Music Monday - Weekend Wrap Up

A lot happened this weekend so let's get to our weekend wrap up.

THE GRAMMYS

Music's Biggest Night. Really. Maybe it's just me, but the Grammys no longer excite me. I was watching a Ricky Martin interview earlier and the interviewer asked about his performance on that now definitive moment in his musical career. And that reminded me of what I used to love about the Grammy broadcasts.

The music industry like the entertainment industry as a whole is very political. Like my mother quips, "kisses go by favor". Meaning even though an award is deserved it may not be received. I've seen it year after year, but that aside, I miss the Grammys of the 80's and the 90's. Something happened over these last few years that I can't really explain. Even the performances have begun to be lackluster. Have you even noticed that more and more artist are not even making time to attend. It used to be that you look forward to the night when the elite of music are honored. In recent years, even those who are multiple nominees, send their regards. Some don't even do that. You remember the years of the prerecorded thank you. We don't even get those anymore.

That's how much the Grammys mean now-a-days. I think especially for the veteran artists (anyone that's made hits for at least five years) I think the census is generally, I will not break my busy schedule to mess with the likes of the academy. Because the academy has screwed up and the artists no longer feel honored. So I, the artist, say F*#@ a Grammy, I do this for the love of my fans. Or as one popular artist said, "make some records, get my dough, then I'm out".

For a musician, especially one that grew up listening to records and hoping that someday they could be like those that they admire, the Grammy Awards have become a disheartening display of emptiness. As a musician, I shouldn't look forward to the NFL Superbowl halftime show more than I look forward to what is my industry's Superbowl. I even anticipate the NBA ALL STAR WEEKEND more than I do Grammy Weekend. It's a shame that the Grammys are in Los Angeles and I preferred to be at Bryant Park at Fashion Week in New York.

Something needs to happen. Music has been trying for years to shake up, but the powers that be seem to be stuck and satisfied with the status quo. They no longer encourage avant garde performances like the life changing extravaganza that turned Ricky Martin's life around in 1999. I remember that night. It made me a fan.

We're slowly losing music and music fans. And "is this mic on", it falls on the industry to make the turn around and make it quick, before the Awards become a side note in the musical world.

But then again, that's just my opinion as someone that even as I write this article is purchasing music as a fan of music.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Way Back Wednesday

I was going through my mental video player for today's WayBack Wednesday.  And one person had a triple play. Now I'm gonna use an 'ism" from a current popular artist to describe this one.......

THIS GOES OUT TO THE BEAUTIFUL GIIIIIIRRRRRRLLLLLLSSSSSSS!









I love me some "Cool" James.... Today's Way Back Wednesday pays homage to lick-able lips Cool James or LL Cool J as you mortals call him.

I SUPPORT MUSIC

Until next time ... Hit me up!

Ali Cole In Print or B.A.D. PR

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter

You know how we do...It's all about the music!

City Sound - Miami Bass

You know how you can tell the region that music comes from just by the sound. I was listening to some music this weekend that reminded me of Miami and how Miami during the 80's and early 90's was killing the the music scene with its one of a kind sound. I remembered the pioneering Miami Boyz and that Miami Bass sound. It was the genre that basically created itself. We had the monster of it all, Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell. Just like everyone thinks Atlanta = Jermaine Dupri. When you think Miami sound, there was/is no way a real scholar of music can not immediately think Luke Campbell and 2 Live Crew.

It was that strip club, booty bouncing bass sound that had the country shaking their hips, heads, whatever other body parts they could. We love that Miami Bass.  It was the music that made people realize that hip hop take note that the north did not own the genre. It was that Liberty City straight hood, PARTY Music. Miami wasn't out to be socially conscious. Miami with it's beaches and clubs wanted you to know what drove Miami. I miss that.

For the most part, it was DJ driven....how better to push a music movement than with the folks that get down and dirty with the music. DJ's can see crowd reaction. If your record is hot, the party and club DJ can tell you from the response he gets from the floor.

That's what made the Miami Bass sound HOT! The creators had their finger on the pulse of what the people wanted to hear. With the 808's pumping the Miami Bass sound made the late 80's and and early 90's Hip Hop scene party central.

You may think you're unfamiliar but the Miami Bass inspired 95 South, Tag Team, 69 Boyz, Quad City DJ's,  and others! You know this sound. You love this sound. When you sang "Whoomp, There It Is" at the basketball game, you were feeling that Miami Bass sound. When you "Tootsie Roll" in the club, that's that Miami Bass sound.....


M.C. Luscious - Boom! I Got Your Boyfriend
M.C. Shy-D - I've Gotta Be Tough
Sir MixaLot - Baby Got Back
Quad City DJ's - C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)

Gucci Crew II - Sally "That Girl"

Sir Mix-A-Lot - Posse' On Broadway

Ghost Town DJ's - My Boo
B-Rock & The Bizz - My Baby Daddy
Luke Featuring No Good But So Good - Raise The Roof

I could list maybe another 60-70 more but you get my point. When we think about Hip Hop's evolution and we feel that 808 pumping and the bass beat thumping. We think Miami Bass.

I SUPPORT MUSIC

Until next time ... Hit me up!

Ali Cole In Print or B.A.D. PR

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter

You know how we do...It's all about the music!

Social Media Music Marketing - Part Two

In part one of Social Media Music Marketing we began talking about how social networking can be used to create a fanbase. We'll continue with FaceBook.

FaceBook
This networking site in its mission statement so to speak, says it is "to keep up with friends, to share links, to share photos and videos of themselves and their friends, and to learn more about the people they meet." There is something about us a human beings that needs a sense of connection. I took four key points out of that one sentence to help you connect with current and future fans.

• Share Links - Got a show coming up? Post the when and where, and get your fans to tell others about it. One thing I noticed in the new FaceBook layout is that it tells you about events your friends are attending and asks if you also plan on attending. So let's assume you're making an appearance at a local club, and you really have 10 confirmed. Their friends see that they're going to a show at Club X and they decide to go, you now have more people at your show.
• Photos - Upload past and present pictures of you performing, or in studio. Believe it or not, fans feel like they're a part of the process when you do that.. They see you in studio when you would have said you're working on a mixtape or full album, and they comment on it.
• Video - Same here. Even if it's video taken with the camera on your phone. It doesn't need to be a professional quality deal. It helps to endear your fan base to who you are as an individual. 
• Keep Up With Friends - I'm on social sites a lot and I watch not only fan/artist interaction but the nature of the fan without the artist. Artist that interact with their fans, have fans doing street team work and marketing for FREE!! I think about one particular artist. I have seen more promo of his work from his fans than I have seen from his paid marketing team. Why? Because they feel like they're a part of a movement. What's the movement? The movement is to convince everyone else that their favorite artist is the artist everyone else should be listening to. The only thing he does is ask general questions like, "How was everyone's day?" or "What are you guys getting into this weekend?" The responses flood the screen. Granted he probably reads 10 of them at most, but they feel like he's part of their lives now. He's keeping up with them.

So there you have it. Of course, those are only a small representation of the thousands of sites that are available to you the artist. How you use them to further your career is up to you.  Just know that win or loose, your success is determined by you. So you should take advantage of every available resource. And when it's all said and done, I hope to see you on the red carpet.

I SUPPORT MUSIC

More in the Artist Marketing Series
Pushing Your Brand
Are You On Your G.R.I.N.D?
Artist Beware

Until next time ... Hit me up!

Ali Cole In Print or B.A.D. PR

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter

 

You know how we do...It's all about the music!

Social Media Music Marketing

I don't care what an artist says, they're not just making music for the love of music. They're making music to be heard. So if you want to get your message across, and definitely if you want to make a career in music you have to get the word out somehow. Enter a marketing strategy.

Back in the day, getting your music heard was expensive and difficult. An artist would send tracks to local and national radio stations and record labels hoping that it would get played. Only to have their wonderful track put in a bin underneath a desk, in a storage closet, in the trash. (Oh, you wondered what happened to that club banger you sent to Get Played Records huh?) Sorry, I thought you knew.

I get unsigned artist dropping me music everyday, hoping that I'll pass it on to someone that they feel could give them that break that they need. So honestly I hear new music EVERYday. Some of them I know will never get past local acclaim, some of them just need to get to the right ears and some of them need to stick with their day job.

In this modern digital era, getting heard is basically a mouse click away. So how do you take advantage of the many, many, many avenues to get heard and possibly signed? Let's visit a few, maybe you'll find what you've been looking for to lead you on the road to stardom.

REVERBNATION
When I stumbled onto ReverbNation, I walked through the various components of the site and was impressed. Within it's pages and links you can find an extensive array of singers, artists, bands, management and indie labels. So with all this info passing through it's music superhighway, what lane do you get in? We'll that's up to you. The site requires work. But you knew that becoming a successful musician/artist was about the work right? To get the maximum out of the site, you're gonna have to sit down one afternoon/evening and organize yourself.

See, what the site does is offer anyone stumbling through a 360 degree visual of an artist. So with that said, you have to organize yourself so that when all sides are shown, you look like the artist that a prospective consumer wants to buy into. I say consumer because even if you just want a label to recognize your talents you have to get them to "BUY" into your vision as an artist.

The site even helps you find gigs in your area to assist with exposure. Could it get easier? I don't think so, but you have to sit down for a bit and sort yourself out. It's not just about making music. There's a whole business behind it. I can't tell you how many artists hit me, wanting representation. Because the bottom line is, they don't know how to maneuver through the vastness that is the music business. Yes, I reiterated business because, you not only want to make music but you want to be heard.

TWITTER
I don't even know how to start with Twitter. Believe me Twitter can probably be the best street team you ever have, IF USED CORRECTLY. I used to represent an artist that for the life of me, I couldn't understand why the sales numbers weren't going up. When I began to represent him the main thing I said to him was, "You put in the work, and I'll work on my end." Truthfully I wanted to keep up my end of the bargain. But his actions weren't helping his career. Of course twitter can be entertaining, but if you're building an enterprise, creating a brand or futhering your career.

Maybe you can help me understand, how a person has more than 1000 followers, releases a single on iTunes and only gets 12 sold in 3 months. That's one every week. Yet you talk to these people everyday, they laugh at your jokes, you have constant dialogue with them and they keep telling you they like your music.

So I went to the the tweets. Of the few tweets that I saw from him regarding his release, (When I say few, I mean five max). One tweet told me all I needed to know. The replies to that tweet we're promising...there were numerous congratulations. Then I saw a few "fans" that asked him to email the single. I think iTunes provides a substantial preview of all tracks, but he complied. Not just once, but a number of times. I couldn't believe it. So all that hard work of building a fanbase goes out the window. If after you would have given away so much free music, you ask them to pay, they want you to give it away too? Those aren't fans, they want free entertainment.

Watch how the celebs do it, they build a fan base and get their FANS to do the work for them. And it's not just celebs that have learned this tactic.

I recently featured Greg D. in Music Monday's Who's Got Next. Guess how I heard about him? Someone else tweeted his stuff. And they didn't even say "Listen to it"...their tweet was actually...."I've been killing this @LickMyTatts song for the last hour, I can't wait for his "Become A Fan" mixtape." At the end, they posted a link of where they were listening to it. So I listened to it and I liked what I heard. I began to follow Greg D. on twitter and guess what, he wasn't constantly promoting his music, but he was constantly promoting Greg D. the brand name. He interacted with fans, he talked about his music influences and he asked people questions about why they listened to certain artists.