Hello, everyone! Welcome to the final ‘Advice’ column of the week. We have featured a lot of great content this week, but today is the first time we’ve mentioned the holiday shopping season. If you have a suggestions for a future installment of this series, or if you have a question you want us to tackle in the weeks ahead, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.
The topic of cover songs can be a tricky one. Not everyone loves them, but every year a number of artists new and old rise to the top of their respective music scenes by adding their own take to an already well-known song. The problem with covers as far as young artists and groups are concerned usually involves royalties and whether or not they can afford to market their recording beyond streams and videos. Today we’re going to look at holiday covers, and how you can leverage royalty-free songs to reach new listeners who otherwise may have never discovered your music.
You may or may not be aware of the term ‘public domain,’ but it refers to works whose intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. In other words, works that are unavailable for private ownership or are otherwise available for public use. You do not need mechanical licenses to sell your version of these works, but certain arrangements me be copyrighted (do your own research). Below is a list of holiday songs currently in the public domain:
“Deck The Halls”
“The First Noel”
“Hark, The Herald Angels Sing”
“Jingle Bells”
“Joy To The World”
“Come All Ye Faithful”
“Silent Night”
“The Twelve Days of Christmas”
“We Wish You A Merry Christmas”
There is no question that some of the songs mentioned above have been reinterpreted by so many artists that putting an original spin on proceedings seems impossible, but it’s often the most challenging of endeavors that prove to be the most fruitful. By taking a holiday classic like the ones above and making it your own you’re further engaging already devoted followers while simultaneously creating an amazing opportunity to reach new fans. The holiday season generates a large amount of sales and internet searches for seasonal music, and with proper tagging your efforts will reach countless new listeners who could very quickly be converted into fans.
Hello and welcome to the first ‘Advice’ column of the week. There have been at least three installments of this column dedicated to getting the attention of bloggers, labels, etc., but today we’re going to turn the tables a bit and look at what happens AFTER you gain the exposure you’ve fought so hard to earn. If you have a suggestion for a future ‘Advice’ column, if you have a question you would like us to tackle in the week ahead, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.
Gaining the attention of blogs and their readers is no easy feat, especially for unsigned talent with little-to-no history. You can write the best songs and have the nicest videos, but if you do not know how to network and pitch yourselves no one will ever learn about your talent. Once they do however, there will only be a small window of time for you to capitalize on having won a moment of their attention, and this afternoon we’re going to learn what you should do in the hours after first receiving media attention.
1. Take time to celebrate, but realize there is still a lot left to accomplish.
I was never in a band that became popular enough to appear on sites like Absolutepunk or the like, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t spend many nights wishing one of the influential tastemakers of the scene mentioned my efforts in their publication. If your music/video/album gets mentioned, celebrate! You’ve taken yet another step towards your goal of a career in music, and while it’s certainly not enough to pay the bills it does serve as a strong reminder other people in the world care about your art. Don’t take that for granted.
2. Tell everyone in the world about the news (and ask them to share it).
This one probably goes without saying, but the unwritten rule of exposure on music outlets is that the band featured will publicly share and/or promote the publication’s content once its live. Don’t just share link to stories with fans, but ask them to share it as well, and don’t be afraid to request they comment on the post if time allows. Sites that see a bump in traffic or discussions from coverage of your band are likely to cover your band again in the future because they believe there is a value to your content that other unsigned acts cannot provide. In order to show them that value you will need the help of your fans, and its up to you to sell them on sharing your work.
3. Engage the comments section, but don’t antagonize them.
If the reason you’re reading this post is because the first article about your music just went live, you need to understand the response in the comments section may be very slow at first. As much as sites love to help expose young talent, people are not always quick to comment (especially in a positive sense) about something they are unfamiliar with. A great way to combat this is to actively participate in discussions taking place in the comments section of articles about your band. Answer questions for people, offer insight into your creative process, and generally speaking do whatever you can to be a decent human being that is open to criticism. It’s not that difficult, but it can make a world of difference in how quickly people become engaged with your art.
4. Say “thank you” and/or support the publication that wrote about you.
You would not believe the power the phrases “please” and “thank you” have in the music industry. From labels, to bands, publicists, and everyone in between you would be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks they hear either of those phrases too often. People tend to do as they please and take what they want without giving much though to the process behind it all, but you can stand out from the countless unsigned artists of the world by voicing your appreciation to the sites that give you space on their front page. It does not have to be anything formal, but it should be sincere. People remember those who are kind to them, and they’re far more likely to want to work with you again in the future as a result.
5. Don’t be afraid to begin teasing your next announcement.
Once people learn about your art it’s very likely they will want to know everything they can about your current efforts. Using social media and the comments sections on posts about your work, take a moment to tell people about everything else you have going on while your name is still fresh on their minds. They might not buy the album or see the tour you’re trying to promote, but at least they’ll know of it and will have the ability to share that information with others if such opportunities present themselves.
Hello, everyone! Welcome to the final Blogger Spotlight column of the week. We are planning to bring back our Advice series tomorrow, but at this point we are waiting on a few final components to fall into place before revealing the article’s focus. If you have a person or publication you feel deserves to be highlighted in this column, or if you have an idea for a future Advice article, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your recommendation(s). You can also find us on Twitter.
The vast majority of the sites we have features up to this point have been focused solely on promoting and discussing music. There have been slight variations in genre and approach, but for the most part everyone does the same task in their own unique way. Today is different however, because the person at the center of this story spends essentially no time whatsoever writing about music online.
Natalie Dickinson is the founder and creative mastermind behind We Are The Kids, a site dedicated to helping aspiring industry professionals get their start in the music business. Through in-depth editorials, spotlight interviews, and an on-going Q&A with readers Natalie has built a community of passionate music fans who are always on the lookout for ways to help the scene they love thrive. She makes no money for her efforts, but the work she does has proven more rewarding than even she could have imagined.
This might sound weird to say, but Natalie Dickinson is a personal hero of mine. She might not realize it yet, but through her efforts with We Are The Kids Natalie has helped craft the next generation of music industry leaders, and to be completely honest she’s doing a far better job than any book or one-off article could hope to accomplish. She’s making it easier-than-ever for people to get involved with the music they love, and through doing so has developed a worldwide digital community of progressive thinkers who will help shape the future of this business.
If you want to stay informed with everything Natalie has going on, be sure to bookmark and frequent We Are The Kids. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: Please state your name, title, and the site(s) you’re associated with:
ND: Natalie Dickinson, (Founder), We Are The Kids
H: We like to start at the very beginning of everyone’s journey in this business. What are your earliest memories of music?
ND: I didn’t grow up in a family who was from a musical background per say, but my parents always had an interested in music by default of the time period when they grew up. We always had music playing in the house. My parents have a big collection of records– mostly rock and pop classics from the 70s and 80s. When CD’s came out, my Dad used to take my brothers and I along with him to Newbury Comics all the time. I remember him going through a phase when he would buy stacks of CDs at the store, and keep them in the back of his car to play.
H: Do you recall when you decided a career in the entertainment industry was one you wanted to pursue? To whom or what do you attribute the inspiration to head in that direction?
ND: I think it was probably around the ages of 15-17 when I realized that music was more than just a general interest for me. I was starting to go to more shows, and starting to meet more people. I attribute a lot of my inspiration to an organization called Earn It Yourself, and it’s founder Sarah Saturday, who has been an amazing mentor to me over the years. Along with Sarah, there were a few other people who inspired me, helped me, and pushed me from an early age.
H: Did you study something industry-centric in college?
ND: I’m still in college at Northeastern in Boston. I study Communications. Although it is not directly related to music industry, many of the concepts I’m learning apply to any industry in a broad sense. I didn’t choose to study music industry (which is a major offered at my school), because I knew that I could always get music industry experience outside of the classroom, and I wanted to invest my money in a major that was broad enough for me to fall back into if I don’t end up in the music industry at the end of the day.
H: What was your first gig in the music business (unpaid work counts)?
ND: Street teaming was definitely my first taste of experience in the music industry. I street teamed for probably about four years, and I’ll still pick up a campaign every once and a while if I have time. From street teaming, everything snowballed. I’ve always been trying to learn about every aspect of the industry I possibly can, so whatever opportunities were thrown my way, I’d give it a shot.
H: You, like many, maintain a number of roles in the music business. This interview is supposed to focus on We Are The Kids, so let’s knock the others out of the way. Can you tell us a bit about your role with Warped Tour and how it came to be?
ND: I’ve been involved with Warped since 2007 when I started going as a fan. In 2009, I volunteered for the first time, and I loved the experience. Wanting more, in 2010, I went to four different dates of the tour to volunteer. That year, I met Sarah Saturday as she was hosting Earn It Yourself panel meet-ups at each of those dates. That next year, I worked with Sarah and helped her build a street team for the EIY meet-ups in 2011. That summer, Sarah gave me a laminate in return for my hard work. I shadowed the production intern that year, volunteered, and helped out with the EIY meet-ups. In 2012, I went into the tour volunteering again. Somebody who was touring with an organization I was volunteering with left the tour, and I had the opportunity to jump on the road and take her place. Once I had those three weeks to prove myself, I was asked back out for the full tour in 2013 to be the volunteer coordinator for production. Production had never brought out a volunteer coordinator before, so it was a new job that I sort of created and organized for myself as the tour progressed.
H: When not on the road you currently reside in Boston where you continue to stay involved in music. What do you do in New England to stay active outside of the festival season?
ND: I’m a full time student at Northeastern, so I have classes every day of the week. Around class time, I also work a little over twenty hours a week at Tealuxe in Harvard Square (holla come visit me!!). When I’m not brewing delicious tea, or writing papers at the local coffee shop, I’m working on my website, and going to shows with friends.
H: Okay, onto the site. When did you launch We Are The Kids, and how did the idea come together in the first place?
ND: WATK launched in July of 2010. This was the summer I met Sarah on Warped, and was introduced to EIY. EIY served as a huge inspiration for my site. Also, that summer I was volunteering for one of the sponsors on the tour. That summer, I was at a point where I felt like I had learned everything I could from street teaming, and I wanted more experience, but I was too young to intern, or work at a venue. The sponsor’s TM, Luis suggested that I start something local in the industry to get experience. We talked about blogging, and he encouraged me to start a blog. He specializes in social media, so from the beginning, he taught me, and guided me to create a strong community and presence online.
H: The target demographic for WATK is one that certainly needed a hub for community building, but I am curious about how you initially got off the ground. Did you do any marketing early on, or did the audience come to you?
ND: Well, Luis really helped me in the beginning in terms of going about making content, and reaching people through social media. Tumblr was a fairly new platform when I started the site, so I used to reach out to TMs, photographers, and merch people on tumblr (contacts I had accumulated through my years of volunteering at Warped), and I would write in their ask box telling them about WATK. Since I knew these people had a bigger following than me, when my ask was published, I would get a bunch of their followers checking out my site. Tumblr has a lot more users now, so when their editorial staff started featuring my blog in their “find blogs” section, I started to get major attention.
H: In addition to offering advice through Q&A, WATK offers a number of articles intended to simplify the process of getting your start in the business. What areas of the business have you yet to cover that you would like to create materials for?
ND: There are so many things we could cover, and I’m open to everything. Right now, I’m working on putting together a feature about volunteering at big festivals. Another idea I want to cover soon is marketing events, and marketing tours, or working for sponsors. It’s an idea that I don’t think many kids know about, or think about as a way to get on the road.
H: From what I can tell, WATK has no advertising whatsoever. Have you monetized your efforts at all? If not, do you have plans to do so anytime soon?
ND: I haven’t monetized anything on WATK…yet. I post for companies for free, promote other music blogs for free, and run my site at no personal cost to me. I’m currently working with my school’s venture accelerator program to put together a business plan that I will be able to present to a board in an attempt to receive gap funding. This funding will be used to create a new website for WATK that will be built from scratch by a developer. The new site will open up different ways for me to be able to make a little money. I’m not trying to make a living off WATK, and I never want to charge my followers anything. If I can make a little money to put back into WATK to make it better, I’d be stoked.
H: Seeing as you likely make no financial gain by running this site, what do you get out of your effort? Why keep doing it?
ND: I never could have anticipated how helpful the site would be to my personal career in the music industry. I have to credit 80% of my resume to WATK. It has helped me to make connections, and get jobs within the music industry. I truly love going on my site, and connecting with other kids in the industry. There are so many talented kids on the site, and it’s really cool to hear about everything they are doing to get involved.
H: What is your ultimate career goal?
ND: I don’t have a clear answer to this question. I can see myself in a lot of different positions. Overall, I just want to be able to make a comfortable living doing something I love. Happiness is very important to me. If I’m not happy doing what I"m doing, I"ll make a change.
H: We Are The Kids seems to be in a state of constant growth over the last several months. What do you have on the horizon that you can share with us as far as content is concerned?
ND: I touched on it before, but overall, I’ve been spending a lot of time working on a business plan to get a new site up and running for my followers. There are a bunch of new features that will be rolled out on the new site. Kids will be able to contact one another through the site, and check out jobs/opportunities based on what city they live in, or what career they’re interested in. Kids and companies will also be able to make their own profiles to showcase what they are doing in the industry.
H: Okay, I think that about covers it for now. Do you have any final thoughts that you would like to share with our readers?
ND: Thanks to anyone who has supported the site, or contributed to the site. We have an amazing community of people, and I can only hope that we grow stronger as we continue to make an impact in the music industry. Also, if anyone has any questions about the site, or wanted to contact me, I can be reached through email at wearethekidsblog@gmail.com or on twitter @wearethekids!
Hello and welcome to another week of music industry insight and advice here on the official blog of Haulix. We have a lot of great content on the way, and to kick things off we’re sharing the story of a young industry professional whose already miles ahead of his competition. If you have a site or journalist you would like to recommend for this feature, please email james@haulix.com and share your ideas. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Earlier this month we brought you the story of Tyler Hanan, a college student who has already become a well-engrained member of the music industry thanks to his drive, determination, and relentless work ethic. Today we’re returning to the collegiate world to discuss a similarly minded individual, only this time our featured talent hails from Florida and prefers to be called Adrian.
Growing up in a Mexican-American household, Adrian Garza was exposed to a wide variety of music from an early age. His love of music continued to develop as he grew older, but it wasn’t until Tooth & Nail Records randomly selected him to be a street team member during a stop on Warped Tour 2010 that he ever considered a life in the industry. Now he holds down the Editor-In-Chief position at his University paper while writing for multiple music publications (and working another part-time job) and finds that recent dream has already started to become a reality. Today he shares the story of how he got his start, and what he has to say may very well help other aspiring industry professionals find their footing in this crazy business of music.
Adrian no doubt has a bright future ahead of him, but the place he finds himself now isn’t so bad either. If you would like to stay on top of everything he’s working on, please take a moment to follow him on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: Please state your name, job title(s), and the publications you work with:
AG: My name is Adrian Garza. I spend a lot of my time as the Editor-In-Chief of The Southeastern Times, the student newspaper of Southeastern University. I also used to write as a staff writer for Christian Music Zine, and still work independently as a band manager and publicist.
H: When you think of your earliest memories with music, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
AG: Coming from a Mexican-American household, I remember listening to a lot of my dad’s mariachi music in the car, especially on longer road trips. There were several artists that he listened to, but one that comes to mind among those would be Vincente Fernandez. Even though I won’t listen to any mariachi nowadays, I know all of that time spent with the genre made me into who I am today between an appreciation for folk and country, as well as how I learned to play an acoustic nylon stringed guitar before any other instrument.
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
AG: I still specifically remember the day that I walked through my local K-Mart and bought a copy of Switchfoot’s Nothing Is Sound on the day it released with my allowance when I was only 12 years old. It features one of my most favorite album covers, and it’s still one of my most favorite records. Sadly enough, it got lost somewhere over the years.
H: Having an interest in music is relatively normal, but deciding to pursue a career in music is a bit more rare. When did you realize the entertainment industry was the business for you?
AG: It was only about 3 ½ years ago that I realized I had a potential future in the music industry. Specifically, it was at the Warped Tour of 2010 where I was picked up by Tooth & Nail Records to be their street teamer for the West Palm Beach date of the tour. In the moment, I didn’t think much of it; I just thought it was great to help promote what was my favorite record label at the time. Throughout the day, I just had question after question come to mind while I worked alongside Micah Dean, their tour rep who also worked as an A&R representative when he wasn’t on the road. Somewhere along the lines, I mentioned how I really enjoyed reading HM Magazine, and he surprisingly offered to personally recommend me to Doug Van Pelt, the Editor-In-Chief of the publication. In the moment, I didn’t think much of it, because I really had no interest in writing for a living, but over the course of the next couple of weeks, I really grew to like the idea because I had always had a passion for sharing things with others. But I didn’t see myself wanting to solely working in writing about the bands who are already known, I wanted to be one of the people who gave bands that initial push.
With all of that said, a career in the music industry is just what makes the most sense to me.
H: You dabble in a few areas of music, but a lot of this interview will focus on your writing efforts. When did you first take an interest in journalism?
AG: I do remember enjoying this mass communication class that I had back in my freshman year of high school. But that’s really all I thought of journalism back then; one of many units in a mandatory class that I took in my freshman year. Until that offer came along back in 2010, I knew I liked telling stories, sharing the ideas that I believed in, and getting others to listen to the bands I loved, but I didn’t see any future in it.
So, continuing off of where I left off on the last question, I was basically given this opportunity when I was coming towards the end of my summer before my freshman year of college. At the time, I didn’t have much of an existing direction of where I wanted to go with my life; I planned on pursuing a degree in business management, but I really wasn’t all too thrilled about it.
I was in the music business program at my school for about a month, and while I liked the idea of getting a degree that allowed me to take so many classes that related to business and music, it was the requirement of performance related ensembles and mandatory lessons, along with the lack of classes that focused specifically on the different facets of the industry (booking, A&R, management), that led to me wanting to change majors.
When it hit me that there my college offered a major in journalism, I decided that switching over may have been worth my time. So I decided to take a shot at writing an article for the student newspaper to see how I felt about journalism before I made the switch official, and it was after submitting that first article that I realized how much I enjoyed it.
H: The obvious follow-up, when did you first combine your love of music and journalism?
AG: It was actually, my second article I ever wrote for the Southeastern Times, which was a feature story on Terra Terra Terra, one of Lakeland’s most widely known acts. It might’ve not been the best thing that I’ve written, and I may have needed a lot of help, but that was all I really needed to know this was the right path for me.
H: You’re Editor-In-Chief at your college paper, as well as a staff writer for online music outlets. Why take on multiple roles?
AG: I really like how I’m able to write and express myself in different ways through all of these outlets. I can add personality and emotion to my writing for UTG, but at The Times, I’m supposed to be more objective and not subjective. I will admit that I don’t like working on more than one album review at a time, and in that same way, I don’t like only covering events. Another interesting thing to take into consideration is the audience and the people I get to work with: On campus for The Times, I’m interviewing different faculty members and administrative figures, where my articles are being published and shared out to a campus population of 2000+ people. At UTG, I’m interviewing musicians, working with publicists, labels, and managers that operate on so many different levels, and sharing that out to a limitless audience over the internet.
H: Do you find working on music has influenced or aided your efforts in regular journalism (or vice versa)? If so, how?
AG: In my opinion, the two are more closely related than many would think. Both fields rely heavily on creativity, and both are done in independent settings. I feel that my work with journalism has given me the excuse to take the time to keep up with what people are into, and that allows me to put that into action with my work with music.
H: Like many, you make little-to-no money for your efforts in writing. Why do it?
AG: Like I said before, I started doing this just to see if I liked it. After that, I wanted to keep writing for smaller outlets (like the school newspaper and Christian Music Zine) specifically for the sake of building up writing skills. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy that time in my career, it’s just that back then, it was more about learning slowly than it was about diving into big and unique articles like I’ve done recently. Now I do it because I care that much about giving recognition to the bands who deserve it.
H: In addition to writing, you also run a management company. When did you launch this effort, and what can you tell us about your progress so far?
AG: I launched Torches Management & PR back in December 2011 when I was asked by two different musician friends of mine to help with their projects. The crazy part is that one of those bands, Eyes, was located all of the way out in Colorado Springs. On the polar opposite in distance, I also worked with another band that was located on my college campus, A Sound Asleep. Most of my work was dedicated towards the release of each band’s EPs, though I did start booking a summer tour for ASA that had eventually been cancelled early on. Some of the things that I’m pretty proud of is getting The Lakeland Ledger to cover ASA and getting some notable small-time blogs to review the Eyes EP.
Nowadays, I haven’t been as active with Torches as I wish I was, but who knows, maybe I’ll come across the next big band that I’ll just have to work with. But for now, I know that I got a lot out of those experiences and that I made a difference through them.
H: As someone working in many areas of the industry, what advice would you offer someone hoping to get their start towards a career in music?
AG: My best advice would be to not wait a second and start now. I know this sounds kind of weak, but we live in an age where there is so much free information readily available. Go online and look up articles, browse forums, check out books at your local library (I’m serious, you’ll be surprised at what you might find), then take in as much of that as you can. When you’re done with that, learn some practical skills, whether it’s coding, graphic design, excel, and anything else that could be relevant. Then go out and do something with it, even if it’s starting small.
H: The last decade has been littered with claims from those who believe the music industry is dying and/or otherwise crumbling as a result of piracy. Considering you’re about to leave school in pursuit of a life in music, what do you have to say to those who see it as a weak industry?
AG: This question’s always given me trouble in real life, because I will be one of the first to admit that in a way, it is. Yes, album sales have declined over the years, and yes, it feels like much of the bands that are playing so many of today’s biggest festivals are the same bands who’ve played them for the last several years, but there’s still a lot to stay excited about. The big four major labels have lost much of their coveted market shares to so many indie labels which have had the most humble of beginnings. It’s no secret that vinyl has been given a lot of attention lately, and that’s great, because it has opened up a lot of room for labels to go all out on the packaging, making for an experience that’s all the more unique.
H: What is your ultimate career goal?
AG: I wish I had one big and massive goal with my career, but I don’t. If I can continue to keep doing what I’m doing, but on big enough of a scale where I can be given more access to working on bigger stories and bigger bands, while getting some sort of sustainable income out of it, then I’ll be happy enough!
H: When it comes to receiving music for review and feature consideration, which services do you prefer and why?
AG: Haulix truly blows the rest out of the water in both function and convenience! I’ve never experienced any technical difficulties with that streaming service, and the fact that you guys offer downloads to those who are constantly on the go is a major plus.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
AG: If I could change one thing about the industry, it would be less about the business itself, but the fans who keep it alive. I feel that in general, we as Americans are a little too spoiled between what we have available to ourselves and how much we decide music is worth. I would wish that when people make a claim about how one of their favorite artists releases one of the best albums of the year, they would all back that by actually buying said album. I wish that buying a t shirt wasn’t seen as a justification for stealing an album, because come on, sure you’re helping a band put gas in their tank, but don’t be in it for the fashion.
H: You talk a lot about the future. Before we let you go, can you tell us a bit about what you have planned in the months ahead?
AG: Shoot, there are too many things that come to mind! I’d really like to go out to SXSW to take in the full experience before I graduate and look into finding a full time job that would prevent me from doing otherwise. Seeing as how I’m only halfway through my tenure as the Editor-In-Chief of The Times, I still have more than a few ideas left in store. One thing that I’ve been on the fence about would be writing a script to a three minute short film for my college’s 180 film festival. Outside of all of that, you can still expect me be working on the best reviews, interviews, and news pieces that I could possibly put out for Under The Gun Review.
Hello, everyone! The week is coming to a close, which means it’s time once again to look at everything we’ve accomplished in the last five days.
The holiday season is fast-approaching, and while we cannot personally send everyone a gift we do plan to unveil a few new updates in the weeks ahead. We admit they’re not exactly gifts, but once you see everything we have planned we think it’ll put a smile on your face. We should be able to share more information on on all of this in next week’s update.
Looking to the blog, I personally think this was one of our best weeks in recent memory. Not only did we tell the story of two very fast-industry industry professionals, but our Advice series touched on areas of artist’s careers previously unmentioned on this site. You can find links to everything released this week below:
That basically wraps it up for our efforts this week. We promise to have more updates on product developments in next week’s update, so please be sure to check back! For now, have a great and safe weekend. If you have any questions, email james@haulix.com or reach out over Twitter.
Hello and welcome to another installment of the Haulix ‘Advice’ series. We have featured a lot of great content this week, and I think you’re really going to enjoy what we have in store for you today. If you have any suggestions for future installments of this column, or if you have a question you’d like us to tackle in the weeks ahead, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter.
We’ve all heard the expression that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to truly master any craft, and in this post we’re going to examine why writing 10,000 bad songs will have the same effect on your songwriting.
If you read our previous post on writer’s block you’ll recall that one of the top tips for strengthening your mind is making a commitment to write each and every day regardless of your actual desire to create. Fighting through the resistance of not ‘feeling it’ or otherwise not being in the mood to make something out of nothing trains your brain over time to let the creative juices flow more freely, but anyone who actually creates for a living knows this is a task far easier said than done. Even if you can get to a point where you write every day, it can be incredibly hard for creative people to be okay with something they make being ‘ok,’ mediocre, or even flat-out terrible. Creative types believe they have great art waiting to get out of their mind, but bad songs can appear to speak to the opposite being the case.
Here’s a hard truth: You need to write a lot of bad songs, or at the very least you need to write a lot of songs and see them through to completion regardless of whether or not they are bad because it’s the only way you can begin to understand the recipe for proficient songwriting. There are a few lucky souls who simply have a knack for crafting catchy songs, but the vast majority of artists only have an idea of what good music is, and they spend their entire career trying to fully grasp that concept without taking the time to explore the pros and cons of their theory. Writing constantly will allow you to better understand your own tendencies as a songwriter, and through examining the bad songs you can begin to sort out the elements of your style that you do not like.
Bad songs are not actually bad, they’re simply stepping stones toward the next great song that must be overcome if you’re ever going to evolve as an artist. We’ve all known groups who found a sound that worked for them and stuck with it as long as there were people willing to support them. While there is certainly nothing wrong with this approach, it does not bode well for your career trajectory. Change keeps people interested in your music and it keeps you challenged as a musician, but if you want to change you’re going to encounter bad songs along the way. Realizing they exist to help strengthen your career and not harm it will only aide your development, so embrace the mediocrity and whatever you do – KEEP WRITING.
Hello, everyone! After spending the first part of the week learning about the people behind some of the web’s biggest music portals we’ve decided the next two days will focus on advice. If you have any suggestions for future installments of this column, or if you have a question you’d like us to tackle in the weeks ahead, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter.
There comes a point in the life of every band when they decide it’s time to take their art on the road. This usually leads to a string of local gigs, often in locations that are not technically ‘music venues,’ and it offers artists a front row seat to view how the world reacts to their creative offerings. If it’s a hit, that desire to share their music with live audiences will only grow, and in time you will begin to look at places outside of your zip code with hope that one day you can storm actual stages instead of just your friend’s basement. We’re not a booking company and we cannot guarantee you any gigs, but in today’s column we’re going to do our best to help you get started with booking shows out-of-state.
But wait, if we’re not a booking company then how do we know what kind of advice to offer artists? Good question. To create this piece we partnered with Tyler Osborne, vocalist for DC hardcore band Over & Out, and asked him to tell us about the lessons he learned while booking his band’s first tour last spring. Tyler’s responses helped shape the four tips that follow, and we hope it helps you get a bit further in your career:
1. Be reasonable.
The first thing to keep in mind when approaching the task of booking your first shows outside of your local market is that it’s very likely no one working the venue in the area you’re trying to play has heard or seen your band before. Like the friends of your friends who were dragged to your early performances to help fill space it is up to you to sell them on your sound and its ability to draw a crowd. Demanding ridiculous guarantees and fussing too much over your placement on a bill filled with locals who actually draw will quickly earn you a bad reputation in live music. Just like the PR side of things, the world of live events is actually far smaller than it seems. Everyone knows everyone, and when someone leaves an impression – good or bad – that news gets out. Your first tour should open doors, not close them, so try you best to be gracious whenever possible.
2. Maintain an online media resource (that does not require a ‘Like’ for access).
This seems like a no-brainer in an age where every artist is on at least two or three social networks, but it is absolutely imperative that you maintain an online collection of materials that can help sell your band. This may include, but is not limited to high quality song streams, promotional imagery, live video, and social media stats. This information provides venues with everything they need to know about you and your work, as well as simplifies the marketing process should they choose to give you a gig.
3. Use the internet to learn everything you can about the area you want to visit, and use that information to land the gig that’s right for you.
I’ve never worked in an age where the internet wasn’t available to aide in the process, but I imagine booking tours anytime before the late 1990s was insanely more difficult than it is today. Now when bands, or at least forward-thinking bands want to book shows in other places they can leverage the essentially endless avenues of information gathering that exist online. Research the cities you’d like to visit, learn the venues that work best for your music, and most importantly – network with artists from the area (as well as those who play there on a regular basis). Well crafted pitch emails and great songs will get you far, but it would be impossible to put a price on knowing the person who knows the person who can get you a show in any specific area. This may mean swapping shows with bands or opening a large bill, but it will get your foot in the door of another music scene. Once you get that opportunity it’s on you to make the most of it, and with a bit of luck your next time attempting to visit that location will be a much easier one to organize.
4. Don’t let the word ‘no’ get you down.
We have covered this when discussing other areas of the business, but it’s of the utmost importance that you do not let the word ‘no’ stop you from chasing your dreams. Venues will pass on you, concert attendees will stare at their phones while you perform, but somewhere amidst the sea of glowing screens will be at least one set of eyes entirely transfixed on the art you’re creating just feet in front of their face. Your music will strike a chord in their soul that they never knew other understood and they will want to tell every single soul they know to give your music a chance to have the same impact on them. The buzz will grow and in time things like booking will become easier. It’s hard for everyone early on, but keep trying! Believe in yourself and others will follow.
Hello, everyone! Today is a very special day for the Haulix blog as we’re fortunate enough to be sharing the story of one of the biggest and longest-running hard rock news outlets online. This site has been praised and criticized for a number of years, and this afternoon we’re going to learn about the man who makes it all happen. If you have any recommendations for future installments of our spotlight series, or if you have any questions about our products, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter.
I do not recall when I became a regular reader of music blogs, but if I had to guess the early years of the new millennium would be a great place to start. Sites were far simpler back then, and the amount of competition for exclusives was far less cutthroat than it is today. Those wanting punk news visited Punknews, those wanting emo/alt-rock visited Absolutepunk, and those wanting to learn about the heavier side of rock spent countless hours browsing the site at the center of today’s article.
Founded in 1999, Lambgoat has been the go-to destination for fans of hardcore, metal, and other forms of extreme music for well over a decade at this point. Their news feed is one of the fastest online, and rarely does more than a few days go by without some exclusive breaking as a result of their efforts. I knew when we launched this column that the mind behind Lambgoat, and the answer given by owner Alex Arnold certainly did not disappoint. You can read about his journey in music below.
As someone who spent years reading about music before ever deciding to write about it himself, I do not know that I would be who I am today without having discovered Lambgoat all those years ago. The sense of community shared by its users, not to mention the endless love shown towards independent artists has created an environment that makes discussing music fun once more. The competition to be the place where those conversations take place is fiercer than ever today, but I have no doubts Lambgoat will continue to reign atop the metal world for many years to come.
If you would like to stay on top of everything Alex has going on, make sure you bookmark and frequent Lambgoat. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For those unaware, please state your name, the site you work for, and your role at said site:
AA: My name is Alex Arnold, I work for Lambgoat. My role is pretty much everything: owner, writer, developer, designer, intern, etc.
H: We have a lot of ground to cover here, but let’s start with the basics: When you think of your earliest memories of music, what comes to mind?
AA: That’s a long time ago. Some of my earliest memories are dancing around my living room with my sisters while the Beatles’ ‘White’ album played. No, I wasn’t alive when it came out, but luckily it was part of my parents’ vinyl collection. I also have fond memories of my father listening to Bob Marley and Billy Joel, two artists I still thoroughly enjoy to this day.
H: Do you recall the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
AA: No, I honestly don’t. But it may have been a Herbie Hancock cassette tape (which must be in a box somewhere. I would never have thrown it out). I think I heard his song “Rocket” on TV and was enthralled. My older sister was a big influence to me, and I was soon immersed in the world of alternative, and particularly, industrial music. I was really into The Cure, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy, among many others. I bought a ton of tapes. Notably, my sister also turned me on to the Violent Femmes, Black Flag, and Suicidal Tendencies.
H: What initially attracted you to writing/blogging?
AA: My father was an advertiser and writer, so I was always relatively confident that I could express myself on paper, so to speak. However, I can’t say that I was particularly interested in writing per se. Though I’ve always been an avid reader, I honestly had no great desire to write.
H: Who or what is your biggest inspiration as a writer?
AA: Wow, that’s a difficult question for me. I honestly can’t think of any writers who’ve really inspired me. My father was certainly an influence, but more so because he was always able to verbalize complex thoughts and ideas. Much of the reading I did when I was younger was of the nonfiction sort, authors of which don’t tend to engender much inspiration (not to diminish their craft).
H: Onto the site. Lambgoat launched in 1999. long before the majority of the sites operating today were even concepts in the back of their creator’s minds. What drove you to launch your own site, and what was the original purpose of Lambgoat?
AA: Quite frankly, the original motivation for Lambgoat was a real-world environment for practicing web design and development, a career which I had just launched. I was passionate about music, so it seemed like a natural theme for the website. But I certainly had no lofty aspirations.
H: The name Lambgoat is one I have heard explained in about a dozen ways across various forums and music hangouts. What is the true origin of the site’s name?
AA: Contrary to belief, the name does not come from the Integrity song whose lyrics include, “The lamb and the goat have finally fused as one.” In fact, the name lambgoat predates that song by several years. Moreover, I wasn’t even aware of Integrity’s existence prior to launching the site. I wish that I had some amazing tale explaining the origin of the name. I do not. I had a friend in high school with whom I would jam. We would frequently make up songs and record them on my trusty Tascam multi-track cassette recorder. One day we were attempting to parody some Satanic death metal, and the phrase “lamb goat” materialized in a nonsensical way. I believe they came from my friend’s mouth, though I can’t say for sure. Regardless, it was a phrase that for whatever reason I would never forget. Not long thereafter, it became the name of a short-lived band. And several years later I dug it up as the name for my site. It’s something I’m constantly explaining, but I’m glad that I used it. It’s much more interesting that HardcoreNews.com or MetalCenter.net or whatever.
H: At what point did the site evolve from a simple outlet for your ideas into a full blown news operation? What lead you to make this change?
AA: Circa 1999/2000, there weren’t many websites for heavy music. In fact, compared to today’s endless supply of online destinations, there weren’t that many websites period. I was surprised that people actually started visiting the site, and when they did, I started feeling obligated to improve and add to its content. I suppose we first hit our stride in 2003 or so.
H: Many of the young sites we feature have yet to dive deeply into the world of monetization, but Lambgoat has been running advertisements for a number of years. Is the site a full time job for you at this point? Do you have any advice to offer younger bloggers hoping to find some income in the world of internet journalism?
AA: I did indeed try to monetize the site to some degree early on. Frankly, I get bored easily. In the absence of financial reward, there’s little motivation to post tour dates for hardcore band X at 9am year after year, haha. I wouldn’t dedicate several hours of each day for 14 years to Lambgoat without any sort of financial benefit. I’m all for helping the scene, etc., but I have a lot of other things that I enjoy doing with my time, not the least of which is hanging out with my family.
Lambgoat could be a full-time job, but it is not. I have a “real” full-time job as a web-developer. I’m busy as hell, but busy is good, I guess.
My best advice to aspiring Internet journalists is to focus on everything but the money initially. You need to worry about content, and content alone, for a period of time. The money will come later. Don’t put the cart before the horse, as they say, or you’re not going to get far. Making money is hard, especially this late in the Internet “game.” There is too much competition out there. Unless you have a large amount of money up-front to invest in marketing, etc., you need to be in it for the long haul.
H: How many contributors do you have on your team? What do you look for when recruiting new staffers?
AA: We’ve had a ton of help over the years from various album reviewers, interviewers, and writers. A select few have been integral, but most stuck around for a month and moved on, haha. Right now we are very thin. I have two people who do album reviews semi-regularly, and one person who writes occasionally. I do everything else. I have been trying to enlist my wife for help during the past year, but she’s busy too with her own stuff, so it’s difficult to maintain consistency in that regard.
In the past, it was easy to find young people willing to help for free. But times have changed, and most competent people want to be paid. This is completely understandable, but it makes things difficult when you’re a small outfit with almost no editorial budget.
H: Building off that, what makes a good news post? I’m sure you’re inundated with press releases and submissions daily, so how do you decide what makes the cut?
AA: Great question. I’d be the first to say that most of our news posts consist of boring, plain vanilla content. After all, there’s not much compelling about tour dates or label signings. If we only posted what we considered to be “exciting” content, we’ve have very little on our site. For every dramatic band break-up, or hitman-hiring metal singer news item, there are 100 other run-of-the-mill items. At this point, we just try not to waste peoples’ time. We tend to post about bands that have some sort of following. And we don’t post about Kerry King visiting a gun show or whatever. If you want to know everything about everybody, Blabbermouth is much better than we are for that. Lars Ulrich was at an art premiere last week? Really? Sorry, but Lambgoat would rather post Misery Signals tour dates.
H: Forums are becoming far less common on news sites these days, but yours continues to thrive. To what do you attribute this success?
AA: I don’t know if “thrive” is the right word, haha. I don’t even know how to describe the board. I’m not sure whether to laugh or to cry when I ponder it. I will say that it is difficult to maintain interest in an online forum these days when there are so many other places to interact – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. It was much easier in 2004 when there were very few places to “hang out” online. I’m not sure how viable our message board is at this point, but we still do get a decent amount of activity there, though I won’t sit here and extol the virtues of said activity, haha.
H: Speaking of thriving, Lambgoat has towered above its competition for a number of years, even as the number of music blogging sites exploded in recent times. What do you think it is about the content offered on Lambgoat that sets you apart for your competitors?
AA: I think we were in the right place at the right time. There were only a few music websites in 2000, and almost none focused on metal and/or hardcore. And even then, most of those only updated their content every few days or so. We were one of the first to provide constant updates throughout the day. If we launched last year or this year, we’d be nothing. There are just too many sites doing the same thing. When Suicide Silence announces a new singer, there are 50 other sites posting the same press release. It’s really rather ridiculous. I just try to maintain a usable site, post news-worthy items, and deliver consistency. It’s really all we can do at this point. There are a ton of fly-by-night metal websites and blogs out there. They’ll disappear and we’ll still be here, doing the same thing, year after year (that actually sounds sad when I read it back, haha). But I think that’s what our readers appreciate most – our consistency.
H: I’ve noticed video content is not a big part of Lambgoat outside of news posts. Do you have any plans to expand you multimedia offerings going forward?
AA: We’ve definitely given it some thought in the past. I’d like to offer more in that regard, but for now, we have no concrete plans to tackle the video realm. Check back in next year and I might be singing a different tune though!
H: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
AA: There are so many bands out there. Too many bands, frankly. It’s extremely difficult to stand out. Spend a few hours writing some nifty riffs, do a little Pro-Tools recording, upload to YouTube, and suddenly you’re legit. Ok, you’re really not, but you’re affecting those that are. Prospective listeners have difficulty discerning “real” bands from half-ass ones, and the whole scene is diluted as a result.
H: Where do you go to discover new music?
AA: I honsetly don’t, haha. If new music finds me, so be it, but I don’t seek it out. I hear a ton of stuff through Lambgoat, so I don’t really embark upon any discovery missions otherwise. I’m content listening to the same old stuff, whether it’s the Beatles, Roy Buchanan, Roger Waters or whatever.
H: Speaking of music discovery, you probably receive a lot of submissions from talent vying for a spot on your news feed. What advice can you offer young artists hoping to stand out in your inbox?
AA: I’ve seen everything. And almost none of it works. There is just too much to comb through. Your best bet, whether it’s with Lambgoat or any other site, is to establish personal contact with someone. Sending some template email to a general inbox at some sizeable organization will almost never yield results.
H: When it comes to receiving music for review and feature consideration, which services do you prefer and why?
AA: Since I don’t review stuff personally, I honestly don’t pay too much attention to the various services. That said, I do prefer Haulix among those I’ve used. And I’m not just saying that for your benefit either.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
AA: Artists need more money from record sales. Period. If you sell 50,000 copies of an album, but don’t earn any royalties for said album, something is amiss. Granted, for decades record labels were raping artists, but now bands are getting raped by the general public too, haha. Of course, the tide does appear to be turning to some degree with crowdfunding growing in popularity. When Protest The Hero raises over $300,000, you at least know they’re getting paid.
H: What is your ultimate career goal?
AA: Wow, haha…. I don’t know. I wish I had one! I don’t know what a good goal to have is in this business. Make enough to hire a bunch of people and read books all day? I’m not sure.
H: Before we let you go, can you tell us a bit about what you have planned in the months ahead?
AA: There are so many things I want to do with regard to Lambgoat: unsigned band album reviews, a tour dates section, more interviews, more features, a better mobile experience… the list goes on and on. There’s not nearly enough time in the day for me to accomplish everything I’d like. I don’t know that there will be anything out of the ordinary taking place during the next few months, but I am going to do my best to work on a more mobile-friendly website. I’ve been putting it off for far too long.
Hello and welcome to another month of great music industry insight and advice here on the official blog of Haulix. November 1 was the day of our company update, so today marks the official start of our new content offerings and we’re kicking things off with a Spotlight piece about a person whose passion for supporting new talent is second-to-none. If you have a site or journalist you would like to recommend for an upcoming spotlight, or if you have any questions regarding our blog content, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can reach also reach on Twitter.
The people I’ve found to be happiest in the music business are those who choose this career path for reasons other than financial gain. We’re all aware of the problems many labels and artists have faced as a result of piracy, and problems with properly monetizing digital efforts has lead to a turbulent startup marketplace for those working on the promotional side of things, but in the face of all that hundreds of aspiring professionals continue to dedicate countless hours each year to chasing income and stability in the entertainment industry. Most end up earning little more than memories and ticket stubs, but for some that’s what matters most, and if I had to guess about the person at the center of today’s spotlight I would bet she’d be perfectly happy to walk away just knowing she made a difference.
Sandra Chen is a pure music enthusiast through and through. She loves experiencing music, supporting it, and most importantly sharing it with anyone willing to give her a moment of their time. Her relationship with the business side of things started as an innocent interest in photography, but over time turned into a career that shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. She’s one of the founding members of Breakdown Music Press, and this afternoon we’re excited to share her journey up to this point with all of you.
If you would like to stay on top of everything Sandra is working on, please be sure to bookmark and frequent Breakdown Music Press. Additional questions or comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For those unaware, please state your name, the company you work for, and your role at said business:
SC: I’m Sandra Chen, and I’m the Editor-In-Chief and one of the co-founders of Breakdown Music Press.
H: When you think about your earliest memories with music, what comes to mind?
SC: When I was in high school, I would go to the Bamboozle Festival (I grew up in New Jersey) every year- besides that, I didn’t go to very many shows at all in high school! So I would say that those festivals are some of my earliest memories with music.
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
SC: Ah, I feel like I should remember this but I don’t! I think it might have been the second Mayday Parade full-length, though. That or Santi by The Academy Is…. I still own every album I’ve ever bought!
H: Music and photography both play a major role in you life. Since we talked about one, we should at least touch on the other. Do you recall what initially attracted you to the world of photography?
SC: I first got into photography because of my dad, actually- he used to be really into it, and had a couple cameras lying around, so I just picked up his D50 (so old!) from time to time to take some photos. When I left for college, he gave me a D80 to bring with me, and I started to get into actually shooting shows!
H: At some point you decided to combine these two interests. What inspired you to dive into the world of entertainment journalism?
SC: In high school I would always bring my point & shoot out to shows because I wanted to capture memories, but one band in particular inspired me to want to pursue music photography–I was super impressed by Cobra Starship’s stage presence the first time I saw them live, I just wanted to be able to show others the energy that I saw them with on stage, and I felt like the best way for me to express that would be through photos.
H: Who or what is your inspiration as a photographer? Writer?
SC: Honestly? My biggest inspirations, not just in photography but overall, are my friends and family. The support I get from people motivates me every day, and when people appreciate my work I know it’s all worth it! But I suppose to name a few people who inspire me: my co-founder Natalie Campbell inspires me to push forward with Breakdown (along with every other hard-working member of our staff). My good friend Derek Buell has been one of my biggest supporters from the very beginning–I owe him a lot of the best opportunities as a photographer, and he is a constant reminder that not everyone is judgmental in the music industry (that can be tough to remember sometimes!) and that hard work really pays off. And of course, some photographers that I look up to include Adam Elmakias, Anthony Gattine, Tom Falcone, Nick DiNatale, and a bunch more–these are the people whose work inspire me to improve my own photography constantly.
H: What was your first gig in the music business? Unpaid work counts.
SC: Most of my early work was just going out and shooting shows for bands. In the beginning, it was small, mostly local bands- they would give me a ticket and a pass if needed for their shows, and I’d send them photos afterwards. After a while, I started getting paid for shooting, or I started shooting for some bigger bands!
H: Breakdown Music Press started just over a year ago. Did you write elsewhere before stepping out on your own?
SC: I wrote briefly for my university’s music magazine, but not much- I covered maybe 2 or 3 concerts for them. It was tougher because I didn’t really always get to cover the music I wanted to cover, but it was a great experience nonetheless!
H: Follow-up: There are countless music blogs in existence today. Why did you decide to launch your own instead of joining an outlet with an already developed brand?
SC: Like I said above, I wanted to be able to cover the bands and shows that I was interested in or that I thought deserved press, instead of taking assignments that had been decided by someone else with zero imput from me. It’s also just incredibly rewarding to be able to look at something and think, “wow, *I* made this,” not just a part of it.
H: Breakdown is one of a few publications attempting to push digital journalism forward by offering a recurring ‘magazine.’ You still do the daily news, but there is much more to Breakdown than the day-to-day. Was the magazine component always something you had in mind for the site?
SC: Yes! For a while before I started Breakdown, I had wanted to be part of a physical magazine- I was always really impressed and awed by Alternative Press, so that was a big inspiration!
H: Who was the first artist to be featured on Breakdown, and why did you choose them?
SC: Breakdown’s first cover artist was a band called Twenty One Pilots. I chose those guys because, well, the timing was just right- I had just met the guys a few months beforehand and stayed in touch, so it was super easy to get ahold of them and be like, “hey, what do you think about doing this?” They were perfect, too, because I (and everyone else) saw so much potential in them- they had just been signed by Fueled By Ramen and we all knew they were going to blow up soon. To me, Breakdown is all about distinguishing the people in the music industry that we really believe in, and that we think are going to rise in success. The Twenty One Pilots guys are the perfect example of that.
H: What makes a feature better for the magazine than the site? How do you decide where content eventually resides?
SC: A lot of things go into decisions like that! We do kind of set a higher bar for things that go in the issues- we want to make sure that they’ll catch people’s eye, and that they mix well with everything else in the issue. It’s also a matter of timing- since people don’t see the articles instantly if we put them in an issue that’s going to be released later, if something is time sensitive it makes a lot more sense to throw it on the website.
H: Currently, both the site and digital publication you offer are complete free to whoever has an interest in them. I’ve also noticed there seem to be few, if any ads on Breakdown. Do you have plans to monetize moving forward? If so, how?
SC: We don’t really focus on things like advertising because we don’t prioritize making a profit- that’s not really what Breakdown was ever about. We’ve definitely talked about possibilities in making money with Breakdown, since there are expenses that we do have to pay to sustain the magazine, but we don’t really have any plans to monetize Breakdown soon.
H: Building off that last question, it appears you make little-to-no income with your efforts. What motivates you to continue creating content and covering bands?
SC: I think I said this earlier too but there’s just something satisfying about being able to show something to someone and say you created it! Breakdown is a pretty simple magazine, but looking back at issues and thinking about the amount of work and effort I’ve put into them makes me feel pretty good. I also think it’s really important to recognize potential in the music industry and distinguish the people who I believe deserve success- there are so many people trying to get anywhere in the industry, and not everybody is genuine and it’s easy for those who are to get lost in a huge sea of people all trying to do the same thing.
H: What would you say is the most difficult part of this ‘job’ you’ve created for yourself?
SC: Definitely the amount of time it requires, and juggling that with going to school full time and another job! It’s pretty much impossible for me to fit everything in plus have time to eat/sleep/have fun sometimes. I have to make a lot of sacrifices and tradeoffs and that’s really difficult as well.
H: I should mention Breakdown Music Press has grown to be more than just you. How many contributors do you have on staff?
SC: About ten, but our team is always changing and always growing, and we are always looking for new contributors who are passionate about music!
H: What do you look for when seeking new team members?
SC: Well there’s the obvious- we definitely want people who are good at writing, or photographing, or good at whatever job they are going to do for us. But there’s a lot more that goes with that, as well! It’s important for people on our team to be able to work well with others, to be enthusiastic and passionate about music and journalism and the publication itself.
H: How do you market Breakdown Music Press? What tactics have you found work best? Worst?
SC: Most of our marketing is done through social media, between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Everything from interacting with the musicians we feature, interacting with fans, to doing online giveaways really helps us as well. I think we definitely try to stay away from tactics that we think won’t work well- I guess one example though might be the time when we first started out, I tried to build our Twitter presence by following a bunch of people, and accidentally got us banned from Twitter. Oops. Lesson learned.
H: You feature a number of smaller bands on your site. Where do you look when hoping to discover great new talent?
SC: We look for the things we think are important for anyone to have when they’re trying to make it in the music industry. Like, we look for potential and talent, obviously, but we also look for drive and motivation, hard work, kindness, and just people who are all-around genuine and who are there because of their passion for music.
H: I’m sure there are a good amount of artists seeking you out as well. What advice would you offer young talent to help them stand out from the others vying for your attention through email or social networks?
SC: I’d say that it’s really important to give off a good impression! It sounds bad but first impressions really do matter in this industry. Market yourself well- quality over quantity is very important. It’s better to put out nothing than to put out something that might affect your image negatively, and this applies to everything, not just the music you write and record.
H: Some people believe there is no need for critics in the digital age. Do you agree? (Support your response)
SC: Um, I think feedback is important, and valuable, constructive feedback is even more important, so critics will always have a place in music, digital or not.
H: When it comes to receiving music for feature consideration, which services do you prefer and why?
SC: Dropbox is by far the easiest! It makes it super easy to access files from anywhere, even on my phone. I also love getting music via Haulix, because it’s easy to navigate and it just works! I think it’s super nifty, too, that Haulix watermarks the music. Definitely a plus for the artist.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
SC: This is a tough one. I think maybe part of me wishes it were a little more transparent- there are a lot of hard working individuals in the industry whose hard work (and good work) is overlooked or kind of unnoticed. That’s not to say that the hard work doesn’t pay off, but just that sometimes people don’t realize how much work actually goes into the stuff that happens behind the scenes! I think maybe if people noticed that more, the industry would be a more positive place and people would be motivated to work even harder and do greater things.
H: What is your ultimate career goal?
SC: For me, personally, the ideal would be to pursue a full-fledged career in music photography! It’s something I’ve been working very hard on, and I’ve recently been going on a couple short tour runs with some bands (I’m actually finishing up this interview while on the road at the moment) but the next goal is a full US tour or maybe Warped! I just want to work with as many people in the industry as I possibly can.
H: Before we let you go, can you tell us a bit about what you have planned in the months ahead?
SC: In terms of the magazine, we’re definitely hoping to move forward with Breakdown, expand our team and bring in lots of awesome new contributors, and just help the publication grow overall. And, of course, we want to continue featuring amazing musicians.
Hello, everyone! Welcome to November. It’s friday once again, which means it’s time to reflect on everything that has taken place in the last week.
October was a funny month. We started out with all intentions of featuring a ton of metal blogs, but due to numerous scheduling conflicts and delayed responses it slowly transformed into a month heavily dominated by ‘Advice’ columns. We’re not complaining, and based on the feedback we’ve seen from it would appear most of you did not hate the change of pace. We’re hoping to do a better job of balancing ‘Spotlight’ and ‘Advice’ columns in November, as well as try out a few new ideas, but only time will tell what content rolls out in the weeks ahead. We sometimes offer clues on Twitter, so make sure you’re following our official account.
On the software side of things, progress continues to be made on refining our distribution software and preparing for the launch of our mobile platform. We’re nearing a pretty major update, but at this time I’m not at liberty to share what part of our service will be changing just yet. We’ll have more on all of this as soon as next week.
Before we let you go to enjoy the weekend I wanted to share links to everything we’ve posted in recent days. If you need something to help oil the remaining hours of the work day, maybe one of the following posts will make time move a bit faster:
