Alas, a decade is practically an eternity online, and as such, the download-to-own concept that iTunes revolutionized is already showing signs of age. The growth of subscription-based streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, and the current cultural dominance of YouTube, with its more than three billion videos viewed daily, hint that  that music consumers are now largely content to listen, rather than own. - Time Entertainment, April 28, 2013

In this two-part podcast, Jason Spitz and Kyle Bylin of Hypebot’s Upward Spiral Podcast and I discuss some of the customer needs and behaviors that drove iTunes adoption: the unbundling of the single from the CD purchase, as well as the product characteristics (seamless integration with the iPhone, ease of use, standardized pricing). It’s interesting to hear the generational differences in how we adopted (or didn’t!) iTunes to build our personal music libraries, and to note that iTunes clearly was a substitute product for pirated music, even if an imperfect one.

In the second half of our discussion, we cover the transition of customers from download to streaming and debate where the future may lie for Apple’s iTunes and the consumption of music. We discuss iTunes competitors, and what factors might determine whether Apple will continue to dominate music distribution, such as the ubiquity and seamlessness of wifi, and the deep pockets of a platform player like Google, Amazon or Apple, as compared to a software-only offering such as Spotify or Pandora.

Kyle Bylin is the founder and editor of sidewinder.fm, a music and tech think tank, and also conducts research and develop music product concepts for Live Nation Labs. Jason Spitz is an ecommerce expert helping bands, comedians, and other artists build direct-to-fan businesses. In addition to being super-knowledgeable about the music industry, Jason and Kyle are expert conversationalists, and they always pick topics that are timely and interesting.

I sure had fun talking to these guys. Please let me know what you think of our discussion in the comments below!

• entertained 50 people (pictures here),
• performed original music I had created with my life partner, Stevie,
• opened for Amanda Palmer (@amandapalmer, yes that Amanda Palmer), and
• kicked off the launch of the first ever Solveig & Stevie CD, Superwoman (available soon via iTune and all your favorite channels and services).

Oh, and I moved people. That is really the most important part of what I did this weekend. I made something beautiful and magical for people I love and for complete strangers alike. How do I know this? Because people haven’t stopped telling me since last Saturday. That is why I make music: to move people. I don’t need to be a star. I don’t need to be famous. I’m old (relatively), and I have three kids.  I think regularly about how best to live the rest of my life, and what kind of meaningful memories I want to leave behind when I am gone. I’ve done my time in corporate meeting rooms. I want to make people feel. I want to touch people and make them think about their own creativity. If I did that for even a few people last weekend, that makes me happy.

Yes indeed. What a night! Could the long term good vibes of the church be blessing our communion ! I’m not the least bit religious but last night was the best feeling I’ve had in a group of strangers since the sixties. – Tim Rounds

(Let’s get this out of the way: I know that Amanda Palmer is a controversial figure in music and social media. Particularly this week. However, this post really isn’t about any of that controversy, except to the extent that Amanda Palmer cares passionately about things that matter, she shares her opinions, and she expresses herself with honesty and transparency. I admire all of those things about her, and I aspire to emulate those qualities of hers. She played for us at our party, and she did a great job. She is an amazing performer.)

Stevie and I held our CD release party at an old Baptist church on Capitol Hill in Seattle. It’s a beautiful space with art deco stained glass windows and the original pews and woodwork. It was purchased by a friend of ours and converted into a recording studio/performance space. Just to be clear, though, you don’t have to have an old Baptist church or Amanda Palmer at your CD release party. Those were just the icing on the cake, the trimming on the tree. The really important stuff has nothing to do with that.

Here are a few of the important things I learned from my CD release party:

Make It Bigger. Don’t pass up an opportunity to combine things – whatever you can throw in to it as long as it makes sense –  to make your event bigger. When I contributed to Amanda Palmer’s Kickstarter campaign last year, I wasn’t planning to have her resulting house party anywhere except in my own living room. But things change. Amanda had to delay the house parties, and time marched on. So when I realized that my AFP House Party coincided nicely with the wrap up of our Superwoman CD project, I decided to combine them. Since I was planning to throw a party for my family, friends and fans anyway, I thought – wait, why not make it a bigger event? I also had discovered this amazing performance space which had never been christened (excuse the pun, it’s an old Baptist church) with a live audience. It seemed the perfect storm of opportunity.

That was one of the most enjoyable evenings of music that Becky and I ever recall. Thank you for including us ! – Klev and Becky

Set A Date. Having a concrete event date, making the plans and getting it all together motivated me to get the songs finished, mastered, and duplicated. It was a short run – and  may be the only set of physical CDs I ever press for this album, but I had to create artwork for the label, set the song order, and call it done. See, I tend to be a perfectionist, and calling it done was a big step for me. Having an event helped me get over that hurdle.

Bring In Other Artists. Stevie and I knew we couldn’t exactly translate the songs on the CD to a live band experience. It’s a studio album, with a fair amount of “production value,” as Stevie, the Phil Spector of the Northwest, likes to call it. (Stevie asked me to clarify that he is the young Phil Spector, not the old crazy one who wears wigs and kills people). So we asked our friend Brooke Lizotte, an amazing and accomplished piano player, to play with us. We adapted a selection of the songs from the CD, even ones Brooke had not played on (he co-wrote and plays on only one of the songs on the CD). That turned out to be a perfect combination. We ended up with incredible new semi-acoustic versions of those songs, in particular, one called Zombie Lover. Of course, having Amanda Palmer cap off your CD release party was an incredible night for everyone in attendance as well. Keep in mind, though, that it’s not necessary to have someone famous to collaborate with – it could just be your favorite musician friends to help you open, or another band you’ve played with before at a club who also has a CD coming out or recently released. Bringing fans together from different but similar acts can work out really nicely, and the audience appreciates the diversity and the additional entertainment value they are getting. Amanda even brought her friend Jason, so my audience actually got to experience three acts in one night!

hey!!! wanted to say goodbye but couldn’t find you – that was WONDERFUL!!! Amanda Palmer

Hire A Professional To Ensure Good Sound and Record Everything. We had an amazing professional sound man, Mark. We had an amazing professional videographer, Josh. We also had an amazing space that resonated even without amplification. We videotaped and audio recorded both rehearsals as well as the performance. I am as excited about the content we produced from the concert, editing and releasing it, as I am about the original CD. There is something about a live performance that is electric. I have some fans who are not in Seattle, and so this is also a chance for them to experience the party even though they weren’t there. On a practical note, I made sure everyone who entered the venue was aware that we were photographing, videotaping and recording the event, and offered to accommodate anyone who didn’t wish to be recorded.

Think Outside The Box For Venues. There’s no reason to have a CD party where the sound is bad, where the stage is cramped, where the audience will be uncomfortable, where there are TVs blaring in the corner.  This is your event, and people are there to hear your band. Bars and clubs can be great places to throw a CD release party, but I wanted to be able to provide both a visually and acoustically pleasing experience. Since I’m a vocalist and lyricist, I wanted everyone to hear the lyrics, because that was important to me. Besides this place was so special, so physically beautiful, I think people enjoyed just being in it. Perhaps a friend has an amazing house, back yard, barn, warehouse space, or community clubhouse. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Of course, using an easily accessible location is important, and you may have a favorite commerical venue that works perfectly for you and your band, but sometimes it’s good to think about it as a “destination event.” This is a special event, like a wedding. This is for you and your fans, and they should be willing to come somewhere a little new, a little mysterious, and a little bit more exotic just to hear you.

Recruit Help. I had an amazing team of 15 people who helped produce this event, from my daughter who baked desserts, my other daughter who performed in my video (did I mention we also premiered the Zombie Lover music video also that night?), to a friend who MC’d so I didn’t have to, to a fantastic mixologist/bartender and photographer. All these people were either my friends or friends of friends. Because they knew me, I think they did an extra specially good job helping out. I have to say, I felt so loved.

What an exquisite time last night at the ‘SECRET’ CD release party!! Amanda Palmer was awesome, but the vibe of the CHURCH and the amazing Solveig Whittle and Stevie Adamek were the reason everything was so wonderful!! – Eddie M. and Aury M.

Charge $20 And Give Away Your CD. I learned this from my “How To Self-Publish Your Book” seminar with Patrick Snow. This is important. While I didn’t recoup all of my expenses for the event, it helped that I pressed CDs and gave away one to each ticket-holder. $20 is a nice round number, and no one had any problem paying for the event and CD combination. I also had drinks and dessert included, but honestly, I think people would have been happy with just the CD and the show for $20. Don’t expect to make a lot of money from an event like this. I spent money, but it was so worth it to me. This is an opportunity for you to pre-sell your CD, and you can defray your expenses. Only you know how much you think your fans will reasonably pay.

Use Event Software. I used SplashThat.com to set up my event in advance and sell tickets, which really helped because I had a nicely designed website with e-commerce and email list management system all built in. You could as easily use Eventbrite or Brown Paper Bag Tickets or even Evite – but it helps to use some software to help manage things. Sure, they will likely take a percentage, but being able to sell tickets in advance, email and manage a list, and seamlessly allow people to use credit cards makes things so much easier. All I had to do was forward a URL, and people could sign up, and I could integrate it with my social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, email). SplashThat also allowed me to have discount codes for special people (volunteers, press, VIPs), and still have them register so I could get their email addresses and a headcount for the catering.

We listened to your CD last night ‘OUTSTANDING’ the drinks good, dessert good, your daughters are lovely and Brooke was ridiculously good, I was moved. Amanda was super fun. ELBOW CHILLS ALL AROUND. – Randy T.

Move Them. We practiced. We did a dress rehearsal. We messed with the lighting and did test recordings of the audio and video. The result was that when we finally went up on stage to perform, there was nothing I needed to think about except my performance. Everything was exactly how I wanted it to be, and I could get lost in the moment, connect with the audience, and deliver the performance I wanted to deliver. I’ve performed for 2000 people, and I’ve performed for 5 people. This was for me, though, more than just another coffeehouse or club performance. I poured myself into this performance in a way I never have before. Amanda did too – but she’s already really good at that. She is fantastic live, and I learned so much from watching her perform. I plan on continuing to push myself to be even more open, to be even more expressive, because that was the part that people cared about – they came to see us be ourselves up on the stage. They came to see us perform. They came to be moved.

I’m sure there are many other practical tips for throwing a CD release party. Every musician is different, and every CD release party will be different. Do you have any suggestions to make? Any experiences and lessons learned you’d like to describe? Please share in the comments below. 

Photos by Tim Rounds

It was a sell out crowd, with Microsoft co-founder and guitarist Paul Allen in attendance, Sue Ennis (their longtime co-writer), and many, many others who have followed Heart and the Wilson sisters for decades. Stevie and I sat in the third row orchestra surrounded by adoring (and greying) fans, friends and family. The crowd was very interactive – shouting out comments and requesting songs. The familiarity and love of the audience for the two women was palpable, and they seemed equally relaxed and at home.

Before the backup band came on, Ann and Nancy were interviewed by their biographer, author and journalist Charles R. Cross. His collaborative book on the sisters called Kicking and Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock and Roll was released in the fall of 2012. Although some might have called the interview portion of the concert superfluous (perhaps  preferring just a standalone musical performance), I greatly enjoyed this informative window into the personal and musical history of Ann and Nancy Wilson.

The two women talked about how their mother sewed them matching Sargeant Pepper blue costumes (with jacket and trousers) for their first Beatles concert in Seattle. They described how their father, a Marine and a beloved local high school language arts teacher, encouraged them to write, be creative, and dream big. Even though he was from a family with a long military history, Ann said their father was nonetheless a bit of a rebel, who encouraged both his students and his children to write and express their individuality. Nancy talked about how scary it was for her when there was talk of drafting women, because the military culture was strong in their family going back generations. If there had been a female draft, there likely would not have been a band called Heart.

Yet it became music, not the military, which captivated and defined these two young teens. As Ann said, when she was in Junior High, your identity as a young girl was defined by which Beatle you claimed to want to marry. But Ann and Nancy didn’t want to marry any of the Beatles – they wanted to be the Beatles. I can’t help but think how fortunate they were to have had parents – two parents – who supported their dreams. In that era, these ideas would have been considered very unconventional for young girls, and certainly would have been threatening for many parents. Ann and Nancy talked about being captivated and energized listening to Bob Dylan and other songwriters of their time, although, as Nancy pointed out, some of the protest lyrics were a bit incongruous when sung by two white suburban teen-aged girls from Bellevue. The sisters even performed a Simon and Garfunkle song during the evening, as well as several other very old originals and covers that spoke to their musical roots.

It was enlightening to hear Ann talk about how when she first started singing rock covers in bars with Heart, it became clear to her that lyrics like The Who’s “See Me” took on a completely new meaning when sung by a beautiful young woman than when sung by Roger Daltry. She stopped singing the song. We forget how far women have come in rock and roll, and it is in no small part due to these two women. Even in their sixties, they retain an air of bemused naivete and almost dismissal of the whole issue of sexism, although they clearly encountered it regularly. They just wanted to write and sing rock and roll, when everyone around them saw them as little more than sexual objects.

Unfortunately, the audience was reminded of the very contemporary nature of this problem by a vocal male concertgoer in the upper left balcony who kept shouting out unintelligible expressions of enthusiasm during Cross’ interview, prompting Cross at several points to roll his eyes and crack jokes about him. Ann and Nancy seemed unphazed  - after all, they’ve been dealing with this sort of thing for decades. They just wanted to get on with the business of rock and roll: writing great music, and delivering technically impressive  and emotionally electric performances. As always.

Ann gave a surprising nod  to Ms. Magazine for featuring the the women on its first cover, giving it credit for bumping them into the spotlight in way they hadn’t been before. Again I was reminded how much things have changed for women in music, in many ways, as pictures of female musicians ranging from the demure (Taylor Swift) to the more aggressive and overtly sexual (Beyonce, Niki Minaj and Rhianna) dominate the covers of magazines today. After Cross’ nostalgic interview, it was on to the heart (no pun intended) of the evening – the musical performance.

Ann and Nancy’s backup band for the evening was perfect (from my perspective) for the two women’s acoustic guitar and vocals – tight, musical, and, most importantly, not flashy at all. Local Seattle drummer Ben Smith played a custom kit with a tiny kick drum, egg shakers, snare, cymbals and toms – all with the lightest touch. Guitarist Craig Bartok was the polar opposite of Roger Fisher – tasteful and precise, but never overshadowing the vocals of Ann or acoustic guitar of Nancy. Dan Rothchild was impeccably in synch with Smith on bass guitar. The most flamboyant (and that wasn’t saying she was, truly) was Debbie Shair, who played harmonium, electric keyboard, accordian, and even the house concert pipe organ (see below description.) The band, who also all contributed backup vocals at times, melted seamlessly into each song, surfacing during bridges with some nice solo flourishes, but generally staying unobtrusive, creating a supportive and warm tapestry of sound behind the two women.

I’m an unabashed Ann Wilson fan. I am, after all, a vocalist, and she is, in my opinion, the finest female rock and roll vocalist of my lifetime, but I was surprised by a few things at this concert. I had never seen the sisters in concert before, so this may not be news to those who have, but even though Nancy is the younger sister, and she comes across as a bit spacey, she is clearly the band leader. Ann is the lead vocalist, but it seemed like the band cued off Nancy.

Nancy Wilson is also a really fine lead guitar player; both acoustic and, on one song, electric. Nancy clearly loves performing, she can be flashy, energetic, and rock it flat out with the best. She took up her acoustic guitar several times during the Cross interview and spontaneously played and sang some of the women’s oldest compositions. They are a tea, but Nancy seems the creative driver in the duo: the dreamer, the driver, the fire. Nancy’s explanation of the origin and meaning of one of their most beautiful and musical songs, Mistral Wind, was poetic and riveting, and while she is not quite the vocal powerhouse Ann is, she sang lead very well on a few songs. I get the feeling, when Ann’s not around, that she can probably really belt it out. As a vocal duo, they are seamlessly matched.

Also fascinating to me was Ann’s story of how the song “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” was sort of forced on them by their label at a time when they were experiencing a slump in popularity and needed a commercial hit. Ann has a dryer and sharper sense of humor than Nancy, who is much more of a flower child. Ann, on the other hand, was quite funny when explaining how, once she listened to the lyrics, she was kind of grossed out by them, and now it’s her least favorite song to sing. Yet it’s often the one most requested during their Lovemonger performances. In a stroke of irony, immediately after the performance, it was the first song that came on over the PA as we were exiting.

The highlight of the evening for me was when the Wilsons performed an old song of their’s called “Rock Deep Vancouver” with Nancy on acoustic guitar and Ann on lead vocals. Ann prefaced the song with an explanation of how she wrote the song on a trip from Seattle to Vancouver to meet up with Michael Fisher, with whom she was in love at the time. While this song was never a big commercial hit, for me it epitomizes the soul of the Heart sisters’ emotional and evocative songwriting. They lyrics and music paint vivid pictures of both of the physical and internal landscape of the author: “Oh my soul was glowing, and I knew where I was going.”

Before they began the song, keyboardist Debbie Shair climbed up behind the band to sit at the Benroya the pipe organ. When, halfway through the song, Shair played the first few bass notes – spare, but powerful – the song swelled and grew like church music. Nancy sang the echoing backup vocal, the organ added a deep bass underlying power with full chords, and Ann echoed the refrain with her characteristic passion. For me, this was pop music at its finest. It gave me shivers, and brought home to me the power of that creative drive, the passion and agony of love which drives so many great rock songs.

Notable throughout the evening was the total absence of mention of the Fisher brothers, Michael and Roger, who played such a pivotal role, along with bassist Steve Fossen and drummer Michael Derosier, in the early years of Heart, with collaboratively written songs that brought the Wilson sisters into the spotlight. Not that it mattered too much, because clearly these are two women who can hold their own. Yet it has been a bit sad to see that even after all these years, a reunion performance this week may be unlikely (the Wilson sisters have repeatedly said “no way”), although you never know. Fossen gave hints it was a possibility when we ran into him in person a few weeks back, but Roger has had to backpedal after his initial Facebook statements started the rumor of a reunion performance in LA.

It remains a fact that Ann and Nancy Wilson are rock legends. They are, without question, women to be admired for their talent, creativity, and their perseverance in the face of changing lineups, commercial ups and downs, tumultuous personal lives, and the vagaries of the rock star lifestyle. After all, “That Metal Show” voted Ann Wilson one of the top 3 metal vocalists of all time (men included), and has even had them on the show.

Nancy said that being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been sweet for them, but sweeter in some ways for their fans. So many of  Heart fans have wanted this award for them for so many years, and have felt frustrated and cheated by the delay. No more. Their fans in Seattle and around the world remain faithful and many, and they will always revere Ann and Nancy Wilson as pioneers in Rock and Roll: two women who made their own way, and who earned their place in history.

Note: For a full list of the songs played during the concert, see Gene Stout’s excellent summary in the Seattle Times.

I was reminded of this when I attended the Pacific Northwest Recording Academy’s (Grammy organization) inaugural Songwriter’s Summit this weekend at Seattle’s EMP (Experience Music Project). There were people of every age and color at the Summit, but the concerns and frustrations voiced by the attendees were nearly identical:

• How do I make a living in this crazy business that I love, but which changes under my feet every year, every week, every day?
• Where is the real money to be made in writing and recording music?
• How do I write a hit song? Then, how do I write another hit song?
• How do I rise above the noise in the music industry and get my music heard?
• How do I register and copyright my music so I can get paid?
• How does the byzantine world of music licensing work?
• Is the music business still all about relationships and who you know, or is the internet the great equalizer?
• What is a mechanical license, what does a publisher do, who is SoundExchange and why should I care?
• (and why does Rhapsody hold 30%  of their licensing revenue from streaming plays because they cannot figure out who to pay? This amazing statistic courtesy of Jon Maples, Vice President of Rhapsody Product Management)

The opening session of the Summit was a great example of this universality. The panelists were:

• Clemm Rishad, a young black songwriter signed to Universal Music Group who most recently contributed a hook to Niki Minaj’s hit song “Fly”
• Danny O’Keefe, an experienced white songwriter who is most famous for ”Goodtime Charlie’s Got The Blues” (recorded by Elvis and several other famous musicians), who has written many other hit songs recorded by artists from Jackson Brown to Alison Krauss
•  Sir Mix-A-Lot (AKA Anthony Ray), the famous black hip hop artist who wrote the iconic hit “Baby Got Back”
• Musician and graphic designer Aaron Huffman, a white guy who co-wrote the hit song “Flagpole Sitta” when he was in the band Harvey Danger in the 1990s
• The hilariously witty moderator, Mark Baumgarten (also a white guy), an author and journalist who has written about the rise of independent music from the 80s to today.

Ostensibly a discussion about the inspiration and process that goes into writing hit songs, the panelists also talked about their interactions with record labels before, during and after putting out their big hit songs. Even though they were from different musical genres, different races and different ages, the panelists agreed on many things:

• Inspiration for songs comes from many different places, and processes vary. Sources include life experiences and even music of other artists outside one’s own genre. Sir Mix-A-Lot gains inspiration from a wide variety of other genres of music. Clemm Rishad likes to drive around in his car listening to the music he is writing, because “the beat drives everything”. Danny O’Keefe suggests songwriters turn off Facebook in order to focus on writing (advice I could relate to).
• “Ultimately your artistic side will win, whether you want it to or not,” Sir Mix-A-Lot. For most musicians, our artistic drive and aesthetic are strong, and writing songs for their commercial appeal is not a fulfilling exercise.
• “You want to be an artist, and they want you to be a songwriter,”  Clemm Rishad. Labels want artists to write a song that sounds like everything else being played at that moment. We know as artists, however, that in order to write a hit, we should instead be anticipating the future. Hits require creativity, differentiation – not repeating the same formula. This creates an inherent tension between label and artist.
• It’s really hard to replicate a hit. Record labels want artists to do what they did before, but artists are driven to evolve creatively. Often the follow-up songs that artists write are not considered hits by either fans or labels. Aaron Huffman talked about his band’s first CD being done on a shoestring, and their second album being much more work and cost. They thought their second album was their true masterpiece. Unfortunately, fans did not agree, their label was not happy with their sophomore work, and this was a huge disappointment to everyone. Hit-making is a combination of many different factors - not just talent and hard work, but also being in the right place at the right time.
• “Musicians themselves (and record label execs) are not that good at recognizing a hit song, but fans are,” Clemm Rishad. Watch the I Fight Dragons Music Business Case Study video about their experience with Atlantic, which illustrates the often hilarious process of writing a hit song (or not) with a label involved.
• The relationship between artist and label is changing dramatically.  Now fans define a hit instead of the labels, as musicians go directly to them using social media and other online tools. As Sir Mix-A-Lot said, Macklemore has a lot more artistic freedom than artists of the past.

It was this point which I thought was most profound and encouraging, and I had a brief exchange with Sir Mix-A-Lot via Twitter about it – an example itself of how the music business is changing. When a white female musician who writes folk pop can have a meaningful dialog about music via social media with a black hip hop icon, it gives me hope that social media is a force for good, for creating relationships and finding common ground. We can learn from each other, no matter what kind of music we make or background we come from, and that is one of the most encouraging things I came away from this event with.

There were many other great panel discussions at the Summit, including song listening panels, music licensing, crafting lyrics, song structure, and discussions on finding and maintaining your creative voice. The afternoon (at 4 PM – an appropriate timeslot for musicians) keynote by singer/songwriters John Roderick of The Long Winters and Kathleen Edwards was a huge hit with attendees. They even wrote a song “live” in an effort to show-not-tell songwriting concepts like collaboration, developing song structure and writing lyrics.

I am both encouraged and frustrated by music industry events like these: so many of the same issues come up, like how screwed up licensing and payment of revenue streams is, how cliquish the industry still is, how overwhelming and yet empowering social media can be, and how hard it is to successfully write hit songs. Yet it is also incredibly inspiring to see such a diverse group of musicians sharing their experiences and making new connections. The Recording Academy did a great job of bringing the voices of experience into the rooms, bringing in young people, and cutting across musical genres to get at the issues of importance to musicians today. If you are a musician, think about joining the Academy (I did as a result of this event), and if you already are a member, share your experiences, I’d like to know what you think!

There are many different free tools you can use to gather analytics information. Most are individual tools designed to look at a specific online presence, like your website, Facebook fan page or Twitter followers.  “Analytics for Musicians” by Make It In Music  gives a good overview of analytics tools for these three: Google Analytics for your website, Insights on Facebook, and Hootsuite for analyzing Twitter.

This post describes how and why you might want to check out Google Analytics to understand the activity on your band website. Even if you are a bit of a technophobe, making the effort to personally understand what’s going on with your website is enlightening and empowering. Instead of just anecdotal conversations you might have with fans after a show, or arguments with your bandmates about which website pages are most important, analytics give you real and actionable information about how people are discovering and engaging with your music and your band. You won’t be held hostage to someone else, either, like a webmaster, relying on their busy schedule and waiting for them to give you information.

Setting Up Google Analytics

If all you have is a Facebook or ReverbNation page, and you don’t yet have a band website, you can stop reading right now and go build a website for your band. If you’re still not sure why you need a website, read this: “3 Reasons To Drive Fans To Your Website (and Not Social Media)” by Chris Vinson of Bandzoogle. If you have built your band website using a service like Bandzoogle or CDBaby’s HostBaby, Google analytics are available through their dashboards. They give you the same data I discuss below, although usually packaged up prettily and in less detail than using Google Analytics directly.

If you have a self-hosted WordPress website (.org), Joomla or any other self-hosted platform, you can and must install the Google Analytics tracking code directly on your site before accessing the Google Analytics stats. If you have paid a web developer to create your website, they should have installed Google Analytics on your site from the beginning. If they didn’t, ask them to install it ASAP. Your webmaster can give you access to your website’s Google Analytics by authorizing your gmail address. Some website developers will also give you an Analytics report on a regular basis (and charge you for it), but I encourage you to access the data directly yourself.

You (or your webmaster) have to set up Google Analytics first and give it some time to gather statistics. Once you have had Google Analytics up for a while (preferably months), and you have gotten access, you can log in to Google using your gmail address, and check your stats at the site http://google.com/analytics You should see your website name and UA code and below it, a little globe, which you click on to take you to your Google Analytics dashboard.

Key Metrics For Musicians

Google Analytics can seem overwhelming. (If, on the other hand, you like this geeky stuff, you can export your Google Analytics data into Excel for further analysis – but you probably already knew that.) Here are some of the most important things I think you can learn from looking at the Google Analytics for your website. I’ve italicized the left hand menu navigation that I used to get at the information discussed:

• The big picture view of your website traffic over time: Overview. In the top right corner of Google Analytics is the date box. Default is the last month of data. By playing with the dates, you can see traffic for a specific week, month or year. An often overlooked tool is the “Compare” box, which allows you to compare traffic from two periods, say last month and this month, or the same month last year compared to this year (for example February 2012 and February 2013). Note when there were big spikes in your website traffic. By hovering your mouse over the spike on the graph, you can see the date. Try to trace this spike to a particular promotional activity, such as a blog or Facebook post, a show, posting a new video to your website, a RT about your band from someone famous, or a press article ore review that was published that day about your band.
• Where your traffic comes from geographically: Audience > Overview > Demographics > Location This is pretty self-explanatory – it’s where in the world your fans reside. I was talking to Brian Thompson of Thorny Bleeder the other day about website analytics for a client he is working with. Brian was using another analytics tool called GoSquared, instead of Google Analytics, because it provides a nice visual dashboard, but the data is similar. Brian noted that although his client is  a US-based band, they had a lot of website traffic coming from Europe. They were not aware of the high level of interest coming from that continent, and this gave them a better idea of where to leverage and focus their marketing efforts for their new release.
• Where your traffic comes from via search: Traffic Sources > Overview This tells you how people arrive at your site, whether through search (Google, Bing, Yahoo), referral (from social media or any other website), direct link (someone typed or copied the URL into their browser), or from a campaign (for example, email).  The Overview also tells you what Keyword search terms people are using to find your website. My top keyword search is my name, which is logical from a branding perspective. What I find interesting also is the Referral Traffic > Source information, which shows me that more traffic comes from Facebook than I would have thought.
• Where your traffic comes from via social media referrals. Traffic Sources > Overview > Social This tells you both how much of your website traffic comes from social media, and where exactly it comes from.  Only about a quarter of my total traffic comes from social media referrals, and my top social media referral sites are Twitter and Facebook. One of the things I noticed is that very little referral traffic comes from YouTube to my website, which means I probably need to do a better job of highlighting my website URL at the top of the information about my music videos.
• Which pages on your website people look at the most: Content > Overview It’s good to know which of your website pages gets the most traffic. There are a few articles on famous musicians and their marketing efforts (I’ve written about Taylor Swift, Macklemore, and Amanda Palmer) that have drawn people to my blog more than others. For your website, seeing which pages get the most traffic and where it’s coming from can give you insight into the reason people are coming to your site. Is it the home page (“/” or the root), the Music or About page, or Videos? One thing to check is that if you use WordPress, your individual blog post URLs (“permalinks“) are automatically created with the date and title of the post. This is a great place to cross-reference the traffic spikes I mentioned above with a specific post on a specific date.

• How people navigate through your website: Audience > Visitors Flow I think this a really cool page that most people don’t look at. It shows graphically how people travel through your site – which page they come in to, where they go next, and where they leave the site from most often. Spend some time looking at this page to understand how people use your website, how deep they go (or not), and which pages they are clicking on in what order.
• Real-Time and In-Page analytics: Real-Time and Content > In-Page Analytics (Geek alert) It can be quite addicting to watch the stats change on your website in real time, as visitors enter and leave. This is something that’s fun, but it’s not that useful  – unless you are holding a live streaming event, like a webcast, that has a link which you have promoted directly from your website. In that case, you might want to watch how many people are tuning in live and from where. Also helpful, but equally geeky, is looking at the In-Page Analytics to see where on a page people are clicking most. This is useful when you are considering a website re-design, because it shows you what parts of your home page, for example, are clicked on the most. Most people read sites in an “F” pattern, so making sure the most important information is across the top or down the left hand side of your site is critical.

I’ve really only scratched the surface of Google Analytics with this post, and I’m sure there are some even more expert folks out there who have their favorite statistics to look at. My goal was to get you intrigued enough to get past the inertia and at least make the effort to install and view some of your website stats yourself.

Have you used Google Analytics? What features and information do you use most? What is most useful about Google Analytics for your band? Do you use other tools like GoSquared or Statcounter (there’s also recent article by Grassrootsy on web analytics using Statcounter). I’d love to hear your feedback!

His best-selling book, Creating Your Own Destiny: How to Get Exactly What You Want Out of Life and Work, and his personal transition were also featured as a cover story in USA TODAY. Patrick’s book has been translated into numerous foreign languages and has sold more than 150,000 copies across six continents since 2001… He has coached more than 200 clients in achieving their goals of writing, publishing, and marketing their books.

As I sat listening to all this interesting stuff about self-publishing a book, surrounded by middle-aged people with big dreams – many with really interesting life stories, and all of whom want to become best-selling authors and public speakers, rake in a six-figure income and quit their day jobs - I realized that a lot of the same business ideas apply as well to DIY musicians as they do to DIY authors.

Everyone’s an author these days – just like everyone’s a musician. The rise of digital creation and distribution tools means that audiences are swimming in increasing amounts of cheaper and cheaper content, more and more of which is being created every day. Some is brilliant, some mediocre, and some truly badly done. It’s hard to rise above the noise. Plus, we’re all artists, and business savvy doesn’t always come naturally to artists.

Patrick gives away a ton of practical information on how to make both a real career and real money by being a book author and public speaker. So here are just a few of the things I learned from Patrick’s seminar that could also be applied to the business of promoting music as a DIY musician. See what you think of the parallels, if you think of authors as musicians, books as equivalent to a CD, public speaking equivalent to live performance, a label much like a big New York publishing house, and a book release party like a CD-release party:

1. There are two kinds of book authors: those who write and publish their books as a legacy to leave to posterity (hobbyists), and those who are serious about making it a career. Guess which kind is more successful?
2. It costs about the same to self-publish and promote a book as it does a CD. About $10-15,000 altogether. For many, that is money they will never recoup.
3. It takes ten years to build a career as a best-selling author. 95% of books will not sell more than 3,000 copies.
4. Writing a book is 15% of the work. The rest (85%) is promoting it. Patrick is pretty successful, but he is still constantly hustling, looking for speaker leads and new coaching clients. He is a high energy person and works hard.
5. Your book is a lead-generating tool and your calling card – no more, no less. If you want to be taken seriously as an author and paid as a public speaker, you need to publish a book. It establishes your credibility as an expert, some one who can make something – because publishing a book is hard work. But the book is not the product. You, the person, are the product. Your book  tells people who you are.
6. Selling 3000 books makes you a best-selling author. Selling 10,000 lets you break even. Anything beyond that is incredibly hard to accomplish.
7. “Best-seller” is a manipulated term. If you want to be a best-selling author, take out a $100,000 loan and buy 15,000 of your own books from Amazon.
8. You make more money self-publishing than publishing with a big publishing house, which will take 85% of your gross. They are only interested in you when sell enough copies to make them money – and by then you don’t need them.
9. Give away your book  to influential people whenever you can. Budget to give away 5 books for every 12 you sell. Leave it in places where people will see it. It’s a cost of doing business.
10. The book is a memento of the speaking engagement. Make money by selling your books in the back of the room after a speaking engagement.  Autograph it so people don’t give it to someone else (make their friend buy their own copy).
11. Always know your margins and your return – how much you make per book after printing costs.  Should I do this talk for free, if I get hotel and food paid? Evaluate every opportunity on margin and exposure, you are always looking to generate leads for future business. This is a business, but returns are not always measured up front.
12. Throw a book-signing party and personally invite 200 friends. Hold it in a community center and find sponsors. Don’t spend a lot of money. Sell tickets for $20 and include a copy of your book. Then throw another book release party and call it a “book signing.” Then do it again.
13. If you are already out of town speaking, take other offers to speak in public – even for free – while you’re there. You never know, a lead to a future paying customer might be in the audience.
14. You may break even on the book if you are a good sales person, but the real money is in public speaking.
15. Despite what #14 says, the really, really big money is in private consulting. It’s rare, though, and you have to build your reputation for years to get those gigs.
16. Hire a professional to design your book cover art. Appearance matters.
17. If your book looks good and feels good in the hand, no one cares that you self-published. They care if you’re a good public speaker, and if the book is any good. They actually don’t really care if the book is any good (see #10 above).
18. Last, but important: There are probably more people making money consulting to authors and writing how-to books about book DIY publishing  than there are successful people actually doing it successfully. This last is my observation, not Patrick’s, as his business model really depends on convincing people otherwise.

How about you? Do you have any tips for the marketing and business side of the music or publishing industry? What’s worked for you or others you have seen succeed in these buisnesses?

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.” – Leo Tolstoy

Cirque music always fascinates me, because the musicians are creating a real-time, live soundtrack for the stage performers. Music is a critical part of the show. The vocalists are front and center from the beginning, and guitarists and drummer walk around the stage and audience during the show. They all have great costumes. The lyrics are generally not in English, or there are none, but the music is powerful nonetheless (or perhaps because of this). I could relate especially well to the Amaluna show, since the musicians are all female – and not all in their twenties. These women rocked, and they looked good doing it.

What Cirque musicians have mastered is the focus on emotion. Even without decipherable lyrics, the musicians express and amplify the stage show as they guide the unfolding story. It’s pure, emotive expression – the anchoring principle of every good performance. As performers, we must transmit something deeply emotional to the audience. The technical details matter far less than making that connection.

“I am having so much fun performing, I feel almost guilty. I think, my God, I hope no one comes and busts me for this.” – David Crosby

Another key to the brilliance of these performers is that they are obviously enjoying what they’re doing. Watching Justin Timberlake do his routine as a street-singer restaurant mascot is riveting. Despite being dressed in a foam tofu outfit, he rocks and bops, he sings and shimmies, and he looks like he’s having the time of his life doing it.

Every audience wants to see a performer having a good time. It’s infectious. We watch Timberlake take over a stage and we’re right there up on stage with him, vicariously grooving. I’m not a fan of Timberlake’s newest song, Suit and Tie – it seems too derivative to me (a Motown rip-off) – but watching him perform it is a joy. The technical details, the musicality – most of it doesn’t matter to the audience, because we just love watching someone else have a good time on stage.

“I caught on fire twice on the stage, but I was promptly put out. It was just my leg.” – Tre Cool

The audience will overlook even blatant errors when the rest of the performance carries the show. Failure happens at least once or twice in most Cirque du Soleil shows. The tightrope walker fell, and a performer on the parallel bars missed and fell flat on the mat. In both cases, the audience was palpably shocked, but then started rooting for the performer to complete the act. Most musical blunders aren’t anywhere near that obvious. The key is moving on with the show as if it didn’t happen.

During Lemolo’s performance, there were a few mis-starts and mistakes, but I think the audience would barely have noticed them if the artists themselves hadn’t pointed them out. It’s an old adage, but so true: as artists, we are far more critical of our own performances than the audience is, because we’ve done it a thousand times. But they haven’t. We know what we were supposed to be doing, but the audience rarely does.  If we don’t call attention to them, our mistakes usually go completely unnoticed.

 ”I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.” – Kurt Cobain

The best performers are not trying to please the audience, they are simply doing their thing. Lemolo is a great example of this. They make an amazing variety of sounds for two people – both play keyboards, one plays drums, one plays guitar and sings. The drummer plays with abandon. Their music is a bit quirky, their delivery unconventional. There is a certain self-absorption to their music, a certain navel-gazing repetition to both lyrics and music, but that’s part of the charm. I liken them to Bjork meets Philip Glass with a touch of Keith Moon thrown in. They’re not for everyone, but they’re certainly memorable.

Performers all want to be loved, of course, but it’s also worth noting that an audience will remember a performance if it is unique and personal – even if they don’t like the music. It may be hard to accept this, but we can’t please everyone all the time. We can, however, be memorable. The best way to be unique, to be memorable, is to amplify and exaggerate who were are, because no one else can do that quite the way we do.

“Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.” – Carlos Santana

The best performances happen when both performer and audience are completely wrapped up in the moment. As a performer, I know that feeling of being “in the zone”, when the world falls away, and it’s just me, my fellow performers and the audience.

As I sat in the audience this weekend, I was completely focused on the experience, I was “in the zone”, in the present. The performers on stage were likewise completely focused on that moment. This is where the magic happens, where the bond between performer and audience is created. It’s where the transaction and transfer of emotion and connection is born. Focusing on the moment is the Tinkerbell fairy dust that let’s us fly away together to another world, audience and performer, even if for just a brief time.

“I  was raised in the environment where it really wasn’t about sittin’ around  dreaming all the time, it was about practicing and workin’ really hard and if a  dream ever came to you, you’d be prepared for that  opportunity.” -Harry  Connick, Jr.

Lastly, it’s clear when you watch all three of these performers (or casts), that they are superbly rehearsed. None of the things listed above can happen if you’re not prepared, if you’re worrying about remembering your lines, or if you don’t have an extra guitar string or pick in your pocket. My experience with performing is that the more you perform, the easier it gets. The stage fright becomes less debilitating, and the magic moments come much more often. Practicing creates muscle memory. This reduces the performer’s focus on the details and mechanics of the performance. This gives space for the emotion of the piece to come to the surface and expand.

Bring It

As audiences, we pay artists to dig deep and bare their souls. It’s exhausting work, but it’s the essence of art, and art is the essence of living. Artists have a gift. Our gift is that by expressing emotion, we can transport the audience somewhere else during our performance. It’s a calling to be an artist – we all know we’re not in it for the money. Our biggest reward is to connect with others in a meaningful way. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch Amanda Palmer’s TED talk on the art of asking and the emotional connection that is at the heart of the audience-performer transaction.

I took a lot away from these three performances. One thing I’m going to do later this year to enhance my own performances is to take a workshop with Tom Jackson. I believe it’s never too late to learn how to be a better performer. I want to know how to create that magic at will, not just cross my fingers and hope it happens.

What about you – are you a performer? How do you make your performances riveting? Have you been to any riveting shows recently with amazing performers? What did you take away from that experience? Do you have any tips to share about performing?

“We know that there’s no economical value in non-scarce things. Then how do musicians expect to make money out of digital music, especially now that’s it’s becoming more and more commodified and easy to have access to? Something abundant eventually becomes free at some point…You create market value by selling scarce things. Get it right asap.” – Tommy Darker

“[Big Tech] have to keep commodifying things to keep the share price up, but in doing so they have made all content, including music and newspapers, worthless, in order to make their billions.” – Thom Yorke [Radiohead] as quoted by Music Tech Policy

• Ubiquity drives the commoditization of music and other intellectual property, lowering value and decreasing discovery
• Giving credit, or attribution, counteracts this effect and creates value

I read two posts this week which got me thinking about how these two ideas related in the worlds of both social media and independent music. One post was from Tommy Darker on Music Think Tank called ”Premiumization 101 For Musicians” (from whence came the quote above) and the other was by Bob Dunn, my favorite WordPress guru, called “Make Sure Your Shared Tweets Display Your Twitter Handle“. These seem like disparate posts, but bear with me for a minute or two.

Giving Credit Raises The Artist Above The Noise

Both in the online world of social media and the world of independent music, it’s difficult to rise above the noise. Digital technology has made it both easier to create content and easier to share it. We can remix songs, record performances or create videos on our laptops and phones and upload them instantly to Soundcloud or YouTube. Links are shared and retweeted almost instantaneously. This Mashable article on how much data is created every minute on the internet was itself retweeted over 3,000 times by the time of this writing.

That’s why giving credit to others’ ideas is important. It’s important because music, writing, applications (code) and other intellectual property are proliferating so quickly that they are, in effect, being driven into commodity status. “Music like water” is not just a quaint idea, it’s really true that music is all around us today, seemingly free of charge.

The “music as a paid utility” model proposed by Leonhard and Kusek in 2005 has not happened, however.  Artist compensation and copyright models for all types of digitized intellectual property remain confused, with compensation bunched up in strange places (like with platform providers such as Google, Apple, Amazon, or middle-men like music labels). Whole segments of the creative supply chain are being driven out from book publishers to music producers and recording studios.

The Music Tech Policy article explains why tech platform providers like Google, in particular, are driven to commoditize digital content, but that’s not the main point here. My point is how, as content creators, do we counteract this effect?

As a writer and an artist, I believe strongly in the concept of crediting the work of others. That’s why I propose the idea that attribution is a critical form of compensation for artists and creators of intellectual property. Attribution, or receiving credit for one’s work or ideas, increases an author or artist’s visibility, and allows them, over time, to rise above the noise.

As consumers crowd source (or share) the best content, it rises to others’ attention, perhaps even “going viral”, and thereby allowing at some point for monetization (either past or future). However, this only works if the original idea, the original work, is properly attributed.

Giving Yourself Credit Is the First Step

So where does Bob Dunn’s post about Twitter share buttons come in? I find it amazing that many writers fail to properly set the options on their social media share buttons on their blogs. Yes, they have social share buttons, but when you click on them to share their article on Twitter, they don’t append the “via @[Twitter handle]” at all, or it says “via @sharethis” after the article title and link. Sometimes, there’s just a link, and not even the article title.

Every artist who remixes the work of another, whether music or video, and every content curator who forwards the work of another author, should strive to make attribution a part of their routine. And every artist who creates work should make it easy for others to properly give them credit for it. That means putting your website URL on all your social media sites, and vice versa. Make it easy for viewers of your YouTube video to link to your other sites.

It’s important to credit your collaborators (“work-for-hire” musicians, producers), those who have contributed significantly to the creation of a work that bears your name. Giving credit to others who are good at what they do does not detract from one’s own work, it only enhances it.

If all of us who create, curate and consume artistic content make this effort, over time, the best work will become noticed, and the creators will have the opportunity to be not only recognized, but also compensated, for their work. Perhaps I live in a utopian dream world, but if “music like water” was a valid proposal, why not “give credit as currency”?

What do you think? Do you ensure it’s easy for others to credit your work? Do you license your work under the Creative Commons License? Do you credit others for their work when you curate or remix it?

I thought it might be useful to share a walk through of my relatively cheap and easy experience securing the mechanical and synch licenses for both the audio and video files. As a writer of original music, and also because I spent my own time and money making these high quality audio and video recordings, I felt it was important to comply with the legal licensing requirements. This was not a video of me singing the song by myself with a guitar in the living room in front of my computer’s video camera. Although I thought it seemed unlikely, I didn’t want YouTube to take down my video channel because of this single cover video. Most important to me, however, I feel it’s only right to legally compensate the original artist for their work.

By the time I started the licensing process, I had already posted MP3s of  two different versions of the cover song to my Soundcloud account (streaming only, no download, free). I also had created the music video and hosted it privately up on Vimeo (from where it has since been removed). I had not linked it to my website or used social media to promote the video in any way, however, since I wanted to be sure I could secure the appropriate licenses first. Keep in mind that my goal with this cover and the video are not to make money. I have chosen not to monetize either the audio or video version through payment or advertising.

A Basic Overview

By simply Googling “synch license YouTube video” I turned up a very informative post entitled Posting Cover Songs on YouTube: Music Licensing Law Explained on CD Baby’s excellent blog, The DIY Musician (dated March 28, 2012). It was written by Christiane Cargill Kinney, whom I happen to have also met in person last week at SF Music Tech. Christiane is not only a practicing entertainment lawyer in LA who is married to a filmmaker, she is a song writer and musician herself. She’s also a super nice person who is is generous with her time helping other artists understand the complexities of music licensing.

Christiane’s article explained that I needed both a mechanical and a synch license to be able to legally stream this song on Soundcloud and post a YouTube music video of it.

Chris Seth Jackson has also posted an article on licensing cover songs and videos of cover songs on his website, HowToRunABand.com.

Mechanical License For Soundcloud Digital Downloads

The first (and easiest) thing I did was to go to Harry Fox (you can also use LimeLight) to secure a mechanical license to distribute my cover of the song. This was very straightforward, except for where I had to estimate how many copies and in what form I would be distributing the song. Since for now, I am not making  any physical CDs with the song on it, it was a bit easier, but I still had to guess how many times people would be interested in playing the song streaming on Soundcloud, and how many digital downloads they might make. It ended up being a very reasonable $9.10 for 100 digital downloads via their Songfile tool. I figured if I needed more licenses, I could always purchase them later.

You can use Harry Fox for whatever digital distribution method you are using (CD Baby, Bandcamp, Tunecore, iTunes, etc.) to sell or distribute your cover, whether you are distributing it for free or making money from it.

Note that Harry Fox also has a new service called eSynch (Beta) available on their website for synch licensing for videos for personal use, but you can’t use it for YouTube or any kind of commercial videos. ASCAP also has an “Experimental License Agreement for Interactive Services” for on-demand performances such as internet jukeboxes or music vidoes, but although the PRO for this song is ASCAP, I didn’t use this service.

Synch License for My YouTube Music Video

Following Christiane’s suggestions, I pursued the synch license for my music video next, by approaching the license-holder directly. There are a couple of different ways to identify which music label or other license-holder to approach to get a synch license. If you have already posted your video to YouTube, you will be notified of the license holder’s information fairly quickly through YouTube’s Content-ID database. Your mechanical license from Harry Fox will also list the license-holders.

In my case I had not yet posted the video to YouTube, and I didn’t look closely at my Harry Fox license, so I simply went to YouTube and searched for the official version of the song. This was actually easier last year, but now all of Zucchero’s videos have moved over to Vevo. Most license holders are pretty obvious about displaying their claim to a song in the About section of YouTube, Vevo or wherever their music videos are hosted. In the case of Zucchero, I figured out the license-holder was Universal Music Group Italia Srl. So, I went to the Universal Music Group publishing website, where I clicked on the “License Music” tab at the top to find the song in their database. Just a note – it’s not super simple to use this database, you may need to search for the song using the artist name, the song writer’s name, or the song title. You can also go to the Universal Music Group licensing website and email them the information requested.

License Granted

I heard back very quickly from two actual human beings at UMG via email (first Nina, then Jane Yoon in Film and TV Movie Clearance), who asked me for some additional information, such as where the video would be hosted, how much it cost to make, whether it would downloadable, and if it would be offered for free or not.

This was the holiday season – I submitted my detailed request on November 29 and received a reply on December 20. I received an email (below) granting my request for a license without requiring me to pay them anything, provided I agreed to their terms.

Hi Solveig,

Your request is approved for Internet (Streaming only and limited to your Youtube account). Cannot be posted anywhere else except YouTube.  We can claim this through our blanket agreement with YouTube as long as:

A)     this is being posted by an individual (rather than a business),

B)      this is a one-off video (as opposed to a series of videos)

C)      you are not intending to profit from the video (i.e. upload as a premium partner)

D)     the video itself does not contain any “offensive” content (NOTE: this would be a violation of YouTube’s Terms Of Service),

E)      the video itself does not endorse a product/brand/service (NOTE: YouTube will sell ads on our around your videos which is beyond your or our control, but we’re concerned that you don’t actively insert anything that could be deemed promotional for a third party in the video yourself),

F)      you don’t display the lyrics in the video or the description (NOTE: you can sing the lyrics, you just can’t type them or otherwise graphically display them)

G)     you provide a hyperlink to the final posting once done so we can ensure YouTube’s filters accurately captured the use

Please advise if any of the above are not the case and/or if you encounter any difficulties. Please note that other parties might have a copyright interest in the song, and may object or block the video.  We can make no guarantees that another party might block the video.  Further we reserve the right to take the video down at a later date at our sole discretion.

Song Title: MENTA E ROSMARINO

PIPS #: 6622710

Writer(s): Adelmo Fornaciari; Alberto Salerno

Publisher(s): Universal Musica, Inc. on behalf of Universal Music Italia Srl. and Zucchero Fornaciari Music Srl

Ownership %: 100%

Territory: WORLD

Society: ASCAP

Best,

Jane

Loose Ends

I immediately took down the Vimeo version of the video, made the YouTube link public, and removed the song lyrics I had posted on Soundcloud and YouTube. I also sent Jane back a “hyperlink” so she could verify my compliance.

There’s one loose end I am still not sure how to tie up. Sometimes there may be more than one license holder for a song. I became aware via YouTube that in addition to UMG,  EMI may also hold some kind of license to this song as well. However, I was unable to verify this. I figure they (or YouTube) will track me down if they are concerned.

What about you? Have you recorded a cover song? Made a music video of a cover song? Have you requested a mechanical or synch license? What was your experience with this process? I’d love to hear.

Here are my other impressions (taking into account that there was no way I could humanly attend all of the 33 sessions):

Daisy and YouTube: Important But Unrepresented

It was interesting that panel after panel talked throughout the day about YouTube as the most important platform for music discovery, especially among young people. Zoe Keating said she gets more money monthly from YouTube than Spotify. Yet many other music tech platforms are not seamlessly integrated with YouTube, and licensing is a nightmare for smaller musicians. Google was completely unrepresented at SF Music Tech as far as I could see – neither as panelists nor attendees.

Another elephant in the room was Daisy: apparently things got heated at the “How We Will Experience Music in the Future” panel, although I wasn’t there to hear it myself. Daisy went completely unmentioned in the “Music Discovery” panel (with panelists from Echo Nest, Rhapsody and Pandora). I did see two Daisy/MOG/Beats (that was what their badges said) attendees, but no official panel representation. I would think with all the press Jimmy Iovine’s been courting around Daisy and serving data to artists, they would have had someone here to talk to the tech community about this feature. Maybe I’m naïve.

ShowGo.tv: Serving A Middle Tier

I had a great conversation at breakfast with  CEO Brian Gruber of ShowGo.tv about their streaming performance service designed to bring the intimate mid-size live club performance experience to online audiences. Their goal is to sign up 30 clubs globally that showcase established, but perhaps under-exposed, artists such as Rikki Lee Jones, whom ShowGo.tv just live streamed recently from Seattle’s Jazz Alley. They offer a turnkey streaming tech platform to select clubs who meet their criteria (which also includes an existing social media presence). This could be a great source of additional exposure and revenue to the artists, as well as the clubs. I like the idea, I wonder how it compares with Ustream’s new self-service, live pay-per-view service. I think there is a niche for making both the live and recorded club experience more accessible for fans of older, more established artists as well as lesser-known, breaking middle tier artists. Fans don’t always want to drive to a club, pay for babysitters and parking. They’d rather drink chardonnay in their own living rooms and get that intimate experience with streaming performance services like Live Nation, StageIt, ShowGo, Ustream, YouNow, Second Life and other platforms.

Music Hack Day: Everyone Loved Copper The Tipper

The winners of Music Hack Day demoed their products, some with more success than others. Judging from the Twitter feed, lots of folks were very excited about Copper (“Because you can’t buy a burrito with a Facebook Like”), a tipping platform for artists. Anything that helps indie artists make money is good in my book, but it’s also true that many options for tipping artists exist today, from simply using a “Pay What You Like” button to, at a larger scale, crowdfunding sites. (I would also note that from an SEO perspective, the company name “Copper” is not ideal. Note to all startups: check your keywords before naming your company.)

It’s a bit depressing as an artist to realize that many tech people are essentially buying into and further enabling the model that defines artist compensation as a patronage model, not a fee for valued service model. But I guess that’s the new reality. Some money is always better than no money.

Zoe Keating: The Artist’s Voice

As always, Zoe Keating represents the artist voice with clarity and equanimity. She mentioned that she prefers to attend tech conferences over attending traditional music conferences, because techies are more optimistic. Keating brings a reality check to every panel she’s on. She is matter of fact about where her revenues are coming from – and where they are not. The panel discussion she was on (“Rights & Terms of Licensing Database”) included Rob Kaye from MusicBrainz (who won the “best hair” contest by shaving and dying the SF Music Tech logo onto the back of his head) and Kevin Landowski of Discogs. From the discussion, it’s clear that artists and many technologists view the PROs as actively obstructing the evolution of the artist compensation model by delaying and obfuscating. “Where was the six-figure check before a lawyer was hired to investigate an artist’s compensation?” asked Kaye.

Keating said the only time she gets money from ASCAP is when she publicly shames them – a strong statement. A former ASCAP employee added to the negative perception by stating that he saw firsthand how hard they made it for artists to get access to their own data. David King (Music Consultant) made the statement that publishers are getting frustrated with PROs and moving to direct licensing.

ThingLink: Why Hasn’t It Caught On More With Artists?

I got a personal demo from ThingLink Chief Marketing Officer Neil Vineberg just because I asked him what his product did. That’s one thing that is so great about SF Music Tech – it’s an open and social environment conducive to lots of 1:1 meetings. A musician himself (he played jazz guitar in the conference breakfast room), Neil graciously showed me everything about his current product, including some nice analytics available in the paid version. Right now, ThingLink is free in the basic version, which is ideal for musicians. Neil’s claim is that ThingLink increases fan engagement many multiples by embedding social media and other links in visual content. He suggested ThingLink click through rates exceed email direct marketing significantly (in the upper single digits), with sharing and conversion (purchase) made visual and simple.

ThingLink is a B2B play, partnering with large consumer brands like Ikea and Target (to market artists like Justin Timberlake), or to promote movies with interactive visuals. I also got a sneak peek at their new consumer mobile version that could revolutionize live experiences for social media users, especially on Twitter. I admit I have not used ThingLink, but if it is as profitable for artists to use ThingLink to create a visual, interactive, engaging fan experience – all for free – why aren’t more artists using it?

EDM Leads The Way: Sells Six Times As Many Tickets Via Social Media

There are several music genres where marketing and tech innovations seem to be creating real financial opportunities for artists, EDM being the most dynamic. Through the entire music product lifecycle – from creation to promotion to consumption – EDM is leading the way. There is innovative collaboration, co-branding and monetization happening faster in this genre than in any other. I was sorry to miss this panel, but the message is worth mentioning because it’s an important one from an overall industry perspective. Some of the most innovative marketing and monetization tactics are coming from this sector, from live performances to corporate co-branding to collaborative music creation.

Bright Antenna Records has the coolest vendor booth

Digital Marketing: Label People State The Obvious

The panel on Digital Marketing made a lot of good, if somewhat obvious points: artists need to use social media, get close to fans, use Google Analytics, don’t pester the A&R people, etc. There was an interesting discussion about bands partnering with brands as the future of artist compensation. Brands want to associate with artists that create an emotional experience for their customers, and they are willing to pay a lot of money to established artists to co-brand (witness Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake as just the newest examples of a long-running trend). A good tip was to approach the ad or licensing agencies that service a particular brand if you want to license your music to a brand.

Data Analytics Gets A Session: From Fashion to Former Obama Staffers

Given the prevalence of the “big data” discussion at every digital marketing conference these days, it’s not surprising that data analytics had its own session. The panelists (MIT alumni Arte Merritt of Mobile, Mark Trammell, Sonos, and Karen Moon [stealth startup] ) came from a variety of non-music-related backgrounds and experience, one with three years at Twitter and a former Obama campaign members, as well as the fashion industry.

Music lags behind the rest of the business world in its focus on social media and other fan analytics techniques, but it is catching up quickly as NARM and Billboard embrace the number cruncher ethos with startups like Next Big Sound. I would have liked to have seen more than a general discussion of the issues, with a focus on some actual musician case studies – which tools are being used and what marketing decisions made as a result of data analysis. Most musicians and labels I know have a social media and website presence, but are still “Like-counters” and wouldn’t know the term “sentiment”. Those who make themselves familiar with the tools and know how to slice the data will have a competitive edge.

While labels and others become more sophisticated and hire big data experts, it’s also true that free social media analytics tools from Hootsuite to Music Metric are making market research more accessible to indie labels and DIY musicians. As the “one giant database” of metadata becomes more of a reality (I saw a tweet that quoted Brian Zisk as saying that $1M has been raised to address this via a startup), artist empowerment will increase concurrently, and licensing and compensation models will become more transparent. They will have to. I look forward to even more discussion around this issue at the next SF Music Tech, as it is perhaps the single most transformative issue in this business.

Building Platforms Artists Don’t Need: The Refined Air Of Silicon Valley

One of the most insightful comments I heard was in a wrap-up session, where one attendee observed that tech companies need to be sure they are serving an actual market need. Given this conference takes place so close to Silicon Valley, it’s not surprising that the startup community was so well-represented. It’s important for tech people to step back sometimes out of the intense, competitive environment that is Silicon Valley and sanity check their products with real music consumers and/or real musicians. The coolest technology platform will not succeed if it is no more than a personal fantasy of its frustrated musician-CEO.

As a fan of the Agile Development philosophy, I totally agree that it’s as important for music tech companies to get a product out there as it is for other startups, no matter if it’s not fully baked, in order to get hard data on whether the customer need is really there. I always wonder at tech conferences how many of the companies represented will be around in five years.

Karaoke and Light Painting Portraits

The conference also included several before- and after-parties, as well as a movie pre-screening. In addition to being great networking opportunities, they offered quality entertainment from local musical artists, from DJs to solo and small group musicians. I enjoy when a conference offers creative people some additional stimulation outside the conventional panel sessions. Karoke is catnip for tech executives (I’ve experienced this at GeekWire events in Seattle), but the new one for me was Edible Light, whose Light Painting Protraits (offered quickly and efficiently for a small donation) were a unique entertainment and conference souvenir. I can’t wait to have mine emailed to me.

Meeting People, Making Connections

This conference managed to be professional without being too cliquish. It was diverse and yet intimate. I met quite a few people I’ve only met before online, and some new people who were approachable and interesting. There were definitely serious business deals being done, pitches being made, and teams forming – unlike many of the regular music conferences I have attended which attract only artists and consultants. I felt the future of music tech was turning to reality in front of my eyes.

It’s also very worth mentioning that Brian Zisk and his staff, in partnership with the Hotel Kabuki,  also did an excellent job with logistics, including live streaming the event, great food and beverage options, and AV that worked without any visible hitches. I greatly appreciated the unsweetened ice tea, crudite, hummus and fresh whole fruit offered for the afternoon snacks (as well as the open bar in the evening). It’s no small feat to pull off a conference of this size (not sure of the exact numbers – they wouldn’t tell me – but over 1000 attendees, sponsors and speakers). The attendee list is available at Eventbrite. The sponsorship list was impressively long as well. This is a well-organized, well-run conference with great speakers and high-quality sponsors and attendees.

If you attended SF Music tech this time around, or in years past, I’d love to hear your impressions of the conference below. I also always love to get feedback on the numerous important issues covered at the conference, such as metadata, streaming music platforms, artist compensation, and social media analysis – many of which I have written about on this blog as well. Input is always welcome!