TuneCorner

Falling in love then falling down: SXSW 2008

Well I got back yesterday from a great trip home and a great SXSW!  My week started on Wednesday with a 1am show and the prolific Will Johnson and Centro-Matic.  From this show forward the trip was perfect.  I met so many great people and saw such great old friends I was smiling for a week straight.

I stayed with my oldest friend John and his adorable kids, Audrey and Dillinger.  Here they are doing their monster faces and just basically being adorable.

I met up with some friends from iTunes and saw some shows.  I saw a day show with the Old 97's and my friends the Drams, where I meet up with an old band mate, Chad Stockslager.

Then John, Chad, the kids and I went to dinner where we shoved Mexican food and Margaritas in our faces.  Then Chad and I went out on the town, well after he fixed his hair... 

We got some drinks at a great bar that hangs an old show poster from my old band.  Then we went to another bar and we played Buck Hunter.  Here's chad showing off...

Then we meet up with Victoria from the great band, Gliss.  Gliss was the winner of the Van, $5k, computer and Ramen contests we ran about 5 months ago.  She's even nicer in person!

Then off to see my girl Sara (Pink Nasty) play.  She's my favorite female singer/songwriter so I had to sing-a-long and dance to all her jamz.  That hot guy to her right is Austin, her boyfriend.  Austin is also a GREAT dance partner.

Chad and I were then off to his show with the Drams.  The singer/songwriter is Brent Best and we're from the same small town so that makes me think I'm cooler than I am.  Chad is the keyboard/piano/singer in the Drams.

I stayed up too late on Thursday hanging with some friends from Reno so I slept in late on Friday.  I played in the lawn with the kids then off to more rock shows.  I HAD to see White Denim and the Bowerbirds at the Mohawk, both I've had the privilege of working with at TuneCore.

Here is Beth from the Bowerbirds, she's even more beautiful in person.

Here is the rest of the handsome and talented band..

 

After such a long Thursday night I relaxed with some old friends and just sat around outdoor bars in east Austin. 

Saturday John, the kids and I went to Waterloo Park to see No Age, White Denim, Islands, Black Mountain, Lucero, the Breeders and about 10 amazing comedian including Brian Posehn, Todd Barry, Eugene Mirman etc etc.  Then with kids on our shoulders we headed back to the mexican restaurants and ate and drank more.  We ran into all the comedians outside at the restaurant and little Audrey complimented their jokes, "especially the cuss words."



Then it was time for what I can best describe as an impromptu reunion with the boys from Brazos, Loxsly and White Denim.  I left after Loxsly to go see Anders Parker play along side Scott Danbom.





Then back to go see Brazos (who are my ring tone) and White Denim.  I'm so impressed with both groups.  Their live shows make me dance like crazy (proof below in the youtube video. 

Here's brazos, which if you have a keen eye you'll see includes Austin from Pink Nasty.



Here is a video of one of my favorite bands and my dear friends, White Denim.

Then just like that it was all over.  I drove up to Dallas to say goodbye to my family and friends.  I met up with Chad one more time and we, in perfect Texas fashion, spent the afternoon shooting beer cans with a BB gun.

Then a nice flight home, a warm bed in Brooklyn and a dead mouse in my cat's water bowl.  Who could ask for anything more!?

Happy Birthday Tai & Helen

We held a birthday "party" for Helen and Tai today.  Their birthdays were last week but I got new baking pans so I made them a cake last night from midnight til 3am.  It was supposed to be a four layer alternating white and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and strawberries, but, well, you can see it below.  The final count was 3.5 layers. 

Here's Cedar, Taylor and Justin just waiting to get their cake.

Tai and Helen cutting the cake

Helen couldn't wait and had to grab some gummy worms, yeah there were gummy worms on it, and it was good!

Another shot of the beautiful cake.

Cedar enjoying a slice

Here's Marcus chowing down.

Gary is VERY excited, it could be only because it's the first solid food he's had in month, but I'd like to think it was my baking.

And finally they made me hold a piece of cake and smile, though I never eat what I bake, in case you're collecting insignificant facts about my life.

Oh here's a bad video with everyone singing, I say it's bad b/c well, you mainly hear me....

A TuneCore Christmas Party

The TuneCore team got together for a nice, small, Christmas party last Friday.  We had it in our office and splurged on pizza and a few bottles of wine. 

Here is Jeff, Peter and Justin admiring some of the wines Jeff and I picked out

Marcus and Gary were the first to open a few bottles, lushes. :)

Here are Justin and Helen, don't worry she's happy she just always looks like that.

Here's Taylor and Justin again.  I intentionally put up the worst pics I can find, it's a perk of being the boss

Tai was the only one man enough to dress up, he looked sharp.  He was our DJ for the night, though as you can tell in later pictures eveyone joined in and bossed him around.

Cedar, Ewald and Marcus settled in near the pizza, the empty chair was where i sat, best seats in the house.

AWW, look it's the whole company!

l-r it's Marcus, Jeff, Ewald, Laurelin, Gary, Peter, Cedar, Justin, Megan, Taylor, Helen, Tai and Alex.

We played a game where if you could throw change into our change bucket and make it you win the whole thing.  Cedar won on his first attempt, chump!

The CS team likes to just sit and chill, here they are in full force.

This is what happens when I yell, "B-Boy stance!"

Here's the whole CS team, wishing you a Happy Holidays!

Cedar took this pic of marcus and he playing ping pong, I guess the wine led him to thinking this looked cooler than it does, j/k. :) 

This is Marcus, he's my BFF, and he finally knows it now.

Ewald and Marcus beat Cedar and I in ping pong, barely, so this is them gloating.

Justin and Taylor still in their favorite spot

Cedar and Megan chatting it up

You'll notice alex leaning against the cooler drinking.  He likes to stay out of pics but I got him in this one.  He just got engaged, congrats Alex!

Well that's it.  Thanks for reading and using TuneCore.  We love you all!

ping pong champs

It's usually all work and no play here at TuneCore but a few months ago I bought a ping pong table for the office.  We've started a Friday tradition of playing a few loose games and calling it a week.  Jeff joined in last week so I thought I'd share 3 photos of some of the new team members playing ball.

Here's Jeff and Megan

Here is Cedar, our newest team member, and my favorite Marcus, getting schooled by Jeff and Megan.

And here's Justin, too busy with his cell phone to play ping pong so I had to put this pic up to embarrass him

Marcus' Birthday

Here at TuneCore we just celebrated a special event, Marcus' Birthday! Of course I had to bake a cake and we all got together to sing for him.

We'll try to get more "music" related post up soon but we've all been really busy getting everyone's music online!

Marcus prepares for the cake eating contest

l-r Alex, Ewald and a very hungry Taylor

This is Marcus cutting the cake I made

l-r Helen (She's new and wonderful!) Mary and Marcus

oh and just because we're in the music business doesn't mean we can sing! :-)

a new throne at TuneCore

We finally fixed the throne at the TuneCore headquarters. Taylor took pics while Tai and I actually did work.

Taylor contributed by taking pics of himself for his myspace

Happy Birthday Jeff Price!

Our wonderful and inspiring founder, Jeff Price, just celebrated his birthday yesterday! Of course we couldn't let him go the whole day without throwing him a party and singing happy birthday to him. Peter won a lot in Atlantic City so he supplied to Pizza and Cake. Here are some pics of the party. You might notice a few new people. Mary, Marcus, Alex & Ewald are all new members to the TuneCore family. More on them another time. :)

Taylor chomping down

Tai bringing in Jeff's cake

Jeff's wishing for another great year for TuneCore

That's Mary and Jeff

Marcus peeping into our new conference room, the window isn't installed yet :)

Rami & Mary chatting it up

TnT causing more trouble

Taylor and myself posing like tourists in front of our favorite spot..

As you can see the fun never ends at TuneCore. Everyone should wish Jeff a happy 21st birthday, I'm sure he's still recovering from all the dreamsicles he drank

Surviving SXSW

Well I've returned from the South by Southwest Music Festival in my home town of Austin, TX.  It was a blast!  There were tons of great panels, interviews, parties and shows. 

Jeff and I along with many other great people created a Music Industry Survival Manual that we passed out at the festival.  Here is a link to the booklet, everyone should check it out.

Music Industry Survival Manual

The TuneCore party was really fun as well.  It took place Wednesday during the day.  It started out a little rainy but the sun soon came out.  Here are some pictures of music fans enjoying the party.

Loxsly setting up

Loxsly Jammin Out

Loxsly fans staying dry

VIP area

I saw the melvin, they were stoner'ific

I took a ride in a cab that had multiple video monitors showing music videos of whichever artist i choose from a touch screen monitor. Also, it had black light poster of the planets lining the ceiling.  Only in Austin!

All and all it was super fun.  Also, I ate enough mexican food to feed a small Army, a TuneCore Army.

Two New Yorkers in their native habitat; dominance display

Me: Okay, at 6:00 I'm going to take the F to 4th, then switch to the C or E and take it to 23rd. I'll walk from there to the show.

Jeff: you're kidding?

Me: Here it goes. Okay, Mr. NYC Genius, how SHOULD I go?

Jeff: get on the a/c here and then get off the train. there is an A and C train stop right here

Me: So even though I'm RIGHT NEXT to the F here on Jay St., I'm supposed to hoof it all the way up to the A/C at Cadman Plaza so I don't have to make a single change?

Jeff: you're kidding

Me: No, YOU'RE kidding.

Jeff: maybe you dont know where the AC is

Me: It's at Cadman plaza, High St.! Unless they opened a new one.

Jeff: its like two blocks from your home

Me: But I'm not going home.

Jeff: ok, well, i'll meet you there

Me: I'm going right to the show.

Jeff: you can take multiple trains. i will take one. i walk from 2/3 every day and the A/C is closer

Me: MULTIPLE? It's one change at the easy 4th st station!

Jeff: whatever

Me: You're crazy.

Jeff: you go right ahead mister. meester!

Me: You like to walk AWAY from your destination to get to it?

Jeff: lol you are so not from ny

Me: You're gonna walk EAST into Brooklyn? To avoid a single change?

Jeff: no one in their right mind would take the F train to connect to the c train from here. maybe you dont know where the A / C is?

Me: No, you might not, but many in their right minds don't fear a single station change.

Jeff: its not fear

Me: I KNOW WHERE THE A/C IS! CADMAN PLAZA! I walk there all the time! It's only 3 blocks from my house! But it's six blocks from the F! More, since I'm not at the F, I'm at work.

Jeff: its just makes little sense, like i said, if you dont want to walk to the A/C

Me: Why should I? That's a LOT more time and effort than merely changing to a C/E train at 4th!

Jeff; actually, its not, but ok, i really dont mind, jsut lettign you know its not the best way, but do what you like

Me: *stares at you*

Jeff: serioulsy, thats silly

Me: It's only NOT the best way (my way, that is) if you don't mind walking like crazy in the wrong direction, and if you DO mind waiting for a single train change. You hate waiting for trains. I hate walking the wrong way to get to my destination.

Jeff: as a general rule, you want to limit train transfers, takes longer

Me: From zero transfers to ONE transfer? No biggie.

Jeff: not always

Me: PLUS, the station you want is C/E only, and no E goes to Cadman/High.

Jeff: F is one of the worst trains to wait for

Me: But you'll HAVE to wait for a C.

Jeff: actually, the A/C stop there

Me: I KNOW THAT, but the A doesn't go to 23rd., where the club is! The closest A stop is 34th, so you'd have to walk back 9 blocks.

Jeff: we have spent too much time on this

Me: *SCREAMS!*

Jeff: You're a nutter. Go back to France.

--Peter

Thinking about what to say to what I hope is a room full of people

This Saturday October 7th in New York I am the keynote speak at the DIY Convention - located at the Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue at Second Street.   I have been on many panels, seminars and taught a few classes but this is my first time being a "keynote" speaker.

The opportunity came out of the blue - a man names Bruce Haring called me up about two months ago.  Last time I spoke with Bruce was around 1996 when he interviewed me for his book Off The Charts .

Bruce simply asked if I would consider being the keynote speak at the DIY Convention.  I said yes - I was very flattered by the offer.

So I have been thinking about what I am going to talk about - and I have drilled it down to a few things; the distruptive nature of technology and the removal of the gatekeeper.  In effect, via technology, all media ( print, film, music, pics and more) can gain mass distribution without needing to go via a middleman.  Technology provides virtual unlimited inventory (usually a huge obstacle for people as they need to make the inventory up front) and a way to get it out to the world.

...and I am still tossing over in my head if there is a parallel between what is happening today based on this new technology and what happened in the 15th century when Johannes Gutenberg came up with another new technology -  the first mass producing printing press (of course everyone could not really read back then, but let's just ignore that :)  )

Stupid Question

The whole company flew to Los Angeles for a meeting this week. It was a long flight, with a connection in Charlotte, North Carolina. When I got to Los Angeles, I was tired and drained. I suddenly realized I wasn't sure which Los Angeles airport we'd come into--was it LAX, or John Wayne, or Burbank?

I stepped out of the gate and into the first store I saw, "Bow Wow Meow," a place that sells nothing but pet accessories. The coffee shops and magazine stores were full, but this place was empty but for one lone bored person behind the register.

"Excuse me," I began, "This is going to be the stupidest question you'll hear all day."

"Pardon?"

"What airport is this?"

"We're in Terminal 1."

"No, I mean, what airport?"

She stared at me.

I tried again, "Is this LAX?"

"Yes," she nodded, fighting a smile. "This is Terminal 1 of Los Angeles International Airport."

"See? I told you it was the stupidest question you'll get all day."

She laughed and I left. I'd have bought something, but I don't have a cat or a dog or a brain.

--Peter

On the Road

Two of us are heading to Chicago for RailsConf, the computer programming conference of the century! Well, okay, maybe just the year. It should be fun.

We leave by car from Massachusetts Wednesday morning and get back at nearly the end of June. It's quite a road trip, covering more than 2000 miles there and back, with assorted side trips.

All this while continuing to answer customer support emails, running the site and working practically as usual. We'll be putting in a couple of hours every night at the hotels we're in, wherever they are.

So if we're a LITTLE slower in answering your emails, forgive us, we're on the road. We'll still answer everything within 24 hours, just not within 24 minutes the way I prefer it.

But we leave with a major breakthrough--the April earnings are IN, and separate store billing is LIVE (that is, people who have albums in the system can now add other stores at will). Took a lot of programming to make that happen, but we did it before the start of our trip. Whew.

Take care, and stay tuned for updates from the road, if anything interesting happens.

--Peter and Gary

Using technology to validate

In thinking today about the goals of TuneCore, I am reminded of the work of Thomas Friedman.  Friedman wrote the book The Lexus and the Olive Tree, which, to my mind, is one of the more sensible examinations of the effects of globalization.  Friedman states that globalization is the direct outcome of the democratization of technology, finance, and information.  Globalization is both the cause and effect of free markets and, thus, innovation…the Lexus.  However, Friedman also confronts the other driving issue of our planet: identity.  Identity (cultural or otherwise) potentially runs directly afoul of globalization.  Globalization, therefore, if not managed with caution, will destroy the unique identities and cultures—our individual and collective roots—that are represented by the Olive Tree.

How does this relate to TuneCore?  Well, one of the points Friedman makes is that because of the advances in technology, “today we can all be producers.”  And while he doesn’t specifically talk about music, it is implicit.  One of the principle goals of TuneCore is to leverage technology to validate production through making your music widely available.

What is truly exciting to me, however, is that because this technology is being leveraged to help creators of art, we are necessarily balancing the Lexus and Olive Tree dialectic.  Identity/validation, for artists is, of course, everything.  And by facilitating the distribution of the creator, TuneCore is in fact empowering the creators of culture.  We are in a sense providing the fecund soil for that Olive Tree of creative identity to take root.   

To unite technology and identity (the Lexus and the Olive Tree) in a manner that is complimentary seems to me to be a virtuous way to proceed.