Modern Folk

I Haven’t Written Music For Months

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:25:30 +0000

All of a sudden, I am now a full-time social media marketer. I tweet, facebook, email and digg much more than I write music these days. I spend more time in Dreamweaver than Logic, and so my next album is well promoted but way overdue. More than that, I find it difficult to concentrate on the longview while promoting a new media campaign. I got to get a balance. I’m a natural Renaissance mind, that’s why I started this venture into the music/media world. Just got to remember to balance science with art and use both my brains at once.

A Challenge To The Industry From An Artist

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:34:13 +0000

4:00 AM, Best Western Santa Monica

There’s a mighty large group out there on the webs talking about the dynamic nature of online retail, the possibilities for integrated tour management, bands and brands, the best global release strategies. Marketing, online presence, the future of the music industry. That’s great. Posting a friendly note that all this discussion only really matters where it matters if it culminates in concrete ways to make it easier for artists to get on stage and do the only thing that ultimately matters: play.

Tonight, I spent 3 hours in a booth at a club on Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica waiting to play a solo gig that started at 11:15pm. I got two drink coupons, the coupons only allowed me to get well drinks. I made $10 total (see pic). I had to watch the main acts’ fans move into the bar as I got set up. Not fun. I was fortunate to have really good friends Brad, Deirdre and Rich there to cheer. Thanks guys. I sat on stage playing my heart out as I watched people trickle out of the bar one by one. The recurring ‘you did awesome’ speeches were great to hear from the bartenders. Still, last night I came into Santa Monica and played for an empty room. In alot of ways, I am just starting out, and certainly no artist is immune from having to do this at some point, even if they have a small management team, Topspin, last.fm, constantly Twitter, pwn Facebook or do any other whizbang of the moment.

What I want to remind the community is that when we talk about ‘artists’, this is our life and the shit we go through every night around the world to try and enrich culture. This business of being a musician can be disheartening, depressing, sometimes lonely, with no feedback, no clear route to follow, still we love playing. (Watch 72 Musicians) Artists are your clients and the personas you should be addressing. Artists know the concrete problems that really need to be solved, the problems that would matter so much to them as they work through rough times. Sure, a $1m deal with a brand would be great, but I’m a little busy just trying to get my career momentum kickstarted.

So I’m challenging everyone to be concrete. Solutions that help the artist live a better life. What’s your idea? Oh, and yeah, I’ve got some specific ideas I’d love to see solved, so email me your NDA and we can talk. ;>

Thanks for listening,

Christopher Grant Ward

16 Things an Aspiring DIY Musician Has Gotta Know How To Do (That Have Nothing To Do with Playing Music)

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:54:07 +0000

Many music career paths have been premised on the hope that one day a label would take over, with their understanding of the channels and methods, their knowledge of where and what to do to–and of course the money–to broadcast me to an awaiting public. Times have changed and so must our goals. And that’s a good thing. Now I have the choice and responsibility to put my fate in my own hands. As an artist, it really doesn’t make sense to me any other way.

But now since I’m not focused on being discovered, my skillset needs to change. Like an aspiring chef needs learns to run a restaurant (see previous post), I’ll need to act as my own label, creative and marketing firm. A short list of things an aspiring DIY musician has gotta know how to do, that have nothing to do with playing music:

Code basic HTML (yes You)
Optimize your site’s search engine results
Create and edit video
Perform basic graphic design
Operate PhotoShop
Manage physical inventory
Do social networking/blogging
Not worry that everyone likes you
Write a press release
Collect performing rights payments (ok, kinda about music)
Understand copyright and intellectual property laws
Test and optimize marketing communications (e.g., A/B testing of emails, offers, etc)
Optimize online purchasing (make it dead-stupid-easy for fans to buy things online)
Manage a sole-proprietorship or LLC (get a biz license, seller’s permit, TM, etc.)
Run Quickbooks (or other business accounting tool)
Negotiate (everything)

Starting Bands or Small Restaurants

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:00:04 +0000

For me it used to be, play music often and push hard. Don’t save the band’s money. Spend everything I make and then some on gear, gas or beers. Our premise was essentially “See how long we can all go and hope we don’t burn out before we get discovered by a label.” Dropping that myth is a great thing, because it doesn’t respect a musician’s work for what it really is: a business. These days, creating music has become a DIY, entrepreneurial venture: the ownership, the responsibility and rewards are in the hands of the right people. The only thing we’re missing is a new compass to follow. What’s the model? What are the goals? What should I be working on at what stage, and why?

As I see it, deciding to start a band these days is quite similar to deciding to start a small restaurant. Your friends have always loved the food you cook, maybe you’ve even won a few local contests. Maybe you’ve taken classes and traveled to new countries to learn the local cuisines. At work, all you think about is getting home to try a new recipe. You come to realize this is your passion and so you decide it’s time to make a living out of your culinary talents. Very cool, life is short.

But straight off you discover that starting a restaurant requires a whole lot more than being a great cook. In fact, you soon learn there’s countless talented chefs in restaurants all around you, all trying to do the same thing you are. You also have leases, staff, suppliers, business and liquor licenses. You have to learn very quickly how to be good (or to get help) at a number of skills around brand, promotion, marketing, perhaps new technologies, health certifications. You find yourself dealing with tax forms, websites and city hall much more often than honing your recipes.

You also find out very quickly that your unique craft in the kitchen amounts to only a small part of the equation. And yet, it’s that small part that will label who you are as an artist, and it is entirely what will make or break your long term business. Oh, and you better be able to do your art in your sleep, in less than ideal conditions while managing a slew of other non-culinary concerns. You better be able to take chances with your art that might fail and be criticized. You also better be able to settle for an A- recipe that is easier to produce and distribute to a larger audience. That is, if you want to have a restaurant.

You do all these things not because you’ve lost focus, but because you have long-term focus. You know what you want your life to be, and even though your focus may be elsewhere right now, you’re working your ass off to build a long-term situation where you can focus on an artform that you love. You want to build a strong clientele, a good following, a brand in the marketplace. Once established, then you can try new recipes and improve your art whenever you’d like. You can connect with your customers, you can enjoy what you’ve created.

That’s the hope anyway. And as a musician, I have similar goals. In a DIY music industry, I think a lot of us do.

***

This analogy works for me in many ways:

talented restaurants and bands are a dime a dozen (in most places)
both are entrepreneurial businesses (make no mistake)
both have to be good at many things besides their art to be successful
they both deal with a fickle public that has virtually unlimited choice
however, by standing out, both can develop incredibly loyal, long-term customers
in both cases it’s a unique, meaningful connection with the audience, not raw ‘talent’, that make you stand out from the crowd

This analogy also doesn’t work in a few interesting ways:

Starting a restaurant by yourself is a lot different than collaborating with three other people to do it. The vision needs to be locked from the get go. Bands tend to not have this conversation until it’s too late.
Bands typically deal with a wider geographic audience than a small restaurant. However, for a small band starting out, this probably makes more sense.
Bands make a lot less; i.e., people will pay to sample a new restaurant. Not so with bands.
Most importantly, people don’t just want ‘local food’, they want good food. Who cares if it’s local. Not sure why crappy ‘local bands’ are such a big deal.