Hello, everyone! It’s the Friday after Thanksgiving, which gives us hope many of you are fortunate enough to have the day off. We’re taking things a little easier than usual, but we’re still available around the clock to help clients with all Haulix-related inquiries. You can reach us via email by contacting james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
With the holidays fast-approaching we are doing everything we can to ready our mobile platform while continuing to refine our already great distribution software. We cannot go too into detail as to what is on the horizon just yet, but know we should have a few new updates before Santa arrives next month.
As far as our blog is concerned, the past week saw the return of our ever-popular Publicity Spotlight. We have a few additional publicists in line for features this December, but due to the various stages of development each feature is in I’d rather not divulge any names just yet. For now, here’s a rundown of everything we featured this week:
we know there are dozens of great black Friday deals out there you probably want to take advantage of, so we won’t keep you much longer. Have a safe holiday weekend and make sure to spend a little extra time with the people you love. We’ll be back on Monday with a new Blogger Spotlight.
Hello, everyone. This will be our last post of the week before the company recap, so if we miss you on other networks be sure to have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We know many of our friends in music are unable to be home tomorrow and if that applies to you just know our thoughts are with you. Keep chasing the dream and we’ll keep doing whatever we can to support you.
If you’re looking to protect your music ahead of its official release while promoting your work to journalists and other industry figures we’re confident there is no better service available than Haulix. We offer secure music hosting, watermarking, and a state-of-the-art distribution system that allows you to present your latest material exactly how you want it to be presented. If you want to learn more about our services, click here. If you’re in the market to share material already available for sale or otherwise with the general public, please read on.
There are a million ways to share your music online, but few work as simply and efficiently as the software developed by our friends at Soundcloud. It’s the one player that runs on pretty much every social network and/or blogging platform, and over the last few years it has developed a community of passionate music fans all its own who are ready and willing to take a chance on rising talent. Many of you are likely already members of Soundcloud, but in today’s article we’re going to look at ways you can expose your music to even more people by leveraging the awesome power of this unique music sharing platform.
1. Never underestimate the power of sharing your content. Getting people to listen to new music released online by small/unknown acts in 2013 requires a lot more than a simple upload to Soundcloud. You need to promote your work, to fans and members of the industry alike, and Soundcloud has made that amazingly simple thanks to state-of-the-art sharing options. After you successfully upload a track on SoundCloud you should post it on all of your other channels to maximize its reach. After that, repost your material on a regular basis at varying times to better expand your reach. Time zones (as well as other contributing factors) cause a variation in peak engagement points around the world. Don’t be afraid of reposting your content, but do take time to be creative in your approach. You may even have to send a few emails, but don’t worry – we can help with that.
2. Utilize all data fields when uploading new material.
Soundcloud offers a variety of options for tagging, metadata, and the like to artists uploading new content. These data fields allow you to be found through Soundcloud’s search system, and by leveraging them properly you can reach potential new fans who may have otherwise never stumbled across your efforts. Be specific and you will reach people interested in the style of music you perform. Winning them over is all on you.
3. Put effort into your artwork.
It can be very tempting to slap your current band photo or Facebook/Twitter icon on your latest Soundcloud upload and share your work with the world, but artwork with even the tiniest of original effort will have a much better chance of catching people’s eye. This is the image that will make an impression on listeners new and old before they even hear your music. Don’t take that for granted.
4. Use Soundcloud to share demos/progress as you develop your new material.
The key to successfully marketing yourself in the modern music industry is creating a bond with listeners that goes beyond entertainer and audience member. Fans want to feel like they know you personally, and through leveraging Soundcloud’s comment system you can allow fans to engage with your creative process. Upload demos or rough recordings so listeners can hear what you’re working on, even if it’s only for a limited time. Sharing this ‘unpolished’ side of you may come with a sense of vulnerability, but it’s through allowing fans to see that side of you that a lasting bond will be forged.
5. Engage the Soundcloud community.
Sharing new material with fans and social networks is important, but don’t get too wrapped up in discussions outside Soundcloud that you overlook the built-in community of music lovers that comes with your membership. There are groups perfect for sharing your music with if you take the time to look, and their state-of-the-art commenting system makes highlighting specific moments in your music for discussion easier than ever before. Embrace the community.
Hello, everyone! We are continuing our look at life in the music industry this afternoon with the first of two Advice columns for the week. If you have any questions about the content of this article, or if you have a suggestions for a future installment of this series, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Hunter S. Thompson famously called the music industry ‘a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.’ While we do not necessarily agree with this sentiment,we can agree the music publishing world is a strange and often confusing place place where things slip through the cracks when no one is looking. If you’re a band working with sites like Spotify or Rdio today without someone representing you in the publishing world who has at the very least a working knowledge of how the business game is played there is a good chance you may be missing out on money that is owed to you. We cannot help you claim monies potentially due, but we can help you better understand the numerous ways independent artists are able to generate income through streaming services.
1. Basic stream payments
There have been dozens, if not hundreds of blog posts written across the world wide web about the lack of quote/unquote “fair” payout to artists from streaming platforms. Many bands have turned to social media with complaints, often citing how thousands of streams resulted in less cash than would be required to fill the same band’s van a single time while on tour. Regardless, there is money to be made here. These payments are often referred to as the ‘master royalty’ or ‘artist royalty,’ but in simpler terms they are fees being paid for streaming your licensed sound recording.
2. Peformance royalties
Performance royalties in the music industry can include any of the following:
a performance of a song or composition – live, recorded or broadcast
a live performance by any musician
a performance by any musician through a recording on physical media
performance through the playing of recorded music
music performed through the web (digital transmissions)
That last one is where streaming comes in. As long as you’re registered as both a songwriter and publisher with a performing rights organization such as ASCAP or BMI, then you’ll receive these royalties. If not, click here for more information on Performing Rights Organizations and how you can become a member.
3. Mechanical royalties
The term mechanical royalty covers any copyrighted audio composition that is rendered mechanically. For example:
tape recordings
music videos
ringtones
MIDI files
downloaded tracks
DVDs, VHS, UMDs
computer games
musical toys etc.
Several online services, including YouTube and Spotify, likely owe you for these royalties. Unfortunately, due to a number of loopholes and similar ‘industry troubles’ many independent artists never see this money without the help of a publishing agent (HFA, for example).
4. Performance royalties for the master recording
This one requires the help of our friends at SoundExchange. They collect performance royalties on behalf of the people who helped create a particular sound recording, including session players, record labels, etc. Spotify pays these kinds of performance royalties to SoundExchange for “non-interactive” plays via Spotify Radio, but not for on-demand streams).If you’re interested in joining SoundExchange, click here for information on becoming a member. Signing up is fast, easy, and best of all – absolutely FREE.
Hello and welcome to another exciting week of music industry insight and advice here on the official blog of Haulix. We know Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so we’re stuffing our some of our best content to date into the coming days as our way of saying thanks for continuing to support our efforts. If you have a recommendation for a future column, of if you have any question about our services, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix,com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Everyone comes to want a life in music for their own reasons, but one thing we’ve learned through this series is that most journeys to the industry begin at a very young age. Parents fill homes with music and art in hopes of opening their chid’s mind to the creative possibility of the world, and over time those same children become increasingly fascinated with whatever form of entertainment played a predominant role at their mailing address. For Chrissy Borsellino, that entertainment came in the form of music, and today we’re going to learn how she rose through the ranks to become the Publicity Director at The Catalyst Publicity Group.
I’ve known Chrissy for a number of years, but it wasn’t until early 2013 that we had the opportunity to finally meet face to face. It was SXSW, and Chrissy had a number of artists performing throughout the city seemingly every night of the week. To say she was busy would be an understatement, but when it came to engaging her clients and the press who had come to see them Chrissy made time to make each of them feel like they were the only thing on her mind. She realizes the importance of making others feel important, and that is just one of the many (possibly countless) reasons I knew she needed to be included in this series. She’s kind, dedicated, and more driven than almost anyone you’re likely to meet.
If you want to follow Chrissy’s efforts in the music industry, be sure to follow the Catalyst Publicity Group on Twitter and Facebook. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: State your name, job title, and the company your currently work for:
CB: Chrissy Borsellino, Publicity Director at The Catalyst Publicity Group!
H: When you think about your life with music, what are the earliest memories that come to mind?
CB: Oh I have lots of musical memories from my childhood. From attending local music festivals with my parents (they dressed as ZZ Top for Halloween one year, seeing my mom with a long white beard as a youngster was definitely impactful) to rollerskating around my house to Disney records. We were a huge vinyl household.
H: Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money? Do you still own it today?
CB: I can’t remember precisely the first album I bought myself, I’m thinking it was No Doubt ‘Tragic Kingdom’ with a Media Play gift card. But I can remember vividly playing my Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’, Paula Abdul ‘Forever Your Girl’, and New Kids On The Block ‘Hangin’ Tough’ cassettes until they could play no more.
H: You’ve been involved in music for awhile now, and publicity was not necessarily where you got your start. What initially attracted you to the entertainment industry?
CB: I have been insanely in love with music from a very young age. As I previously mentioned my parents were a big influence on that, filling our house will all different artists and genres. When my brother began drumming for a few local bands in high school I really started to understand the “business” side of things and was immediately drawn to it. My goal then is the same as my goal now, to discover an undeniable talent and help them break through to success.
H: From what I have gathered, one of your earliest gigs in the business was with Step Up Presents. Can you tell us a bit about how you landed that position, and what that experience was like?
CB: Ahhh my first real gig in the biz! Step Up Presents is an independent concert promotion company in the Albany, NY area. While I was attending SUNY Oneonta, getting my BA in Music Industry, I had to intern to be able to fulfill my degree requirements. After speaking with my local Syracuse promoter, he intro’d me to the Step Up owner and I was brought in for an interview. This took place backstage at a concert venue DURING a show, I believe it was The Chariot playing. Once I was given the job I spent that summer assisting with shows doing everything from catering/hospitality to settling with the bands to box office duties and more. The most ridiculous task I had was running the “shower shuttle” at a big metal festival in the Poughkeepsie area, taking smelly band dudes to the hotel a mile away to shower. The most terrifying was the amount of injuries and blood at the Slayer concert, complete with a fan climbing up into the rafters and delaying the show. After my internship was done I stayed on in a part-time capacity, driving to Albany from Oneonta a few times a week to help out. It was the best experience of my life, I met and still stay in touch with a lot of people from that time.
H: A lot of people work for little-to-no pay when they first start out in the entertainment industry. Was this the case for you? If so, when did you start earning income?
CB: I was lucky to find positions that paid when I first started out, even my internships at least gave me money for gas/travel and food. Immediately after my second internship with Cherry Lane Music Publishing ended (right after I graduated college) I secured a full-time position with ASCAP and stayed there for just under 2 years. Only after finding myself unemployed, thanks to our wonderful economic crisis, did I start having to work positions for “experience” rather than pay. And I did that just to keep my resume and network building.
H: If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring industry professionals, what would it be?
CB: Network. That’s the MOST important part of the whole business. Even for artists. The more time I spend in the business, whether it be at a label, management company, concert promoter, publisher, or PR firm, the more I’ve seen that having that support and rolodex is what is going to get you from point A to B, B to C. Sure being a hard worker, an expert in your field, having the ability to learn quickly, the drive to keep learning as the industry evolves and having a crap ton of patience is also important… but without that network, it’s always a blind, uphill battle.
H: At what point did publicity become your focus, and do you recall anything pointing/inspiring/leading you in that direction?
CB: I got my start in publicity during that time of fun-employment. I wouldn’t say I was necessarily drawn to the work of a publicist but rather working directly with the talent to strategize ways to help them break through the over-saturated music landscape and find their audience. Between my stint there and working for Catalyst I found myself back in music publishing for about a year. I’m captivated by so many sides of the industry, I doubt I’ll ever stay in one field permanently.
H: Who was the first artist you worked publicity for, and what was the experience like?
CB: Oh man I can’t even remember that, I worked with a lot of artists when I got my start in PR specifically. I will say that my first glimpse into the world was working as an assistant for Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, The Allman Brothers Band) and his management company/record label. I was the middle-man between the PR team and him, figuring out his itinerary and helping them schedule press opportunities. I remember it being very hectic.
H: What advice would you give artists about seeking publicists? Is there anything they should look for and/or avoid?
CB: Know what a publicist does. When approaching a certain publicist or firm, do your research… know what artists/clients and publications they’ve worked with, the kind of campaigns they’ve run. Do your homework! It’s money coming out of your pocket for this service and you should be extremely well versed so you can ask the important questions and not waste time on the information you can find via the google machine. Also make sure you have something press worthy to bring to the table. A record that came out months ago and a short headlining tour at no-one-cares-about-that-venue is not enough for a publicist to run a successful campaign on your behalf. If they tell you otherwise, they probably just want your money.
H: As someone who has worked with signed and unsigned talent, do you feel record labels, big or small, are necessary in the modern music industry?
CB: This depends entirely on the artist and their situation. I believe though, with the right team, strategy, and outside-the-box approach to things, labels are completely unnecessary. But you have to want to put in the work. If you’re an artist who’s main goal is to find their team so they only have to create and do none of the business, then thats not for you. I will say in this ever-changing business landscape, it’s good to at least make sure you know what your plan is and where you’re money is going. We’re at a time where the artists hold way more cards then they ever did before, why not take advantage?
H: What is the biggest mistake you see bands making when trying to market themselves?
CB: The over self-marketing on their social networks. Posting only about your record or upcoming shows to get your fans to spend money on you is not smart. Fans want the connection, not bands asking them to continuously buy their crap. There’s this great social media food pyramid that I think all artists and companies should adhere to. It outlines how many posts should be about self-promotion, direct engagement, media content and more. It’s a really useful tool!
H: As a publicist, what advice would you offer writers hoping to work with your artists?
CB: Please do your research. We send over bios, one-sheets, and links for you to make the most of your time with our clients. Asking them the same cut-and-dry questions that everyone else is asking only annoys them and hinders the experience. And never, ever, flake out on a show if you’ve been given guest list spots/tickets/passes unless it is a truly extenuating circumstance.
H: When it comes to sharing music with journalists, what services/methods do you prefer? Why?
CB: That depends entirely on the client. Some bands will want a secure, private stream sent of their unreleased record to deter it from leaking. Others don’t care and just want the journalists to be able to listen to their music. When it’s the latter I typically use my secure dropbox to send over whatever assets are needed for a particular client. It’s easy to keep track of, add/delete from instead of having to do a whole separate upload, and doesn’t “expire” until I want it to.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
CB: That’s a really tough question. I guess I’d have to say the value of music and the songwriter. Between consumer and certain business practices, it’s sad to see the ever growing under-appreciation for the musicians creativity and work. If you really love an artist or a song, then do the writer a solid and make sure they are compensated for their craft.
H: You’ve held a number of titles thus far in life. What is your ultimate career goal, and are there any areas of the business you’ve yet to work in that interests you?
CB: Oh that’s ever-changing for me. The situation I’m in is great, I really enjoy being able to select the artists I want to champion rather than be handed a client I had no previous engagement with. I love working with talent I really believe can go the distance and exhausting every avenue and outlet in order to help them find their success. But I think if I could do ANYTHING I would want to be a music supervisor for TV or film. Matching music to visuals to enhance the experience has always intrigued and inspired me.
H: Okay, I think I’ve taken up enough of your time. Before we let you go, do you have anything on the horizon you’d like to share with us?
Hello, everyone! The week is coming to an end in just a few short hours, which means it’s time once again to reflect on everything we’ve accomplished in recent days.
Thanksgiving is less than a week away at this point, and here at Haulix HQ we’re hard at work on a few new updates that we hope to roll out before Santa comes scurrying down your chimney. We’re not ready to discuss what we have in store just yet, but know we’ll have a few digital gifts for clients in the weeks to come. As soon as we can detail everything, we will.
On the blog end of things, the last few days have been some of our favorite to date. We unveiled a new spin on our spotlight features, detailed the importance of YouTube, and learned the story of two influential industry minds. You can find quick links to all our posts below:
Even though there is a holiday next week here in the states we’re going to strive for our usual content push (4 articles + recap). If you have any suggestions on columns or articles you want to see, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.
That pretty much wraps everything up! We’ll be back on Monday with a publicity spotlight you won’t want to miss. Have a great weekend.
Hello and welcome to the final spotlight column of the week. We have covered some brilliant minds in recent days, and it should go without saying the same applies to the person featured in today’s article. If you have a journalist or site you would like to recommend for a future installment of this column, or if you have any questions regarding the blog and/or our services, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
No great music site gets to be the apple of the industry’s eye without having a solid team of dedicated contributors, and for Highlight Magazine there is perhaps no better team player than Jenn Stookey. From setting up all online features for the zine, to instructing the digital marketing team, advising news posters, and contributing to the physical publication, there is almost no aspect of Highlight Magazine that Jenn is not directly involved in each and every week. Her free time is very limited, but in recent weeks we were able to track her down and learn how she manages to keep everything under control while still pursuing her college education. You can learn everything you need to know about her journey in the paragraphs below.
If you want to stay up-to-date with everything Jenn is working on, be sure you bookmark and frequent Highlight Magazine. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For the record, state your name, job title, and the publication(s) you work with:
JS: My name is Jenn Stookey and I’m the managing editor with Highlight Magazine.
H: When you think of your earliest memories with music, what comes to mind first?
JS: Musicals definitely. I was apart of them from kindergarden and up and my family would always take trips to see the traveling Broadway shows as well as listen to the soundtracks all the time. So weird, but I loved it!
H: Do you remember the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
JS: I honestly can’t remember which one I bought with my own money! It was probably a Hilary Duff CD. She was my idol growing up and is still someone I look up to.
H: Everyone finds their own way into the music business. What first inspired you to look at career possibilities within the entertainment industry?
JS: Vans Warped Tour 2009. I had wanted to be a physical therapist before that but that day changed my whole outlook on the music industry. I remember thinking, if something as simple as music could bring hundreds and thousands of people together for the same reason and actually change lives and get fans through hard times in their life, why not be apart of it?
H: I believe you’re still in school. If so, where do you attend and what are you currently studying?
JS: I am currently at Belmont University studying Music Business. I’m technically getting my business degree but most of the classes are geared towards the industry.
H: Some people choose to skip college in hopes of diving right into the work force of the music business. What lead you to continuing your education past high school?
JS: My parents definitely. And I think I’m one of those people who if I didn’t go to college, I would regret it later.
H: You currently reside in Nashville, but you’re originally from the state of Illinois. What opportunities, if any, did you have in your hometown to pursue your interest in music?
JS: My senior year of high school I really wanted to be a DJ at a local alternative station but they only way to do that was take a college broadcasting course. So second semester I took the course and was a DJ for a year and a half! It was a pretty sweet deal.
H: Onto your work with Highlight Magazine. When did you first join the team, and what can you tell us about the application process?
JS: I joined the team in May of 2012. It was a weird beginning actually. I was at a William Beckett concert at Schubas in Chicago and our editor-in-chief, Ashley Osborn, was at the same show. We followed each other on Instagram and noticed we were both there so she wanted to talk before the show was over. I had never had a real conversation with her before this night, but we met outside and talked about anything and everything. It was very cool. She started talking about Highlight and I had said I had always wanted to be a writer for it but I thought she already had everyone she needed. Right then she offered me the position to be Online Editor and I couldn’t pass it up! So I became apart of the team and we built up our online presence from there!
H: There are a number of great music in existence, so what drove you to apply at Highlight?
JS: I knew Ashley from the internet, as everyone knows everyone these days, and I knew she was driven and extremely talented. I wanted to be apart of something I believed in and I definitely believed that the magazine would succeed, which is why I was interested.
H: The competition for traffic on music blogs has never been as fierce as it is right now. What is it about the content offered by Highlight that you feel sets your efforts apart from everyone else?
JS: We don’t like to focus on the petty stuff. Our mission is to focus on the genuine people in the industry and to focus on positivity. We aren’t going to bash artists and we aren’t going to interview them about rumors or drug and alcohol addiction. We want to present others in a positive light and fill in our readers on how their favorite artist overcomes struggles, not the struggle itself. Not many publications do that anymore, but I think it’s important and shows a side of the industry not many still believe in.
H: For your position, what does a normal week of work for Highlight Magazine entail?
JS: It’s pretty busy. I probably spend at the least two or three hours a day, even on the weekends, constantly reading emails. I set up all of our online features, instruct our digital marketing team and our news posters, as well as sometimes helping with content for the physical issue. I kind of do a little bit of everything.
H: If you could offer one piece of advice to bands hoping to be featured on Highlight in the future, what would it be?
JS: Don’t contact us via Facebook. We are all about being professional, and email is the way to go. Make sure your email holds proper grammar and a formal email structure as well. Just be professional about it because if it seems like the they haven’t taken the time and effort to make themselves look good, then I’m not going to want to take my time and effort deciding whether they would be a good fit.
H: Like many bloggers, you make little-to-no income for your efforts. Why continue doing it?
JS: Yeah, I make zero income haha. I do it because it’s made me learn so much about the industry from the inside. It has taught me how to time manage extremely well and I’ve made so many connections. Plus our team rules and I love giving upcoming writers and bands a chance to get noticed. I came into this position knowing how to do absolutely nothing. It was all trial and error, and still is.
H: If you had to choose, what has been your greatest accomplishment as an industry professional thus far in life?
JS: With Highlight, I would say getting to the point where industry professionals recognize me and trust me. I think trust is huge on the business side of the industry and it can be hard to climb back up if you have a bad reputation.
H: When it comes to receiving music for review/feature consideration, which distribution platform(s) do you prefer and why?
JS: Anything that is easy to stream. I’d like to think I’m tech savy, but I’m not as much as I should be. SoundCloud or via Dropbox are normally my favorite.
H: At this point in life, what is your ultimate career goal?
JS: I’ve been asked this so much lately. I have no idea what career I want. I’m leaning towards management but honestly, as long as I’m somewhere where I love the work I do and I can help musicians be discovered, or be part of the reason they get out on stage every night and inspire their fans, then that’s good enough for me.
H: What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about the music industry?
JS: I don’t know about the biggest misconception, but I know back home people don’t really know what the “music industry” means. I feel that just a general lack of knowledge about what it is creates all of these rumors and stories from people who don’t understand what it is. There are so many components that go into the business and each interact with each other. There’s no way that the industry could be where it is today if we all didn’t have a part.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
JS: How judgmental and greedy people are. We’re all in it for one reason, because we initially loved music so much we wanted to be surrounded by it. However, once someone reaches a certain point in their career I feel like they have a tendency to forget about that. The music doesn’t judge and it’s not greedy and neither should professionals.
H: Before we let you go, do you have any additional thoughts you would like to share with our rears?
JS: If you want to be in the industry, it’s going to take some work but it’s definitely not impossible. I see time and time again people say they’re going to make it but they sit inside all day and don’t get out there. Surprisingly, there are more opportunities out there than one might think and people WILL help. You just have to make it a priority if it’s something that you really want. Create your own luck and pave your own future! If no one else believes in you, then know that I will!
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the latest installment of our ongoing industry spotlight series. In an attempt to continue evolving we’re using today’s interview to highlight an area of the business we’ve only briefly touched upon in the past. If you like it, let us know and similar columns will following in the weeks ahead. You can email james@haulix.com with your thoughts, or reach out through Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you.
For many young creative minds, Thomas Falcone lives the music industry dream. He wakes up in a new city almost every day surrounded by his closest friends and spends the entirety of each afternoon and night taking pictures with his camera. Yes, he’s a professional tour photographer, and today we’re going to learn how he found his place in the business of music.
As far as I know there has never been a photographer who attended a single show and instantly found themselves working within the music industry on a regular basis. Like anything worth doing, making a name for yourself behind the camera in music takes time, and Tom Falcon has dedicated his life to mastering his approach to photography. He now finds himself on tour with Mayday Parade, one of the biggest bands in the alternative rock scene, and his future looks brighter than ever.
If you would like to stay in touch with Tom and follow all his activity on the road, make sure you bookmark and frequent his photo blog. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For the record, state your name, occupation, and who you’re currently working with/for:
TF: Tom Falcone, Touring Music Photographer. Currently on the road with Mayday Parade on the Glamour Kills Tour
H: Let’s start at the beginning. When you think of your earliest memories with music, what comes to mind?
TF: Backstreet Boys. Arguring with my brother on who’s Backstreet Boys album we purchased was going to be. We fought over who was going to be the one holding onto it and listening to it non stop haha.
H: Do you recall the first album you purchased with your own money?
TF: Backstreet Boys.
H: This spotlight is a bit different from others we have done because you’re not necessarily a journalist. You can be, and at times have been, more than anything you’re a professional photographer. To whom or what do you attribute your interest in photography?
TF: I love capturing documentary style photography. What people are doing, in places that others have never seen. We are lucky enough to travel the world and see things a lot of people don’t get to see, so that’s what I like to capture. A lot of my most recent work is very candid, and I love it
H: What was your first camera, and how did you acquire it?
TF: I used my moms Kodak Easyshare camera for random things like photos of flowers and self portraits. I told my parents I wanted to work and purchase my first DSLR. I worked with my father at a auto repair shop for $100 a week for about 7 weeks and purchased my first Canon Rebel DSLR with a 50mm 1.8
H: Do you remember when you first considered pursuing photography as a career? If so, can you tell us a bit about the time leading up to that realization?
TF: It was more when I first started getting paid, and getting the opportunity to work with bands on a personal level. I started meeting local bands and hanging and shooting around with them when I was really young and eventually built a portfolio to pitch to record labels and managers etc.
H: When it comes to music photography, did you start with concert or promotional work? Who was the first band you worked with?
TF: I started with concert. I didn’t think that I was good enough for promo photography just yet. I worked with bands in my local scene called The Showcase, Kick Over The Traces, Moraine etc. I still love them
H: You now find yourself on the roads with bands for a living, something I’m sure every aspiring music photographer reading this would one day like to do themselves. When people ask you how you reached this point in your career, what do you tell them? It clearly was not an overnight occurrence.
TF: I tell them to just be themselves. Shoot something different. So many people take live photos and so many people capture the same thing. Be different and be yourself, I mean, don’t act different around bands, or people on the road. Everyone is normal.
H: At this point in your career, how do you measure success? What would you consider failure?
TF: I know it sounds lame, but I find myself somewhat successful. I have a band that I tour with full time and create images that I love as well as inspire other people.
H: A lot of people believe great photography requires great gear. Do you agree?
TF: No. I just bought a small little Fujifilm camera that does amazing work, and it isn’t even a DSLR.
H: What is the biggest misconception people have about life as a photographer?
TF: That I most likely just party and take photos of them. I’m not sure. A lot of people can think what they want but…we just have fun haha
H: A lot of the photographers we’ve researched maintain online stores. Do you have a place people can buy your prints? (feel free to plug anything you like)
TF: Smugmug is great
H: Networking is key to success in the music industry. What advice would you offer young photographers about navigating the business from a networking standpoint?
TF: Networking is amazing. Conferences, meetings, social networks. It is all the ingredients you need to become successful
H: What is your ultimate career goal?
TF: To build a portfolio of one band over a span of years to see progress, growth, passion and love.
H: If you could change one thing about the music business, what would it be?
TF: I don’t really deal with the “music business side of things” haha. I’m a photographer.
H: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Tom. Do you have anything else you’d like to share?
TF: Just keep on trucking, make images you love and share them with everyone.
Hello and welcome to the latest installment of our Advice series. We plan on covering YouTube a lot in the next month or two, and this afternoon we’re kicking off those efforts with a look at what makes this video sharing network such a great tool for artists on the rise. If you have a recommendation for a future installment of this column, or if you have a question you would like us to tackle in the weeks ahead, please email james@haulix.com and share your ideas. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
There are arguments to be made for the importance of a well-maintained presence on any major social media network, but in 2013 there may be no channel more important for artists on the rise than YouTube. Since launching in the mid-2000s YouTube has risen from humble beginnings as a place to watch silly cat videos to being the number one destination for people under 18 hoping to discover new music. Yes, YouTube tops Facebook, iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, terrestrial radio, and even your brother’s ‘awesome’ music blog when it comes to attracting music fans hungry for new ideas, and today we’re going to look at why it’s important that you take an active approach to controlling how your music is seen (and heard) on the world’s number one video sharing site.
How did YouTube outpace all its competition for new music discovery with the younger and arguably most important demographic of fans? One word: Sharing. Not long ago, anyone hoping to share a song they heard on CD or radio would have to put in quite a bit of effort to give or otherwise tell the world about that material. You needed to make a copy, upload that to the internet or burn it to a cd, and then find another service (digital or physical) to deliver it. In a world where YouTube exists sharing is no longer a hassle. It has become as simple as copying and pasting a URL to any friend/network/email/etc. you can imagine, and it will probably become simpler still. Anyone can share any song or clip from YouTube with countless people in the time it takes to breathe a single breath, and that has made a major difference in the site’s popularity. Additionally, you have to consider that YouTube is essentially available anywhere you have an internet connection. If I see a clip from our offices here at Haulix that I want to share I can send it to my mom’s iPad in Michigan, my brother’s cell phone in Iowa, and to half a dozen industry friends worldwide on their preferred devices with a single link that works (almost) 100% of the time. No other streaming service comes close to that kind of universal connectivity.
The ease of sharing and connectivity that YouTube has given music fans has allowed them to play a more immediately active role in the success of artists, and by pairing great music with matching visuals you can leverage that ease of action to help your career. People love sharing great content, and if you put extra effort into your digital content (video updates, lyric videos, etc.) people will notice and help you get the word out. Think OK GO, Justin Bieber, or Gotye would have found success nearly as fast without the aid of thousands of curious music fans sharing their videos? Probably not.
There is no downplaying the importance of having a website, writing great songs, playing gigs, doing interviews, and running smart PR campaigns, but there are opportunities available to creative minds through YouTube that were previously unavailable to unsigned talent as recently as a decade ago. In a way similar to great covers, great video content can make your art accessible to people who otherwise may have never given you the time of day. Don’t take that for granted.
As if all of this was not reason enough to join YouTube and dedicated extra time to crafting video materials, it’s worth mentioning that YouTube is one of the few social networks that allow artists to monetize the content they create. Through YouTube’s Partner Program allows channel owners to monetize their content through advertising, but that’s just one of many ways the service can put a few extra bucks into your new van fund. Head over to Billboard for a rundown of additional money-making opportunities offered by YouTube.
We are nowhere near done covering all the great opportunities offered by leveraging the power of YouTube and its audience. Stay tuned for additional advice columns on this powerful social tool in the weeks ahead.
Hello and welcome to a new week of music industry insight and advice here on the official blog of Haulix. We have a lot of great content planned for the days ahead, including the interview you’ll read following the paragraphs below. If you have a suggestions for a future installment of this series, or if you have any questions regarding our services, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Life has this hilarious tendency to do whatever it wants regardless of your plans or intentions, and while that can often be a frightening prospect it can also be one of the most exciting. For Dan Salter, life changed forever on a wet evening in London back in 2008. It was there he and his friends first had the idea to launch a music zine that told the world about all the obscure bands they had grown to love and admire, and in the years that followed Dan would discover a calling in life that has brought him international acclaim.
I had not spoken with Dan Salter prior to setting up this feature, but his work with Echoes & Dust is something that has been on my radar for a number of years. He’s always been a great writer with a unique perspective on life and it only makes sense that he eventually found his way to leading the editorial team at his site. His story is certainly one-of-a-kind, and it’s an honor to share it with you this afternoon.
If you would like to stay up-to-date with everything Dan and his team of contributors have going on, make sure you bookmark and frequent Echoes & Dust. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: State your name, job title, and the publication you currently write for:
D: Dan Salter, Editor in Chief & founder of Echoes & Dust.
H: Let’s start at the beginning. Do you remember the first time you recognized your love for music?
D: My parents were both huge music fans (Mum saw the Stones in Hyde Park in 69 & went to the first Glastonbury) so music has always been a part of my life. I grew up listening to all the classic bands of the 60s & 70s, Zeppelin, Stones, Floyd, Hendrix, Joplin etc but also Roxy Music, The Police, Blondie and the like. They took me & my brother to festivals from an early age so lets face it, my fate was always sealed!
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
D: Haha, it was a vinyl copy of Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms. I was about 14 & yes, it’s still kicking around somewhere.
H: Are you a journalist professionally, or do you write about music as a hobby?
D: it’s purely a hobby, I have a day job too & so do all the fantastic guys who give up their free time to write for us.
H: Journalism is an interesting path for anyone to choose in life. What lead you to becoming a writer?
D: I’ve always had a penchant for words, I was a voracious reader as a kid and a lyricist in bands when I was younger but becoming a ‘music writer’ was something that grew out of the frustration of a small group of friends that found there weren’t any website dedicated to the kind of obscure indie music we liked. One day we decided to stop moaning about it & start one ourselves, thus E&D was born and overnight I’d become a music journalist & editor!
H: Who or what inspires you as a writer?
D: That’s a hugely tough question to answer with words. The easiest thing would be to take you on a tour of my music collection & shout ‘THIS’ and ‘THIS’ at you. It’s that moment when you hear something for the first time & it makes your soul resonate, it’s that feeling when something hits you out of the blue & you know it’s going to be your new favourite thing. That’s what I live for & that’s what makes me want to write about it, I want other people to share that feeling.
H: When people ask you about your site, how do you explain the coverage offered?
D: We have a phrase on the team that we feel fits perfectly; wilfully obscure. Our approach has always been to go out of our way to cover things that don’t get much column inches elsewhere, to face away from the crowd & highlight musicians doing the same. We like music that challenges & provokes. That probably sounds massively pretentious! In less high falutin terms, we cover a broad range of genres, everything from post rock, math rock, ambient electronica, dream pop, the whole church of metal, space rock, glitch; you get the picture.
H: I noticed the story of the site’s origin involves a group of friends deciding to work together. How many contributors do you have at this point? What do you look for in new recruits?
D: Yes, originally there were 5 of us that got the site up & running but sadly life commitments mean that I’m the only one left from that original crew contributing on a regular basis. We have something like 50 writers now but their level on contribution ranges from smashing out 2 or 3 reviews a week to people who only write that in a year. All we generally ask of people is to have a passion for the music & the time to write about it, although the ability to string a sentence together is a bonus! We’ve been very lucky, over the years we’ve managed to find a bunch of very talented, dedicated people who get a kick out of writing about music & believe in what were doing. Without their contributions & the help of Sander, Ben & Hannah (Metal, Features & Live editors respectively) I wouldn’t been able to sustain this for 5 years.
H: I noticed there is little-to-no news offered on Echoes And Dust. Was this always the case?
D: More or less. It’s something we’ve considered from time to time but on a basic time & resource to benefit calculation it doesn’t stack up for us. There are plenty of sites that offer news & we see little point in adding to the cacophony as it would mean we couldn’t do some of the other stuff we do. Anything that we do want to give our readers ‘news’ on we tend to run through our Facebook page rather than the site.
H: There is an ever-growing amount of competition for attention in the music blog arena. How do you marketing Echoes and Dust?
D: We don’t really ‘market’ the site. We’ve never paid for advertising or anything like that. Most of our growth has come as a direct result in the growth of both the quantity and, I hope, the quality of our output. We have something of a symbiotic relationship with the bands, labels and PRs for the music we cover & hope that they spread the word about us as we spread it about them. It seems to work.
H: From what I can tell there is no paid advertising on the site. Do you have any plans to monetize moving forward? If so, how?
D: Again this is something we’ve discussed ad nauseum between the team. For the moment we’ve decided against it. The running costs of the site a relatively low and something I don’t mind paying as it allows me to do all this cool stuff so it’s not an issue right now. If we get to a size where the traffic means that costs rise then we’ll have another think but for now we’re happy as we are.
H: Your site seems to have a local focus, but you’ve undoubtedly begun to build an international audience. How do you balance catering to both demographics?
D: By not really thinking about location too much. We live in a globalised digital environment (kill me now!) where physical location is almost meaningless. We have writers all over the world from Melbourne to Johannesburg to Rome to Edinburgh & so on & we get submissions from an even wider range of places (we covered a metal band from Andorra the other day) so we just try & judge things on the merits of the music & not where it’s from. These days we get nearly as much traffic from overseas, especially the US, as we do from the UK.
H: What is your ultimate career goal?
D: Oh god, i feel like I’m a job interview now & I never have an answer for this then! As well as running E&D my partner Hannah & I run Cognitive Dissonance which is an umbrella for a small record label, a little bit of PR and a business building websites and Hannah plays in Rumour Cubes, who have just started recording their 2nd album, but we’re realistic enough to know unless we’re lucky none of this will let us give up our day jobs so just having a job that pays the bills & gives us enough free time to be involved in music in some small way is enough for now.
H: When it comes to receiving music for review and feature consideration, which services do you prefer and why?
D: Haha, is this the bit where I’m meant to big up Haulix?! 😉 honestly though, digitally delivery systems like Haulix have made this job so much easier. I’d say 95% of sub,is ions are delivered to us digitally in some fashion now & we prefer it that way. Makes it much easier to distribute to the writers. In fact it’s got to the point where sending us something physical is actually detrimental to something’s chances of getting covered. That’s not to say we’re not advocates of physical products though, digital is just easier for reviewing.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
D: Again with the huge questions! Just one thing? Almost impossible! The industry is at a really interesting point of flux at the moment & know one can really know where it’s going to go, although there are plenty of theories. So, if there was just one thing I could change it would be to see that musicians & artists get fairly paid for the art they create. At the moment we’re a long way from that.
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?
D: Obviously we’re coming up to the end of 2013 now & by our reckoning it’s been a pretty stellar year for music, so we’ll be having plenty of activity around that with some interesting interviews & features on people that have really impressed us this year. One thing we’re just putting together now, and something we’re very proud of doing, is a new feature strand called Musical Therapy in which we are going to explore the relationships between music and mental health, We’re getting contributions from across the spectrum of artists, writers & fans and getting them to share their views on how music has helped them, or otherwise, with mental health issues. Ultimately we want to shine a light on how prevalent these problems are in the creative sector & perhaps, if we’re lucky, remove some of the stigma attached to something that a lot off pepole suffer.
Hello, everyone. If you’re reading this it means you survived another week of work or school and the weekend is just a few short hours away. Yes, it’s Friday once more, and we have a nice little recap ready to help wrap up the week.
The holiday season is well under way, but before we get tied up in presents and decorations we still have a lot we hope to accomplish at Haulix HQ. The development of our mobile platform continues, and earlier this week testing began on various mobile devices. We’re not quite ready to announce a launch date just yet, but know it’s likely coming sooner than you expect.
In addition to moving forward on that project, we recently unveiled a new, in-depth description of everything offered through our ‘Email Invitation Activity Screen.’ By following this link, you can learn about how Haulix is working to help you better understand who receives your promos, who opens them, who uses them, and which accounts are dead or otherwise inactive. There’s a lot of information there, so we recommend setting aside 10-minutes or so to properly dive into the material.
Onto the blog…
The past few days on our blog have been some of our favorite to date. From the two interviews posted, both of which offer unique perspectives on life in the business, to the ‘Advice’ columns, we’re extremely proud of the content we’ve posted. We know not everyone has time in their daily schedule to see what we’re up to, so below you will find a list of links to each of the week’s stories:
That pretty much wraps up our coverage for this week. We have a couple special surprises in store next week, but that’s all the information I’m allowed to share with you at this time. Have a great weekend and make sure to stop back by the blog on Monday. If you have any questions or concerns over the weekend, email james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
