This is going to sound a little crazy at first, but the availability of your material online is just as important to curving piracy in 2016 as the need to actively combat the proliferation of links through DCMA Takedown Notices. That may seem counter-intuitive, as the spread of your unreleased material is typically not something you want easily available to anonymous people online, but there comes a point in every album promotion cycle where the exact opposite becomes true. Allow me to explain…
Let’s pretend for a moment that we are all in the same band. Our new album, which we have been working on for the past several months, is due out in the near future. Pre-orders have been going strong for a while now, but with a new tour starting 10 days before the album’s release we’ve decided that we will have copies of the record available for sale at every date of the run. This means that, for about a week and a half, anyone who attends a concert of ours will be able to purchase our new album early, which on paper seems like a good deal for everyone involved: Fans get music early, and we begin seeing an early return on our creative efforts.
There is a catch, however, and that is the fact that anyone with early access to our album also has the ability to leak that record online. 10 days may not seem like a long time when you step back and think about a career in music as a whole, but in the world of piracy it’s equal to a lifetime. Kanye West’s latest album The Life of Pablo, for example, leaked online before many people even knew where to find the record’s official Tidal stream. Within 24 hours more than 100,000 people had downloaded the original leak, and countless more had shared their download with family/friends. By Friday of that same week more than half a million people had illegally downloaded the record, with tens of thousands more following suit the next day.
Our band might not have the same size audience as Kanye West, but our album could suffer a similar fate if we do not take steps to curve the proliferation of illegal downloads online. The first round of defense is, of course, asking fans to wait and purchase the album. The second, and honestly – most important of all – is that we MAKE THE ALBUM AVAILABLE ONLINE.
The key to winning the battle against piracy, especially over the longterm, is taking whatever steps you can to make your music available to fans. This includes, but is not limited to: Soundcloud album stream, Spotify stream, Rdio, Pandora, and Bandcamp. As soon as a physical version of your album is available for sale you need to have a digital stream available and ready to be shared with press and fans alike. By offering a free and completely legal way to access music fans have less reason to even look for leaks, let alone download them. Why should they? Streaming is the number one way people experience music today, so if streaming is an option for your fans they won’t feel the need to engage in piracy. Everything they want is already available, it’s free as well.
A recent report showed that almost ¼ of an album’s total sales happen BEFORE the scheduled release date. Leaks can help sales, but more often than not they have the opposite effect. Streams on the other hand, can encourage consumers to purchase the album, as well as aide in promoting tours and other upcoming events. By hosting the stream yourself the power is entirely in your hands, which is something most artists rarely experience in the modern business.
Today, September 6, marks the start of a brand new school year for most of America, which means many of you reading this now are likely doing so while ignoring or altogether avoiding something related to your education. If true, don’t fret. We aren’t going to tell on you or try to convince you that your time would be better spent listening to your instructors (though it may be), but we are going to say that this time you have to be in school is incredibly important. People will tell you that you don’t need higher education in order to make it in music, and while that may be true for some for others (in our experience, most) it is a absolutely crucial time for personal and professional development that should not be taken lightly. We plan to provide you with plenty of tips and tricks as you navigate the year ahead, but to get you start we came up with these three easy to apply pieces of advice for making the most of the time you have been given:
Experimenting is never easier than it is right now
Even if you think you know what you want to do in the music business you should use your time in college to experiment with a variety of roles and responsibilities. Maybe you try doing PR for a band on campus, or maybe you agree to manage them for a semester in hope of raising both of your profiles within the industry at large. Maybe you contribute to a music blog for a couple months to try and improve your networking skills with the PR firms you hope to one day work at. If you’re a musician, maybe it’s time you try that obscure side project you have been kicking around in your free time. If you rap, try producing your own beats. If you produce, try learning to mix and master the work of other producers.
One of the most important lessons you can learn about life in this business is that everything is connected. Success or failure in one area can impact the success or failure of something down the line. No matter where you want to end up in this industry it’s smart to have at least an understanding of what others do and what the demands of their role entails. You don’t have to stick with everything you try, but who knows? You may discover a talent for something you never knew you possessed.
One word, two syllables: Network
A career in the music industry is not entirely built on knowing the right people, but knowing the right people certainly won’t hurt. The funny thing about being in college is that you never know who among your peers will actually become some kind of power playing in the business, so it’s best to try and at least get along with everyone. Ask people what they want to do and how they plan on accomplishing those goals. Find those with a similar drive to you whose goals fall in line with your own. You don’t have to work together, but maybe you try it anyways because there is strength in numbers. Raise one another up while you’re still trying to establish yourselves and you will forge relationships that stand the test of time.
Speaking to networking with the industry at large, this is another instance where experimentation can be useful. As you try and figure out where you fit in you should be asking those who already found work within the business about their journey. Find people whose work ethic you admire and make yourself known to them. Send emails. Make calls. Do whatever you can to get on the radar of people who are in the kind of positions you want to be in yourself and ask what you can do to make their lives easier. I cannot promise this will end in work or internship opportunities, but it will put your name in their brain. That way, when opportunities do arise, they know they can turn to you in order to get the job done.
Start and maintain a portfolio of your work
There are numerous sites that will allow you to launch a basic portfolio portal for next to nothing, but I want to urge you to buy a domain that is as close to your name as possible and build a proper website. That may sound daunting to those of you who lack a lot of internet skills, but platforms like Squarespace make the process of creating a site customized to your and your skill set surprisingly simple. (Please note: They didn’t pay me to say that, but I do use their service for my own site.)
Your personal site will be the doorway the industry at large uses to know you and your work. Keep a blog that details your pursuits, upload images related to your work, and always keep a running list of things you’ve done and who you did them for. You probably won’t have much to write when you begin, but as you accumulate accomplishments and learn new skills maintaining a proper corner of the internet to promote yourself will be increasingly important. Starting early is your best shot at avoiding self-promotion headaches down the line.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and 10-year veteran of the entertainment business. James prides himself on his work to educate aspiring industry professionals about the realities of a life in entertainment, and he is currently working hard to finish his first book on that very topic. You should probably follow him on Twitter. If you wish to speak with him, email: James@haulix.com.
If every idea or plan I ever heard in every conversation I ever had with an aspiring industry professional or musician the music business would be a vastly different place than it is today. I’m not sure that is for the better or worse – depends on the project – but what I do know of from my time working in the industry and my admittedly puddle-deep exploration through its many ranks has become the stuff of legends to myself and anyone who may have been there in that moment those words were shared. Big bands, small bands, PR professionals and startup masterminds. Name a thing in music you could aspire to become and there are at least 5000 people who tell people they also want to do that thing every day, and that’s likely just in North America alone.
I am certain there are a variety of reasons things didn’t work and a number of people who could be, should be, or would be held responsible if things had gone another route, but in many cases it comes down to your willingness to fight, but in many cases it comes down to your willingness to fight and your ability to evolve. Both sound easier than they really are, but they are absolutely essential traits for anyone hoping to make it in this business.
There is one upside: Everyone is fighting this battle in their own way.
Everyone hoping to do anything in this business wakes up with the prospects of going to war. It doesn’t matter whether it should or shouldn’t be like this because the fact of the matter is it is the way things are at this point in time. The boom of access through technology and the internet happened much faster than the music industry was able to adapt. Even if the industry were able to see the changes the internet would present in advance and had ample time to prepare it’s hard to imagine a world where there are anywhere near enough reliable full-time jobs in the creative area you want to work in to allow everyone a place of there own guaranteed. That’s not how life works and it’s not how music works.
The best you can do is to wake up every day and put action to your dreams. Start today. If you want to write the next song that is going to change the world, it’s probably time to take mastering your instrument and songwriting seriously. If you want to manage the next big band, find a band you give a damn about and do whatever it takes to make sure me and everyone else feels the same way this time next year. If you want to pitch Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, XXL, or anyone else, learn how to form a good pitch and start sending emails. If you want to be a publicist, find an artist you believe in and make the rest of us feel the same through any means necessary. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.
You’re going to fail, but there’s another upside: Everyone Fails.
Everyone fails a lot, in fact. More bad songs are written every day than future classics, just like more bad press releases are sent than those that make people who receive hundreds of press releases a week actually read what they wrote. It’s not about a single try and it’s not about a single day, week, or month. Building a career of any kind in any field in the music business is an ongoing series of trial and error where you and everyone you know hopes to succeed in some way more often than not. We take our chances and we take our bruises. We complain about the way corporations have devalued music while making billions of the art that musicians create while hoping streaming payouts really do lead to the bright future we were told would come. We claim we found the next best band in the world when we really just heard a good song on the internet. We put our faith in people that turn out to be nothing like we expected and we in turn sometimes surprise ourselves.
Some failures hurt more than others, but that’s okay. You learn to take the good with the bad because you remember that hope only gets you as far as you’re willing to fight in this business and that everyone else has ups and downs too.
Be honest with yourself and others. You cannot do everything. In fact, some things you probably shouldn’t do, and that’s perfectly okay.
To attempt anything is to accept the fact you may fail. Everyone fails, as we mentioned above, but if you find yourself failing again and again without ever finding a sliver of success you may need to take a hard look at your goal and ask yourself whether or not they can be achieved. The hard truth of the matter is that only a very small amount of those who dream and strive to work in music every actually make a career for themselves in this business. If you are not one of them it does not mean you are a failure. You rose above being a failure the moment you decided to try and chase your dreams. You wouldn’t believe how many people never even take the first step towards getting what they want. If things are not working out after a long enough period of time you need to consider the possibility that there may be other fields and areas of expertise where your particular set of skills could be of value. The world needs motivated souls, and you are one. Find a way to make existence a bit better for others and do that thing. Music will always be here, and you will always have it in your life, even if it isn’t what pays the bills.
You are never alone, though it’s going to feel like that sometimes.
When you’re working with others in any capacity you begin to realize your individual performance really does influence their ability to pay their student loans and cover their share of rent in the apartments they more than likely share with anywhere from one to six, seven, or even eight people depending on the metropolis they were forced to move to in order to take their time in this business ‘seriously.’ (You don’t have to do that, by the way. Be the biggest thing you come out of your spot on the map, and don’t forget to thank the internet – and this author – for your success down the line.) You, like them, were once just a kid who really loved a particular band or sound and that somehow turned into a career where you’re now responsible for doing something (or more than likely, many things) in exchange for money. Compared to the way most people approach finding a career in something, that’s crazy! We’re all a little crazy and we many of us deal with the same stresses and bouts of self doubt that you may experience from time to time. We’re strongest when we work together, and that means being open and honest with one another. Recognize that we are all crazy fans deep down inside and we all know of the power music has to impact lives. We are all working toward the same thing, and that is to lift up the art that gives us the ability to wake up every day and fight.
There is power in numbers. Work together.
As much as my individual drive and talent has helped me make a way in this industry, all my greatest accomplishments were the direct result of projects I worked on with people I believed in. Surround yourself with like-minded people who fight for the things they want and understand that real work that lies ahead. This may be the friends you know now or it may be a group of strangers you meet only after you take it upon yourself to start chasing whatever it is you want to do. The bonds you form with these people will last a lifetime, and they will come to mean more than any paycheck possibly could.
Commit.
There is no denying that finding a career in music is often driven by networking, but even the best connections still require commitment. Music is considered one of the easiest industries to get your foot in, but no one ever stops to tell you everyone and their brother currently has a foot in the door of this business. It takes nothing to do the bare necessities required to claim to have a presence in music and that is a beautiful thing. It’s also a litmus test of sorts to separate the truly driven from those who will eventually turn to a more reliable and suitable (and arguably sane) career. If you want to do anything you have to make yourself known, and it’s both as easy and as hard as committing to working towards your goals every single day. To borrow from Nike, “just do it,” and soon things will begin to fall into place.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and a 10-year veteran of the entertainment business. James has spoken about careers in entertainment and how to achieve them at festivals, conferences, and college campuses across the United States, and he is currently working on his first book on that very topic at this moment. If you like what you have read here, please make it a point to follow him on Twitter. If you have questions about this or anything else related to working in the entertainment business, please email him: james@haulix.com.
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.
Being predictable doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Take for example, Bayside. The New York based rock band has been creating a unique take on modern punk rock for the better part of two decades at this point, and in that time they have carved a niche for themselves within the industry. Fans flock to Bayside’s every album and tour not because they continually reinvent the wheel, but rather because they tend to do the same thing the always have as well as they ever have with each new move. What people expect from Bayside, and what they have come to be known for within the entertainment industry, is quality. You know what you’re getting quality wise with Bayside, and that belief in their ability to always be good allows the band to do whatever they please because they already have your trust. They know being themselves is exactly what you expect, and they do their best to continue giving a piece of themselves to listening – through thick and thin – as honestly as possible.
On ‘Vacancy,’ the band’s sixth studio album, Bayside further their self-expression with a collection of stories and reflections built in the wake of vocalist Anthony Raneri’s marriage falling apart. Raneri gave up his lifelong home of New York to move to Tennessee with his wife and newborn daughter with plans of building a new reality for his family. Life had other plans however, and some time later Raneri found himself living out of an empty apartment surrounded by boxes filled with possessions he couldn’t bring himself to unpack. After all, he didn’t consider this new setting a home, nor did he have any desire to be there any longer than was necessary. To deal with the chaos of his life, Raneri began pouring himself into his art, and the result of those efforts is what you hear on this new record. It’s a perspective on life torn asunder and the search for new beginnings that few have ever dared to share, and it just might be the most personal album in the band’s notoriously honest catalog.
While the often heartbreaking honesty of Bayside’s latest release is sure to be a selling point for many, what sets the band apart – and what has always served as something of a signature silver lining for the group – is their ability to find a way through their darkest personal moments and through doing so inspire others to do the same. Some will learn the story behind ‘Vacancy’ and believe it to be a meditation in love gone awry, but in reality it’s a far more introspective recording. This is an album not about the faults of others, but the role we each play in what goes right or wrong in our individual lives. It’s about not allowing yourself to think bad and good things simply happen, but understanding that you have power over your fate. Don’t fool yourself into believing some things just don’t work out because that is rarely true. There is a reason for everything, and you might need to take responsibility for the part you play in the events of your life in order to truly appreciate that.
When you find time to listen to ‘Vacancy,’ which I hope is sooner rather than later, try to think of your initial encounter as an opportunity for personal growth. Raneri never predicted his life would play out the way it has, and chance are you never knew you would be wherever it is that you find yourself in life right now either. Let ‘Vacancy’ inspire you to reflect on the path that brought you here, as well as inspire you to seek out the future you want for yourself and those around you. This album can and should empower you to work towards making the world reflect the desire of your heart. Not everything will go the way you want, but every turn in the road is an opportunity for growth that will help you make better and smarter decisions down the line. Life is not about destinations, but rather the path taken to get to them, and ‘Vacancy’ is the perfect companion to the journey through existence for those over twenty-five.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
“No one is going to pick you,” wrote Seth Godin in 2011, “pick yourself.”
Yes, it’d be nice if a hip label person saw how great you were playing at 3am to five people and offered to sign you afterwards (that’s how it worked for Unsane after playing with Sonic Youth) but that doesn’t always happen. You still need to push through and make a bit of your own luck.
I spoke recently to bassist Andy Price from the UK band Conjurer. They were gigging plenty, and creating some buzz. They knocked on some label doors, but nothing hapened. Undeterred, they went into the studio to record an EP with no label behind them. They figured that’d show some labels they were serious, right? Selling some units themselves’ always looks good, after all. Then producer Lewis Johns offers to master their EP. He’s done a bit of work for Holy Roar, and has worked with bands like Funeral For a Friend, and Rolo Tomassi. Well, he passes Conurer’s EP along to Holy Roar, and they just put out ‘I’ in July.
Belgium’s Oathbreaker is another example. After releasing a 7” through a small label, they went into the studio to record a full length – except they didn’t have any label backing the effort. According to vocalist Caro Tanghe they, “weren’t signed yet, so we basically recorded it ourselves, paid for everything ourselves.” They had no guarantee that what they were working on would pay off, or that it would garner any sort of attention at all. It worked out, though, as they’re putting out their third LP in October on Deathwish.
Keep in mind – working with a label doesn’t mean mansions and exotic sports cars these days. "I still rent a room in a house and I live very frugally,” said Tommy Victor of Prong in an interview with From Hero to Zero, "and that’s the only way I could survive (while) keeping the band going. I’ve had to make those sacrifices.” Tommy’s played with Ministry and Glenn Danzig, and even he’s had to make sacrifices. He’s done it on his terms, and doesn’t need to be “picked” by a big label to keep making it, since "making it” for him means making enough to cover rent for the month.
Picking yourself means doing it on your way, without waiting for any outside acceptence or approval. Whether recording an album, making your own music video, or even starting your own label, your number one supporter should be yourself. And with that internal support, being your own #1 fan, who knows best on how to bring your artistic vision to life?
Pick yourself.
Seth Werkheiser is the quiz master of metal trivia at Skulltoaster. He’s also the founder of some music sites you may have heard of, including Noise Creep (2009) + Buzzgrinder (2001). He’s anti-Facebook, anti-clickbait, and anti-growth hacking. You should most definitely follow him on Twitter. Yes, right now.
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.
I know Drake and Future spent the majority of the last year exclaiming, “what a time to be alive,” but the more I read into the problems plaguing our world today the more I am unsure what such a statement means. Is it a good thing to be alive right now, or is it a bad thing? If you’re Drake or Future it’s probably pretty great. Those guys are making tens of thousands, if not more, each passing week off the strength of their creativity. The vast majority of the rest of the Earth’s population is nowhere near that lucky however, and we are all struggling in our own ways as we fight to survive. I know I am nowhere near earning the title of being the worst off, but I do have concerns for what lies on the horizon. Between the impending election in the US, which seems to have provided no truly great candidate, and the various acts of terror taking place on a near-weekly basis all over the globe, 2016 seems pretty awful. It is unclear when or how things will get better, but something tells me no improvements will happen without hardships or tragedy coming first. In fact, I would argue some people have lost their faith in a better tomorrow altogether because every day the news and social media shines a lot on the numerous complicated problems plaguing us not just here at home, but all over the world.
With all this in mind, I wholeheartedly believe we need proactive music now more than ever in my lifetime. I have been walking this planet for almost twenty-nine years, but I have never witnessed the kind of global disenchantment that we are currently experiencing. People have lost their faith in religion and political leadership. They, or should I saw we are hungry for something more than just the hope things will improve. Time has taught us that simply hoping for things to get better rarely results in any change happening whatsoever. We know that change only comes as a result of action, but when we look to pop culture for leadership and positive influence we generally only find sugar-coated love songs, movies featuring people with superpowers, or EDM-fueled tracks about loving life that completely ignore the problems facing mankind.
Now, to be clear, these things are not bad. I love superhero movies and pop songs as much as the next person, but our world is in such a state of disarray that we need artists who are not afraid to speak out against all they see wrong. We need protest songs, and we need artists who encourage people to read up on what is happening around them. To use a colloquialism that the internet loves we need artist who are “woke AF,” and for my money there are few who seem to understand this quite like Canada’s hard rock kings, Billy Talent.
Yes, you read that right. The band we need now more than ever to urge us to take action is not even from America. Billy Talent have been making music that demands and influences action for over a decade at this point, and their new album Afraid Of Heights is no exception. Every song, from the riveting “Big Red Gun” to the closing reprise of “Afraid Of Heights,” speaks to the state of the world today. The band touches on our current fears, as well as the universal fear of the unknown. If we think things are bad now, then how much worse could they get? Billy Talent does not have the answer, but they do urge people to take action to prevent whatever unknown horrors may lie on the horizon from ever coming to fruition.
When you listen to Afraid Of Heights you cannot help feeling inspired and entertained simultaneously. The genius of Billy Talent’s sound has always been there way to raise awareness while also inducing mosh/circle pits with killer riffs and endlessly catchy hooks. Their latest work is as fun as it is important, and every ounce of me hopes you give it a chance to inspire you to make the world a better place when it arrives in stores this Friday, July 29.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
The first half of 2016 has burnt out everyone I know. Okay, not everyone, but a bunch of people I’ve spoken with have talked about the jobs that are gone, cruel bosses, dried up press opportunities, all while rents keep going up.
Facebook is changing their algorithms again (and Instagram, which they own), and Twitter is filled with countless tragedies – and we keep seeing “NEW SONG!” competing with that. Good luck with that.
Are we just going to refocus efforts on Snapchat? Get more into email marketing? Develop 16 cool new ways to reach music blog editors (all while we mourn the death of music blogs)?
People “binge watch” seasons of TV shows. Like, hour upon hour of staring at Netflix. They’re listening to more podcasts than ever. They’re watching Game 7 of the NBA finals. Heck, they’re in the streets staring at their phones while catching Pokemon.
Tweeting “check out our new song" worked in 2008 when not a lot of bands were on Twitter, but now every band and every label is on everything, everywhere, all the time.
So it’s fun seeing people deliberately move away from that. Shops that have ignored the allure of social media (and promoted posts), and instead focus soley on the people that walk through the door. Some bands aren’t even online but they still maintain a buzz. People have quit paid music industry jobs for simpler lives without the 24/7 grind. Life goes on even when we’re not trying to keep up with the never ending flurry of VEVO video, new songs, and the latest “gossip.“
But music can always make someone’s day, so it’s worth fighting for. Even if Spotify won’t compensate you fairly for it, find ways to present it in a way where it has more value. Think beyond a music video, think beyond albums. Create things people will find on their iPhones, then be so compelled to get their friends together and stream it on their Apple TV connected big screen. Just as strumming an acoustic guitar and singing a melody ain’t all that special these days, neither is a music video of four dudes playing a song in a room. That’s what led to bands like OKGO and Hollerado pushing the term “music video” to new heights.
Neither of those bands sat around waiting for their break, they just made fun stuff that went along with their music. Making that sort of magic doesn’t come from how-to guides, but from trial and error, and making it up as we go along. If there were a manual, a map, then everyone could do it, and even “hit song writers” don’t get it right 100% of the time. Put your slant on it, work with good people, and do the best you can. There’s magic in that.
Seth Werkheiser is the quiz master of metal trivia at Skulltoaster. He’s also the founder of some music sites you may have heard of, including Noise Creep (2009) + Buzzgrinder (2001). He’s anti-Facebook, anti-clickbait, and anti-growth hacking. You should most definitely follow him on Twitter. Yes, right now.
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.
We have been and still very much are so busy with the new version of Haulix that updating our blog has fallen a bit by the wayside. That said, we are still listening to as much new music as possible day to day, and recently we came across a release that immediately became a staple of our office playlist. Not just one song off the record, but all of them. Every single song.
Longtime readers of Haulix Daily already know our love of Boston punk/hardcore kings Vanna. Vocalist Davey Muise was even on our podcast once upon a time (and he’s scheduled to return soon – hint hint). The band’s new album, All Hell, builds on the ferocity and unabashed storytelling of their previous releases while still finding a way to catch listeners completely off guard. We expected the record to be heavy, but we never knew a band that is a staple of the Warped Tour scene could release a record as heavy as All Hell. Many albums have been promoted as bone-crushing or skull-rattling, but this album is on another level altogether. With the right sound system, All Hell could be considered music in weaponized form. If the lyrics don’t move you the music most certainly will, and we mean that in a very literal sense.
We didn’t choose All Hell for this week’s Monday Motivation just because of the way it sounds. This record, like every release in the Vanna catalog, demands something of the listeners that most albums do not. When you play All Hell, even just one song, you are forced to look within and see yourself as honestly as you are able. Muise and his bandmates make it clear that understanding yourself, including your dreams and shortcomings, is the only way to start working towards being the person you want to become. All Hell is a soundtrack to destroying the false narratives of your life so that a real, pure one can be built from their ashes, and having used their records to do that very thing we cannot recommend enough that others heed their advice.
Some bands write life-changing songs. Vanna is a life-changing band.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Everyone who finds even a tiny bit of success in any field has no doubt worked their butt off to reach that point. Music is no different, and some might say it’s harder than most fields in terms of finding success, but just because you quote/unquote ‘make it’ in some way does not mean your life will get any easier. As people, change is part of our DNA. The same inexplicable power that caused one cell to become two, then three, and so on until people were formed lies in you now, and it thrives on change. We must change in order to grow, and we must grow in order to truly live. This post, written by our good friend Ian Baldwin, discusses the point in life where one must realize change is necessary.
This past week I made the decision to sell my drum kit. In the past year I have made playing drums less of a priority. I’ve been focusing on buildingmy business, learning photography, and spending time with my wife as well as friends and family.
We only have the capacity to do so much; make what is important to you a priority and don’t spread yourself too thin.
I decided to cut out drums to focus what matters to me most; connecting people and communities through design. Drumming was a huge part of my life up until about a year ago so I felt like I had to write something to close this chapter of my life.
A Brief History of My Fairly Local Music Career
Half way through high school I decided I wanted to grow up to be a full-time musician and travel the world. The idea of getting played to play music and travel was exciting to me and became my dream job. A dream job for many that only the most persistent and patient musicians get to live out.
Believe me I was willing to put in the work. I have been drumming for a little over a decade, played in almost a dozen bands and also did some touring as a merch guy and photographer to see if that was a lifestyle that I would even enjoy. Right out of high school I put off going to college to move 3 ½ hours away to Canton, Ohio to join a band. Looking back I loved every minute of it and wouldn’t change a thing. I learned a lot about myself and who I wanted to become.
If I wasn’t playing drums in a band it was fun to just support hard working artists and help them stayed connected with their fans. I had my fun and fair share of gigs that I will never forget. Some of my favorite bands to be apart were Hemisphere and States Away. We played shows with bands that went on to do great things like twenty one pilots, Wolves at the Gate, the Orphan the Poet, Come Wind and many more.
It was great to become friends with the people I did while being in bands and going to shows. Many of those friends don’t live as close as they used to or we have just grown apart because life gets busy. I do know that we will always be friends and can normally pick up right where we left off.
So What’s Next?
I started a business at the beginning of the year called Hear&See. The focus of Hear&See is to provide design services and marketing materials for bands and brands that are within the music industry.
I won’t truly ever quit music. I promised myself that I would work in the music industry full-time one day and this is me deciding to work towards that. I may not be in a band but I can support my friends who do play as well as other musicians by designing graphic for them to connect on a deeper level with their fans and grow their audience.
I am currently overlapping my day job at ACCO Brands as I am building my business the rest of this year so I can create a solid foundation before making the jump as a full-time entrepreneur. I am building up my clientele and refining my process the remainder of the year.
Maybe someday I’ll buy another drum kit but for now I am content with having my sticks and practice pad to play on at home and air drumming in the car to my favorite songs.
If you enjoyed reading this and want to talk about music, building a business from the ground up or want to hire me to work on a project you can email, reach out to me on Twitter or Snapchat.
Music writing can be a double-edged sword as far as fandom is concerned. The fact you’re in a position to influence a group of consumers makes it possible for you to get closer to your favorite artists than you probably would otherwise, but it also means you have to continue following those artists’ every move long after your initial interest in their work has begun to fade. This is honestly a best case scenario because more often than not writing about music means you have to not only know, but learn to appreciate the works of many artists whom you would otherwise not make time to experience. Establishing a career in writing requires that you be engaged with the wide world of music, and that entails keeping tabs on far more artists than those you personally enjoy. Over time this can make the joy of writing feel a lot more like work than most would care to admit. But that’s because writing is just that — work.
This is not a complaint, per say, but rather a matter of fact. You cannot make it in music writing simply by covering the artists you enjoy when you enjoy them. You need follow-through, and more importantly you need to engage the fans of artists regularly in order to ensure people continue to care your writing and/or publication exists.
When I began writing about music I did so because I felt there were artists I knew and enjoyed that most of the world had yet to recognize. If you could find my first hundred articles I can almost guarantee every single one would be based on an artist or group I admired at the time, and if I’m being completely honest I would also wager most of those posts are fairly similar. They each praise a group I loved at the time, and they each argue others should feel the same. I built my initial following by covering bands like A Day To Remember, Chiodos, Secret Secret Dino Club, and The Wonder Years whenever possible, and I made it a point to interview someone from the band every time a new piece of news presented an opportunity for discussion. As word of my work grew, so did interest from others bands and labels about having their talent promoted through my channels. I was completely blown away by these requests, so of course I agree to almost every one that hit my inbox, and as I began to network with the industry at large my writing began to encompass more and more bands. Some acts I enjoyed, but most were perfectly average in my mind, and looking back now I know the only reason I covered them is because I felt that it is what my (arguably non-existent) audience wanted. Whether or not that was true is something I’ll never truly know, but I do know that covering a wide array of talent helped me navigate the industry and secure full-time work in the business I love the most. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Do I continue to cover any and everything that comes my way as a result? Hell no.
It’s incredibly difficult to land a job in music that allows you to share everything you love all the time. Most jobs are far more focused than that, be it covering solely alternative music or perhaps just hip-hop. Finding a paid position that covers everything is rarer than a Morrissey performance that goes off without a hitch, and they are becoming increasingly hard to come by as the demand for specific content curators continues to rise. I used to have a big problem with this because I felt, and still do believe, that everyone is able to enjoy a little bit of everything. I might not love country music, but there are several country artists I enjoy. The same goes for musicals, top 40 radio pop, and obscure shoe gaze bands. None of these areas of music are where I spend the majority of my time, but they each are filled with wonderful talent that is deserving of exposure and praise. Just because this is true however does not mean I am the person to tell you these acts exist. I can tweet about it, sure, but I cannot dedicate every minute of my day to telling you about everything I love as I once did. That is not my job.
At first, the need to separate the work I am paid to do from the work I would like to do was incredibly frustrating. I felt as though my initial mission to help more people discover great music had been compromised by the need for a paycheck, but over time I came to realize that was not true. Having full-time employment gave me more freedom than I had ever had before as far as creative pursuits were concerned, and though I couldn’t argue the need to cover everything I could do more to help a specific set of artists and bands than ever before. Instead of writing about 40 or 50 acts a week I wrote about 10 at most, but I made sure to make each piece released as good as it could be. Having less artists to cover made it possible for me to dig deeper with my coverage and, ultimately, provide higher quality content to my readers.
But what about all that other stuff I loved? Did I turn my back on a world of talent just because they didn’t fit my 9-5 lifestyle?
Of course not.
I still love a wide array of bands as I always have, but these days I keep some things I love to myself if for no other reason than the ability to enjoy certain songs or records without turning that enjoyment into work. Before I had full-time work in music I viewed everything I enjoyed as something I would eventually cover, which in turn made everything I enjoyed some form of work. Maybe it wasn’t hard work, but it was work nonetheless, and as a result my relationship with music began to change. The idea of listening to music for the sake of simply enjoying it became an absurd concept, as I hadn’t purely enjoyed music for years on end. I liked it, and I wouldn’t know what to do without it, but at the end of the day I was trying to put food on my table based on what I was listening to, and that put a lot of undue pressure on myself, as well as the talent.
When I speak to aspiring writers and music professionals today I encourage them to experience as much music as possible. As soon as I do this I immediately tag my comments by adding that not every great song or record needs to become the sole focus of their work moving forward. It’s not only perfectly acceptable, it’s needed. If you lose your ability to simply enjoy music you will be unable to accurately critique it. The reason anyone begins chasing after a career in music in the first place is based on their love of enjoying music in their youth, and when you lose the ability to appreciate music in that way you begin to lose track of why you work in music. It’s not about clicks, and it’s certainly not about being the first person to hear the next buzz worthy release. It’s about celebrating art and the appreciation of art, as well as making others aware of undiscovered talent. You can only do this to the best of your abilities if you too are still able to be wowed by music. If you’ve lost that passion, or even if you believe it has begun to fade, take a step back from writing and unplug from everything except your stereo. Put on the records that first inspired your career aspirations and reconnect with the source of your drive to succeed. Never lose your passion.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
