streaming | Solveig Whittle

Popcorn With @Mark_Mulligan And Indie Music Marketing Tactics

November 19, 2015 8 Comments

I attended an online Music Biz Association webinar last week presented by Mark Mulligan. Mulligan is the author of the Music Industry Blog, Managing Director of of MIDiA Research and “a media and technology analyst of more than 15 years’ standing and one of the leading voices in music industry analysis.”

I really like Mulligan’s blog posts because he is a music industry wonk, something I can only aspire to. His work is original and thorough. He often presents his research findings at music industry conferences.

One of the ideas Mulligan presented in this webinar is that music itself is no longer a revenue-generating product for musicians. This has powerful implications for the average musician’s marketing strategy and tactics.

Because music is so much in abundance now (due to the digital democratization of both music production and distribution) it has effectively been commoditized down to zero price, so that makes it hard to make a living as a musician.

This is not a new idea, of course. The effect is even more pronounced for emerging artists or artists with niche appeal.

So what is a starving musician to do to keep themselves going?

[Tweet “Musicians, find your popcorn”]
Mulligan proposes that artists should follow the marketing model developed in the early days of the cinema (theater) business.

Here’s the basic idea (from a 2014 post on Digital Ascendency on Mulligan’s blog):

Marketing, Music, Social Media

Apple Music Connect: DTF Savior or MySpace?

June 18, 2015 3 Comments

A lot has been written about the recently announced Apple Music as a streaming music service for consumers, but one thing I have been curious about as an indie musician is the new Connect service. How does it work? What impact will it have on me and you as indie and DIY artists? Should we make the effort to “claim” our Connect artist profile pages? Is Apple going to save the music industry or has it replaced Google as the new 500 lb gorilla villain?

A Powerful New Direct-To-Fan Platform

Benji Rogers of PledgeMusic recently wrote:

“Previously one of the biggest impediments to artists letting their fans know about external offers was the fact that iTunes and services like it owned all of the fan data. Therefore, they owned that connection. Using Apple Music’s Connect feature, artists can let their fans know in real-time what they are working on, link out to their pre-order pages and gather their fan data into a destination that they actually use and control. Artists can post ticket links, bundles and exclusive content to those who want to see it and, consequently, control the conversation.”

Rogers concludes his post with the prediction that “The platform that becomes the thinnest skin between the artist and fan and fosters a meaningful two-way communication between them, becomes a bright part of the artist’s and industry’s future, no matter what.”

So is Connect the best thing to come along for DIY artists, or is it just another Ping, or worse – MySpace? What do we know and what should we make of it?

News

Penniless and Anonymous: Don’t Worry, Be Happy

November 17, 2014 25 Comments

During a recent Twitter exchange regarding the Taylor Swift/Spotify/streaming debate, I was labeled as having “become a professional problem identifier.” I was exhorted to instead “Be a problem solver.”

@shadesofsolveig @CheckeredOwl @Spotify Solveig love ya, but.. You are becoming a professional problem identifier. Be a problem solver.

— Steve Rennie (@renmanmb) November 12, 2014

Many more knowledgeable and successful than I have certainly already waded into the fray. Even Dave Grohl! Why bother to add my perspective? Because every time I hear the argument that musicians should just “get over it,” or “stop complaining about streaming” I realize that many of us are not on the same page. We don’t even agree what the problem really is. I subscribe to the philosophy that solutions are built on consensus and common understanding, not on forcing a solution that doesn’t fit, or a model that only benefits one or two key players in the industry at the expense of the others.

It seems to me that there are a lot of things that get all confused up in this debate, and the refrain I keep hearing that musicians should just shut up and “focus on making great music” ignores the reality of how screwed up the music industry is and how hard it is – even if you’re a great musician with great material – to make a living at music.

I’m not a famous musician, or a tech entrepreneur, or someone with years of experience managing bands or running a record label. I’m just a musician, an anonymous musician who, like most of the musicians I know, doesn’t make a fulltime living as a recording artist. Oh, and fifteen years ago I was the VP of marketing at a startup whose product was distributed software as a service, bringing Microsoft Office to corporate desktops as, essentially, a streaming product. I do care more about the long term future of musicians and the music industry than going public with my music tech company and cashing out (something I also know a bit about). And I am an engineer by training. I have a sensitive radar for arguments that don’t square with my version of reality.

[Tweet “Public discussion and debate are as valuable as building a software platform to “solve” a problem. “]

Marketing, Music

Walking The Dog Episode 14: ISRC Codes and SoundExchange

June 27, 2014 2 Comments

This 11 minute episode focuses on the ISRC (International Standard Recording Code): what it is, what does it look like, how do you get one, and why it is important.

Also often called the ISRC code (even thought that is a bit redundant), it is “an international standard code for uniquely identifying sound recordings and music video recordings” (Wikipedia). The ISRC was developed by the recording industry in conjunction with ISO (International Standards Organization) in 1986, and updated in 2001.

But before we talk about ISRC codes, let me first say I am disappointed that SoundCloud removed the direct record/upload feature from its iPhone app this past week. This means it requires more steps for me to produce this podcast (ie. use Garageband or ProTools). It will also make it harder for me to produce Walking The Dog remotely, as I managed to do for the past two weeks while I was out of town, using just my iPhone and iPad. You can read about SoundCloud’s mobile app update on Hypebot.

On to ISRC codes. Deep breath, people.

Each of your songs, if you are a recording artist, should have a unique ISRC code associated with it. That code is embedded in the digital sound file, and included on the CD (not vinyl or cassette tapes). The ISRC code is also registered or kept in various databases by the artist or publisher. The ISRC code is important because it is used to track the physical CD sales, terrestrial radio plays, or digital streaming plays of the song online – for example via Pandora. It’s also used for tracking music charts, as well as combating music piracy.

[Tweet “It’s important the track has an ISRC code so royalties can be paid out to you”]

The non-profit SoundExchange organization has been tasked by the US congress to figure out what royalties you are owed US songwriter from your non-interactive digital internet radio plays – ie. Pandora, IHeartRadio, or other streaming radio stations. They collect those and then send you a check.

To clarify what I said on the podcast, SoundExchange does NOT handle royalties from Spotify, terrestrial radio, live performances, YouTube, covers of your songs, licensing for TV or films. Just streaming radio performances.

As both interactive (Spotify-type) and non-interactive (Pandora-type) streaming music services become an increasingly important way that people consume music, the ISRC code will only become more important for musicians in terms of tracking royalties and charts.

Fierce battles are being waged within the music industry over copyright and royalty rates, particularly as things heats up with YouTube/Google’s much-anticipated streaming music service and the indie labels. The ISRC is an important reporting mechanism and transparency tool. If you are really interested, read SoundExchange’s legal counsel’s filing with the US Copyright agency, which actually has a lot of good information about ISRC codes and a very coherent argument about why they are an important standard.

I welcome your comments, corrections, and feedback.

Some more helpful guides to ISRC codes:

Marketing, Music, Thoughts

Walking The Dog Episode 10: @Mark_Mulligan on #Streaming and Albums Vs. Singles

May 30, 2014 No Comments

Walking The Dog Episode 10 Solveig Whittle

In this 18 minute podcast, I cover two current issues:

The $2.6 billion acquisition of Beats by Apple, and why indie musicians should care.
A discussion last night on the popular indie music and music marketing Twitter chat, #ggchat (archives available here), about whether artists should release singles or albums (EPs, LPs, etc.)

I start the podcast with the recent Hypebot post Mark Mulligan: Apple’s Beats Acquisition Driven By Streaming Music’s Mutual Fear Factor. Mark is a respected music industry analyst and consultant, and former Pinnacle and Forrester analyst who publishes on his own SEO-friendly-titled blog as well, Music Industry Blog.

As indie artists, we probably don’t care much who wins the streaming music wars – Pandora, Spotify, Apple, YouTube (Google), or Amazon. We should care, however, that the flow of revenue to artists from streaming music consumers becomes more transparent and equitable.

[Tweet “”If streaming music becomes less crowded, at least we’ll know who to shoot at.””]

Apple revolutionized music consumption and propelled the consumption of digital music into the 20th century with iTunes. Perhaps their acquisition of Beats will help drag the music industry into the 21st century and make payments more transparent. A humble indie artist can only hope!

The majority of the podcast is a discussion of the issue of whether indie artists should release singles or a bundle of songs (an EP, LP, or album.) I am in the process of releasing what I call an EP later this summer, so this issue is personally relevant to me as an artist.

I draw some of my argument from an excellent (if a bit dated) article on Music Think Tank by Frank Woodworth, entitled Unbundling the Album: A Business Case for Releasing Single Songs. I believe the discussion should really be about how indie artist can best market and promote songs, not really how we release them.

Please feel free to leave comments and opinions, experience and arguments below! I love to hear from you.

Interviews, Marketing, Music

Concert Window 101: Elegant Live Performance Streaming

May 4, 2014 14 Comments

I’ve written about the platforms StageIt and YouNow, where indie artists can stream a live music performance and even make money doing so. Concert Window was launched in 2011 by Harvard grads and musicians Dan Gurney and Forrest O’Connor to provide the same service. Still running a bit under the radar because they’ve only been live for about 9 months, Concert Window is gaining praise and growing quickly through word of mouth buzz in the indie musician community.

Last week, I attended a streaming performance on Concert Window by Austin singer-songwriter Alex Winters. The event security was a little strict but that’s okay, it went so well that I thought it would be interesting to interview Alex about her experience and try setting up my own artist profile.

Alex and I met through GoGirlsMusic, and while she was here in Seattle recently, she mentioned she was about to do her first Concert Window performance. I signed up on the website ahead of time as a viewer so I could tune in. One of the things I noticed right away was that I could watch Alex’s performance on my iPhone while away from my desktop. I think this is a smart feature, and no doubt increases audience views significantly. Mobile is where it is at.

After a few minor glitches on both her end (Alex’s PRO TIP: “When you’re ready to broadcast, hit the BROADCAST button!”) and on my end (my AT&T phone signal was weak at first), I was able to enjoy her concert on my earbuds with no problem. Note that all the viewer features of the desktop version are not there on mobile, such as chat and tipping.

This post has three parts. First, an interview with Alex about her experience with Concert Window . Second, my walkthrough of setting up an artist profile and a performance on Concert Window. Last, I give my assessment of some of the features that make the Concert Window platform stand out.

Marketing, Music, Social Media

10 Simple Ways To Promote Your Music

February 10, 2014 4 Comments

[The following is a guest post by my friends at Ditto Music. That’s why the spelling is British 🙂 Ditto Music is an online music record label services and digital distribution company servicing over 50,000 artists across the world. Services include chart eligibility, royalty collection and online promotion. I have guest posted on their site.

This post is particularly relevant for me this week. Being a DIY musician, I have done each of the things suggested below myself to promote either my current band, Solveig & Stevie, or my former band, Shades of Red. So I can personally attest to the fact that they are all important. I think #6 below is something that many bands and singer-songwriters wrestle with, myself included. I’d love to hear your feedback on this.

Stevie and I are planning a professional photo shoot and a band website redesign this month, and I’m pretty excited for that. You’ll probably see a blog post or two from me about those experiences. Meanwhile, here are some great music marketing tips from Ditto Music.]

If you are embarking on a career in music, having talent and determination will only get you so far. In order to reach the heights of international stardom, you will also need to promote your music if you decide to go down the road of independent publishing. The internet and the wide range of digital outlets available will provide you with many opportunities to spread the reach of your music. By adopting these 10 simple strategies, you can maximise your chances of reaching the top of the charts.

Conferences, Music

The Future Of Music Is Standardized Metadata

November 1, 2013 2 Comments

I’ve participated, either in person or online, in several music industry events in the past two years. The speakers and panelists have opined on the sorry state of the industry and the plight of independent muscians, and have pointed a forest of fingers:

It’s the labels’ fault
Technology (Napster) killed the music industry
Music piracy is the problem
Now that everyone can buy ProTools and become a musician, there’s just too much free [not always good] music
It’s just too hard to find good music, so making music discovery easier for consumers is the answer
Streaming is the future of music distribution, and Spotify and Pandora don’t pay artists enough
It’s the fault of radio for being corrupt and paying artists even less
Apple killed the music industry by unbundling the single from the album via iTunes
YouTube killed the music industry by elevating sensationalism over quality of music (and artists don’t make much money from it)
Archaic copyright laws are to blame
Fans don’t really want variety and quality of music, they are content with Psy and Justin Bieber
The only way musicians can make money now is by aligning with big brands
And let’s not forget: Google is evil

It’s all true, to varying degrees, and many people with a lot more experience and knowledge about the business than me are working on addressing these issues.

Yet progress seems slow.

Not a day goes by that I do not read somewhere that being a musician today is both a liberating yet increasingly confusing, disheartening, and economically untenable profession.

In a perfect world, the Direct-To-Fan model eliminates the gatekeepers and creates a music meritocracy, where good music rises to the top and those artists are financially rewarded. Yet that has not happened.

Some would say it always has been so for the 99%, change is good, and this is a brave new world of opportunity for those musicians who can navigate it. Yet we musicians seem an increasingly desperate bunch. It’s not a question of talent or hard work or who you know. Some feel that it is different now, that music is a more irrational business than it has ever been.

Music Metadata

Maybe it’s because I’m an outsider, or naive, but it seems obvious that the solution to a problem created by technology is, yes, a technical solution. Bear with me for a minute.

Marketing, Music

iTunes Past and Future: Hypebot’s Spitz and Bylin [Podcast]

May 8, 2013 No Comments

Alas, a decade is practically an eternity online, and as such, the download-to-own concept that iTunes revolutionized is already showing signs of age. The growth of subscription-based streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, and the current cultural dominance of YouTube, with its more than three billion videos viewed daily, hint that that music consumers are now largely content to listen, rather than own. – Time Entertainment, April 28, 2013

In this two-part podcast, Jason Spitz and Kyle Bylin of Hypebot’s Upward Spiral Podcast and I discuss some of the customer needs and behaviors that drove iTunes adoption: the unbundling of the single from the CD purchase, as well as the product characteristics (seamless integration with the iPhone, ease of use, standardized pricing). It’s interesting to hear the generational differences in how we adopted (or didn’t!) iTunes to build our personal music libraries, and to note that iTunes clearly was a substitute product for pirated music, even if an imperfect one.

In the second half of our discussion, we cover the transition of customers from download to streaming and debate where the future may lie for Apple’s iTunes and the consumption of music. We discuss iTunes competitors, and what factors might determine whether Apple will continue to dominate music distribution, such as the ubiquity and seamlessness of wifi, and the deep pockets of a platform player like Google, Amazon or Apple, as compared to a software-only offering such as Spotify or Pandora.

Kyle Bylin is the founder and editor of sidewinder.fm, a music and tech think tank, and also conducts research and develop music product concepts for Live Nation Labs. Jason Spitz is an ecommerce expert helping bands, comedians, and other artists build direct-to-fan businesses. In addition to being super-knowledgeable about the music industry, Jason and Kyle are expert conversationalists, and they always pick topics that are timely and interesting.

I sure had fun talking to these guys. Please let me know what you think of our discussion in the comments below!

Music

YouNow 101: Using Online Performance To Add Fans

January 17, 2013 3 Comments

This is the second post in a series exploring the various options for musicians to stream live performances online, including StageIt, Ustream, LiveStream, Google+ Hangouts On Air, Skype, YouNow, Broadcast for Friends for Facebook, and Second Life Music. I covered StageIt in a prior blog post, StageIt 101: Creating An Intimate Experience, where I featured Vancouver vocalist and songwriter, Jody Quine. My goal is to not only give you the basic service overview, but also let you hear from an indie musician who actually uses the service regularly. For this post, I interview Texas singer-songwriter Sonya Jevette.

YouNow is a website that acts a bit like a collection of open mic lounges where performers queue up to perform online. There are no pre-set show times like with StageIt, YouNow is more like a public stage, where viewers watch and interact with a stream (no pun intended) of performers as they broadcast fairly short (generally 10 minutes or less) sets from their living rooms or bedrooms. Some performers perform repeatedly over the day, or queue up to re-broadcast their prior recorded shows.

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