Hey there! Welcome to our blog. We thank you for finding time in you busy schedule to spend a few minutes on our site. The post you’re about to enjoy is the latest installment in our popular podcast series, Inside Music. If you like what you hear, the entire catalog of episodes can be found and enjoyed through iTunes. Subscriptions and reviews are always appreciated.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found onTwitter and Facebook.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell connects with Mike Abiuso to discuss his many music-related projects. Mike is the guitarist for The Venetia Fair, as well as the founder of SwitchBitch Records and Behind The Curtains Media. James and Mike discuss all of this, as well as their thoughts on SXSW, the usefulness of panels, and why the band Flannel Mouth deserve to be on your radar. It’s a fun conversation, but also an informative one, and we think you will love the results.
The music you hear in the intro to ‘Inside Music’ this week is “Girls Kiss Girls” from Victorian Halls. You can learn more about that song, as well as the album it hails from, on Leon’s official website.
You may already know this, but ‘Inside Music’ is now available on iTunes! Click here to subscribe.
Have you heard about the latest social media trend? It’s called ‘live broadcasting,’ and right now there are two companies dominating the marketplace. One is called Meerkat, and until a few weeks ago many believed it would be the industry leader. Now that title belongs to Periscope, which was acquired prior to launch by Twitter in January, and just last week the highly-publicized mobile app was released to the public.
Pericope, like Meerkat, works by allowing users to live broadcast their life to the world by downloading the iOS app and connecting through Twitter. Your followers get a push notification and can watch your livestream, all free of charge.
Here’s what the founders of Periscope had to say about the inspiration for this product:
Just over a year ago, we became fascinated by the idea of discovering the world through someone else’s eyes. What if you could see through the eyes of a protester in Ukraine? Or watch the sunrise from a hot air balloon in Cappadocia? It may sound crazy, but we wanted to build the closest thing to teleportation. While there are many ways to discover events and places, we realized there is no better way to experience a place right now than through live video. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around.
For broadcasters, Periscope lets you share an experience with others. Press a button, and instantly notify your followers that you’re live. Whether you’re witnessing your daughter’s first steps or a newsworthy event, Periscope offers an audience and the power of a shared experience. Most mobile broadcasting tools feel far from live. Broadcasters on Periscope are directly connected to their audience, able to feel their presence and interact. Going live on Periscope means more than a blinking red dot.
For viewers, Periscope gives you a new set of eyes and ears. Travel the world and step into someone else’s shoes. See what they see, hear what they hear, and hopefully feel what they feel. Watching a broadcast isn’t a passive experience like television. On Periscope, viewers influence the broadcaster by sending messages, and expressing their love by tapping the screen to send hearts.“
While adoption of this new social media format is still on the rise, now is as good atime as there will ever be for musicians to signup and begin building their community. Unlike several recent social media platforms that quickly rose in popularity only to disappear seemingly overnight, Periscope (and Meerkat) offers something that actual changes the way we are able to connect with one another. It’s not about profiles and photo-swapping, but cultivating instantaneous communities around events happening all over the world in real time. It’s about engaging with others, regardless of location, to experience life in a truly unique way with very few barriers to entry. Like Facebook and Twitter before it, Periscope has found a way to make the world seem a bit smaller, and in doing so the founders created a scalable business model that will likely see large growth in the months ahead.
We have said this many times before, but every musician needs to view their career like that of a small business. They may have the highest quality products and the best customer service, but unless they know how to market and publicize their efforts they will find establishing a lasting presence in the industry next to impossible. The age of social media has made it incredibly easy for anyone to become a successful marketer as long as they know how to engage with people online, and with the rise of Periscope there is yet another way for brands, bands, and people to connect and raise awareness for their work. The ways to do this are essentially limitless, but we have gathered five ideas that will go a long way toward further engaging with fans through the use of live broadcasting:
Weekly Updates (Same time, different place)
There are a number of artists who currently make and release updates for fans on a weekly or monthly basis, but the vast majority of them rely on YouTube to host this content. Furthermore, they spend days or weeks recording content, then several more hours editing everything together before sharing said recaps with fans. With the rise of services like Periscope and Meerkat, musicians can now broadcast their updates in real time directly to whatever fans choose to tune in as long as they are somewhere with cell service. Instead of spending hours recording and editing, artists can establish a regular broadcast schedule and spend for more time marketing their appearances. Both services catalog every recording, so anyone who misses a broadcast will be able to catch up at their own pace. This means everyone who would have watched on YouTube will still be able to tune in when they’re able while those who are able to watch live can now directly engage with the artist in real time. Double win.
Scenes from the road/Scenes from the studio
There is no career like that of a musician on the rise. From spending hundreds of hours on the open road, to playing clubs that look like rejected sets from the last Quentin Tarantino film, and even time spent in the studio (wherever that may be), there are hundreds or even thousands of sights musicians see that the vast majority of their fans will never have a chance to witness. The immediacy of Periscope allows for musicians to share their perspective on life, be it while hanging backstage before a gig in Iowa or in the midst of pre-production for their next studio album, with the power of their cell phone. There is no need for a laptop that limits mobility, or a state-of-the-art camera whose footage will require a large amount of extra work to make perfect for the internet. Musicians can (and should) turn on Periscope periodically, if only for five or ten minutes, to allow fans to dive a bit deeper into their reality. What does the half day drive across rural Texas in mid-July look like? Artists can show their fans with only a few seconds worth of effort. What about the view of the crowd from the main stage at Coachella? Again, in just a few seconds that view can be shared with the world? What about the first time you hear the first edit of your new single? Periscope makes sharing the reaction on your face, as well as the sound you are hearing, a breeze.
Live Chats
I didn’t really cover this in the introduction, but Periscope and Meerkat both allow for viewers to engage with broadcasters. This makes live chats, regardless of geographic location, incredibly simple. Whether it’s a planned event or something musicians do while killing time between sound check and the start of a show, live chats allow fans around the globe to see and interact with artists. The ease of setup and launch makes it possible to field questions regularly, which in turn create more opportunities for fans to engage with their favorite artists. Maybe a fan can’t make the show today, but thanks to the freedom provided by the platform they may have another opportunity to ask their question sometime in the near future. It’s up to the artist to decide how often they make themselves available, of course, but with such ease of connectivity the decision to not engage with fans on a regular basis seems a bit foolish.
Surprise acoustic performances
Due to the sometimes poor sound quality that comes with recording concerts from the audience, it may be a while before Periscope works all that well for artists hoping to share their live performance with fans. In the meantime, musicians can make the most of the platform by hosting impromptu acoustic performances for fans. Have one member, or even an onlooker, hold a phone set to broadcast while the band performs something stripped down for anyone able to tune in. The video will be catalogued for prosperity, but those able to witness in real time will feel part of something special. They may wake up with a musician’s song in their head and the knowledge that artists will no be performing anywhere near them for months, but in a moment’s notice they can be connected to a performance happening anywhere in the world. That kind of instant gratification is hard to come by in any industry, and it definitely should not be taken for granted.
Scavenger Hunts
This one will require musicians to think outside the box a bit, but it is worth the effort. While on tour, musicians can use Periscope to broadcast their location while exploring a city or town prior to an event. This broadcast serves as a clue for a scavenger, and fans in the area can then use the broadcast to find the musician and collect their reward (concert tickets, merchandise, etc). This could be a great way to build additional interest in a show, as well as sell a few last minute tickets. The opportunity to get free stuff will be more than enough to hook fans, but getting to meet their favorite musician will add another level of excitement to the whole affair.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He has over a decade of music industry experience and spend the majority of his free time writing about various aspects of the entertainment business. If you need another talking head in your life, please consider following him on Twitter. You should also follow Haulix on Twitter.
A lot has been written about the supposed dire state of the music industry, but truth be told there are a number of successful and growing companies, including record labels, that are thriving in 2014. In this column we bring together every job opening we can find from the companies responsible for building the future of the business and present them to you, our reader, in hopes of aiding you on your journey to join the global music industry professional family.
Each Sunday we scour the internet for the latest and greatest job postings throughout the music industry. You can help us better serve our community by sending any job openings you find or have to james@haulix.com. Be sure to include the name of the company hiring, a detailed description of the position being offered, a desired start date, contact information, and any additional supplemental information you feel may be needed.
Job summary: Two New York-based musicians (Michelle Citrin and Galeet Dardashti) seeking Project Manager with a passion for working with artists. Starting date flexible – spring, 2015. $20/hour approximately 9-12 hours a week part time with room to grow. Work in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn based studio, with possibilities for telecommuting.
Job summary: Responsible for community development and campaign execution for a diverse roster of artists. Includes day to day promotional activities, creation and maintenance of artist web and social channels as well as coordination with partners overseeing web development, operations and production.
Job summary: The Marketing Coordinator will assist in developing and implementing marketing and advertising ticket sales campaigns and ABC media campaigns for CMA Music Festival, CMA Awards, CMA Country Christmas and Songwriters Series through traditional media outlets as well as online and social networking mediums. Responsible for fulfillment of all advertising and promotional needs. Assist in developing strategic media partnerships and coordinate fulfillment of contracts. Responsible for general department support as needed.
Job summary: Full-time Publicity Manager is responsible for generating and executing publicity campaigns with online outlets and social media influencers. This includes press release creation, pitching and securing publicity for company’s client roster by generating relevant stories, securing interviews and mixed-media placements while keeping internal staff and clients up to date progress. This position demands high level project management and creativity. Familiarity with online and print media advertising is ideal but not required.
Job summary: The Licensing Marketing Manager will be responsible for developing plans and executing projects that support the Sales & Marketing strategy surrounding ASCAP’s Licensing team responsible for licensing the musical works of ASCAP’s members to hundreds of thousands of businesses – from traditional media to venues to online services. This includes day-to-day management of marketing and analytics for ASCAP’s Licensing pipeline from new leads to completed licenses. The Manager will collaborate with the Licensing, Product, Marketing and Website teams to execute marketing/communications, increase conversions, launch new initiatives, and track analytics, as well as facilitate an effective workflow between the Marketing Department and all other cross-functional teams.
Job summary: Manages all aspects of team sales efforts including, universe of prospective customers, existing customers and key accounts. Ensure continuing new business market penetration and preservation/growth of customer base.
Job summary: The ideal candidate will work closely with colleagues in Artist Services, partnering with a team of Producers responsible for artist websites and fan clubs. The Digital Marketing Manager will work with Creative, Engineering, Tour Marketing and other internal departments throughout Ticketmaster and Live Nation to execute on the artists’ digital strategy.
Job summary: This role is responsible for managing initiatives to support business development to drive Digital Licensing sales. This role will give direction to Sales for growing new business through targeted prospect areas. Included in this work is developing and delivering tools for significant business areas; sales lead generation, new licensee prospecting, prospect validation, market and service analysis, and music use memoranda. The role will also include managing others as needed.
Job summary: The Cleveland Orchestra is currently seeking a dedicated individual with a passion for music to join the Operations team as the new Operations Coordinator. This newly created position supports the Orchestra by coordinating the planning and implementation of concert logistics and assisting Operations Management in researching and planning orchestra needs for tours and runouts. The Coordinator will support concert productions and events at both Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center and assist with tour preparations. He/she will act as a primary liaison between external vendors and internal departments to communicate and secure production needs.
Job summary: The Director, Database Marketing will actively support the Company’s effort to acquire and leverage customer leads in the previously owned vehicle segment. This individual will manage a team of two, including himself/herself. The main focus of the role is to help SiriusXM acquire and evaluate customer names and addresses for new owners of used vehicles with inactive radios with the goal of marketing trial or subscription offers to those subsequent owners. On a monthly basis, SiriusXM acquires millions of leads through various sources: third party list vendors (3PL), service dealers (Service Lane), and others tbd. This group will be responsible for designing and implementing a database marketing strategy that can efficiently evaluate the best leads to activate and market to, based on external and internal data. He/she will report to the SVP, Direct Sales & Marketing.
Job summary: As Business Development Associate, you will play a key role in building our sales and marketing engine to support our fast-growing business. You will work side by side with our CMO to support all sales and marketing initiatives and will report directly to the CEO. Through high value communication you will work to establish the credibility of Jamplify and our brand within the live events market. You will make our organization top of mind for customers when they market and book concerts.
Job summary: We’re a unique collection of engineers, musicians, designers, marketers, and world-class sellers with a common goal: to enrich lives by delivering effortless personalized music enjoyment and discovery. People—the listeners, the artists, and our employees—are at the center of our mission and everything we do. Actually, employees at Pandora are a lot like the service itself: bright, eclectic, and innovative. Collaboration is the foundation of our workforce, and we’re looking for smart individuals who are self-motivated and passionate to join us. Be a part of the engine that creates the soundtrack to life. Discover your future at Pandora.
Job summary: Representative will generate revenue through proactive outbound and inbound calls with established accounts. In addition to making and logging sales they will assist customers with any non-credit needs such as product information and order tracking information when necessary. They will work closely with their credit representative, referring all billing and credit questions to that department. They will also follow up on leads for new accounts, utilizing information lists received from in-house reports and other sources. They will build and enhance relationships with accounts through consistent sales and service.
Job summary: You will work with the Music Editor and wider editorial team to deliver world-class news content for Shazam, specifically around headlines and picture selection, helping to deliver a compelling and successful editorial product for the company. A real all-rounder, you’ll be creative with words, images and treatment ideas on the biggest musicians in the world. This is a newly created role.
Job summary: You will act as liaison between music users and copyright owners. As a Licensing Specialist, you will call on dance schools, restaurants, bars, hotels and other businesses that play music in order to sell performing rights licenses.
Job summary: Recruits and assists prospective writers, publishers, producers and artists to BMI by performing the following duties either personally or through the direction of others.
Job summary: This position is responsible for assisting the Merch Production department. Admin, data entry, and work flow system support which includes sourcing Merch items online, accessing art files, creating PO’s, tracking production schedule and tracking shipments.
Job summary: We are seeking an individual with expertise, experience and deep passion for music. The person in this role will curate genre pages/channels on the PledgeMusic website and across our other music channels such as: Soundcloud, Spotify & YouTube. They will also be the conduit for determining the content and features for the PledgeMusic weekly newsletters. This individual will support PledgeMusic’s Head of Marketing and should have experience in monitoring social media, running digital marketing campaigns, data analysis and creating strategies for digital campaigns in music and entertainment.
Job summary: The Coordinator, Advertising will coordinate advertising initiatives for RED/’stache media by developing strategic marketing campaigns that not only drive awareness and sales for RED artists but also bring in additional revenue for ‘stache media.
Job summary: As a liaison between Market Manager, station Account Executives and advertising clients, the Sales Assistant provides general support to the radio/digital Sales Department including the preparation of recaps, sales reports, creating sales proposals, correspondence, sales pieces, competitive requests, faxing and/or emailing spot times to clients, answering phones, and maintaining contract files.
Job summary: This successful sponsorship sales professional will be responsible for creating and selling branded, high-impact music marketing programs across our music properties.
Job summary:Bandcamp is seeking a mind-bogglingly talented individual for our design team to help us create new products and features, improve existing ones and make our site and mobile apps shining beacons of wonder for all who gaze upon them. You will design. You will code. You will have a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of artists and their millions of fans each and every day. You will feel good. You will feel as good as I do right now.
Job summary: Seeking an Operations Manager who is responsible for the day to day and event operations at the newly developed Amphitheater in Nashville, TN. This includes but is not limited to de-winterization and winterization of the facility, managing event staff, reporting and maintaining incident logs, and on-site, day of show operations responsibilities.
Job summary: Reporting directly to the COO, the Digital Marketing Manager will be responsible for handling artist digital content management for all artists and the Latium brand.
Job summary: Reporting to the Head of Operations, CraveOnline, the Social Media Specialist is responsible for developing clearly-defined social media strategies in a manner that supports the CraveOnline.com brand as well as other CraveOnline Media properties. This position is responsible managing projects across all social media channels to help achieve our overall brand objectives and growth metrics.
Job summary: The Interactive Marketing team at Warner Bros Records spearheads all digital marketing initiatives for the label’s diverse roster including urban, rock and pop artists. They are responsible for building out the digital, mobile and social components of an artist’s overall marketing plan – including but not limited to: digital promotions, artist website development and optimization, fan acquisition and engagement, creation/implementation of digital tools and products to increase fan engagement, paid media campaigns, etc… Additionally, the team is relied upon to be industry-leading innovators in the digital space, anticipating consumer trends and substantive technological advancements.
Job summary: Reporting to the Head of Research & Instruction Services, and serving as a branch manager, the Music Librarian is responsible for all aspects of the operation of the Music Library. This includes circulation, reserves, collection management, cataloging, e-resource management, and bindery in conformity with Holy Cross Libraries policy. It also includes staff and student supervision, team participation and project management, campus liaison work, and participation in professional development.
Job summary: We are looking for a savvy Content Producer with strong video skills to join our growing Community and Content team. Working on digital and social channels of our incredible roster of Artists, the successful candidate will relish the opportunity to utilise their diverse experience in the hands-on production of video, photographic and written content. Reporting to the Community & Content Director, this position also runs the day-to-day management of the Universal Music Australia social channels.
Job summary: Pandora Media is looking for a systems-focused Business Analyst for our Revenue Operations Department. The right individual will be a key contributor to the overall Sales Technical Operations team with a focus on improving our internal sales software and driving aggressive efficiency for end users. End users of the systems include Sales, Client Services, Trafficking and Finance teams. The goal of this position is to support Pandora’s strategic initiatives with a focus on partnering with the Sales and Revenue Operations organizations to understand their priorities and pain points. The role will involve information gathering, business process analysis, system support, training and documentation, and measurement. The Business Analyst will partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Quality Assurance and Enterprise Systems teams to build solutions and measure their impact.
Job summary: The Media Analyst provides the Membership department with statistical analysis and reporting on market share, competitive comparisons and royalty distribution summaries. He or she will maintain and build databases to provide and maintain large amounts of data for analysis and reporting. He or she will utilize Billboard, Mediaguide, Competitrack and other media sources for reporting on current trends within the industry. This ideal candidate will actively seek out data outside of the organization that will enhance relevant analysis and reporting. He or she will work with the Strategic Services department to provide recommendations to enhance or improve current methodology and practice.
Job summary: Recruits and assists prospective writers, publishers, producers and artists to BMI by performing the following duties either personally or through the direction of others.
Job summary: The ideal candidate will have direct experience or deep knowledge of the current entertainment marketplace and must demonstrate exceptional creative writing skills with a strategic marketing emphasis. Working as a creative team member, this person will help elevate the messaging effectiveness and style on all projects while maintaining alignment with the SiriusXM Brand. The Senior Writer will work closely with the creative team to create materials for many departments including Programming, Retail, Direct to Consumer, Automotive, Retention and Corporate. This is a hands on position that will include everything from direct marketing letters to television concept to channel naming to digital communications.
Job summary: The iHeartMedia Account Executive will identify and solicit new business; service and grow existing account. They are responsible for developing persuasive proposals in response to client needs and/or opportunities. They will guide their clients based on market, platform or station information. They are responsible for ensuring client satisfaction through cooperative communication. They will also negotiate rates consistent with iHeartMedia operating goals and budgets and ensure prompt payment. They will utilize all available iHeartMedia resources to create effective marketing campaigns.
Job summary: The VH1 Creative Department needs a hybrid, multi-faceted Full Time Freelance Executive Producer who can not only excel in overseeing the development of multi-platform Creative, but serve on the front-line of projects – acting as the face of the Department for all outward facing partners. This includes our “clients”, who are Show Producers but also, serve as accountable and expert ambassadors of our Creative within our own Department.
This role requires deep expertise in the Production and Creative Process including well-honed client-management skills to handle a fast-paced environment where things change in an instant and multiple voices needs to be accounted for.
Job summary: The candidate we select into this key role will have a proven track record in building successful partnerships as well as consistently securing seven-figure investments with FORTUNE 500 organizations. S/he already has an established reputation and track record of success, gained with any combination of major brands, teams or agencies, and is now looking to further enhance their reputation with one of the leading sports and entertainment companies in the world.
Job summary: The Global Social Media Manager will lead the development of the corporation’s social media strategy, and will oversee the execution of plans and tactics around the globe.
Job summary: This successful sponsorship sales professional will be responsible for creating and selling branded, high-impact music marketing programs across our music properties.
Job summary: The Ad Sales Coordinator is a key member of the Ad Sales team, supporting all aspects of the sales process as well as providing general administrative support to the Vice President of Ad Sales and the ad sales team.
Job summary: Pandora is looking for an Associate Program Manager to play a critical role in driving and managing concurrent projects related the successful roll out, communication, and commercialization of changes to ad products, system and platform updates and process improvements. This is a highly cross-functional independent contributor role that will report into Sales Technical Operations and combines aspects of project management, product marketing, marketing communications, and training.
Job summary: AM is looking for a senior media planner to run several accounts out of our New York office. This digital client service superstar is adept at anticipating client needs and always maintaining an excellent relationship at all times. This candidate needs to be able to coordinate online media campaign efforts seamlessly with all internal teams (media, accounts, creative, etc.) as well as the client. The senior media planner will also be responsible for assessing client goals and providing them with a clear, effective game plan to achieve them. They will be responsible for developing an intimate knowledge of their clients’ business and ensuring that all aspects of the overall strategy are in place at all times.
Job summary: Bright Marketing offers outstanding career opportunities in one of the world`s most successful companies in the retail and events sales industry.
Job summary: Marketing Manager reports directly to the National Director of Marketing, Senior Talent Buyer and Regional VP of Talent. This person will be responsible for creating marketing plans including: advertising, promotions, publicity, social media and media buying for Live Nation concerts, including Family programming and Broadway/Theatrical performances, in select markets in the Riverside and Inland Empire area including the Fox Performing Arts Centre and Riverside Municipal Auditorium. The Marketing Manager needs to track spends and allocate funds for individual show budgets. Additionally, the Marketing Manager needs to be able to communicate with many partners in the Riverside/Inland Empire area.
Job summary: Our mid-level apprentice position for Music Services is designed to help support the team of Music Supervisors. This position is multi-faceted with duties ranging from administrative support to music cataloguing to Music Supervision of mid-level accounts.
Job summary: Reporting directly to the Head of Global Content Licensing and Catalog, the Content Licensing Lead – EMEA is responsible for the identification, negotiation and renewal of the agreements between Rdio and EMEA-based labels, publishers, and connection societies.
Job summary: We’re building a new team to focus on digital music recommendations and are looking to hire a Research Scientist to work at the intersection of music and machine learning.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to spend a few minutes browsing our blog. The last few days have passed us by like no other, and we are all more than ready to embrace the relaxing vibes of the weekend. Before we get there however, we need to recap everything we have accomplished. We also need to share this song, which may be the perfect soundtrack to your weekend:
Each and every weekend we like to take a brief break from our regularly scheduled programming to update and reflect on everything happening at Haulix HQ. We are far more than a music blog, as many of you already know, and posts like this give us an opportunity to share more our efforts with all of you.
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
We will be performing a hardware upgrade in our servers on Sunday March 29 From 12:00PM-3:00PM CST. There will be minimal downtime during the upgrade when all services will be unavailable.
We have started construction on the next version of Haulix. The new version will include many of your suggestions that we have collected over the last couple of years and will work in mobile devices.
BLOG UPDATES
On the blog end of things, our site moved a bit slower this week in comparison to those prior due largely to my (James) trip back from SXSW. I spent 15 hours in an airport on Monday, and that completely ruined my work schedule for the rest of the week. I didn’t even touch down in Boston until 3AM Tuesday, and then I spent the rest of the day asleep. The content we did run turned out great, at least in my opinion, and I hope you can find time to consume every last word:
The biggest story in music so far this week has been the seemingly sudden departureofZayn MalikfromOneDirection. It’s a little hard to imagine anyone reading this was unaware of that fact before now, especially when you consider that his name is still trending on Twitter charts around the globe, but regardless – just know this is being considered a BIG deal in the pop world. News outlets and blogs around the world were quick to hop on the news in hopes of gaining a few extra clicks from the coverage, but in doing so many publications brought to light a problem that is running rampant across a number of sites, and in doing so is lowering the quality of content these outlets are able to provide. I don’t know that it has a problem, per se, but I like to call it ‘fishing for clicks,’ and it’s a problem we as an industry need to face head-on if we ever want to mature.
Though there are many sites that claim to celebrate all forms of music, the most popular music blogs have always been those with specific tastes who know not only what they like to listen to, but also what their consumers like to read. Sites like MetalInjection and MetalSucks, for example, cater to fans of heavy music far and wide. It’s not genre-specific, though sites like that do exist, but it does cater to one subset of music fans. You won’t find anything related to Britney Spears, Meaghan Trainor, Leon Bridges, or anything of the sort on their front page unless it somehow connects to a band most would agree play some variation of hard rock, metal, etc. This focus is what the site’s entire brand is built upon, and it’s the reason people continue to visit those sites day in and day out. There is no question what kind of content you will find on sites like these, nor is there any question about the kind of content that won’t be featured. It’s simple, and that is part of the reason people come back day in and day out.
Some sites are more broad in their coverage. HitFix, for example, covers a wide variety of entertainment. They cover film, television, and music, but nothing else. You may find reviews for both Jay Z and Wes Anderson on their site, but you won’t find editorials about politics or in-depth features discussing the future of video games. It’s not that this coverage wouldn’t be enjoyed by a segment of the HitFix readership, as it almost certainly would, but by running one piece on these topics the site would be saying to readers that more coverage should be expected in the future. In a way similar to the marketing campaign for Pringles potato chips, you cannot just have one story about something that falls outside your normal coverage area. Well, you can, but to do so would only be a disservice to your readers and yourself.
The reason I opened this article by mentioning the departure of Zayn Malik from One Direction is because headlines related to this news item can currently be found on hundreds of music sites that have never before covered One Direction, or at least not in a way intended to promote the future of the group. These are the same sites that any other day would tell you One Direction are nothing more than a boy band filled with members who have varying degrees of vocal talent and next to know true musical prowess to speak of. They’re pop music haters, or at least people who normally would tell you they don’t pay attention to radio, but because Zayn Malik is currently trending on all the major social networks they suddenly feel they too must cover his latest career decision on their blog.
BUT WHY?
If you have never covered One Direction before now, what do you believe you can gain from a one-time piece of news on a site that markets to people who (most likely) do not listen to 1D all that often. As the creator of content you have cultivated a community based around the type of news and features you can be relied upon to highlight. If you write about Warped Tour artists, you draw Warped Tour readers. If you write about jazz, those who devote themselves to hardcore are likely not your target market. It’s not that you don’t want these people to visit your site, as every new visitor could potentially become a reader, but you have to play the odds a bit when deciding what to run. Is a one-time piece of news on a group you are likely never going to cover again, or at least not on a regular basis, really more valuable than dedicating the same time to highlighting acts that fall within your normal coverage area? You may earn a few extra clicks, yes, but will those readers have any reason to return to your site after that initial visit? The answer, more often than not, is no.
I learned the lesson of fishing, or what may call “stretching” for clicks the hard way. My site, Under The Gun Review, was founded with the idea it would cover everything that appealed to my interests. I thought myself and others who read my work to be the type of people able to appreciated any kind of music, as long as it was performed well, but as time went on and younger sites began to grow at a faster rate than mine I realized that developing an audience for a site where literally anything could be posted is next to impossible. People may say they want more new music, but people do not want to discover just any kind of music. People want to discover music that is similar to what they already enjoy, and they look to sites who feature their favorite artists to assist them in that task. If a site writes about Warped Tour artists, the people who read that site are looking to learn about Warped artists, as well as other musicians who may one day appear on the tour. They do not; however, have much interest in the next country music sensation. Those artists may be equally talented, but the people visiting alternative music outlets are not looking to support those artists. It wasn’t until I began putting more effort into curating talent that played with our audiences interests that we began to see real growth and were able to actually help up and comers receive attention.
It is important that you understand there is a difference between stretching for clicks and simply attempting to extend the areas of music you cover. Every attempt to cover an artists has to start somewhere, and if you suddenly feel a desire to highlight all future news and releases from One Direction then you should definitely dedicate some of your front page to covering Zayn’s departure. It is huge news to anyone who cares about 1D, and that is a fact that cannot be denied. Still, if you have never posted about 1D before and know you likely won’t feature them again unless something as big as another member leaving occurs then you should skip covering Zayn’s departure and focus more on better catering to the audience you have already established. If you don’t give a shit about One Direction, why do you think they would? They read your site because they believe they enjoy the same music you do. Keep that in mind when deciding what to run and you will continue to see growth in time. Ignore the facts by attempting to hop on every viral bandwagon that arises and you will be doomed to experience stunted growth and create lackluster content.
Above all, be true to yourself. It might not be the fastest way to the top, but by far the most rewarding.
If you built a time machine and traveled back to Dallas in March 2014 you probably wouldn’t find many people who were all that excited about the music of Leon Bridges. The Texas resident, who started his life in New Orleans, has only been on the national music radar for little over six months at this point. That time has passed like a whirlwind for Bridges, as well as his team, and it seems with each passing day the young soul artist is getting closer to becoming the next big star in pop music.
While at SXSW last week, Bridges performed a number of showcases to packed crowds filled with industry professionals and everyday music fans alike. When not on stage, Bridges dedicated a lot of his free time to speaking with press, and one afternoon those efforts included a near 20-minute conversation with me (James, the guy who runs this blog). We talked about the hype currently surrounding Leon, the moment he knew things were changing, the source of his inspiration, and his goals as a musician. It’s not very often you meet someone in music who has a clear vision for their career, but that is exactly what we discovered while chatting with Leon Bridges. He knows not only what his sound is, but also who he is as a person, and that awareness is helping him navigate the often troublesome waters of the music business with ease. You can find highlights from our conversation, including some insight on when Bridges’ debut album will be released, below:
H: This is an exciting time for you, Leon. I tried to catch your set at Spotify House yesterday, but instead I ended up waiting in line outside the venue and listened to you perform without being able to see a thing. That said, it was great.
L: Thank you. That was a really good set. I’m sorry you couldn’t get in.
H: The thing that stuck out to me, at least at first, was just how much material you had ready to go. The public has only heard the three singles you have released since the fall, so it was a little surprising to learn you had a complete set ready to go.
L: That’s funny, because you’re definitely not the first person to say that. People stop me and ask, “Do you have more than three songs?” I always laugh. I probably have closer to 30 right now, with more on the way. It would be crazy if I didn’t. “Hi, I’m here to play these three songs and it’ll be my whole set.”
H: Well I think you’ve come along at a time when a lot of new pop stars don’t have a lot of material. You hear someone release a big first single, only to later find it’s the only song they have recorded. A lot of radio stars start off like that, and though you’re not a typical pop star I think it’s easy for people to make comparisons because you do have the backing of a major label.
L: Exactly, and people never know if those artists write their songs. I write my material, and I find it very personal. I don’t think I could get on stage and sing songs written by someone else.
H: I saw the Grantland piece that came out this week, which is yet another big publication hopping on the Leon Bridges bandwagon. There was a line in the piece about how things are happening so fast right now, it’s a little hard for anyone to keep up with all the moves you are making. This lead me to wonder when you first noticed that your career was beginning to change. When did you first realize, “Oh, this is becoming far bigger than me and the people I know who enjoy my music?”
L: I would probably have to say that there have been many times in the last few months I have felt like that, beginning with the day we released “Coming Home” through Gorilla Vs Bear. I had never heard of that site prior to the premiere aside from what my management told me, so I did not really understand the reach or impact that they had until the story broke. I was on my way to New Orleans when it went live, and I think within three days we broke 13,000 plays. It was cool to see people respond to a type of soul that is not very flashy. It’s just me, this kid with an alright voice and a unique sound. It’s cool to see people react to that.
H: I saw you comment somewhere about being inspired by Sam Cooke’s live albums. I know you have a studio album coming out, but based on what I heard from the show yesterday I think there needs to be a Leon Bridges live record at some point in the future.
L: Yes. That is one thing that has to happen. There is only so much you can do in the studio you know, and some of those songs have continued to evolve since we recorded them. That stuff you can only give audiences in the live setting, and I want to capture that at some point.
H: So, do you have your debut album complete at this point?
L: Yup, all done.
H: So I assume the three singles you have released will be on it, but how many more tracks can we expect?
L: It’ll be about 7 more, so 10 in total. There is this one called “Brown Skinned Girl,” which I love. Also one about my grandparents, “Twisting and Groovin,” then “Flowers, “Pull Away,” and more. It’ll be a solid record.
H: When do you plan to release the album?
L: June.
H: Are you going to continue releasing a single every few weeks as you have, or are you planning something else?
L: No, I think we’re done with that. We’re just pushing the three we have out right now, “Better Man, “Coming Home,” and “Lisa Sawyer.”
H: I wanted to talk to you about “Lisa Sawyer,” as I believe it’s the best song you have shared so far. I know people have flocked to “Coming Home,” but this is the one I keep coming back to. What can you tell me about the origin of the track?
L: Thank you, man. That is my favorite as well. When people went crazy over “Coming Home” I was a little surprised. That one? Really? It’s not my favorite, but if people are feeling it I certainly won’t complain.
H: So, what is about “Lisa Sawyer” for you that sticks out?
L: I wrote that song, and I had the progression, but for whatever reason I could not come up with lyrics. I eventually wrote a song about crayons just to fit the melody, and I thought to myself as time went on that the song could be a lot better and go a long way. I decided to write about my mother, and after I made that decision the words just flowed. I’ve noticed in music that a lot of artists write about New Orleans, but not a lot of artists have a personal connection to it. So me writing a song about my mother and the city of New Orleans could stick.
H: You mentioned writing a song for your grandparents a few minutes ago, and now you’ve told me “Lisa Sawyer” is for your mother. Do you take a lot of inspiration from your family? It seems to be a theme from what we’ve heard.
L: Yea, absolutely. I write simple music, but I don’t like to write flashy soul music. I like to write stuff with meaning and substance. Right now I’m writing a song about my grandmother, Doris, from the perspective of my father. No one has heard it, but it’s in the works. I’m also writing a song about my father’s father. He started in Mississippi, but he had to flee after fighting with a white man or he would have been lynched. That is how we ended up in New Orleans, and I want to find a simple way to tell that story through song.
H: I think you hit the nail on the head there, because even though you write simple music I feel like there is a lot going on beneath the surface. It’s a lot more intricate than people may believe. Like “Better Man,” for example, can be interpreted in a number of ways. So I’m curious, what is the process behind song creation?
L: It starts with me, for the most part. This first set of songs is mostly material I have had lying around. I needed someone to help me focus on my sound though, and that is why I ended up with he producer I have now. A lot of people had been offering to record me, but what they would tell me is that they may be able to get me a discount. Most never followed up. Austin, however, got the studio, the band, and actually made things happen. The first song we tracked was “Coming Home.”
H: How are you dealing with the pressure? Are you feeling it yet?
L: I am. There are times when I wish I could return to simpler times. It’s mostly due to my desire to avoid negativity, but I guess everyone is like that. There’s also the comparisons to Sam Cooke, which bring a lot of pressure, and really I’m just trying to do me. The good definitely outweighs the bad though, so I feel like I am handling it well.
H: I think it comes with the territory. You play a classic style of music, so people are going to compare you to the best of that genre. There are many people who played soul back in the day that no one remembers now.
L: Definitely. I also think people have no recent reference to what I do. They have never experienced soul music like what I play, unless they are over 60, and I am beginning to find there are a lot of people who want that experience in their life.
H: Especially in the live setting, which in your case is something truly unique. There was a time when soul music being performed live was a special occasion. Couple would get a babysitter, get dressed up, have a nice meal, and then show up to the club with plans to dance. It wasn’t just about being cool or being seen, it was something far more personal.
L: I wasn’t always writing this style of music, but when I decided to go down that path I knew I wanted to carry the torch. I can’t hold a candle to any of those artists from back then, but I can only do me and I’ll do that to the best of my abilities. I didn’t even know other many other artists were playing this sound right now, but I’m learned of a few and they’re all great. I hope I can compete, or at least be as good as them.
H: Well I think you are well on your way to doing so.
L: Thank you.
Written & conducted by James Shotwell. Follow James on Twitter for more music news and insight, as well as lots of photos of his cats.
There has been a startling trend amongst young artists and bands over the last decade that finds otherwise intelligent and creative individuals deciding to rely solely on social media profiles to promote their work. Most don’t even have a single domain in their name, or if they do it’s connected to a service like Tumblr, which is only a slight improvement over having nothing at all. I know this may not seem like a big deal right now, but it is, and as time goes on there will be an incredible amount of talent that goes unnoticed simply because people forgot to make a place solely for themselves and the people who follow them online.
So, what is so bad about social media?
Nothing! The age of social media has provided a kind of immediate connection between artists and their fans that did not exist as recently as fifteen years ago. Regardless of who you are, where you are, or what you do for a living, as long as you have connection to the internet you can interact with anyone you choose and they can (choose to) interact with you. That is an incredible technological advance. There is no denying that fact, nor any room for argument, but any successful entrepreneur will tell you that there is a lot more involved in building a brand than simply interacting with consumers.
What do you mean?
When people discover your music, or when they want to help others discover your work, they should have a place online to go where you and your work is the only thing vying for their attention. You should have a hub for everything related to your work, including tour dates, music streams, videos, blogs, contact information, and any other details or insight you can offer into your current activity.
Can’t I show that stuff on sites like Facebook or Tumblr? They have tools to help with those things.
While it is true that Facebook and Tumblr allow for a lot of customization, anyone using those platforms are actually far more limited in their ability to truly express themselves than most might think. No matter how you change your Facebook Page, the basic design will always remain the same. People will need to click on multiple tabs to learn about who you are, what you sound like, and where you will be next. Also, while they’re clicking between those pages they will also be shown numerous ads related to products and artists who are not you that the platform’s algorithm believes the person visiting your page might like. Who knows? Maybe they like the add more than whatever they see on the your FB page.
Tumblr offers even more customization as far as page design is concerned. That is nice, but as most people using the platform view new posts from their dashboard, which is one page that looks exactly the same for every single user, it is very easy for big or otherwise important updates to come and go without raising as much as an eyebrow from your followers.
So if I can place all this information on a social network, why is it so important that my music have a site all its own?
In order for any artist, band, company, brand, or business to succeed they need to have a digital home where all the latest news and information can be shared. It’s true that social networks allow for you to instantaneously connect with your followers, but as the reach for each tweet and Facebook post continues to drop there are less and less fans receiving your updates. With a stand alone site you can update your news, tour dates, and other media whenever you want. You don’t have to worry about your latest headlines going unnoticed because every time you direct people to your content it will be on a site that you control. Not Mark Zuckerberg, not the team behind Tumblr, but you. Owning your music is something every artists knows to be important, but controlling how people receive your news and updates is also incredibly important. You don’t have to abandon social media altogether, just turn your focus from growing the number of followers and/or likes you have to creating genuinely engaging content your fans will want to share.
What about my Facebook and Tumblr? We’ve already spent a lot of time (and possibly money) developing our audience on that platform.
There is no reason you have to stop using any social network. In fact, I think doing so would be a terrible decision (unless you have five or more networks currently in use. That is too many. Calm down.) All I am suggesting is that you stop leveraging your reach on those networks to direct people to other networks/sites and instead send everyone to a URL you control. Make sure the only messaging they see when viewing tour dates, watching videos, or streaming songs is messaging you crafted to further promote your brand/work. When you send people to YouTube, or even music blogs, they are seeing a lot more than just the content you want them to see. A site of your own can stop that.
So you’re saying I don’t control my messaging right now?
You do, but only to an extent. Whenever you link to a website or blog you do not personally control you are inviting whatever advertisers and competing artists who may also be found at that URL to compete for the attention of your followers. A site of your own is just that – your own site. You control how it looks, what it says, what people do when on it. You can’t do that with Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, or anything other site. Those outlets exist to create profit, and in order to do that they need to fill pages with advertisements. Your site doesn’t have to have any advertising other than your own.
Won’t create a site cost a ton of money and require a lot of design skills?
I really hope you didn’t ask that last question because you sincerely don’t know anything about how the internet works. It’s 2015, after all, and essentially everything done to cater to the youth of this planet has some kind of online component. It is no longer okay to simply not understand how the internet works. Google gives you access to literally everything mankind has been able to figure out during our thousands of years on this planet. If you don’t make use of that, you’re a fool.
All that said, the answers to those two last questions are no and definitely no. Thanks to awesome startups like Squarespace, anyone can purchase a domain and design a killer website in only a matter of minutes. Refining the site’s look and getting everything exactly the way you want will likely take a lot longer, but you can get a solid start by using one of the many site building aides currently available online. Look around for the platform that best suits your needs as an artist and dedicate yourself to crafting the perfect online hub for you and your followers.
A lot has been written about the supposed dire state of the music industry, but truth be told there are a number of successful and growing companies, including record labels, that are thriving in 2014. In this column we bring together every job opening we can find from the companies responsible for building the future of the business and present them to you, our reader, in hopes of aiding you on your journey to join the global music industry professional family.
Each Sunday we scour the internet for the latest and greatest job postings throughout the music industry. You can help us better serve our community by sending any job openings you find or have to james@haulix.com. Be sure to include the name of the company hiring, a detailed description of the position being offered, a desired start date, contact information, and any additional supplemental information you feel may be needed.
Job summary: The ideal candidate will work closely with colleagues in Artist Services, partnering with a team of Producers responsible for artist websites and fan clubs. The Digital Marketing Manager will work with Creative, Engineering, Tour Marketing and other internal departments throughout Ticketmaster and Live Nation to execute on the artists’ digital strategy.
Job summary: This role is responsible for managing initiatives to support business development to drive Digital Licensing sales. This role will give direction to Sales for growing new business through targeted prospect areas. Included in this work is developing and delivering tools for significant business areas; sales lead generation, new licensee prospecting, prospect validation, market and service analysis, and music use memoranda. The role will also include managing others as needed.
Job summary: The Cleveland Orchestra is currently seeking a dedicated individual with a passion for music to join the Operations team as the new Operations Coordinator. This newly created position supports the Orchestra by coordinating the planning and implementation of concert logistics and assisting Operations Management in researching and planning orchestra needs for tours and runouts. The Coordinator will support concert productions and events at both Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center and assist with tour preparations. He/she will act as a primary liaison between external vendors and internal departments to communicate and secure production needs.
Job summary: The Director, Database Marketing will actively support the Company’s effort to acquire and leverage customer leads in the previously owned vehicle segment. This individual will manage a team of two, including himself/herself. The main focus of the role is to help SiriusXM acquire and evaluate customer names and addresses for new owners of used vehicles with inactive radios with the goal of marketing trial or subscription offers to those subsequent owners. On a monthly basis, SiriusXM acquires millions of leads through various sources: third party list vendors (3PL), service dealers (Service Lane), and others tbd. This group will be responsible for designing and implementing a database marketing strategy that can efficiently evaluate the best leads to activate and market to, based on external and internal data. He/she will report to the SVP, Direct Sales & Marketing.
Job summary: As Business Development Associate, you will play a key role in building our sales and marketing engine to support our fast-growing business. You will work side by side with our CMO to support all sales and marketing initiatives and will report directly to the CEO. Through high value communication you will work to establish the credibility of Jamplify and our brand within the live events market. You will make our organization top of mind for customers when they market and book concerts.
Job summary: We’re a unique collection of engineers, musicians, designers, marketers, and world-class sellers with a common goal: to enrich lives by delivering effortless personalized music enjoyment and discovery. People—the listeners, the artists, and our employees—are at the center of our mission and everything we do. Actually, employees at Pandora are a lot like the service itself: bright, eclectic, and innovative. Collaboration is the foundation of our workforce, and we’re looking for smart individuals who are self-motivated and passionate to join us. Be a part of the engine that creates the soundtrack to life. Discover your future at Pandora.
Job summary: Representative will generate revenue through proactive outbound and inbound calls with established accounts. In addition to making and logging sales they will assist customers with any non-credit needs such as product information and order tracking information when necessary. They will work closely with their credit representative, referring all billing and credit questions to that department. They will also follow up on leads for new accounts, utilizing information lists received from in-house reports and other sources. They will build and enhance relationships with accounts through consistent sales and service.
Job summary: You will work with the Music Editor and wider editorial team to deliver world-class news content for Shazam, specifically around headlines and picture selection, helping to deliver a compelling and successful editorial product for the company. A real all-rounder, you’ll be creative with words, images and treatment ideas on the biggest musicians in the world. This is a newly created role.
Job summary: You will act as liaison between music users and copyright owners. As a Licensing Specialist, you will call on dance schools, restaurants, bars, hotels and other businesses that play music in order to sell performing rights licenses.
Job summary: Recruits and assists prospective writers, publishers, producers and artists to BMI by performing the following duties either personally or through the direction of others.
Job summary: This position is responsible for assisting the Merch Production department. Admin, data entry, and work flow system support which includes sourcing Merch items online, accessing art files, creating PO’s, tracking production schedule and tracking shipments.
Job summary: We are seeking an individual with expertise, experience and deep passion for music. The person in this role will curate genre pages/channels on the PledgeMusic website and across our other music channels such as: Soundcloud, Spotify & YouTube. They will also be the conduit for determining the content and features for the PledgeMusic weekly newsletters. This individual will support PledgeMusic’s Head of Marketing and should have experience in monitoring social media, running digital marketing campaigns, data analysis and creating strategies for digital campaigns in music and entertainment.
Job summary: The Coordinator, Advertising will coordinate advertising initiatives for RED/’stache media by developing strategic marketing campaigns that not only drive awareness and sales for RED artists but also bring in additional revenue for ‘stache media.
Job summary: As a liaison between Market Manager, station Account Executives and advertising clients, the Sales Assistant provides general support to the radio/digital Sales Department including the preparation of recaps, sales reports, creating sales proposals, correspondence, sales pieces, competitive requests, faxing and/or emailing spot times to clients, answering phones, and maintaining contract files.
Job summary: This successful sponsorship sales professional will be responsible for creating and selling branded, high-impact music marketing programs across our music properties.
Job summary:Bandcamp is seeking a mind-bogglingly talented individual for our design team to help us create new products and features, improve existing ones and make our site and mobile apps shining beacons of wonder for all who gaze upon them. You will design. You will code. You will have a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of artists and their millions of fans each and every day. You will feel good. You will feel as good as I do right now.
Job summary: Seeking an Operations Manager who is responsible for the day to day and event operations at the newly developed Amphitheater in Nashville, TN. This includes but is not limited to de-winterization and winterization of the facility, managing event staff, reporting and maintaining incident logs, and on-site, day of show operations responsibilities.
Job summary: Reporting directly to the COO, the Digital Marketing Manager will be responsible for handling artist digital content management for all artists and the Latium brand.
Job summary: Reporting to the Head of Operations, CraveOnline, the Social Media Specialist is responsible for developing clearly-defined social media strategies in a manner that supports the CraveOnline.com brand as well as other CraveOnline Media properties. This position is responsible managing projects across all social media channels to help achieve our overall brand objectives and growth metrics.
Job summary: The Interactive Marketing team at Warner Bros Records spearheads all digital marketing initiatives for the label’s diverse roster including urban, rock and pop artists. They are responsible for building out the digital, mobile and social components of an artist’s overall marketing plan – including but not limited to: digital promotions, artist website development and optimization, fan acquisition and engagement, creation/implementation of digital tools and products to increase fan engagement, paid media campaigns, etc… Additionally, the team is relied upon to be industry-leading innovators in the digital space, anticipating consumer trends and substantive technological advancements.
Job summary: Reporting to the Head of Research & Instruction Services, and serving as a branch manager, the Music Librarian is responsible for all aspects of the operation of the Music Library. This includes circulation, reserves, collection management, cataloging, e-resource management, and bindery in conformity with Holy Cross Libraries policy. It also includes staff and student supervision, team participation and project management, campus liaison work, and participation in professional development.
Job summary: We are looking for a savvy Content Producer with strong video skills to join our growing Community and Content team. Working on digital and social channels of our incredible roster of Artists, the successful candidate will relish the opportunity to utilise their diverse experience in the hands-on production of video, photographic and written content. Reporting to the Community & Content Director, this position also runs the day-to-day management of the Universal Music Australia social channels.
Job summary: Pandora Media is looking for a systems-focused Business Analyst for our Revenue Operations Department. The right individual will be a key contributor to the overall Sales Technical Operations team with a focus on improving our internal sales software and driving aggressive efficiency for end users. End users of the systems include Sales, Client Services, Trafficking and Finance teams. The goal of this position is to support Pandora’s strategic initiatives with a focus on partnering with the Sales and Revenue Operations organizations to understand their priorities and pain points. The role will involve information gathering, business process analysis, system support, training and documentation, and measurement. The Business Analyst will partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Quality Assurance and Enterprise Systems teams to build solutions and measure their impact.
Job summary: The Media Analyst provides the Membership department with statistical analysis and reporting on market share, competitive comparisons and royalty distribution summaries. He or she will maintain and build databases to provide and maintain large amounts of data for analysis and reporting. He or she will utilize Billboard, Mediaguide, Competitrack and other media sources for reporting on current trends within the industry. This ideal candidate will actively seek out data outside of the organization that will enhance relevant analysis and reporting. He or she will work with the Strategic Services department to provide recommendations to enhance or improve current methodology and practice.
Job summary: Recruits and assists prospective writers, publishers, producers and artists to BMI by performing the following duties either personally or through the direction of others.
Job summary: The ideal candidate will have direct experience or deep knowledge of the current entertainment marketplace and must demonstrate exceptional creative writing skills with a strategic marketing emphasis. Working as a creative team member, this person will help elevate the messaging effectiveness and style on all projects while maintaining alignment with the SiriusXM Brand. The Senior Writer will work closely with the creative team to create materials for many departments including Programming, Retail, Direct to Consumer, Automotive, Retention and Corporate. This is a hands on position that will include everything from direct marketing letters to television concept to channel naming to digital communications.
Job summary: The iHeartMedia Account Executive will identify and solicit new business; service and grow existing account. They are responsible for developing persuasive proposals in response to client needs and/or opportunities. They will guide their clients based on market, platform or station information. They are responsible for ensuring client satisfaction through cooperative communication. They will also negotiate rates consistent with iHeartMedia operating goals and budgets and ensure prompt payment. They will utilize all available iHeartMedia resources to create effective marketing campaigns.
Job summary: The VH1 Creative Department needs a hybrid, multi-faceted Full Time Freelance Executive Producer who can not only excel in overseeing the development of multi-platform Creative, but serve on the front-line of projects – acting as the face of the Department for all outward facing partners. This includes our “clients”, who are Show Producers but also, serve as accountable and expert ambassadors of our Creative within our own Department.
This role requires deep expertise in the Production and Creative Process including well-honed client-management skills to handle a fast-paced environment where things change in an instant and multiple voices needs to be accounted for.
Job summary: The candidate we select into this key role will have a proven track record in building successful partnerships as well as consistently securing seven-figure investments with FORTUNE 500 organizations. S/he already has an established reputation and track record of success, gained with any combination of major brands, teams or agencies, and is now looking to further enhance their reputation with one of the leading sports and entertainment companies in the world.
Job summary: The Global Social Media Manager will lead the development of the corporation’s social media strategy, and will oversee the execution of plans and tactics around the globe.
Job summary: This successful sponsorship sales professional will be responsible for creating and selling branded, high-impact music marketing programs across our music properties.
Job summary: The Ad Sales Coordinator is a key member of the Ad Sales team, supporting all aspects of the sales process as well as providing general administrative support to the Vice President of Ad Sales and the ad sales team.
Job summary: Pandora is looking for an Associate Program Manager to play a critical role in driving and managing concurrent projects related the successful roll out, communication, and commercialization of changes to ad products, system and platform updates and process improvements. This is a highly cross-functional independent contributor role that will report into Sales Technical Operations and combines aspects of project management, product marketing, marketing communications, and training.
Job summary: AM is looking for a senior media planner to run several accounts out of our New York office. This digital client service superstar is adept at anticipating client needs and always maintaining an excellent relationship at all times. This candidate needs to be able to coordinate online media campaign efforts seamlessly with all internal teams (media, accounts, creative, etc.) as well as the client. The senior media planner will also be responsible for assessing client goals and providing them with a clear, effective game plan to achieve them. They will be responsible for developing an intimate knowledge of their clients’ business and ensuring that all aspects of the overall strategy are in place at all times.
Job summary: Bright Marketing offers outstanding career opportunities in one of the world`s most successful companies in the retail and events sales industry.
Job summary: Marketing Manager reports directly to the National Director of Marketing, Senior Talent Buyer and Regional VP of Talent. This person will be responsible for creating marketing plans including: advertising, promotions, publicity, social media and media buying for Live Nation concerts, including Family programming and Broadway/Theatrical performances, in select markets in the Riverside and Inland Empire area including the Fox Performing Arts Centre and Riverside Municipal Auditorium. The Marketing Manager needs to track spends and allocate funds for individual show budgets. Additionally, the Marketing Manager needs to be able to communicate with many partners in the Riverside/Inland Empire area.
Job summary: Our mid-level apprentice position for Music Services is designed to help support the team of Music Supervisors. This position is multi-faceted with duties ranging from administrative support to music cataloguing to Music Supervision of mid-level accounts.
Job summary: Reporting directly to the Head of Global Content Licensing and Catalog, the Content Licensing Lead – EMEA is responsible for the identification, negotiation and renewal of the agreements between Rdio and EMEA-based labels, publishers, and connection societies.
Job summary: We’re building a new team to focus on digital music recommendations and are looking to hire a Research Scientist to work at the intersection of music and machine learning.
Job summary: This position will oversee the paid search and SEO initiatives to support sales on Bose websites in the US and Canada. They will also be responsible for comparison shopping campaigns and the Bose affiliate program. This position will manage the day-to-day relationships with our external search and affiliate agencies and will partner with internal marketing colleagues, product managers and our internal communications group on key campaigns and initiatives. They will be responsible for driving overall strategy, leading new tests and initiatives, and optimizing campaigns to deliver the highest return and engagement. This position will manage the overall media budget for paid search, comparison shopping and affiliate marketing, analyze performance and present results to marketing management.
Job summary: Pandora’s Business Operations team is currently seeking a Sales Marketing Analyst to support the sales and marketing team by creating and managing data, revenue and related tasks for sales marketing.
Job summary: The Marketing Coordinator reports directly to the Marketing Manager. This person, under guidance of the Marketing Manager, will be responsible for communicating event marketing plans, budgeting advertising spends, developing promotions, leading street team initiatives, and scheduling of social media updates as requested.
Job summary: Seeking a driven and passionate individual to handle a multitude of tasks, including managing newsletter team and make sure national newsletters are optimized, working with ad operations team to deliver required audience to sales campaigns, and working with national and local programming teams to deliver audience to programming initiatives.
Job summary: Producer will be responsible for all aspects involved in producing successful daily talk shows on Sirius XM Progress including studio/technical operations, promotion, production, guest booking, call-screening and research.
Job summary: With its broad roster of new stars and legendary artists, Warner Music Group (“WMG”) is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, Cordless, East West, Elektra, Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Rykodisc, Sire, Warner Bros. and Word, as well as Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world’s leading music publishers, with a catalog of more than one million copyrights worldwide.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for finding a little time in your busy schedule to stop by our blog. James, the guy who runs this page, has finally wrapped his week at SXSW and is currently writing this post while lying in his hotel bed the verge of exhaustion. Here’s his favorite discovery of the week:
Each and every weekend we like to take a brief break from our regularly scheduled programming to update and reflect on everything happening at Haulix HQ. We are far more than a music blog, as many of you already know, and posts like this give us an opportunity to share more our efforts with all of you.
Okay, enough writing in the third person. I (James) want to begin this update by extending a sincere thank you to our readers and social media followers for a fantastic week of engagement and fun. I also want to thank Haulix for continuing to be the greatest job I’ve ever had, not to mention always being there to support me whenever I needed help of any kind. If I can give anyone advice in this life it’s to find something you love doing and do it to the best of your abilities. I know that may seem impossible, but with my two-year anniversary at Haulix fast-approaching I can tell you it’s worth the effort.
There are no new development updates this week, but I do have a good explanation as to why our recent release scheduled has slowed. After reading through the responses given to our yearly client survey we sat down and developed a plan to completely overhaul our service. We know people like what we do, but we also know we could do it better, and we could also design a better looking platform to run it on. We have a plan in place to make all that a reality now, and all we ask is for a little patience while we put things into motion.
The biggest blog news this week is that we didn’t run a single piece of content not related to SXSW 2015. We recorded a few interview that you will no doubt hear soon, but the content posted in recent days all related to the things saw, heard, and learned from the streets of Austin. Here is a quick recap:
As someone who has spent a decade writing about concerts, not to mentioned over two decades of attending them, I have reached a point where I deconstruct everything happening before me and ask myself whether or not what is or is not working would help other artists. The answer is more often than not yes, as long as those artists exist within the same genre. What works for a rock band will not necessarily work for a rap artists and vice versa, but that is not a rule written in stone. The important thing is to learn as much as you can, experiment when possible, and always be doing your best to adapt to changing trends without sacrificing your artistic integrity.
This week I had the opportunity to see Migos. If you’re unaware of who Migos are allow me to summarize their career with this:
Migos spent the last few years building their brand on their strength of free online mixtapes, but earlier this month they revealed their debut album, YRN: The Album, will finally be released this June. To celebrate, the trio decided to hit up SXSW for a string of high profile shows during events sponsored by some of the biggest brands and publications making an appearance in Austin. I happened to attend the group’s Thursday evening set at Mohawk, which for the entire week has been known as the ‘House of Vans,’ and upon my arrival I began picking apart everything I witnessed. Here is what I learned…
1. It is very easy to have way too many people on stage. In fact, the only people you need are the people in your band. One or two dancers and/or hype people are fine if it fits your sound, but you do not need twenty-five people to at your side while you’re trying to perform. Not only does it take up a ton of room on what is likely already a tiny stage, but it takes the focus off you and your music and places it on to the people you brought with you. It’s good to keep your friends close, but keep the celebration for the after party and spend your precious set time engaging with the people who spent all day waiting to see you.
2. Don’t be afraid to open with whatever song you’re currently trying to promote. Migos are known around the globe for the platinum-selling hit “Versace,” but that song was never even teased during their time on stage. Instead, the crew opened with their YRN single “One Time,” and then worked through a string of choice cuts from their acclaimed catalog. It was immediately clear that not everyone know the words to “One Time” yet, but the energy was so high from the group having just hit the stage that it didn’t matter. This was the set people had been waiting for all day. This was the moment that would change their lives. This was memory making event and Migos decided to use it as a means to make people care about a single that honestly doesn’t live up to the strength of their previous work. That’s good marketing.
3. Stay active. This goes along with my comment about keeping the people on stage with you to a minimum, but at no point during your set should fans catch you standing still with both arms at your side. Amidst the insanity of having nearly 30 people standing with them at SXSW, there were numerous times the trio could not have looked less enthused to be performing in front of nearly 1000 people, mostly all college aged, who were all going as wild as the tiny club space would allow. This immediately took me out of the moment, as I felt it was not something Migos cared about, and I suddenly found myself have a lot less fun while watching the rest of their set. It no longer felt like we were creating a moment, but more like they were waiting for the check covering their appearance fee to clear.
4. It’s not the length of your set that counts, but what you do with the time you have been given. Every set at SXSW is short, even if you’re someone like Migos who have fans willing to spend 8 hours in Texas heat without shade to see you perform. Twenty-five minutes (or less) is not an unusual length for a set at festivals like this, nor is it that an uncommon length for a supporting set on a three or four band bill. Migos made the most of this time by stuffing as much music as they could into their allotted time. There was never a dull moment, despite the fact many people on stage were clearly winded before the group’s set came to an end. The fans had high expectations and the group did everything in their power to exceed them.
