "The Hard Way" EPK @ Yahoo! Video

I like how the song titles appear digitally in the corner of the screen as they show the live footage and the print media quotes add a nice touch. Both great ideas.

I love how the best and most dramatic clips of their music are used the way the timing of each music clip works with the storyline. The dominance of the music in this EPK makes me feel like the music itself is the strongest part of their act—that they don’t expensive video effects, high quality performance footage or a compelling interview to show us who they are.

I like how it starts off with her voice and name IMMEDIATELY in the first couple of seconds without delay. The video also shows a good balance of live audio with mastered audio tracks.

I like how the different effects on the still photos make them feel ‘alive’ as well as the use of childhood photos. I also like how he talks about the songwriting process and most importantly how the video genuinely ‘introduces’ the artist. It doesn’t assume that I already know who he is and what he’s accomplished; I'd never heard of him and the video told me everything I needed to know.

Again I enjoy and appreciate the ‘filmlike’ qualities of this. They really only have interview and rehearsal footage but the editing technique makes it feels like so much more. I also enjoy the way that the start of a new song in the background signals the beginning of a new topic of conversation.

Top 25 Music Discovery Sites

2009-12-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

I did a bit of research for my own purposes and thought I'd share the results.

I'd been reading a blog post entitled 'The Top 5 Music Discovery Sites' and was surprised to see at least 1 that I was unfamiliar with. The article linked to a similar article on Mashable that cataloged the top 50 services. I noticed, however, that both articles seemed to be a bit outdated-- at least in online terms. I thought I'd check on the Alexa traffic ranking (U.S.) of each site listed and see how they stacked up against one another. The top 10 results turned up at least 2 sites that I'd never heard of and I was unfamiliar with most of the listings after that.

Here are the results:

The Top 25 Music Discovery Sites with Alexa Rank

1. Pandora (77)
2. Ilike (607)
3. Grooveshark (911)
4. Blip.fm (1946)
5. Mog (2298)
6. Purvolume (4487)
7. Hypster (9462)
8. Haystack (9586)
9. Magnatune (29,702)
10. Finetune (61,084)
11. Ijigg (65,884)
12. Musicovery (67,262)
13. ProjectOpus (87,077)
14. Audiolunchbox (103,941)
15. Epitonic (127,899)
16. Babulous (168,678)
17. Flyfi (229,655)
18. MusicNation (245,618)
19. Twones (273,138)
20. Bandbuzz (643,332)
21. Soundpedia (706,069)
22. upto11.net (910,787)
23. OneLlama (1,221,092)
24. Musicmesh (1,284,224)
25. Audiobaba (1,524,016)

Tricks of the Trade for Building a Twitter Following

2009-12-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

In the past couple of months, building Twitter followings for my marketing clients has become a part of my everyday workload in the way that can only be compared to myspace 'friend adding'. If done improperly it can be enormously time consuming and extremely frustrating. Here are a few tricks that I've picked up in my own work that I am confident will make the process easier for you.

First and foremost you must understand your options for identifying people with common interests within the Twitter network.

Tweepsearch allows you to search Twitter profiles-- specifically what people have written in their name, location and 1-line bio. It does not search actual tweets but can be extremely useful, especially if you are hoping to target people in a specific city or state, or people whose primary reason for being on Twitter revolves around a specific purpose (as described in their 1-line bio).

Search.twitter.com allows you to search tweets but not profiles. Be sure to use the 'advanced' option in order to limit your search to specific phrases and keywords. The advantage here is that when you search, those who have written updates containing your search term recently show up in the results. It lists them in order, in fact. This helps because you will waste less time searching through profiles of people who have abandoned Twitter months ago.

Now that you know where to search, here are a few tips on HOW to search and who to follow.

1) Only follow people whose most recent update was posted within the last 2 weeks. If somebody has not logged into their profile since early 2008, they are probably not going to log in the next day to follow you back.

2) Only follow people who appear to be real people; avoid following accounts that appear to be business, informational or promotional. These profiles certainly have a legitimate place within the Twitterverse, but the truth is that most are exclusively interested in their own product or service and have no interest in learning about yours. This includes other artists. Instead, follow those who have a profile picture or name that identifies them as a real person.

3) Do not follow profiles that appear to be sex-oriented. This can be signified by the letters 'XXX' within the person's username, by an erotic profile photo or through updates. These folks are only interested in one thing and it isn't you.

4) DO follow people who are already following somebody with an interest very similar to your own. Underneath the 1-line bio on every profile you can click on the 'followers' number and link. If you find somebody whose followers you feel would be interested in learning about you, this link will bring up a list of that person's followers. Using the rules above, simply click the 'follow' button to the right of each person's username. I find that this strategy is the most time-efficient because unlike searching on Tweepsearch or Search.twitter.com, you do not need to open a new window to follow somebody.

5) DO follow people who appear to be posting in your own language. The return-follow rate for users in other countries is simply too low to be worthwhile, even if you are promoting a product or service with international appeal. This is the only difficulty with finding people via #4 above.

6) Do not follow people whose 'followers' list drastically outnumbers their own 'following'. This is the case with many promotional and business related profiles. Tweepsearch allows you to see these numbers before clicking through to a profile; definitely worth a glance.

5 Questions for Eric Michael Hopper

2009-11-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

If in the past few years you have taken even a casual glance at the myspace unsigned artist charts you have no doubt come across the profile of country artist and top 10 mainstay Eric Michael Hopper. With over 2 million song plays and 100k 'real' friends I just had to dig deeper and put together 5 questions specific to his substantial self-marketing success. A big thanks to Eric for taking the time to respond.

5 Questions for Eric Michael Hopper

DM: You have consistently ranked among the top artists on the myspace music charts for as long as I can remember. To what do feel you owe your enormous popularity on the site?

EMH: There are a number of different factors. Social networking and new media have changed the way artists and fans interact. I have a more immediate relationship with my fans and friends online than what was possible in the past. I also believe the new media paradigm allows for a more level playing field in terms of what content the public decides to embrace. We are migrating back to a situation where content can be king again. The intersection of these points gives me a sense of obligation to be sure not to let my fans and supporters down. I really do try my best in the creative process because of this. I understand that everything else hinges on the quality of what you are putting out there.

DM: I found it interesting that you appear to be much more active through your personal facebook profile (3400 friends) versus your fan page (800 fans). Can you explain your reasoning behind this?

EMH: 1) Although facebook is a social networking site, it is not geared toward multimedia discovery. 2) My approach has never been to simply take the role of artist or celebrity figure. I have always focused more on the relationship of myself with my fans and friends online, rather than as the artist as a figure. I embrace the "fans" for what they really are... my online friends.

DM: As a marketer I can't help but notice the dramatic increase in 'clutter' on myspace; sometimes it feels like there are more spam profiles, businesses and artists trying to promote themselves than actual people. With over 100,000 friends, what do you do to weed out and communicate with your true fans?

EMH: It's pretty simple. I really just dont accept or add anyone that appears to be a spam or solicitation myspace page. It doesn't take long to be able to recognize these profiles.

DM: I just saw a Facebook status update inviting friends to join your mobile fanclub. Which service do you use? What do you like or dislike about communicating with fans via mobile messaging as opposed to the web?

EMH: The deliberation is still out on this matter so I'd rather not mention any sites.

DM: I've seen you on the popular live video/webcam network Stickam.com. Many artists and celebrities steer clear of web shows because of the vulnerability inherent to appearing in a live, unedited, un-moderated chat setting. What has your experience with live webchats been like?

EMH: For me it's been great. It has allowed people to see that I am a real person and not just a management company running my sites. Vulnerability is not always such a bad thing. We're all just people. It's really been more of a reciprocal relationship between myself and my friends online.

5 Rules for Successful Artist Newsletters

2009-11-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

With the advent of social media and the ease of managing relationships with fans provided therein, many artists these days see email communication with fans as a thing of the past. I, however, still find the monthly newsletter to be a relevant part of the overall marketing objectives of most artists. Probably the most difficult aspect of digital marketing for artists is the fact that in this day and age people interact with music and artists online in a plethora of ways and places. I think that it is important to respect fans decisions to interact with you when and where they choose to do so and to accommodate them accordingly. Email is still an important part of most people's everyday lives, and if fans choose to offer up their personal address to you it is your responsibility to give them what they want and deserve. In no particular order here are 5 rules for getting the most out of your email newsletters.

Rule #1: Limit Frequency
When considering how often to send out your newsletter it is important to keep your position in the recipient's life (and Ipod) in perspective; Do not assume that every single signup is a superfan who wants you to bombard their work email account every day of the week with what you ate for breakfast that morning. On the contrary, assume that the majority of signups are content to hear from you once in awhile and use your newsletters sparingly. My recommendation is once per month; definitely no more than twice. If you overwhelm your fans inboxes they will simply stop opening the message, rendering your newsletter ineffective. If you are facing a quiet point in your activity as an artist and you have nothing compelling to say in a newsletter, wait until you've got something exciting to send it out.

Rule #2: Provide Original and Compelling Content
You must give your fans a reason not only to sign up for your newsletter but to open it once it arrives in their inbox each and every time. Without at least some small tidbit of original content that does not exist elsewhere online, what is the incentive? Always include something that is exclusive to the newsletter; a personalized note from the artist; a sample of a new track in the works; exclusive photos. You can also use this content as an excuse to promote your newsletter via your web properties. Another idea is to offer giveaways such as free CDs to random signups; do this once per week if you are able and announce the winners in the newsletters to show that the giveaway is real.

Rule #3: Promote Effectively
Provide an easy way for your fans to sign up for your newsletter and feature it prominently on every web property available. The easiest way to do this is with an email collector widget-- the type offered by ReverbNation and other services. I also like to draw added attention to the newsletter by creating a custom banner that sits on top of the widget. The banner can invite fans to sign up and provide the incentive you've created for doing so. On Facebook, use the Gigya Mystuff Application to add your collector widget. Cross-promote the newsletter through mentions on Twitter once in awhile and remember to include your incentive for signups. If you are using myspace comments to communicate with fans, plug the widget and banner into your comment code and invite all new friends to sign up.

Rule #4: Limit Sales Pitches
A common artist mistake is to overwhelm web properties with sales pitches; ie. links to purchase on Itunes AND rhapsody AND CDbaby AND Amazon, etc. It's easy to take for granted the fact that your fans are knowledgeable about purchasing music whether digital or physical and will have no problem finding it should they decide to do so. Use your newsletter to announce new single and album releases; encourage fans to listen to and enjoy your music and make their own purchasing decision when the time comes. After your music is available steer clear of overwhelming pleas to purchase. Also relevant to this, be very careful not to overemphasize tour dates that are only relevant to a small percentage of those who signed up (ie, a newsletter to promote your big show in NYC when only 10 of your signups live there).

Rule #5: Format Effectively
Like all of your web properties your newsletter must be formatted perfectly; use color schemes and artwork that are in line with your other pages. Proofread all text to avoid errors in grammar and punctuation. Double check to make sure that all links are functional. Use fonts that are appropriately sized and easy to read. Format all pictures and text in a way that is clean and attractive. If it's within your budget, hire a graphic designer to create a custom newsletter template for you.

Developing Themes Fighting Dragons

2009-10-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this cool game in the course of my daily Myspace trolling on the page of Chicago area pop-punk band I Fight Dragons. IFD is the self-described 'Only NES-rock band' and this is evident in their music, artistic design and in this cool flash dragon fighting game that is consistent with their overall Nintendo theme. The game, which appears strategically at the top of the myspace layout, is simple: press the space bar to shoot bullets at falling dragons and the arrow keys to move.

Marketing genius? Let's not go crazy. Cool? Very! I love that the game contributes to their thematic material in a way that engages the user beyond music and imagery; even if a first-time visitor only plays the game for a minute, the band has left a unique and memorable impression on that visitor.

I for one would love to see more interactive web content like this from artists in the future. The obvious obstacle toward the creation of this type of content is the expense; a custom designed flash game with even very basic functionality can't be cheap to produce. I was working with Jive Records when a similar concept game called T-Pain's Cocktail Crazy was used to promote his spirit-inspired album Epiphany a couple of years ago; I wasn't told the exact production cost but it was made clear by the new media people that it WASN'T cheap. All the more reason to keep your friends close and your friends with computer programming skills even closer.

Tips for Writing a Winning, Professional Twitter Bio

2009-10-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

In a recent social media training session with a client I found myself with the task of instructing about 10 employees of an advertising agency on how to write professional and effective Twitter bios. What I write here is specific to business professionals who wish to use the service at least in part to meet and communicate with business-related contacts in addition to friends. For bands and artists, that will have to wait for another entry.

Let's get started.

Once you've logged into your profile, under your account settings you'll see both 'Name' and 'Username'. The former reflects what exactly appears after Name on the right side of your profile page. The latter reflects both your URL and in general how you communicate with @username replies. Even if you have not been able to secure the Usename twitter.com/yourname (which I highly recommend), there is no reason that you should not list your full name on your profile with accurate spelling and punctuation. No need for underscores, abbreviations or especially caps here! Simply include your first and last name as you would in your email signature.

Also, clearly include your location-- city and state. Avoid using cute misspellings, abbreviations, and city nicknames. The reason? No matter what your motivation for being on Twitter, I'm going to assume that you want people to find you who wish to do so. To do this people will use search engines like Tweepsearch and will probably search for 'Chicago' or 'Los Angeles' rather than 'Chi-Town Baby!' or 'City of Angels'. Also, unless you truly call multiple cities home, avoid the temptation to list multiple cities in an attempt to look well-traveled or cultured. 'NYC/LA/MIAMI/VEGAS/FRESNO' tells me that you live in Fresno and you're trying to be something that you're not-- at least not yet!

For your actual Bio section, you have 160 characters to share all information not already provided. There is no need to repeat your name or location. Since your space is so limited, a good practice is to lead off with a 2 to 5 word phrase that describes you professionally-- your professional tagline. If you met somebody on the street at this very moment, how would you respond to the question 'What do you do'? Would it include, a title? A company name? If your current professional status isn't exactly where you want it to be, perhaps a word like 'aspiring' is appropriate.

Founder and CEO of My Company. Ecommerce Manager at My Company. Intern at Major Record Label and Aspiring Publicist. Sales professional. Entertainment industry professional. Freelance consultant. Urban culture and style writer.

Now think about some professional interests, skills or passions that aren't necessarily described within your professional tagline. What professional interests do you have that aren't a part of your job title?

Blogger. New media fanatic. Marketing maven. Investor. SEO Expert. Technology geek. Speaker. Author. Entrepeneur. Event planner. Consultant. Media personality. Student.

Next, come up with a few descriptors that are more personal. Not TOO personal of course, but feel free to include anything you'd share over a semi-awkward business lunch with your boss.

Proud mom. Harvard alum. Washington Redskins fanatic. Brooklyn native. Spin class rockstar. Backpacking nut. Book worm. Guitar player. Lover of nature. Favorite uncle. History buff. Wine enthusiast.

Likewise, here are a few things that you most likely would not share over a lunch with your boss and therefore have no place in your twitter bio.

Party girl. Reality TV junkie. Magic the Gathering fanatic. Danielle Steel nut. Liberal democrat. Conservative republican. Lonely single guy. Shopoholic.

Of course there is nothing wrong with any of these but one should definitely save the most personal items for later in the conversation. Much, much later.

Finally, close with your reason for being on Twitter. Who would you like to meet? Are you looking to network with other professionals in a specific industry? Individuals in a certain location, or with a shared interest (business or personal)?

Looking to meet......

New interesting people. Other hospitality industry professionals. Other creative types. Local photographers. Other aspiring actors. Rhode Islanders.

One thing to avoid here is an obvious alterior motive or marketing message.

Someone who will hire me. People who will patronize my new restaurant. Fitness nuts to buy supplements from me. CEOs to hire my ad agency. Philanthropists to support my cause.

You normally only get one chance to invite someone into your world on Twitter; use your bio to make them feel at home by appealing to a shared interest, profession or common goal. Your profile simply is not the right place for a sales pitch or marketing message.

Combine everything you came up with above, squeeze it into 160 characters or less and you've got a winning Twitter bio.

Social Media Revolution

2009-10-05T12:58:00.001-07:00

The Do's and Don'ts of Custom Myspace Layouts

2009-10-01T13:07:00.001-07:00

One of my first jobs as a marketing consultant for indie artists is often to tackle a disastrous myspace layout, either by conducting a simple content cleanup (removing excess content, resizing images, fixing poorly worded text, etc) or by hiring one of my talented professional designers to start from scratch.

Bringing in a professional artist to revamp the look and feel of your myspace page is one of the best investments that any independent artist can make in their online presence. This isn't to say that more time and attention should be paid to myspace than to other web properties, but at a time where people are quickly deserting to Facebook and Myspace is overrun with other indie artists trying to garner attention, your best shot at standing out from other artists is by making a positive first impression with the remaining 'real people' through a professional layout.

A few things to keep in mind. First of all, in spite of myspace's declining thunder, it is still the one place where an artist is most likely to make their first impression with potential fans online. This is true for a couple of different reasons. For one, for anyone who 'googles' you, your myspace page is still very likely to appear at or near the top of search results. Also, because of a myspace profile's somewhat predictable layout and structure, people know that myspace is still the quickest and easiest way to listen to your music and view your pictures.

Here are a few rules to follow as you work with your artist to create a custom layout.

DO create a custom header (i.e. any content above the advertisements and menu bar) that incorporates key imagery, artwork and your page's primary call to action. A primary call to action is the single thing above all else that you want anyone visiting the page to do beyond simply listening to your music. Is it watching your new video? Downloading the new album on Itunes? Joining a fan club? Following you on Twitter? No matter what it is, your custom header is the best opportunity to make this request.

DO NOT include an overwhelming amount of content in your custom header. A visitor should be able to fit all header content into a single screenshot. The reasoning behind this is simple; as I stated above, people visit myspace music pages for the predictability factor. They do not want to have to scroll through an overwhelming amount of custom content to find what they're really looking for-- especially your music player and link to view more pictures.

DO place key profile elements in predictable places. These include the music player, basic info, profile picture, blog entries, tour dates, top friends and comments board. Again, people are visiting your page specifically to find this content; make finding it as easy for them as possible!

DO include simple flash elements in your custom header if it's within your budget. A flash-savvy designer may be just what you need to give your page the extra 'pop' it needs! However, DO NOT include flash elements that take more than a few seconds to load on the page. People simply will not stick around to wait for it.

DO include custom links or buttons directing fans to your other web properties. However, DO NOT make this your primary call to action. Be respectful of fans that choose to connect with you on myspace; those who want to find you on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube know how to do so without your direction.

DO use stationary background art. Background content should never scroll down with other content. Also make sure that all page content is viewable on top of background artwork (i.e., no white text on a white background).

DO NOT allow your artist to place a large 'Designed By' logo and link on your page unless you agree to this. If you choose to allow this, make sure that the logo is small, subtle and works well with other design elements.

DO make sure that your artist incorporates stylish, current fonts in your design. If the font doesn't look and feel professional to you, ask your artist to try something else. Remember- you don't have to be an artist to know what you like and what looks good.

That's all for now. Next I'll discuss a few guidelines for the 'about this artist' content on myspace pages.

Book Review- 'Twitter Revolution'

2009-08-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Twitter Revolution is a quick and easy read on a subject that many social media marketers hold near and dear written by Deborah Micek, a respected social media marketer and author of 'Secrets of Online Persuasion'. (Warren Whitlock is also named as an author but the voice heard throughout the book belongs overwhelmingly to @coachdeb.) I picked this one up in the hope that it would motivate me to finally jump on the Twitter bandwagon for myself after years of building and supervising accounts for my clients and also to confirm that I was on the right track with what I'd already been doing.

To be honest much of what this book covers can be chalked up to common sense but I did pick up a few useful pointers. I could have done without the hype in the opening chapters designed to convert Twitter skeptics (after all, if I fell into this category I probably would not have purchased the book, right?) but once I actually got to the 'meat' of the book it quickly became a worthwhile read. Of particular significance from a marketing standpoint was Part 3: Influence & Persuasion to position & brand yourself on Twitter & other social networks. In fact if you're already up and running on Twitter successfully I'd say Part 3 stands alone as a useful read.

I would definitely recommend this book for artists and managers who classify themselves as avid readers and those who enjoy keeping up with trends in marketing, but if you already understand the rules of fan relationship management then, as I said, a little common sense will go a long way on Twitter as it does elsewhere in social media.

Oh and in case you're wondering I HAVE jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Follow me here.

Moby on the Impact of Technology on Music

2009-08-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

Submitting Music to Pandora

2009-03-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

This should be an excellent experiment.

I personally go back and forth on whether or not the music discovery service Pandora actually accomplishes its' goal of introducing users to great new music. In case you're not familiar, Pandora has music analysts working with the Music Genome Project listen to tracks (they have over a half million in their directly) to qualify musical details such as tempo, instrumentation and vocal style. Users identify songs or artists that they love in order to create 'radio stations' that combine the music you already know with lesser known music of similar style, with the assumption that you will like some or all of the new music.

But does it work? Yes and no.

It really depends on exactly what music is to you. My theory is that if your musical tastes are closely tied to a particular genre or genres-- for example, if you're a metal head-- Pandora could work for you. If music is more about a mood or an experience, this may be for you. If you still purchase full albums and listen to them from beginning to end, it may be for you.

Pandora may not be for you (or your fans) if your musical tastes are more closely tied to an individual story or situation; the 'soundtrack to your life' model, as I like to call it. If you associate the music and lyrics of your favorite songs with a certain time and place in your life. If you know every word of the song and you're positive that the artist is singing about you and your ex-boyfriend, you fall into this category. If you just purchased 5 new songs on Itunes but could care less about the associated artist or full album. Since Pandora doesn't analyze lyrics, you're out of luck.

Music listening is a complex, aesthetic interaction with a piece of art and it's hard for me to believe that even an advanced and thoughtful system will accurately predict the music that I will love. In fairness, however, I have been listening to 'Fall Out Boy Radio' on Pandora for the past hour and given just about every song in queue a thumbs up. I guess I can see both sides of it.

I am working with an independent artist and will be submitting her album to Pandora shortly. I would encourage all independent artists to do the same, but check to make sure they don't have your music in their catalog already. They require you to send a CD and your CD must be for sale on Amazon, as this is where they pull the artwork. You can read full instructions on submitting your music here. Not all music is accepted, but if it is you should see it live in 6-10 weeks. Wish me luck!

Lily Allen on Twitter

2009-02-28T22:44:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how much I LOVE the fact that Lily Allen is an active Twitter user? May God strike me down if I'm wrong on this, but anyone familiar with Lily and her music will attest to this fact that the updates are genuine....the tweets are a little too 'cheeky' to be coming from some hotshot PR person or label rep (and trust me-- the folks working in digital at Capitol Records are far too good at what they do to let something like this happen with one of their artists).

Lily has posted 145 updates since she began on January 30th and already has over 46,000 followers. The fact that she did not begin until a week before her U.S. album release does make me a little nervous. You can't knock the girl and her team for tapping into the Twitter community to promote the new album, but I sure would love to see her remain active over the next several months.

In general I've always recommended that artists not dive into Twitter unless they are in it for the long haul, and I stand by that. Twitter is a means of creating and managing relationships with fans over a long period of time and is not necessarily the best place to begin a media blitz to promote a new album or project. It sure can't hurt if you're an A-Lister like Lily, but I firmly believe that fans resent artists who get started on something like Twitter and quickly lose interest. Twitter is also not useful and effective for every single artist out there. For example, I do not see it as particularly relevant for developing artists in most cases. Disagree? Prove me wrong!

Gigya's My Stuff Application for Facebook

2009-02-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

A lot of people who manage music pages on Facebook are probably already familiar with this but I thought I'd throw it out there nonetheless.

Gigya's 'My Stuff' application when added to a Facebook page will allow you to post any string of code that you wish that will appear in a box on your profile. This is perfect for.......you guessed it.........WIDGETS. Keep in mind before adding this however that many of your favorite widgets probably already have facebook applications designed for them.

This example shows how a children's artist used My Stuff to add their Gydget to their page.

The application doesn't slow down the page's load time as it would on myspace because a user has to click on the widget once before the flash begins to function.

My main tip is to make sure that you are adding the application and the code to your fan page and NOT to your personal profile-- a bug in Facebook's system often makes it difficult to tell if you are working on an application within one or the other.

Rascal Flatts Countdown

2009-02-23T23:43:00.001-08:00

I came across this cool countown widget on Rascal Flatt's myspace and really loved it. Every band deserves this kind of technology. The question is, is it affordable? Most standard widgets allow you to create and customize them a bit, but I'm guessing that the band's label (Lyric Street)had it specially made. The price in a custom widget like this makes it not an option for most independent artists, and as of this writing I do not know where to get a countown widget like this for free. Hit me back with your ideas!

A Little Self-Respect with Myspace Comments

2009-02-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

Just a little. That's all I ask.

Here is what I'm talking about. I found this on Lil Wayne's myspace.

Unknown artists leaving spam comments on the websites of big name artists is one of the many reasons for the social network's decline (the phrase 'A Virtual Detroit' comes to mind). Artists presumably do this to direct traffic to their own pages with the assumption that at least some of the people who visit will enjoy the music and become fans. I'm here to tell you that this logic is beyond flawed.

First of all, even on the off-chance that there IS some potential crossover between fans of the top selling urban artist of 2008 and this terrible unknown artist, why on earth would Lil Wayne's dedicated fans reward the unknown artist for spamming Wayne's page by giving their music a listen?

Second, even if you get a click-thru, what are the chances that the visitor will stick around long enough to give your music a thorough and objective listen? This becomes even less likely if the page itself is poorly designed-- unattractive and unnavigable, which it is in this particular case.

Now take a look at this comment from Beyonce's page:

A quick scan of her 100,000+ comments will show you that somebody is taking the time to approve only positive, meaningful comments from true fans. To me this gives the page a level of legitimacy that no amount of spamming will create. Think about it. If I'm an A&R exec checking out the page of a potential signing, I want to see that there is a real 'story' going on.....that a real and energized fanbase exists, and that your entire friends list isn't made up of meaningless spam. If you have 20,000 friends and I can't find a single comment about your music, I will be unimpressed.

Here is what I recommend:

1) Adjust your settings to require approval for all comments. Only allow friends to comment, and require CAPTCHA for all comments. This will cut back on spam. Only approve comments that are personal and complimentary. Feel free to reject 'thanks for the add' comments as these are of little value.

2) Block any user that attempts to spam your comments board with their own marketing message or advertisement. If they've done it once, they'll do it again.

3) Change your settings to prevent friends from posting html comments. Any non-text code that appears on your comments board (pictures, videos, links, etc) will slow down the load time of your page.

4) Reject friend requests from bands or anybody with exclusively commercial interests. These are the worst offenders in this arena and are unlikely to turn into true supporters of your work. Unless you are truly receiving too many friend requests to manage, turn off the 'automatically accept friend requests' option.

5) Post comments on the pages of friends sparingly, with limited or no html. Do not ever post comments on the pages of other artists.

Facebook Fan Page Netiquette

2009-02-13T07:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a little wisdom for anybody who is managing a Facebook Fan Page.

Managing a page allows you to send updates to fans at any time. These updates appear on the user's homepage in the same location as friend requests and application invites. I am currently a fan of about 2 dozen artists on Facebook. Some of these artists I have yet to receive an update from and some I receive updates from all the time that are of little or no value to me. For example, this morning I received an update from British piano jazzer Jamie Cullum asking me to participate in a contest in which I would win free tickets to a concert in London. While a trip to London to see Jamie perform would be nothing short of a dream come true, I can't help but feel a little irritated that I had to take time out from my morning routine to read a marketing message that was of no value to me. Unlike a myspace bulletin, fans are obligated to read the updates in order for the '1 new update' message to disappear from the homepage.

Here is what I strongly suggest. Use Facebook updates sparingly for very important messages that are applicable to all fans.

*New Album Release
*New Video Premiere
*Large-scale contest with wide fan appeal
*Tour announcement with all dates confirmed

Fans will appreciate this and resist the temptation to 'De-Fan' you from their profile if you respect their space.

Here is a useful alternative. For lesser communication with fans that does not fall into the 'update' category, install the 'Notes' application and simply post a new note. It will post to your fan page for awhile but more importantly a large number of your fans will see it in their own status feed. This way they are able to determine the value of the message for themselves and click on it only if it is applicable to them. Think of a note as a myspace bulletin with a much higher probability that your fans will actually see it.

Always communicate with your fans online in a way that is unintrusive and provides value rather than interruption.

Widgets 101

2009-01-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

A survey of the myspace profiles of the top artists in the music business will reveal a widespread use of WIDGETS. In this blog I will occasionally be writing about the widgets I find, love and hate. In a previous lifetime I worked at a company whose primary purpose it was to market and promote widgets from a number of companies with venture capitalist funding. During this time I was in a position of having to 'sell' each and every widget, the good and the bad, to new media folks at major and indie record labels. It was a pretty awkward position to be in as some widgets certainly offer more than others, and even the better widgets aren't a fit for every single artist. Here I hope to shed some light on a number of widgets that you may or may not have heard about and let you decide for yourself whether or not it is worth the valuable 'real estate' on your myspace page.

But let's back up for a minute. So what exactly is a widget?

A widget is essentially a piece of code that, when plugged into the backend of an html page, shows up as an interactive badge or sticker on that page. Interactive is the operative word. You see, the code is hosted on a server that is different from the rest of the webpage and can therefore be changed or updated by multiple parties in different locations. In other words, one does not need access to the backend of the website (or your myspace profile) in order to change the widget that appears on the site. Widgets serve a variety of purposes but primarily are meant to share and collect information.

Here is an example of a common widget that I found on Jordin Sparks myspace page.

Create Your Own RockYou.com.

The widget can be 'grabbed' (in other words, the code can be copied) and placed on any website or social network profile. Wherever the widget copies exist, changes made in the backend on RockYou.com are reflected.

I'll be discussing and reviewing some of my favorite (and least favorite) widgets here, but in the meantime, here are four basic items to consider before handing over real estate.

1) What does the widget do?
Does it collect information, such as email addresses or opinions? Does it share information, such as your photos, news, music or videos? Does it allow your fans to assist you in promoting your work? Whichever goal you have for the widget, does it achieve this goal in the best way possible?

2) How large is it?
Consider both bandwidth and size. How much loading time does it add to your page, and is it worth it? How much real estate does it consume? Does it stretch out your myspace page either vertically or horizontally in a way that compromises other page content?

3) Will your fans find it appealing and useful?
So you've determined it's worthy of your real estate, but is it worthy of your fans'? Is it something that your supporters will *want* to add to their own pages?

4) How much maintenance will the widget require?
Consider the time commitment the widget will require of you. How often will you have to log in to update the widget? How much time does each update take, and is it worth it?

Finally, a case for always testing your widgets before posting. The code obtained for the widget above came from clicking 'view all images' on Jordin's myspace widget and copying the code from the page that pops up. But hold on, these aren't the same images that appear on her myspace widget. So who are these people? No idea. The result of an error on RockYou's backend, no doubt. Always test your widgets in an html test bed to make sure they look right before posting.

More to come.

Introduction

2009-01-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well it's about damn time I did this.

I've gotten away with calling myself a 'social media guru' for about as long as anyone without an updated and well-written blog can be expected to. I've also gotten away with 'writing' listed as one of my Facebook interests, and for someone who hasn't written anything of value in at least 2 years I'd say that's wearing a bit thin as well. So here I am.

A brief introduction. My name is Dan Maierle, I'm 27 years old, originally from South Range, MI, and now a proud resident of New York City. I have been working in and around the music business here since I arrived in May of 2005 to work as a lifestyle sales & new media marketing manager at iconic indie label Tommy Boy Entertainment. At TBE my role was essentially half sales and half marketing, the latter of which I took to more naturally. For my next gig I wanted something exclusively in digital marketing so in January of '07 I ended up at a social media agency called Youcast Corp (formerly BuddyLube). Spent a year there, learned a lot and added a lot of big-name artists to my resume. For about a year now I have been freelancing as a 'digital marketing consultant and social media strategist' with clients in the music business and some brands as well. While my website is in development you can check out my LinkedIn profile to read more about the services I provide.

I love working with brands, but for this blog I intend to focus primarily on music. It's tough to say exactly where this will take me but ideally I'd like to find and share success stories in the field of online self-marketing for musicians and artists. Official websites. Social networks. Myspace. Facebook. Widgets. Web 2.0. Word of Mouth. SEO. Advertising. Webcasts. Podcasts. Newsletters. Stuff like that. I'll also probably squeeze in a review or two, but only for selfish reasons.

So that's it! Feel free to reach out any time with feedback, ideas, success stories, or even nasty comments.

Music, Marketing and the Social Web

New Post for Content To Commerce

Social Media, Travel and TourismMy Thoughts on the Belize Road Warriors Program

New Post for Content To Commerce

Hits Don't Lie10 Ways for Bloggers to Engage with Big Brands

New Post for Content To Commerce

Dude, Where's My Content?Ashton, Utley, and the 'And Then...' Approach to Social Content Distribution

New Post for Content To Commerce

Talk Is Cheap in Social Media

What I Learned At My First SXSW

An Artists' Guide to Video Production: 5 Questions for a Pro

New Program: Meet Chevrolet's "Cruze-arati"

Top 30 Pop Songs of 2010

The Five Worst Pop Songs of 2010

Transitioning from Friends to Fans, Profiles to Pages on Facebook

5 Myths in Social Media Marketing

5 Rules for Successful Artist Contests

Awesome Viral Video Promotion

The New Tyler Hilton EP and Why It Should Sell

Photos from Winter Music Conference 2010

7 Artist EPK's and What I Like About Them

Top 25 Music Discovery Sites

Tricks of the Trade for Building a Twitter Following

5 Questions for Eric Michael Hopper

5 Rules for Successful Artist Newsletters

Developing Themes Fighting Dragons

Tips for Writing a Winning, Professional Twitter Bio

Social Media Revolution

The Do's and Don'ts of Custom Myspace Layouts

Book Review- 'Twitter Revolution'

Moby on the Impact of Technology on Music

Submitting Music to Pandora

Lily Allen on Twitter

Gigya's My Stuff Application for Facebook

Rascal Flatts Countdown

A Little Self-Respect with Myspace Comments

Facebook Fan Page Netiquette

Widgets 101

Introduction

Social Media, Travel and Tourism

My Thoughts on the Belize Road Warriors Program

Hits Don't Lie

10 Ways for Bloggers to Engage with Big Brands

Dude, Where's My Content?

Ashton, Utley, and the 'And Then...' Approach to Social Content Distribution