Last week on my radio show I introduced the Soultrotta Method to you all. It is a method that I’ve used as an independent artist to connect with other musicians from other countries to collaborate while on tour. I have met and recorded with amazing people with limited equipment and time. But these experiences have enriched the creative process not restricted it. To take part, participants also have to be open and clear about not just how the music is shared in its creation but also its release. These impromptu sessions usually occur after gigs or on an off day in a town.  I will talk about the process of pre-planning, producing and releasing these sessions to the world. And lastly, I will go into the tools and means by which social media is used to make it all happen.

I first got the idea to collaborate while on tour with The Brooklyn Funk Essentials. We made a stop in Paris for a rather weird Microsoft sponsored gig where we were broadcast performing live to an audience that didn’t exist. A young producer, who was a fan of the band, came to the event and asked me if I wanted to record something with him. The only thing is we were leaving the next morning, 8 hours from the time he asked me. Now, I could have just went back to my hotel, gotten a halfway decent sleep and moved on to the next town in the morning. But instead, I took him up on his offer and recorded “Not Every Angel”. The producer was Alex Kidd and the song made it to his debut album on FCOMM  a fairly large label in Paris.

There something about music made in the silent night and the pleasant weight of weariness that creates immediate mood. Both the silence and the weariness is genuine and the music, lyrics and voice have no choice but to respond the same. I later recorded Pick It Up which was the single release for his sophomore album Mint and received critical acclaim. All of this came to be because he thought to ask and I chose to prioritize music over a few hours sleep.

Fast-forward some years later while preparing to go on tour again with the BFE, I thought about making music. I had taken my portable studio on tour before but just to make beats or song ideas to later record home. But what if I actually reached out to others to join me in the process? At the time, Myspace was king and in this context can still be used for the purpose of reaching out to other musicians.

First Contact

The first thing I did was review my tour itinerary and made a list of the cities/towns we would visit and also looked for days when I would have off. I used myspace’s music search engine to seek out bands who lived in or near the cities I would be visiting. From that search I would browse their pages to find the bands whose sound likened to mine or whose sound I felt regardless of genre. Usually out of a couple of dozen bands I would take a liking to maybe 5. I then wrote a letter to each of them introducing who I am, with a link to my music page. I explained I would be on tour and wanted to connect with folks to make music. I also made it clear that time would be limited and would most likely be recorded in my hotel room or if they had an easily accessible studio  that would work as well. I spoke of the collaboration in terms of it being a friendly cultural exchange and that what ever came from it we would split 50/50 regardless of degree of participation. In the end we both would get the tracks and were open to mix and release it how each other saw fit while keeping each other in mind and updated with the release process. All of this should be clear from the get go. Place all your cards open-faced on the table so they and yourself can make an informed and thoughtful committment. Not every musician is open to working under challenging conditions like recording in a hotel room or some may disagree with the upfront 50/50 split. But the ones who are open are really open and usually engage it with 110%. These are the people you want to work with because they sense the fun in it. With just one letter you can begin planning a session based on mutual artistic respect and attitude. As far as contracts, the initial letter can serve as one or print it out and have everyone sign a simple outline contract about publishing, sales and remixes. Just remember to keep it simple, laymen language and confined to one page. But in most cases as I”ve found, verbal contracts are usually good enough is made in the right spirit of the collaboration.

Correspondence

A would suggest making first contact at least 1-2 months in advance. This way you can maintain a regular correspondence with each other via email and phone. This will give you both assurances that you are fairly sane and genuine in your intentions. Being a woman, inviting people into my hotel room, safety was of course was a priority. But even as a man, these concerns are the same and at the very least you don’t want to waste your time and energy with a nut case. Correspondence is also needed to check over who is bringing what as far as equipment. The beautiful thing about connecting with folks, they can bring the equipment you can’t carry on tour; like professional speakers and instruments. Hotel room or not, the better you can make the studio the better the prospects for a good sounding result for your efforts. In this case I brought my laptop and a mic and my collaborators brought speakers, mic stands and various instruments. In some cases, when  time allowed we went to an actual studio.

Hotel Studio Hospitality and the Magic Hour

One session in Saint Lo a couple hours outside of Paris I connected and collaborated with a group name La Bande Magnetique. They drove to St. Lo from Paris in time for my show to which I listed them. After enjoying a good show both they and I were naturally high. While our adrenaline was still pumping we drove back to my hotel. JMG, The two Francs and one Franc’s wife Elizabeth came prepared. They brought not just equipment, but food and wine. The guys new little English but Elizabeth was fluent in both English and French. If you are collaborating with someone who speaks a different language and doesn’t speak any or little of yours, try to arrange to have someone there to interpret. They don’t have to be fluent just know enough of both languages so you can basically communicate. The language of music will do the rest. We set up on the hotel room desk and put the mic in a corner near the bed. They came with some rough beats which we played around with a bit and added some elements to. I then laid some vocals. I didn’t waste time writing lyrics and trying to make a perfect take. I preferred to freestyle the melody and lyrics.  For myself, allowing the song to make itself in the moment captured the essence of that moment. As we drew closer to the magic hour when music is clearly being made, food and wined enjoyed and before the dawn feeling like you have expanded your musical family felt like quite an achievement.

Parting Ways

At some point, the sun rises and the next town awaits and you must say good by. But before that make sure everyone has a copy of the final recording and the individual vocal and music tracks. You re-iterate to one another that we own the music even-steven. NO nitpicking over who wrote or produced what and publishing and sales percentages. Save that for the old regime. The fact is the song would not be what it is without everyone who participated. The song is not just lyrics and music but food, wine, laughter and human connection. If that is understood then paper contracts hold little weight in this situation. Keep it clear simple and in accord to the process beforehand.

The Release

Before you go on tour let your facebook and twitter friends know that you will be Soultrotting. Don’t forget to take pictures and video of the session. Facebook and tweet when you can during the session. If your collaborators tweet the same make sure you create a mutual hashtag like #soultrotta so folks can follow you both talking about your experience. When you get home show the pictures and videos online with a ruff taste of what was created. Write about the experience.

Soultrotta session with artist Welcome in Massy, France

Either with the band or on our own mix and prepare to release the song. When the song is ready to release, I suggest releasing the song via Tunecore.com. Tunecore has an single release option for only 9.99 to distribute your song to Itunes, Rhapsody, Emusic and the like. CD Baby and other online distribution sites average $35 per release whether it is a single or album.  Regardless it will take 6 to 8 weeks to show up on all of these channels. Create a 6-8 marketing plan leading up to the release date. By this I mean, keep this experience buzzing on people’s FB walls and tweet decks. 1-2 weeks before the official release send constant fun reminders out about the release date.  These reminders can be direct or indirect, like placing it at the bottom of your emails or with your regular email blast or facebook  status update. You could also mention your Soultrotta experience and release date at gigs or any event when the spotlight is on you. And don’t forget that real-life word of mouth is just as viable on online. Have fun talking about it, you don’t have to come off as always plugging the release date and disregard one of the main rules to social media etiquette, don’t hammer people by placing “Buy This” in their face 24/7. Use the photos and video from the session or make new simple videos, photos and audio to promote the release.

The day before or of the release schedule a womb room or huddle up of friends to do a last minute push for the release of the song made in a hotel room in a small town outside of Paris.  Have your collaborators across the seas mirror your promotional efforts.

The Wrap-up

All of the above can be achieved with little money and technical effort. Even if it is just you and a new friend playing with auto-tune, it still can be something wonderful. As musicians we know that music is nothing without mood. And that more than music is what reaches through the speakers and effects us as human beings. That is what the Soultrotta Method is really about. I already gave you half of a plan to carry you from first contact to online release. So reach out to like-gifted strangers, make music, make friends for life and share some magic hour music. The world could use it.

Listen to We Are the Light here.

Listen to the radio show episode about the Soultrotta Method here.

We discuss the new ideas of music becoming free of cost and limitations and what that means to the musician and the world.

Please let me know how it sounds. I hope to come to you every Thursday at Noon EST/9am PST.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rule4081

Rule 4081 Worldwide

www.twitter.com/rule4081
www.facebook.com/rule4081

Links Mention on Show

www.whatwouldthembido.com
www.beatcancereverywhere.com
www.tweatjuice.eventbrite.com

Glossary

Hashtag: Hashtag, in simple English, is any word that begins with a hash (#) symbol.
twitter hashtags
Hash-tags are popular on Twitter because writing space is limited but people can associate their tweets with an event (or product) without having to explain the full context. More info here.

Retweet: To retweet is to repeat/quote someone’s tweet. Say you come across an interesting tweet and you want to republish it so that people who follow you can see it too – you retweet it. The syntax of your tweet should start with the abbreviation RT or the word Retweet followed by the username of the person who tweeted it (e.g @User) and then finish with the content of the actual tweet. If you are not yet totally familiar with Twitter Abbreviations or Related Words, here is a list of the most Popular Twitter Terms, to assist you in your Tweeting experience. More info here.

I was inspired this morning by the #beatcancer twitter campaign that raised money everytime someone retweet the hashtag #beatcancer. It was started by managing partner Tamara Knechtel of the social media company Everwhere. Sponsors are giving 1 cent for every tweet that carries the  #beatcancer hashtag. Simple and brilliant. This is a perfect example of how the non-profit sector or global activits can use social media and bring attention and participation to a cause.

I want to see how this would work with something that doesn’t include sponsors but more an experiment in the re-use of language. Language like proof can change with the introduction of  new information or alternatives. Language bends with our ideas and interpretation. There are many causes I stand by but one is more of a wish than an organized movement.    I would like to focus on hip hop because it is a global pop music and is the music of my childhood that I distance myself from more everyday as adult. This is a sad commentary but one I cannot excpet for myself whole or it would be to negate its part in raising me.

#NoMoNoHomo

There is an expression in Hip Hop culture called “No Homo”. It was first introduced by MC Cameron who ironically was accused of being homosexual just because he wore an all-pink outfit to an awards show.   No Homo is something that is said mostly by males in hip hop to dwart the idea that they might be one. So anything said or done that even seems homosexual or effeminate must be immediately followed by “No homo” and all is then forgiven and forgotten.

It is so common place in hip hop culture that the inherent homeroticism of the expression itself is ignored. It affirms a  level of acceptance of  homophobia within hip hop. For anyone who is gay, questioning or a straight-ally, this expression is like a acid laced bandaid placed on the already wounded subconscious. It stands in the same cultural space that fat, sexist or race jokes (black, Asian, immigrant, you name it) are sometimes not questioned because unfortunately humans need someone else to laugh at in order to even the scales of their own unwanted weight.  So people are often annoyed when  you point out the obvious and do not want to be reminded that they are actually landing on necksof others with the bud of their joke. So as Wutang stated, “Protect Ya neck”  and take a minute to join the #NoMoNoHomo Twitter campaign.

RETWEET : #NoMoNoHomo Campaign

How does it work?

Use the hashtag #NoMoNoHomo with the following tweets:

1. When you find an article, video, mp3 or interesting link that spotlights rappers who use “no homo” on their records
2. Stories about people overcoming homophobia
3. Maybe your just having one of those homo kinda days
4. Hip hop videos the encourage the best in people
5. Or any reflection of the LGBT community and their allies that is positive

Do what you do on twitter and when the it feels right use the

hashtag #nomonohomo

I will try this on the Rule 4081, Black Patti and U People twitter accounts for awhile to see how or if it takes off. Either way something can be learned.

You can start by retweeting this great commentary by Hip Hop blogger and good guy Jay Smooth.

In my 3-hour workshop and my more comprehensive online course I talk at length about the options artists have outside of music sales. We are still weening ourselves off of the old music model where music sales are the end goal and bottom line. CD’s must be sold and downloads must be paid for. Musicians and labels still concern themselves, whether they admit it or not, about the loss of music sales or complain about P2P sharing. P2P is just another way of saying getting free music files from your friends. You P2P when you download a CD onto your Itunes and then hit a friend off with the album for free.

The reality of the matter is everyone is scrambling to answer the inevitable unknown? Will music at some point become a free entity. Free of cost and free to roam without the artist. At some point we may give our music away for free and place monetary value on other things. How does the independent musician come to a resolve with the fact that it is darn hard to sell music online. Even with the myriad of online distribution outlets like CD baby, Tunecore, Reverbnation etc., that have leveled the playing field in regards to distribution; the game is only even with record labels not so much the consumer. The consumer can still in many more ways get your music for free. Now, mind you, I do not want to cast a monolithic shadow over the entire buying market. There are still plenty of people who proudly buy their music. They place value on purchasing pleasure. I also do not want to damn every person that happens or willingly seeks to get the music for free. I admittedly am guilty of doing that from time to time. It ain’t right but its real. But if both CD sales and digital sales have decreased considerably just within the past few years then the inevitable is before us. This seemingly devaluation of music is really the devaluation of the product of music (Mp3s and CDs); not so much music culture. Fans will still pay a mean dollar for merchandise and a live show experience cannot be bootlegged. Sponsorship, publishing, speaking engagements and any sort of peripheral income is equal if not more viable then selling your .99cent download. But I think artists have been conditioned to devalue these alternative streams of income where in fact that is where a new bottom line has been drawn.

People invest more of their time and dime into culture which is usually attached to an artist or a song, film etc. That film or song will sell DVDs and downloads but more importantly they sell an idea, belief or plant seeds to new subculture. Though the artist will subsequently benefit from all the above, the value lies outside of the artists (clutch the pearls). This is when music, film, art acquires its freedom. This is when it becomes something greater or other than what the original artist intended or could have imagined. This is when things get interesting and luminous. Your value as an artist or the value of the song you just released is in the experience shared by your fans. The new music models will not be based around buying music but building upon the culture of music. So your job or should I say pleasure as an artist is to imagine and open a door to new culture that coincides with each song you create. Are you creating songs or are you creating worlds and new ideas for others to build upon? If you prepare yourself and your work to live and breathe outside of your hands and control at some point then you are working in harmony with these changing times and will benefit more from your efforts. The idea is beyond the philosophical, it lives in the world of the material effort.

Example: Public Enemy was more than just a band but represented a generation of thought. They changed the way we thought about ourselves at the time. They were cultural workers who also made a bucket full of money. But now as we attempt or in some cases stumble upon change in the way people think and act let us also think about sustainability. How does art and culture sustain itself in the public mind and action? Well that’s another question for another post. Read ya then.

When I speak about marketing I first focus on emotional and psychological preparation (ie spiritual, yeah I said it). A lot of times we go to marketing workshops or watch a number of youtube videos that say do this or try this. Its like a pitch man’s paradise. But an action is nothing without a plan. And a plan is worthless to an artist who doesn’t have a sense of her/his potential, strengths and weaknesses. So most of my advice is what I call Soul Research and focuses of making real what seems intangible; your career.

Another important and often overlooked aspect to marketing oneself is the use of time. A category I refer to as the Tic Toc Box. Time management or lack of it is a one way ticket to frustration or even worse procrastination; then ya hands start to sweat and you drop the f*cking ball (let’s remain real about it). If you don’t respect your action plan enough to a lot sensible and organized time to do it then you have wasted most of your time and sweat. Sweat made running marathons around the left side of your brain. And any artist that spends too much time on the left side looses touch with their right. Proven fact (ok, I heard it somewhere) that your right brain is what makes you an artist and your left handles the business. So both sides are necessary to develop and sustain a career, but your right brain has to be prioritized (time wise) in order to simply create art. So don’t spend most of your time online draining your right brain of creative energy because you don’t know how to manage time in your left.

I am big on learning how to streamline and consolidate your actions. There are tools to help us streamline updates on facebook, twitter, etc like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. But then there are the tools that are made of flesh, laughs and love. They come in the form of friends. I’m referring to real life friends, not vague facebook, myspace or I kind of recognize you so I’ll accept your request kinda friends. I’m talking about your inner circle, longtime, my peoples, my dogs, take a bullet for ya (or at least help you run) kinda friends. Because these are the people you would invite in your home to burn some midnight oil with. So I want to write about a tic toc tool you can use that I call a Womb Room or Huddle Ups.

I’ve heard womb sessions referred to as war rooms but we are not making war, we are creating a career for someone we love and respect. So the Womb Room it is, but for those who cannot relate to the word “womb” then you have the alternative name “Huddle Ups”. That’s what they do in football right? Ok, we are all good on a name, then let’s get to working towards the same goal.

So say in your marketing you have a single that you want people to listen, hopefully like and then take action. These actions can be befriending you or following you on twitter or buying that single on itunes. You have done some initial research and have a good idea of what niche marketing either you or your song fit into. But part of locking in this niche market is reaching out into the ocean floor, womb, football field that is the internet and netting them in. This is a daunting idea just thinking about sitting in front of a computer and following and befriending and direct facebooking/twittering and commenting or submitting to blogs etc. But let’s focus on one task at a time:

Let’s say you have a link that leads folks to listen to your single. With ONE CLICK someone is brought ota page where they can listen to your music and immediately buy it. A good site for this one page experience, would be a bandcamp.com . If the single is promotional then I would suggest Swift.fm or Song.ly where folks can retweet the song (Song.ly also provides a link to buy it as well). So instead of tediously going through your friends and your friends friends asking each one to listen and hopefully buy this single you have a group of friends cut the work in half.

Call up 6 to a dozen of you actual friends who have a decent amount of friends on facebook, Twitter or some other social network. Invite them over for snacks or make it a potluck. Turn your home into a cafe. Have a friend spin some music r just put on a CD. Its a work party but everyone is working for you; at least for just a few hours. Within these hours they are writing their friends individually. Making each letter unique to that friend. Keep the letter short and sweet but in it they encourage folks to check out your music or project etc and why they would like it? Most likely your friends have mutual friends and those friends will get several differently written letters from different people talking about your music/project. This creates buzz when people get news from more than one source. Especially when the news is delivered by a trusted source.

When trying this, I have a few DON’TS when it comes to friends!

DO NOT use a template letter. It will undermine your project and some of your friends with their friends. this is why it is a party because people are writing short distinct letters. The party helps with the creative juices.

DO NOT abuse the Womb. Use it at crucial moments in your marketing plan. Like when your single debuts on Itunes. OR your play is in it last stretch of promotion before opening night. OR your film is going to screen at an important festival in your town. If you try this more than once a month you will again undermine your efforts and of course wear your real friends out.

DO NOT offer wine, liquor or other intoxicants at this party. Very little work will get done. Instead offer gourmet coffee, good-non-itis-causing food.

DO NOT forget to thank your friends in a very public way. Ie. In the program of your event, on your site, call them all up personally etc.

So in just one evening of fun and creativity you get a week or more worth of work done and it gets done more effectively and more authentically.

I am tired of dissing Myspace. I diss it at every opportunity and turn. But yet it still will not completely go away and I am left to ask myself why? I cannot account for any friends of mine that use myspace as they once did. It isn’t’ news that Facebook beat Myspace at the same game Myspace beat Friendster. It simply did its job better. The main reason most people used Myspace was to collect friends (most of whom weren’t) and find new music and interesting people through the matrix of Top 8 friends. As most non-artists have taken full flight to Facebook, musicians still maintain some sort of presence on Myspace. Even if it means we check our inbox once a month, Myspace is still a staple like owning a business card is a given for any professional. If someone hears of your band through the grapevine, the first thing they will do is either google you or see if you are on Myspace. And still your Myspace will most likely show at the top of google when searching your band’s name. But there is another reason why musicians still remember our Myspace username and password. And this reason is what could turn Myspace around if it cares to listen.

1. Musicians collect other musicians
Whenever I ask a fellow musician why they still remain on myspace it is said more times than not that they like Myspace because every musician on earth has a Myspace page. Simply following the trail lead by friends or other bands will lead you to new pastures of soundscape. Obscure to mid-level bands you’ve never heard can be found on myspace. I love finding new bands or in the case when I needed a guitarist for a big gig, I found her on myspace by accident. Networking among musicians and artists of other mediums is in my estimation to be the essential reason why Myspace has any importance at all to musicians. So my first piece of advice to Myspace is to re-design musician pages to reflect their interests in other musicians on Myspace. Create better communication and networking apps for musicians to connect with other musicians/filmmakers for gig swaps and music film supervision.

2. Divide and Develop Myspace Music
The Myspace music page is a mainstream hack. I am not interested in visiting a platform that is just another paper weight for mainstream ads. I understand a lot of teenagers still have a Myspace page and teenagers make up the majority of the remaining Myspace users; Myspace Music is primarily for them. But to draw the once interested adults back Myspace needs to think of creating a comprehensive independent musicians area. A place where you can more easily find new bands and musical subcultures based on a more comprehensive search criteria. This criteria can also better match bands with fans and more importantly bands with other bands in a more constructive way. I would also add to #2, a better means to accept bands who request friendships. I don’t’ want to have to first go to the page to see if I like them or not. It would be nice to have a simple app inside the request where I can listen immediately.

3. Re-design the music profile pages.
the Myspace template still remains crude, rude and poorly navigated. So I suggest the following:

-Create a MyBands section separate from general fans/friends
-Consolidate a bands video collecting into a more compact widget like You Tube or Vodpod has.
-Screw the comments and blog section (just for musicians) and just allow for a mash up feed from Facebook and Twitter, at least one of the other 2. No one gives a hoot about a myspace status, we are all on facebook and twitter. Those other sites, like you tube videos are a reflection of the band. So just make nice with them and get a damn mashup feed going.

Myspace is still the mecca of musicianship (the one thing facebook and twitter, still cannot consider to be their strength without using 3rd party apps). But it is Myspace who just doesn’t seem to respect the fact that it has the largest database of independent musicians. Myspace could mean so much more if it focuses on the one thing it does the best. And who says we need one site to do it all? I appreciate Facebook because people I actually know are on there and lead me to interesting links, videos, articles etc (and yes Farmville). I love twitter because it keeps me short and sweet so I tweet about what is short and sweet in my life. Myspace is where I fish for new music because there is no better genuine MUSIC database that reflects the undercurrent of emerging culture. I want to find those musicians who want to collaborate, connect and network. And I want to let others know about the bands, producers, DJs I find along the breadcrumb trail of friends. Simply put, I want those who know music to recommend, review, collaborate and gig with others who make music.

Let me read ya feedback?

The last minute of this video when James Brown moves into polyrhythmic heaven with Maceo is what hip hop should retreat to. The I, me, I is, I am the greatest, biggest, baddest…yes just me, not you…only ME will be the cancer that kills the music. Can I get a holla.

And on that note, I want to reiterate my previous post about being apart of something larger than yourself.

NOTICE:
I am conducting a 3- hour introductory Rule 4081 online marketing workshop for artists at the Astraea Foundation in NYC. Saturday, Oct. 17th from 2:30-5:30pm. You can purchase tickets here. Class is limited to 20 persons.

There is an African proverb “I am because we are” or Ubuntu. African music is made for and by everyday life. It is communal by function and possesses an assortment of poly-rhythmic and cyclical compositions that affirms the proverb. We in the west on the other hand praise individualism thus equally embracing the individual struggle to rise to some sort of prominence alone. But Nirvana would not be without the support of the Seattle grunge movement. Stax Records would not be without the city of Memphis and the family oriented pool of individual artists who worked together at that time and place to create a sound. Bounce or bass music was specific to vibrations of the south and with that was promoted and patronized by the south before everybody else got hip. I won’t even bother to go into what happened up in the Bronx some 30 years ago.

I am a huge advocate of local movements. In the early nineties I was apart of a tribal movement here in New York of artists who banded together to make a scene and thus brought hip hop and prose together to make spoken word. The NYC band scene in the 80′s and 90′s was also supported by an understanding that we are apart of a wave that would bring us all to shore. At that time, musicians could sustain themselves with regular gigs, the environment in the city WIDELY supported the idea of going out to hear live music. And of course there were 10x more clubs that supported bands with different sounds and didn’t charge the band to play (side note)! Anyway, I write this to express the importance of geographical music scenes.

I live in Brooklyn which has a plethora of amazing artists. We all know and respect eachother but we are collectively moving in separate directions; which is an oxymoron. We all LOOOOVVEEE Brooklyn and all that it offers but Brooklyn still lacks a tangible movement, so we all float about in our separte boats hoping one of us hits shore. So I propose to Brooklyn artists or wherever your artist community geographically stands to catch a wave together. This past weekend my partner and I wer in Memphis at the National Civil Rights Museum to screen our film U People. The film focuses on straight and gay relations within the black community and speaks to a more universal message around human rights and liberties. After the film, the audience asked questions about how they as a community can turn the tide in Memphis in regards to gay rights. One of my comments was directed specifically to the artist community. I said that “The artist in this community need to get to work!” We as artist have the capacity to change minds without folks knowing they are being change. When we get behind anything political we transform it into a socially accessible platform. Simply put, we get the message out in ways that people are more open to embrace. The NEA just fired Yosi Seargant for trying to secretly create an artist lead underground that would strategically create art to promote Obama’s agenda of volunteerism. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, he affirms my point. Artists create the social norms we take for granted today. When artists believe their own hype about what they are capable of doing then it makes sense that tribes of artists can not only push a music movement to the for front but everyone within that movement in turn benefits.

Ok, so how are movements created? One way is by the repetition of common language. If Brooklyn artists after every show say, “you have just been witness to the sound of Brooklyn” (ok, maybe something better than that but you get the point). Or Brooklyn’s visual artists create a visual campaign that supports going out to live shows in Brooklyn to kill the recession blues. Clubs would love it. The people will hopefully place more value on going to see a live show to inspire them as oppose to feed into the illusion of scarcity. Online compilations. There could even me “brooklyn” logo that is printed on all Brooklyn artist merchandise, CDs, websites. Something small that doesn’t interfere with the band’s individual message but when seen on site after site and shirt after shirt starts to ring a common message. “There is something up in Brooklyn!” It creates curiosity, it places that band or artist as apart of something larger than themselves. Trust me when I proclaim that fans are more willing to invest their time and money into movements and subculture than in an individual artist. The idea of culture begets culture itself.

As you begin to create your marketing plan after taking my the RULE 4081 workshop and online course (shameless plug) you will hopefully include an action that includes others. You will begin to think tribally, locally and transfer that energy into becoming global.

NOTICE:
I am conducting a 3- hour introductory Rule 4081 online marketing workshop for artists at the Astraea Foundation in NYC. Saturday, Oct. 17th from 2:30-5:30pm. You can purchase tickets here. Class is limited to 20 persons.

This is the age of independence. Unlike the arts, generally speaking, independence is now validated within the arts. You are given more rather than less respect when you forge forward in your career as an independent artist. Musicians have clearly lead the way in this shift of consciousness and filmmakers, perhaps have been the more innovative of the lot. Yet, I still have conversations with the occasional musician looking to get signed or in one case a young man I bumped into on the bus some months ago who was just signed to Arista. He told me his “good” news with humility and a hint of pride. I mean he was going to be working with Timberland for goshsake! I was inclined to some how shout over the screams in my head “Nooooo!!”, but then thought any opportunity is an opportunity. Its not the make of the opportunity but how you work it.

I’m going to go on record here and say that getting signed does not have to be the Big Red story from The Heartbeats. I would even suggest to attempt getting signed as a supplement to your overall marketing plan! Am I crazy or confused you may think? Here’s what I said next to my friend on the bus. “If you’re in this then be in it. Save every business card and stay connected with any and everyone you meet along the way (press, promoters, soundmen, etc.). Help calculate and cultivate the free hype given to you by the label, because you are going to need it later. Essentially you should spend your time in the mainstream industry in preparation for leaving it.” That’s not what I said verbatim, but you get the bullet points.

MAJOR LABEL HUSTLE
Major labels are tricky because they can offer the luster of the hype machine but may be clueless of who (your market) to dish the hype to. They are big on using a broad net to catch more fish. There is also that issue of the bill they may stick you with to pay for all those fisherman. But if your album flops (which you should hope) you then become a tax write off. But from the dust made from your album flopping on the dirty shelves of any major label surfaces that niche market you ultimately want to have as an independent artist. The fans who latched on during your moment in the spotlight are the ones you should be cultivating while signed and stay connected with while struggling through your post hype withdrawal. Once you’ve returned to earth and actually look at the potential of a multi-layered and focused career you will see the value in having those 10,000’s of fans who fucking love your shit! Those 10,000’s of true fans are what an independent artist (who refuse to sign) aspire to have. I was signed in the mid nineties and released some other albums with another band that was popular overseas. There fans are also mine. And fans never degenerate with age. Once someone is moved by your art all they need you to do is holler when ready.

INDEPENDENT LABELS
The beauty about maybe getting signed to an independent label is that independents are more $ conscious and more likely to work in collaboration with you in creating a marketing plan. So yousee, signed or not, you better have a plan. You are on a perpetual budget with an independent but they still (if they are experienced) have a network of press, distribution and marketing people that they can draw from. There is still a machine at work. Independent labels keep you on your toes. At the very least they will simply distribute your work and get you some press. Still this is help you didn’t have before. I would look at independents as partners or even management (to which you hire them). Independent labels are open to 50/50 cuts (after they recoup) unlike majors. But again the value really is in what exposure they can afford you maybe couldn’t get on your own.

“Sometimes you have to go off and have a grown ass relationship with some one before you can return to your art” – High Priest Anti-pop Consortium

CASE STUDY

Some good friends of mine are in the alternative hip hop band Antipop-Consortium who just released an album “Flourescent Black” after taking a 2 year hiatus from each other. They initially acquired their fanbase in the late nineties while working with an independent. I’m not going to say that all was rosy all the time, but they still were able to get what was most important from the experience; an international (including the US folks) and dedicated niche market. A market they kept in touch with even if it was just through their myspace page. Now that they have reunited and released what I feel is their best and most developed work to date they have a ready made fanbase ready to receive! A fanbase that is open to change because they were cultivated on the premise of independence. They would expect no less because their base has grown with them. And growth is the present that keeps on giving and creating better art.

I say the above to say that getting signed is not death knocking, but an opportunity if you see it as such; all be it, an opportunity with a countdown. The current mainstream music industry is dying. But until then, getting signed is like an opportunity that stands at the crossroads. What direction you take and what decisions make delivers or decimates your career. Opportunites are much like fire. You can play with it like a child and get burnt or use it like an astronaut and take off in into the fluorescent black.

Buy Flourescent Black on Itunes, Amazon and online distribution sites near you.

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I will be conducting an introductory online marketing class for artists Oct. 17th at the Astarea Foundation in NYC. Limited to only 20 persons.
Tickets can be bought here.