3 Legal Tips for Amanda Palmer-Style Crowdfunding

Here at Make It In Music we have been following with interest the Amanda Palmer Kickstarter story. It has definitely been a game changer. Indie musicians everywhere are now looking at the DIY approach in a new light. There is money to be had.

Earlier this month we took at look at this, with Crowdfunding - Beware of the Goldrush - 20 Things You Must Consider  looking at things that concern your commitment to the fans that have invested in your music.

But we forget there are other implications to suddenly having a million dollars fall in your lap.

Martin Frascogna has written an article covering possible legal and financial implications to consider when setting up a kickstarter project.

Martin states,

Raising millions via crowdfunding doesn’t come without questions, and more so, legal implications. Where does all the money go? Is there a legal obligation to investors? Because Amanda’s successful Kickstarter will inevitably inspire others to initiate crowd funding campaigns, artists can avoid future pitfalls by implementing the following techniques.

1. Treat It Like a Contract

2. Assure the Proper Entity

3. Transparency Is Key

You can read his full article in the Midem Blog here

Links

http://makeitinmusic.posterous.com/crowdfunding-beware-of-the-goldrush-20-things

http://blog.midem.com/2012/06/martin-frascogna-3-legal-tips-for-amanda-palmer-style-crowdfunding-success/

 

 

New Fan Engagement Facebook App - ChatWithTheBand

I get the feeling this one could be a biggie! ChatWithTheBand is a new Facebook application, currently in beta brought to you by RockNRoll Digital. A live video chatroom to get upclose and personal with your fanbase.

Once you have installed it on your Facebook page, you can choose when to schedule and promote a broadcast through Facebook. When the chat is live, all participating fans can see and hear the artist on their Facebook page, and can chat to the artist and each other in a live text stream. 

When the artist wants to chat to a specific fan, they can  click that fan’s name to start a direct video chat with them in front of everybody, Alternatively click the “Chat With A Fan” button to randomly select a fan to do the same, bit like Chatroulette that, while rest of the audience can view and comment on the curent video chat.

The artist can also play tracks and get direct feedback, which has got to be good, directly giving the fan the kind of engagement we encourage here ar Make It In Music.

There's going to be a whole load of extra features when ChatWithTheBand finishes its beta phase. In the pipeline are Kickstarter and TopSpin (one of our favourites!) integration, email list embedding, broadcast recording, and page customization.

Sounds wicked.

For more information go here.

Written by Steve

 

Link

http://www.chatwiththeband.com/

Four Business Factors Needed For A Successful Independent Musician

They absolutely frustrate the hell out of me. Who? Talented Musicians, thats who. I know and have worked with many, they are highly skilled, some with beautiful and distinctive vocals, they create amazing tracks and albums, but their downfall is that they believe that after the music has been made, that the rest of the business happens by magic.

I put this down to their childhoods. And their own discovery of artists and music. There was mainly 3 mediums of music discovery, TV, Radio and Press. It was very easy to get excited about a new artist, because on TV new music was scarce, there was total wonderment when you discovered something that affected you, it became very much a personal experience, something that you invested in, and something that you treasured.

These feelings eventually inspired alot of people to take that path, to becoming artists in their own right. But they seem to carry with them that these feelings of their own personal discovery of music will be the same process for anyone that discovers their own music.

Well times have most definitely changed. There's a whole world of new music out there waiting to be discovered through countless websites and devices for music fans to find something new. 

We have mentioned this many times here at Make It In Music, that the Industry as we used to know it is no more. The machine that used to create the paths to success through TV, Radio and Press no longer exclusively control the ways and means to a successful music carreer, there are too many independent routes to take now that anyone can access for little or no cost.

The thing that has changed for the musician is that being a talented songwriter/performer/band is not the only skillset you need these days. You need to get to grips with embacing a whole different set of factors to improve your chances in geting your music out there and building up a solid fanbase.

You now have the same tools at your disposal as the majors labels and industry players have.

What you have to realise also it's not rocket science.

Writer Shaun Letang of Music Industry How To has noted Four Business Factors Needed For A Successful Independent Musician, and of course there are more but he belives that these four things are key to getting you on the right path.

 

1. They Realize That Marketing Is A Key Factor In The Music Career

 

2. They Have A Good Online Base

 

3. They Don’t Burn Bridges Out Of Frustration

 

4. They Aren’t Afraid To Invest In The Music Career

 

 

On building up your own online fanbase he writes...

 

 

 

The internet is one of the best places to both build up relationships with existing fans, and gain new ones. Because of this, it’s important you have your online presence strategically set up, and make yourself stand out from the crowd.

While online properties such as Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts are important for your online presence, they really aren’t a substitute for having your own website.

Your own website should be the base of your operations. All other account such as Facebook and Twitter should link to your site, drive traffic to your site, and in turn direct people to sign up to your mailing list. Once on your mailing list, you can build up stronger relationships with your fans, and communicate with them directly and effectively.

 

I don't know how many times I have said that to musicians and bands, for me it is the number 1 thing to consider in this new music economy. The chance to have a direct personal relationship is the single most important factor you need to embrace if you want your music to get out there. Your fans are what make you, they are the best form of promotion could ever desire. Keep them engaged.

You can check out Shaun Letangs article in full here.

 

Written by Steve.

 

LInks

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/4-key-traits-of-successful-independent-musicians.html

 

 

 

How to make loads of money being DIY

You've probably already seen all about this story but I would be remiss if I didn't make sure.

In December the American stand-up comedian Louis CK, who has admittedly had significant mainstream media but really survives by his large cult following, decided to see what would happen if he released his own live stand up video.

In comedy, live videos are usually released by one of the major entertainment companies. They bear all the costs and pay the comedian a royalty - just like a record deal.

Louis decided to shoot and produce the video himself - which cost somewhere between $200k and $250k depending on what you include (the new website etc).

He then offered it for sale as a download only from his new website.

"The experiment was: If I put out a brand new standup special at a drastically low price ($5) and make it as easy as possible to buy, download and enjoy, free of any restrictions, will everyone just go and steal it? Will they pay for it? And how much money can be made by an individual in this manner?”

And, boy, did they.

In 12 days, he sold over $1million worth - hence the Paypal shot above.

Now, Louis already had a tribe that he could ignite through Twitter and other online PR, but so do a lot of bands, don't they?

The key point here isn't that he could do this but that his followers wanted to buy at that price and see that money go to him.

As Mashable said - His experiment proves, however that people are willing to pay for content if you communicate with them openly, shed the DRM and keep the price low.

I think it's also extremely important to understand that this was a globally available release done on the same day. It's a paradigm that the record labels don't get!

I want to see a band do this as their model, not as a one-off like Radiohead (which was fine), rather than signing a deal!

It will happen.

Here's the links to read all the stuff:

Lefsetz tells us how & why Louis could do this - this is a GREAT article!

Mashable tell us how much he earned

Hypebot on the story early

Louis's own explanation

Direct to Fan - Inside Information!

This video is great.

It's a panel from lat year's Midem convention which is a group discussion between 5 people who are very involved in the DIY musician and direct-to-fan worlds.

There's loads of great ideas and facts in the video and it's worth watching the whole thing.

At its core the message is that if you are creating quality content starting with your music, and if you let your fans share it, they will. The music must be great, and then you need a LOT of other 'content' - photos, videos, remixes....whatever - and then deal with your fans direct.

If you DON'T understand this, you will make your chances of success much, much lower.

Build a community of people that care and build from that point!

Is this the first DIY Musician star?

OK, so Lil B is now signed to a label - well, a very modern take on a label - Amalgam Digital.

But, his rise to success is almost entirely down to an understanding of the online marketing and promotion of his music. He embraced social media and demonstrates an ongoing willingness to give music away for free - his new album has a free download link as well as being for sale on iTunes.

And, that album was released with no fanfare and no obvious campaign from Amalgam, but it caused a stir in all the right places because of the work that Lil B has been doing for the last 4 years.

Of course, his talent for getting a story covered in traditional media has added to his level of awareness, but it's his hard work and DIY ethic that make him a DIY musician to model.

1400 tracks posted on MySpace over the last 4 years - constant improvement and evolution of his music whilst in direct engagement with his fans. Oh, and note, that's MySpace - dead for 'cutting edge' rock acts for a year or more, but still a very important musical hub for Hip Hop. A large part of the Hip Hop fan demographic is still looking for music there. Don't ignore it yet if that applies to you and your music.

He's got Facebook ,Twitter and YouTube licked too though!

For a far better appraisal of what this means for DIY musicians, read this article on The Arts Desk.

 

The myth of the DIY musician

New post on the main site.

Check it out here - The DIY musician myth.

Getting your music out there!

This is a great interview from the Music Making Month series made by Propellerhead software - the wholeset is an awesome resource!

In this episode they have a chat that's well over an hour with the folks fromn Nimbit - the DIY musician's 'direct-to-fan' system.

I know that most people won't watch this whole video - and that makes me sad!

When some people who really know their shit sit and pontificate for over an hour about things that you can do to get your music out there and make a difference to your career, you ought to listen!

Watch it below or at this link.

 

The music industry is killing music

This is a very long, well written and well argued article from the Quietus site.

I don't agree with it!

Well, I do and I don't.

Read the whole piece and the comments (particulalry that of 'Mitch' towards the bottom).

I won't try to paraphrase what the article is about other than to say that it argues that the demise of the old school industry and the need for musicians to become the archetypal 'DIY musician' will mean the end of opportunity for many would be artists. This is explained at length.

Whilst I agree that there are now obstacles for all aspiring musicians to overcome, I simply don't agree that the evaporation of the record itself (and the record deal) as a primary source of income for bands is the end of a financial springboard (or safety net) for those seeking to live out a career as working musicians - whether they pursue global fame or self-financing niche notoriety.

Sure, it is in some senses a shame that the musician now has to fund the beginnings of their own career (financially and through learning non-musical skills). but that's the way the world is now and pining for an old system will do no-one any good.

The flipside for me is that if you want to build a career, now there are more opportunities than ever to seek out a fanbase and build on it - whilst earning a living. My own experience tells me that if your material is good you can make a living quicker and more reliably outside of the old system.

Maybe it's beyond your ability to earn a living by being a DIY musician because no-one really thinks you're music is worth supporting?

If that's the case, don't moan about the system - get back to your craft and make some better music! Come back and try again.

Someone's got to bring this up, because it's not a pretty picture. Consider, first, direct-to-fan marketing and social networking, said to involve fans so that they're more inclined to attend shows, invest in ‘product', and help market it. In practise this is a time-consuming affair that reaps rewards for only the few. Even the simple act of posting updates on Facebook, tweeting and whatever else is hip this week requires time, effort and imagination, and while any sales margins subsequently provoked might initially seem higher, the ratio of exertion to remuneration remains low for most. It's also an illusion that such sales cut out the middlemen, thereby increasing income, except at the very lowest rung of the ladder: the moment that sales start to pick up, middlemen start to encroach upon the artist's territory, if in new disguises. People are needed to provide the structure through which such activities can function, and few will work for free – and nor should they – even though musicians are now expected to.

Read the article and let me know what you think!

Music success comes from marketability

Well, sort of!

Robin Davey's post on Music Think Tank states that all your success will come down to your marketability, and that, in turn, will rest on your talent, songs and image.

To a very great degree, I agree.

Some of the comments - which you should read as well - say that he is stating the obvious. And, maybe he is. But, as we say in our free eBook, it's the truth that 99% of people who try to succeed as a musician (whether that's becoming a global star on a major label or self sustaining a DIY career) will fail. And they'll fail because they were never able to realise that they simply weren't good enough. Add to that the fact that you need a lot of drive.

Roll it all together and you do have your marketability - and that starts with being good!

Read it all here.

5 reasons why your band isn't signed

You may well not want to be signed to a label - either you want to stay fiercely independent or a music career isn't why you're making music.

But, it's still the holy grail for many artists.

We repeatedly point out that if a sustainable career as a musician is your goal, you need to be doing the same things whether you want to be signed or want to be a diy artist - make music, promote it, build a fanbase and build a community of fans that will pay to support you. That's what labels want to see these days - that you've done something to start the ball rolling. And, if they don't sign you (or you don't want to be signed) that same foundation is what you build on to take your diy career to whatever level you want.

So, take this article from Music Globalization in that spirit.

As an entertainment attorney my job is simple – help musicians. Sometimes helping involves revealing the bitter truth. Some bands want to gauge their industry success based on label partnerships. This is unrealistic. If you’re not signed with a label it means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but unfortunately many musicians equate a lack of label backing as failure. Instead of harping on the disappointment, groups need to understand the harsh realty at hand - labels pass for a reason. It’s these reasons which bands must understand, analyze, and apply towards their career advancement. The worst thing to do, yet the most common, is to begin blaming the surrounding cast. “Had our manager only done this……. Had our booking agent only booked us larger shows, etc…” Wrong. Listen to what the label executives tell you.

Read the whole post here.

Why I love Direct-to-Fan

This article is written by Michael Fiebach, whose posts on how he implemented DTF for DJ Shadow were fantastic.

Read them here:

Shadow part 1

Shadow part 2

Shadow part 3

This one is possibly even better!

You could read this article and dip into the ones on DJ Shadow above and you'd have a pretty thorough understanding of what a direct-to-fan campaign consists of.

And, like Michael, I love the opportunity presented to the DIY musician by direct-to-fan platforms. Building your fanbase by bringing them closer to you and then giving them what they want.

What's not to like!

We captured over 5,000 email addresses in 3 days, and they are still rolling in. We doubled up on our goal of 2,500 emails, and Team OCD certainly has the beginning of a viable business. The bulk of the emails came from the Topspin “Email for Media” widget embedded at Teamocd.com and The Facebook tab, but we also had a nice rush of emails that came into Bandcamp. I thought it was important to have both assets (Topspin and Bandcamp) available, because it gave us the ability to promote both links at separate times, and also gives people who like or prefer bandcamp, the opportunity to use that portal… The more assets to promote, the more of a chance that someone will click that button.

Please go and read the whole post here!

And here's the band he's working with in this article.

 

Have you got what it takes?

This is an essential piece for all musicians to read and watch.

I'm loving Wesley Verhoeve's blog as he writes posts that are just that bit more insightful than most. He doesn't follow the herd.

This article asks whether you have it within you to make it as a musician.

Making it as a musician or a music business person takes a lot of patience, an incredible work ethic and the gift of being able to handle delayed gratification. Artists often put in a lot of time, and many years may pass before they move from a crappy apartment in a bad neighborhood, to a decent one in an ok neighborhood, to eventually a comfortable environment.

Please go and read the whole article here.

And, Wesley cites this video as putting it how it is. Watch it, but do read his article for the full DL.

 

Taking control and doing it DIY

Not that sort of DIY - being a DIY musician!

We've looked at some examples of this on the main site such as this post on Hollerado - an archetype diy musician.

This post on the excellent UnsignedGuide blog talks to a bunch of people invoved in grass roots promotion and has loads of tips for bands taking the diy route - and who isn't these days?

Once a maverick approach that worked for a handful of artistes, going it alone (or DIY) is fast becoming the only viable route to making any kind of significant progress.  It’s not about keeping all the money (what money?), but creating the action that might generate opportunities. Rob Sandall reports

Any emerging act will tell you that the only chance of making even a modest sum of money – at least initially – is by finding, promoting and playing as many shows as possible.

With record sales yielding little and some of the labels directionless and floundering, the DIY route of self-promotion has become less of an option and more of a necessity.

Read the whole post here.

I especaily like the tip about 'gig hijacks'!

Indie Band Survival Guide Interview

Interview with the founders of IndieGuide.com on HypeBot.

Go and read it here and look forward to part 2.

My only comment is that if they can hold down serious day jobs (see what they do in the piece), write 2 books, run their site AND record 18 albums and tour, then why does the average diy musician complain that they can't get anything done? More effort required - these guys are an inspiration.

Make your art more valuable to others

Image by betsyweber

I hadn't had a rummage around Derek Sivers blog for ages - but I was rewarded when I did - if you haven't read it, you should - as you'll learn a lot.

Derek ran CDBaby for ages and did so as a DIY musician himself - so he has learnt a lot too!

I picked this post to mention, but I could've picked many others - maybe I will.

I like this post as it accepts a fundamental truth about the starving artist - you need to see your music how others do and see why they will or won't support you financially.

When someone creates something that is really important, powerful, and valuable to them, it's hard to imagine that it's not important, powerful, and valuable to others.

But money only comes from doing something valuable to others.

The starving artist pours his heart into personal expression that's incredibly valuable to him, but not (yet) valuable to others.  That's why no money comes.

The good news is there are two ways out of the starving artist problem, and either one can be fun.

Read the whole post here.

Artist Development - it's now down to you

Bob Lefsetez telling us that artist development at major labels is dead - and he's pretty much right.

But this article goes further - looking at why you're making music and how you can rely on yourself if your motivation is right.

So if you’re a new act, stay indie.  You’ve got to, in order to be control of your own artistic destiny.  If you can’t change direction on inspiration, chances are you won’t connect for more than a moment, if that.

And indie is about forgetting everybody else and focusing on your fans.  If your fans are burned out on your music, you must make more, even though others have never heard it.

Read it here.

Why 'indie' never meant cool....but it does now

Image by IndiePics!

I think @BuzzSonic tweeted both of these stories.

What I like about them is that they discuss what it was to be an indie before the means of distribution became available to all. In fact, any artist who signerd to a label - as they had to in order to get to make a record and have it put on sale (with a few very notable exceptions) - wasn't really 'indie' at all.

Yet, it still mattered! The cool kids only wanted to back bands that were 'indie'...and, for many, that remains the case.

Well, what could be more truly 'indie' then being a diy musician??

I've often wondered why people prefer independent labels but have no concern over the nature of ownership of publishing companies or booking agencies. The idea of independence being about labels is a fascinating one because it reveals that the chief concerns are issues of autonomy, artistic control and rejection of the establishment. If an artist has signed a contract with a label of any sort, independent or major, they have given up control and it really is a matter of the specific practices of the label how much of a good or bad thing that turns out to be. Independents are viewed as having less marketing power and fewer financial resources, leading to the assumption that they give artists more control and greater ownership – but that isn't always the case.

Read the Guardian article on why 'indie doesn't mean independent record label anymore' here.

The digital revolution has caused the mostly Anglo-American music calling itself “indie” since the early 1980s to change at an accelerating pace over the past decade in several interrelated ways. Because it is easier than ever before to record and distribute music cheaply or for free, the sheer number of “indie” artists producing popular music has skyrocketed. On the listening side, the Internet has made almost any recording instantly accessible, along with huge quantities of information about artists, genres and labels. This implies profound shifts for a subculture founded upon record collectors’ encyclopedic knowledge of pop and rock history as well as up-to-the-minute connoisseurship.

And get the In These Times piece on the 'end of indie' here.

10 websites that every DIY musician should know

I wanted to post this the other day but it mysteriously disappeared for 24 hours or so!

Now, it's back - a great article on 10 key sites that every DIY musician should at least be aware of - in fact, YouTube and Twitter aren't optional really, are they?

I’m going to focus on the second and third moment by providing a list of websites your band should visit to stay ahead of the curve.

Some sites are organizational tools, some are means of communication, while there others that relieve the tasks a band manager usually performs. And the best part about the following sites? You don’t need to be the most tech savvy person in the world in order to use them. It just takes some diligence and of course, creativity.

Anyways, I hope you find a couple of the sites to be useful.

Read the post here.

14 Tutorials to improve your recordings

This is a GREAT collection of detailed posts to help you get the most out of your recordings.

Not only that but the whole blog is a mine of information on everything to do with recording, production and composition - including technical tutorials on recording platforms and software. It's great - a must read for the DIY artist.

When is a track finished? Does what I’ve done sound good enough? Should I add a few more tracks? I ask similar questions when I’m cooking for the kids. I could heat up some pies, or serve sausages and mashed potatoes. They’ll eat it if they’re hungry enough, but I won’t win any awards. But if I’m cooking for a special occasion, the decisions I make and thought process I take are different. I’ll think about the best combination of ingredients I can get, and will usually add some subtle spices to the mix.

Making tasty music is similar. There are things you can do to add spice at each stage of the production process. Here are 14 tutorials that show us how to do make your tracks spicy.

Read this group of posts here.