We’ll See You At Music Biz 2012

Posted on May 3, 2012 by ayouens

It’s official. The new MusicHype is launching at Music Biz 2012 in LA next week, put on by NARM and digitalmusic.org.

We’ll have a table at App Alley, outside the main ballroom on Wednesday from 11am-6pm and we’ll also be floating around on Tuesday. You’ll also be able to catch Kevin doing a 3-minute overview of MusicHype at the Digital Music LA meetup 7-9pm on Tuesday night. If you’re a label, management company or artist who’s struggling to focus on the fans that matter – you need to talk to us.

MEET US
Kevin King, CEO
Kevin will be floating around on Tuesday and Wednesday.
If you want to book a meeting just flick him an email kevin@musichype.com.

Annabel Youens, CMO
I’ll be there are well at the stand in App Alley on Tuesday. If you want to get in touch about pr or talk about our new platform come by or email me annabel@musichype.com.

We’ll see you there!

Ben Folds and Fans (Update)

Posted on May 1, 2012 by kingakevin

Update: Below, I sang the praises of Ben Folds and his band mates touting their fans, first, for the announcement of a new Ben Folds Five album. The following week I was more than delighted to see that Ben launched a Pledge Music campaign. The campaign launched just over a week ago and has already generated 4,146 pledges, exceeding the bands expectations and pledge goals by 206 percent. What’s interesting is that Ben Folds has 522,000 likes on Facebook and 486,000 followers and Twitter. His blended social equity puts him in the neighborhood of 500k, not bad. When we look at the total pledges, 4,146 to date, that accounts for roughly less than 1 percent of his and the bands total reach. This may seem like dire news, but it’s not, it’s just a reality and it’s beholden to managers and labels to remember this, “focus on the fans that matter”. Kudos to Pledge Music and Ben Folds Five for doing just that.

——————

Nearly 15 years ago I was fortunate enough to meet the legendary lead singer of Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds. I was working at a record store and literally happened upon the bands first album, self-titled, and fell in love! I would literally confiscate friends to drive long distances to see the band. The show that I met Ben at was in 1996 at the BoatHouse in Norfolk, VA, there were literally 37 people, I counted. After the show, I walked right up to Ben, sang my praises, shot the crap about our home state of North Carolina, and got an autograph. The autograph lived above the Blockbuster Music phone and was a constant reminder of how cool that was to meet and create a bond with “my guy”. This was 10 years prior to any sort of social networking that we know today.

Over the years, Ben and his band have really made a name for themselves. In 1997, the band released their biggest record to date, Whatever and Ever Amen. The record went platinum (1 million records sold) due to the song, Brick. The band had officially “made it”. A few years later, Ben decided to go solo. Again, he has been quite fortunate (determined) in his solo career, as well. Ben has received a lot of exposure, recently, for his work on the hit show The Sing Off, and also his open-minded approach in regard to the crossroads of music and tech.

Last week, I was delighted to learn that Ben Folds Five will be reuniting for a new record and subsequent tour, later this year. Ben broke the news on the most powerful medium to date, Facebook. Ben spoke of very intimate details in the post around the process of getting back together, song meanings, etc. Later in the post, Ben made a rather poignant observation on the importance of fans and his music:

“I suppose the album should come out in September and we do not want to release it traditionally at all. I’m all into traditional record releases but for this one… I want to avoid ass kissing. It’s not healthy. I think we’re going to pass on radio promo and on most advance press. No sending it out for reviews etc. We’ll just let you know through Twitter and Facebook that it’s coming out. That’s the idea, and we’ll see how that goes. Maybe we’ll adjust our thinking. Just seems like such a musical experience I hate to be in the position of selling it to people who don’t care. I’d rather spend my time telling people who DO care and save the money and time. Sell fewer records probably to those who want it. That leaves more time to make new records and tour. Less ass kissing, more music and life. A good theory… we’ll see… lemme know what you think of that theory.”

The key take away, for me and for MusicHype, is spending time on the fans who do care. Now, more than ever, an artist has the opportunity to live and breathe where their fans are, no matter where that may be (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, Blip.fm, SoundCloud, or Last.fm). In a nutshell, this is exactly what our goal is with MusicHype and next week you will finally see the fruits of our labor. That special, in person, feeling I got back in 1996 as one of Ben’s “true fans”, will finally be replicated in an organic fashion using technology in a way that benefits and enhances both the artist and the fan.

Find the Music We Love

Posted on April 25, 2012 by ayouens

It’s pretty exciting ’round here getting ready for our launch in 2 weeks – crikey! So this is a quick post to show where you can listen to the music we (Kevin, Mike, Jeff & Annabel) love.

Grooveshark

You can find us over with the good folks at Grooveshark. We’ve got a TasteMaker’s Best of 2011 playlist up. And you can check out our monthly playlists – see April’s Revisits (oldies but goodies) and there’s, of course, April’s Hot List (fresh tracks).

Rdio

If you’re an Rdio kind of kid we’ve got all those goodies on there too: The Best of 2011 - Hot List April 2012 - Revisits April 2012

Spotify

Oh yes, we’ll be on Spotify soon. Our playlists will be bundled up with our app, so watch for that in June 2012.

Deezer

And we can’t forget about the European phenomenon that is Deezer. As soon as it’s here in the US we’ll be on there too.

Let us know if we should be sharing music any other spots. Happy Listening!

Record Store Day and the Resurgence of Vinyl

Posted on April 24, 2012 by MikeP

Last Saturday (April 21st) was the fifth annual International Record Store Day. Taking place on the third Saturday of every April, the day celebrates the independent record store and is accompanied by a slew of limited edition vinyl releases only available on or around the day itself.

The purpose of Record Store Day is to encourage an enterprise that for a while looked to be a dying breed: the independent record store. However, thanks largely to the vinyl resurgence, independent record stores have been slowly but steadily popping up all over the placed, while their mainstream CD-selling high street rivals continue to close in ever-larger numbers.

So why the new found popularity in the formerly antiquated vinyl format? There are several reasons:

Firstly, CDs just aren’t worth the plastic they’re printed on these days. Why pay up to two or three times the price of a digital download when the first thing you’re going to do is rip it to your media library? While MP3s provide the most convenient listening experience, many music fans still feel the need for a physical product, and CDs just aren’t cutting it any more.
Vinyl revives the lost artform of album artwork. Album covers didn’t necessarily get worse in the non-vinyl era, but the small cover size didn’t always encourage creativity. Vinyl – both the sleeve and the record itself – offers a larger and more versatile canvas to work with. Album artwork affects the way you react to the music contained within, both consciously and unconsciously, and is an important part of the musical experience.
Another reason – and it’s a difficult to define one – is that the process of buying and listening to vinyl is simply a more rewarding one. From the larger artwork, to the larger disc, to putting it on your turntable and hearing those first few notes, it just makes you feel more involved.
There is also, of course, the argument that vinyl just sounds better. While I’m not necessarily stating this as fact – there is beauty in the crispness and clarity of digital sound too – there is certainly a warmness and more “authentic” feel to listening to music on vinyl.

Record Store Day continues to get bigger every year, and this can only be a good thing for dedicated music fans and vinyl collectors. So get out there and support your local record store – some of those limited edition pressings may still be out there!

Alive Inside

Posted on April 19, 2012 by kingakevin

I’ve been rather fortunate to be raised by a caring mother who was a social worker for 37 years. My mom always saw the good in everyone, no matter who they were, and instilled that in me via her actions. She was, and still is, very observant and considerate towards older people and that is what drew me to this amazing video:

After watching it, I did a little research on who was behind this. It is a company called Music & Memory. The company is focused on enabling the elderly to live a better, enhanced life courtesy of technology and music. The companies mission statement is quite awesome:

Our Mission is to improve the quality of life for the elderly and infirm through the use of personalized music and digital technology.

Our strategy is simple:

Support the initiation of iPod-based personalized music programs regardless of one’s location (e.g., at home, in a nursing home, assisted living facility, hospital, or hospice).
Raise public awareness about the benefits of keeping engaged with a rich, personalized music environment regardless of physical, cognitive, or social condition.

This company’s mission is quite worthy and turning a lot of heads. The video above is a trailer for a documentary coming out later this month called Alive Inside that shows the power of their mission through real-life examples.

Learning about Music&Memory really got me thinking about how we interact with music throughout our lives and especially today.

Before the advent of iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Shazam, and Facebook, our music journey was tied to traditional radio which informed our new album purchases, then you’d listen to that new LP/CD multiple times. That cycle was all you/we knew at the time, not like today! Like no other time in history, we can pull any song out of thin air and be entertained by it, share it, take a journey with it, be absorbed by it, much like a drug…if you will.

So often I am asked by artists how will they ever “cut through the clutter” of the millions of artists and songs out there. My answer is always care.

Care that your music can and should be timeless, even if only for a few people.
Care that making someone else happy with your art is awesome.
Care about and get smart around every way possible to share your music.

That same mother now owns a laptop, smart phone, texts regularly, and has an iPod Nano that she listens to a great deal of classical music while taking walks. She is the Steve Jobs of her neighborhood and “cares” about staying connected with society. It makes her feel Alive Inside.

Sneak Peek of the New MusicHype.com

Posted on April 18, 2012 by ayouens

Here’s a quick sneak-peek into our recent keyboard tapping, strategizing, wireframes, more wireframes, more strategizing and design work.

These mockups give you a sense of what we’re doing with MusicHype.com and how you’ll be able to identify the fans that matter & give them props.

A huge shout out to the smart digital folks who’ve been so kind with their time & expertise to help us build the best bloody product we can: Sarah Abdel & Xavier Rameriz from Silverback Management, Jeff Kuprycz from AFrame Management, Mike Rosenthal from Paracadute Records, Jason Kadlec from CHNL, Paul Mabray from VinTank and Eric Garland at Live Nation.

OH YEAH, WE’RE PRETTY EXCITED!

If you like what you see please sign up for an invite to our private launch. Thanks!

Thoughts on Tupac Shakur’s Coachella appearance

Posted on April 17, 2012 by MikeP

So you’ve probably already heard: hologram technology has now advanced to the point where we can bring dead performers “back to life”. This week Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre’s festival-closing Coachella set featured a performance by a holographic Tupac Shakur. In case you missed it:

So do we really want to bring performers back from the dead? Especially when we’re putting words into their mouths that they couldn’t possibly have said during their lifetime.

Tupac gives a shoutout to Coachella – a festival that started in 1999, 3 years after his death. MTV UK Host Zane Lowe took this thought a step further, tweeting:

Personally, I think it’s a great idea, as long as it’s used in moderation and with taste. I’d hate to see Tupac advertising McDonalds as much as the next person, but let’s be honest, it’s not that much worse than what has gone before.

Would I like to see a holographic Elliott Smith performing a series of stadium gigs around the world? No, of course I wouldn’t. But this was a fun interlude to what was already a great set. Snoop and Dre have performed their duets with Tupac live since his death with just a voiceover, and this was simply taking it up a notch.

Think of it as a really spectacular light show. Holograms will never replace real touring musicians for the same reason that Coachella’s web livestream hasn’t affected ticket sales for the actual event.

Of course, a lot of people loved the appearance too. I know that Dave Chappelle and Questlove have been thinking about it for quite some time:

All I want to know is this: now that we’ve got the technology for the holographic shark from Back To The Future 2, how long till we get the hoverboards?

Influencers That Matter

Posted on April 16, 2012 by squared99

There has been a lot of discussion lately about measuring influence online, and influence scores from services like Klout, PeerIndex and others.

One recent book, Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence Marketing (Zowee, what a title!) provides details on how influence may be leveraged effectively by marketers, “this eye-opening, action-ready guide shows you how to reach the superconnectors who ignite epidemics through word-of-mouth influence . . . and become one yourself”

But many others are questioning what these influence scores mean, and argue that they: actually measure popularity, rather than influence; have murky algorithms; and often lack proper context.

For example, if I were to introduce you to “Bob” at a party and say, “Bob is highly influential in music” you’ll want to know what kind of music?, what are they into right now? and do they like my music?. That’s right, “highly influential in music” has little context.

So what does all this mean to an artist who’s grappling with social media tools and trying to effectively build meaningful relationships with fans?

Influence scores may be useful in a high-level strategic way, but they are only a first step and they don’t necessarily identify fans. Artists still need to focus on:

Building experiences for small, connected communities of fans
Creating a strategy around multiple, lightweight interactions with fans

Self-Identity and Social Identity (Fan vs Influencer)

A relevant whitepaper, ‘The Influence of Personality on Active and Passive Use of Social Networking Sites’, had an interesting insight on these issues.

Basically, people can express themselves online in two ways, through “self-identity expressiveness” and “social identity expressiveness” (Thorbjørnsen, Pedersen, & Nysveen, 2007).

Self-identity expressiveness is said to indicate how and to what extent users of social networking sites display their own identities and values.

Specifically, any actions that are taken just for the benefit of themselves, for example:

listen to a song
watching a video
read a album review

They do so because they want to, and enjoy it. They are not explicitly communicating to others within the community what they should do, though they may still be a trusted filter.

Social identity expressiveness is said to indicate the ability to communicate verbally and skillfully when engaging others in social interaction. Examples could be:

Check out this album – it’s awesome
You have to get tickets to this gig on Friday

These actions are taken explicitly to encourage the behavior of others.

What I think is interesting about social-identity actions is that they can cross many social spheres & different groups (friends, schoolmates, co-workers and family), so their expressions may not necessarily reflect that person’s identity or values. They may actually be saying what they feel is ‘appropriate’ for that group, or just not express themselves at all – think peer pressure.

So, while self-identity can reflect what fans actually do, social-identity expressiveness is what many influence scores are currently measured by.

Strong Communities with many lightweight interactions

General influence scores in the context of “music” may give you some insight, but you also need ‘affinity’ for your music as well. The most important context is you and your music.

If a fan is a trusted filter on Rdio or Youtube, you need to know that just as much as you need to know if they are effective on Facebook, perhaps even more so. Their friends & followers are in turn watching this trusted filter and checking out what they like.

Identifying and interacting with these fans is key.

Build a community. Its important that you get to identify and choose what actions across these networks are important. What actions do you want to recognize, and what weight do you want to give them. Every community is different, so again how can generic high level influence score give you everything you need?

Interact with this community. React to actions taken by fans and recognize those actions directly. For example, a simple ‘thank you’ message, a couple free passes to a show or however you feel is appropriate.

Define your own influencers within a community that belongs to you and your fans.

If you like what you hear sign up for our newsletter so you can get one of the first invites to our launch in May.

“The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vanynerchuk for Musicians

Posted on April 12, 2012 by ayouens

Our CEO Kevin turned us onto Gary Vanynerchuk’s latest book, The Thank You Economy. He told us how the book fired him up & ultimately lead him to our company. It helped him figure out the kind of culture he wanted to be a part of. That inspired me to read it.

Part 1 “Welcome to the Thank You Economy” covers why you should care about social media & how we’ve circled right back to mom & pop principals. With the birth of social media we have the ability to talk to everyone, just like a customer who’s walked into your brick & mortar store. 10 years ago this was impossible.

Gary argues you should “Outcare Your Competitors“. I love that phrase. And this can easily be applied to bands and musicians: every time you get tweeted at or talked to talk back.

Lots of bands think they have to give away free stuff or run contests, but really it comes down to good manners. If a fan stopped you on the street & said, “Hey, great show last night” you’d say thanks & maybe chat for a minute. Just do the same thing online. It’s that easy.

Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra is great at this. I always see him responding to fans on Instagram, Twitter and on Facebook. He’s not doing it just because. He’s doing it because he sees fans as his peers & colleagues. That’s manners.

And I know it takes time, but building fan relationships takes time. If you don’t do it, it just won’t work.

Part 2 “How To Win” contains the goldmine of tips & info. One of the key nuggets explains how you should “play to the emotional center” of fans and not just the middle.

Playing to the middle is marketing to the masses. It’s doing things like:

RT this to win a t-shirt
Enter your album art into our contest
Today our new ep is 25% off

Gary argues that you should instead focus on the “emotional center” of fans. This might seem hard & a bit ambiguous, but luckily you just need to think creatively & be yourself. Here’s an example:

In 2011 we ran a campaign with Crowded House & Aderra. Crowded House had Aderra record each live performance on their Intriguer tour and package them up on custom USB sticks.

Instead of offering a discount or running a contest we asked fans to share Crowded House moments. If they shared a moment online we emailed them a live song from a show. We asked things like:

When was the first time you heard Crowded House?
Why do you love Crowded House?
What’s the best Crowded House album & why?

All these questions targeted Crowded House fan emotions and they loved it! We even ended up profiling some of the fans and getting pulled into the Crowdie love ourselves.

So think about how you can evoke an emotion & give fans something to talk about. All you have to be is genuine.

I also loved Gary’s “Shock & Awe” strategy. Basically kick things up a level with your true fans. If you’ve developed great fan relationships & get what social media really is, reach out to individuals and:

invite them to a jam session
ask them to visit your band on set while you make your next video
show up at a fans house & perform an impromptu set

I know some of these might be out of your reach (ie budget), but they give you the idea. Think about your favorite band. What would blow you away….then translate that into something your band can do for fans.

Part 3 “The Thank You Economy In Action” gives great examples of businesses believing in the Thank You Economy. These people & companies will no doubt spur on your creative thinking.

Gary Vanynerchuk certainly knows what he’s taking about when it comes to social media. You can tell he does this sort of stuff everyday & he built up his business using these principles.

Musicians, bands, bandmates & team members:

If you’re in a band and your bandmate is Instagraming non-stop get this book to see how it’s helping.
If you’re working with a band & managing some of their social media read this book, it will give you some great ideas.
And if you aren’t doing any social media at all you are missing out. Gary will give you practical ideas and don’t worry about the “Shock & Awe” bit until you’re ready.

Good luck & be yourself!

The Music Biz Could Learn a Thing or Two from Kotex

Posted on April 10, 2012 by kingakevin

Yesterday I was forwarded a rather interesting post from the guys behind the most recent Kotex campaign using Pinterest. Essentially, this is the first major brand to utilize the power of Pinterest in an organic way to raise brand awareness.

Here is a video, recapping this rather clever campaign:

I think the key take away for musicians is how Kotex recognized and rewarded key influencers for behavior they were already doing. This campaign also exemplifies the importance of permission marketing, or the welcome knock on the door.

The days of pushing content on the masses via radio, print, TV, etc are slowly drifting away. The idea of fan to friend has been a human need, or experience, since the dawn of man. Only recently have we been able to “re-insert” this back into our society, thanks to technology, social networking, and mobile penetration.

Here are 5 things musicians & artists can take away from this campaign:

Pull fans towards you with great content
Use this content to create a relationship built around affinity NOT revenue, that will follow.
Social bonds are powerful, they create companies, countries, stable governments, and will do the same for your music career.
Fans who pay attention to you with their time are far more valuable than 99 cents.
If you lead with making money, and not your passion around music, your fans will sniff it out from day one.