I work a lot. Probably too much. That’s not to say I deserve pity or commendation. It’s just that sometimes it’s easier to keep working than it is to just stop and relax. The vicious circle of “get it done today, or have it waiting for you tomorrow” is truly … vicious. For a lot of musicians out there, having too much to do is coupled with the inability to...
What should musicians pay for?
The big news perking through the indie music world is that Bandcamp will start charging musicians to provide free downloads. When you read a bit deeper, the company needs to cover the costs associated with providing a fully featured free toolset that was developed and adopted by a massive userbase. In other words, “oh shit, we’re successful — now what?!” In all of the...
Better marketing through Cheesecake…
Back in college I waited tables. I’m fairly certain it goes hand-in-hand with attending music school. One of those establishments was The Cheesecake Factory. Being there 40+ hours per week got you very familiar with the menu. While that may have been a detriment to my overall and future health, it was an incredible tool for my product and marketing brain. And that education continues to...
Dude, got any t-shirts? A lesson in creating merch…
I get asked a lot of questions, but lately this one has risen to the top: “Can you recommend a good/cheap/fast place to get shirts made?” Every single band feels that after they’ve recorded some tracks and booked a few gigs, they need to have t-shirts to sell. And while your “Kiss Army” t-shirt from ’82 is a prized possession, keep in mind that you’re...
I love Rdio.
I wanted to come up with a more profound title, but I couldn’t. Although, a declaration of true love seems pretty emphatic, don’t you think? Staying up with the trends in the music industry is important to me. In particular, I remember the brouhaha surrounding Qtrax. They were one of the first to offer a subscription based program with unlimited music from all your favorite artists...
Say what? Say how? Just say it?
I had an interesting conversation today. While the topics ran the gamut of marketing “disciplines,” the recurring concept being debated is that of appropriate voice. And I have to admit, the debate continued long after the conversation ended. Because it was somewhat of a lazy Sunday, there wasn’t much competition for my brainwaves, but regardless I couldn’t reach my own...
Gotta be all Mr Smarty Pants…
The other day I accepted an offer to do a guest lecture at NYU. More specifically, it’s in the “Clive Davis Dept. of Recorded Music” of the Tisch School of the Arts. For me at least, that’s all kinds of impressive. I’ve guest-lectured a bunch of times at Berklee, UMass, Emerson, and a few other places, but this one seems just a bit more special. It’s not like I...
I love Tom Silverman
While this might come across as something, I’d carve into an oak tree during the last week of summer camp, it’s really more of a professional statement. In a recent Digital Music News post, I read the following: “80 percent of all records released are just noise — hobbyists,” Silverman told Wired. “Some companies like Tunecore are betting on the Long Tail...
The Summer’s Top Five Music Festivals
I’m a fan of lists. For no good reason I love hearing the best, worst, most likely to, or things you’d bring onto a desert island. It’s less about what’s on the list than it is about the process of deciding what makes it and what doesn’t. I swear I could spend hours debating whether or not “The Wall” is better than “Dark Side of the Moon” or...
Scott Feldman: Day in the Life
Here at Nimbit, we were challenged to come up with a 5 minute presentation on “a day in our life.” As a marketer, and someone just a bit on the competitive side, I wanted to do something a bit unique, and maybe even a little special. Here’s what I came up with … and why YouTube chooses that as the main image is beyond me ….