TuneCorner

TuneCore, Drake, and Charts by Jeff Price

Jeff Price is the Founder and CEO of TuneCore

A TuneCore Artist named Drake used TuneCore to distribute his music about 14 days ago.  Since then, he has sold over 300,000 copies of his single  “Best I Ever Had”.
 
As far as I can tell, Drake is the best selling unsigned artist of all time.  Congratulations Drake! (In an ironic twist, Drake did a deal with Universal about 10 days after he used TuneCore to distribute his music).
 
This also goes to show how confused things are out there in the world. “Unsigned” artists selling more songs than signed artists is becoming more of the rule than the exception.  Artists selling less music are making more money then signed artists.  Many Artists, using social networking sites, a video uploaded to YouTube and their Facebook page, are becoming more popular then artists getting hundreds of thousands of marketing dollars put behind them.  Without playing a single gig, some bands are selling more music than bands that have been touring for months.

 

 
Media outlets, newspapers like the New York Times, aren’t even sure how to talk about what is going on.  The best selling Music Downloads chart in the Monday, June 29th New York Times Business Section shows Drake charting at #4 (between Sean Kingston and Lady Gaga) and mistakenly lists TuneCore as the record label.  TuneCore is such a new/unique concept that they don’t know how to even refer to us.  But that’s the point, things are changing so rapidly that the traditional tried and true charts are now wrong and there is uncertainty as to what the chart represents.

 

 
Take for example the TuneCore Artist Nevershoutnever.  When he was still “unsigned” (he is now signed to Warner) he sold hundreds of thousands of songs in a 45 day period off of a collection of EPs /demos and, in a six month period, over 30,000 t-shirts through the regional Hot Topic program.  By my calculation, based on the number of songs he sold across his releases, he is outselling many of the Billboard Top 40 artists.  So what is it the Billboard charts now represent?  They certainly do not represent fame as there are a LOT of very famous bands that sell out huge gigs but sell very few albums. It does not represent wealth as artists can make money in a multitude of ways; from endorsement deals to gig income, merch sales, etc.  It does not represent the best sellers as music fans buy songs from an artist across a swatch of releases as opposed to just one group of songs from one album.
 
So what does the Billboard chart represent?  And what criteria should be put together to create new charts that reflect more of what is going on in the world. 
 
The fundamental reality is this: some TuneCore Artists are selling more music, making more money and becoming more popular than the artists that appear in the charts.  If there is going to continue to be a chart that is supposed to reflect the “Top” bands (not even sure what that means) it MUST take into consideration the way the world is working.
 
Many small start-up companies and the non-music people running them have taken a stab at creating their own charts – a random and nonsensical combination or how many MySpace friends, how many free streams your widget gets combined with some “weighted average” of your songs sales and a proprietary system that has some magic formula that spits out some answer.  This could not be further off the mark. Charts should reflect what artists are “popular”, the problem is, popularity used to be tied directly into how many copies an artist’s album sold, and this is a dying, if not already dead, model.    Perhaps the answer is popularity means people are willing to pay you for your art in some way
 
I honestly don’t have the answer (yet) but I do know that we are indeed living in amazing times!

Share your thoughts here on the TuneCore blog.

 

The Failure of the Internet by Tom Silverman

Tom Silverman is the founder and president of the record label Tommy Boy Records, and co-founder of the independent film and television company Tommy Boy Films. Silverman co-founded Dance Music Report magazine, which ran from 1978 to 1992, and he co-founded the Dance Music Hall of Fame, which existed from 2003 to 2005.  He is runs the New Music Seminar in New York City which you can learn more about here.

Editor's Note: This article is an opinion piece that does not necessarily reflect the views of TuneCore.  Let your voice be heard in this discussion by visiting the TuneCore blog.

Twelve years ago the advent of the internet gave great promise to artists that music would finally be democratized and artists would have equal access to distribution and great worldwide exposure on the web. We believed that finally the cream would rise to the top and great artists would no longer be limited by record labels or the lack of them or the lack of radio play or video exposure.  Now every artist can get their video on YouTube, their music on MySpace, their blog on FaceBook and get their Tweet on too. Now every artist can join TuneCore and get their music distributed to the most important download sites around the world.

Why has that promise been such a miserable failure? Why are less American artists breaking through than ever before? With 5 million artist MySpace pages, why are almost all of the new artists that are breaking still on established labels?

Back in the 80’s I ran a music conference that became the biggest and most influential in the world. It was called the New Music Seminar. It was the ultimate networking experience where most of the people running the music business today got their start. It was so successful that it spawned SXSW, Winter Music Conference, Canadian Music Week, In the City, and CMJ to mention the most famous. 15 years later I was approached by one of the New Music Seminar associates to reincarnate the event. I had been asked to bring back NMS at least 10 times over the last seven years but I didn’t feel like the right time.

But this time was different.  I had spoken on four panels this year in Toronto, Kingston, Jamaica, New York, and San Diego and each time, the audience was filled with artists looking for someone to give them real advice and information that would make a difference in their careers. But each time the panel was charged with debating some music industry issue like digital rights management or synch placements or the future of music on mobile phones…hardly the stuff the audience wanted or needed to hear about. 

Meanwhile, I had been reading blogs by Kevin Kelly and Seth Godin while attending all the traditional record industry events like the Grammy’s and NARM and attending RIAA board meetings. I recognized a dichotomy forming between what the record industry leaders were saying and doing and what was actually happening in the market place. Finally the light bulb went on. In an instant, I saw the future of the music business and it was nothing like what the record company leaders were predicting. It was even different that the technological soothsayers were predicting.

Infused with enthusiasm like never before, I plunged into preparation for the first New Music Seminar in 15 years. A New Music Seminar sole focused on the real needs of the artists and their representatives as we leave the old model and enter the new music business. 

This year’s NMS will focus on four critical concepts.

• The advent of a new paradigm that includes a new definition of success. Forget sending CDs to labels or making music that can get played on radio. It’s a whole new day.
• Introduction to the new science of Fan Relationship Management and the Fan Relationship Pyramid.  Knowing your fans and managing the flow of your creative to them based on their levels of fanaticism.
• The Creative Quartet and Radical Differentiation; differentiating yourself in both skills and uniqueness in the four important areas:

1. The Songs
2. The Recordings
3. The Statement and the Look
4. The Show

• The show and the tour. How to break through the elusive 300 ticket mark and move on to lasting success.

Extrapolating the latest data and incorporating the newest (and most ancient) philosophies, we will explore not only what to do but how to think differently in ways that will change your life as an artist and help turn your avocation into a vocation. The people you meet and network at the New Music Seminar will help you create  opportunities for new businesses and creative collaborations.

TuneCore broke records last week with sales of Drake and he should be an inspiration to the rest of the TuneCore artists that success is possible. The New Music Seminar is dedicated to helping the cream rise to the top.  We will challenge the technologists to improve the tools that will help artists achieve critical mass and the reach and frequency of exposure they need to become successful. We will find the artists that are becoming successful doing it themselves and help promote them to greater exposure and success so they may become an example for those still struggling to make it.  We will give artists and their team tools and a new perspective to rise above the noise floor of obscurity and make it in the new music business.

Questions or comments? Share your thoughts here!

Recording a Band: Live vs. Overdubs by Cliff Goldmacher

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, engineer and the owner of recording studios in Nashville and New York City.  When he’s not writing songs, Cliff is also a regular contributor to EQ Magazine and Pro Sound News as well as a number of online blogs.  He can be reached at cliff@cliffgoldmacher.com

When I’m hired by a band to produce their album, it’s often up to me to decide the best approach to take in the studio.  The principal choices are live (all the band members at the same time giving a “live” performance in the studio) versus overdubs (creating a band sound by tracking members of the band separately and then putting all the instrument parts together in the final mix).  By reading a little about the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches, hopefully you will be better able to decide which one will be best for your band.

Advantages of Tracking “Live”

If (and this is an important “if”) the band coming into the studio is well rehearsed and experienced, a “live” studio recording can be a great approach.  I put “live” in quotes because the recording studio (whether everyone plays at once or overdubs one or two at a time) is seldom a truly live experience.  Part of the reason that studio recordings sound as polished and detailed as they do has to do with the fact that the studio is a very controlled sonic environment.  There are isolation booths so that individual parts can be fixed without having everyone redo their parts and even if everyone is in one primary room to record, it’s not often set up like the stage of a local club or venue with an audience, applause and general room noise.  All this to say that what “live” really means is that the members of the band are given the opportunity to listen and respond to each other while they’re all playing together in the studio.   If, as I said earlier, the band is well rehearsed then this arrangement can produce excellent results.

Disadvantages of Tracking “Live”

The studio is, by its very nature, an intense and often stressful environment.  By tracking a band all together and hoping for a perfect (or almost perfect) take, you’ve added a lot of variables that wouldn’t ordinarily be present in an overdub scenario.  For example, if the drummer is having an off day, it could color everyone’s performance.  This is why I brought up the well-rehearsed and experienced qualifier in the earlier paragraph.  The more rehearsed the band members are, the less likely one member won’t be able to hold his or her own when the light goes red.  There are, of course, ways to minimize the risks in a live tracking scenario including isolating each instrument in its own room or booth so that individual fixes can be made after the keeper take is selected.  Also, by using a click track while recording, the engineer and/or producer can create a composite (or “comp”) performance by splicing together the best parts of several performances.

Advantages of Overdubs

Using the overdub approach, the band has the option of tracking different instruments separately.  This allows the band, for example, to get the drums and bass parts exactly right before overdubbing electric guitars or keyboards. It also allows the producer and/or band members to focus on one thing at a time and get it the way they want it before moving on. The way I generally approach sessions like this is to track the drums and bass with a scratch version of one additional instrument and a rough vocal so everyone knows where they are in the song.  It’s also useful to have a click track running in these sessions as it provides a common rhythmic link that everyone in the band can use to keep him or herself in time. Then, when the drums and bass are solid and provide a good foundation, we add acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and finally vocals and harmony vocals. This lower pressure and increased focus on individual parts can lead to tighter arrangements and performances.

Disadvantages of Overdubs

The risk of tracking one or two instruments at a time is compromising the overall dynamics and feel of the track.  In other words, unless the musicians and singers have enough studio experience to be comfortable in what is a rather unnatural musical environment, the performances can sound lifeless and disjointed.  The way to combat this is to make sure that if your band isn’t overly experienced in the studio you use a producer who is.  A good producer will help guide the band members through the process and their performances to help capture the spontaneity and energy of a live performance in a less-than-live environment.

No One Way To Do It

There is no correct way to record a band.  There are multi-platinum selling examples of both approaches.  Ultimately, the decision should come down to what approach leaves your band the most relaxed and focused in the studio which will almost always lead to the best-sounding results.  You may need to try both approaches to see what works best for your band.  No matter which way you go, there is never a substitute for rehearsing your band as much as you possibly can before you start the actual recording process.  Going into the studio confident and well rehearsed will make the whole studio experience easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved.  Good luck!

Let us know your thoughts here on the TuneCore blog.

Promoting Your Music with Facebook

Jake Smith and Mike Leikin are TuneCore Customer Support Representatives

A few months ago, we included an article in the TuneCore newsletter about how to promote your music using Twitter (you can read that article here).  We decided that for this week, with the rise in popularity of our own TuneCore Facebook page (thanks to everyone who became a fan!) we would discuss the pros and cons of promoting music with this site and discuss some tips on how to make the most of your own page.

A note before reading: Personally, we would recommend promoting your music on as many free social networking sites as you feel you can comfortably manage instead of putting all your eggs in one basket.  Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are the three most popular sites that exist, and often you may have fans who use one but not the other.  If you don't have an online profile for your music anywhere, then these three places are probably a good place to start.

This article is meant to serve as food for thought, it is not a step-by-step manual for how to create your own page.  So let's get started!

First and foremost: What is Facebook?

For many of us, Facebook is such an integral part of our daily lives that this doesn't seem worth discussing, but for those who aren't as familiar, Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world (it beat MySpace for the title last month).  You can use it to keep up with/update friends and can join internal networks based on city, school, occupation, and more.  You can make updates by computer or using a mobile device (much like Twitter).  You can host thousands of pictures which other users can comment on or share, and you can now personalize pages with "facebook apps".

Facebook artist pages can serve as an interactive portal to update your fans and get feedback. The real strength of Facebook, and the artist pages, is this interactivity. On the TuneCore Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/tunecore), we have been running weekly polls. There have been great responses and it's awesome to see fans actually communicate with us and with each other.

As a band or artist, you can post videos or links of your tracks and get real time feedback. You can also encourage fans to spread the music to their friends and so on etc.  Facebook also has a very large catalog of Apps (such as iLike applications) that you can use to customize your page to create a unique experience on your artist page.

We will soon be releasing an updated version of the TuneCore widget which can be used as one such Facebook application.  With this widget, you will be able to pick and choose which of your songs you would like to feature, enter band info & twitter feeds, and your music will have links that can take people directly to your iTunes store page.  More details will be coming soon, but here is preview of what to expect:

There are a few downsides to Facebook pages, but they do seem to be improving.  For example, artist pages do not feature a music player as directly or immediately as the MySpace player. For this reason, artists and labels often see Facebook pages as a poor tool to reach new fans.  For a while, Facebook URLs were very complicated and not very pretty to post anywhere, and on top of that visitors were forced to sign in before being able to view anything.  FB is in the process of trying to fix this by introducing "vanity" URLs, for example, you can now go to "facebook.com/artistname" to view many pages.  As a cool upside, you can have Facebook features that are available only to people who have signed up as your fans.

 

Do any of you have your own Facebook artist pages you are especially proud of?  Do you have a favorite Facebook page of any other artist?  Do you have any favorite applications or tips on how to make a page really shine?  Share your thoughts here!

TuneCore and Guitar Center's Free Music Giveaway

TuneCore and Guitar Center are giving away 300,000 free 20 song albums featuring 20 TuneCore distributed artists.

Guitar Center stores nationwide will be giving away 100,000 code cards, with an additional 200,000 codes being given away online starting early July.

Here is the track listing:

1.  Artist - Boxer Rebellion
Track - Evacuate
Album - Union

2.  Artist - Breakestra
Track - Lowdown Stank
Album - Lowdown Stank - Single

3.  Artist - Public Enemy
Track - Sex, drugs, and violence (feat. KRS-One)
Album - How You Sell Soul to A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?

4. Artist - Obi Best
Track - Nothing Can Come Between Us
Album - Capades

5.  Artist - Person L
Track - Storms
Album - Initial

6.  Artist - Lissy Trullie
Track - Boy Boy
Album - Self-Taught Learner

7.  Artist - John Cate & The Van Gogh Brothers
Track - High X 3
Album - Livin In the Moment

8.  Artist - Shaheed Shabazz
Track - Break It Down
Album - Something Blues

9.  Artist - Ivana XL
Track - The King
Album - Ivana XL

10.  Artist - Right Away, Great Captain
Track - Down to your soul
Album - The Eventually Home

11.  Artist - Matt Bishop & Jill Fratianne
Track - Four Hands One Heart
Album - Four Hands One Heart - Single

12.  Artist - J.a.c.k.
Track - Dracula
Album - Deletist

13.  Artist - Warpaint
Track - Elephants
Album - Exquisite Corpse

14.  Artist - Butch Walker
Track - Don't Move
Album - Leavin' the game on Luckie St

15.  Artist - Brett Pearson
Track - The War
Album - Brett Pearson - EP

16.  Artist - Last In Line
Track - Requiem for a Suicide
Album - Better Late Than Never - EP

17.  Artist - Intruder Alert!
Track - Please Don't
Album - In Seconds or In Lifetimes

18.  Artist - Crossbreed
Track - My Crew
Album - Cranky the Crane - EP

19.  Artist - Onara
Track - Ringmaster
Album - Out of Print

20.  Artist - Township
Track - Beaver Fever
Album - Township

Let us know your thoughts, especially you've already picked up your card at Guitar Center!