Few people take things at face value.  More often than not, we’re interested in the “how” and the “why” behind the “what.”  This is almost always the case in the music business.  In fact, sometimes the story is better than the music – and it helps the sales!  Here’s an example:  local woman works up courage to enter singing competition, looks frumpy, surprises everyone, sells a bazillion records.

Know who we’re talking about?   Of course you do.  Everyone saw the Susan Boyle clip on YouTube.   And by everyone, we mean the 86,772,621 views in the last 9 months.   And yeah, that’s a real number.  Her first week sales were over 700,000 albums.  That’s in one week, people.

Your story, along with your music, endears you to fans.  How many musicians tell stories of waiting tables and doing crazy odd jobs before they got their big break?  How about the musician who couldn’t hit the high notes ‘til she got bopped on the head with a metal pipe?**  True story – d’you know who it is?

Building a direct to fan presence requires you to (first…) connect with your fans.  This is where your story is so important, and where your fans identify with you.  From there, you start create multiple opportunities to engage, and then to sell and promote.

But it all starts with a story – what’s yours?

**Nimbit does not endorse or recommend this method for anyone trying to expand his/her vocal range…

Create something unique and topical for your fans to enjoy.  Holiday tracks, special events tracks, anything works.  Here’s a great example:

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Livingston Taylor wrote and recorded a song called “You Are Why We Love.”  He’s offering it for free on his website, teased it (w/ a video!) on Facebook, and Tweeted about it.

Check it out and write your own Valentine’s Day tune.  Or perhaps something for Presidents Day?  St. Patricks Day?  Or maybe something for the week of February 7-13 — it’s National Jello Week!!!

At yesterday’s New Music Seminar in LA, Tom Silverman stated, “there aren’t that many good managers.”  As founder of Tommy Boy Records, he’s pretty qualified to make that statement.   Paul Resnikoff, of Digital Music News, adds, “the legendary fist-thumping, bus-touring manager of old suddenly needs digital credentials, and oftentimes, a more sophisticated resume.”

While the industry journeys to find the next great band, I’m wondering if we also need to find the next great manager – someone who can not only get you to the gig on time, but also has the smarts to understand a constantly evolving industry full of easy opportunities and massive distractions. Read the rest of this entry »

Patrick (Nimbit’s CEO) is a busy guy. Having just gotten back from MIDEM (details and recap coming soon!), he’s already back on a plane heading to the west coast for today’s New Music Seminar. Patrick has been invited to participate in A2IM’s “Music Think Tank” with folks like Ian Rogers (Topspin), Courtney Holt (MySpace Music), and Jim Mahoney (A2IM).

But wait … there’s more ….

Last night, Scott (Nimbit marketing guy) was at the House of Blues’ Foundation Room for  the VIP launch for MySecretBoston.com – a new site devoted to uncovering the best of food, music, and entertainment in Boston.  There was networking, schmoozing, and all kinds of hipster-ing afoot.

In a mere 48 hours, Bob Cramer, Nimbit Executive Chairman, is judging the 2nd annual Xconomy Battle of the Tech Bands at the Middle East in Cambridge.  This year, tech companies from Boston and Seattle battle it out to see which city’s industry folks can rock harder, louder, and with fewer calls to tech support.

More?  You want more?  Well, ok …

Nimbit artists are gigging and performing all over the place this week.  Here’re a few of our favorites:

The London Symphony Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, and Symphony No. 9 at Barbican Hall with Sir John Eliot Gardner conducting.  Film buffs will remember Beethoven’s 9th Symphony from “A Clockwork Orange...”  If you’re older, think of the Huntley-Brinkley report…

Suzanne Vega is in Troy, NY tonight at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall…

On Friday night, Livingston Taylor plays a benefit concert for the Natick Community Organic Farm…

Al Kooper’s annual birthday bash is on Friday night at BB King’s in New York City…

That’s all for now … but there’s plenty more coming.  Lots more.  So much more….

Twitter based contests help new fans discover your music while being entirely measurable. Try something like: “Someone who reposts this tweet will be serenaded onstage at my next gig…”

Everybody is getting so hip / Busting a move biting their lip / Light as a feather cool as a breeze / Everybody I see is just like me…
–Livingston Taylor, “Everybody’s Just Like Me”

I heard the news today, oh boy.  The merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation has been approved.  The obvious question is, how does this help the average musician?

Let’s think about what’s actually happening here.   Michael Rapino, who will be the CEO of the newly merged companies states, “We believe that this merger will now create a … great selling platform for artists … that will drive improved shareholder value over the long term.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Here in Boston, it’s a gray and rainy day. So rather than spreading sunshine all over the place, we were cleaning out the marketing department’s storage space. Amidst the promotional schwag, we found this:

Check out our compilation from a couple of years ago, and in particular, take a listen to Danielle Miraglia’s “Moment by Moment.” It’s a perfect, rainy day kind of song…

If you haven’t seen “General” Larry Platt singing “Pants on the Ground,” you’re probably living under a pop culture rock. The ubiquitous track has taken on a life of its own with covers and remixes popping up all over tv and the Internet. It’s truly gone viral, and now the General is upset. He hasn’t made a dime off of the popularity of his ode to low-slung fashion.

This raises an interesting question:  does Larry Platt deserve to be making money for this song?   While he wrote the song, did he copyright it?  Is he registered with ASCAP?   Who own the publishing for this track?   If this were a major songwriter, you know they’d be chasing down licensing and royalties.   Imagine what happens if you decided to belt out a Beatles tune on national television — someone ultimately ends up putting money in Paul McCartney’s pocket.

But for General Larry Platt that’s not happening.

The good man has hired a lawyer to find the money he feels he deserves.  And quite honestly, can you blame him?  His song is EVERYWHERE, and he hasn’t seen a nickel.   This should be a lesson for musicians everywhere.  When you’re out there, trying to earn a living as a musician, do your homework!   Register your songs with a performing rights organization (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC), and stay on top of licensing.  Sometimes it’s as easy as hiring a capable manager, or maybe you could use Nimbit.

Imagine this:  with the popularity of “Pants on the Ground,” Larry Platt signs up for Nimbit, and has the tracks available as a free download on his own website, on Facebook, and on MySpace.  Each time the song gets downloaded, he collects an email address.  Maybe he wants to sell the track on iTunes and AmazonMP3.  Each $0.99 sale puts about 70 cents in his pocket.

When it’s all done, he could have some cash, a HUGE mailing list, and a great shot at adding another standard to the great American songbook.   But the folks at American Idol, who set this all up, likely didn’t bother to tell him any of that.  They took advantage of his charm, his song, and his ultimate naivte.

Now we have our first viral sensation of 2010, and the General has to hire a lawyer.  Welcome to the music industry!

Invite fans to help choose the setlist for your gig. Letting fans get involved provides a reason to come to your shows, purchase your music, and take part in your success!

The situation in Haiti requires the world’s attention.  Following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, this already poverty-stricken island nation is beyond disaster state.  As a service to anyone reading this blog, we offer the following resources for those looking for ways to help:

American Red Cross: Please click here to make a donation to the “Haiti Relief and Development” effort by the Red Cross.  They’ve already sent over $10 million in supplies and substantially more is needed…
Read the rest of this entry »