Inside Music is a podcast about the lives of professionals in the music business. Each week, host James Shotwell chats with an artist or industry tastemaker to learn how anyone can navigate the world of entertainment.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell chats with FiXT Records co-founder James Rhodes about his label’s big plans for 2019. Rhodes talks about the FiXT approach to finding and recruiting talent, as well as the role FiXT plays in developing talent during an age when many argue record labels are no longer necessary. The discussion continues with talk of social media tactics, the benefits of multi-album deals versus single releases, and what trends we expect to see in the business as the year carries on.
In other news, Inside Music is now available on YouTube! Click here to stream the latest episode on our official channel. You can also subscribe to the show on iTunes, as well as any other podcast streaming service.
ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective seeks Product Manager. A full job listing with expectations and requirements can be found below. If you are interested in applying, please follow this link to submit your materials.
Company: Foreign Family Collective
Job Title: Product Manager
Desired Start Date: Immediately
Job Description: ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective seeks Product Manager. Full-time position. Salary commensurate with experience. This role will be busy and demanding. It will require both creative flair and an ability and enthusiasm for administration. An eye for detail will be essential, as will a strong knowledge of online trends and tools, and social networks. A good knowledge of and enthusiasm for the live music scene will also be important. Though not required, basic online/ digital/ design skills (HTML, Photoshop) would be considered a plus. Appropriate experience in the music industry is essential, and we won’t consider applications from candidates without it.
Location: Depending on the applicant, this position can be filled anywhere; however, LA or New York City is strongly preferred.
Requirements: Minimum four years full-time product management experience at an established record label or equivalent label services provider.
Responsibilities:
· Product managing album and single campaigns for Foreign Family Collective, helping our artists maximize their potential by introducing sales strategies across streaming, digital and physical.
· Helping to generate and implement exciting, effective marketing campaigns around FFC releases worldwide, not just North America.
· Overseeing releases from inception to post-release marketing, including arranging promotional events and live activity, hiring retainers and other third parties for marketing campaigns, and driving and managing those campaigns.
· Relationships required with key individuals at radio, press, DSPs, digital and live, with ability to carry out direct promotion on releases.
In a post on Finnish music that went live last week we mentioned our desire to begin exploring areas of music beyond the scope of our Haulix staff. While we like to believe we know a lot about the inner-workings of the music business there is a veritable world of entertainment we know little about, including EDM.
With this in mind, we have begun reaching out to clients and talent with expertise in various areas of the industry in hopes of sharing a more complete image of life in the modern music business. The latest artist to accept our offer is King Complex, a genre-defying talent who has been working to innovate the world of EDM over the last several years. We asked King to explain how he plans to build on the sound he has been refining up to this point, and thankfully for us he was happy to oblige our request. You can find his thoughts, as well as a taste of his music, below.
When I first really started getting into guitar and playing music around the age of 15 I was heavy into the blues. I was digging Derek and the Dominoes, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc. As a result of my influences I developed a very strict idea of what music is and how it’s brought to life. Shortly after I started getting deep into the guitar, something called dubstep showed up in the mainstream. People were buying systems for their cars and freaking out over a show where a guy stood behind a computer, I was far from amused. I went through the next four years very turned off from the idea of electronic music mostly due to misunderstandings and stubbornness. It wasn’t until I was about 19 that I changed my mind on the matter.
I went to Bonnaroo 2013 with the intention of seeing Paul McCartney and a good handful of other bands. I left Bonnaroo 2013 trying to get my hands on every Pretty Lights record I could find. I spent a long time thinking electronic music was cheating because of all the technology that can be used to correct mistakes and take the human quality out of music. I thought the live shows were an excuse for some egotistic producer to press play and fake a performance for people to lose their minds over. I was in the dark, but now I have seen the (pretty) light.
That Pretty Lights show and most of the shows I’ve gone to since have been unlike any other show i’ve experienced or music i’ve heard. The realization that this was something fresh and original was what opened my eyes to what I really loved about all the music I listened to before and the music I will listen to in the future, it was innovative. The blues players I liked were the ones who brought new elements to the game. The rockers I liked were the ones that brought such a variety of influences to an old formula that it sounded completely new. Without the manipulation of sound and technology we wouldn’t have a good chunk of what’s considered The Beatles best work.
Unless you want to listen to rip-offs of your favorite records or just spin the classics forever, electronic music is the future. It’s the biggest avenue toward originality in music. The idea of using a chord change that’s never been heard before is somewhat absurd, but new sounds have unlimited possibilites. These producers aren’t cheaters, but masters of technology, and explorers of new soundscapes. We also have to keep in mind that this style of making music hasn’t been in the mainstream for very long, there is still a lot of evolution left for the world of electronic music. I think we’ll see a drastic change before too long as more musicians come around to the idea. People still use the old formulas to make good music, but great art comes only with innovation.
The other aspect I want to discuss is the live show/culture, which seems to get a bad rep from a lot of “hipster” bashers. Granted we live at a time where people do things simply to be seen doing them, but who’s to say the flower power movement wasn’t made up of people also looking to join the next cool thing? This is an environment where individuality is flaunted with ridiculous antics and clothing, drugs are heavily associated with the scene, and it scares the old people who claim this is a passing fad (similar to the mindset of many adults in the 60’s regarding the electric guitar and guitar bands). The point I’m trying to make is that this closely resembles the origins of rock n roll and the movement that followed. Perhaps this is the millennial’s rock n roll.
I’ll be the first to admit I am not the best connoisseur of EDM, but the world of electronic music is one that has fascinated me ever since I was a little boy. Music in any form is amazing, but the idea of creating something from what is essentially a random sequence of 1s and 0s that not only sounds good, but makes people feel good, is about as close to a miracle of science as you’re likely to find. We never think of it this way, of course, because it’s all around us. You can’t watch TV, turn on the radio, or even visit an event open to the public without hearing some DJ or radio station playing a variety of EDM or EDM-influenced pop music. In a world where it seems we have an abundance of everything, EDM has a stronghold on our culture, and the competition to be the next great EDM artist has never been more intense.
You may have your own method for determining what constitutes as ‘good’ music, but I’ve always been the type to believe that I know it when I hear it. I probably tear through two dozen album promos a week, not to mention countless song streams and music videos from artists pitching me their new material. Some of it is good, but most of it is immediately forgettable. A very, very small amount of that content is actually great, but whenever I do stumble across something I feel deserve international acclaim I do everything in my power to help that particular artist advance their career, even if only in a small way. I know I am just one person, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make a difference. The same goes for you.
Anyways, last week I received a pitch regarding an Aussie duo known as Strange Talk. I had never heard their unique take on EDM before, but as soon as I experienced their single “Painted In Gold” I knew they were onto something special. It’s rare that a song from any genre blows me away on a first impression, but before I knew it “Painted In Gold” had earned more than 10 streams from me, and the rest of the group’s Soundcloud had been explored as well. It was good, or at least good to me, and that was when I realized something I admitted a bit above, but never fully confessed: I haven’t the slightest idea how someone becomes a ‘major’ EDM artist.
Bands and solo artists using guitar/piano make sense. You write some songs, you share those songs, you play some shows, and you watch your following grow. I assume EDM is the same, to an extent, but I knew deep down there had to be a countless ways the careers of those seeking fame and/or success in electronic music also differed from the classic idea of an artist and how they make ends meet. So, with that in mind, I reached out to Strange Talk in hopes of not only learning their story, but also to learn about the tricky and complicated world of underground EDM they must navigate if they ever hope to have their brand become a household name. You can read highlights from our conversation below.
Strange Talk will be embarking on a tour of the US in October. Dates for the tour can be found at the end of this post.
H: Thank for taking time to speak with me. I heard “Painted In Gold” for the first time last week and knew we needed to make this happen. How has the response to the song been so far?
ST: So far the response has been super positive. We havent given it a huge push yet, rather a slow and steady release online. We’ve been through quite a big change in the last 12 months so we’re just slowly introducing all the new and exciting things we’ve been working on.
H: We might as well dive right in from here. When it comes to dropping original songs, like “Painted In Gold,” what kind of goals do you set for yourself? Do you have an certain number of plays you hope to get within a day? Do you aim for exposure on certain blogs?
ST: Im sure every artist is different, but for me, the main goal is trying to get the music we release heard by as many people as possible. We believe in our music and our vision and we just want people to see and share that vision too! As far as play counts, it’s defintely a good guage of success or hype for a song, but generally speaking we are already thinking 6 months ahead and what the next 2 releases will be.
H: EDM is a genre everyone knows, but very few people outside the industry fully understand. As someone working in the thick of it, what is the state of EDM today? Some believe the popularity peaked a year ago, but others believe a transformation is currently taking place that has resulted in the best material to date. Where do you stand?
ST: Im actually in agreeance with the latter. For me in feel like we’re reaching a really diverse period, one that is seeing all kinds of EDM making it’s way to the top of the charts. It’s almost like a fusion of a whole bunch of different genres underneath the one EDM umbrella. I guess the downside to where we’re at is the turnover of new songs coming out daily all around the world. It makes it harder to standout from the rest.
H: Strange Talk was founded in 2010. How did you first come together?
ST: Gerard was a DJ in a few nightclubs around town, and I was a violinist in university, who would frequent the clubs Gerard was playing in, We got to know eachother and shared similar tastes in music, Gerard had a small studio space where we started writing, which became the birthplace of our journey.
H: Did you ever consider yourself a local/regional group, or have you always had your sights set on international stardom? You’ve certainly made a global impact.
ST: Thank you so much! That genuinely is really nice to hear. I guess when you’re so close to a project, it’s hard to distance yourself enough from it to really stop and get a sense of how it’s connecting. In the beginning we were just writing dance loops, which evoloved to songs and so on, because we had a passion for creating music. It was fun. Then when we started getting some traction and interest from managers and record labels, we started shooting for the stars. We want as many people possible to hear and enjoy our music and come see our live shows.
H: Speaking of your rise to a point of international exposure, are you able to pinpoint a moment when you realized your music was becoming something people around the world enjoyed? Was there a certain single that helped you break out, or was it the culmination of many songs? I’d like to know what you believe to be the force behind your continued success in recent years?
ST: The funny thing is, with the few successes that can happen in the journey, there are far more knock backs. But the one time that I wont ever forget was only a few months back, when we received an incredible personal facebook message from a fan in the US saying that she had been recovering in hospital from major eye surgery, which would leave her without eye-sight. She went onto say that our music is the only thing helping her through things right now. As an artist, to hear something like that, it truely warms the heart!
H: Competition in EDM is as fierce as ever today. What do you do in Strange Talk to make sure you stand out from the countless competitors who are also vying for every bit of exposure you are currently receiving?
ST: We just try and stay original and honest and try to make sure everything we deliver is at the highest standard possible!
H: You’ve released two great singles in recent months. Can we expect an album sometime in the not too distant future?
ST: We have Ep coming out in October supported with North America tour (all tour dates are on our facebook.com/strangetalkmusic) and we have plenty more new music we’ll be aiming to release next year.
H: When it comes to music production, do you tend to plan for the future in terms of singles or albums? I know short term popularity is built on catchy tracks, but longterm success requires thematic continuity and cohesion, like what you typically find on an album. Is that something you are thinking about at this point?
ST: When we write music, we just write whatever we feel like writing at that point in time. After we have 10 or so tracks we start to work how they all go together, whether its a album or Ep. If we feel like its missing a certain sound or song we’ll focus on writing something to fill that gap. We want out EP/LP to evolve and keep you interested, we love so much different music and we want you to hear that in everything we put out.
H: At the end of the day, what do you hope people take away from your music?
ST: I want them to really enjoy our music and for it to make them happy. I also want them to appreciate all the hard work that goes into making it.
H: If you had to guess where Strange Talk will be a year from now, what would you say? How about five years from now?
ST: Hopefully still making music we love and touring a bigger level, would love to be playing stadiums every night!!
H: Having found a way to navigate the often treacherous waters of the modern music business, what advice would you offer to young talent on making their name known?
ST: A few things….
Be realistic about your music and you as a artist
Be original and don’t be afraid to take risks
Work with the people are truly passionate about you and your music
Be prepared to work your ass off and then some
Be super confident in your abilities and music as you will constantly get shot down
H: That’s all I have at the moment. Before you go, is there anything you’d like us to promote?
ST: Its been a pleasure!! Please check out our facbook page for our up coming Oct/Nov North America Tour, at which we’ll be premiering our crazy new live show. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Strange_Talk & Instagram /strangetalkmusic
Strange Talk will be touring the US this October. Catch them live in a city near you:
10/13 – Doug Fir – Portland, OR 10/16 – Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA 10/17 – The Roxy – Los Angeles, CA 10/20 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA 10/21 – Last Exit – Phoenix, AZ 10/22 – Lowbrow Palace – El Paso, TX 10/24 – Limelight – San Antonio, TX 10/27 – 529 Club – Atlanta, GA 10/28 – U Street Music Hall – Washington D.C. 10/29 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA 10/30 – Le Poisson Rouge – NYC 10/31 – World Café – Philadelphia, PA 11/01 – The Westcott Theater – Syracuse, NY 11/02 – Flour City Station – Rochester, NY 11/03 – The Waiting Room – Buffalo, NY 11/04 – BAR – New Haven, CT 11/05 – Belmont – Montreal 11/06 – The Drake Hotel – Toronto 11/07 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL 11/08 – The Rave – Madison, WI 11/09 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN 11/10 – The Riot Room – Kansas City, KS 11/11 – Lost Lake Lounge – Denver, CO
Hello, everyone! Welcome to the sixteenth episode of INSIDE MUSIC, a podcast about life in the modern music industry. We try and release at least one new show a week, typically on Tuesday afternoon, and we ask that if you enjoy what you hear that you subscribe to the show on iTunes. Oh, and by the way – reviews are appreciated!
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell travels to Norwood, Massachusetts to speak with world famous record producer Clinton Sparks. Clinton has been an influential force in pop music for well over a decade at this point, and in that time he’s work with just about every top 40 musician you can name. He’s also delivered a slew of solo work, which continues to gain popularity with each passing year. Together, Clinton and James walk through the Boston native’s early years of trouble making, as well as Clinton’s decision to leave behind his life of and embrace the world of music. It’s a little bit different than every other episode we’ve done, but we think you’ll be pleased with the results.
The music you hear in the intro to ‘Inside Music’ this week was provided by Clinton Sparks with a little help from Macklemore and 2 Chainz. You can learn more about that song, as well as the Iconoclast EP it hails from, on Clinton’s official website.
You may already know this, but ‘Inside Music’ is now available on iTunes! Click here to subscribe.
Hello, everyone! We promised you last week that our podcast would be returning to its once a week release schedule, and today we’re excited to share with you the 12th episode of INSIDE MUSIC. This particular recording was created earlier today, December 16, so the news and information included is as timely as possible. If you would like to subscribe to this show, or browse our archives, you can do so on iTunes.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
idobi Radio has been the go-to online station for alternative music fans since its launch in 1999. It’s one of the few websites active today that can honestly say it existed before the service it provides was a hot commodity in the digital space, and through hard work it has remained one of the premiere online radio stations while countless competitors have fallen by the wayside. We love the station, as well as the many shows it hosts, but recently we realized we knew almost nothing about the person who first brought the site to life.
On this episode of Inside Music, idobi Radio founder Tom Cheney stops by to speak with host James Shotwell about his career, the early days of internet radio, and the many big plans he has for idobi’s future. It’s a great conversation about all things digital, and it includes a number of exclusive details about the company that you can only find on this show. You can stream and download the podcast, in full, below.
The music you hear in the intro to ‘Inside Music’ is provided by San Diego, California folk punk group Sledding with Tigers. You can learn more about their work on their official website.
We mentioned this at the beginning, but ‘Inside Music’ is now on iTunes! Click here to subscribe.
Hello again, everyone. We are thrilled to have you joining us this afternoon. The world of EDM is one we have spent very little time exploring on this blog, but there is no denying it has become a big source of business for the industry at large in recent years. Today, in an attempt to be slightly more ‘with it,’ we’re excited to be joining forces with our friends in We Are Nexus to offer a little insight on how they built their following. You might not listen to EDM, but that doesn’t mean you are unable to learn from those making a living working in that genre.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Hey everyone, my name is Nick Gunn and I make up half of the EDM duo (We Are) Nexus. My music partner, Carmen Rainier, and I have enjoyed success over the last year with our singles “It Feels So Good”, “World Around Me” and “Shamelessly”. We are about to embark on a new release, “Better Off Without You”, which comes out in just a few weeks! We are definitely grateful for all the success we have experienced in our first year and like every emerging artist our story is filled with tons of hard work and passion!
I was asked to write a piece today about my history in the music biz and how it has helped us in our mission for success with (We Are) Nexus. The one thing I have been asked over and over again is “how did you guys gain so much traction, so quickly”? I will do my best to shed some light on that here.
There’s always a good story behind every successful music act. It’s rare to find an artist that doesn’t have a winding path to success. The path is usually littered with tears, letdowns, triumphs and victories. Our’s is certainly no different and it’s a work in progress that still has a long way to go!
I came from a successful career as a World music artist that self produced and composed 14 albums under the name Nicholas Gunn and was fortunate enough to have sold a few million units at a time when you could actually sell music! I also owned a label distributed by Warner / ADA representing over 75 artists and a few hundred titles. Those days of owning a label were hell but the knowledge I gained from riding both sides of the fence was priceless! Just like when I first started in music, the backbone of the industry remains about the fans. Without them, there would be no industry! While the method of reaching the mega fan has shifted from the retail stores and streets to the internet, the idea behind why a fan exist and why they become so passionate about their favorite artist, has not.
For me, as a producer and composer, I trust my productions enough to know that the end result of our music plays well against the rest of commercial music. Therefore, the one thing we had going for us in the first year is we didn’t over-think the creation of our tracks, there was enough experience to trust our instincts. Enough said, right? Actually, not even close! I have often said, that as a new artist, music development is only 30-40 percent of the initial battle, the rest falls under the category of WTF do I do next?
Understanding and identifying our fans has helped me develop (We Are) Nexus and minimize the trauma involved with crossing the barrier to entry in today’s EDM music market. Identifying your fan base first starts with honesty and transparency in your desire to be a successful music artist. To be overly purist, having an overstated need for musical integrity, or shunning commercial music are all potential signs of a failure to embrace your musical success. There is no glory in shutting yourself away in a dark bedroom producing music all day long. Get out there, study and network with other successful artists and their music, the genres they exist within, and research the demographic that follow these successful artists…..Therein lies your potential fan!
Most young developing artists today are flying solo without label support and the responsibility of development lies solely with them. They also, rightfully, believe that everyone “is listening” and that by simply making their music available, everyone will talk about it, buy it, and show up at their shows. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s this kind of thinking that inhibits the success of most budding artists.
The painful truth is the agony of realizing that, at first, it’s not so much about your music as it is about your overall brand, how fans perceive your brand, and how you integrate your brand into the community where the fans live and breathe. It’s understanding the psychology of the music fan you are trying to reach. Trust me, embracing this is absolute liberation! Understanding how to take control of this aspect of your career, coupled with talent and perseverance, will ultimately give you one hell of an advantage over the competition. I hate to use the word competition but, at the end of the day, we are all vying for the ears of the same set of listeners. Today’s fan does not want to be bombarded by your music. They want to experience an artist that shares and cares about the community they are involved in and talks about everything. Today’s fan consciously chooses to engage on their own terms and there is little to persuade them otherwise.
When I first started as a World musician there was little to no internet presence and the major music model of funneling everyone into a retail store and having them put in a pair of headphones was alive and well. Those fans were driven into the stores by word of mouth, hearing the music on radio (FM) and attending concerts. There was only one way to take that music home with them, buy a CD! It was called an “impulsive point of purchase sale” and the majors consumed that model for years!
When in Rome, do what the Romans do, so I did. The way I reached my fans back in those days was by establishing relationships with the retail stores that supported my music and sold to the fans. It meant tailoring my music towards a specific retail store that had reach. It was the path of least resistance and a way for my music to be heard. It was common sense.
Those avenues don’t exist anymore! Sales are only one of many ways to enjoy music and there is nothing impulsive whatsoever about todays music fan. They are able to research, review, digest and then throw the track away without feeling any real consequence on their pocket book. The power has shifted from retail…..to the fan! However, the passion that drives them and the connection they feel to the artist and the music, that simply has not changed! Understanding they way our fans were connecting, socializing and sharing in todays marketplace was the foundation to our existence with (We Are) Nexus and we were about to use the giant social media tool of the Internet to reach them.
When we set about to launch (We Are) Nexus we did it with an understanding of this psychology in mind. We placed ourselves in the minds of our potential fans and asked the question: “What would fans want to follow and see from a new EDM act”? We weren’t DJ’s, so we made sure that we clearly defined our existence first and answered the question: who are we. We decided we were an “EDM artist” comprised of a producer and vocalist and we made sure that idea was conveyed clearly through everything we did. We developed a killer logo consistent with the market place, set up all our social media platforms and started talking about the EDM community! We posted about EDM news and topics, not just about us, but about everything EDM and we did this long before we posted anything about our music and….we still do!
Technically, we were crowd sourcing and creating a community that we could eventually market our music to. One that we knew and who knew us and one that we could safely operate within without unnecessary scrutiny from the fans we were still learning about. We also realized that massive sectors of the population followed a key influencer in their social groups; someone highly social, in the know, and on top of their game! Understanding this was extremely important to our success. Once we had crossed that impenetrable barrier and had a sufficient crowd sourced, we knew we were on our way! We knew the music would speak for itself, but we needed someone to be listening first!
It’s difficult to not make it about you at first, it really is! But fans today want an experience that goes beyond just the music… they actually always have! They want to feel apart of a community that understands their emotions and then use that music as a foundation to express themselves. Think about it, when you recall a song that reminds you of your first love, it becomes about you, the music becomes yours, it’s the soundtrack to your life. Music is a profound facilitator of this personal and intimate experience.
But it’s not ALL esoteric in nature and sure, we spent money on advertising and hiring promoters to get the word out. I could go into all the unnecessary details of who to hire and how much to spend but every serious artist eventually figures that out. The most obvious but seemingly elusive thing to figure out is standing right in front of your nose and on your computer: its the fans!
