Industry Spotlight: Amanda Van West (Band Of The Day App)

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the only extended interview we will likely run this week. We love firsts, and today we are excited to traverse new territory through our Industry Spotlight column by discussing the world of apps and how they can help artists gain exposure online with someone working every day to help bands find new fans. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

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We all love to download apps, but how many apps have you downloaded in the past year that help you better understand or appreciate the vast amount of music available in the world today? There have been many innovations made as far as streaming and being able to instantly connect with your music collection on the go are concerned, but surprisingly very few technological advances in this industry have focused on new music discovery. Big names draw big crowds, of course, but as industry professionals it’s our job to curate the next generation of musical talent, and that begins with constantly being on the hunt for new music.

Enter Band Of The Day. Launched in 2011, this application showcases one new talent every single day, 365 days a year. It’s a collection of artists you may or may not know from all over the world, and unlike many apps that rely on algorithms to figure out what people want this application is curated by living, breathing people like you or I. At the center of it all is Amanda Van West, and in the interview below she shares her journey in music.

I stumbled across the Band Of The Day app a few months back and new right away it was the type of digital offering that warranted attention from our blog. It’s not every day you meet people as passionate about music discovery and promotion as the team behind this application, but just knowing a few still exist gives me hope for the future of this business. If you would like to learn more about Band Of The Day and/or Amanda Van West, please make it a point to download the app and follow Amanda on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.

H: Before we begin, please introduce yourself to our readers by sharing your name and job title:

A: Hello! My name is Amanda Van West and I’m Head of Music for Band of the Day app.

H: Thank you for joining us, Amanda. We have been looking forward to having you take part in this series for some time. I want to talk about your current career, but first want to learn about your history in the business. Tell me, when did you first realize that a career in the music industry was something that appealed to you?

A: Around my junior or senior year of high school, I became obsessed with music and going to concerts. I remember being in class one day, and one of my friends casually mentioned, “You should try and be a music journalist.” It really resonated with me, and music journalism is something I pursued throughout college and graduate school. However, I never actually thought it would lead to a career in the music industry – it was just a fun hobby for me at the time.

H: From what I have found through my research it looks like you originally went to college for Media Studies. Had you gained any experience in the entertainment industry at this point, or were you still finding your footing in that respect?

A: I was still finding my footing at the time. Being a poor college student with very limited funds, I used to hit up local clubs asking if I could interview bands and provide online content for them in exchange for free concert tickets. Then I started hosting the music television program, “Visionz”, for USFtv (University of San Francisco). Between writing for websites and the school newspaper, and hosting Visionz, I found that I really loved exposing bands to a new audience.

H: Before you began working at music companies like the one that employs you now there were several years where you contributed to ThisIsFakeDIY. Was journalism always the area of music that appealed to you the most?

A: I was always drawn to journalism, be it print/web/radio/television, because I found that I was naturally good at interviewing bands and drawing out stories that were a little atypical of what I’d read about in other publications. One of the best compliments I received while interviewing a band member was, “You’re kind of like the female, non-Canadian Nardwuar.” When I interview bands, my goal is to dig deep and not ask questions that have been asked a million times before, so I’m glad that bands caught onto that!

H: Do you remember the first major feature or review you worked on as a music writer? If not, perhaps you can recall an early assignment you were given that presented a challenge?

A: My very first interview was with Johnny Borrell (lead singer of Razorlight) back when I was about 18 or 19 years old. I remember being extremely sweaty and nervous, but luckily he was really nice and I was able to relax a bit during the interview.

H: You returned to school in 2009 to study Broadcast journalism. What inspired you to further pursue your education in this respect?

A: If I’m completely honest, going to grad school was mostly just an excuse to get back to London haha… I had gone to London my junior year of undergrad, for a semester abroad, and fell in love with the city and its incredible music scene. After graduating, I was working in marketing for awhile (back in California) but didn’t like it. I always loved journalism, so studying it further in my favorite city just made sense. I applied, got in, took out a big student loan, and just went for it. I ended up learning a lot during my time at Westminster University, and the experiences I had there have stayed with me to this day.

H: We should mention that you have worked in area of entertainment outside of music. I know you have a producer credit for a short documentary, as well as experience working as a Runner. What initially attracted you to the world of film, and do you have any plans to pursue that interest further in the future? Perhaps combining music and film?

A: I’m just really attracted to the art of storytelling, in many different forms. I’m also a very visual person, and have a deep appreciation for film after studying it for a bit. I could see perhaps doing some sort of music-related documentary sometime in the future, or maybe music supervision on a film, but I don’t have the full-on drive to be a filmmaker.

H: Before we leave your education behind, I do have one more question to ask. Knowing what you do now about the music industry and how it works, would you recommend that people reading this who may be considering pursuit of a music career go to college as well? Is higher education a necessity for success?

A: As much as I loved my time in higher education, I don’t believe it’s entirely necessary for success. Especially if you’re looking to get in the tech/music tech world. I don’t even think my employers noticed that I had an MA degree – what stood out to them, more than my resume, was my experience with extracurricular music journalism and maintaining a music blog even outside of a school assignment. My best advice is to just throw yourself into whatever you’re passionate about, whether or not it’s paid/unpaid or for a school assignment.

H: In 2009 you joined the team at Ustream and aided the company in gaining a wealth of recognition in the press. From what I have been able to gather this was one of your first jobs after you completed your studies in broadcast journalism and I am curious about your experiences with the company. When did you first learn of the job, and what can you tell us about the application process?

A: It’s been awhile, but yes, this was my first job out of college! I think I may have just seen a posting on a local job site? I submitted my application, and then interviewed with my former boss. He was impressed by my music knowledge and journalism background, and I was also a good personality/cultural fit with the team.

H: In 2011 you joined the company you now call home, and you began working on the Band Of The Day App. When did you initially learn of the app’s existence, and what was the hiring process like that landed you the job title you currently hold?

A: I had moved back to my family’s home after a year and a half of grad school in London, and had been applying to anything and everything media/journalism related for at least a couple months. It was really frustrating, because I wasn’t getting anywhere. One day, my mom forwarded me this posting she came across on Craigslist. They were looking for a summer music writing intern. Initially, I snobbily dismissed it by thinking, “I’m NOT gonna do an internship; I have a Master’s degree!” But then I looked up the company, and read through the description, and it just sounded really cool. I decided to take a bold leap, and I tweeted directly at the company, “You can take down your internship posting now” with a link to my LinkedIn profile. Within a few minutes, the CEO (Kiran Bellubbi) messaged me back, saying he was impressed with my background and asked if I could come in for an interview. My “interview” was actually their launch party for the first app, The History of Jazz. I ended up connecting really well with everyone, including slightly inebriated family and friends, and had a proper interview a few days later. They took me on as an unpaid intern at first but, within maybe a week or so, they offered me a contract position. And a week or two after that, I was offered a full-time salaried job with benefits. My first project was writing all of the content for our iPad app, On the Way to Woodstock, which was so much fun. It was like this big multimedia journalistic/academic endeavor, where I got to throw myself completely into research mode on that era. A couple months later, Band of the Day came into fruition, with my co-editor at the time (Tobias Kahn) and I leading the helm on content.

H: For those unaware, what is the Band Of The Day app, and how does it aide in new music discovery?

A: The best way I can describe it is like one of those advent/Christmas calendars, in app form, but with a new band revealed every day instead of a piece of chocolate. And 365 days a year, not just December. Because we just focus on one band per day, and because it’s 100% curated by us, users get to explore genres that they might not otherwise listen to, whether it’s Argentinian post-rock, South Korean electropop, US indie rock, etc.

H: What are some of the things you do as part of your involvement with this app? If possible, please walk us through a typical day at the office:

A: I tend to work in cycles of content, so daily tasks change every week. One week I’ll focus on going through submissions (from users and from bands/record labels/PR blasts), and also seeking out new bands to feature through trawling the music blogs, other music apps, word of mouth recommendations, etc. Once I find bands, I research their contact information and reach out to clear all of the content/licensing for a feature. Then I have to figure out the schedule of bands for the upcoming month, curating bands for maximum variety – for example, if I feature an indie rock band on Monday, I might follow it up with a rapper the next day, jazz after that, etc. Once I have the upcoming month’s schedule figured out, I have to gather all of the assets/content, and create it on our content management system. Then I test it all in the app to make sure it’s working, and work with the programmers to get the content loaded up in the app. Once I have all the upcoming content ready, I schedule posts for our social media channels and work to cross-promote the features with all of the bands. I also go to a lot of festivals and concerts as a way to scout out new bands to feature. Additionally, I book bands for parties we have throughout the year, including SXSW house parties/showcases. This past year, I’ve booked roughly 30 bands for various gigs.

H: Where do you find the bands that are featured? I am sure a number of our readers would be interested in see themselves or their friends’ bands appear on your platform.

A: I’m on a ton of music PR mailing lists, so I’ll listen through those quite often. I also go on a ton of music blogs, use other music discovery apps, go to gigs, get recommendations from friends, from other bands, etc. There’s no one main source.

H: How can we expect to see the app evolve in the months/years ahead?

A: I’d love to collaborate with other tastemakers and have them come on as guest editors for certain days, or maybe even have bigger/well-known bands help pick smaller bands that they’re into. I also see Band of the Day working more with our other app, Applauze, which is an events discovery/ticketing app. So maybe a band that appears in BOTD will have a link to Applauze, where you can easily buy a ticket for their concert.

H: How many people work on the app? Are you currently looking to hire more people?

A: For day-to-day operations/management of the app, it’s pretty much just me now! Our developers will work on new updates from time to time, but for daily content it’s me managing everything. I’m always open to having an awesome intern though 🙂

H: Looking ahead to the future, what are biggest challenges facing Band Of The Day as far as growth and sustainability are concerned?

A: Just keeping the content going, I suppose. We recently hit 1000 bands, and there are a TON more out there, but at some point will we run out? So far that seems way far off, especially looking through the number of submissions in my inbox right now…

H: On a more personal note, what challenges do you see yourself facing in the future from a professional standpoint? Do you have any goals on the horizon you are currently working towards?

A: With my role now, I have to listen to so much new music that sometimes I don’t have time to fully devote my attention to any one band the way that I used to. So I think figuring out how to involve more trusted ears/tastemakers with Band of the Day content is something I’d like to work towards. Another goal is to also introduce Band of the Day relationships to my colleagues at Applauze, so that we can work with them on things like pre-sale tickets, VIP upgrades for concerts, etc.

H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

A: The process of licensing digital content for promotional value. All of the bands we feature in Band of the Day need to be cleared via a promo license, for us to be able to legally stream the music worldwide. There are a lot of issues that come up with this, mostly with the major record labels, because of how music rights are handled. There are many times where I’d love to feature a band, but can’t get their content cleared, so then that band misses out on great coverage to a brand-new audience.

H: I think that covers everything. Before I let you go, do you have any final thoughts to share with our readers?

A: Thanks for the interview, Haulix, and for the support of Band of the Day! 🙂 If anyone wants to get in touch, feel free to reach out to @bandoftheday or @amandabomb on Twitter – I read it all! Also, just a reminder that Band of the Day is 100% free to download and is available on iOS, Android, and the web:

Band of the Day on iOS: http://bit.ly/bodappstore
Band of the Day on Android: http://bit.ly/bodandroid
Band of the Day: www.bandofthedayapp.com

James Shotwell