5 Viral Video Rules

I read an interesting article today called "How To Break All The Rules Of Viral Video - And Still Go Viral." The premise of the article is that what really makes something go viral is to break the rules. But you can't break the rules until you know what they are, so here's what the article spelled out.

• Rule #1 - Keep It Short. It seems pretty obvious, but videos have a much better chance of going viral if they're short, mostly because that's what our attention span demands these days.

• Rule #2 - Speak Clearly. Once again, it's pretty obvious. If you have any narration, you increase your chances of virility if your viewers can understand it.

• Rule #3 - Avoid Copyrighted Material. Copyrighted material can make a video stop in its tracks just as it gets some viral momentum due to a take-down notice from the content owners attorneys. You might get away with it; then again, you might not.

• Rule #4 - Reinvent Yourself. According to the article, try a different approach for each video. I'm not so sure I agree with this. If you have a style that works, you might be better off to brand yourself with that style.

• Rule #5 - Be Timely. You have a greater chance to go viral if your content is about something currently popular, although there are perennials like cats and babies that never seem to go out of style.

Ok, these are the rules. Now shoot a video that's nothing like them (except for #3, keep doing that) and you'll have a good chance to go viral.

Check out this link for the entire post.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

5 New Anti-Piracy Strategies

Depending upon who you ask, pirate sites like Bit Torrent can either help or hurt your career and your music sales. There are those that feel that being pirated makes you legitimate, and even increases your sales by the fact that new fans will want to support the artist after discovery.

That idea isn't shared by any copyright manager (at least not publicly), as they only look at the bottom line of sales, royalties and commissions being hurt as a result of every pirated file.

But actually stopping the pirates is a lot tougher than it sounds. Usually a copyright holder/manager will send a take-down notice, which sometimes gets results. The RIAA (the music industry trade association) actively sued the very people that did the downloading, which wasn't very productive in the end. And some copyright managers simply made a deal with the pirates when possible, figuring that at least a little money was better than none at all.

But 2011 might be different as 5 new strategies will be tried to combat file sharing sites, according to an article in Torrent Freak.

1) Cease the Domain. This hasn't happened until now but everyone, copyright holders and pirates, feel that it's inevitable and 2011 is the year it begins.

2) Added Pressure On Webhosts. Companies that host file sharing websites have already been leaned on heavily by the Dutch government with some success. Expect other countries to follow their lead.

3) Force ISPs To Block Sites. This has been tried with limited success in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Ireland, but usually ends up being a temporary impediment as the blocks eventually are circumvented. The idea is that someone trying to access a pirate site will give up after a few tries if it's blocked and then will never come back.

4) Cutting Off The Money. By cutting off any donations or payment processing, you hit the pirates where it hurts the most. Expect the use of blocked financial resources to increase.

5) Pressure On Advertisers. This can be used in conjunction with #4. It's easy for an advertiser to get spooked and pull out when threatened by anything except more views.

The US government in conjunction with the various trade associations and large copyright managers appear to be finally getting the tools needed to really put a hurt on pirate sites. Now we'll find out for sure if pirating actually helps or hinders sales and career visibility. 

See the entire article on Torrent Freak.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

65% Pay For Digital Content Online

Happy New Year everyone. Let's hope that your 2011 will be better that 2010.

While it seems to be the popular perception that people are unwilling to pay for digital content, a recent study by the Pew Internet organization seems to contradict the notion. In fact, they found that 65% of people online have paid for some form of digital content or subscription.

The study discovered the following:

• 33% of internet users have paid for digital music online
• 33% have paid for software
• 21% have paid for apps for their cell phones or tablet computers
• 19% have paid for digital games
• 18% have paid for digital newspaper, magazine, or journal articles or reports
• 16% have paid for videos, movies, or TV shows
• 15% have paid for ringtones
• 12% have paid for digital photos
• 11% have paid for members-only premium content from a website that has other free material on it
• 10% have paid for e-books
• 7% have paid for podcasts
• 5% have paid for tools or materials to use in video or computer games
• 5% have paid for “cheats or codes” to help them in video games
• 5% have paid to access particular websites such as online dating sites or services
• 2% have paid for adult content

What's more, they found that those who purchased digital media paid between $1 and $10 per month, with some purchasing as high as $30 per month. The digital content that most people were willing to purchase online were (in order):

• Music
• Software
• Mobile apps
• Games

So while we may have a generation of internet users who expect content like music for free, there are still a lot more out there willing to pay for it. As with everything though, the content has to be really good and at the right price to be attractive.

Read an overview of the Pew research article here.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

Concert Revenue Isn't What It Used To Be

It used to be that a star or superstar act going out on tour was really going to cash in, but it looks like the good times are over, according to Pollstar magazine, considered by many to be almost the bible when it comes to ticket sales.

How about these for numbers?

  *  The revenue of the 50 biggest grossing tours in the world declined 12% last year from 2009.

  *  It was even worse in North America, as sales were down 15%.

  *  The number of tickets sold declined 7% world-wide and 12% in North America.

  *  Yet ticket prices increased by 4% despite last minute discounting by giant concert promoter Live Nation.

  *  The top 50 acts played 8% fewer shows than the year before.

  * Promoters slashed prices to as low as $10 for the Jonas Brothers, Maroon 5, Stevie Winwood and Santana, Creed, and the American Idol tours, among many others.

So who were the biggest grossing tours?

1) Bon Jovi - $201 million (U2 made $311 mil the year before)

2) AC/DC - $177 mil

3) U2

4) Lady Gaga

5) Metallica

What does this all mean? This was probably a healthy course-correction in the business. As a result, what we'll see next year is more reasonable pricing, fewer tours by acts who were out last year (you can't tour the same places with the same songs every year and expect big sales), and maybe some sanity returning to a business that never had to worry about a recession before.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

The CD As Lunchmeat

I was turned onto this Gizmodo post by reader Scott Culley. It's entitled "I'm Not Buying Any More CDs That Don't Look Like Lunchmeat" and illustrates the interesting graphic design of a CD by Lithuanian musician Shidlas that not only looks like Saliami, but packaged like it as well.

The album is appropriately entitled "Saliami Post Modern" and features the kind of out-of-the-box marketing that can make the difference between being recognized and making money, or being lost in the crowd.

Standing out from the crowd is essential in Music 3.0. Now that almost anyone can record, there's more product than ever available. Unfortunately, most of it is crap, but there's not many ways to separate the really great music from the rest, which makes it pretty difficult to rise above the mediocre.

I don't know if "Saliami Post Modern" is any good or not, but the packaging makes me want to check it out. Sort of reminds you of the days of the album, doesn't it (read my "6 Reasons Why The Album Died" post for more info on this)?

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

Ask For The Sale

There was an article on Hypebot a few weeks ago by Peter Tanham of Amp Music Marketing regarding "call to action" buy buttons. Amp Music Marketing decided to test a number of buttons to see which was most effective when it came to selling music. The choices were:

"Get The Music"
"Download The Music"
"Buy The Music"

It turns out that the most effective was the most direct "Buy The Music (album, CD, etc)" while "Get The Music" was the least. It seems that consumers relate "Get The Music" to a bait and switch in which they're lured into clicking only to find that there's something additionally asked of them.

When it comes to sales, sometimes the very best technique is the most direct. Ask plainly for the sale. If your fan or customer really wants to buy from you, you're doing them a favor by making the process streamlined and easy. If your fan or customer is unsure, you're not helping the cause by being ambiguous.

And another thing. Keep the choices to a maximum of 3 (two works best). If given too large a variety of choices, the customer is likely to throw his hands up in the air in frustration and not buy anything!

Read the entire article here.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

The Concept Of "Fuelers"

I read an interesting article by Jed Cohen on the Rockethub blog a while back about Fuelers, a concept that I wasn't familiar with but is worth knowing about, especially if you're interesting in crowdfunding. In case you weren't aware, Rockethub is a leading crowdfunding site, and just like CD Baby, they have a separate site that teaches you how to take advantage of their site.

In Rockethub parlance, Fuelers are contributors to your crowdfunding project. That being said, Jed has broken down Fuelers into three categories.
----------------------------

The vast majority of your Fuelers will be people you already know. They are your friends, family and fans. These are people who already know and trust you. For most projects, the number of strangers who become Fuelers is fairly low. That being said, all Fuelers will fall into one of the following three categories:
1. The Committed - already committed to supporting you when they arrive
2. The Inspired - become inspired to support you after they arrive
3. The Shoppers - will shop (and tangentially support you)

Category #1, the Committed, will be populated with your First Degree Network of friends and family. These are folks who will support you every time, regardless of the project, or it’s quality. Your parents are likely a good example.

Category #2, the Inspired, will be populated with other friends and family members, your Second Degree Network. These are people whom you invite to the project page. They are not committed to contributing when they arrive, but after watching your video or reading your project description, they decide that you are up to something great! They become inspired to support you. Some strangers may fall into this category, but a friend you see occasionally is likely a better example.

Category #3, the Shoppers, will be populated with everyone else (ie. your Third Degree Network. In order for your project to grab friends-of-friends and strangers, you’ll need to grab the shoppers as well. The best way to do this is by creating rewards that are interesting and/or a good value.
-----------------------------
If you think about it, the Fueler concept also applies an artist or band's audience.

The Committed are your "tribe" (as best selling marketer Seth Godin calls them). These are your most passionate fans that will go to any lengths to attend a show or buy a product.

The Inspired are your "casual" audience; the ones that like you, but don't love you. It may only take a single great song to push the casual fan into the committed category.

The Shoppers are the part of the audience that really likes your genre or even sub-genre of music, but either hasn't been properly exposed to you or just hasn't caught the fever yet.

Your first job as an artist is to take care of your most passionate members (the Committed or your tribe) first, since they frequently bring the Inspired or casual fan into the tribe just with their enthusiasm.

Spending too much time on the Shoppers of the audience can take too much attentional away from the fans that really matter, and you may never win them over anyway. In short, take care of the fans that are already in your corner first. If treated well, they may be your fans forever.

Read Jed's entire post here.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

It Pays To Know Your Bandmates

It's tough to be in a band. Forget about the music part (which should be mostly fun), the personalities and politics are enough to make anyone crazy, as it always is when art and egos are involved. But just get close to a record deal and everything magnifies. When people begin to think they can be a star except for someone in the band (or even the entire band) that's holding them back, you get some real trouble that can't be overcome easily without serious disruption in the band itself. Then, when the prospect of big money is involved, and you have management that's looking more at the bottom line than at the music, you get a recipe for what's seeming is happening currently with the Atlantic Records band Paramore.

Brothers Josh and Zac Farro recently left the band and posted an interesting blow-by-blow on their blog that's worth a read.

In a nutshell (according to the blog post), the band started as friends in school, found a lead singer who eventually takes over the band direction, the lead singer signed the record deal without the rest of the band, the label and management wanted to fire the band, and it goes on. You've all probably heard this before.

Now there are two sides to every story, and in the case of a band, there's usually a different story for every bandmate. The sad part is that there are a thousand stories just like this, and it will keep on happening unless everyone in a band does at least some of the following (in no particular order):

1) Don't sign anything unless you have a qualified music attorney look it over first.

2) Make sure that any manager that's hired is the manager for the entire band, not for one person. If that happens, you're just a hired gun. If that's the case, at least get paid like a hired gun should be paid!

3) Don't let one person sign a record deal. If that happens, once again, you're a hired gun.

4) Make sure that you have an agreement between band members regarding at least the following:
  *  Who pays the bills
  *  What kind of vote is needed to incur expenses?
  *  How will the profits be divided?
  *  What happens if a member leaves?
  *  How are the band assets divided if a member gets fired or leaves?
  *  What kind of a vote is needed to fire a member?
  *  What happens if a member becomes incapacitated or dies?
  *  Who owns the name?
  *  Do you need a majority or does it need to be unanimous to make a decision?
  *  Who owns the bands assets?
  *  Are side projects allowed?
  *  What's the term of the agreement?
  *  Who owns the name?

And this is just the tip of the agreement iceberg (consult an attorney about this too). Without a doubt, it's one of the most difficult things you'll ever have to do as a band, but if you can get through it, you'll be a lot stronger for it, and a lot clearer about what to expect when the unexpected happens.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

Music Industry Trends For 2011

Here's a post that I wrote for the great Hypebot blog earlier in the week regarding what I see as some of the music industry trends that we'll see in 2011. For those of you who don't read Hypebot (you really should because it's a great music industry blog), I thought it would be a good idea to repost it here.

I'd really like to thank Bruce and Kyle at Hypebot for all their support this year. They've been a great proponent of my Music 3.0 guidebook, and have frequently posted excerpts from it, for which I am much appreciative.
-------------------------------------------------------------

As I see it, there will be several important trends in 2011, but they’ll all be mostly a continuation of what we’ve seen in 2010.

1) The most important trend for 2011 will be realism.

*  The realism that DIY takes a lot of work and the rewards aren’t as great as in the heyday of the major labels. Musicians and artists will begin to see success in a different way as making a living replaces stardom as the big score.

*  The realism that social networking has limitations, and traditional marketing and promotion can’t be abandoned. You still need both for effective branding and marketing.

*  The realism that the touring market is not nearly the goldmine that it once was during better economic times. Fewer venues, less money and more competition makes gigging more difficult than ever. That being said, look for this to loosen up a bit towards the end of the year as the economy rebounds.

*  And the realism that some things in the music business never change. You still need talent, some great songs, lots of hard work, and a little luck to make your mark.

Other trends for 2011 include:

2) The major labels lose even more influence, but don't go away. They'll always be needed for what they do best - taking a successful artist and making them a superstar.

3) A new generation of record label will emerge, helmed by music entrepreneurs like those in the 50's and 60's. These entrepreneurs are part of their audience, love the same music, and are as far away from corporate execs as you can get.

4) The album continues to lose ground. It’s no longer a total listening experience, so the listening consumer cherry-picks the best songs as a result. This trend will eventually reverse, but not in 2011.

5) Music subscription will finally reach critical mass as consumers realize its benefits and more services become available (iTunes subscription perhaps?).

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

When 2.5 Million Twitter Followers Doesn't Result In Sales

Soulja Boy is one of the most prolific Twitter users of any music celebrity. It's nothing for him to tweet 15 to 20 times a day, and sometimes as many as 70! As a result, he's amassed over 2.5 Twitter followers, an impressive amount by any stretch of the imagination, and a is study in fan communication.

While this has helped Soulja Boy sell singles ("Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)" is the 14th best selling download of all time at 4.5 million), his massive Twitter following hasn't helped when it comes to album sales. In its first week after release he sold only 13,000 (11k physical and 2k digital) of his new album "DeAndre Way."

SB appeared to do everything right in terms of promotion. He kept his fans engaged, tweeted daily about the album's availability, and included an iTunes link. Yet even his first single from the album, "Pretty Boy Swag," sold below expectations, although at 590,000 downloads, it seems pretty good to me.

So what went wrong? Here's what I think.

1) As I discussed in my post last week, "6 Reasons Why The Album Format Died," it's likely that Soulja Boy's audience does not buy albums, even from someone they like.

2) Could it be that the audience just doesn't like Soulja Boy's new music? We've seen time and time again, that all the promotion and fan engagement in the world just won't sell something that no one wants.

3) Could SB be the flavor of the month, and the month is over? This is what happens to big label singles artists. It's extremely difficult to build a lasting fan base because you're only hot until the next fad appears on the scene.

All that being said, almost 600,000 downloads is nothing to sneeze at, expectations or not. I wouldn't weep for the guy just yet.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

Pink Floyd Defeats EMI In Court

EMI keeps getting kicked in the ear in court, as it loses yet another legal battle, this one with Pink Floyd. Actually, the company suffered two setbacks. The Floyd had sued EMI over an alleged $15.7 million in unpaid royalties from 2002 to 2007, but the court also ruled in their favor in another matter that had much larger implications.

Music Week reports that the court recognized the band's 1999 contract which specified that EMI could only sell Pink Floyd music as albums are also covered digital downloads. In other words, it prevents EMI from selling individual Floyd tracks online, which would be a potential financial windfall when the company needs it most.

That being said, it's also been reported that EMI may be put out of its corporate misery any day now, with creditor Citibank taking it back to sell off the parts in the hopes of covering some of the debt. The latest buzz has BMG Rights Management making off with EMI Publishing and Warner Music Group ending up with the catalog rich record group.

On one hand, it's such a shame that such a storied company could meet such an inglorious end. On the other, this is a case of over-reaching greed reaping a sad reward for EMI owner Terra Firma.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

10 Music Sales Tips

Here's another excerpt from Music 3.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age. This time it's from Chapter 5 about the new distribution methods of the M30 age, and some appropriate sales tips.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are 10 sales tips to always keep in mind.

1) Ask for the purchase. Never forget that, even though you’re selling yourself, you’re still in sales.

2) Sell a package. With a ticket you get a CD, with a CD you get a T-shirt, with a T-shirt you get a ticket. The idea is to make each purchase something with added value.

3) Sell merchandise at as an affordable price as possible. Until you’re a star, you should be more concerned about visibility and branding than revenue. If you want to spread the word, price it cheaper.

4) There are other things to sell besides CD’s and T-shirts. Hats, a song book, a tour picture book, beach towels - get creative but choose well. Too many choices may actually reduce sales from buyer confusion. You can now sell a variety of branded merchandise with no upfront costs using CafePress.com or Zazzle.com.

5) Begin promotion as soon as possible. It allows time for the viral buzz (aka free promotion) to build and ensures you’ll get you a larger share of your fan’s discretionary spending.

6) Capture the name, email address and zip code from anyone who makes a purchase, particularly ticket buyers.

7) Always give your customer more than he expected. By giving them something for free that they did not expect, you keep them coming back for more.

8) Give it away and sell it at the same time. In the M1.0 to 2.5 days, you used to give away a free track to sell other merchandise like the album.  Now, if you give away a track, that track actually sells more.

9) The best items to sell are the ones that are the most scarce. Autographed items, special boxed sets, limited edition vinyl that’s numbered - all these items are more valuable because of their scarcity. If the items are abundant, price them cheaper. If the items are scarce, don’t be afraid to price them higher.

10) Sell your brand. You, the artist, are your own brand. Remember that everything you do sells that brand, even if it doesn’t result in a sale. Just the fact that people are paying attention can result in a sale and revenue down the road.

For more sales, promotion and marketing tips, see the Music 3.0 guidebook.

-----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.