If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
Every year we are blessed with one or two records that offer us a sign of where things may be headed in the best possible way. You know the kind of release I’m talking about and the types of bands capable of creating such releases. These are the artists who find a way to make a large number of people feel as if their life was somehow incomplete before their music came into existence, and they often encapsulate very specific periods in our life. They may manage to do it again and again with future releases, but none of that matters because this release is good in that way you wish everything were good, and I have a feeling you’ll be feeling this way about the new record from Waterparks when it arrives this Friday.
If I have learned anything about the difference between artists destined for stardom and those almost certain to fail it’s that those who eventually find success tend to have studied those who came before them. A lot of things change in this industry, but just as many stay the same. The key to making your mark as an artist or professional is to build on what has worked for others while simultaneously giving things your own personal spin. Waterparks borrow ideas and maybe one or two chord progressions from their pop-punk heroes to create an immediately infectious take on hopeless romantic rock songs that simply do not know how to quit. Just give their album opener a spin and see if you don’t understand what I am trying to express:
“I was bitter, but I’m fine now” might as well be the motto of the current generation of teens and twenty-somethings currently searching for their place in the world. We all like to think the world is out to get us, but even when we realize that is not true the path to happiness is one riddled with pitfalls that can catch anyone off guard. The only way to keep sane in this crazy thing called reality is to express yourself and align your journey with others you believe to share a similar perspective on life. Maybe your connection lasts a night or a lifetime, but regardless of its longevity at least you can experience the power of two passionate hearts coming together in hopes of finding a little peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life. That is the kind of thing the music of Waterparks personifies, and it plays like a jolt of pure energy to your system when their work hits your ears.
Positive progression for a genre or business is rarely the work of one person. Progress is something that happens very slowly at first and then all at once, switching just as the numerous contributions from all the creative people working to better their own corner of the music go from being unique ideas to industry standards. I don’t know when the culture will shift so that the ideas and themes of Waterparks’ music become something every band in their genre attempts to emulate, but when you listen to the band’s new album you get the feeling that change is not far away. With a little luck and a lot of support from their dedicated followers, Waterparks could easily be the next big thing by the time next year, if not sooner.
With this in mind, I want to urge you to head into this week looking for an opportunity to make your mark on whatever it is you do to keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach. Even if your current career or job is not something you want for the rest of your life, find a way to change the day-to-day workflow for the better and set to sharing your solution with those around you. Some may think your crazy at first, and you may even feel a little push back from peers who are set in their ways, but if you can find a way to make people feel their lives are somehow better or easier because of your creativity you will see your professional life boom in the months ahead. All it takes is one idea. One simple, perhaps already obvious change could be your ticket to the career and success you know you were meant to achieve, and the only thing preventing you from getting their is yourself. Shake off your fears and try something new. If you fail, oh well, but if you succeed life may never be the same.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him 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 2016. 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 week 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 Label Relations team manages hundreds of label relationships across the globe with a network of Manager’s in different Spotify territories. This position will serve as primary point of contact for our label partners, specifically in the United States, but also working with international teams. The Label Relations Manager will focus on developing & maintaining excellent relationships with Spotify’s content providers by enabling them to maximize the service as both a sales and promotional platform.
Job summary: At Spotify, we’re focused on providing the right music for every moment. We’ve connected millions of people to their favorite songs and created a service that people use to discover and share music they love. The fast-moving, high-impact Conversion Team at Spotify is responsible for converting free Spotify users to a paid Premium subscription across 60 markets around the world. We’re seeking an outstanding Conversion Associate to help us accelerate our global subscriber growth.The Conversion Associate will support our Conversion Team by building, testing and scaling world-class marketing campaigns. We are seeking someone collaborative, nimble and detail-oriented to work cross-functionally on the delivery of emails, ads, and other marketing materials.
Job summary: The FADER is looking for a dynamic and strategic Project Manager. This is an opportunity for someone to make his or her mark in a successful and fast growing environment. Day to day responsibilities will include overseeing The FADER clients, executing branded events and content programs, coordinating activities between multiple internal departments, financial reporting and maintaining the overall health of client/agency relationships. Position will report to The FADER Marketing Director.
Job summary: The ideal candidate would have a great sense of humor, be detail oriented, not be easily offended, be able to multitask and coordinate multiple projects to completion, and be supportive in a team atmosphere. Above all, the applicant must be reliable, responsible, and punctual.This position is expected to start out as part-time (approximately 20 hours a week, minimum) and grow relatively quickly into a full-time position. We offer a fun and engaging environment, long-term opportunities, and room for growth and advancement for the right person. Full-time employees also receive full benefits, including health insurance, company-matching retirement savings, paid holidays, vacation, and more.
Job summary: Assist in supervising, training, and motivating staff of approximately 50 College Marketing Reps. Under direction of College Label Services Director, work closely with various departments within WEA & ADA and at the labels to outline and implement college marketing strategies for priority artists and projects. Provide critical support functions for College Label Services department including maintaining daily communication and follow-up with reps and assisting with hiring and training of new recruits.
Job summary: Heid Music is looking for a part-time team member to join our Appleton, WI team. We select team members who take pride in their work and embrace our concept of providing “Bravo” customer service and pursuing our passion for making music. Music Enthusiasts are critical to Heid Music’s success in creating and maintaining a “Bravo” customer service experience. This position builds and maintains meaningful relationships by assisting customers in selecting and purchasing merchandise and following through the entire sales process. Qualified candidates will ideally have a Bachelor’s degree in Music or Business along with musical instrument knowledge and/or playing experience. Minimum of a high school diploma is required. Previous retail or outside sales experience is preferred. Band instrument knowledge is highly desired.
Job summary: We are currently seeking a talented Audio Artist to join our team and help build educational game and entertainment experiences. Our ideal candidate will have the ability to handle both technical and artistic issues during game development as well as be able to work quickly in a team atmosphere with schedules and reliable milestone delivery. Passion for audio design, SFX, VO recording and cleanup, and musical composition are crucial. The applicant will be working on a variety of projects, under direction of our audio designers. Previous experience with creating and placing audio hooks, mixing and leveling audio, and working with game teams is prefered.
Job summary: The Manager of Tour Merchandise is responsible for all aspects of the tour revenue stream. From A to Z, everything related to selling artist branded product on the road is their responsibility. This position requires integration of all departments including art, production, logistics and finance.
Job summary: The Artistic Planning Assistant works with the Associate Director of Artistic Planning, Artistic Planning Manager and Artistic Planning Coordinator to provide a full range of departmental administrative support. The Artistic Planning Assistant reports to the Associate Director of Artistic Planning.
Job summary: The Executive Director will oversee all IRRMA operations including supervision of IRRMA staff and volunteers. The Executive director reports directly to the Executive Committee of the Association and ultimately to the IRRMA Board of Directors.
Job summary: Assist music archivist and music faculty in catalog of music holdings.Under direction of music archivist and music faculty, catalog music holdings. Process requests to borrow music, in accordance with established borrowing policies. Under supervision of music archivist, update electronic database of holdings. Identify, distribute and file music. Under supervision of music archivist, assess condition of music.
Job summary: Live Nation is seeking an exceptionally bright, multi-tasking and self-motivated Administrative Assistant to directly support at the SVP level. This is a great opportunity for an experienced and enthusiastic candidate to work and grow in an innovative, fun, and creative environment. The role will be based in Hollywood, CA.The Administrative Assistant will provide a full range of administrative support including scheduling meetings, maintaining calendars, making travel arrangements, processing expense reports and assisting with special projects.
Job summary: The Project Coordinator, Industry Event Marketing will be responsible for assisting with hands-on project management of large scale and highly visible industry events such as CES, SXSW and Cannes as well as agency events, sponsored conferences and “owned and operated” events. As Project Coordinator you will work closely with members of the Industry & Agency Marketing team to manage the execution of these events by working cross functionally with almost every department within Pandora. This role will ensure the successful and seamless rollout of these programs enhancing Pandora’s industry presence and marketplace positioning.
Job summary: The Communications Coordinator plays a vital role in maintaining up-to date messaging and external communications through the Houston Grand Opera website and social media channels. Providing services to all departments within HGO, this position acts as the central source of all web and social messaging. Working closely with the Communications Manager, the Communications Coordinator must be aware of all current messaging strategies to implement consistent messaging online.
Job summary: Job responsibilities include (but are not limited to) managing all administrative aspects of work for an EVP of A&R, as well as more detailed project management and independent projects on various levels. Requires an intelligent, flexible, proactive, organized and independent person who is willing to engage in typical administrative/clerical duties as well as more complex project work related to all aspects of the record-making process.
Job summary: Doane University invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor of Music beginning August 2017. Ph.D. preferred, advanced ABD considered. Responsibilities include teaching music theory and ear training, teaching piano lessons and overseeing all piano instruction and accompanists in a thriving department. The candidate will also oversee and organize activities such as recital scheduling, weekly music seminars, administer the piano proficiency requirement for Doane’s music majors, and will be responsible to help with auditions and contribute to the recruitment of pianists to the University. Multiple solo and collaborative performance opportunities are available at various departmental events. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to teach in interdisciplinary programs.
Job summary: In this position, you will be a part of a creative team that is responsible for, but not limited to the recording, editing, and mixing of audio soundtracks for television, radio and multimedia.
Music Manager (Chelsea Entertainment – North Palm Beach, FL)
Job summary: Chelsea Entertainment music managers or band managers handle career areas for bands, singers, and DJs. The manager’s main job is to help with determining decisions related to career moves, bookings, promotion, business deals, recording contracts, etc. The role of music managers can be extensive and may include similar duties to that of a press agent, promoter, booking agent, business manager (who are usually certified public accountants), tour managers, and sometimes even a personal assistant. Responsibilities of a music manager are often divided among many who manage various aspects of a musical career. With an unsigned act, music managers may assume multiple roles: graphic designer, publicist, promoter, and handling money and finances. As an artist’s career develops, responsibilities may grow. A component of your job is to look for new artists as well.
Job summary: This position reports to the CEO, partners and V.P. of Development, the marketing department is focused on providing strong marketing campaigns. The marketing coordinator will manage the development and execution of marketing and sales campaigns with brand partners and retail outlets. Marketing coordinator is also responsible for overseeing all aspects of marketing for assigned artist and for coordinating the efforts of the label to ensure the consistency of imaging between artist and their music. Sales and marketing will involve all facets of MIH Entertainment, LLC physical, digital and mobile products. The marketing manager will be responsible for creating, managing and executing third party sponsorships and promotions involving MIH Entertainment labels and studios. One of the primary goals is to develop and create revenue-driving opportunities and promotions between third party companies, promoting MIH Entertainment music/video content at physical, digital and mobile retailers. Involved in this position is the ability to make cold calls to new corporate partners as well as agencies interested in cross promotions/sponsorships with entertainment. Additionally, will manage local physical and digital music accounts, and be the company’s onsite point person in California to handle any miscellaneous duties that require handholding or personal delivery in the marketplace, including covering visibility and artist performances. This position requires a highly motivated and detailed oriented person for our management and label department. Marketing coordinator must have the ability to keep up with a robust, fast-paced office, and remain composed in high-pressure situations, while being able to multi-task. Marketing coordinator must be able to function well in a “start-up” environment.
Job summary: The Crackle Marketing team is seeking a Director, Partner Marketing to head development and management of all Crackle distribution partner relationships in US, Canada and Australia. A successful candidate will leverage both the right and left-brain to work creatively and analytically and master the full partner marketing lifecycle from ideation to execution to post-mortem analysis – rinse and repeat.Reporting to the VP of Marketing, the Director, Partner Marketing is responsible for driving all efforts to execute innovative multi-faceted marketing campaigns to achieve traffic and download goals across mobile (iOS, Android, Windows Phone), gaming consoles (PlayStation, Xbox) and connected TV devices (such as Sony Blu-ray players, Apple TV, Roku and Samsung TVs).
Job summary: Capitol Music Group is looking for a Manager Digital Marketing to be a part of the Caroline/Capitol Marketing Team located in Hollywood, CA who will oversee and direct aspects of day-to-day digital creative and online marketing management. Responsible for creating and executing marketing and promotional plans across all areas of online including all company portals and distribution partners, artist website, social media, new technology, CRM, SEM/SEO, third party lifestyle, and e-commerce. Also responsible for nurturing and leveraging relationships with our label partners, artists and their management teams, and for strategizing on the best digital campaigns for them. Required to set goals and manage campaigns in an effort to optimize reach and revenue. Additionally, will need to manage and interpret departmental reports and partner data.
Job summary: Red Clay Music Foundry is looking for an instructor for a Production/DJ class. Applicant must know Ableton software in and out and be well versed on making beats, writing and producing. Must be very personable and have a passion for sharing their knowledge with others. Instructor will be responsible for creating a course outline/curriculum for a weekly 60 minute class that will meet in 8 week sessions (preferably Saturdays) beginning in 2017.
Job summary: The Inventory Assistant, under the supervision of the Director of Catalog, is a liaison to both Production and Inventory personnel, for all WMG distributed labels and all associated sub labels including third party. Interaction with labels, Sales, and Distribution personnel is also necessary. The person in this position acts as a trouble-shooter to assure that product manufactured and housed in the WEA Distribution warehouses meets the needs of our customers. Special projects and other related tasks performed as required. Functions may fluctuate based on label responsibilities, which are reviewed periodically to balance departmental workload. The Inventory Assistant also provides backup to other similar positions within the department.
Job summary: A Bungie game is incomplete without a score. We’re not talking about the kill count after a match in the Crucible. In this case, the score is the thundering anthem that drives a player forward as they blast their way through waves of aliens to complete their mission. Our current mission is to add a bold new member to our Audio Team. Bungie is looking for a multi-talented Music Editor and Mixer with strong technical audio skills to help the music team create amazing music. Your work will help deliver video game soundtracks and media to be enjoyed by our community. If you love playing games, bring your passion to the music team at Bungie.
Job summary: As the President of our Artist Relations team, you will develop and direct artist relation managers. You will collaborate with artists, managers, booking agents, and labels to deliver distinctive, engaging and premium content direct from artists to their fans via the Jamwar platform. This role is based out of either NYC or LA and reports to the Chief Operating Officer of Jamwar, Inc.
Job summary: DreamWorks Animation Television is currently a Music Production Coordinator to be a part of a fast growing and busy TV Music Department. This individual will be interfacing with many different individuals at all levels of the company, from production assistants to Head of the Studio, as well as a broad range of individuals outside the company. This will require an outgoing, confident personality coupled with good judgment, resourcefulness and discretion.
Bad news on the piracy front. According to a new report from MUSO, stream ripping from sites like YouTube and Soundcloud has lead to a surge in music piracy.
In the first nine months of this year – that’s January 1 to September 30 – there were 7.2bn visits to copyright-infringing stream-ripping sites around the globe. That is a 60% rise over the same period in 2015.
The websites responsible for allowing such rampant piracy to be carried out are numerous, but none are more well known than YouTube-mp3.org. The owner of that site was actually sued by all three major labels last month. This has not caused the site’s competitors to run and hide however, which is disappointing.
There is good news. Well, good news for those of you who use Haulix to promote your new and unreleased music.
Haulix uses a custom system for injecting watermarks that extends to streams hosted on our service. If someone rips the audio from a Haulix stream, or from a YouTube video using a watermarked track taken from Haulix, our system can pull the watermarks from those rips and identify the person responsible for the leak. Pirates can try to transcode and re-upload files they originally received from Haulix, but the watermarks will still remain.
We wish we could say we had a solution to ending rip services like YouTube-mp3, but until that time our watermarks can help identify music pirates and ensure they are never allowed access to music again.
Considering how fast streaming companies like Soundcloud and Spotify have become a focal point in the music industry it can easy to forget that this corner of the entertainment business is still very much in its infancy. We haven’t had major streaming services for even a decade yet, but already the market has changed several times over, and it will no doubt undergo several more evolutions during our lifetime. It’s like the old saying goes, “If you don’t like the way the entertainment business is working just wait five minutes and there will be a new system in place.”
Orfium, one of the newest competitors to enter the streaming market, understands that this industry niche is in a constant state of flux. They are currently trying to win over subscribers with a marketing budget far smaller than that of Spotify or Apple Music, and so far they are finding a lot of success. Instead of subscribing to the belief that streaming is already the savior of the music business the team at Orfium chooses to look for ways to make the streaming age as beneficial for artists as it is for fans. We’ve all read about the discrepancy between streaming royalties and plays, and while Orfium does not have a full-proof solution they are constantly searching for ways to improve their business model. This, coupled with their undeniable passion to see up and coming talent make it in this turbulent world, has created a recipe for longterm success that has only just begun.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Orfium’s Chris Mohoney and Drew Delis about their creation and the way it fits into the current streaming community. Their answers will not only enlighten you as to the realities of streaming today, but they may even convince you to join their platform. Enjoy.
We should probably start with the most obvious question: Why does the world need another streaming music platform?
The answer is the same reason why the world needed another telephone when the smartphone arrived; existing solutions had a limited scope of utility and flexibility. In the case of a smartphone, it made a lot of sense to integrate a phone, rolodex, caller ID, pager, email client, calendar, task list, and internet browser into a single integrated communication device with configurable personal settings. Likewise it makes sense for the next generation music platform to integrate streaming, social, downloads, events, distribution, rights management, and licensing functionalities into a single system with configurable personal settings controlled by artists. Of course all of this would have to be presented elegantly and intuitively in a simple consumer friendly interface, which is what Orfium strives to do.
Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music all serve different purposes which don’t make sense to be fragmented. SoundCloud, for example, allows artists to upload directly but only if they give their music away for free. Spotify and Apple Music require artists to go through distributors and they do not accept free releases. For a consumer, it creates a frustrating scenario when trying to listen to both types of music on a single playlist. SoundCloud also serves as a social network for artists to engage with each other and their fans whereas the others lack this functionality, however on the other hand, SoundCloud lacks as a consumer interface for pure listening. Orfium is the only solution that offers all of the functionality of the alternative platforms combined. We also built it on top of a rights management back-end system which gives us the flexibility to properly license remixes and DJ sets/live mixes so we won’t suffer the issues of SoundCloud. Also, unlike YouTube and SoundCloud, the sound recordings on Orfium are not duplicated since we use a tag-based system to credit each contributing party, which makes our library much better organized for both discovery purposes and rights management.
Where did the idea for Orfium originate?
The idea for Orfium actually arose from a synthesis of smaller ideas we had while working in the industry. Previous to starting Orfium, I was a YouTube Content ID music administrator and represented about six million sound recordings and compositions, as well as managed a sync licensing library with about 400,000 recordings. I am also a computer programmer and received my bachelors and masters in Accounting from the University of San Diego. My partner Drew and I met as undergrads at USD, and after we graduated he went on to law school in Los Angeles at Pepperdine Law and studied intellectual property, licensing, and music rights.
A major influence for starting Orfium came from experiencing YouTube’s more elegant solution to managing music copyrights while watching SoundCloud struggle in this regard. As this unfolded Drew and I had many conversations surrounding the issues with the flow of royalties, management of music rights, and the fragmentation of music services and their functions. As time went on I saw the problems only getting worse and all these new services popping up either ignored these problems completely or only addressed a small set of them while missing others that are essential to the big picture.
Finally Drew and I decided that we were going to create a complete, one-stop solution for artists to promote and monetize their music and a place for fans to discover, listen, and share great music. The general idea was to elegantly synthesize every essential feature that a music platform must have and build it on top of a back-end that had the power to manage the complexity of music rights and generate every type of digital royalty possible to artists. We scrounged together all of the resources we could come up with and turned our apartments into our offices and got to work. After two years of grinding it out going from prototype to beta to version 1.0, which just launched in July, we are still grinding from our apartment offices serving 42,000 artists with 140,000 songs on Orfium.
I’m always curious where streaming services like yours get there start. Who were the first artists to sign up? Did you have any prior relationship with them? If not, did you ask how they found you?
A friend of ours who initially was helping us early on formulate the concept, but ended up primarily focusing on his musical career, was the first to upload and test the site. He was part of a duo named Bad Vision and now has a solo project called AWAY. He referred a few of his artist friends to the platform to help with testing the beta, and from there we started seeing more artists flow in both via word of mouth and some of our own direct reach out efforts. Some of the first artists to join who we did not have any first or second degree relationship with were Niteppl, The J Conspiracy, and Emma Longard. Niteppl is a duo from San Francisco who has consistently been at the top of our charts to this day. The J Conspiracy and Emma Longard are both from Germany and The J Conspiracy actually runs a blog as well where they have documented their experience with Orfium.
Entering the digital marketplace can be incredibly difficult. What methods of promotion have worked best for you thus far?
It is certainly difficult and the hardest part is getting the initial start, which involved leveraging relationships we already had with friends in the industry and directly reaching out to independent artists and labels. However once we started to get going traffic began flowing from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, where we also have social profiles. Now we are also seeing organic search traffic from Google becoming more and more significant and we are grateful to have online media sources like you picking up our story as well.
A lot of people seem to believe the streaming space is already a bit overcrowded. Are they mistaken?
Yes and No. In the sense that there are many streaming platforms that offer nothing new in comparison to others, yes that part of the space is overcrowded and becoming obsolete. However Orfium is completely different because it is not just a streaming service as a smartphone is not just a phone.
I had been watching new streaming services pop up for the past few years, each time wondering if they were going to address any new problems that needed solving, and in almost every case they were just another copy, often worse copies, of already existing systems. I think it is just a result of entrepreneurs entering the hyped up space blinded by pure profit motives as they seek a piece of the action, and with such a shallow purpose the best they can do is copy yesterday’s successes. Likewise I think musicians notice this in aspiring musicians who are in it for the fame and money and that limits them to copying yesterday’s productions that are popular today rather than contributing the new sounds that will be popular tomorrow. That said, I don’t think there is anything wrong with being inspired by someone else’s creation, but you have to build on it and contribute something new to add and I think that is something that people have a harder time doing when they don’t have the right purpose.
Do albums, playlists, or singles ultimately rule the streaming world?
Well in one sense single tracks are the primary content source since albums and playlists are collections at the very least. However I think a complete album that tells a story from beginning to end in well-thought sequence of tracks with fluid transitions is one of the greatest forms of musical art second only to a live performance of the same. It is however rare to find since it is not only a great challenge to produce such a work, but also more may be required to captivate an audience today who have grown short of attention in a fast-paced technological environment. It is far more common to find albums containing only a few hits with a less interesting remainder in an insignificant sequence. Playlists on the other hand play the role of a catalyst for music discovery as those with good tastes in music and a savvy ability to find it will attract a wide audience to their playlists. Others will use playlists to simply share music within their closer group of friends. Also podcasts and sets should not be neglected as these are also important catalysts for discovery like playlists, and like a great album a great set can also take the listener on a musical journey. We do have planned support coming soon for podcasts and DJ sets, and further in the future there will be music video support as well.
Therefore every content type plays a different role by providing a unique experience. Some musical works are common like quartz, others are rare and sought after like gold, and though bite-sized content might become more common due to impatient demand, the most powerful long-form musical works will remain at the pinnacle of the art.
How do you ensure artists are properly compensated for their work while keeping costs to consumers low enough that they will want to use your platform?
We pay out 80% to artists, and just to clarify this is based on the retail price. Some people get confused when they are told they are getting 90-100% of royalties from their distributor, which is actually just based on what the distributor collects from the retail site, not what the end consumer actually paid for their music. Usually retail platforms pay out around only 70% to the distributors / labels who then pay some of that downstream to the artists, and licensing platforms often pay far less often between 35-50%. I mention licensing because we offer many more monetization services to artists than just streaming and related retail services so the earnings potential is much higher with us.
For consumers the default the prices we offer are the same they find elsewhere however we do give artists the option to set their own prices as well.
For those readers who have yet to hop on the streaming bandwagon, why is Orfium a service they should use over your competition?
There is an enormous amount of technology behind the platform which we have been able to build with very limited resources where others have failed with tons of resources, and I think this should be a strong indicator to anyone about the trajectory we are on. Most of the other platforms have already been around for 5-10 years and they all took a lot of time to mature. We are just getting started, but the greatest challenges are behind us. The seed has sprouted and it is only a matter of time now for Orfium’s potential to be fully realized.
In a perfect world, where is Orfium one year from today?
I think it is reasonably possible that we could have around 1 million to 3 million songs by 500,000 to 1 million artists. I certainly expect that we will have a mobile app, though our web version is currently optimized for mobile browsers. Rights management and licensing royalties will be flowing and steadily increasing each month operating as a well-oiled machine, and we will probably be shifting our focus more heavily towards scaling up the consumer operations including retail, streaming, and radio.
How do you feel about the state of the music business today? You’re obviously passionate about this world, but there is a lot of media talk about the industry being worse off than ever before.
I think it is a lot like the rest of the world, tons of potential, but also a lot of limiting beliefs still holding us back. It is technologically and informationally greater than it has ever been, artistically and culturally more diverse, yet to a large degree the same fundamental human weakness of mind still exist that have always existed. What technology can do is eliminate barriers and provide everyone with many more choices, and anyone who has studied economics knows that is a good thing for all except monopolists, however it is still up the individuals to consciously strive to make the right choices and encourage and support others doing the same.
Where can people go to learn more about Orfium and how you’re changing the industry?
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls Scottie Noonan of Fossil Youth to discuss his band’s upcoming debut album, ’A Glimpse of Self Joy’ (out November 4). Scottie tells James about rising through the ranks of the Oklahoma music scene and how the band relied on Joe from Take This To Heart Records to help them get their name known around the globe. James and Scottie also discuss the content of ’Self Joy,’ as well as the goals the group has for the future. We like to think of this episode as a sequel to last week’s chat with Lokella, and we hope you enjoy the conversation.
The song you hear in this episode is called “Late Night Swim,” and it comes from Fossil Youth’s debut LP.
You may already know this, but Inside Music is available on iTunes. Click here to subscribe so you never miss an episode!
Looking for a job is one of the most grueling things you will go through in life. It’s a process that is hard for everyone regardless of their professional aspirations, but there is an added degree of difficulty for those who yearn to work in the entertainment business. The number of people looking for work in entertainment at any given time vastly outweighs the number of job openings, and the quality of talent found among applicants has grown consistently year over year since the dawn of the digital age. Anyone can be a self-starter in this industry, whether you launch your own project or help a friend with theirs, and because of that trying your hand at management, writing, publicity, label ownership, etc. on your own before seeking work at an established company is typically considered a bare minimum requirement for any new hire.
As someone who has found himself desperately seeking industry work at several times in his life, allow me to tell you that I understand the stress you’re feeling right now. I too have laid awake late at night wondering if I have been wasting my time and energy on a passion that is rewarding, but ultimately unable to help me keep a roof over my head. You have to learn to find comfort in the fact everyone in your position feels this way from time to time because that struggle to progress is what keeps this industry running, but I have another tip for you that in just six words can help you find work far quicker than any amount of applications or job boards could hope to promise:
“Find a need and fill it”
To be honest, this isn’t something I came up with last night. The first person to be credited for telling people this timeless piece of business advice is Robert H. Schuller, who wrote “Anybody who succeeds is helping people. The secret to success is find a need and fill it; find a hurt and heal it; find a problem and solve it.” This applies to life as much as it does business, and in the music industry helping people is pretty much all anyone who is successful ever does with their time. You’re either helping people connect with music or you’re helping artists get their music to people. Anything else is a selfish endeavor that will ultimately stall out long before becoming anything of note.
The job I have now that allows me to give you this advice came about as a result of following Schuller’s quote. I was working at a dying music startup when I first thought to look into the company behind the music industry’s biggest promotional distribution platform. I initially tweeted at the official Haulix account to inquire as to why I never saw them advertising their services or working to engage the industry at large. Unbeknownst to me, the person who received my tweet was company CEO Matt Brown. He replied to tell me the company had no marketing person, and then asked what I would do if I had that position. We exchanged emails, I sent over some ideas, and the rest – as they say – is history. I’ve been working for Haulix for more than three years now, and I can say without a sliver of doubt in my body that it is the best job I have ever had.
As you think about where you want to end up in this industry, look at the connection you already have an ask what you could do to make their lives better. Maybe you offer to takeover the social media efforts of a local band on the rise, or maybe you email your favorite label with a cheap idea to effectively market an upcoming release. Look for opportunities to do the thing you want to do while helping others grow their business and they, in turn, will look at for you and your professional aspirations. Not every good deed will result in a paycheck, but in time you will find opportunities that could lead to a longterm, mutually beneficial professional relationship.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Music and a 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
How do you recover from a PR stumble when your brand is built on living a life where you do not give a damn what others think? This questions has been pondered by many notable artists over the last century, and there have been dozens of paths taken in response. Some worked better than others, but only one tried and true method has worked for everyone who has dared to attempt it: Continue not giving a damn.
Upon A Burning Body is a party-friendly metalcore group from deep in the heart of Texas who have built a career on living life however they choose with complete disregard for authority and anyone who tries to tell you that you need to be anyone other than yourself. It’s the kind of message that hooks young people before they’re even old enough to consume alcohol and carries into adulthood, especially if those young people end up working jobs where they feel suppressed or otherwise unable to be themselves because of those above them. Upon A Burning Body create music that is, for lack of a better word, rebellious. It follows a very particular path that has been traveled by countless musicians before them, but they travel it well with hooks that won’t quit and a bone-crushingly heavy take on metal. If you are unfamiliar with the sound I am describing, give this a spin:
A year ago, Upon A Burning Body were preparing to release an album called The World Is My Enemy Now. Ahead of the lead single the group posted a message online claiming their vocalist had gone missing in the greater San Antonio area. Blogs and legitimate news outlets alike ran the story as fact, urging fans to try and help the group find their missing member, but an investigation from Alternative Press soon proved the story to be a false alarm. The band’s label claimed to have no knowledge of the event, and future promotion for the record was kept at an absolutely minimum. It’s a shame, too, because the album was actually pretty great.
When faced with such a devastating blow to one’s promotional plans, not to mention upsetting countless fans, many artists would rush to apologize and/or promise to be smarter with all future promotions. Some may even choose to grovel. Upon A Burning Body however, chose to remain silent. They stuck to what had always worked, the music, and they shied away from the spotlight while the remaining outrage dissipated into the forgotten archives of internet forums and Twitter feeds. It was a bold play, but one that ultimately allowed the band to continue living life by their own set of rules, which only further fueled their creativity.
This week, Upon A Burning Body return with Straight From The Barrio, their fourth studio album in six years. The release leans heavily on what has worked for the group in the past (songs about fighting the man, partying as hard as you can, and generally doing whatever you feel compelled to do while thanking God for the great state of Texas) to help introduce several new ideas that find them exploring hard rock outside the world of metalcore. There is even some material that might as well be considered a ballad for a band such as them, but it’s all channeled through the same ‘we do what we want when we want’ lens, and that is what makes it work.
I think most of us spend our days living life in a way that leaves us feeling slightly restrained. Most don’t do what they wish they did for work, and even those who do often end the business day feeling as they have fallen short of their goals. Others may be in relationships where they feel they must be a specific way in order to keep their partner happy, or maybe that is the case between you and your friends. Whatever it may be that causes you to be anything other than yourself is keeping you becoming the best possible version of the person you were meant to become.
What separates people like you and me from the members of Upon A Burning Body is that we lack the gull to force the world to recognize us for the people we choose to be. We try and figure out who the world feels we should be and fit that mold, but the members of Upon A Burning Body walked away from that trap years ago and never looked back. They may trip and fall from time to time, but at the end of the day they can say they did things their way and that is something we all seek in our lives.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and a 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him 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 2016. 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 week 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: Live Nation is seeking an exceptionally bright, multi-tasking and self-motivated Administrative Assistant to directly support at the SVP level. This is a great opportunity for an experienced and enthusiastic candidate to work and grow in an innovative, fun, and creative environment. The role will be based in Hollywood, CA.The Administrative Assistant will provide a full range of administrative support including scheduling meetings, maintaining calendars, making travel arrangements, processing expense reports and assisting with special projects.
Job summary: The Project Coordinator, Industry Event Marketing will be responsible for assisting with hands-on project management of large scale and highly visible industry events such as CES, SXSW and Cannes as well as agency events, sponsored conferences and “owned and operated” events. As Project Coordinator you will work closely with members of the Industry & Agency Marketing team to manage the execution of these events by working cross functionally with almost every department within Pandora. This role will ensure the successful and seamless rollout of these programs enhancing Pandora’s industry presence and marketplace positioning.
Job summary: The Communications Coordinator plays a vital role in maintaining up-to date messaging and external communications through the Houston Grand Opera website and social media channels. Providing services to all departments within HGO, this position acts as the central source of all web and social messaging. Working closely with the Communications Manager, the Communications Coordinator must be aware of all current messaging strategies to implement consistent messaging online.
Job summary: Job responsibilities include (but are not limited to) managing all administrative aspects of work for an EVP of A&R, as well as more detailed project management and independent projects on various levels. Requires an intelligent, flexible, proactive, organized and independent person who is willing to engage in typical administrative/clerical duties as well as more complex project work related to all aspects of the record-making process.
Job summary: Doane University invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor of Music beginning August 2017. Ph.D. preferred, advanced ABD considered. Responsibilities include teaching music theory and ear training, teaching piano lessons and overseeing all piano instruction and accompanists in a thriving department. The candidate will also oversee and organize activities such as recital scheduling, weekly music seminars, administer the piano proficiency requirement for Doane’s music majors, and will be responsible to help with auditions and contribute to the recruitment of pianists to the University. Multiple solo and collaborative performance opportunities are available at various departmental events. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to teach in interdisciplinary programs.
Job summary: In this position, you will be a part of a creative team that is responsible for, but not limited to the recording, editing, and mixing of audio soundtracks for television, radio and multimedia.
Music Manager (Chelsea Entertainment – North Palm Beach, FL)
Job summary: Chelsea Entertainment music managers or band managers handle career areas for bands, singers, and DJs. The manager’s main job is to help with determining decisions related to career moves, bookings, promotion, business deals, recording contracts, etc. The role of music managers can be extensive and may include similar duties to that of a press agent, promoter, booking agent, business manager (who are usually certified public accountants), tour managers, and sometimes even a personal assistant. Responsibilities of a music manager are often divided among many who manage various aspects of a musical career. With an unsigned act, music managers may assume multiple roles: graphic designer, publicist, promoter, and handling money and finances. As an artist’s career develops, responsibilities may grow. A component of your job is to look for new artists as well.
Job summary: This position reports to the CEO, partners and V.P. of Development, the marketing department is focused on providing strong marketing campaigns. The marketing coordinator will manage the development and execution of marketing and sales campaigns with brand partners and retail outlets. Marketing coordinator is also responsible for overseeing all aspects of marketing for assigned artist and for coordinating the efforts of the label to ensure the consistency of imaging between artist and their music. Sales and marketing will involve all facets of MIH Entertainment, LLC physical, digital and mobile products. The marketing manager will be responsible for creating, managing and executing third party sponsorships and promotions involving MIH Entertainment labels and studios. One of the primary goals is to develop and create revenue-driving opportunities and promotions between third party companies, promoting MIH Entertainment music/video content at physical, digital and mobile retailers. Involved in this position is the ability to make cold calls to new corporate partners as well as agencies interested in cross promotions/sponsorships with entertainment. Additionally, will manage local physical and digital music accounts, and be the company’s onsite point person in California to handle any miscellaneous duties that require handholding or personal delivery in the marketplace, including covering visibility and artist performances. This position requires a highly motivated and detailed oriented person for our management and label department. Marketing coordinator must have the ability to keep up with a robust, fast-paced office, and remain composed in high-pressure situations, while being able to multi-task. Marketing coordinator must be able to function well in a “start-up” environment.
Job summary: The Crackle Marketing team is seeking a Director, Partner Marketing to head development and management of all Crackle distribution partner relationships in US, Canada and Australia. A successful candidate will leverage both the right and left-brain to work creatively and analytically and master the full partner marketing lifecycle from ideation to execution to post-mortem analysis – rinse and repeat.Reporting to the VP of Marketing, the Director, Partner Marketing is responsible for driving all efforts to execute innovative multi-faceted marketing campaigns to achieve traffic and download goals across mobile (iOS, Android, Windows Phone), gaming consoles (PlayStation, Xbox) and connected TV devices (such as Sony Blu-ray players, Apple TV, Roku and Samsung TVs).
Job summary: Capitol Music Group is looking for a Manager Digital Marketing to be a part of the Caroline/Capitol Marketing Team located in Hollywood, CA who will oversee and direct aspects of day-to-day digital creative and online marketing management. Responsible for creating and executing marketing and promotional plans across all areas of online including all company portals and distribution partners, artist website, social media, new technology, CRM, SEM/SEO, third party lifestyle, and e-commerce. Also responsible for nurturing and leveraging relationships with our label partners, artists and their management teams, and for strategizing on the best digital campaigns for them. Required to set goals and manage campaigns in an effort to optimize reach and revenue. Additionally, will need to manage and interpret departmental reports and partner data.
Job summary: Red Clay Music Foundry is looking for an instructor for a Production/DJ class. Applicant must know Ableton software in and out and be well versed on making beats, writing and producing. Must be very personable and have a passion for sharing their knowledge with others. Instructor will be responsible for creating a course outline/curriculum for a weekly 60 minute class that will meet in 8 week sessions (preferably Saturdays) beginning in 2017.
Job summary: The Inventory Assistant, under the supervision of the Director of Catalog, is a liaison to both Production and Inventory personnel, for all WMG distributed labels and all associated sub labels including third party. Interaction with labels, Sales, and Distribution personnel is also necessary. The person in this position acts as a trouble-shooter to assure that product manufactured and housed in the WEA Distribution warehouses meets the needs of our customers. Special projects and other related tasks performed as required. Functions may fluctuate based on label responsibilities, which are reviewed periodically to balance departmental workload. The Inventory Assistant also provides backup to other similar positions within the department.
Job summary: A Bungie game is incomplete without a score. We’re not talking about the kill count after a match in the Crucible. In this case, the score is the thundering anthem that drives a player forward as they blast their way through waves of aliens to complete their mission. Our current mission is to add a bold new member to our Audio Team. Bungie is looking for a multi-talented Music Editor and Mixer with strong technical audio skills to help the music team create amazing music. Your work will help deliver video game soundtracks and media to be enjoyed by our community. If you love playing games, bring your passion to the music team at Bungie.
Job summary: As the President of our Artist Relations team, you will develop and direct artist relation managers. You will collaborate with artists, managers, booking agents, and labels to deliver distinctive, engaging and premium content direct from artists to their fans via the Jamwar platform. This role is based out of either NYC or LA and reports to the Chief Operating Officer of Jamwar, Inc.
Job summary: DreamWorks Animation Television is currently a Music Production Coordinator to be a part of a fast growing and busy TV Music Department. This individual will be interfacing with many different individuals at all levels of the company, from production assistants to Head of the Studio, as well as a broad range of individuals outside the company. This will require an outgoing, confident personality coupled with good judgment, resourcefulness and discretion.
Job summary: The Assistant Manager will work Monday through Friday afternoons and evenings, and Saturday mornings and afternoons, for a total of 40hrs/week. (hours may be subject to change, and non-business-hour events are required work, and may result in additional hours)
All day to day operations, including but not limited to:
Billing, sales transactions, and some bookkeeping
Data entryAlways in communication with customers, staff, and higher management
Coordinating and scheduling lessons, programs, performances, and more
Coordinating and participating in all aspects of various performances throughout the year, which includes physical set up, required attendance, and MC-ing events
Managing accurate inventory of in-house productsHandling social media
Maintaining a clean and orderly environment
Greeting customers and maintaining good customer relations
Dealing with all customer and staff related issues
Daily opening and closing responsibilitiesFiling, and maintaining accurate and current records
Job summary: Ticket Evolution is introducing “Events 365” a suite of groundbreaking booking solutions around sports, concert, theater, etc. tickets custom built for travel agents & we are looking for a Marketing Manager to help shape the brand, get the word out & be the voice of Events 365 to the travel agent community.The Marketing Manager will be responsible for creating awareness & helping support adoption/usage of Ticket Evolution’s Events 365 booking solutions to travel agencies & travel providers in North America & beyond.Leveraging their expert marketing knowledge & skills, traditional/emerging marketing channels & inbound/outbound marketing tools this position will be responsible for developing & executing a broad marketing strategy, to create awareness of Events 365 while developing & executing a content strategy to drive adoption & usage.
Job summary: This individual will oversee all strategic and operational aspects of marketing and drive our brand towards great success as we continue to expand globally. Our ideal candidate demonstrates a deep understanding of musicians and the creative strategy to reach a global audience of 50+ million users.He or she must have experience executing strategic and campaign level marketing processes and the ability to innovate as we add features and functionalities to our platform. This is an exciting opportunity for a musician or music lover who has taken an organization from point A to B in terms of size and revenue and wants to make that type of impact in a high-growth technology company.
Job summary: Universal Strategic Marketing (USM) is responsible for UMG’s Global catalog, Compilations, Audio-Visual and Licensing businesses for all our labels excluding Classical (with whom we also work closely). You’ll be working with a world-class team who are passionate about what they do – and we expect no less from you. You should have an insatiable appetite for learning new things and improving existing ones. People who meet us tend to comment on our energy, and the passion we have for what we’re doing. We hope it’s infectious! At such a fast moving area you’ll find opportunities rather than boundaries in every single role.
Job summary: The Label Relations team at Spotify works to transform the music industry value chain for artists & rights holders by driving innovative and fruitful partnerships – with labels, the greater music industry, third parties, and internally through Spotify driven initiatives. Marketing artist release campaigns sits at the heart of what the Label Relations team does. Through on-platform promotion and visibility, to off-platform marketing, the Label Relations team sits at the center of artist projects on Spotify to build the greatest, most engaging experience for the end user. Alongside building key relationships with external partners, responsibilities encompass work across many of Spotify’s key cross-functional verticals including communications, business development, partnerships, marketing, advertising and licensing.
Job summary: Gibson Brands, Inc., the world’s premier manufacturer of musical instruments, professional audio equipment and consumer electronics, is seeking an experienced Entertainment Relations Professionalbased in New York. Candidate should be a highly motivated, self starter that is able to work at a very fast pace, manage multiple projects, and have strong organizational skills. The ER Pro should be a team player who is able to produce innovative programs through a network of local, regional, and national contacts within the entertainment industry.
Job summary: Instagram is looking for a Strategic Partner Manager who is passionate about Instagram, music, artists, and the music industry. This individual will work on Instagram’s Music partnerships team to build and execute strategies and programs, as well as develop high impact use of Instagram throughout all aspects of the music industry. The right candidate will handle day-to-day operations and partnership management, field and prioritize incoming requests, troubleshoot partner issues, and improve partner performance. This work will require cross-functional engagement with colleagues across verticals/regions and is located in our New York office.
Job summary: CAA, the world’s leading talent and sports agency is looking for an ambitious assistant to work in our Music department. We are seeking passionate and driven individuals who are interested in the entertainment industry and are willing to put in the hard work to succeed. The ideal candidate should be motivated, quick-thinking and open to working in an environment where he/she is capable of performing administrative tasks. The individual should be flexible, highly organized and have the ability to multi-task. Additionally, candidates should be outgoing, a creative thinker, be interested in and knowledgeable in urban music.
Job summary: We are looking for someone who wants to gain an in-depth knowledge of digital rights enforcement and operations to join us as a Copyright Operations Specialist in our New York office. You will be working with the SoundCloud community to educate people on how copyright law applies on the platform, as well as assisting rightsholders and creators with protecting their content.Daily tasks include, but are not limited to; responding to creators and rightsholders about their copyright-related issues via email, processing reports of alleged infringement and resolving disputes related to blocked tracks. In addition to the above daily responsibilities, you will be expected to; assist in the maintenance of copyright-related support materials, provide insight to members of the organisation on emerging copyright issues within the community, act as an internal advocate for creators and rightsholders, while supporting bug reporting efforts and launches of user-facing copyright tools.Ideally, you’ve had your first experience of working within copyright support, anti-piracy, music rights operations or a similar field and are rewarded by helping rightsholders and creators protect their content online. You are calm under pressure and diligent in your approach to solving problems and following operational processes. You have outstanding written and verbal communication skills in native-level English and are preferably fluent in another language (Spanish or Portuguese would be optimal). You understand the importance of balancing all sides of an argument, and have the confidence and ability to consistently decide upon a path for resolving issues, especially when dealing with ambiguous or sensitive topics.
Job summary: Innovation Media Entertainment is a growing, independent production and management company in the Philadelphia region and we are looking for a energetic and self-motivated part-time, commission based Booking Agent to help secure performances for represented musicians. The ideal candidates will have strong networking skills, attention to detail, is personable and driven, and has the ability to work individually as well as part of a team.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls vocalist and songwriter Jennifer Bartlett to discuss her new band, Lokella. Jennifer previously made waves in the alternative community with her work in the now defunct band Fine Fine Titans, but she’s trying something decidedly new with her latest project. Jennifer tells James about her journey through the Michigan music scene, the origin story behind her creative relationship with her husband, and where her new group found their sound. Lokella’s debut EP, The Worst Of, arrives on October 21. Don’t miss it.
The song you hear in this episode is called “Cry Wolf,” and it comes from Lokella’s debut EP. You can experience the EP in full below:
You may already know this, but Inside Music is available on iTunes. Click here to subscribe so you never miss an episode!
Another week, another potentially horrendous change coming to Facebook. The social media giant that has essentially cornered the music promotion marketplace while repeatedly taking steps to restrict the reach of posts published without a financial boost has now rumored to be considering hiding the contact information from all Band pages. This means, unless otherwise stated in their bio (artists can and should add emails to their general manager’s information), the only way to contact an artist you’re viewing on Facebook will be through Facebook. It’s good for them, but bad for the artists, writers, and the industry.
When Facebook and Twitter became the primary platforms for online communication the amount of attention paid to most artists’ official websites dropped to a point of near non-existence. The rise of brand partnerships and an over-reliance on blogs/publications to premiere content added to the distraction, and now we’re all caught up in a information nightmare that is nearly impossible to clearly navigate. Every artist was everywhere, and they’re promoting content from a dozen sources simultaneously:
“Watch our video on YouTube, but not until you see the premiere on this music blog. “
“Follow us on Snapchat to see our lives on the road, but also follow this company whose account we’re using while we are in Los Angeles.”
“Follow us on Twitter for up to the minute news, but also on Instagram because they have better photo filters and we have several thousands followers there as well.”
“Did we mention we’re taking over X magazine’s Instagram tomorrow? We’re also live-tweeting the next presidential debate for X brand.”
“Stream our album before you can buy it on X website while being shown ads for other band/products.”
“Buy our album on iTunes, Bandcamp, Amazon, and Orfium.”
“Stream our album on Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, or Apple Music.”
It’s not that these platforms are bad, but how they operate and what they choose to do in the future are largely out of your control.
Take Facebook, for example. Artists were initially able to reach anyone who Liked their page, but over time that access has slowly been restricted to the point where most posts reach less than 10% of their audience. This move was done in part to encourage paid promoted posts, which come with the added benefit of being able to target the audience you want to see your latest posting. Over time the reach each dollar paid can generate has begun to change, and it will likely continue to change as more people agree to pay a third party in order to reach people who have asked to be shown more information about their music.
The potential changes to contact information are no different. By making it harder to drive users outside Facebook the company hopes to prolong the amount of time people spend on their site. Why email an artist when you can use Facebook Messenger? It’s in Facebook’s best interest to keep you on Facebook, and that perhaps goes for bands and businesses even more than average people. And what’s to stop them from eventually charging for messenger? Nothing.
The time to stop letting social media control your audience is now. Buy a URL and create your own website. If you already have a URL, move it off Tumblr or Facebook and turn to Squarespace for something more customizable to your needs. Once you get that accomplished you can set to driving your fans there for everything they need and want from your music. Post exclusive updates, share photos from tour photographers in gigantic galleries, share new music, and most important of all – keep up to date contact information. Use your social pages if you want, but add an email, as well as relevant information for anyone working to get you recognized (manager, publicist, etc.). Make it so simple to know everything there is to know about you and your music in one place that everyone who seeks you out online will have no choice except to fall for your work.
Don’t turn your back on social media, but do point your fans to sites where you can control how your followers engage with your work. Foster a community of fans you can empower to help spread the word about your next release or tour. You don’t need Facebook as much as they need you.
