Blog posts and interviews on the music industry
Jo was a founding member of Sector 27 with Tom Robinson - and a member of Virginia Wolf with Jason Bonham. Burt also recorded with Freddie Mercury on his solo album, Mr. Bad Guy and was the bassist for Black Sabbath during their 1987 tour in support of the album The Eternal Idol.
He has written, toured, and performed with many other artists, including The Troggs, Brian Setzer, Bob Geldof, Roger Taylor, James Reyne, The Sweet and many, many more.
Marty Neumeier started out as a graphic designer and he developed hundreds of brand icons, retail packages, and other communications for companies such as Apple, Adobe, Netscape, Kodak, and HP. Eventually, Marty evolved into an editor, and launched CRITIQUE, a magazine that quickly became the leading forum for improving design effectiveness through critical analysis. Later in his career, Marty started Neutron, a design think-tank focused on brand-building processes that drive organizational change. Today, as Liquid Agency’s Director of Transformation, Marty offers high level consulting for some of the world’s most respected brands, while also writing and lecturing worldwide on the subject of branding, business and innovation. Marty’s books have been hailed as breakthroughs by Fast Company, BusinessWeek, and Harvard Business Review. His books have been described as a “practical field guide on how to create and grow a world-class brand”, and “ZAG” was recently named one of “The 100 Best Business Books of All Time”.
I have to say speaking with Steve was a fascinating experience. The world of audio branding and how it brings music into our everyday is very cool. How music affects the way we purchase and consume products and experiences, as well as remember and associate them is eye opening.Steve's psychology background mixed with his branding and marking experience and his passion for music make him the audio branding guru he is!
I have been following Wes for some time online and especially enjoyed an interview/case study with him in Hypebot. He shared some information on the marketing success he had with Nashville band "Vinyl Thief," how they had used the different tools available to them and what worked best.Wes is fairly new to the industry. I thought it would be interesting to interview somebody who is starting out on the premises of what the new music industry offers and how they are making it work for them.
I have known Devon since 2007. He is a soulful singer and passionate guitar player. He also happens to be the son of Greg Allman of the legendary Allman Brothers Band. This being said he has made his own path and found his own place in music.I have found it interesting to see the evolution of Devon's career over the last few years. This interview was from a while back and I thought it was an interesting point to listen to him talk about his expectations for 2012 and to now realize that they have already come to fruition.
Battling against the over-exposed and the under-talented, Eric has handled the PR for Bob Geldof, Ringo Starr, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Barry Manilow, Randy Bachman, Sasha and Digweed, Sinead O’Connor, Steve Miller, The Smashing Pumpkins, Little Big Town, The Black Angels, Natalie MacMaster, DJ Khaled, Curt Smith, Dr. John, Dwight Yoakam, Fred Eaglesmith, Harry Shearer, Dan Zanes, Opeth, Cradle Of Filth, Jordan Knight, Chickenfoot, Bush, Jeff Dunham, A-Trak, Judy Collins, Supersuckers, Joan Baez, Slash, Andy Kim, Pete Seeger, Joan Armatrading, Amy Ray, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Snoop Dogg, Honeymoon Suite, Robert Munsch, Jeff Martin, J. Dilla, The Wiggles, Bill Wyman, Sly and Robbie, Frank Black, Steve Earle, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mick Fleetwood, The Prodigy, Madlib, Deborah Cox, In Flames, Ray J, Mastodon, Kim Mitchell, Jim Jones, Charlatans UK and many more.
Gene Simmons of KISS first tapped Michael’s skills as a pioneering online marketing strategist to launch and manage all aspects of Kissonline.com’s multi-million dollar enterprise, including their ground-breaking VIP ticket program.
Lori Lieberman is best known for “Killing Me Softly”, written during her Troubadour days in Los Angeles when she saw Don McLean in concert, Lori Lieberman has consistently recorded LP after CD, gleaning the respect of an industry and a devoted base of fans.
For nearly 30 years, Steve Jones has worked in the music industry in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean. He's had a front row seat to the rise (and sometimes fall) of some of rock & roll's biggest. Combining his two passions, music and business, Steve takes the lessons learned from the greatest acts in rock history and applies them directly to business.
"You are exactly where you are supposed to be...." This is what my friend Ryan Stanley told me once and it has given me a whole new perspective on life. I don't know about you but I have found myself blaming a situation, or even worse, other people, when things have not been as successful as I had hoped. You hear it all the time, "If I just had more money, or, if I just lost a little weight,... etc... things would be better."
Your Thoughts Create Your Futre crop
My dad always told me "the helping hand you are looking for is at the end of your own arm...", however sometimes it has seemed easier to reach for the arm of another. My whole life he's said, "Your thoughts create your future..."
Taking responsibility for your own actions, and accepting that the present is where you have lead yourself, is not always easy. At times it is even difficult to understand why those around you experience greater success when you have been given the same opportunities.
I have lived my life by the words of my father, that your thoughts create your future. However, when Ryan told me "you are exactly where you are supposed to be...," all of a sudden it became clear to what degree I am responsible for the present I am experiencing. I am supposed to be exactly where I am, and in the situation I am in, because of the decisions and choices I have made in the past. Consequently, I have the power to decide where I am supposed to be in my future.
Once I fully realized the power of the present, the fact that the present will be our past, and that at one point it was the future, I realized just how much control I have of my own life.
If you want to fulfill your dreams, stop dreaming! As long as you dream of them being in the future they will stay in the future. It's like the horse that has a carrot dangling in front of it, no matter how fast it gallops the carrot doesn't get any closer. The future is made up of present moments. If you spend your time daydreaming about what you are going to do, where you are going to be, what sort of lifestyle you plan to lead, etc... when you get to the future and it is not what you had imagined, it is because you never made "right now" count.
Whether you are fulfilling your dreams or not, "you are exactly where you are supposed to be!"
Thanks Ryan.
As part of my Above The Noise Music Industry Podcast series it wouldn't be complete if we didn't talk about music law. How many times have you wondered if somebody could "steal" your song, or what happens if you have the same name as another band, or what is copyright, or a trademark, etc... ? To answer all these questions and more I sat down with entertainment attorney from Austin Texas, Joseph Stallone.
Glen Kolotkin has recorded some of the world’s finest musicians, including Santana, Barbra Streisand, Pete Seeger and Jimi Hendrix. He has more than 20 gold and platinum albums to his credit. And he’s looking for new artists to work with. Talking with Glen was fascinating and I would have loved to have heard all his stories of some of my idols. He really has been part of this industry since the start!
This interview in particular is from a while back and was originally intended to be released as a written interview. However, after listening to it I realized that it should be available as a podcast. Chris is an engaging person to listen to and does a great job at conveying his answers. I really enjoyed interviewing Chris as he is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the world of songplugging and how to work a catalog of songs. Many people wonder what it takes to get your song performed by a top selling, top charting artist. This interview discusses just how that is done!
I thought if we put this into context with the music industry, how many of us start out being told that we won't succeed? That you can't make a living in the business, that you need a real job? "It's just a hobby..."
Wouldn't that be like stacking a tower of paint containers, all the while hoping it doesn't fall? More importantly, if we take the approach of a two year old, and simply believe that we can do what we set our minds out to do, we can stack our tower as high as the sky, that we can create the career that we want?
The Guerilla Music Marketing Handbook has likely been read by most independent artists today. So when it comes to being heard "Above the Noise" talking to Bob Baker was a no brainer. His marketing savvy and music career insight show how to start making some "noise."
Q&A With Sarah Gavigan
Sarah Gavigan Music Supervisor
This is a Q&A with music supervisor Sarah Gavigan. It is the sequel to the previous podcast and there is a ton of great questions and fantastic answers! If you don't walk away from these podcasts with an understanding of how to license your music and how to improve your music's licensability you might want to listen again and take notes! Sarah also made available extra goodies, videos etc... for all of you here: http://bit.ly/GNxvxl
Prior to forming DigSin, Frank was the Senior Vice President of Music Strategy for CMT, an MTV Network. Under Frank’s leadership, music video ratings reached all-time highs thanks to an aggressive multi-platform promotional strategy. Frank was also Vice President of Music Programming and Label Relations for Yahoo! Music, responsible for all the company’s music programming. He was instrumental in the exponential growth of Yahoo’s audience bringing in approximately 25 million people a month. He was also senior music director at The Box Music Network, worked in marketing and A&R for Ignition Records, managed a live music venue, programmed broadcast radio stations and created two local music video shows.
As you know these interviews are about being heard above the noise. Who better to interview than a publicist for just that reason! Kevin Fetterplace is a publicist whose job it is to get his clients heard above the noise. With grammy award winning clients he is a go to guy for PR in the music industry.
I have recently started teaching a music business course I have developed called "Above The Noise." The idea is to determine what it takes to be heard above the noise! There are a lot of people out there doing the same things you are and ultimately the hardest part is being heard above everyone else. I have established what I am calling the 5 pillars to being "heard above the noise."
This is the first podcast in my series "Above The Noise." The purpose of these podcasts is to find out what it takes to permeate to the top. With the physical ability to listen to only 5% (and that's if we spend 24-7 without breaks) of new music released every week (thanks to Jay Frank for this stat) it is clear that the true task is to be "Heard Above The Noise." The interviews will be with the people behind the music and the people behind the business of this industry. We will be sharing conversations with musicians, composers, marketing and branding gurus, social media experts, industry leaders, thought provokers and music futurists!
